Chapter 52
The afternoon sun, like a thin, brittle sugar shell, made the palace walls shine.
The filming went very smoothly and wrapped up soon after.
The fans cheered, and it was like a fan meeting. Xu Li went down from the stage to receive letters from the fans. "I am really grateful to everyone. Thank you, thank you for your support all this time."
Xu Li had just jumped off the wire harness, her costume still stained with blood, when she was surrounded by layers of fans.
Happy wrap-up, sister!
"Lili, you've worked hard!"
Bouquets of flowers, stacks of letters, and boxes of exquisitely wrapped gifts were handed to her. She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and beads of sweat trickled down her temples to her chin like faint tear tracks.
Outside the crowd, a black minivan was parked discreetly.
Lu Yi sat in the passenger seat, holding up his phone to watch the live stream, the comments scrolling by rapidly:
Filming has wrapped! Filming has wrapped!
[Li Bao received my letter!!!]
[Front row group photo +1]
He turned to the driver and said, "Go back to the hotel and tell the restaurant to add two seats; she must be starving."... Seven o'clock in the evening, at that old alleyway restaurant on Huaihai Road.
Seven people were already seated at the round table: Lu Yi, Zhu Yu, Bai Chuan, Zhou Chen, Mu Mu, and Xu Li's assistant, Xiao K—Nan You herself didn't come, but only had her assistant bring a bottle of champagne.
The dishes were served in a lively manner, including braised pork with bamboo shoots, drunken crab, and stir-fried river shrimp, all of which Xu Li had mentioned before filming wrapped up.
Mu Mu turned the last plate of wine-flavored scallions to Xu Li: "I tasted one of the cookies your fans sent you today; it was cloyingly sweet."
Xu Li smiled, biting her chopsticks, but her eyes kept glancing towards the doorway—where a chair remained empty. No one mentioned that name.
But everyone knew that Tan Yuze was not invited.
...
At the same moment, at another exit of Hengdian, Tan Yuze, wearing a baseball cap and a mask, stood in the shadows where the streetlights didn't reach.
He was carrying a paper bag—inside was a box of handmade mung bean cakes, which he had bought in queues three days before filming wrapped up, and had kept in the hotel refrigerator to prevent them from spoiling.
The phone screen is currently showing Xu Li's fan page, with the latest post being a GIF taken by a fan:
She took the letter, bowed deeply, and the ends of her hair brushed against her collarbone. Tan Yuze's thumb hovered above the "like" button, but he ultimately didn't. He stuffed the paper bag into the trash can and turned to walk in the opposite direction.
The night wind lifted the hem of his coat, making it look like a flag that no one could see.
Inside the restaurant, the hot pot was bubbling happily. Xu Li finished peeling the last drunken crab shell, wiped her fingertips, and finally said, "That chair... don't let anyone move it."
The sound wasn't loud, but the round table fell silent instantly.
She roughly knows what's going on.
Lu Yi swirled his beer glass without looking up: "Don't worry, no one dares to touch it." Zhu Yu smiled, trying to smooth things over: "An extra chair means more room to maneuver."
Bai Chuan put the camera on the table, the screen still showing the live replay of the afternoon's wrap-up filming.
He suddenly clicked his tongue: "Someone in the live stream chat is saying, 'Why isn't Brother Ze here?'" Mu Mu nudged Bai Chuan with her elbow: "Eating can't shut you up."
Xu Li lowered her eyes and carefully stacked the fans' letters one by one. On top of her was a light blue card that read: "Thank you for coming back, and thank you for still being willing to let us see you."
She ran her fingertips over the words for a long while before saying, "It's not that I don't want to invite him... it's that I haven't figured out how to invite him."
Zhou Chen pushed the chilled sparkling water towards her: "After your film 'No Day' wrapped up, the three of you haven't been seen together again. Did you not invite him today because you were afraid of the awkwardness, or because you were afraid of him being awkward?"
Xu Li didn't answer, but simply raised her hand and stood the card up like a small screen, obscuring her expression.
...
Meanwhile, at the 24-hour convenience store at the entrance of Hengdian Town.
Tan Yuze stood in front of the freezer, his fingertips brushing over a row of rice balls, but ultimately he took nothing. The shop assistant yawned, and the TV was showing entertainment news—"Xu Li's wrap party: Tan Yuze is the only one of the former 'No Day' trio absent, further fueling speculation of discord?"
The camera panned across the restaurant entrance, and the black minivan flashed by. Tan Yuze lowered his head, pulling his hat brim even lower, and the eyes peeking out from above his mask curved into a smile, as if he were laughing, or perhaps mocking himself.
His phone vibrated; a text message from an unknown number popped up: "[A chair has been saved for you, are you coming?]" It was unsigned, but he knew who it was.
Tan Yuze stared at that line of text for a full ten seconds before finally locking the screen. He put his phone back in his pocket, pushed open the door, and walked out of the convenience store.
The night breeze, carrying the heat of summer and the moisture from the distant river, rushed onto my face.
He didn't turn around, but put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked towards the hotel.
The streetlights stretched his shadow long, almost catching up with the van that had long since driven away.
The wind chimes at the convenience store entrance jingled, and Tan Yuze had just taken half a step out when someone grabbed his arm from behind. "Brother, don't go." It was Bai Chuan.
He was breathing heavily, his bangs were matted together with sweat, and he was still clutching the screenshot of the live stream in his hand—in the picture, Tan Yuze was standing in the shadows, his hat brim pulled low, like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that had been cut out.
"Why are you here?" Tan Yuze's voice was muffled by his mask.
"Xu Li sent me."
Bai Chuan shoved his phone screen right in front of his eyes; it displayed a voice-to-text message he had just sent.
Bring him here within ten minutes, or I'll tie him up myself.
A "cleaver" emoji was added at the end. Tan Yuze stared at the line of text, his Adam's apple bobbing: "She hasn't decided how to see me."
"Then stand back a bit and let her think it over slowly." Bai Chuan suddenly laughed, took out a crumpled napkin from his pocket, on which a chair was scribbled with eyeliner. "Mu Mu drew it. She said the chair leg was crooked, so it's perfect for leaving you a gap."
Tan Yuze didn't answer, but instead looked into the distance. At the end of the streetlights, a familiar black minivan turned around and its headlights swept across the glass door of the convenience store, like a silent invitation.
...
Inside the restaurant, the hot pot broth had already been changed to its second pot, and a layer of golden-red light floated on the surface of the chili oil.
Xu Li folded the blue card into a small boat and gently pushed it onto the turntable. The chair remained empty, but a spare set of chopsticks and a bowl appeared on the table—white porcelain, undecorated, like a hastily put-together prop. The curtain was lifted, letting in a gust of night breeze.
Tan Yuze stood outside the threshold, not coming in, but taking off his mask to reveal a new scar on his chin—a remnant from the final explosion scene of "No Day".
He gestured with his chin toward the table: "Is the chair still tilted?" Xu Li didn't turn around, but her fingers subtly flattened the boat-shaped card: "Can't you hold it yourself?"
Tan Yuze then took a step forward, and as he passed Leng Yuxuan, their shoulders brushed lightly, like some kind of old-fashioned secret signal.
He pulled out a chair and sat down; the chair leg creaked as it snagged perfectly into a crack in the floor tiles, securing itself. Mu Mu poured the last plate of beef tripe into the spicy hot pot; steam rose, blurring everyone's expressions.
Xu Li looked at him through the mist and finally spoke: "Where's the wrap-up gift?" Tan Yuze took out a small tin box from his coat pocket and pushed it in front of her—it was mung bean cake from that old shop, with moisture still clinging to the edge of the box from the refrigerator.
“I queued for three days,” he said in a low voice, “I was going to give it to you… but the trash can saw you before I did.” Xu Li paused for a moment, then suddenly picked up her chopsticks, took a piece, and put it in his bowl.
"Pay off the debt first," she said.
Tan Yuze stared at the mung bean cake stained red with chili oil and smiled. The hot pot continued to boil, and the chairs were no longer empty.
No one mentioned the three-month gap anymore, and no one asked why they were only sitting together today.
Like beef tripe slowly sinking to the bottom of a pot, time will soften all the sharp edges.
By the time the hot pot broth was added for the third time, the clock had already struck one in the morning. Bai Chuan's camera had long since run out of battery, and he was now taking pictures of the "closing ceremony" on the table with his phone: empty plates, a crooked chair, and mung bean cakes stained crimson with chili oil.
“I’ve already thought of a title—” he waved his phone, “The Last Night of Filming: Empty Chairs Fill the Vacancy, Old Debts Settle.”
Zhu Yu laughed and tried to snatch the phone: "Try sending it out. Xu Li's agent, Nan You, can chase you all the way to Hengdian Phase II."
Xu Li ripped open the last can of iced cola and pushed it to Tan Yuze's side: "To cool you down."
Tan Yuze didn't move, but looked up at her and asked, "What time is the re-recording of the lines?"
"Seven o'clock in the morning."
"Then are you still going to eat?"
I'm hungry.
The two talked back and forth, as if they were rehearsing a script they had already memorized, but neither of them mentioned ending the show. Leng Yuxuan leaned against the window, smoking, the embers illuminating half of his profile.
He suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but enough to drown out the bubbling of the hot pot: "After you finish eating, I'll take you back to your hotel."
The word "you" included Tan Yuze as well.
Tan Yuze paused for a moment, then nodded: "Thanks."
But she had no intention of reconciling. Her assistant went out first because of a phone call. After a while, the assistant said, "Ah Li, Sister Nan said she has to catch a flight to Hainan tonight. Apparently, there's a red carpet event she has to walk."
After he finished speaking, they all laughed. "Hey, Xiao Lizi has something to do. He's standing us up again. This has happened several times already."
"Oh, I have no choice! I'll pay tonight, okay?"
"Alright, alright, consider this your punishment."
Turn your head.
"Okay, you pack your things first! I'll be there in a bit."
"Okay." The assistant went to the hotel to pack, and after a while, Xu Li left, waiting for everyone to come down together.
"Check, please."
"Sir, your table has already paid the bill."
"What do you mean, 'paid'? Nobody paid."
"Sir, it's like this, because a gentleman has already bought it and left."
After looking around, everyone realized that Tan Yuze was not there, and knew that he had paid the bill.
"Why did Lao Tan buy the pickled cabbage himself? Wasn't it supposed to be Xu Li who bought it?" Zhu Yu said.
"Are you really stupid or just pretending? Can't you see Tan Zi's feelings for Xiao Li Zi all these years, you idiot?"
Leng Yuxuan was driving, and Tan Yuze was sitting in the second row, separated by a seatbelt, like two distinct rivers. When they reached the first red light, Leng Yuxuan suddenly reached out and turned on the car stereo.
The CD clicked, playing the soundtrack from Xu Li's wrap-up special three years ago—after the end credits song, someone in the post-credits scene egged her to sing a couple of lines. Xu Li laughed and declined in the recording: "Don't be silly."
At that moment, hearing Xu Li's voice from back then, he couldn't help but smile. Tan Yuze suddenly leaned forward and turned the volume down two notches: "Even being off-key sounds pretty good."
Mu Mu turned around and met his eyes. "Ah Li has always sung very well. It's obvious you've never heard her sing before."
As the red light turned green, Leng Yuxuan stepped on the gas, turning the brief exchange of glances between the two into the rearview mirror.
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