Shrine - Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Amidst the clamor and excitement, the Weibo Awards Ceremony came to a successful conclusion.
On the bar street of Tiyu South Road, several cars were parked in the alley beside the two largest nightclubs. This was the side entrance to a newly opened KTV called Tone, which connected to an office building and was generally only accessible to staff.
Down the immaculately quiet office corridor were several hidden private rooms. They were large and clean, free of the usual KTV smell of smoke and alcohol. Soft light emanated from behind the long sofas, and the constant temperature, oxygen, and fresh air systems operated silently, making it feel as upscale as a private club.
Several artists who had been on stage receiving awards just an hour earlier were gathered here, having changed into casual private clothes, chatting and listening to music. Xin Chen had organized this get-together. Overjoyed by the buzz tonight, she had invited Zhong Yi, Ruan Ruan, and a few other artist friends she knew well to come here.
The refreshing aroma of wine mingled with the scent of fruit, making the friends' whispered conversations sound even more pleasant. Xin Chen leaned over to eat some watermelon, telling Ruan Ruan and Zhong Yi beside her that today's event was decent, chaotic but orderly. The one she attended yesterday, she said, had planning that was absolute shit. They told Artist A she would be the finale, then last-minute invited Artist B and promised them the final slot. Neither side was willing to get out of their cars, and they nearly came to blows.
Ruan Ruan smiled, pressing her lips together. Zhong Yi asked Wang Rushi to sing, but Wang Rushi was annoyed, saying she had just sung two songs on stage.
Xin Chen looked up from her watermelon. "If you won't sing, I'll queue up one of Zhang Yanyan's songs."
Zhang Yanyan was Wang Rushi's rival. At the last awards ceremony, her fans had relentlessly attacked Wang Rushi's over the center position on a poster.
"Queueing Zhang Yanyan is so boring," Wang Rushi said coolly. "Why don't you queue up one of Zhou Shi's songs."
Zhou Shi was Xin Chen's ex-boyfriend.
"You're insane!" Xin Chen cursed at her.
"What do you want to hear?" Wang Rushi picked up the microphone listlessly.
Xin Chen queued up a few old songs for her. Wang Rushi cleared her throat. "This mic is terrible."
"Zhong Yi, she says the mics at your KTV suck." Xin Chen immediately tattled.
"Oh."
Zhong Yi leaned over to get some whiskey.
Just as she reached the chorus, the door to the private room opened. A server led someone in, then bowed their head and exited.
Ruan Ruan, who had been immersed in the music, looked up. Beside her, Xin Chen's voice rose. "Shi Ran!"
She had changed into a simple knit sweater, flat boots, and jeans. Her long, curly hair was the same, but her makeup was gone, revealing a clean, fresh face from behind the mask she took off, as pure and white as snow. She appeared in the dimly lit room, and amidst the dazzling beauties, her understated attire still effortlessly drew everyone's gaze.
Shi Ran rarely attended this kind of gathering, so the others were all quite surprised, their conversations gradually slowing.
"Hi." Shi Ran's gaze started with Xin Chen and swept halfway around the room as she greeted them softly.
"Hello, hello, hello."
"Come sit." Xin Chen pointed to the sofa.
Shi Ran sat at the end of the L-shaped sofa and crossed her legs. Xin Chen handed her the drink menu. She tucked her hair behind her ear and chose coolly, finally just pointing to a random item.
Ruan Ruan watched her while sipping her drink, wondering if she should go over. Shi Ran, however, was staring intently at the lyrics on the large screen. After listening to a few lines, she glanced at Ruan Ruan. Their eyes met for an instant before Ruan Ruan lowered her gaze and focused on her drink.
Her heart was pounding like thunder. The farther away Shi Ran sat, the more it felt like flying a kite, pulling her heart taut.
In her peripheral vision, she saw Shi Ran turn her head away again to listen to the song in silence. Ruan Ruan bit the rim of her glass, her teeth tapping against it gently.
Wang Rushi sang with great feeling. Xin Chen chatted with Zhong Yi, taking a moment to praise her.
After a few rounds of drinks, everyone loosened up. Zhong Yi and Wang Rushi sang and danced lightly together, while Ruan Ruan and Xin Chen sat behind them, waving glow sticks supportively like they were at a concert. Only Shi Ran remained seated to the side, her wrist resting on her knee, holding her glass by the rim.
After Zhong Yi finished singing, she turned around with a smile and put down the microphone. Ruan Ruan fanned her with her hand, and Xin Chen handed her a glass of water. "Fucking awesome."
Zhong Yi said, "I almost became an idol, did I ever tell you that?"
She looked at Ruan Ruan as she drank her water.
"Mhm," Ruan Ruan nodded. "She mentioned it before. In high school, she was almost chosen to be a trainee."
She kept up with dancing and stuff after that, which is why her martial arts stances are particularly good-looking.
The livelier it got over there, the more desolate it felt where Shi Ran was. She touched the rim of her glass with her ring finger, suddenly feeling the alcohol go to her head. It manifested as a weakness in her wrists, an emptiness in her arms.
Perhaps she had grown too used to how it was at home with Ruan Ruan, who would press against her softly, her warm body leaning in to whisper in her ear.
If no one else were here, she would probably grab Shi Ran's hand and ask, "Do you want to sing?"
"Do you want something to drink?"
"This watermelon isn't sweet. I'll ask if they have any oranges, okay?"
Shi Ran let out a soft breath, blinking as she gazed at the large screen, which was still playing.
The seat beside her dipped, and a familiar, sweet fragrance wafted over. Shi Ran turned her head slightly. Ruan Ruan had come over. She glanced at her, then reached out to gather her thick, curly hair, carefully twisting it into a single strand and letting it fall to the side of her neck.
"You looked a little warm. Is this better?" she asked softly, tilting her head.
"A little." Shi Ran looked down at her.
"Mhm." Ruan Ruan smiled, her lips pressed together, and then stayed by her side, not going anywhere else.
Shi Ran sometimes wondered if the reason she liked Ruan Ruan so much was because she was exceptionally perceptive, able to sense her sudden loneliness and desolation even from across a lively room, and then quietly draw near.
It turned out that even after receiving the gazes of so many people, she could still feel hungry—hungry to devour Little Bread's attention, to swallow it whole.
By the time the two got home, it was already past three in the morning. They were so exhausted that they were no longer sleepy. Ruan Ruan was scrolling through the trending topics on her phone. Even at this hour, the discussion level was still incredibly high.
On the main feed was Shi Ran's official announcement photo. Ruan Ruan was surprised to discover it was a still from the casting tape she had filmed for Shi Ran, color-corrected and edited. She suddenly felt a great sense of accomplishment, tapping to view the original image and saving it. Shi Ran poured two glasses of peach juice and handed one to Ruan Ruan.
"Is it that good-looking?" she sniffled, sitting down on the single sofa opposite Ruan Ruan and taking out her phone to reply to messages.
Ruan Ruan froze for a moment. After a little thought, she realized Shi Ran had misunderstood and quickly said, "I'm looking at you."
Shi Ran didn't say anything and continued to scroll through her phone.
Ruan Ruan sensed something was off in the atmosphere. She held her breath. It seemed Shi Ran was jealous.
She waited patiently. After a moment, she heard Shi Ran say, "You..."
"Huh?" Ruan Ruan responded softly.
"Did you rehearse what you said to her tonight beforehand?"
"Are you talking about..."
"Zhong Yi."
A double entendre.
"No," Ruan Ruan answered honestly. "I didn't know she was going to say that either."
"You didn't know," Shi Ran repeated in a low voice, looking up at Ruan Ruan. "You're that smart?"
To be able to understand what Zhong Yi meant right away.
Ruan Ruan bit her lip and said in a placating tone, "But you've... always said I was smart, haven't you?"
She walked over and sat on the armrest of Shi Ran's sofa, her wrist dangling beside her thigh, looking very obedient.
Shi Ran turned her head to look up at her. "You are very smart."
"But I wouldn't recommend you use that cleverness on other people," she said coolly, blinking.
Ruan Ruan looked down at her and let out a "pfft" of laughter.
Shi Ran smiled too, but quickly suppressed it. Tilting her head slightly, she went back to replying to her messages.
"That chat window," Ruan Ruan said quietly, "you've opened it three times."
"You got a problem with that?"
"Nope."
Ruan Ruan laughed secretly, puffing out her cheeks. After a moment, she heard Shi Ran ask, "Who taught you to do fan service like that?"
"An Lu."
"Hmm?"
"She said," Ruan Ruan began, imitating An Lu's tone, "since we're already filming a GL adaptation, it'd be ridiculous not to play up the ship."
"Playing up the ship is a sign of respect for the audience."
"Sell it, sell it hard, sell it like crazy."
She recited the three lines in a row and started laughing as she spoke. Shi Ran couldn't hold back either; her breath hitched, and she cleared her throat.
Seeing that she wasn't angry anymore, Ruan Ruan picked up her phone and muttered to herself, "Speaking of which, how did you do fan service for that super popular CP of yours back in the day?"
She stood up and walked away, still muttering as she opened the Weibo search bar.
There was a rustle of clothing from behind, a cool breeze swept past, and the phone was snatched from her hand by Shi Ran. She turned to see Shi Ran holding the phone behind her back, looking down at her with slightly lowered eyes.
"I can't look?" Ruan Ruan asked in a small voice.
The corner of Shi Ran's mouth twitched.
"You must have been really good at it." Ruan Ruan understood, pressing her lips together.
Shi Ran smiled, leaned down, and gave her a light kiss on the lips. It was cool, fragrant, and soft.
"Not as good as you," she said.
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