Rong Guang stared blankly at Chu Feiliang’s back as she got out of the car and walked leisurely into the distance. After a long while, she finally nodded and said, “Yes… I know.”
Although Chu Feiliang hadn’t directly said anything to comfort her, just this was enough for Rong Guang.
She stuck her hands in the pockets of her down jacket, lowered her head against the wind, and jogged a couple of steps to catch up to Chu Feiliang’s side. After thinking for a moment, she blinked and said, “Thank you, Sister.”
“What for?” Chu Feiliang smiled, placing a hand on Rong Guang’s shoulder and casually pinching her ear. “It’s what I should do.”
“That girl, Duan Nong, has had a rather solitary personality since she was young. Her family never had time to be with her, so they just kept buying her things. Whatever she wanted, they gave her. No matter how outrageous, as long as she made a fuss, her parents would deliver it to her. Over time, she got used to it.” Chu Feiliang sighed, glanced at Rong Guang, and said, “With a temperament like yours, it’s a wonder you could put up with someone like Duan Nong for four years straight.”
Rong Guang tilted her head and thought for a moment. Unable to hold back, she smiled and said, “What kind of temperament do I have?”
“What kind?” Chu Feiliang raised an eyebrow. “You’re endlessly soft-tempered. Who wouldn’t want to bully you when they see you?”
Rong Guang’s steps faltered. She then rubbed her nose. Had Chu Feiliang developed some kind of misunderstanding about her?
She ran forward another two steps and said in a low voice, “I don’t let people bully me. Although Duan Nong is a bit willful, it’s all just minor squabbles. She wouldn’t dare get serious with me…”
As she spoke, she glanced at Chu Feiliang again, mustered her courage, and brought up the matter of Mao Xiaosong herself. “Just before, cough, you know, didn’t I hit Mao Xiaosong…”
“You hitting him was what you should have done.” Chu Feiliang turned back, saying as if it were a matter of course, “If you’re bullied, you have to fight back, understand? Don’t be a fool and just do whatever people tell you.”
Rong Guang nodded, completely bewildered. Something felt a little off.
How on earth did Chu Feiliang get the impression that she was the type of person who would do whatever anyone told her to?
“What are you standing there dazed for?” Chu Feiliang had walked a few steps before turning back to see Rong Guang still standing there foolishly. She waved her over and said, “It’s cold outside. Let’s go inside and rest.”
Rong Guang quickly answered and followed Chu Feiliang inside.
The scene they were filming in the temple today was the one mentioned the day they first arrived: the ‘999 Heavenly Steps’.
The director’s team had discussed it. When this episode was edited, its title would most likely be this as well. Therefore, as the highlight of the episode and the most exciting content to be cut into the trailer, this scene had to be filmed perfectly.
The makeup artist was inside applying Chu Feiliang’s makeup. They still had to wait for the set and artificial snow outside. They couldn’t make much real snow, as the temperature wasn’t low enough, so they had to use props.
“I wonder if the part of the scene we’re filming today will pass.” A makeup artist rubbed their hands together, warming them by a small space heater nearby. “It’s all deathly close-ups. This foam won’t meet the requirements when it’s on the face. It looks too fake.”
Chu Feiliang kept her eyes closed, letting the makeup artist work on her face. Hearing this, she smiled and said, “If it doesn’t work, we’ll come back and reshoot it. A heavy snow day is a rare opportunity. We’ll see what Director Zhang requires.”
Rong Guang glanced outside, sniffled, and said, “I saw the weather forecast earlier. It said there would be sleet in the next few days.”
Zhang Nanchuan and Sun Yuzhi were willing to spend money on post-production sets, so other things were manageable. The main issue was the snow falling on the actors.
Moreover, this stuff couldn’t be reused; it had to be thrown away after one use. For the past few days, the props team had been discussing buying real snow from the Northeast, but it was uncertain if they could actually get it.
Since Chu Feiliang had spoken, no one else could say anything more. The makeup didn’t take long. Firstly, because there were no special effects prosthetics, and secondly, to emphasize the haggard state of the two characters at this point, the makeup didn’t need to be too refined. The clothes were already prepared, so it was all finished in a short while.
Chacha was having her lessons in the next room. Rong Guang glanced outside and took out her phone to have a look.
There was still no message from Duan Nong. She didn’t know if she was angry or what.
She felt like laughing at herself.
She couldn’t bring herself to hate Duan Nong, but she also couldn’t go back to giving Duan Nong whatever she wanted like before.
But it was a habit of many years. She had practically watched Duan Nong grow up. The image of Duan Nong’s anxiousness from that afternoon was still fresh in her mind, and she was indeed a little worried.
“Such a mother hen…” Rong Guang shook her head, mocking herself. She exited the WeChat interface, temporarily pushing Duan Nong to the back of her mind.
The content on Weibo had undergone another earth-shattering change in the past few days.
The recent news about Jiang Ruyi harming someone had vanished like a puff of smoke, long forgotten by the public. Only a few popular memes from that time were still circulating in the comment sections. The most talked-about point was that Rong Guang had never responded to the incident from beginning to end.
With nothing better to do, Rong Guang opened the comments under her own Weibo post to take a look.
Her Weibo account was managed by the company. She usually logged into a side account with the ID “A hardworking little star.” She typically posted things like backstage schedules and some travel photos she took. Before posting, she would consider it carefully to make sure no one could figure out her secret identity.
There were very few interactions, but it was her own little world where she could do whatever she wanted.
【I am a Liu Mang: Are you kidding me, forcing the victim to respond? Respond to what? To say she’s magnanimous and won’t press charges? And if she says something wrong, are you going to hound her again?】
【Clocking in to get rich every day: Go Guangguang, the light is always here!】
【Guangguang flew to my bed: Go, little sister, you’re the fattest!】
She didn’t have many active fans under her Weibo posts. Her original three million followers had increased by two million because of the last incident, bringing her to over five million. The latest post was still a group photo, used for promoting the farewell concert at the end of December.
Counting the days, it was getting close.
The ‘ding-ding’ sound of the Weibo feed refreshing kept ringing out. Even though Rong Guang had turned the volume very low, Chu Feiliang, who was watching a video beside her, still heard it.
She turned her head, watched Rong Guang slowly scrolling through her feed, and after a moment’s thought, asked, “What are you up to?”
Rong Guang looked up. Her gaze suddenly shifted from her phone to somewhere else. After a moment of confusion, her eyes focused, and she said, “Nothing… Did I disturb you?”
“No.” Chu Feiliang stood up, leaned in close to her, glanced at her screen, and said, “Scrolling through Weibo?”
Rong Guang nodded. “Mhm.”
“What a coincidence.” Chu Feiliang took out her phone, went to her own Weibo profile, opened the search bar, and handed it to Rong Guang, saying, “Here, I happen to be scrolling too. Give me a follow.”
Rong Guang froze.
The search bar on Chu Feiliang’s phone still showed her recent search history. She wasn’t hiding anything, placing it openly in front of her.
But…
Rong Guang hesitated for a moment, looking up at her from her seat. “That might not be possible. My Weibo is managed by the company. I don’t post anything myself; the company handles all the operations…”
Chu Feiliang’s hand froze in mid-air.
Then she thought about it carefully and suddenly said, “So I’ve just been… politely rejected?”
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