Zhou Yining had never tried keeping her eyes open and looking at Ji Dongyang while kissing him. That was why she was looking forward to doing it for the first time while filming. She wanted to see his eyes, his expression, when he usually covered her eyes with his hand.

The scene was so similar to what happened off-screen.

Pei Yuan initiated a kiss with Lu Yanzhou. He pushed her away, displeased. “Pei Yuan, what madness is this?”

Pei Yuan wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling seductively. “Seducing you, of course.”

She threatened him. “If you refuse me, I’m jumping off the roof tonight.”

He stared at her with controlled frustration. This woman could no longer be cured with normal psychotherapy. He had never met a woman, a patient, like her.

He fixed his gaze on her. “Pei Yuan, I’m telling you, if you had even an ounce of self-rescue consciousness deep down, you wouldn’t be like this today.”

Pei Yuan kissed his lips. “I do. You, Doctor Lu…”

Her eyes were calm and indifferent, yet somehow alluring. Lu Yanzhou stared at her, feeling momentarily defeated. Pei Yuan felt new, thrilling, unlike any woman he had met before. She was ill, but she was lucidly ill, beautiful and enchanting.

This woman was a fiend. She was probably a fox spirit in her past life.

He began to return the kiss, very gently. The next second, he fiercely enveloped her, not closing his eyes. They looked at each other, seeing themselves reflected in the other’s eyes, like watching prey.

…

Zhou Yining instantly felt intoxicated. His eyes were so intensely black, his gaze so focused. She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to catch a fleeting, jumping spark of fire in his eyes.

In that single moment, she broke character.

The camera was filming a close-up of her eyes. Wei Zhong frowned. “Cut! Zhou Yining, why are you spacing out? Your eyes are wrong.”

Ji Dongyang let go, looking down at her, his lips pressed tight. Zhou Yining immediately apologized. “Director, one more time.”

Shen Yanjun hadn’t expected to walk in on them filming a kiss. He quickly closed his eyes for a moment, unable to watch any further. He turned his head away and walked off. Zhou JiaHui stomped her foot, chasing after him. “Yanjun-ge, are you leaving? Are you unhappy because you saw her film a kissing scene?”

Zhou JiaHui looked back, glaring at Zhou Yining’s profile. The latter turned her head, briefly meeting the glare with a faint, airy look. She smiled, then returned her attention to Ji Dongyang, listening to Wei Zhong direct the scene.

Zhou JiaHui’s high heels clacked loudly. She was furious. “Dong-ge could have acted with anyone, so why her? If I had known this would happen, I would have rather Li Zheng stole this role.”

The news about Li Zheng trying to steal the Lu Yanzhou role hadn’t been small, a while ago. As a long-time fan of Ji Dongyang and with family connections, it was easy for her to hear some inside scoops. She just hadn’t heard that the female lead would be Zhou Yining. She hated Zhou Yining, and she hated Zhou Yining kissing Ji Dongyang even more.

The reason was simple: she thought Zhou Yining didn’t deserve him.

Shen Yanjun abruptly stopped, turning to look at her, warning her. “JiaHui, don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s your sister’s business what she does. Stop trying to sabotage her. You’re not children anymore.”

Zhou JiaHui’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment. “Sabotage what? I haven’t done anything! You’ve always protected her since we were little!”

Shen Yanjun turned and walked away, leaving her with one last sentence. “Because she’s only one person. You are not.”

So, was Zhou Yining the weak one? Zhou JiaHui gritted her teeth in defiance. They didn’t see it. When Zhou Yining got angry, she looked like she wanted to strangle her.

…

Zhou Yining was so lost in Ji Dongyang’s gaze that she failed three times.

On the fourth take, Wei Zhong finally called, “Action! And… Cut! We got it.”

Ji Dongyang gently pushed her away. He stared at her for a few seconds, his lips tight, then turned to watch the playback without a word.

Zhou Yining felt like she was suffocating. Her heart hammered wildly, and even the tips of her ears were slightly red.

What was this feeling? They were having a secret affair, yet they were openly kissing in front of a crowd. He kept his eyes open, staring at her the entire time, looking right into her heart. In that moment, she couldn’t distinguish if the person kissing her was Ji Dongyang or Lu Yanzhou, if she was Zhou Yining or Pei Yuan.

They were both the same face, the same rugged handsomeness. Either one was fine.

During the break, she quietly slipped into his restroom. Ji Dongyang was leaning back in his chair, resting. A Ming had just finished brewing coffee and poured a cup for her when he saw her arrive. “Espresso. Should I add some sugar for you?”

He didn’t know what was going on with Dong-ge. He usually only drank this after pulling an all-nighter. The shoot ended quite early last night, so he should have had a restful night. Why would he need the bitterest coffee?

Zhou Yining picked up the coffee directly. “No need. This is perfect.”

Ji Dongyang accepted the coffee she handed him, not looking her way. Zhou Yining walked around him. “Why won’t you look at me?”

A Ming saw the setup and scratched his head. “I’m going to the restroom.”

After he left, Zhou Yining put down her coffee, bent over to meet his eyes, and smiled at him. “Ji Dongyang, can you stop covering my eyes when we kiss from now on?”

Her eyes curved, the outer corners slightly upturned, like a lazy kitten. “I like you looking at me.”

She added, “And I like looking at you, too.”

“Yining, you have to try to trust the people around you.”

“Yining, if you hand over control to someone else, you won’t be so tired.”

“Yining, do you believe that if you dare to do this now, you will regret it when you sober up? Do you believe me?”

“Yining, can you still not control your emotions?”

…

She still had moments when her emotions were out of control, but she trusted Ji Dongyang. His eyes could calm her; his kiss could soothe her.

Ji Dongyang looked at her. “That’s in the scene.”

Zhou Yining blinked. “In the scene? What do you mean?”

He tapped her head with the script in his hand. “The one in the scene is Lu Yanzhou. I am Ji Dongyang right now. Don’t mix us up.”

She frowned, rubbing her forehead, looking utterly confused. “I didn’t mix you up…”

“You did just now.”

“…”

He noticed.

He took a sip of coffee, stood up, walked to the table, and picked up a packet of sugar. He tore the corner off and poured the sugar into her coffee cup, stirring it. “It’s too bitter. You can’t handle it.”

Zhou Yining was contrary and didn’t want the sugared coffee. She picked up the cup he had been drinking from, turned, and walked out.

Ji Dongyang looked up at her retreating, not stopping her.

Zhou Yining ran into Lu Ling, just arriving at the set outside the door. Lu Ling glanced at her, giving a small smile. “Your relationship with Dong-ge seems to have gotten very good. I remember Wei-jie was quite worried about your relationship with Dong-ge when you first filmed Taiping Dynasty.”

Zhou Yining and Lu Ling had worked together on a magazine shoot once. At that time, Zhou Yining was just a foil. Now, Zhou Yining was the lead actress, and Lu Ling was the second lead. Zhou Yining could see that Lu Ling was slightly disgruntled. The two didn’t talk much, usually only chatting and rehearsing when they had a scene together, avoiding any kind of unnecessary conversation.

Zhou Yining held up the coffee cup, smiling. “Just sponging a cup of coffee.”

Lu Ling stared at the red nail polish on Zhou Yining’s fingers. As Zhou Yining walked past her, Lu Ling suddenly remembered that night. The hand that hooked around Ji Dongyang’s neck also had that color nail polish. She turned her head to look at her. “That night, was that you?”

Zhou Yining’s steps suddenly faltered. A look of surprise flashed across her face, quickly suppressed. She turned to look at her. “That night, it was you.”

Lu Ling didn’t deny it. That night, she had just finished a scene. Everyone had gone up to the rooftop except for her makeup artist and assistant, who stayed downstairs. She had asked them to leave first after she removed her makeup and changed, planning to go to the restroom herself. She hadn’t expected to witness that scene. The man’s back was very familiar, and his clothes were too. She couldn’t be mistaken; it was Ji Dongyang.

The woman’s face wasn’t visible; her entire body was shielded by the tall man.

She had observed for a few days. Only Zhou Yining wore bright red nail polish.

“I saw your hand.”

Zhou Yining’s expression remained calm. She looked at her own hand. The nail polish was for the role of Pei Yuan. She smiled faintly. “You won’t tell anyone.”

Lu Ling frowned. “How do you know?”

Zhou Yining: “Because that person is Ji Dongyang. Anyone dating him will become the focus of media and fan attention.”

Zhou Yining would only gain more attention and become more famous, which was not the result Lu Ling wanted.

Zhou Yining leisurely walked away with her coffee. Lu Ling looked back at her. She was right. She couldn’t tell anyone, but having her thoughts exposed made her very unhappy. Why would Ji Dongyang like her? It was truly baffling.

Even though she knew Lu Ling wouldn’t say anything, Zhou Yining was still a little upset.

That evening, the crew held a dinner party. Zhou Yining’s face was flushed from drinking. After the party ended, everyone said their goodbyes. The six-day holiday starts tomorrow.

Sitting in the car, Zhou Yining texted Ji Dongyang: Coming to my place tonight?

Ji Dongyang was resting in the back seat, looking down at his phone. He slowly replied: A Ming already booked the tickets. We’ll leave together tomorrow. Get some rest.

Zhou Yining pouted and threw her phone aside.

A Ming drove the car out, glancing back. “Dong-ge, are you coming to our house for dinner tomorrow night? My mom and grandma asked.”

Ji Dongyang looked down at his phone. He figured the girl was probably mad. “Sure.”

A Ming smiled happily. “Great! I’ll call home tomorrow morning then.”

After a pause, Ji Dongyang spoke. “Mm. Zhou Yining is coming too.”

A Ming gave a surprised “Ah,” then said, “Oh, okay. Just an extra pair of chopsticks. That will be much more lively. She really loves my mom’s fried yellow croaker. She ate a lot of it last time I brought some back. I’ll tell my mom to make extra. She can take some home with her later.”

Not just a lot, she ate all of it.

Zhang Ran dropped Zhou Yining off downstairs and left.

The cool breeze on her face sobered Zhou Yining quite a bit. After a moment, she started to feel cold and quickly started walking back. She saw a car parked ahead and slowed down, stopping in place.

The car door opened. Shen Yanjun stepped out. His overcoat bulged at the chest, and a fat, black cat poked its furry head out from inside his coat.

“Meow.“

Shen Yanjun took the cat out, walked towards her, and tucked the cat into her arms. The cat was well-behaved. It didn’t scratch her, letting her hold it docilely.

Shen Yanjun smiled. “Máopill and I were waiting for you.”

Zhou Yining stroked the black cat’s paws. After Zhou JiaHui threw Máopill away back then, she looked for days but couldn’t find it. She was extremely volatile during that time. Shen Yanjun happened to return home, heard about the incident, and by then, she was about to give up looking for Máopill. Shen Yanjun helped her search, going out every day.

Ten days later, he brought back a black cat that looked very, very much like Máopill. Her eyes instantly lit up, and she rushed over to hug the black cat.

The cat in her arms was the one Shen Yanjun had raised for seven years.

Zhou Yining looked down at the black cat’s soft, velvety paws and then up at Shen Yanjun. “Actually, this isn’t Máopill. It has a tuft of white fur under its paw. Máopill was completely black. I noticed it the first day. I just didn’t tell you.”

She always firmly believed that every person, every animal, even every blade of grass in this world, was unique, one of a kind.

Zhou Yining, one of a kind.

Ji Dongyang, one of a kind.

Máopill, one of a kind.

She was unwilling to raise a substitute. Although that moment of hope comforted her extreme volatility, her emotions right at the edge of breakdown, she still wouldn’t keep it. So, Shen Yanjun raised it himself.

Shen Yanjun was silent for a moment. “I know. Máopill couldn’t be found. I never said this was Máopill. It was a gift I wanted to give you.”

Zhou Yining stroked the black cat’s head and handed the cat back to Shen Yanjun. “The cat is yours, not mine.”

She would not be the person to raise a cat with him.

Shen Yanjun’s face darkened. He stared intently at her. “Do you have to reject me so completely?”

Zhou Yining looked back at him. “Haven’t you always known?”

The cat probably sensed its owner’s anger. It meowed anxiously. “Meow, meow…“

Shen Yanjun tucked the cat into the driver’s seat, closed the door, lit a cigarette, and exhaled a few smoke rings before quietly asking, “Are you and Ji Dongyang together?”

Zhou Yining: “Didn’t you already know?”

Shen Yanjun laughed lightly. “Tell me, why don’t you like me? Would there be a chance between us if I didn’t have the surname Shen, or if you didn’t have the surname Zhou?”

He threw the cigarette butt down, staring at her with resentment. The next second, he grabbed her and pinned her against the car’s body.

Zhou Yining lifted her face, cold as ice. “Don’t you dare.”

Her eyes were cold and unfeeling, without a hint of warmth. She truly, deeply did not like him.

Half a minute later, Shen Yanjun released her in defeat. He leaned against the car in self-mockery, stood beside her, and pulled out another cigarette, lighting it. “You can be with anyone, but don’t be with Ji Dongyang. He’s not simple. He’ll drag you down.”

She didn’t reply.

The phone in Zhou Yining’s pocket rang, breaking the silence.

She pulled out her phone. It was Ji Dongyang.

His voice was slightly low. “Shouldn’t you explain why you’re still downstairs?”

NOTES

Ball Ball /Máopill: The name of the cat, literally translating to “Furry Ball” or “Hairball.”