She gave a dry laugh. “What a coincidence.”
Then, she swiftly gave a brief account of what had happened that day. By the time she finished recounting it on her end, Wu Zhilun downstairs still had not said anything, as if he was contemplating something. After a long wait, he finally gave an equivocal response, “If there’s a chance to collaborate in the future, you’ll see her again.”
After saying this, he spoke a couple sentences in a low voice to the person beside him and switched to the next audition candidate.
“Will Wu Zhilun want her?”
This girl was not bad. Their movie this time was also a reasonably big production. Adding on the popularity of the two bosses, promotions would definitely be easy. If she managed to stand out, it would be a good opportunity.
He shook his head. “Based on his personality, he probably won’t.”
Jia He was baffled. “Just because she brought up that rumored girlfriend?”
Yi Wenze smiled. “Yes, but not for the reason you’re thinking. With so many people auditioning today, the fact that she was able to say something to make people remember her means she’s very clever. Bringing up something like that is a very smart topic. I have a lot of careless friends who like that type of girl, the kind who can draw attention to herself even when she’s not the one acting. Unfortunately, Wu Zhilun isn’t that kind of person.”
Jia He uttered an “Oh.” “He struggled a lot himself in the past, so he probably prefers more down-to-earth types.”
Yi Wenze neither agreed nor disagreed.
Jia He suddenly recalled those jokes and teasing remarks made over dinner that day when that whole bunch was gathered together. Feeling somewhat suggestive, she smiled at Yi Wenze. “Then, what do you say? As a celebrity and also the boss of a production company, does Wu Zhilun get beautiful women knocking on his door every midnight?” She had just finished asking before she already regretted it. Why did it sound like she was trying to make inferences about Yi Wenze by bringing up Wu Zhilun…?
Yi Wenze was smiling, a very subtle smile, but in such close proximity, it seemed infinitely magnified.
In a lowered voice, he stated very seriously, “He’s hard to say. But I have a good habit of locking my door before I sleep.”
……
She gave an awkward laugh. “That’s indeed a good habit.”
The auditions were still continuing downstairs. After watching for a while, the two of them went back inside. Seeing that he was busy, Jia He also could not keep idly sitting around and carefully asked, “Do you happen to have a spare computer here?”
Since she was free anyway, she might as well tidy up the notes from the last couple days of meetings.
Yi Wenze looked at her. She immediately took out her USB flash drive. “Occupational disease. I always carry stuff with me and will write if I have bits of time.”
Only then did he make a phone call. Very soon, A Qing delivered a laptop over.
She had just inserted her USB flash drive when Wu Zhilun walked into the room, even bringing along a few other people. Judging by this situation, they were here to discuss proper business. Jia He was wavering over whether she should go out, to avoid awkwardly being a living backdrop when she was not part of the discussion, when Yi Wenze unexpectedly pointed towards another room. “It’s a little noisy in here. You can go in there to write.”
Jia He gave an “Mm-hmm,” hugging the computer as she walked past Wu Zhilun. He noticeably arched an eyebrow at her, smiling very suggestively. She looked at him in confusion. With so many people around, she did not feel it was appropriate to ask what he was up to with that expression and hence pushed open that room’s door in embarrassment—then realized what that room was.
That room… was the bedroom.
Work had already commenced behind her so it would have been awkward for her to say anything. She could only stiffly walk inside. After taking a look at the large bed and then giving the two-person sofa a glance-over, her gaze slid back to the bed, and then… she properly seated herself on the sofa with utmost gravity and bowed her head to look at her computer screen. She had just switched on the laptop and was changing the input method when she discovered an even more awkward problem: there was only one input method available on this computer—the Hong Kong handwriting input[26].
Which meant, she actually had nothing she could work on now.
In the end, all she could do was walk over to the window and stare blankly outside.
With a door separating them, she could still vaguely hear the sounds from the outer room. They seemed to currently be in the thick of an intense discussion. As she keenly tried to pick out which voice belonged to Yi Wenze, she also carefully thought back on her schedule today, only to discover in the end that she had not done a single worthwhile thing.
Yi Wenze did not seem to have any plans today. This was their first proper date. Shouldn’t it be a little more special occasion? Watching a movie? That was like crashing straight into the muzzle of the entertainment news journalists’ guns. Going for a meal? The lunch they ate seemed pretty nice, though.
Oh well. Rather than watching a movie, it’d be better to watch one on DVD here. And rather than eating out, it’d be better to order takeout.
Right when she was in the middle of persuading herself with these thoughts, the sound of the door opening suddenly came from behind her.
She turned back to look. Yi Wenze had carried a cup of coffee in and had pushed the door shut with his other hand.
“What are you looking at?”
She swiftly turned back around, leaning against the window ledge. “Wasn’t looking at anything. How come you came in?”
His lips curved in a smile. “We finished our discussion already.”
After saying this, he set the coffee cup down on the tea table and walked over toward Jia He.
As Jia He watched him come closer and closer, she somehow inexplicably started feeling panicked. A genuinely huge bed was on the left side of this honest-to-goodness bedroom while a two-person sofa was on the right… The space truly was putting too much pressure on her.
In the end, he finally stopped three steps away from her and happened to randomly pull out a couple DVDs from the metal shelving unit.
“I need to go to Yee Wah. Shall I have A Qing accompany you out for a walk?”
Jia He secretly breathed out in relief. “No need. I’ll wait here for you.”
He gave an indifferent “Mm,” before taking out the discs. “If you get hungry, there are sandwiches in the fridge.”
She responded with an “Mm-hmm.”
“If you don’t like the ones I picked, feel free to find some others to pass the time,” he stated as he opened up the DVD player for her. Seeing that she merely nodded, he at last added, “If you’re sleepy, go ahead and take a nap on the bed yourself.”
Jia He uncomfortably nodded again.
It was not until after he had left that Jia He thought of a very important question she had neglected to ask. Exactly what time would he be coming back? But now, if she ran out to ask, she would definitely be mocked by Wu Zhilun… After wrestling back and forth with indecision for half a day, she finally decided she might as well foolishly wait for him. Surely he would not be coming back tomorrow, right? As she consoled herself with these thoughts, as if by some ghostly possession, she inexplicably returned to stand by the window again and secretly took a peek outside at the car downstairs.
From this angle, she happened to have a perfect view of the main entrance. Before long, Yi Wenze walked out. He did not pull out a cigarette until he was beside the car, and very quietly smoked it, seemingly waiting for someone. Jia He watched him from beside the window the entire time, seeing those young girls waiting outside all brimming with elation as they pointed and whispered softly amongst themselves, while he seemed oblivious to it all and merely stood there peacefully by himself.
No matter how Jia He looked at it, she felt the sunshine today was truly dazzlingly brilliant…
Two or three minutes later, Wu Zhilun at last strode out. The two men said a couple sentences to each other before they were about to get into the car, but Wu Zhilun unexpectedly looked up for some reason right then and swept a very natural glance at the third floor. Shoot, she was caught peeping. Jia He immediately awkwardly waved her hand in embarrassment and shrank back out of sight.
It was quite some time before she cautiously poked her head out for another look. Only when she confirmed the car had thoroughly driven away did she finally breathe out in relief.
She opened the bedroom door and put on one of the DVDs as she dashed outside to tidy up, washing all of the cups everyone had used just now. The clear and cool stream of water rinsed those translucent glass cups while the bedroom carried the very melodious movie soundtrack. Everything was harmoniously a complete mess.
Once she had wiped everything absolutely sparkling clean, she very satisfactorily took a look around before returning to the bedroom and settling down with a bolster pillow to watch the movie.
As the images on the screen flipped by frame after frame, she watched closely for a full ten minutes yet had no idea what she was even watching. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts as her eyes wandered over the various objects placed around the room… This was still her first time lingering in Yi Wenze’s bedroom. The faint, clean scent of a man was everywhere, and she buried her face into the bolster to take a deep sniff before narrowed her eyes and heaved a very contented sigh through her nose.
Mm-hmm. There wasn’t a trace of a woman’s scent.
Both inside and outside the room were very peaceful. Only the few male leads on the television were noisily yelling and quarreling. Jia He concentrated on watching until the ending credits but discovered her brain was starting to buzz and kept madly clamoring that she was exhausted and dead beat. By the time she slid down limply for the third time on the sofa, she finally struggled over the decision before carefully shutting the door. Very cautiously, she carried the pillow and blankets off the bed and sprawled limply down onto the sofa, completely zonked out as she fell asleep.
In that lengthy, deep slumber, her dreams were all permeated with faint wisps of cigarette smoke.
She did not know how long she had slept before she groggily awoke. Her throat felt a little dry.
As she stretched out an arm, wanting to pull off her blankets to go pour herself a glass of water, when she moved a tiny bit, she abruptly sensed that someone was embracing her. She instantly tensed up stiffly, not daring to budge another inch more. The steady breathing gently puffing against her face already had her wide awake because of the heat. Once she became aware of her current circumstances, her body turned even more fiery hot until soon, she was drenched in sweat.
A very long time seemed to pass before she finally cautiously cracked open her eyes to look at his face, so close it was nearly touching hers.
He appeared to be sleeping very deeply. Dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing, he was lying on top of the blankets and had both arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his embrace. In such proximity, she could clearly see his chin, the tip of his nose, and if she shifted her sight a little higher, his closed eyes. He was just sleeping here so peacefully beside her in such a quiet place… Fortunately, only she had woken up. His eyelashes had not so much as even fluttered this entire time so it truly seemed like he was extremely tired.
The surroundings were actually very dark. She did not know if it was because the hour was now late or he had drawn the window curtains shut.
Jia He did not dare move and hence naturally could not resolve this question, either.
She merely gazed unblinkingly at Yi Wenze, a blaze flickering nonstop in her heart.
You see, they had been together for two weeks and three days already, but she still had not taken the initiative to kiss him herself. As she looked at that beautifully curved corner of his lips, she tried to psyche herself up. In high school, she had admired him too much and used him as the template when picking a boyfriend, decisively missing out on the chance for pure, innocent puppy love in her teens. By the time she was in college, she had finally loosened her criteria, but then she had gotten into a huge fight with Gu Yu because her room had been plastered with posters of Yi Wenze everywhere. And now… she should be allowed to claim back payment of principal plus interest, right?
She continually brainwashed herself. She was his official girlfriend, so what was there to fear?
In the end, she finally started shifting a little. Because she was curled up in his embrace, she could only slowly wriggle herself up bit by bit. Seeing that Yi Wenze did not react at all, she then very satisfactorily wriggled up another smidge more. He truly had a face that was too perfectly contoured. In this type of dim room, it seemed blurred, like the black and white images of an old film. That was precisely the impression he had given since he first became popular, appearing on television, so immaculately clean-cut. His smile had been very polite, clearly deliberately reserved and silent, yet that had been enough to instantly pull her in.
Jia He stared blankly at him for a while before finally screwing up her courage. In a flash, she swiftly pecked the corner of his lips.
Then, holding her breath, she gleefully wriggled back to her original spot.
The hand around her waist seemed to have pressed down more tightly. Still caught up in her excitement, she did not take serious note of this and simply shifted around two times.
“Don’t move,” an extremely soft voice spoke from over her head, velvety but also thick with the heavy sleepiness.
With a thunderous crash through her mind, Jia He was struck dumb.
A very long time passed before, pretending she had just woken from her sleep, she groggily looked up at him. “You’re awake?”
“I’ve been awake for a while,” he said in amusement as he peered at her. “Want to keep going?”
Jia He was thoroughly thrown into chaos now…
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