“Don’t disturb me while I’m painting. Just sit inside the house.”
Jiang Ling was moving a chair, planning to sit right next to Lu Yuyao, when she suddenly heard her say that.
She wanted to argue, but thinking of the paintbrush in Lu Yuyao’s hand, she gave up helplessly and obediently returned to the log cabin.
The log cabin door was left open by Jiang Ling.
She sat at the entrance, holding a cup of hot tea in her hand, not forgetting to bring one for Lu Yuyao as well.
The warm autumn sun always brought a sense of melancholy.
Everything in the world seemed to have a dim yellow filter over it, giving it a poignant and beautiful flavor.
Not far away, on the branches of the poplars by the road, most of the leaves had already turned yellow and withered.
They fell onto the road, and from time to time, a car would pass by, crushing them with a crunch-crunch sound.
Hey, Lu Yuyao even has music to listen to.
Jiang Ling’s gaze shifted from the poplars, the pond, and the lotus flowers to Lu Yuyao.
A beautiful girl always caught the eye.
Even though she had now become a blonde beauty, her nature of loving beauty had not changed.
Lu Yuyao was wearing a white dress today.
It fit her well.
The color white was quite a good match for the girl’s soft and gentle personality, but that only applied to a Lu Yuyao who wasn’t speaking.
Once she opened her mouth, that mischievous and lively energy could not be hidden.
But it seemed that was only the case around people she was close to.
Jiang Ling recalled that she had rarely seen Lu Yuyao reveal her “little devil” nature around others.
She was even well-behaved in front of Fang Chenxi.
‘Maybe it’s because she wants to act like a good girl in front of Fang Chenxi and doesn’t want to ruin her beautiful image in her heart?’
Jiang Ling thought.
Sitting diagonally behind Lu Yuyao, Jiang Ling could see her exquisite side profile and her neck, which was like that of a swan.
She marveled at Lu Yuyao’s beauty once again.
Lu Yuyao’s expression was serious.
Her slender fingers held the stylus, moving it back and forth on the tablet.
From time to time, she would lightly tap her chin with her finger, and her lovely brows would furrow as if she were deep in thought.
After a short while, her brow would smooth out, and a faint, almost unnoticeable smile would play at the corners of her mouth.
‘She’s so quirky.’
It was good to be young, Jiang Ling sighed…
As someone whose two lifetimes added up to being over 40 years old, she should be qualified to say that.
Ji Qingyan was the same way.
When she read, she would sometimes frown, sometimes tap her chin with her finger, or mutter softly under her breath.
Jiang Ling didn’t know what she was muttering, but it was likely because she had reached a part of the book that she liked.
On a whim, Jiang Ling took out her phone, aimed it at the beautiful pond scenery in front of her, and with a click, sent the photo to Ji Qingyan.
She didn’t notice that she had caught Lu Yuyao in the photo as well, but Ji Qingyan probably wouldn’t mind.
When Jiang Ling’s message arrived, Ji Qingyan was sitting on her balcony.
She wasn’t reading, but was instead holding a chubby orange cat in her arms.
Hearing her phone chime, Ji Qingyan picked it up and saw the photo Jiang Ling had sent.
Her lips unknowingly curled upward, and the movement of her hand stroking the cat slowed down slightly.
“Meow?”
The orange cat felt the change and looked up at Ji Qingyan in confusion, letting out a cry as if dissatisfied with her distraction.
“Big Orange, Mommy is replying to a message. Be good.”
In a gentle tone that Jiang Ling had never heard before, Ji Qingyan soothed Big Orange in her arms.
Her free right hand tapped on the photo.
It was a beautiful view of the pond, but when she saw Lu Yuyao in the photo, her body stiffened for a moment.
She tapped the screen and sent a message to Jiang Ling.
“Where is this?”
Jiang Ling had put her phone away after sending the message.
Feeling it vibrate, she saw that Ji Qingyan had replied so quickly.
She was a bit surprised and replied honestly:
“A pond in New Village. By the way, this pond actually belongs to Xiao Tongqi’s family.”
“Xiao Tongqi?”
The shift in topic was quite a leap.
Hearing Xiao Tongqi’s name suddenly come out of Jiang Ling’s mouth, Ji Qingyan blinked.
“Does that mean Xiao Tongqi was originally from New Village?”
“Smart.”
Jiang Ling sent a thumbs-up emoji but added: “But that’s not entirely correct. Her house is next to New Village. Our two homes are quite close to each other.”
“That’s nice.”
Ji Qingyan’s fingers paused, and her eyes lowered.
“She can go visit you.”
Even Ji Qingyan herself didn’t notice that she sighed softly.
In her heart, she felt a slight pang of envy toward Xiao Tongqi.
During past holidays, she was never lonely with Big Orange to keep her company, but now she felt as if something was always missing from her side.
“Meow?”
“But Xiao Tongqi is busy today, so only Lu Yuyao and I are here.”
Jiang Ling began to describe the pond and the log cabin behind her to Ji Qingyan…
She felt that typing couldn’t quite cover everything, so she simply initiated a video call.
[Jiang Ling has sent you a video call invitation]
The vibration and ringing startled Ji Qingyan, making her hand jerk.
However, Big Orange, who was lying on her lap, only lazily adjusted its position and settled back down.
Once the call connected, that cool and beautiful face appeared on the screen.
Looking closely, there was a trace of panic in her eyes.
Jiang Ling didn’t notice and simply greeted Ji Qingyan with a smile.
“Long time no see, President Ji. You’ve gotten even prettier.”
Unlike her appearance at school, Ji Qingyan was dressed casually at home, wearing only a pair of pink pajamas.
To keep Jiang Ling from seeing, she worked hard to keep the camera angle high, only showing her fair neck and beautiful face.
Ji Qingyan was clearly not very good at handling compliments.
Hearing Jiang Ling praise her, her expression didn’t change much — at least, that’s how it looked to Jiang Ling.
Big Orange, on Ji Qingyan’s lap, felt the hand stroking it become a bit firmer.
It let out a meow, which caught Jiang Ling’s attention.
“Is that a cat?”
Jiang Ling asked curiously.
“Yes, my cat.”
A second later, the camera shifted, and a large, fat orange cat appeared on the screen, lying on her lap.
Seeing something appear in front of it, Big Orange cautiously touched the phone with its paw, seemingly curious.
“How cute.”
Jiang Ling couldn’t say she was particularly fond of small animals, but whenever she saw something fluffy, she couldn’t help but think it was adorable.
“What’s its name?”
“Big Orange.”
“Hello there, Big Orange.”
Jiang Ling greeted Big Orange with a smile, but the cat didn’t even lift its eyes.
Once it realized the square object in front of it wasn’t something to eat, it lay back down to soak in the sun.
The camera shifted again, and Ji Qingyan’s face reappeared on the screen.
She spoke in a serious tone, changing the subject.
“Can you show me the inside of the log cabin?”
Jiang Ling nodded.
“Sure.”
Ji Qingyan wasn’t particularly interested in the log cabin, but she disliked the fact that Jiang Ling kept staring at Big Orange.
It felt as if she were being neglected.
Ji Qingyan patted Big Orange’s rump and placed it on the floor, no longer allowing it to lie on her.
“Meow?”
Big Orange didn’t quite understand its owner’s intent.
Seeing that its owner wouldn’t hold it, it simply lay down on the balcony and resumed its sunbathing.
Jiang Ling rotated the phone’s camera, showing the inside of the log cabin to Ji Qingyan.
When the camera pointed at the coffee table, Jiang Ling casually complained, “This tea doesn’t taste as good as the tea at The Club.”
It was just a mindless remark, but it caused a faint, unintentional smile to curl the corners of Ji Qingyan’s lips.