Filming lasted until late into the night, leaving Yun Ni and the others too exhausted to even speak.
As Tao Ningchu was removing her makeup, she suddenly remarked, “I have to shoot a commercial tomorrow. Sister Yun, won’t you be lonely all by yourself?”
Yun Ni replied, “No difference.”
“Sister Yun, that really hurts my feelings.” Tao Ningchu tilted her head to look at her. “We’ve been stuck together for so many days; wouldn’t you feel at least a little something if I suddenly left?”
Yun Ni thought about it. “A little bit of happiness?” Seeing Tao Ningchu raise her hand in mock protest, she quickly smiled and changed her tune. “Alright, I’ll miss you. Hurry up and pack so we can go rest.”
“But I’m hungry and want a late-night snack,” Tao Ningchu said, quickly finishing washing her face. “Sister Yun, my treat! Let’s go get some skewers.”
Yun Ni shook her head. “Sister Jin won’t agree.” Especially on the night before a commercial shoot, the manager definitely wouldn’t let Tao Ningchu eat her fill and risk her image.
Tao Ningchu’s face immediately fell, and she stopped mentioning snacks. Suddenly, she thought of something else and leaned in toward Yun Ni gossipingly. “Where did President Lin go? Aside from that lunch with you, I didn’t see her at all this afternoon or evening.”
Yun Ni was genuinely puzzled. “How should I know where she went? It’s not like we’re in the kind of relationship where we report our itineraries to each other.”
Tao Ningchu gave a shy laugh. “I forgot. I just subconsciously—” Seeing Yun Ni’s look, she quickly shut her mouth and stopped talking nonsense.
Once they finished tidying up and returned their hair accessories, they left the dressing room together. As soon as Yun Ni stepped out, she spotted Dong Menglian and Lin Zijin not far away. Lin Zijin was standing sideways to them, her elegant profile unable to hide a look of impatience.
As they drew closer, they heard Dong Menglian say, “President Lin, we’re going out for a late-night snack tonight. Would you like to join us?”
“I don’t eat barbecue,” Lin Zijin stated. As she spoke, she turned her head as if sensing something and caught sight of Yun Ni and Tao Ningchu walking toward them. She immediately ignored Dong Menglian, straightened her posture, and walked toward Yun Ni.
“Miss Yun,” Lin Zijin greeted. Then, with a bit of a struggle, she added, “Miss Tao.”
Tao Ningchu didn’t mind the obvious contrast in the greetings; in fact, she felt a bit flattered. After all, they weren’t on the same level. She had heard that Lin Zijin wouldn’t even give a direct look to irrelevant people, let alone a greeting. She figured Lin Zijin was only acknowledging her for Yun Ni’s sake.
Looking at Lin Zijin, she had a sudden brainwave. Her eyes lit up. “President Lin, are you looking for a late-night snack? Do you want to come with us?”
Her mental calculator was clicking away. She knew Sister Jin wouldn’t let her eat, but if the big boss was coming along, she could pretend she was just accompanying the CEO. Sister Jin would have no way to refuse.
“You guys?” Lin Zijin looked at Yun Ni and immediately nodded. “It’s been a while since I’ve had barbecue. Let’s go together then.”
Yun Ni arched an eyebrow, recalling Lin Zijin’s rejection of Dong Menglian just seconds ago. A hint of a smile touched her eyes. As for Tao Ningchu’s little scheme, she saw right through it but didn’t object. “Let’s go then. You have a commercial tomorrow, so you can’t eat too much.”
Tao Ningchu’s face slumped, but then she realized getting to eat at all was good enough, so she stopped fussing over the quantity.
“I’ll go tell Sister Jin! Wait for me, Sister Yun!” She shouted and took off running.
Not far away, Dong Menglian had heard the entire exchange. her face turned various shades of green and purple, but neither of the main parties paid her the slightest bit of attention.
Tao Ningchu often ate late-night snacks during filming and was very familiar with the area. She led the other two to a barbecue joint with a decent atmosphere and requested a private booth.
“I came here once with Sister Jin; their food is pretty good,” Tao Ningchu said, instinctively handing the menu to Lin Zijin. “The owner is from Chongqing, so the Spicy Crawfish is particularly authentic. President Lin, do you want to try some?”
Lin Zijin’s expression froze as she recalled the scene of her and Yun Ni “fighting” the spicy crawfish only to end up in the hospital.
Yun Ni remembered too. She glanced at the person beside her, and seeing her face the color of liver, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “No spicy food tonight.”
Tao Ningchu let out a “Huh?” “Sister Yun, aren’t you good with spice?”
Yun Ni signaled toward Lin Zijin with her eyes and shook her head. “Something light.”
Tao Ningchu understood immediately and quickly changed her tune. “That’s right, I have a shoot tomorrow. It would be bad if I broke out from the spice. Let’s keep it light.”
Lin Zijin glanced at them and handed the menu to Yun Ni. “If you want spicy food, it can be grilled separately.”
“It’s fine,” Yun Ni said, pointing to both of their stomachs to remind her they had just come from the hospital.
Tao Ningchu watched their movements, confused as to what riddles they were speaking. Seeing them lean in close to talk, the “gossip flower” in her eyes began to burn fiercely. And they said they weren’t close? If they weren’t close, would they be whispering like that?
When Yun Ni and Lin Zijin finished selecting their items, they looked up to meet Tao Ningchu’s gossiping gaze. Yun Ni raised an eyebrow and handed the menu over. “See if there’s anything else you want.”
At the mention of food, Tao Ningchu was momentarily distracted. She took it and began checking off items earnestly.
Seeing her pen moving constantly, Yun Ni reminded her, “Don’t eat too much, or you’ll have an upset stomach in the middle of the night, or a bloated belly tomorrow, and Sister Jin will scold you.”
Tao Ningchu’s hand paused. She looked at the large selection of meat she had checked off and solemnly crossed out a few items.
Lin Zijin watched from the side and lowered her voice, saying with an unreadable tone, “You two have a very good relationship, Miss Yun.”
Yun Ni caught a hint of unhappiness in her voice. She tilted her head to look at her. “Isn’t this how good friends are?”
Lin Zijin’s mood suddenly brightened. Anyway, no matter how good they are, they’re just ‘good friends.’
Seeing her expression recover, Yun Ni picked up the teapot and poured a cup of warm water for her, then for herself and Tao Ningchu.
Once Tao Ningchu finished ordering, she went out to find a waiter. When she returned, she saw the two of them sitting calmly, playing with their phones. Occasionally, they would look up to exchange a glance before looking back down at their screens.
She sat down feeling a bit strange and sent a message to Yun Ni: Why aren’t you and President Lin talking?
Just as Yun Ni was about to reply, a notification popped up. It was a message from Lin Zijin asking about her schedule for tomorrow.
After a moment of hesitation, Yun Ni switched windows to reply to her, then went back to Tao Ningchu’s chat, only to find another message.
Is President Lin the type who doesn’t like to talk? — From Tao Ningchu
Yun Ni recalled the person in her WeChat history who was constantly looking for topics to talk about and replied with a smile: Maybe.
Tao Ningchu looked up and saw Yun Ni smiling, becoming even more confused. Was there something funny about the question I asked?