CHAPTER 72

As the cold night approached the early morning, she was pleasantly surprised to see a private message about meeting Wei Zhuang. When the car door opened and she saw Wei Zhuang's face, the moment their eyes met, her surprise doubled, causing her heart to race.

The corners of her lips naturally lifted.

Once she settled into the warm car, she took off her hat, closed the door, and the interior instantly became a closed space.

In the first couple of minutes, no one spoke.

Perhaps it had been a while since they last met, and the last time they parted, she had done something rather embarrassing and even bumped her chin...

Xiaoyuan's gaze dropped. She blinked and realized she was wearing fuzzy slippers and a pair of cat ears.

She had worn her slippers out, she had been in such a hurry that she had completely forgotten to change.

She curled her feet, feeling that Wei Zhuang's gaze was fixed on her. She calmed her heartbeat before turning to look at her.

They looked at each other but remained silent.

Xiaoyuan didn't see a smile on Wei Zhuang's face, she had never seen her smile. But it didn't matter, this kind of tacit or natural silence somehow made her want to smile even more.

"How come you..." Xiaoyuan paused, realizing something.

She could now easily address Wei Zhuang as "you".

"Did I keep you waiting? Have you rested?" Wei Zhuang said.

Xiaoyuan felt that she seemed a bit... closer when talking to her.

Xiaoyuan shook her head, "I haven't slept yet."

A few seconds of silence.

Wei Zhuang spoke up, "I'm going to the U.S. for a few days, I won't be back in Shengcheng until after the New Year."

Xiaoyuan blinked. Was she sharing her schedule with her? Should she do the same?

"I'll probably be with the crew during the New Year, just taking one day off before continuing to shoot." she said.

"Still need a month?" Wei Zhuang asked.

"Mm, about that," Xiaoyuan calculated. She remembered that Tonghua seemed to be one of the investors in "Detective Huo 3," so Wei Zhuang probably knew about its progress— Was it because of her own relationship that Wei Zhuang knew about it?

What she didn't know was that the president didn't need to look at projects herself. Every quarter, she only needed to glance over the most important investments of Tonghua, sign a few papers, and that was it.

After exchanging a few words, the two fell silent again.

They were sitting very close, and Xiaoyuan could smell the faint, cool fragrance coming from Wei Zhuang, slowly permeating the air.

Wei Zhuang's hair seemed to have grown a little, reaching past her shoulders to her collarbone. The light in the car cast a beautiful sheen on her strands.

Her skin was fair and smooth like jade, her features deep and serene, almost like a sculpture. When she radiated warmth, it became extremely, incredibly...

Attractive.

Xiaoyuan felt her cheeks inexplicably heat up, and she raised her hand to casually tuck her hair behind her ear.

Suddenly, her hand was grabbed.

Xiaoyuan was startled and turned to look at Wei Zhuang.

With a soft "pop," she felt a slight sting as static electricity transferred from her hand to Wei Zhuang's. Xiaoyuan exclaimed, and Wei Zhuang's eyebrows moved slightly.

"Does it hurt?" Xiaoyuan asked, a bit annoyed. "I've been getting static shocks every day since I got here."

She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Wei Zhuang slightly tightened her grip, not letting her move.

Wei Zhuang's hand was slightly larger, warm in the palm and slightly cool at the fingertips. Xiaoyuan watched as Wei Zhuang held her hand and examined it, her long eyelashes delicately framing her focused gaze.

"... I've got a bit of chilblains." Xiaoyuan said softly.

"Hmm," Wei Zhuang replied lightly, not letting go of her hand but looking at her instead.

"... It's much better now." Xiaoyuan said, feeling uneasy under her gaze. "... Sister Chenying brought me some ointment a few days ago... It should be fine once I get back to Shencheng."

Wei Zhuang seemed to pause for a moment. "He Chenying?"

Xiaoyuan nodded. "A few days ago, Sister Chenying brought her child to visit the set."

Wei Zhuang didn't say anything more, nor did she release her hand.

Xiaoyuan's face grew redder, and she became increasingly reluctant to meet her gaze.

If it weren't for the details from their last meeting, it would have just felt like her hand was being held, but now she understood the magic of Wei Zhuang's fingers.

More and more detailed memories kept filling her mind, making her shy and embarrassed.

She wondered if Wei Zhuang felt it too, whether she, like Xiaoyuan, was reminiscing.

Another silence fell between them.

The atmosphere turned very subtle.

The cabin was getting warmer and warmer.

Xiaoyuan noticed that there was a lot of silence between her and Wei Zhuang, a silence that felt like their unique pause.

Perhaps this silence, this pause, was good for them. After all, Wei Zhuang was a person of few words.

But if she wanted to add a bit of color to this pause, how should she do it?

Xiaoyuan had done a lot of homework on romance movies: enclosed space, sitting together, one person's hand being held by the other.

How should she go about it?

Xiaoyuan pressed her lips together and quietly leaned over, resting her head on the woman's shoulder.

Xiaoyuan's face turned red, her heart pounding, she swallowed nervously, and in a casual tone, she said, "It's so cold here..."

Wei Zhuang's shoulder was slender, but leaning on it felt comfortable.

Wei Zhuang didn't reject her gesture, which made Xiaoyuan feel even more at ease.

"I think... I miss Shencheng." she said softly.

She was enjoying her role, but it was also exhausting. Everyone praised her performance, but they could all see she wasn't in great shape.

Everyone, including herself, knew she couldn't break down right now.

But she was indeed a bit tired, especially at this moment, that feeling of fatigue washed over her, and she just wanted to sneak a moment of laziness, to have a hug...

Xiaoyuan leaned in a bit more, snuggling into Wei Zhuang's embrace. As she moved, the puffy down jacket she wore made a noise, and she didn't notice that the large fur collar of her hood brushed against Wei Zhuang's face.

Wei Zhuang was first startled by the unfamiliar fluff brushing against her face, she blinked uncomfortably and turned her head slightly to avoid it, lowering her gaze just enough to see Xiaoyuan's hair.

The soft touch nestled against her chest, warm through the sweater.

Wei Zhuang was momentarily taken aback. Xiaoyuan inadvertently moved again, and the oversized fur collar poked her face. She had to lift her hand to push the collar away from the girl in her arms, pausing for a moment before gently resting her hand on Xiaoyuan's shoulder.

"Don't like this role?" Wei Zhuang glanced out the window.

The night was thick with darkness, and snowflakes began to fall, engulfing everything in a white haze.

"Not that, I really like it, it's just..." Xiaoyuan didn't lift her head, her voice sounding muffled and soft.

She felt a bit absent-minded. Wei Zhuang's embrace was warm, with a faint scent that calmed her entire being, making the hardships of filming seem light and insignificant.

She felt it was rare, the bold act of nestling into Wei Zhuang's arms just now. She thought she would be rejected.

She wasn't sure if Wei Zhuang would accept such a close gesture. Even she was surprised by her own boldness, and even more surprised that Wei Zhuang hadn't pushed her away.

The atmosphere had truly become very delicate.

"It's just, it's just..." Xiaoyuan suddenly stumbled over her words, her mind going blank.

Wei Zhuang's gaze shifted back to the girl in her arms, her dark eyebrows framing long, curled eyelashes that fluttered, obscuring her sparkling eyes.

However, just a moment ago, it was clear she looked quite haggard and had lost a lot of weight, her hair carried a faint fruity scent from the shampoo.

"Oh, right," Xiaoyuan finally recalled something important, "I have a new manager, Ruan Qing. Do you know her?" She sat up straight, finally making eye contact.

Wei Zhuang looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"She's quite capable and strict," Xiao Yuan said softly. "Unlike before..."

Ruan Qing and Yang Qiao were not like the previous team, they all listened to her. Before, she wasn't famous, and there weren't many reporters following her.

Now that she has a new manager, there will be more attention on her, but Xiaoyuan quickly dismissed the thought that it might affect Wei Zhuang.

No one would dare to leak her information.

Feeling reassured, she smiled and said, "It's nothing much, just wanted to let you know I have a new manager."

"Mm." Wei Zhuang nodded, appearing to not take it to heart.

Xiaoyuan felt a bit strange and couldn't quite explain it, so she fell silent.

The two of them silently exchanged glances for a few moments.

"Give me your phone." Wei Zhuang suddenly said.

"Huh?"

Xiaoyuan was somewhat puzzled but still took out her phone, unlocked it, and handed it to her, watching as Wei Zhuang's slender fingers moved a few times before returning it.

Xiaoyuan took it in a daze and glanced down.

"I've accepted your friend request. Now we can start chatting." Wei Zhuang said.

She looked at the name—Frances.

Frances.

She murmured silently in her heart, was this Wei Zhuang's English name?

"I'm running out of time, I have to go." she said.

So, does that mean she can contact her through WeChat?

She didn't say it outright, but it should be possible, right?

Then there wouldn't be a need for her assistant to relay messages anymore.

In fact, she also felt a bit embarrassed and awkward about frequently relaying messages through Assistant Gao, and now she could talk directly to Wei Zhuang.

Xiaoyuan suppressed a smile and looked at her, but then froze. "Ah, your face?"

On the lower right side of Wei Zhuang's cheek, there was a sudden red patch that hadn't been there moments before.

"Ah, is it from my fur collar?" Xiaoyuan opened the camera to show her, quickly realizing that her collar was the culprit and that Wei Zhuang had sensitive skin.

Panicking, she asked, "Is it an allergy? What... what should we do? Does it itch?"

Wei Zhuang glanced at the camera and said, "It's fine, just a skin irritation. It'll be fine later."

"Oh, it's probably because the down jacket that Yang Qiao bought for me is of poor quality..." Xiaoyuan mumbled, already pulling her collar down, ready to take it off.

Wei Zhuang held her hand, "No need, I have to go now."

......

Her skin was originally as white as snow, but now it had a hint of red. She didn't show much emotion, yet there was unexpectedly a subtle allure about her.

Xiaoyuan, almost instinctively, leaned in and kissed the red spot on Wei Zhuang's face.

The snow was getting heavier, and a thin layer of frost had formed on the car window...

When Xiaoyuan returned, the ground was already covered in snow, crunching softly under her feet. It felt as if her heart was bubbling with sounds, like little bubbles popping.

As she ran into the hotel lobby, she pulled out her phone and opened WeChat.

Tilting her head, she admired Wei Zhuang's profile picture: a thin crescent moon hanging above the treetops in the night sky, with a few stars twinkling like dew beside it.

It looked like a painting, and Xiaoyuan guessed it was taken by Wei Zhuang herself.

Even the composition conveyed a subtle sense of loneliness.

This was her personal WeChat account, not her work one.

In that split second when she kissed Wei Zhuang's cheek, their eyes met, breaths mingling in the air, close enough for her to feel the slight movement of Wei Zhuang's fair neck...

The woman's skin felt warm to the touch, but as soon as they touched, they pulled away. Xiaoyuan caught a glimpse of Wei Zhuang's surprised expression.

And then her own awkward explanation, "...Maybe this way it won't turn red..."

Ah, that explanation was really clumsy, wasn't it?

Xiaoyuan covered her lips, shyly hiding her face.

She took the elevator back, removed her down jacket, changed into her pajamas, and crawled into bed. In the darkness, the last conversation with Wei Zhuang came to mind:

"When I finish filming, you should be back in Shencheng, right?"

"I'll return before you."

"...So can we meet then?"

"Sure."

......

Her heart gradually calmed down, and before long, she surprisingly fell asleep.

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