Shrine - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
On Tuesday, Ruan Ruan wasn't on the call sheet for Mystery Guest, but she woke up very early. Wu Mei left around seven or eight in the morning. With nothing to do, Ruan Ruan went to the film set to chat with a few of the young actresses she knew.
The set was bustling with activity. A popular young starlet from the production next door had come to visit Shi Ran. She was wearing a voluminous period costume, and a whole crowd of people trailed behind her, including an assistant filming a set vlog with a DJI camera. This kind of interaction was usually cleared with the production team beforehand. It suddenly dawned on Ruan Ruan why Shi Ran's call time had been scheduled for the same day as her flight.
The starlet's visit was as brief as it was sudden. She left, lifting the hem of her period gown, leaving a strong scent of powder and cosmetics lingering in the air.
As noon approached, the props team brought out a few unused apple boxes. Ruan Ruan sat on one, talking with her friends. They were reading each other's palms when several delivery men entered the courtyard, carrying large bags of desserts and drinks in the hot sun. A production assistant jogged out to meet them, directing the idle set crew to set up tables. They arranged the drinks and desserts one by one on the adjoined wooden tables and called out, "Come on, come on, desserts and drinks! Help yourselves."
"Wow," one of her friends craned her neck to see. The logo on the desserts looked quite high-end. "Which benefactor is being so generous?"
A crew member chuckled. "Boss Shi."
Ruan Ruan followed the sound of his voice. The extras crowded around. "Teacher Shi?" "Really?" "Why the sudden treat?"
The crew member handed out drinks as he explained, "Boss Shi won 1000 from a scratch-off ticket yesterday and is treating everyone."
"Wow!" "No way, what amazing luck." "Was it one of the crew's lottery tickets? Does this mean our show is going to be a hit…"
Listening to the whispers and watching the people come and go, Ruan Ruan's heart began to pound violently.
Shi Ran had said she scratched it, and then she treated everyone. The entire crew got to taste the sweetness, but only she and Shi Ran knew who had really scratched the ticket, and after what kind of secret exchange.
Her body reacted again, her lower abdomen involuntarily clenching.
The crew member spotted her sitting off to the side and handed her a latte. "I see you drink this often. Here."
Iced, with five-tenths sugar. Ruan Ruan took it with both hands, the condensation seeping into her palms. "Thank you."
"Hey, it's Boss Shi's treat. Thank Boss Shi," the crew member said with a smile.
Ruan Ruan pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes, a small smile playing on her face.
She inserted the straw and took a couple of sips. The milky flavor was rich. Ruan Ruan habitually chewed on the straw as she heard a faint stir from inside. Shi Ran and her group were coming out. This time, she wasn't holding an umbrella. She wore a black women's suit from Brand A, the cut and material a class above the rest. The suit's crossover was very low, and she wore nothing underneath. The deep V-neck should have been incredibly sexy, but paired with her cool expression and her right hand tucked into her pocket as she walked briskly, it only exuded a casual and sharp competence.
The extras were eating and drinking the treats she'd provided, but they only watched her with their eyes. No one went up to thank her, likely seeing that she was in a hurry.
Her executive agent and offline events agent were both there, the same configuration as the first day, flanking her like stars orbiting the moon. Shi Ran listened to her agent with her head slightly bowed as she turned to put on a mask.
As she passed Ruan Ruan, she lifted her eyelids and glanced over. Her nose and lips were hidden by the mask, her expression unreadable. Ruan Ruan, sipping the latte Shi Ran had bought, pursed her lips slightly.
Shi Ran was telling her: I'm leaving.
Ruan Ruan was saying: Okay.
They both knew.
On Wednesday, Ruan Ruan lazed around at home.
It was a rare day off with nothing scheduled. Normally, even without plans, she would push herself to do yoga or some other aerobic exercise. But today, she spent the entire day thinking about Shi Ran.
She thought about the glance Shi Ran had given her as she left, about the "Little Bread" in her character biography, about her quietly saying "Impressive," and about how she had used the money won by the little cat officer to treat everyone the next day.
Generally, one's impression of a person is holistic and vague. When you find yourself repeatedly savoring the details of someone, mentally tracing the corners of their clothes and the hem of their skirt, it most likely means you like them.
Ruan Ruan had lived her life in a rush, with no time to relax and slowly fall for someone. But this feeling, like an orgasm, required no experience to identify. When it arrived, you just knew. This was it.
At the same time, Ruan Ruan was aware that this was a fragile, precarious affection. The majority of their interactions had been in bed. She didn't know where the sentiment or the emotion came from. If it came from the body, it seemed far too frivolous. But that was the strangest part—unfamiliar as they were, their bodies were excessively compatible. Every inch of their intimacy was so precise it felt like an act of devotion. From the tips of her hair to her toes, she was both indulged and tamed.
When you simultaneously experience being catered to and being disciplined, it's hard for either the body or the soul not to fall for the other person.
So what about Shi Ran? What did Shi Ran think? They were undoubtedly satisfying bed partners, but Ruan Ruan had never topped Shi Ran. Their experiences were not equal. It was hard to say if Shi Ran felt even a little bit moved.
She also wondered what role the Desire production team had her audition for. The mere thought of Shi Ran playing the Ruan Ruan in her eyes—a Ruan Ruan lost in desire—was enough to make her heart flutter.
She thought from dawn until dusk, quietly waiting for the sun to set, waiting for the long day to tell her, "Thank you for watching."
On Thursday, she received a WeChat message from Xiao Lin.
Ruan Ruan was holding Xiao Hei and trimming her nails at the time. The kitten's claws were short and fragile, and she had to be extremely careful not to cut the quick. After staring for a while, her vision blurred. So when Xiao Lin's profile picture appeared on the screen, her first reaction was to blink, and a physiological tear welled up.
Ruan Ruan let the kitten go, dabbed the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and read Xiao Lin's message: "Are you coming over tomorrow?"
"Huh?" Ruan Ruan didn't understand.
"She's coming back tomorrow. Are you going to see her?"
Ruan Ruan's heart skipped a beat. "Did she ask you to ask me?"
She understood why Xiao Lin was being so ambiguous. They both tacitly used "she" to refer to Shi Ran.
"No," Xiao Lin said. "She's still upstairs auditioning. I was bored and just asking. If you're seeing her, I'll make other plans for myself tomorrow."
Oh… the disappointment was a little obvious.
Ruan Ruan thought for a moment, then chose her words carefully. "She didn't say anything, so I don't dare to go."
Xiao Lin had probably guessed their relationship, but assistants were always the best at playing deaf and dumb about such things. If she and Ruan Ruan weren't on good terms, she wouldn't have even brought it up.
"In that case, I'll check the call sheet later and see what she thinks."
"Okay." Ruan Ruan licked her lips. She could have asked Shi Ran directly, but for some reason, after thinking about her all day yesterday, her mindset had subtly shifted. She wanted to see things from a third party's probing perspective.
It was an unsettled afternoon. Ruan Ruan couldn't even focus on the script for her new drama. She highlighted lines with a colored pen while propping her phone up on her left, watching for any new messages.
Only after it was completely dark did Xiao Lin send three words: "Have to work."
Understood.
"Okay," Ruan Ruan replied, touching her own fingertip as she typed.
The sound of the lock turning came from the door. Before she could even stare at the chat history for a moment, she heard Wu Mei return. The smell of alcohol arrived before her silhouette. Ruan Ruan turned her head to see Wu Mei slam heavily against the shoe cabinet. With a loud thud, the cabinet shook.
Ruan Ruan hurried over, steadying Wu Mei with one hand and righting a vase on the cabinet with the other. "You've been drinking?"
Wu Mei swallowed hard, her face flushed and her hair a mess. She really did look like a salted dark plum. She stood by the door, hugged Ruan Ruan, and burst into tears.
She cried so hard she couldn't catch her breath, her chest heaving with sobs. Her tears soaked into the collar of Ruan Ruan's shirt.
Ruan Ruan was both panicked and heartbroken. She frowned and stroked Wu Mei's back. "What's wrong?"
Wu Mei shook her head, her shoulders trembling. She didn't speak, only cried.
Ruan Ruan was terribly anxious. Worried the neighbors might hear, she pulled Wu Mei onto the sofa, wiped her tears with her fingers, and handed her a tissue, gesturing for her to blow her nose. She didn't try to console her right away, just held her hand and carefully checked for any injuries. Seeing that her clothes and body were unharmed, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Only after Wu Mei had cried her fill did she hand her a glass of warm water and ask in a voice as soft as if she were afraid of blowing out a candle, "What happened, Mei Mei?"
"Did someone force you to drink?" Ruan Ruan felt like crying too, her eyes stinging.
Wu Mei shook her head and sniffled loudly before saying in a thick, stuffy voice, "I went on my own."
"The crew I just joined," her voice was extremely hoarse, and she cleared her throat forcefully, "had a dinner."
Her tone was twisted, grievance uncontrollably spilling from her voice.
"Afterward, they went back to the hotel to play cards. I went too. There's a Master of Lights on the crew. I went to find him, to slip him some money, hoping he'd light me better."
This was not an unfamiliar situation for minor actresses like them. Having finally landed a supporting role, they often had to put on a smiling face and beg for favors. Actresses at their level couldn't even get to directors or producers; the most they could do was try to get on the good side of the "Master of Lights" or the "Master of Booms."
Master of Lights was crew slang for an experienced lighting technician who had some say. While the job might not seem that significant to outsiders, everyone in the industry knew that lighting was the "mother" of makeup and hair. Good lighting could give a person a second face.
"And then?" Ruan Ruan could roughly guess what had happened, and her heart felt heavy and blocked.
"He said, 'Do I look like I need money?'" Wu Mei's tears started to fall again, and she quickly pressed a tissue against them. "Then his apprentices started dragging me to his room. So I ran, I just ran."
She pressed the tissue hard against her eyes. "I'm not crying about that, you know, Ruan Ruan. I just feel…"
"Even after all that, as I was running away, I didn't dare to be harsh. I was still smiling and saying, 'You guys have had a lot to drink.'"
Even though her wrist was red from being grabbed, even though her throat was trembling, even though she was being bullied, she was still smiling. Still smiling.
Wu Mei sobbed violently, clutching Ruan Ruan's hand as if it were a piece of driftwood that could save her life.
Ruan Ruan's nose turned red. She fought back her tears, swallowed hard, and gently squeezed Wu Mei's hand in return.
Just wait a little longer, she said to herself. Just wait a little longer. I'll get a leading role. I'll work my ass off to get famous, and then I'll get Wu Mei roles. Like Shi Ran, who can push people to the top so effortlessly.
Just wait a little longer, and things will be okay soon, Ruan Ruan said in her heart.
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