Chapter 63: One Smile Ends Old Grudges
“It’s you...” Bai Xi narrowed her eyes.
They were at the edge of the busy city. The place was quiet and peaceful, yet somehow it felt like something was missing. Especially when standing here with someone she did not like very much.
“It’s already so late. What do you want?”
Even though Bai Xi’s face was cold and unfriendly, Ye Dong still answered with a kind smile.
“Gao Ming just called me and asked me to come try the costumes. I heard you were here too, so I brought this along.”
It was a dark red box, similar to jewelry packaging.
Ye Dong slowly untied the red cloth wrapped around it. Inside was a thin transparent piece shaped like a lens.
Bai Xi froze for a moment.
This thing?
A glasses lens!
She had already sealed the old one away at home because she never expected it could still be used. Last time, Ye Dong had seemed very sincere, and he had helped her too, so she let him take a look at it.
But seeing how serious he was now... had he really found such a rare lens?
“Glass?” Bai Xi asked doubtfully.
Ye Dong gently shook his head while carefully holding it through the wrapping cloth.
Bai Xi moved her hand closer and felt a slight coolness. She carefully picked it up and examined it under the streetlight, then held it close to her eyes and studied it closely.
“The material is pretty good, right?”
“It’s even clearer than glass or resin! For something natural to have this level of purity...” Bai Xi became excited for a moment, but after realizing it, she quickly returned to her usual cold expression. “It’s truly very rare.”
“Last time I saw the color was similar. Can it make a matching pair?”
Afraid of breaking it, Bai Xi carefully placed it back into the box in Ye Dong’s hands.
“It can barely work.”
“And the prescription?”
“It looks pretty clear to me. It should be close enough.”
Ye Dong smiled warmly and raised the box slightly, signaling her to take it.
Bai Xi silently stared at it. Her arm lifted several times and lowered again. Her desire to take it was almost impossible to suppress, yet reason kept stopping her.
In her mind, what happened at Cheng Fei’s wedding had already repaid the “debt” for the lens. If she accepted this now, she would owe him a huge favor.
In the end, Ye Dong stepped forward himself, grabbed Bai Xi’s arm, opened her hand, and pressed the box into her palm.
“I’ll transfer the money to you later.”
“A fine sword belongs to a hero, and beauty belongs with a beautiful lady. You’re a teacher, someone who helps train the next generation for our country. This thing can only show its true value in your hands.”
Those words felt comforting to hear.
Who would not want someone who understood them to praise them like that?
Even if she felt pleased inside, she still wanted to save face.
“If you keep talking like that, then I won’t take it,” Bai Xi said while raising her hand, trying to stuff the box into Ye Dong’s pocket.
“Don’t. This wasn’t bought with money.”
“You dug it out yourself? Or polished it by hand? Look at this clarity. It’s even better than glass or resin. Do you know how rare this is?”
“I know... probably once in a hundred years.”
Bai Xi sighed and pulled out her phone, opening the transfer app.
“Fine. How much?”
“I already told you, I didn’t buy it.”
Bai Xi became so frustrated that her eyes widened.
“This really was left behind by an elder in my family! During a move, it accidentally fell and broke. Even the frame was destroyed. Only this lens survived.”
Could such a coincidence really happen?
Bai Xi still found it hard to believe.
Faced with her suspicion, Ye Dong could only show real proof.
He opened photos on his phone. Bai Xi saw a dark purple glasses frame shattered into several pieces, along with a damaged lens fragment.
“The frame was made from red sandalwood. If you don’t believe me, smell it. The scent is still there.”
Bai Xi immediately opened the box again and carefully smelled it. Sure enough, there was a calm and pleasant fragrance.
So he really was not lying.
But after learning this, Bai Xi suddenly felt even more uncomfortable.
“This was left behind by your family elder. I...”
“Teacher Bai, can you stop refusing already? There’s only one lens left now. How could anyone still wear it? Taking it home just to make it some useless collection item would only waste it. The best way is to let it be properly used!”
Honestly, Bai Xi was tempted.
But accepting favor after favor like this made her feel as if she were accepting charity.
Ye Dong understood this too, so he quickly added,
“Since the two lenses can make a pair, let’s just temporarily install this one into your glasses frame. Think of it as me lending it to you, okay?”
As he spoke, he gently pushed back the hand Bai Xi had stretched out again and returned the box to where it belonged.
Except for Cheng Fei’s wedding day, Bai Xi had almost always shown people an icy expression.
But now, Ye Dong could finally see signs of spring warmth melting a frozen stream.
“Are you pitying me?”
Bai Xi’s expression quietly changed a little, but her tone was still as sharp as ever.
Right at that moment, Ye Dong’s phone rang. He looked at it briefly, then hung up.
“Obviously, you’re overthinking it,” Ye Dong said slowly after letting out a breath. “Because I understand how you feel.”
“My mom is a doctor. When it comes to medical skill, everyone agrees she’s one of the best in the field. And as a person? She’s so dedicated that even after coming home to eat or sleep, she would still unconsciously call out patients’ names.”
“But even someone like her still got attacked by angry patients. Later, someone even poured gasoline on our front door. They almost burned our house down.”
Ye Dong gave a bitter smile.
Bai Xi suddenly felt ashamed of her own words.
Both of them treated people sincerely, yet this was the kind of “reward” they received in return.
The conversation had already gone far enough. Continuing would start to feel overly emotional, and Ye Dong really disliked that kind of atmosphere.
“I’m leaving. Gao Ming is rushing me already. Once you put it in, don’t forget to send me a picture.”
“Mhm!”
After smiling once, he turned around and hurried toward the apartment complex.
Bai Xi stood there quietly, watching him disappear into the night before finally returning to her car.
The noisy cicadas mixed with the leftover heat from the daytime. Outside, the night looked no different from usual, but inside the car, something felt slightly different.
That small box seemed to spread a comforting warmth throughout the summer night.
The bright moon hung high in the night sky. Occasionally, clouds drifted past and covered the giant “guiding lamp.”
The night scenery felt like a thin veil covering a beautiful woman, full of mystery and charm.
A woman’s beauty lies in elegance, while a man’s beauty lies in presence and spirit.
In this peaceful age, calm daily life was wonderful, yet it could also feel somewhat dull.
And when people grew tired of peace, they often began thinking about the people and stories of the past.
Wearing armor, riding a strong horse, holding a long spear while racing across the desert, crushing every enemy who dared threaten the homeland beneath their feet.
Inside the storage room, Gao Ming had already put on his armor and was striking cool poses.
Ye Dong watched with envy but could do nothing about it.
Gao Ming was responsible for decisions, while Ye Dong handled the actual work. If both of them left the studio, then who would manage things?
Compared to them, the “photographer” Zhou Lin looked even more ridiculous.
He held both of their phones in one hand while taking pictures at the same time. Meanwhile, his other hand held a professional digital camera, clicking nonstop.
The skill was unbelievable. Nobody would believe it without seeing it themselves.
As for Cheng Fei, she had already become completely used to it.
Zhou Lin was not very tall, but his hands were larger than most people’s. Without that natural advantage, no amount of practice would make this possible.
Forget ordinary six-inch phones, even two giant 6.9-inch “brick phones” at once would not be a problem for him.
After the initial shock, the two men gradually adapted and immersed themselves in the fantasy brought by the image of “bright clothes and fast horses.”
Click!
At last, Cheng Fei appeared again wearing the Hanfu outfit she found troublesome.
But after only a few steps, she accidentally stepped on the edge of her skirt.
Luckily, Gao Ming stood nearby and grabbed her waist in time. Otherwise, she would have fallen flat on her face right in front of the three men.
Embarrassing yourself in front of the public was unforgivable.
That was pure humiliation.
Cheng Fei’s expression instantly turned ugly.
Seeing this, Zhou Lin suddenly remembered how she had embarrassed herself practicing high heels a few days ago.
As the memory mixed with his imagination, Cheng Fei’s current face unconsciously became replaced by a man’s face in his mind.
The more he imagined it, the harder it became to hold back.
Pfft!
He burst out laughing.
Cheng Fei clenched her fists tightly. Cracking sounds echoed through the empty room. Even Ye Dong nearby could hear her grinding her teeth.
According to Gao Ming, although Cheng Fei looked gentle on the surface, inside she was actually a fierce little tiger.
Size did not matter. A tiger was still a tiger. And once a tiger’s wild side was provoked...
Well, the consequences would not be good.
Older generations often said newly married couples lacked “practice.”
Nowadays, with couples living together everywhere before marriage, that saying sounded outdated.
But when applied to Cheng Fei, a woman halfway into the role, it actually fit perfectly.
When it came to being a woman, she truly lacked practice.
“Don’t mind the others. It’s getting late already.”
“Ahem...”
Zhou Lin cleared his throat awkwardly, while Ye Dong quickly nodded in agreement.
“Little brother, make sure your hands stay steady~” Cheng Fei raised her eyebrows slightly, sounding almost like the flirtatious madam from an old historical drama.
“O-okay! Don’t worry...” Zhou Lin replied with a silly smile, though his heart had almost stopped from fright.
After messing around for half the day, everything was finally finished.
The three costume shops truly deserved their reputation as the best in the business. The prices were expensive, but both the production speed and quality were excellent.
All six people gave a satisfaction score of ninety-eight percent.
The remaining two percent came from Cheng Fei, who strongly demanded that the skirt be shortened to knee length after this incident.
However...
With Gao Ming present, her “opinion” could only be reduced to a mere suggestion.
It was already deep into the night.
After all that effort, everyone was exhausted. Since home was far away, going back to cook now would take too long and might wake Gao Limin and the others.
In summer, barbecue stalls, roadside restaurants, and night markets were part of the scenery itself.
The drifting smell of grilled meat entered their noses, making resistance impossible.
“Whoa, it’s lively here.”
“Yeah, haven’t been out like this in a while.”
“Brother Zhou has worked hard lately. Busy with a huge project and still helping track down that cheating scumbag.”
“Haha, small matter, small matter.”
After meeting several times, Zhou Lin and Ye Dong had become familiar with each other. Since both worked in IT, they naturally felt closer.
“If you guys don’t mind something simple, let’s eat here,” Gao Ming said while turning his head. “You still want the same as—”
Where was she?
She had been beside him just a second ago, yet in the blink of an eye she vanished.
Looking around, Gao Ming saw that slim figure had somehow already sneaked over to the barbecue stall and started grabbing skewers of meat.
“What kind of alcohol do you guys want—”
Once again, nobody answered him.
The two men who had been chatting moments ago had already followed Cheng Fei toward the food stall.
Gao Ming instantly became speechless.
He had heard that personalities could influence others, but he never expected it to spread this quickly.
Now he was starting to worry whether one day he himself would also end up infected by Cheng Fei’s personality.
Peanuts, edamame, grilled skewers, and beer.
What could compare to a summer night feast like this?
If there was one thing, it would be seeing evil people finally receive the punishment they deserved.
A tingling feeling suddenly came from Zhou Lin’s leg pocket.
He picked up his phone, stared at the number for a moment, and hesitated with his finger over the answer button before finally pressing it.
Instead of quietly speaking into the phone, he turned on speaker mode and placed the phone in the middle of the table.