Chapter 90 Audition: [Actually, what I wanted to say during the day was that our promise to meet at the top still stands.]
Qin Lan returned to her room and started taking notes, which made it late.
I kept thinking after going to bed, and surprisingly, I couldn't fall asleep.
The next day, I couldn't get up no matter what, and by the time I got to the hospital, it was already past eleven o'clock.
As soon as they entered, Yun Chui started coughing up blood. Jiang Yan hurriedly helped him up, while Qin Lan pressed the doorbell repeatedly.
Doctors and nurses rushed in.
Compared to their panic, Song Man was much calmer: "This is the third time this month. You'll get used to it."
Qin Lan hesitated, then could only hold her for a while.
"It's okay, I was prepared." Song Man said nonchalantly, "I'll consider it a bonus for me to have one more day."
Jiang Yan sat down on the other side, and Song Man suddenly collapsed onto them, crying: "It's just seeing her like this...it's so painful. You have no idea, she has edema all over her body, always has chest pain and shortness of breath, and has to restrict her water and salt intake. When she's thirsty, she either rinses her mouth or sucks on ice..."
Qin Lan and Jiang Yan exchanged a glance and patted her back with pity. They both wished they could share Yun Chui's pain, but now they could only wait helplessly outside.
That night, Yun Chui woke up and looked at Qin Lan and Jiang Yan with his eyes: "If you two reunite, you two have to be good to each other..."
Jiang Yan nodded frantically, while Qin Lan was in tears.
"Take care of yourself." Yun Chui gave a weak smile, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at Jiang Yan. "I'm afraid you'll get hurt, and you tend to overthink things..."
Jiang Yan couldn't hold back any longer.
Qin Lan's gaze followed her retreating figure as she pushed open the door, when Song Man poked her and asked, "Why didn't you chase after her?"
Qin Lan hesitated awkwardly, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? A good horse doesn't turn back to eat the grass it already grazed... No, what I mean is... since we've already broken up, shouldn't we stop clinging on..."
Song Man didn't bother to say another word, and looked down at Yun Chui: "Serves you right for losing your wife."
Yun Chui sighed: "Go quickly, she's interested in you."
Qin Lan pushed open the door, hesitated for a moment, and walked towards the fire escape.
Jiang Yan was indeed inside, leaning against the same spot as last time, holding an unlit cigarette in her hand.
Hearing her own footsteps, she slightly raised her head, her silhouette as beautiful as autumn water.
The wet look in her eyes made Qin Lan's heart pound. She walked over and held out her hand: "Give me one."
Jiang Yan slowly took out the cigarette case.
Qin Lan could no longer remain calm and stepped forward to embrace her.
Jiang Yan let her hug her, her hands gently encircling her waist.
"Don't cry," Qin Lan said in a low voice, trying to comfort her. "Things will get better from now on."
Jiang Yan's eyes stung, and tears streamed down her face again.
How much she longed to hear such gentle words; how many times she had waited for Qin Lan to comfort her during her sad moments.
"Try to coax me a little more." She clutched Qin Lan's clothes tightly, feeling wronged. "If you do, I'll give you a reward."
Anna taught her about rewards and punishments as a form of guidance.
Qin Lan was taken aback: "What reward?"
What reward do you want?
I want to kiss you...
Never mind, I'm afraid she'll hate it, so I'll just hug her a little longer.
Jiang Yan nodded slightly. Qin Lan thought for a moment, then gently stroked the back of her head: "I don't have any rare diseases."
Jiang Yan: "?"
Qin Lan: "What I mean is... I should live quite a long time, so you won't have to bury your parents..."
Jiang Yan opened her eyes and then closed them again.
She twitched her lips, but finally let go of Qin Lan: "Fine, you...you should go learn how to speak."
"..."
＊
Qin Lan didn't sleep well again that night. She knew Jiang Yan was also having trouble sleeping because she had liked a friend's post on WeChat Moments at 2 a.m.
Qin Lan missed her terribly. She wanted to go find Jiang Yan right now, hold her, and fall asleep smelling her familiar scent, but that was just a thought. Anna's words made her realize that she really didn't understand Jiang Yan, and that she couldn't stand in Jiang Yan's shoes and feel sorry for her when they argued.
Forcing them together now will only result in mutual destruction.
But she couldn't stand lying there doing nothing, so she picked up her phone and sent her a private message on Weibo.
Qin Lan: [Actually, what I wanted to say during the day was that the promise of meeting at the summit we made last time still stands.]
Jiang Yan replied instantly: [?]
Even if we weren't lovers, it still counts; you've always been my most admired rival.
But I hope that on that day, I can start over with you.
Jiang Yan replied after a long time: 【I believe in Teacher Qin, and I will try my best to be like you】
The first time she met Qin Lan, she knew that this person could accomplish anything he set his mind to. She might fall into a temporary slump, but even if fate no longer favored her, she possessed the powerful strength to rise from the depths of despair.
Qin Lan stared at it for a long time, then couldn't help but laugh for a long time.
She opened her notebook to add the new questions from today's consultation. She needed to study hard, understand what Jiang Yan really wanted, and find a comfortable way for them to get along.
＊
In November, director Xue Wumi stood at the airport: "Chapter One, Back Home!"
Assistant: "What about Chapter Two?"
Xue Wumi gave a wicked smile: "Find those two women for me!"
Assistant: "A threesome is immoral, sis."
Xue Wumi: "Who said I was going to join? Can't I just stand by and watch them have a twosome? As long as they can act out the feeling I want, I'll even warm their bed."
Since Jiang Yan agreed, Xue Wumi was in a great mood and packed his things overnight to prepare to return to China for the audition.
On the day of the audition, the director even took a shower and changed clothes to prepare for this momentous occasion.
Xue Wumi dressed himself up impeccably, and when he entered the room, he saw that the two women were already seated, though a bit far apart. Although neither of them was looking at the other, they seemed like two electrodes, with a force field between them that made it impossible for others to approach.
Xue Wumi was overjoyed; this was exactly the effect she wanted! This ex-boyfriend was just right for her!
Director Xue was increasingly satisfied with the performance and said, "Let me make this clear from the start: although I'm very satisfied with your performances, it doesn't mean the roles are yours. Even if I'm not satisfied halfway through, you two are out of the game. Any questions?"
The two nodded quickly.
I had long heard that Director Xue became increasingly ruthless after the age of forty, and seeing it today, I can confirm it is true.
Xue Wumi glanced around and changed his mind: "I'll give you a scenario, and you two can improvise. Begin."
Qin Lan and Jiang Yan were both caught off guard, as they had prepared according to the original story.
Xue Wumi has already begun her presentation: "Time: One month after the breakup; Location: A bar; Event: Qin Lan walks into the bar and sees his ex, Jiang Yan, sitting inside drinking. Then someone comes over and starts chatting with Jiang Yan. Qin Lan, what would you do…?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Wumi grabbed a thermos and strode in to act as a flirt.
This director walks with a sharp, breezy air, quite different from Yu Jintang's energetic and impulsive style. She gives off a feeling of being sharp and ruthless.
Qin Lan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that there was no need to act. The atmosphere that Director Xue mentioned was already there. They could just raise their heads and that would be the start.
She reached out and made a pushing motion, then looked up, her brow furrowed, and she paused for two seconds.
Jiang Yan couldn't find the thermos, so she started playing with the paper cup instead.
Although she wasn't wearing makeup, she was already quite drunk, her eyes were clearly unfocused, and she was lazily slumped on the table.
Xue Wumi's flirting was conducted with a serious air, like a famous director: "Miss, you look a lot like a star. Would you be interested in trying out my script?"
Jiang Yan turned her head to look for her. At first, she stared at the plate on the table, but after two seconds she focused her gaze on her face.
"...You're the first person to strike up a conversation like this; the lines are quite fresh."
Qin Lan watched this scene with a gloomy expression from not far away. His fists clenched slightly, his breathing rose and fell a few times, and he strode to the bar and knocked hard: "Give me a drink!"
Unable to find any other props, she grabbed a piece of paper, rolled it into a tube to use as a wine glass, sat down, and started drinking, occasionally glancing at the two of them.
Xue Wumi persevered.
Jiang Yan was too drunk, so she only chatted with her casually. They would exchange a few words and then Qin Lan would take a sip of her drink, her eyes burning with jealousy and resentment.
Xue Wumi himself is not good at acting, but he managed to deliver a lewd line with an air of righteous indignation: "You're quite a catch, why don't we go somewhere else and have a proper chat?"
Qin Lan slammed down her wine glass and staggered over, saying, "Get out of the way."
She shoved Xue Wumi aside, stumbled and fell, and leaned against Jiang Yan.
The two gazed at each other silently, their eyes seemingly both drunk and sober.
Qin Lan pursed her lips, wanting to step back, but Jiang Yan suddenly stood up and created distance between them.
"Miss, you've had too much to drink."
She quickly brushed her bangs aside, and a fleeting look of helplessness caught Xue Wumi's eye.
Qin Lan stared at her blankly, his complex gaze falling on her tightly clenched hands and her subconscious retreating steps.
No one spoke again.
The director didn't call "cut," but they were all so engrossed in keeping the scene flowing, the sense of story practically bursting forth.
"Let's stop here," Director Xue interrupted, then fell into deep thought.
The two teachers each took a step back, one turned her head and the other pursed her lips, one clutching her sleeve and the other squeezing the paper cup, their hands flying with activity.
Director Xue glanced thoughtfully between the two of them, and he couldn't help but laugh at the thought of what he was going to say next.
"You guys...didn't break up on purpose just to make this script better, did you?"
"..."
"..."
The two shook their heads, neither willing to speak, looking at her pitifully, as if hoping that Xue Wumi would break the silence first.
Xue Wumi really wanted to laugh, but forced it back and said, "Okay, I saw your performances. To be honest, they're still quite a distance from my standards, but they're high-level among the new generation of actresses. I'd say you're barely acceptable. I guess I should thank you for your relationship, otherwise I wouldn't have used actors I wasn't satisfied with..."
The two were overwhelmed by the internationally renowned director's aura, and managed to maintain their composure as they left, each sharing the good news with their agents.
＊
After all the roles were finalized, the official account of the movie "Star Spy" officially announced the cast list.
The hashtag #QinLanJiangYan'sSecondFilmDate trended on Weibo, with both parties reposting it and then remaining silent.
The next day, when Jiang Yan was at an event, she was surrounded by the media, with microphones almost shoved in her face, who asked her what she thought about working with Qin Lan a second time.
Of course, no celebrity would stop to answer in this situation, so #JiangYanAvoidsAnsweringSecondTime became a trending topic.
What truly upset the CP fans was Qin Lan's solo interview a week later, where the media asked her if she, now 26, had any thoughts about dating. Qin Lan stated frankly that she currently only wants to focus on her career and hopes everyone will pay more attention to her work.
When pressed further about her upcoming projects, Qin Lan listed her work schedule until the year after next, but made no mention of "Star Spy".
After the official announcement, there was no further news. Director Xue Wumi didn't even bother to repost it, and the entire production crew remained eerily quiet.
Qin Jiang's Weibo supertopic is all smiles, but in reality, it's shrouded in gloom.
【上善若水】: Good news, we're teaming up for the second time.
[Contentment Brings Happiness]: Bad news, we broke up.
[Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies]: Won't they feel awkward filming next?
[Lotus Pond Moonlight]: Leopard and Cat will definitely remarry! They made up while filming together!!!
The comments below were all mocking from solo stans.
Filming has started, and it's definitely an awkward production crew situation.
The two lead actors never meet except when they have to stand together, and even when they offer incense, they are separated by five or six people.
When everyone gathered together to get to know each other, the two of them would talk to the people around them separately, and no one dared to put them together.
When the staff came to call for them, they were apprehensive and had to find several sentences to separate the two people's names.
In this incredibly awkward film crew, only Xue Wumi's artistic pursuit was fulfilled: "Haha! Yes! That's the feeling! You two, just maintain this atmosphere, and try to make it even better when we're filming later?"
Qin Lan: "...Yes."
Jiang Yan: "Mm."
Xue Wumi glanced at the two of them.
"It would be better if it got even colder. Jiang Yan, say something harsh to your ex-wife."
Jiang Yan: "......"
Jiang Yan: "...I hate you."
Qin Lan felt a pang of sadness.
Xue Wumi: "Qin Lan, say something to her."
"......"
Qin Lan said dryly, "Are you sick?"
Jiang Yan pursed her lips tightly.
Xue Wumi was completely absorbed in his art, ignoring the troubled expressions of the staff: "Everyone, get in position! Hurry up and stop dawdling! Why isn't the lighting ready yet? And you two, get to your positions! What are you standing there for?"
Her homeroom teacher was kinder than her, her dean of students was less efficient than her, her boss was not as strict as her, and even the film crew's dogs dared not bark when she stood there.
Jiang Yan put down the script, stood up, and walked forward without looking to the side.
In the script, she plays Colonel Lin Nan of our Space Force, who commands a regiment responsible for the defense of the Alpha Planetary Boundary.
Xue Wumi spent a fortune building part of the cabin of her ship, "Star River". Jiang Yan went through the plot in her mind, walked into the warship, and lay down to pretend to sleep.
About two seconds later, a red light appeared inside the Starship, and an alarm sounded.
Jiang Yan suddenly opened her eyes.
Xue Wumi thought to himself that it was good, but there was still room for improvement.
Jiang Yan always felt that Qin Lan was watching her.
She tried to clear her mind and immerse herself in the story.
When the mercenaries' artillery fire came, Colonel Lin was sleeping in her private office.
The colonel opened his eyes, his mind and body receiving the information simultaneously. He quickly sat up, lifted his leg, and strode out.
According to the colonel's preferences, the entire Starship was almost entirely covered with carpet, so that people could walk on it without making a sound.
Lin Nan strode toward the control panel, pressed the silver ring on her index finger and lightly turned her wrist. A virtual holographic screen appeared in front of her, always keeping an arm's length away.
The colonel opened the communicator: "Report the situation."
Her deputy, Yan, said calmly, "Sir, a large number of unidentified flying objects have been discovered outside the star sector. The images have been captured and confirmed to be interstellar mercenaries. They are currently approaching the warning line."
"Estimate the quantity immediately."
"A rough estimate is around 400 aircraft."
This number would be catastrophic for civilians, but for the heavily fortified Rock Federation, it was a piece of cake. Although the colonel found this suicidal harassment strange, he immediately issued the annihilation order: "Use the latest batch of 'Frostfall'."
"Yes!" Yan saluted and went to prepare.
The colonel issued several more orders before he finally had time to tie up his hair, which he hadn't had time to gather.
More than fifty years have passed since the last technological revolution. People no longer worry about hair loss, skin color, or genetic diseases; all basic information is edited when the genes are sent into the incubation chamber. The gene donors, the nominal parents of the human offspring, can make adjustments—for example, I want my offspring to have a high nose bridge, white hair, and grow to be 1.8 meters tall...
Lin Nan's genetic mother, Lin Xing, was very beautiful herself, so there were no special requirements. The only description was that she had black hair with a strand of silver in the middle. This was because her other genetic mother was named Bai Yinhe.
When tied up, it lies flat on top of the head, like the Milky Way in the dark night.
A deathly cold pervaded the pitch-black space. This was the Federation's latest military weapon, named "Frostfall." It could instantly disable the enemy's warp drive, slowing down their movement.
Current jump technology is not yet mature, the jump distance is short, and there are pre- and post-jumps. In addition, with Frostfall locking the jump, the probability of escape is very low.
The enemy became easy targets. The colonel, in high spirits, commanded the entire regiment to divide the battlefield with spatial cutting devices and then bombard them relentlessly, instantly annihilating the vanguard.
"Dispatch our elite fleet to swiftly eliminate the enemy's manpower."
Yan accepted the order and left. The colonel then dispatched two more teams to flank the enemy from the left and right. An hour later, Yan returned with his teams and reported the results to Lin Nan.
"A total of 130 enemy small aircraft were destroyed, more than 40 escaped by warp, 78 prisoners of war were captured, and a number of spoils of war were seized. These included 10 large warships and 30 small aircraft."
Colonel Lin nodded, and another urgent communication suddenly came in.
She answered the call, and the chief of staff on the other end, whose perpetually expressionless face was surprisingly excited, said, "Sir, the code data you provided has been cracked, and the address is in cell number N on Ice Star!"
Lin Nan couldn't help but feel a little excited, unconsciously turning the ring around: "Well done, you—"
The Starship suddenly shook.
Yan also felt the screen flicker, but she didn't know what had happened: "Sir?"
The chief of staff's image became blurry, and he requested a check of the communication quality.
The colonel leaned against the side wall of the cabin and remained silent for a moment.
The communication was instantly disrupted, and the virtual screen in front of Yan turned into a meaningless snowflake.
Panicked, Yan quickly shouted to the scouts, "Locate it, open the Star River's live video feed!"
The investigator typed rapidly on the keyboard. A few seconds later, the screen lit up, and Yan looked up to see that Lin Nan's coordinates were now empty.
Only the cold, dark space.
Lin Nan realized that the mercenaries sent by the other side were not targeting her for harassment or invasion at all, but for her.
The tremor she just experienced resembled a sign of a forced jump. This technology was supposedly newly developed by the Light Wheel Alliance and hadn't been officially deployed in battle yet. She'd only heard about it two days ago; she never expected it would be used on her first.
Lin Nan wondered why he had received such an honor, while trying to contact the military, only to find that he could not send any signal at all.
She walked to the porthole and tapped twice on the bulkhead, turning the entire side of the aircraft into a clear, transparent viewing surface.
Lin Nan looked outwards, but the direction that originally belonged to the Alpha Star Boundary was completely empty.
The platform, port, and tower have all disappeared.
She was transported to a completely unfamiliar star system.
"Warning, warning, black hole detected, black hole detected, spiraling out of control..."
Blood-red exclamation marks flashed wildly on the transparent bulkhead, and the spaceship began to tremble violently, desperately trying to escape in the opposite direction.
Lin Nan's heart tightened, and when she looked back, she saw that the entire universe seemed to have been put on accelerator.
Stars swirled around her, flying past with long trails as the universe darkened, leaving her in absolute darkness.
She trembled, her pupils dilating involuntarily to reflect countless distorted star rings. Matter hurtled towards her, gleaming with a bright blue light, and she felt her body being stretched, the entire Starship emitting an ominous cracking sound. All her past experience was useless now; no teacher had ever taught her how to escape a black hole…
Despite having mastered technologies such as jumps that were unimaginable in the past, humanity is still an infant in the face of black holes.
She didn't know why she and the Star River hadn't been torn to shreds yet. After a moment of stunned silence, she immediately lunged at the control panel, frantically banging on it, trying to send a signal—even a faint radio wave would do. As long as she could tell her superiors what had happened before she died, it would alert our forces...
It was useless. The signal frequency was extremely slow due to the redshift, and the signal from the Alpha Boundary might not reach her current location for several years.
Just as Colonel Lin was at his wit's end, a woman's figure suddenly appeared on the virtual screen in front of him, and a human female voice without any emotion began to read: "Extreme crisis detected. Lin Xing has been awakened."
Lin Nan: "?"
Who was awakened?
Is it her biological mother who sacrificed herself more than ten years ago?
Guangying ignored her completely and took over command of the Starship: "Activate the light speed engine."
"Engine warm-up, shielding system activated, deflection field engaged."
"Preheating complete, start."
"Warning: We are extremely close to the event horizon, and our escape velocity is approaching the speed of light."
"Continue to accelerate, it is expected to reach the speed of light within five seconds. Humans need to be sent into a hydraulic isolation chamber to avoid extreme turbulence."
Colonel Lin's icy expression cracked.
What light-speed engine? What isolation pod? Does her warship even have those things? The most important thing now is to tell her where the isolation pod is. Five seconds left!
A door next to her opened with a snap, a mechanical arm reached out, grabbed her waist, threw her inside, and then the door closed again with a snap.
The spaceship reached the speed of light and successfully escaped the black hole.
————————
"Star Spy" was based on an earlier idea, a story about a reunion with his ex-wife against the backdrop of interstellar war, which I hadn't had time to write. However, "Nemesis" was missing a script at this point, and since Qin Jiang had just broken up, I simply incorporated it into this book. The story is quite complete, and I personally really like science fiction settings. By the way, I recommend my pre-order novel "Cyber Core," a cyberpunk science fiction story [orange heart].
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