Sitting up straight, Xin Ruan’s gaze swept toward the gossiping crowd.
When those people saw him looking over, they quickly lowered their heads, picking up whatever props were at hand and pretending to be busy.
Frowning slightly, Xin Ruan had no idea what was going on.
“Hasn’t it started yet?”
Glancing at the time, he realized he had been sitting here for nearly an hour. Licking his dry lips, Xin Ruan asked, somewhat puzzled.
Xin Ruan’s previous assistant had resigned, and his current assistant, Chestnut, was a newcomer.
Chestnut had gotten up just as early as Xin Ruan, and had also been in a daze just now. Seeing the commotion around them, he looked equally bewildered.
Still, he told Xin Ruan to wait here while he went to ask around.
So Xin Ruan watched as his assistant walked toward the gossiping crowd.
The people who had just been huddling in small groups scattered instantly the moment they saw Xin Ruan’s assistant approach, as if fleeing from some terrifying monster.
Seeing this, instinct told Xin Ruan that something had gone wrong.
Finally, Chestnut managed to grab hold of someone.
It was the assistant director who had earlier told them to wait in the rest area for a while.
Completely different from his earlier attitude, the assistant director now wore a sour expression, putting on airs like some high-and-mighty lord.
At first, Chestnut was still polite, but then he started arguing with the man, and things escalated to the point where he even rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to fight and knock the guy over.
Realizing something had indeed gone wrong, Xin Ruan quickly stood up to go over.
The moment he rose from his chair, a familiar darkness washed over his eyes, and his mind was plunged into a topsy-turvy chaos.
But Xin Ruan didn’t panic. He groped for the armrest of the chair, steadied himself, and then simply stood quietly in place.
In that instant of darkness, a thought flashed through Xin Ruan’s mind.
When he opened his eyes again, would someone be standing in front of him?
He was the protagonist of the story. God had given him these dozen or so seconds of darkness to protect him, to keep him from being hurt by this chaotic and merciless world. When he opened his eyes, his other half would be standing before him, shielding him from the obstacles and storms ahead.
The thought flashed by, and his vision slowly returned. But his beloved did not appear before him, to shelter him from wind and rain.
Perhaps his other half was just too busy.
That was all right. He still had himself.
What Xin Ruan didn’t know, however, was that sometimes the very obstacles and storms he experienced came from his other half.
……
The makeup artist nearby noticed Xin Ruan standing frozen in place. A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes before she carefully spoke up, “Xin, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Once he had collected himself, Xin Ruan shook his head at her. “I didn’t eat breakfast this morning. Might be a bit of low blood sugar.”
Hearing this, the makeup artist handed him a piece of chocolate, small and heart-shaped.
As if worried he might be dieting lately, she added an explanation, “It’s dark chocolate.”
That one explanation made Xin Ruan, in a daze, think of long ago, when Li Ran had handed him that cup of milk tea in exactly the same way gentle in tone, with a warm smile.
People starved of love are always moved by such simple, warm little gestures.
Taking the chocolate, unwrapping it, and popping it into his mouth, Xin Ruan said a sincere thank you, then walked toward the two arguing people.
“What kind of attitude is that? We already signed the contract, you can’t just swap people out because you say so!” Chestnut yelled furiously at the assistant director.