Since that night, Zhou Yining had been “door-banned” again. Not only that, but Ji Dongyang barely acknowledged her when they ran into each other on set. With the two of them having no scenes together lately, Zhou Yining didn’t even have a chance to go flirt with him.

The days passed boringly. The weather grew colder and B City quickly entered winter.

Zhou Yining stood by, wearing a black down jacket, staring intently at Ji Dongyang and Zhou Wei on set. She watched his lips land on Zhou Wei’s forehead, bit her own lip, and let out a small, quiet humph.

After Director Xu yelled “Cut,” Ji Dongyang and Zhou Wei walked off the set together. Ji Dongyang only gave Zhou Yining a fleeting glance as he passed before heading back to his resting room.

Zhou Yining stood up, ready to follow, but Zhou Wei stopped her. “I have scenes with you this afternoon. Want to run through the lines first?”

Zhou Yining had been well looked after by Zhou Wei during her time on set; Zhou Wei genuinely seemed to like her. Zhou Yining looked once more at Ji Dongyang’s retreating back before turning back. “Okay.”

The two went to Zhou Wei’s resting room to rehearse. After running the lines, Zhou Wei suddenly asked, “I see the relationship between you and Dong-ge has suddenly gone cold, like this winter weather. What happened? Weren’t you two getting along better recently?”

Zhou Yining threw her hands up in resignation. “Even you noticed?”

Zhou Wei chuckled. “Not just me. Anyone with half a brain can see it. Your relationship with Dong-ge is like the four seasons—warming up one moment, then frozen the next.”

She nudged Zhou Yining with her elbow. “Anyone who didn’t know would think you two were a couple having a fight.”

Zhou Yining turned her head and winked. “Oh really?”

She actually wished she were his girlfriend, but the man was clearly avoiding her.

Zhou Wei stared at her for a moment, then confessed, “It really does look like it, but given how you two usually act, nobody would believe you were a couple even if you were.”

Zhou Yining leaned back in her chair, eyes half-closed. “Yeah, everyone thinks you two are the real CP.”

Zhou Wei burst out laughing, then leaned in and whispered, “I have a boyfriend. Dong-ge is too cold; I couldn’t handle him.”

Even the elegant, Jiejie-style Zhou Wei admitted she couldn’t handle him, and Zhou Yining immediately felt relieved. She grinned. “Exactly! Just standing next to Ji Dongyang is like having his own personal air conditioning. Who wants to be with him?”

Zhou Wei was amused. “Air conditioning? Dong-ge is the idol of countless women!”

That was exactly what Zhou Yining disliked about Ji Dongyang. He was clearly like a walking air conditioner, yet in the eyes of his fans, he was a walking hormone.

After running lines with Zhou Wei, the afternoon scene was completed very smoothly.

Ji Dongyang had a night shoot, and the weather was too cold, so Zhou Yining planned to go home first and corner him later that evening.

As soon as she got into her car, she received a call from Jing Xin. Jing Xin had finished her scenes for Taiping Dynasty and had recently landed the lead role in a new film. She sounded excited on the phone. “I’ll treat you to dinner!”

Zhou Yining also laughed. “Sounds good.”

They arranged a place to meet. Right after hanging up, Wan Wei called. “You don’t have scenes tomorrow morning. Come meet a director with me.”

Zhou Yining was pleasantly surprised. “Sister Wei, did you get me a new role?”

Wan Wei smiled. “It’s a memorable cameo role in Fated for Life, the big IP adaptation that’s been all the buzz recently.”

The novel was written by Jiu An a few years ago and was still on the bestseller list. Over the last two years, adapting popular IP had become a major trend. With the existing fan base, as long as the production team was serious, ticket sales wouldn’t be low.

Zhou Yining had read the novel. Her brow twitched. “You’re not asking me to play Lin Qiang, are you?”

Wan Wei: “Yes, I am.”

Zhou Yining: “…”

Lin Qiang was a female delinquent, specializing in fighting and brawls. Sister Wei really did get her a role with action scenes!

Zhou Yining looked up at the sky with a helpless expression.

The next morning, Zhou Yining and Wan Wei met the director. After seeing her in person, the director quickly finalized the role.

After having lunch with the director and others, Zhou Yining and Wan Wei got into the car. Zhou Yining didn’t start the engine immediately. She spoke honestly. “I’m the third female lead in Taiping Dynasty, and I thought the next role would be at least the second female lead, but instead, it’s a cameo.”

She leaned weakly on the steering wheel and looked at Wan Wei. “Sister Wei, are you regretting signing me?”

Consort Ning was her first role. Her initial reason for entering the industry might not have been pure, but she genuinely enjoyed it now. She wanted to work hard for something she loved. She was intelligent, but that didn’t automatically mean she had acting talent. Ji Dongyang was right: so-called genius actors were rare; most actors’ skills were honed through practice.

She hadn’t gone to a specialized school and wasn’t a genius. Whether she’d become popular was hard to say. Although she was Qin Sen’s cousin and had the Qin family backing her, Wan Wei was established enough that she didn’t need to fear these connections. If Zhou Yining couldn’t be promoted successfully, dropping her wasn’t impossible.

The thought made Zhou Yining feel a sadness she couldn’t articulate. She looked straight ahead.

Zhou Lihui and Qin Yuan separated before she was born. Qin Yuan left the country without hesitation after giving birth to her. Sometimes, Zhou Yining even doubted if Qin Yuan had ever held her as a baby. When she was very young, she thought Zhou JiaHui’s mother was her mother and foolishly called that woman “Mom.”

Whenever there was a new toy, Zhou JiaHui always chose first. Even if someone gifted a toy to her, if Zhou JiaHui liked it, that woman would convince her to give it to Zhou JiaHui.

It wasn’t until Qin Yuan returned to see her when she was five that she learned she was Qin Yuan’s daughter.

She always seemed to be the one who was abandoned.

Now that she finally had something she wanted to do and someone she wanted to get close to, she didn’t want to be abandoned.

Wan Wei hadn’t expected her to think this way and was momentarily stunned, then smiled. “Count the artists I’ve managed. Three out of ten make it to the A-list, five are up-and-coming ‘little flower’ or ‘little fresh meat’ stars, and the remaining two, while not wildly popular, are doing well. I have never abandoned one of my artists unless they ruined themselves.”

Zhou Yining quickly turned back to her. So she had been mistaken?

Wan Wei gave her a slight glare. “There aren’t any suitable scripts right now. Although the role of Lin Qiang has very few scenes, it’s quite memorable, and this movie has high public interest. You’ll gain recognition. I’m still scouting scripts. When a suitable one comes along, forget the second female lead—I’ll fight to get you the lead female role.”

Zhou Yining let out a huge sigh of relief. The next moment, she beamed. “It’s fine, as long as you haven’t given up on me. Otherwise, I would really think I was hopelessly awful.”

Wan Wei smiled, but didn’t tell her that she actually believed she would become popular.

…

Ji Dongyang’s schedule was packed these past few days, with back-to-back late-night shoots. Zhou Yining hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with him in days and was starting to feel restless.

That night, she deliberately waited in the parking garage for a long time before she finally saw Ji Dongyang and A Ming get out of the car. Ji Dongyang was speaking to A Ming as they walked, his voice a little hoarse. “You don’t need to come tomorrow. Come pick me up midday the day after.”

A Ming was worried. “You’re resting tomorrow. What are you going to eat? Should I buy you dumplings again?”

Ji Dongyang seemed to recall something and paused. “No need, there are still some left.”

Zhou Yining was about to open her car door and get out when she heard him cough a few times.

She stared at his tall, lean figure. In this cold weather, he was out in the cold air every day. The night before last, he had even filmed a scene in the water. She heard that his co-star performed poorly that night, leading to frequent NGs, and the scene took a long time to shoot. Thinking of this, Zhou Yining paused.

Speaking of which… she had also frequently NG’d her drowning scene.

She walked over and followed behind them. A Ming fretted like an old mother. “I’ll bring food to you by noon. You haven’t been eating on time these past few days of filming. If this continues, your stomach issues will flare up! Brother Yang will kill me!”

Ji Dongyang glanced back at him coolly, and A Ming fell silent.

Just as he was about to look away, he spotted Zhou Yining following behind them.

When the girl wasn’t wearing high heels, she walked like a cat, completely silently.

A Ming also looked back, slightly surprised. “Oh, Miss Zhou.”

Ji Dongyang turned his head and concentrated on waiting for the elevator. Zhou Yining pouted and spoke to A Ming. “Is Ji Dongyang sick?”

A Ming felt that something was definitely up with these two. Dong-ge was right in front of her, yet she was asking him. He cleared his throat. “That’s right. Even a body of iron can get sick. Given Dong-ge’s dedication, I’m really worried that he…”

…will be overworked to death.

Such words were too inauspicious, so A Ming didn’t dare say them.

Zhou Yining could mostly guess what A Ming was going to say. She looked at Ji Dongyang again. He really was concerning.

A Ming went upstairs to grab a few things and left.

After Zhou Yining took a shower, she found the cold medicine she had bought last time and walked to the door next door. She rang the doorbell several times, but there was no answer. She started knocking. “Bang bang bang—“

Half a minute later, the door was yanked open.

Ji Dongyang, wearing home clothes, his black hair messy, his eye mask pushed up over his eyebrows, glared at her with dark, gloomy eyes. He said coldly, “Zhou Yining, are you annoying or what? Are you trying to tear down my door?”

The nerve of his awful morning temper!

Zhou Yining had no way of knowing he went straight to sleep upon returning home. She shoved the cold medicine into his arms. “Here’s cold medicine. Remember to take it before you sleep. Take two of these, one of that, and one of this one if you have a headache!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and left decisively.

Leaving him with nowhere to vent his anger.

Ji Dongyang watched her shut the door, frowned fiercely, and slammed his own door shut.

He tossed the medicine onto the sofa, prepared to go back to his room to continue sleeping. After a few steps, he turned back, looked at the medicine, poured a glass of water, and took the pills as she had instructed.

The next day at noon, while ordering takeout, Zhou Yining remembered the dumplings Ji Dongyang had mentioned last night. The image of those few plain dumplings he ate last time flashed in her mind, and she felt a little pang of sympathy. What did he like to eat again?

Zhou Yining didn’t know what he liked, so she ordered based on her own preferences.

She retrieved the takeout from downstairs and went back up.

Zhou Yining stood outside Ji Dongyang’s door and patiently rang the doorbell many times, but still got no response. Remembering last night, she guessed he was still asleep. It was already 11 AM! Was he running a fever? Or were his stomach problems acting up?

She stared at the key code lock and pulled out her phone to call A Ming.

A Ming sounded surprised. “Miss Zhou?”

He almost called her ‘little devil,’ luckily he caught himself.

Zhou Yining glanced at the tightly closed door and asked, “What is Ji Dongyang’s door code?”

A Ming immediately became wary. “Why do you ask? I definitely can’t tell you that!”

Zhou Yining spoke calmly. “I’ve been ringing the doorbell for a long time, and he won’t open the door. Did something happen to him? Quickly tell me the code; I’ll go in and check.”

A Ming stood firm. “No way. I’m coming over right now.”

Zhou Yining: “How long will that take?”

A Ming thought for a moment. “About forty minutes.”

Zhou Yining frowned. “Too slow. By the time you get here, I’m afraid he’ll be dead inside.”

“…”

You shouldn’t say such inauspicious things! But it successfully spooked A Ming.

After hanging up, Zhou Yining repeated the password A Ming had told her and pressed the sequence of numbers one by one with her fingertip.

NOTES

Door-banned: Not a formal ban, but a playful expression meaning she was being deliberately shut out or given the cold shoulder by Ji Dongyang. 

 Jiejie: Honorifics meaning Older Sister, respectively, used to show respect or closeness to an older woman

CP: Short for “Couple,” a term used in fan culture for two characters or real-life celebrities they wish to see in a romantic relationship.

 IP: Short for “Intellectual Property,” referring to the novel being adapted.