Shrine - Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Ruan Ruan froze for a moment, then quickly burst out laughing. She pushed Shi Ran down onto the sofa, nuzzled her head in the crook of Shi Ran's neck, and looked up, smiling.
Shi Ran laughed too, her silkworm-like undereye bags bunching up. She pressed the back of her hand to her rising lips, laughing happily.
They looked at each other for a few seconds, neither having ever seen the other so joyful. Ruan Ruan was the first to be taken aback. She blinked twice, tucked a messy strand of hair behind her ear, and her smile gradually faded.
Shi Ran pressed one side of her rosy lips together. The laughter in her eyes hadn't vanished, but her expression had already cooled. She shifted her gaze and said, "So that's what you sound like when you really laugh."
"What's it like?" Ruan Ruan instinctively covered her mouth.
"I don't know," Shi Ran said, looking directly at her. "It doesn't sound human."
Ruan Ruan wanted to laugh again. Her breath hitched in her palm, and she could barely hold it in.
"But it's nice to listen to." Shi Ran pulled her hand away.
Ruan Ruan bit her lower lip but couldn't hold back, letting out a "pfft" of laughter.
"Calabash Brothers" was just too funny, especially coming from Shi Ran's mouth. She couldn't take it.
Sister Qin's WeChat reply calmed them both down. Ruan Ruan leaned against her, and they watched a video of the four kittens together. Smelling the scent of Shi Ran's shoulder and neck, listening to her soft breathing, Ruan Ruan felt a sense of peace. But beyond that peace, she couldn't help but think of other things.
At nine-thirty in the evening, while Shi Ran was in the study having a meeting with colleagues, Ruan Ruan received a call from Wu Mei.
She sounded exhausted. She hemmed and hawed, beating around the bush for a long time before finally asking, "Ruan Ruan, where did you go on your business trip?"
Ruan Ruan closed the bedroom door and sat on Shi Ran's large bed. The silk bedding clung to her skin, making her think, rather inappropriately, of the Princess and the Pea. She had never been a delicate person. Back when she and Wu Mei shared a rented apartment, they had no balcony, so their quilts could only be air-dried indoors. Sometimes they were both so busy that they'd leave the laundry in the washing machine for too long, and the quilts would have a faint musty smell even after drying. But they would tumble into bed together and sleep very comfortably.
Suddenly hearing Wu Mei's voice, Ruan Ruan could almost smell that comfortable and long-missed musty scent.
"I'm in Jiangcheng, Mei Mei," Ruan Ruan said softly.
On the other end of the line, Wu Mei took two heavy breaths. She didn't sound surprised. After a pause of about ten seconds, she said, "Ruan Ruan, people online are saying you signed with Dianxing Entertainment. Is that true?"
Her words were filled with unease, as if she were afraid.
Goosebumps suddenly broke out on Ruan Ruan's skin. She had been in a daze for the past two days and had forgotten that Wu Mei might see the photo of her with the popular young actresses on Weibo. She had no idea if rumors were already flying online.
"Mei Mei," Ruan Ruan took a shallow breath, trying to speak calmly. "Yes, I signed with Dianxing Entertainment. I just signed, and then, I came to Jiangcheng for a business trip. I didn't expect…"
She didn't know what to say. Any explanation would sound incredibly insincere.
Her heart was pounding with anxiety. She was scared—scared Wu Mei would blame her for hiding it, scared Wu Mei would be hurt. Putting herself in her shoes, if she had found out about her best friend from a trending topic, it would certainly feel unreal and easily shake their bond.
Wu Mei was quiet for a moment, then asked, "The marketing accounts say it's Shi Ran's company."
"It's Xin Chen's and Shi Ran's. Shi Ran is just one of the shareholders," Ruan Ruan confessed, bracing herself.
"The marketing accounts also said that the three of you were on that variety show before, that you kept in touch after it ended and have a great relationship, and since your previous contract was up, you just signed…" Wu Mei said hesitantly.
It felt surreal.
She had just finished work, dead tired. She got back to her rental, wanted to send Ruan Ruan a message, but fell asleep holding her phone. When she went to the kitchen to boil water, she casually scrolled through Weibo and, to her shock, saw Ruan Ruan in a repost on her feed.
Her hand immediately pressed against the hot kettle, making her wonder if she was dreaming.
Her heart pounding, she zoomed in on the photo. She saw Ruan Ruan in splendid clothes, and beside her, Shi Ran, as well as Meng Xinran, Zhao Yuqing, Wang Yiqing, Zhou Yue… Wu Mei scratched her cheeks, then clicked into the Weibo pages of several of the celebrities one by one. They had all posted the picture. But Shi Ran's page had no updates, and neither did Ruan Ruan's.
Breaking out in a sweat, she searched for Ruan Ruan. Several major V-accounts were already promoting this "new young actress signed by Shi Ran." They also revealed several others who had been signed at the same time, arranging them in a nine-square grid, all youthful, energetic, and full of potential.
Then, the gossiping onlookers started making comparisons, trying to see which of the signed Little Radishes had the most star quality and whether they could become a hit.
Others analyzed their common traits, summarizing Shi Ran's aesthetic preferences.
Someone said, "This is great, none of them have internet-celebrity faces. They're all natural and have unique features."
Someone else said, "Shi Ran brought Ruan Ruan to the banquet, so she's probably the one they're pushing the most. But Ruan Ruan is a bit old, so I'm not too optimistic."
Then she scrolled to a post from Shi Ran's fan club in her Super Topic, which said that there was no official news yet, and since it didn't involve promoting film or television resources, they wouldn't be communicating with the artist's team. They also urged everyone to focus on Shi Ran's work.
It was put very tactfully: at most, this was just one of Shi Ran's investments and didn't have much to do with them, the fans.
The kettle started to click and clatter as the water boiled. Steam billowed from the spout, scalding Wu Mei's hand resting above it. She sluggishly pulled it back, a thin layer of condensation forming on the heel of her palm.
She didn't look anymore. She immediately called Ruan Ruan.
"What they're saying isn't quite right. We weren't in contact before, you know that," Ruan Ruan's voice was raspy, coming from the distant Jiangcheng.
Wu Mei fell silent again. Ruan Ruan grew anxious and called out to her, "Mei Mei…"
Suddenly, she heard Wu Mei say, "Has the company assigned you a team? Is there anyone looking after you?"
Ruan Ruan blinked, and tears immediately fell.
Because Wu Mei's tone was full of worry for her. She didn't blame Ruan Ruan. Her first reaction after learning the news was to wonder if anyone was taking care of her. She had even tactfully swallowed a sentence: going to those kinds of places, with no background and no experience, will people bully you?
Ruan Ruan's lips trembled. She cried quietly.
In truth, she wasn't used to it either; she was just trying her best. She wiped away her tears and said in a very low voice, "Not yet. I'm just following Shi Ran and learning."
Her voice didn't sound unusual, but Wu Mei still asked softly, "What are you crying for?"
"Things are looking up, what are you crying for?"
Only then did Ruan Ruan sniffle and laugh. "I don't know, it's just… it's just… What are you doing? Mei Mei, did you just get home?"
"Yeah, about to make some instant noodles," Wu Mei said, sitting down on the sofa. "So, has the company said when they'll get you a team? You're in Jiangcheng, when are you coming back…" She paused. "Are you still coming back?"
"I am, I have to come back to film," Ruan Ruan said immediately. "But I might be in Jiangcheng for the next few months doing a play. We just talked about it this afternoon, it's not set yet."
"Oh," Wu Mei responded thoughtfully, then fell silent again. It sounded a bit cold on her end; she coughed a few times.
"Mei Mei," Ruan Ruan said, holding onto the edge of the bed just like she used to. "Would you still be willing to come work with me? I don't know if I can help you get roles, but I'll try my best. If you want to, I'll go talk to Xin Chen."
The atmosphere on Wu Mei's end immediately lightened up. "Hah, I've been holding it in, I was so afraid you wouldn't take me with you."
She laughed shyly. "I was too embarrassed to even mention it."
Ruan Ruan instantly felt relieved. She touched her forehead and said in a soft, hoarse voice, "Of course I'll take you with me. I'll go fight for the highest salary. Do you think that's possible?"
"You just signed, better not. I'm afraid if you ask for too much, the company will have a problem with you. I'll be fine just having food and a place to stay with you. Besides, the crews I've been with lately are getting worse and worse. When you get famous, I'll be your Xiao Lin, and people will send us sour plum soup too." Wu Mei was lost in her own daydreams.
Ruan Ruan couldn't help but smile. "Is sour plum soup all you're thinking about?"
"Hey, tell me, was it because I told you to give her the sour plum soup that you and Shi Ran got close?" Wu Mei pressed her relentlessly. "I told you to suck up to her, did it work?"
The two of them chattered back and forth, from "How much was that gown?" to "Is Meng Xinran pretty in person?", from whether the new company would give her a leading role to how brand-name hotels cost several thousand a night.
Finally, Wu Mei said reluctantly that she'd wait for Ruan Ruan to send someone to Shucheng to pick her up.
Ruan Ruan said the scenario felt very familiar. Wu Mei said, "You'd better not be a heartless cad, my top scholar."
Laughing, she hung up the phone. Ruan Ruan rolled around on the bed a couple of times, planning to go tell Shi Ran about Wu Mei.
She didn't disturb Shi Ran, waiting for her in the living room to finish her meeting. After only five minutes, she heard the familiar sound of slippers.
Ruan Ruan turned her head. Shi Ran paused, slightly taken aback. "You were crying?"
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