[Picking Boat and Accompanying the Moon] We Will Meet Again Later - Chapter 23

Jiang Feng became very busy. Previously, he had temporarily taken on the job as Ning Xu’s life model, which had caused a backlog of his other work. His trip back to Haiyou City was originally planned to catch up on his schedule. Who knew he would discover that Lin Xu was Ning Xu? He couldn’t stay away for a moment and rushed back to Yanlin.

He had been Ning Xu’s model for almost two more months. By December, year-end deadlines were pressing, and he simply couldn’t postpone his work commitments any longer. With too many things piling up, he had no choice but to ask Ning Xu for some time off.

“You won’t go find someone else, will you?” Jiang Feng asked worriedly.

“Of course not.” Ning Xu looked at his reluctant-to-work expression. “Working for me was only ever a small side gig for you. Why do you sound like you’re slacking off on your main job? Hurry up and go do your actual work.”

Gao Jinfei took Jiang Feng away—one furious, the other resentful. Ning Xu found it hilarious.

Once Jiang Feng left, when Ning Xu started her evening livestream, the comments were flooded with: [Where’s Jiang Feng? Why isn’t he here today?]
[Where did he go? Get him out here!]
[Is he playing the BGM? Why can’t we hear it?]

Ever since Jiang Feng himself confirmed he had been to Ning Xu’s livestream and then frequently appeared (even if just a hand), the traffic on Ning Xu’s livestream had multiplied. People came daily looking for Jiang Feng, showering Ning Xu with gifts in hopes she could coax Jiang Feng to say something.

Jiang Feng’s fans brought their own crying emojis: [This is so tragic, having to watch my husband in someone else’s livestream.]

Although many new viewers came for Jiang Feng, they were quickly captivated by Ning Xu’s culinary skills, the fluid movements and confident commentary as she prepared dishes, and the sheer happiness she exuded while tasting food.

When asked about her relationship with Jiang Feng, she casually explained, “We’ve known each other since childhood.”

Both were extremely good-looking, childhood sweethearts to boot. Jiang Feng himself carried an air of mystery and was a topic of discussion. Gradually, some people started shipping this CP.

[They eat dinner together every day. Doesn’t it seem like they’re already living a married life?]
[Seeing Jiang Feng every night—are they living together?!]
[Help!!!! They look so sweet together!]

Ning Xu thought to herself, we barely interact, how can you even tell?

After Jiang Feng went back to work and didn’t appear in the livestream for several days, some even speculated that the two had had a fight and were separated, or had already broken up and were just maintaining a facade for the camera.

Ning Xu was speechless, only able to say that their imagination was quite rich.

After Jiang Feng left, he sent Ning Xu voice messages every day. He discovered that if he sent text, Ning Xu would reply with text. If he sent voice messages, she would reply with voice messages. Although text messages were read aloud by his phone, it was a mechanical female voice, not her voice.

“What have you been up to these days?”

He sounded a bit tired, his voice weary, low and deep as it played through the phone—quite textured, a kind of tormentingly pleasant sound.

Ning Xu listened to it twice and said, “Organizing the inspiration from this period.”

Inspiration doesn’t always come as complete, detailed images. Sometimes it might just be a hand, an accessory, an expression. When she felt something, she’d grab a piece of paper and sketch it. Most were half-finished drafts used as material. It could be a few lines recording the feeling of a scene at the time, or something doodled while looking up references.

When these materials accumulated enough, organizing, merging, splitting, and combining them could spark new inspiration, perhaps even lead to new drafts.

They rarely called, mostly sending voice messages because Jiang Feng was busy on his end, often replying after ten or twenty minutes. Ning Xu, once inspiration struck, would ignore everything else to paint, often only seeing and replying to messages after one or two hours.

Their contact wasn’t tight or frequent. Jiang Feng seemed more like he was confirming Ning Xu was still there.

Besides organizing inspiration, Ning Xu also worked on videos exploring restaurants, often delving into streets and alleys. Occasionally, she would visit upscale restaurants suggested by fans.

One day, she went to a Western restaurant. While recording a video near the entrance, she noticed a dispute.

A male staff member was shooing away a woman with a guide dog, “Pets aren’t allowed in here. Please leave.”

The woman was gentle and soft-spoken. Unable to argue effectively and too embarrassed to linger at the door, she could only lower her head and whisper to the guide dog, “Xiao Qi, let’s go then.”

Ning Xu was furious. She stepped forward directly and said, “A guide dog is not a pet. Why can’t it come in?”

The male staff member thought she was causing trouble and said impatiently, “It’s our store’s policy. What if bringing a pet affects other customers’ dining experience?”

“Enough. Call your manager,” Ning Xu said, equally impatient.

The woman, afraid the situation would escalate, tried to mediate, “It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s fine. I’ll just leave.”

“He’s just a staff member following rules. We need to talk to someone in charge,” Ning Xu reassured her.

The male staff member made a call, and soon the store manager arrived.

Ning Xu said, “Please take a clear look at the vest it’s wearing—it’s the symbol of a guide dog. According to national regulations, visually impaired individuals with guide dogs should be provided barrier-free access to public places by staff. If you still refuse entry, I will call the police to mediate and resolve this matter.”

Her tone was cold and firm, very serious.

The manager quickly apologized with a smile, “You can come in, of course you can. We were careless. We’re truly very sorry.”

“Alright, let’s go in.”

Ning Xu touched the back of her hand. The woman reached up and grasped Ning Xu’s upper arm, letting her lead the way inside.

“Where would you like to sit? How about by the window?” Ning Xu asked her.

The woman said, “Okay.”

Ning Xu guided her to the seat. Worried about disturbing her meal, and still somewhat afraid of dogs herself, Ning Xu prepared to go to another table.

The woman proactively said, “Thank you so much for today. Are you alone? Would you mind having a meal with me?”

Ning Xu sat down and chatted with her.

The woman was named Ding Fuxue, two years younger than Ning Xu, freshly graduated from university. Like her name, she was gentle and had a sweet voice.

Ning Xu picked up the menu and read it to her, seeing what she wanted to eat, and added a few items for herself.

Ding Fuxue said, “I’ve always heard people recommend the cakes at this place. I thought about it for a long time and decided to come try it during a less busy time. I didn’t expect to almost not get in. Really, thank you.”

Hearing her sincere gratitude, Ning Xu said, “You can come to this restaurant again if you want. They probably just didn’t know guide dogs are allowed in. It should be fine after this. Others with guide dogs will be able to enter in the future too.”

Actually, China has a very large visually impaired population—tens of millions of blind people. On average, one in every hundred people is blind. Despite so many visually impaired individuals, people rarely see or interact with them in daily life. Aside from inadequate public facilities, a bigger reason is that many blind people struggle to overcome psychological barriers and are reluctant to go out.

She suddenly understood Jiang Feng’s approach of promoting activities to assist the blind: to let more people interact with blind people, understand blind people, and thus help blind people. To encourage one side to step out and the other side to reach out.

People always interact with and influence each other.

It’s through small changes and the accumulation of small acts of kindness that many things gradually improve, often without us even noticing.

Both the dessert and the main course were served. Ning Xu habitually adjusted the placement of the dishes in a clockwise manner and recited their names to her.

Ding Fuxue was a bit surprised. “Why do you understand blind people so well?”

Ning Xu thought of something and, without realizing it, a smile touched her lips. “Because I used to be the eyes for a little blind person for many years.”

Ding Fuxue asked, “A family member?”

Ning Xu said, “Someone I like.”

Ding Fuxue smiled and said, “I’m a little envious.”

“By the way, I make videos,” Ning Xu said, seeking her opinion. “I won’t film your face. Would you mind if the incident from earlier, along with some of our conversation, was recorded for a video? I have a decent number of followers, and I’d like to use my influence to raise awareness. I hope that when others see a blind person with a guide dog being stopped or hindered, they might also step up to help. Would that be okay with you?”

“That’s wonderful, of course it’s okay,” Ding Fuxue said, clasping her hands together, looking quite moved.

“Alright then, let’s eat something and chat while we do.”

Ding Fuxue said, “My eyes didn’t develop properly when I was a child. I lost my sight around my teens.”

Ning Xu asked, “Is it okay to ask what you do for a living now?”

She felt that someone like Jiang Feng, who relied on his looks for a living, was undoubtedly an extreme exception. Firstly, his appearance and temperament were outstanding advantages, and secondly, his family was truly wealthy—money could smooth over many obstacles.

Ding Fuxue replied, “I work in the voice-over industry. I can do the recording from home. I rarely go out because I’m a bit afraid, not very brave.”

Ding Fuxue had a soft, somewhat timid and introverted personality. She rarely had such a relaxed and pleasant chat and meal with someone outside, so she was genuinely happy, a smile lingering on her face throughout.

The guide dog, professionally trained, remained quietly lying at Ding Fuxue’s feet the entire time, neither noisy nor restless.

After eating, Ding Fuxue took a small bowl from her bag, poured some food and water, and fed Xiao Qi.

Before saying goodbye, Ding Fuxue took out a wet wipe from her bag to clean her hands. Then, very apologetically and cautiously, she asked, “Since I can’t see what you look like, may I touch your face?”

She wanted to remember this kind-hearted person who was like sunshine.

Ning Xu wasn’t embarrassed at all. She directly took Ding Fuxue’s hand and placed it on her own face.

Perhaps afraid of poking her eyes, Ding Fuxue touched very carefully.

Withdrawing her hand, Ding Fuxue said, “You are very beautiful.” Your heart is beautiful too.

Ning Xu laughed, “You even figured that out.”

Ning Xu quite liked her, feeling that her personality and temperament were like a clear, transparent little lake—somewhat similar to Jiang Feng in that regard.

“I’ve even let you touch my face,” Ning Xu said, propping her chin on her hand. “Surely I can ask for your contact info?”

If a man had said this, it might have sounded like shameless flirting, but coming from Ning Xu in a teasing tone, it instead made Ding Fuxue laugh.

After the other woman left, Ning Xu’s tense shoulders and back slowly relaxed.

Standing up and taking a couple of steps, her calves felt extremely sore and weak, her legs as tired as if she had just run a marathon.

Even though she knew she wouldn’t be bitten or harmed, the physiological fear of dogs seemed etched into her genes, something she couldn’t control herself.

Ning Xu returned home and personally edited the video recorded that day. Actually, she already had plenty of edited videos ready to be uploaded on schedule, but she wanted to publish today’s recording now.

She edited until midnight. This shop review video included segments about helping Ding Fuxue out of the difficult situation and some of their casual conversation.

At the end of the video, after Ning Xu’s public science segment, she added background music and a few lines of text:

— I hope that when you see a visually impaired person encountering trouble on the street, you can take the initiative to ask if they need help.

— Kindness is like sparks; may these sparks long burn bright.

After editing the video, Ning Xu repeatedly checked for any parts that needed modification or if Ding Fuxue’s personal privacy had been exposed.

Finally, she uploaded it and turned off the computer.

She sat in her chair, tiredly rubbing her face.

Perhaps because Ding Fuxue had touched her face today, in her drowsy state, Ning Xu remembered how Jiang Feng always liked to touch her face when they were young.

Jiang Feng would also like to tilt his head and ask, “Ning Xu, Ning Xu, what do you actually look like?”

It annoyed Ning Xu. She would swat his hand away and say disdainfully, “Are your hands dirty or not? Don’t randomly touch my face.”

Jiang Feng often relied on his hands to perceive the world—touching this, feeling that. If he accidentally fell, his hands would get dirty too.

Once, he smelled flowers, went over to touch them, and ended up feeling the stems, leaves, roots, and soil. His hands were covered in mud, filthy. Ning Xu got mud all over her face from his touch and refused to let him touch her after that.

So, every time Jiang Feng wanted to touch Ning Xu’s face, he would run off to wash his hands.

“Ning Xu, look, my hands are clean now. Can I touch your face?”

Ning Xu cruelly refused, “They’re still wet. Damp. I don’t want that.”

Jiang Feng would run off again to dry his hands, meticulously and seriously, rubbing them until they turned red.

“Ning Xu, my hands are dry now. Is it okay now?” Jiang Feng lowered his head to sniff them and said ingratiatingly, “They smell like hand soap, it’s fragrant!”

The more Ning Xu saw him pitifully wanting to touch, the more she mischievously didn’t want to let him.

“Still not okay.”

“Why not?”

“Who touches someone else’s face all day long?”

“I don’t touch other people’s,” Jiang Feng corrected her seriously. “You’re not ‘other people’.”

Ning Xu snorted, “I don’t care. Anyway, no.”

“Ah…” Jiang Feng said distressingly, “Ning Xu, is it because you’re not good-looking that you won’t let me touch?”

Ning Xu thumped him on the head, “Are you an idiot? I’m definitely better looking than you!”

Rubbing his head, Jiang Feng said little aggrievedly, “Then let me touch it once.”

“No. Hmph.”

…

Thinking back on it now, Ning Xu still couldn’t help but laugh.

Suddenly, she felt like seeing Jiang Feng.

She opened WeChat and asked Gao Jinfei: [Where are you guys filming now?]