“I don’t know, I’m just worried,” Li Feiling sipped a spoonful of soup from her bowl of noodles. “I mean he didn’t do anything today, but... I just don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“Yeah?” Ye Shuhua ate from her own bowl of noodles, sat across from Li Feiling. She smiled, and the crows’ feet at the corners of her eyes crinkled. “It’s not like she’s a child, there’s no need to be that worried about her. I’m sure she can manage herself. You seem to be overthinking this a tad.”
“He’s just such a snake though! From everything that I’ve heard, most people realize too late. In my case, I almost didn’t realize. But I only had a chance since I was his first ever target in university. Plus, I knew him from when we were children.
“It’s scary because as he’s gotten older, he’s gotten more subtle, more devious. He’ll have a facade, and you think he’s shallow before, boom! And he gets you. When we were young, it was so much more obvious,” Li Feiling leaned back in her chair, staring into her living room from the dinner table they sat at. “Like... yeah... I don’t know. If she gets taken by him, it’d be a travesty. She’d suffer so much, and she’s already gone through a lot.”
“Indeed, she has gone through a lot,” Ye Shuhua nodded. She spoke between mouthfuls of noodles as one hand held her gray hair back out of her face. “Why worry so much though? They are just rumors in the end. Everyone has their fair share of unsavory rumors in the entertainment industry. It's unavoidable in this day and age. The only concrete story you have is your own, did you share it?”
“... No... I haven’t shared that with anyone...” Li Feiling grumbled, struggling with her words. “I mean... like...”
Her mouth opened and closed, and after a second, she took a break to eat her noodles. “This place is good, we should buy from them more often. They’re healthy too.”
“I’m not opposed, it's your money and I’m not your nutritionist,” Ye Shuhua shrugged.
It’s been a few decades since I’ve cared that much about my figure anyway.
“But like, I’m so against him because I’ve known him since we were children!” Li Feiling changed the topic back as her eyes blazed with a righteous fury. “He used to be this... empty husk. Never smiled, never spoke more than he had to, never even moved when his parents left him sitting somewhere. He’d just sit there and stare off into space. Then once he met me, he seemed to come alive! But only if it was about coming to see me or if I was there!”
“Mhm, mhm, he has changed over the years,” Ye Shuhua nodded along, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.
It wasn’t my business to care about her personal life, but now she’s just telling of her own accord. Her parents will be so jealous.
“He’d only come over if I was there. He started trying to keep up in school, to beat me. He followed me to the same university even though his original subject—engineering—was much better at a different school. He even changed majors and started acting because of me!” Li Feiling propped up her chin with her hands. “Like how was I so dumb? To almost have a fling with him... Like when I asked him why he changed to acting...”
---
In the past...
Sitting on the edge of a stage. Li Feiling and Chu Changfeng propped themselves up with their arms behind them, staring into the empty seats of the school theater. They sat in silence, until Li Feiling, out of the blue, turned to look at Chu Changfeng. “Why did you change, Changfeng? I thought you wanted to become a mechanical engineer and build... robots?”
“Because, Feiling, don’t you understand?” Chu Changfeng turned to look at Li Feiling, he leaned over and nudged her, placing his hand over hers. “How many times do I have to say it? You’re the world to me. Everything I do is to be by your side.”
---
“I BLUSHED! I was so dumb back then, absolute stupidity in its most distilled form,” Li Feiling huffed, ignoring her noodles. “We were childhood best friends until... you know. I buried that incident, and everyone I talked to except my parents just chalked it up to a youthful misjudgement, but... I don’t know, I feel like it extends deeper.”
“I see... why didn’t you tell Xia Ruyun about this then? Or did you?” Ye Shuhua reached over to the box of steamed buns they had bought to serve as a side-dish.
Reminded of the food, Li Feiling took a second to eat some more noodles before pausing, her voice falling back to a more hesitant murmur. “No... I... I didn’t tell her. We’re not that close yet.”
“I get that,” Ye Shuhua leaned back into her chair. “Then why worry? If you don’t want to share it, there’s no need to worry.”
“But I do! She’s my friend and I don’t want to see her become the next woman Chu Changfeng has a fling with, or uses, to try and ‘practice’ for me or something!” Li Feiling put her face in her hands. “He’s just such a snake!”
Hearing their conversation loop back to the beginning, Ye Shuhua couldn’t help but to close her eyes for a second as they rolled back into her head.
How did we get back here? I can feel my hair getting grayer...
I haven’t seen this side of her since her debut days back when she was... twenty-one? I think... What happened to the calm and composed movie queen that I’ve been managing for the past few years?
“Sorry, I know I’m being immature, it’s just been a long day,” Li Feiling reeled herself back in after a few more incoherent mumbles. She took a few deep breaths, clapped her hands, and shook her head. “Let’s change the topic and finish eating before this all gets cold. I did want to ask you about the most recent idea we had. The one about buying up shares in the agency? I could actually employ you and give you better benefits than what they’re currently offering. Plus, we could move a little further with our talent development program. Have you talked to the people we listed last time? We could split to make a sub-studio within the agency.”
“Yup, I have the notes here,” Ye Shuhua leaned over, pulling out her notes as they fell back into the rhythm of business. “Impressive how fast you’ve gathered yourself though.”
“Comes with age,” Li Feiling snorted with a laugh. “And experience from the job I guess.”
---
As for the person who Li Feiling spent so long worrying over, she had returned to her apartment after a long day and... began decomposing once more. After cracking open the door, she kicked her shoes aside and stepped over the crates of instant ramen before retreating back into her room.
Wiping her mind of all conscious thought, Xia Ruyun forced herself through her evening routine and collapsed into bed. She pulled her curtains shut, and after shifting to check the time on her bedside clock, pulled out her phone.
Just a little scrolling couldn’t hurt.
...
[K City’s new mayor debuts a widely unpopular statue in beloved park! The first misstep for history’s most popular mayor?]
[Protests in Q City over new defamation case.]
Flick.
[ENTERTAINMENT]
[New variety show! Chen Wenhui hosting! Filming is set to start soon. Tune in these next few weeks to see our contestants!]
[Earth-Shattering! Blossom of Death’s Grasp is SHOW-STOPPING! Best TV show of the year? Critics certainly think so.]
[Zhang Jingsong says “this will be one of my greatest movies” in a recent interview. Is he overestimating himself? Can anything trump his last work, Graves?]
[Chu Changfeng’s newest livestream has fans drooling! Scroll below to see highlights! Reveal of his next project??]
Hmm? I’ll give this a read...