A Grand Opening
The staff member driving the car heard the noise and looked at Lin Que through the rearview mirror. Lu Ling took off her mask, and in that instant, their eyes met—”Who are you?”
“Hmm?”
Lu Ling instinctively looked at Lin Que. Lin Que gripped Lu Ling’s hand tightly, as if protecting a piece of candy that might be snatched away: “She is my assistant.”
“Huh?”
“Ah…”
The eyes in the rearview mirror were completely stunned; she had been dragged in to help at the last minute.
Lu Ling hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then… should I get out of the car?”
Lin Que frowned and looked at her: “Why?”
Lu Ling was taken aback. “A show like this shouldn’t allow assistants to come along, right?”
Lin Que didn’t seem prepared to answer her question, but Lu Ling could feel that Lin Que’s mood had been off since they got in the car: “But weren’t you dragged on board regardless?”
“Why do you always feel like you have to take responsibility for other people’s mistakes?”
“We certainly don’t mean to make you or your assistant pay for our mistake,” the staff member said, showing impressively steady nerves. “Please don’t be anxious. We are on the national highway right now; I can’t exactly stop and let someone out here, right?”
Lin Que’s shoulders relaxed for a moment as she leaned back against the seat, but she showed no intention of letting go of Lu Ling’s hand.
Lu Ling had no choice but to lean back as well. In the next second, an indescribable, subtle itch spread across the back of her hand—
Lin Que’s eyes were closed, and her cool fingertips were unconsciously stroking the back of Lu Ling’s hand.
It itched.
Lu Ling wanted to pull her hand away, but… forget it. She finally had a chance to rest.
The commercial had been a meticulously planned “conspiracy,” and the same “conspiracy” was playing out simultaneously with the other three sets of guest stars. The cinematography director at the bottled water commercial site—and even the client representative visiting the set—were all played by members of the NEXT production crew.
Lu Ling becoming the “fish that slipped through the net” was a complete accident.
She was wearing a mask, and her baseball cap happened to be the same style as the production team’s. To save on costs, the “extras” responsible for Lin Que’s group were junior students whom Director Ren Hui had lured in with the promise of academic credit.
Lin Que wasn’t a high-maintenance person, so there wasn’t much for Lu Ling to do on set. Noticing that the staff members, other than the director and cameraman, seemed a bit green, Lu Ling naturally assumed they were “interns” just like her.
Out of a spirit of “interns helping interns” and wanting to do more to learn more, she—despite being a celebrity assistant—had been “scurrying” around the various workstations on set to help out.
Right up until the “kidnapping” occurred, the director had walked up to her and told her that she must capture Lin Que’s first reaction—reaction to what?
Behind-the-scenes footage for the commercial?
Before she could ask for details, she and Lin Que were stuffed into the car required for filming. It wasn’t until just now, when she handed the camera the director had shoved at her back to an actual staff member, that she was discovered.
Thinking this, Lu Ling’s hand unconsciously tightened—
“Hiss—”
Lin Que gasped. Lu Ling quickly let go.
“It’s nothing.”
Lin Que tilted her head slightly, thinking of something.
Ding—
Lu Ling pulled out her phone; it was a message from Lin Que.
L: Unhappy?
She looked toward Lin Que and shook her head, her fingers tapping on the keyboard—it was a strange feeling, carrying on a conversation known only to them right in front of everyone else.
Y: No.
L: Your nose will grow if you lie.
Lu Ling chuckled and continued replying:
Y: Really, I’m not. I’m just a little tired.
After the message was sent, Lin Que stared at the words in the chat box, her eyes dazed for a moment.
The faint light from the phone screen reflected on her face. She could feel Lu Ling watching her.
Lin Que put her phone away and closed her eyes again.
…What a person.
Lu Ling sat up straight and leaned back against the seat as well.
What a cold woman.
If you sleep, I sleep.
Thinking this, Lu Ling also closed her eyes.
But it wasn’t dark behind her eyelids. Images related to the show flashed through her mind—what would happen?
A variety show would surely have all sorts of tasks to keep things interesting. What kind of tasks would they be?
Xie Qizhi. In middle school, a craze had swept through her class to watch the interview programs Xie Qizhi hosted. Those were rare moments of respite during their student days. After middle school and entering university, once they gained the freedom to use their phones, the show faded from their lives, but it remained an important part of their memories.
Mo Li was a rising star of recent years. With a unique style and aura, she had debuted as the closing model for a Givenchy show and became famous overnight. Lu Ling learned of her during her second year of fame, during that Spring/Summer show for Vivienne Westwood. The sharp, elegant cut of the satin bustier wedding dress, the classic three-strand pearl Saturn necklace, beneath the sacred white veil, was punk-retro makeup. The flaming red beneath the skirt swayed like a red lotus with her crisp, decisive runway walk, symbolizing a blood-weeping rebellion.
She had also seen Chu Man’s films, especially The Orphan. Looking at the screen as a child, seeing the similarly small Chu Man whose eyes were filled with heavy emotions, Lu Ling had briefly harbored a so-called “acting dream.” However, based on her experience rehearsing for a Children’s Day fairy tale play later on, she realized she had zero talent for acting; breaking character and laughing was an insurmountable mountain for her.
As she thought about this, her fingers unconsciously tapped on her knees, like a musical beat.
Music has colors, and people exist like paintings. Xie Qizhi was a gentle green; Mo Li was a fusion and collision of red and black; Chu Man was a calm ginger yellow—what about Lin Que?
What was Lin Que’s color?
“…Lu Ling… Youyou.”
Lu Ling slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the sound. From blurry to clear, Lin Que had already stepped out of the car and was standing against the light, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.
She reached out her hand, sunlight landing on her fingertips: “We’ve arrived.”
Lu Ling took her hand, and her empty heart somehow settled back into place.
They hadn’t gone to the airport. Before them was the boundless sea.
At the edge of the ocean, seabirds circled rapidly before turning away. The sea breeze brought the unique salty-damp scent of the ocean—and the sunlight. The sun lay upon the surface of the water, shimmering with golden light, so dazzlingly beautiful that one couldn’t bear to look away.
From the corner of her eye, Lin Que never stopped watching Lu Ling. She hadn’t even noticed that her own lips were curved upward.
The moment Lu Ling turned to look at her in excitement, Lin Que retracted her gaze and looked down, feigning boredom as the toe of her shoe rubbed against the damp sand.
“The ocean—!” Lu Ling whispered. The hand being held by Lin Que unconsciously swung back and forth.
Lin Que shot her a glance but didn’t let go: “Oh.”
Lu Ling: “…”
She pulled her hand out of Lin Que’s grip. The words she was about to say were caught in her throat, interrupted by a deliberate cough.
The two turned their heads toward the source of the sound. Lu Ling’s eyes froze for a moment—
To Lin Que’s right, Chu Man stood with her arms crossed. Her exaggerated smoky eye makeup made her already unsmiling expression look even more stern and cold.
In contrast was Xie Qizhi, wearing a vintage plaid suit and high heels, looking at them with a radiant smile. She waved at Lin Que, appearing not at all surprised by Lu Ling’s presence: “Hello there.”
As soon as she spoke, Mo Li beside her gave a cold, blunt scoff.
Xie Qizhi acted as if she hadn’t heard it.
Mo Li stood with her hands behind her back, the lace hem of her slip dress fluttering beneath her black leather jacket. The emotions in her eyes were drowned out by the sea breeze.
Not a word was said, yet the atmosphere was already dramatic enough.
Lu Ling couldn’t help but look at Lin Que.
Lin Que also returned Xie Qizhi’s friendliness with a perfect smile, ignoring Chu Man’s inexplicable “attack” just as Xie had.
Lu Ling could sense Chu Man’s “hostility” or “dislike” toward Lin Que, but she wasn’t actually worried about Lin Que—Lin Que was never the type to stand still and take a hit or let herself be wronged.
She didn’t need Chu Man to say anything about her presence; she already felt awkward enough. But did she regret it?
No.
As Lu Ling looked around, wanting to find the director to ask where she should go, she suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck—
“Who are you?”
Lu Ling couldn’t help but close her eyes—what was bound to come had arrived.
She turned around and met Chu Man’s scrutinizing gaze: “Hello, Teacher. I am Lu Ling, Lin Que’s assistant.”
“As for why I’m here… It’s a bit complicated to explain—”
“There doesn’t seem to be a need to explain that to you,” Lin Que turned around, standing in front of Lu Ling and looking Chu Man directly in the eye. “Besides, where else should my assistant be if not by my side?”
Chu Man was so angry that she laughed. She didn’t say more to Lin Que but shouted directly: “Director—Director!”
Lu Ling looked at Chu Man, feeling a bit surprised: How can such a brilliant veteran actress act so much like a primary school student?
“I’m coming, I’m coming—” Director Ren Hui finally appeared. The moment her eyes met Lu Ling’s, before Lu Ling could hide, Ren Hui waved her hand and said in a relaxed tone, “You must be the ‘surprise gift,’ right? Come here quickly.”
In an instant, Lu Ling could feel everyone’s gaze focused on her.
She forced herself to ignore the discomfort in her heart, braved those gazes, and moved behind the cameras. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she caught a glimpse of a staff member’s ID badge next to her.
So she was the screenwriter.
“I recall our show isn’t a lifestyle vlog,” Chu Man said, looking at Lu Ling. “Assistants can also appear on camera?”
A strong sense of being offended washed over Lu Ling. Chu Man wasn’t targeting her; she was using her to target Lin Que.
The discomfort was replaced by a surge of anger.
Just as she was about to speak, Ren Hui beat her to it: “This was our mistake, because our funding and manpower are limited—if they were sufficient, our show wouldn’t be recorded in just seven days.”
The anger rising in Lu Ling gradually subsided.
With one sentence, Ren Hui shifted everyone’s attention from her to the show itself: “At the same time, we will be doing both recorded and live broadcasts. Tasks are divided into group and individual ones. Completing tasks earns you seashells. The person with the most seashells each day can make a wish—please ensure the wish is within the production team’s capabilities.”
Silence.
Beneath the grand tolerance of the waves, the inner voices of the four women echoed.
“How can someone offer a ‘pie in the sky’ that’s so hard to swallow?”
Chu Man practically muttered it, but Lin Que heard her. She looked at her, said nothing, and maintained a perfect smile.
It made Chu Man feel uneasy: Why is this person acting so sinister?
Lu Ling witnessed the whole exchange, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but turn up. Suddenly, a faint sentence came from beside her. She looked toward the sound and ran straight into Ji Yao’s searching gaze.
“Does the teacher have a question?”
Ji Yao looked at her, her brows slightly furrowed. Her voice wasn’t loud as she suddenly said, “I remember now.”
“You are LURING, right?”