Chapter Sixteen
The Alphard pulled up in the Ruixi Terrace garage. Su Xuan had barely touched the ground with one foot when she realized she was still wearing her formal dress. If it really was the collector's item Sister Lin mentioned, then she couldn't afford to lose it. She quickly turned to look at Han Yi sitting in the back seat.
"I've completely forgotten when this dress is due. Can I return it tomorrow morning?"
"The appointment is for tomorrow, so please be careful, Xiaoxian."
Su Xian felt relieved. She nodded, got out of the car, and walked towards the elevator lobby.
As soon as they entered Zhiran's house, Aunt Zhang greeted them, "Thank you for your trouble, Xiaoxian. I shouldn't have bothered you today since you had an event to attend to."
"It's alright, Auntie. Zhi Ran and I are good friends. Now that I know, I have to come." Su Xian glanced at the stairs. "I'll go up first."
Zhi Ran's bedroom was the first room on the second floor. Su Xuan knocked on the door, but there was no response.
"Zhiran, it's me. Can I come in?" Su Xian waited for a while, but there was still no sound. She raised her hand and knocked once, and then she heard the sound of the lock turning and the door opened a crack.
Zhi Ran's somber voice came from under the door, "Who else?"
Zhi Ran's wary look made Su Xian realize what she meant, "Only me."
The door was opened a little wider, and Su Xian squeezed in. Zhi Ran closed the door and locked it from the inside. The bedroom was pitch black, and it seemed that Zhi Ran was in a worse mood than she had imagined.
Su Xian took off her high heels and stepped barefoot onto the wooden floor. "Why aren't the lights on?"
With a "snap," the bedroom ceiling light suddenly turned on. Su Xian squinted and raised her hand to block the light.
"It's because you suddenly came up here. I was afraid my mom would follow me, so I quickly turned off the light."
Su Xian's eyes adjusted to the light, and after taking a few steps into the room, she saw Zhi Ran holding a game controller, sitting on the pink bed where pillows and blankets were scattered everywhere, engrossed in watching TV. There was even an empty cup of instant noodles on the bedside table.
Su Xian closed her eyes silently, realizing that Aunt Zhang's worries were completely unnecessary.
"You look so beautiful today!" Zhi Ran shouted, slamming the controller on the bed. "I'm so angry! I was going to go tonight too."
"Then why didn't you go?"
"It's still not because of my parents, but they actually asked you to act as a go-between." Zhi Ran walked to the sofa, rummaged through her bag, took out her phone, fiddled with it for a few moments, and held it to her ear. "Brother Yuan, my parents are forcing me to go on blind dates!"
Su Xuan's brows twitched when she heard Zhi Ran call Lin Zhiyuan.
"Arranged marriages are not normal! I want free love!"
“I not only spoke up, I also had a fight! What’s even more infuriating is that they’ve now hired people to act as mediators.”
“I can find them too! Brother Yuan, can you help me talk to them?”
"I feel so helpless and alone, please."
Su Xian listened to Zhi Ran finish her phone call as if nothing had happened, and then sat down on the sofa.
"First of all, I'm not here to persuade you. I just heard that you've been on a hunger strike for a day and I'm worried something might happen to you."
"Of course I'm not that stupid. I played games all night last night, and while everyone was sleeping, I sneaked into the kitchen and stole a bowl of instant noodles. I slept until the afternoon."
“I originally wanted to run away from home yesterday, but I didn’t know where I could go. What if I got photographed wandering around outside? So this was the only way. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to stop them from setting me up on blind dates.”
"Is it the Eric you mentioned last time who came back from England?"
"Yes, I've said it so many times that I don't want to go."
"Actually, there's nothing wrong with meeting once to make it look good."
"And you say you're not here to be a lobbyist!" Zhi Ran said angrily. "Let me tell you, this kind of thing gets old after a while, it's so annoying. Every day they tell me, 'People like us definitely need to find someone of equal social standing.' 'You're always doing nothing, you need to find someone who can help you.' I've told them to find a professional manager. I'm only 25, I don't want to get married yet, why are they starting to pressure me so early?"
After Zhi Ran finished her tirade, she angrily crossed her arms. Su Xian looked down at the pattern on the dark green sofa, carefully considering how to persuade her.
What have you been busy with since you returned from France?
"Huh?" Clearly not expecting her to change the subject, Zhi Ran was quite taken aback. "Well, just a few endorsement activities, and then I went to Bali for a trip."
"Didn't see any good scripts?"
"No, Sister Yang always picks idol dramas for me. I want to try something different like you. Sister Yang always promises so readily, but then she doesn't follow through." Zhi Ran pouted. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
“I was just thinking that if my aunt and uncle could see that I was determined to make a career out of this, they might not be so eager to force me to go on blind dates.”
Besides, no matter what, it's still better than just drifting through life like this, Su Xian thought to himself.
Is there a connection?
"Your aunt and uncle just want to give you something to do. Dating, getting married, and having children are all big things, so they're trying to get you moving on. But that's just my guess."
“But I don’t know what I can do, and I don’t want to take over the family business. As for acting, I don’t have much talent for it, and the cold winters and hot summers are unbearable.” Zhi Ran frowned and looked worried.
"What about transitioning to behind-the-scenes work? Becoming a producer gives you a natural advantage. You have financial support from your family, and your company produces several dramas every year. You can work on one or two from start to finish, understand the planning, budgeting, location scouting, team building, and filming execution. This way, when you take charge of management later, you won't be so easily taken advantage of."
"Thinking about those trivial things makes me feel annoyed."
Su Xian sighed inwardly. Perhaps it was really difficult for someone like Zhi Ran, who had been raised in luxury, to endure hardship.
“It is quite troublesome.” Su Xian nodded in agreement. “It would be easier to go on blind dates in an air-conditioned room, get married and have children.”
Zhi Ran glared at her fiercely, and Su Xian couldn't help but smile. "Don't underestimate yourself. You've been acting for several years and have a certain understanding of this industry. You'll get the hang of it quickly."
Zhi Ran pouted and didn't speak, still looking unsure of herself. Su Xuan thought for a moment and continued, "Many difficulties only seem scary. When you truly decide to face them and persevere, you will gradually become stronger, strong enough to overcome them."
"Are you like that too? Growing up little by little to get to where you are now?" Zhang Zhiran asked.
That's certainly true. She didn't have Zhi Ran's family background, so she naturally suffered more. Starting from scratch, she filmed one drama after another, climbing step by step to where she is now.
Su Xian smiled slightly, "I hope that one day, when you look back, you will think to yourself how amazing you were."
Zhi Ran smiled for the first time tonight. "Then she called you and said, 'Xiao Xuan, you'll play the female lead!' right?"
Su Xian smiled knowingly, and like Zhi Ran, leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Looks like we need to make some plans, things are really urgent." As soon as Zhi Ran finished speaking, her stomach rumbled loudly, and Su Xian couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"You're still laughing? I only had a cup of instant noodles this afternoon, of course I'm hungry."
"It's all my own fault," Su Xian shook her head. "Then I'll go down and tell Auntie to have the servants prepare some food. I should be heading back anyway."
"No, Brother Yuan shouldn't have arrived yet."
"That has nothing to do with me," Su Xian subconsciously distanced herself from the issue.
"He can take you home." Zhi Ran leaned closer, staring at her intently, trying to find something amiss on her face. "How far have things progressed between you two?"
"Take care of your own business first." Su Xian stood up to leave, but Zhi Ran stopped her.
"Then play a game with me."
"I won't play this game on you." Su Xian glanced at the TV; the screen was set on a dark, ancient castle, and she didn't know what game it was.
"Let's play something else, the simplest one." Zhi Ran jumped off the sofa and rushed to the TV, squatting down and rummaging through a bunch of DVDs. "This one, this one, a racing one, okay?"
Zhi Ran put the disc into the disc player and handed Su Xuan a handle from the bed, saying, "This is easy, just up, down, left, and right."
Su Xian sat down on the bench at the foot of the bed with a sigh. "Just one game."
Zhi Ran readily agreed, but after one game came another, and then another. After compromising until the third game ended, Su Xuan tossed the controller back to Zhi Ran, who was sitting on the bed.
"Hey, Xiaoxuan, remember to have them get me some food. Also, don't let my mom come up too soon, I need to clean up the mess and hide the cup noodles."
Su Xian waved without turning her head, opened the door, put on her high heels, and walked down the stairs. The conversation on the first floor stopped, and Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, and Lin Zhiyuan in the living room all looked up at her.
Su Xian deliberately avoided that burning gaze, walked over and sat down next to Zhi Ran's mother, and said softly, "Auntie, Zhi Ran is fine, but, well, she's a little hungry."
Aunt Zhang nodded. "I've made some soup. I'll have Sister Lian cook some noodles and bring them up later."
“I just tried to persuade Zhiran, but she still refused. She wants to pursue her career again.”
"Yes, A-Yuan just said it was a little early."
Su Xian looked up and met the gaze of the person opposite her. She quickly looked away.
"It would be a good thing if Zhiran really wanted to work seriously. Her father and I sometimes worry about her when she's just playing around."
It seems the situation is pretty much as she predicted. Su Xian hopes that her words of persuasion just now will have some effect on Zhang Zhiran.
"Yes, Auntie, please give her some more time. I believe she can do it."
"Okay, I'll talk to her father again."
"Then I'll head back now, Auntie."
"I'll ask Sister Lian to cook you something to eat too, since you've been running around so late at night."
"Don't mention it, Auntie. I'm relieved that Zhiran is alright." Su Xian stood up and said goodbye to Uncle Zhang.
Zhi Ran's mother saw her to the door and said, "I'll have the driver take you home."
Just as Su Xian was about to refuse, she heard Lin Zhiyuan's voice from behind her, "Auntie, Uncle, let me see Miss Su off."
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