Famous Actresses, Please Keep Your Distance From Me - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Cen Zhi had never dined alone with Duan Rujin before.

Back in university, she rarely participated in class activities. Even on the rare occasions she did, there were always many people around. Eating with Duan Rujin like this—just the two of them—was a first.

And it would be the last.

The atmosphere wasn’t exactly lively, but it wasn’t cold either.

By the time they finished, Duan Rujin looked into her eyes and remarked with a sigh of contentment, “This meal was very pleasant, Cen Zhi.”

Cen Zhi wiped her mouth and gave a faint smile. “Thank you for the treat.”

“Is it finally my turn to say ‘you’re welcome’?”

Paying didn’t require going to the front desk; Duan Rujin summoned the waiter and scanned a code. Afterward, she put back on her denim hat and mask, rendering her unrecognizable once more.

She seemed to have an endless supply of hats, none of them repeating.

The thought flashed through Cen Zhi’s mind, though she found it logical; given Duan Rujin’s current status as a spotlight-stealing star, she might face personal safety risks if she didn’t hide herself well. Cen Zhi had seen her fair share of news regarding obsessive fans.

“Let’s go.” Having settled the bill, Duan Rujin called her back from her thoughts.

Cen Zhi stood up. “Mhm.”

Duan Rujin carried her bag and the gift sack out of the room first. Cen Zhi followed behind, and within a few steps, they were walking side-by-side again. A restaurant without a main hall was much quieter; there were mostly just waiters weaving back and forth.

They walked in silence all the way to the outdoor parking lot.

There were more cars parked here than when they had arrived. Cen Zhi immediately spotted the Wuling Hongguang Mini, adorned with Kuromi stickers, about ten meters away.

“The waiter gave me some mints just now. Do you want some?” After a few steps, Duan Rujin spoke first. As she did, she tilted her hat brim up, revealing more of her smooth forehead. She held out her other hand, palm up, with a few green-wrapped mints resting on it.

The night breeze brushed through Cen Zhi’s hair. She gave a small shake of her head. “Thanks, but I’m not fond of sweets.”

Duan Rujin closed her hand. “Okay.” Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “You still have work to do, so… goodbye for now.”

Cen Zhi nodded in response. “Alright.” A smile finally reached her face. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Cen Zhi turned away. Her car was in a different direction, a bit further off. By the time she got into her seat, she caught sight of the Wuling Hongguang Mini driving out of the main gate. Within seconds, its taillights vanished from her view.

She rolled her window down slightly and drove her car out as well.

It was strange.

A trace of reluctance had sprouted in her heart.

She suppressed this abnormal emotion that shouldn’t belong to her and headed back to “Shining Star” first. From there, she joined Wen Lin in the shop’s van to head to the cat café. They arrived about ten minutes earlier than the scheduled 8:00 PM.

This cat café usually stayed open until 10:00 PM, but at only 7:40, a “Closed” sign was already hanging up—with the words “For One Month” added in front of it.

Quite a few people had come to the entrance to leave bouquets of chrysanthemums, forming a small mountain of flowers on the ground.

The area was quite prosperous. Passersby occasionally asked out of curiosity what had happened; upon hearing the news, they would sigh, curse that “animal abusers truly deserve to die,” and walk away with their companions.

Cen Zhi and Wen Lin exchanged a look, both letting out a heavy sigh.

They approached the door. The clerk standing guard had red, swollen eyes. After they explained their purpose, the clerk let them in, tears beginning to fall again.

The cat café had three floors; the incident had occurred on the first.

The other cats that weren’t harmed had been moved upstairs. On the first-floor tiles, five white cloths were laid out, creating a stark, vivid contrast with the patches of partially congealed blood nearby.

The owner was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees with a blank, numb expression. Seeing them enter, she weakly moved her pale lips: “I’ll leave them to you.”

Half an hour later, Duan Rujin returned to her hotel. She had been in a joyful mood the entire way. She didn’t feel particularly unsettled by her parting with Cen Zhi, because she firmly believed they would truly meet again. The source of all her positive energy was the bag she was carrying.

These small ornaments were unremarkable, but Cen Zhi had painted them.

That made them more precious than anything else.

She washed her hands first before sitting on the sofa. She gently took the small boxes out of the bag one by one. In the restaurant, she had pretended not to care much about these trifles, but now there was no need to hide. The deep smile in her eyes betrayed her completely.

When her assistant, Xiao Yuan, entered the room, this was the scene she witnessed. She leaned in to look at the ornaments and asked in confusion, “What is this one supposed to be, Sis?”

“I don’t know,” Duan Rujin replied uncertainly as she opened a transparent box. “A Husky, maybe?”

“A Husky in this color?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Duan Rujin shot her a look. “If you’re so bored, go pack your things. We’re heading back to Haicheng tomorrow.”

Xiao Yuan had been her assistant for several years. She was two years younger than Duan Rujin and looked like a cute girl, but in reality, she was incredibly strong with well-developed biceps and a meticulous way of working. The two of them got along well, behaving more like friends or sisters.

“I’m not bored. I want to watch you unbox them.” Xiao Yuan said knowingly, “A gift from someone you wanted to see, right?”

Duan Rujin raised an eyebrow. “Mhm.”

Soon, all four ornaments were unpacked and lined up neatly on the coffee table. Duan Rujin took out her phone to photograph them, then started pondering another problem: “Where should I put them?”

“At home?”

Duan Rujin mused, “I think I’ll carry one with me to ‘fiddle’ with whenever I go out.”

“I’m seriously afraid you’ll rub the paint right off it, Sis.”

Duan Rujin shot her another look, then gave in to fate a little. “It’s not impossible.” She smiled wryly. “It wasn’t easy to meet her again, and it wasn’t easy to get this thing.”

Xiao Yuan was innocent and oblivious. “I haven’t experienced that feeling yet.” She stood up. “I’ll head back to my room then. Sis, the flight is at 11:00 AM tomorrow. Don’t oversleep; I’ll come to wake you on time.”

“Got it.”

Once Xiao Yuan left, Duan Rujin gathered the ornaments and put them back into their boxes. She followed suit by packing her own belongings, carefully placing the four boxes into her suitcase.

An hour later, having showered and dried her hair, she leaned against the headboard and opened her WeChat chat with Cen Zhi.

Cen Zhi’s profile picture was a star shining in the sky. She knew it represented the shop Cen Zhi now ran. Over the past few days, she had searched for what a pet mortician’s job entailed, so she was well aware of how time-consuming and demanding Cen Zhi’s work tonight would be.

Her finger hovered over the input box for a long time, but in the end, she sent nothing. She looked up at the ceiling lights and let out a long sigh, muttering to herself: “Should I ask if she wants to sleep with me again? Would that be too abrupt?”

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