A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

 

Messed up.

 

Ji Yu had a joyless dinner, annoyed with herself the entire time.

 

She and Leng Ying ate together, but no one spoke at the table.

 

Neither said a word — only an unbearable silence stretched between them.

 

Ji Yu had no idea what to say!

 

This evening… This evening in the attic — how had they ended up kissing, just like that?

 

And the moment they kissed, Leng Ying had suddenly pulled away. Did she regret it?

 

Her mind was tangled with a never-ending ball of yarn — questions that could neither be unraveled nor answered.

 

Leng Ying set down her chopsticks.

 

Ji Yu felt relieved and followed suit. “Dinner’s done. I’ve had the room cleaned — it’s right next to the master bedroom.”

 

After they left the attic, she had Uncle Wang clean it up.

 

Tonight really wasn’t the time to be sleeping together again.

 

Ji Yu wanted to avoid everything. Leng Ying played deaf, giving a noncommittal response.

 

The two of them walked upstairs side by side, shadows stretching together, bodies keeping their distance.

 

Ji Yu entered the master bedroom. Leng Ying entered the guest room.

 

Two doors closed at the same time.

 

…

 

Leng Ying leaned against her closed door, dazed.

 

…Messed up.

 

Why on earth did I kiss her?

 

It’s not something I can just wave off with “we’re good friends.”

 

What was I thinking?

 

Was it the days of warmth that made me lower my guard?

 

She slid slowly to the floor.

 

Let’s reframe this.

 

Do I really want to be more than friends with Ji Yu?

 

I just want to be friends.

 

But I kissed her.

 

I just want to be lifelong best friends, never parting.

 

But I kissed her.

 

Kissed her face, kissed her lips.

 

And even after regaining my senses, I still wanted to kiss her earlobe.

 

The one wearing the gift I gave her.

 

…

 

I want to be friends.

 

Friends who kiss?

 

…No.

 

That’s awful!

 

Angel-Leng Ying in her head scolded her: How could you be such a jerk?!

 

But… but wouldn’t going to her now and saying “how about we date” just be even weirder?!

 

The best moment to say that has clearly passed!

 

Now it would just make me look worse — like I was playing some kind of twisted game after insisting on friendship earlier. Who treats someone’s feelings like that?

 

Leng Ying let out a long sigh.

 

I’m awful.

 

Across the wall, neither of them could sleep.

 

The next morning, two dark circles stared at each other.

 

…Oh. So it wasn’t just me who slept badly.

 

They both quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

 

But their movements remained stiff and awkward — always trying to keep a distance. Get too close, and they’d quickly pull back; even handing things off, their hands would never touch. It was impossible not to notice.

 

The two days at Jingming House dragged on like years.

 

The electricity at the apartment had been fixed early on, but Sheng Jiaqin said the paparazzi were still hanging around, so they couldn’t go back yet. Leng Ying had no choice but to stay put.

 

Fortunately, the program crew was finally coming to film the second half of the show!

 

Both Leng Ying and Ji Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Having more people around for the show was far better than just the two of them awkwardly stuck together.

 

Their manager sent the new address to the crew and reminded them again about keeping the information secure. The team canceled the planned livestream walk-through and only started the broadcast once they arrived at Jingming House.

 

“New place?”

 

“This is Yingying Yuyou’s stream, but the house looks different.”

 

“Switched houses, I guess. Pretty normal.”

 

“Probably too many paparazzi at the old place… it’s good they moved. I never liked that neighborhood anyway.”

 

“I love this house! Wife, let me move in, please QAQ”

 

“LMAO, Ji always says no”

 

It was Leng Ying who opened the door. The camera took a hit from her beauty. She smiled at the production crew. “You’re here.”

 

“Uh, yeah. Is it okay for us to come in?” the staff stammered, but quickly regained composure. “We’re a bit early.”

 

“No problem.” Leng Ying stepped aside. “Come on in.”

 

“We’ll be heading out in ten minutes,” a staffer reminded her, not seeing any suitcases around. “Have you packed yet? Where’s Teacher Ji?”

 

Leng Ying replied, “All packed. Mm, she’s in the study.”

 

“…?”

 

The staffer hesitated. “Sh-should we go call her?”

 

Leng Ying simply raised a hand and pointed the way.

 

“…Something feels off.”

 

“What happened to the Yingying Yuyou vibes? This feels like post-divorce energy.”

 

“Noooo not yet! I haven’t even been born!! QAQ”

 

“Maybe it’s scripted? More drama = more footage”

 

“Pan-director swore on his career there’s no script. Come on, let’s respect that.”

 

“So that makes it more obvious they fought.”

 

Ji Yu had been watching the time. When the knock came, she had already put everything away. She opened the door calmly and asked if they wanted to film the study too.

 

Of course they did!

 

The camera crew took a quick tour. By the time they returned to the living room, the suitcases were neatly waiting there.

 

Leng Ying and Ji Yu wheeled them out and followed the crew out of Jingming House.

 

This time, they were headed somewhere new — not the same village as before. All the connections they’d made last time were irrelevant now… but those they wanted to stay in touch with, they still had contact info for. Leng Ying even stopped by Grandpa and Grandma’s livestream and saw their bamboo crafts were selling well.

 

Their new destination was another mountain village, nestled deep in a valley, surrounded by peaks.

 

They took a plane part of the way. Ji Yu, as always, had prepared candies for Leng Ying. The chat immediately relaxed:

 

“Okay okay, doesn’t seem like the fight was that bad.”

 

“Just a little couple spat, we move.”

 

“Honestly we’re part of the play too. Pass the popcorn.”

 

The weather was bad that day, and their transfers got delayed — they were the last pair to arrive.

 

Ren Meng joked, “You finally made it! Any later and Qiu Daoyu would’ve passed out from hunger.”

 

“Huh? That hungry?” Ji Yu urged the crew, “Everyone’s here now, hurry up.”

 

Qiu Daoyu weakly raised her hand. “Teacher Ren’s just joking. Did your journey go smoothly?”

 

“It was fine,” Leng Ying said quietly. “Seven days apart.”

 

“Yeah!” Qiu Daoyu said enthusiastically. “We missed you two!”

 

Ji Youqin huffed, “Alright then, all eight are here. No last-minute dropouts. Pan-director, get moving.”

 

“Who was almost not coming?”

 

“Ji’s info is always spot on.”

 

“She’s probably talking about RM — her agency didn’t want her back on the show.”

 

“But her CP with Bo is super popular! They’re trending just under Yingying Yuyou.”

 

“Popularity’s one thing. But RM clearly wants out of her current agency.”

 

“…Can she afford the breach fees tho?”

 

“Who knows.”

 

The people on-site didn’t know about the discussion flying in the comments.

 

Pan-director revealed the room selection method. “Last time we filmed, each group took a set of promotional photos. We posted those on Weibo. Room selection order will be based on those posts’ engagement numbers, as of this morning. In order: Leng Ying and Ji Yu; Ren Meng and Bo Xin; Ji Youqin and Luo Qing; Sheng Jian Bao and Qiu Daoyu.”

 

“Pan-director, the order difference is tiny,” Ren Meng commented.

 

“Reflect on why that is,” Pan replied bluntly. Then he pulled out four room photos. “Now, first team, please choose.”

 

Leng Ying and Ji Yu exchanged a glance. Leng Ying said, “We’ll take Room 1.”

 

“The eye contact is back!”

 

“They didn’t even discuss it! Don’t leave us out, you two!”

 

Unfair, honestly.

 

They hadn’t planned anything or even exchanged secret glances. Just as they locked eyes, Ji Yu clearly indicated Leng Ying should decide. All four rooms looked similar anyway, so Leng Ying simply picked the first one.

 

Ji Yu looked fully satisfied with the choice. Room 1 was theirs.

 

The rest picked their rooms, and the show laid out the day’s tasks.

 

It was the first day, so the workload was light: drop off your luggage, come back to the common area, watch some surprise clips, have dinner, then go into the forest to catch fireflies.

 

After turning in their phones and other devices, Leng Ying and Ji Yu went off to find Room 1. This time, the crew had gotten smarter — no fridges or electronics inside to tempt them into slacking.

 

Room 1 had a chicken coop — with trained chickens that came and went on their own. All the girls had to do was feed them on time and collect eggs.

 

—That was their rent.

 

“We have to pay rent?” Leng Ying found it unreasonable.

 

“Well, you are living here,” the crew explained. “Some of the guests have to feed pigs!”

 

“…,” Leng Ying fell silent.

 

Ji Yu chimed in, “So the second half of the season is the ‘rural life’ arc.”

 

Leng Ying thought for a moment and forgave the crew. “Maybe they thought we had it too easy in the first half.”

 

“Slow work makes fine craft — what do they know!” Ji Yu blurted out — then realized the awkward distance between her and Leng Ying had mysteriously vanished again.

 

Maybe the crew really were angels…

 

Ji Yu was instantly energized. “I’m gonna grab some tools and clean up!”

 

The place was dusty but overall tidy. After a bit of cleaning, they headed to the common area.

 

Dinner was all local dishes from the village — spicy, flavorful, and homey.

 

Ji Yu couldn’t handle too much spice. Leng Ying poured her a bowl of plain water to rinse the food.

 

The vibe was lively as they ate, and the production team set up a projector.

 

Pan-director’s voice came through: “Before we started filming, each of you recorded an interview segment. Tonight is our watch party — we’ll be playing those VCRs one by one.”

 

“And then what?” someone asked.