Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 90.1

Song Yingshi previously believed what she lacked was knowledge of a certain topic. However, after spending time acquiring and digesting that knowledge, she realized that she and Huai Xu were fundamentally different, and Huai Xu's edge over her had nothing to do with knowledge.

Huai Xu might seem unapproachable and indifferent, but she was oddly ambitious and uninhibited in this regard.

On the other hand, Song Yingshi was naturally slow to warm up. Perhaps it had something to do with her upbringing, but while she could be playful and casual, when it came to progressing her relationship with Huai Xu to the next level…

For the first time in her life, Song Yingshi felt that the word "conservative" could apply to her.

As Huai Xu opened the second box, she asked, "You've used all of these before, right? Can you teach me how to use them?"

Song Yingshi recalled the bold statements she had made previously. Resisting the urge to walk away, she put on a composed smile and said, "Teach you? No need."

Huai Xu paused and looked up. She saw Song Yingshi walking toward her, followed by the cool, fresh, and oceanic scent of her sea salt shower gel.

In her daze, Huai Xu saw Song Yingshi glancing down at the items on the bed, then slowly raised her gaze and said, "It's enough that I know how to use them."

A long silence filled the room after these words fell.

Huai Xu initially thought of resuming the unboxing, but she felt it might be inappropriate in this situation. She thought of changing her sitting posture, but as she did so, she realized too late that her legs had gone numb, causing her to lose her balance.

Song Yingshi was swift to react, grabbing Huai Xu's shoulder and steadying her. Just as she was about to press her advantage and make a beautiful comeback, her hand was seized.

Huai Xu's eyes reflected the salty, humid sea breeze, which seemed to emanate from her and blow toward Song Yingshi. Under the gaze of such beautiful eyes, Song Yingshi struggled to keep a clear head.

As Song Yingshi started to find herself mesmerized by Huai Xu's eyes once more, she heard Huai Xu uttering slowly, "If you really want to, I don't mind."

Song Yingshi: "?"

"Well? Do you want to?"

Song Yingshi: "..."

Song Yingshi's heart pounded like a drum, and she felt like the air in her lungs had been sucked away.

After a long moment, a bout of sleepiness washed over Song Yingshi, giving her the perfect excuse to avoid Huai Xu's question. She withdrew her hand, still warm from Huai Xu's touch, and yawned, "We'll die from exhaustion, darling. We really should sleep."

As Song Yingshi said so, she leaned in and kissed Huai Xu on the forehead. "Good night."

After delivering the loud, unmistakable kiss, Song Yingshi moved to the other side of the bed to claim her spot, only for Huai Xu to suddenly grab her arm.

Song Yingshi stopped and looked back.

Wearing a smile mixed with intimacy, tenderness, and ruthless amusement, Huai Xu said, "If you want to sleep, go sleep in the room next door. If both of us lie down here, neither of us will be getting any rest."

Song Yingshi: ???

…

Even after returning to her room and lying in bed, Song Yingshi still couldn't believe it—Huai Xu had kicked her out of the room.

Song Yingshi fell asleep with resentment filling her heart. Thus, her first thought upon waking was to reclaim her dignity. She needed to let Huai Xu know that she was calm and collected, and that she hadn't taken yesterday's confession and the bedroom encounter to heart at all. Otherwise, Huai Xu would secretly gloat and feel she had gained the upper hand in their relationship.

Perhaps influenced by Huai Xu feeding her last time, the first idea that Song Yingshi came up with was to order some groceries and prepare a meal. She considered this a good move, believing she had already won half the battle.

After her morning skincare routine, Song Yingshi picked up her phone to check the delivery driver's location. While on her phone, she checked her messages and saw the message from her family's chauffeur:

"Miss, please reply when you're awake. I'll bring your lunch to you."

Song Yingshi: "..."

The chauffeur's message immediately reminded Song Yingshi that she had agreed to have the other party deliver lunch to her. After a moment of stunned realization, she couldn't help but laugh at herself, muttering, "I've lost my mind."

…

Shortly after Song Yingshi replied to the chauffeur, the delivery driver arrived with her groceries. She placed the drinks and eggs into the refrigerator, then looked at the meat and vegetables, remembering how effortlessly Huai Xu had handled the ingredients last time.

Song Yingshi's fingers itched to replicate Huai Xu's feat. Still, she couldn't recall the exact process, so she pulled out her phone, searched for a relevant video, placed the phone next to the groceries, and mimicked the person in the video.

Due to her lack of experience, Song Yingshi struggled to prepare the ingredients. As she kept rewinding the video, the voice of the video's creator frequently cut off and resumed, creating a cacophony that echoed out into the living room.

When Huai Xu came upstairs, even before she saw where Song Yingshi was, she had already heard the noise coming from the video tutorial. Following this noise, she quickly found Song Yingshi standing before the kitchen counter, which was decorated with bags of groceries.

"Morning," Huai Xu greeted.

Song Yingshi spared Huai Xu a glance, replying, "Morning."

"Are you preparing lunch?" Huai Xu asked, surveying the kitchen island.

It was a casual question from Huai Xu, but Song Yingshi reacted awkwardly to it, muttering, "These are for tonight…and tomorrow if we can't finish them. Lunch will be delivered to us soon."

Huai Xu looked at Song Yingshi, the sound of the video tutorial entering her ears:

"To prepare the cabbage, wash it, cut off the hard root, shred half, and dice half for later use…"

Huai Xu shifted her attention to the video, then to the bags of groceries beside Song Yingshi. Realizing what Song Yingshi was learning, she chuckled, washed her hands, and seized the cooking utensils, saying, "I'll do it."

Song Yingshi's hands were instantly freed. No longer needing to figure out how to prepare ingredients, she turned off the video, and the kitchen fell silent, save for the faint sounds of Huai Xu skillfully preparing the ingredients.

Neither spoke for a time.

Eventually, Song Yingshi started to feel bored, so she grabbed her phone and aimlessly scrolled through social media. However, her eyes would still occasionally take a peek at Huai Xu's expression.

Huai Xu looked completely normal, as if nothing from the previous night had actually happened.

Song Yingshi had originally intended to break the silence, but upon seeing Huai Xu's composed demeanor, she lost interest in speaking. She quietly scrolled on her phone, only occasionally checking on Huai Xu's progress.

Song Yingshi didn't buy a lot of ingredients. She had also processed a portion earlier, so it didn't take much time for Huai Xu to finish processing the rest.

After wiping the kitchen island clean, Huai Xu said to Song Yingshi, "I'm done."

Song Yingshi nodded, asking, "Are you hungry? Lunch should arrive soon, but we can have some snacks first if you want."

"No rush. You have a gym at home, right?" Huai Xu asked as she walked out from behind the kitchen counter.

Song Yingshi paused, surprised.

In the White Tower, although Huai Xu wasn't fond of exercise, she still consistently worked out three times a week to maintain her physique and lung capacity. Song Yingshi typically exercised more frequently, but even she preferred to comfortably relax for a few days when on holiday.

Song Yingshi led Huai Xu through the living room and to the gym in the back. Before she could say anything, her phone rang.

It was a call from Li Yining.

Seeing Huai Xu signaling that she would be fine on her own, Song Yingshi stepped outside to answer the call.

Knowing her employer was on holiday, Li Yining wanted to meet with Song Yingshi to report on the affairs of the past two weeks.

Song Yingshi calculated her available time. She was going to return to her family's residence today. After factoring in the travel time, it would be difficult for her to schedule a meeting with Li Yining today.

The production crew had been quite generous with their post-third-public-performance holiday, giving them four days off from the 15th to the 18th. However, Song Yingshi and Huai Xu needed to film "My Life's Journey" on the 17th and 18th. They also had to hurry back to the White Tower on the evening of the 18th to prepare for a new round of recording.

In essence, their "vacation" was just barely enough time for them to catch their breath.

After Song Yingshi explained her situation, Li Yining naturally understood her boss's predicament. Over the phone, she said, "I can take care of the others, but several matters require your attention. Firstly, regarding the investment we discussed last time, our talks with Ning Xiao are mostly complete; we're just waiting to sign the contract now. But before that, Ning Xiao has expressed a desire to meet you. She knows you're busy with Star of Spring's recording, so she asked me to convey that you can contact her whenever you have time."

"I'm her investor, so it's normal for Director Ning to want to meet me. I won't have time to meet her for the foreseeable future, so can you take her out for a meal on my behalf?" Song Yingshi said.

Song Yingshi knew that Director Ning likely wanted to meet her because of her upcoming role in the other party's movie, but she didn't bother to mention that.

Li Yining probably realized this too as she chuckled when she saw Song Yingshi avoiding the topic, saying, "Then, Director Ning will have to wait until August… Also, Huai Xu's participation has been confirmed. The screenwriters have already revised the script, though not many changes needed to be made in the first place. Qu Qing and I have looked over it. I'll send a copy to you later; if anything dissatisfies you, I'll bring it up with them."

"Okay." Song Yingshi readily agreed. If the revised script wasn't to her liking, she would simply make the screenwriters change the plot. After all, she didn't invest 50 million yuan for nothing.

"Besides the investment, we've been receiving quite a few endorsement deals and magazine features…"

As Li Yining continued her report, Song Yingshi took a seat on the lounge chair by the balcony and patiently listened to her studio's latest affairs one by one.

Li Yining did most of the talking, while Song Yingshi mostly listened. She would only interject if Li Yining's explanation was unclear or if Li Yining needed a decision from her.

Somewhere down the line, Li Yining said, "Fu Shu's manager contacted me expressing their desire to discuss artist-related business collaborations with us, or perhaps—"

Song Yingshi frowned as soon as she heard Fu Shu's name. Calmly, she stated, "Whatever they offer, just decline it."

Li Yining promptly stopped speaking, replying with a simple "OK" when Song Yingshi's voice suddenly grew cold. When she recalled how often Fu Shu's manager brought up Song Yingshi's name, she vaguely realized something.

At the same time, thinking of the condescending tone Fu Shu's manager used, Li Yining couldn't help but reveal a hint of disdain on her face.

Should she say Fu Shu had good taste or lacked self-awareness?

Fu Shu might have a keen eye for taking a liking to Little Shi, but he had severely underestimated the colossal power behind her.

Other trainees might eagerly flock to the newly crowned film emperor, but to attempt the same move with Little Shi? Fu Shu was simply setting himself up for humiliation. Li Yining felt embarrassed for Fu Shu just thinking about it.