Reunion in Nanjing City

The black Mercedes crept through the busy downtown streets. Yan Yue stared at the photo on her phone, looking at it again and again.

“This drama aired last year, around March or April. Qin Qingyan only flashed across the screen for a moment; the other three were the same. Altogether, it doesn’t even add up to a minute,” Ye Bai said. “A few netizens noticed her, but she had so few resources that there was nowhere to find her.”

Qin Qingyan in the photo hadn’t changed much. Only her clothes were different, and that made her seem somehow less familiar.

“With a face like that, even if she couldn’t act at all, some director would still come looking for her,” Yan Yue said softly.

“Judging from things now, she probably ran into trouble. Since we’re going to Huanfeng this time anyway, we can ask about her. If we can sign her, it might turn into a big advantage later,” Ye Bai said.

Yan Yue said nothing, lost in thought.

The car went all the way to the front of the Huanfeng Century building, where Yan Huan had already been waiting. Beside her stood Zheng Chong and Director Nie; the three of them were chatting and laughing.

When they saw Yan Yue’s group arrive, they hurried over.

“Sis!” Yan Huan called out happily.

Zheng Chong also said respectfully, “Yan Dong.”

Director Nie greeted them with a smile. “Xiaoyue, I heard you were coming, and Huanhuan couldn’t wait a minute longer. She insisted on coming downstairs to meet you. Mr. Zheng said we couldn’t be rude either. I was bored sitting upstairs alone, so I came down with them.”

Yan Yue smiled lightly. Seeing that it was almost noon, she said, “Is there a restaurant nearby? Let’s eat while we talk.”

The private room was luxuriously appointed, and beyond the huge floor-to-ceiling window lay an unobstructed view of the riverside. The dishes weren’t even all served yet, but everyone had already started catching up.

After a stretch of laughter and chatter, Yan Yue asked, as if casually, “Uncle Nie, that girl you’d been looking for for so long—why haven’t I seen you ask her to take on a role?”

The smile on Director Nie’s face faded a little. He picked up his glass, took a sip of wine, and shook his head.

Earlier, following Director Liu’s recommendation, he had watched that girl’s performance. At the time, he had truly been struck by her and was certain she had real potential. It was just a pity he couldn’t find her anywhere. He had followed the trail to Yan Yue and asked her, but Yan Yue had also said she didn’t know where the girl had gone.

It wasn’t until about half a month later, when he saw her coming off work outside a cleaning company, that he chased after her without stopping and made an offer. After a great deal of coaxing, the girl agreed; he had been so excited then that he was almost ready to strip on the spot and shout.

After filming a few clips, he found that he really had picked up a treasure. He was just about to sign the contract when Zheng Chong found him and told him a number of things about the girl.

Surprised, and with more patience than usual, he asked Qin Qingyan whether she had gone into a male actor’s room in the middle of the night, whether she had hit someone. She admitted to all of it one by one.

“Her mind was in the wrong place. I don’t use people like that.”

Yan Yue was slightly stunned. She had imagined many possibilities, but this was the one she least wanted to hear.

Seeing her surprise, Zheng Chong then told Yan Yue everything that had happened.

“Oh, there was something like that?” Yan Huan said in disbelief. “Back in Qingyi Village, we dealt with her too, and she didn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“Dealt with her?” Zheng Chong was startled. They knew each other?

“Yes. She was a very tough girl. She shouldn’t be the kind of person who’d do something like seduce men and ruin her own reputation,” Ye Bai said, skeptical.

Seeing everyone say the same thing, Director Nie also began to doubt it, but the facts were right there; Qin Qingyan had admitted it herself, hadn’t she?

Suppressing his unease, Zheng Chong said regretfully, “The bustle and glamour of a big city can easily lead people astray. I heard she had a very hard time in Nanjing City. Her place was several hours away from here, and she worked as a cleaner, a waitress, even handed out flyers. With a face like that... she may have done more than that.” The meaning behind his words was plain enough.

Everyone listened in silence.

“A girl like that really was promising. I meant to help her, but who would have guessed that after she learned the male lead she’d be working with was my nephew, she would actually try to use her body to climb into the Zheng family? My nephew has always been rather proper; that day, he really couldn’t hold it in and cursed her out.”

He sighed.

Director Nie also said, “I’ve been in the entertainment industry for decades. I’ve seen plenty of people who chase fame and profit until they become completely unrecognizable. Maybe in a small place she really would have been a good girl, but once she got here... it’s hard to say.”

He downed another cup of wine and shook his head.

After hearing all of it, Yan Yue said, “If that were really the case, money definitely wouldn’t have been the problem. But Uncle Nie, you said that when you found her, she was still working part-time as a cleaner, wasn’t she?”

“Well...” Director Nie seemed only then to think of that.

Zheng Chong said, “Maybe it was precisely because of Director Nie’s recognition that she saw the glamour of the entertainment industry. After she wasn’t chosen, the gap between that and her part-time life could have driven her to take the wrong path under the pull of desire.”

On the way back, Yan Yue quietly replayed everything they had said in the private room.

“I still think Qin Qingyan doesn’t seem like that kind of person,” Ye Bai said after careful thought.

Yan Yue rested her right hand on the car window and propped up her face. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a feeling. I’ve seen people eaten up by greed... Anyway, Qin Qingyan just doesn’t seem like that.”

Yan Yue smiled and glanced at him, sizing him up.

Ye Bai was only a few months younger than her, just twenty-three or twenty-four, with a handsome, upright face and outstanding ability. When the time was right, she intended to have him take on a senior position at Changyue; she believed he wouldn’t disappoint her.

Feeling her gaze, Ye Bai tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “W-what is it?”

“Your feeling may be right,” Yan Yue said, withdrawing her eyes. “After all, if Qin Qingyan really were that kind of person, you would have had plenty of trouble back in Qingyi Village.”

Once he understood what she meant, the tips of Ye Bai’s ears turned red. He said nothing and kept driving quietly.

On the way back, Zheng Chong was restless the entire time, his brow tightly furrowed. Even the driver didn’t dare say much, and the car was unusually quiet.

Not far ahead, people were arguing; the shouting broke his train of thought.

“Slow down,” he said, looking out the window.

It was a mother and daughter. The mother was holding a child of three or four and had one hand free to steady a large bundle of candied hawthorns. The hawthorns were bright red and glossy, stuck on rather sparsely; about two-thirds of them had already been sold.

The one arguing with her was a young man. The quarrel showed no sign of stopping, and a few bystanders had gathered nearby, apparently on the mother and daughter’s side.

Zheng Chong got out of the car, straightened his clothes, and walked over.

After finding out what had happened, he said to the young man, “It’s not easy for someone holding a child. Even if it’s a few yuan more, this is Nanjing City; prices are high here. There’s no need to make things difficult for a woman. Besides, it’s not like only this lady is charging that price.”

The man impatiently looked him up and down. Seeing that Zheng Chong was dressed expensively, he didn’t want to offend him, but he also didn’t want to pay more. “I don’t care. I used to buy them for three or four yuan; now the price has almost doubled, and I can’t afford it. Either I take them for three yuan, or I’m not taking any.”

“Look, the price is clearly marked here. If you didn’t want to buy them, you shouldn’t have taken her things. Where in the world is there any logic in eating something and not paying for it?” Zheng Chong said, pointing at the price on the sign.

The man curled his lip. “What, I didn’t see it, so that’s not allowed? What logic or no logic? I don’t get any of that.”

Zheng Chong knew the man was a rogue and didn’t want to waste any more time, so he said evenly, “In that case, either pay the rest now, or come with me for a trip. Whether it’s the police station or the court, my people know the way.”

The onlookers started chiming in too.

Seeing this, the man tried to bolt, but Zheng Chong’s driver blocked his way. The driver was a full head taller and looked down at him.

Only then did the man have no choice but to throw down the remaining money and run off cursing.

The driver picked it up and handed it to Zheng Chong, who smiled and gave it to the mother and daughter. “Here. This is yours.”

“Thank you, thank you so much!” the woman said. “I still have a few left. If you don’t mind, you and this brother can each take a few skewers. Think of it as my thanks.”

Zheng Chong waved it off. “How could I take your things for free? Then what right would I have to lecture that little punk just now? I see you’ve almost sold out; business is really good. They should taste pretty good too. I’ll buy the rest. Consider it a benefit for the employees.”

After counting them, the driver was about to pay.

“No, no, you don’t need to give that much. Just give a little less. You helped me so much; even if it’s only three yuan,” the woman said.

“Whatever it should be, that’s what it should be. Just take it,” Zheng Chong said with a smile. Seeing the little girl in her arms, he reached out to tease her and pinch her cheek.

Her face was smooth and soft, like tofu.

“What a lovely daughter,” Zheng Chong said, glancing at the driver before looking back at the woman with a smile.

Before they left, the mother hurriedly told the child to say goodbye. The child said goodbye in a soft, sweet voice. After Zheng Chong got back in the car, he waved in return, and they drove off.

After the car had gone some distance, the driver asked, “Mr. Zheng, these candied hawthorns... what should we do with them?”

Zheng Chong pushed up his glasses. As his hand lowered, his thumb gently rubbed the pad of his index finger. “Did you hear everything I just said?”

“Yes. I understand.”

That night, Qin Qingyan and Su Yan walked through the crowd without saying much. Their moods were low.

They found a place to sit down.

Su Yan lifted her head tiredly and stared at the dark, bottomless sky. “How many times has it been now? We ask someone and they reject us; they avoid us like we’re plague carriers. I haven’t even finished speaking before they’re waving their hands and saying there are enough people, enough people, they don’t need any more. Damn it!”

Maybe because she had already lived through a harder life than this, Qin Qingyan was disappointed, but she still held on to a sliver of hope. After all, without that, she never would have made it through those first few days after arriving in Nanjing City.

Hope had to exist, until the life she wanted finally came.

She let out a soft sigh.

They watched the crowd flow past, occasionally looking up at the night sky, then staring blankly at some point in the distance.

Today wasn’t ideal either, but at least there was still a brand-new tomorrow.

Far off in the bright bustle, a black car seemed to notice something; the route it had been taking suddenly turned around. Then it slowly stopped in front of them and rolled down the window.

Qin Qingyan glanced over casually; in that instant, she froze.