Shura Field
"Go back home tomorrow and practice your acting skills." Xia Zhitang smiled and pushed Gu Zian away. "Now pour me some honey water!"
Gu Zian, who was a little shy at first, smiled unconsciously after seeing Xia Zhitang's expression: "Okay."
He searched Xia Zhitang's room familiarly.
Xia Zhitang went into the bathroom and took out the makeup remover to remove her makeup. When she looked up in the mirror, she saw her face as rosy as a peach blossom without any makeup on.
After dawdling for a long time, Xia Zhitang finally came out of the bathroom and saw Gu Zian still lazing around in her room.
"Sister, it's the last day, and I still want to learn how to move." Gu Zian looked at Xia Zhitang eagerly with his bright eyes, as if he was a dog with big ears that made people want to pinch his ears.
Xia Zhitang felt the bubbles of champagne rushing to her face, and she nodded for some unknown reason.
Gu Zian happily stuffed the prepared honey water into Xia Zhitang's hand, and like a magic trick, he took out a notebook with two pens from his sweatshirt pocket.
"You carry notes with you?" Xia Zhitang looked at Gu Zian in disbelief as he spread the notes on the bed and smiled shyly at her.
"You can ask questions anytime." Gu Zian blushed, turned around, took out a bottle of beer from the refrigerator, opened it and put it on the bedside table - this was something he brought with him when he asked a question.
He pulled Xia Zhitang onto the bed, pointed at his notes, and asked, "Sister, look at the ninth kiss scene. Why did it have three NGs?"
"It's been exposed. When we get to point B..."
"So that's how it is! Sister, you explained it so well!"
The young man's energetic face kept moving closer to Xia Zhitang, and his watery eyes, after crying, looked at Xia Zhitang with a smile.
Xia Zhitang felt dizzy. She picked up Gu Zian's beer and started drinking it, without noticing that Gu Zian's eyes suddenly lit up.
After an unknown amount of time, Xia Zhitang kicked away the empty beer can that rolled to his feet. Amid the sound of metal collision, Gu Zian sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed.
A frayed notebook lay between his legs, its highlighter markings covering the margins like colorful neon lights.
"Look here, sister." He ran his fingertips across his notes. "Why did we have three close-up shots for this rain scene?"
Xia Zhitang tilted his head back and took the last sip of beer. The golden liquid flowed down his slender neck and into his collar: "Because..."
She burped and collapsed onto Gu Zian's shoulder, unable to handle the alcohol. "Because Director Lin's bald head was reflected in the wide-angle lens."
Gu Zian snatched the bottle: "No more drinking!" His fangs scraped her earlobe, "We agreed to celebrate properly."
Xia Zhitang kicked his calf as it pressed against him, "Are you celebrating that you finally don't have to use my lunch box?"
Gu Zian pulled out his phone and played a video. It showed Xia Zhitang's silhouette as she taught him how to focus. "Is this considered proper teaching material?" His breath puffed against the back of her burning ear. "I've watched it three hundred times."
Xia Zhitang reached out and touched the corner of Gu Zian's slightly upturned mouth.
Gu Zian immediately reached out, grabbed Xia Zhitang's wrist, and kissed her.
The notebook fell quietly to the ground, and in the corner of the open page was a picture of a cartoon director wearing glasses.
After a while, Xia Zhitang held Gu Zian's hot wrist with tears in his eyes and struggled to reach the water on the bedside table.
Gu Zian let go of Xia Zhitang, turned on the water and handed it to her.
He looked at Xia Zhitang, whose face was as red as a peach blossom, and suddenly took off his sweatshirt: "I'm very clean. I work out four times a week. The physical examination report..."
Xia Zhitang threw a mineral water bottle at him: "Who had a fever of 38 degrees last week?"
"That was just an act to avoid a blind date!" Gu Zian grabbed her wrist and pressed it against her left breast. "Feel it! Your heartbeat is so steady now..."
Listening to his strong heartbeat, Xia Zhitang recalled the scene of Lin Jingming holding Su Wen's waist at the wrap party of "Dark Alley".
When Gu Zian's lips pressed down on her again, she caught a glimpse of the lipstick Xie Lin had given her at the bedside table - it was the one that said to enjoy life while you can, and it was the one that would attract men.
"I won't cling to you..." Gu Zian's hot hand clasped between Xia Zhitang's fingers, and interlocked theirs tightly.
"Sister, just tonight..." Gu Zian's warm breath sprayed into Xia Zhitang's ears, and a feeling of emptiness rose from the bottom of her heart.
Xia Zhitang couldn't help but bite his lower lip. Gu Zian was stunned for a moment, then kissed him back in surprise.
The moonlight outside the window was obscured by dark clouds, and the heavy rain hitting the air conditioner outdoor unit was like dense drumbeats.
When someone's T-shirt fell from the lampshade to the ground, Xia Zhitang touched the faded red rope on his wrist.
"Sister..." Gu Zian stopped and looked at Xia Zhitang with an unsteady breath, "What are you looking at?"
Xia Zhitang pulled the wrinkled bed sheet over her body and said, "Look at the borrowed kiss scene you learned from the lighting crew." She picked up a pillow and threw it at him, "Fail!"
The heavy rain drowned out Gu Zian's laughter.
In the morning light, when Xia Zhitang woke up from her daze, Gu Zian's foot was against her ankle, and her sanity, which had been lost all night, gradually returned.
She turned over suddenly and knocked over the bedside alarm clock. The metal shell hit the empty beer can from last night, and it rolled into the bathroom with a clang.
"Good morning." Gu Zian's voice came muffled from under the quilt. He curled up in bed like a large dog. "Sister's alarm clock is the real culprit."
Xia Zhitang grabbed a pillow to cover his chest and stumbled into the bathroom. He stepped on someone's T-shirt and almost slipped.
The bathroom mirror reflected her frizzy hair and the red marks on her neck.
There was a sudden knock on the bathroom door, startling Xia Zhitang so much that she bumped into the makeup bag next to the sink.
"I heated up the porridge." Gu Zian's voice came through the frosted glass, "I'll help dry your clothes..."
When Xia Zhitang splashed cold water on her face for the third time, she suddenly noticed a towel folded into a square on the sink, with a crumpled tissue rose pinned to the edge. She stared at her flushed face in the misty mirror, and a gentle ripple of emotion welled up in her heart.
When I pushed open the door, Gu Zian was kneeling on the carpet picking up beer cans.
There was a bowl of steaming porridge on the table, and the chopsticks and spoon were placed neatly on the table.
Xia Zhiran inexplicably felt a sense of home.
"last night……"
"I bought some medicine." Gu Zian suddenly held up the plastic bag, "and vitamin C." The tips of his ears were red as if they were about to bleed.
Xia Zhitang choked on her porridge, and Gu Zian rushed over to pat her on the back. The warmth of the boy's palm pierced through the fabric, causing her to shiver. Xia Zhitang turned away and said, "You don't need to..."
"I will have regular physical examinations." Gu Zian suddenly took two steps back, knocking over the folded quilt. "That... doesn't mean I'm responsible!"
The sound of a cleaner sweeping the floor came from outside the window. Xia Zhitang stirred the bowl of porridge with a spoon: "From now on..."
"Can you continue teaching me?" Gu Zian squatted pitifully in the corner like a big dog that had done something wrong. "Just like before."
Xia Zhitang stared at the faded red rope around his wrist and did not answer for a long time.
Gu Zian bit his lower lip with his canine teeth and added cautiously, "I promise not to ask about personal matters."
Xia Zhitang glanced at the phone on the table which suddenly lit up. The screensaver was still a photo of the crew. He was standing behind him with a bright smile.
The steam rising from the bowl of porridge made his eyes sore. Xia Zhitang said in a hoarse voice, "If you ask too many questions, you will be charged."
"Can I buy it on credit first? Once I win the Best Newcomer Award..."
A message popped up on WeChat about her. Xia Zhitang grabbed her coat and said, "I should go over to the set demolition."
Gu Zian suddenly hugged her from behind, the scent of mint candy brushing against her earlobe: "This is not on credit."
Xia Zhitang felt a slight dampness on his shoulder blades.
"It's tuition." Gu Zian let go of Xia Zhitang and walked out the door without looking back.
Xia Zhitang was stunned for a moment, picked up the plastic bag placed aside, and found a convenience store receipt tucked underneath - contraceptive pills followed by three boxes of hangover pills, and the date was 4:06 this morning.
At the set, Xia Zhitang was squatting in front of equipment scattered all over the floor, checking the equipment list, when his cell phone suddenly started vibrating on the concrete floor.
Lin Jingming's number popped up on the screen. As soon as she swiped the answer button, she heard Lin Jingming's roar: "Now! Immediately! Come to Qingdao!"
"The set hasn't been dismantled yet..."
"The flight's booked!" A sound of shattering glass could be heard from Lin Jingming's end. "We're leaving in three hours!"
The stage manager wiped his sweat and came over: "Director Xia, the truss of Shed No. 3..."
"Go get Lao Zhang to sign the bill." Xia Zhitang took off his work jacket stained with engine oil. "The backup power key is in the safe."
She grabbed her backpack and hurried to the parking lot, arranging her work as she walked.
When the terminal announcement sounded for the third time, Xia Zhitang was waiting in line for security check.
"Miss Xia?" The ground staff stopped her, holding up her name tag. "Director Lin told us to use the VIP channel."
On the plane, she opened the crew group chat and saw that the stagehand was sending a video of Gu Zian directing the dismantling of the set - he had agreed to leave today, but he stayed to continue helping.
Xia Zhitang looked at the rim of the coffee cup with half a lipstick mark belonging to her, and suddenly remembered the tissue rose in the bathroom this morning. Her fingertips unconsciously pressed the rim of the cup.
As the plane bumped through the clouds, Lin Jingming's assistant sent the location - it was a private hospital.
"The ground temperature in Qingdao is 28 degrees..."
The captain's broadcast mixed with the electronic ringtone sounded. Xia Zhitang stared at the rolling sea of clouds outside the window, put his cell phone in his trouser pocket, and began to close his eyes to rest.
Xia Zhitang rushed to the hospital, and the assistant took her to the door and left.
The moment Xia Zhitang pushed open the door of the ward, the smell of disinfectant mixed with the smell of burnt cigars hit her nose and made her cough.
Lin Jingming sat on the bay window with his back to the door. His silk shirt was wrinkled like a rag, and a pile of torn manuscript paper was scattered at his feet.
"The equipment list is not yet..."
"Lock the door." In the dim ward, Lin Jingming's back cast a blurry outline under the skylight.
Xia Zhitang turned the door lock suspiciously.
Lin Jingming turned and walked towards her.
In the backlight, Xia Zhitang couldn't see his expression clearly.
Xia Zhitang said carefully: "In Qingdao..."
Lin Jingming looked down at Xia Zhitang and said slowly, "Did you have a good time last night?"
Xia Zhitang was stunned. Lin Jingming suddenly pulled off his tie and wrapped it around her wrists. The cold silk fabric dug into her skin, and Xia Zhitang began to struggle.
Lin Jingming dragged Xia Zhitang towards the bay window. On the laptop, the screen flashed a faint blue light beside the two of them - it was the surveillance footage of her hotel corridor. The time in the upper right corner showed a complete record of Gu Zian entering and leaving the room.
"Make a fuss!" Lin Jingming pressed his knee against her struggling legs, his eyes frighteningly dark. "Let the whole floor hear Director Xia's acting skills!"
Xia Zhitang's heart sank, his canvas shoes leaving black marks on the wall: "You're fucking sick!"
"Why didn't you scold me when you stayed up all night in my editing room?" Lin Jingming pulled open the collar of his shirt and pressed his cold palm against her collarbone.
Xia Zhitang suddenly stopped struggling, looked up and asked coldly: "Does Su Wen know that you are so crazy?"
Lin Jingming's hand froze in mid-air, and Xia Zhitang took the opportunity to kick him in the calf: "A married man is still in heat?"
"Didn't you marry a short-lived guy back then?" Lin Jingming suddenly pinched her chin, "Why did Gu Zian..."
When mentioning her husband, Xia Zhitang's tears fell uncontrollably, hitting his palm so hard that he loosened his grip.
Xia Zhitang's eyes were frighteningly red: "Because I'm not Su Wen!"
Lin Jingming suddenly lowered his head and bit her earlobe. The smell of cigar mixed with the smell of medicine penetrated Xia Zhitang's nose: "Why are you pretending to be so noble..." His palm slid into the hem of her clothes, "Three years ago, you were in my office..."
"Don't force me to hate you!" Xia Zhitang suddenly hit his nose.
Lin Jingming wiped the blood from his nose and sneered: "Go back to your little wolfdog now!"
He picked up the glass vase beside the bed and threw it at the computer screen. With a loud bang, the crystal glass was like blooming fireworks, mixed with transparent water droplets and blooming flowers and scattered all over the ground.
"Tell him that his father's investment is enough to buy you ten lifetimes!"
Xia Zhitang grabbed the broken computer screen and smashed it at the fire alarm. She broke open the door amid the alarm.
The cold wind from the corridor rushed into the ward, blowing up the manuscript papers scattered on the floor.
"Director Lin?" The nurse who rushed over was stunned at the door.
Lin Jingming grabbed a pillow and threw it to the ground: "What are you looking at! Ask your dean to remove the surveillance camera!"
Xia Zhitang untied the silk tie around her wrist in the fire escape. She looked at the faded red rope around her wrist and inexplicably recalled what her late husband said when he took her fishing.
"The easier it is to get something, the less they know how to cherish it." He cast the lure into the water, constantly adjusting the rod to keep it moving. "The lure should appear and disappear, making the fish think that it can be caught with just a little effort. Repeat this several times, and it will become increasingly difficult to let go."
Xia Zhitang shoved her wrinkled silk tie into the trash can and fished out her vibrating phone. A message from Gu Zian popped up: "Sister, the gift's on your desk!" The accompanying picture was a selfie of him making the hand gesture. In the background was her messy hotel desk, a large bouquet of bright daisies in a glass vase. Sunlight filled the frame, reflecting off the glass vase, creating sparkling spots of light that spread across the tabletop like dancing golden pearls.
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