CHAPTER 89

When Xiaoyuan arrived at Feiyi, Tiantian was already waiting for her, handing her a water cup, and she took her medicine at the same time.

"Sister Yuan, have you been sleeping well these days?"

"Pretty well." Xiaoyuan smiled at her.

Tiantian looked at her complexion, which was indeed much better than when they had just wrapped up filming. Especially this morning, her bare skin looked so flawless, fair, and glowing with a hint of pink.

"After I finish taking the medicine prescribed by the doctor, I'll go for a follow-up appointment. Don't worry."

In fact, after wrapping up the film, she had almost detached herself from the character. The role had reminded her of childhood memories, but fortunately, she had previous therapy experience, and luckily, Wei Zhuang was there for her.

"I'm going to see Sister Qing."

After exchanging a few words with Tiantian and patting her shoulder, Xiaoyuan headed to Ruan Qing's office.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but it felt like Ruan Qing was treating her more "affectionately" than before. Ruan Qing handed her two sheets of paper, "Take these with you on the road. Look at them while getting your hair and makeup done. We'll go over them when you return."

"Okay." Xiaoyuan took them.

"Three media outlets—Sina Dayan, Douban Film, and Penguin Entertainment. I've pushed all the others aside. The hottest actress in the industry right now is you. The public is so curious about you, we can appropriately increase your exposure a bit."

Xiaoyuan's long eyelashes fluttered slightly as she scanned the questions on the paper.

Most of the questions are about the various aspects of "Drunken Wanderer," such as how the actors got along, what they learned, their thoughts on their characters, whether they prefer modern dramas or period dramas, and so on.

When the drama was airing, she had already answered such questions.

"'Drunken Wanderer' was last year's hit drama, ranking high on several film and TV websites. It's set to premiere overseas next month, so we need another wave of promotion. It has also been nominated for the Magnolia Award and the Feihe Award in the TV category."

"I've already communicated with Boyi. They'll nominate you for the Best Supporting Actress at the Magnolia Awards, and we're definitely going to be nominated for the Feihe's Popular Actress Award. So, we need to start warming up now."

Listening to all this, Xiaoyuan couldn't help but feel quite emotional inside. She quietly digested it for a moment before asking, "What about Zou Yirui's Best Actress nomination?"

"Aside from 'Drunken Wanderer,' there were a few other mainstream dramas that did well last year. The competition for Best Actress has always been fierce. They'll probably nominate her, but her chances of actually being nominated are slim."

"Besides, Zou Yirui is not even a Boyi artist. We're different. They used to step on you and smear your reputation, but now they're eager to win you over. As for me, all my recent dinners have been with them, and I've been eating so greasy." "Ruan Qing complained.

Xiaoyuan chuckled, then thought of something else and asked, "What about Fang Hao for Best Actor?"

Ruan Qing smiled, "He's definitely going to be nominated. Even if his performance isn't strong enough, they'll push him in through PR. He's Boyi's golden boy."

Xiaoyuan fell silent for a moment and then said nothing more.

The next few questions were about Director Huo's new movie, which was relatively more important. "Huo 3" was still in post-production and hadn't officially started its promotional campaign yet. These were just preliminary teasers, so she couldn't reveal too much but still needed to maintain some level of exposure for the film.

Xiaoyuan really needed Ruan Qing to oversee this.

She went through the questions on both sheets of paper, and found no personal questions. Usually, female artists would joke about being asked about their love lives, but it seems Sister Ruan Qing had removed all those questions.

"Thank you, Sister." Xiaoyuan expressed her gratitude with a smile.

"Mhm," Ruan Qing paused, wanting to tell her to be more cautious when going out during this time, but she still didn't say it. She thought she was just worrying for nothing, anyone in the industry who dared to take photos of that big boss's private life probably hadn't even been born yet.

The fact that she hadn't heard any rumors before proved that Xiaoyuan was being well-protected.

Ever since Ruan Qing met Assistant Gao that day, she had been in a daze for an entire week. This was even more troubling than the "Sparrow and Tiger Romance" (between Huo Bijun and He Chenying) she had handled years ago.

Now, she felt that "Xiang Xiaoyuan" was like a "fragile item" that needed to be handled with care. She hoped it wouldn't turn into a ticking time bomb, blowing her to smithereens.

Ruan Qing, being a seasoned professional, quickly pieced together the things she hadn't understood before.

Why invest in Feiyi? Why make her a partner? Why assign her as Xiaoyuan's manager? Every step was intricately connected, and behind this must be the hand of the big boss.

She felt a mix of surprise, joy, and worry, but she couldn't share it with anyone—not even Yang Qiao, as she had signed a confidentiality agreement.

She recalled Assistant Gao's meaningful smile and almost said, "Maybe you should find someone else." But at this point, she couldn't bring herself to give up.

Fortunately, Xiaoyuan was a well-behaved and talented girl. For now, they could only take things one step at a time—it seemed safe for the moment.

"Sister, I'll be leaving now." Xiaoyuan said, folding the papers and placing them in her bag.

Ruan Qing's gaze followed her movements, landing on her hands.

Female celebrities take care of themselves from head to toe, and hands are considered a woman's second face—they're very important.

Ruan Qing almost said something but swallowed it back, watching her leave.

Whether she gets her nails done or not is up to her. Ruan Qing, with a headache, stopped her mind from wandering. She didn't want to know anything.

......

In late March in Shencheng, overcast days are common, so it's rare to have several consecutive days of clear weather. Even at around five in the afternoon, the sky is still a clear blue.

However, Assistant Gao was on edge.

The big boss's face was stormy, her brows and eyes shrouded in a layer of frost. "What did she say?"

"Teacher Zhu said she hopes to arrange a private meeting with you."

......

The city's sunset light streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm red hue over the office decor, thick and rich like an oil painting.

But Wei Zhuang's corner remained dark and cold.

Two different worlds.

Assistant Gao frowned inwardly. Years of experience told her she absolutely couldn't speak out of turn at this moment, so she didn't ask the boss whether to arrange the meeting or not.

Wei Zhuang never gave her an answer.

After a long day of various preparations, it was already 9 PM by the time she returned to Wei Zhuang's residence.

When Xiaoyuan got back to her room, she glanced at Wei Zhuang's room—it was dark, and no one was there.

She went back, removed her makeup, and quickly took a shower.

Wei Zhuang still hasn't come back.

Xiaoyuan sent her a WeChat message, [Are you still at work?]

Wei Zhuang didn't reply for a long time.

She returned to her room, poured some water, took her medicine, and finally couldn't help but make a voice call on WeChat. She kept listening to the ringing tone, waiting.

Wei Zhuang took quite a while to answer the call.

"..."

"..."

"Are you busy?"

"Yes, I'm on the 33rd floor."

Xiaoyuan slightly relaxed, unable to discern her own feelings at the moment, but instinctively she felt that Wei Zhuang didn't want to be disturbed right now.

"Then I..."

"You should rest first."

"...Okay."

After the call ended, Xiaoyuan sighed, suddenly feeling a sense of helplessness.

This feeling of helplessness was unfamiliar.

Xiaoyuan analyzed that it was not due to the weakness of past memories and scripts, but rather something fresh and new.

The feeling of helplessness that arises without knowing why and without knowing which direction to resolve it.

She got up and walked to the window with white curtains in her room. From the high-rise, she could see the moving car lights on the distant road, and the lit windows of the buildings, which turned into round, golden spots of light.

Those were also busy people, and also people who wait.

Like the golden quicksand slowly flowing in the river of time, beautiful yet lonely.

Xiaoyuan took out the medicine the doctor had prescribed for her.

One was an antidepressant, which she had almost finished taking as per the doctor's instructions.

The other was sleeping pills, which she had brought from home and also received from the doctor here, but she hadn't taken any. She didn't need them here.

She had work tomorrow, so she must rest well tonight.

She held a pill in her hand, hesitated for a long time, and finally decided not to take it.

She had been running around all day and was quite tired. Perhaps she could fall asleep without medication or any other hypnotics.

As she lay in bed, Xiaoyuan suddenly realized that perhaps the most reliable hypnotic in the world is sleeping pills. They lie in their bags or bottles, always waiting for you, and won't suddenly leave due to unforeseen circumstances.

She lay on her side, staring blankly at the few transparent bags containing medication on the bedside table.

If she had to act as a pill, how would she do it?

Personification? How to personify? How to add a storyline to a pill?

A suspense story? A fairy tale?

When she was a child, at night, when she was scared alone, she would imagine many stories in her mind, making herself the heroine of the stories, until she unknowingly fell asleep.

She has been dealing with loneliness like this since she was little, she is very experienced in coping with it.

Xiaoyuan closed her eyes, letting her thoughts sink into the darkness.

She didn't know how long it had been, but as she drifted in and out of sleep, she felt as if someone had entered the room.

It was Wei Zhuang.

She could smell her unique, delicate fragrance.

Xiaoyuan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, but she didn't open her eyes. In that moment, she instinctively pretended to be asleep.

Strangely, just by standing there, perhaps looking at her, Xiaoyuan felt as if her heart was filled with marshmallows, no longer empty, but a bit sweet.

She just stood by her bed for a long time, so long that Xiaoyuan was about to burst and even wanted to jump up and scare her.

Suddenly, as that serene aura approached, it seemed to carry a faint, faint scent of smoke, causing Xiaoyuan's heart to tremble.

The woman's hand reached down, the warm and soft touch lingered on her cheek for a while before retracting.

The sound of light footsteps echoed, and thinking she was asleep, she turned to leave. Only then did Xiaoyuan quietly open her eyes.

She watched Wei Zhuang's retreating figure, feeling that she was enveloped in an air of detachment and aloofness, as if burdened by heavy thoughts, which made her feel sad as well.

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