A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Shengjianbao stared at the bowl of rice heaped in front of Ji Youqin, confused: “Didn’t you say you had to lose weight for your new drama?”
Ji Youqin: “…Where did you hear that?”
Shengjianbao: “Online.”
Luo Qing clarified: “She hasn’t taken on a new role yet.”
Ji Youqin shot him a sharp glare across the table. “Exactly. I haven’t accepted any new project. The gossip accounts are just making stuff up.”
“Huh?” Shengjianbao was shocked. “I thought that new show really suited you.”
Ren Meng chuckled. “Be careful what you say.”
Realizing too late, Shengjianbao shut up: “Yeah… maybe I shouldn’t talk so much.”
Ji Youqin didn’t mind. “I don’t have any filming plans at the moment. Just planning to take some time to reflect. We’ll see after the movie is released.”
“That’ll be a while.”
“Yeah.” Ji Youqin smoothly shifted the topic to Leng Ying. “When’s your new song coming out?”
Leng Ying: “…I don’t really pay attention. My manager handles everything.”
“You only focus on the creative part?” Ji Youqin was surprised. “You must have a good relationship with your manager.”
Leng Ying smiled. “You could say that.”
Her desire for expression usually stopped the moment she finished composing the song. During the process of finding the right vocalist, that impulse would echo faintly, but once she found the right person, it vanished entirely.
Then, in new chapters of life, new inspiration would come.
Ren Meng glanced at her. “When I work with Teacher Leng Ying, I always deal with her manager. Sister Qun is very straightforward.”
“Sheng Jiaqun, right?” Ji Youqin said. “I’ve heard of her.”
The conversation flowed easily from there.
They ended up spending a long time eating this meal.
After ending the livestream, the production team—still very “human” in approach—let them move freely again that afternoon.
This time, the groups weren’t strictly paired up like before.
However, Leng Ying and Ji Yu were called over to film a duo livestream segment.
…
Wishes granted: livestreaming with Leng Ying one-on-one!
Ji Yu emphasized, “This means our duo got the most votes!”
Ji Yu’s happiness was always so simple.
Hearing that, Leng Ying couldn’t help smiling too…
The livestream location was the same as yesterday. The two of them strolled over. All other livestreams had ended for now and wouldn’t resume until evening, so all the audience traffic was now focused on them.
This time, Director Pan didn’t give them any pre-filtered questions or scripts—just full trust.
“What’s my mood…?” Ji Yu read a question from the chat and nodded. “I’m feeling great—beat out all the competition and got to do a solo livestream with Ying Ying.”
“Why is your personality different from what people say online?” Ji Yu laughed as she read the next question, then turned to Leng Ying. “Jiejie, what do you think?”
Leng Ying chuckled, “Because she likes to pretend.”
“Exactly,” Ji Yu nodded seriously. “Pretending is my defense mechanism. But in reality, I want to stay best friends with our Ying Ying forever and ever and ever.”
The comments on screen were full of “chong nü” (spoiling girls).
Ji Yu looked puzzled: “Chong (chōng) nü? What does that mean?”
Her Mandarin still needed some work.
Leng Ying ignored the comments and told Ji Yu, “They’re just jealous of our friendship.”
“Oh!” Ji Yu lit up, then boasted, “Well, you should be jealous!”
“?”
“Ji Teacher’s gotten cocky”
Leng Ying laughed again. She always seemed to be smiling around Ji Yu.
She read a comment aloud: “Why?”
“Childhood friends. Grew up together. Still maintain a close emotional bond.” Ji Yu summed up. “It’s something a lot of people wish they had~”
She smiled, “When we first met, I never imagined this day would come.”
She never thought a stranger matched through an app would become her dearest, most cherished friend. Over the years from innocence to maturity, they had grown like two vines rooted separately but tightly twined together—inseparable.
Someone in the chat asked how they met.
Leng Ying read the question and drifted back to the memory of lying in a hospital bed, then quietly said, “It’s a long story…”
Where should she even begin?
Ji Yu cut in, “We met on a social app.”
“HUH???”
“You were really using that stuff and didn’t tell us??”
“Why do I never get matched like that”
“It was a pretty obscure app,” Ji Yu explained. “I had just moved abroad, saw an ad and downloaded it out of curiosity. Ying Ying was the first match I got.”
“…” Leng Ying paused for a beat. “I was actually about to uninstall it.”
They had talked about this before. Ji Yu’s expression remained calm.
Leng Ying continued, “But then I met Ji Yu, and decided to keep the app.”
“Name the app”
“Is this an ad? Because I’d accept that”
“No ad,” Leng Ying said. “The app shut down long ago. Poor management, no updates, no downloads. Later, Teacher Ji tracked down the developer and asked him to make a commemorative version.”
Ji Yu added proudly, “It’s only on our two phones.”
“Let me steal your phone and peek”
“Time to activate ‘I Found Their Phone’ fanfiction”
Leng Ying smiled but firmly refused.
Ji Yu, secretly pleased.
Yes, it’s a special keepsake—only for the two of them. Very reasonable.
…
That evening, Ji Yu received her third friendship card.
She laid the three cards side by side, counting carefully, “If I get seven, can I summon Shenron?”
“Mm…” Leng Ying said realistically, “Probably not.”
“Oh.” Ji Yu didn’t mind, and carefully stored all three cards in an envelope. “It’s fine. When we get home, we can hang them up, all in a row, on the wall.” She counted. “We each get 14—together that’s 28.”
She sighed sentimentally, “That’s quite a lot.”
Seven per summon—so four chances to make wishes.
She spoke with ease, but Leng Ying felt a hint of regret in her heart.
…She couldn’t make Ji Yu’s wish come true.
Backing off was always the easier thing. Taking that one brave step—that was the hard part.
Leng Ying sighed silently and turned off the lights.
Ji Yu said to her, “Good night.”
…
Without their phones, immersed in the present, time seemed to slow down. It no longer hurried forward but waited patiently, matching their pace.
Yet time still passed steadily.
Soon it was the fourth day of recording.
Chatting with the locals near the vegetable fields definitely helped build rapport. Qiu Daoyu got someone to spill the beans—yesterday, the production crew had deliberately set up obstacles to prevent them from picking vegetables easily. If they’d gone, it would’ve been a hassle.
But today—no obstacles!
The eight-person group smoothly made their way into the field and picked a bunch of vegetables.
Halfway through, Bo Xin went off to fish again.
Even though there were still fish left from yesterday.
Hmm… Director Pan thought, this is a slow-paced variety show. So he waved his hand grandly and borrowed seven fishing rods.
Let’s all fish together! Let’s show off some sisterhood team spirit!
Ji Yu thought the fish were targeting her specifically—why else weren’t they biting?
Both Bo Xin and Ren Meng had already caught fish!
Even Leng Ying hadn’t gotten a bite, and eventually gave up, walking over with some bait to help Ji Yu create a feeding spot.
Fish swam toward the baited area.
Ji Yu… Ji Yu…
Ji Yu watched Bo Xin pull up another big fish: “?”
She asked in confusion, “Why?”
Leng Ying suggested, “Let’s move to another spot.”
So they picked up their stools and left the bountiful area where everyone else was catching fish.
Now at a distance, they sat down again.
Leng Ying said seriously, “This time, it’ll work.”
Ji Yu echoed, “This time, it’ll work.”
…
“…I don’t think it’ll work.”
They’d tried many methods.
Like switching seats—Ji Yu did the baiting, Leng Ying did the fishing. Or trying rituals and prayers. Or stealing some lucky vibes from Bo Xin’s spot. They’d even replenished bait twice.
Bo Xin: “…The fish must be full by now.”
Leng Ying: “…What is happening.”
It was a complete failure.
Ji Yu said confidently, “This lake’s fish are biased against me.”
Ji Youqin asked, “Why would they be?”
She held up her own bucket—mostly empty, though Bo Xin had fumbled one catch and the fish had jumped into Ji Youqin’s bucket.
“There’s a divide between sea fish and lake fish,” Ji Yu said, full of nonsense. “I’ve got the scent of the sea from saltwater fishing. Lake fish don’t dare bite my hook. And my sister…” She slung an arm around Leng Ying. “She’s been around me long enough to carry the same scent~~”
Bo Xin perked up. “Saltwater fishing?” She said, “That sounds fun. Can we go, Director?”
“Pan’s stingy,” Ren Meng didn’t hold back. “Saltwater’s fine—let’s go after the show ends.”
Qiu Daoyu: “You all can match schedules?”
“If you care enough, you’ll make it work.”
By the time they returned, it was already dark.
The production team had prepared a fun little game for the dinner segment.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, eight easels were set up.
Director Pan’s voice came through smoothly, totally unfazed by Ren Meng’s earlier jabs. “Everyone, thank you for your efforts fishing today. We’ve prepared a special dinner for you. But first—a small challenge: please create a blindfolded drawing of your partner based on your impression. Afterward, online viewers will vote. The ranking will determine dinner choices.”
Four dinner cards were displayed on the eight easels, each labeled with a price.
Simple, straightforward—but easy to tell which meals were better…
“Oh? I get to decide what they eat? I love this”
“Hurry hurry hurry, if they don’t eat soon I’m gonna starve”
All eight took their seats in order. Just before Director Pan said “blindfolds on,” some contestants were still nervously memorizing their partner’s features.
Leng Ying whispered to Ji Yu, “It’s an impression drawing.”
Ji Yu nodded knowingly.