——
The filming of "The Rest of My Life" began in mid-January, and the cast and crew had dinner together that evening. Xi Jia and Zhou Mingqian sat at the same table, opposite each other.
During the meal, after they got to know each other better, someone asked Xi Jia if she was married.
Xi Jia hesitated for half a second, then nodded, "We got married a long time ago. My husband is not in the entertainment industry."
Zhou Mingqian looked up and saw the ring. Wasn't it ironic that she wore it all the time? He wondered what her husband did for a living, letting her play around outside all the time.
Of course, they may never have been married at all, and the ring was a gift from Mo Yushen. Her so-called husband was someone else's husband.
Xi Jia and Zhou Mingqian didn't speak to each other all night. He was so aloof that she didn't initiate a conversation.
The next day was packed with filming, so after the dinner, everyone went back to their rooms.
Xi Jia also stayed in a hotel. The filming location was far from her home, and if there was traffic, it would take more than two hours to go one way. She didn't want to go back and forth, so she packed some luggage yesterday.
Mo Yushen had booked a suite for her in advance. Early in the morning, the driver gave her the room key.
Zhou Mingqian and his assistant had just moved in today. Xi Jia met them in the underground parking lot; they were both there to pick up their luggage.
Xi Jia had little luggage, just a small suitcase containing clothes and cosmetics. Zhou Mingqian, on the other hand, had almost moved house, with three suitcases in total: one small, two large, and a backpack.
Zhou Mingqian looked at Yu An. The driver had picked up Yu An first that morning before picking him up, and he hadn't known Yu An had brought so much stuff. Even people like Jiang Qin and Xiang Luo, who practically wore filters on their faces, didn't have as much luggage as Yu An.
Yu An felt a little awkward under his gaze and explained, "This is all my worldly possessions."
Zhou Mingqian: "?"
Yu An bit her lip slightly. "The lease on the apartment had just expired, so I didn't renew it."
Zhou Mingqian only now realized how poor she was. He gestured to the driver to take the suitcase upstairs.
Yu An thanked the driver, carrying her large bag and pushing Zhou Mingqian's small suitcase. Seeing the driver pushing two such large suitcases, she felt embarrassed.
She was going to be on set for several months, so she didn't renew her lease. Renewing would have cost a lot in rent, and she was already short of money, so she had no choice but to give up the lease.
She has saved some money over the past two years of work.
After breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, she returned all the gifts he had bought for her and the rent from the apartment he had given her for free.
The gifts her ex-boyfriend bought her were all quite expensive; one bag cost half a year's salary. And then there was the rent—even at market rates, it was very expensive in that area.
She didn't have enough money saved up, so she borrowed another 8,000 from a friend.
With Chinese New Year just a month away, she planned to pay her friends back after receiving her salary.
Zhou Mingqian: "How old are you?"
Yu An snapped out of her daze: "Twenty-four. Almost two and a half years since graduation."
Zhou Mingqian nodded and asked with concern, "Is your boyfriend in another city?"
"We broke up."
Zhou Mingqian didn't ask any further questions. As the boss, it was enough for him to know the basic situation.
Xi Jia was also waiting for the elevator. She greeted Yu An, completely ignoring Zhou Mingqian. She had a clear record in her notebook that he had been ignoring her on the day of the meeting.
During tonight's dinner gathering, they completely ignored her.
Zhou Mingqian glanced at Xi Jia. He was afraid that having such an eyesore of a woman constantly in front of him for the next few months would cause him indigestion.
Once inside the elevator, Yu An's room was on the fifteenth floor. Zhou Mingqian took his suitcase and pressed 15 for Yu An, as he lived on the twentieth floor. He didn't ask Xi Jia which floor she lived on, letting her press the button herself.
Xi Jia glanced at the number keys but didn't move.
Soon, they arrived at the fifteenth floor. Yu An got off, leaving only the two of them in the elevator. Neither of them spoke to the other.
The number jumped to 20, and the elevator doors slowly opened.
Zhou Mingqian went downstairs first, pulling his suitcase, while Xi Jia followed closely behind. Their footsteps were absorbed by the carpet, but Zhou Mingqian sensed that someone was behind him.
Xi Jia followed him for about ten meters.
Zhou Mingqian suddenly stopped and turned around. Xi Jia had already reached the door and was opening it with her room card.
It turns out they didn't just live on the same floor, they also lived next door.
Once in the room, Xi Jia took a shower and then called Mo Yushen.
Mo Yushen is abroad, in a different time zone; it's noon there, and he's taking a nap. He usually puts his phone on silent during his naps, but now he's on vibrate.
"Finished with work?" His voice sounded tired and a little hoarse from just waking up.
Xi Jia: "I just got back to the hotel after dinner, and I still have to work overtime."
"Don't stay up late, go to bed early."
There was a few seconds of silence on the phone.
Xi Jia glanced at her phone; the call was still ongoing. "Honey? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Mo Yushen felt helpless, thinking that she was annoyed by his nagging and was deliberately changing the subject.
Xi Jia thought the signal was bad, so she turned on the speakerphone.
Mo Yushen reminded him again: "Don't stay up late."
"Okay."
The two chatted briefly before hanging up.
Xi Jia made herself a cup of instant coffee, sat down at the table, and turned on her computer.
She gently rubbed her ears; the medication had stopped, and her ears started tinnitus slightly again.
Chapter Thirty
A few days after filming began for "The Rest of My Life", the actors joined the crew one after another.
Xi Jia was now in a real bind. With so many actors, whether they were leads or supporting roles, she had to communicate with them about the script and remember their names.
And the crew members...
She had concealed the fact that she had lost her memory from Zhou Mingqian and Xinglan Film and Television, and now, no matter how difficult it was, she had to persevere.
Xi Jia had originally hoped to be in the same production crew as Ye Qiu so they could eat, drink, and have fun together, but things didn't go as planned. She and Ye Qiu barely exchanged a few words.
She's busy, too busy to chat.
Ye Qiu was so devastated by Zhou Mingqian that he was on his last legs. Whenever he rested, Ye Qiu would immerse himself in the script and ponder it.
On the tenth day of filming, Ye Qiu was still in a daze.
She failed to get that scene right on take 31 times. She started to question the meaning of life.
Zhou Mingqian was clearly losing patience. "Ye Qiu, slow down, slow down! Don't you know how to be reserved?"
Ye Qiu felt that she was walking slowly enough towards the male lead, but Zhou Mingqian still thought she was too fast. She was so fast that she could barely walk.
Zhou Mingqian was so angry that he felt angina. He waved his hand, telling her to reflect on her actions and to film the other people's scenes first.
Xi Jia sat next to Zhou Mingqian, watching Ye Qiu on the monitor, seemingly still not quite in the zone. "Director Zhou, try to speak more gently, she's completely bewildered."
Zhou Mingqian stared at her with a deep, dark look in his eyes, as if to say, "Do I need you to teach me how to speak?"
Xi Jia didn't respond further and went over to comfort Ye Qiu.
On set, she and Ye Qiu didn't seem that close. Ye Qiu had fought for this role herself. If others knew that the two were best friends, rumors would spread again.
"Here you go."
Ye Qiu turned around, smiled, and accepted the milk tea that Xi Jia had prepared for her.
Xi Jia sat down on the steps next to her. "Something on your mind?"
Ye Qiu shook his head. "I'm nervous. I've never met such a big director and such high-caliber actors before." He felt reserved acting opposite Huo Teng today.
I forgot my lines instantly.
She's not even close to being a newbie anymore.
Xi Jia: "Let's go out for dinner after we finish work tonight."
"Go back to the hotel and video chat with your partner," Ye Qiu politely declined.
Ye Qiu didn't want to waste Xi Jia's time. She had to organize the recordings she made during the day when she got back to the hotel at night, and eating would take up too much time.
Xi Jia: "Mo... he's busy too." She didn't make her relationship with Mo Yushen public because Mo Yushen wouldn't allow it to be public, saying that she earned the screenwriting opportunity through her own efforts.
Now that it's public, who knows what people will say behind my back?
Actually, she didn't care.
Ye Qiu still didn't plan to go eat: "I'm not that fragile. I still need to rehearse with them when we get back to the hotel. You should go back and rest early."
Xi Jia stopped insisting and sat down next to Ye Qiu, silently keeping him company.
Ye Qiu adjusted his mindset and focused on reading the lines.
They're filming at the resort today; they have quite a few scenes to film there.
Xi Jia sat on a bench by the roadside, where the filming of the male lead and Xiang Luo's scenes was taking place.
"Xi Jia".
Zhou Mingqian called out to her.
The director over there probably called "cut," and the makeup artist was touching up their makeup. Xi Jia glanced at the people in front of the monitor and was surprised to see Zhou Mingqian staring at her with a very unfriendly look.
She calmly withdrew her gaze. When would she be able to extinguish this man's arrogance? She felt a pang of sympathy for Yu An, wondering how he managed to tolerate such a volatile maniac on a daily basis.
Yes, a volatile maniac.
"Xi Jia!" Zhou Mingqian looked at the woman not far away. She had quite a temper. She pretended not to hear him after he called her name once, so he had to call her name a second time.
Suddenly, Ye Qiu turned his head and found Xi Jia right next to him. "Jiajia, Director Zhou is calling you."
Xi Jia was taken aback. How come she hadn't heard anything? Her heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously rubbed her ears, still experiencing tinnitus, but she could hear sounds clearly. She could hear Ye Qiu speaking.
"Xi Jia!" Zhou Mingqian's roar rang out.
He had called Xi Jia several times, and everyone else heard him, but she ignored him. He couldn't take it anymore and couldn't stop himself from shouting.