Faced with the other person’s question, An Ji was stunned. She had just confirmed moments earlier that she hadn’t dialed the wrong number.
Composing herself, An Ji asked politely, “Hello, may I ask if this is Teacher Yu Junye’s phone?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then where is she right now? Is she available to take a call? I have something urgent to discuss with her.” Having confirmed it was Yu Junye’s phone, An Ji grew anxious again.
“She is not available to take calls right now.”
“Could you please tell me where she is?” Unfazed by the refusal, An Ji patiently pressed on.
“She is at the hospital, asleep.”
“Hospital? What happened to her? Which hospital?” Hearing that she was at the hospital, An Ji’s brows twisted into a knot.
“Nanshi First People’s Hospital.” The other party answered every question calmly and logically.
“Are you her attending physician? Is her condition serious?” Upon hearing the address, An Ji turned on her heel and sprinted toward the dressing room.
“What’s wrong with Ye? Teacher An, wait for me!” Hearing An Ji’s responses, Irene had roughly guessed what was going on. Seeing An Ji rush toward the dressing room, she hurried after her.
“I am a police officer. Don’t worry, she doesn’t have any major issues; she’s just sleeping right now. Who are you to her?”
“I am her… um, a friend. A very good friend.” An Ji paused, nearly blurting out, I am her wife.
“If you happen to be in Nanshi or the surrounding area and it’s convenient, you can come over.”
“I’m right here in Nanshi. Please tell me the specific room number, and I’ll head over immediately.” An Ji frantically waved at the makeup artist, signaling her to come over and remove her makeup.
After the person on the other end provided the address and room number, An Ji expressed her gratitude and hung up. The makeup artist was already busy taking off her cosmetics, while Irene stood anxiously by the side.
“Teacher Yu is at the hospital. I’m heading over right away. As for this afternoon’s scenes. I’ll have to ask the director for leave again.” An Ji met Irene’s worried gaze and said.
“I’m coming too, so we can look after each other.”
“You should stay behind. If both of us leave, what’s going to happen to this afternoon’s filming? Not a single lead actor will be here.” After a moment of consideration, An Ji frowned and spoke.
“Teacher Yu is more important. I’ll go talk to the director.” Before An Ji could stop her, Irene vanished from sight.
By the time An Ji finished removing her makeup and stepped out, Irene had just finished tidying up and reached the doorway. Meanwhile, Shi Ruiru had already brought the car around upon receiving the call.
“Let’s go, Teacher An,” Irene called out.
“What did the director say?” An Ji glanced toward the camera equipment.
“I told him Teacher Yu was at the hospital, and he approved the leave without a second thought,” Irene said as they walked. “He even asked what happened to Teacher Yu and what kind of illness she had, saying he wanted to go visit her too.”
Hearing this, An Ji offered a faint smile without replying, quickening her pace as she headed outside.
When they arrived at the hospital, Yu Junye was still fast asleep. Outside the hospital room, they ran into the police officer who had answered the phone. He didn’t say much, only instructing them to wait until the patient woke up.
After the police officer left, assuming there was nobody else inside the room, An Ji pushed open the door only to find a long-haired woman standing by the hospital bed. With a slender and graceful figure, she was holding a towel and gently, meticulously wiping the back of Yu Junye’s hand with deep affection.
An Ji froze mid-step just as she was about to enter the room. She raised her hand, knocked softly on the door frame, and stood obediently at the entrance.
“Please come in.” Without looking up, the long-haired woman continued focusing on what she was doing.
“Hello!” As soon as she entered, An Ji saw Yu Junye sleeping soundly. Seeing no obvious external injuries, she relaxed her shoulders and shifted her gaze to the long-haired woman, taking the initiative to greet her.
Hearing the voice, the long-haired woman looked up, her gaze faltering slightly upon seeing the visitor.
An Ji finally got a clear look at the woman’s face and her eyes widened in astonishment. It’s her?
Irene, who had followed closely behind An Ji, noticed her suddenly stop and curiously stepped to the side, finally taking in the scene before them.
Irene’s heart instantly leapt into her throat. She glanced at the long-haired woman, then at An Ji, and finally back at Yu Junye sleeping soundly on the bed, inwardly sticking out her tongue.
Is this a legendary Shura field?
Yu Junye’s two female romance rumor subjects, face-to-face. The new flame and the old love which one was more formidable?
The only pity was that the person at the center of it all was completely oblivious, fast asleep right beside them.
Yes, that long-haired woman was none other than Ling Chuchu Yu Junye’s former same-sex rumored girlfriend reported by the gossip media.
Noticing that both women reacted rather strangely, Irene stepped forward to break the silence. “Hello, I’m Irene, a friend of Teacher Yu from the same film crew.”
“Hello. Are you here to see Junjun?” Ling Chuchu broke into a smile.
“Yeah, we finally found her! You have no idea, not being able to reach her worried us sick,” Irene said, taking a few more steps toward the bed to examine Yu Junye closely.
“You must be Teacher An Ji, right? I’m Ling Chuchu, Junjun’s good friend.” Ling Chuchu recovered her composure first, smiling as she introduced herself to An Ji.
“I’m An Ji. I’ve heard a great deal about you; I’ve watched your films, and you’re brilliant.” After sizing up the other woman, An Ji exchanged pleasantries with graceful poise.
“You’re being too modest, Teacher An. I’m the one who has long admired you. Seeing you in person today, the media didn’t lie at all you really are a peerless beauty.” Looking at An Ji, Ling Chuchu felt a genuine surge of admiration deep down. She truly was a stunner; no wonder she could become the dream lover of so many men, and no wonder the media linked Yu Junye and her in same-sex rumors.
“You flatter me, you flatter me,” An Ji smiled faintly.
Just as the two women were speaking, a dark figure suddenly flashed past their eyes, and both turned to look simultaneously.
It was Shi Ruiru. She had just parked the car and rushed up. As soon as she entered the room, she darted straight to Yu Junye’s side like an arrow. Seeing that the sleeping person was safe and sound, her eyes gradually reddened.
Seeing this, Ling Chuchu offered An Ji an apologetic nod, stepped over, patted Shi Ruiru on the shoulder, and whispered, “Alright, alright, she’s fine.”
“I’m sorry, Sister Chuchu, I didn’t take good care of her,” Shi Ruiru choked out in a soft sob.
“Look, isn’t she sleeping soundly? If you keep crying like this, she’ll actually have something wrong with her when she wakes up,” Ling Chuchu scolded lightly.
Shi Ruiru sniffled, her eyes still brimming with tears.
“Don’t wake her up. Let her sleep a little longer.” Ling Chuchu tugged on Shi Ruiru’s arm, signaling her to step back.
“Teacher An, why don’t you two take a seat over here? I’ll pour some water,” Ling Chuchu said, turning to An Ji and Irene, who were still standing by the bed.
“Don’t worry about us, we can manage,” An Ji replied, feeling that something still felt a bit off and peculiar.
“I’ll do it. You guys chat here,” Shi Ruiru stopped crying, raised her eyes to look at Ling Chuchu, and said.
“Alright, go ahead then.” Ling Chuchu nodded in agreement.
“Teacher An, did Junjun holding things up like this cause trouble for your filming schedule?” Ling Chuchu asked.
“Not at all. Our filming schedule is quite fast-paced; a day or two won’t affect it,” An Ji answered truthfully.
She looked at Ling Chuchu and continued, “Did you arrive in Nanshi yesterday?”
An Ji wanted to know if Yu Junye suddenly becoming unreachable had anything to do with her hanging out with this person.
“No,” Ling Chuchu smiled, her lips curving upward. “I only arrived in Nanshi this morning. Her phone wasn’t going through early this morning, so I thought I’d just head straight to the set to find her. Who would have known her phone would connect right as I stepped off the plane.”
“Did she answer the phone herself?” An Ji asked.
Ling Chuchu glanced at An Ji and replied, “No, a police officer answered. Once I found out she was at the hospital, I came right over.”
“Then you don’t know what happened either?” Irene asked out of curiosity.
“Mm. I don’t know either. We’ll have to wait until she wakes up.” With that, Ling Chuchu turned her gaze back to the person on the bed.
“Did the two of you arrange beforehand for you to come today?” An Ji felt she had quite a few questions in her mind.
“No, I just had a sudden whim to come visit the set. I didn’t have time to tell her before I lost touch with her.” Remembering the entertainment report she saw the moment she opened her eyes early that morning that piece of scandal gossip Ling Chuchu had felt a tiny prickle of discomfort. That was why she wanted to personally visit the set to see what was really going on, only to run right into Yu Junye’s incident.
Such a coincidental timing? An Ji thought to herself.
“Wife.” A soft, milky voice suddenly murmured from the bed, ringing out clearly in the quiet room like a bombshell dropping into water, kicking up layer after layer of ripples.
Hearing the voice that had become most familiar to her lately along with that familiar address An Ji’s eyes lit up. She immediately turned her gaze toward the bed. Her eyes weren’t even open, so it must have been sleep-talking.
Hearing the sound, Ling Chuchu paused, her brows tightly furrowed. She quickly glanced at the still-sleeping figure with her eyes closed, then shifted her sharp gaze back to An Ji, whose expression had suddenly turned excited.
A woman’s intuition was always accurate. Recalling the short news interview she saw that morning even though they were in costume on set, the interview took place after work hours, and their expressions and gestures somehow felt like they exceeded the boundaries of mere collaborators.
Was their acting just that good? But why continue acting off-set?
Some things, like affection, couldn’t be hidden; even if the mouth didn’t say it, the eyes easily gave it away.
An Ji’s expression was simply too obvious.
Take Yu Junye’s sudden cry of “Wife,” for instance. An Ji’s reaction had been truly swift and precise.
What about the person on the bed? A flicker of nervous anxiety stirred within Ling Chuchu’s heart.
Irene cast an amused look at the main character on the bed, curled her lips, and then used her peripheral vision to monitor the reactions of the “new flame” and the “old love” as if watching a drama. The show was indeed magnificent.
They say three women make a drama, and it really wasn’t false.
Irene suddenly felt time crawling by so slowly. She desperately wanted to walk over and shake Yu Junye awake just so she could watch a good spectacle unfold.
Thinking was one thing; she certainly wouldn’t dare actually do it.
Watching was one thing, too she had her own preferences. Every day on set, she watched the scholar and his wife being all lovey-dovey; deep down, she was a die-hard fan of the scholar and the wife.
Nobody was going to ruin that.
Hmph…