Ye Qiu and Huo Teng had a scene together, but for some reason, Ye Qiu couldn't get into character. Zhou Mingqian patiently demonstrated it for her three times.
They tried again, but it was still a NG (no good).
In the past, Zhou Mingqian would have already started scolding him, but today, he demonstrated it to Ye Qiu four times without blaming him at all.
Yu An didn't know if Zhou Mingqian was being kind to Ye Qiu because he loved her, or if he was trapped in a vicious cycle of self-blame, unable to escape it.
She decided to fight grief with grief, hoping he would find peace soon.
They finished work at 6 p.m. and Zhou Mingqian and Yu An rode in the same car.
On the way back to the hotel, Yu An turned on her phone's music player, and a faintly melancholic melody began to play.
Zhou Mingqian propped his head up, gazing at the mountains and forests outside the window. His thoughts drifted far away. Last night, he had followed Xi Jia all the way to her apartment door.
She didn't eat the roasted sweet potato; she just held it in her hand the whole time.
The music is too loud.
Zhou Mingqian found it too noisy and gestured to Yu An to turn the volume down.
Yu An agreed, but only turned it down a little bit, making no difference from before.
Zhou Mingqian rubbed his ears, thinking it was because he was feeling irritable, and turned to ask Yu An, "What song is this?"
Yu An: "A Fool's Worry"
Zhou Mingqian: "..."
He happened to have a script on hand, so he copied it over and lightly patted Yu An on the head a few times, saying, "You've gotten quite bold, daring to subtly criticize your boss."
Yu An tidied her hair. She wasn't going to argue with an old man suffering from a broken heart and a stomachache without any self-awareness. She said, "When I broke up, I listened to the same song on repeat. But I got over it eventually."
Zhou Mingqian looked her up and down. He vaguely remembered her; she seemed to have broken up with her boyfriend before joining the crew. "What did your ex-boyfriend do?"
Yu An pursed her lips, "Wu Yang."
Zhou Mingqian was speechless for a moment.
That Wu Yang, he's clearly the playboy type, rich and handsome, and his naive little assistant... well, it was destined that she'd be dumped.
"I'm sorry I put you in a difficult position that day," he said apologetically.
If he had known earlier that Wu Yang was her ex-boyfriend whom she didn't want to talk about, he wouldn't have let her ask Wu Yang for Xi Jia's contact information.
Yu An said casually, "It's nothing. I just wanted to know how Sister Xi Jia is doing."
Now it's the other way around, with Zhou Mingqian comforting Yu An: "It's okay to break up. Isn't that a good thing? It's so boring to only have one man in your life."
Yu An: "..." She coughed twice, unsure how to respond to this topic.
There was only music playing in the car, and that song was playing on repeat for the second time.
Zhou Mingqian rubbed his temples, wondering if he'd lost his mind. Why was he saying these things to such a naive assistant? He tried to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"There used to be a saying circulating online, something like, 'Goodbye is goodbye...'"
Yu An: "Goodbye is goodbye, the next one will be better. Break up is break up, the next one will last longer."
Zhou Mingqian: "Mm."
After that, no one spoke again.
As a male boss, he shouldn't discuss personal matters like romantic relationships with his female assistant too much.
Music filled the carriage.
Zhou Mingqian's stomach hurt even more.
At this time, in Beijing.
As dusk falls, the city lights begin to illuminate the night.
Mo Yushen came home early today. His aunt called him and said that Xi Jia went out in the evening. She had been writing a script at home all day and wanted to go out for a walk.
Mo Yushen bought a bouquet of roses, put them in a vase, and moved them from the living room to Xi Jia's bedroom.
A faint fragrance wafted through the house.
Upon entering the bedroom, Mo Yushen stopped in his tracks. The notes that had been pasted on the wall above the bed had all been removed.
A bad thought came to mind, but he suppressed it.
Mo Yushen closed the bedroom door and hurried downstairs. "Auntie."
The aunt was cooking for Mo Yushen in the kitchen. "Yushen, what's wrong?" she asked as she came out of the kitchen.
Mo Yushen: "Auntie, do you know why Xi Jia tore those papers off the bedside table?"
The aunt shook her head, looking confused; she didn't know.
Mo Yushen told the aunt not to cook, grabbed his car keys, went out, asked the driver for the exact location, and drove there.
Xi Jia didn't take a car when she left home; the driver followed her all the way, and after almost two hours, they were about to arrive at the restaurant owned by Ji Qingshi.
Xi Jia wore headphones the whole way. She randomly clicked on an audio clip, which was the sentence Mo Yushen had recorded for her, but she couldn't hear it and didn't know what it said.
The weather is nice today, sunny and breezy, with temperatures rising.
The willows in the park are showing fresh green leaves, and the crabapple buds are tinged with pink.
In the park, couples strolled hand in hand, laughing and joking from time to time.
Xi Jia would stare at them for a few moments. Years ago, weren't Aunt Qin and her ex-husband like this too?
And what about herself?
Have you ever liked anyone? Did you ever stroll down the street like this with the person you liked?
have no idea.
I can't remember anything.
Xi Jia walked through the park and then to another intersection. Relying on her familiarity with the area, she turned left.
She stopped in front of Ji Qingshi's restaurant.
They must have eaten here.
Xi Jia went inside.
Mo Yushen arrived at the restaurant five minutes before Xi Jia. He was waiting in the lobby when he saw her come in. He then went out and met her face to face.
Xi Jia's gaze swept across Mo Yushen's face without lingering.
Mo Yushen froze. He paused for a few seconds, then turned back.
Xi Jia waited for the elevator, while Mo Yushen ran up the stairs to the dining area, where he met Xi Jia again.
This time, Mo Yushen held several magazines from the restaurant, tucked his ID card inside one of them, and deliberately dropped it a few meters away from Xi Jia.
The two brushed past each other.
Xi Jia saw the ID card on the ground and bent down to pick it up. It must belong to the man from earlier. She turned around, "Sir, wait a moment."
Mo Yushen stopped, hoping she would say, "Long time no see."
Xi Jia walked over and said, "You lost your ID card."
Mo Yushen pretended to be puzzled for a moment and started rummaging through his pockets.
Xi Jia looked at the photo on the ID card and compared it to the person in front of her; they were almost identical. Mo Yushen—a rather nice name. She handed the ID card to Mo Yushen.
Mo Yushen took it and said, "Thank you."
Xi Jia guessed that he was probably thanking her, so she smiled and turned to leave.
Mo Yushen gripped the ID card tightly, her vision blurring. She didn't remember him, didn't remember his name, didn't remember that he was her husband.
I don't remember anything.
Mo Yushen rested for a while until he regained his strength and left the restaurant.
Back at Ji Qingshi's apartment, Mo Yushen told his aunt that he would be moving home tonight and asked her to take good care of Xi Jia.
The auntie hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Are you busy at work?"
Mo Yushen: "Xi Jia doesn't remember her ever being married."
He went to Xi Jia's room, took down the page from her notebook where she had previously written down "I divorced Mo Yushen," and took it with him.
Mo Yushen sent Ji Qingshi a message: "Xi Jia doesn't remember me anymore."
Ji Qingshi was smoking on the terrace. He didn't reply to Mo Yushen.
The next person Xi Jia might forget is him.
Ji Qingshi stubbed out his cigarette and asked Xi Jia, "Jia, where are you?"
My fingertip trembled slightly when I clicked send.
Now, he's not even sure if Xi Jia still remembers him.
Soon, Xi Jia replied: [I just ate, I'm going to wander around for a bit longer.]
Xi Jia left the restaurant and walked north along the road.
The early spring breeze brushes against my face, cool yet warm.
Xi Jia took out her phone; there were fewer than ten people in her contacts. She remembered her family, but there was one named Ye Qiu—she had forgotten who he was.
She still vaguely remembered Wu Yang, who was related to equestrianism.
Xi Jia deleted Ye Qiu's contact information and sent Wu Yang a voice message: "[Yangyang, those horses are yours. Remember to take good care of them. I might not even remember who you are tomorrow. Don't be sad. I look forward to the day we can meet again after so long. Then I'll participate in the competition again and win you more medals. No need to reply.]"
Wu Yang: [Waiting for you to come back. The bonus is counting on you.]
Xi Jia then deleted Wu Yang as well.
I put my phone away and continued on my way.
Along that sycamore-lined path, small buds have sprouted from the branches of the trees.
It was already 10:20, and the roasted sweet potato shop still hadn't closed.
Xi Jia went in and asked, "Boss, do you still have roasted sweet potatoes?"
The shop owner nodded, pretending not to recognize her, "Yes, we do."