Her Pheromones Smell Like Sparkling Water (GL) - Chapter 30

Even though Shen Tingjun inwardly loathed these family gatherings, she still had to endure and nod in agreement.

She had always been the epitome of polite restraint in the Shen Qijia household—like a little white rabbit, obedient and soft-spoken. Shen Qin had once enjoyed some of her grandfather’s favor before she caused trouble at their home.

This family dinner clearly wasn’t just about bonding—it was most likely an excuse to reprimand Shen Li for Xingchen Entertainment stealing a project out from under Chenlai Entertainment. Though Shen Qijia had never formally divided the family assets, over the years Shen Li had seized control of most of the major businesses with her prowess, while Shen Qin floundered in mediocrity—jealous and bitter.

Who knew what kind of poison Shen Qin had poured into Shen Qijia’s ear this time to prompt him into setting up this little trap?

The moment Shen Tingjun thought of Shen Qin, a flash of fury flickered in her eyes that she quickly suppressed beneath her usual calm. She gripped her phone and tapped it rhythmically on the marble vanity—tap, tap—the sound echoing eerily in the quiet space.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed, breaking her trance.

She received a new message from Shang Ranzhu. Just two words:
[Good night.]

The screen’s glow lit her face, and some of the tension there finally began to ease.

She had been so distracted by Shen Nianlan’s message earlier that she’d completely forgotten Ranzhu had messaged her first.

[I’m still up. Just finished washing up,] ⁣”She replied quickly.

Shang Ranzhu, who had just been drifting off, instantly opened her eyes wide. She stared at the chat window, wondering how to continue when a new message popped up:

[Why aren’t you asleep yet?]

Was Miss Shen showing concern for her? Ranzhu wondered, a little stunned.

[Just couldn’t fall asleep,] she typed, stifling a huge yawn.

Shen Tingjun furrowed her brows slightly, cradled her phone, and walked into her bedroom.
[What’s wrong?]

On the screen, the typing indicator flickered for a while. Then Ranzhu’s cautious reply appeared:

[I heard some things from Chen Ming… like how our production is actually funded by your Shen family.]

Tingjun’s gaze lingered on the words “your Shen family,” and a trace of bitterness filled her eyes. To outsiders, it was always your Shen family—but only those within knew that the two branches—the first wife’s line and the second wife’s line—were entirely different worlds.

She didn’t want to unpack the messy truth about her family with Shang Ranzhu and simply replied:

[You’re well-informed. I only just found out too.]

[Won’t this put you in a difficult position?] Ranzhu probed.

[What’s so difficult about it?] Shen Tingjun replied.

It was just another family dinner where she’d probably get an earful from Shen Qijia. He was old and weak now—the authority he once wielded in her childhood had long faded into nothing.

Ranzhu couldn’t be sure whether Shen Tingjun truly didn’t mind. If it were her, she wouldn’t want to have anything to do with a “third uncle” like that either—she might even wish the man would disappear from the face of the earth.

But Shen Tingjun wasn’t her. She was steadier and more composed. She buried everything inside, never sharing unless someone gently prodded. And even then—sometimes she still wouldn’t.

[Miss Shen, don’t shoulder everything on your own. If you’re willing… you can talk to me.]

Shen Tingjun’s shoulders pressed against the soft pillow. She stared at the screen; her lips were curling faintly into a soft smile.

Those words. Many people had said it to her before. She had always thought it was just a polite, empty platitude and never something she could actually lean on. But coming from Shang Ranzhu tonight, it brought a strange, unfamiliar warmth.

[I will.]

Ranzhu stared anxiously at the screen until those two words finally appeared. Her whole face lit up with joy. Just those two simple words—it felt like Shen Tingjun had opened a door for her and handed her the key.

Did this mean… she now had permission to step into Shen Tingjun’s world?

[It’s getting late. Go to sleep,]

Shen Tingjun sent another message.

Ranzhu nodded at the screen and carefully typed:

[Good night.]

But this time, no response came.

She stared at the top of the screen, hoping to see the words “The other party is typing…” But they never appeared.

She probably fell asleep after sending that last message, Ranzhu thought. She’s had a long day, after all.

Just as she was about to turn off her phone—ding—a new message popped up.

Same two words as before:
[Good night.]

*****

The next morning, Ranzhu woke up to a room still dim and gloomy, with no light coming through. She instinctively thought she’d woken up too early and was about to crawl back into bed when her door was rudely pounded on.

“What now? It’s still early!” she yelled crankily at Chen Ming outside.

But Chen Ming was having none of it. She burst in after twisting the doorknob. “It’s already eight! We’re supposed to be on set by nine!”

Ranzhu scratched her head in confusion and grabbed her phone—sure enough, it was eight. She frowned at the window. Why doesn’t it feel like morning yet? she thought.

Before she could get her bearings, Chen Ming yanked open the heavy curtains.

Sunlight flooded the room in a dazzling cascade—though not too blinding, it was enough to overwhelm Ranzhu, who squinted against the sudden brightness. When she finally lowered her hand and looked out the window—

A snowy wonderland greeted her. The entire world was blanketed in white.

“It snowed?” she asked, awed. Barefoot, she ran to the window and leaned on the sill.

Perhaps because of the snow, even though thetraffic buzzed outside, the whole world felt as if it had frozen in place—pure, serene, and utterly breathtaking.

“So pretty,” she murmured, pushing open the window and reaching out to catch the falling snowflakes. The cold wind whooshed into the warm room, swirling around her like a whisper of magic.

Although the cold wind brushed against Shang Ranzhu’s fair face, leaving a red tip on her nose, she didn’t seem to feel the chill. Her eyes sparkled as she looked out at the snow-covered mountains in the distance.

Mist lingered in the air, and snow covered the world in white.

This was Shang Ranzhu’s first time seeing such natural beauty. Simply taking it in with her eyes wasn’t enough—she wanted to capture it, to keep it, to share it with someone. Share it with Shen Tingjun.

The moment she raised her hand to take a photo, she ended up taking dozens of them. Chen Ming, standing beside her, was trembling from the cold and had grabbed a blanket from the bed, wrapping half around each of them.

Seeing that Shang Ranzhu showed no signs of stopping, snapping photo after photo, Chen Ming grabbed the window latch and pleaded, “Zhuzi, aren’t you cold? Can we please close the window?”

“I’m not cold…” Shang Ranzhu had just raised her hand to wave Chen Ming away when she sneezed, loudly.

“Ah…choo!”

“And you say you’re not cold?” Chen Ming tightened the blanket around them both and tugged Shang Ranzhu back toward the bed.

Bundled up again, Shang Ranzhu curled up on the bed, flipping through the photos. “Do you think this one looks good?”

Chen Ming, who was only interested in closing the window, barely glanced at the photo and replied perfunctorily, “Yeah, looks good.”

“Do you think Miss Shen would like it?” Shang Ranzhu asked again.

“???”

 Chen Ming was speechless. There were so many things wrong with that question, she didn’t even know where to begin.

“She lives next door. Do you think she might not have noticed that it’s snowing outside? Are you really considering sending her a photo just to inform her?

“Can’t I?” Shang Ranzhu shot her a side-eye.

Chen Ming wasn’t about to argue with this love-struck alpha, so she just said, “Sure, sure,” and went off to the bathroom to fetch some warm water.

Shang Ranzhu’s hands were red from the cold air, and her skin had always been sensitive. If she didn’t warm them up, they might get frostbitten.

“What should I say to Miss Shen?” Shang Ranzhu muttered, tapping on their chat window. The last message from Shen Tingjun was still just “Good night.”

“What else is there to say? Something like ‘Miss Sheni, it’s snowing outside; it’s beautiful,’ or maybe ‘I want to share the first snow of the year with you.’ Easy.” Chen Ming suggested.

Shang Ranzhu chose the second option and excitedly sent the photo to Shen Tingjun.

But Shen Tingjun didn’t reply right away. There wasn’t even a “typing…” bubble.

Chen Ming brought over the warm water and set it on the coffee table. Seeing Shang Ranzhu staring nervously at her phone, she snatched it away and shoved Ranzhu’s hands into the water. “Now that you’ve sent it, hurry and soak.”

The warm water enveloped Shang Ranzhu’s hands, soothing her body and soul. “Wow, Xiao Ming, you’re such a strong yet gentle woman. So domestic. I really like you~” Shang Ranzhu said with a smirk.

“I can be even more domestic. I’ve already packed your hand warmers, heat packs, and hot water for the shoot later,” Chen Ming said proudly as she sat down on the bed.

That reminded Shang Ranzhu of something. Something clicked in her mind. She barely had her hands in the water for a minute before pulling them out and shaking off the drops. “Do you think I should give Miss Shen a hand warmer?”

“I have that pig-shaped one—do you think she’d like it?”

Chen Ming choked on the sheer amount of one-sided love. Just the thought of the elegant, untouchable Shen Tingjun holding a pig-shaped hand warmer was too weird. She quickly shut it down. “Don’t you think that totally clashes with her vibe?”

“But all my hand warmers are like that…” Shang Ranzhu said, torn.

Just then, her phone on the table buzzed.

Shen Tingjun had replied: [Very pretty.]

Just two simple words, but they made Shang Ranzhu feel deeply satisfied. Her lips curved up uncontrollably.

A few seconds later, Shen Tingjun sent another message:

 [The roads are slippery. Leave early and ask your driver to go slow.]

This time, Shang Ranzhu’s smile practically reached her ears. Her fingers trembled with excitement, making it hard to type. Since Shen Tingjun had shown concern for her, she wanted to return the gesture.

[ Miss Shen, are you cold? I have an extra hand warmer. Want me to bring one over?]

Shen Tingjun had already been about to leave for the set. She hesitated as she glanced at Shang Ranzhu’s door before replying:

[Give it to me when we get to the set.]

But Shang Ranzhu wasn’t willing to wait that long.

She grabbed a hand warmer and ran straight to Shen Tingjun’s door, wearing only coral fleece pajamas under her coat and not even bothering to change.

But Shen Tingjun had already gone downstairs. Only a few staff members remained inside.

“She just left,” they told her.

Hearing that, Shang Ranzhu threw on her hood and dashed out the door. Just outside, she spotted Shen Tingjun about to get into her car.

She was wearing a long black wool coat; her pale calves were exposed below, a striking figure in the white snow.

“Miss Shen! Wait!”

Shen Tingjun turned around at the sound, with joy flashing briefly in her eyes.

But in her amber eyes, she saw Shang Ranzhu’s face suddenly change color. The next second, Shang Ranzhu lunged toward her.

At the same time, a sharp crashing sound came from behind. A skidding car slammed straight into Shen Tingjun’s parked van.

In that instant, all Shen Tingjun could hear was a loud ringing in her head. Something hot and sharp trickled down from her forehead, and her vision became tinged in a faint, blurry red.