Shrine - Chapter 101

Chapter 101

The sunlight in Jiangcheng was like custom-tailored formal wear, its style and cut a notch above Shucheng's. French plane trees served as the sunlight's adornment, their mottled shadows evoking the beauty of a graceful lady with a faint, wafting fragrance.

The Jiangcheng Central Tower was perpetually bathed in this sunlight, and its vast floor-to-ceiling windows appeared cool and distinguished.

Season two of Shrine had been scheduled, and the actors were in the studio for the final post-production dubbing. As previously arranged, the voice-over work for Shrine was handled by Su Chang's SC Studio. Su Chang was the dialogue director, while the voice director was a Little Radish from her studio.

"Okay, you can come out."

Su Chang spoke softly into the microphone. Ruan Ruan took off her headphones and stepped out of the booth, her ears red from the pressure. She unconsciously cupped them as she listened to the sound engineer do a rough cut of the audio, deleting the discarded takes.

Shi Ran was sitting on a nearby sofa, her legs crossed as she replied to a message. Yu Zhou pointed at the computer screen. "Let's keep this version we discussed earlier, too. The emotion is stronger; they might be able to use it for the trailer."

"Okay." The sound engineer made a note of it, planning to mention it when the files were packaged and sent to the crew.

Having finished her message, Shi Ran looked up. "Is the recording done?"

Su Chang lowered her head, clicked her ballpoint pen, and made a checkmark on the script before double-checking the schedule. "Yes. Zhong Yi finished her parts yesterday. The two leads were the last. The walla is also done, but I need to confirm with the crew again. If there's any on-set ambient audio or live foley, we can incorporate that as well."

The studio was a bit stuffy, so Ruan Ruan tied up her hair. She saw Yu Zhou pull her gaze away from the computer screen. "It's past six. How about we grab some dinner?"

Usually, when actors came in for a recording session that wrapped up around mealtime, the voice director would treat them to a meal. But she wasn't sure if the two big stars had room in their schedules to join them.

Shi Ran glanced at Ruan Ruan, who blinked, tilted her head, and suddenly smiled. "Perfect timing."

"A restaurant I frequent sent my assistant a message this afternoon. They said they just got in some very high-quality bluefin tuna. Are you interested?"

"Well…" Yu Zhou hesitated. She had been the one who wanted to treat everyone.

"Besides, I've been wanting to treat you… you know, since you messaged me last time." Ruan Ruan didn't elaborate, merely pressing her lips together.

"Oh," Yu Zhou said, feeling rather embarrassed. She glanced at Su Chang, who seemed to have no objections, so she added, "Well, thank you then."

Su Chang handed the schedule to the sound engineer and gave her a questioning look, raising her eyebrows. The sound engineer's eyes narrowed to slits as she shook her head vigorously. Su Chang smiled, then rose from the table with her arms crossed. "Let's go, then. Dian Dian has a family matter to attend to."

The four of them grabbed their coats and bags and headed out. While they were waiting for the elevator, Ruan Ruan suddenly asked, "Do you mind if I invite two more friends? The tuna is a little big." She gestured, forming a semi-circle in front of her chest.

For some reason, Yu Zhou found her incredibly cute. Perhaps it was because Ruan Ruan had played her "daughter," causing her motherly instincts to well up. She nodded enthusiastically, like a chicken pecking at rice. "Sure, sure, sure! Go ahead and call them."

Yu Zhou had expected the tuna to be big, but not this big. It was taller than half a person, lying plump and robust on a custom-made cutting board. The sight was actually a little terrifying.

What was even more terrifying was that Ruan Ruan seemed to have booked the entire restaurant. The luxurious main hall was completely empty, save for the head chef and his assistant standing beside the tuna, flanked by several waiters in sharp suits. To her wildly imaginative writer's brain, it looked like they were attending a funeral.

The restaurant had specially rearranged its layout for them. In front of the viewing station was an exquisitely set long table, draped with a white tablecloth that hung silently. Atop it were neatly arranged stemmed red wine glasses, slender champagne flutes, and pristine plates with knives and forks. The chopsticks shimmered with a soft, silvery light. Yu Zhou had seen high-end chopsticks before, but none looked this expensive. They didn't seem to be pure silver, but rather like a combination of silver and white jade inlaid in ebony.

A waiter pulled out their chairs, inviting them to sit. Shi Ran scanned the room. The restaurant's head chef and owner, an Englishman, came over to greet her and Ruan Ruan with cheek kisses. They exchanged a few words. The restaurant was frequented by many public figures and socialites, so it offered excellent privacy, and the staff were well-trained to be discreet.

While Shi Ran was chatting with the head chef, Yu Zhou touched Su Chang's wrist and whispered, "This fish is huge." It probably weighed two or three hundred pounds.

Were just the few of them going to eat it?

Ruan Ruan, as observant as ever, immediately noticed the worry about waste hidden in the way Yu Zhou subtly pinched the center of her lower lip.

She paused in the middle of wiping her hands and thought for a moment. "The fish is a bit bigger than I expected. There's no way we can finish it all. We aren't far from the studio—do you have any good friends there? If it's convenient, they could come join us?"

Her words were precise, referring to friends who worked in the voice-acting industry, were familiar with actors, and were also very close. Otherwise, her relationship with Shi Ran could be a bombshell.

Yu Zhou got it instantly. She gave Ruan Ruan a reassuring look, then quietly asked Su Chang, "Is Director Peng around?"

"I'll ask." Su Chang picked up her phone.

A few minutes later, she said, "She and Teacher Ji are both here. They're coming over."

"Great!" Yu Zhou leaned closer to the table and looked earnestly into Ruan Ruan's eyes. "Director Peng and Teacher Ji are both very reliable people. They're very, very good friends of ours; they've known Su Chang for more than a decade."

Ruan Ruan smiled, gave a soft "mhm," and nodded.

Before Peng Xiangzhi could arrive, the two friends Ruan Ruan had invited showed up. One wore an artsy midi skirt, a choker accentuating her slender neck, and her hair in a topknot, giving her a bright and refreshing look. The other was the semi-retired star, "Little Fox" Chen Piaopiao.

She shuffled along languidly, looking as if she hadn't quite woken up.

Tao Jin, beside her, steadied her by the waist, reminding her for the eight-hundred-and-sixty-third time to walk properly.

"Hello." Tao Jin smiled toward Shi Ran. Ruan Ruan extended a hand to Chen Piaopiao, who lazily met it. Their fingers interlaced in the air, and they gave a loose shake.

"When did you get here?" Chen Piaopiao asked in a slow, deliberate manner.

"Yesterday. For the dubbing." Ruan Ruan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned to Yu Zhou and Su Chang opposite them. "This is Su Chang, our show's voice director, and Yu Zhou, the author and screenwriter."

"Tao Jin," she said with a smiling nod, clarifying, "as in the word for 'immerse'."

Still holding Ruan Ruan's hand, Chen Piaopiao gave it a little wave by way of greeting. "Chen Piaopiao. The 'Piao' from 'Piaopiao'."

Yu Zhou laughed. Seeing how easygoing they seemed, she quickly said, "Hello, hello. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Su Chang, sitting to one side, offered a coolly elegant greeting.

Seeing that everyone had sat down and begun to chat casually, Ruan Ruan turned her head to look at Shi Ran. She had her legs crossed, her arm resting on the table, her index finger curled to prop up her chin as she stared blankly at the tuna.

"What's wrong?" Ruan Ruan leaned close to her ear, whispering the question and nothing more.

"How long has it been dead?" Shi Ran asked coolly, her gaze fixed on the fish's eye.

Ruan Ruan stifled a laugh. Under the table, she found Shi Ran's hand, took hold of it, and gently tickled the spaces between her fingers. In that moment, love seemed to take on a definable shape: there were many people present, each more outstanding than the last, but in Ruan Ruan's eyes, only Shi Ran was the most special, the most endearing.

Perhaps it was the same for Su Chang in Yu Zhou's eyes, and for Tao Jin in Chen Piaopiao's.

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