Famous Actresses, Please Keep Your Distance From Me - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The world of adults is full of euphemisms and politeness; someone as direct as Duan Rujin was rare—

It felt as if their few interactions together had been a joke.

Cen Zhi turned to look at Duan Rujin’s profile.

Duan Rujin’s face was truly too superior; from any angle, it was exquisitely beautiful. Looking from this perspective, one couldn’t find a single flaw; she was like a “work of art” created by God to show off His skill.

Before Cen Zhi could say anything, Duan Rujin looked at her, the corners of her lips pulling upward slightly. “I’ve already spoken to my team about the stray animal rescue station. We are currently discussing a specific plan. Thank you again for accompanying me for the shot so I wasn’t as scared. I’ll go ahead to lunch then.”

Duan Rujin finished speaking, put on her mask and fisherman hat, and stepped out of the car.

With a “thud,” the car door closed. It wasn’t a loud noise, but it still sent a tremor through Cen Zhi, who remained inside.

Duan Rujin walked in the opposite direction. Cen Zhi couldn’t even see her back; in just a few seconds, this person had vanished from her sight.

Cen Zhi released her grip on the steering wheel and rubbed her brow.

Duan Rujin’s question echoed in her ears.

– You didn’t find it a surprise to see me. Not at all, right?

Was there really not a bit of surprise? Cen Zhi couldn’t answer.

Because until today, her attention had been entirely focused on her one-sided assumption that Duan Rujin didn’t trust her. She hadn’t had the chance to think about anything else. If Duan Rujin hadn’t voiced her thoughts in the car, Cen Zhi might have continued with that misunderstanding.

When would she have had the time to ponder whether she was “surprised” or not?

– Should I not have appeared in front of you?

Should she not have? Cen Zhi lowered her lashes, feeling it shouldn’t be that way.

Completely disappearing in the information age is no simple task, but cutting ties with the past after graduation isn’t hard. Cen Zhi had merely changed her SIM card.

During her first two years in Yuncheng, she had traveled to several other cities, mostly with Wen Lin to investigate the feasibility of various projects. They had hit walls and suffered losses before finally settling down in Yuncheng. Indeed, over these years, she hadn’t contacted a single university classmate. she had built a barrier around her social circle—whether it was Yu Lu or her handicraft-making friend, they were all people from Yuncheng.

But that didn’t mean Duan Rujin shouldn’t have appeared before her.

They shouldn’t have excessive entanglements, but just meeting again… what could happen?

Her overreaction was only because she was the one who cared the most about that night. What did that have to do with Duan Rujin?

Having worked through all of this, Cen Zhi realized how much she had overblown things over the past few days. She couldn’t help but wonder if she looked like a fool in Duan Rujin’s eyes when she made that “one million” joke.

Probably not, because Duan Rujin was so sincere.

Sincere enough to say directly that she was surprised to meet her.

Cen Zhi knew very well that with her current personality, it was impossible for her to express herself that way. Oh, she probably wouldn’t have in the past, either.

“…” Cen Zhi felt a bit restless.

Her gaze shifted and landed on the cat and dog ornaments on the dashboard. They were indeed made by her friend, and this batch was truly gone. But as for cats and dogs, there were plenty of similar ones.

Cen Zhi pursed her lips, unlocked her phone, and sent a WeChat message to Wei Shu: “I’m coming over. Get ready to receive me.”

Wei Shu was her friend who owned the handicraft shop. Unlike how she met Yu Lu through food at a “hole-in-the-wall” joint, she met Wei Shu because Wei Shu’s twelve-year-old cat had died and she contacted “Shining Star.” Later, Wei Shu went to the rescue station to adopt a new cat on the same day Cen Zhi was delivering food, and they gradually became friends.

As soon as the message was sent, Wei Shu replied quickly: “Coming to mooch a meal, right?”

“Specifically picking the day I’m making braised pork and stir-fried green beans.”

Cen Zhi: “Green beans?”

Wei Shu: “Just hurry up. I’ve already set out a bowl and chopsticks for you.”

“Fine.” Conveniently, she hadn’t eaten yet.

Wondering if Duan Rujin would go to that gourmet restaurant she showed her, Cen Zhi knew she couldn’t catch up now anyway. She pursed her lips and drove all the way to Wei Shu’s shop.

Wei Shu’s shop was also in a remote area. It took forty minutes to drive there from a city center spot like Linshui Road. However, this whole area was filled with similar handicraft shops, forming its own niche in Yuncheng. Customers who liked these things would make this place their first choice. Consequently, the shop was doing well when Cen Zhi arrived; there were about a dozen people in the handicraft area, mostly couples or friends in pairs.

The clerk saw Cen Zhi and gave a cheerful nod. “Sister Shu is waiting upstairs.”

“Okay.”

The two-story commercial building for “Shining Star” had to be rented, but Wei Shu didn’t have that problem. This three-story building belonged to her family. The first floor would have been empty otherwise, so she eventually used it to tinker with these trinkets. The second and third floors were living areas.

Cen Zhi went up to the second floor. Wei Shu was sitting on the sofa playing games. Seeing her enter, she called out, “I saved some for you in the kitchen. Heat it up in the microwave yourself. If I had waited for you, I would have starved to death.”

“Your place is too far.”

Wei Shu, busy with her phone, glanced up at her. “Your shop isn’t exactly close either.”

Cen Zhi laughed and went into the kitchen. Two minutes later, she came out and sat in the dining area, slowly eating her lunch while Wei Shu chatted with teammates over voice chat.

After a while, Wei Shu finished her game. She turned off her phone and sat opposite Cen Zhi, running a hand through her neat, ear-length short hair. “But seriously, A-Zhi, I had a feeling you’d show up today.”

“Lend me that intuition. Let’s see if I can sense when I’ll win the lottery or hit a 300,000 or one million jackpot on a scratcher.”

Wei Shu propped her chin in her hand. “Who doesn’t want that?”

Cen Zhi smiled and commented on the food: “A bit too much dark soy sauce in the braised pork. The green beans could have been fried a little longer.”

“You’re lucky to have food at all!”

“Thanks for the hospitality. I’m just trying to help you become a master chef.”

Wei Shu rolled her eyes. “Well, thank you very much.”

Cen Zhi put her bowl and chopsticks in the kitchen, washed them herself, and came out drying her hands. She spoke seriously to Wei Shu: “Actually, I didn’t just come here to hang out today. I have something else to do.”

“What’s up?”

“I want to paint a few wood and stone carvings to give to an…” Cen Zhi paused twice, “…acquaintance.”

They weren’t exactly friends.

“Then go down and find something she might like.”

“Okay.”

The shop was large, over a hundred square meters, with plenty of choices. Cen Zhi didn’t know what Duan Rujin liked, so she simply chose based on what was in her own car: a Shiba Inu, a Husky, an orange cat, and a British Shorthair.

Once she had the paints and brushes, Cen Zhi sat down and began seriously coloring these ornaments.

She had taken a shortcut by starting with painting rather than carving; otherwise, she doubted she would finish before Duan Rujin left Yuncheng.

But even though Cen Zhi could be very meticulous and thoughtful when cleaning a pet’s remains, coloring ornaments and painting fine details was difficult for her. By the time she finished, she looked at the four ornaments—with their somewhat chaotic color tones and mismatched eye sizes—and fell into deep thought.

Wei Shu came down from upstairs and sat beside her. Looking at the finished products, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, they’re… unique. The orange cat looks like a calico, and I don’t even know what species that Husky is supposed to be.”

“You can tell what they are, right?” Cen Zhi struggled to defend them.

Wei Shu glanced at her. “Sorry, Miss Cen. I can’t lie just because you’re my friend.”

“Forget it, this will do. She probably just mentioned it in passing anyway.”

“You’re this dedicated for something mentioned ‘in passing’?” Wei Shu gossiped in a low voice. “Which handsome guy is it? Surely it can’t be that Chen Kai from the repair shop next door.”

“…”

Cen Zhi didn’t feel like explaining. She stood up. “I’m going to go pay first.”

Wei Shu looked up at her. “Wait, A-Zhi, don’t go getting into a relationship behind my back.”

Cen Zhi waved her off.

By the time she left Wei Shu’s shop, it was already 2:00 PM. After getting into her car and looking at the ornaments in her own vehicle, Cen Zhi felt dazed again—

Right, Duan Rujin had only mentioned it in passing.

Why was she so dedicated?

Was it because she felt a bit apologetic? She couldn’t deny that. But would Duan Rujin even accept these ugly things she made?

Maybe she should swap the ones in her car with the ones she just made.

…But the ones in her car had been used for a long time. There was no logic in giving an old gift instead of a new one.

After a headache-inducing moment, Cen Zhi placed a WeChat call to Duan Rujin.

The other party answered after about ten seconds, her voice calm. “Is something wrong?”

“I have something for you.”

“What is it?”

Cen Zhi looked at her disastrous creations again but forced herself to ask: “Where are you?”

“At the hotel.”

“When is it convenient for me to give it to you?” She paused. “In person.”

Duan Rujin let out a soft laugh. “Cen Zhi, do you have something you want to say to me?”

“No.”

“No?” Duan Rujin’s voice betrayed no emotion.

Hearing this, Cen Zhi moved the phone slightly away from herself to prevent Duan Rujin from hearing her irregular breathing. After a few seconds, she spoke softly to the other end—

“Thousand Cen Cake didn’t lie.”

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