Her Wild Rose - Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Reconciliation
“What… are you doing?”
Tang Tang finally struggled out of her sleep. As she opened her eyes, she was met with Su Qian’s grim, brooding expression.
Perhaps the nightmare hadn’t fully faded yet, because her mind still felt foggy. Instinctively, she reached out and pinched Su Qian’s face. “I just had a terrible dream. Luckily, you were still here when I woke up.”
She blinked at Su Qian, her tone carrying a hint of post-disaster joy. Her fingers unconsciously explored Su Qian’s cheek, her gaze filled with longing.
In that moment, Su Qian almost forgot how to breathe. It felt like they had returned to the time before the breakup—just like all the times they had fought before, when one of them would always be the first to smile and admit defeat.
“I…” Su Qian took a deep breath and forced herself to keep her voice from trembling. She pointed to the flight attendants already starting to wake passengers. For once, her usually composed expression showed a trace of panic. “We’re about to land. I was just checking if you were awake.”
Right… they had already broken up, and broken up completely…
Tang Tang was stunned for a second. Her face, still red from sleep, flushed even deeper. She withdrew her hand from Su Qian’s cheek, coughing to cover her embarrassment.
“I’m awake.” Tang Tang instinctively avoided Su Qian’s gaze. Her long lashes fluttered nervously like little fans. She took off the wool coat covering her and tried to sound distant again. “You really don’t have to be so nice to me. After all, we’re just teammates forced to get along for a month.”
She emphasized the word teammates so heavily that it practically built a wall between them.
Live comments:
“LOL, she was terrified of her leaving just a second ago, and now she’s acting like nothing happened—Tang Tang, you are queen of tsundere.”
“I have a mouth, I’ll lend it to them—please just don’t let this CP break up again!!”
“Micro-expressions don’t lie. Tang Tang, stop pretending—you just wanted Su Qian to comfort you!!”
“Here I am shipping them like crazy, while my CP is busy breaking hearts. I don’t even know who’s more miserable anymore…”
“Come on, Su Qian! Don’t be so reserved, you were this close, just kiss her already!!”
“…We don’t have to be like this.”
Su Qian sighed, finally speaking her first serious sentence of the day. She had always believed that certain things, like the thorn between them, would eventually fade with time if left unspoken. But now, she realized the wound had festered instead.
And both of them had chosen to look the other way.
“What do you mean, ‘like this’?”
Tang Tang took a deep breath. Whatever goodwill she had built toward Su Qian these past few days evaporated at those words. She hated when people used that lecturing tone—and now, Su Qian had become one of them.
Yeah, what did she mean by like this?
Su Qian was caught off guard by the question. It was only then she realized how absurd her own words had sounded. She kept saying she didn’t care about the past—but if she truly didn’t, why would she even say something like we don’t have to be like this?
She lowered her head, her long hair hiding the bitterness at the corners of her mouth. Taking the coat Tang Tang handed her, she tried to change the subject.
“So… where should we go later? Walk around first or look for a place to earn money?”
“Let’s walk around.”
As the plane descended rapidly, Tang Tang felt uncomfortable from the pressure change. She pretended to look toward Lu Piaopiao, who was talking with Gu Shuangran, trying to avoid Su Qian’s intense gaze.
She didn’t dare fall into that obsession again. One step further and she feared she might plunge into the abyss.
Sometimes, repeating the past requires courage…
…
“Everyone’s received their startup funds, right? Once we leave the airport, you’re free to explore.”
Director Li Xiang glanced at the varying states of the different groups—almost all of them awkward and strained. Clearly, the few hours on the plane hadn’t passed peacefully. He smirked to himself, secretly pleased at how wise he’d been to group together contestants with messy histories—perfect for generating buzz.
Clearing his throat, he continued, “I’m sure you all have a better understanding of your partners now, and you probably have certain expectations for the next month. I want to offer a few words of encouragement—may you enjoy the journey, enjoy the partnership, and ultimately, find growth through this unique experience.”
…
“So, where are we going next?”
Tang Tang pulled her suitcase out of the airport, immediately captivated by Feng County’s scenery.
Unlike the four distinct seasons of Liao’an, this place was intensely warm. The people outside the airport were dressed in light jackets and canvas shoes. With their coats, she and Su Qian looked completely out of place.
“Let’s get a cab and drop off our luggage first.” Tang Tang glanced at the time on her phone. It was already nearing dusk. The fiery red sunset bathed half the sky in golden light, giving this seemingly modest town a rugged beauty.
“Okay.” Su Qian sat in the back seat of the taxi and pulled out the travel guide she had prepared for Feng County. She circled a few spots near their hotel. “How about we visit Yuquan Garden tonight? It’s one of Feng County’s most famous historic sites.”
“Sure.”
Tang Tang nodded, accepting the suggestion.
The airport was still quite far from the hotel. Tang Tang wasn’t sure what to say, so she opened the window and pretended to admire the scenery.
By the time they reached Yuquan Garden, night had already fallen.
“This place feels different from other historic sites.”
It was Tang Tang’s first time hearing about this particular spot. She curiously watched the sparse crowd. “It’s not even as lively as the snack street nearby.”
“Maybe people nowadays aren’t into these cold stone relics anymore.”
Su Qian wasn’t surprised. Feng County was an ancient town with no shortage of famous landmarks. Compared to more photogenic or story-rich places, this one clearly wasn’t a tourist favorite.
“But it looks beautiful to me.”
Tang Tang sat beside Su Qian and took out a piece of bread from her pocket, tearing it in half and handing some to Su Qian. “Even if these stone carvings have weathered into unrecognizable shapes, that’s the charm of time, isn’t it? Time may change a person’s original form, but it also gives them a new kind of beauty.”
Su Qian couldn’t help but turn to look at her—those bright eyes shimmering in the night. She smiled and took the bread, taking a bite. “That sounds like a line from my book, doesn’t it, Classmate Tang Tang?”
Perhaps the quiet of this place helped them both drop their usual awkwardness. Su Qian finally set aside her teasing mask and revealed a rare, nostalgic smile.
“It’s from Fallen Twilight, right? That’s such an old novel.” She brushed her hand over her skirt, leaving a gray mark from the stone steps. She pointed toward the carvings. Her tone grew youthful. “You don’t know what I went through to write the scene of the male lead escaping to the northwest and doing infrastructure work. Back then, I backpacked alone on a train heading north. I ended up here somehow, saw these carvings, and suddenly, the northwest scenery formed in my mind…”
“Yeah, this place really does feel like your story’s setting.”
The evening wind blew through Tang Tang’s bangs. She looked up at the starry sky. A fallen leaf drifted down between them. She reached out to grab it—but Su Qian beat her to it, and their hands overlapped.
“Here, you take it.”
Tang Tang awkwardly pulled her hand back, heart pounding wildly in her chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It felt like… infatuation.
“It’s okay, I don’t like it that much either,” Su Qian replied, glancing at Tang Tang. Her brown eyes seemed to glow with firelight. Her fingers curled nervously. The leaf stem poked her palm.
“Should we… head back?” The atmosphere had grown way too ambiguous. Even someone as worldly as Su Qian couldn’t help but blush. “I-I’ll call a cab?”
“Wait, Su Qian.”
Tang Tang stood up and called out. Her eyes flickered, then settled on Su Qian again. “I think… we should reconcile first.”
Afraid of being misunderstood, she quickly waved her hands, face showing resistance. “Don’t get the wrong idea! I’m not trying to make peace for personal reasons. I mean… we should do something here. Something meaningful.”
“Like what?”
Now that the mood had shifted to something more serious, the ambiguity between them seemed to vanish. Su Qian raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious.
This silly girl always surprised her with her ideas.
“We could put on a performance, or ask the crew to help us shoot a paid short film.” Tang Tang rarely shared her thoughts so openly. Usually, Su Qian did most of the talking while she listened. So now, her voice trembled slightly with nerves.
“Remember how we once discussed what we could leave behind for others? Back then, you said that writing could convey a sense of character or values. I think I finally understand what we, as public figures, can offer the world.
We can leave behind memories—of a people or an era.”
As she spoke, Tang Tang’s eyes drifted toward the ruins. “I never knew how to describe our culture before, but standing here, I finally get it—our people are just like these stone carvings: stubborn, and full of strength. That’s what history wants to tell us, and what we need to pass on.
So I want to organize a charity performance. I want more people to see this place, to see these carvings. I want them to know that these aren’t just rocks that will erode and vanish—they’re our culture, our pride. I want to turn that into film and let more people remember it.”
The wind brushed past her. Her eyes were red from emotion after speaking for so long. She looked sincerely at Su Qian. “So, Su Qian… let’s reconcile. Not for ourselves, but for preservation.
Let’s use our platform to put on the best charity performance we can.”
Su Qian was touched by her words—and couldn’t help but nod.
“Okay.”