Chapter 77: She Suddenly Became Energetic
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo returned to her room and closed the door.
Back at the table, she thought for a while, then took out her laptop and connected the portable hard drive she had just received a few days ago. Opening its contents, she checked. The owner of the fruit shop was quite responsible; as instructed, he regularly sent over the portable hard drive without fail.
Meanwhile, staying in another hotel, Shen Qingbie was almost bored out of her mind.
In a short period, Shen Qingbie changed tables several times and called Yu An multiple times.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Yu An gritted her teeth over the phone and warned, "If you call me again tonight, I'll block you."
Shen Qingbie was afraid that A'Yu might really block her, especially since A'Yu had done it before—although she had taken her off the blacklist an hour later. Shen Qingbie's voice was soft, "But you said two hours ago that if I messaged you again tonight, you'd block me. I'm afraid you'll block me, so calling you is my only option."
Yu An: "..."
"Okay, if you're going to block calls too, then I won't call anymore." Shen Qingbie sounded aggrieved, "I'm hanging up now, A'Yu."
"...Wait, don't hang up!" Yu An was almost infuriated by her.
"What's wrong?"
Yu An said, "Although today you're not allowed to call me, you can call me tomorrow."
Shen Qingbie happily hung up the phone.
But I'm bored, what to do? If A’Yu isn't in the mood to chat today, then find someone else. After a moment of thought, Shen Qingbie clicked on the contact list and sent a message to the person whose profile was near the front.
Ruan Yesheng lay on the bed, about to turn off the bedside lamp and go to sleep, when she heard the sound of a message alert from her phone, which made her heart skip a beat.
Has Xi Mo messaged her again?
With this thought, she didn't feel as tired as before. She leaned over, grabbed her phone, and found a comfortable position leaning against the headboard.
With the expectation of what Xi Mo would say this time, she held her phone upright and looked down: "..."
The message was from Shen Qingbie: "Ruanruan, what are you doing?"
Ruan Yesheng typed feebly: "...Sleeping."
"Shocking, Ruanruan, are you the kind of senior in the circle who sleeps so early?"
It is indeed a bit early for Ruan Yesheng to go to bed now.
She was tired from traveling today, so she wanted to rest early. She would normally turn off her phone before going to bed, but she thought that Xi Mo might not be asleep at this time. If Xi Mo sent her a message saying good night or something, she would not turn off the phone so quickly.
As a result, Xi Mo didn't turn up, but instead, Shen Qingbie, who could spin hundreds of wheels with her mouth, did.
Ruan Yesheng replied tactfully, "Yeah, I'm going to sleep early today, I had a lot of things to do today.
Since Shen Qingbie had sent a message, it was inevitable to spend some time chatting with her, or else she would suffocate from holding it in. To prevent that, Ruan Yesheng was prepared to chat with Shen Qingbie, but considering the risk of getting stuck in a never-ending conversation with Shen Qingbie, she had to give her a hint early on that she was tired and couldn't chat for long.
However, Shen Qingbie clearly didn't catch the hint and couldn't sense it at all. She replied rapidly, "I know this, I've been watching you filming on set all day today, both in the morning and afternoon. You had so many scenes. There was barely any break time, so I couldn't come to talk to you, I could only watch from the sidelines, and it's suffocating me to death."
Ruan Yesheng replied to her, “You must have been suffocating for 365 days now yet you still bounce around like nothing happened."
Shen Qingbie said, "I do want to bounce around every day, but A'Yu won't let me bounce too much. She wants me to stay calm."
Ruan Yesheng remarked, "You're quite calm in front of the media."
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Shen Qingbie, typing at lightning speed, vented, "That's all just for show. But enough about that, you know these tricks. If the media ever exposes me in the future, will they accuse me of having two faces? Do you think I'll lose fans? Though on second thought, even if I do lose fans, at least my face fans should stick around, after all, my face is still here."
Ruan Yesheng: "Usually, if someone can say that, they've basically lost face."
Shen Qingbie: "..."
Message notifications kept ringing, and Shen Qingbie quickly replied again: "But if it does get out, I reckon many fans will unfollow me. Just thinking about it makes me nervous. A'Yu is afraid I'll say something wrong when I'm out. Honestly, I'm afraid too. I regret it now. I shouldn't have gone down this path."
Ruan Yesheng: "What route do you want to take?"
Shen Qingbie: "Move like a startled rabbit.”*
*active/agile/flexible - implying SQB wants to have a more cheerful/active/athletic persona
Ruan Yesheng: "Not all about trains* after all?"
*From 满嘴火车 (Mǎnzuǐ huǒchē) - a mouthful of trains, it refers to skillful and eloquent people but is often used as a derogatory term to describe someone who is a blabbermouth
Shen Qingbie: "..."
Considering Xi Mo's current situation, Ruan Yesheng had the intention to temporarily divert Shen Qingbie's attention. This was to prevent Shen Qingbie from constantly watching Xi Mo, which made Xi Mo uncomfortable. More importantly, if Shen Qingbie continued like this and Xi Mo noticed any flaws, she would quickly realize that Ruan Yesheng and Shen Qingbie were good friends.
Until their lives returned to normal, Ruan Yesheng didn't want Xi Mo to know about this matter. The best way was to keep Shen Qingbie a bit distant from Xi Mo without either of them noticing anything unusual.
Ruan Yesheng replied, "Weren't you here to hang out with Yan Mu? You shouldn't just stay on set watching me film for no reason. You've been sitting there for so long. If Yan Mu saw it, he'd probably cry to death."
Shen Qingbie responded, "Well, I didn't mainly come to see Yan Mu. I came to see you and also took the chance to see Xi Mo. You know how it is."
Underneath this message was an excited emoji with hearts, showing the demeanor of a fan meeting their idol. She had gotten this emoji from her fans, who regularly posted various expressions of love and support under her Weibo posts. She quietly saved many of these and had quite a collection. Using these emojis was quite clever.
Ruan Yesheng: "Don't let Yan Mu find out about this. He'd really cry."
Shen Qingbie typed rapidly, messages coming one after another without pause. Later, she grew lazy with typing and started sending voice messages to Ruan Yesheng. Ruan Yesheng had to open each one to listen to what she was saying and then type her responses.
When Shen Qingbie mentioned Xi Mo in front of Ruan Yesheng, she no longer needed to pretend. Her voice was genuinely excited. However, she followed up with another voice message, expressing concern, "By the way, Ruan Ruan, don't you always need to act with Xi Mo? Do you know she has an eye condition?"
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
Shen Qingbie recounted everything she had seen and heard about the masked woman in black from last night, along with her analysis and reasoning, which she believed to be flawless. She rattled off all of this in a continuous stream of voice messages, lining up like a long dragon. Ruan Yesheng clicked and listened through them all, her fingers getting sore by the end.
However, after Shen Qingbie's lengthy explanation, Ruan Yesheng gained a more comprehensive understanding of how this misunderstanding arose.
To avoid Shen Qingbie digging deeper, Ruan Yesheng didn't want to explain too much. She replied, "I'm not sure about this. Xi Mo hasn't told me anything, and I didn't notice any problem with her eyes during our scenes together. But since you've mentioned it, maybe she caught a cold and had some blurred vision. If she took a day off to go to the hospital today, we'll see how things are tomorrow. If she's fine tomorrow, then what you said might just be temporary. Don't worry too much."
Shen Qingbie seemed much relieved, "If it's only temporary, that's good. If her eyes are seriously affected, it could greatly impact her career in acting. Hopefully, when I see her tomorrow, everything will be fine."
Ruan Yesheng smiled and replied, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. It's amusing though. The media keeps spreading rumors that you and Xi Mo don't get along. Who would've thought you're actually her fan? You better keep it hidden, or else the media might think you're faking it."
Shen Qingbie responded, "What can the media really know? It's all speculation and rumors. And then my fans are always arguing with hers. I can't say I'm her fan; that would be embarrassing for my own fans, wouldn't it? They're always criticizing Xi Mo. If I were to come out and say I'm actually her fan, I can imagine how they'd react. Plus, I haven't let A'Yu know about this. Ruan Ruan, you're the only one who knows. You've got to keep this between us."
Ruan Yesheng assured, "Don't worry. Besides, I'm also her fan, so it's no big deal."
Shen Qingbie teased, "Tsk tsk, you? You're not really her fan. I'm a hundred percent pure fan, but you, your fandom isn't pure at all. I know exactly what you're thinking."
Ruan Yesheng, "... Shut up."
Shen Qingbie's voice messages continued non-stop, "Since when did you become shy? That's not like you. Okay, I won't talk about that. Let me talk about something else. I saw you and Xi Mo's assistant having lunch together today. Even though you warned me not to acknowledge knowing you in front of others, with the assistant there, I didn't reveal anything. But you were acting so distant, not even giving me a glance. Did you really think of me as a stranger? And just after I talked with Yan Mu for a bit, I turned around and you were gone. What's up with that? I was a bit confused at the time."
Ruan Yesheng wasn't actually there, but she could imagine how Xi Mo's assistant would have reacted. She replied, "I had an urgent matter to attend to, so I had to leave. And since we agreed to pretend not to know each other, it's better to play it convincingly, isn't it?"
Shen Qingbie responded, "But I still don't get it. We're good friends, so why do we have to pretend not to know each other in the first place?"
Ruan Yesheng: "I definitely have my reasons, but it's not convenient to explain right now. Just consider it a favor I'm asking of you, and don't be curious about the details. Also, while you're on set these days, we probably won't have much direct contact. I'll continue to pretend not to know you. I'm letting you know in advance so you can be prepared. After some time passes, things will change, and I'll tell you more then."
Shen Qingbie: "Alright, you've never asked for my help before. It's always been me asking you. Consider this me returning the favor. I know you always have your reasons for doing things, so I won't ask any more questions."
Ruan Yesheng: "To thank you, I'll get you a few more autographed photos from Xi Mo later."
Shen Qingbie got excited again: "That's awesome. Let me tell you, as the gossip goes in our circle, I feel embarrassed to ask her for an autograph. People would find it weird, especially if A'Yu found out. Once I went to get an autograph from a popular actress, and she was so shocked that she signed twenty for me in one go. A'Yu found out later and said I was losing my dignity, and I could accidentally boost someone else's popularity. That scared me off from directly asking for autographs. But you giving them to me secretly is perfect."
Then Shen Qingbie sent another message: "Can I ask Xi Mo to write: 'To the cutest Qingqing'?"
Ruan Yesheng: "…Let's not talk about these daydreams."
Shen Qingbie: "Ruanruan, let's video chat so I can see you too. I'm telling you, typing is annoying, and sending voice messages is also bothersome. It's better to just talk directly."
"Are you avoiding me?”
Shen Qingbie sent a crying emoji: "If A'Yu avoids me, that's fine, but you too?"
"I've been avoiding you for more than a day or two."
"You won't video chat with me?"
"I can't, I'm currently applying a face mask, inconvenient."
"Why do you always say you're applying a face mask whenever I message you to video chat? Do you have that many face masks?"
"I apply them a lot, it's good for the skin."
Shen Qingbie: "Your skin is already good enough. If it gets any better, are you planning to directly seduce Xi Mo?"
Ruan Yesheng: "...Retract that message."
Shortly after, it showed that Shen Qingbie retracted the message.
After chatting for a while longer, even though Ruan Yesheng was patient, she was starting to feel worn out. Feeling genuinely tired, she had to tell Shen Qingbie she needed to rest. She made it clear this time, and even if Shen Qingbie wasn't the most perceptive, she understood. They had chatted a lot this time, so Shen Qingbie wasn't left feeling suffocated. She bid farewell to Ruan Yesheng, very satisfied with their chat.
Ruan Yesheng set her phone down, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed. She collapsed onto her pillow, deciding she didn't want to look at her phone again today, not even for a moment.
She turned off the lights and closed her eyes.
After a while, Ruan Yesheng heard the sound of a message notification on her phone once again.
Despite Shen Qingbie's talkative nature, once she finishes speaking, she is quite reliable and won't harass further. Ruan Yesheng knew this message couldn't have come from Shen Qingbie.
So... who could it be?
Could it be Xi Mo? But knowing Xi Mo's personality, she might realize Ruan Yesheng could be going to bed early today to avoid disturbance, so Xi Mo might not send a message.
But there's always a chance for exceptions.
What if it really is Xi Mo?
Her emotions suddenly turned upside down, and her heart unexpectedly began to beat with anticipation. Glancing at the faint light from her phone, she leaned over and picked it up.
At that moment, it was as if she had regained her vitality, and suddenly became energetic.
The message was indeed from Xi Mo: "You should be asleep by now, right? Just turn on your phone tomorrow morning and read this then. Tell Tangtang not to prepare breakfast for you tomorrow; I'll bring it for you. See you on set tomorrow morning. Goodnight."
Author's Note:
Cuties, I am here to thank everyone for your ratings, comments, and votes.
