For Xia Ruyun, the week break passed in a blink. Without any contact between her and Li Feiling, nothing occupied her time beyond the occasional visit to the apartment complex’s gym. Even then, though, she had only gone during the wee hours of the morning to avoid any human contact.
Just to be safe, she had even worked out in a mask...
I think all it did was make every workout a cardio workout though. Eugh.
Now, she sat in Gao Qian’s car, staring out the window as the car streaked down the highway towards the filming location. Her luggage sat in the back of the car, illuminated by the afternoon sun’s rays as they crossed an overpass. The filming location, this time, would be an office building rented out by Feng Wei and his team in the neighboring N City.
“Once I drop you off, I’ll be heading off. I won’t be around for filming this time,” Gao Qian broke the silence, turning down the instrumental music coming through the car’s audio system. “Stay safe, obviously. Keep being social. I’ll be attending to my other clients, but I’ll still be available should an emergency arise. I’m also still always available over the phone should you need to contact me.”
A nod came from Xia Ruyun.
“Once your work from the movie comes out, I think it'll be successful enough that the company will be happy to give you an assistant, so just tough it out for these next few months,” Gao Qian tapped her fingers against the steering wheel.
Xia Ruyun, though, just looked out the window. Her gaze deepened as she stewed over Gao Qian’s words. After all... she didn’t really need an assistant. People like Li Feiling functioned just fine without assistants.
Plus, it might’ve been my assistant that poisoned me back then...
She turned, looking back towards Gao Qian. The moment she opened her mouth to speak though, a mechanical voice cut her off.
[Stay in the middle two lanes. After this exit, take the exit to N City’s downtown area.]
...
Maybe she didn’t need to say it after all. She could always refuse the assistant when the time came. Regardless, she flashed the navigation a glare before pursing her lips and turning to look back outside.
I wonder how N City’s changed over these past few years...
---
Gao Qian dropped her off at the hotel. So, after a grueling battle with her luggage—must those stairs be so steep?—Xia Ruyun spent the afternoon setting up what she’d need for the next few months. A skincare corner. Slippers by the door. Clothes in the closet. Chargers on the nightstand.
As she finished up, she checked the time and the new cast group chat. The moment she unlocked her phone though, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
FIVE-HUNDRED NOTIFICATIONS?
“What...” Xia Ruyun shook her head, massaging the bridge of her nose. “Was there that much information released?”
A quick glance dispersed her worries.
Chu Changfeng, in the spirit of... being a good actor? Being a good senior? Had somehow engaged in two back-to-back conversations with two new actresses. One after another.
Take this to private messages... don’t do it in the cast group chat! Aren’t there more than forty people in this group chat?
One quick google search later, and Xia Ruyun’s face blanched. The first of the actresses was barely even twenty!
... ew.
With her resolve to stay away from this man even stronger than before, she swiped to her private messages and opened her conversation with Li Feiling. Typing out a [Want to head to the cast dinner together?] her finger hovered over the send button. Her eyes wandered back over their message history. At the bottom, the time stamp for the most recent message seemed to jump out at her like an obnoxious pop-up advertisement for a cheap mobile game.
[One week ago.]
A sigh left her mouth. She deleted the message, and slid her phone back into her pocket. Indecision was her second name, she wasn’t going to send the message and break the awkwardness. She could just find Li Feiling during the dinner itself! And sit together! They’d probably be put next to each other anyway!
Xia Ruyun pulled out her phone once more.
She retyped the message. Yet, just like before, the tip of her finger hovered over the send button. The last bit of air separating her finger from the send button seemed like an insurmountable wall. No matter how hard she pushed, she just... couldn’t push through.
Gah...
I’ll just find her at dinner...
Slumping, she slid the phone back into her pocket and trudged over to the door. Pulling on a pair of flats, she swung the door open, and left with slow steps. The door, as if sensing her mood, closed with a slow creak.
---
Li Feiling sat on the edge of her bed. Her own hotel room was a little nicer. Roomier, with a bigger window, nicer desk, larger closet, and expanded bathroom. Instead of just a shower, she even had a bath.
None of that mattered though.
She sat with her eyes bolted onto her chat with Xia Ruyun.
Having just woken up from a nap, she had been in the midst of a panic seeing the sudden five-hundred message notifications she had gotten. She had thought something major had happened! Like someone had fallen off a balcony in a ‘tragic slip,’ or something to a similarly absurd degree.
Once she realized it was just Chu Changfeng being a little too social though, she had swiped back to her messaging home page only to see a conspicuous ‘typing’ symbol coming from Xia Ruyun’s chat.
But no message came...
What was she typing to me?
A sense of sourness spread through her body as she read the [One week ago.] beside the most recent message. The typing notification had even returned, only to disappear once more...
Is it going to come back again?
...
Five minutes passed, as Li Feiling sat like a statue.
It’s not coming back...
Why do I even care? It’s just a typing notification. She probably just accidentally typed something, and deleted it. Yeah. That’s probably it.
Why do I feel bad? What’s this heavy feeling in my heart?
Eugh.
I think I shouldn’t have taken that nap, it’s messing with me.
Or maybe I should get my heart checked out...
Running a hand through her messy hair, Li Feiling turned her phone off and threw it to her side. It drew a slight arc through the air before bouncing and coming to a rest on top of the pillow. She, meanwhile, pushed herself up with a yawn, and wandered into the bathroom to get ready for the cast dinner.
As she brushed her hair in the mirror though, her thoughts wandered back to the text message.
What if she was going to say something though?
I mean there’s no point in worrying though...
As she chose between two tops, she couldn’t help but purse her lips.
How many times has this happened without me noticing though? Is there something that she wants to say to me?
She’d say it though if she really had something... we’re pretty good friends. We’ve already shot an entire movie together, after all.
Then, as she applied blush in the mirror, her hands slowed.
Well, there was some tension... and she’s a nervous person...
Did I scare her off? Obviously, I didn’t mean to do that...
Maybe I should apologize?
...
“GAH,” Li Feiling knocked on her own forehead. Furrowing her eyebrows, she pressed on her temples. “Why am I even thinking about all of this? I need to get this out of my mind...”
One deep breath later, she focused back on the task at hand. She finished applying her makeup, put on her shoes at the door, and yanked the door open. Blasting music in her ears, she rushed out as the door slammed shut behind her.