Something Off

During an afternoon break from filming, Yang Zhuting was still in costume while the makeup artist helped her touch up her makeup and adjust her hair. Somehow, it seemed the stylist had tugged on her hair; Yang Zhuting’s expression changed, and the script in her hand fell to the floor.

Her assistant exploded before she did, shoving the makeup artist and barking at her.

“Are you blind? You can’t even do a simple hair touch-up. What are we paying you for? If you can do the job, do it; if you can’t, get out. What kind of makeup artist did they even hire? I really don’t know how you got selected.”

Yang Zhuting stopped her. “Forget it. It’s not a big deal.”

The assistant was still seething. “This isn’t about whether it’s big or small. The film crew paid a high price to hire these makeup artists. If they can’t even do this much, if they can’t even tell a real wig from a fake one, what’s the point of keeping people like that around?” As she spoke, she shot the makeup artist a glare.

The makeup artist was a very young girl; this was her first time running into something like this, and she stood there at a loss.

Everyone’s gaze turned their way. Qin Qingyan sat up from the lounge chair and looked over.

“S-sorry. I was already being very careful...” the girl said.

“Careful?!” The assistant’s voice suddenly rose; she was furious that the girl had talked back.

She reached out, grabbed a fistful of the girl’s hair, and yanked hard. The girl cried out in pain and staggered forward.

“Then should I rip your hair out and say ‘sorry, I wasn’t careful’ too? Would that let you pretend nothing happened? What, are you trying to blame us instead?”

“Enough. It’s just a small thing; don’t make things hard for her,” Yang Zhuting said.

The assistant snorted coldly and finally let it go.

Yang Zhuting smiled at the girl. “Are you okay? My assistant has a direct personality and her words were a little harsh. She didn’t mean anything bad; she was only worried about me.”

Her gaze dropped to the script on the floor. Even the slowest person would understand what she meant, so the makeup artist hurriedly bent down, picked it up, and handed it to Yang Zhuting.

Yang Zhuting looked surprised, took it, and thanked her.

Su Yan shook her head and tsked. “As expected of the top actress raised by Yuguang Media. She really does things beautifully; no one can say a single bad word about her.”

“Right? I’ve never gotten along with her.”

Su Yan nearly jumped and turned around sharply, only to meet Lin Yi’s bright smile.

“Damn you, you scared me half to death.”

Lin Yi looked a little embarrassed. “I just got here. Sorry.”

Su Yan suddenly noticed something and narrowed her eyes as she leaned in to study Lin Yi closely.

“I have to say, you look...”

Lin Yi’s eyes lit up instantly. “Right? Everyone says that. I’ve always been very humble about it; it’s just something everyone likes to say.”

“Like a fox,” Su Yan finished slowly.

Lin Yi: “...”

“Why aren’t you memorizing your lines and wandering around everywhere? When you get stuck again later, do you have no self-awareness?” Su Yan asked.

Lin Yi grinned sheepishly, then sidestepped away and quickly ran off.

Maybe she had taken Su Yan’s words to heart. In the next few scenes, she actually performed quite well; even the director was taken aback.

So the Young Master of Yuguang actually had a little talent after all.

But soon enough, all kinds of mishaps started cropping up again; it was either her expression wasn’t right or she kept mangling her lines. The director rubbed his forehead and silently took back that assessment.

After her scenes were finished, Qin Qingyan returned to the car to rest and made a video call to Yan Yue. It was answered after a short while.

“Miss me?” Qin Qingyan asked.

Yan Yue paused for a moment. “Mm.”

Qin Qingyan lowered the seat and leaned back, looking at Yan Yue on the screen.

“Then why didn’t you video call me?”

Yan Yue said, “I thought you’d still be filming at this hour.”

Qin Qingyan nodded. Filming hours really weren’t fixed. Then she looked at Yan Yue again and frowned slightly. Why did she seem odd?

“You have someone else?”

Yan Yue visibly froze. Qin Qingyan caught it immediately; her brows knotted. Something was off. Definitely.

“What happened?” Qin Qingyan asked.

She trusted Yan Yue’s character, but her current state really wasn’t right.

“Nothing. Have you eaten?”

“No.” Qin Qingyan stared at her.

“Then you...”

“Do you want me to hurry up and eat, then hang up?” Qin Qingyan said. “Really nothing’s going on? I’m asking you very seriously.”

Yan Yue hesitated for a moment, then glanced away from the camera and said, “Turn the camera around.”

Although Qin Qingyan didn’t understand why, she still did as she was told.

Yan Yue tapped the upper-right corner of the video and flipped the camera. Qin Qingyan saw that on the screen, there were seven or eight employees with their eyes darting everywhere, none of them daring to look into the camera; one scratched his head, another pressed his lips together.

Qin Qingyan quickly covered her phone, her face going hot. Only then did she understand.

She didn’t dare say another word and hung up at once.

Just thinking about how she had been so unguarded in front of so many people made her thankful she hadn’t said anything ridiculous. Otherwise she really wouldn’t have had the face to go to Changyue again.

That kind of embarrassment was only second to shitting in public.

Su Yan came back with milk tea and, the moment she got in the car, saw Qin Qingyan leaning back in her seat, lost in thought.

“Come back to earth. What are you doing? Don’t scare people in broad daylight.”

Qin Qingyan took a deep breath and accepted the milk tea. “Nothing.”

Anyway, that group of people didn’t know that Yan Yue’s girlfriend was her... probably didn’t know, right?

“An hour and a half. We even get to rest this long? Lying in the car and watching a little TV; that’s really too nice,” Su Yan said happily.

Then she glanced at Qin Qingyan. “What happened this afternoon was the first time I’ve really seen what hypocrisy looks like.”

Qin Qingyan came back to herself. “You mean Yang Zhuting?”

“Who else? Mainly her assistant. She had to make the whole film crew know about it. It was such a tiny thing, and she still made a mountain out of a molehill. If you didn’t know better, you’d think they had ruined the face Yang Zhuting makes her living off of.”

Su Yan took a big sip of milk tea. “Yang Zhuting is like a venomous snake; she doesn’t make a sound, but she’s actually the scariest one of all. I really wonder what her fans would do if they learned her true colors and turned on her.”

“Who can guarantee there isn’t already someone among her fans who knows what she’s really like?”

Su Yan thought about it. That was true; after all, no one wanted to admit they’d misjudged someone.

At Changyue Group, Yan Yue handed the signed agreement to her assistant. The assistant took it and left. The computer suddenly showed a new email notification; Yan Yue opened it, read it carefully, and then replied.

After that, she picked up her phone and sent Qin Qingyan a message.

That evening, Yan Yue got off work and walked out of the building to see Qin Qingyan and the others waiting outside early.

Soon, the car started moving.

Su Yan asked in confusion, “What is it, President Yan?”

A few hours earlier, Yan Yue had messaged Qin Qingyan and asked her and Su Yan to pick her up from Changyue after work; she had specifically said that the two of them had to come together.

“I have something I’d like you to help me with.” Yan Yue saw the little bear plush by the armrest and casually picked it up. “Your film crew gave this out?”

“Mm. One for each person. It’s pretty cute,” Qin Qingyan said.

Yan Yue played with it for a while before putting it back. “Pretty soft. The material’s nice.”

Su Yan glanced at the rearview mirror. “Right? I was actually planning to give it to An An as a gift. But now that Li Xian has gone abroad chasing after her wife, and only her parents are at home, it doesn’t feel right for me to keep visiting the Li family all the time. I can only wait until Li Xian comes back. By the way, President Yan, you said you wanted us to help with something? What is it?”

Yan Yue thought for a moment. “Have you eaten dinner?”

Qin Qingyan said, “We have.”

“Then are you still hungry?” Yan Yue asked them.

Su Yan immediately smelled the scent of a free meal. “Of course! Dinner was hours ago; it’s already digested. Late-night snacks are perfect now.”

Qin Qingyan still felt that what Yan Yue had originally wanted to say wasn’t this, but she couldn’t make sense of it, so she only frowned slightly and looked at Yan Yue.

Yan Yue met her gaze and smiled faintly, reaching out to smooth the crease between her brows.

“Pay more attention to your looks; if you get ugly, I won’t like looking at you anymore.”

Su Yan sat up straight, tightened both hands on the steering wheel, and stared fixedly ahead. She couldn’t hear anything; she heard nothing at all.

Qin Qingyan took Yan Yue’s hand and pulled it down into her own. “Is it...”

“Teacher Qin, I don’t have much money left. I’m going to have to borrow your card for a swipe later,” Yan Yue said with a smile.

Qin Qingyan understood that Yan Yue was only trying to interrupt her before she could ask again. The feeling was strange, as if even Yan Yue had become mysterious.

“No next time,” Qin Qingyan said, her words pointed.

Yan Yue replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

Overseas, the variety show Journey On was still filming. Bai Ruo had completely relaxed and treated it entirely like a vacation, lying on a beach chair and humming lazily to herself.

The other guests were happily combing the shore for seafood; a few of them lived inland and especially loved it.

Bai Ruo liked it too, but she liked being lazy even more.

The camera had focused on Bai Ruo several times, and each time she was sitting with her legs crossed, the brim of her sunhat covering her face, the picture of peaceful contentment.

Filming officially ended in the afternoon, and all the guests went back to the hotel to rest.

And it was also in the hotel lobby that Bai Ruo saw the person she had never expected to see.

After closing the door, Bai Ruo sat expressionlessly on the sofa, poured herself a glass of water, and familiarly turned on the TV.

Li Xian stood at the door for a moment, then came forward and stopped beside the sofa.

“The director team might assign tasks at any time. Rest for a bit, then go back,” Bai Ruo said, still watching the TV.

“I came to find you.”

Bai Ruo said, “Well, now you found me. You can go back.”

“A-Ruo, I’ll wait for you to go back with me,” Li Xian said.

Bai Ruo tipped her head up to look at her. “Wait for me? The director team has arranged everything already. This trip still has the next leg after this one; there’s a long way to go. How long are you planning to wait?”

“However long it takes.”

Something stirred in Bai Ruo’s heart. When she returned to the hotel, she had spotted Li Xian sitting in the lobby at a glance, and just that one look was enough for her to see how weak Li Xian was.

She had only given birth not long ago; she was really not taking care of herself at all.

Bai Ruo took a deep breath and said seriously, “Li Xian, I need time to think carefully about whether our relationship should continue. Even if you find me, what good will it do? I can’t even convince myself yet; do you really think you can make me think it through?”

“A-Ruo...”

“So go back first. When I’ve made up my mind, I’ll naturally come find you. And don’t follow me anymore; otherwise, after this variety show finishes, I swear you’ll never see me again.”

After struggling for a while, Li Xian agreed.

Bai Ruo booked her a room and bought her a ticket back home. After everything was done, she returned to her own hotel room. Her mood immediately lightened; faintly, she even felt happy.

Pulling over the cushion beside her, Bai Ruo let the corners of her mouth lift. She really had thought about letting go of Li Xian, using this travel variety show as a chance to clear her head while slowly forgetting that turbulent relationship.

But to her surprise, Li Xian had actually come abroad to find her, and had found her hotel with uncanny precision.

Well... she really was a little moved.

The scales of reason still tilted toward the person she loved.