Chapter 37 — A Small Gift
Although he was beyond busy, Qin Jiran made time to cook dinner for Su Yanyi whenever he could, and the servants were very happy about it. Wang-jie beamed as she handed the kitchen over, and then she presented the little golden tortoise to him. The tortoise blinked up at Qin Jiran.
“Yanyi’s?” He asked with great uncertainty. He didn’t think Su Yanyi was the type to raise pets.
“Miss said, this is a gift for Master. She said the golden tortoise is auspicious, and she hopes that Master’s new film will become a great hit,” Wang-jie said, twisting the instructions Su Yanyi had given her to sound more pleasant.
Qin Jiran looked at the little tortoise, and then he picked it up. “Does this little thing have a name?”
At this, Wang-jie suppressed a smile and replied with feigned calmness, “Its name is Cutie (Xiao Meng).”
“Which ‘meng’? Did Yanyi pick the name?” He asked as his lips drew an arch. It surprised, and at the same time, amused him that Su Yanyi would pick such a cute name for the tortoise.
“Miss said it’s the same ‘meng’ as ‘chun meng’ (playing dumb to seem cute). She said if Master doesn’t like the name, it can be changed to Dummy (Xiao Chun).” Wang-jie was also carrying a hint of laughter in her eyes. She’d always been rather afraid of her cold Miss, so she too was surprised.
Qin Jiran and Wang-jie exchanged glances and shared a laugh.
“Let’s call it Cutie then. It’s better than Dummy,” he chuckled. To the tortoise, he said, “From now on, your name will be Cutie. Be obedient, and don’t be naughty, okay?”
He was especially gentle to the tortoise, owing to his love for small animals in general and the fact that this beautiful little tortoise was a gift from Su Yanyi. Of course he would like it.
His smile never left his face. That night, the food he made seemed to taste especially good. When Su Yanyi came home and noticed his good mood, she was infected by his smile. The corners of her lips turned up, softening her expression
“Thank you for the wonderful gift. I’ll raise it well,” Qin Jiran said seriously. He set the final dish down and swiftly laid the tortoise on the table too.
“Keeping it alive is good enough,” was her callous response, though she was actually feeling quite happy with herself. She’d lifted a burden off her back and received Qin Jiran’s gratitude for it, killing two birds with one stone.
Ah, how clever I am.
Qin Jiran smiled again. He knew she was not a small animal person, and he wasn’t sure why she decided to give him this tiny thing to raise. It was probably from a friend. Nonetheless, he was happy.
As much as he loved small animals, he kept it more or less a secret. After all, he was a full-grown man. When he started living together with Su Yanyi, it became impossible for him to express his fondness for small animals.
He’d never expected to get one from her.
The brimming sincerity and delight he showed towards the gift caused her pause and dwell on it. Then, she asked him, with both doubt and pleasant surprise in her voice, “You like small animals?”
Just as the question left her lips, the System beeped.
Congratulations on accomplishing the task once!
+1 Point
Progress: 1/10
Total: 11 Points
Please continue working hard!
So she was right.
However, she could not relate to his fondness for small animals at all. He felt discomforted by her stare and assumed that she was laughing at him.
“Little animals are very cute, haha,” he explained weakly. The embarrassed look on his face amused her. Although her smile was almost imperceptible, it attracted all of his attention. To him, nothing else in the world was as beautiful as her smile.
“Very cute indeed,” she agreed.
Having gained a point from the System, she suddenly felt like the tortoise wasn’t as troublesome as she’d thought. Off to the side, the golden tortoise blinked its pea-like eyes and turned its head to the left, and then to the right, and then to the left again. After observing it for a moment, she admitted that it was pretty cute.
Dinner ended. Su Yanyi started to look over the five scripts she had gotten from the System and deemed them all exceptional. The scripts included three genres: ancient, xianhuan, and suspense. The songs were interesting too, so Su Yanyi was quite satisfied.
After a short moment of contemplation, she left for Qin Jiran’s study. She had no habit of knocking when she was in her villa, or company, or anywhere within her sphere of influence since in those places, she called the shots.
When she pushed the door open, she saw Qin Jiran seated and writing on a sheet of paper. It looked like he was doing work for his upcoming film. She walked up to him and unceremoniously put down the scripts and songs she had in her hand.
She casually swept her gaze over his desk and noticed a familiar teapot. It was the same one he had used last time when she came into his study to tell him jokes.
Seeing it again now, she wondered…
“You like to drink tea?” she asked somewhat anticipatively.
Congratulations on accomplishing the task once!
+1 Point
Progress: 2/10
Total: 12 Points
Please continue working hard!
Wasn’t this too easy? She was able to earn two points in one night!
“I do. I like to drink tea every night after work. Do you want some? It’s longjing tea today. Try it.” He took the initiative and started pouring as he spoke.
When it came to tea, Su Yanyi had no particular preferences. After a few sips, she decided that it was pretty good. Then, she pointed at the scripts and told him, “Look through these when you have time. Keep the ones you like, and give me the ones you don’t. I’ll give those to other actors.”
With this, Su Yanyi had casually determined the fates of the five most influential films of the future film industry. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, or that she was unaware of the value of the scripts, but that she was too caught up in the satisfaction of being able to give a gift to someone she wanted to spoil.
“Thank you.”
Although her tone was casual, Qin Jiran’s gaze turned perplexed.
If she had treated him indifferently, then he probably wouldn’t have thought much, but she was treating him so well that he couldn’t help but let his mind wander.
Could he assume that perhaps, maybe, possibly, Yanyi liked him, even just a tiny bit, in a romantic way?
VIN: A short explanation on the tortoise’s new name:
The word “蠢萌” is written as “chun meng” in pinyin, 蠢 (chun) meaning “dumb,” and 萌 (meng) meaning “cute.” Together, it’s used to describe someone who acts dumb in order to seem cute. Wang-jie told QJR that SYY named the tortoise “Xiao (Little) Meng” which I’m translating to “Cutie.” Then, Wang-jie said if he doesn’t like “Cutie,” he can also call it “Xiao (Little) Chun” = “Dummy.” SYY is as creative as always with her naming, kek.
