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"Not enough."
On the phone, only the man's heavy breathing could be heard.
Having achieved her goal, Ning Yuxuan slightly curved her lips and lowered her head to play with the ribbon bow on her chest.
Since he said he missed her, she should make the imagery more vivid for him, so he would miss her even more.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Zhiyan's low, husky voice finally came through the earphones: "Ning Yuxuan."
It had been a long time since he had called me by my full name, and my heart skipped a beat.
Ning Yuxuan: "Hmm?"
Xie Zhiyan's voice was deep: "Are you so brazen because you're certain that I can't see you right now?"
Ning Yuxuan was caught off guard, but she pretended to be clueless: "No, didn't you ask me what the dress looked like? You haven't answered my question yet. Was my description detailed enough? Can you imagine what the dress looks like?"
“That’s not enough,” Xie Zhiyan said. “I’ll see you in person when I get to know you.”
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
The fingers that were playing with the ribbon paused.
She scoffed, "You wish."
Is it something I can easily let him see when I'm wearing a nightgown?
Xie Zhiyan stopped pursuing the topic and said, "I'm going to London tomorrow to discuss a business deal. My flight is at eight in the morning."
Ning Yuxuan: "...Oh."
Xie Zhiyan: "It's an eleven-hour flight. Liu Cheng will be with me. If you have any urgent matters, you can contact another assistant surnamed Wu. I'll give you his contact information in a bit."
Ning Yuxuan wanted to say that she didn't have anything urgent, but thinking that Hua Yuan might be made difficult by someone with ulterior motives again, it was better to have a way out.
She agreed: "Okay, I understand."
Xie Zhiyan: "Is there anything you want to ask me?"
Ning Yuxuan: "No."
Actually, it's not that there are no questions for him.
She wanted to ask him how many days he would be gone and when he would be back.
Habits are a terrible thing. In the past few weeks, she and Xie Zhiyan have been able to meet frequently, with no more than four or five days between meetings.
So she naturally assumed that she would see him when she returned to Beicheng. He might pick her up from the filming location like last time, or come to her house for dinner on Sunday night.
However, London is more than 10,000 kilometers away, and Xie Zhiyan is going there on a business trip, so he may not be able to come back on the weekend.
Ning Yuxuan simply didn't want to ask Xie Zhiyan directly, so he wouldn't know that she actually wanted to see him.
Xie Zhiyan: "I'll send you a message after we land tomorrow."
Ning Yuxuan said insincerely, "It's okay if we don't contact each other. I'm not that interested in knowing how you are doing."
Xie Zhiyan: "But I think..."
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
Xie Zhiyan gently completed the sentence: "I will miss you."
With her heart racing, Ning Yuxuan finally couldn't help but ask, "Did you go to another dinner party tonight and drink again?"
Xie Zhiyan chuckled lightly, answering a question unrelated to the main point: "Can't I say I miss you if I don't drink?"
"No, it's just..." Ning Yuxuan calmed herself down, "You said you missed me more times today than you did in a whole month. I'm not used to it."
It's also her fault for being so weak; every time he said it, her heart skipped a beat.
Xie Zhiyan: "Does that mean I should say it a few more times so you can get used to it?"
Ning Yuxuan's lips curled up slightly: "You can understand it that way too."
Xie Zhiyan asked meaningfully, "Is there anything you want to say to me?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Yuxuan unconsciously bit her lower lip: "No."
Xie Zhiyan seemed to sigh softly.
At the same time, it sounded like someone was knocking on the door.
Ning Yuxuan couldn't hear it very clearly, so she opened the balcony door and listened carefully. Sure enough, she heard a "knock knock" sound.
The sound of water in the bathroom hadn't stopped.
"Someone's knocking on the door," Ning Yuxuan said. "I'll go see who it is, I'll talk to you now."
"good."
Ning Yuxuan glanced at the screen, hesitated for a moment, and then hung up the phone.
Standing outside the door was Ning Shiyue.
“Didn’t Mom say before that we didn’t have enough steam eye masks?” Ning Shiyue said, “The shopping mall at the next intersection was still open, so I went and bought two packs.”
Ning Yuxuan took the plastic bag from his hand.
"If you need anything else, just let me know." Ning Shiyue glanced towards the bathroom. "Is Mom taking a shower?"
Ning Yuxuan nodded: "Mm."
"Then I'll head back now."
Not long after Ning Shiyue left, Ning Fei came out of the bathroom.
"Xuanxuan," Ning Fei said, tidying her wet hair, "Did someone come by just now?"
Ning Yuxuan: "Yes, Ning Shiyue is coming over to deliver steam eye masks."
Ning Fei nodded: "I've finished washing Xuanxuan, you should go take a shower early too?"
Ning Yuxuan: "Okay."
Before taking a shower, she glanced at her phone.
After the voice call ended, Xie Zhiyan sent two messages.
One was Assistant Wu's business card, and the other was his flight information.
Ning Yuxuan held her phone, typed a few words, then hesitated and deleted them.
In the end, I changed "I miss you a little too" to "I'm going to take a shower".
She knew that Xie Zhiyan and Gu Yunhao were different, and she also knew that she had been controlled by the plot, which was why she was so persistent and pursued a love that would never have a result, regardless of her dignity.
But feelings can be taken back, and past experiences still leave a mark on her, making her always tend to hold back.
Let's just say she was too greedy.
She wanted a lot: she wanted to hear him say he missed her, and she wanted him to formally confess his feelings.
Yet she was unwilling to so quickly and completely reveal her thoughts to him.
It seemed that only in this way could she remain invincible in this relationship.
...
The next morning, Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan went to the film set together.
Ning Shiyue set off much earlier than the other two. When they arrived, Ning Shiyue was already in the dressing room, having finished her makeup and styling, and waiting for her scene.
Ning Fei brought all the gifts she had packed in her suitcase today and gave them to the crew members.
Despite being a highly accomplished senior actress, Ning Fei was completely unpretentious. The young actors in the crew all liked to seek her out to discuss acting experience, and at this moment, she was stopped by several people.
Ning Yuxuan found a good spot on set and watched the excitement for a while.
When Ning Shiyue went over to try out the lighting, a staff member came over and took Ning Yuxuan to the styling room.
Last night, at Director Zhang's insistence, Ning Yuxuan agreed to make a cameo appearance in a scene.
Ning Yuxuan sat down on the chair, put on makeup first, and then changed into her costume.
The makeup artist looked to be in her thirties and was very capable.
Ning Yuxuan chatted with her: "Were you doing Ning Shiyue's makeup just now?"
The makeup artist answered while picking up her tools: "Yes, not only for actresses, but I also take care of the makeup for some male actors. I did the makeup for Teacher Shi Yue in this drama."
Ning Yuxuan joked, "Don't we look alike?"
The makeup artist pondered for a few seconds: "Just looking at the facial features, they don't quite look alike."
Ning Yuxuan laughed: "Right? When Ning Shiyue and I went to the same middle school, people always said that we siblings didn't look alike."
The makeup artist took out a sponge, dampened it, and applied a base layer to Ning Yuxuan: "But there's one thing that's quite similar."
Ning Yuxuan: "What?"
The makeup artist sincerely praised, "You two siblings have exceptionally good skin. Not only is it flawless, but it's also incredibly radiant. In all my years of doing makeup for people, I've seen no more than five people with skin as good as yours."
Ning Yuxuan smiled and said, "Maybe it's because we all inherited our mother's genes."
Ning Fei's skin is incredibly good and very resistant to aging; even in her early fifties, she only has some barely noticeable wrinkles on her face.
Makeup for period dramas takes a long time, and since Ning Yuxuan's character is positioned as a great beauty, the makeup needs to be glamorous without looking dirty.
The makeup artist spent almost half an hour just doing the eye makeup, applying false eyelashes one by one.
An hour and a half later, the entire makeup and hairstyle were finally completed.
Ning Yuxuan changed into her costume, and a stylist came over to help her get ready.
When she finally appeared on set with her look complete, she attracted a lot of attention.
Ning Yuxuan met most of the crew last night, but it was dark then and she was without makeup.
Her makeup was very heavy today, and many people didn't recognize her as Ning Shiyue's sister at first glance.
"Is this a new actress? She's so pretty! I've never seen her before."
"When did a new actress join the crew? Director Zhang didn't introduce her to us at all!"
It took time for people to recognize her as Ning Shiyue's older sister, whom they had met the night before when they celebrated Ning Shiyue's birthday.
However, no matter how surprised everyone was, none of them were as shocked as Ning Shiyue himself.
Besides the lead actors, a play also has countless supporting actors.
Some characters only have a few scenes, and after those scenes, the characters will not have any further interaction. Ning Shiyue is not fond of socializing, so it is very likely that he will not know the other person's name from beginning to end.
The scenes in the film crew are not shot in chronological order. The scene we are shooting today is when the male lead, played by Ning Shiyue, meets a beautiful woman when he first enters the martial arts world.
The male lead, who had no experience in the martial arts world at the time, helped the woman out of kindness, but unexpectedly he was ambushed by her and thus fell into danger. He was finally able to escape with the help of his good brother.
Before filming this scene, Ning Shiyue did not know who the actress he was acting opposite was.
Ning Shiyue's eyes widened when he saw Ning Yuxuan, who had finished her styling, standing in front of him.
"Ning Yuxuan?"
Director Zhang chuckled and patted Ning Shiyue on the shoulder: "How about it? Isn't she amazing? I told you back then that your sister was perfect for this role."
Zhang Tai saw Ning Yuxuan's look a few minutes earlier than Ning Shiyue.
However, having been a director for so many years, he trusts his judgment in people, and when he saw Ning Yuxuan without makeup yesterday, he felt that she was absolutely perfect for the role.
Both her looks and figure perfectly embody the image of a "great beauty".
The final result was even better than Zhang Tai had imagined.
If Ning Yuxuan hadn't clearly stated that she had no intention of becoming an actress, Zhang Tai would have wanted to persuade her to try out for a role in his next project.
However stunning Ning Yuxuan's ancient costume look may be in the eyes of others, Ning Shiyue only sees her as frightened.
"Director..." Ning Shiyue asked, "Are you sure you want me to face my sister..."
Zhang Tai nodded with a smile: "Yes, Yu Xuan only has two lines in this scene. Xiao Ning, you take care of your sister a bit, and we'll try to get it right within three takes."
Ning Yuxuan and Ning Shiyue both have the surname Ning, but Director Zhang has gotten used to calling them that for so many days and can't change it right away.
Ning Shiyue's last hope was finally extinguished.
He looked at Ning Yuxuan silently, expressing his dissatisfaction with his eyes: Why didn't you tell me about this cameo role sooner?
Ning Yuxuan smiled and mouthed to him, "Birthday surprise."
Ning Shiyue: "..."
No one would believe she was trying to surprise him; she clearly just wanted to see him make a fool of himself.
The two rehearsed the scene once.
This scene mainly consists of Ning Shiyue's lines, which he initially delivered very smoothly.
However, when Ning Shiyue looked at Ning Yuxuan and was about to say, "I never expected you to be so beautiful, yet so treacherous and ugly inside," Ning Shiyue hesitated for the first time.
Ning Yuxuan blinked: "What's wrong, Ning Shiyue? Are you unable to praise me, or are you reluctant to scold me?"
Ning Shiyue replied without hesitation: "Of course I can't praise him!"
That's what they said, but after two rehearsals, Ning Shiyue got stuck on the second half of the sentence after saying the first half.
Director Zhang walked over and looked at Ning Shiyue meaningfully: "Little Ning, I know you and your sister have a very good relationship, but actors need to be professional! You still have to scold them when necessary!"
Ning Shiyue: "...Yes, Director."
He certainly knows that actors need to have a sense of conviction.
However, every time he made eye contact with Ning Yuxuan, his mouth would involuntarily start to stammer.
Ning Fei also came to watch the two of them perform.
She never expected to have the chance to watch her son and daughter act together in her lifetime, and she found it very interesting, so she took out her phone to record the siblings.
When the rest of the crew heard about it, they all came over to watch.
Ning Shiyue always does his homework before filming each scene, memorizing his lines the night before, so he rarely struggles with a scene like this.
Among the onlookers, a young actor spoke up: "Brother Yiming, this scene isn't that difficult, so what's wrong with Brother Yue?"
"What do you know?" Zhuang Yiming said mysteriously, "The one acting opposite Brother Shi Yue is his own sister. That's called bloodline suppression!"
"I see..." The young actor nodded, seemingly understanding.
Despite his inner turmoil, Ning Shiyue's professionalism remained undiminished.
After half an hour of hard work, the scene was finally over.
When Ning Shiyue found Ning Yuxuan, Ning Yuxuan was taking a selfie with her phone.
It's rare to get such a beautiful look. Although I can't release the photos publicly for now due to confidentiality requirements, it's nice to keep a memento on my phone.
Ning Shiyue sat down on the chair next to Ning Yuxuan and looked at the culprit who had tormented him for half an hour: "The director talked to you alone last night, asking you to play the role you just played."
Ning Yuxuan readily admitted, "Yes. What do you think? Don't I look pretty?"
She winked at Ning Shiyue and made a peace sign.
Ning Shiyue: "...It's alright, I guess."
To be honest, Ning Yuxuan looked beautiful today.
However, having grown up with Ning Yuxuan's face, Ning Shiyue has always known that his older sister is very beautiful and very popular with the opposite sex, so he has developed a certain immunity to her looks.
And he hadn't even praised her yet, and Ning Yuxuan was already so smug. If he really praised her for being beautiful, wouldn't her tail be wagging so high?
Ning Yuxuan glanced at Ning Shiyue: "Don't you need to continue rehearsing your lines?"
Ning Shiyue: "The next scene is in the afternoon, so I can rest for a while."
The director was very considerate and didn't schedule any more scenes for Ning Shiyue in the morning. They started filming after lunch.
Ning Yuxuan nodded.
Ning Yuxuan took out her phone and saw a message from Xie Zhiyan's assistant, surnamed Wu.
This morning she added the assistant as a friend.
Ning Yuxuan opened the picture sent by Assistant Wu.
Ning Shiyue hadn't intended to peek, but a quick glance revealed a floor plan of an apartment on Ning Yuxuan's phone screen.
He asked in surprise, "You're looking at houses?"
Ning Yuxuan glanced at Ning Shiyue but didn't answer, nor did she put her phone away.
Ning Shiyue moved his chair closer.
He wasn't seeing things; Ning Yuxuan's phone really did contain a floor plan.
Ning Shiyue frowned: "Why do you need to rent a house? Isn't it fine for you and Mom to live together now? And if you've decided to rent, why didn't you ask me first?"
The apartment he lives in now is rented, and he has more experience in renting than Ning Yuxuan.
Ning Yuxuan glanced at Ning Shiyue and said lightly, "It's not renting, it's buying."
Ning Shiyue: "Huh?"
“You…” Ning Shiyue’s eyebrows furrowed. “It’s not enough that you’ve been helping Mom manage the hotel, now you’re getting into real estate?”
Ning Yuxuan laughed out loud: "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I have no plans to enter the real estate industry."
Ning Shiyue: "Then you..."
Ning Shiyue stared at Ning Yuxuan for a second, then his eyes visibly widened: "You're not going to... with Xie—"
Realizing that his voice was a bit too loud, Ning Shiyue glanced around furtively.
The crew members were all busy with their own things, and no one noticed their conversation.
Ning Fei was stopped on the other side by one of her young actor fans, and didn't even look this way.
Ning Shiyue cleared his throat and lowered his voice: "You're not planning to live with Brother Zhiyan, are you...?"
Ning Yuxuan smiled slightly.
She doesn't have that idea for the time being.
The topic of buying a house was only brought up last week, and Ning Yuxuan later replied to Xie Zhiyan that they could look for suitable options first.
Today was the first time that Xie Zhiyan's assistant sent her several suitable properties, along with information and floor plans, saying that Assistant Liu had selected them according to her requirements.
Even if she does buy a house, she will probably still live with her mother.
Seeing Ning Shiyue's surprised expression, Ning Yuxuan asked with interest, "What? In this day and age, it's not strange to date and live together, is it?"
Ning Shiyue: "..."
"That's not right." Ning Shiyue suddenly realized, "Didn't you say you were planning to buy a house? You can just rent a place if you're living together, why would you buy a house?"
Ning Yuxuan said seriously, "Because Xie Zhiyan is rich, buying a house is more convenient than renting, and there are no worries about the future."
Ning Shiyue was speechless for a moment.
There seems to be no way to refute that.
Ning Shiyue: "...So when do you plan to move in with him?"
Ning Yuxuan almost laughed, not expecting Ning Shiyue to be so easily fooled.
"What's wrong?" Ning Yuxuan asked. "Why are you asking this? Are you worried that you won't see me when you go home, and you'll miss me?"
Ning Shiyue: "You're overthinking it!"
"Really?" Ning Yuxuan said, "Who was it that called me that day specifically to say that I brought Xie Zhiyan home for dinner while you were away? If I really moved in with Xie Zhiyan, wouldn't you call me countless times to complain that I don't come home for dinner?"
Ning Shiyue pursed her lips.
“Anyway, you’re not married yet…” Ning Shiyue said, “You can’t possibly stay at his place forever, right? When I’m home, you can come back and have meals together often, that’s fine.”
Ning Yuxuan glanced at Ning Shiyue in surprise.
She thought Ning Shiyue would say that he didn't care whether she came home to eat or not.
Ning Yuxuan: "Then... what if I get married in the future?"
Ning Shiyue gave her an annoyed look: "How long have you and Zhiyan been together? Only a month? Marriage is still a long way off. If you really plan to get married, you should at least get Mom's and my permission first, right?"
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
Thinking of the red marriage certificate that she had locked away, I suddenly felt a little guilty.
After lunch, there were several performances by Ning Shiyue in the afternoon.
Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei watched Ning Shiyue act next to the monitor.
This was the first time Ning Yuxuan had ever seriously watched Ning Shiyue work on set.
It must be said that Ning Shiyue has a very high level of professionalism; you can feel his strong emotions on set even through the monitor screen.
Ning Yuxuan glanced at her mother's expression beside her; Ning Fei's eyes also looked very gratified.
Ning Fei would visit Ning Shiyue almost every time he joined a production. Ning Shiyue's acting skills improved to varying degrees each time, and this was especially noticeable in this drama.
In the evening, Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei visited nearby attractions and tried some local snacks from Jiangcheng.
Ning Shiyue has two night scenes to film today, so she can't go shopping with them.
At 7 p.m., Xie Zhiyan sent a message to Ning Yuxuan, informing her that the plane had landed.
At 8:30, Ning Shiyue called.
"A few people from the crew organized a barbecue, and they insisted that I ask you if you wanted to join. If you don't want to, I'll decline on your behalf."
Ning Yuxuan: "Where should we eat?"
Ning Shiyue: "It's near our hotel. If you come, I'll send you the location."
After hanging up the phone, Ning Yuxuan told Ning Fei about the situation.
To maintain her figure, my mother controls her oil and sugar intake, so if she goes, she'll definitely be the only one there.
Ning Fei had no objection: "Xuanxuan, don't you really like barbecue? You can eat with Xiaoyue and the others. I can just take a taxi back to the hotel."
Ning Yuxuan: "Then send me a message after you get to the hotel."
Ning Fei smiled and said, "Okay. You and Xiao Yue and the others can have some fun, but don't come back too late."
Ning Yuxuan nodded in agreement.
This barbecue party was suggested by Zhuang Yiming. Besides having a late-night snack together, it was also a way to celebrate Ning Shiyue's birthday.
The director and several veteran actors were not present; only the young actors from the crew attended.
When Ning Yuxuan arrived, everyone had already opened several cans of beer and were chatting enthusiastically.
Upon seeing Ning Yuxuan appear, Zhuang Yiming was the first to stand up and welcome her: "Sister Yuxuan, you're here! Come on in, this seat next to Brother Shi Yue has been reserved for you."
Everyone sat around a large round table, with an empty seat next to Ning Shiyue.
Ning Yuxuan sat down next to Ning Shiyue.
Last night, everyone just greeted Ning Yuxuan and didn't get to know her formally. This time, the actors introduced themselves to Ning Yuxuan.
There were ten people in total: the female lead, the second female lead, the male lead, the second male lead, the third male lead, and several supporting actors who were filming the night scene together today.
Everyone got along well on set. Ning Yuxuan wasn't in the entertainment industry and had no conflict of interest with anyone there, so everyone's praise for her was genuine.
An actress said, "Sister Yuxuan, you look absolutely stunning in your period costume today! Tian Tian has been praising you to me several times in private, saying you're so beautiful!"
The girl named "Tian Tian" smiled shyly and said, "It's true, Sister Yu Xuan, you're so beautiful and you look so good in period costumes."
"Yes, yes, she's really beautiful!" Zhuang Yiming chimed in. "That guy even asked me if I had a boyfriend... I told him to stop dreaming about swan meat!"
A burst of good-natured laughter erupted at the dining table.
Ning Yuxuan graciously accepted everyone's compliments, opened a can of beer, and ate barbecue while drinking.
Ning Shiyue sat next to her, a smile occasionally playing on his lips.
Although he couldn't bring himself to praise it, he would occasionally show a disgusted expression when Ning Yuxuan and he were praising themselves.
But Ning Shiyue was actually very happy to hear others praise him.
Several young male actors were present. They all had big appetites and had worked hard all day, so they quickly devoured all the meat skewers on the table.
Zhuang Yiming ordered several more servings of grilled skewers and vegetables.
As everyone was chatting, someone suddenly called Ning Yuxuan's name from behind.
"Yu Xuan".
Upon hearing a somewhat familiar voice, Ning Yuxuan and Ning Shiyue turned their heads at the same time.
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