"Xiao Zhi is in poor health! She's been weak since she was little, how could you let her donate bone marrow!" Lin's mother screamed, feeling both unfamiliar and terrified in the presence of her husband.
"So what! You're not going to die."
"Have you fulfilled your duties as a husband to Xiaozhi these past few years? If it weren't for Xiaozhi, you would have died in that car accident! Are you confused? Is a son more important than a daughter?" As she spoke, Lin's mother had some difficulty breathing. She trembled as she poured out some nitroglycerin pills and swallowed them, which helped her feel better.
Lin's father snorted and turned his wheelchair back into the house.
At their age, divorce is considered shameful. Both Lin's mother and father felt the same way, and they continued to live together with a "make do" attitude. When Wang Chunmei became pregnant with Lin Feng, Lin's father was almost fifty years old. They were already quite old when they had Lin Zhi. Although it was a daughter, Lin's mother's health was no longer able to have another child, so Lin Feng's birth was especially important to Lin's father.
They were migrant workers from a small village who came to City A. In their minds, the preference for sons over daughters and the desire to carry on the family line were deeply ingrained. There was no doubt that Lin's mother loved her daughter, but Lin's father loved his son even more. Even though his daughter was responsible for the survival of the whole family, in Lin's father's eyes, she was no match for a gender.
After her father was discharged from the hospital, Lin Zhi's financial burden was greatly reduced, and she was able to basically return to her previous normal life. In fact, she was even more financially well-off than before. Lin Zhi thought for a long time before realizing that Wang Chunmei had not asked her for money again.
Previously, Wang Chunmei would ask Lin's father for money, and then Lin's father would go to Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi would transfer the money to her mother instead of her father, otherwise her mother's life would be miserable. However, for the past two months, Wang Chunmei has not asked her for money in any way. Lin Zhi felt strange, turned her car around, and went back to the hospital.
This was the time when Wang Chunmei was working at the hot pot restaurant; Lin Feng was the only person at the hospital.
Lin Feng was reading a book in his hospital bed. It was a junior high school textbook. Since the child couldn't go to school normally, he was trying his best to keep up with the school's pace.
"Xiao Feng? What are you looking at?"
Hearing his sister's voice, Lin Feng looked up and smiled, "Sister, you've finally come to see me!"
The child was very happy, but Lin Zhi's smile was somewhat forced. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a model airplane on the cabinet next to the hospital bed. Judging from its workmanship, it was obviously expensive. No matter how much Wang Chunmei loved her child, she didn't have the money to buy such an expensive model toy.
Lin Zhi sat down, put the books she bought for Lin Feng on the ground, and casually touched the airplane model; it felt very high-quality.
"Sister, this was given to me by your friend, but unfortunately I forgot to ask her name."
friend?
Lin Zhi doesn't have many friends, and even fewer people know about her brother. Zhang Zhen and Kevin already knew, and they understood Lin Zhi's attitude—it was impossible for her to come to the hospital to see her brother. However, they couldn't rule out the possibility that people would find out after the trending topic, such as... Jiang Lai.
"What does that woman look like?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment, his memory a little hazy: "I don't quite remember, but she was very beautiful! She had a lovely smile, but when she wasn't smiling, she looked a bit cold. She was tall, much taller than my mother!"
Based on this description, Lin Zhi could roughly guess that it was Jiang Lai.
Did she see your mother?
Lin Feng nodded: "I saw them. They even went out to chat. Mom was very happy when she came back."
Lin Zhi had a rough idea of what was going on. She figured that Wang Chunmei hadn't asked her for money for two months mostly because of Jiang Lai. She just didn't know how Jiang Lai had managed it. But being undisturbed for the past two months had made Lin Zhi feel much happier. She wanted to see Jiang Lai even more; this person always made her feel at ease.
If it were anyone else, Lin Zhi would definitely be angry. She might not show it, but she would subconsciously distance herself from that person. But now, she is not only not angry, but even very touched.
He said he wanted to take care of her, but he actually helped her so much, both openly and secretly. He was just a newcomer to society, yet he was more capable than her, someone who had been working in society for many years.
Lin Zhi was very curious. Although she could ask directly, she held back. Since Jiang Lai had kept it a secret for so long, she must not want to talk about it. Why force her to talk about something she didn't want to talk about? Anyway, Jiang Lai wouldn't harm her.
"Sister? Sister?"
Lin Feng called Lin Zhi several times before she responded, "What's wrong?"
Lin Feng liked his older sister but was also afraid of her, muttering softly, "The question..."
By the way, Lin Zhi was supposed to help Lin Feng with his homework half an hour ago, but while she was explaining, her mind drifted to Jiang Lai. She raised her hand to rub her temples and closed her book.
"Xiaofeng, I have to go back now. You can ask me questions on WeChat if you don't understand something."
The boy looked at his sister expectantly: "Oh...when will you come next time? Will you bring the sister from last time?"
Lin Zhi pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and said, "When you're better, I'll bring her to visit you."
Lin Feng lowered his eyes, which seemed to be misty: "Will I ever get better?"
Lin Zhi raised her hand to pat her younger brother's head, but stopped in mid-air and then pulled it back: "Yes, it will happen soon."
Lin Feng unconditionally believed everything Lin Zhi said. In Lin Feng's eyes, his sister was omnipotent. But even an omnipotent sister has things she can't do, like her bone marrow. The only thing Lin Zhi could do was pray for Lin Feng to find a matching bone marrow donor as soon as possible.
Call her selfish, she doesn't care.
That night, Lin Zhi couldn't sleep. She had moved to a new apartment, far away from places where Cheng Anan was. This was the first time she had been unable to sleep since moving, because she missed Jiang Lai. The thought that Jiang Lai would appear in front of her tomorrow made her too excited to sleep.
How strange, a novel feeling I've never experienced before.
Jiang Lai returned to the hotel very late. During the three months of filming, she had developed a deep friendship with everyone, especially Xia Fanrou. After three months of living together, Xia Fanrou had come to regard Jiang Lai as a younger sister. For Jiang Lai, making friends with Xia Fanrou was a good thing.
The wrap party lasted until 10 p.m., and many supporting actors finished filming today, except for the female and male leads who had to do additional scenes.
Jiang Lai didn't drink. Her flight is tomorrow morning, and she wants to be in good shape to go back and see Lin Zhi.
Yu Wei, somewhat flustered, staggered over to Jiang Lai and Xia Fanrou, patting them on the shoulder: "Hiccup... Jiang Lai, I didn't misjudge you, you... you are an actress! A truly deserving actress."
Jiang Lai suppressed her joy and stood up to help Yu Wei: "Director Yu, I still want to thank you for giving me this opportunity."
Xia Fanrou said, "I am still looking forward to my next collaboration with Jiang Lai."
The actor playing the male lead laughed and said, "Teacher Xia, why aren't you looking forward to working with me?"
Xia Fanrou bluntly stated, "We've collaborated too many times! It's time for a change."
"Haha, okay, okay."
After a hearty meal and drinks, everyone was a little tipsy. They helped each other leave the restaurant, reluctant to part ways.
Jiang Lai and Anna walked at the back, not taking a car, but strolling and enjoying the sea breeze. After all, they didn't know when they would come again. This was her debut film, and she valued it very much. She was eager to sit in the movie theater, preferably with Lin Zhi by her side.
Anna: "Sister Nan sent me the schedule. After you go back, you should rest for two days first, then you need to take promotional photos, and then it's up to the director to arrange for you to attend press conferences, variety show recordings, or offline events. If you are invited to the premiere, you also need to attend."
Yu Wei has already posted the cast list for the movie on the official Weibo account of "The Island". As netizens guessed, the most controversial second female lead is a newcomer, which has caused quite a stir. Jiang Lai's Weibo followers increased by hundreds of thousands overnight. This is the legendary phenomenon of being attracted by looks. Jiang Lai hopes that her fans will remain loyal to her talent in the future.
As Yu Wei predicted, the release of the cast list has already garnered a lot of attention. "The Island" has topped the trending entertainment charts several times.
Leaked photos of the actors have been circulating online, and it's likely that the official costume photos will be released in a couple of days, making it another trending topic.
"Okay, sure."
Jiang Lai stretched and sighed, "I'm going to be busy from now on!"
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Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-03-24 22:07:26 and 2022-03-25 20:22:35!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Jiang Gong, 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 29
"Hello, miss, would you like a blanket?"
Jiang Lai looked up and waved her hand: "No need, thank you."
"Okay, just let me know if you need anything."
After the flight attendant left, Jiang Lai lowered her head again, fiddling with her phone. She had sent the flight information to Lin Zhi the day before, and the latter had promised to pick her up at the airport. Jiang Lai was happy about this for a long time. However, what made her happiest was that Qi Chuan was flying to D City to attend an event, so Lin Zhi was only there to pick her up.
It's been a long time since we last met, and Jiang Lai is worried that Lin Zhi will become as reserved as before.
With ten minutes until takeoff, Jiang Lai's fingers flew across the keyboard.
Jiang Lai: [Sister, I'm about to take off, remember to come!]
Lin Zhi received the message and smiled: [Okay, are you hungry? What do you want for lunch?]
Jiang Lai didn't have any particular food in mind. After filming wrapped up, she would probably be able to rest for quite a while, so what she ate wasn't important. What mattered was being with Lin Zhi.
Jiang Lai: [I want to eat your cooking. /Looking forward to it/]
On the other end of the phone, Lin Zhi was troubled. She couldn't cook, which was a major weakness. She looked like the kind of woman who could be both elegant at banquets and skilled in the kitchen, but in reality, she couldn't cook at all.
Looking at the emoji Jiang Lai sent, her kitten eyes were full of stars, just like Jiang Lai herself. Lin Zhi didn't want to disappoint Jiang Lai, so she reluctantly agreed.
Jiang Lai's plane shouldn't have taken off yet; there are still three hours before it lands, giving Lin Zhi plenty of time to watch the tutorial.
She opened Xiaohongshu (a Chinese short video platform), typed in keywords in the search box, and started learning seriously from the first video. She was so focused on learning that she didn't look up for an hour, and was even writing down recipes in her notebook. She didn't even notice when her assistant came in to bring her coffee.
"Sister Lin! Your coffee!"
"Huh?" Lin Zhi looked up, said thank you, and then went back to studying.
The assistant leaned over, and after seeing what was on the phone screen, she shuddered: "Sister Lin, why did you suddenly decide to learn to cook?"
Last year, during a team building event, we rented a villa in the suburbs. Someone suggested that we eat the food cooked by Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi couldn't refuse, so she went into the kitchen with her assistant. Suddenly, flames burst into flames on Lin Zhi's side of the kitchen. Luckily, her assistant reacted quickly and put the lid on the pot, otherwise the kitchen would have caught fire.
The feeling of surviving a disaster.
Lin Zhi was absent-minded and mumbled, "A friend wants to eat my cooking, so I'm just showing off what I learned."
The assistant swallowed hard in fear, silently mourning for his poor friend.
"Sister Lin, do you know how to fire?"
Last time, the assistant lit the stove and heated the oil, and then Lin Zhi poured the vegetables in. The assistant really couldn't understand how an accident could still happen after going to such lengths.
Lin Zhi looked up, her eyes blank: "Isn't it enough to just pour the vegetables in?"
Assistant: ...You're the boss, whatever you say is right.
Lin Zhi picked up the coffee on the table, took a sip, and frowned slightly: "No sugar?"
The assistant shrugged: "Sister Lin, you yourself said you don't want sugar in it because you're worried it won't be pure, but you haven't slept well for days. Can you really rely on coffee to get through this?"
Lin Zhi has been quite busy these past two days. In order to make time to pick up the girl at the airport today, she piled up all her work in the past two days. She has to keep an eye on the new girl group, and she also has various social engagements in the evening. When she gets home, she starts writing plans and reviewing documents. Usually, she only sleeps for a few hours before dawn. When she wakes up, she relies on coffee to get through the day. She is actually quite tired today, and her vision is always blurry, probably because she is too sleepy.
Lin Zhi does everything herself for the company, and behind her back, they all gave her the nickname: "The ever-rising, workaholic."
"Oh." Lin Zhi endured the bitterness and took another sip.
"Sister Lin, what important thing do you have to do today?"
Lin Zhi smiled, but she almost fell after only a couple of steps. Luckily, her assistant caught her just in time.
Thank you.
"Don't you really need to rest in this condition?"
Lin Zhi shook the coffee in her hand and said, "No need, this stuff keeps me awake."
The assistant was only responsible for Lin Zhi's work matters and had no other responsibilities, so she didn't say anything more.