Chapter 69: Original Version

Deleted/Changes are in green text. 

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The clear sky in the morning turned cloudy in the afternoon. The director temporarily decided to shoot another scene in which the protagonist chases and runs in the rain, and the crew hurriedly changes the location.

Scarlett Li indefinitely postponed filming the kissing scene, but the film crew's demands on the two leads grew much stricter.

"Someone from the crew just called to say that rooms C505 and C506 have been vacated as per the director's request. Tonight, you and Miss Qu will be staying in C666. I'll go to pack your things in a while."

The assistant's voice sounded in the car. Gu Xizhi nodded calmly and continued to read the script.

It was raining lightly outside the car window. The crew kept speeding up to meet the deadline. The spring rain was gentle and delicate. Several times, Gu Xizhi looked up at the scenery outside the window, enjoying the rich greenery.

As the car passed over a bridge, the driver suddenly stopped. Another actor in the car quickly asked, "What happened?"

The driver shook his head and shrugged, "The car in front stopped and I'll go down to take a look."

Gu Xizhi raised her head and looked at the road ahead. She lowered her head again when she saw the rain and fog in front of the car, which limited her vision.

After about a minute, the driver returned to the car and spoke with a less calm tone than before. "The Bentley in front hit a roadblock and almost skidded. There are some minor injuries inside the car, and they're handling it. The road should clear up soon."

Someone in the car asked, "Who is injured?

"Sister Wang who plays Yun’s mother. "

"Who else is in the car?" another person inquired.

"I heard that Director Zhao and Miss Qu are also in there. Director Zhao is fine, but Miss Qu got a slight bump on her head, but it doesn't seem serious."

Gu Xizhi's eyes paused on the script and then looked up again at the rainy and foggy car outside.

The phone rang, and Gu Xizhi quickly answered. "Hello?"

"Miss Gu, Director Li said that the outdoor scenes with you and Miss Qu won't be filmed today. You'll return to the set to shoot your scenes later."

"Okay." Gu Xizhi hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is there something wrong with Miss Qu?"

"We don’t know yet, but Director Li wants Miss Qu to go to the hospital for a checkup."

"Thank you, I understand," Gu Xizhi replied thoughtfully and hung up the phone.

Qu Xizhi hadn't returned to the set until the evening. When they returned to the hotel in the evening, the assistant gave them a new key. Opening the door to room C666, the luxurious double-suite design made Gu Xizhi sigh at the effort the crew had put in.

"This room is yours, and the one over there is Miss Qu's." The assistant introduced promptly.

"Has Miss Qu come back yet?" After looking around, Gu Xizhi asked her assistant.

The assistant seemed bewildered. "I just arrived too." 

A dog ran excitedly from Qu Xizhi's bedroom and wagged its tail in front of Gu Xizhi, who was surprised.

"Qiqi?" Gu Xizhi bent down to pick up the dog, patting its head inexplicably, then glanced back in the direction it came from.

"Dear Xiao Gu." Liang Ying poked her head out of the bedroom and came to Gu Xizhi excitedly. "Are you happy to see me?"

Gu Xizhi was stunned for a moment, looking very surprised."Why are you here?"

"Hey, can you give me a little surprised expression?" Liang Ying stood on tiptoes and took the puppy away from Gu Xizhi's arms, then held the puppy and looked at her happily, "I came to see you after I finished my exams. So, how happy are you to see me?"

Gu Xizhi looked at her with a somewhat indifferent "Mm" in response and asked, "Who let you in?"

"Of course, it’s Xiao A'Qu." Liang Ying stepped forward and stood on tiptoes to pinch her face."Is your face paralyzed? Be a bit happier."

Gu Xizhi hesitated, then glanced back at where she had just come from. After a long pause, she pulled Liang Ying into the bathroom, closed the door, and whispered, "Was Qu Xizhi okay when she opened the door just now?"

Liang Ying studied her expression for a while, then turned around with the puppy in her arms, "A box of snacks."

"Are you crazy?"

"No deal, we're leaving." She picked up the puppy and headed for the door.

Gu Xizhi immediately grabbed her and said, "It's a deal, tell me quickly."

Liang Ying turned around and looked at her expression again, and asked after a while, "What do you mean by ' 'okay'?"

"The car she was riding in had an accident this afternoon. Is she okay?"

"Hmm..." After thinking for a long time, "I can't tell." Her eyes kept wandering, "Are you worried about her?"

Gu Xizhi immediately shook her head, "No, just asking." After thinking about it, she asked, "Is she in the room?"

"Yes, if there's anything, you can knock on the door and ask her face-to-face."

Gu Xizhi thought for a moment and said, "No need."

Liang Ying looked at her for a long time, hiding the shrewdness in her eyes, opened the bathroom door, and ran away.

Gu Xizhi looked at her back and then at Qu Xizhi's door and thought for a long time and then took a step back into her room.

There was a lot to be done in the new room, so Gu Xizhi had been busy since her return. At 7:30, the assistant brought her dinner, and Liang Ying set up the dinner and kept urging Gu Xizhi to eat.

Even though she was in her bedroom, Gu Xizhi could still hear every move in the adjacent room. If she wasn't mistaken, Qu Xizhi hadn't come out of her room since Gu Xizhi returned.

The living room was brightly lit, and Gu Xizhi saw Liang Ying feeding the dog on the table when she walked out of her bedroom. She walked over slowly and asked in a low voice after thinking for a moment, "Didn't you ask her if she wanted to eat?"

Liang Ying raised her head, pretending not to know."Who?"

Gu Xizhi turned back to look at Qu Xizhi's room and said, "Her."

Liang Ying followed her gaze and no longer pretended to be stupid, but said, "Oh, I forgot to ask her, How about you go and ask her yourself?"

Gu Xizhi thought for a moment and shook her head. "Never mind."

Not long after she sat down, there was a knock on the door. Gu Xizhi put down her bowls and chopsticks and came to the door. When she opened the door, she saw someone outside. The person standing was slightly stunned.

"Hello, Miss Gu," it didn't take long for Zhong Linshan to respond.

Gu Xizhi quickly came to her senses, "Miss Zhong." She glanced at the food in her hand.

Is Xiao Qu here?" She smiled.

Gu Xizhi nodded and hurriedly opened the door. "Please come in."

The smell of food filled the whole room. When Liang Ying saw Zhong Linshan, she raised her hand and gave her a flying greeting kiss, "Hi, Xiao A'Zhong."

Zhong Linshan smiled broadly when she saw her. When she was about to get closer, her eyes swept over the puppy in her arms. She covered her lips and took a few steps back, saying, "I'm looking for Xiao Qu. How about you wash your hands and come play with me later?"

"Okay." Liang Ying gestured to her and held the dog in her arms even tighter.

Watching Zhong Linshan enter Qu Xizhi's bedroom, Gu Xizhi sat back at the dining table. At this moment, Liang Ying seemed to have thought of something fun and asked mysteriously, "Xiao A'Gu, have you met Zhong Linyu?"

"Of course."

"Isn't she really pretty?" Liang Ying's eyes sparkled.

Gu Xizhi glanced at her, "What's with your expression?"

"I've seen Zhong Linyu slap Zhong Linshan, and that slap was loud!" Liang Ying spoke in a hushed tone, making it even more mysterious. "But it was because of Xiao Ji."

Gu Xizhi thought for a moment and then poked her head. "Can you think about things more appropriate for your age?"

Liang Ying suddenly looked disappointed, "My mother and my father went to Japan. Do you think tonight I should stay here and flip the cards* with Xiao A'Qu better or flip the cards with you better?"

*to sleep 

Gu Xizhi, "...I'll call your grandma to take you home."

Liang Ying seemed not to hear, holding her chin and looking at her, "Mm, Xiao A'Qu has Xiao A'Zhong, so I'd rather 'flip the cards' with you."

"...Eat!"

After dinner, Gu Xizhi first went to take a bath. After returning to the bedroom, Liang Ying happened to come out from Qu Xizhi's room. Through the crack of the door, Gu Xizhi saw a faint yellow light in the bedroom, but it quickly disappeared when Liang Ying closed the door casually.

"I'm going to take a bath now. Make sure to watch Xuxu, okay." She tiptoed and patted Gu Xizhi's shoulder, then put down the puppy and went to the bathroom. Gu Xizhi looked at the puppy, then opened the bedroom door to let it in.

The room was quiet at night and there was no sound. Gu Xizhi turned on the TV and randomly adjusted a channel before putting away the luggage she had just packed today.

There was a knock on the door, and Gu Xizhi thought it was Liang Ying who came back to look for clothes and said casually, "The door is unlocked, come in. " There was a click and there was no sound after the door lock was opened. Gu Xizhi, who was looking for snacks, was curious about why Liang Ying was so quiet, so she looked back.

She didn't see Liang Ying when she looked, but she was shocked.

"How did you come in?" Gu Xizhi immediately stood up, adjusted her pajamas, and then, as if she felt something was off, grabbed a random piece of clothing from the hanger to drape over herself before facing Qu Xizhi, who had walked in.

"I knocked on the door." Qu Xizhi, wearing a black lace nightgown, didn't seem to be avoiding the situation. "Am I that unwelcome?"

"No, no." Gu Xizhi shook her head repeatedly, and, seeing that she didn't seem to have any head injuries, she asked, "Did you go to the hospital for a check-up? Are there any injuries?"

"No." After a pause, "But my ankle hurts a little from the rain today. Can you call Ling Xian to get some ointment for me?"

"My phone is out of service."

"I mean..." She looked up at her, "Where's Miss Zhong?"

"She had something and went back just now."

"Oh." Gu Xizhi thought about it quietly and took out a medicine kit from the cabinet. "I always carry a lot of medicine with me. Take a look to see if there's something you can use."

Qu Xizhi looked at the medicine box she placed in front of her, rummaged through it, and actually took out a tube of medicine."I've used this one before, so let's go with this."

"Mm." Gu Xizhi checked the name of the ointment and, once she was sure it was correct, closed the medicine kit. "If it doesn't work, let me know anytime, and I'll call Ling Xian."

Qu Xizhi was silent for a moment, "Can you help me apply some medicine?"

Gu Xizhi raised her head to meet her gaze, her expression a little surprised and at a loss.

Qu Xizhi quickly said, "I don't mean anything else, if it's inconvenient for you, forget it."

"No," Gu Xizhi said, grabbing her hand hastily as she turned to leave. Seeing her look back, she quickly withdrew her hand. "It's something I caused. I'll help."

Liang Ying was in the shower, and the only sounds were from the puppy running around in the bedroom. Qu Xizhi sat on the edge of the bed, one foot resting at the bed's end, while Gu Xizhi sat nearby. After opening the ointment, her gaze finally fell on Qu Xizhi's ankle.

Although placing her foot on her lap would have been a more convenient position, Gu Xizhi traced her gaze up Qu Xizhi's slender leg. Then, she directly applied the ointment evenly to her ankle.

The ointment had a coolness that penetrated the bone. Gu Xizhi kept massaging quietly as if she had no intention of talking.

Qu Xizhi watched her repeating the motion for a while and said slowly, "What happened during the day was rude of me. I apologize."

Gu Xizhi was obviously surprised. She looked up at her and forgot to move her hands.

Qu Xizhi continued, "From the time I returned to China to now, my attitude towards you hasn't been friendly. Thinking about it calmly, there is actually something wrong with it. Perhaps it's because I haven't had other relationships or breakups before, so when facing it again, I felt a bit awkward inside. When I was coming back today, I thought, although our separation back then wasn't pleasant, it didn't lead to hatred between us. With so much time passed, there's no reason to hold on to any unpleasantness. I've always admired one thing, which is your ability to face things calmly. I think I should learn from that. If there's no love, there's no need to add unnecessary dislike or hate to it. Maybe we can't be friends, but I'll try to approach this with a normal attitude."

Gu Xizhi listened quietly as Qu Xizhi finished speaking. She then refocused on massaging her injured ankle. With her gaze lowered, she said, "I'm glad you think that way. The discomfort was because it wasn't going well. No matter how I treat it, you're still the perfect Qu Xizhi in my heart."

"Perhaps I should have come here and apologized earlier." Qu Xizhi said quietly, "I was too irrational before, and it was Ara's reminder that made me think about this matter."

Gu Xizhi paused and said, "Miss Zhong knows about us?"

"I told her two years ago, I hope you don't mind."

"I don't." Gu Xizhi curled her lips and said no more.

The only sound in the room was the TV, and there was no conversation between them for a long time.

After a while, she probably felt that it was not good to continue like this. Gu Xizhi stood up and put away the ointment, "The medicine is applied, let me know if you have any questions."

Qu Xizhi looked at her ankle, nodded, and sat up from the bed, "Thank you then."

"You're welcome." Gu Xizhi shrugged and handed over the ointment again, "Take this ointment and use it. Walk a little slower."

Qu Xizhi took the ointment, thanked her, and left her bedroom.

From beginning to end, she looked very much like the Qu Xizhi from other people's descriptions.

The door lock made a slight sound as it opened and closed. Gu Xizhi listened quietly to the closing sound of the door and then closed her own door.

The puppy scurried back and forth under her feet. Gu Xizhi looked at its longing eyes, slowly picked it up, and looked at the medicine box on the bed in a daze.

One of Liang Youyou's biggest characteristics is that she can still be friends with her exes even after breaking up. Regarding this, she has asked her for advice many times. It turns out that she either doesn't like the home life when they were in love, or after a breakup, promptly forgot who her ex was.

Many people, when faced with past relationships, would feel nostalgia or resentment. But that was because they couldn't completely let go. True letting go was to be calm and at peace, like still water. Whenever and wherever that person was mentioned, there should be no ripples in your heart.

She has been so calm with her.

There was nothing better than this.