[Picking Boat and Accompanying the Moon] We Will Meet Again Later - Chapter 28

Ning Xu slept through the entire day and only woke up in the evening. Seeing Jiang Feng still keeping watch by her side, she asked, “Did you not go to the shoot this afternoon?”

Jiang Feng replied, “It started raining, so we stopped.”

Actually, the rain had only just begun. He had been too worried about her and wasn’t in the right state of mind, so he had asked for time off.

The shooting schedule was relatively flexible. Plus, both the model and the photographer were not at their best, so the person in charge had decided to pause the shoot and let everyone regroup.

“Oh.” Ning Xu reached for his hand and noticed the many cuts. “What happened to your hand?”

“I had a little accident.”

Ning Xu gently stroked the back of his hand. “Does it hurt?”

The pain had long subsided, but her question suddenly made it feel real again. The warmth of her touch spread through his skin, searing like lava, threatening to burn a piece of his heart away.

“It’s alright,” Jiang Feng said, withdrawing his hand.

Under Ning Xu’s insistence, Jiang Feng had no choice but to fetch the topical ointment and let her tend to his wounds.

Gao Jinfei, after finishing his own dinner and remembering the two who hadn’t eaten, brought back two packed meals.

Ning Xu had recovered a bit, regaining some strength and the ability to take care of herself. She took the food, unpacked it, and arranged it properly.

A message came from Shan Yuqing: [Sis, are you streaming these next couple of days?]

Ning Xu replied: [Post a notice saying I’m taking a break for a few days. You should too. Since I’m not around, take a vacation and go have some fun on your own.]

During the first two years Shan Yuqing worked with her, it had been incredibly busy. Shan Yuqing didn’t know anything at first, learning from Ning Xu while studying on her own. It was also a period of rapid growth for Ning Xu’s follower count. The two of them often got less than six hours of sleep, with hardly any days off throughout the year.

Now that the pressure wasn’t as intense, Ning Xu wanted her to relax more, rest more, and do things she enjoyed.

Maybe it was her imagination, but Ning Xu felt that Jiang Feng looked noticeably more haggard while she was sick.

“Don’t worry too much,” Ning Xu reassured him. “I’m actually pretty healthy. I haven’t been sick much these past two years. Even if I get sick now, I’ll recover quickly.”

“Mm.”

Ning Xu opened her mouth to say more but decided against it.

The rain grew heavier, drumming a steady pitter-patter against the window.

Seeing how late it was, Ning Xu asked him, “Are you staying here tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you tired, just sitting there watching over me?”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Feng reached out and touched her forehead.

Ning Xu pulled the quilt up to cover half her face, her dark eyes darting around.

She was sticky with sweat but didn’t have the energy for a shower. She thought about asking Jiang Feng to lie down on the bed but felt a little embarrassed. Maybe she should wait until tomorrow, after a refreshing shower, to coax him up then?

Ning Xu fell asleep to the continuous sound of rain and Jiang Feng’s gentle, soothing strokes.

She remembered how anxious Jiang Feng would get every time she was sick as a child.

It seemed he had understood the meaning of death earlier than she had.

Back then, Ning Xu’s birthday wish every year was for her mother to be healthy. And Jiang Feng’s wish was always for Ning Xu to be healthy.

Once, Ning Xu had a high fever and went to the hospital for an IV. Jiang Feng insisted on going with her. In the unfamiliar environment, sitting on the cold chairs, he was visibly uncomfortable.

Ning Xu was puzzled. “Why did you come? You can’t even see when the IV bottle is empty to call the nurse for me.”

Jiang Feng was rendered speechless.

Her father, Ning Liangqing, seemed to have some urgent matter. He glanced at the IV bottle, roughly calculating the time. “Dad needs to step out for a moment. I’ll be back in ten minutes or so.”

But something delayed him, and twenty minutes passed without his return.

Ning Xu, exhausted, fell asleep. The small clinic only had one nurse on duty at the time, who was too busy to notice that Ning Xu’s IV had finished. A pressure difference caused Ning Xu’s blood to be drawn back up the tube.

Ning Xu opened her eyes and saw the column of blood in the soft tube on her hand. Terrified, she cried out, “Jiang Feng, I’m going to die!”

Jiang Feng turned pale with fright.

The nurse, very calmly, disconnected the IV tube, expelled the air, replaced the bottle, and resumed the drip. Ning Xu’s blood flowed back.

Ning Xu breathed a sigh of relief. When she saw Ning Liangqing return, she said angrily, “Dad, what took you so long!”

Ning Liangqing, hearing what had happened, apologized repeatedly.

After that, Ning Xu never dared to fall asleep during an IV again.

No one had blamed Jiang Feng for what happened from start to finish. How could anyone blame him for not being able to see?

But the incident had left a mark on his heart nonetheless.

Whether he was present or not, he served no purpose. In fact, when he was there, others had to be careful to accommodate him.

The sky remained overcast, and the rain fell incessantly, adding a touch of chill to the air.

Ning Xu slept through another night and felt much better by the next day.

Jiang Feng wasn’t wearing his prosthetic eye at the moment; a white gauze patch covered his left eye socket. After all, it wasn’t part of his own body, and wearing it constantly inevitably caused a sense of having a foreign object.

Ning Xu took a quick shower, changed clothes, and burrowed back into bed. But soon, boredom set in. Seeing that Jiang Feng didn’t seem to have a shoot today, she asked, “Jiang Feng?”

“Mm?”

“Just how many prosthetic eyes do you have?”

“Quite a few. I’ve never counted them precisely.”

“How many did you bring on this trip? I want to see.”

Knowing Ning Xu was bored, Jiang Feng went back to his room to fetch the prosthetic eyes.

Gao Jinfei wasn’t around; he seemed to have scurried off to another guesthouse to find someone to play cards with.

Ning Xu idly scrolled through her phone. When Jiang Feng returned with a small black box, her interest was piqued. She took it and examined it closely.

The small black box had three layers. Each layer had a grid of twenty small compartments. Each compartment held a single prosthetic eye, arranged like precious jewels.

Prosthetic eyes are special; they can only be custom-made to fit an individual’s eye socket contour. So, every eye in the box was the same shape and size, tailored specifically for Jiang Feng.

However, the color, pupil size, fluorescence, and content of bright fragments differed for each eye. At a glance, it truly looked like a box of rare treasures.

Some of the eyes were dazzlingly gorgeous, clearly exaggerated in design, but when Jiang Feng wore them, they paradoxically blended into a unique aesthetic beauty.

Aside from the realistic, simulated eyes, most were suitable for photoshoots and makeup styling.

Each one was beautiful, like a box full of stars. Ning Xu couldn’t look away. “I once dreamed of a refined, elegant psychopath who saved lives by day but collected people’s eyes by night. He gathered beautiful eyes and stored them in containers… My inspiration probably came from you.”

Jiang Feng lowered his eyes upon hearing this. “Is this scary? Looking at these… are you afraid?”

She wanted to see, so he showed her. But because he couldn’t see them himself, he couldn’t tell if the way the prosthetic eyes were arranged was unsettling.

“They’re very beautiful,” Ning Xu said. “Looking at them makes me want to wear colored contacts.”

Jiang Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “This is only a part of them.”

Sixty prosthetic eyes are just a part? Ning Xu was surprised. “Then how do you tell which one to wear when?”

Just looking at them made her feel a bit overwhelmed by the choices.

Jiang Feng opened the glass lid. Ning Xu then noticed that each small compartment had a piece of Braille paper stuck inside, with Braille characters engraved on it.

Ning Xu randomly pointed to one. “What does this one mean?”

Jiang Feng ran his fingers over the Braille. “It says, ‘Summer Night, dark green with gold sparkles.'”

They were sitting close together. Dressed lightly indoors, their arms, pressed against each other, could feel each other’s body heat.

Ning Xu’s fever had broken, but she still felt warm inside. She had decided today was the day to coax Jiang Feng into bed.

She lifted a corner of the quilt, patted the space beside her, signaling for Jiang Feng to lie down with her.

Jiang Feng didn’t move.

Ning Xu said something utterly improper with a completely straight face, “I’ve been forced into a state of abstinence, so you don’t need to worry.”

“…”

Jiang Feng closed the box, set it aside, and smiled wryly. “That’s not what I was thinking.”

Since childhood, there had never been a time when he didn’t yield to Ning Xu’s wishes. This time was no different.

As soon as he sat on the bed, before he could even lie down properly, Ning Xu impatiently started pulling at his clothes. Her technique and expression were akin to plucking feathers from a cooked duck. She stripped Jiang Feng down until he was left with just one layer of shirt and his pants.

Ning Xu retracted her claws. “Ah, I forgot you aren’t ticklish.”

“Alright, let’s sleep,” Ning Xu said. She knew he hadn’t rested well these past two days—or rather, hadn’t rested at all. Even though her own energy wasn’t fully back, she started feeling sorry for him first.

Jiang Feng lay down properly. Amid the sound of the winter rain, he suddenly spoke. “Ning Xu.”

“Mm?”

Don’t like me.

Don’t love me.

I’m not as strong as you think I am.

His eye socket ached with sourness; bitterness clogged his heart.

A thousand words, a myriad of feelings, churned in his chest. But when they reached his lips, all that remained was a silent, low sigh.

Ning Xu waited a moment, then said, “Alright, sleep now. Even though I know you can’t see, you can’t possibly keep your eyes open and pretend to sleep for me, right?”

Jiang Feng closed his eyes, ultimately saying nothing.

Ning Xu played on her phone, waiting for him to fall asleep. Then she turned off her phone, burrowed into his embrace, and still not satisfied, her hands grew restless.

First, she touched his eyelashes, then poked his Adam’s apple. Her hand slipped under the hem of his shirt, roaming recklessly.

From his collarbone to his waist, she left no area untouched.

Jiang Feng, half-asleep from her touch, knew what she was doing. He let out a soft, indulgent laugh.

A large hand cupped the back of her head. He lowered his head, his nose nuzzling against her forehead like a small animal seeking affection or acting coy.

Ning Xu’s conscience finally kicked in. She stopped fanning the flames and settled down obediently in his arms without moving.

Perhaps it was the relentless rhythm of the raindrops outside the window, or perhaps it was the warmth of his embrace and the familiarity of his scent, but drowsiness washed over Ning Xu again. She fell into a comfortable sleep in his arms.

For a long time, Ning Xu had an irregular sleep schedule, struggled to fall asleep, and was often plagued by nightmares even when she did.

This time, however, it felt like she had found a safe haven. She completely relaxed her mind and slept comfortably.

Seventy-two hours had passed since Ning Xu boldly declared her intention to “sleep with” someone. They had lain in the same bed, slept, but not fully slept.

The rain had stopped, but the sky remained overcast.

The person in charge reorganized the photoshoot.

In the morning, they shot with jasmine flowers. Jiang Feng wore a cream-colored sweatshirt and light green trousers. A garland of jasmine flowers was woven around his left wrist, and the background was a field of jasmine blossoms.

He sat on a specially built platform.

Gao Jinfei reminded him about the camera angles. Xu Qiaohan adjusted her camera and said, “No need for extra lighting. I want this overcast sky as the background.”

“Jiang Feng, turn your face slightly to the right. I want a sense of emptiness, of being lost in thought.”

Jiang Feng wasn’t just a mannequin. After the photographer captured the shots she wanted, he would also offer his own ideas and suggestions. “Give me some jasmine petals.”

A staff member plucked a handful of petals and gave them to him.

He remained seated on the high platform, looking down as if gazing at the petals in his right hand. A breeze blew by, carrying the pure white petals away through his fingers. It was like being unable to hold onto something desired. His expression was sorrowful.

Ning Xu was momentarily stunned.

Everyone present was struck breathless by the beauty of the scene. Only Xu Qiaohan kept frantically snapping pictures.

In the afternoon, they shot with red camellias.

This session didn’t require wide shots, only capturing Jiang Feng from the collarbone up.

Jiang Feng bared his shoulders, though a down jacket was wrapped around the parts outside the frame.

The stylist used a small spray bottle to dampen his hair ends, neck, and shoulders, then scattered a few red camellia petals here and there.

The prosthetic eye Jiang Feng wore this time appeared black from a distance, but under close lighting, a blood-red color became visible.

He held a single camellia blossom between his lips, tilting his chin up with a haughty, untamed air, letting Xu Qiaohan take close-ups of his face.

Finally, the shoot wrapped up. The person in charge and Xu Qiaohan were reviewing the day’s photos. Jiang Feng went to the tent to dry off and change.

A crowd gathered around the computer to look at the images. Unable to contain her curiosity, Ning Xu squeezed in for a peek.

The morning session, combined with the jasmine, highlighted Jiang Feng’s clean, cool persona. Especially those photos under the overcast sky, where all the scenery seemed muted and grey. Jiang Feng’s expression of sorrow and confusion, the pure white petals carried away by the wind—even through the screen, they could stir feelings of melancholy and wistfulness in one’s heart.

The afternoon’s camellia series gave a completely different feeling. Jiang Feng seemed particularly suited to red, projecting a wild, bewitching aura. His thin eyelids were half-lowered, as if carelessly seductive, yet also seemingly devoid of any real intent. A smile played on his lips, both arrogant and frivolous.

The people present couldn’t look away. Xu Qiaohan was also quite satisfied with this set of works, and these were just the unedited shots.

Ning Xu had to admit that Xu Qiaohan’s professional skill was evident.

Jiang Feng hadn’t come out yet. Ning Xu lifted the tent flap and went in to find him.

“Jiang Feng.” She announced her presence first.

“Mm.” Jiang Feng had already changed into dry clothes and was sitting on a chair, drying his hair with a towel.

Ning Xu stared at him and said, “I’m so jealous.”

Jiang Feng lowered the towel, his hair sticking up in all directions from the rubbing.

“Jealous of what?”

“Maybe ‘envious’ is a better word,” Ning Xu said, pulling over a stool and sitting down, her tone tinged with a sour note. “I’m envious that other people’s cameras are full of you.”

Jiang Feng stood up and walked closer to her.

Now she was sitting, and he was standing. His shadow enveloped her completely.

He raised his hand and slipped something into her hair.

Ning Xu caught a faint scent of flowers and instantly understood. It was the red camellia he had held between his lips during the shoot.

The part of the stem that had touched his lips brushed through her hair, sending a shiver over her scalp. Her heart became a tangled mess along with it.

Jiang Feng didn’t withdraw his hand. He curled his fingers, gently brushing her stray hairs behind her ear.

He said, “From now on, I’ll only take pictures for you.”