MQSP - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Lin Yuqing woke up very early. She hadn't slept well all night, and it was all because of the phone call from Su Yu last night. Su Yu had claimed to have "picked out a wife" for her—fair-skinned and beautiful, with an elegant air, and a college student, no less. A perfect match for her, she'd said. Su Yu had even vividly described some of the scenes she'd imagined, all sorts of kissing and intimate scenes between the two of them in the drama. Listening to it filled Lin Yuqing with revulsion. The urge to quit the show almost slipped out several times, but she gritted her teeth and forced it down.
However, if Su Yu kept messing around like this, quitting might just have to be put on the agenda.
Lin Yuqing quickly washed up and went to the living room, where she found that Baiye was already up and busy making breakfast in the kitchen.
Lin Yuqing stood at the kitchen doorway for a moment. Why did she love cooking so much? Had she chosen the wrong major back then?
"Auntie Lin, good morning. I've made breakfast, come and eat." When Baiye turned and saw Lin Yuqing, she gave a natural, sweet smile. Lin Yuqing was momentarily dazed. Seeing the beautiful curve of Baiye's lips, her mood inexplicably lifted.
"Let's eat together."
There was plain boiled chicken, a vegetable salad, and a small piece of toast.
Baiye brought two identical portions to the table, pushing one in front of Lin Yuqing. "This is the first time I've made you breakfast, so I don't know if it's to your taste, but Auntie told me you like Western-style breakfasts."
"Mm," Lin Yuqing nodded, quite pleased.
"You eat too little. No wonder you never gain any weight. You're still growing, so you shouldn't be restricting your food intake." Lin Yuqing was a little worried. Baiye was so thin and small. She was already nineteen, but only 1.67 meters tall. Back when she was that age, she was already 1.72 meters. And the crucial thing was, the kid only weighed forty kilograms, which was severely underweight.
"Okay, I'll be mindful of that."
Lin Yuqing glanced at her a couple more times but didn't say anything else.
The two ate breakfast in silence, but Baiye seemed a little distracted.
"What's wrong? Something on your mind?" Lin Yuqing rarely took the initiative to ask.
Baiye looked at Lin Yuqing, conflicted. "Auntie Lin, can I ask you a question? And can you promise not to get angry?"
Lin Yuqing felt helpless. Just how often do I get angry?
"Mm."
"If… I want to study acting, I want to be an actress… can you… not object?"
Hearing this, Lin Yuqing put down her chopsticks and sat up a little straighter. She didn't look at Baiye, seemingly considering the question seriously.
This was already the third time Baiye had brought this up with her. When she was choosing her university major, she had asked for her opinion. When she had decisively rejected the idea, Baiye had been dejected for quite a while.
"Give me a reason." Lin Yuqing unexpectedly relented.
Baiye, who had thought it was a lost cause, looked at Lin Yuqing in pleasant surprise. "Because…" The words reached her lips but she quickly swallowed them back. Was she supposed to tell Lin Yuqing that if she had the chance to act, she could be closer to her? That if she was lucky, she could be in the same drama, even as just an extra, so she could always be watching her?
"Because…" Baiye averted her gaze in a fluster and lowered her head. "Because… I like… this profession." She said this with very little conviction.
Lin Yuqing shook her head decisively. "It's obvious you haven't thought this through."
"If you're bored at home alone, I'll have Xiao Zi stay and keep you company. Or, I can have her take you back to school. Aren't finals coming up soon? Focus your mind, and stop thinking about all this nonsense."
Baiye pressed her lips together tightly. "Okay. There's no need to trouble Auntie. I know the way, I can go back by myself."
"Mm." Ignoring Baiye's desolate expression, Lin Yuqing got up and went upstairs to her room to change.
"What? She just got back, why are you sending her away again?" On the way to the film set, Xia Xiaozi was told she had to take Xiao Ye back to school in a bit.
She was only back for one night, and you're already kicking her out?
"Did she… make you angry?"
Lin Yuqing didn't answer. Xia Xiaozi was getting annoyed too. The traffic light at the intersection turned red, and she slammed on the brakes.
"Qing Jie, there's something I've been wanting to say for a long time. What do you take Xiao Ye for? What gives you the right to summon her and dismiss her as you please? When you miss her, you bring her back for a look, and when you don't want to see her, you just wave her away? She carefully prepares food for you, and you show no appreciation. She wants to be closer to you, but you always put on a stern face and give her the cold shoulder. What exactly do you want?"
Lin Yuqing looked completely baffled, having no idea where all this anger from Xia Xiaozi was coming from.
"She wants to go back to school. If you don't want to take her, I'll just have someone else do it." Lin Yuqing felt wronged, being scolded by Xia Xiaozi for no reason.
Xia Xiaozi felt a ball of frustration stuck in her chest. "Is it that she wants to go back, or that you want her to go back?"
"Me? I don't care. If she wants to stay, she can stay. If she doesn't, she can go back." Lin Yuqing felt she had made herself perfectly clear.
"What do you mean, you don't care!" This made Xia Xiaozi even more furious. She pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped.
"Qing Jie, can't you see how much Xiao Ye relies on you?"
Lin Yuqing got angry too. Whether she had noticed that or not was another matter, but she had certainly noticed that Xia Xiaozi's temper was getting worse!
After her outburst, Xia Xiaozi realized she had lost her composure. Seeing Lin Yuqing's dark expression, she didn't dare say more and silently started the car.
It was obvious when Lin Yuqing was angry; you could tell just from her expression. But those who knew her well knew that when she was angry, the most unbearable things were not just her icy gaze, but also her silence—her cold-war treatment.
When she got really angry, no amount of coaxing would work. Only when she figured things out for herself or her anger subsided would her expression soften slightly and she would slowly return to normal. That's why Baiye was most afraid of her getting angry.
Baiye was an insecure child to begin with. When faced with the silent treatment, she was not just at a loss, but also terrified and on edge, afraid that Lin Yuqing would abandon her at the slightest displeasure.
"Qing Jie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by what I said just now. It's just that every time I go to pick Xiao Ye up, she's so happy and excited to see you. That happiness is written all over her face; she can't hide it." Xia Xiaozi lowered her voice. She knew that once Lin Yuqing was angry, she wouldn't listen to anything anyone said, so she could only murmur her thoughts as if talking to herself.
"Maybe it's because of her childhood experiences that she's especially dependent on you. Even when she was fostered with my sister, she was always thinking of you. I don't know what your plans are, but since you decided to give her a home back then, can you please show her a little more care now?"
"A home isn't just a fixed birthday present every year, nor is it just saving a room for her in your house. A place where someone dotes on her and cares for her—that, to her, is a home."
"The way you two are now, it feels like an owner and a pet. You give her food and drink, a stable life, and she racks her brains trying to please you, never daring to defy you in the slightest."
"Is this the life you wanted to give her back then?"
Unsurprisingly, Lin Yuqing had no reaction at all. Xia Xiaozi couldn't be bothered to waste any more words.
Before long, they arrived at the film set. Lin Yuqing put on her mask, opened the door, and got out.
"You go on ahead. I'll take Xiao Ye back, and then I'll come over." Xia Xiaozi reported, watching Lin Yuqing walk away before starting the car.
Listening to the sound of the car driving away, Lin Yuqing's steps gradually slowed. She had heard every word Xia Xiaozi said earlier, but she also felt a little lost.
It wasn't that she hadn't thought about getting closer to Xiao Ye, but the child was always so deferential toward her, as if she were deliberately keeping her distance. Even if she wanted to be nicer to her, she didn't know where to start.
How could she ever want to watch, time and again, as those sparkling eyes gradually dimmed, as that thin, frail, and lonely figure drifted further and further away?
On her way back home, Xia Xiaozi happened to come across Baiye. The little one had her arms slightly outstretched for balance, walking in a straight line along the yellow bricks at the side of the road.
Xia Xiaozi didn't call out to her. She kept some distance, driving slowly behind her.
Xia Xiaozi knew that if she went over now, Baiye would definitely smile and talk to her. But no matter how happily she smiled, the disappointment in her eyes would be impossible to hide. It was like this every time she sent her away. This time, she didn't want to see that heart-wrenching expression.
Baiye didn't notice Xia Xiaozi behind her. She continued to walk intently along the yellow line, step by step, very slowly.
When she was little, her biggest dream was to study hard, grow up quickly, and get into a school in the same city as Auntie Lin, just to be a little closer to her. Back then, in her mind, Auntie Lin was like a mother—someone she could depend on and care about.
But over the years, after seeing Lin Yuqing on screen through television, the internet, and other channels, and getting to know her more deeply, Baiye felt that she was so distant. And that simple, initial goal changed from being in the same city to wanting to follow in her footsteps, to walk the path she had walked, to act in a drama with her, and even to stand at the same height as her, to… stand openly by her side.
She had lost her mother when she was very young and could no longer remember what it felt like to be with her, nor did she remember what kind of relationship a mother and daughter should have. But after reading the script yesterday, she envied the relationship between An Luocheng and An Xi. It strengthened her resolve—that was the kind of affection she wanted, the kind she wanted to receive from Auntie Lin.
The thought of the script made Baiye troubled. In their conversation that morning, Auntie Lin had all but explicitly told her to give up the idea of acting. But this time, she really didn't want to give up. If she couldn't even take the first step, how could she ever talk about following in Auntie Lin's footsteps?
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