One Pet Gets Married

Chapter 28

Dazzling fireworks burst in succession across the sky. Though the cold wind blew fiercely and the temperature had plummeted to an absurd low, a smile still lingered on Tang You'an's lips.

After a while, the fireworks faded, and darkness reclaimed the night sky. Those crew members who lived nearby hurried home, while the rest gathered to play games and cards as they awaited midnight, when another round of fireworks was promised.

"Beautiful, wasn't it?!" Director Chen Feng called out as he passed by, glancing at Tang You'an.

"It was." Tang You'an nodded, having just ended her video call with Song Xici. "But they bloom and die so quickly. It's fleeting. Thinking about it deeply, there's a vague sense of loss."

"That's normal." Chen Feng smiled. "Forget these fireworks—isn't there a saying that good flowers don't bloom for long, and beautiful scenes don't last? Some wonderful things are just ephemeral by nature."

"That's precisely why we must cherish these beautiful moments with the most important people in our lives." Chen Feng mused. "Whether friends, family, or lovers. We never know when we or those we care about might have an accident."

Hearing this, Tang You'an paused, watching Chen Feng walk away before turning to gaze at the night sky that had been so brilliant moments ago, now silent and dark.

After a while, Tang You'an rejoined the crew in a temporary shelter built for filming. She sat down to play cards with everyone, waiting boisterously for the stroke of midnight.

Finally, after this perfunctory celebration with the crew, Tang You'an bid farewell and headed home by car, following Song Xici's instructions to send New Year's greetings to friends and family on her phone.

Arriving at the large house, Tang You'an looked up, scanning it briefly before jogging to the door with a bag of handheld fireworks and a bag of alcohol. She opened the door and went inside.

After changing shoes, putting things away, and feeding the fish, it was nearly 2 AM. Song Xici's last message reply had come half an hour ago; she had likely fallen asleep.

Tang You'an hadn't felt it much while with the crew, but now, suddenly back in this spacious house all alone, she felt a pang of loneliness.

Involuntarily, her mind began to wander to various thoughts.

She took a sip of alcohol, unwrapped a few handheld fireworks, and went to light them in the small courtyard. She waved them in small arcs, smiling as she watched them fizzle out. Then she returned inside to shower, lay down in bed, pulled up the covers, and closed her eyes.

At this moment, Song Xici was still awake, lying there scrolling through her chat history with Tang You'an.

She scrolled quite far back, from when Tang You'an had first arrived to the present. It was evident that Tang You'an was a quick learner.

At first, Tang You'an only sent simple text messages. Later, she learned to use WeChat's built-in emojis, then figured out how to save and send images from elsewhere, and eventually mastered sending voice messages and videos...

Lying in bed, Song Xici smiled.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi hadn't gone home for the New Year. She sat in front of her computer in her apartment study, her gaze fixed on the face in the livestream on the screen, as if everything related to the New Year had nothing to do with her.

In the livestream, Chang Ye's face was soft, her smile sweet as candy, looking beautiful and charming. Today, instead of eating large quantities, she was sampling various strange snacks.

On the screen, many people were sending bullet comments or gifts. She alternated between chatting with viewers, unwrapping and tasting the odd assortment of snacks she had bought online, and pausing to thank those who tipped her.

"Who on earth recommended these gummy bears... I can barely bite through them..." In the video, Chang Ye held up a palm-sized gummy bear, struggling to bite off an ear after much effort.

"What flavor is it???"

"Sister Ye, is it good? Do you recommend it?"

People eagerly asked.

"Hmm... the flavor is mediocre, and it's very hard to bite. I think Want Want QQ Gummy is better." Chang Ye commented before setting the gummy bear aside.

"Bad at oral, thumbs down!"

"Hehe, yeah, what good are big boobs if..."

At this point, someone sent two vulgar and dirty comments across the screen.

Zhou Yi stared at those two lines, her right hand on her leg unconsciously clenching into a fist. After struggling to hold back, Zhou Yi finally raised her hand and typed on the keyboard: "Shut up."

Then she hit enter.

"What's your problem, shut your mother's—" The person cursed back.

"Moderator, mute them." Chang Ye said with a smile upon seeing this. "I hope everyone can use civilized language."

After a while, Chang Ye tore open a bag of small cookies, smiling as she said, "Next, I'll try these supposedly love-flavored cookies!"

The bullet comments erupted with excitement.

Zhou Yi watched the livestream, her gaze growing darker.

Look at her, even living such a difficult life, she still gritted her teeth to transfer that 260,000 yuan, determined to completely cut Zhou Yi out of her world...

Zhou Yi opened her mouth, leaning back in her chair, the silver earrings on her ears swaying in the darkness. Closing her eyes, memories of the past suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Their breakup happened a few months after college graduation.

It was Zhou Yi's birthday, and her parents had smilingly asked her to bring Chang Ye home as a guest a few days prior. So she did.

Although there wasn't a big banquet that day, just some close relatives who came, they had hired a chef to barbecue on the lawn outside.

When her parents saw Chang Ye, they were all smiles, even thoughtfully asking what she liked to eat.

Zhou Yi really couldn't see anything wrong. Then midway through, Zhou Yi suddenly received a call from her father's company and stepped away for a moment.

When she returned to the gathering, she saw Chang Ye grabbing her bag and standing up, her expression unpleasant. After bowing to everyone, she left.

So Zhou Yi hurried over to ask her parents what had happened to Chang Ye.

But her parents just shook their heads, smiling: "We don't know. She said she had something to do and left first."

Zhou Yi didn't think much of it at the time and immediately ran out after Chang Ye, calling her name, but she didn't respond. When Zhou Yi finally caught up to her, Chang Ye turned around and said, "I'm not good enough for your family."

Zhou Yi was stunned and asked what exactly had happened.

Chang Ye laughed coldly and said, "Your parents are really something, setting up this trap for me."

Zhou Yi was taken aback and continued to ask what had happened.

So Chang Ye, very agitated, said: "Your parents first asked if my mom's company had broken 10 million in annual revenue. I said it had just gotten on track, around a few million. Then your mom said 'that must be tough' and turned to chat with someone else, saying 'I recently watched a TV drama where the second female lead had no self-awareness. Her family background was ordinary, yet she shamelessly kept trying to seduce the female lead like a toad lusting after swan's meat. In the end, she actually succeeded. This outdated and stupid plot is ridiculous. Is it so easy to enter a wealthy family? If any cat or dog could enter, wouldn't it be chaos?' I have to admit, your mom's roundabout way of insulting people is quite masterful. Yes, a few million is probably like pocket change to your family. I'm not good enough, okay?"

In her urgency, Zhou Yi grabbed her and said, "Can you please calm down?"

But after hearing this, Chang Ye became even more agitated: "You didn't see how your parents and the others were secretly laughing at me after their little back-and-forth chat. Being insulted like that in front of so many people, am I not allowed to be upset? You still think I'm overreacting?"

So Zhou Yi grabbed her shoulders: "I just think you're a bit too worked up. And sometimes, you can't take things so seriously..."

Zhou Yi was someone who didn't care about others' opinions. At the same time, she found it hard to understand why Chang Ye cared so much about what her parents said.

Before Zhou Yi could finish speaking, Chang Ye looked at her and said, "Let's break up."

Zhou Yi was stunned. She couldn't understand how Chang Ye could so casually suggest breaking up. They had known each other for so long, been friends for three years, and lovers for over three more, yet Chang Ye wanted to end it all over this one incident.

Zhou Yi pressed further: "I just want to ask, in your heart, am I really less important than your damn pride?"

Chang Ye replied: "Yes, you're right. My pride really is damned and deadly."

So Zhou Yi swallowed the words she had originally wanted to say—"What does it matter what they think? Let's just ignore them and be ourselves"—and instead said: "Fine, you want to break up? Then go, take your pride with you."

After hearing this, Chang Ye looked at her one last time, forcefully removed Zhou Yi's hand from her, and walked away without looking back.

After three days of cold war, Zhou Yi finally called Chang Ye, only to find her number disconnected. Zhou Yi went to Chang Ye's home, but Chang Ye's mother told her that Chang Ye had gone to another city to make a living and asked Zhou Yi not to look for her anymore.

In a fit of anger, Zhou Yi left the country. She even left her parents' company and went to work elsewhere.

She thought her feelings for Chang Ye would fade within a year, given that she was someone who felt little emotion even for her parents. But unexpectedly, even while abroad, she kept her domestic number active. She always hoped that one day Chang Ye might call or send a message, anything at all...

But for five years, Chang Ye seemed to have vanished, never contacting her once.

Originally, Zhou Yi thought she had gotten over this person, but when she saw Chang Ye again and found herself treated like a stranger, she realized she still couldn't accept it.

She couldn't accept Chang Ye's nonchalant attitude. People can be pathetic sometimes—even when the other person has made it clear they want nothing more to do with you, you still sneak into their livestream and frantically throw money at them when you see them working hard to eat a bunch of food and ask for tips.

What's the point? She asked herself but couldn't find an answer.

She just kept remembering their first meeting, the way Chang Ye furiously wrote notes trying to surpass her grades, how Chang Ye would suddenly hug her from behind and mischievously tickle her, how she'd clench her fist and force Zhou Yi to drink bitter medicine, the way Chang Ye's eyelashes would tremble when they kissed, how Chang Ye would call out her name in a trembling voice, lost in passion when they made love...

The next day.

Perhaps due to drinking too much the night before, or maybe because she had gone to bed late, Tang You'an felt groggy when she woke up.

But after washing up and getting dressed, she still followed her daily habit of going to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator, taking out ingredients, and starting to make breakfast.

As usual, she made two portions.

However, when she had finished making both portions and brought them to the dining table, she suddenly realized that Song Xici wasn't here today.

After breakfast, Tang You'an went to the film set.

The scenes for her character, Gu Moyan, had entered the middle stage of filming. This meant she was no longer simply a cold-blooded undercover killer; she had fallen in love with Zhuang Yu.

For Zhuang Yu's sake, she began working as a double agent. In reality, she knew Zhuang Yu didn't love her and was only using her. But even knowing this, she still did it for love.

And ultimately, this led to her tragic fate.

Over the past month, she had read the script countless times but still couldn't understand. Not only could she not comprehend Gu Moyan's love, but she also couldn't understand her actions. In her view, sacrificing oneself for an outsider, being condemned by both sides, was simply stupid. Having such emotions made it even harder for her to understand the character.

So Tang You'an really didn't know how to portray that scene before.

But in the past few days, she felt like she could understand a bit.

If Zhuang Yu were... her master or Song Xici... she might do something like Gu Moyan did.

With this mindset, Tang You'an could at least act with some feeling now, but Director Chen said the loving emotions in her eyes still weren't intense enough.

"Actually, in the drama 'Butterfly Wings' that your Xici starred in, she acted very well. Have you seen it?" Chen Feng asked tactfully during lunch.

"She has so many works, I haven't had time to watch them all yet." Tang You'an answered honestly.

"That drama of hers made quite a few people cry back then. Every gesture, every look was masterful acting. You should watch it when you have time. Though, I suppose it's probably her most risqué work." Chen Feng patted her shoulder before going off to smoke and eat.

Tang You'an watched his back for a moment, then took out her phone and searched for "Butterfly Wings."

The first screen of the video site showed the full episodes of the drama. Twenty-four episodes in total.

But just as Tang You'an was about to click into the full episodes, her attention was caught by small videos below titled "Song Xici's secret hot scenes cut" and the like.

What was this...

Out of curiosity, Tang You'an clicked directly into that cut.

Upon entering, she saw Song Xici in a cheongsam being pushed against a wall by a woman, followed by an intensely passionate kiss, with the buttons on her collar being undone one by one. Then she was directly laid on the bed.

Tang You'an didn't finish watching and quickly closed the video.

The feeling after watching half the cut was quite complex. She and Song Xici had always maintained their distance, yet another actor could casually kiss, touch, hug, and... Song Xici.

Tang You'an didn't really want to open that drama again. But in the end, she still looked up the name of the actress playing the other female lead.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted that "Teacher Song Xici" had arrived! So Tang You'an looked in that direction.

"Xici, why are you back so early?" Tang You'an asked in surprise after meeting Song Xici.

"Isn't it because last night someone..." Song Xici said, looking at her. "What's wrong? Are you not happy I came back early? Then I'll... go find some girlfriends to travel with."

"Of course not!" Tang You'an hastily shook her head.

After hearing this, Song Xici looked at her with a smile and said cheerfully, "I'm just teasing you. I know you're not unhappy. Have you had lunch?"

"Not yet." Tang You'an glanced at the boxed meal beside her. "I was about to eat."

"Forget that, toss it aside. My mom and I made you a feast." Song Xici placed a large brown food container in front of Tang You'an.

When opened, inside were a plate of stir-fried greens, two plates of meat dishes, a bowl of soup, and a bowl of rice. The people around looked on enviously, each expressing that it would be nice if someone brought them meals every day.

Director Chen heard this and replied, "You can choose to go to jail, guaranteed someone will bring you meals every day!" This made everyone laugh.

"Director Chen is quite funny." Song Xici said, putting a spoon in the soup bowl and scooping out some soft white beans into Tang You'an's bowl.

"Yes. By the way, Xici, in 'Butterfly Wings' you..."

"You watched 'Butterfly Wings'?" Song Xici put down the soup spoon.

"I watched a little bit..." Tang You'an nodded.

"What did you think?" Song Xici asked.

"I think you showed too much, and..." Tang You'an turned to look at her. "The scenes were a bit too explicit."

Song Xici looked around, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and said softly, "I don't even like women, what's there to be explicit about..."

In the past, saying this sentence would never have given her any feeling; she thought she was just stating a fact. But now, after saying it, Song Xici felt a bit guilty.

"Okay." Tang You'an paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Oh right, my mom came too." Song Xici changed the subject.

"I know, you mentioned earlier that you and mom made this food." Tang You'an nodded. "It's all very delicious, but what about tonight..."

"Right, we'll be sleeping together again tonight. Fortunately, you moved quite a few things over before, and they're still in my room." Song Xici let out a sigh.

Tang You'an nodded. Sleeping together... thinking about the last time they slept together, Tang You'an smiled again.

At 6:30 PM, when Tang You'an and Song Xici returned home, they saw that Lin Xing had already prepared a table full of dishes.

"Mom, Happy New Year!" Tang You'an immediately said upon seeing Lin Xing.

"Mm, go wash your hands, then come eat." Lin Xing nodded.

So Tang You'an and Song Xici went to wash their hands and then returned to sit down.

"Come on, try this. My mom's cooking is especially delicious!" Song Xici picked up a piece of braised beef and put it in Tang You'an's bowl.

"Come on, let's get the beer going!" Just then, Mrs. Lin brought over a case of beer, placed it on the floor beside the table, and started taking out bottles one by one to put on the table.

"Mom... you got a whole case?" Song Xici asked incredulously, holding her chopsticks.

"How could it be?" Lin Xing put a spicy chicken strip in her mouth. "Two cases!"

Tang You'an and Song Xici exchanged glances, not saying much. Then in the next second, Lin Xing opened three bottles with a pop and placed one in front of each of them.

"Drink up, drink freely, we're not stopping until we're drunk!" Lin Xing said, turning to the kitchen. "Wait, let me get a spoon. Let's start with a bowl of the soup I made."

"What's wrong with your mom?" Tang You'an couldn't help but lean over and whisper in Song Xici's ear. Anyone could see that Lin Xing was acting strange.

"What else? She had another fight with my dad." Song Xici answered in a low voice.

"Is there any good way to resolve this?" Tang You'an asked.

"No solution. I don't really understand them. They argue about everything, big or small. You get used to it. Also, she might start wailing when she gets drunk later. Just stay calm." Song Xici said.

"Okay." Tang You'an nodded.

"She usually gets drunk after five bottles." Song Xici added. "And we have to drink with her, almost as much as her, or she'll be unhappy."

"I understand." Tang You'an touched her forehead.

Sure enough, Lin Xing was normal after one bottle, but after the third bottle, she started talking loudly and slapping the table. By the fourth bottle, she began listing all of Song Jianjun's faults while drinking, threatening to butcher him and feed him to the turtles.

Song Xici had unknowingly drunk until her face was flushed. She basically had one hand propping up her head, either grinning stupidly at Lin Xing or at Tang You'an, and spouting nonsense like calling Tang You'an "Patrick Star, hey Patrick Star, I'm SpongeBob" and "Purple Mist, don't go" and such.

Among the three, only Tang You'an wasn't too drunk. Though she felt a bit light-headed, she wasn't drunk to the point of being unable to move or losing consciousness.

In the end, Lin Xing was so drunk she couldn't move, so Tang You'an had to carry her to her room.

Then, Tang You'an came back down and slung the stumbling, wobbly-legged Song Xici over her shoulder.

Tang You'an, also slightly tipsy herself, swayed as she supported Song Xici up the stairs. She paused at the landing to steady herself, then continued to the door, reaching out to push it open.

Fumbling to turn on the light, Tang You'an brought Song Xici to the bed, laid her down, then crouched by the bedside and asked, "Xici... do you want to take a shower today?"

"Yes..." However, after saying this with her eyes barely open, Song Xici just lay there motionless.

"Then should I... go find clothes for you?" Tang You'an asked again.

"Okay..." Song Xici rolled over, pillowing her hands under her head.

Nodding, Tang You'an rubbed her temples, looked around, then walked into Song Xici's closet to find pajamas for her. After finding them, Tang You'an was about to leave but turned back, pulled open a lower drawer, and took out a pair of underwear.

After taking out the clothes, Tang You'an draped them over her arm, walked into the bathroom, put them in the laundry basket, then came out and crouched by Song Xici's bed: "I've prepared everything for you..."

Hearing Tang You'an's voice, Song Xici put one hand on her forehead, frowned slightly, then used her elbow to prop herself up on the mattress, swaying as she sat up.

"Careful..." When she saw Song Xici stumble as she stood up, Tang You'an immediately reached out to steady her arm.

"Mm..." Song Xici responded hazily, her forehead resting on Tang You'an's shoulder as she asked with slurred speech, "What's that smell on you..."

"Hm?" Tang You'an held her arm, turning her head to look at her.

"Smells so good..." Song Xici mumbled two words.

Tang You'an was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

"I don't know... Let me take you inside." Tang You'an finally said, slinging Song Xici's arm over her shoulder and helping her stumble into the bathroom.

"The light... it's so bright..." Once inside, Song Xici raised her hand to shield her eyes.

So Tang You'an turned off the harsh white light, leaving only the warm glow.

"Can you manage to wash?" After bringing Song Xici to the shower area, Tang You'an looked at the floor, then at her, asking with some concern. She herself was fine, but Song Xici... she looked obviously quite drunk.

"If I can't... what can we do..." Song Xici turned her head to look at Tang You'an beside her, smiled, raised her swaying hand to poke Tang You'an's cheek, then leaned close to her ear. "Perhaps... you'll help me?"

Her sweet, soft voice when drunk, mixed with her hot breath, reached Tang You'an's ear like the fragrant scent of flowers, causing a small patch of goosebumps to inexplicably rise on Tang You'an's skin.

Then, Tang You'an turned to look at her. Under the orange bathroom light, Song Xici's cat-like eyes were slightly raised, her full lips parted, looking somewhat seductive.

"I'd better wait outside for you." Tang You'an finally said, turning her head away and swallowing.

"Okay..." Song Xici nodded, then walked in, fumbled for a headband from the side and put it on, then reached to pull up her knit sweater.

When Tang You'an saw the small glimpse of Song Xici's slender waist as she pulled up her sweater, she quickly turned away, closed the bathroom door, and even drew the curtains.

Afterwards, Tang You'an walked to the mirror, stared at herself, furrowed her brow, and pressed her lips together. She rolled up her sleeve, gripped her arm and looked—the goosebumps had subsided.

"Hey? Baby? Are you still there—" Just then, the sound of running water stopped, and Song Xici's voice, a bit crazy and sweet, came out.

Tang You'an hurriedly turned her head: "I'm here."

"Oh..." Song Xici responded. "Don't let the aliens find me..."

Tang You'an smiled after hearing this, still gripping her arm as she turned her head away: "They won't."

So the sound of showering continued from inside. But as she was washing, there was suddenly a thud of something heavy falling to the ground.

"Xici?" Tang You'an's mind was a bit fuzzy, but she still hurriedly walked over.

"It hurts..." A small voice came from inside.

Without thinking too much, Tang You'an immediately pulled open the curtain and pushed open the glass door.

She saw Song Xici, wearing pajamas, half-kneeling on the floor, the belt at her waist loose and barely tied, looking like it might come undone at any moment.

"Did you hit your knee?" Tang You'an shook her head, then quickly stepped forward to ask.

"Mm..." Song Xici nodded with a pained expression, taking off her headband.

"Then let's go out first, and I'll rub it for you?" Tang You'an asked.

"Okay..." Song Xici nodded obediently.

After hearing this, Tang You'an led her back out of the bathroom.

"Sit down." Tang You'an said when they reached the bed.

However, before Song Xici sat down, her pajamas were already disheveled beyond recognition, with the left collar slipping off her shoulder, nearly exposing half of her rounded curves.

"Wait, your clothes, let me fix them for you..." Tang You'an averted her gaze, reaching out to gently grasp Song Xici's slipping garment and pull it back up.

After fixing the clothes, Tang You'an lowered her head, pulled Song Xici's waist tie, and retied the knot. Then she finally raised her head to look at Song Xici's face.

Song Xici's soft, porcelain-like skin looked especially delicate in the lamplight. A lock of black hair fell across her chest, her eyes still hazy from the alcohol, her whole body exuding a lazy yet sensual aura.

"Hey..." Just then, Song Xici stumbled towards her, reaching out to poke her shoulder and tilting her face up to ask, "Why do you keep looking at me..."

Tang You'an grasped her restless hand, gazing at her face, her eyes moving from Song Xici's eyes to her lips: "I don't know. Perhaps... because you're beautiful..."

"Oh right, your knee..." Tang You'an then changed the subject, giving her a complex look. "Does it still hurt?"

Song Xici didn't speak, just shook her head from side to side.

"Good, then lie down and sleep." Tang You'an said, pulling back the covers.

After getting Song Xici to lie down, Tang You'an found her own clothes and things she had left here and went to the bathroom.

Unbuttoning her clothes, Tang You'an stared at herself in the mirror, then put her right hand to her forehead and looked down at the floor. She was a bit confused about the situation.

Finally, Tang You'an decided not to think about anything. She took down the shower head, turned on the water, and focused intently on taking a shower.

After showering and getting dressed, Tang You'an returned to the room.

She scrolled through her phone for a while, checking her recent schedule, then put it aside to charge and walked to the bed.

Song Xici was curled up on her side, scrunched like a shrimp ball. She seemed to be sleeping quite soundly. Tang You'an smiled, then finally lifted her side of the covers and lay down on the bed.

But just as Tang You'an was about to turn off the light, she suddenly felt the person next to her roll over.

Then she felt her covers being lifted a little.

"Xici?" Tang You'an was slightly startled and turned to lie facing Song Xici.

She saw Song Xici, eyes closed, continuing to lift the covers, then inch her way towards Tang You'an's side. Her movements were both deft and comical.

"You..."

Before Tang You'an could finish speaking, Song Xici had draped an arm over her waist, then poked her head out from under the covers like a small animal, burying it under Tang You'an's chin and breathing softly.

"Xici..." Tang You'an opened her mouth.

Song Xici didn't speak, but lifted her previously lowered face, bit her lower lip, then slowly released it.

From this angle, if Tang You'an just lowered her head slightly, she could touch those soft lips.

"Mm..." Just then, Song Xici in her sleep parted her lips slightly, letting out a small sound.

Hearing her almost moan-like voice, at this moment, Tang You'an felt her own lips were as dry as if someone had set them on fire.

Author's Note: When the temperature is low and comments are few, there's not much motivation to write (frantically hinting)