Chapter 23: Couldn't Dare To Face It
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=7288969
The filming phase of the movie was shot intermittently.
Lin Ni's scenes in this setting concluded several weeks later, about a week before Lu Xici's scenes concluded.
She estimated Lu Xici had also been contemplating about the same time so she invited her to dinner once again.
Lu Xici's expression towards Lin Ni was somewhat complex.
If possible, she wanted to continue avoiding her.
During these past ten days, they interacted just like before, freely joking around and seeking advice from her.
She was afraid Lin Ni would persist in pursuing her, changing the nature of their relationship.
"It's just dinner, is that not acceptable?"
Lin Ni thought that after so many days had passed, her abrupt confession would have minimal impact on Lu Xici.
However, judging by Lu Xici's reaction, it clearly did not meet her expectations.
Actually, if they continued this standoff, it seemed that they would probably not be able to maintain their friendship.
"Okay. I'll go with you tonight." It was only then that Lu Xici realized this.
After the confession, maintaining their friendship had indeed changed.
Lu Xici lingered in the dressing room for quite a while before eventually leaving.
As if nothing would happen as long as she kept avoiding it.
Finally, when she could no longer delay, she slowly got up, and dragged her feet towards the door, feeling reluctant but forced to face it.
Before leaving, she opened the chat with Shang Shixu's profile picture on her phone and sent her a message.
[A good friend of mine confessed to me some time ago.]
Before Jun Youyue could recover from her shock, Lu Xici's next message arrived.
[She just invited me to dinner.]
Jun Youyue drew in a sharp breath.
Who confessed to Lu Xici?
How did Lu Xici react?
Did she agree or refuse?
If she agreed, what should she do?
Jun Youyue was feeling a bit breathless.
She didn't know how to express the question she wanted to ask, let alone how to care about it.
Her current identity was an online friend added by Lu Xici during a blind date, counting her as half a pursuer.
When Lu Xici said this to her, was she also hinting to her to stop doing useless work?
Thinking of this possibility, Jun Youyue's eyes darkened and she almost lost her balance.
Tao Sheng, who was beside her, knew she was chatting with Lu Xici, and she gave her a hand.
"You haven't talked to her clearly yet?" Tao Sheng guided Jun Youyue to a chair.
Jun Youyue barely maintained her balance, leaning on the back of the chair, breathing a little quickly.
"I haven't found the opportunity." Jun Youyue never thought that she would be so procrastinating or so indecisive.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=7288969
But in the past few weeks, when Lu Xici chatted with her every day, she forgot her main exclusive purpose.
She almost plunged into the chat box like entering a paradise, indulging in slightly ambiguous conversations with Lu Xici.
Like a parched land, she eagerly drew sustenance from Lu Xici.
Chatting should not bring much comfort, but to Jun Youyue, it is like sweet syrup, making her addicted.
By the time Jun Youyue realized that it was time to get down to business, Lu Xici had already rested.
She didn't want to disturb Lu Xici's rest, so she thought she would do it next time.
But the next time she received a message from Lu Xici, she fell in again, only looking for the comfort brought by their communication.
She was indeed escaping, but she really couldn't dare.
She no longer wanted to experience the pain of the day she got the divorce agreement.
Her instinctive defense mechanism kept her confined within her comfort zone. With her desire to restore the relationship and her current sense of security, she couldn't step out.
She and Lu Xici are actually similar kinds of people. Their first reaction when encountering problems is to escape, not daring to face them directly, and also afraid of changes like waves.
Once things changed, they both wanted to return to how things were before.
Lu Xici quickly pronounced a sentence on this marriage, which she thought was in name only, as if cutting a knot, because she was afraid that she would be reluctant to take action after hesitating for a long time.
It seems good to continue like this.
Greed has not taken hold yet, Jun Youyue is a person with few desires. She hides her desires very deeply and looks at things lightly.
She was somewhat satisfied with getting along with Lu Xici in this way.
They at least have communication. They have made much progress compared to before becoming friends.
Moreover, Jun Youyue wanted to know more about Lu Xici from her words.
She wanted to hear her speak, about anything, even if it was a waste of time, meaningless idle chatter.
Jun Youyue did learn a lot about Lu Xici's current situation.
For example, she has been under a lot of pressure during filming recently and has to stay up late. She relies on coffee or tea to stay awake during the day.
Occasionally, she will deliberately wear fewer clothes, go to the wind vent to blow the cold wind for a while, and think about the next scenes in silence and cold.
Jun Youyue felt sorry for her that she was working so hard and that her schedule was too harmful to her body, but she was asked if she stayed up late herself.
Jun Youyue was used to staying up.
Moreover, she doesn't need to appear on screen, even if she went to work each day with a messy appearance, wearing mismatched socks and pants inside out, no one would say anything.
Rather, everyone around her is like this. Occasionally, there is one person who dresses up specially, and the entire institute can tell that this person is going on a date after getting off work.
But Lu Xici is a star after all, and she needs to maintain a glamorous appearance.
Staying up late meant having to put in more effort to repair her physical and outward condition.
Based on Jun Youyue's long-term observations mingling in her fan forums, even a slight downturn in a female star's condition would attract quite a lot of criticism from haters.
Even though Jun Youyue was indifferent, sometimes when she saw that nonsense, she wanted to go through the internet and argue and fight with that group of people.
No matter how famous Lu Xici is, she is still a mortal. She will also get tired, sleepy, tired, and exhausted.
Why do these people hate her, and why are they so harsh?
For instance, the breakfast provided by the hotel was too Chinese-style, and not actually fitting her taste.
Jun Youyue had noticed this before. There was always some bread and milk at home, as well as cheese and bacon in the refrigerator.
But for lunch and dinner, Lu Xici was a definite fan of Chinese cuisine.
Jun Youyue is certain that she has never seen Lu Xici choose a Western restaurant for dinner.
Another example was the fight scenes in the film a few days ago.
Lu Xici had consulted martial arts instructors before shooting, practicing continuously until now, even redoing scenes multiple times.
Even if there were stunts or positioning for actors and the force couldn't be that intense, Lu Xici took several solid hits.
Not to mention the injuries she might have sustained during training.
When Lu Xici mentioned these things to herself, she spoke about them casually.
But Jun Youyue felt extremely sorry for her, and wanted to share some of her pain.
She spoke straightforwardly across the screen, making Lu Xici on the other side of the screen blush.
Lu Xici bit her lip, not knowing how to reply to the words "I would rather take the hits for you."
Miss Shang is really interesting.
Many times, she can feel that she is very serious. The word "rigid" is written between every line, and she will never use words or punctuation indiscriminately.
Facing concepts unfamiliar to Lu Xici, she would research for several minutes and then condense the definitions to explain to her.
This very much aligned with Lu Xici's definition of an "academic master," inadvertently increasing a lot of favorable feelings.
But occasionally, Lu Xici could feel the emotional and romantic side of this person.
She would share sunsets, and evening stars after work, and genuinely care for her when she suffered, displaying sincere concern.
Lu Xici actually just treated "Miss Shang Shixu" as an ordinary online friend.
They have never met before, so she can talk to her about the trivial matters in life without any worries.
The other party's flirtatious remarks, however, prompted Lu Xici to have another kind of idea.
Is Miss Shang showing some interest in me?
If so, should I consider it? At least, meet up?
However, Lu Xici won't consider meeting up before this stage of the movie ends. She needs to fully focus on finishing her work.
Therefore, she didn't think too much about today's conversation, and just considered 'Shang Shixu' as a friend.
She wanted to vent a bit about Lin Ni to her and share some simple grievances.
Lu Xici didn't know that Jun Youyue, who was wearing Shang Shixu's vest, was in a state of confusion because of her two sentences.
Seeing that she didn't get a reply, Lu Xici pursed her lips and put her phone away.
Maybe she is busy.
She used to get instant replies from 'Shang Shixu,' so Lu Xici felt a bit uncomfortable suddenly being ignored.
….
"Is the variety show you were a guest on a while ago going to air soon?"
At the dining table, Lin Ni didn't immediately press Lu Xici about her decision, instead, she casually engaged in conversation like a friend.
Lu Xici didn't relax because of this; her demeanor showed tension. "Yes, it's airing this Friday.
"I'll make sure to watch," Lin Ni added tea for Lu Xici in a natural manner.
Lu Xici took it, frowning slightly with a complex expression.
"I'm just an extra, Lin-jie. Why don't you watch Teacher Gu? She's a regular guest." Gu Yunhua was Lin Ni's friend from her student days. They entered the entertainment industry together right after coming of age, and even formed a girl group.
However within two years, Lin Ni felt that she was more suitable for acting, so the group disbanded.
Gu Yunhua couldn't possibly not have any grievances about this. However, considering her relationship with Lin Ni, Gu Yunhua still should come before Lu Xici.
“Watch and taunt her, and then be beaten to the ground by her?" Lin Ni raised an eyebrow at Lu Xici.
The two of them laughed together.
Seeing that the atmosphere had almost relaxed, Lin Ni opened her mouth and was ready to ask questions.
But Lu Xici raised her hand to stop her.
"I want to eat first." She was afraid that after Lin Ni finished questioning, she would lose her appetite and run away.
Lin Ni looked at her and sighed inaudibly. "Okay, let's eat first."
She felt a little helpless, but Lu Xici could hear a hint of doting, which made her shudder.
Some things that are bound to happen inevitably affect one's appetite.
Lu Xici hastily took a few bites before placing down her chopsticks.
"Lin-jie, I'll just check my messages."
"No problem, you go ahead."
With permission, Lu Xici turned on her phone and waited for Lin Ni to finish eating, so that the two of them could have a good talk.
There has been no reply from "Shang Shixu".
Lu Xici comforted herself by saying that everyone gets busy sometimes.
Perhaps the other person hadn’t checked her phone after finishing her meal?
The other party usually responded quickly around mealtime too.
Lu Xici decided to prod a little.
[Are you eating? QWQ I’m so annoyed. I actually don’t want to get into such a quarrel with this friend]
Author's Note:
I’m not very good at writing about online dating (cough), so I wrote it this way. Hope it looks good