A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Leng Ying gave a soft “mm” in response. “I just didn’t feel like it. So what are you two eating tonight?”

Ji Youqin’s eyes widened. “Can’t I eat with you guys?!”

Ren Meng sneered, “Our food is earned through our own labor. What about you two? Just freeloaders?”

Ji Youqin was shocked. “Aren’t we teammates?!”

“…” Qiu Daoyu couldn’t help chiming in, “We’re in a team-based competition…”

Even though there’s collaboration, the groups are still competing with each other.

Ji Youqin said, “I have money! I’ll buy it from you.”

Ji Yu added, “The crew took our phones.”

“What’s your problem?” Ji Youqin got more agitated. “Are you all targeting me?”

Leng Ying said calmly, “You two arguing is between the two of you. None of us want your drama affecting the mission.”

Ren Meng agreed, “Exactly.” And with a hint of smugness added, “Me and Bo Xin didn’t argue even once yesterday!”
Bo Xin shot her a look. Ren Meng instantly shut up.

Luo Qing cleared her throat and sincerely apologized, “Sorry. We didn’t complete the task—what can we do to make up for it?”

Technically, the leftover food from yesterday’s barbecue was supposed to be shared with Ji Youqin and Luo Qing. But no one mentioned it now.

Leng Ying said, “Write an IOU.”

Ji Youqin protested, “I can go without eating.”

Luo Qing: “…” She asked Leng Ying, “How much should we write the IOU for?”

She was about to borrow paper and pen from the crew, but Leng Ying said they didn’t need to pay money. “The IOU should be written by both of you together,” she said.

Leng Ying added coolly, “The content should be a promise not to argue and to not let personal drama interfere with team tasks during the show.”

Clearly, tonight’s dinner segment was intended by the crew to promote teamwork. But…
Leng Ying glanced at the bucket of sweet potatoes in front of Bo Xin.
Sweet potatoes were filling and could serve as the main dish.

Still, if they didn’t address the arguing issue now, would they have to suffer through the bickering of Ji Youqin and Luo Qing for the next 12 days?

…That would be annoying.

Luo Qing took the paper, wrote down the promise as instructed by Leng Ying, signed her name, and placed it in front of Ji Youqin.
Whether Ji Youqin signed or not didn’t matter—Luo Qing simply turned and went to the stove to help prep dinner.
“I’ll lend a hand and help cook,” she said.

Ji Youqin stared at the IOU. “I ate on the bus! I’m not hungry!”

Ren Meng was amazed. Are people really this naive and self-centered?
She shrugged and shot back, “If you’re not eating, don’t sign. But if you don’t sign, Luo Qing can’t eat either, right?”

The second part was clearly directed at Leng Ying.
Ji Yu’s eyes flicked between Ren Meng and Leng Ying.

Leng Ying ignored Ren Meng and instead ruffled Ji Yu’s hair. “Let’s go deal with the bamboo shoots.”

There were no seasonings, so the food would taste quite plain.
But the bamboo shoots were freshly foraged from the forest and had a natural, clean fragrance. Even without seasonings, they could still be delicious.

Later, the aroma of sweet potatoes filled the air, the sugary scent overwhelming everything else and making people hungry.

Ji Youqin still refused to sign the IOU. Luo Qing kept her word—she helped prep the food but didn’t eat any of it.
Once they were done in the kitchen, she went back to her luggage and just sat there, occasionally glancing up at the sky.

Unfortunately, there was no moon tonight.

Leng Ying casually glanced at Luo Qing, then peeled off the sweetest outer strip of a roasted sweet potato and held it up to Ji Yu’s lips.

Ji Yu took a bite, but before she could say anything, Leng Ying said, “The crew has something for me—I need to go over there.”

Ji Yu: “?”

We’re on the same team. Why can’t I go?

She watched as Leng Ying walked off. Soon after, Ren Meng also left.

“……”

Ji Yu suddenly understood what this was about.

The crew had said before that the most-voted duo would get extra livestream time.
And now, it was clear—they weren’t going by the fixed teams, but pairing based on popularity!

Leng Ying had spent all day with her. She hadn’t gone anywhere else.
So the crew must be squeezing in any chance they could get to livestream Leng Ying and Ren Meng together.

Hmph!

Ji Yu sulked to herself.

Such poor taste, seriously… Not ranking me and Leng Ying first… I must not be working hard enough…

With that thought, Ji Yu felt newly energized!

She pulled over the leftover sweet potatoes from Leng Ying’s bowl.
They’ll get cold by the time they’re back. I’ll just eat them now and roast a new one later if she wants.

…

Just as Ji Yu suspected, the crew had called Leng Ying and Ren Meng over for a solo duo livestream.

The streaming area was nearby—just a simple tent the crew set up.

Director Pan pulled out the vote rankings up to midnight and showed it to them.
“This arrangement is completely fair,” he said, then explained the upcoming segment.

“Tonight’s livestream is mainly to answer questions from viewers.”
He handed ten cards to an assistant. “These are the top ten most-asked questions from yesterday’s vote. You’ll answer them live later…”

Looking at the not-so-thin stack of cards, Leng Ying instinctively felt it wouldn’t be easy.
She exchanged a glance with Ren Meng.

Peeling away all the annoying publicity tactics, Ren Meng was… still barely tolerable.
Leng Ying suddenly remembered why she once let Ren Meng sing her song.

It was because of that subtle emotional connection that Leng Ying found Ren Meng’s later clout-chasing even more off-putting.

While she was thinking, Ren Meng had already taken her seat at the livestream table, leaving the left spot open for Leng Ying.
Leng Ying sat down slowly and said, “You kind of remind me of your old self when you’re filming variety shows.”

The livestream hadn’t started yet—audiences couldn’t hear this.

Ren Meng smiled, “Wearing a mask for so long, occasionally taking it off feels…” She sighed. “Really freeing.”

Leng Ying looked at her. “You still have ten years left on your management contract.”

Ren Meng: “…” She chuckled. “Right. You know?”

“Heard it in passing,” Leng Ying said—it was Ji Yu who told her.

Ren Meng shrugged. “If the company has an issue, I’ll just quit after this seven-day shoot. Not like I’m paying the penalty.”

Leng Ying thought for a moment and asked, “Why didn’t you quit earlier?”

Ren Meng was about to answer, but the lights turned on. The livestream was starting.

She swallowed the answer and gave a brilliant smile.

Right on cue—her smile became the opening shot of the livestream.

“WOKKKKK Ren Meng what was that look——”
“Smile attack!!”
“Two beauties side-by-side, the world needs more girls like this!!”
“So energetic and cute, with a little air of mystery… I’m really shipping them now”
“But both of them already have their “official CP” on the show”
“Home flowers can’t beat wild ones”
“So what were you laughing about??”
“Come on, we’re not strangers—let us in on it”
“Yeah, don’t keep secrets from the audience!!”

Ren Meng looked at the barrage of comments.
“What were we talking about before the livestream… that’s a secret. But I can tell you why I chose Teacher Leng Ying yesterday.”

“??”
“Well, that works too…”
“So why?”

Ren Meng answered seriously, “First, I need to apologize to Teacher Leng Ying. Originally, I wanted to pick Bo Xin. But she didn’t choose me—so I didn’t want to choose her either. I didn’t want to abstain, though, that would’ve made me look bad. After thinking it through, among all the teachers, I was most familiar with Teacher Leng Ying.”

She smiled. “After all, we’ve worked on a few songs together.”

Leng Ying read from the live comments: “What did the letter say? Can you tell us?… What’s there to hide?”

Ren Meng answered easily, “It was just a song title.”

She smiled at the audience behind the screen. “It’s a song I’ve loved for years—you all know it very well.”

“Was it your first collaboration with Leng Ying?”
“The song you sing at every concert?”

Ren Meng softly read the comments. “…Yes. It’s a very familiar song. I really love it.”

Leng Ying remembered too: “Back then, I’d just opened up shop—hardly anyone wanted to audition at my place.”

This was a perfect opportunity—to clear up a long-standing rumor.

“People always questioned why I gave my first song to Ren Meng. Said I chose her because she was famous and could boost my career.”
Leng Ying said, “But that wasn’t it. Very few singers came to my audition back then. I listened to every sample and gave feedback to each one. I picked Ren Meng because her voice, her emotion… everything about her perfectly matched what that song was meant to express. Also, it wasn’t actually my first song.”

Her beautiful eyes shimmered, as if dredging up memories.

“Before I debuted, I wrote many songs. Some came by accident—I couldn’t finish them, so I shelved them. Others, I didn’t want to share publicly. They’re private pieces.”

Ren Meng chuckled. “Then I guess we’re even.”

“…Bro, I’m actually touched”
“Haven’t heard YingYing talk this long in forever…”
“It’s Rare-Ying, the version that speaks up for herself”
“So it really was just a professional collaboration? You haven’t worked together in over a year though”

Leng Ying smiled. “Bonus question answered. Director Pan gave us a task—we have to complete ten questions.”

Director Pan chimed in immediately: “One of those you just answered already—that one counts, no bonus.”

“Then Teacher Ren Meng can be punished by singing a song later,” Leng Ying said naturally. “She brought it up first.”

…

The livestream was lively and fun.
Meanwhile, back at the other house, the mood was awkward.

Ji Yu had a pouty face, clearly unhappy about Leng Ying and Ren Meng livestreaming together.
Bo Xin looked indifferent, like she didn’t care.
Qiu Daoyu and Sheng Jianbao were full from dinner and so bored they started playing board games provided by the crew.
But they didn’t dare invite the others—everyone else seemed to be in their own world.

So Sheng Jianbao stuck to Qiu Daoyu like glue.

At that moment, Leng Ying returned. The door opened, and the sound of singing drifted in from the other yard.

Ji Yu jumped up. “You’re back!”

Leng Ying smiled. “Yeah, the livestream’s done. Ren Meng stayed behind to sing one more song for them—I came back first.”