When the two got out of the car, Wu Zhilun’s car was just driving in. There seemed to be quite a few people in his car. When he got out with them, they were all smiling and greeting Yi Wenze. Jia He quietly stood to the side, trying her best to make herself invisible. Fortunately, in front of outsiders, Wu Zhilun was still very silent and refined, absolutely no different from his melancholic idol image promoted to the outside world. It was just that when he was nodding and greeting, he would give Jia He a subtle smile, a subtle smile, and another subtle smile…
Since one of Jia He’s eyes was blurry, she could only stare blankly as she carefully followed Yi Wenze inside and upstairs. The stairs and floors were made of perforated stainless steel plates. She initially thought it was modern, but as she walked higher and higher, she realized it felt dangerous, like walking on a tightrope, because the construction was so simple.
Unfortunately, she was afraid of heights…
By the second floor, her legs were already feeling weak. She thought they’d stop there, but Yi Wenze kept walking up. Jia He silently wailed inside as she mustered her courage to keep climbing up. Unconsciously, she gripped the very slender handrail tightly, her palms drenched in cold sweat. She had suffered from acrophobia since she was little. When she went to the Shanghai carnival with her expectations high initially, she ended up only being able to watch fearlessly from below those dangerous rides high up in the air, while Qiao Qiao mocked her countless times. The most tragic thing was, the next year in Beijing, Xiao Yu asked her out to have fun, and it turned out to be a carnival again…
Her vision was hazy. With every step, her heartbeat sped up rapidly. Just then a little boy came running down from the third floor. The already narrow staircase became even more cramped. She carefully slid over half a step, leaning against the railing, trying hard to divert her attention.
“Boss.” The little boy nodded in greeting.
Yi Wenze hmm-ed in response. “Here for the audition?”
“Yeah, starts at two in the afternoon,” the little boy replied. He glanced at Jia He and immediately added ten million percent more enthusiasm, “Hello, boss’s wife.” Jia He was given a fright and reflexively looked at Yi Wenze. He just smiled without saying anything.
Since the boy was so enthusiastic… she could only hmm in response, and became even dizzier.
The little boy giggled as he ran downstairs. Only then did Yi Wenze notice her complexion. “Feeling unwell?”
“No…” As long as they reached the third floor, she would definitely feel better.
Yi Wenze turned around to examine her closely.
Jia He gripped the railing, constantly praying in her heart for him to not look anymore and to just keep walking…
“I forgot you’re afraid of heights,” Yi Wenze said apologetically. He put his arm around her and held her in his embrace as they continued walking up. “Tomorrow I’ll have the office moved to the second floor.”
Jia He was a little silly. How did he know everything?
It must have been Qiao Qiao who told him.
Because he was holding her, and she deliberately avoided looking down, her acrophobia alleviated quite a bit. But she still couldn’t overcome the psychological barrier. She very proactively leaned closer into his embrace.
When they reached the third floor, Ah Qing happened to emerge from one of the rooms. She first opened her mouth wide, then immediately looked sideways with an obvious smile. “Teacher Yi, I saw the audition list. Three days probably won’t be enough.”
Yi Wenze was a little surprised. He gave her approximate instructions about two things, then asked her to help find menus from restaurants nearby. Ah Qing promptly left with understanding. Jia He was obviously still under the lingering effects of her acrophobia, so she just listened in quietly. By the time they entered the room, she realized she was still squeezed in his embrace…
Her mind raced to come up with an excuse, and she finally had a flash of inspiration. “Weren’t you going to get me contact lenses?”
And so she successfully escaped.
There wasn’t much food for lunch, just enough for two people to finish eating. Right after Jia He put down her chopsticks, Yi Wenze casually cleaned up, wrapped everything in newspaper, put it in a plastic bag, and placed it by the door. Jia He watched him swiftly finish everything skillfully. She felt increasingly proud inside—look, her idol was so high quality, so down-to-earth. He really deserved to be her idol.
Then, he casually picked up a little green bottle and shook out a piece of chewing gum. “Want some water?”
“Coffee,” Jia He said. Then she felt she was greatly disrespecting her idol by ordering him around like he was her servant.
So, before he could even move, she had already rushed into the tea room.
The shelf had seven or eight different types of coffee on it.
There were convenient ones, ones that needed brewing, coffee powder, and coffee beans. She stared at them for a while, then still took out the most convenient Nescafé and asked while turning around, “What do you want?”
“I’m fine with just iced water,” he walked in and glanced at the packet in her hand. “Why don’t you brew it?”
“This is more convenient.” She casually tore it open. “When I drink coffee, it’s to stimulate myself. After drinking it countless times, I just got used to it. I actually don’t care much at all, as long as it has this taste.”
He took the packet from her hand. “Coffee powder is very convenient.”
After saying so, he tossed the packet into the trash can, took down the coffee pot from up high, and rinsed it clean with cool water. Then he began skillfully brewing coffee for her. “I also liked drinking coffee in the past, but later when filming, my stomach health deteriorated, so I forced myself to quit.”
The water started boiling slowly with soft gurgles.
He just waited patiently, casually resting his right hand on the glass counter. Jia He’s gaze slid from his shirt collar to his hand, and finally to his fingertips. When the aroma slowly emerged, his fingers suddenly moved. Only then did she snap back to her senses. But by the time she raised her head, his face was already up close, and then, he finally lowered his head and tenderly kissed her.
The coffee aroma, and the minty aroma on the tip of his tongue, instantly drowned all her senses.
Unlike the abruptness the first time, everything felt naturally fitting for their relationship. But she was still left dizzy and breathless, unable to breathe for a long time. After blanking out for a period, her empty mind was finally intruded by a single thought.
Shoot! She didn’t have any chewing gum.
Yi Wenze was hugging her tightly, tilting his head for a deeper kiss, when she suddenly pushed him slightly.
Pressing against her lips, he asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
“Uh, that…” She couldn’t blame him for not giving her chewing gum. She hesitated then said, “Time’s up, forty seconds.”
Fortunately she knew how to brew coffee. After forty seconds of sitting, the next step had to be done.
He was silent briefly, before lightly kissing her once more and releasing her to start pouring out coffee. It was obvious he had a trace of a smile that he tried to suppress. Jia He pretended not to see it and slid away a little.
Knowledge is power alright…it’s truly great…
When they exited the tea room, some papers had already been placed below the door. Yi Wenze picked them up and read through them briefly—they were the work schedules for the next few days. Jia He glanced at them and recalled the talk of auditions from earlier. “You guys are starting to look for actors for the new movie?”
He nodded, “Auditioning these two days.”
“What’s the theme?”
“Republican era,” Yi Wenze put the papers on the table. “Aside from the female lead, the other female roles don’t have too many scenes. I didn’t expect so many to show up for the audition.”
That was because you and Wu Zhilun would be in it, Jia He silently jeered to herself.
He suddenly asked, “The audition is on the first floor, open format. Want to go take a look?”
Jia He thought of the height and felt dejected for a moment. “Forget it. I don’t even dare look down from this height.”
If her blood pressure shot up later and she experienced a falling object at high altitude…things would get more exciting.
“It’s fine. I’ll be with you.”
Because the production company had just been established, they had also promptly collaborated with domestic big shot Yi Hua to launch a major project. Yi Wenze quickly entered his working mode. Jia He sat in the wicker chair by the window, grabbed a stack of newspapers, and casually flipped through them. The sunlight shone through the glass, providing endless, warm magnification. Thus, the bug of sleepiness attacked… She only awoke abruptly with a rustling sound, realizing the newspapers had slid off her knees onto the ground.
Yi Wenze smiled at her state. “Go inside and sleep for a while.”
She hastily declined, “It’s fine.”
It would be a crime. He was busy and swamped while she was napping.
Just then, noises started sounding from downstairs—the audition seemed to have begun. This finally gave her an excuse to slip out of her embarrassing predicament. She hastily changed the subject, “The audition started?”
“Let’s go out and watch for a bit,” he lightly stretched his fingers and stood up. “Good time for a break anyway.”
After the two stepped out, the first floor was already filled with people. It really was an open format.
Jia He had taken a peek just now and her legs instantly weakened. By the time she wanted to retreat back, she was already enveloped by warmth—Yi Wenze had placed both hands on the railing, trapping her in front of his chest. “Is this better?”
“Much better.” Jia He said softly. Although she knew this was the best method to overcome acrophobia, there were so many people downstairs…and people on the second and third floors watching too. Surely that wouldn’t be good?
Just as she was hesitating whether to go back in or not, the next person was already going up for audition.
From this angle, Jia He couldn’t see that girl’s face, but judging by her figure, she was definitely a beauty.
Unexpectedly, when she opened her mouth, her voice sounded very familiar. “Esteemed teachers, I’m candidate thirteen, Jiang Xing.”
Why did she sound so familiar?
Jia He gave it some careful thought. She definitely didn’t know this person and had never heard that name before.
Jia He didn’t think too deeply about it. She guessed the girl’s voice probably happened to sound similar to someone she knew. She took a look at the people sitting—Wu Zhilun was at the far right, wearing a very serious and melancholy expression. She couldn’t help laughing softly and remarked in a low voice, “Wu Zhilun’s positioning is definitely wrong. He clearly has a very sunny and cheerful face, yet he keeps getting roles with psychologically very complex and gloomy characters.”
Yi Wenze also lowered his voice, “It’s related to his past experiences. He used to live in a shantytown. His family circumstances weren’t good. He auditioned many times to be a model afterward but never succeeded. He also didn’t get into a training program and could only play extras on set, waiting for chances to act.”
Jia He only knew that Wu Zhilun became popular seven or eight years ago, but she didn’t pay much attention to him since he wasn’t her cup of tea. Now that she thought about it carefully, he and Yi Wenze were the same age, but his rise to popularity was much later. It definitely hadn’t been easy.
“It must have been really difficult to make a debut in Hong Kong right?” It seemed like the ones who managed to rise to the top were all people who struggled for many years as extras.
Yi Wenze just lightly hmm-ed in response.
She suddenly recalled what Qiao Qiao said about Tian Chu also struggling for many years.
But it definitely wouldn’t be appropriate to bring up talk of an ex right now. Jia He tactfully held herself back and turned to look downward again. That girl had already acted out a scene of identifying one’s birth parents based on the requirements, and was now asked to improvise acting as an idiot beside the people next to her.
She watched earnestly for a bit—the girl was truly not bad. But she still felt the voice was really familiar for some reason.
When it was nearly the end, Wu Zhilun seemed very satisfied as well. “Answer this quickly, what has left the deepest impression on you recently?”
The girl didn’t dare delay and blurted out, “It was meeting your rumored girlfriend.”
Her one line rendered everyone temporarily speechless. Wu Zhilun’s expression shifted from bewilderment, to realization, and finally to being torn between tears and laughter. His gaze subconsciously drifted upstairs for a fleeting moment. Jia He was already completely dumbfounded. It just now struck her why she found the girl’s voice familiar. Wasn’t she the one who talked about auditioning that night?
She was still terribly flustered when warmth crept close beside her ear.
“Have you met her before?”
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