CHAPTER 43
The night rain pattered softly, and Assistant Gao rarely had a quiet moment, she soon fell asleep. Just as she was in a deep slumber, a cheerful ringtone shattered the tranquility of the night.
Assistant Gao jolted awake, her heart racing wildly.
There was nothing more terrifying than a late-night call.
She quickly grabbed the phone and glanced at it, feeling a bit relieved—it wasn't from home. Taking a few deep breaths to steady her voice, she answered, "President Wei?"
Glancing at her watch—it was 12:40.
So late?
What was strange was that Wei Zhuang didn't speak immediately.
Assistant Gao furrowed her brows but quickly relaxed. Pausing for a moment, when she was about to ask again, Wei Zhuang spoke, "Alex, how long has it been since I signed my contract?"
Assistant Gao, whose English name was Alex, truthfully replied, "78 days."
There was silence on Wei Zhuang's end again.
After a moment of thought, Assistant Gao gently asked, "President Wei, is your head hurting again?"
When Assistant Gao started working with Wei Zhuang, it was during the period when Tonghua was developing its film and television business. Endless meetings and discussions filled their days, and Wei Zhuang's secretaries were busy from dawn till dusk.
It was during that time that Wei Zhuang developed migraines, and they became severe enough to cause insomnia. After consulting a doctor and with the help of medication, her condition improved, and after some time, she was considered recovered.
According to Assistant Gao's records, Wei Zhuang hadn't mentioned headaches or insomnia for several years. She didn't need much sleep, five to six hours was enough, and she never stayed up late, maintaining this habit for years.
A sudden late-night call could mean her old ailment had returned, which would require scheduling time to see a doctor and coordinating with Secretary Ma to adjust her schedule.
But after a brief silence, Wei Zhuang said, "I'm fine."
Assistant Gao continued, "Then..."
Her brow twitched. "Are you thinking of ending your contract with Miss Xiao early?"
This time, Wei Zhuang remained silent for even longer before saying, "Wait a little longer. It's nothing. Get some rest."
After ending the call, Assistant Gao returned to bed, yawned, and turned over. She was too tired, she needed a good night's sleep before she could gossip. She would straighten out her thoughts the next morning and figure out why her boss had acted so unusually tonight.
After setting down her phone, Wei Zhuang stepped out of the room.
The house was silent.
She stood for a moment, her dress swaying gently. She entered Xiaoyuan's room, where an ash-yellow bedside lamp was on, but there was no one in bed.
Wei Zhuang pondered for a few seconds, walked in, moved to the other side of the bed, and finally saw her. In the dim light, Xiaoyuan was wrapped tightly in the blanket, only her face exposed.
This position couldn't be seen from the doorway, she had to approach the other side of the bed. Xiaoyuan was curled up against the bed, sleeping peacefully.
Wei Zhuang stood still for a long time, her gaze lingering on Xiaoyuan's sleeping position. Her brows relaxed slightly, and an unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes.
She leaned in a little, her shadow falling across Xiaoyuan's blanket.
Sensing something, Xiaoyuan furrowed her brows and adjusted her pillow slightly.
Wei Zhuang took a step back, and Xiaoyuan had already become alert. She reflexively sat up, pulling the blanket around her tightly, waving her hand vigorously in the air and shrinking back. Due to her sudden movement, her back hit the bed hard. Her eyes widened, and for several seconds, she remained motionless, her expression a mix of confusion and horror.
Wei Zhuang furrowed her brows slightly, about to say something, but then she noticed Xiaoyuan's expression gradually softening. Xiaoyuan blinked as if just realizing who was in front of her.
Wei Zhuang's gaze flickered.
"Oh, President Wei..." Xiaoyuan took a few breaths, calming down, her tense shoulders relaxing. She was on the verge of tears—having someone suddenly enter her room in the middle of the night without a word was terrifying. She couldn't say it outright—who knew what this older woman was here for?
Glancing at her blanket and then at the bed, Xiaoyuan felt a bit embarrassed. "I... couldn't sleep."
That wasn't the only reason she was admitting to.
Wei Zhuang gazed at her. Xiaoyuan was wearing a hotel's silk long-sleeved pajamas, white with green polka dots, slightly wrinkled from sleep. The neckline revealed a glimpse of her delicate neck, and her collarbone gently trembled.
She was very young.
Even so, she was a mature woman.
Wei Zhuang's gaze shifted away from her neck.
An adult's privacy should be respected as it deserves. If Wei Zhuang wanted, she could easily learn everything about Xiaoyuan's life before she turned 25, big or small. However, even with their "contract" signed, Wei Zhuang had no such intentions.
"Can you sleep like this?" Wei Zhuang asked.
Xiaoyuan hesitated and then answered, "Mm," hesitantly asking, "You... can't sleep?"
Wei Zhuang remained silent for two seconds and then softly responded, "Mm."
Xiaoyuan felt distressed. Was she so angry about what just happened that she couldn't sleep? And then angry enough to come to her room? Wouldn't that be too much blame on her?
It seemed like she needed to apologize.
But she had to know where she went wrong first, in order to apologize.
Xiaoyuan discreetly glanced at Wei Zhuang, who was also looking at her, showing no sign of leaving but instead sitting on the single sofa across the bed.
"President Wei, about the scene we just rehearsed... I didn't consider it thoroughly, I didn't consider your feelings." Xiaoyuan apologized with a brave face. As she spoke, her thoughts became clearer. She explained her thoughts, "I actually wanted to consult with you, ask for your opinion, I didn't mean anything else. If it affected your mood in any way, I'm truly sorry."
Having spoken bravely, Xiaoyuan lowered her head and waited for Wei Zhuang to respond.
After a moment, she heard Wei Zhuang say, "It's not your fault."
Xiaoyuan looked up at her, and Wei Zhuang turned her face to look outside the window.
The rain hadn't stopped yet.
Wei Zhuang continued to gaze out at the rain.
What was really going on? Why did she always seem to have such a lonely expression?
This wasn't the first time Xiaoyuan felt this way, and she was puzzled as to why she perceived Wei Zhuang like this.
For a while, they sat in silence—Xiaoyuan on the carpet, Wei Zhuang in the sofa. Only the gentle rain outside filled the air, creating a quiet understanding between them that separated them from the noise of the world.
Xiaoyuan sat cross-legged until her legs went numb. Slowly stretching them out, her joints made a cracking sound, feeling both numb and sore. She couldn't help but let out a soft "aw" of discomfort.
She glanced at Wei Zhuang, who was looking at her, causing Xiaoyuan to freeze.
"Are you afraid of me?"
Xiaoyao: "..."
How should she answer that? Xiaoyuan was a bit taken aback by this sudden question. Recalling the times she had spent with her, she pondered about her own feelings—she wasn't exactly afraid anymore, just nervous.
She really didn't understand Wei Zhuang's mindset.
Wei Zhuang seemed to have just said that casually, not really expecting an answer from her.
Xiaoyuan noticed another characteristic about her, besides work, she seemed disinterested in other things, fleeting in her interests. Was signing with her just a spur-of-the-moment decision for Wei Zhuang? What about her behavior from the previous night?
"I'm not afraid of you, it's just..."
'It's the age gap, the generation gap, and you don't talk much...'
'It's hard to have a conversation.'
'Even harder than chatting with a hundred Zou Yirui.'
Of course, Xiaoyuan didn't say this out loud, otherwise, Wei Zhuang might get angry again and say "it's none of her business."
She didn't realize that when she felt awkward, her small face would slightly wrinkle, adding a touch of childishness to her otherwise charming features. Although she was a mature woman, she was still very young. Wei Zhuang wouldn't make things difficult for such a young girl.
"Get some rest." Wei Zhuang said softly, standing up and walking past Xiaoyuan to leave the room.
Xiaoyuan watched her disappear, tilting her head in hesitation for a moment before finally standing up and following her.
The rain should be stopping soon. Wei Zhuang poured a glass of wine and glanced out the window. The amber liquid accentuated the slender white fingers holding the glass.
Hearing movement beside her, Wei Zhuang looked over as Xiaoyuan approached.
"President Wei, if you can't sleep, I could keep you company." Xiaoyuan offered.
Considering they had signed a contract, even if it didn't specify what she had to do, it was indeed Wei Zhuang who successfully lifted the ban on Xiaoyuan's career, allowing her to audition successfully. She also had dinner with her, she couldn't just do nothing.
Wei Zhuang was also a woman after all. Setting aside her status as a long-standing authority in the industry, she was just a few years older than Xiaoyuan.
Calm down, she didn't need to beg for resources from her.
As Xiaoyuan thought more clearly, she became bolder. "I'll accompany with a drink." Glancing at the bottle of whiskey Wei Zhuang had taken out, she hesitated slightly, her eyelashes fluttering as she blinked.
From when Xiaoyuan first said, "I could keep you company," to "I'll accompany with a drink," Wei Zhuang stared at her. A hint of confusion flickered in her eyes, and after a few seconds, she pointed to the liquor cabinet.
Xiaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief, understanding, and went to the cabinet to get the alcohol. She still looked a bit sleepy, but her interest was piqued. Scanning the rows of bottles she didn't know much about, she chose a bottle of red wine, grabbed a glass, poured some, and set it on the crystal table.
The warm light from a floor lamp cast a small halo, covering the two of them.
Xiaoyuan took a sip of wine, finding the taste quite good, so she poured another glass.
Glancing at Wei Zhuang's glass, she noticed she was drinking slowly.
They couldn't just drink in silence, she needed to find a topic. What should she bring up? Certainly not about lipstick.
Xiaoyuan's gaze shifted over, as if sensing something, and looked over as well.
The two gazes met, in the subtle and slightly awkward silence of this rainy night.
Late at night, especially in the early hours, one often feels unguarded. With the influence of alcohol, Xiaoyuan finally asked, "President Wei, can I ask why you signed a contract with me?"
Was it just a fleeting impulse?
Someone like her, who had everything and had reached the pinnacle of her career, surely wouldn't lack for companionship. Why would she have "interest" in herself?
Had her previous interests always been the "hormonal" types like Wang Ji?
Wei Zhuang's gaze in the dim light wasn't clear, but her voice came through, "What about you?"
Xiaoyuan took a sip of wine. She didn't mention the matter of Xiang Zhishi asking her to visit her mother in Pengcheng, only talked about how the screenwriter Shi Hai saw her potential for the second female lead role, but the production side hesitated to let her audition due to Wei Jiabao's influence. She said, "I really want to do well in a good film."
At this point, she realized a premise that she had previously overlooked in her subconscious—she didn't dislike Wei Zhuang, she even thought of something more.
"Being able to play Ling Yao's role is all thanks to you, I haven't thanked you yet."
"It's your own ability."
Wei Zhuang's response was indifferent, without much emotional fluctuation.
However, Xiaoyuan felt like her mood had improved a bit. Her expression became even harder to read, maybe she was getting a bit drunk, she wasn't good at drinking to begin with.
Her mind felt a bit heavy, and the skin on her face and neck was faintly warm, like the breath of a person passing by. Xiaoyuan took another sip of wine, and the urge to figure things out surged within her.
"President Wei, may I ask why did you sign a contract with me?"
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