Married in a Daze - Chapter 64
Chapter 64
By the time Qin Zhenzhen and Lu Ruyun finished their meal and stepped out, everyone had already started preparing. Ji Lu had sent a message to Qin Zhenzhen, asking if she was coming back. Qin Zhenzhen thought for a moment before replying: You and Xiao Wu go back first.
Ji Lu quickly messaged back: Then what about you?
Qin Zhenzhen tapped on the screen: I'll go back with Teacher Lu.
Seeing her staring at her phone, Lu Ruyun asked, "What's wrong?"
Qin Zhenzhen shrugged helplessly. "Nothing. Lulu just said she has something to take care of and asked if I could hitch a ride back with you."
After saying that, she leaned closer to Lu Ruyun, peeking at her from the side. "Can I, Teacher Lu?"
Lu Ruyun's forward steps halted. She glanced sideways. Qin Zhenzhen's pretty face wore a faint smile, her eyes clear and bright. Because the light outside wasn't strong, half of her expression was hidden in shadow.
"Can I?" Qin Zhenzhen blinked lightly, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. Lu Ruyun's heart fluttered along with them. She cleared her throat softly. "As you wish."
Qin Zhenzhen's eyes and brows spread into a smile. "Thank you, Teacher Lu."
Lu Ruyun hadn't yet withdrawn her gaze. Watching her features suddenly light up with that smile, her heartbeat quickened a few beats. Light from the lamps not far away shone into Qin Zhenzhen's bright eyes, sparkling as if they held stars.
Zhang Yiyao and He Shuangshuang, walking out of the restroom, saw the two standing intimately close. Qin Zhenzhen stood under a tree, Lu Ruyun beside her. They didn't know what they were discussing, but their expressions were relaxed. Qin Zhenzhen wore a faint smile on her face as she looked up at Lu Ruyun.
A fallen leaf landed on Qin Zhenzhen's head. Lu Ruyun reached out to remove it for her, the corner of her mouth twitching as she said something. Qin Zhenzhen pursed her lips, shaking her head with a smile, muttering something inaudible. Lu Ruyun couldn't help but laugh too, her gaze gentle.
Zhang Yiyao clenched her fists, her expression changing slightly. She intended to walk over, but He Shuangshuang grabbed her sleeve, stopping her. "Don't go over. Let them chat."
"Shuangshuang?" Zhang Yiyao's gentle voice carried a note of astonishment, its tone shifting, sounding particularly grating. She looked at He Shuangshuang incredulously. "What are you saying? What do they have to chat about? When did Ruyun get so close to her?"
He Shuangshuang opened her mouth upon hearing this, only then remembering she'd been busy lately and hadn't had much contact with Zhang Yiyao. So, Zhang Yiyao wasn't very aware of the situation between Ruyun and Qin Zhenzhen. She weighed her words carefully. Not far away, someone called out, "Assistant He!"
"Coming!" He Shuangshuang turned back to Zhang Yiyao. "Yaoyao, a lot has happened recently. I'll talk to you when I have time."
Zhang Yiyao forced a smile. "Okay."
She stood not far away, watching Qin Zhenzhen and Lu Ruyun, her hands clenched tightly at her sides, her gaze deep and shimmering with a cold light.
A gust of wind blew past. Qin Zhenzhen rubbed her arms and stomped her feet. Lu Ruyun pursed her lips. "Cold?"
Qin Zhenzhen hummed in agreement.
It was almost past nine o'clock. The chilly wind cut straight to the bone. A staff member called out from the distance, "Teacher Lu, touch-up!"
Lu Ruyun nodded slightly toward the speaker. Seeing this, Qin Zhenzhen quickly said, "Go ahead with your work."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Lu Ruyun take off her down jacket. A wave of warmth instantly enveloped her. Qin Zhenzhen glanced sideways. Lu Ruyun was draping the jacket over her shoulders. Under the lights, her expression was as calm and indifferent as ever.
Looking at her features so close at hand, Qin Zhenzhen couldn't bring herself to voice a polite refusal. She only felt a rush of heat flood her cheeks. She instinctively lowered her head, her nose brushing against the collar of the down jacket. The garment still carried Lu Ruyun's crisp, clean fragrance.
Faint. She reached out and pulled the down jacket tighter around herself.
Zhang Yiyao only approached Qin Zhenzhen's side after seeing Lu Ruyun walk toward Duan Qiuhan. She smiled gently. "Zhenzhen."
"Hmm?" Qin Zhenzhen looked up. "Miss Zhang."
Zhang Yiyao smiled with pursed lips. "If you don't mind, you can call me Yaoyao directly. Ruyun always calls me that."
A faint smile also appeared on Qin Zhenzhen's pretty face. "Okay."
She didn't have much of an impression of Zhang Yiyao. She only vaguely remembered seeing her once or twice during the filming of Time in Full Bloom. After that, it was when she was dropping Lu Ruyun off, and Zhang Yiyao ran into Lu Ruyun's arms.
From that alone, one could tell their friendship ran deep. Not to mention the previous incident with the rumored boyfriend, Duan Qiuhan. Though she wasn't entirely clear on the details, their relationship was definitely very good.
Logically speaking, she should be pleasant and polite to the person before her, since she was a good friend of Lu Ruyun's.
But Qin Zhenzhen felt an instinctive aversion to Zhang Yiyao.
Perhaps it was because the image of her holding Lu Ruyun that day kept lingering in her mind. Even though she knew full well that Zhang Yiyao was Duan Qiuhan's girlfriend, she just didn't like this woman.
She even disliked her more than she disliked He Shuangshuang.
Fortunately, Zhang Yiyao didn't chat with her much either. After the greeting, she walked away to another spot.
"Positions, action!"
Qin Zhenzhen collected her thoughts, standing not far away watching Lu Ruyun film her scene. The chilly wind whistled. Dressed entirely in black assassin's attire, she stood ramrod straight. The long sword in her hand cut through the darkness like a swimming dragon, its blade cold and gleaming. Light fell on her face, a picture of icy solitude.
The entire set was extremely quiet. Only the mournful sound of the cold wind sweeping past added to the chill.
Lu Ruyun's figure remained unmoving. She stood as straight as a tree, holding the sword in one hand. The sword tip arced forward, tracing patterns in the air. Her sharp gaze followed the sword's point, sweeping her surroundings. When Qin Zhenzhen met her bright eyes, she felt a moment of daze.
It was as if she had been instantly pulled into Lu Ruyun's world by that gaze—the endless night, the long sword, the image of an assassin. Qin Zhenzhen unconsciously touched her own neck, experiencing the illusion that her throat was about to be slit the next second.
The sound of distant horse hooves clattering broke through the cold, silent night. She jolted awake, her eyes holding a slight change when she looked at Lu Ruyun again. What kind of power was this? To immerse her in the scene instantly with just a single look?
Qin Zhenzhen had acted alongside Lu Ruyun before, but never had she been so profoundly affected as she was now.
"Cut!" Duan Qiuhan let out a long sigh, glancing at his wristwatch. It was already past ten. He turned to look at the exhausted crew, his lips pressing into a straight line. "That's a wrap."
Upon hearing his words, the staff's weariness vanished, their steps noticeably lighter.
Seeing Lu Ruyun finish her scene, Qin Zhenzhen hurried toward her. Before she could reach her, she saw a pink figure dart past from the side. Zhang Yiyao stood beside Lu Ruyun, taking off her own coat and draping it over Lu Ruyun's shoulders. "Are you cold?"
Lu Ruyun's breath came out in white puffs as she spoke. "It's okay."
She returned the coat to Zhang Yiyao. "You wear it. I'm going to change."
Zhang Yiyao stood still, nodding. "Then I'll wait for you to come out?"
Lu Ruyun thought for a moment and shook her head. "No need. You should go back with Qiuhan later. Shuangshuang will drive me back."
"I don't want to go back with Qiuhan." Her words carried a hint of petulance. Lu Ruyun looked up to see her biting her lip.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Zhang Yiyao looked away, replying somewhat unhappily. "Nothing. I just feel annoyed whenever I see Qiuhan lately."
Lu Ruyun followed her gaze. Duan Qiuhan was packing up his things. A girl stood beside him, helping him from time to time. Lu Ruyun lowered her eyes. "If you're unhappy, talk to Qiuhan about it. Bottling it up only makes you feel worse."
"Mhm," Zhang Yiyao's voice was muffled.
Qin Zhenzhen stood behind the two. She wanted to step forward but felt it would be awkward. So she stood there, feeling out of place. After Lu Ruyun finished speaking with Zhang Yiyao, she went directly into the changing room. Qin Zhenzhen, afraid of facing Zhang Yiyao and creating an even more awkward atmosphere, simply took out her phone and opened Weibo.
After the morning's events, she hadn't gone online, intentionally avoiding anything related to the trending searches.
Now, opening Weibo to look, she saw all the morning's hot topics were gone. Blinking, she saw that the number one trending topic was... still Zhu Yao??
Somewhat puzzled, she clicked the link. A few photos appeared, all from interviews. Because of yesterday's trending topic where she disparaged Tang Ya, some bored netizen had dug up all the programs Zhu Yao had appeared in since her debut. The more they watched, the more they wanted to mock her. So this netizen posted their mockery on a forum while watching, quickly attracting attention before it was brought over to Weibo.
These photos showed her evaluating another actress from the same drama. Because she had added many joking remarks and the netizens had taken her words out of context, it gave off a somewhat mean-spirited impression.
When Lu Ruyun came out of the changing room, she still saw Qin Zhenzhen looking at her phone. She walked over. "Looking at what?"
Qin Zhenzhen glanced up at her and held the screen within her view. "Do you think Zhu Yao has offended someone?"
This was clearly someone trying to bring her down.
Hearing her question, Lu Ruyun stiffened slightly for a few seconds before shaking her head with a faint smile.
Qin Zhenzhen didn't question it further and put her phone away. Zhang Yiyao, who had been standing beside them earlier, was gone. She scanned the area and saw Zhang Yiyao next to Duan Qiuhan. They seemed to be discussing something, both looking very serious. Qin Zhenzhen only glanced briefly before looking away.
The crew members were leaving one after another. Lu Ruyun had finished removing her makeup and stood up from the chair. From the distance, Zhang Yiyao and Duan Qiuhan were walking over.
"Ruyun, we're leaving first," Zhang Yiyao said, standing beside Lu Ruyun, her expression its usual gentle softness. Lu Ruyun nodded. Zhang Yiyao looked at her for a long moment before reluctantly reaching out to hug her.
Lu Ruyun patted her back lightly, chuckling. "What's wrong?"
Zhang Yiyao's gaze shifted from Lu Ruyun to Qin Zhenzhen beside her. "Nothing. I just suddenly wanted to hug you. Tell Shuangshuang to drive carefully on the way back. Oh, and are you and Zhenzhen going the same way? If not, you should drop her off first."
Lu Ruyun nodded. "Don't worry."
Qin Zhenzhen watched the two embracing, the corner of her mouth twitching. She cleared her throat and looked away. Hearing her, Zhang Yiyao released Lu Ruyun and smiled at Qin Zhenzhen. "Sorry, Zhenzhen. When I'm in a bad mood, I like holding onto Ruyun. I hope you don't mind."
Don't mind.
How could I not mind?
If I were to hug Duan Qiuhan right now, let's see if Zhang Yiyao would mind.
Qin Zhenzhen smiled gracefully and said with great magnanimity, "Of course I don't mind."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yiyao lowered her head with a smile. Qin Zhenzhen continued, "However, I think hugs between lovers are the best cure for a bad mood. Miss Zhang, you might try that next time."
Zhang Yiyao's smile slowly faded, replying without a change in expression, "Thank you for the suggestion."
Qin Zhenzhen looked up, meeting Zhang Yiyao's eyes, her smile as gentle as ever. "You're welcome."
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