ISWMQ – Chapter 138

The sound of running water was incessant. Droplets trickled down her arm to her palm, finally falling in strings into the pristine white sink. Her knuckles were long, and her fingertips reflected the white light of the room.

Chu Feiliang squinted at her for a moment, then smiled.

She washed her hands and looked at Rong Guang, who was sitting on the toolbox next to her, her eyes red from being bullied. A wicked thought arose in her again. She pulled out a paper towel to dry her hands, leaned in close, and murmured, “Don’t cry. Next time, you can help me.”

Rong Guang was still trying to even out her breathing. The moment she stood up, she felt her waist go weak and her legs tremble; she couldn’t stand steady even after several tries.

She glanced at the tightly shut door, pursed her lips, and said, “Next time… next time, let’s not do it outside.”

Chu Feiliang studied her, as if trying to discern from her eyes whether Rong Guang was speaking her true feelings or… going against them.

Rong Guang’s face flushed, and she shyly averted her gaze. “Even if we do it outside, you… you can’t play for so long…”

How could anyone be so wicked?

She was so skilled she was like a master operator. Even though it hadn’t been… many times, she seemed to know Rong Guang’s body better than Rong Guang herself. She had brought Rong Guang to the point of collapse several times, tears streaming uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

Yet, when Chu Feiliang saw her cry, she seemed to get even more excited.

“Got it,” Chu Feiliang nodded readily.

However, before leaving, she placed her hand on the doorknob, turned back, and said in a low voice, “But Teacher Rong, do you really not like it this way? Just now, you were clinging to me, not letting me go…”

Rong Guang took a deep breath and remained silent. Then she lowered her head, violently yanked the door open, and rushed out.

Chu Feiliang glanced back at the mirror and, sure enough, saw an irrepressible smile on her own face in the reflection.

She composed her expression, managing to rein it in.

If she truly angered Rong Guang and made her want to play pranks in return, that wouldn’t be good at all.

There weren’t many difficult scenes to film for The Lover. The progress was even much faster than Zhang Nanchuan had initially estimated.

Not only the main actors, but even the extras never dropped the ball. The specially invited guest actors were even more so; upon hearing that Chu Feiliang was the lead, they even began studying their roles together in private.

This came as a great surprise to Zhang Nanchuan, who had been weathered by the storms of the entertainment industry. He felt that this happiness had come a bit too suddenly.

That afternoon, Chacha also came.

She was still almost entirely wrapped in cold medical equipment, but Chacha was clearly in high spirits, her eyes shining brightly. Her one uninjured leg was propped up on the wheelchair’s armrest, swinging back and forth the entire way she was pushed over.

The whole family was still in tow—and it seemed that both the elders and the younger generation had gained a bit more vitality from Chacha’s arrival.

For lunch, everyone naturally ate together.

Chacha’s maternal grandmother cooked personally, and several adults had been busy all morning, so lunch was especially sumptuous. It happened to be the change of seasons, and Rong Guang hadn’t had much of an appetite, but when she smelled the aroma of these home-cooked dishes, she couldn’t resist. In one go, she ate more than two of her usual meals.

Chacha’s small, pointed chin had completely vanished.

Her little face finally had some flesh on it, making her look round and chubby. She was dressed exquisitely from head to toe, with everything new. Even her hair was styled in a new way every day—if Chacha herself hadn’t been unwilling to wear makeup, her face probably would have suffered the same fate.

Because Rong Guang noticed that Chacha even had her nails done.

…This joy of having something lost and found again is truly overwhelming, Rong Guang thought to herself as she watched Chacha being fed spoonful by spoonful.

“Progress has been fast these past few days, and the weather has gotten better too.” Zhang Nanchuan sat beside Chacha with a toothpick dangling from his mouth.

He wanted to say something to bond with Chacha, but a person of his character was never good with words. After hemming and hawing for a long time, he finally started with the topic he was most familiar with.

“Next up are the more intense plot points—Duan Xi graduates from university and becomes an undercover agent planted by Yin Shuanghan’s rival company. Her goal is to gather information on Yin Shuanghan’s accounts.” Zhang Nanchuan tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, “But it’s not about physical fights. In our film, both internally and externally, we need to highlight that feeling of you two loving and fighting each other. You’re deeply in love, but neither of you says a word, just torturing each other.”

Chu Feiliang and Rong Guang both fell silent for a moment.

Rong Guang felt a little offended—if she had just had a showdown with Chu Feiliang earlier in her past life, if she had taken the initiative sooner, wouldn’t she have won the beauty’s heart long ago? Why would she have had to wait until now?

Rong Guang gritted her teeth, angrily picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, and said fiercely, “I’m very familiar with that, don’t you worry!”

Chu Feiliang poured Rong Guang a glass of lemon tea and said, “What a coincidence, I’m very familiar with it too.”

Zhang Nanchuan glanced from side to side, not feeling like an outsider at all. “The plot develops mainly in the office—you two should be familiar with that, right?”

Rong Guang remembered something and said with a slightly red face, “We’ll see when the time comes.”

Chu Feiliang instantly caught Rong Guang’s hidden message and smiled as well. “I think that’s fine—we’ll see when the time comes. If Teacher Rong has any positions in mind, remember to tell me.”

Chacha looked up from her bowl, which was bigger than her face, completely bewildered. “What positions?”

Chu Feiliang deceived the child with a straight face, “It’s knowledge. I misspoke.”

“Oh.” Chacha, unsuspecting, licked her lips and whined to Pei Lingxi, “Mom, I want more.”

Zhang Nanchuan was stunned.

Pei Lingxi couldn’t hide the smile on her lips. She shot Zhang Nanchuan a defiant, somewhat smug look.

—And so, for the rest of the afternoon, the two lead actresses never saw a shadow of the proper director again.

Rong Guang murmured, “Did Sister Siyue know before that Director Zhang was such an irresponsible person? Who was it that told me Director Zhang was an iron-faced Yama of the workplace, one who kept his public and private life separate and was upright and incorruptible…?”

Chu Feiliang had been squeezed onto a lounge chair with Rong Guang, reading the script. Hearing this, she let out a soft laugh. “I said it. Besides me, who else would dare to make up things about him like that?”

The moment these words were out, both of them froze.

It was true that Chu Feiliang had said it.

—But in this life, Chu Feiliang had never said such a thing to her.

Working backward, the same was true.

How did Rong Guang know that line?!

Rong Guang and Chu Feiliang moved almost simultaneously. The instant their eyes met, they both saw the look of shock in each other’s eyes.