Always Chasing My White Moonlight Omega - Chapter 70

The two soon returned to the hotel. As they stepped out of the elevator, Xu Zhiyi stood by her room door, gazing at Ruan Yang with a hint of reluctance.

Ruan Yang was pulling her key card from her pocket when she noticed Xu Zhiyi’s lingering look. After only a moment’s hesitation, she opened her own door, holding the handle as she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Seeing Ruan Yang open her own door, Xu Zhiyi pouted and simply stared at her.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep,” she said.

She didn’t even need to finish her sentence before Ruan Yang raised an eyebrow.

“Then,” Ruan Yang closed her door, turned, and walked toward Xu Zhiyi, “I’ll warm up a glass of milk for you. A cup of warm milk will help you sleep.”

Xu Zhiyi had been delighted when Ruan Yang started coming her way, her lips already curving into a slight smile. But upon hearing Ruan Yang’s suggestion, her smile instantly faded.

“Just warm up a glass of milk for me?” she murmured softly.

Meanwhile, the corners of Ruan Yang’s lips lifted almost imperceptibly. Pretending not to notice the dissatisfaction in Xu Zhiyi’s tone, she blinked and replied, “Yeah, or do you have a better idea?”

As she spoke, she entered Xu Zhiyi’s room, took out some milk, and boiled a kettle of water.

Xu Zhiyi mumbled under her breath as she closed the door behind them, “Couldn’t you just stay and sleep with me?”

Ruan Yang, with her back turned while boiling the water, smiled silently but didn’t respond.

From the faint sound of footsteps and the sensation of a gaze fixed on her back, she could tell that Xu Zhiyi had likely settled onto the sofa and was now watching her.

The two stayed quietly like that for a while. When the water was finally ready, Ruan Yang placed a carton of milk into the hot water to warm it, then poured it into a cup and brought it over to Xu Zhiyi.

“Drink this and then get some sleep. I’ll head back now,” Ruan Yang said.

“Are you really not hearing me, or are you just pretending not to?” Xu Zhiyi didn’t reach for the milk but instead looked up, meeting Ruan Yang’s gaze.

From this angle, Xu Zhiyi looked so endearing that Ruan Yang had to resist the urge to reach out and ruffle her hair. Holding back, she said, “I still have work to do tonight. It might disturb you.”

With that, she crouched down, gently pried apart Xu Zhiyi’s folded arms, and placed the milk into her hands. Softly coaxing her, she said, “Be good and sleep on your own tonight, alright?”

Through the warmth of the glass cup in her hands, Xu Zhiyi could almost feel the comforting heat and sweetness of the milk.

All the coldness within her seemed to be chased away by that single cup. She let out a soft sigh, pressed her lips together, and murmured, “Alright.”

Unable to resist any longer, Ruan Yang reached out and gently touched Xu Zhiyi’s cheek before standing up and leaving the room.

The next day, due to the sudden snowfall, the crew decided to shoot some specific winter scenes first.

Thanks to the glass of milk from the night before, Xu Zhiyi had surprisingly slept well. That morning, as soon as she received the script and saw the scenes scheduled for the day, she couldn’t help but let her eyes crinkle with a smile

The main scenes for the day were with the second male lead, Cheng Jiamu, and there was even a relatively intimate scene.

In the scene, the female lead is framed by someone, her clothes slightly disheveled, and she is pushed, falling from the second floor. The second male lead, who has come looking for her, sees this, leaps into action, and catches her.

As luck would have it, today’s scene was being directed by Ruan Yang. Xu Zhiyi looked over from dozens of meters away, past several crew members, and happened to catch sight of Ruan Yang’s tense expression.

She walked over, placed her script in front of Ruan Yang, and pretended to discuss script-related matters with the director. In reality, she was observing the faint dark circles under Ruan Yang’s eyes. “What time did you go to bed last night?” she asked.

Ruan Yang hadn’t slept much the previous night, but not wanting Xu Zhiyi to worry, she composed herself and replied, “I can’t remember. I slept a few hours.”

“Really?” Xu Zhiyi didn’t quite believe it but didn’t press further. Instead, she continued, “Cheng Jiamu was quite startled by you last time. Later, try to soften your gaze a bit be gentler.”

Cheng Jiamu.

Was Zhiyi that familiar with him?

Ruan Yang’s brow furrowed slightly, but she nodded. “Okay.”

Soon, filming began. Xu Zhiyi, suspended by wires, leaped from the building. The slightly loosened collar of her costume fluttered in the air, making anyone watching feel a chill.

Her descent was flawless, but just as she was about to land, Cheng Jiamu, standing not far away, for some reason, failed to step forward and catch her.

Ruan Yang looked up from the monitor and noticed Cheng Jiamu standing outside the frame, lost in thought.

It wasn’t until an assistant reminded him that Cheng Jiamu, watching Xu Zhiyi land safely, seemed to snap back to reality. He apologized to everyone around, saying he had been momentarily dazed and forgot what he was supposed to do.

Ruan Yang frowned at his sluggish expression.

Still, she recalled Xu Zhiyi’s words and, not wanting to affect Cheng Jiamu’s performance, refrained from saying much. She simply stated calmly, “Let’s do it again.”

Somehow, in the takes that followed, Cheng Jiamu seemed possessedeither his positioning was off, or he failed to catch Xu Zhiya, making repeated mistakes.

What should have been a simple shot ended up being filmed over a dozen times because of him.

The entire set grew restless. At first, Ruan Yang would listen to Cheng Jiamu’s apologies, but eventually, she didn’t even want to hear them and just signaled for another take.

After numerous mistakes, a crew member not far from Ruan Yang let out an impatient “tsk.”

“Is Cheng Jiamu still drunk from last night? How can he show up to work in this state?”

“Exactly. If he’s in such bad shape, he shouldn’t drag us all down with him. It’s freezing out here, and we’re all stuck suffering in the cold because of him.”

Their voices were low, but Ruan Yang overheard. She turned to the two crew members and asked, “Did you say Cheng Jiamu went drinking last night?”

The two hadn’t expected Ruan Yang’s hearing to be so sharp that she could catch their conversation from such a distance. They were caught off guard and startled.

Under Ruan Yang’s intense gaze, they grew nervous but told the truth. “Yes. Our team was filming a night scene last night, and we saw Brother Jiamu being dropped off around one or two in the morning by a luxury car. He could barely walk straight after getting out, stumbling around like he was completely drunk.”

Ruan Yang’s frown deepened. “Was it a car arranged by his company?”

If it was a company car, perhaps Cheng Jiamu had attended a legitimate business event. But since they mentioned a luxury car, it seemed somewhat unusual.

“This,” The two staff members exchanged glances, one shaking their head. “We’re not sure about that. We just saw it was a luxury car, and when the door opened, there seemed to be a very young woman sitting on the other side.”

The other added, “This morning, Brother Jiamu came straight over without even changing out of last night’s clothes. That’s why we guessed he probably hadn’t sobered up yet.”

After both had finished speaking, Ruan Yang nodded and let them go about their tasks.

She turned her gaze back to the screen, where Cheng Jiamu appeared dazed, his steps sluggish, and his hold on Xu Zhiyi lax and careless.

After two more takes, he still made mistakes.

Ruan Yang finally stood up and walked toward the two actors. When she stopped in front of Cheng Jiamu, she focused intently and indeed caught a faint whiff of alcohol.

And the scent of perfume.

He had likely tried to mask the smell of alcohol with perfume.

She grabbed Cheng Jiamu just as he was about to move into position again, her tone icy. “Stop filming.”

The already frigid weather seemed to grow even colder with her words. Everyone around held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Cheng Jiamu turned and, seeing it was Ruan Yang who had stopped him, couldn’t help but avert his eyes.

“S-sorry, Director,” Cheng Jiamu tried to explain, though his tone was noticeably guilty. “I’m just not in the best state today. Give me one more chance, I promise I’ll—”

“Take a break for now,” Ruan Yang cut him off, seemingly with no patience to hear him out. She stared at his exhausted face beneath the heavy makeup, then shifted her gaze away, addressing no one in particular. “Clean up here. We’re moving on to the next scene.”

The next scene scheduled for the day didn’t involve Cheng Jiamu. As the crew began preparing to change locations, Xu Zhiyi approached Ruan Yang.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

The previous scene had required Xu Zhiyi to leave her collar slightly open, allowing the cold wind to seep into her clothes. Her face was pale from the chill, and she had long abandoned any concern for her appearance, bundled in two thick down jackets that made her look like a stuffed dumpling.

Noticing that Xu Zhiyi’s complexion still hadn’t regained its color, Ruan Yang’s expression grew even more severe. “It’s nothing. Cheng Jiamu isn’t in good form, and I don’t want him wasting too much time.”

“Really?” Xu Zhiyi tried to open her thermos but found her fingers too stiff from the cold. After struggling for a while without success, she continued, “But you look so upset. Did he offend you? Or are you jealous?”

Ruan Yang watched Xu Zhiyi’s clumsy movements, then snatched the thermos from her hands, twisted off the cap, and handed it back.

“Didn’t you smell anything on him?”

“Smell what?” Xu Zhiyi took a sip of the hot water, feeling the warmth spread through her body as it traveled down her throat. She thought for a moment. “There was a bit of a smell of alcohol, I guess.”

She glanced at Ruan Yang again and seemed to understand. “So you’re upset because he drank and it affected the shoot?”

Then, peeking at Ruan Yang once more, she added, “But I drank the day before yesterday too. Why weren’t you angry with me?”

“How is that the same?” Ruan Yang couldn’t help retorting.

Seeing Ruan Yang’s expression, Xu Zhiyi actually broke into a smile. “How is it different?” she asked, still grinning.

“You didn’t bring it into your work.” Ruan Yang also realized she had momentarily lost control of her tone, but the thought of Xu Zhiyi being repeatedly hoisted up and down on the wire, enduring the cold wind due to Cheng Jiamu’s constant mistakes, made her feel as though her heart were blocked.

“Our progress is actually quite fast much faster than expected. If he had been drinking and wasn’t in the right state to film today, he could have just asked me for leave. Taking a day off wouldn’t have affected anything.”

What she couldn’t accept was dragging the entire crew along to waste time and resources in such cold weather.

Xu Zhiyi understood now. She glanced around at the staff diligently working and, seeing no one paying attention, quickly gave Ruan Yang a hug before letting go just as fast.

In a gentle, comforting tone, she said, “Alright, alright, our Yangyang, don’t be angry anymore. Cheer up, okay?”

“I’m not angry,” Ruan Yang replied.

“If you’re not angry, then why did you say so much just now?” Xu Zhiyi laughed. “I’ve rarely seen you speak so many words at once.”

“I didn’t,” Ruan Yang glanced at her. “I really didn’t. If I were angry, it wouldn’t be because of this.”

It wasn’t because he had been drinking, but because he had made Xu Zhiyi endure the cold wind for so long.

Xu Zhiyi was her bottom line.

Reading something in Ruan Yang’s eyes, Xu Zhiyi chuckled again. She pulled her hand out of her down jacket pocket and pressed her warm palm against the back of Ruan Yang’s hand, giving it a light pat.

The rest of the filming went smoothly. In the afternoon, they reshot the scene between Xu Zhiyi and Cheng Jiamu from the morning.

Cheng Jiamu stood before Ruan Yang again. She glanced at his complexion, it had improved significantly since the morning.

Cheng Jiamu apologized to Ruan Yang once more. Though she initially didn’t want to acknowledge him, a look from Xu Zhiyi behind him made her sigh inwardly and nod in acceptance.

With that, the matter was settled.

When they filmed the scene again, everyone held their breath as Xu Zhiyi jumped from the second floor.

Fortunately, this time Cheng Jiamu didn’t drop the ball. He caught Xu Zhiyi perfectly without any mistakes.

The script supervisor glanced at Ruan Yang and called out, “Cut! That’s a wrap!”

The crew erupted in cheers. They had expected to endure the cold for another half-day, but to their surprise, the scene was nailed in one take.

Yet, some couldn’t help feeling resentful toward Cheng Jiamu. If he could perform so well now, why had he made them suffer through the cold all morning?

But no matter what they thought, no one dared to say it to Cheng Jiamu’s face.

Xu Zhiyi found Cheng Jiamu resting in a corner and handed him a cup of hot milk tea. “Feeling better now?”

Sheltered from the wind, Cheng Jiamu had been squatting there smoking. At Xu Zhiyi’s approach, his hand trembled slightly for some reason, but he quickly composed himself, stubbed out the cigarette, and tossed it into the trash.

He looked at the hot milk tea in her hand, recalling how he had overheard her instructing her assistant to order a cup for every crew member to warm them up.

An inexplicable irritation stirred within him. Taking the tea, he stood up and nodded. “Much better, thank you, Sister Zhiyi.”

There was indeed no wind here. Xu Zhiyi looked at Cheng Jiamu standing before her and said softly, “Director Ruan wasn’t really blaming you this morning. She’s just used to being that way her expression always seems cold. Don’t take it to heart.”

When she mentioned “Director Ruan,” her noticeably softer tone was impossible to ignore.

Cheng Jiamu stared at Xu Zhiyi for a long moment before nodding.

Xu Zhiyi continued, “If something like this happens again, you can just take a leave. There’s no need to come to film when you’re not feeling well. Taking an occasional day off won’t make anyone think you’re unprofessional.”

It was only after joining this crew that Cheng Jiamu realized the real Xu Zhiyi was much easier to get along with than the version he usually saw online.

And far gentler than what those marketing accounts, which loved to belittle her for clout, often portrayed.

Just like now, just like this cup of milk tea.

Cheng Jiamu seemed to think of something, suddenly averting his gaze as if avoiding something.

After a long pause, he let out a soft “Mm,” then tightened his grip on the milk tea in his hand, lowering his head as he said, “I’m sorry, Sister Zhiyi, for making you stand in the cold for so long just now.”

“It was a bit cold.” Xu Zhiyi recalled the chill she had endured and couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

But he was her junior, and she couldn’t bring herself to blame him and make him feel even worse.

Seeing that Cheng Jiamu still seemed a bit down and unwilling to talk, she assumed he was still trapped in his earlier self-reproach. She chuckled lightly and said, “Well, I won’t disturb you anymore. Have some milk tea, it’ll warm you up. Do your best in the next shoot.”

With that, she wrapped her down jacket tightly around herself and left.

Her steps were quick, eager to return to warmth, so she didn’t notice that as soon as she turned away, Cheng Jiamu also turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on her retreating figure, almost as if his eyes were glued to her.

Even after Xu Zhiyi had disappeared from sight, he still hadn’t looked away.

His thoughts drifted far away, returning once again to the previous night.

In the dimly lit private room, the woman sitting across from him had a gaze as cold as Ruan Yang’s, but with an added layer of disdain.

She looked down at him as if he were trash.

She said, “Keep a close watch on Xu Zhiyi. Make sure something happens to her on set. Preferably… ruin her.”

At this thought, Cheng Jiamu irritably ran a hand through his hair.

Then, he lifted his leg and kicked a stone hard against the opposite wall.

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