It was almost two o’clock in the afternoon when Zhou Xufang woke up.
The pure black curtains did not let in even a single photon into her room. Amidst the sea of darkness, a delicate hand reached out from underneath a black comforter, fumbling around in search of her phone that was placed on the bedside table. Upon glancing at the time on the phone, Zhou Xufang tossed it aside and planted her head back on her pillow for a moment before sitting upright.
Her hair was a mess and her eyes seemed empty.
“Are you awake now?”
The artificially synthesized voice echoed through her room.
“Yeah.” Zhou Xufang replied in a nasally sounding voice as she had just woken up from her dreams. As she tossed about her bed, somehow, a tuft of her hair was standing upright, perpendicular to her scalp. With half-opened eyes, she could already vaguely make out the Spongebob icon bouncing on her computer screen.
“What time did you reach home last night?” Shuang Jiang asked.
She was still sleep-deprived. After a huge yawn and inhaling the stale air of her room, she replied, “Around four.” She had been working the night shift last night which explained why it was already early in the morning by the time she reached home.
“Someone’s downstairs.”
The alarm on Zhou Xufang’s computer blared at the same time.
Zhou Xufang switched on the surveillance footage from the bottom floor of her apartment complex. She had already planted motion detectors as well as surveillance cameras throughout the building for her own safety.
“It’s the noodles that I ordered.”
After tidying up her hair, Zhou Xufang changed into a clean set of clothes before going down to get her lunch.
“Ah Fang.”
“Hm?” she mumbled as she was hunched over her phone, trying to leave a good review for her fellow delivery rider.
Noticing that she was busy, Shuang Jiang stopped typing momentarily and switched over to her robotic voice. “I’ve already exposed to Jiang Zhi how we were employed by Jin Song in our previous mission, but to date, there seems to be no activity on his side. I’m thinking he must’ve figured out by himself who was trying to abduct him.”
Zhou Xufang looked up from her phone and asked, “Will Jin Song give him any more trouble?”
“I don’t think you should worry about that. I’ve caught wind that a lot of his family members are hell-bent on taking his life, and for him to still be alive today, I must say, he’s no piece of cake to deal with.” Shuang Jiang paused. “Ah Fang. I want you to know that there’s more behind this Jiang Zhi person than you think.”
Zhou Xufang understood what Shuang Jiang was trying to say. It only took him such a short amount of time to start being suspicious about her identity. Considering that even the police were unable to sniff her out, Jiang Zhi had to be a smart man indeed.
But…
“He’s a bad man.”
Shuang Jiang elaborated further. “He just doesn’t treat you badly as he does unto others.”
This Jiang Zhi fella was shrouded in mystery. There were simply too many secrets that he was keeping. Many mistook him as being a sick, helpless man and thus, underestimated his abilities. This miscalculation was precisely what led to the downfall of many of his victims.
Zhou Xufang did not want to start a debate with Shuang Jiang but she firmly made herself clear. “He treats me well. Look at that light.” She then pointed toward the chandelier. “He gave me that thing.”
The chandelier had just been installed yesterday.
Her room, which was originally devoid of life, now glowed luxuriously with the addition of that exquisite light fixture. While the chandelier itself was prettier than ever, it seemed out of place as her room was dull and overly-monochromatic. Still, Zhou Xufang loved it very much, and from time to time, she would even jump up to touch the crystals hanging down like berries on a tree.
Oh, Zhou Xufang recalled something.
She put her chopsticks down and sent a message via WeChat to Wen Baiyang: [Baiyang.]
Baiyang replied with a smiley face.
As usual, Zhou Xufang typed at a snail’s pace: [Will the free-range eggs that I ordered arrive today?]
Wen Baiyang’s hometown was at Barley Hill where her grandmother raised lots of chickens. There were many villagers there that made a living through raising livestock. The chicken that Zhou Xufang had presented to Jiang Zhi the last time was also procured through Wen Baiyang. This time, she had ordered Wen Baiyang to get a truckload of chicken eggs ready.
Wen Baiyang’s reply soon came: [Yes. It should reach the capital by 3 pm. Are there any alterations to the delivery address?]
Xufang: [No, it’s the same.]
Zhou Xufang then added: [Thank you.]
Baiyang: [I’m glad to help.]
Xufang: [.]
Just as she placed her phone on the table, she discovered that her computer screen had gone dark. Just when had Shuang Jiang gone offline?
She was scheduled to arrive at Jiang Zhi’s set at 3 pm sharp so the timing could not have been more precise.
Fang Lixiang was also there. After all, she was acting as the weaver girl where scenes involving her were plentiful. Upon seeing Zhou Xufang arrive, she floated enthusiastically toward her like a butterfly.
“Xufang~”
Zhou Xufang felt a little uncomfortable being beside her.
As though she was pampering a child emperor, Fang Lixiang presented a cup of milk tea in front of her. “I’ve bought you milk tea.”
Zhou Xufang had a sweet tooth, so it went without saying that she enjoyed both the AD-brand milk that Fang Lixiang had given her previously as well as all types of milk tea.
Accepting it, she sucked up a mouthful before saying her thanks. She then reached into her backpack and retrieved 4 large eggs. “Would you like some free-range eggs?” The eggs had been given to her by Wen Baiyang on her way here, and since she couldn’t eat them without getting tipsy, she might as well give them to her colleague.
Fang Lixiang had been recently put on a strict diet regimen by her manager, and so, her eyes darted around cautiously before hastily stuffing them into her coat pockets once the coast was clear.
“Aren’t you gonna eat them?” Fang Lixiang asked as she munched away on the eggs while hiding under her coat to avoid getting caught.
She couldn’t say that she would get drunk after eating eggs, so Zhou Xufang quickly made up a lie.
“I am allergic to eggs.”
‘So there are people like that, huh?’
Fang Lixiang figured that she must’ve been sleeping during biology lessons back in high school. Greedily, she stuffed half an egg into her mouth. “Promise me, if you don’t want to eat the free lunchboxes they hand out here, give them to me. I’ll eat everything for you.”
“Okay.”
Zhou Xufang began to think that it might be a good idea to transfer some money over to Fang Lixiang.
“Xufang, you’ve gotta hear this. I think I’ve struck gold this time.” Fang Lixiang swallowed what was left of the egg and washed it all down with a big gulp of milk tea. Together, they crouched down in one corner and started their gossiping session. “I don’t know what happened between Director Jiang and Huayu Entertainment’s Vice President, Jin Song, but Su Chan’s gonna get replaced. Wei’er told me that they are now going to choose a new female lead from Bao Guang Entertainment’s list of actresses. Guess what? Smack right in the list of primary candidates is my name, Fang Lixiang!”
“Ula Nara” Lixiang was dumbfounded.
Jiang Zhi was a whole other type of director in the entertainment industry. He was pretty lax in terms of choosing an actor for his roles. As long as one’s projected attitude was consistent and the acting was compelling enough, it didn’t matter how experienced or popular the actor was.
The sun was out today, hence why Zhou Xufang had decided to go with a bucket hat which made her face seem even smaller. “I’m impressed by your acting skills,” she praised Fang Lixiang with a genuine smile.
Fang Lixiang smiled so hard that her eyes were nowhere to be seen.
‘Of course! I’m the goddess of drama after all!’
“Xufang, just you wait! When I get popular, I’ll help you out too!” As sisters in arms, they should help each other out and squeeze out as much profit as possible. That was what Fang Lixiang had in mind when she made that promise to Zhou Xufang.
Yet, Zhou Xufang shook her head. “I don’t like being in front of the camera. I think I’m satisfied with the current roles I’m given.” Mass actors weren’t even given their own names, so she didn’t need to worry about a potential threat remembering her face.
Another reason for this was due to Zhou Xufang’s severe introversion. And maybe a whole lot of crappy social skills. Fang Lixiang thought about how to go about this problem. Then, a lightbulb lit up in her mind.
“Okay, I’ll get the group leader to loosen up your ass, then.”
Zhou Xufang nodded as she sucked on her milk tea.
“Hot d*mn!” Fang Lixiang’s eyes suddenly went wide open.
“What’s up?”
Fang Lixiang started stuttering. “I-I-Is t-that… Director Jiang!?” Her eyeballs almost popped out of her sockets. “Why the h*ll did he dye his hair?”
Zhou Xufang was so astonished that she forgot what she said.
Fang Lixiang, the overly-dramatic actress, choked and sprayed out a mouthful of milk tea, launching some of the dark, chewy boba through the air like mortar rounds. “D*mn, and ash-blue at that!” She eyed Zhou Xufang’s hair that peeked out from underneath her bucket hat. “Xufang, it’s the same type as yours.”
The entire place had gone dead-silent the moment Jiang Zhi walked in. So many pairs of eyes, including Zhou Xufang’s, were trailing him… and his hair.
She reached up to touch her hair. “Mine was a temporary dye. It’s mostly washed off already.” Silently, she muttered under her breath, “Jiang Zhi’s looks better.”
Fang Lixiang rubbed her chin.
‘While it does look stunning, it ain’t right for him to do this.’
Jiang Zhi was already plenty handsome without dyeing his hair. Now, he looked all the more like a dangerous succubus.
That succubus was now 5 meters away, walking back and forth as if waiting for something or someone.
“What’s he doing?” Fang Lixiang wondered. She had no idea what the director was doing. Perhaps he was trying to show off his new hairstyle? “Why is he walking around in circles?”
Having finished her milk tea, Zhou Xufang chucked the empty cup into the trash can before walking toward him.
“You got your hair dyed.”
Since they were surrounded by other people, she didn’t want to appear too close to him.
Jiang Zhi moved to the side of the open area. “Yep.”
Zhou Xufang followed him over. “It looks really good.” The ash-blue hair made him seem a lot less gentle, further upping his intimidation level, but that too, made him extra attractive.
The corner of Jiang Zhi’s mouth curled up as his head moved closer toward Zhou Xufang. “And?”
He looked… just like that homeless grey cat living at the bottom floor of her apartment.
‘Is he trying to get me to praise him?’ Zhou Xufang pondered.
Right then, Yu Ran’s fan representative had arrived to speak to her. They were actually quite far away, but Zhou Xufang could clearly make out every word in the exchange due to her insane sense of hearing.
The fan representative was yelling at the top of his lungs, “I love you, Yu Ran! Can I have your signature, please?”
‘So this counts as a form of compliment too?’
Zhou Xufang decided to mirror the fan’s words. “I think your hair looks pretty. Can I please have your signature?”
“…”
The fan representative was so excited that he started stomping on the ground. “I really, really love you! I’ve watched every one of the movies you’ve starred in!”
“I will continue supporting your future movies!”
“You’re sooo pretty!”
“Sign here! Sign here!”
“Can I take a photo with you?”
“Woowoo! Thank you, my goddess!”
Zhou Xufang then heard Yu Ran laugh happily.
Perhaps, she should start learning from the normies now. Zhou Xufang proceeded to mirror every action of the fanboy, stomping on the ground, shuffling around excitedly.
“Can we take a photo together?” She gave him a thumbs-up, and with a straight face, she emphasized, “Your hairstyle looks super-duper pretty.” After saying that, she remembered another line. “I’ve watched every one of your movies, I will continue supporting your future movies!”
“…”
Her worst fear had come true. The air was dead with silence…