Pat Me Please

Su Chang had been anticipating this day for a long time.

She and Yu Zhou had gotten together on Christmas in 2018. They were together for three years and had been separated for nearly a year. Su Chang was unsure how to calculate the duration of their love, and when should their anniversary be. Should she start counting from the beginning or consider their reunion as the start of a new chapter?

Su Chang didn’t want to see their reunion as a new beginning, as it would make her entanglement with Yu Zhou seem too superficial, as if she was an insignificant person.

She decided to leave this choice to Yu Zhou to see if she had any reaction to this Christmas.

Unfortunately, Yu Zhou didn’t show any reaction.

Three months ago, Yu Zhou had announced that she would be secluding herself to write the script for a new audio drama. Fifteen days ago, the voice actors and director were finalized and the script reading started. Ten minutes ago, she posted on her Weibo, saying, “Gu Ruoyuan’s CV is too charming…”

The accompanying photo was of a deflated inflatable bear.

Gu Ruoyuan was a character in Yu Zhou’s audio drama, and her CV was personally selected by Yu Zhou. Su Chang was also acquainted with her and knew her as Xu Wangmian.

Xu Wangmian used to work in North City and only returned to Jiang City recently. In recent years, she had risen rapidly in the voice acting industry, not only because she was a voice actress but also a somewhat popular internet singer.

She first gained popularity through a cover song, and then it “fed back” to her main profession, making her very popular in the voice acting circle.

A small hangnail had grown on Su Chang’s index finger. Setting aside her phone, she delicately attempted to peel it off while her mind wandered to thoughts of Xu Wangmian. People in the industry knew why Xu Wangmian was so popular – not only did she sing beautifully, but she was also tall, beautiful, and extremely gentle. Her every move radiated a delicate and gentle charm.

Her name matched her personality perfectly—yearning for someone like the rain in autumn, continuous and undying[1].

Once, a recording engineer who had worked with Xu Wangmian mentioned that after only one session, they couldn’t help but post three moments on their social media, exclaiming that she’s so charming.

The hangnail couldn’t be pulled out, causing Su Chang to search for a pair of nail clippers. After thinking for a while, she couldn’t remember where she had placed them. Looking up, she gently called out, “Zhouzhou.”

No one answered.

Yu Zhou was in the bedroom, revising her script with the door closed. Su Chang touched the inside of her teeth with her tongue, then squatted down in front of the drawer beside the floor lamp, searching for the nail clipper carefully.

After a while, she stopped. She suddenly remembered that the post on Weibo was from ten minutes ago.

In other words, although Yu Zhou had no time to talk to Su Chang, her mind had been preoccupied with thoughts of Xu Wangmian just ten minutes ago.

Frowning, Su Chang stood up and walked toward the bedroom door, stopping in front of it. She knocked on the door: “Yu Zhou.”

“What’s up?” A soft voice came from inside the room.

Su Chang hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice, “Are you still writing?”

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m not eating anymore, you can have it.” The person inside dragged out her voice.

Su Chang wanted to say something but hesitated. She stood at the door as she took out her phone to browse Weibo. There were already quite a few replies under Yu Zhou’s post, saying things like, “I’m looking forward to finding out which CV it is,” “It’s rare to see Chaichai this crazy,” “Now that you mention it, I’m already imagining it,” and “Is it my Chang? Is it my Chang? Is it my Chang? Is it my Chang?”

Su Chang’s clean thumb rubbed gently on the reply, tapping it and easily bringing up several options.

As her eyelashes fell, casting a shadow below, Su Chang gently said, “It’s not me.”

Then, pursing her lips, she put her phone back into her pocket.

Raising her left hand, she knocked on the door again, her voice becoming colder, “Aren’t you hungry?”

“No,” came the reply, followed by a brief silence as if the person inside was in a hurry, “Can you please not disturb me? I just have a little bit left to write, and I’ll be done.”

Yu Zhou was troubled. She had just thought of a great idea for adaptation, but with Su Chang speaking, it was wiped clean from her mind. Sitting up and holding her laptop, her neck hurt, and her teeth began to ache as well.

There was no movement outside the door, but Yu Zhou couldn’t hear Su Chang’s footsteps either. Just as she started to feel it was a bit strange, she heard the voice again: “Am I really disturbing you?”

Damn, that tone, it felt like a blow to Yu Zhou’s head. What’s wrong with her?

Immediately, Yu Zhou threw her laptop aside before jumping out of bed with her hair disheveled. Running to open the door, she only caught a glimpse of Su Chang’s retreating figure towards the living room.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Zhou poked her head out cautiously, asking her gently.

Su Chang sat down on the sofa without speaking, her head lowered as she continued browsing on her phone.

Ah, it dawned on Yu Zhou. Su Chang was clearly angry, and it seemed very serious. Su Chang always acted this way when she was mad; she wouldn’t make a fuss, but her reactions to others and Yu Zhou were different. When others angered her, she would respond with a gentle smile, and the angrier she was, the gentler her demeanor. But when Yu Zhou angered her, Su Chang would lower her head and stay silent, the angrier she was, the more composed she appeared.

“Su Chang,” Yu Zhou walked over and sat down on a cushion in the sunken living room area, right next to Su Chang’s legs, “What’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”

Her heart was like a beating drum. Had Su Chang encountered problems at work? Did someone upset her? Or was it something someone said online?

Yu Zhou gently pushed Su Chang’s crossed legs and saw her still playing with her phone screen using her thumb, her lips pursed and her eyes expressionless.

Oh, Yu Zhou pulled back, realizing that Su Chang was angry with her.

Licking her lips, Yu Zhou quickly started brainstorming, thinking: Was it because she said she wouldn’t eat that Su Chang got angry?

She raised her hand, scratching behind her ear, “Um, do you want me to accompany you for dinner? Let’s order something then. I was really rushing my script just now, I didn’t have an appetite and it’s not that I didn’t want to eat with you.”

“Why would you want to eat with me if you don’t have an appetite?” Su Chang opened her own notepad, checking her to-do list one by one.

Wasn’t that obvious?

Yu Zhou’s hand climbed to the back of her head, scratching through her hair, her gaze brushing across the fruits on the coffee table, murmuring, “Isn’t it natural that I accompany you for dinner?”

Perhaps she has been writing the script for too long, she was a little befuddled.

Su Chang looked at her distracted appearance, furrowing her brows momentarily before letting go, continuing to look at the notepad. She spoke in a clear voice like a stream of water, “I have Xu Wangmian’s contact number.”

“Huh?” Yu Zhou turned her head to look at her.

“Do you need me to call her for you, to invite her to have dinner with you?”

Yu Zhou took a light breath, stunned on the spot. Xu Wangmian? In her mind, she sluggishly went through the process of discussing the script with Xu Wangmian earlier, and with a “ding,” she finally realized.

“Did I make you angry by discussing the script with her for too long?” Yu Zhou asked.

Oh, they even discussed the script for a long time, no wonder she didn’t open the door.

Su Chang moved her chin slightly, turning her head to look at the floor lamp beside her, her thumb fiddling with that small piece of hangnail beside her index finger. Her lips pursed, and the muscle protruded on her collarbone.

Damn, she’s really mad.

Yu Zhou tried to hold her hand, coaxing her gently, “Isn’t it normal for us to discuss the script? I often talk about the script with the director and the VAs, as you know. Next time, I’ll be quicker, finishing it in ten minutes, or even five minutes, and spend more time accompanying you, okay?”

She reflected on herself. It seemed that she had indeed been too engrossed in her work recently and had somewhat neglected Su Chang.

“I’m really anxious that even my period isn’t coming, and we settled a recording schedule next month, but I’m still unsatisfied with my script,” she said, almost tearful from anxiety.

Seeing her like this, Su Chang’s heart ached. She swept her gaze over Yu Zhou, her hand softly resting upon her.

“Is it really that nerve-racking?” She asked.

“Huh?”

“Logically speaking,” she moistened her lips, raising her eyelids to meet Yu Zhou’s eyes, “if you’re under such significant time pressure, you wouldn’t think of posting on Weibo.”

Yu Zhou was stupefied.

Su Chang captured the expression on her face, her eyebrows coldly moving.

The time was so tight that the pressure even affected her body, yet she still had time to show affection for someone else. Su Chang withdrew her hand, feeling that Yu Zhou was not worthy of sympathy at all.

Yu Zhou understood, thoroughly understood, an epiphany of sorts.

She pulled back, glanced at Su Chang as she muttered: “That’s not necessarily true, some people feel jealous but can think very carefully.”

Su Chang looked at her coldly, as Yu Zhou puffed her cheeks, making eye contact.

“You want to say that I’ve neglected you? I apologize sincerely and will correct it immediately. But isn’t it a bit unreasonable that you’re jealous of Xu Wangmian?” Yu Zhou asked her.

“Did I say that I minded her?” Su Chang didn’t admit to being jealous, but changed the statement.

“Yes, you did,” Yu Zhou looked her up and down, “From head to toe, it says that you care a lot about her.”

Su Chang turned her head to the side, resting her hand on the side cabinet, still not speaking.

“Just because I posted a Weibo saying that other CV talks were charming, you become this unhappy?” Yu Zhou pushed her knee slightly, “To put it mildly, it’s just superficial flattery. To put it broadly, I’m promoting the drama, don’t you understand?”

“In your circle, isn’t it very common to keep praising each other?”

“Oh, who was it that said during a variety show that Shu Qin’s voice sounds comfortable and pleasant, like a zither? It sounded quite cultured, didn’t it? It must have taken more than ten minutes to come up with that.” Yu Zhou tilted her head and blinked at Su Chang. “If I’m jealous of this, I would really be in big trouble.”

Su Chang looked at her: “I was working, you weren’t.”

“How am I not? My work has caused oral ulcers.” Yu Zhou was aggrieved.

“Don’t you know? Aren’t you the one who knows best?” Who was it that, during a kiss, deliberately poked her oral ulcers by tongue, causing Yu Zhou’s girlish heart to shatter instantly and grimaced at the pain like an old hen?

Yu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh: “If you even get jealous over casual words like these, should I post a Weibo saying that Su Chang is the most charming person in the universe?”

So childish!

Su Chang slowly turned her head and raised her eyebrows slightly: “Do you dare to post it?”

Yu Zhou laughed: “Why, you seem to be quite looking forward to it?”

“Post it.” Su Chang handed her the phone.

“…”

“You handed me your phone,” Yu Zhou became hesitant and lowered her head to find her own phone. “My phone is right here.”

Su Chang stared at her steadily, her gaze motioning between Yu Zhou’s phone and her line of vision.

“I mean, there’s no need for us to go this far,” Yu Zhou chuckled, what a grown-up they both were.

Taking a deep breath, Su Chang picked up her phone and opened the app.

“What should we eat?”

Seeing that Su Chang had given in, Yu Zhou leaned in closer, resting against Su Chang’s waist. Browsing through the choices, she said: “There’s nothing good to eat here, why don’t we go out for dinner? Today is our anniversary, after all.”

Su Chang’s mind stirred, did she still remember?

Yu Zhou picked up her gaze and met Su Chang’s, “What’s the matter? I won’t forget, but we’re an old couple, so we don’t need to be so ceremonial, right?”

Being called an old couple pleased Su Chang, and clearly, a smile was beginning to form in her eyes. She placed her gaze on Yu Zhou’s forehead and asked softly, “Where do you want to eat?”

“As long as I’m with you, anything is fine,” Yu Zhou said, resting her head on Su Chang’s belly, hugging her, with a voice as gentle as a little lamb, “I’m sorry, I’ve been very busy lately, but it’ll be over soon, the recording will start soon.”

“After this, I plan to take a break, not accepting any drama or starting any new projects until the first half of next year. I’ll cook for you at home, okay? You haven’t been eating well lately, and you seem to have lost some weight too.” Yu Zhou felt quite guilty as she kneaded Su Chang’s hand in her palm.

“Mm.” Su Chang’s heart was also pacified by her, and she said softly.

“Miss Su is the most generous and the best person,” Yu Zhou praised her with a smile.

“Better than Miss Xu?” A noble voice floated over from above.

Yu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh, gently patting her hand, “That’s enough.”

She felt the faint tremor from Su Chang’s belly, who laughed as well.

“Hey,” Yu Zhou touched Su Chang’s hand, “How did you get this hangnail? Let me cut it for you.”

Saying this, she pulled out a nail clipper from the crack in the sofa and swiftly snipped it off.

Su Chang was surprised, “You keep this in the sofa?”

“Oh, I often feel like cutting my nails when I watch TV, so this is the most convenient way.”

No wonder, she’d always wondered where Yu Zhou got it from.

Su Chang stroked her hair with her other hand and chuckled softly, “You have so many tricks.”

“It’s not too many, just enough to use for Miss Su,” Yu Zhou picked up Su Chang’s hand and planted a kiss in her palm with a ‘mua’ sound.

Su Chang took the opportunity to cover her lips, gently pressing down, and passively asking for a kiss.

“Let’s get up, change clothes and go out to eat.”

“Great, Boss Chang is treating me and all drinks are free today.” Yu Zhou sprang up and pulled Su Chang towards the bedroom.

That night, after Su Chang and Yu Zhou had finished a love journey, Su Chang opened her phone to check the time while Yu Zhou took a shower.

She also scrolled through Weibo and saw that Yu Zhou’s account had posted an update at some point.

“My girlfriend is the most charming, hehe.”

Su Chang’s breath stirred slightly as she smiled gently.

The Chinese name is 徐望绵, including two characters in the sentence: 望穿秋水，绵绵不绝.