Rong Guang hadn’t eaten, so naturally, Chu Feiliang hadn’t eaten much all day either. They were both waiting on set and couldn’t leave.
Moreover, she had heard Wang Lujie mention more than once that Chu Feiliang’s appetite had been poor recently.
Even though it was already autumn, a season when one’s appetite should be better, Chu Feiliang couldn’t even stomach plain fish or chicken breast, let alone anything with strong flavors, aside from some vegetables and salad.
Thus, Rong Guang was quite worried about Chu Feiliang’s health.
“Is Teacher Chu’s stomach problem acting up?” she asked in a low voice.
Wang Lujie paused, a flicker of unnaturalness crossing her face before she smiled and said, “Yes, it’s an old problem, superficial gastritis… It’s a chronic illness. The doctor said it’s best not to eat anything too stimulating, so she’s been recuperating recently. See, the dishes we ordered are all healthy.”
Chu Feiliang’s usual four dishes typically consisted of two vegetable dishes, one soup, and a fruit for after the meal.
Tonight’s congee was a thoroughly cooked millet congee, its fragrance filling the air. It was something especially good for the stomach.
Rong Guang nodded and urged, “You have to take your medicine on time.”
Chu Feiliang had stomach problems in her past life, and it was already quite serious back then. She just hadn’t expected it to have started so long ago, eight years before the present day.
If superficial gastritis was properly managed, it could be restored to a normal state.
The process of dealing with the things on Chu Feiliang’s head was much faster than Rong Guang had imagined.
Because it was all glue, the valuable props like hairpins had to be saved, but the hair buns and wigs were disposable and could be thrown away entirely.
After the makeup artist arrived, she directly removed the entire hairpiece from her head. They would take the remaining items back to sort through slowly, as long as it didn’t delay their normal use for the next scene that required these props.
Freed from nearly ten pounds of weight, Chu Feiliang finally left the restroom. Sitting on her little stool, she smiled and said, “Do you all usually like sitting so low?”
Rong Guang nodded and said, “It feels more comfortable to eat when you’re lower… The sofa is too high, you can’t reach the food, and you end up leaning almost entirely over the table.”
Hearing this, Chu Feiliang nodded, glanced at her long legs with nowhere to go, and said with an air of great authority, “Indeed, it’s quite comfortable.”
When sitting on the floor, you could lean your back directly against the sofa while still being able to reach the dishes… The posture might not be the most elegant, but it was truly comfortable.
The food on the table was arranged neatly, a mix of red and green, looking exceptionally delicious under the room’s lighting.
Chu Feiliang noticed a small table lamp placed at the corner of the table, adding a touch of warmth to the atmosphere.
“The table is set quite nicely,” she said, propping her chin on her hand and looking at Wang Lujie.
Wang Lujie was quick on the uptake and smiled, saying, “This wasn’t my doing—Teacher Rong did it herself. She said a clean and tidy table gives people a better appetite.”
“Mhm,” Rong Guang nodded and said softly, “At home, we have to wait for all the dishes to be ready and set on the table before we can eat.”
“Nice.” Chu Feiliang nodded and picked up her chopsticks. “It’s giving me an appetite too.”
They finished all the food. For once, Chu Feiliang ate quite a lot. Just as she had said, her appetite seemed to be very good, and she finished her entire portion.
As the group was resting after their meal, Rong Guang’s phone rang.
Chacha glanced at it, wiped her greasy mouth, let out a burp, and said, “Sister Guangguang, it’s that pretty sister.”
Chacha was quick to change her form of address—helping Rong Guang meant the person wasn’t bad, just a “pretty sister.”
Rong Guang frowned, looked at the video call notification on her phone, thought for a moment, and then said to Chu Feiliang, “Teacher Chu, I’m going to take a call.”
“Go ahead.” Chu Feiliang waved her hand. “I’ll rest here for a bit then leave. You take your call, don’t mind me.”
Rong Guang asked Chacha to help clear the trash from the table, while she herself walked back to her room and answered the video call from Duan Nong.
As soon as the call connected, she was hit with a barrage of questions. “What’s wrong with you? Why did it take you so long to answer?”
Rong Guang paused, glanced at the door, and said, “I was just eating.”
“Oh,” Duan Nong replied, a hint of smugness on her face. “Did you hear about this afternoon’s matter? Let me tell you, don’t worry about that Jiang Ruyi thing anymore. I can find people to sort it out for you…”
Rong Guang listened quietly.
Duan Nong talked on her own for a while, then frowned and said, “What’s with that expression? I helped you, and you’re still unhappy?”
Rong Guang came back to her senses and said, “No.”
“Then what do you mean?” Duan Nong frowned. “I’ve been blabbering on for so long, and you don’t even give me a reaction?”
“Nongnong, I have something to ask you,” Rong Guang said, moving to sit on a chair on the balcony. Squinting against the moonlight and the occasional evening breeze, she said, “Those seniors you found, I’ve never worked with many of them—how did you contact them and get them to speak up for me?”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” Duan Nong frowned. “The point is, I solved it.”
“Nongnong.” Rong Guang rubbed her temples, feeling a bit helpless. “I know you mean well, but what you did isn’t really appropriate. The impact on you is too negative, not to mention your family…”
Duan Nong muttered a curse on the other end.
Rong Guang was taken aback, her sentence cut off by Duan Nong. She frowned.
Duan Nong’s face turned cold. “I helped you, and now you’re going to lecture me, is that it?”
“I’m not lecturing you,” Rong Guang said seriously. “I just think you were a bit reckless and wanted to talk to you about this…”
“Alright, stop with the useless talk.” Duan Nong scoffed. Just as she was about to say more, there was a knock on Rong Guang’s door.
Both of them fell silent.
Rong Guang turned her head and saw Chu Feiliang standing at the door. After knocking, she came in and said, “I’m not interrupting, am I?”
Rong Guang shook her head, put her phone down, and said, “No. You…?”
Duan Nong noticed that Rong Guang had put the phone down, paused, and then shouted into the phone, “Who are you talking to? What are you doing up so late instead of sleeping in your room? Rong Guang? Rong Guang?”
A cold sweat broke out on Rong Guang’s face. She picked up the phone and quickly said, “Nongnong, I have something going on here. I’ll call you back later.”
After that, Rong Guang looked up and said, “Sister, what’s up?”
“Nothing much.” Chu Feiliang lifted her chin. “Busy?”
“Not really…” Rong Guang’s phone kept vibrating. She didn’t need to guess to know it was a constant stream of messages from Duan Nong that almost never stopped.
She was a bit embarrassed, so she temporarily silenced her phone and put it back in her pocket.
“I just came to tell you I’m heading upstairs,” Chu Feiliang said with a smile.
Before leaving, she gently patted Rong Guang’s head and said with a smile, “The food was delicious. I heard from Chacha that you can cook?”
“I can.” Rong Guang took the opportunity to walk her to the elevator. “I can make common home-style dishes. My grandma is from the south and likes fish, but my grandpa is from the north, so I know a little bit of everything. But for more difficult things, I need a recipe.”
“Mhm.” While waiting for the elevator, Chu Feiliang glanced at the floor indicator and said, “From the sound of it, I’ll have to try your cooking someday.”
“If I have the chance, I’ll definitely cook for you!” Rong Guang’s eyes lit up.
Chu Feiliang had loved her cooking in her past life, which was one of the reasons Rong Guang enjoyed cooking so much.
And she also knew a little secret.
In past interviews, Chu Feiliang had always said she didn’t like to eat crayfish or fish… but in reality, she loved them in private.
This “in private” meant only with her own people, in a place completely free of staff and cameras.
For example, at her home, or at Chu Feiliang’s own home.
Every time she cooked, Chu Feiliang would eat a lot. Sometimes she would get tired from eating, take a break, and then continue, always managing to finish everything.
But it was too early to say this now, and mentioning making crayfish would be a bit presumptuous, so Rong Guang only tentatively brought up fish.
“Fish, huh?” Chu Feiliang looked at her for a couple of seconds, thought for a moment, and said, “I don’t really eat it.”
“You can eat catfish,” Rong Guang said seriously. “Catfish has very few bones. The meat is especially tender and rich, and you can just pick up the skeleton and find the meat on it.”
After saying that, Rong Guang added, “Chacha’s favorite is the grilled catfish I make for her.”
Chu Feiliang nodded. “Hearing you say that, I’ll definitely have to try it.”
The elevator happened to arrive, and Chu Feiliang and Wang Lujie stepped inside.
Rong Guang stood outside the door, nodded vigorously, and added, “You’ll definitely like it.”
Inside the elevator, Chu Feiliang turned around, smiled, and gave a soft “mhm.”
After returning to the room, Chacha ran over to Rong Guang, holding Rong Guang’s phone.
Chacha’s face was dark as she said, “Sister Guangguang, the grumpy sister looks like she’s about to explode—your phone is so hot, it’s about to crash from all the messages…”
Rong Guang helplessly took the phone. The moment it was in her hand, the battery died and it automatically shut down.
She went to find a charger. Chacha had already finished clearing the table and was following her like a little tail.
Watching Rong Guang’s actions, Chacha sighed and said, “Why is this sister like a little kid—no, that’s not right, she’s more childish than a kid. I told her you were working right now, but she wouldn’t listen and insisted on getting an explanation from you.” At this point, Chacha pouted and said, “She even scolded me, saying I stick to you and can’t do anything right.”
“There, there, Chacha, you’re doing great.” Rong Guang frowned upon hearing the last sentence and said, “If she messages again in the future, you don’t have to reply. When she starts bombarding you, just bring the phone to me. If you can’t find me… just pretend you didn’t see it, silence it, and put it aside.”
“Okay.” Chacha nodded and couldn’t help but sigh, counting on her fingers. “Sister Chu is so much better. She buys me snacks, helps me with my homework, has Sister Lulu play with me when she’s free, and introduces me to the other big brothers and sisters on the crew…”
Rong Guang was taken aback. She looked at Chacha and suddenly felt a warmth spread through her heart.
“Did you thank Sister Lulu and Sister Chu?” Rong Guang asked.
“I did.” Chacha’s eyes lit up. “They don’t charge me for pinching my cheeks, and I run errands for them—none of the pretty sisters on the crew charged for cheek-pinching. Later, when they asked me to run errands, they even paid me a fee. The handsome brothers gave me a fifty percent discount, charging two coins for a cheek-pinch, and I can owe them until it reaches ten and pay it all at once. That way, we’ll have money to rent the little four-wheeler!”
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