Zhai Qing looked at the chat box, feeling utterly bewildered. Since arriving home the day before yesterday, she had been working non-stop to pack and leave for a business trip. Today had been an exhausting, full day of work. Her first instinct was not to argue back; instead, she sent a message to Nono. It was only then that a notification popped up on her phone, alerting her to the trending topics she had missed that afternoon.
Frowning, she read through every single post carefully. By connecting what Nono had said with Cheng Luo’s outbursts, she began to understand what was going on. However, Nono was likely asleep by now and had not seen her message.
The keyboard on her phone felt as if it were covered in thorns. She would type a few words and then immediately delete them, revising her message over and over.
On the other end, Cheng Luo stared at the “Typing…” status in the chat box. She watched it for five whole minutes, but the person on the other side could not seem to squeeze out a single word.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard. “Did I hit the nail on the head? Are you feeling guilty now? Are you trying to blacken my image in Nono’s heart? I am telling you, no way!”
“…”
Zhai Qing realized that if she did not explain herself soon, the person on the other side would only get more agitated.
“I have been working all day and have not looked at my phone.” Fearing Cheng Luo would not believe her, she even sent a screenshot of her screen time for the day.
Cheng Luo: “…”
“Oh.”
Cheng Luo sent that single, brief word as a reply and promptly tossed her phone onto the nightstand. She unilaterally decided to end the conversation, folding her hands over her stomach in a state of utter composure.
When Zhai Qing saw that there was no further reply, her grip on her phone tightened.
“I will ask Nono tomorrow and explain everything clearly to her.”
“…”
There was no reaction.
Zhai Qing checked the time and realized how late it had become. Unless there was something urgent, Cheng Luo usually went to bed early and woke up late. She was probably asleep by now.
However, while someone had fallen asleep, someone else was destined to stay awake.
“Come, Cheng Luo, you can just leave the assignment here. Thank you for your hard work.” Professor Zhai Wen was a well-known favorite teacher in the department. Not only were her lectures excellent, but she was also sophisticated, gentle, and deeply connected with her students.
“It is no trouble at all, Professor.”
Cheng Luo’s face was flushed. She did not dare look up at the person standing beside them, whose presence was impossible to ignore.
“Xiao Qing, you should get to know Cheng Luo. She is a hardworking, capable girl. If any good positions open up at your company in the future, do not forget our Cheng Luo.”
Zhai Wen introduced Cheng Luo with a smile. She was particularly fond of this student; Cheng Luo was quiet, steady, and dependable. Whenever Zhai Wen entrusted her with a task, she felt at ease.
Zhai Qing leaned nonchalantly against the desk. Hearing this, she turned her gaze toward Cheng Luo. After studying her for a moment, she asked, “What year are you in?”
Cheng Luo tried her best to stay in the shadows, but since the professor had pushed her forward, she answered nervously, “Sophomore.”
“Are you from this city?” Zhai Qing asked again.
Cheng Luo nodded.
“If you have time during the break, come intern at our company. Here is my card.” Zhai Qing handed her a thin piece of paper with the name Zhai Qing printed boldly on the front.
Cheng Luo was stunned by this sudden stroke of luck. She tried to maintain her composure as she reached for it, but the professor intercepted it halfway. “Why use a business card? That is so formal. Come on, you two should add each other on WeChat. You are both young; I am sure you will have plenty to talk about.”
The professor seemed unusually excited today. Seeing that Zhai Qing did not object, Cheng Luo obediently took out her phone.
After they added each other, Zhai Qing prepared to leave. “Mom, I have things to do at the office, so I will head out first.”
“Sure, go ahead!” Zhai Wen dismissed her quite briskly, which was a sharp departure from her usual behavior.
Zhai Qing looked at her mother, puzzled. Should she not have asked her to stay a bit longer to catch up? Why was she so eager to see her off today?
Zhai Wen looked up and noticed her daughter was still there. Surprised, she said, “Why have you not left yet? Go on, go on! I know you are busy!” Having said that, she turned back to chat with the quiet girl. It almost seemed as if Cheng Luo were the biological daughter instead.
Zhai Qing quickly forgot about the encounter once she returned to work. It was not until winter break arrived that she received a message from the girl whose only impression had been “quiet.”
“Senior, can I intern at your company during the winter break? I promise to work hard.”
Zhai Qing was at the office. She looked at the profile picture, which was a large, fat orange cat being held in someone’s arms. The face was not visible, only a pair of long, slender, fair fingers.
“Come to the office at 8:00 AM tomorrow. You know the address, right?”
Zhai Qing watched the “Typing…” status flicker on the chat box. For some reason, she imagined the person on the other side must be so pleasantly surprised that they did not know what to say. Perhaps that quiet face would be flushed with an exaggerated, vivid joy.
Her thoughts drifted further and further until a knock on her office door snapped her back to reality. She was surprised by her own reaction. Was it because the company had not hired anyone new in a while? She actually felt a hint of curiosity.
Cheng Luo was jolted awake by her alarm. The sun rises late in the mountains, and it was still dark when she opened her eyes. She had to work today, so she forced herself out of her warm bed. While washing up in the bathroom, she could not stop rubbing her arms and stomping her feet. She had not expected the temperature in the mountains to be this low; had she known, she would have brought more heavy clothing.
Filming started early today, so she ate breakfast in the car. Between bites, she asked her assistant, “Are the trending topics still there?”
Xiao Xi shook her head. “You do not know, Sister? At 11:00 PM last night, all the trending topics about you two vanished. One second the tags were exploding, and the next, they were all gone! It was so dramatic! Was it our company’s doing?” Xiao Xi was a fresh college graduate, full of curiosity about the world. She looked at Cheng Luo with sparkling, expectant eyes.
Cheng Luo gave a forced laugh and took out her phone. She ignored the red notification dot on her ex-wife’s chat box and went straight to the contact labeled Manager. However, it was still early; her manager probably was not at work yet.
Based on her years of experience in the industry, Cheng Luo guessed, “It probably was not the company. The company is not that generous.”
Xiao Xi thought about her own salary and nodded in total agreement.
Upon arriving at the film set, Cheng Luo went to change. As luck would have it, she ran into Jiang Wei. Cheng Luo was about to say hello when she noticed something was off. Jiang Wei was walking with her eyes practically shut, with dark circles hanging under her eyes like black crescents. She did not even notice Cheng Luo.
Concerned about the production schedule, Cheng Luo called out to her. “Jiang Wei! What time did you go to sleep yesterday? Why do you look so lifeless?”
“Ah,” Jiang Wei snapped her eyes open. “It is you. You scared me. Quick, come hold me up so I can squint for a bit.”
“…”
I should have kept my mouth shut.
Cheng Luo took on the role of a human crutch. “Come on, Princess. There is a step ahead. Please deign to lift your foot.”
To her surprise, this actually made Jiang Wei laugh. Without opening her eyes, Jiang Wei quipped, “Hahaha! Looking at it this way, you would make a great eunuch!”
Cheng Luo stayed silent. She quietly opened the door to the dressing room and, with a sudden burst of strength, shoved Jiang Wei onto the sofa. “Change your own clothes. I am done serving you!”
“Ouch!” Jiang Wei shouted dramatically, her acting skills suddenly improving. But Cheng Luo did not buy it and headed to another dressing room with her costume.
When she opened the door again, she found Jiang Wei waiting at the entrance. “Fine, I am the eunuch! After you, Your Majesty! Let us go film!”
Cheng Luo rolled her eyes mercilessly. “Save the drama. You will have plenty of chances to perform in a minute.”
The two headed to the set, bickering playfully. As soon as Cheng Luo entered, she saw Lin Qingze standing next to the director. He was nodding repeatedly as the director spoke, looking less energetic than he had the day before.
She shook her head and looked away. With the scandal fresh in everyone’s minds, it was better to avoid him for now.
“Everyone, come here for a moment!” The director spotted Cheng Luo and waved her over.
Cheng Luo saw that Lin Qingze was still standing there. She did not move immediately. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and cautiously scanned the surroundings for any suspicious cameras. She might have missed some, but she was being careful.
Looking down, she saw Jiang Wei grinning at her, her face filled with pure schadenfreude.
But the next second, Jiang Wei’s smile vanished. Cheng Luo looked at her with piercing eyes. “Come on, you are coming with me!”
“That is not appropriate; he did not call me.”
“He said ‘everyone.’ If I go by myself, that is not ‘everyone’!”
“What are you doing? Hurry up, everyone over here!” This time the director used a megaphone. His voice was crystal clear. Jiang Wei pouted and followed reluctantly.
“Ahem, I have something to tell you,” the director said, handing a script to each of them. “I have already notified the other leads, but of course, you two are the most important.”
Cheng Luo and Jiang Wei looked at the scripts in confusion. The title was still In the Wind and Forest. What was going on?
“This is the new script. I could not sleep at all last night; I felt the subsequent plot was a bit illogical. So, with the consent of most of the team, I revised the script. Open the copies in your hands and take a look.”
The director’s announcement was like a bombshell. Were they the only two who had not known?
Cheng Luo flipped through the script page by page. She noticed that many of her scenes with the male lead, Lin Qingze, had been removed. In their place were many more scenes with the “Junior Sister” played by Jiang Wei. She quickly flipped to the last page. The original happy ending with the male lead was gone. Instead, the female lead and her Junior Sister disappeared into the martial arts world together to spend the rest of their lives as companions.
Jiang Wei was the most unsettled after reading it. “Director,” she said incredulously, “did you just turn me into the second female lead? But why do I have to spend my life with the female lead?”
Cheng Luo saw the situation for what it was and rubbed her forehead helplessly. “Director, you just changed the female lead’s sexual orientation? Will that not be too abrupt?”
“Do not worry about that; the screenwriters will provide a more detailed script later,” the director said dismissively. Seeing they had no more questions, he continued, “Since you have no objections, let us start filming. The early scenes are basically the same, so we can pick up where we left off.”
Jiang Wei raised her hand, looking dazed. “Director, where did the male lead go? I did not become the male lead, did I? Please, no!”
Cheng Luo saw the director glance at Lin Qingze, who had remained silent the entire time. The director snorted. “You better focus on your acting. If you do not work hard, I will kick you out of here!”