Chapter 181 - 167: Auspicious Year of the Rabbit

When Wei Shuojie arrived, Ni Bingyan was planting vegetables and watching the workers build a wall.

She’d been busy until now, but the planned home gym was finally being renovated.

Next, both Soul Ferryman and Rainy Days with an Umbrella would be filmed in Beijing, so she could live at home again. Once the gym was set up, it would come in handy.

The raspberry bushes in her backyard had blossomed back in February and March, and now a small number of berries were starting to ripen.

She had gathered a small bowlful yesterday, and after some sun this morning, she picked over half a bowl more.

Eaten fresh, they were sweet and sour, tender and juicy—the texture was amazing. Once they hit their peak season, she would probably have to make jam.

As for the blueberry bushes, they were still blooming. The occasional eager berry was still green, so it would be a while before they were ready to eat.

As for the fruit trees in the front yard, the cherries were already faintly tinged with red and would likely be ready for picking by the middle of the month. The plump apricots and fist-sized peaches, however, wouldn’t be ripe until next month.

Since it hadn’t even been a year since they were planted, none of the three trees bore much fruit. The honey peach tree had been covered in blossoms, but in the end, only a pitiful six peaches successfully grew to maturity.

Rarity makes things precious, and Ni Bingyan treasured them dearly. Every day, she would circle the tree and carefully count them, terrified that one might be eaten by insects, pecked by a bird, or simply fall off.

To protect this batch of fruit, Ni Bingyan had even draped bird netting over the tree, though she wasn’t sure how effective it would be.

Regardless of the outcome, she had done her best and would leave the rest to fate.

All in all, she had been living a rather pleasant life lately.

When she had work, she focused on it completely. When she didn’t, she did things she enjoyed. If she was tired, she had her own little nest to return to. If she was feeling down, she could call up a few friends. She had no money troubles and no difficult relatives. Having reached this point in life, there was truly nothing left to complain about.

The early summer weather was perfect, so she took advantage of her free time to plant a small patch of water spinach in the yard.

This vegetable grew fast. If planted well, it could be harvested within a month. She liked eating noodles in the morning, and it was especially nice to toss in a few fresh, tender stalks while they cooked.

As for the rest of the vegetable patch, she planned to first turn over the soil and let it dry in the sun for a bit. In a couple of days, she would sow a packet of lettuce seeds. ’A person can get tired of eating water spinach all the time, you know. Hmph~’

"Huh? Sister Wei?"

Ni Bingyan was a little surprised to see Wei Shuojie.

After all, she was on vacation, and it was still several days before she had to be on set.

’Even a workaholic like her wouldn’t work for months on end without taking a break.’

Wei Shuojie parked her car, walked out of the garage, and stared fixedly at Ni Bingyan, her heart a tangle of complicated emotions.

’She never thought Ni Bingyan could paint, much less that she was so unexpectedly good at it.’

’But what bothered her most was that Ni Bingyan had hidden this from her.’

’She could guess why Ni Bingyan had hidden it, but that didn’t make her any less upset.’

’No one likes to discover they’re being treated with such caution, especially by someone they trust.’

Seeing her just staring without saying a word, Ni Bingyan knew something was wrong. With the workers still building the wall in the garage, she quickly ushered Wei Shuojie into the house.

"The raspberries in the yard have started to ripen. I just picked these this morning—go on, try some, they’re delicious! Once more of them are ready, I’ll pack a basket for you to take home. I’m sure Xiao Zhi will love them."

The two of them went into the living room and sat down, and Ni Bingyan immediately pushed the plate of raspberries toward her.

Li Zhi had been a picky eater since he was a child, and Ni Bingyan often sent all sorts of delicious things for him. Wei Shuojie was long used to it.

Seeing Ni Bingyan treat her with the same sincerity as always, Wei Shuojie’s heart softened. She found she couldn’t bring herself to voice her reproaches. Instead, she sighed and asked, "So, you can paint?"

Ni Bingyan had been quietly painting on set for several months and hadn’t hidden it from Duanmu Li or Wang Biao, so she didn’t find Wei Shuojie’s question odd.

"I’m not that good, it’s just a hobby. Why do you ask all of a sudden, Sister Wei?"

"Haven’t you seen what’s trending?"

"Trending topics?"

’It’s been a while!’

’Thanks to her cautious approach, she hadn’t even made it to the trending list last time when she won the Jinxiang Award for Best Supporting Actress—she’d been completely overshadowed by the Best Actress winner!’

She’d been busy ever since she woke up this morning: working out, cooking, and eating. Afterwards, she went to the yard to pick raspberries. The workers had arrived to build the wall just as she was finishing up, and once they got to work, she’d gone back to the garden to plant vegetables and turn the soil.

Come to think of it, the last time she’d even touched her phone was yesterday morning, to call her cousin and let her know she had arrived home safely.

"Did you sell a painting?"