First Kiss Diary - Chapter 20
Ji Ning once again stuck out her tongue and tasted it. Today’s lip gloss did indeed have a peach flavor, no mistake about it. Since peach juice wasn’t added to the drink, and Ji Shixian tasted it too, then could it be…
“Eh?” The boss seemed to suddenly notice something. “Did you guys add alcohol?”
Ji Shixian replied, “No.”
Pointing at Ji Ning’s ear, the boss asked, “Then why did her ears turn red after drinking it?”
Ji Ning remained silent.
She opened her mouth but couldn’t come up with an explanation.
On the other hand, Ji Shixian casually said, “It’s normal. Just get used to it.”
The boss probably knew Ji Shixian as their conversation tone wasn’t unfamiliar. “Are you used to it?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” The man casually glanced down and tightened the bottle cap. “Is the drink ready?”
The boss nodded, quite curious. “Almost. Give me a taste. What flavor is it?”
Ji Shixian tossed the bottle with a long hand, and it landed steadily in Ji Ning’s backpack. He declined with a single word, “No.”
“After she’s had some, why would you drink it?” After three seconds, the boss realized Ji Shixian meant Ji Ning had already had some of the drink, so he couldn’t drink it himself. Unconvinced, he said, “Then why can you drink it?”
Raising an eyebrow, the man replied, “What’s the relationship between you and her, and what’s the relationship between her and me?”
“Fine.”
Then Ji Ning was “escorted” out the door.
“I don’t welcome couples here. Leave now!”
Exiting the shop, today’s date officially began.
Looking at the towering mountain in front of her, Ji Ning felt that this was probably arranged by Ji Shixian himself.
Bringing a girl on a date to climb a mountain? Wasn’t that something only her straight male idol, who had been single for 29 years, would do?
But what she didn’t expect was that this mountain climb didn’t have the same old-fashioned feel as climbing with elders. On the contrary, it seemed quite youthful, with people selling trinkets at the foot of the mountain.
Ji Ning walked over to take a look and found they were selling custom temporary tattoos.
“Do you two want to try? Couple-customized temporary tattoos.”
Seeing a beautiful design that caught her eye, Ji Ning asked, “How does the customization work?”
“You can freely choose from the templates I provide, or give me the picture you want to tattoo, or even draw it yourself. As long as you have an idea, we can make it happen, and you can apply it on the spot!” The guy selling the tattoos was very enthusiastic.
She glanced at Ji Shixian.
Actually, as far as she was concerned, she could take it or leave it with the temporary tattoos. But now that they were filming a show and something suitable for couples’ interaction came up, for the sake of the show’s effect, it would be better to cooperate, especially since the camera was still rolling.
Ji Shixian didn’t think too much about it. He just thought she might like it and nodded, saying, “Sure, what’s the process?”
“First, choose a design. Then I’ll print it on the temporary tattoo, coat it with a layer of film, trim it, and you’re all set.”
Ji Ning looked at the several pieces of paper in front of her. “What’s the price?”
“399 each.”
Something that cost only a few bucks was marked up nearly a hundred times. Before Ji Ning could even utter the words “robbery,” the man beside her had already swiftly produced eight bright red bills. Song Yu once said this was the color of a bleeding heart, and she felt it now.
She didn’t know why Ji Shixian spending money made her heart ache, probably because her sense of immersion in role-playing had gotten stronger recently.
Since they were filming, they couldn’t be too ordinary. They didn’t choose any of the usual couple-customized designs. Since Ji Shixian could draw a little, he started drawing on his iPad right then and there.
Sure, here’s the text with spaces between paragraphs:
He drew a small ear surrounded by flowers for her, but hesitated to draw his own. Ji Ning suggested, “How about drawing a salt shaker? We can’t let him draw a witch.” The man readily agreed, saying, “Good idea.”
“You two really understand each other,” the guy chatted with Ji Ning as Ji Shiyan focused on drawing. “Your boyfriend is really good at drawing.” Ji Ning smiled lightly, her emotions unclear. It would be nice if he were her boyfriend. But even though she thought so, she was still happy when the two of them made stickers by hand.
They worked together to design the patterns, then printed, laminated, and finally sat down to cut out the shapes of the stickers. Girls are better at cutting things, so Ji Ning fanned him with a small fan after she finished, while the man encouraged her. Ji Shiyan quickly finished cutting ten stickers and asked, “Can we stick them now?”
“Yes,” the guy picked up a small ear sticker, “where are you going to put it?” Ji Ning looked at her tightly wrapped arm due to sun protection and said, “Collarbone…?”
“Sure, I’ll help you,” the guy picked up a damp towel and motioned to come closer. When there were three steps left, Ji Shiyan stopped him with both hands and took the towel from him, saying, “I’ll do it.” The guy was a bit puzzled, and after a few seconds, he said, “This isn’t easy to stick.” Ji Shiyan remained expressionless, “I like challenges that seem impossible.”
“…” After a moment of hesitation, the guy let go and said, “Okay, then you do it!” Ji Shiyan quickly took over, but when he reached Ji Ning, he began to ask, “How do I stick it?” Ji Ning smiled and explained, “Stick the side with the pattern onto the skin, wet the other side with a damp towel, hold it for five seconds, then remove it.” The guy reminded from the side, “Three seconds is enough.”
Ji Ning thought this was a way to tease Ji Shiyan, but when the man pressed his fingertips against her collarbone, Ji Ning realized belatedly that it was a way to tease herself. The skin of her collarbone was delicate, and she could even feel the texture of his fingertips. It was too embarrassing to keep her eyes open, so she closed them, but then she couldn’t help but imagine the unspeakable fanfiction from LOFTER, “Ji Shiyan X me.” Oh, this was even more embarrassing.
She didn’t know what step they were at when the man lightly scraped his fingertips, followed by the moist towel covering it, causing Ji Ning to tremble uncontrollably. When would this end? She thought he hadn’t noticed, but then she heard his characteristic low laugh, “What’s with the trembling?” Ji Ning cleared her throat and quivered, “It’s like I just heard music and want to dance.” Ji Shiyan: …?
The man looked at her suspiciously for a moment, then his smile burst out unexpectedly, he peeled off the backing paper and examined it, “It’s done.” The guy bounced around, “I said three seconds was enough! Why did you stick it for five seconds? Are you questioning my professional competence?!”
Ji Shiyan couldn’t be bothered to answer, so she handed her salt shaker to Ji Ning, “Can you help me stick this?” Ji Ning thought for a moment, “Why not let that guy help you?”
“Why?” “I’m afraid your fans will say I’m imitating you.” Thinking of the fierce fighting power of the sea salt sisters these days, Ji Ning didn’t dare to touch him casually. After some contemplation, the man said slowly, “Do you know what my favorite game is?” Ji Ning didn’t know how the topic jumped here, so she resisted the urge to give the correct answer and pretended not to understand, asking, “What?”
“I like all kinds of collision games.” So when it came to pretending to be hit, his response was, “Hit me, I like being hit.” What kind of twisted logic was this…? Everyone knew that Ji Shiyan hated being pretended to be hit. After being hit by him, female celebrities almost dared not share the stage with him, as they were scared off by his icy aura.
But Ji Ning bravely “hit him” in front of the camera. Just in case Ji Shiyan denied it later, she had the video as evidence to prove her innocence. When she was sticking stickers on Ji Shiyan, the guy’s face almost stuck to the back of her hand. Feeling questioned about her professional abilities, she reminded him repeatedly, “Three seconds! Just three seconds with the damp towel!”
“Got it,” Ji Ning silently counted to three and prepared to remove her hand. But just as her hand began to move away, the man suddenly grabbed her wrist and pressed it back. With the sudden force, she could feel his heartbeat. “Stick it for two more seconds,” the man’s voice was deep, “I’m afraid it won’t stick well.”
…
Of course, here’s the text with spaces between paragraphs:
When they left finally, the guy was almost exploding with rage, yelling behind them incessantly, “I said three seconds was enough! Why didn’t you believe me?! We won’t be serving customers like you who look down on others in the future! Did you really need those extra seconds for fun?!”
Ji Ning glanced back, not noticing the slight curve of Ji Shiyin’s lips.
Fortunately, Ji Shiyin didn’t make Ji Ning climb the mountain next. This place had been renovated, with elevators installed on the outer ring.
The two of them took the elevator all the way up. Midway, Ji Shiyin covered her eyes with something.
She paused, then realized there was a blindfold and instinctively wanted to take it off. But Ji Shiyin reassured her, “It’s a surprise.”
Since he said there would be a surprise, Ji Ning stopped struggling. She pinched her earlobe and asked, “How will I walk later?”
His voice came reassuringly, “I’ll lead you.”
In the pitch-black darkness, she heard the sound of the elevator door opening, then felt her arm being held in someone’s hand. Ji Shiyin supported her, unable to resist commenting, “You’re too thin.”
Ji Ning felt like this comment was also a recognition of her professional demeanor. After all, body management is part of an artist’s job, maintaining one’s figure is a compulsory course for a female star, always keeping oneself in the best condition for the camera is a responsibility and respect for the audience.
As the man led her along, he kept reminding her softly, “Exiting the elevator now, there’s a flat path ahead, turn right later.”
It was probably another script arranged by the editors. In the darkness with her eyes covered, the whole person would be in an unstable state, and once there was someone to rely on nearby, trust would gradually be built, and the relationship between the two would easily be brought closer.
Ji Ning even imagined the emotions and subtitles the subtitle team would render when the show aired.
Just when she felt completely relaxed, Ji Shiyin stopped, took off her blindfold.
Bright light suddenly flooded in, Ji Ning raised her hand to shield her eyes, and the canopy of trees appeared in her sight, the clouds seemed almost within reach.
She looked down in disbelief.
This was the most famous building in the city—the glass skywalk!
The floor beneath her feet was made of transparent glass material. Looking down from the 52nd floor, one could hardly see the bottom. It felt like she was hanging in mid-air.
Ji Ning’s legs began to weaken.
Although she had indeed expressed a desire to come here a long time ago, at that time, she was young and ignorant, how could she know that plainness is the truth――why should she now bear the brunt of her past boasting!
She felt like crying without tears, regretting deeply.
Seeing Ji Ning not speaking, Ji Shiyin thought she was too excited to speak and said sideways, “Surprised?”
“Surprised,” Ji Ning gave a bitter new interpretation of the noun, “a bit of convulsions, understanding the importance of cherishing life.”
“…,”
Observing her tense state at the moment, Ji Shiyin could also understand the fear that girls would have when standing at a high place. He cleared his throat, “Can you still walk?”
“I can, I can even run,” Ji Ning said, “if these legs still belong to me.”
Ji Shiyin was really amused by her this time. He looked down and saw the girl unconsciously grabbing his clothes tightly, forming layer upon layer of wrinkles.
Suddenly, he had an idea, even though it wasn’t very humane.
But what’s humane anyway――he wasn’t a good person to begin with.
While Ji Ning was mentally overcoming her fear, her hand was suddenly pulled away, and Ji Shiyin strode forward.
She panicked for a moment, as if the straw that saved her life had been pulled away. She didn’t have time to think more and reached out to grab his outstretched arm.
“Where are you going?!”
Someone innocently laughed, “I’m seeing if I can give you a run-up.”
“…”
“Don’t run,” Ji Ning said in hindsight, “don’t leave me standing here alone.”
The man raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly, feeling her wholehearted reliance on him at the moment, and said a few words to her before saying, “Shall we go?”
They only took three tentative steps forward, and Ji Ning already felt her scalp tingling. She held onto the lifeline and refused to move forward, shaking her head like a motor.
She was too scared, to the point where she didn’t even realize she was clinging tightly to his arm.
Ji Shiyin then said, “Actually, there’s a cable car to the mountaintop. If you don’t want to take the cable car, we can only go up here…”
The glass skywalk was at least another five floors high. It would be better to let her die.
Before Ji Ning finished listening to him, she hurriedly said, “Let’s take the cable car then?”
The girl’s voice carried a tone of negotiation, soft and slightly trembling with a hint of pleasing and pleading, sounding somewhat like a kitten… being coquettish.
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Someone obviously looked pleased, glanced into the distance, pretending not to have heard clearly: “What?”
“I said, should we take the cable car?” Ji Ning nodded confidently, “Hmm, taking the cable car sounds good.”
The milk cat extended its soft paws and scratched his hand lightly.
Ji Shiyi cleared his throat lightly, “Alright, then the cable car it is.”
The cable car quickly brought them to the mountaintop. After the production crew cleared the scene, there weren’t many tourists around, and they could clearly feel the purer air at the mountaintop.
But the air and scenery couldn’t make Ji Ning feel like all the suffering she had endured was worth it.
She asked Ji Shiyi, “Do you think it’s worth it?”
The man laughed heartily, “Of course, why wouldn’t it be worth it.”
Okay, he fooled her for three years. Ji Ning never knew he used to be an avid mountain climber.
Disrespectful.
—
Back at the hotel, Ji Ning was exhausted, so she threw rose petals into the bathtub and soaked while scrolling through her phone.
Ji Shiyi still had a commercial shoot, he had just set off for City H, and his fans were eagerly sharing many live photos.
But Ji Shiyi in the photos didn’t look happy. He had a frown on his face, seeming a bit impatient.
Ji Ning scrolled through a few comments and found out the plane was delayed for several hours.
She knew he hated waiting, but she couldn’t help but recall the expression he had when they were applying temporary tattoos today, frowning consistently when the guy said “three seconds.”
A certain phrase that Song Yu said before inexplicably popped into her mind.
Ji Ning felt her fingers uncontrollably pressing the keys one after another on the keyboard, and she sighed.
Then she set her phone aside, pondering life while soaking in the bath.
Meanwhile, the protagonist of the discussion, Ji Shiyi, had just boarded the plane. After waiting for a long time, it finally took off. Before turning off his phone, he checked Weibo. The familiar ID “Outsider Wife” had just posted a comment a minute ago—
【This man always frowns impatiently, like he has excellent kidneys.】
Staring at the five words “like he has excellent kidneys” for a few seconds, the man dangerously and subtly…
Frowned again.
Author’s Note: Dangerous remarks have been captured hahaha
Be careful, Ji Shiyi might pull you out of the bathtub to see if his kidneys are really that good (?)