It wasn’t until she got in the car that Wen Shiqing received Xiao Zhao’s message saying she would arrive in two or three minutes.
She asked Xiao Feng to pull over and wait for a while. The air conditioning in the car was set low, but it did a good job of dispelling the heat.
Wen Shiqing turned her head to look out the window and asked, “Lang Xing asked you to buy him some perfume. Did you get it?”
Xiao Feng let out an “ah” and was briefly stunned before replying, “Not yet, sis. I was planning to go this afternoon. After I drop you and Xiao Zhao off at the hotel, I’ll head over and take a look on the way.”
Wen Shiqing hummed in acknowledgment. “I brought some perfume with me. If you can’t find the right one, I’ll give you mine later.”
“No need, sis.” Xiao Feng said with a smile. “Brother already told me the brand this morning. I’ll just go pick it up directly later. I asked ahead of time, and they have it in stock.”
Wen Shiqing didn’t say anything more, but for some reason, she felt a little uneasy in her heart.
However, she quickly let it go because Xiao Zhao had returned.
Xiao Zhao got in the car and said, “Sis, the afternoon tea and everything else have all been arranged.”
Wen Shiqing nodded. “Then let’s go. Back to the hotel.”
Xiao Feng started the car. “Sis, what’s the name of the hotel you’re staying at?”
Xiao Zhao said the name, and Xiao Feng replied, “Mm, it’s quite far from the crew’s hotel. Ours is right nearby.”
Wen Shiqing didn’t respond. She closed her eyes, preparing to take a short nap, but for some reason, the image of Lin Yueshu passing by earlier popped into her mind.
Then she opened her eyes and asked, “I just saw Lin Yueshu walking toward the set.”
Xiao Feng let out an “oh” from the front seat and said, “She has a cameo role. I’m not too sure about the details. She’s on crew B, so she should wrap up in a few days.”
Wen Shiqing hummed in acknowledgment and finally stopped asking questions.
Xiao Feng glanced back through the rearview mirror, then let out a sigh of relief. Good thing he was quick on his feet, otherwise…
Xiao Feng pressed his lips together, a hint of inner conflict stirring within him.
But in the end, he said nothing.
Xiao Feng dropped them off at the hotel’s underground parking garage. He said, “Sis, Brother Zhou mentioned that I’ll come pick you up for dinner tonight. Just send me a message in advance, and I’ll come over from the set.”
“No need.” Wen Shiqing said. “Lang Xing is tired from filming too. You should stay with him. Xiao Zhao and I are going to go out and do some shopping. Don’t worry about us.”
Xiao Feng nodded. “Alright. Then, sis, should I come by tomorrow to take you to the high-speed rail station?”
The hotel was also quite far from the high-speed rail station, so Wen Shiqing didn’t decline this time. She nodded. “Okay.”
After receiving her answer, Xiao Feng drove off.
Xiao Zhao said, “Let’s go. Let’s head back to the room.”
Wen Shiqing nodded and hummed in agreement.
Xiao Zhao looked at Wen Shiqing’s expression and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Wen Shiqing shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
She just inexplicably felt a bit down. It was probably because she had been too tense these past two days and hadn’t slept well. She should be fine after going back and taking a nap.
She glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was almost three o’clock now. After going upstairs to rest for an hour, she could come out and have dinner right on time.
Wen Shiqing and Xiao Zhao went upstairs. As soon as she entered the room, she headed straight into the bathroom and took a quick shower, which finally made her feel a bit more comfortable.
When she came out, Xiao Zhao was tidying up the clothes.
Although they were only here for an audition this time, Xiao Zhao had still prepared several outfits, all carefully chosen to match today’s interview.
They had rushed out the door this morning, so nothing had been tidied up yet.
Seeing Wen Shiqing come out, Xiao Zhao said, “Sis, which outfit do you think you’ll wear when we head out later?”
Wen Shiqing casually picked out two long dresses—one for the evening and one for the trip back tomorrow. Perfect.
Xiao Zhao put the two dresses back into the wardrobe and, a few minutes later, had roughly everything sorted.
“I’ll go take a shower first; you get some rest.” Xiao Zhao knew Wen Shiqing was tired. Last night, when she’d woken up in a daze and turned her head, she’d seen Wen Shiqing still reading the script by the dim glow of the nightlight.
Wen Shiqing yawned and climbed onto the bed, but then said, “Miss Xiao Zhao, could I ask you to do me a small favor?”
Xiao Zhao gave a little salute. “Madam Wen, at your command! Mission guaranteed!”
Wen Shiqing hugged a bit of the blanket and asked, “What role is Lin Yueshu playing in the production?”
She’d searched online but found no information at all.
Lin Yueshu had joined the cast in secret.
Xiao Zhao said, “Alright, I’ll ask my friend.”
Wen Shiqing hummed in acknowledgment, burying her pale face into the blanket. After a moment of thought, she added, “Just ask casually. If it’s not convenient to say, don’t keep pressing.”
Xiao Zhao said, “Sis, don’t worry, I get what you mean.”
Only then did Wen Shiqing fall silent, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
When she woke again, it was already half past five. The curtains hadn’t been drawn while she slept, so she lifted her head slightly and looked outside, catching sight of the sunset in the distance.
At the horizon, the clouds were painted with golden hues, tinged with a hint of purple-pink—quite beautiful to behold.
Wen Shiqing stared at it for a while before slowly sitting up. Her gaze immediately landed on Xiao Zhao, who was sitting at the table, wearing earphones and looking at her phone.
She called out to Xiao Zhao twice, but there was no response—she was probably completely absorbed in what she was watching.
Wen Shiqing got out of bed and walked over. Just as she raised her hand to pat Xiao Zhao, her eyes happened to catch the screen of her phone.
It was a film released a couple of years ago. That movie had been incredibly popular at the time, raking in over eight billion at the box office. For a while, there wasn’t a single person who wasn’t talking about it.
Although Wen Shiqing had never watched it in full, she’d come across some clips online. The scene that had just flashed by happened to be the most widely circulated one.
It was also the clip that had played on the big screen behind Fu Huaiye when he’d won the Best Actor award.
She froze for a moment at the image, not even noticing that Xiao Zhao had turned around to look at her.
Xiao Zhao took off her earphones and said, “Sis, you’re awake.”
Wen Shiqing snapped back to reality and nodded. “Why aren’t you resting a bit?”
“I’m not tired.” Xiao Zhao smiled, her eyes curving. “It’s getting late. Go change, and we’ll head out.”
Wen Shiqing glanced once more at her phone screen, then nodded. “Alright.”
She took her dress into the bathroom. By the time she came out, Xiao Zhao had just finished watching the movie. She stretched and, seeing Wen Shiqing emerge, said excitedly, “Sis, sis, sis! I just found this super popular influencer spot online. I checked the map, and it’s not far from our hotel—about a fifteen-minute walk!”
“Sure,” Wen Shiqing said. “A little walk will do us good.”
Xiao Zhao nodded, then thought of something else and said, “Oh, right, my friend just replied to me. Apparently Lin Yueshu came as a last-minute fill-in. The original artist suddenly backed out, and she happened to be visiting the female lead on set that day, so she just stayed.”
So it really was a cameo.
Wen Shiqing nodded. “Got it. Let’s go—put on your mask and let’s eat.”
They had eaten lunch early, and Wen Shiqing hadn’t had much of an appetite then, so she’d eaten very little.
After an afternoon passing by, she was long since hungry.
The two linked arms and left the hotel, following the map toward the restaurant.
Although City S was a bit hotter than City A, by evening the temperature had dropped. Along the streets were many food stalls, giving the area a strong sense of everyday life.
Xiao Zhao was curious about everything, looking at this and that, until she finally came back to Wen Shiqing’s side and said, “I feel like it’s been a long time since we’ve walked down a street this leisurely.”
Wen Shiqing nodded too, her mood lifting at the thought of dinner. “I still remember when I first entered the industry—after we finished filming, we’d run off to eat at street stalls, and then Sister Jin would give you a scolding.”
Xiao Zhao remembered it too and laughed. “Tell me about it. After getting scolded, it went from ‘one person can’t eat street food’ to ‘neither of us can.’ I actually cried several times during that period because I couldn’t eat anything good.”
She cried, and at first Wen Shiqing didn’t understand why. But after asking, she learned that it was because Xiao Zhao felt wronged from having to eat nothing but “grass.”
So Wen Shiqing secretly ordered takeout for her and kept watch.
The two had built a deep friendship back then, which was why, over all these years, as Wen Shiqing’s assistants and other colleagues came and went, Xiao Zhao was the only one who had stayed steadfastly by her side.
The two reminisced about the past and soon arrived at the trendy restaurant.
Xiao Zhao had called ahead to reserve a spot, and conveniently enough, a table in the corner had just opened up when they arrived.
After ordering, Wen Shiqing turned to look around the restaurant and said, “So many pregnant women and kids are eating here.”
“Their specialty is all-natural food with clean ingredients, so that’s what draws in the pregnant women and kids. Because of that, the owner even specially developed a nutritional menu for expectant mothers,” Xiao Zhao said. “Sharp-minded people—even running a restaurant, they cover every angle.”
It was precisely this attention to detail that had earned the restaurant such high ratings.
Wen Shiqing nodded. “That’s true.”
Her gaze drifted outside. The restaurant’s location was also well chosen—looking down this stretch, you could see a road lined with blooming flower beds.
At this hour, many people were cycling along it, and quite a few pedestrians were out for a stroll.
Xiao Zhao said, “How about we take a walk down there after we eat? I’ll take some photos of you—you should post something to your socials anyway.”
Wen Shiqing had been thinking the same thing.
She was about to speak when she heard Xiao Zhao let out a “huh.” “Why does that person look so familiar?”
Hearing this, Wen Shiqing turned to look as well.
She didn’t recognize her.
She asked, “You know her?”
Xiao Zhao shook her head. “I just think she looks really familiar, like I’ve seen her somewhere before.”
The person was ordering something, and the two watched as the front desk picked up a walkie-talkie and said something. Coincidentally, a server came over to deliver their dishes.
From the walkie-talkie clipped to his waist came a voice.
“Do we still have any sour fruit? A customer wants to take a portion home for a pregnant woman.”
Soon, another voice came through the intercom: “Two more orders.”
The intercom went quiet.
The waiter cleared the plates: “Please enjoy your meal, you two.”
Xiao Zhao snapped back to reality and said, “It probably isn’t anyone important, otherwise I wouldn’t have forgotten.”
Wen Shiqing turned her head to look at the person once more. That person had ordered and was now holding a number tag, waiting outside.
Come to think of it, she also felt that this person looked somewhat familiar.
It seemed she really had seen them somewhere before, but for the life of her, she couldn’t recall where at the moment.