Famous Actresses, Please Keep Your Distance From Me - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Considering that neither of them had a high tolerance for alcohol, they ended up slowly sipping low-alcohol fruit wine while fitfully watching a movie. By the time it was completely dark outside, neither of them felt even the slightest bit tipsy.

Cen Zhi didn’t want to trouble Xiao Yuan, so she called Wen Lin to pick her up—after all, Wen Lin treated her the same way.

Wen Lin didn’t refuse, but seeing how sober Cen Zhi looked, she was somewhat speechless. “Can’t you get a little more drunk? Otherwise, I feel like calling me out here is a waste of resources.”

“I have a high tolerance, I can’t help it.” Cen Zhi pulled the seatbelt across and buckled it.

Wen Lin started the car and snorted, “You? A high tolerance?”

“…”

“Don’t look down on people.”

Wen Lin drove onto the main road and brought up another topic. “Still, I think things are moving pretty fast between you and Duan Rujin. It hasn’t been long, and you’re already a guest at her place.”

“It’s alright.” On this matter, Cen Zhi remained somewhat guarded.

Wen Lin noticed this and chuckled. “Relax, I’m not going to try to exploit her business-wise. If I were going to do that, I would have leaked it the day she sent you those sunflowers. I’d go on ‘Little Red Book’ and post a title like ‘Ran into Duan Rujin at a Pet Crematorium,’ then when people in the comments ask which one, I’d say ‘Shining Star’…”

“You really have an overactive imagination.”

Cen Zhi rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her phone screen lit up at that moment. She lowered her lashes, unlocked the phone, and opened WeChat.

It was a message from the person they were just talking about, Duan Rujin.

By Any Means: “Remember to let me know when you get home.” She also attached a cute cat emoji.

Cen Zhi’s fingertips hovered over the screen before she replied with a single character: “Mhm.” Then she added three more: “Not home yet.”

“I know you’re not there yet, it’s only been a few minutes since we parted.”

Parted…

For a split second, Cen Zhi felt a sense of trance. She really tended to overthink things; even though Duan Rujin was stating a fact, Cen Zhi felt as if she and Duan Rujin were somehow “hard to part.”

In reality, they weren’t. She had messaged Wen Lin quickly, left calmly and decisively, felt no lingering attachment to the apartment, and had simply given Duan Rujin a normal nod and a “goodbye” before leaving. The distance between them was growing by the minute.

And yet, it was as if she could still smell the fragrance on Duan Rujin’s body—a light, indescribable scent. Her thoughts drifted with the wind as Cen Zhi pursed her lips and closed her eyes.

It was getting late, and there were fewer cars on the road. Wen Lin was a more impatient driver than she was, so they arrived at the apartment complex five minutes earlier than expected. The fruit wine didn’t have much of a lingering effect; Cen Zhi felt more sober than ever.

She lived on the floor below Wen Lin and was the first to step out of the elevator. Upon returning to her familiar home, she suddenly realized something—

Ever since seeing Duan Rujin again, her previously orderly life seemed to have been “shattered.” Before, she only went to pet hospitals to coordinate with veterinarians; now she had to accompany Duan Rujin to the clinic for shots. Before, the things she made at Wei Shu’s shop were brought home; now, two times in a row, she had given them to Duan Rujin—or rather, she had gone there specifically for her. And now, she even had to message Duan Rujin when she got home.

Cen Zhi sat down on the sofa, her lips pressed together. She was already home, but she hadn’t told Duan Rujin. She didn’t seem quite adapted to this change. Her fingertips hesitated, unable to bring herself to type “I’m home.” Feeling a bit restless, she stood up and went to the bedroom to get her pajamas for a shower.

On the other end of the phone, Duan Rujin was still slowly pouring herself more fruit wine. Xiao Yuan wasn’t drinking. She actually could, but as Duan Rujin’s assistant, she was very strict with herself. She felt Duan Rujin treated her well and didn’t mind being a bodyguard too, so she practiced boxing and combat training every other day and had naturally quit drinking.

After Duan Rujin finished another glass of peach wine, she stared at her phone again. It had been over half an hour since Cen Zhi left, and there was still no message. Based on what she heard Cen Zhi say at lunch about knowing Yu Lu, Yu Lu lived in that area, which definitely wasn’t that far from here. At this time, the traffic wouldn’t be as bad as rush hour. Cen Zhi must have arrived home already.

She just hadn’t messaged her.

Duan Rujin wanted to reach for her phone again to ask if she was home, but she felt that would be too proactive. Even though she had been proactive many times, how could this be the same? She had already told Cen Zhi to send a message when she got home; asking again would seem excessive.

“We’re going to Liucheng tomorrow, Sis,” Xiao Yuan reminded her while playing a game. “You should stop drinking.”

Duan Rujin looked at the empty bottle and glass in front of her and replied, “I’m done. None of this can get me drunk anyway.”

“…Maybe because it’s not the kind of wine meant to get you drunk?”

“Saying that only makes me want to open a bottle that can get me drunk.”

Xiao Yuan shut up. “Understood.”

Duan Rujin was in a bad mood. She didn’t like this feeling of being led along by Cen Zhi. It was fine when they weren’t seeing each other, but now that they could meet and had become “friends,” there was a faint sense of losing control, which made her uneasy. She knew the main reason was that she was the only one having these mental brainstorms; Cen Zhi truly just saw her as a friend and nothing more.

It was truly… frustrating.

The more Duan Rujin thought about it, the more dazed she felt. Her mind was filled with the image of Cen Zhi rejecting that man whose name she couldn’t remember. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop; she just happened to stumble upon it, and those words were now buzzing in her head.

– I rejected you from the start. You insisted on sending me flowers, and I accepted them to save your face, but you don’t seem to understand what I mean, or you’re just pretending to be stupid. – I have a record of all the flowers you sent, and I will repay you for all of them at market price.

Duan Rujin wouldn’t insist on sending flowers, but would Cen Zhi also keep a record of that bouquet of sunflowers? If she were to confess one day in the future, would Cen Zhi also say something like “I will repay you at market price”?

No, that’s not right, because Cen Zhi had already given her paper sunflowers whose value couldn’t be described by a price.

The more she thought, the more dizzy she became. Duan Rujin rubbed her temples. Xiao Yuan’s voice nearby didn’t sound very clear. She realized belatedly that her tolerance really was poor, or rather, the alcohol content of that bottle of peach wine was actually quite high. She was a little drunk.

Xiao Yuan put down her phone and stopped playing her game. she got up to go to the kitchen to mix some honey water. During that time, she watched Duan Rujin tossing and turning on the sofa, her brow furrowed in a way that Duan Rujin couldn’t seem to smooth out no matter how she rubbed it.

“Sis, get up and have some honey water.” Xiao Yuan crouched down beside her.

Duan Rujin refused. “No need.”

She felt clear-headed, but her thoughts were spreading too fast and too negatively. She couldn’t take it, and her eyes began to redden. She covered her face. “Go home, Xiao Yuan, or go to the guest room. Just leave me alone.”

“Okay…”

Once she was alone in the living room, Duan Rujin let out a long breath. She didn’t understand how she had endured all these years, only to become so fragile now. Just because Cen Zhi hadn’t messaged her as expected, she was overthinking this much.

Just as she was feeling lost, her phone suddenly rang. It wasn’t a phone call, but the sound of a WeChat call. Few people called her on WeChat except for Cen Zhi, who didn’t have her phone number. Was it Cen Zhi again?

Duan Rujin opened her eyes groarily. Xiao Yuan had thoughtfully dimmed the lights before going into the guest room, so it wasn’t too bright. She opened WeChat and saw the caller ID was an orange emoji.

Ever since she realized her feelings several years ago, oranges had become her favorite fruit—simply because the name sounded a bit like “Cen,” though not exactly.

She gave a light cough, sat up, and answered the call Cen Zhi had initiated, trying to sound calm. Before she could even say “Hello,” she heard Cen Zhi speak:

“I’m still getting used to it. I’ve never been in a situation where I had to tell a friend I’m home.”

Cen Zhi paused. “But I’m home. Goodnight.”

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