Chapter 86
Inside the studio, the lights were blazing. Su Rui was adjusting the camera settings, preparing to take a set of makeup photos for Shen Qingyuan. However, his movements were slower than usual, his eyes occasionally drifting to his phone, a faint, lingering melancholy veiled between his brows. For several days, ever since the birthday argument and the seemingly reconciled yet still awkward conversation, he had been feeling uneasy.
"Teacher Su?" Shen Qingyuan's gentle voice sounded. Su Rui snapped back to reality. "Ah? Sorry, what's wrong?" Shen Qingyuan had already finished the previous pose and was patiently waiting for his instructions for the next one. He looked at Su Rui with a hint of concern in his eyes. "Are you okay? I've noticed you seem... easily tired and absent-minded lately." His observation was meticulous, and his tone was just right, not to offend.
Su Rui subconsciously forced a smile to cover it up: "No, maybe I just haven't rested well lately." Shen Qingyuan nodded and didn't immediately ask any further questions. The filming continued.
When the shoot was finished and the assistant and makeup artist left for a while to adjust, Shen Qingyuan took the water from Su Rui, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke. He lowered his voice to make sure only the two of them could hear:
"Su Rui, perhaps my question is a bit abrupt... You haven't been in a good state recently. Is it... related to your relationship?" He paused, looking at Su Rui with a calm but profound gaze, as if he had made up his mind. He added softly, "Is it related to Ling Yao...?"
With a loud bang, Su Rui's mind went blank. Blood seemed to rush to his head and then quickly drain away, his face turning pale. He suddenly looked up at Shen Qingyuan, his eyes filled with incredible shock and panic. His lips parted, but he couldn't utter a word.
His reaction was almost tantamount to acquiescence.
Shen Qingyuan watched him momentarily panic. A flicker of understanding flashed across his eyes, then transformed into a deeper gentleness and... a subtle, complex emotion. He sighed softly, his tone apologetic. "Sorry, I might have startled you. I...actually, saw it by accident. One time, when your phone screen lit up, I saw your wallpaper... It was a private photo of his profile, and it didn't look like public material."
Su Rui had secretly taken a photo of Ling Yao while he was asleep. Because of the intimate angle and gentle lighting, he had always set it as his personal screensaver, never expecting it to be seen by anyone else.
The secret was exposed unexpectedly, and Su Rui seemed to have lost all his strength. He subconsciously lowered his head, his fingers tightly gripping the camera strap, his nails digging into his palm. He couldn't deny it, nor could he admit it. A huge panic and a strange sense of powerlessness after being seen through swept over him.
Seeing him like this, Shen Qingyuan was silent for a moment. He didn't ask for details, nor did he show any judgment. He just said with a calm tone that seemed to have experienced many ups and downs, "Being in a relationship with an artist...especially one in his position, must be very difficult, right?"
Su Rui still lowered her head, her shoulders slightly tense.
Shen Qingyuan's voice was gentle, carrying the understanding of someone who'd been through it all (though his specific experiences were unknown). "You have to face a lot of pressures that the outside world can't imagine. You're together less and more apart, your privacy is infinitely compressed, and your partner's schedule always comes first... The emotional drain is enormous." He paused, his tone becoming more earnest. "When two people are together, communication and understanding are indeed very important."
Then, he changed the subject, his gaze falling on Su Rui's still tightly clenched hands. His voice, though soft, carried a firm strength: "But, Su Rui, no matter what, I hope you can remember that the most important thing is to put your own mood and feelings first. Don't always exhaust yourself in waiting and compromising. A healthy relationship shouldn't make you constantly tired and uneasy."
These words, like a gentle yet sharp light, unexpectedly shone into the emotional quagmire that Su Rui had been trying to conceal and ignore. No one had ever said this to him. In Ling Yao's world, it seemed that Ling Yao's needs and pressures always came first, and he habitually understood, adapted, and waited.
Shen Qingyuan didn't say anything more, but simply patted his shoulder gently, as if to comfort him like a friend: "Get yourself in shape, the next shoot is very important."
He turned and walked towards the dressing table, giving Su Rui some space to digest.
Su Rui stood there alone, her heart still pounding, and Shen Qingyuan's words echoed in her ears - the direct point of view of "falling in love with an artist", and the last reminder of "putting your own feelings first".
He had been living on a secret island with only him and Ling Yao. But at this moment, an outsider suddenly discovered the island and pointed out the unhealthy ecology on the island, which he had long been accustomed to, from a completely different perspective.
A faint feeling of being understood is intertwined with the mood at the moment.
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