Chapter 48: CH 48

Sang Wan Ci’s flirting skills were exceptional.

If she wasn’t a straight woman, Lu Zhi Wei would narcissistically suspect she was flirting with her!

Amidst the sound of water, the two of them fell silent again.

Lu Zhi Wei didn’t know what to say this time, so she quietly complied with Sang Wan Ci’s actions.

She lifted her chin when she was supposed to, she turned around when she was supposed to, obedient and quiet.

As she faced the wall, Sang Wan Ci’s hand was drifting along her back.

It was gentle and light, not painful at all.

But it was a little itchy sometimes.

Itchy was better than pain. She just had to get used to it, she could bear it.

“Wan Ci……” She started.

“Mm?” The person behind her responded.

“Have you ever taken care of someone before?”

“No.”

“I’m…… the first?”

“Mm.”

Lu Zhi Wei was a little dazed.

Good god, I’m the first person she has taken care of!

This is too lucky, what right do I have?

She dared to vouch that Sang Wan Ci was the rich heiress with the least pretentiousness.

Although she hadn’t seen many rich heiresses……

But when she thought of the fact that Sang Wan Ci was taking care of her and treating her nicely, her gratitude swelled.

She tilted her head, wanting to thank Sang Wan Ci.

But as those two words were on the tip of her tongue, she swallowed them.

Sang Wan Ci didn’t want her to be so formal with her.

So…… let’s change the way we say it!

“Wan Ci, once my hands are better, I’ll make a lot of dumplings for you!”

Since she can’t say thanks, then she might as well express it through her actions!

“Corn filling, shrimp filling, I’ll make all the fillings for you!”

Sang Wan Ci looked at her contemplative.

Had she found another way of saying “thank you”?

Regardless, it still sounded better than “thank you”, there were dumplings after all.

“Okay.” Sang Wan Ci didn’t refuse.

“Mm.” Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com

Lu Zhi Wei was happy.

From now on, she would use dumplings to express her thanks. If one meal wasn’t enough, she would make two. She had to make sure Sang Wan Ci was satisfied!

Just like that, Sang Wan Ci managed to finish helping her bathe amidst her red face and racing heartbeat.

Since she took her clothes off herself, of course she had to put them on herself.

Wearing them on was much easier.

“I’m done.” She said to the person who was methodically doing up their buttons while facing the wall.

Hearing that, Sang Wan Ci turned around to look.

Only to see Lu Zhi Wei with her clothes worn haphazardly, as she carefully adjusted them while taking care of her fingers.

Sang Wan Ci reached out to help, and said: “Alright, let’s go. I’ll help you blowdry your hair, then reapply the medicine.”

Lu Zhi Wei nodded and sat obediently on the sofa outside.

Sang Wan Ci came out and sat behind her with a hairdryer, helping to dry her hair meticulously.

Lu Zhi Wei couldn’t see her face, she could only feel the warmth coming from Sang Wan Ci’s five fingers threading through her hair.

Time seemed to stop at this moment.

The air was silent.

Lu Zhi Wei wanted to look behind, but she couldn’t move.

She glanced at the legs of the coffee table then looked away, her eyes darting around the room.

She didn’t forget to make conversation with Sang Wan Ci: “Wan Ci, are you normally sleeping at this time already?”

With her here, Sang Wan Ci had to do an extra job, and her rest would be delayed because of that.

Thinking about it, she felt quite guilty……

Sang Wan Ci switched the hairdryer to her other hand, her expression calm: “Not always. I only sleep early when I’m very tired.”

“Mm?” Lu Zhi Wei was suddenly curious. “Then what do you do when you’re not tired?”

“Read the script, play with my phone, watch television, talk to people on the phone.”

“Oh……”

Lu Zhi Wei replied as she continued searching for something.

Sang Wan Ci noticed her actions and asked: “What are you looking for?”

Lu Zhi Wei replied: “A stand.”

Sang Wan Ci was confused: “A stand?”

Lu Zhi Wei: “Mm, if I find a stand and put the hairdryer on it, I can make an automatic hairdryer so I can stand and get my hair dry, so you don’t have to keep holding on to it.”

Sang Wan Ci: “Automatic…… hairdryer?”

Wasn’t there something wrong here?

How can a hairdryer be automatic?

Lu Zhi Wei raised a hand to gesture an example: “That’s right, if I move and it’s responsible for drying, then doesn’t it become an automatic hairdryer?”

“……” Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com

Sang Wan Ci couldn’t help but laugh.

What an “automatic” hairdryer.

Lu Zhi Wei heard the laugh and chuckled as well: “How is it, smart right?”

Sang Wan Ci’s lips remained pulled up: “Mm, smart.”

Smart and cute, and considerate and gentle.

How could there be a person on Earth who didn’t like Lu Zhi Wei?

Sang Wan Ci couldn’t figure it out, and she had no interest in thinking about it.

So be it if others didn’t like her, it was enough that they liked her.

She started reapplying the medicine after drying Lu Zhi Wei’s hair.

When the bandage was removed, the wound started hurting from the movement.

Lu Zhi Wei was enduring the pain so much that her face was all crumpled up.

At this moment, she could only console herself: think about the filming result, think about the filming result, it’s all worth it!

“Ouch……”

Sorry, she couldn’t bear it anymore.

But thankfully, her tears were strong this time, not leaking out from her eyes.

“Sorry.” Sang Wan Ci apologised, moving even gentler.

Lu Zhi Wei immediately said: “It’s not your fault, don’t apologise.”

Sang Wan Ci didn’t like to hear her say “thank you”.

She didn’t like to hear Sang Wan Ci say “sorry”.

Neither of them wanted the other to treat them like an outsider.

Sang Wan Ci nodded and uncapped the medicine. Her actions as she applied the medicine were extremely careful.

During the process, Lu Zhi Wei stayed silent except for her eyebrows knitting together twice.

After the medicine was applied, Lu Zhi Wei held her fingers out, not rushing to cover them up.

But that way, she grew even more afraid of moving her fingers.

So she sat cross-legged on the sofa and watched the television, her two hands lightly resting on her knees, almost as if she was a cultivator meditating.

The television was turned down low, because Sang Wan Ci was on a call.

Sang Wan Ci stood in front of the full length windows, her phone to her ear.

Meng Lian Yu’s voice came from the other end, with a trace of confusion: “Why are you even starting to eat instant noodles now?”

Who the hell could understand her emotions when she saw her niece on the hot search rankings because she was eating instant noodles with someone else.

Who the hell else could understand the emotions her brother had when he saw his daughter on the hot search rankings because she was eating instant noodles.

“Your father scolded me to death on the phone.” Meng Lian Yu rubbed her temples pitifully.

She was the one who supported Sang Wan Ci pursuing her dreams of becoming an actress, it was her who mediated between Sang Wan Ci and her father, and it was her who convinced Sang Wan Ci’s father to let her give it a try.

So whenever anything happened to Sang Wan Ci while she was working, as long as it was negative, she would always be the first one to be scolded by her brother.

Her brother always felt like she was the one who had led Sang Wan Ci astray, saying that Sang Wan Ci had spent too much time with her from young, becoming like this.

Could it even be called spending too much time with her?

The child just liked accompanying her when she was replying to her fan letters?

Your wife was the one who said to let Wan Ci spend more time with her aunt!

Meng Lian Yu complained in her heart.

But she had long trained a heart of steel.

—— Let her brother scold as he wanted, if she couldn’t argue then just let the scolding go in one ear and out the other.

After she complained about her brother silently, Meng Lian Yu pulled on a strand of hair and looked at the sky: “I suspect he thinks that you’re eating instant noodles every day in the crew now, not even having a proper meal.”

Sang Wan Ci: “……”

She wasn’t to that point yet……

Speaking so much, Meng Lian Yu suddenly felt uneasy.

No matter what, this was a child that she had pampered growing up, making a living in the world for the first time.

She asked suspiciously: “You wouldn’t really be living poorly, Zhang Xian Rui that woman wouldn’t be lying to me, right?”

After Sang Wan Ci had entered the industry, she hadn’t been to see Sang Wan Ci yet.

Everything she knew about Sang Wan Ci’s current situation was from Zhang Xian Rui.

But as a relative, she had to see her niece’s own conditions with her own eyes to rest assured.

If their precious Young Miss Sang had been treated badly outside……

Heh, her brother would certainly kill her.

And she would certainly kill Zhang Xian Rui.

Hearing her nervous tone, Sang Wan Ci chuckled: “No, I’m very good. Zhang jie is also very good to me, don’t worry.”

Hearing that, Lu Zhi Wei could guess that she was on a call with a family member.

Probably, perhaps it was that aunt who treated her very well……

Only, hearing that, why did she feel like the person on the other end knew Zhang Xian Rui?

Could Sang Wan Ci’s aunt be someone in the industry?

DId Sang Wan Ci enter the acting scene through her aunt?

She thought about it for a while, then decided not to continue.

What did it have to do with her whether Sang Wan Ci’s aunt was someone in the industry or not?

As an outsider, she shouldn’t be so curious about other people’s family matters.

She put it out of her mind and continued watching the television.

Meng Lian Yu said: “Aunty has been busy lately, I’ll come see you once I’m free.”

Sang Wan Ci agreed, then after a moment of silence, she asked: “Is my dad doing well lately?”

“Well, how could he not be well? Don’t worry, his health is good. He has plenty of energy when scolding me.

“Just…… He misses your mother very much.”

Sang Wan Ci’s hand clenched.

She missed her mother too……

Her mother whom she would never see again.

“Mm,” Sang Wan Ci replied. “It’s good that his health is good.”

Her tone was peaceful, but Meng Lian Yu could detect the change in her emotions. She sighed and consoled her: “Wan Ci, your mother will continue to love you even in heaven, and your father and Aunty will always be by your side too.”

Sang Wan Ci lowered her eyes as a hint of sadness flashed by: “I know……”

Meng Lian Yu’s tone grew even softer: “Be good, you had a long day filming too, go and rest.”

Sang Wan Ci pinched her nose bridge, rubbing away the soreness: “Okay, goodnight Aunty.”

“Goodnight, good niece.”

She hung up and kept her phone away.

Turning her head, she could see Lu Zhi Wei on the sofa and what she was watching on the television.

It was broadcasting a perfect life of a family of three.

She had that life in the past too, but it was destroyed by a car accident……

Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Lu Zhi Wei.

She suddenly thought, compared to Lu Zhi Wei, she was actually very lucky.

Most of the people on Earth were very lucky compared to Lu Zhi Wei.

Lu Zhi Wei noticed the absence of voices, and turned around to see that Sang Wan Ci had already kept away her phone.

“You’re done with the call?” Lu Zhi Wei asked.

“Mm.” Sang Wan Ci walked over and sat down by her side.

“Who was it?” Lu Zhi Wei asked.

“My aunt.” Sang Wan Ci didn’t hide it.

“Oh.” Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com

The conversation ended there.

Lu Zhi Wei didn’t ask anything more, there was nothing left to ask.

Probing too much would be an invasion of privacy.

At this moment, the phone that Lu Zhi Wei placed on the coffee table lit up with an incoming message.

[Xiao Ying]: Another day hard at work is finally over. Jie, how was filming today? Did you see the teaser trailer for 《Phoenix》?

Lu Zhi Wei looked at it and wanted to reply, but didn’t dare to move her fingers for fear of the pain.

So she looked at Sang Wan Ci: “Wan Ci, can you help me reply Xiao Ying?”

Sang Wan Ci picked up her phone.

Lu Zhi Wei: Three, zero, nine, eight.”

Sang Wan Ci unlocked it calmly, then paused for a second as she saw the home screen.

After which, she opened WeChat as if nothing had happened and entered the chat, then looked at Lu Zhi Wei: “What do you want to reply?”

Lu Zhi Wei: “Tell him I can’t type right now.”

Sang Wan Ci nodded.

Ying Xi Ze had gone to bathe after sending that message.

He saw Lu Zhi Wei had replied after he came back.

[Lu jie]: She can’t type right now.

Ying Xi Ze held his phone: “???”

She?

Can’t type right now??

Then who are you???

[Ying Xi Ze]: She can’t type, then who are you? Her assistant?

That’s not right, he recalled Lu Zhi Wei said she didn’t have an assistant……

He waited for a moment.

And he watched as the status became “typing……”

Then the answer popped out.

[Lu jie]: Sang Wan Ci.

Ying Xi Ze: “Eh???”

[Ying Xi Ze]: How do you have my jie‘s phone?

[Lu jie]: She’s in my room, she’s staying with me for the near future.

[Ying Xi Ze]: ????

Why did she have to stay with you!

Am I detecting something’s going to happen?!

[Ying Xi Ze]: Why does she have to stay with you when everything’s fine?

[Lu jie]: Not fine.

Two simple words, but the mature Ying Xi Ze already had his mind going wild.

[Ying Xi Ze]: Could it be that your crew already kicked her out of the hotel?

[Ying Xi Ze]: No way, she hasn’t even finished filming yet, how can your crew do this!

[Lu jie]: …… Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com

Sang Wan Ci didn’t know what to say.

Ying Xi Ze, you really had an over-active imagination.

[Lu jie]: Her hand’s hurt, so she moved in with me so I can take care of her.

Once the message was sent out, it took less than three seconds for Ying Xi Ze to call.

Sang Wan Ci helped Lu Zhi Wei pick it up and put it on speaker, then placed the phone on the table.

Once the speakerphone was activated, Ying Xi Ze’s anxious voice immediately came out: “Teacher Sang, how did she hurt her hand? Is it serious? Can you please get her to answer the phone, thanks.”

It was the first time Lu Zhi Wei had seen him so anxious and she chortled: “Aiya, I’m here.

“My hand’s fine, don’t worry, it’ll be all good soon.”

She didn’t want Ying Xi Ze to be too worried about her.

It’s good enough to know his heart, he didn’t need to keep saying it, or she would be too embarrassed.

Ying Xi Ze didn’t believe her: “If it’s fine then why would you still need Teacher Sang to take care of you?”

Lu Zhi Wei laughed: “Because our Teacher Sang is such a nice person, so I’m was shameless enough to rely on her.”

Ying Xi Ze: “…… I might believe that if I was three.”

If it was anybody else being shameless, he would believe it, but he wouldn’t believe Lu Zhi Wei would take the initiative to rely on Sang Wan Ci.

He didn’t know why, but he was deadset that Lu Zhi Wei was not someone like that.

Lu Zhi Wei was amused.

Ying Xi Ze sternly said: “Okay, jie, tell me what happened.”

Lu Zhi Wei couldn’t change the topic, so she had to recount what happened.

After hearing it, Ying Xi Ze said: “…… It’s been hard on you, jie.”

He thought about it, then continued: “Your company should arrange an assistant for you. Without an assistant, it’s so much trouble being alone on set.”

Lu Zhi Wei carefully propped up her chin: “Didi, do you think jiejie has the right to an assistant right now?”

“……” Ying Xi Ze’s face was serious. “Mm, I recommend Sheng Yue assign one to you soon. After all, your acting skills are so good, you’ll definitely be popular.”

Lu Zhi Wei: “Mm, you’re right, then Teacher Ying should quickly call to tell Sheng Yue about this suggestion.”

Ying Xi Ze rubbed his chin and thought about it: “That’s a bit hard, I’m afraid your boss will throw me out. How about you come and work for our Xinghua, I can still put in a good word with the boss here.”

Speaking about this, his face suddenly grew serious.

“Honestly, Sheng Yue is too small, and there aren’t enough resources.

“Besides, Sheng Yue is promoting Zhou Ling Ling now, all the good resources are going to her. The ones that can fall into your hands are scarce, or maybe there aren’t any at all.”

“Besides, jie, Sheng Yue doesn’t cherish you at all. Didn’t you use to work for Sheng Yue, what kind of roles did they give you then? And the roles they give you now are also small roles……”

Sheng Yue was small, but she was small too.

She had no choice, and no right to choose, both times she went into the industry.

Aside from working hard and climbing up one step at a time, she had no other option.

Besides, Wen Yao had managed to get a decent role for her this time……

Small managers and small actors had no right to complain.

She knew Ying Xi Ze treated her as a friend, so he said all these, but it was something else that surprised her the most ——

“How did you know I used to be under Sheng Yue?”

She recalled that aside from Sang Wan Ci, she hadn’t told anybody else that this was the second time she was entering the industry.

Then how did Ying Xi Ze know?

“It’s written on your Wikipedia page[1].” Ying Xi Ze said.

Lu Zhi Wei: “?”

Wikipedia? Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com

She had a page too???

Sang Wan Ci sat by the side, listening to them talk silently.

When Ying Xi Ze mentioned Sheng Yue’s biasness in allocating resources, she looked up briefly.

When he mentioned the page, she had already opened her browser and entered “Lu Zhi Wei”.

Ying Xi Ze continued: “Your page is pretty detailed, what roles you acted in, which episodes and what timestamps you appeared are all detailed clearly.

“Did your company do it?”

Lu Zhi Wei looked at the page that Sang Wan Ci presented her with, surprised.

She recalled Wen Yao said they hadn’t done a page yet, that they were planning to do one after these two shows aired.

But if it wasn’t the company, then who would spend the time and effort to do such a detailed Wikipedia page for an unknown actress……

Sang Wan Ci suddenly thought of someone.

Someone who made Lu Zhi Wei happy beyond belief.

“Maybe it’s your fan.” Sang Wan Ci said.

Lu Zhi Wei immediately thought about “Qiao Qiao Ya”, the Amway account for her.

Could it be Qiao Qiao?

She didn’t have any other fans, she could only think of Qiao Qiao……

She wanted to go ask on Weibo, but felt it was too sudden.

But after she looked at Sang Wan Ci, she decided not to.

Forget it, she definitely had to trouble Sang Wan Ci now, it would be better if she waited till her hand was better to ask.

Ying Xi Ze had hung up already.

Lu Zhi Wei’s hands had dried enough, so Sang Wan Ci helped to bandage them in case they brushed against something when sleeping.

With nothing left to do, they two of them prepared to brush their teeth and head to bed.

Lu Zhi Wei didn’t want to trouble Sang Wan Ci to help her brush her teeth, so she took her toothbrush and sat outside, slowly brushing.

Sang Wan Ci had already finished brushing her teeth and applying her skincare products, and Lu Zhi Wei was still slowly brushing her teeth.

The speed was comparable to a tortoise crawling.

But she wouldn’t let Sang Wan Ci help.

So Sang Wan Ci stood by the bed, slowly applying handcream while watching her.

She actually had a question that she really wanted to ask Lu Zhi Wei.

Feeling the hot stare on her back, Lu Zhi Wei got up and escaped to the bathroom.

Sang Wan Ci turned and walked to the bathroom door, leaning against the doorframe as she reminded: “Hands, don’t let them touch water.”

Lu Zhi Wei: “……”

Her part-time job must be as a nurse……

Under the strict supervision of the nurse, Lu Zhi Wei finally finished brushing her teeth.

This was the first time in her life she had taken so long to brush her teeth.

She couldn’t help but sigh: Why did it have to be the hands that got injured……

Sang Wan Ci used a towel to help her wipe away the water droplets on her face, then asked: “Do you want to put on some skincare products?”

Lu Zhi Wei immediately shook her head: “No, our Teacher Sang has been working for the whole day, let’s sleep early. We can put moisturiser next time.”

Although actors had to take care of themselves, but for Sang Wan Ci, she could occasionally let it go.

Sang Wan Ci understood.

She put down the towel and helped Lu Zhi Wei adjust her ponytail higher to avoid pressing on it while sleeping.

“I have a scene tomorrow, I’ll let Xiao Qiu come accompany you. I’m fine being alone on set.”

Lu Zhi Wei refused: “Xiao Qiu is your assistant, she should be with you.”

She held up her fingers and said: “We put on medicine today, it will definitely be better tomorrow. It’ll hurt less too, so don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself. It’s most important that you film your scenes well.”

“It’s also important for your hand to recover well.” Sang Wan Ci suddenly said.

Lu Zhi Wei thought about the past.

Before getting the male protagonist halo and getting to know them, nobody had said she was important.

At that time, she lived casually, but it was also lonely. Nobody cared if she got hurt, and she didn’t know what it felt like to be cared for.

Until today, Sang Wan Ci and Ying Xi Ze had given her the feeling she had been missing all along.

Maybe it was because it was late at night, but Lu Zhi Wei suddenly wanted to hug Sang Wan Ci.

Thinking about what Lao Wu said before, she did so.

—— Don’t treat your friends as outsiders.

“Thank you, Wan Ci,” She smiled and hugged Sang Wan Ci’s waist. “I’ll definitely be very, very good to you.”

Sang Wan Ci was stunned by Lu Zhi Wei’s hug, then she returned it.

She gently stroked Lu Zhi Wei’s soft hair and said: “Mm, you have to be good to me.”

Thinking about what Xiao Qiu had said at the elevator today, she continued: “And you have to always be honest with me, you can’t lie to me.”

It’s not like she hadn’t seen friends turn against each other.

She really liked having Lu Zhi Wei as a friend, she didn’t want to lose her.

So she didn’t want Lu Zhi Wei to lie to her, to stand on opposite sides as her.

“Of course,” Lu Zhi Wei said quickly. “I will always be honest with you, I won’t lie to you.”

Shouldn’t that be the case between friends?

Sang Wan Ci brushed her hand against her ponytail and looked down slightly, her breath brushing against Lu Zhi Wei’s ear: “You really won’t lie to me?”

Lu Zhi Wei nodded hard, her chin brushing against Sang Wan Ci’s shoulder: “Mm, I won’t.”

Sang Wan Ci continued: “Then I have a question, you have to be honest with me.”

Lu Zhi Wei agreed without hesitation.

Then she heard Sang Wan Ci’s voice gently land in her ear, like the whisper from the Devil ——

“Why is your phone’s home screen…… a photo of Meng Lian Yu?”

[1] 百科 – Baike is basically China’s version of Wikipedia, operated by Baidu.