Shrine - Chapter 71
Chapter 71
The time after the New Year was a rare moment of leisure snatched from Shi Ran's busy schedule. After flying to Jiangcheng, she began working around the clock. At the end of February, filming for Non-Desire officially wrapped. The production was running short on funds by the end, so many scenes were shot at night, which cut into the time the two of them had to talk.
Ruan Ruan wasn't idle either. The first season of Shrine was quickly finished. The last two episodes had some wire-work scenes, and after resting for only two days with her bruises, she rushed off to participate in the recording of several variety shows.
They were all guest appearances, a way to earn some extra money in her free time.
In March, Fashion Week began. As a brand ambassador, Shi Ran was invited to fly abroad for the shows. Meanwhile, Ruan Ruan was a guest on an observational variety show. A poster of Shi Ran was on the wall of the TV station. Ruan Ruan, wrapped in a large coat and escorted by her assistant and bodyguards, walked past it quickly. She glanced at it and smiled quietly.
In April, Shi Ran was in Jiangcheng dealing with work that had been delayed by the filming of Non-Desire. Ruan Ruan shot her first TV commercial for a brand endorsement.
During a break, she overheard a well-known photographer in the industry chatting with his assistant while adjusting the parameters on his DSLR.
He mentioned that he had shot Shi Ran last week.
Ruan Ruan's ears perked up. The brand representative gossiped, "She has another endorsement? Or is it a magazine?"
The photographer raised an eyebrow and smiled, shaking his head without saying more.
On her way back to Shucheng from Jiangcheng, Ruan Ruan received a call from Zhou Jiafen, who said she was preparing to come to Shucheng. There was a direct flight. She asked how to find Ruan Ruan once she arrived. Ruan Ruan asked for her flight information and had Wu Mei jot it down so she could be picked up.
After that, she returned home and gathered all of Shi Ran's things, piling them into the walk-in closet and locking the door.
As she was tidying up, Shi Ran happened to send her a message, so Ruan Ruan started a video call with her. Shi Ran was eating a nutritional meal. Ruan Ruan propped her phone on the table and tidied up the magazines on the coffee table. The covers all featured Shi Ran—sometimes clean, sometimes elaborate, sometimes unconventional, sometimes beautiful and moving. Ruan Ruan flipped through them one by one for Shi Ran to see.
Shi Ran would occasionally glance over or lean in for a closer look. With a cool expression, she took a few bites of salad, allowing her slightly weary gaze to relax.
After chatting for a while, Xiao Hei jumped onto Ruan Ruan's lap. Ruan Ruan held the cat, kneading its little paws as she pointed to the screen and asked, "Look, who's this in here?"
Shi Ran tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at Xiao Hei.
"It's Mama," Ruan Ruan said, lowering her head to Xiao Hei, her tone like someone cooing at a babbling child.
Ruan Ruan had only said it casually, but Shi Ran paused, her heart filled with complex emotions. The word "Mama" had been missing from her life for quite some time. Besides, she didn't like children and had never imagined the word would one day be applied to her.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling at that moment. It wasn't like, nor was it dislike, but her heart felt as if it had been cured in salt, leaving a briny ache.
On the screen, Ruan Ruan was already trimming Xiao Hei's nails, looking up at Shi Ran from time to time, the corners of her mouth curved into little brackets.
Shi Ran felt as if she had returned to the age of playing house, dreaming of having a home with her little friends. Perhaps the reason love was so childish was that someone was willing to tirelessly play the part of 'forever' with you.
She was smiling more and more, as if a little person was squatting in her heart, tilling the soil and planting flowers. She was no longer a vessel that merely reflected and held the emotions of others. Her soil had earthworms, tender shoots, spring breezes, and spring rain.
The summer flowers will bloom soon, won't they?
Shi Ran gazed at Ruan Ruan on the screen and said softly, "Not Mama."
"Hm?"
"I'm its owner."
Ruan Ruan, holding Xiao Hei, smiled with bright eyes and pearly teeth. She waved Xiao Hei's paw. "Okay, Master Shi."
"Master Shi?"
"Xiao Hei's… Master Shi Ran." Ruan Ruan let out a chuckle.
Shi Ran's lips curved. She forked another piece of avocado and chewed it slowly. Ruan Ruan watched her softly, a lingering smile on her lips.
"When I have time, I'm going to train it to be a Retrieving Kitten," Shi Ran said after finishing her meal at a leisurely pace.
"Huh?"
"Mhm." Her standards for their cat were also very high, just as she had been strict with the Black Cat Detective back then.
"Did you hear that?" Ruan Ruan reached out to scratch under Xiao Hei's chin, her voice soft and gentle. "Your good days are numbered."
A smile in her eyes, Shi Ran pointed at Ruan Ruan on the screen. Ruan Ruan tilted her head coquettishly. Shi Ran's breath hitched, and she laughed out loud. Afterward, the two reluctantly ended the video call.
Ruan Ruan let go of Xiao Hei and propped herself up with her hands behind her. Mama… Her mama was coming too.
It had been a long time.
Zhou Jiafen arrived on a Friday afternoon. The airport was crowded. By then, Ruan Ruan had pulled some strings to get Wu Mei a role as the second female lead in a drama. Fortunately, Ruan Ruan wasn't filming at the moment, so the company had assigned her another assistant to help out. The assistant held up a name sign and waited for a long time before finally spotting her.
When they got back to Chunfeng Bay, Ruan Ruan opened the door and offered them slippers, but she froze for a moment.
It wasn't just because her mother had lost weight and aged considerably, but also because Ruan Dongliang was following behind her, carrying a large bag.
She quickly recovered, sent the assistant away, took her mother's and brother's luggage, and invited them in.
"Don't you have classes?" Ruan Ruan pushed the luggage into the secondary bedroom. There used to be a desk in here where she worked and studied, but she had moved it to the master bedroom before her mother arrived. The bed had been freshly made, and a subtle, clean fragrance filled the room.
"He, uh, doesn't have classes recently. I figured he could come see you. You're busy, so he can lend a hand." Zhou Jiafen couldn't stop looking around the apartment, then at the loungewear and fluffy slippers Ruan Ruan was wearing. The slippers' fur looked very fine, making her ankles look particularly beautiful. Her professionally styled curls cascaded over her shoulders, smoother than silk. She looked like she was living a life of luxury.
Ruan Dongliang hadn't said a word since he entered. He was over 1.8 meters tall, yet he seemed timid and cowering. His cheeks were sunken in, as if he'd been punched twice.
Ruan Ruan smiled, tied her hair back with one hand, went back to her room to put on a jacket, and then came out to pour water for Zhou Jiafen and Ruan Dongliang, who were sitting on the sofa.
"Oh, are you here to accompany Mom for her follow-up appointment?" she asked, smoothly changing the reason. "You can stay here for a couple of days. Once we get an appointment with a specialist, we'll go to the hospital in Jiangcheng together. But I didn't know you were coming, so I don't have an extra room. I can book a hotel for you."
"Aren't there three bedrooms?" Zhou Jiafen's voice was loud and raspy, a habit from hawking goods at the market.
"Um… the other one is a storage room where I keep my props. It's not suitable for living in," Ruan Ruan said quietly.
"I'll sleep on the sofa," Ruan Dongliang finally spoke up, rubbing his hands together.
The Taizhou dialect was originally quite similar to Mandarin, just with a slight accent. Ruan Dongliang tried his best to enunciate clearly, rubbing his eyes as he spoke.
"The boy knows how to save money, he's sensible." Zhou Jiafen smiled. Only then did she feel a bit warm. She took off her down jacket, draped it over her arms, and fanned herself with the collar. "Don't you go spending extra money. It's not easy to earn it."
Ruan Ruan said her work schedule was irregular and that living together might disturb them, but Zhou Jiafen was completely unconcerned. She insisted on not staying in a hotel, saying it made no sense for family to stay in a hotel.
Ruan Ruan felt it was inconvenient, but thinking it would only be for a few days, she agreed.
Zhou Jiafen couldn't sit still. She took out the free-range chicken she had brought and went to the kitchen to cook for Ruan Ruan, muttering as she turned on the water, "Look how skinny you are. You don't look this skinny on TV. How can you act when you're this thin? Is it even watchable?"
Ruan Ruan went to tie an apron for her.
Xiao Hei followed them, startling Zhou Jiafen, who instinctively kicked out. "Whoa, a cat."
Ruan Ruan's heart leaped into her throat. Luckily, the kick missed. She immediately crouched down, scooped Xiao Hei into her arms, and stroked its head.
"Hmph, no wonder you're so skinny. This thing is filthy." Zhou Jiafen pointed a finger, pursed her lips, and shook her head before turning back to her cooking.
Ruan Ruan shut the cats in the bedroom. When she came out, she saw the bathroom light was on and went to wash her hands.
As soon as she entered, she saw the toilet seat had been lifted. A few drops of some unidentified liquid had dripped outside the rim and hadn't been wiped up.
She suddenly felt a wave of nausea.
All the memories came flooding back: her father, who liked to wipe his runny nose with his hand while drinking; her father, who never washed his hands after blowing his nose; her brother, who never knew to wipe the toilet seat clean.
She touched her forehead, her gaze falling on the washstand. There was a tube of face wash that Shi Ran had used. She had planned to use it herself, so her face would carry the same scent as Shi Ran's.
She reached out and clasped the tube of face wash in her hand. For some reason, she felt as if her vision had been washed clean, becoming much clearer.
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