Always Chasing My White Moonlight Omega - Chapter 51.2

That night, Xu Zhiyi had returned dead drunk, picked up by the family driver. Aunt Chen was already asleep, and only Ruan Yang, who was staying up late, was still awake.

She happened to be going downstairs for water and helped Xu Zhiyi out of the car.

The driver told Ruan Yang that it was fortunate the young lady had called him in advance to wait downstairs. Otherwise, after the business dinner ended, she was so drunk and barely conscious that she almost got taken away by another man.

Ruan Yang’s face turned pale upon hearing this. She thanked the driver and helped Xu Zhiyi back to the living room.

Since Xu Zhiyi usually didn’t allow anyone into her room, Ruan Yang took care of her in the living room. She gave Xu Zhiyi sobering medicine and made her drink some lemon honey water, staying up with her until the early hours of the morning.

In the quiet of the night, Xu Zhiyi lay on the sofa while Ruan Yang sat beside her, watching her silently under the moonlight.

It was the first time Ruan Yang had been so close to Xu Zhiyi, and only at times like these would Xu Zhiyi not look at her with disgust.

After a while, Xu Zhiyi seemed to sober up a bit and opened her eyes.

She looked around, confirming she was at home, and finally relaxed.

She also noticed Ruan Yang, the water glass, and the medicine on the coffee table, realizing that Ruan Yang had been taking care of her all along. For once, she refrained from sarcastic remarks.

Recalling what the driver had said, Ruan Yang still felt a lingering fear.

That day, unable to control her emotions, she asked Xu Zhiyi with a tense expression, “Do you have to drink yourself into such a state?”

Xu Zhiyi still didn’t seem fully awake. She hadn’t expected Ruan Yang to speak to her in that tone. Rubbing her forehead, she let out a scoff. “What does that have to do with you?”

Ruan Yang fell silent. After a while, Xu Zhiyi’s hand slowly dropped from her forehead.

Her voice was hoarse from heavy drinking and exhaustion.

Feeling slightly better, she sighed.

“If I don’t drink, how am I supposed to get roles? Those investors, those directors, they’re not in the entertainment industry to do charity work.”

Her tone was somewhere between laughter and tears.

Ruan Yang remained quiet for a long time, only speaking again when Xu Zhiyi was about to drift back to sleep. “Is it really so bad not having any roles to film?”

It sounded like a joke. Xu Zhiyi opened her eyes and, playing along, let out a soft laugh in the darkness.

“Are you even listening to yourself? An actor with no roles to film would be laughed at as a failure.”

And Xu Zhiyi, of all people, had a stronger competitive streak than anyone.

Ruan Yang knew this well, so she didn’t press further. Instead, she lowered her head and stared at the glass on the coffee table.

“Then I don’t think you’ll fail.”

This was Ruan Yang’s sincere opinion.

Perhaps it was the unusual atmosphere of the night, or maybe the alcohol was clouding her mind again. For the first time, Xu Zhiyi felt that this usually quiet and unassuming stepsister of hers could also say comforting words.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Ruan Yang. “What you just said, is it true?”

It was true.

Ruan Yang nodded. “You will succeed.”

She was answering both the Xu Zhiyi of three years ago and the Xu Zhiyi of now.

She raised her glass and gently clinked it against Xu Zhiyi’s.

The sound of the two glasses meeting was particularly pleasing in the quiet afternoon.

Looking at the dish Ruan Yang had pushed toward her, now free of chili peppers, Xu Zhiyi smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. She downed the water in her glass in one go.

“Well then looking forward to working with you.”

The moment the stem of the wine glass touched the table, a weight in Xu Zhiyi’s heart lifted heavily.

Ruan Yang’s mood lightened as well, and she unconsciously curved her lips into a smile.

She had always believed that Xu Zhiyi would become a great actress.

Just like that night three years ago, which passed quietly. The next day, Ruan Yang’s college entrance exam results came out. Without hesitation, she filled in her first choice: the directing department of Capital University.

Ruan Yang had never had any dreams before, but from the moment she received her acceptance letter from Capital University’s directing department, she told herself that she would make sure Xu Zhiyi would always have roles to film.

Even without drinking.

She wanted Xu Zhiyi to shine brightly in the career she loved.

Ruan Yang had never told anyone about these things, and perhaps no one would ever know.

She raised her glass and finished the water in one gulp.

Afterward, the two chatted intermittently. Once they finished their meal, Xu Zhiyi put on her mask and sunglasses and left the restaurant with Ruan Yang.

Jiang Jiang and the driver were already waiting at the entrance. Xu Zhiyi opened the car door and said to Ruan Yang, “Get in. I’ll take you back to school.”

Ruan Yang shook her head. “I don’t have any classes this afternoon.”

“Then I’ll take you back to your dorm?”

“I’m not staying on campus either,” Ruan Yang said. “I’ve found a hotel nearby to stay at for a while. You should head back first.”

“No longer living in the dorm?” Xu Zhiyi murmured the words softly. She wanted to ask Ruan Yang what had happened whether there was a conflict with her roommate but then she reconsidered, realizing Ruan Yang wouldn’t tell her anyway. Better to let it go.

In her perception, Ruan Yang was far more independent and composed than most of her peers. It was unlikely anything major had occurred.

She nodded and got into the car.

Ruan Yang stood outside, watching her. As the car slowly pulled away, Xu Zhiyi could see her figure growing smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

Only when the car turned a corner and Ruan Yang disappeared from view did Xu Zhiyi finally look away, leaning back against the seat.

She took out her phone and made a call.

The person on the other end seemed to have been waiting for her call for a long time, answering almost instantly.

“Xu Zhiyi! So you finally remember to call me!” a loud, booming female voice came through the phone, startling Jiang Jiang in the front seat.

Sister Zhiyi was calling her agent, Sister Liang.

Jiang Jiang was afraid of Liang Siting, but Xu Zhiyi wasn’t.

Her expression didn’t change as she listened to the woman on the other end yell, “You really went to see the director of that drama?! What on earth are you thinking, Xu Zhiyi? Sure, the script isn’t bad, but it’s still a far cry from the big-budget productions. Why are you so obsessed? You asked me for the script, skimmed through it once, and now you’re dead set on this project? Don’t blame me for being blunt, but if you take this role and it doesn’t make a splash, you’ll be the laughingstock of the marketing accounts from other companies!”

“I know,” Xu Zhiyi said softly. “I know all of that, Sister Liang.”

Xu Zhiyi was well aware. She wasn’t a newcomer to the industry anymore and understood exactly what she was getting into.

But at the same time, she also understood what Ruan Yang was about to face.

As Xu Rongjiang’s daughter, no one knew him better than she did.

His decision to bring Ruan Yang into Runying was nothing more than a test, an attempt to groom her as a potential successor.

If Ruan Yang succeeded, fine. But if she failed, Xu Rongjiang would discard her without a second thought.

Xu Zhiyi didn’t want Ruan Yang caught in this whirlpool, but she also didn’t want to see her mocked and abandoned.

Besides, it wasn’t entirely for Ruan Yang’s sake.

When she first read the script, even just skimming through the plot, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Every scene felt as if it had truly unfolded before her eyes, and the protagonist seemed to mirror her own self.

Xu Zhiyi didn’t believe in fate, but Xu Zhiyi the actress did.

She had an intuition, a conviction that she had to play this role.

Regardless of the drama’s performance or reception, Xu Zhiyi felt she had to give it a try.

“If you know, then why are you still doing it?” Liang Siting on the other end was utterly exasperated. Neither Xu Zhiyi nor Jiang Jiang had ever explained why she was so fixated on this project.

“Why are you getting more reckless as you get older? How dare you take this on? And didn’t you always refuse to work on your family’s productions? No matter how much I pushed you before, you never budged. Now you’re just letting bygones be bygones?!”

“I’ve come to terms with it,” Xu Zhiyi had been upfront with Liang Siting about her family background from the start. Now, watching the skyscrapers flash by outside the window, she chuckled softly. “After all, my family’s company, why let the good resources flow to outsiders?””

“Don’t worry about it, Liang Jie,” Xu Zhiyi cut in before Liang Siting could speak again. “I know what I’m doing. I won’t let everything I’ve worked so hard for go to waste easily. Let’s not dwell on this. What about the proposal I mentioned last time have you thought about joining my personal studio?”

On the other end, Liang Siting fell silent. Jiang Jiang glanced at them through the rearview mirror.

Just as the rumors suggested, after her contract with Xunguang expired, her Zhiyi Jie had no intention of signing with any other agency. Instead, she planned to establish her own studio.

“Liang Jie,” Xu Zhiyi’s tone grew more serious as she addressed the agent who had genuinely supported her for years, “I’m sincerely inviting you to join my studio. All the conditions I promised you still stand. I know you have deep ties to Xunguang, but the industry’s landscape is shifting, you must feel it too. Xunguang is on a decline. People should aim for higher ground. That’s a lesson you often taught me before.”

“…” Liang Siting seemed to sigh on the other end, her voice clearly hesitant. “About this, I still need some time to think it over.”

“Alright.” Xu Zhiyi didn’t press further. She hung up and suddenly felt the car interior stifling.

Cracking the window slightly, the sweltering summer breeze rushed in, brushing against her face.

It wasn’t just Ruan Yang.

She was gambling too.

Betting a part of her future on this script that almost no one had faith in.

Whether it was the thrill of taking a risk after so long or the sensation of being tied to Ruan Yang in this gamble, it left her feeling incredibly exhilarated.

She even felt a faint anticipation for the prospect of working alongside Ruan Yang on set again.

Closing her eyes, she realized this summer felt far less oppressive than the ones before.

Support