So be it if I die.
Just consider it something he owes Xi Jia.
He's had no good days ever since he met this woman.
Xiang Luo also jogged over and saw Mo Yushen walking calmly and unhurriedly towards them. "Mr. Mo, aren't you going to save them right away?"
Mo Yushen: "It's nothing."
He told the people on the shore, "No need to go down, none of you are as good a swimmer as Xi Jia."
Xi Jia studied abroad from junior high school onwards, and swimming was a compulsory subject for her. Moreover, Xi Jia was already a good swimmer.
Mo Yushen turned to Yu An, "Do you know basic first aid?"
Yu An nodded, "It should be alright."
Mo Yushen: "I'll give Director Zhou artificial respiration in a bit."
Yu An: "..."
Is Director Zhou really that bad?
Chapter Forty-Nine
Yu An had originally hoped that Director Zhou would be the hero and save the damsel in distress, but it turned out he was the one who was saved by the damsel. As his assistant, he instantly felt incredibly embarrassed.
However, hearing that Xi Jia was a good swimmer, she felt reassured.
The moment Xi Jia jumped into the lake, she felt immense regret. She should have known better than to tell Xi Jia that her bag had fallen in. It was just a bag; compared to her life, it was nothing.
About thirty seconds later, there was movement on the shore.
Xi Jia dragged Zhou Mingqian along, and Zhou Mingqian surfaced, gasping for breath.
The people on the shore pulled them both ashore.
Mo Yushen took off his trench coat and tried to wrap it around Xi Jia, but Xi Jia pushed him away. She didn't feel cold and didn't have time to put on clothes. Water had gotten into her bag, and her laptop was soaked.
I originally thought the bag was waterproof, so it wouldn't be a problem. Even if the zipper wasn't waterproof, the water wouldn't penetrate quickly in just a minute or two, and there's air pressure underwater.
Little did she know, when she took out her phone, the zipper on her bag wasn't fully closed, leaving a small gap. Water got in through the gap, and all the items inside were destroyed.
Xi Jia opened her bag and took out five notebooks and Mr. Yue's book, placing the books on the grass. "Zhou Mingqian, you owe me my book!"
Before she could offer any further criticism, Xi Jia handed a notebook to Mo Yushen, saying, "Mr. Mo, could you please separate each page so they don't stick together?"
Xi Jia glanced at the crowd and spotted Xiang Luo and Jiang Qin. Only the two of them in the crew knew about her relationship with Mo Yushen, and also about her illness.
She handed one to each of them, saying, "Please do me a favor, thank you. Not a single page can be missing. This is my life, you know?"
Xiang Luo was slightly taken aback, holding the damp notebook, feeling flattered.
The assistant reached for it, but I said, "I'll do it."
She waved to Xiang Luo. Apart from her parents, Xi Jia had never mentioned her illness to anyone, including her agent and assistant.
Jiang Qin also got busy. Although she was extremely unwilling, she still carefully wiped the pages dry for Mo Yushen's sake, finding something to separate them and absorbing the water.
Thankfully, it was written with a waterproof pen, so it didn't smudge.
Xi Jia probably chose this kind of pen to prevent it from fading over time, but it turned out to be very useful.
Because of this unexpected incident, the main creators all got busy.
The cameraman and assistant didn't delay their work; they took a boat to film the scene. As for Zhou Mingqian, he was already soaked to the bone, so the cameraman didn't ask him to come along. They would discuss it when they got back.
Yu An took two blankets from the studio's dressing room. She tossed one to Zhou Mingqian and took the other to wrap Xi Jia in. "Xi Jia, I'll get you some. Go change your clothes; you'll catch a cold like this."
Xi Jia didn't have time; she was afraid the papers would stick together and she wouldn't be able to separate them.
Yu An let Xi Jia's hair down and dried it for her.
Zhou Mingqian looked at Yu An, who always treated him and Xi Jia differently.
Zhou Mingqian picked up the book from the grass, wiped the cover with a blanket, and opened the title page. The old Mr. Yue had signed it with a fountain pen, but it was all blurred after being soaked in water.
He had seen this page of signatures before; Xi Jia had shown it off to him while he was fixing her car. At the time, he had only glanced at it, his attention focused on Mr. Yue's signature.
As for what else Mr. Yue wrote, he didn't see it.
I saw it today; it was a blessing: May our Jiajia be healthy, joyful, and safe.
Zhou Mingqian glanced at the word "health," and realized that Xi Jia had mentioned something about migraines, so this must be what he meant. He wiped the books as he headed to the studio.
Wherever he went, he left behind wet footprints.
Zhou Mingqian realized that there wasn't a single good person in the crew. When he came up, they were all laughing, and the way they looked at Xi Jia was the complete opposite of his – it was admiration.
Only Teacher Shang still cared about him: "Director Zhou, go change your clothes quickly."
Zhou Mingqian nodded. He couldn't get sick, otherwise it would delay the filming schedule.
There was no filming scheduled for the morning, so everyone gathered on the shore to play. Zhou Mingqian became their topic of conversation.
They urged Xi Jia, "Graphic editor, hurry up and change out of your wet clothes."
Xi Jia agreed verbally, but didn't take any action.
Mo Yushen used his trench coat to absorb the moisture. He glanced at Xi Jia from time to time. In this season, she was soaked to the bone, and she was bound to catch a cold if she continued like this.
He walked over and took the notebook from her hand. "Change your clothes first."
Xi Jia: "No way!"
That was her and Mo Yushen's separate notebook. Although her drawing skills were not very good and her drawings were mostly misshapen, there were many simple line drawings in it that she could understand.
That wasn't done with a waterproof pen, it was with colored pencils.
Mo Yushen: "I promise to restore you." If that doesn't work, he'll write her a new one by hand.
Seeing Mo Yushen's resolute attitude and cold eyes, Xi Jia didn't argue with him. She and Yu An hurriedly ran to the dressing room of the studio.
Yu An called from behind, "Sister Xi Jia, put your shoes on!"
Xi Jia had no time to spare.
Yu An didn't expect Xi Jia to be so fast; she disappeared in a flash.
At 9:30, the sun slowly rose above the mountaintop, shining warmly on the lake and the shore.
Mo Yushen spread his notebook on the stone bench, and the crew brought him tissues and a dry towel. He separated each page with a leaf after wiping it dry.
The book Xiang Luo received was titled "Must-Read Every Day," which contained records of the main creators of the film crew, as well as Mo Yushen's family.
She blew on her own page when she saw it.
The photos Xi Jia posted for her were some of her favorites.
Not only were photos of her taken from various angles posted, but also details of her career over the years, including the works she has starred in, the ratings and awards for each project, and the personality of the characters she played in each drama.
Xi Jia also listed her failed works, analyzed why they flopped, and what the flaws were in the characters she played.
When Xi Jia was working on the script for the drama "The Rest of My Life", she made sure to highlight Xi Jia's strengths and minimize her weaknesses. Even the colors and styles of the clothes she chose were designed to accentuate Xi Jia's temperament and advantages.
In one scene, the one where she and Jiang Qin are struggling in the snow, her ending scene shows her turning around, tying her hair up, without looking back.
Xi Jia noted on the side:
Xiang Luo cannot turn back; the emptiness in her eyes might not be properly conveyed, which would greatly diminish her acting skills.
She was a ballet dancer; the pride and loneliness in her silhouette suited her perfectly.
"Sister Xiang." The assistant handed her another dry towel, wrung out the wet towel, and set it aside to dry.
Xiang Luo snapped out of his daze, turned the page, and continued erasing.
Suddenly, she stopped, took out her phone from her pocket, and took a picture of the notebook cover.
As you can see from the photo, the laptop is completely soaked.
She sent the photo to her father's assistant: "When my dad comes out of the lab, please tell him that the wait is making me anxious. I'm by the lake, and two minutes ago, I accidentally threw my notebook into it. You haven't given me a reply yet, and if I keep waiting, I'm afraid I'll be the one falling into the lake next."
Assistant: […Okay, I'll talk to Master at noon.]
Xiang Luo breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped her father could give her an answer today. She had talked to him for a long time the other day, and he had promised to seriously consider it.
More than a week has passed, and she still hasn't received a reply.
She couldn't imagine how much time and perseverance Xi Jia had to spend reviewing and memorizing so many people's information every day.
Anyway, she couldn't do it.
Xiang Luo turned to look at Mo Yushen, who was half-squatting in front of the stone bench, carefully wiping Xi Jia's notes. It was the first time she had seen him so gentle.
All the sharpness and edge faded away.
Mo Yushen's phone vibrated. It was a text message from an unknown number: "Honey, I'm going back to the hotel. There's no underwear here, so could you dry my laptop? This is Yu An's phone; my phone is still on the ship."
Mo Yushen: [Take a hot bath. No rush, there's plenty of time. There's no filming this morning, I'll take you for a walk on the lake at noon.]
Xi Jia: [I love you. No need to reply again, I'll return the phone to Yu An right away.]
Send, Xi Jia deletes the text message record.
Yu An didn't go with them. The driver took Xi Jia and Zhou Mingqian back to the hotel.
In the car, Xi Jia kept glaring at Zhou Mingqian.
This guy is more trouble than he's worth. If he hadn't gone down there and caused trouble, she could have arrived ten seconds earlier, and the book wouldn't have gotten so soaked.
Zhou Mingqian gripped the handle tightly, remained silent, and looked out the window.
Actually, he didn't hold her back.
He was perfectly capable of swimming up on his own; it was she who insisted on pulling him up.
Xi Jia rubbed her ears; the tinnitus had returned recently. From the moment she entered the water until she got into the car, her ears felt much better, and the piercing sound inside was less noticeable than usual.
Could it be due to water pressure?
For a fleeting moment, she had an absurd thought: wouldn't her ears feel better if she stayed underwater? Although it wouldn't stop her hearing from deteriorating, at least her ears would feel comfortable during that time.
“I will compensate you for that book. As for the losses in your bag, please make a list for me,” Zhou Mingqian said to Xi Jia, turning his head slightly.