Motion sickness and heatstroke
"Shen Yi'an, why aren't you turning on the light?" The woman who entered the room gently pushed open the door and turned on the light with a "click".
The room was instantly filled with blinding light. Shen Yi'an covered his eyes with his hand, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, and looked up at the woman.
Under the lights, the woman's heavy eye makeup had smudged slightly, and the blush on her lips was also a little patchy. The exquisitely tailored black evening gown she wore outlined her graceful curves.
A pearlescent handbag was carelessly tossed onto the single sofa opposite Shen Yi'an, making a dull thud.
But even such heavy makeup couldn't hide her fatigue.
"You're planning to get a cat?" The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise as she looked at the bag of cat toys at Shen Yi'an's feet.
"Hmm, I saw a very pretty calico cat." He absentmindedly put the bag aside.
"I saw your video today, and your genitals were stepped on by a calico cat." The woman's lips curled up slightly.
Shen Yi'an became even more displeased when he saw the upturned corners of her mouth.
"How is the child?" Shen Yi'an's fingers unconsciously fiddled with the cat toy with feathers at the end.
"Ugh, don't even mention it. I stopped making a fuss after I went there," the woman said, sitting on the sofa opposite him, her voice low. "I'm so fed up with this kind of life. I'm already so busy, and yet I still have to..."
Seeing that she was about to talk all night again, Shen Yi'an silently got up and took the ashtray containing several cigarette butts with his well-defined knuckles.
"You should rest first, I have a show to do tomorrow."
"Okay..." The woman closed her eyes tightly and didn't say anything else.
After Shen Yi'an walked out the door, his phone suddenly vibrated, emitting a muffled buzzing sound in his pants pocket.
The moment the screen lit up, the corners of his lips unconsciously turned up.
——
When the morning sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains, Yun Chen was already dressed and standing by the bed.
She crossed her arms and stared blankly at the tightly wrapped "blanket roll" on the bed.
"Sis, it's time to get up."
It was not the alarm clock that could wake Yun Jin, but Yun Chen.
"No, I want to become one with the bed." Yun Jin rolled over and pulled the blanket tighter around herself.
Yun Chen narrowed his eyes, then suddenly grabbed the corner of the blanket. "Sis, hurry up, a million-dollar salary is beckoning us."
The old mattress creaked under the weight of the two sisters.
"Get up, don't tickle me." Yun Jin truly admitted defeat.
Yun Chen then placed the plate on the table beside the bed. A few wilted green vegetables floated pitifully on the watery noodles, and there wasn't even a drop of oil to be seen.
"Where are my eggs?" Yun Jin was greatly disappointed and suddenly felt hopeless about life.
For Yun Jin, fried eggs are more important than poached eggs, which are more important than boiled eggs; without eggs, life would be incomplete.
"I've run out, and I haven't had time to buy any more lately," Yun Chen sighed. "Filming is such a hassle."
“But a million-dollar salary is beckoning us.” After saying that, Yun Jin rushed into the bathroom like a gust of wind and quickly finished washing up.
"Alright then." Yun Chen shook his head helplessly.
With toothpaste foam still clinging to the corners of her mouth, Yun Jin hurriedly jumped back to the bedside, sat cross-legged in the crumpled blankets, and began to eat like a hungry cat.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you." Yun Chen looked helplessly at his sister's ravenous eating and handed her a tissue. "There's still foam on your lips."
"That Ding Zhizi... do you know about her situation?" Yun Jin put down her chopsticks, the bottom of the bowl making a crisp sound as it hit the table.
"I see that the information comes from the internet, so its authenticity is not guaranteed," Yun Chen said thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand and tapping his fingers unconsciously on the table.
"Her mother's name is Ding Lan. She used to be a successful businesswoman. At the height of her career, she suddenly announced her marriage and childbirth. Five months later, she gave birth to Ding Zhizi."
"No one knows who her husband is. They just infer from Ding Zhizi's appearance that he is of European or American descent, and the fact that she took her mother's surname leads to malicious speculation that she failed to marry a rich man."
Yun Jin saw Ding Lan's neat short hair, dark blue business suit, and sharp eyes in the photo on her phone.
Another photo shows Ding Zhizi in a stroller, sleeping soundly with a pacifier in her mouth, looking like a beautiful doll.
"And then?" Yun Jin pressed.
"Then came the textbook-level star-making plan," Yun Chen's voice remained calm as always. "Ding Zhizi appeared on various variety shows when she was five years old, and by the age of fifteen, she had already acted in more than thirty TV series, all of them minor roles."
"However, Ding Zhizi doesn't have much talent in acting. Even with so many minor roles, she's only managed to become a familiar face." Yun Chen paused, then continued.
"Another reason why Ding Zhizi has a bad reputation is that netizens initially felt sorry for her because of her tiger mom status and supported her severing her relationship with her mother..."
"But the mother-daughter relationship can't be severed so easily. In this tug-of-war, she slowly turned into a mama's girl who was willing to be hit and take the hit."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Yun Jin's hand froze in mid-air as Ding Zhizi's lake-blue eyes came to mind.
"So netizens' attitude changed from sympathy to... disgust?" Yun Jin asked cautiously.
"Yes, Ding Lan's public outbursts were no longer surprising to those who followed them."
“I think you don’t need to care too much about these people, sis. Everyone has their own story.” Yun Chen lowered her eyes.
"You don't need to persuade me, I have my own ideas." Yun Jin's figure shrank, this time appearing as a pouty-faced San Hua.
"Okay, sis." Yun Chen patted her little head and put her into the cat carrier.
The horn of a pet-friendly vehicle came from downstairs; its destination was Anqing Mountain Scenic Area.
The scenery outside the car window rushed past, the city outline was gradually replaced by lush mountain colors, Anqing Mountain appeared and disappeared in the morning mist, and the winding mountain road was like a gray-white ribbon wrapped around it.
The driver glanced at the rearview mirror: "Young lady, are you also going to film that popular online show?"
"No, let's go join in the fun." Yun Chen calculated the time in his mind.
The driver, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other scrolling through his phone, said, "Hey, have you seen this short video? It's about that internet-famous Corgi, needing a personal attendant to serve it a meal, eating imported beef..."
"Don't drive dangerously, driver." Yun Jin scratched her ear with her paw and sighed helplessly.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, the driver continued, "Tsk tsk, in this day and age, pets are more precious than people. What I earn from driving all day isn't even enough to feed these 'ancestors' cats and dogs."
Yun Jin felt a little guilty listening to these words, but the mixed smell of cheap cigarettes and car air freshener in the car made her almost faint.
Yun Chen wasn't in much better shape; Yun Jin could see that she was pale and constantly sweating.
"Hurry up and get there, I'm about to collapse." Yun Jin weakly raised her paw and started pawing at the cat carrier.
Fortunately, there weren't many visitors on a weekday. Yun Jin and her team arrived at the filming location of the program crew at the last minute. When the vehicle finally stopped at the entrance of the scenic area, there were only five minutes left before filming was to begin.
The stagehand anxiously peered around with his walkie-talkie, and visibly relaxed when he saw them: "Teacher Xiaoyun! She's here, no need to call anymore..."
Yun Chen, his steps unsteady, clutched the cat carrier. After only a few steps, a wave of acid churned in his stomach and surged up into his throat.
"vomit--"
The stagehand was startled and hurriedly pulled out tissues to help her to the side to rest.
"It's nothing, I just feel a little carsick, the smell in the car is too strong," Yun Chen said weakly.
"Oh dear, I should have told you you didn't have a car!" Liu Li rushed over and exaggeratedly slapped her thigh. "The production team has a car that can pick you up. Just let us know next time you need one, don't be shy."
"I understand." Yun Chen's pale face was devoid of color. He nodded and said nothing more.
The zipper of the cat carrier was suddenly pushed open a crack, and an orange furry head eagerly popped out.
Yun Jin's ears perked up, and his beard trembled slightly with nervousness. Yun Jin touched Yun Chen's arm with his nose.
Yun Chen smiled and gently stroked Yun Jin's back. "It's nothing, I just got carsick."
The stagehands brought ice water and wet towels, and the staff brought a small electric fan. Gradually, Yun Chen's complexion began to regain its rosy hue.
Only then did Yun Jin breathe a sigh of relief, but when she looked at the vomit on the side, she was torn between two conflicting thoughts.
Her feline instincts kept her away from the ominous creature, but her sense of responsibility as an older sister and a responsible citizen prevented her from leaving without doing anything.
After contemplating life for a moment, Yun Jin stepped forward, took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it.
The smell of food residue mixed with stomach acid hit her nostrils, making her whiskers tremble. Suppressing the urge to back away, she tentatively stretched out her front paws and scratched at the soft soil beside her.
"Don't touch it, or you'll lose your claws," Yun Jin said.
"What a well-behaved kitten! But we have to go to film now," the production assistant said, picking up Yun Jin in her arms. "The cleaners will come and clean up."
"I'm sorry, cleaning uncle or auntie, I apologize on behalf of Yun Chen." Yun Jin prayed silently in her heart.
Upon arriving at the filming location, the staff cordoned off the area with caution tape. Several sheds were set up, and bundles of black electrical wires snaked across the ground, connecting to a buzzing generator. Several RVs were parked not far away.
Several staff members, each holding a walkie-talkie, moved about the area, their voices ringing out:
"Move camera position three a little to the left!"
"What's wrong with this generator? Call someone to fix it quickly."
"Why haven't your artists arrived yet?" Liu Li was furious. "The whole crew has been waiting for them for days, and they didn't even participate in the rehearsal? Do they really think they're big stars?"
"Teacher Liu, please calm down!" A salesperson approached, bowing and scraping, his phone screen still showing missed calls. "I just got in touch with them; they said their car broke down on the highway..."
The stagehand carrying the brocade was called away and casually stuffed into an airline crate, which had already been piled up into a small mountain.
As time went on, the scorching sun baked the film set until it was scorching hot, and distorted waves of heat rose from the ground.
Yun Jin lay in the carrier, her tongue lolling out uncontrollably as she panted like a puppy, her pink paw pads already red from the heat.
Humans can take off their clothes, but cats can't. Besides, cats aren't cute when their fur is shaved, and they can't be photographed anymore.
"Meow meow meow! -- I can't take it anymore, it's so hot!" Yun Jin pawed at the small lock on the flight case, but it was just a little bit short each time. It was really getting impatient.
Her vision began to blur, the grid in front of her distorted, and in a daze, Yun Jin seemed to see her mother's back as she left for the last time, the moonlight casting a long, long shadow...
"Meow waaaaah—Oh no, am I really going to die this time? Am I going to die from the heat here? Yun Chen..."
"Click".
The sound of the latch suddenly popping open pulled her back to reality.
A pair of strong hands lifted her up, and the sudden feeling of being suspended in mid-air made Yun Jin instinctively hug the person's arm.
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