Another week passed without much of note. Xia Ruyun rotted away in her bed as the media—and internet as a whole—began moving on from her once more. During her period of rotting, film shooting wrapped up for the “Flames of Heaven’s Mandate.” The end of shooting marked the last spike in attention the movie would receive before true advertising began.
Unlike most other buzzes the show had experienced, this one in particular had come from the cast members themselves. They had hosted one last party with the remaining cast and crew members. Among all the attendees though, the main driver of social media attention had, of course, been Li Feiling. Known for her frequent life updates through social media, she managed one last wave of love for the movie.
During the party, a new post appeared on her account. The first picture: her under the stars. The second picture: her taking a selfie with Zhang Jingsong. The third picture: a selfie with Wu Linjie. The last picture: the entire cast gathered around a bonfire posed in the most elaborate ways possible.
[Li Feiling: Thank you to everyone who made The Flames of Heaven’s Mandate possible! Today was our last day of shooting! After shooting, we had our wrap-up party, so sad to everyone who couldn’t make it. Looking forward to seeing it in theaters with you all though!]
[A revelation!]
[OUR QUEEEEENNNN SLAYYYYYY THE OPPOSITION, I WILL WATCH THE MOVIE FIFTEEN TIMES JUST FOR YOU!]
[Looking forward to seeing it!]
[Will you be my wife ;-;]
[beautiful as always]
As the netizens blew up her social media, and as the show trended one more time, Li Feiling hurried back to the K City. After all, the end of the show marked another event she had promised earlier: a lunch meet-up between her and Xia Ruyun. With a reservation already made, the two met up in a private room.
“How are you? I feel like it's been ages since I’ve seen you!” Li Feiling pulled Xia Ruyun into a hug as the latter walked into the room. Letting go after a couple of seconds, she ushered Xia Ruyun into the seat next to where she had her purse and jacket sitting. After moving her purse to the next seat down, she sat beside Xia Ruyun at the twelve-person round table their private room boasted.
“I’m well,” Xia Ruyun nodded, pulling her coat off and draping it on the back of her chair. Once settled, she reached over, poured out two cups of tea, and pushed one over to Li Feiling. Taking a long sip out of her own cup, she let out a sigh as warmth flooded her body. Instead of speaking, she motioned with her hand to push the question back towards Li Feiling.
“Beyond well,” Li Feiling propped her chin up on her hands with a smile. “Filming was relaxing. Though I had a lot to do, it was all fulfilling work, and for that I can’t complain. Tad stressed for the next few weeks since I’m quite busy though.”
“Oh? A lot of work lined up?” Xia Ruyun took another sip from her steaming cup of tea. “I don’t have much on my end, I think I'll wait another week or two before I ask Gao Qian to find me another project.”
“That’s nice, take it slow, ease yourself back into it,” Li Feiling flipped through the menu while taking a sip from her teacup. “But, yeah, I’m quite busy. Ye Shuhua lined up a ton of work for me. I’m flying up north tonight to make a cameo tomorrow on this outdoor adventure show. Then, I’m going back to Q City to be a judge on a different variety show there for four episodes. Then, I think she’s planning on finding another film for me to be in.”
“... Wow...” Xia Ruyun trailed off as she leaned against Li Feiling to look at the menu with her. “Don’t overwork yourself...”
“I’ll be fine, no need to worry,” Li Feiling went back to the first page of the menu for Xia Ruyun. “My work schedule has always been like this.”
“That... That doesn’t mean anything,” Xia Ruyun retorted before quieting down as a waiter knocked on the door to their private room and walked in to take their order. He noted down their orders without a fuss, refilled their teapot, and left like a spring breeze.
As their lunch meet-up continued, their conversation wandered between subjects: sleeping habits, skincare routines, social media, agents, managers, assistants, companies, acting advice, Zhang Jingsong, Wu Linjie, and more. Not many... deeper subjects ended up appearing though.
Cut short after two hours by Li Feiling needing to leave, they ended up just splitting the bill.
Stretching backward as the waiter carried off their bill, Li Feiling stared up at the ceiling with a long sigh. “I’m so sorry I have to go, I’d really love to talk longer...”
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Xia Ruyun leaned in and patted her on the back. “A two-hour meal is already quite generous, so I’m thankful.”
“True,” Li Feiling shook her head as she pushed herself forward and up to her feet. Gathering her purse, her jacket, and her other possessions, she took a second to pat herself down and check she had everything. “Are you ready to go?”
“Just about,” Xia Ruyun picked up her own jacket, wrapping it around herself as she leaned to the side to finish off her cup of tea. “Stay in touch though, text me with fun stuff if anything comes your way.”
“Of course, send me some of those short videos you watch as well. Whatever you find funny, it’s easy to watch those during my small breaks,” Li Feiling smiled, spreading her arms. “Hug?”
“Always,” Xia Ruyun leaned forward and squeezed Li Feiling in an embrace. “I’ll try and just talk to you over text, those short videos will waste too much of your time. They’re like poison, I can’t recommend them to someone as productive and amazing as you.”
“I-... what, I mean... sure,” Li Feiling shook her head with an exasperated sigh as a faint smile tugged at the corner of Xia Ruyun’s lips. “Also, I just remembered, are you free during the weekend a couple weeks from now? I’ll probably have a small break then before my next big acting project, we can get together again to get a meal. We can always text more about the details later.”
“Sure, I’m just... wasting my time idling these days. I’ll just make sure to time my next audition and stuff for after that,” Xia Ruyun pulled out her phone, making a small note of Li Feiling’s words. “It lines up with what I planned to do anyway. We can text more about the details later?”
With their little promise to stay in touch, the two put on their various wardrobe pieces to help hide from the public before leaving the private room and bidding each other their final farewell. Taking separate routes out of the restaurant—one from the backdoor and other from the front—the two disappeared from the restaurant like they had never been there in the first place.
Xia Ruyun stared off into space as the jingle of bells marked the door closing behind her.
... I hope she doesn’t overwork herself, but at the same time she’s so admirable for having such drive...
I wish I had it...
I hope she’s truly well... why is she so nice...
A sigh left her lips as she began walking down the street—her own apartment just a couple blocks down the road.
It feels so much more lonely now that I’m walking back home...
On the other side of the restaurant, a black car pulled out of the parking lot. Ye Shuhua, Li Feiling’s manager, made a few turns through the local streets before they sped off towards Li Feiling’s villa. As the faint hum of the engine filled the car’s interior, she glanced towards the backseat for a second through the rearview mirror. “Feeling a little more alive after that lunch? We’ll just pick up some stuff before heading off to the airport. Lodging is booked and ready, plus, they also said they’ll provide most of the essentials.”
“Sounds good,” Li Feiling tapped a slender finger against her chin as she stared out the window. Her red lips parted for a second as a sigh slipped through her mouth. “That lunch was great. Surprisingly, though... I’m feeling a little more lonely now that it's over.”
“Well, I’m here to keep you company if you want to talk,” Ye Shuhua reassured.
“Thank you,” Li Feiling smiled and stared out the window into the distance as the sun cast a golden shadow across her face.
You’re just not the same... but I don’t know why.