Always Chasing My White Moonlight Omega - Chapter 26

When Xu Zhiyi emerged from the water once more, her entire body was trembling.

The scorching sunlight on her skin seemed incapable of providing much warmth.

She walked over to the assistant director and reviewed the footage of her recent take. It was already much better than before, but there was one angle where her expression hadn’t been quite right.

Xu Zhiyi frowned and was about to ask the assistant director for another take when the director, Wu Jun, unexpectedly appeared.

“Stop filming,” Wu Jun interjected. “It’s already good enough, Zhiyi. My usual perfectionist nature isn’t meant for you to torture yourself like this.”

Xu Zhiyi glanced at the assistant director, who looked conflicted, and then at Jiang Jiang, who was watching her with concern.

Suddenly, she realized she might have been overly critical today, as if she were deliberately challenging herself.

At this thought, she gave the assistant director a slight bow. “My apologies.”

The assistant director quickly assured her it was fine. Wu Jun selected the best take from the footage and then arranged for the crew to prepare for the next major scene.

Before leaving, he patted Xu Zhiyi on the shoulder.

Once the director was gone, Xu Zhiyi planned to head to the rest area for a break. But before she could take a step, two girls who had been following the director rushed over.

One of them handed Xu Zhiyi a cup. “Zhiyi-jie, this is brown sugar ginger tea. Drink some it’ll make you feel much better.”

Xu Zhiyi was exhausted and didn’t particularly like the taste of ginger in the tea, but she still managed a smile and accepted the cup. “Thank you.”

Assuming the girl had brewed it herself, Xu Zhiyi took a sip to avoid disappointing her. To her surprise, there was barely any ginger flavor just the right amount of brown sugar, not too sweet, perfectly masking the ginger.

“It’s delicious,” Xu Zhiyi said after drinking half the cup, her body noticeably warmer. She smiled at the girl. “Thank you. You brewed it really well.”

Being gazed at with such sparkling eyes by a stunning beauty would leave anyone dazed.

The girl was already mesmerized by Xu Zhiyi’s beauty and mumbled, “Don’t thank me, Zhiyi-jie. Someone else made it and asked me to give it to you.”

But before she could finish, the other girl nudged her in the ribs.

Realizing her slip, the first girl immediately clamped her mouth shut.

Their reactions were undeniably odd. Xu Zhiyi closed the cup lid, her smile growing even sweeter.

“Who asked you to make this? Tell me, please?”

There was a saying in the industry: no one could resist Xu Zhiyi when she smiled at them with crescent-moon eyes.

Now both girls were completely disarmed, and they blurted out everything, how Ruan Yang had instructed them to find the director and deliver the brown sugar tea.

Xu Zhiyi listened with a faint smile, gripping the cup tightly. With her other hand, she waved goodbye to them.

Jiang Jiang, who had been listening nearby, draped a coat over Xu Zhiyi’s shoulders and called out softly, “Zhiyi-jie.”

The moment the two girls left, Xu Zhiyi’s smile vanished.

In its place was an expression Jiang Jiang had never seen before.

She watched as Xu Zhiyi walked to a trash bin, raising her hand as if to throw away the remaining half-cup of tea.

But at the last second, she suddenly withdrew her hand and carried the cup to the rest area instead.

That afternoon, Sister Zhiyi was acting very strangely.

There was a scene where Xu Zhiyi, playing a princess, was deceived by rebels who held a sword to her neck, forcing her brother, the current emperor to open the city gates.

Xu Zhiyi’s gaze was off. Several times during filming, her eyes suddenly grew unfocused.

This was a major scene, inherently difficult to shoot. The director had already prepared to spend the entire afternoon and evening on it, so he didn’t reprimand Xu Zhiyi. Instead, he simply asked her to delve deeper into the character’s emotions.

By the time filming wrapped up, it was already evening, and everyone was exhausted as they dispersed.

Xu Zhiyi sat in the dressing room and suddenly looked up to ask Jiang Jiang, “What time is it?”

“Six o’clock,” Jiang Jiang replied.

The banquet was set to begin at seven. Xu Zhiyi glanced out the window Ruan Yang should already be on her way to the venue.

“Jiang Jiang,” Xu Zhiyi said, her face pale, yet her eyes inexplicably gleaming with an indescribable intensity. She raised an eyebrow. “Do you have Ruan Yang’s WeChat?”

Jiang Jiang didn’t understand why Sister Zhiyi was asking but shook her head. “No, I didn’t dare add anyone randomly to the work account, let alone the personal one.”

Xu Zhiyi tilted her head slightly, and the cup that had once held ginger brown sugar tea came into view.

“Good,” she said with a faint, emotionless laugh.

“Lend me the work account for a moment.”

Almost as soon as she saw the message, Ruan Yang hailed a taxi and rushed to the film set, sprinting all the way into the studio.

The moment she entered, she spotted the director wrapping up for the day. Ruan Yang dashed over. “Director, where’s Zhiyi?!”

“Zhiyi?” Wu Jun looked at Ruan Yang’s frantic expression, puzzled, but answered, “She went back to the hotel after we finished.”

“The hotel? Shouldn’t she be at the hospital?” Ruan Yang frowned, breathing heavily in short gasps.

The director was even more confused. Why would Zhiyi need to go to the hospital?

Just as he was about to ask, Ruan Yang, seemingly desperate to see Xu Zhiyi, turned to leave.

“Hey, Xiao Ruan!” the director called out. “You’re going to see Xu Zhiyi, right? If you do, comfort her for me. She wasn’t in great shape today.”

Ruan Yang nodded, and the director continued muttering, “It’s my fault too. I shouldn’t have called Lingxuan over without warning. It must have brought back old memories for Xu Zhiyi.”

“Lingxuan, Qu Lingxuan?”

So Xu Zhiyi had been off all day because of Qu Lingxuan?

Ruan Yang’s face suddenly paled, whether from the moonlight or the streetlights, it was hard to tell.

“Probably,” Wu Jun sighed.

This wasn’t exactly a secret in the industry.

Coincidentally, Qu Lingxuan and Xu Zhiyi’s first collaboration had also been under Director Wu Jun. In a way, he had witnessed their entire relationship unfold.

He instinctively wanted to reflect on it, but when he saw Ruan Yang’s stunned expression, he assumed she was shocked.

He shouldn’t have brought up the star’s romantic history in front of a fan.

Wu Jun urged Ruan Yang to hurry and find Xu Zhiyi.

Ruan Yang suddenly felt dazed. On the way to the hotel, she nearly ran several red lights.

When she finally arrived at the hotel and found Xu Zhiyi’s room, Jiang Jiang was standing guard outside.

Seeing Xiao Ruan, she didn’t seem surprised at all.

When Ruan Yang asked about Xu Zhiyi’s condition, Jiang Jiang merely pressed her lips together and left without a word.

Before leaving, she gave Ruan Yang a meaningful glance.

Ruan Yang suddenly felt an ominous premonition in her heart.

Fearing something might have happened to Xu Zhiyi, Ruan Yang immediately opened the bedroom door.

The door wasn’t even locked.

The moment Ruan Yang pushed the door open, an overwhelming scent of roses flooded her senses.

Almost instantly, a scorching heat began to spread across the nape of her neck.

Her heartbeat quickened violently in response.

Xu Zhiyi lay on the bed, the thin blanket unable to contain the pervasive floral fragrance filling the room.

Her face was flushed, her slender fingers tinged a faint pink as they clutched at the sheets in rhythmic motions.

Occasional soft whimpers escaped her lips, sending involuntary shivers down Ruan Yang’s spine.

Was this sudden onset of sensitivity also because of Qu Lingxuan?

Ruan Yang felt as though she were being consumed by the flames of jealousy.

She stood there, fingers digging into the doorframe, using every ounce of her strength and willpower to stop herself from rushing forward.

A thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead from the sheer effort of restraint.

Lucid yet drowning.

Her voice came out hoarse, like a devout believer making a desperate plea.

“Zhiyi, if you can’t love her, why not love me instead?”

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