Shrine - Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Ruan Ruan experienced a brief ringing in her ears. Her thoughts went completely silent. It wasn't until Xiao Hei came out chasing a ringing cat toy that she returned to the world of the living. It turned out that when something beyond one's comprehension occurred, it was like an out-of-body experience. Her emotions, like a wandering spirit, hovered above her physical form, calmly accepting everything.

After regaining her senses, the first word that came to Ruan Ruan's mind was "thankfully."

Thankfully, she was only finding out now, not when she was in the throes of wanting to retreat. Otherwise, the guilt would have tormented her beyond recognition.

She sniffled and lightly scratched the side of her neck with the back of her hand—a repetitive, stereotyped behavior she engaged in when anxious, which lasted only two or three seconds.

"What you just said about the serious consequences of Shi Ran taking this movie—is that the real situation, or did you exaggerate to test me?" she asked, trying to rationalize and digest the matter with meticulous analysis.

Her reaction was unexpected to An Lu, and it also made An Lu unexpectedly admire her.

Since it had already happened, the first thing Little Bread did was confirm the impact on Shi Ran.

"I can only say it might happen, or it might not. But as you know, we're accustomed to considering all possibilities," An Lu told her truthfully.

Ruan Ruan nodded. "Mm."

Just like Shi Ran, who would first say "Mm" before continuing.

"Is it true that Alice is resigning?"

"It's true, but not entirely because of this. She's said before that managing Shi Ran was no longer challenging."

"Mm." Shi Ran had told Ruan Ruan that top-tier artist management teams always hope to broaden their paths and realize more of their personal value. Alice had resources; whether she started her own agency or jumped to another company, she could get a good offer. Following a top-tier celebrity meant many opportunities but also great risks. Most importantly, this incident revealed that the team was completely under Shi Ran's control, and the manager had very little say.

Otherwise, Shi Ran wouldn't have been able to sign the contract for 360 Times of Missing You so quickly.

Some things she couldn't figure out before now made sense. Ruan Ruan had felt at the time that the team seemed busy with something, that their hands were tied. So that was the reason.

After getting a general understanding, the chill in her heart began to thaw a little. Ruan Ruan pondered for a moment, then asked in a small voice, "Little Bread… why do you call me that?"

An Lu let out an "Ah," quite embarrassed. "I was on the phone with her once, and she said it. I thought it was a pet name between you two. Is it not?"

Ruan Ruan's ears instantly turned bright red. Did An Lu know about her relationship with Shi Ran? If she did, why was she testing her?

"If I had just said I wanted to set up my own studio, what would you have done?" Ruan Ruan asked, pursing her lips.

An Lu pinched her sore neck and let out a small sigh. "I wouldn't have told Shi Ran, but I might have told her that you're doing very well now and that I want to manage someone else."

Ruan Ruan fell silent.

"Shi Ran is a really good person, though I doubt many people tell her that," An Lu said, taking a sip of water. "You've seen our team—we're all young women. The habit of drinking milk tea and eating snacks during meetings is something we picked up from Shi Ran. We talk about everything during our meetings. Sometimes we'd joke that following her was boring because she was too famous and there was no sense of accomplishment, so she let us become managers for newcomers."

"When Alice brought up her resignation, she wasn't surprised. She probably thinks that's just how this industry is, and that's just how we are."

"Maybe most people really are like that, and she's seen plenty of it. But I think it's only interesting when everyone is pulling in the same direction. Just making money isn't interesting," An Lu said with a smile. "We don't have to be the exact same kind of person, but we at least have to be similar, right? Only then can I feel secure working with you. That way, if I have to slam the table and argue with you in the future, I won't feel any burden."

For some reason, this was when Ruan Ruan's tears came. Her nose tingled, and her eyes instantly welled up. Fortunately, the emotion wasn't overwhelming, and she didn't break down completely, only silently dabbing at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"When you first called, I wasn't planning on telling you," An Lu said, tapping her keyboard a couple of times. "But then I happened to notice it's Saturday."

"Saturday… what about it?" Ruan Ruan asked, a little nervous.

"At noon today, a variety show she recorded earlier is going to air, and she'll probably be trending. I figured that after you saw the trending topics, you'd either ask her or ask me. You'd find out one way or another. You're smart, right?" An Lu smiled again, deleting the few random characters she had typed on her keyboard.

An Lu didn't specify what it was about, and Ruan Ruan didn't press further. She quietly hung up the phone and stared blankly at the empty wall.

If only there were a clock on it. She could have used the ticking of its hands to sort out her obscure, muddled emotions.

The variety show An Lu mentioned was a long-running entertainment program that invited celebrities on their promotional tours to play games. It was originally scheduled to air during the promotional period for Non-Desire, and Shi Ran and several supporting actors were set to appear, but it was released early.

It was scheduled to be released at 12:00 PM.

Ruan Ruan stared at the wall, trying her best not to guess, but her heart felt as if an old, dilapidated fan was whirring inside it. The annoying hum made her heart gradually tighten and turn raw, as if it were being air-dried.

Tick, tock, tick, tock. She could hear the sound of a stopwatch running inside her own body.

Eleven fifty-two, eleven fifty-seven, eleven fifty-nine…

Twelve o'clock.

Ruan Ruan swallowed and refreshed Weibo several times, but there was nothing. Then she brought her laptop over, intending to skip through to Shi Ran's segments, but the moment Shi Ran appeared, she hit pause. Her faint smile filled the screen. She was wearing a slender, black, plunging V-neck long suit jacket over a floor-length skirt, her every step graceful. The pauses in her gaze seemed to carry the scent of fresh snow, hidden within her exquisitely sculpted frame.

They had clearly seen each other just this morning, yet it felt as if lifetimes had passed.

As Ruan Ruan stared at Shi Ran on the screen, Weibo's trending topics exploded.

"Shi Ran Sheds Tears."

Ruan Ruan lowered her head and scrolled down the trending list. The topic had instantly shot to the top, followed by the character for "Explosive."

Those four words were worthy of the soaring popularity, because outside of her film and television roles, Shi Ran had almost never cried in public. Even the person who slept beside her felt her vision swim upon seeing it, and she couldn't help but swallow as she clicked on the topic.

The root of her tongue was tight, as if being pulled back by an immense weight.

A marketing account had pushed a video clip to the top of the trending list. Ruan Ruan opened it with her sweaty thumb.

"So, Xiao Qi and Xin Yun are going to publicly discuss their relationship with our audience on our show, is that right…" the experienced host said, controlling the stage and introducing the next segment.

Ruan Ruan now understood why this episode had aired early. The male and female supporting actors had been photographed a couple of days ago. After their teams communicated, they had the TV station adjust the schedule to coordinate with their official relationship announcement, demonstrating the artists' sincere attitude toward the audience and their relationship.

The two of them stood in the center of the stage, microphones in hand, describing how they came to know and love each other. Shi Ran stood off to one side like a black night rose, listening with quiet dignity.

The woman gazed at the man, holding his hand, and confessed with a choke in her voice, "I never really believed in love, and I thought I'd never meet someone I liked again. When I met him, I kept asking myself: he might like me, but does he really understand me? Does he really know me? If we get together, how far can we go?"

Shi Ran tilted her head, watching coolly. Her right hand, hanging at her side, held the microphone, while her left hand rested on the crook of her right arm.

Suddenly, she lowered her face. With a blink of her eyes, two tears fell straight down, tracing a path across her goddess-like face.

Her tears fell silently, but at an inopportune moment—right in the camera's view. The host, incredulous, asked in a voice thick with emotion from the newcomers' announcement, "Shi Ran, are you crying?"

Shi Ran looked up with a smile and moistened her lips. Her eyes were still wet, which made her smile all the more captivating.

She raised the microphone and said softly, "Mm, it's very moving."

The audience and the host laughed and teased her a little. Shi Ran lightly pressed her lips together, her gaze shifting to the floor as she gave a silent smile.

Next, they watched a VCR. Shi Ran calmly turned, holding the microphone behind her back as she looked up at the screen.

It was just as beautiful as when she had held the coffee behind her back, and just like then, it was being interpreted with assumptions by those outside the camera's frame.

Back then, those outside the frame said Shi Ran and Zhang Nuoran were having a pleasant chat and were on good terms. Now, those outside the frame were saying Shi Ran was so cute, moved to tears by someone else's relationship announcement.

Perhaps only Ruan Ruan knew that, judging by the makeup and styling, this had been recorded the day after Shi Ran cast her "yes vote," left Shucheng, and flew to Beicheng.

One day before, she had rushed to Shucheng overnight, only to see her lover avoiding her at every turn.

Shi Ran had said to her softly, "You don't really know what kind of person you are, and you don't know what kind of person I am. You know even less what kind of person it is that I like."

I know you like me, but do you really understand me?

The road ahead is rough, and it will always be rough. Will you walk this long road with me?

You, who says nothing, can you answer me?

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