Chapter 199: Lying Low
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Yesheng looked dazed. At this moment, every syllable of Xi Mo's words was like a drumbeat, striking her heart, encouraging her, and affirming her true self.
Her eyes reddened and became misty. She quickly took the tissue that Xi Mo had used to wipe her tears from her hand and lowered her head to wipe her eyes.
Seeing this, Xi Mo took the box of tissues directly off the table, held it in her hand, and waited for her to take more at any time.
Ruan Yesheng glanced at her and complained coquettishly, "I don’t need that many tissues. When you do this, it looks like I will keep crying forever."
Xi Mo took a few tissues from the box, put the box back, and waited, "Are these enough?"
Seeing Xi Mo's anxious and serious expression, Ruan Yesheng smiled softly with tears in her eyes and said, "Those are enough."
Xi Mo seemed a little embarrassed: "I didn't want you to feel too anxious, but in the end... you cried even harder."
"Do you regret telling me all that just now?" Ruan Yesheng asked her.
"I don't regret it." Xi Mo said, "These are the thoughts in my heart. I think you should know them. Only when you know them will you not feel afraid. People always need positive affirmation, no matter how optimistic they are.”
Ruan Yesheng gradually calmed down: "Has anyone ever complimented you for being cute?"
Xi Mo was taken aback: "Huh?"
"You're so cute."
Xi Mo was even more stunned. Then she stood up, lowered her head, and straightened her clothes, trying to hide the blush that had risen on her face.
"Isn't this a positive affirmation?" Ruan Yesheng looked up and teased her, "People always need positive affirmation, so you're no exception?"
“…It counts.” Xi Mo said softly, “Thank you.”
Ruan Yesheng chuckled and looked Xi Mo up and down: "Do you know the saying? If you think the person you like is very beautiful, that might be a normal attraction. If you think the other person is very good, that might be because you've fallen for them. If you think the other person is... very cute, then you're doomed."
Xi Mo looked confused, saying, "I've never heard of it, but I personally think it doesn't make much sense. It's probably just emotional chicken soup* from marketing accounts. Drink less of it."
*cliché or shallow inspirational content on social media.
Ruan Yesheng stood up from the chair, opened her arms and hugged Xi Mo. She spoke beside her ear, "I will drink it just this once."
Xi Mo hugged her back, feeling Ruan Yesheng's heartbeat seemingly pressed against her body.
"I'm doomed," Ruan Yesheng said softly.
Xi Mo's heart suddenly trembled. Then she held her tightly.
….
With the Spring Festival fast approaching, the schedules of celebrities are packed. Besides the Spring Festival Gala, they've received invitations to various television galas, all of which require rehearsals, with the Spring Festival Gala being particularly demanding. However, during Gu Ru's filming, she required the actors to stay on set for extended periods. Everyone respected Gu Ru's wishes, so even at this busy end of the year, the actors in the "Seeing This Letter… " crew remained stable, with only a few short-term leave requests.
Of the two female leads, Xi Mo, despite receiving invitations, has never participated in the Spring Festival Gala. As for Ruan Yesheng's current situation, her TV series "Sui Ting" hasn't aired, and she hasn't appeared on any variety shows. Her level of fame wasn’t enough for the big galas to invite her.
Yan Mu had a song to sing at this year's Spring Festival Gala. He's a singer and now a popular TV drama actor, and the probability of the Spring Festival Gala inviting popular actors has been increasing in recent years. One day, Yan Mu sent Xi Mo a message: "Sister, I'm going to have a concert tour in spring, the first stop is in Shanghai, and I'd like to invite you to be a special guest. Are you free?"
He added the exact concert date below the message.
Xi Mo glanced at it and politely declined, "I'm sorry, my work schedule is quite full at that time, so I probably wouldn't have time. But thank you for your invitation."
Yan Mu replied, "It's okay, thank you, sister. You've worked hard, take care of your health."
During a break in filming, Ruan Yesheng chatted with Xi Mo and mentioned, "One of my former mentors asked me for help. She wants me to demonstrate some dances."
Besides acting, Ruan Yesheng always loved dancing. Her classical dance was especially exquisite. She had not neglected it all these years. After she became popular from filming movies before, her value rose. She became too busy and did not appear in dance performances again. As time passed and she left the circle for a while, she returned to the stage.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
In recent years, Ruan Yesheng sometimes joined teachers from the dance theater for stage work, but she kept a low profile. Dance as an art becomes rusty if you do not practice for a long time. Compared with the pay for stage work, Xi Mo felt that what Ruan Yesheng cared about more was the chance to maintain her dance foundation. It was like some popular actors who acted in stage plays with low exposure after filming, in order to improve themselves.
Every time Ruan Yesheng talked about dance, her eyes light up.
"You agreed?" Xi Mo asked her, "Is there enough time to arrange it? You still have to film the movie."
Ruan Yesheng nodded: "Yes, I agreed. There's still time. It's in the spring. I don’t need to stay for every demonstration. It won't take much time. Then I will go to the concert venue that day. It will not delay the movie filming.”
Xi Mo felt relieved: "That's good. Gu Ru doesn't like actors taking too long off. You should cooperate with her more; it will benefit you in the future. She has a lot of resources."
“Understood.” Ruan Yesheng smiled and said, “This time it’s quite fresh. It’s not a regular dance theater job, but a concert. The organizers have collaborated with my mentor on stage, and most of the backup dancers are from my mentor’s studio.”
"A concert?" Xi Mo asked instinctively, "Where?"
Ruan Yesheng said, "Shanghai, it's quite close."
"...Which singer?"
"I don't know yet. I asked her, but she hasn't replied yet. She's probably busy. I'll let you know when she replies."
"You agreed without even asking which singer it was?"
Ruan Yesheng sensed that Xi Mo was inexplicably anxious. She found it strange and carefully observed Xi Mo's expression before saying, "My mentor has helped me a lot, and it's not easy to refuse her out of courtesy. Besides, this is all her brand-new choreography, I can learn a lot of new things."
Xi Mo warned, "What if the singer has some serious negative news? It would be bad for you to collaborate with such a singer on stage."
Although Ruan Yesheng doesn't have much buzz yet, her upcoming drama "Sui Ting," her variety show with Shen Qingbie, and Gu Ru's film will all inevitably generate a lot of buzz. If the media revisits these collaborations later, they're bound to be exaggerated and sensationalized.
Nowadays, people in the entertainment industry have learned their lesson and dare not work with artists with bad reputation for fear of getting into trouble.
“If the other party has serious problems, my mentor wouldn’t cooperate. Don’t worry, she’s very careful in this regard and has definitely done her research,” Ruan Yesheng comforted her. “Besides, I’m just demonstrating. My mentor has limited energy, which is why she asked me to help. I don’t need to go on stage, and this kind of behind-the-scenes work can’t really be considered a real stage performance.”
Xi Mo understood the logic, but she still hesitated.
She hesitated for a moment, then added softly, "Does what I'm doing count as interfering with your job choices? I didn't mean that, it's just..."
In private, seeing her somewhat uneasy look, Ruan Yesheng would definitely have hugged and kissed her to cheer her up. However, they were in the film set's rest area now, and although they were sitting a bit far apart and there was no one else around, Ruan Yesheng didn't dare to be too obvious. So she patted Xi Mo's hand and said, "No, don't worry for nothing. I know you’re doing this for my good and helping me avoid risks."
Xi Mo hummed in response and waited patiently for Ruan Yesheng to reply before telling her.
After filming another scene, during a break, Ruan Yesheng glanced at the messages on her phone and was quite surprised. She immediately said to Xi Mo, "The singer at that concert is actually Yan Mu."
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng said, "Yan Mu has no negative news. We worked together on Sui Ting before, and he's a good person."
"So you are sure you will take this job?" Xi Mo frowned slightly.
Ruan Yesheng looked her up and down and said, "If you don't want me to take the job, I can talk to my mentor again and say that I can't make the time."
"Wait." Xi Mo stopped her. "Actually... it's not necessary. After all, it's your mentor's job, and you should help if you can. Besides, Yan Mu is indeed a good person."
Ruan Yesheng looked at her and smiled. "Do you know something? Before this you already looked like you guessed the singer might be Yan Mu."
Xi Mo had no choice but to tell the truth:
"...Yan Mu invited me today, asking if I could be a special guest at his concert in the spring, in Shanghai. When I heard that your job was similar, I had a sixth sense, I thought maybe it was such a coincidence. I didn't expect it to really be Yan Mu."
Ruan Yesheng froze. Then she quickly asked, "Did you agree?"
Now it was Xi Mo's turn to look Ruan Yesheng up and down. She sensed that Ruan Yesheng seemed a little anxious and said, "You don't want me to attend?"
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
After hesitating for a moment, Ruan Yesheng leaned close to Xi Mo's ear and whispered in a low voice, afraid that others would hear, "When we were filming Sui Ting before, I used your identity. I felt that Yan Mu's attitude towards you was a bit too attentive."
Xi Mo's expression looked strange. She leaned close and whispered back.
"I felt that during filming, Yan Mu paid too much attention to you."
Both of them sounded embarrassed. Then they looked at each other for a long time without a word.
In the end, Ruan Yesheng was the first to laugh out loud: "You misunderstood. He had seen my movies before and was an early fan. He was surprised to see me make a comeback. He's just a fan."
Xi Mo recalled her inexplicable alarm bells going off at the time and said awkwardly, "...Then you misunderstood. Yan Mu is just a little kid in front of me."
"I was terrified back then." Ruan Yesheng wanted to laugh even more, and took the initiative to explain, "Back then, I even helped you avoid him."
Xi Mo also said, "...I also helped you avoid him."
After they finished speaking, they both lowered their eyes, their thoughts at the time were being belatedly exposed to each other.
"Will you go to the concert?" Ruan Yesheng asked Xi Mo softly.
Xi Mo took out her phone, opened Yan Mu's message box, and replied: "I just checked my work schedule again. The day you mentioned is free, so I can attend your concert. I can attend your concert, but I can't perform on stage. Is that okay?"
After finishing, Xi Mo showed the phone screen to Ruan Yesheng.
Ruan Yesheng's gaze swept down the message history, she couldn't help but laugh: "Your work schedule is very flexible. One moment there is no time, then suddenly there is time."
Xi Mo coughed softly.
Yan Mu replied excitedly immediately: "Really, sister?! It's my honor! Don't worry, there's no stage performance, just a few words on stage at most! It's okay if you can't speak on stage, just smile and interact when the camera pans to you! We're just friends supporting each other, please don’t feel pressured!"
Xi Mo replied, "Okay, then just send the detailed arrangements to Lu Qingming."
"No problem, sister! See you then, I'll have someone deliver the tickets to your office!"
"Okay, thank you."
After Ruan Yesheng finished reading, Xi Mo put away her phone and said, "You'll need to go there in advance to prepare, right?"
Ruan Yesheng smiled and said, "Yes. Shall we go together?"
“Okay. I will pick you up at your house." Xi Mo made the plan with her.
That evening, Shen Qingbie also sent a message to Ruan Yesheng, asking her, "Ruanruan, when are you going on vacation? I'm going to rest after attending the Lunar New Year's Eve party in Changsha."
Ever since returning from the bar on New Year's Day, Shen Qingbie has been acting strange. She doesn't talk as much nonsense as before, but she still chats with Ruan Yesheng frequently. However, the most obvious change is that she no longer mentions Yu An. Before, she would often talk to Ruan Yesheng about Yu An, such as how Yu An arranged this job for her or bought her that thing. Now, all of that is gone.
Ruan Yesheng knew perfectly well what was going on, but she didn't bring it up. However, she was still very worried about Shen Qingbie's current relationship with Yu An. After all, such a big thing had happened, and she didn't know how they had handled it. Ruan Yesheng had also tried to subtly talk to Yu An about it. Yu An appeared calm on the surface and thought that Ruan Yesheng didn't know anything, but little did she know that Shen Qingbie had already revealed everything to Ruan Yesheng.
Yu An simply said that she was quite busy right now, training newcomers. Ruan Yesheng then understood that she probably hadn't seen Shen Qingbie during this time, but she didn't know who was avoiding whom, so it wasn't appropriate to ask.
Ruan Yesheng leaned against the headboard and replied to Shen Qingbie: "Getting off work so early? I won't be back in Shanghai until the evening of the 28th of the lunar calendar."
There is no 30th this year; Lunar New Year's Eve falls on the 29th of the lunar calendar.
"Your crew director is not human. Exploiting you like this. Why not release you on New Year's Eve night? Even cattle and horses return to the stable to rest."
Ruan Yesheng was momentarily dazed, then typed somewhat sadly: "It's alright, it doesn't matter whether I come back early or late, it's just New Year's Eve."
Shen Qingbie, realizing she had brought up something she shouldn't have, quickly replied, "Ruanruan, come to my house! Let's celebrate the New Year together this year. You can teach me how to make dumplings. Your dumplings are so delicious, I'm craving them."
Who knows if Yu An has stopped caring about her, but Shen Qingbie’s words and actions don’t seem to express the same deep resentment as before about dieting and body management. She’s been starving for a year, and now that it’s Lunar New Year, she can’t even eat what she wants? That's outrageous.
She would eat. She would eat stubbornly. Who would get angry?
Anyway... anyway, it won't be herself! She's enjoying herself! And nobody cares about her anyway!
Ruan Yesheng replied, "No need, don't trouble uncle and aunt. If I go, they'll have to run around taking care of everything. I'll come to see you on the second day of the Lunar New Year."
"Then the second day of the Lunar New Year is fine too, I'll wait for you! I'll eat twenty dumplings!" Shen Qingbie stopped laughing and sent another eating emoji.
"Don't be crazy, twenty more."
Ruan Yesheng smiled as she looked at her phone, then sighed inwardly, a hint of worry in her voice as she looked at Shen Qingbie.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Gu Cen visited the film set again, bringing gifts to everyone. Everyone praised Xiao Cen for being sensible, but Gu Ru caught her and scolded her again: "You're always doing nothing productive. Is this film crew your home? You visit every now and then. Don't you have any work to do?"
Gu Cen said aggrievedly, "Isn't this film crew yours? You're my sister, isn't this my family's?"
Gu Ru raised her hand in anger, pretending to slap her, but it was just a show. She shook her hand and said, "Is your troupe too idle? I will call your boss and give you more work."
"No, sister!" Gu Cen hurriedly said, "Li Siran is always staying in your crew now. Even though she doesn't have any scenes, she still stays there. I hardly see her, and I'm so bored every day. If you give me too much work, I can’t play with her."
"You only know how to play! Li Siran stays and watches to learn even without scenes. Her acting improved a lot these days. And you! If you had one percent of her motivation, I would not be angry to death!" Gu Ru took the script and left. "Get lost. I need to work."
"Okay, sister, get busy! Get busy! Don't waste your precious time worrying about me! Treat me like air! Gu Cen chuckled and turned to go play with Li Siran.
No one knew what they played. After Xi Mo finished a scene and came to rest, she saw Li Siran sitting alone on a chair. She looked absent minded, like she just came back from sleepwalking. Her face even had a strange blush.
Xi Mo walked over, and Li Siran came to her senses, immediately standing up and saying, "Sister Xi."
Xi Mo glanced at her: "What's wrong? Do you have a fever?"
Li Siran is very ambitious. Sometimes she doesn't even ask for leave even when she's sick. Xi Mo felt she worked so hard that it was a bit heartbreaking. Usually Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng took care of her in the crew.
"No...no," Li Siran quickly said, "It's probably because the heating is too hot."
"If you're not feeling well, go see a doctor and get some medicine," Xi Mo said gently. "Don't try to endure it.”
“…Yes, thank you, Sister Xi,” Li Siran replied.
Xi Mo nodded and noticed Gu Cen wasn't there. She must have gone back.
On the 27th day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Tingyu went to Beijing on a business trip and invited Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng to dinner to discuss some matters. There was no night scene that day. The three arranged to meet at 7:30 pm. Lin Tingyu arrived early and walked around near the restaurant. Then she saw four boys gathered in the landscape area. Inside there was a cat crying miserably.
It was already dark. The lighting there was weak. The boys shouted badly and held stones.
Lin Tingyu walked over slowly. Her voice sounded faint.
"What are you doing?"
The boys turned around. They looked like students. One tall boy in front said, "Mind your own business. Get lost."
Lin Tingyu smiled. "Get lost? Which school are you from?"
They didn't answer and just stared at her fiercely.
She waved her phone and said, "I've recorded everything. Your faces are all clearly visible. It's okay, don't tell me. I'll ask around at the nearby schools and find out soon."
Upon seeing this, the boys cursed and rushed over to snatch her phone. However, Lin Tingyu raised her long leg and easily kicked the leader, who immediately fell backward and rolled on the ground in pain. Then she kicked another boy in the stomach, who also knelt down clutching his stomach and crying out in pain.
The other two had never seen anyone so capable of fighting, they immediately cowered, quickly backing away, saying, "We'll sue you! You hit us, that's intentional assault! We're under sixteen, you're dead!"
Lin Tingyu tilted her head: "Sue me? You guys are doing such dirty things here, your minds must be pretty twisted. You're a good-for-nothing, so you take your anger out on small animals. I bet you've bullied your classmates a lot at school too."
The group's expressions changed, and Lin Tingyu immediately understood: "So you really did bully them? I haven't even asked you in detail yet, and you can't hide it anymore? Look at you, all overfed. What, the protection for minors protects trash like you?"
She smiled slightly, her gaze appearing somewhat dim in the distant lamplight: "Oh, not right. Ants."
"Later I will post the video and report it to your school. Your names will be written. Think about whether you can bear the consequences. If you want to live a little better later, stop doing this. Otherwise..."
Her shadow stretched on the ground, colder than the north wind of winter.
Upon seeing this, the two boys were too frightened to say anything more. They each helped the other two who were in so much pain that they couldn't even stand up straight, and quickly slipped away.
When Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng arrived at the restaurant's private room, they saw Lin Tingyu bent over, staring at a cat in a cage. The cat looked listless, covered in wounds that had been carefully bandaged, and lay motionless in the cage.
"Tingyu." Ruan Yesheng called out to her, and together with Xi Mo looked at the cat.
Lin Tingyu turned around and smiled: "You're here? It's been a while."
Noticing their gazes, she added, "Oh, this is the cat I just picked up; it has some health issues."
Ruan Yesheng looked at it with some distress: "How did it get so badly injured?"
Xi Mo remained silent, staring at the cat. She could tell that the wounds were likely inflicted by someone, and her displeasure grew.
“There are always scumbags in society,” Lin Tingyu said. “It’s okay, these injuries can heal. I’ll take it back to A’Shuang to raise; she loves cats.”
Ruan Yesheng nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.
The three of them sat down at the table. Lin Tingyu let Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo order first, and they chatted while waiting for the food to be served.
Ruan Yesheng asked Lin Tingyu, "What do you want to discuss with us? When you sent that message before, I felt it must be quite important."
Lin Tingyu said, "Jiajia is very busy with work in the team right now and it's inconvenient for her to come over. She asked me to tell you some information."
"What's going on?" Xi Mo's gaze darkened slightly. She already guessed it might be about Yang Zhen.
Author's Note:
This chapter has quite a bit of content~ Spring festival is coming, and the concert is coming soon too~
Leave a rating and comment!
