Chapter 2

◎“I love you”◎

When I had a clue, I called him again: "How about this weekend? Should I go to your house to try and improve our relationship?"

"Okay," he said. "When?"

"This afternoon." I was too busy to talk to you later. Oh, and I bought some small gifts... How did you give me these cigarettes?

He was beaten to death.

I'm so angry!

“I said,” I was finally able to make the call with peace of mind, “prepare some small gifts to please your family. You should know to buy them, right?”

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have no idea."

I sighed softly, "I have no idea what your family likes. Okay, stop dawdling, where are you? Would it be convenient for us to meet?"

“I live very close to the place where we last met.”

Isn't it right downstairs from my house?

She got up and dressed, saying, "I'm coming to find you."

Next to the restaurant where we met last time was a coffee shop. I hadn't really rested well, having stayed up late watching movies and playing games, so I needed a coffee to perk me up. Sipping a hot milk tea, I yawned, "It's so cold I don't want to go out."

Li Yuzhong nodded: "It's not very warm."

I noticed he was dressed very lightly; under his light blue down jacket was a short-sleeved shirt. When I asked, I learned he had just come from the company gym. I couldn't help but feel guilty; I hadn't been working on my physique in a long time, while he, despite not needing to be on camera, was exceptionally disciplined.

"Don't get cold," I said. "Back in high school, it was just a chopstick. Now the pressure at work is even greater. Don't die suddenly."

He said, "I'll be careful. You will too."

I was speechless.

In any case, Li Yuzhong just seems incredibly boring, so I think his wife should be someone warm enough to balance his coldness. At the very least, she can't be a sharp-tongued machine gun like me; that won't do.

Speak less, smile more.

Many, praise, commend.

I wrote it down in my notes.

"A gift," he finally brought up the subject. Thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn't know if he even cared about this deal. He pursed his lips. "I don't necessarily need you to come with me to choose, but my opinion alone doesn't really matter."

"Of course I know."

He's not the kind of person who likes to bother others.

After choosing gifts, Li's mother received a silk shawl, Li's father received a gold-plated lighter, and as for her maternal grandmother, Li Yuzhong said it wasn't necessary; his presence was enough, and giving her a gift would only make her feel distant. I thought about it and realized she had a point; I should listen to the director.

"Have you had lunch yet?" he asked again.

"Me? I haven't even had breakfast yet."

He frowned slightly, a rare occurrence for him. "You didn't even have breakfast, but you managed to get up and play games? Your lifestyle definitely has some issues."

"I don't need to eat; I need to maintain my figure. Although a comeback seems unlikely now, I still need to be on screen eventually, so I can't be too indulgent."

"...I should eat something, though." He looked down at his phone. "There's a good porridge shop near my office, they deliver."

"Corn and pork rib congee," I said.

He said, "Yes, I know."

-

We ate in the car. Actually, I remembered he was a little bit of a germaphobe, but he said he didn't mind, so what could I say? While eating the porridge, it suddenly occurred to me: "By the way, if your family lets me stay the night, could we... share a room?"

These words silenced him.

I think all he wanted was a wife, someone to handle his family's image. He didn't think much about the other details. I also felt I'd been a bit too presumptuous in asking, "You're not good enough, are you?" I took a sip of my porridge, "You, are you capable or not?"

"...Nothing is impossible."

That's right.

I breathed a sigh of relief: "Just relax and think about it more openly, because you're not just a director and a boss, you're also an actor. It's not just me playing your wife, you're playing my husband too." I'd wanted to say this for a while, but you didn't seem to care at all!

He was taken aback. "Not attentive?"

“Yeah, right,” I said, vehemently condemning him, “Didn’t you think about how you’re going to perform? It’s like the exam is tomorrow, and you haven’t even done a single practice test, and your theoretical knowledge is so weak! You can’t even keep up with half a line of my dialogue, you’re going to be overshadowed by me!”

What would happen if you filmed multiple projects at once?

"It just makes your acting seem really bad, not as good as mine."

He calmly said, "You're a professional, a graduate of the Film Academy, with formal training. I'm indeed not as good as you. And it's really hard for me to lie."

"Then you have to learn! Get moving!"

I often say "Get moving!" especially to him. Back in high school, I was the sports representative. He wasn't very fit and really didn't want to run. I'd pat him on the shoulder and say, "Get moving!" He always needed someone to push him a little before he'd do something he didn't want to do.

Well, it seems so.

I know quite a bit about him.

"I'm moving," was all he could say.

Back then, I didn't really think anything of it. We were all somewhere between children and adults; we'd heard of it, but we wouldn't overthink it. Now that he's saying this, I honestly don't know whether I should joke about it or not. But, with Li Yuzhong, well, never mind, it's him anyway.

They also thought I was frivolous.

-

Upon arriving at the Li family home, I was greeted in the main hall and then showered with warm greetings. I wasn't really familiar with Li Yuzhong's mother and father; they had only returned to China in recent years. I was familiar with his maternal grandmother, though—alas, it had been so long since I'd visited her, and the thought of being lectured made my skin crawl.

How could I possibly play the role of Li Yuzhong's wife? Seriously, the old man has been watching me since I was in high school, he practically saw me grow up, and I even lived in his house. Of course, I'm very well-mannered, and I believe professionals should do professional things, so I simply took Li Yuzhong's arm.

"Grandma, it's like this, Yu Zhong and I..."

As I spoke, I tightened my grip on his arm and looked at him sweetly: "After all these years, the most suitable person is by my side, and that's good enough."

I could clearly feel that Li Yuzhong's left arm was constantly tense. Male lead, this isn't good enough; your acting is too stiff. I'm starting to suspect you got in through connections. I thought to myself, "Of course, he's an investor; bringing your own funding to the project gives you an edge."

Fortunately, Li Yuzhong was usually a rigid and taciturn person, so no matter what expression he made, no one would suspect anything. But perhaps because he was lying, the tips of his ears were getting redder and redder. He even had lines: "Me too, all these years."

Grandma laughed.

Amidst the old woman's kind laughter, I could believe that this explanation had convinced her, and also the other elders. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Li Yuzhong felt the same way. He seemed quite satisfied with the lines he had prepared for himself, and nodded slightly.

What followed was a very cliché scene.

We enjoyed tea, chatted, and had dinner. Wandering around the vast mansion, I noticed little change compared to when I visited years ago. Grandma Li took me to my old guest room, where the furnishings were completely untouched and spotless.

etc.

If I were to sigh, "It's still the same place I used to live in."

She might try to persuade me.

"Your room is still available, we just hope you—"

Let's stay here tonight.

I replied without changing my expression, "Okay."

I looked at Li Yuzhong again, but he didn't say anything. I wondered if he should look at me with admiration? After all, I had fully anticipated this extreme situation and had demonstrated superb improvisation skills. Besides, we had already discussed it, and he had no objection to sharing a room.

“Please,” I said. “You’ve been to this room before.”

For a split second, I sensed a change in his eyes, a panicked look, like someone suddenly slipping and limping. What a strange analogy, why did I think that? I continued, "Yeah, back in our senior year of high school, we slept in this bed together, you remember—"

I realized my words were ambiguous, but I was sure he didn't think much of it, because he just gave a short, firm "hmm," and stepped inside. Picking up a Walkman from the table, he turned to me and said, "Your things are still here."

"Ah," I frowned and smiled, "that's something we only used when we didn't have cell phones at school. It's so outdated, it's probably broken by now that it's not charged."

I leaned lazily against the doorframe, my eyes tired and dry from lack of rest; everything except the person in focus looked blurry. He stood at the boundary between clear and blurry light and shadow, his expression unreadable, only his deep voice audible, "It still works."

If he had an expression, it certainly wouldn't be a pleasant one. After all, this Walkman carries some less-than-pleasant memories. Of course, that's from his perspective; from mine, from someone with such a twisted sense of humor, I've almost forgotten how I used to treat him.

Why did he ask me to play his wife?

Actually, I'm a little confused.

real.

He left the table and took off his suit jacket on the sofa. I thought he was hot, but he laid it out flat. Was he going to spend the night on the sofa? Was it really necessary to be so pathetic? But I couldn't invite him to sleep in the bed; he would definitely decline, after all, an act is still an act. Compared to my frivolity, he was the complete opposite.

I admire him quite a bit.

I was also interested in that old, black Walkman, mainly because it wasn't broken; normally, something from that era would be hard to keep in good condition. I walked over to the table and picked it up; surprisingly, it still had battery power and the screen could be turned on. Some audio was paused, so I instinctively tapped to resume playback.

I love you

Hold.

The headphone cable is broken.

The voice of someone else in the room came through the stuttering speaker. I remembered how it got to my Walkman. Once, during an English class, he was reading a passage, and it happened to be this very sentence when it was his turn. Out of mischievousness, I recorded it.

I often teased him about it during that period.

Every time he ignored me, I would put my earphones in his ears and play this sentence. Li Yuzhong would often turn red in the face, looking like he wanted to snatch my Walkman but didn't dare, and besides, he couldn't beat me. At that time, he was still weak and sickly, and not even half as strong as me.

I love you

I love you

That soothing yet somewhat awkward English phrase kept looping, over and over again. I felt like my ears were being tickled repeatedly. Ugh, I was probably going to go crazy with embarrassment. Just as I was about to press stop, a shadow fell on my head, followed by Li Yuzhong's slightly forceful fingertip.

I love...

The instant it broke.

He said, "Li Juntong."