ISWMQ – Chapter 118

Rong Guang could already predict what kind of images would appear if she followed these notifications and clicked on the pop-up windows.

She scrolled down. After just one day of not looking, her notification screen was already full. She pressed the clear button.

A few spam pop-ups couldn’t be cleared. Rong Guang tried again, but there was no response, so she didn’t bother with them anymore.

It wasn’t that her heart was completely unmoved.

She even felt a little like laughing.

In this industry, the one thing you could never escape was baseless gossip and those half-true, half-false so-called ‘insider scoops’ that people embellished. And what the public paid the most attention to when it came to female celebrities were their faces, figures, and bellies.

No matter which of those had a problem, the very next day would surely bring a huge wave of ‘concrete evidence,’ both real and fake.

Having come from a girl group, Rong Guang was very familiar with these tactics.

Never mind that she didn’t usually read this kind of news before; now that it involved Chu Feiliang… she’d seen it, and that was that. She didn’t take it to heart.

However, Rong Guang still quietly zoomed in on one of the pictures to take a look.

In private, Chu Feiliang wasn’t so concerned with her image. She was just an ordinary person. It was just that, compared to most people, the habits she’d developed since childhood made her more aware of etiquette and what to do in any given situation.

But once a person let loose, there were no limits.

For example, if Chu Feiliang ate until she was stuffed, she would also put her hands on her hips, propping up her waist and sticking out her stomach, saying, “I can’t eat anymore.”

For example, Chu Feiliang didn’t like wearing shoes at home and often walked around barefoot. But if she was very sleepy and wanted to rest in bed, she would let her feet hang off the edge, not letting them touch the bed.

And for another example, if Chu Feiliang was in a hurry to leave in the morning and didn’t have time to wash up properly, she would cut corners by wiping her face with a wet wipe or toner, letting her toothpaste briefly touch her teeth, and then rushing out the door.

Rong Guang chuckled a little at these memories, casually tossing her phone onto the table and starting to prepare dinner.

Just as Rong Guang was slowly preparing the last dish, a pork rib soup, Chu Feiliang returned.

She peeked her head out from behind the counter. Seeing Chu Feiliang at the door, finished with work, her eyes lit up. She bounded over to Chu Feiliang’s side in a few steps, her eyes sparkling as she called out, “Sister, you’re back!”

The hotel’s central air conditioning was on twenty-four hours a day, so the room was very warm.

But usually, this warmth was always tinged with a trace of loneliness. It was warm, yes, but also very empty.

This was the first time in nearly half a year on set that Chu Feiliang had opened the door to find the lights on and the comforting, homey smell of cooking in the air.

The tension she had held all day instantly melted away. Her expression visibly relaxed a little as she said, “Mhm.”

Yan Congxue, carrying some things, followed her in. Smelling the aroma, she subconsciously said, “It smells so good.”

Rong Guang looked at Yan Congxue and said very politely, “I’ve made dinner. Would you like to stay and have some?”

Yan Congxue could almost feel the hunger rush from her stomach straight to her brain.

There was nothing more pleasant than smelling the aroma of meat soup after a long day of work in the middle of winter.

However, she swallowed hard, her gaze shifting back and forth between Chu Feiliang and Rong Guang. She began to say, “No, thank you—the cafeteria downstairs has some new dishes they just launched. I made plans with a friend to go try them. You two eat, just the two of you.”

At that, Chu Feiliang, looking at the soup ladle in Rong Guang’s hand, cheerfully said to Yan Congxue, “Oh, that’s just wonderful.”

After leaving the room, Yan Congxue dazedly recalled something Wang Lujie had said during their handover: ‘As for Xiao Chu, when she decides to be inhuman, she’s always an equal-opportunity offender.’

So much for being an equal-opportunity offender, huh?

Yan Congxue glanced back, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and left.

Rong Guang estimated the time until the last soup would be ready and urged Chu Feiliang to go wash up quickly.

The set was dusty and smoky. After a full day of being rained on and sweating, she was quite grimy.

Chu Feiliang had no objections. Besides, she would definitely feel refreshed after washing up. With her mind on Rong Guang’s cooking, she entered the bathroom full of anticipation.

With Chu Feiliang in the bathroom, Rong Guang’s subsequent cooking process seemed exceptionally joyful.

The moment the pork rib soup was finally done simmering, she heard the water in the bathroom stop.

Rong Guang subconsciously bent down to look at the bathroom door.

When Chu Feiliang came out of the bathroom, this was the scene that greeted her.

Rong Guang’s eyes were clear and bright, as pure as those of an innocent child who knew nothing of the world. When she looked at her, her eyes were filled with affection and trust.

Chu Feiliang’s lips curved into a smile. She fastened her hair-drying cap, lazily stretched out her arms, and said, “Come, let Sister give you a hug.”

So Rong Guang wiped her hands on her apron and trotted over.

The short hallway, only three or five big steps long, was traversed by Rong Guang on tiptoe, running with the urgency of a race walker.

Embracing her fully, Chu Feiliang nuzzled Rong Guang’s head, sniffed, and then laughed. “Did you take a shower this afternoon?”

Rong Guang’s face flushed red. She nodded and said, “Mhm, I was in the car all morning, and my suitcase smelled like exhaust fumes… it wasn’t a nice smell.”

Chu Feiliang let out a laugh and, still holding Rong Guang, slowly shuffled toward the sofa. As she moved, she said, “Then guess what you smell like now?”

Rong Guang carefully pulled at her collar and sniffed. “A nice… scent?”

She hadn’t washed very thoroughly, just a quick rinse.

What kind of smell could it be?

Isn’t it just the smell of shower gel?

Chu Feiliang shook her head. She led Rong Guang to the sofa, let out a comfortable sigh, and lay back for a moment before saying slowly, “You smell entirely of meat…”

Rong Guang was held in her arms, the two of them cramming the not-so-large three-seater sofa completely full.

Their eyes met for a moment. Rong Guang’s eyes curved as she said, “I’ll go serve the food—I made all your favorites this time. They’re all very light and can help cool you down.”

As Chu Feiliang listened, she felt something was a little off.

She tilted her head, watching Rong Guang’s busy figure. Propping her chin on one hand, she slowly swung her leg and said, “Cool what down? Do I have some fire that needs cooling down?”

Rong Guang froze.

At first, she didn’t quite understand what Chu Feiliang meant. When she realized ‘this fire was not that fire,’ she turned as red as a boiled shrimp. While ladling soup, she said, “That’s not what I meant…”

Chu Feiliang, cupping her chin, was amused. She nodded and said, “Mhm, I know that’s not what you meant.”

Rong Guang shot her a glance and muttered under her breath, “Then why did you…”

“I just like teasing you.” Chu Feiliang tilted her head to look at her. “Don’t you like it?”

Rong Guang hesitated for a moment, then said softly, “…I like it too.”

Well, there you have it.

Chu Feiliang bit the tip of her little finger, grinding it unconsciously a couple of times.

How could Rong Guang be… so soft?

Chu Feiliang ate a lot that evening.

Although the rice was served in a mini bowl, Rong Guang had already refilled it for Chu Feiliang twice. By that count, Chu Feiliang had eaten three bowls of rice.

Rong Guang, holding her own bowl, was a bit stunned. “Sister, are you very hungry?”

“Mhm, hungry.” Chu Feiliang took a sip of soup and said, “It was all action scenes this afternoon. I was hanging on wires all day—here, look.”

Chu Feiliang lifted her shirt, revealing her waist, which was completely swollen from the wire harness.

Rong Guang reached out and touched it. It was scalding hot.

The shoulders, waist, abdomen, and the tops of the thighs—these areas that often needed to be secured were especially prone to chafing. If it went on for a little longer, the skin would easily break.

It wasn’t extremely painful, but the pain was constant and unending. If she then had to be in the rain or wash up… it was a long-lasting, default kind of pain.

Only when it hurt to the point of numbness, when she could no longer feel the pain, would it get a little better.

Rong Guang blew on it gently and said, “Lift your shirt up, let it breathe. I’m done eating. I’ll put some medicine on it later and find a fan to blow on it for you…”

“Where am I going to find a fan in the middle of winter?” Chu Feiliang put some more food in Rong Guang’s bowl. “You’re eating less than Zaixiang. Eat some more.”

Rong Guang wouldn’t have it, her gaze stubbornly fixed on Chu Feiliang’s shirt.

Helpless, Chu Feiliang simply took off her shirt, leaving only the tank top underneath. After completely exposing her waist and abdomen, she said, “Is this okay?”

Rong Guang nodded like a chick pecking at rice and ladled another bowl of soup for Chu Feiliang.

Just then, the phone placed to the side lit up.

Rong Guang was too far away, so she said, “Sister, can you see what it is?”

Chu Feiliang glanced at it but missed the few seconds of content display. All that was left on the screen was an ellipsis.

Then she picked up Rong Guang’s phone, unlocked it out of habit, and as the lock screen disappeared, she tapped on WeChat.

Who would have thought, she didn’t even know what she had tapped, but a short video suddenly popped up, taking up half the screen.

After a few seconds, the refreshing icon at the bottom of the screen disappeared, replaced by several hundred comments.

Chu Feiliang looked at it curiously. “What is this…”

Rong Guang couldn’t see the phone. Hearing this, she grew even more curious and subconsciously asked, “What what is it?”

Chu Feiliang said, “I don’t know. It looks like some gossip news…”

The video happened to start playing.

As the few seconds of intro music played, Chu Feiliang read the title aloud, “Shocking! The only scandal-free Film Queen’s stalemate is finally broken. A bombshell reveal: a bulging belly. Is it happy weight gain…”

The piece of meat in Rong Guang’s mouth fell back into her bowl.

“Which Film Queen has been scandal-free for years and is now pregnant?” Chu Feiliang was a little curious. She mentally ran through the few Film Queens in the industry; many were already married or had children. She really couldn’t figure out who it was.

She glanced at Rong Guang and said with a smile, “The media is getting better and better at stringing people along. They’ve turned a piece of trashy news into a suspense film, with one clue leading to another.”

Rong Guang weakly stretched out a hand, wanting to grab the phone. “Don’t…”

Chu Feiliang raised an eyebrow. “What? I can’t watch? What’s so mysterious?”

The video, which had been loading for ages, finally got past the background music. A robotic female voice appeared, emotionlessly beginning its midnight report: “It is reported that the only Film Queen to maintain a zero-scandal record for many years, Chu Feiliang, was recently photographed frequently visiting a hospital with her assistant…”

Rong Guang covered her face.

Chu Feiliang turned her head, holding the phone with a strange expression. After a long moment, she said, “How come I never knew you had a hobby of watching this stuff…?”

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