Murong An collapsed forward into Yang Guiying’s arms. She struggled for air as the rest of the command tent devolved into chaos. The assassin bolted, sprinting out of the tent with several executives on his tail. The command tent emptied out, each member either leaving due to paranoia or anger. Yang Guiying, though, sank to her knees as she hugged Murong An in her arms.
“It’ll... It’ll be fine,” Yang Guiying cried as she cupped Murong An’s face. “Come on, keep your eyes open...”
Coughing up a couple globs of blood, Murong An felt her own eyes mist over as tears began to flow. She reached up, her hand brushing against her childhood friend’s face. “I guess... I guess this is where our paths separate.”
“Hey... don’t say that...” Yang Guiying’s hands clenched onto Murong An’s clothes, hunching over as she tried her best to support Murong An’s body. “You’ll be fine, yeah. We’ll continue to work together, right? You have to believe...”
“We both know... that’s not... happening,” Murong An choked out between laborious breaths. “I... believe in you. Work hard with Long... Fei. He’s trustworthy...”
“I’d rather work with you!” Yang Guiying’s voice cracked, her forehead touching Murong An’s as she leaned in closer. “Why do you have to leave me?”
“Because... that’s how life ends up... I guess,” Murong An mustered a smile as tears began trickling down her cheeks. “I’m... I’m sorry for ruining your clothes... Guiying.”
Crimson.
Crimson flowers blossomed while watered by tears.
Once Murong An closed her eyes for the last time, Yang Guiying sat upright. She grabbed Murong An’s blood-soaked hand and stared at the moon through the slit in the tent’s entrance. Silent sobs wracked her body as she sat there in silence, the distant sounds of battle cheers from the army filling her ears as they routed the enemy.
“Goodbye, Murong...”
“Cut!” Zhang Jingsong shouted before falling quiet once more. The somber atmosphere hung in the air for a moment... before Li Feiling and Xia Ruyun snapped it like a twig with just a few words.
“Boo! I’m a zombie now,” Xia Ruyun reached up, grabbing Li Feiling who still cradled her. “Is it convincing?”
“Not too convincing, you’re too beautiful. Not enough of the zombie rot,” Li Feiling teased as she helped to pull Xia Ruyun to her feet.
“Darn, the struggles of being a newborn zombie...” Xia Ruyun mumbled as she brushed herself off. “How was it, Director Zhang?”
“Very good,” Zhang Jingsong surmised as he stroked his chin. “I don’t have much to say. Much of the emotional impact was lost when you became a zombie, but your performance truly tugged at the heartstrings. Does anyone else have anything to say?”
A different cast member, Chen Wenhui, spoke up from the side. “I wiped a couple tears, so that’s... something.”
After her words, a couple other cast members nodded along, murmuring their agreement. One crew member in the back, though, a young man who looked like he had just graduated, didn’t hold back either. “I’m still crying!”
“Thank you,” Xia Ruyun smiled as she and Li Feiling walked off the set, the laughter from the last comment lifted everyone’s mood. Assistants rushed forward with jackets and covered them up as the evening breeze snaked its way through the set. The cast and crew welcomed Xia Ruyun and Li Feiling back to the rest area as Zhang Jingsong leaned back in his chair.
“I think... we end things here for tonight,” Zhang Jingsong squinted up at the sky. “By the time we set up for another shot tonight, the moon will have moved out of position. Let’s just call it a day.”
Cheers broke out among the crew. People began packing up as assistants and managers came rushing over. The crew tidied up, but left most of the set in place for the next day. Over the course of the next ten minutes, the area emptied as people streamed over to the parking lot.
“How are you?” Gao Qian asked as she walked up to Xia Ruyun. Nodding towards Li Feiling who had now begun conversing with her own manager, she handed Xia Ruyun a cup of warm water. “I’ll give you a while to clean up and change, so just let me know once you’re done.”
“I’m doing fine, hope you are too. I’ll try to be fast,” Xia Ruyun murmured as she thanked Gao Qian for the water bottles. She jogged off to the changing area, following behind Li Feiling. Once there, she draped the coat on a nearby chair and began stripping her clothes off.
“Good job today,” Li Feiling started the conversation while facing the corner. “Any evening plans?”
“Thank you. No plans for me,” Xia Ruyun answered while facing her own corner. As she pulled off the last piece of clothing, she reached over and grabbed a wet cloth to wipe off the bits of fake dried blood now caked onto her body. “How about you?”
“Nothing on my end either,” Li Feiling smiled as she wiped herself down and began getting dressed once more. “Once we’re back at the hotel, do you want to grab a bite to eat? The place on the fifth floor should still be open and it's quite delectable.”
“S... Sure?” Xia Ruyun shrugged. Noticing Li Feiling getting ready to leave the tent, she bid her a “See you later then.”
“See you then~” Li Feiling sang as she walked out of the tent. “Text me when you get back to the hotel!”
After getting changed, Xia Ruyun meandered back out of the tent and towards the parking lot where she saw Gao Qian waiting. She waved and jogged over, yawning as she came to a slow stop. “Hope you didn’t wait for too lon-”
“Xia. Ru. Yun.” Gao Qian glared with her hands on her hips. “I just heard about your morning excursion from Li Feiling.”
“Ahh, yeah, Wu Linjie wasn’t doing too great,” Xia Ruyun scratched the back of her head. Words tumbled out of her mouth. “I hope he’s doing a little better now, I made him take the day off.”
“That’s not the point!” Gao Qian gripped Xia Ruyun’s shoulder. “You went into the forest alone to find this man who you knew wasn’t in a great mental state. Isn’t this just a recipe for disaster?”
“Well... I had pepper spray on me...” Xia Ruyun looked away with a sheepish smile as Gao Qian shook her. “And like... we’re friends, I know him pretty well by now, after all these months.”
“That’s what they all say before something happens to them,” Gao Qian shook her head. “You’re not even taller than Li Feiling! And he’s half a head taller than her! Use your head!”
“I tryyy...” Xia Ruyun, the new wet noodle, shrugged. “I’ll try and be more careful...”
“Good,” Gao Qian sighed, letting go of Xia Ruyun. Together, they walked to Gao Qian’s car—now one of the last still sitting in the parking lot. Running through her mental checklist as she unlocked the car and got into the driver’s seat, Gao Qian raised her eyebrows. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I have some more information about the PR shoot this coming weekend.”
“Oh? Director Zhang did mention it today, not much scheduling-wise though,” Xia Ruyun melted into the seat, letting out a long sigh of relief.
“Yeah, it’ll start at nine and run until lunch. Then, they’ll feed everyone afterward,” Gao Qian turned the car on and pulled it out of the lot. “They’re just going to do a couple groups, with a few combinations of the main cast members. The group of reporters they’re inviting will get the chance to ask a few questions to each group. That’s about it, they’ll be filming and editing this before posting.”
“Sounds good,” Xia Ruyun murmured as her eyes wandered out the window. As she stared, the evening scenery whizzed by as they accelerated down the highway.
A pause later, Gao Qian added one more detail. “I’m sure you know, but just as a reminder, we’ll be flying out that afternoon, too, since all your scenes will be done.”
“... Ah.” Xia Ruyun blinked her eyes a couple times before a faint whisper left her mouth. “It’s over already, huh?”
Once back at the hotel, Gao Qian watched as Xia Ruyun walked off to meet up with Li Feiling. With the elevator doors closing to take Xia Ruyun up to the hotel, Gao Qian pulled out her phone and opened her private messages with Li Feiling. Her fingers typed out a quick stream of messages.
[I talked to her as you asked this morning]
[Thanks for letting me know about the situation]
[Even though it's a little awkward because you asked her to go talk to him, you should still talk to her, you know]
The response from Li Feiling came within seconds.
[Thank you!]
[Yeah, I’ll talk to her, don’t worry]