Chapter 25
On the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth days after obtaining the certificate, Gu Mengzhu sat by the window looking at the scenery outside. In this kind of weather, there were hardly any flies, and the film crew didn't need anyone. She was extremely bored, so she could only look at the withered gray branches in front of her and hesitate whether she should go out and find a part-time job first, so that she could at least earn a few yuan and not stay in the rented room with nothing to do and feel restless.
But the wind was still blowing, and it was very cold outside. It was the same month, but it was much colder than back home. Afraid of going out in the cold wind, she ran back crying after only a few steps. And in the absence of greenery, just walking on the street was unbearable.
"I told you a long time ago, why did you have to suffer with him? Are you stupid? You can't suffer forever, and you can't enjoy happiness forever, you're idiot!"
Chen Luo was calling her when he heard that she didn't have much work to do, and his temper flared up again.
"Look at you now, you can't even make a little money, let alone a fortune. Pack your things and come back quickly, Fang-jie is still thinking about you. This small town isn't that prosperous yet, you can make money even if you're lucky, but if you keep following this path, you'll end up as a beggar sooner or later!"
"It's not the right time yet."
How much longer do you want to wait?
She drew the character "福" (fortune/blessing) on the window, imagining fireworks and firecrackers exploding before her eyes:
"Let's wait a little longer, let's wait a little longer."
Chen Luo couldn't do anything with her. He asked her if she needed money, and if she didn't, he would ask her for more. She gave him a vague answer and hung up after a few more words.
"Let's go for a walk."
Seeing that she had been staying in the house for the past few days and didn't like to talk, Qi Yaoguang was a little worried and wanted to take her out.
"It's good to go for a walk and get some fresh air. People get suffocated from being like this all day."
She still couldn't muster any energy, staring motionless at the condensed windowpane.
"Alright, here, have something to eat."
"Ha, so generous! Do you have money?"
He put on the thick coat that was spread out next to the chair and checked his phone balance:
"We can't afford a fancy meal, but something like candied hawthorn berries and offal is more than enough."
"According to you, wouldn't I be a tycoon?"
"Alright." (行hang means to go)
He didn't want to waste any more words with her and simply pulled her out the door. In this freezing, snowy place, they should eat something hot, but after searching for a while, they couldn't find any beef offal. So, they had to settle for spicy hot pot, buying two skewers of candied hawthorn from a nearby stall before leaving. With nothing else to do, they strolled around the area near the vertical shop. What came into view were replicas of ancient buildings and alleyways specially made for the film studio. Under the night lights, they didn't seem as artificial as they had during the day. Vendor flags fluttered in the wind, and bright red lanterns swayed silently high above. Pedestrians strolled leisurely below, and the comings and goings even added a touch of atmosphere to the scene.
Gu Mengzhu bit through the coating of the candied hawthorn, forced to chew it little by little. The hawthorn coated in sugar was extremely sour, and she dared not take a big bite to avoid irritating her old teeth. The winter wind rushed out from the narrow alley, flying onto the path they were walking on and whipping up the stray hairs on her forehead. Forced to squint by the messy strands of hair, she had no choice but to use the light of a street lamp to straighten them.
"I heard it's going to snow tonight, let's hurry and take some pictures of the snow scene while the weather is good, it'll save us money."
Really? No wonder it's so cold today.
She rubbed her eyes, imagining a snowy scene—goose-feather snowflakes swirling in the night, turning people's hair and eyebrows white, an old man carrying a fish basket slowly walking through the snow, saying he was going to fish in the river. In the end, he caught neither fish nor birds, so he could only open the gourd hanging from his waist and drink it all in one gulp amidst the cold wind and snow.
"An old man in a straw hat and raincoat, alone in a small boat, fishing in the cold river snow."
In truth, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't picture what snow would look like; she could only find solace in the texts she read in her textbooks. Qi Yaoguang, holding a candied hawthorn for her, chuckled self-deprecatingly as he overheard the others' chatter:
"Everyone else has work, but we don't. What a wonderful world."
She blinked, squeezing out two tears to ease the discomfort in her eyes before opening them again. Looking up, she saw several enormous lamps swaying before her. Countless flying insects swirled with the lights, like stars captured in time-lapse photography, moving erratically like thin threads in the light.
"Why are there so many insects all of a sudden?"
"Xue, you idiot!"
"Snow?!"
Gu Mengzhu rubbed her eyes again, her mouth slightly agape, staring incredulously at the snow scene before her. She stretched out her hand, watching how the glowing nematodes transformed into a snowflake, then drifted gently down to the center of her fingerprint, revealing its six symmetrical ridges, before finally melting into a cool droplet between her fingers. She stared at that finger for a long time, until more nematodes had melted away in her palm, before she could believe it was real snow.
"Where's the goose feather you were promised?"
She tilted her head and looked up, greedily trying to take in the whole world. Her eyes sparkled with surprise, which eventually turned into an endless smile on her lips.
"That snow was made of shredded paper and water; it just looked nice, but it's nowhere near as good as this."
While they were talking, a thin layer of snow had already accumulated on the ground, like icing on a cake, shimmering alluringly. The two walked and ate snacks in the swirling snow, even their breathing becoming somewhat cold.
"Flowers, flowers, only nine dollars and ninety cents, sir, please buy a bouquet."
Qi Yaoguang dodged the bouquet offered to him, shook his head and waved his hand, saying "No," then looked up at the sky and saw a crescent moon hanging silverily in the deep blue night sky. He then pointed upwards with his candied hawthorn:
"Oh, it's the moon."
"So there's a moon even on snowy days. I used to think that you couldn't see the mountains on rainy days, and you couldn't see the moon on snowy nights."
"Otherwise, how could it be called 'romantic love'?"
"Clam?"
He smiled smugly, pointed with a fan in his hand:
"Wind, flowers, snow, moon."
Gu Mengzhu turned her head and looked around, then asked in confusion:
"We have wind, snow, and moon, but where are the flowers?"
"Far away, yet right before my eyes."
His fan was pointing directly at the person in front of him, and his smiling eyes were as bright as cool water under the moonlight, making her heart pound.
What are you doing?
"Hey, flowers don't necessarily have to be real flowers. A person who is more beautiful than a flower is also a flower. Snowflakes flying all over the sky are also flowers. This kind of realm can only be understood and cannot be explained."
"Snap!" Qi Yaoguang opened his fan and fanned himself twice.
"IKEA is currently filming a period drama, and the third act, fourth scene, happens to be called 'Lin Ziqi Meets His Wife on a Snowy Night.' It's a scene of romance and love, a perfect time for lovers to meet. The young master Lin is dressed and attire is in full regalia, while his wife applies makeup before the mirror. The two hold hands and gaze at each other under the shade of willow trees, their love deep and tender, like mandarin ducks playing in the water—"
"Alright, alright, stop! Still talking? Hey, where did you get the fan? Young Master Zhonglin, hmph."
Gu Mengzhu felt a headache coming on and quickly told him to stop. Then she snatched the fan away and frantically fanned him with both hands.
"I thought you only focused on modern dramas, but I never expected you to also be involved in period dramas. It's really an eye-opener."
"Traditional costumes are indeed a bit more troublesome, but they also have their own unique charm."
The stall owner next door, used to the tricks of passersby, patiently watched for a while before finally speaking up:
Hey bro, wanna buy this fan?
"Just playing around, no purchase, sorry."
He quickly straightened the fan and handed it back, patting his chest dramatically:
"Luckily, you didn't use too much force to create a miracle. Otherwise, you would have gone bankrupt sooner or later."
"If you don't have money, don't act tough."
She looked away in disgust, taking a bite of the last candied hawthorn. Qi Yaoguang patted her, then pointed to the sky:
"Look at that crescent moon, how beautiful it is, it's exactly the same as the edge of a jade bracelet."
“A crescent moon?” She held up her thumbnail to show him. “I think it looks similar to this.”
"Ah, you really are, you're hopeless."
He shook his head helplessly and pursed his lips, his voice rising at the end like a high-ranking official in the imperial court, the tone strange and comical. She looked up and glanced at him.
"When I was little, I would walk home with the adults. They would walk in front, and I would walk behind. The night was very deep, and only the pebbled path was brightly lit. I would concentrate on the path under my feet and walk a long way, until I finally noticed that the moon was still there. I thought to myself, 'Oh, the moon is with me, is it going to come home with me?'"
"Then I looked at the moon very quietly and said, 'Bright moon, bright moon, why are you following me?' But the moon didn't answer. I thought it was lazy and didn't want to pay attention to it anymore. Finally, when I got home, I found that it was still following me just before I entered the door. Then I was very happy and felt that I was the most unique child in the world, which is why the bright moon followed me."
Her eyes seemed to still hold the beauty of that time, and she chuckled softly as she thought about it. Qi Yaoguang looked at her and couldn't help but smile faintly as well, feeling that everything before him was too beautiful. A moment later, his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he quickly unlocked it to check. Seeing that he had successfully registered, he didn't even have time to say a word, and with a large hand, he dragged her towards the meeting point.
"what?"
"We've got a job coming up, let's go!"
Gu Mengzhu stumbled along, jogging to catch up. When they finally reached their destination, it was so crowded she almost couldn't find anyone. Suddenly, he turned back, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to stand beside him. More and more people were arriving, snowflakes were still falling, and the large streetlights overhead illuminated the sky. Her heart leaped with joy; she tried to calm herself but was overwhelmed by sheer excitement, as if hope and anticipation were drawing near. Her mood suddenly became cheerful.
A large group of people jostled and pushed each other, creating a chaotic scene. The noise was deafening, and it only quieted down after someone from the team leader arrived. A person who seemed to be in charge glanced at them with his hands behind his back, then whispered something to the team leader. The team leader's previously obsequious smile became even more fawning, his oily face appearing even more slick, but his expression suddenly changed after the person left:
"There's been a last-minute change in the production team, so we don't need so many people anymore."
A slightly shorter man chimed in, his voice booming:
"Did you hear that? There shouldn't be so many people. Everyone, please leave on your own."
No one wanted to move; they were all on tenterhooks, secretly hoping to be chosen. The short man smiled ingratiatingly:
"Look at these people, they can't understand human language."
"Then you go and choose, just pick about twenty people, no more than that."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone craned their necks, eager to show their entire faces. They jostled each other like refugees fighting for food, not caring about anything else in their fight for a job. She was lost in the crowd, pushed and shoved, struggling to find her balance, but luckily Qi Yaoguang reacted quickly and pulled her back.
Around the 20th?
Gu Mengzhu looked around and her heart sank. There were at least fifty or sixty people gathered here, not to mention that she was small. There were more female extras than male extras, so she definitely wouldn't get a turn.
Suddenly, three or five people came out from the team leader's group and began to scrutinize the crowd of people struggling to make a living below. Compared to actors, they were more like pieces of fat on a chopping board, to be picked over and priced differently. She had never had a deep understanding of the word "commodity" until today, when she clearly understood what it felt like to be treated as commodity—in this dark night, under the gaze of everyone, in this crowded space, losing her self-respect little by little, and finally becoming a pig.
As if sensing her displeasure, Qi Yaoguang squeezed her hand, and she raised her head and forced a smile. The person selecting people came over, easily ignoring her, and then stopped in front of Qi Yaoguang:
"You're tall and have a good appearance. There aren't many men here, so go line up over there."
Gu Mengzhu was happy for him that he was chosen so easily; after all these days, he had finally made some money.
"We don't allow cell phones on set. You have to keep your own cell phones safe. We're not responsible if they get stolen."
Another loud voice rang out, followed by Qi Yaoguang running over and shoving the phone into her hand:
"Let's go back first, it's cold and you don't want to catch a cold."
She nodded, put her phone back in her pocket, and turned to walk back towards the rented room. (The entire storyline is fictional and completely made up; please do not take it seriously.)
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