CSGM - Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Brought It On Yourself
A long, drawn-out hum pierced the night.
Heavy tires ground over the muddy old road, sending up splatters of mud and water.
The motorcycle's shadow, like an agile cheetah, zipped nimbly through the thin mist, cutting through the wind on either side.
The shadow quickly receded down the road.
Finally, it became a moving black dot that disappeared.
Five minutes later.
As expected, Chu Xi punctually pulled up to the clinic's entrance.
The dim yellow light inside the clinic was on. An old doctor, dozing in a chair, was shaken awake.
"Doctor, you have a patient."
Half an hour later, Chu Xi had dried her hair and body and bought a box of antiviral granules from the clinic.
Ren Zhi was now sitting on a patient bed. The old doctor had just given her an acupuncture treatment, promising a swift recovery. A row of needles was stuck into the acupoints on her left leg, which was being warmed by an electric heat lamp placed beside it.
Her complexion had improved a lot.
She looked much better than she had in the tent.
The old doctor was giving her instructions, saying: "The fracture in your leg didn't heal properly. From now on, try to avoid cold water and strenuous exercise. On cool days like today, you need to pay extra attention to staying warm. Rest more for the next few days, don't stand or walk for long periods. Let it recover for about three to five days."
Ren Zhi nodded. "I understand, Doctor."
Chu Xi came over holding a paper cup, swirling it in her hand. A hot, medicinal smell filled the air.
"Drink this." She handed the paper cup to Ren Zhi.
Half a cup of brown liquid, smelling strongly of antiviral granules.
Ren Zhi took it, a warmth spreading through her palm.
She looked at Chu Xi's cool, clear eyes, which seemed to have gained a layer of soft shadow in the flickering lamplight. She said, "Thank you."
The old doctor added from the side, "Yes, you should drink some cold medicine to prevent a cold." After speaking, he went back to his seat to rest.
Chu Xi sat on another patient bed opposite her, also tore open a packet of antiviral granules, shook the contents into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.
Taking preventative measures for herself as well.
She had no desire to wake up with a cold tomorrow.
After finishing, she took Ren Zhi's empty paper cup and threw them both away, then turned back to ask, "Feeling any better?"
"Much better. My leg doesn't hurt anymore."
Ren Zhi's voice had returned to normal, and she sounded like she was mostly fine.
Chu Xi sat beside her, waiting for the acupuncture to finish. She raised an eyebrow curiously. "How did you injure your leg? Didn't the hospital fix it properly back then?"
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Ren Zhi's face. "They did. But I went back to filming before my recovery period was over, which is why it didn't heal completely."
Chu Xi summarized, "You brought it on yourself."
Ren Zhi had to admit, "Pretty much."
"Thank you for bringing me here today. If you ever need anything in the future..."
Chu Xi raised a hand, cutting her off.
"Stop. Just pay the bill yourself later. That's enough."
To Chu Xi, those weren't kind words; they were a curse.
If she ever sank to the level of needing someone else's help to solve her problems, her situation would be truly pathetic.
She didn't need it.
She liked to rely on herself.
Ren Zhi's words came to an abrupt halt.
"...Okay."
A moment later, Ren Zhi looked at Chu Xi again, seeming to hesitate.
Chu Xi asked, "What is it?"
Ren Zhi: "Can you do me one more favor?"
Chu Xi: "Go ahead."
Ren Zhi said, "Don't tell anyone about my leg injury. Besides you, not many people know."
Chu Xi clicked her tongue with a half-smile. "So I'm not 'anyone'?"
Three black lines appeared on Ren Zhi's forehead. "You're an exception."
Chu Xi chuckled. "No problem. My lips are sealed."
Still, it wasn't a big deal. Did it really matter whether people knew or not?
In fact, Ren Zhi really didn't want to see marketing accounts or fans flooding the internet with press releases about her getting injured while filming, or working while sick. She didn't like anyone promoting her that way.
The popularity she had earned over the years was built on her professional skills and actual achievements. Those two things were a public figure's true source of authority.
Not by playing the victim and fishing for sympathy.
On the other hand, Ren Zhi found that sort of thing rather cringey.
She herself didn't make a big deal out of minor bumps and bruises, yet a horde of fans would cry about how tragic it was, wailing about how much their hearts ached for her and telling her to rest well.
For example, just a bruise on her arm, not a broken bone. What was there to rest for? What was there to feel sorry about?
She used to get bruises like that all the time from falling down as a child.
Chu Xi chuckled at that, glanced at her leg, and gestured, "This isn't exactly a minor bump or bruise."
Ren Zhi said, "Like you said, I brought it on myself. I guess I deserve it."
Chu Xi: "That's true."
When the acupuncture session was over, the old doctor came to remove the needles for Ren Zhi. He then applied a tiger balm plaster below her knee, smoothed it out, and pointed at it while speaking to Chu Xi:
"Change this plaster for her once a day. Put it here. For seven days."
"Got it." Chu Xi stuffed the box of plasters into her jacket pocket.
Outside, the rain had lessened to a fine drizzle and was about to stop.
It was only after she got on the motorcycle for the ride back that Ren Zhi remembered to ask:
"Where did you get this motorcycle?"
"Borrowed it from the crew."
Back at the campsite, Chu Xi hung the keychain on the flap of a tent to return it.
She had already woken the person up when she borrowed the bike; she wouldn't disturb their sleep again on her return.
The two didn't get back to their tent to sleep until five in the morning.
Lying back in bed, Ren Zhi felt that Chu Xi's hand was ice-cold. She glanced over and saw that Chu Xi's pale neck also seemed to carry a chill from the rainy mist.
She couldn't help but recall how Chu Xi had looked, drenched and dripping with rainwater.
Aside from that mouth of hers, which was truly incapable of saying anything nice...
...Chu Xi had actually been very good to her.
The light went out.
Ren Zhi lay awake for a while, then whispered, "Chu Xi."
"Hm?"
In the dim, hazy air, Ren Zhi's voice seemed to be tinged with the gentleness of the night.
Lingering, warm, and soft.
But, what she said was truly amusing.
"What kind of courses do you sell? Send them to me tomorrow. I'll buy them all."
Ren Zhi had decided to support Chu Xi's "work" as a way of repaying her.
And she happened to have the money.
A laugh from Chu Xi suddenly floated through the darkness.
She reached out and patted Ren Zhi's shoulder. "Just get some sleep."
How amusing. She really thought she was selling courses to make money.
The next morning when they woke up, Ren Zhi even brought it up again.
While changing her clothes, Chu Xi told her with a straight face, "No need for money. We educators don't ask for anything in return."
"Really?" Ren Zhi was skeptical. Chu Xi didn't seem like the selfless type at all.
Heh... and Chu Xi really wasn't.
If it weren't for the System's mission, she would never get involved with a gathering place for idiots like the entertainment industry. Disgusting.
She gave a scornful smile, and Ren Zhi knew it was a lie.
"We'll talk about it when the time comes. I need to think about what to teach you first, anyway," Chu Xi said.
Ren Zhi had a higher starting point; raising her IQ wouldn't be as easy as it was for a poor student like Li Xiling.
"Okay, then you should go out first. I need to change."
Chu Xi shot her a disdainful look, her eyes traveling up and down. "We're both women. Why are you acting like such a stranger?"
Every time she changed, she did it openly in the tent, letting Ren Zhi watch as she pleased.
But Ren Zhi was always so shy about it, as if Chu Xi were a man who would take advantage of her just by looking.
Although she felt Ren Zhi's need for privacy was completely unnecessary, she still left the tent after speaking and went straight to the RV restaurant.
At eight in the morning, the production team gathered all the members in the RV restaurant.
After an hour's drive, the RV finally arrived at the base of Jinwu Mountain at nine o'clock.
A large, ochre-colored mountain loomed before everyone's eyes.
The orange post-rain sunlight illuminated the undulating contours of the mountain range. A rugged mountain path was sandwiched between two rows of tall, yellow coniferous trees.
The large, cumbersome RV could only park at the foot of the mountain, crouching on the only flat patch of ground as if looking up in awe.
But the base of the mountain was a godforsaken place, deserted and sparsely populated.
Because the native residents of Jinwu Mountain all lived up on the mountain.
Starting work an hour early today was one thing, but now they even had to climb a mountain to find customers. Li Xiling, who hadn't slept well, couldn't help but complain, "Director, this is too much!"
"I suspect the director is deliberately trying to stop us from doing business. Customers are getting harder and harder to find!" Xiao Han chimed in impatiently.
Even Ren Zhi frowned, worried that today's business would be another flop. But she had no choice but to ask, "Director, what is today's theme?"
The Director, being an old fox, didn't care about their verbal pressure at all. He announced solemnly:
"Today's theme is: A Gathering of Ethnic Minority Friends."
He then explained:
"The residents of Jinwu Mountain are all of the Ha'ni ethnic group. The guests you need to invite today are Ha'ni people. However, since the RV restaurant cannot drive up Jinwu Mountain, you will have to go up the mountain yourselves to call the guests down. The mountain path is long, so please hurry up and set off."
Li Xiling: "*! Achoo!"
Zhao Shiqing quickly said, "We need to leave one person behind to clean the restaurant anyway. Sister Ling caught a cold last night, and it's windy on the mountain. Why don't we let Sister Ling stay in the RV?"
Everyone agreed.
Li Xiling shot Zhao Shiqing a grateful look.
This was great. She wouldn't have to huff and puff her way up the mountain.
Chu Xi looked at Ren Zhi and suddenly said, "You should stay behind too."
Her leg had just acted up last night, and the doctor had told her to avoid strenuous exercise.
But unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, two busybodies chimed in.
Xiao Han said, "We can't leave so many people in the RV. It'll be hard to find customers today. Everyone who can go out should go."
Zhao Shiqing also said with a smile, "Sister Zhi, let's go together. You're our public face, after all." She wanted to find more opportunities to get close to Ren Zhi.
Chu Xi shot them both a cold glare. So nosy.
Ren Zhi discreetly touched her arm and said to the group, "Okay, let's get going."
After the other three had walked ahead, she stayed behind and gently tugged on Chu Xi's sleeve, whispering to her, "I'm fine now. Don't worry about me."
Chu Xi lifted her chin, her gaze condescending. She gave Ren Zhi a cool glance and said softly, without any extra expression, "Go on and push yourself."
If she was asking for trouble, Chu Xi wouldn't help her later.
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