Besessener Oscar-Preisträger fleht um Gnade [Entertainment Circle]

Kapitel 1

Chapter 1 Xu Xingyan

Nancheng First Hospital.

When Xu Xingyan knocked on the office door, Luo Jing had just finished a phone call. She turned around, saw her, and rushed over to greet her, complaining softly, "My dear lady, you've finally arrived! I'm starving."

He took the bag from her hand, laid the insulated lunchbox out on the table, and said, "I called you but you didn't answer. I thought something had happened on the way. If you had been any later, I would have had to go out and look for you."

Xu Xingyan pulled her phone out of her bag and laughed, "I went to see a musical with my mom yesterday, and I forgot to turn it back on silent. That's why I felt like I'd forgotten something when I woke up this morning."

As he spoke, he unlocked the screen and, sure enough, there was a series of missed calls.

Luo Jing: "When did Auntie go back to Nancheng?"

"I got off the plane yesterday morning. I was supposed to go to a neighboring city for an art exhibition. I had plenty of time, several days of free time. The Wisteria Flower Theater added a performance of The Phantom of the Opera at the last minute. A friend gave me some tickets, so we went to see it together. I asked you yesterday if you were free, but you said you had an operation in the morning, so I didn't call you."

Xu Xingyan greeted the other doctors in the office, pulled up a chair and sat down next to Luo Jing. "My mom asked me to ask you if you could spare some time these next few days to visit your grandparents' graves since it's almost the winter solstice. Your aunt and Luo Bin are probably too busy anyway."

Luo Jing poured her a cup of warm water, dissolved a small packet of Vitamin C powder in it, thought for a while, and slowly shook her head and said, "You should go for me this year. It's almost the end of the year, and I still have two papers to finish. I'm too busy to turn around. Remember to bring a bouquet of flowers for Grandma for me. I'll burn more paper money for them next year during the Qingming Festival to apologize."

After eating two shrimp, she seemed to remember something and said, "Oh right, it's time for your third vaccination. I'll take you there after we finish eating."

Xu Xingyan frowned. "Let's do it another day. I have to go to my aunt's place this afternoon. It won't be convenient to drive then. My arm hurt so much after the last vaccination that I couldn't lift it for three days."

“Let’s take a taxi, I’ll reimburse the fare,” Luo Jing said, shoveling scrambled eggs onto a spoon, filling it to the brim, and then swallowing it with a satisfied look. “I’ve been wanting to say this for a while now. It’s a two-hour drive, we could have just hired a driver. It’s too tiring, and your driving skills aren’t that great.”

"Let's talk about it later, let's call in a couple of days," Xu Xingyan said dismissively.

"It's today, no dawdling," Luo Jing glanced at her sideways, "Do you think I don't know you're like an abacus bead, moving only when you turn it. If you wait a couple more days, the New Year will be over."

After listening for a while while holding a thermos, Dr. Li chuckled and said, "Xingyan, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Just bear with it and it'll pass. Later, I'll have Dr. Luo find someone he knows and ask them to go easy on her. My little girl was the same last time, and then..."

Luo Jing buried her head in her food, Xu Xingyan smiled politely, and the other doctors in the office all fell asleep for lunch.

It is said that through tireless efforts, Dr. Li finally remarried two months ago and brought his childhood sweetheart and seven-year-old daughter home. Now he takes every opportunity to show off his wife and child, and his talkative nature is evident. His colleagues have been suffering from this for a long time.

During the lunch break, there were noticeably fewer people in the hospital. After leaving the office and entering the elevator, Xu Xingyan looked down and exclaimed, "Where's the bracelet on your wrist?"

"Don't even mention it. Last week I went to Kyoto for an academic conference and finally managed to find some time to visit my grandfather. I ended up just wandering around the courtyard for half a day. I don't know which bastard complained to the old man that my clothes and jewelry alone were enough to buy a house."

Xu Xingyan thought about it carefully, and... well, she hadn't wronged anyone. So she asked, "So what did you say to Grandpa Luo?"

Luo Jing casually tossed her big, permed hair from last month and said nonchalantly, "I said, please tell that person to go back and brush up on their Chinese. This description is really not good enough, after all, there are still big differences in housing prices in different places."

“The old man starts glaring and bristling after just a few words. He’s so old, and I was worried he’d get sick from getting angry, so I took off all my jewelry and put it in my bag for the whole afternoon. But I forgot to take it out. During the meal, the bag fell to the ground and hit the ground. When I got back to the hotel,” Luo Jing spread her hands and sighed, “oh dear, there’s a new crack in the bracelet.”

Just as she finished speaking, the elevator arrived at the floor, and a noisy commotion arose. Luo Jing paused, cautiously pulled Xu Xingyan's hand, and took two steps back towards the elevator. She took out her phone, scrolled through a few pages of the hospital group chat, and then decisively said, "Let's go, let's take another route."

"What's wrong?" Xu Xingyan asked.

Luo Jing summarized it simply: "There was a medical accident over there. The patient had a broken nose, but the doctor treated it as a regular external injury and sutured it. The family members are quite emotional."

Xu Xingyan remained silent, feeling that her retreat procedure was too skillful.

...

After they received the vaccine, a new nurse chatted with them in the observation room and suddenly said, "It's strange, if you look closely, you all look quite alike. People would believe you if you said you were sisters, let alone cousins. But at first glance, you don't look that alike anymore."

Xu Xingyan said with a smile: "It's probably because of the difference in temperament. I am the youngest in the family, and the elders have always been lenient with me. My older sister had it worse. She was strictly disciplined from a young age and looked very old when she was a teenager. She didn't really enjoy her childhood."

Luo Jing gently tugged at her low ponytail, both amused and exasperated: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"I'm praising you for being calm and reliable," Xu Xingyan leaned on her shoulder, "My sister Jing has been smart since she was little."

The nurse thought it made a lot of sense and nodded: "That's quite possible. You two can tell at a glance who's the older sister and who's the younger sister."

To be fair, in terms of appearance alone, Xu Xingyan, as the younger sister, is prettier. Her features are flat, soft, delicate, and understated, coupled with her tranquil temperament, giving her a classic beauty that is very pleasing to the eye.

However, anyone who sees the two sisters for the first time will notice Luo Jing, the older sister, first, not only because of her relatively striking and beautiful appearance, but also because of the aura she exudes.

If I had to use an analogy, it would be the difference between a strong, resilient rose and a delicate orchid under the moon.

...

At the hospital entrance.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I should be back tomorrow afternoon. I won't be able to deliver lunch, so you'll have to order takeout yourself."

"Never mind, I'll just buy two loaves of bread to tide me over tomorrow," Luo Jing said with a melancholy expression as the topic came up.

Miss Luo has always been a picky eater and rarely touches food. Unfortunately, the aunt who cooks for her has gone back to her hometown for some business these past two days, and Xu Xingyan, who is her helper, has also skipped work. The usually pampered Miss Luo never imagined that she would one day be reduced to having no food to eat.

"Are you going directly to Jiugan Village, or going back to the shop first?" Luo Jing asked.

"Let's go back to the shop first," Xu Xingyan said. "There are still some things I need to tell Xiao Tang."

“Okay,” Luo Jing took out her phone, “Don’t go by yourself, I’ll call you a taxi.”

"It's not far, less than half an hour's walk."

Luo Jing sighed, "Let's take a taxi. It only takes five minutes. The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back."

This remark must have tickled Xu Xingyan's funny bone, because she laughed for a long time, even after getting into the car, which made Luo Jing laugh along with her.

Author's Note:

Let's begin!

Chapter 2 Lin Shengmiao

Mom, are you free tomorrow?

As soon as she got in the car, Xu Xingyan sent a message to Ms. Fang Yi.

As a renowned calligrapher and painter, it's normal for Ms. Fang Yi to be unreachable for three to five days when she gets busy, especially in recent years, as she seems to be single-mindedly focused on her career. Sometimes, even her own daughter can only learn about her mother's recent situation from her secretary and agent.

However, this time the other side replied very quickly, and a voice message popped up in less than two seconds.

"You're free? Is the baby coming over tomorrow?"

[We're going to my aunt's place tomorrow. Aunt Luo is out, and no one's bringing lunch to Luo Jing. Mom, please cook an extra meal and take it to her.]

This time, the other side only replied with two words: "Okay."

It was simple and clear, yet tinged with a hint of disappointment.

With a slight downward curve at the corners of her eyes, Xu Xingyan smiled and typed another line: "Then let's make dumplings, shepherd's purse and egg filling. Make a lot, I'll come over for dinner tonight. I haven't had my mom's dumplings in ages, I've been craving them for so long."

Okay, I'll have Xiao Zhao go buy groceries now. Is there anything else the baby wants to eat?

Before Xu Xingyan could think of anything else to say to please her mother, Luo Jing sent another message.

"What's wrong? Why didn't you say it when we were face to face..."

Upon clicking, it turned out to be a screenshot of a high school class group chat.

He was stunned for a moment.

People may indeed possess a keen intuition when it comes to matters that concern them.

Before even seeing the name, Xu Xingyan felt a tension that made her breath catch in her throat, and her fingers even trembled involuntarily. But after repeatedly confirming the name, all that remained was a dazed feeling of 'I knew it'.

[Lin Shengmiao: I'm going back to Nancheng next week. I haven't seen my old classmates for years. How many of you are still in Nancheng? Let's get together sometime.]

[Zhang Tao: Oh my god, am I hallucinating? Are you really Lin Shengmiao? Or has your account been hacked?!]

[Zhao You: Lin Da, when did you return to China?]

[Chen Shengxuan: @Lin Shengmiao, to be honest, you're the only one in our class I haven't seen in years. You weren't at the last few class reunions. If it weren't for the graduation photo as proof, I would have doubted whether you even existed in our class.]

[Lin Shengmiao: @Zhao You, I just returned at the beginning of this year and am currently working part-time at a translation company in Shanghai.]

[Lin Shengmiao: @Chen Shengxuan, it's my fault. I'll treat everyone to a nice get-together later.]

The screenshot ends abruptly here. Judging from the timing, Luo Jing must have forwarded it to her immediately after seeing it.

"Miss, we've arrived."

It wasn't until the driver reminded her to get out of the car that Xu Xingyan realized she had been holding her phone up the whole time, and her arm was starting to ache. She quickly snapped out of it, opened the car door, and said, "Ah... thank you, driver."

Luo Jing probably guessed that she had finished reading it, and called right on time.

"You saw it?"

"Hmm," Xu Xingyan said as she walked towards the flower shop, "I was startled."

"She...didn't contact you?" Luo Jing's voice became hesitant.

"No, after she went abroad, we contacted each other less and less. The key is that we don't have any common topics to talk about. We can't always talk about high school things, that would be too exhausting. Besides, she's busy with her studies and also has to work."

Luo Jing was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, then said softly, "Chen Shengxuan and a few others said in the group chat that they're going to pick someone up at the airport next week. Do you want to come along?"

"What would I go there for?" Xu Xingyan pushed open the glass door of the flower shop, pulled a white rose from the bouquet near the door, held it to her nose, and gently touched it. "I'm not one of you 'old classmates'..."

Luo Jing scoffed, "Come on, you've been coming to our class every day since the first year of high school. You're like an unofficial member of our class. People who don't know you think you're a second-year student. The year the new physics teacher didn't call your name during roll call, he thought there was something wrong with the roll call list."

Thinking back on all this, Luo Jing felt a mix of emotions. At first, she thought her younger sister was just too clingy, and she felt both sweet and worried about her sister's relationships with her classmates. But later she realized that it was all wishful thinking on her part.

"In short, to go or not to go?"

“Then let’s go,” Xu Xingyan replied slowly, looking reluctant.

In response, Luo Jing simply said, "Pretentious," and hung up the phone.

"Sister Yan, you're back!" Xiao Tang, the new shop assistant who joined last month, came over carrying a notebook. "A grandma just bought two bunches of chrysanthemums, and a young lady ordered a bunch of sunflowers, saying she'll come to pick them up later."

Xiao Tang is a recent female college graduate majoring in landscape architecture, which is a good fit for her major. She has the vibrant energy that all young people entering the workforce possess. She is meticulous in her work and not prone to being petty. Xu Xingyan has always been very satisfied with her.

She glanced at the half-wrapped sunflowers and pointed out, "For this kind of long, vertical bouquet, the wrapping paper would look even prettier if it were wrapped at a slightly angle."

Xiao Tang nodded seriously and readjusted the settings.

After she finished, Xu Xingyan praised her a couple of times before saying, "I have to go out for a bit later and will be back around tomorrow afternoon. I ordered a few ceramic flower pots. Please sign for them when they are delivered. If business isn't too good this afternoon, you can close early. Don't forget your key. Come and open the door tomorrow morning."

Xiao Tang patted his chest and assured her, "I understand, don't worry, Sister Yan."

It's not easy for college graduates to find jobs these days, so Xiao Tang really cherishes this job that pays well, the boss doesn't delay wages, isn't demanding, and even provides meals.

The senior who introduced her to the job once said that her boss was a true socialite, whose major had nothing to do with floral art, but whose superb flower arranging skills were all learned from famous teachers since childhood.

She's not in good health and gets sick often. As an employee, she not only has to be responsible for her work, but sometimes she also has to accompany her boss to the hospital. However, Xiao Tang doesn't find it troublesome at all. Last time she accompanied her boss to the hospital for an IV drip, she met her boss's cousin. As soon as they added each other on WeChat, she received a 200 yuan "hardship fee," which made her incredibly happy.

After giving her instructions, Xu Xingyan went upstairs to change into a jacket and a canvas bag before heading to the bookstore next door.