Married in a Daze - Chapter 148
Chapter 148
The consequence of overindulgence was that Qin Zhenzhen slept until the afternoon of the next day. At some point, Lu Ruyun had come over to ask if she wanted to eat, but she couldn't remember what she had said in response. She'd probably just thrown a pillow at her and gone back to sleep.
Shortly after three in the afternoon, she was woken by the ringing of her phone. When she opened her eyes, they felt sore and her mind was hazy. The phone continued to ring with tireless insistence. She sighed, reached out to grab it, and stared at the name on the screen for a long moment before answering.
"Sister Meng." Her voice, fresh from sleep, was lazy and slightly hoarse. Meng Xin instinctively glanced at her wristwatch. "Are you taking a nap?"
Qin Zhenzhen leaned against the headboard, her mind blank. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Something like that."
Meng Xin's lips twitched. "You really can sleep."
Qin Zhenzhen: "..."
Meng Xin hadn't called for anything in particular; it was mainly about work-related matters. Although Qin Zhenzhen had terminated her contract with the company, she still had professional obligations. There was news regarding Cold Palace; the contract to distribute the series abroad had been signed, which meant Qin Zhenzhen would be facing a new round of promotional activities. Qin Zhenzhen was momentarily stunned. "When does it start?"
"A month from now."
Qin Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "What's my schedule for this month?"
Meng Xin gave a brief rundown of her work schedule. There weren't any major commitments this month. Previously, she had freed up time to prepare for The Means to Survive, but then plans had changed. Before Meng Xin could filter through new scripts for her, the whole Jian Mu incident happened.
Fortunately, the company situation had been resolved too. A blessing in disguise, perhaps.
"So, basically no schedule?" Qin Zhenzhen placed a hand on her forehead, her voice returning to normal. "Then don't arrange anything for now."
Meng Xin paused. "Do you have something going on?"
A faint smile touched Qin Zhenzhen's lips. "Sister Meng, didn't you know? I need to prepare for the wedding."
Previously, the preparations had been secret. Due to the SP and Lanyi matters, the news of her upcoming wedding hadn't been leaked. But first, Jian Mu mentioned it during his live interview, and then Lu Ruyun confirmed it on Weibo, so she might as well hurry up and get the wedding done.
Meng Xin let out an "Ah," as if she'd forgotten about the wedding. She patted her forehead. "Right, okay. I'll push everything else to next month. There aren't any good scripts in the first half of the year anyway. It's good for you to rest a bit."
After agreeing and hanging up, Qin Zhenzhen glanced to the side of the bed—empty. She slipped on her slippers, stretched lazily, and headed downstairs. Lu Ruyun was sitting on the sofa looking over some documents. Hearing movement behind her, she turned.
"Awake?"
Qin Zhenzhen hummed in affirmation and walked over, leaning against her. Her body was still languid from sleep, lacking strength. Seeing Lu Ruyun still focused on the papers in front of her, she asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"
"Sister Meng just told me you have no schedule this month. I asked her to take on mentoring some of the studio's other artists. Shuangshuang isn't very experienced in being a manager yet; it's good for Sister Meng to guide her when she has time."
Qin Zhenzhen nodded. Lu Ruyun Studio currently had four artists. Three were filming—one of them was Dong Xiang, who was shooting Drunken Dreams of Jianghu with Lu Ruyun, and another was called Mei Ling. She didn't have a deep impression of the other two. Since Meng Xin was free this month and couldn't stand being idle, mentoring the other artists worked out.
Lu Ruyun gathered the documents, placed them on the coffee table, and turned to look at Qin Zhenzhen. "Did you tell Sister Meng we're holding the wedding this month?"
Qin Zhenzhen gave a languid hum, still leaning against Lu Ruyun. Her hair was still a mess, lacking its usual polished appearance, but it made her even more captivating. Lu Ruyun just kept looking at her, listening as she spoke. "There are promotions in a month. I want to finalize the wedding dress and venue this month, and prepare slowly."
Lu Ruyun, holding a pen, said, "That's fine too. What do I need to do?"
Qin Zhenzhen chuckled lightly. "You just need to cooperate."
Because of her own recent issues, she had already taken up a lot of Lu Ruyun's time. Lu Ruyun couldn't go to the film set, causing shooting delays, and she also couldn't make appearances for the Like a Dream promotions. Fortunately, the first round was over. The next round was in a neighboring city. She filmed in the mornings and rushed to promotions in the afternoons, busy enough with her own work, so there was no need for her to help much.
Lu Ruyun also knew her time was limited, so she said to Qin Zhenzhen, "If you need anything, you can ask Shuangshuang for help."
Qin Zhenzhen replied softly, "It's fine. I have Ji Lu."
When Ji Lu found out she had resigned, she insisted on following her no matter what. Since Ji Lu had been with her since her debut and knew her incredibly well, Qin Zhenzhen didn't refuse. She only said the salary definitely wouldn't be as high as Jing Rui's. Ji Lu didn't care at all, telling her that the salary didn't matter; the most important thing about a job was being happy. Being by her side, she'd be happy no matter what.
Qin Zhenzhen was amused by her reasoning, and upon further thought, agreed.
Lu Ruyun's studio had nothing.
But she was happy.
Because Lu Ruyun was there.
A pleasant expression, joy at the corners of her eyes, graced Qin Zhenzhen's face. Lu Ruyun wrapped an arm around her shoulders, also smiling faintly. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Qin Zhenzhen said, her lips parting slightly. "Just thinking how wonderful it is to have you, Teacher Lu. I really like you so much!"
Lu Ruyun was momentarily stunned by the sudden confession. Before she could reply, she saw Qin Zhenzhen rise gracefully and head towards the bathroom, her voice floating over. "What are we eating tonight?"
"Ahem..." Lu Ruyun snapped out of her daze, lifting her gaze towards the bathroom. Qin Zhenzhen was still waiting for a reply. After a moment's thought, she said, "How about we invite everyone from the studio over for dinner?"
Besides Meng Xin, who had put in a lot of effort this time, the studio had gained several new members. It felt like something worth celebrating. Lu Ruyun's suggestion gave Qin Zhenzhen pause before she responded, "I'm OK with that."
"Then you contact Sister Meng."
Lu Ruyun nodded. "Alright."
While Qin Zhenzhen went into the bathroom to freshen up, Lu Ruyun called Meng Xin. Two of the artists were away—one filming out of town, another attending auditions. The only ones who could make it were Dong Xiang and Mei Ling, plus Meng Xin and He Shuangshuang. Lu Ruyun asked them to come over after work, just a gathering at the apartment. This was Meng Xin's second invitation, and she accepted much more readily than the first time.
"Okay, I'll notify the others."
Lu Ruyun smiled faintly. "Thank you, Sister Meng."
After hanging up, Meng Xin shook her head with a sigh. She truly had never imagined that one day her relationship with Lu Ruyun would change from enemies to partners, and even further, to boss and subordinate.
She had envisioned a thousand possibilities, yet this one, the most unlikely, had happened.
The opportunities in life were truly wonderful and unpredictable.
Meng Xin hung up the phone, and He Shuangshuang leaned in to ask, "What did Ruyun say?"
"She wants us all to go over for dinner tonight."
Meng Xin placed her phone on the coffee table, scanning through all the artists' schedules. Finally, she pointed at Mei Ling's and Dong Xiang's itineraries. "We can start packaging them first."
He Shuangshuang shed her lazy mood. "Packaging them?"
Meng Xin hummed affirmatively. "Dong Xiang is acting in Drunken Dreams of Jianghu. Even though her role isn't particularly standout, it at least makes her face familiar to the audience. Packaging her won't be difficult. As for Mei Ling, her situation is even better than Dong Xiang's. Her role in the script is relatively important. I'll look into it later, find some suitable variety shows for them to appear on, get more face time, solidify their personas, and that should do it."
He Shuangshuang showed understanding. Meng Xin finished speaking and glanced at the time—a little past four. She said to He Shuangshuang, "Let's go. We can discuss this later. Let's go shopping first."
She paused, then turned to look at He Shuangshuang. "Actually, here's the plan: I'll go buy the things. You go pick up Ji Lu, Dong Xiang, and Mei Ling. Let's meet back at the studio at five."
He Shuangshuang had no objections to the arrangement and nodded. "Alright."
Meng Xin walked out first, with He Shuangshuang following behind. Just as she stepped out, her phone dinged. She looked—it was a message from Lu Ruyun, telling her about the dinner tonight. She smiled and replied: Got it. I'm with Sister Meng.
Lu Ruyun saw the reply and smiled, pursing her lips. Before she could put her phone away, it rang again. It was Duan Qiuhan calling.
"Ruyun."
Lu Ruyun responded. "Mm."
It sounded like Duan Qiuhan was walking on the other end, with wind blowing into the receiver. "We're wrapping up here for now. We'll be back in City B next week. Are you coming over in the afternoon?"
Lu Ruyun thought for a few seconds. "Mm, I have to go to the set in the morning. I'll rush over at noon."
Fortunately, the two cities weren't far apart—just an hour and a half by highway—so timing wasn't an issue. Duan Qiuhan sighed in relief. "That's good. Regarding Zhenzhen's matter earlier... has it been resolved?"
He had actually been following the developments online these past few days, but he wasn't entirely clear on the specifics. Lu Ruyun had said she might ask for his help, and he'd been waiting, but surprisingly, even after things were resolved, she hadn't contacted him.
He had originally wanted to call and ask, but didn't know how to bring it up, so he'd held back until now.
Hearing the question, Lu Ruyun chuckled. "Mm, it's all resolved."
Detecting the ease in her voice, Duan Qiuhan couldn't help but smile as well. "That's good. I have things to do here, so I'll hang up now."
"Alright, we'll talk again tomorrow."
Just as he was about to hang up, Duan Qiuhan suddenly called out, "Ruyun."
Lu Ruyun held the phone. "Mm?"
Duan Qiuhan seemed to have just remembered. "That script I asked you to look at before, have you read it? I've scouted a few newcomers recently; they're all pretty good. When you come over tomorrow, help me consider them further."
Lu Ruyun leaned back on the sofa, her gaze falling on the script beside the documents. She smiled. "Okay, I know."
As she spoke, she reached out to pick up the script.
The Real Culprit.
Just from the title, it seemed like a suspense drama. Lu Ruyun had heard of the screenwriter's name before; they were somewhat well-known. Duan Qiuhan said a few more words to her before hanging up. Lu Ruyun placed her phone on the sofa and lowered her head to look at the script.
After flipping through several pages, her expression changed. Her gaze grew heavy as it fixed on the words before her. Her hand gripped the edge of the white paper, and with a sudden exertion, the sound of tearing instantly filled the living room.
She seemed not to hear it, her eyes still glued to the script.
When Qin Zhenzhen emerged from the bathroom, she was drying her damp hair. She smiled at Lu Ruyun and said, "Ruyun, you said we're inviting Sister Meng and the others over for dinner tonight. What are we eating?"
"There's not much to eat at home. The seafood from yesterday is probably going bad, and also..."
Her stream of chatter abruptly stopped when she saw Lu Ruyun looking down at the script, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat, leaving her unable to make a sound.
Lu Ruyun seemed not to have heard the voice behind her, sitting motionless, but her face grew increasingly pale. Qin Zhenzhen quickly took two steps forward and suddenly reached out to snatch the script from Lu Ruyun's hand. Lu Ruyun had been gripping the corner, and with the pull, there was a tearing sound—a page ripped off.
The living room was very quiet; the slightest sound was amplified infinitely. Lu Ruyun slowly lifted her head, her face as pale as paper. Qin Zhenzhen opened her mouth. "You've seen it?"
After a long pause, Lu Ruyun finally put down the torn piece of paper in her hand, her voice slightly hoarse. "I've seen it."
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