[Mrs. Zhou, is Rui Rui with you? If so, could you have him reply to my message?]
I miss him so much.
...
He Muchen sent many messages to Zhou Rui's mother. Zhou Rui's mother looked at He Muchen's messages with heartache in her eyes.
"Honey, send him a message, even just one," Zhou Rui's mother whispered in his ear.
Zhou Rui turned on his phone, which kept ringing with dozens of missed calls and text messages.
He read through the messages one by one, his fingertip lingering on the one that read: "Wife, do you not want me anymore?"
Tears streamed down my face and onto the phone screen, wetting the text message.
He replied tremblingly: Yes, I don't want you anymore, He Muchen, let's break up!
He Muchen slumped in the car. When he saw his phone ring, it was Zhou Rui replying to his message, but every word pierced his heart.
He suppressed his heartache and called Zhou Rui back, but the answer on the other end was still: "The number you dialed is currently switched off. Please try again later."
He Muchen tried to send him a text message, but a red exclamation mark popped up on the screen that no one wanted to see.
He deleted him, then gave him Liu Qi's phone and used it to call Zhou Rui.
"Hello..."
Upon hearing Zhou Rui's voice, He Muchen found himself unable to utter a single word of the thousand words he wanted to say.
"Hello..."
He Muchen said in a low voice, "Wife, do you really not want me anymore?"
When he said those words, time seemed to stand still, and only the two of them remained.
...
Zhou Rui pinched his trembling hands, trying hard not to speak to him with a sob in his voice.
"Um..."
The single word "hmm" shattered He Muchen's heart in two; it was the first time he had ever hated that word.
Zhou Rui hung up the phone; he chose to escape, not wanting to say anything more that would hurt He Muchen.
He Muchen was unwilling to give up, so he rushed back overnight and didn't arrive at Zhou Rui's house until noon the next day. He rang Zhou Rui's doorbell and kept calling Zhou Rui's name at the door.
He Muchen had seriously disturbed the neighbors' afternoon nap. The neighbors came out and told him that his family had left early in the morning with several suitcases.
The neighbors told He Muchen that they were going on a long trip and asked him not to call out anymore.
*
He Muchen stopped going to the film set to shoot and stayed in his apartment room every day, holding the pajamas that Zhou Rui had left in his room.
Hongjie came to call him, but he ignored her and just closed his eyes to sleep while hugging a piece of clothing.
"Mu Chen, I've already asked the crew for a few days off for you. You'll be back to filming for me the day after tomorrow."
He Muchen ignored her, turned around, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
"What do you mean by this? Are you planning to breach the contract and not participate in the filming?"
"If you don't want to stay in the entertainment industry, just tell me so I can be prepared."
Standing to the side, He Zitong patted her manager, Sister Hong, on the back and said, "Let me handle this. Sister Hong, you go ahead and get busy."
The agent, Sister Hong, turned and left helplessly.
"Brother, what exactly do you want? You haven't eaten or drunk anything for two days. Are you trying to starve yourself to death?"
Seeing that He Muchen was still ignoring her, He Zitong took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Are you thinking about Zhou Rui, her husband who died?"
"If that's the case, then you should just stop eating and drinking and starve to death, so they can find someone else to look for you."
Upon hearing this, He Muchen immediately sat up in bed, dejectedly asking, "Sis, where's my wife?"
"Please help me find my wife."
He Zitong brought the porridge from the bedside to him, saying, "Eat your fill, then go find some yourself."
Looking at the white porridge in He Zitong's hand, He Muchen thought of the white porridge that Zhou Rui had bought for him.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and finish eating, cheer up, and figure out a way to get your wife back."
He Muchen took the porridge and finished it with tears in his eyes.
"Sister, he said he doesn't want me anymore."
"When have you ever been so obedient? He said he didn't want you anymore, so you just listened and let him go?" He Zitong said helplessly.
He Muchen sneered, "Yes, when have I ever been obedient?"
He Muchen got up, took his change of clothes, and went to the bathroom to wash away his fatigue.
*
He Muchen kept going to film sets to numb himself with work, and didn't stop to inquire about Zhou Rui's whereabouts.
Every night, He Muchen would send Zhou Rui a message on her phone: "Wife, I miss you."
He believed that Zhou Rui would add him back one day. He stared blankly at the red exclamation mark on his phone's chat interface.
He will post on Weibo on Zhou Rui's birthday: I miss you, happy birthday.
Fans commented below: "Brother, isn't your wife here?"
Ahhh... I'm so lucky! My sister-in-law and I share the same birthday!
The top trending topic was He Muchen's name, which brought tears to Zhou Rui's eyes. He held his phone and muttered softly: I'm sorry... I miss you so much too.
*
Zhou Rui had been quietly watching He Muchen for two years, and He Muchen became a highly sought-after movie star, with his posters appearing everywhere overseas.
Late at night, he stood at the bus stop, touching his poster, smiling as tears streamed down his face.
A tissue was suddenly handed to him, and a gentle voice reached his ears, "Wipe your hands, do you like He Muchen?"
Zhou Rui turned to look at the person who spoke gently. He stood there with a slender and tall figure, his peach blossom eyes smiling at him.
Zhou Rui took the tissue and wiped away the tears on his face.
"Are there enough tissues?"
Zhou Rui smiled awkwardly, "That's enough, thank you."
"May I ask you, why did you cry when you looked at his poster?"
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