Chapter 37
Another day's workday is over. Gu Mengzhu glanced at the time and realized it was still early. She hesitated at the door, wondering whether to wait for someone to finish work. Although it was supposed to end early, it was already dark, and the streetlights were only dimly lit. A cold wind made her hunch her shoulders and pull her clothes tighter around herself.
It's already spring, so why is it still so cold?
A person came rushing towards her on the road. She looked closely in the dim light and realized it was Shi Gang. He was carrying a bag of bones and waving excitedly at her. She had a feeling he wasn't there to see her, and even more so, that he had poor eyesight. Sure enough, Shi Gang ran up to her excitedly, but when he saw her face clearly, his smile vanished instantly.
"It's you, hahaha, I thought it was—"
"Are you disgusted with me?"
He scratched his face in a panic, and began to stammer:
"No, no, that's not true! How could that be?"
I noticed you looked upset!
"It's a bit of an accident that I mistook you for someone else! You and Xiaozhi are about the same height, and it was getting dark, so I mistook you for someone else."
"I'm going to tell Xiaozhi on you."
"No, sis!" he exclaimed suddenly. "I'll share some of the bone with you, okay?"
Gu Mengzhu took her hand out of her pocket, crossed her arms, and squinted at him:
"Heh heh, so you weren't thinking about me at all."
"Oh, sis, don't be so upset, you'll get your share! Where's Xiaozhi? Isn't she with you?"
"We're not even in the same production crew, so how come we're together?"
"oh."
Shi Gang, head drooping, threw the bone on the ground and waited with her at the door for someone. Soon, a film crew finished work, and a large group of people emerged from the doorway. More and more people gathered, and they had to sidestep to avoid them. Then, as if he had found someone, he excitedly patted her on the shoulder:
"See that? It's Xiaozhi!"
She rubbed her sore spot and looked up, wondering if this person was treating her like she wasn't human, hence the force. He continued to shout for her to look, and Gu Mengzhu tiptoed and searched, looking in every corner, but all she could see were heads huddled together like crows, indistinguishable from one another.
Where?
"There it is! Isn't it there!"
She observed his excitement and finally, following his directions, she spotted the familiar face. Seeing the little girl waving happily at them and walking step by step through the crowd, she couldn't help but smile and utter a word in English:
When you meet the right girl, no matter where she is, she will shine in the middle of the crowd. Just for you.
Shi Gang turned around, looking at her with a puzzled expression, and asked:
"What were you just babbling about?"
Her eyes darted around a couple of times, and she answered with a pursed mouth:
"Bird language".
"Wow, that's amazing! You even know about birds!"
Gu Mengzhu gave an awkward laugh, speechless, and then fell silent.
"Sis!" Xu Zhilu jumped in front of her, grinning at her, but her smile faded when she saw the person next to her. "Uh, Brother Gang."
He didn't understand, but responded enthusiastically with an "Eh," and then quickly picked up the bone from the ground and handed it over.
"what?"
"bone!"
"Why are you giving it to me?"
She became wary, frowned, and involuntarily took two steps back.
"I'm not telling you, I can't cook. You cook it for me, and we'll each have half."
"Then why are you looking for Brother Lu? Why are you looking for me?"
"Brother Lu isn't here; he doesn't have time."
The little girl became even more unhappy after hearing this and started arguing back:
"I don't have time either. Do you think I'm free?"
He weighed the bag in his hand, lowered his head, and replied sullenly:
"Then I'll take the receipt and get a refund."
"Hey! I'll help you."
Oh, that's a good strategy of retreating to advance.
Gu Mengzhu narrowed her eyes and quickly interjected:
"Don't forget to call me when the time comes! Everyone who sees it gets a share!"
"I can't forget you, you're definitely in it!"
The two of them walked away with the bones, leaving her alone, still looking around. A short while later, Qi Yaoguang came out and patted her shoulder twice to bring her back to her senses.
When did you arrive?
"just."
"oh."
The two walked together toward the rented room. She lowered her head, kicked at a pebble under her feet, and said:
How was today's performance?
"It's alright, you have a few lines. How about you?"
"As always, I'm just a background figure. At least I don't have to wear makeup or wear other people's smelly clothes and shoes."
He looked up at the horizon; the enormous moon was rising towards the treetops, and the clouds cast a soft glow, creating a serene scene. His heart seemed to soften in the gentle moonlight, and he made several promises to her:
I'll buy you a new one in a while.
Gu Mengzhu looked at him in surprise:
Where did you get your money from?
"secret."
Secrets, secrets, so many secrets.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, she didn't press him further, and as she kicked a pebble, she remembered something:
"Let me tell you, at lunchtime, I ran into a cat in the hallway. It's that fat orange cat that always comes up to us begging for food. It was in a good mood at first, and it even let me touch its belly, but then it bit me not long after. That cat bit me! It's so strange, it let me touch it, and it even lay down and rolled around."
She likes cats but doesn't understand them. We can play together happily, but then she turns her back on me.
"Bite you? Did you bleed?"
Qi Yaoguang pulled her under the streetlight, grabbed her hands, and looked at them repeatedly in the light.
"No, it just bit me very lightly. I was afraid it would bite harder, so I quickly pulled away."
He tossed his hand away and gave a curt "Oh" without saying a word.
"what?"
"That cat really likes you, it likes you to death, so it bites you. It's the same principle as a person's anti-addiction system."
He didn't look at her at all when he said this, as if he were talking to someone else.
"Oh~" She made an "O" shape with her mouth, her joy barely concealed. "It likes me, it likes me! I've never seen it bite you. Oh, so it doesn't like you. Hahaha, it likes me!"
Overjoyed, Gu Mengzhu covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes almost squinting into slits with laughter. He didn't reply, but quickly moved away. She made faces on the spot, muttered "stingy guy" a couple of times to vent her anger, and then jogged after him.
The next morning, Qi Yaoguang left home. Since there were no openings and she didn't have to go back to work, she slept fitfully in bed, enjoying the warmth of the room and the creaking of the wind against the window. But her sleep was intermittent, waking up every now and then. Suddenly, her phone screen lit up, and Gu Mengzhu slightly opened her eyes to glance at the group messages.
There's work to do! And extra pay!
Seeing only these two key pieces of information, she immediately signed up in the group chat, then jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to wash up. There was still some time before the meeting, and she could have dozed off a little longer, but once the sleepiness wore off, the blankets felt like they were infested with bugs, and she shifted around, unwilling to lie down any longer.
Because of the extra pay, she even went out for breakfast as a reward for herself. While waiting for her food, the group leader kept sending the same message, even pinning it with three exclamation marks. She assumed it was because the recruitment was sudden and they couldn't find enough people, so she simply turned off her phone and didn't check it again. Once she arrived at her destination, she found a corner to hide in, but unexpectedly overheard people discussing:
"Nobody wants to get soaked in the rain right now. One day of work isn't even enough to cover medical expenses!"
She then realized what was happening and hurriedly opened her phone to carefully read through the messages in the group chat.
It turns out they were filming a scene of storming the execution ground, which meant kneeling in the rain. No wonder they charged so much extra.
Although the coldest days had passed, the strong winds and chilly weather made Gu Mengzhu hesitate for a long time before finally telling the group leader that she was quitting.
"Are you crazy? The requirements in the group chat are clearly stated: you have to get rained on!"
"But it was too cold, and I didn't look closely."
She lowered her head, too ashamed to look him in the eye.
"Then what are you doing here? Didn't you see what you signed up for? I already said it in the group chat, emphasized it three times: you have to get rained on! Now look what's happened, the crew has started filming and the equipment is set up, and you're telling me you're quitting? Are you here to cause trouble? You're just wasting everyone's time! Do you know how many people are waiting? You just quit like that!"
The group leader spoke extremely loudly, leaving her speechless. Many people were looking at them. The group leader continued to berate them while frantically searching the group for a replacement. Gu Mengzhu thought it over and over, realizing it was indeed her fault, and finally spoke up:
"Maybe I should continue."
He put down his phone, met her eyes, and, whether out of anger or amusement, chuckled on the spot. He then pointed the phone at her and said:
"Have you thought this through? Don't go back on your word again. Once the makeup is done, I don't care about any of your excuses. If we start filming, I'll tie you up and take you to the execution ground."
"I know, I'll continue, I'm not leaving."
She took off her clothes and changed into a dirty prison uniform, then followed the others to the dressing room to wait for the makeup artist to style them. Feeling down and with no one to talk to, she sat there quietly all morning, looking utterly lost.
However, even the most dejected heart would tremble under the onslaught of cold rain. Gu Mengzhu shivered in the artificial rain, kneeling from noon until dusk, soaked in cold water for half a day. Over time, she couldn't distinguish between rainwater and tears on her cheeks; she only knew that this day had truly been awful.
She could no longer find the meaning of staying here. All she knew was that her passion for this place had been drenched by this rain on this day, this very second. She had heard that many people came here for love and dreams, but now, she had neither.
She felt she should go back.
After the scene ended, it was completely dark. Gu Mengzhu, shivering, went to the public restroom to take off her wet clothes, then returned to the dressing room, disheveled, to put away her costume. The makeup artist next to her gave her a sympathetic look and handed her a hairdryer.
"Go blow on it quickly, don't catch a cold."
"Thanks."
She dried her hair and went out through the door of the vertical bunk, only to find someone waiting for her. The person seemed a little annoyed when they saw her.
"You don't reply to my messages, are you that busy?"
She glanced at her phone and saw that there were indeed several messages.
"I didn't have time to look. But how did you end up here?"
Qi Yaoguang opened the thermos and poured her some longan water.
"I finished work in the afternoon, and when I came back I didn't see you. There was no food in the refrigerator, so I guessed you were out working."
"That's impressive!"
She took a sip of warm, sweet water, sniffed, and then sneezed loudly.
"Wear more clothes, it gets much colder here in spring." He took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "Wear it."
"I didn't know it would be so cold at night." Gu Mengzhu wiped her nose with a tissue. "You gave me all your clothes, what about you? Aren't you cold?"
"I'm much stronger than you."
"Indeed, you are much more important than me, so you should wear it."
She pulled her coat over her shoulders, but just as she was about to take it off, he grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Is it okay to wear this?"
His tone was somewhat cold and unyielding, leaving no room for refusal. She didn't persist for long before giving up and obediently pulling her clothes up. Qi Yaoguang smiled at her, took the lid, closed the thermos, and carried it in his hand.
"I've prepared dinner."
"Really? What did you do?"
"Nine-finger peach and chicken soup, but unfortunately the chicken was frozen, so I can only drink the broth when I get back."
"Wow, is this really necessary? I've only ever seen a seven-finger peach tree, and you have two more! Don't you have any conscience?"
"Seven-finger peach plus two more claws makes nine fingers, who's lying to you?"
She scoffed and called him sharp-tongued.
Back in her rented room, after drinking some hot soup, Gu Mengzhu felt much better. Her head was no longer throbbing, her brain felt light, her blood was flowing smoothly, and she slept soundly and sweetly. However, she slept for a whole day. When Qi Yaoguang returned and saw that she hadn't gotten up yet, he felt something was wrong and went to check on her. She was perfectly fine, but her lips were completely white, dry, and cracked, and her cheeks were unnaturally red, as if they had just been smeared with Spring Festival couplets.
He placed the back of his hand on her forehead, then checked his own temperature, and shook her awake with a frown.
"what?"
She responded listlessly, her voice tinged with impatience.
"You have a fever, get up and go to the hospital."
"I don't want to go."
She rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head to cover herself completely, but he pulled it off again.
"Hurry up, what if you get brain damage from the fever?"
"I don't want to go. Going to the hospital costs money. I'll just lie down for a while and be fine."
"Going to the hospital won't cost much. I have money, so don't worry about the money. Hurry up."
"I don't want to!"
Gu Mengzhu pulled the blanket up again, muttering to herself. She was delirious with fever, and the words she was saying were incoherent. Qi Yaoguang lifted the blanket and heard her rambling:
"Sick people are a waste of money, and I don't want to be one! I'm not going! I'm not going!"
He tried to pull her up, but she scratched him hard several times. Blood dripped down like raindrops hanging from the eaves, and tears floated down her cheeks like rootless duckweed. Looking at the person throwing a tantrum on the bed, he realized there were too many things about her that he couldn't understand, and too much pain that she was hiding from him. Finally, he sighed, went to the kitchen, filled a basin with water, wet a towel, wrung it out, and placed it on her forehead.
But her temperature was still not high enough, so Qi Yaoguang went out and bought some ice and fever reducers, then sat by the bedside watching over her carefully. Before he knew it, it was past midnight again. He was awakened by some rustling noises, and when he opened his eyes, he found her being incredibly restless, kicking the blanket around like a ball in her sleep.
Why do you look so much like a child?
He tucked the blanket around her, but she kicked it off again after a while. This happened four or five times before he finally gave up and only covered her upper body. He checked the time on his phone; it was already very late. After confirming that she wouldn't bother him anymore, he buried his head and prepared to close his eyes and sleep a little longer.
By the time Gu Mengzhu fully regained consciousness, it was already 2 PM the next day. She looked out the window and squinted, unsure whether she was in reality or dreaming. She moved her shoulders and sat up straight, finding her head spinning and her whole body aching.
"Awake? Feeling better?"
Qi Yaoguang looked up, yawned, poured water from the thermos, and handed it over.
"The fever has gone down. Would you like some water? It's still warm."
She took the water and drank it in large gulps, then rubbed her throat, seemingly still feeling a little uncomfortable. He placed the glass on the bedside table, got up, and asked:
"Are you hungry? I'll go cook something—"
"I had a nightmare yesterday. I dreamt that I killed someone."
He paused for a moment, then slowly sat back down after straightening up.
"I was shocked when I woke up. How could I be so vicious? I actually went to kill someone and went to great lengths to hide the evidence. When I was discovered, I didn't even feel guilty. I was as shameless as an animal. I hate myself like this."
Gu Mengzhu wanted to say something more, but the next second she was suddenly hugged. Her eyes opened slightly, her heart skipped a beat in surprise, and then she nervously grabbed his hand and told him to let go.
"Oh, I'm fine. I thought about it later, and thank goodness, it was just a dream. I'm still a law-abiding citizen. I think I'll never want to do something like murder in my life."
After saying that, she glanced longingly at his strong arms, regretting that she had broken free too quickly. She seemed to crave the warmth of being held, but only a little. He looked down at her hands, recalling the embrace he had just had.
Even though he's small and thin, he can still hold her very well.
They both remained silent. Feeling a little uncomfortable, she brushed her hair back behind her neck.
"Why are you still here? Don't you have to work?"
"Someone has a fever, but she's stubborn. We told her to go to the hospital, but she wouldn't go, so I had to come myself. Are we just going to wait until she's delirious from the fever and then take care of her for the rest of her life?"
"I'm sorry, I'm in your way. I won't do it again next time."
"Hey, tell me a joke, do you have to take it so seriously? I'm going to cook some noodles, I'm hungry."
Qi Yaoguang got up and turned towards the kitchen, his movements a little awkward. She smiled, watching his retreating figure, and buried her face in her knees. The skin between her forehead and arm felt very hot.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
