The ride to home was quiet, with Chao Xin responding to a couple of WeChat messages during red light intervals.
As they approached their destination and reached the last intersection, Chao Xin turned the steering wheel to the right and suddenly asked Xiang Wan, “You said you wanted to kiss me. Was it that night when the power went out?”
“Yes.”
“So you restrained yourself then, asking me if I wanted to shake hands, right?”
Xiang Wan nodded.
Chao Xin chuckled, “How did you change a kiss into a handshake?”
“In the past, a friend said, if I wanted to kiss her, I could shake hands instead.” Then she grew accustomed to it, Xiang Wan said with a bit of embarrassment.
Chao Xin stretched her neck, leaning her head back on the seat. Her eyelids drooped, making her look even more indifferent.
She said, “Just that one person, right?”
“Yes.” Xiang Wan didn’t plan to hide it, because it was all in the past.
Chao Xin exhaled softly, so that was it.
And Xiang Wan, noticing Chao Xin unconsciously pursing her lips, was reminded of the touch just now.
Upon arriving at the underground garage, Chao Xin unbuckled her seatbelt, about to exit the car. Just then, Xiang Wan turned toward her and asked in a soft voice, “Could there be a second time?”
The lights in the garage acted like a projector, replaying the images from earlier.
“Yes,” Chao Xin replied in a casual tone.
“But not today.” She suddenly felt tired, yet considering Xiang Wan’s feelings, she reassured her with a placating smile.
Xiang Wan nodded gently, indicating her understanding.
Opening the car door, Chao Xin hesitated a moment before saying, “In the future, you don’t need to shake hands. You can just ask me.”
She wasn’t without a hidden selfishness, taking the intimacy with Xiang Wan just now as a small consolation for losing the office.
However, she found this desire was similar yet dissimilar to smoking. It didn’t provide the same strong stimulation or satisfaction, yet it left one yearning for more. It didn’t leave the emptiness of a burnt-out cigarette, on the contrary, she now had a bit of bitterness and concern in her heart.
Xiang Wan also walked slowly with her head down, habitually biting the corner of her lip.
She was a lady skilled in theoretical discussions, never having tasted the forbidden fruit within the prime minister’s mansion. However, she had peeked at forbidden books. She never engaged in it by herself, but she had shared a pillow and blanket with her sister who had returned home. She listened to her whisper things that could only be said deep in the boudoir, in a voice delicate enough to not disturb the cicadas.
Later on, after discovering finger cots at Yu Zhou’s house, Xiang Wanhad searched online for information about intimacy between women.
Descriptions of intimacy between girls were always subtle, yet pleasing lovers was human nature. So it was easy to understand.
It turned out that a kiss was even more wonderful than she had imagined, and there was something that the articles didn’t mention – it was not something one could try once and then stop. It was more like scratching an itch outside a boot, making one yearn for a second time, a third time and more.
Learning from paper is always shallow, one must practice to truly understand.
Xiang Wan recited a line of poetry in her heart and sighed, feeling it was very reasonable.
Upon returning home, the ambiguous atmosphere was disrupted by Paipai’s noise. It dissipated after a few moments, and the two washed their hands to make soup, then worked separately before finally bidding each other goodnight.
As September approached, Xiang Wan began to busy herself with enrollment matters, while Chao Xin was occupied with finding a suitable office again. With Paipai at home for the whole summer vacation, their lives were busy and crowded. Therefore, the follow-up to that incident was never mentioned by either of them.
At the end of August, the audio drama ‘Pat Me Please’ was nearing its end. Due to its positive reception, the organizers invited the two lead VAs to participate in an offline event in Jin City.
Jin City was a slightly smaller neighboring city of Jiang City. Because Jiang City’s event approval process was rather complex, such medium and small-scale events were usually held in Jin City where approval was easier to obtain. Moreover, considering this was a standalone offline event for a baihe radio drama, they didn’t want to attract too much attention in the current climate.
Because the city was close, Chao Xin drove to the event. Xiang Wan, fearing that Chao Xin might get tired driving, began to tell her some things to pay attention to at a baihe offline event.
However, because her tone was too soothing and her voice too melodious, she almost lulled Chao Xin to sleep.
Chao Xin smiled and said, “I’ve been to offline events before, and quite a lot.”
Only then did Xiang Wan realize that Chao Xin was a senior in this regard, and she herself was somewhat presumptuous.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
Seeing Xiang Wan sitting there with her peach-like complexion, something stirred in Chao Xin’s heart. However, she changed the topic, “Once you’ve enrolled, do you want to get a driver’s license?”
“I don’t have a car,” Xiang Wan said, a bit embarrassed.
“You can drive mine.”
Xiang Wan looked at her, “But when we travel together, you usually drive me.”
“I get tired sometimes too,” Chao Xin said in a slightly husky voice, looking back at Xiang Wan as she finished.
Xiang Wan suddenly realized that Chao Xin was asking something of her, not just being accommodating as always, but telling her – I get tired sometimes, I want you to drive.
This realization made her feel a bit relieved, even though it wasn’t much.
But she had an instinctive feeling that Chao Xin had never said anything so close to showing such weakness to anyone before.
Xiang Wan pondered for a moment. She didn’t like to be a chauffeur, as it didn’t fit her identity, but if Chao Xin was tired, she could do it.
She actually quite liked being relied upon, even if she herself wasn’t aware of it. Perhaps it was because she never had the opportunity in the past.
So she said, “Then you sign me up for the driving class, I’m not quite sure what kind to choose.”
“Okay.” Chao Xin smiled again, looking at the road ahead.
The organizers had booked rooms for the two of them, which were adjacent. So, when they arrived at the hotel, they didn’t rush back to their respective rooms. Instead, they put all their luggage in Chao Xin’s room, freshened up in the bathroom, and then went out to eat.
They ate at the hotel’s buffet. Chao Xin was replying to messages while eating slices of watermelon with a fork.
Xiang Wan had a bit of pasta, “Why is it that you’re busier in Jin City than in Jiang City? You don’t even have time to eat.”
Chao Xin put down her phone.
Under the hotel’s crystal chandelier, her amber pupils sparkled a bit, “I have some other business this trip, to meet a client.”
“A client?”
“Mm. A producer who invests in short dramas. Do you know about short dramas?”
“I know what they are, but I haven’t watched many.”
Chao Xin took a bite of a pastry, swallowed it, before she said, “Short dramas have a good market right now. Although earlier ones were targeted at a niche audience who just wanted to pass the time, nowadays audiences have adapted to the fast-food culture[1]. The quick and efficient pace of short dramas allows them to squeeze in some enjoyment in their fragmented time. Each episode of a short drama lasts only three to five minutes, has a fast pace, and usually features some highly satisfying scripts, so it has a large audience. In their words, it’s pretty addictive.”
“Mm.” Xiang Wan listened carefully, but she didn’t quite understand what this had to do with Chao Xin?
“In previous years, the teams trying out in the field of short dramas weren’t very professional, but once the cake grew bigger, the capital saw this market and wanted to get in. However, with more choices comes more competition. The short dramas that have been successful in the past two years have been very well-produced, not only in terms of themes, special effects, performance, but also… voice acting.”
Chao Xin raised her eyebrows, and Xiang Wan understood.
The standards for vertical short dramas and widescreen long dramas are different. They can allow dubbing, and since the duration is short, the dialogue is very important. The entrance of professional voice actors would add a significant advantage.
“This client has five or six short drama projects. The stories and teams are quite good as well. The directors are also well-known. They want me to be a dubbing director, responsible for the sound team.”
However, after the short drama market takes off. it will likely gradually align with the long drama censor process, becoming more standardized. So it may not be able to develop for a long time. But if she can catch the wind in these two years, it would still be an opportunity.
That’s what Chao Xin was thinking.
“But your studio, it’s not ready yet,” Xiang Wan said.
“If we can clinch the deal, we’ll first gather the people. As for the studio, we can rent yours,” Chao Xin replied with a smile.
“So, am I also negotiating a partnership for the boss?” Xiang Wan grinned playfully.
“Yes, so is there a discount?” Chao Xin asked her.
“Only if…” Xiang Wan propped her forehead, “you let me go with you to meet the client.”
Chao Xin squinted her eyes, “I won’t get drunk this time.”
She knew what Xiang Wan was worried about.
“Can’t I gain some experience?” Xiang Wan tilted her head.
“Sure, if Miss Xiang is willing to grace us with her presence, it would be a great gain for him.” Chao Xin nodded, “Tomorrow night at eight, after the offline event, are you okay with that?”
“No problem.”
Chao Xin lowered her head to taste her drink, unlocked her phone with her right hand before sending a WeChat message to the other party.
- Fast-food culture(快餐文化) is a metaphor for the pursuit of quick, popular, short-term trends, without focusing on deep accumulation and intrinsic value in cultural trends and phenomena. [return to text]
CNYuriTranslation 