A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 14
Chapter 14
The airport gossip incident had finally come to an end, and the manager (Sister Qun) also left Leng Ying’s house.
Leng Ying clearly had no intention of asking her to stay for dinner. Not wanting to make things awkward, Sister Qun chose to give the two “close friends” their private space.
That afternoon, the brand’s delivery team arrived with the clothes and daily necessities Ji Yu had ordered the night before. Ji Yu directed them where to put the items and then started organizing things herself. Leng Ying stood nearby, watching her moving back and forth. Her gaze settled on a light gray suit hanging on the rack. The outer layer featured handwoven embroidery with subtle dark patterns. Despite its low-key appearance, there was something distinctive about it. Upon closer inspection, the embroidery depicted a solitary crane standing proudly in a smoky pine forest—elegant and otherworldly.
Ji Yu returned from putting clothes away in the bedroom. Seeing Leng Ying staring at the suit, she smiled and said, “I thought it would suit you the moment I saw it yesterday.”
She spoke with familiarity, walking over to stand beside Leng Ying. “Wear it to this year’s Golden Melody Awards?”
Leng Ying mused aloud, “You didn’t choose this one yesterday.”
“…You caught that.”
Ji Yu sighed softly. “Fine, I admit it. I had it specially made—custom-sized for you.”
The quality was obvious the moment the suit was touched. Leng Ying said, “So it was arranged long ago?”
“…Yeah, yeah,” Ji Yu confessed. “When I saw the fabric, I just thought it was perfect for you, so I had one custom-made.”
She didn’t want to pressure Leng Ying, which was why she originally hadn’t planned to tell her it was custom-made—so as not to give her any emotional burden.
But Leng Ying was always this perceptive.
Ji Yu often felt that Leng Ying must understand all the little things she tried to hide—but neither of them ever chose to lay it all out in the open.
Leng Ying took the jacket from the suit, gave it a shake, and casually draped it over Ji Yu’s shoulders. Then she stepped back to take a look and said with satisfaction, “Looks good on you too.”
Ji Yu stood still, letting her inspect. “Yup, we’re about the same size.”
Leng Ying smiled. “Wear it to your onboarding at the corporation in two days.”
Surprised, Ji Yu’s body nodded before her brain could catch up. “Okay!”
That suit was now placed separately to the side.
There were still things left to organize, so Ji Yu continued buzzing around the room like a diligent little bee. In two days, she would be officially joining the company.
Would her new place be settled by then?
Leng Ying watched her moving back and forth across the room with an unreadable expression, her fingers twitching slightly.
Just two days left.
Leng Ying knew very well that cities could sometimes feel surprisingly small—you run into people often. But sometimes they were vast—you part ways and never meet again.
That was the truth of human relationships.
As for Ji Yu and herself…
Which kind would they be?
…
After making up his mind, Director Pan began calling in favors, pulling strings through multiple connections to try and arrange a meeting with Sheng Jiaqun.
After the airport incident, the production team had immediately sent an invitation to Leng Ying’s studio—this time, the lead invite was for Leng Ying, not Leng Xinming. Still, they had received no response—clearly, it was a rejection. So Director Pan resorted to using personal contacts to get a face-to-face meeting to plead his case.
One of his contacts, a bit surprised by his request, asked, “You want to invite Leng Ying to your show?”
Director Pan nodded helplessly. “Don’t look at me like that. I know about the past. But it’s been years. People move on, right? Besides… the hype is real!”
His beady eyes were full of thirst—for traffic.
“…Fine,” the contact sighed and eventually helped him set up a meeting.
With his smooth talk, Pan managed to arrange a sit-down with Sheng Jiaqun.
The meeting was set at a café near her office.
Pan arrived thirty minutes early and ordered an Americano, a latte, and some of the café’s signature cakes.
Sheng Jiaqun arrived right on time. She first went to the front desk to pay the bill, then joined Pan in the private room.
The door opened.
“Director Pan—” Sheng Jiaqun entered briskly, greeting him warmly and extending a hand. “Pleasure to finally meet you!”
Pan’s heart sank a little. “Miss Sheng, your reputation precedes you. I should’ve visited sooner. My apologies for being late.”
She smiled and took the seat across from him. “I only manage one contract right now—Leng Ying’s. She’s the real boss. As for us, you focus on variety shows; Leng Ying prefers working behind the scenes—writing, composing—she doesn’t like the spotlight. We’ve never really had much opportunity to collaborate.”
Director Pan laughed, “Exactly! Which is why I’m here to create one.”
He slid a folder across the table.
Jiaqun didn’t take it or open it. She just sighed, “Director Pan, when your team reached out before, I asked Leng Ying, and she wasn’t interested. Coming to me to take the backdoor won’t change that.”
Pan wasn’t surprised by the rejection.
“I admit—we were abrupt last time, asking Leng Xinming to help. After reflecting, I realized I needed to come personally. Miss Sheng, we’re sincerely inviting her! And this time, we’ll leave Leng Xinming out of it. If Leng Ying agrees, she can bring whoever she wants on the show. There’s no script. We don’t interfere with how guests present themselves—just be your truest self.”
Jiaqun cut in sharply, “Your truest self… under the lens of a camera.”
“…Fair enough,” Pan couldn’t refute that and gave a cough. “Appearance fee is negotiable.”
She shook her head. “It’s not about the money.”
Damn. He couldn’t help admiring her. She said it so cleanly.
She repeated, “It’s not about the money.”
“Reality shows don’t fit into Leng Ying’s career plans.”
…And that was that.
Pan gritted his teeth. “To be honest, it was after seeing the airport trending topic that I decided we had to get her. If she’s willing to come, we’ll accept any terms.”
Jiaqun: “…I figured. Which is exactly why it’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?” Pan was genuinely confused.
…Because I wasn’t even allowed to join them for a meal.
She stayed quiet—it wasn’t something she could outright say. So she vaguely replied, “You went through a lot to get in touch. Don’t tell me you really don’t know what happened in the past between you and my boss?”
“I know,” Pan admitted. He could tell from her silence that her eyes were basically shouting: Then why the hell are you here?!
“People change,” he reasoned. “If she’s stuck in the past, then maybe what she needs most is to return to the place she fell. As they say—‘break to rebuild.’”
Jiaqun shrugged. “She doesn’t respond to reverse psychology.”
Pan sighed. “Alright then.”
He had more than one hit variety show under his belt—no need to die on this hill. Jiaqun hesitated, then said, “I’ll ask for you. But honestly—don’t get your hopes up.”
“I await your good news,” Pan raised his coffee cup like it was a fine wine. “To you, Miss Sheng!”
Considering his age, Jiaqun gently corrected him, “You can call me Jiaqun.”
“Miss Qun” didn’t feel quite appropriate anymore.
They had already added each other on WeChat during earlier calls. Jiaqun downed her latte—credit where it’s due, Pan had done his homework. Latte was indeed her usual go-to. She got up to leave.
She didn’t mention she’d already paid the bill.
Pan only realized when he went to settle the check and the front desk informed him it was covered.
“….”
Misstep.
Big misstep.