Chapter Seventy-Five: Let’s Be Together!

On Wednesday afternoon, Dong Yanyan changed buses twice and arrived punctually at the entrance of the provincial broadcasting station. She had been here several times before: Lulu had started learning dance before turning three, enrolling in multiple extracurricular classes. Every summer vacation, New Year, and Spring Festival, Dong Yanyan would bring her daughter to the TV station or the cultural center to participate in competitions and performances. These events were organized by the school, but since the children were so young, parents had to be present throughout. In truth, it was less about training the children and more about exhausting the parents. Each time there was an event, she would wake up early to do Lulu’s hair and makeup, rush to catch the bus, and spend the entire day tending to her daughter, following teachers’ instructions, changing costumes, touching up makeup. While waiting backstage, she had to keep her daughter company; during performances, she couldn’t rest either, taking photos and videos with a digital camera, crouching in front of the stage so as not to block the view. As soon as the performance ended, parents would dash backstage to help their children change clothes and shoes, and after getting home, still half dead from fatigue, she had to cook for Lulu. The teachers didn’t allow the children to eat or drink much during the performances, so after a whole day of hunger, the child couldn’t be satisfied without at least two dishes and a soup.

Thinking back now, she found it strangely sweet. Watching her daughter grow and progress bit by bit, no matter how tiring it was, her heart was happy.

Lost in these thoughts, she glanced at her watch: ten minutes to one. Since Ren Jiaxuan hadn’t arrived yet, she would have to go in by herself. Just as she was feeling a little unhappy, a taxi pulled up beside her. Ren Jiaxuan, dressed in a silver-gray trench coat and a white scarf, got out and jogged over to her.

“Luckily, I’m not late. How long have you been here? Are you cold?” he asked with a cheerful smile, warming his hands, breath puffing white in the air. Then he took her hand, and together they entered the main building’s hall.

“We’ll go directly to Studio 2 to find Wu, my colleague. Just follow her instructions, you don’t need to be nervous. I’ll wait for you outside,” Ren Jiaxuan said, leading her upstairs, taking left and right turns. Whenever they met someone, he greeted them. Dong Yanyan couldn’t tell what everyone’s role was, since he called them either brother or sister rather than uncle or aunt, as if he were familiar with all of them.

“It feels like this is your family’s backyard,” Dong Yanyan joked.

“Well, in a way. I’ve practically grown up here,” Ren Jiaxuan replied, guiding her to a modest dressing room and knocking on the door. Inside, a woman in her thirties waved at him, smiling, “Jiaxuan, you’re here! Is this your classmate?”

Ren Jiaxuan led Dong Yanyan in, introducing her with a smile, “Sister Zhang, this is Dong Yanyan, my classmate. Yanyan, this is Zhang Hong, she’ll do your makeup.”

Dong Yanyan politely extended her hand, greeted Sister Zhang, and Zhang Hong led her to sit at the vanity, then turned to select several outfits, holding them up against her. After much deliberation, she chose a red dress with black polka dots for Dong Yanyan to change into. Once dressed, Dong Yanyan felt odd—she already looked young, and in such a cute outfit, she appeared even more childlike.

Zhang Hong skillfully applied foundation, dusted powder, brushed a light lip gloss, and adorned her hair with a butterfly clip.

Ren Jiaxuan, hands in pockets, leaned leisurely at the door, smiling at her.

“All right, take her to the studio. Everyone else has arrived,” Sister Zhang said, smiling.

Dong Yanyan thanked her, and as she followed Ren Jiaxuan outside, she grabbed his arm, her expression dark. “What’s going on? She’s made me look like a child!”

Ren Jiaxuan, struggling not to laugh, explained, “Yanyan, I forgot to mention beforehand—you’re playing a little girl. The theme is family reunion. So, you’ll see people acting as your grandparents and parents—you’re the youngest. But don’t be angry, I mean no offense. I just think you have the perfect temperament for an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl.”

“Is that so?” Dong Yanyan retorted coldly, shooting him a withering look. “Fine. I’ll hold it in for now, but wait until we’re back at school!” She walked a few steps, then turned back, pointing at his nose with a threat, “You’d better not let me catch you playing tricks, or I’ll wreck your show right here!”

Ren Jiaxuan jumped, smiling apologetically, “Let’s settle any scores later. For now, behave, or I’ll lose face in front of everyone.”

Dong Yanyan snorted and strode ahead, while Ren Jiaxuan hurried after, laughing, “Wait for me so you don’t get lost!”

The studio wasn’t large. The set was already arranged—a cozy domestic scene, dominated by red: red banners, red paper cutouts, radiating the festive spirit of Spring Festival. Several men and women were busy inside.

Ren Jiaxuan greeted a man in a waistcoat, introducing him to Dong Yanyan as Brother Wu. Brother Wu smiled at Dong Yanyan, handed her a red “Fortune” ornament, and asked her to hold it.

Dong Yanyan took it and, following his instructions, sat on the studio sofa with the others. Each took turns reciting their lines to the camera, then posed together for several family photos.

Two hours later, the short film was finished. Ren Jiaxuan beamed, pulling Dong Yanyan along to say goodbye to his colleagues. After a full afternoon’s work, their task was complete. Dong Yanyan was pleased as well—it seemed that sometimes one needed to get out and change their mood.

“Yanyan, you were fantastic. I didn’t expect you to be so confident on camera,” Ren Jiaxuan said, smiling.

Dong Yanyan smiled dismissively, “That’s thanks to good teaching—I didn’t waste those classes in your program.”

“You’re modest! You really don’t seem like a girl from the countryside. You’re so composed and confident in everything you do, even more outstanding than many city kids,” Ren Jiaxuan praised.

Dong Yanyan cast him an annoyed glance, thinking, “After all these years in society, if I still had no opinions of my own, these years would have been wasted.”

“Do you think girls from the countryside are all naïve and inexperienced? I hate regional discrimination, and I hate body discrimination even more!” she complained.

Ren Jiaxuan smiled helplessly, “I didn’t mean it that way—I was complimenting you! I like lively, cute girls like you, nothing else.”

Dong Yanyan pursed her lips, speechless.

The two stood face to face on the afternoon street for a couple of seconds.

“Let me treat you to a meal—I still owe you a dumpling dinner!” Dong Yanyan said.

“All right, let’s go now!” Ren Jiaxuan agreed enthusiastically, and they hailed a taxi straight to Oriental Dumpling King near the school.

It wasn’t peak dining hour, but the dumpling house was still bustling. Dong Yanyan chose a window seat, ordered two portions of cabbage dumplings, two of pickled vegetable dumplings, a tofu meatball soup, a plate of cold sliced beef, some aspic, and a bottle of beer for Ren Jiaxuan.

Ren Jiaxuan asked for two glasses, wanting to pour her a drink as well, but Dong Yanyan refused firmly, “I never drink alcohol. I’ll have a soft drink,” she said seriously.

Ren Jiaxuan burst out laughing, “Weren’t you the one who got drunk just a few days ago?”

“That’s why I’ve decided to quit drinking.” Dong Yanyan took a small dish, mixed soy sauce and vinegar for him, and pushed it across the table.

Ren Jiaxuan took a dumpling, dipped it in the sauce, and stuffed it into her mouth. Dong Yanyan grimaced at the sourness, and Ren Jiaxuan laughed, “I knew you were up to something! I’ll make my own.” He grabbed the vinegar pot, squeezed a long line of wasabi into it, shook it vigorously, then mixed in soy sauce, poured a bit into a small dish, added chopped garlic, and dipped a dumpling in it, chewing with satisfaction.

Dong Yanyan focused on her soup. In the biting cold, a mouthful of hot broth felt as if every pore opened in delight. The steam flushed her cheeks rosy, and Ren Jiaxuan couldn’t help reaching out to touch her face. Dong Yanyan quickly blocked his hand and turned to call the waiter, “Waiter, bring me a salted pork knuckle!”

Ren Jiaxuan looked at the saucy, battered pork knuckle in front of her, his expression complicated, before bursting into laughter.

“Classmate, eating like this isn’t very polite,” Dong Yanyan said, matter-of-factly picking up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and chewing slowly. Ren Jiaxuan watched her, his eye twitching, and diligently placed a small dumpling on her plate.

“Yanyan, do you have a boyfriend now?” he asked tentatively.

“No,” Dong Yanyan replied offhandedly, taking a bite of dumpling and a sip of soup.

Ren Jiaxuan raised his eyebrows, smiling elegantly, “I’m single too. How about being my girlfriend?”

“Why?” Dong Yanyan asked without looking up.

“Because I think we’d be a great match. Really, I miss how lively you used to be—it’s been so long since I’ve seen that, and just thinking about it makes my heart itch!” Ren Jiaxuan lifted her chin, earnest and excited.

Dong Yanyan nearly choked on her soup. She looked up at him: unlike Xu Cheng’s untidy ways, Ren Jiaxuan was always impeccably handsome and flawless. His collar and cuffs were always clean, his shoes polished. His family was well-off, so dating him meant she wouldn’t have to scrimp and save to buy him clothes, wouldn’t have to worry about hurting his pride by trying to save money, nor deprive herself to help him. More importantly, he was so proactive and passionate—she only needed to enjoy his warmth, without the need to tiptoe around his moods as with Lin Feng, or try hard to please him, or be unable to bear even one harsh word from him.

She began to believe that fate was fair: if it took away an orange, it would surely give you an apple in return.

So she smiled happily at her apple, “All right, having such a handsome boyfriend would make me the envy of all! I can finally be proud of myself!”