Shrine - Chapter 9
Chapter 9
The moon was low, as if too lazy to climb. The shadows were deep, as if unwilling to illuminate.
Lonely people can sense the moon's emotions, and Shi Ran was one of them.
Most of the time, the moon didn't speak, its silence like a painting hung to decorate the world. But occasionally, the moon was also noisy, replaying sounds from memory like a tape recorder. Just like tonight.
After her shower, Shi Ran sat on the lounge chair on her balcony, flipping through a book. The moon was too noisy for her to read, so she looked at the floor-to-ceiling window instead. This city was small, its buildings not too tall. Her gaze didn't have to travel far to take in the myriad lights of its homes.
Among those lights, one was for a kitten. A kitten that had just given birth and was recovering, three kittens with their eyes still closed, mewling for food, and one kitten diligently grooming its painted skin, pretending to be human.
Shi Ran had first noticed Ruan Ruan on the first day of filming.
The moment she smelled the perfume, she had an allergic reaction. She pressed the back of her hand to her nose, apologized to her co-star and the director, and Xiao Lin took her to the restroom to sort herself out.
Xiao Lin did a quick check for rashes on her face and the back of her neck, and for any red marks on her ankle where she'd been touched. After confirming there were no major issues, Shi Ran washed her hands and went out first, while Xiao Lin used the restroom.
She looked up and saw the props room not far away. The assistant casting director was frantically looking for his phone, saying the producer wanted to replace someone and they couldn't afford any delays. He needed his phone to make the call. Shi Ran saw it, lying on a sofa three or four steps away from him. He would surely find it if he just looked around a little more.
However, a delicate, boneless-looking hand reached out from the side and stealthily tucked the phone into the crevice of the sofa.
Shi Ran raised her eyes slightly and saw a harmless-looking face.
She was dressed simply in a T-shirt and sweatpants, the usual attire while waiting to start work. Her makeup was translucent, and her eyes were bright and dewy, as if veiled in a layer of mist. Sitting on the sofa, she looked timidly at the assistant casting director and said in a cool, clear voice, "Director, I don't have a scene right now. My makeup is done, I'm not wearing any perfume, and I haven't even put on any mosquito repellent."
The assistant casting director paused, his hand still habitually patting the pants pocket where he usually kept his phone. "Ruan Ruan, we're looking for a foreground extra."
His words were subtle. She was a supporting actress; taking this role would be a bit of a step down for her.
Ruan Ruan smiled sweetly. "I can do it. Let's go, we shouldn't delay."
Before getting up, she put down the throw pillow in her hands, conveniently covering the crevice where the phone was hidden.
Ruan Ruan... Shi Ran remembered her. Even though they had only worked together on a variety show for two or three days two years ago, she still had an impression.
It was just that in her memory, she hadn't been very talkative. She was a bit younger then, and thinner, always looking well-behaved and very cooperative.
When she was brought before her again, Ruan Ruan had already changed into a waitress uniform, her hair tied in a low ponytail. She stood to the side, slightly ill at ease, listening to the on-set assistant director explain the scene.
She listened to the explanation; Shi Ran listened to her. She was like a piece of silken tofu, and even her voice seemed the same, as if it would fall apart with the slightest pressure. She knelt before Shi Ran, watery-eyed, and the same hands that had hidden the phone were about to touch Shi Ran's ankle to put on her shoes according to the script.
Shi Ran grasped her hand. It was even softer than it looked, truly as if it had no bones.
Shi Ran said, "I'm sorry."
Ruan Ruan looked up and gave her a gentle, soft smile, mouthing back, "It's okay."
After observing her hide the phone, every fraction of her expression seemed to have an ulterior motive. For example, this "It's okay"—she chose to say it in a breathy whisper, making it feel like a secret between her and Shi Ran, as if the recent act of grabbing her wrist wasn't entirely innocent.
After their brief interaction ended, Ruan Ruan left the set. Shi Ran picked up her sour plum soup and took a sip.
Xiao Lin smiled beside her. "Teacher Shi, did you know? The sour plum soup you're drinking was made by Ruan Ruan."
Is that so? What a coincidence, Shi Ran thought, blinking pensively.
It was easy enough to figure out these kinds of things; she had seen it all on film sets. People blocking others' paths to success, people carving out their own, people praying to gods and buddhas, people playing tricks and pretending to be something they're not. But Ruan Ruan looked so timid that the word "scheming" seemed too harsh a label for her.
Having drunk the soup without offering any acknowledgment, Shi Ran felt it wasn't right. So, as Xiao Lin was packing things up, she asked, "What's that in your hand?"
"Oh, this is from the last time I went to do voice work for that animated film. They gave it to me. It's the Black Cat Detective."
Shi Ran paused for two or three seconds, then told her to give it to Ruan Ruan when she went down later.
About twenty minutes later, Xiao Lin returned. Shi Ran, playing on her phone, asked, "What did she say?"
"I told her you said thanks. She was really happy and asked why the partner company would give you this," Xiao Lin said, pulling out a tissue to wipe her sweat. "I said you like cats, so the partner company found a cat plushie to give you."
A few days after learning that Shi Ran liked cats, a small kitten darted into Shi Ran's RV.
The slender and delicate Ruan Ruan poked her head in, as was to be expected, and said softly, "The kitten ran inside."
Even more expectedly, Xiao Lin let her come in to find it. And so, holding Xiao Ju, Ruan Ruan sat down in Shi Ran's RV for the first time.
What Shi Ran noticed, however, was that Ruan Ruan had come by two hours earlier to notify them about the start of filming and had casually tossed a used tissue into the trash can near the RV door.
When they were switching vehicles to take Ruan Ruan home, Shi Ran glanced at the trash can. There was a faint scent inside. She had always been sensitive to smells and could easily identify the source.
The scent on the tissue was identical to the nutritional cat paste Ruan Ruan took out to feed the cat. Xiao Ju was utterly enamored with the smell, holding it with both paws and licking it, making little "aowu aowu" sounds. After finishing, it licked its lips, wanting more.
Why would a stray cat suddenly dart into an RV? Unless it was frightened, or someone had lured it.
Shi Ran began to observe Ruan Ruan. This little black-furred cat officer, seemingly weak, was diligent and clever. Her popularity was astonishing; everyone on the crew knew her. She had won over many hearts with her sour plum soup. Shi Ran wasn't the only one, and she didn't know if she was the first.
She used a kitten to scheme, yet Shi Ran, from inside the RV, saw her genuinely feeding stray cats. The kittens crunched on the cat food in her palm, and she smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. She dusted the crumbs off her hands, shouldered her bag, and left.
Aside from deliberately approaching Shi Ran, she showed no other abnormalities. She was so kind that dozens of pairs of eyes couldn't find a single fault with her.
A month later, all her advances found their answer, like the hands of a clock pointing to twelve.
That day, Shi Ran had already wrapped up filming. The makeup artist and other staff had left. Xiao Lin was suddenly called away by the director to discuss adjustments to the next day's schedule, so Shi Ran waited alone in the RV. After removing her makeup, a slightly annoying cosmetic smell lingered in the air. Before leaving, Xiao Lin had habitually cracked open a window for ventilation.
Shi Ran leaned against the window, flipping through a fashion magazine she had shot for previously, when she suddenly heard Wu Mei's voice.
The sky was growing dark, and it was quiet around the RV. She must have thought Shi Ran's team had already left in another vehicle, so she had gone around to the corner to make a phone call.
Behind the RV was a more secluded part of the courtyard. When Shi Ran had been on set before, male actors would sometimes come back here to smoke. The faint smell of smoke would occasionally greet her when she got in the RV to air it out.
Wu Mei lowered her voice, but she was naturally loud, and snippets of her conversation still drifted to Shi Ran's ears through the air.
"I told you, didn't I? I said you two recorded a show together, and she remembers you. Cozy up to her, stir up a CP with her."
Shi Ran's hand stopped turning the magazine page. She leaned the back of her head lightly against the RV wall and lifted her face, her expression cold.
There was silence outside for a moment. Wu Mei pulled at the weeds on the wall, then kicked at a pebble and sighed.
"Yeah, I know. You're already in your twenties and still can't get famous. The young girls nowadays are so fresh and dewy, they say even those born after 2000 are considered old now." As she spoke, she scratched her head in frustration.
Finally, she lowered her voice and muttered, "What are we gonna do if there are no roles? What are we gonna do? Do I really have to sleep with the assistant director? Even if I did, he wouldn't give a damn."
"Yeah, last month, so-and-so made me drink, then started getting handsy, saying he'd give me a role if I put out."
"Fuck, I drank until I was sick."
The voice was very low. If Shi Ran's attention hadn't been caught, and if she hadn't filled in the gaps with her years of experience on film sets, she probably wouldn't have been able to piece together much information.
Her fingertip pressed lightly on the magazine, then lifted. She rubbed her thumb and forefinger together, feeling a fine powder.
Even on a seemingly smooth page, there were inevitably impurities left from the printing process, no matter how high-end this fashion magazine was touted to be. The celebrities, draped in fine clothes, held their glamorous heads high, as if they had never been at the mercy of life.
Shi Ran knew Wu Mei was Ruan Ruan's assistant, so the person she was talking about was naturally Ruan Ruan.
Shi Ran thought she probably understood now why that seemingly soft and fragrant Little Bread had to add flavor enhancers and go to such lengths to curry favor with her.
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