Famous Actresses, Please Keep Your Distance From Me - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

“Boring.”

Cen Zhi couldn’t be bothered to entertain Wen Lin. Just as she was about to get into her car, a face she hadn’t seen in days appeared at the yard entrance—it was Chen Kai. He didn’t come with flowers this time; he just stood there rigidly at the gate. His reasonably handsome face was stained with grease from repairing cars, and his work uniform was much the same.

Wen Lin raised an eyebrow, tucked away her teasing expression, and dropped a quick “I’m heading in to work” before disappearing through the front door.

Chen Kai walked over slowly, an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry, Cen Zhi.” He sounded nervous. “I knew you weren’t working today, but I just wanted to try my luck. I didn’t expect you to be here. If I’d known, I would have changed into clean clothes before coming to see you.”

“Is there something you need?” Cen Zhi kept her hand on the car door, her expression flat.

“It’s my birthday in a few days. Could you… for the sake of us being friends, come over for a meal?” Chen Kai added hurriedly, “I mean everyone from your shop can come, including Boss Wen, Xiao Feng, Zhang Lin, and the others.”

Cen Zhi’s expression didn’t change as she gave a polite refusal. “I’m sorry, everyone in our shop has staggered shifts. We really can’t get away.”

“Oh, well…”

Chen Kai forced a smile. “That’s okay.”

“Happy birthday in advance. If there’s nothing else, I have my own things to take care of.”

Chen Kai looked anxious for a moment. “Cen Zhi,” he asked, “I’ve thought a lot lately, and I still have to ask… is there really no chance at all? Why? I’m 1.83 meters tall, I don’t smoke or drink, you can take over the management of my shop if you want, I have abs… is it because of my education? I’ve been in this trade since high school, I—”

“No.” Cen Zhi looked him in the eye, not even bothering to give him a reason.

Those two letters were enough to choke back the rest of his words. He hung his head and said, “Alright.” He let out a bitter chuckle. “But it’s okay. I’ll always like you.”

Cen Zhi: “…”

Cen Zhi: “I have to go.”

She climbed into the car and shut the door, isolating herself from the outside world. She didn’t turn her head to give him another glance.

Liking someone might not need a reason, but not liking someone definitely does. The most direct reason she didn’t like Chen Kai was simply that she didn’t like men.

When had she realized that?

It seemed she’d known since puberty. She had zero interest in the “handsome guys” at school who were praised to the heavens, yet she’d once accidentally clicked on a lesbian film and watched it with rapt attention, accompanied by physical reactions. She’d had crushes on senior girls and sweet girls in her own grade, until things went wrong at home and she stopped thinking about such things altogether.

She hit it off with Wen Lin back then precisely because Wen Lin was the same. In a chance conversation, they had both come out to each other. But with the weight of debt literally crushing them, they both buried that side of themselves.

Consequently, they became “straight girls” in Yu Lu’s eyes.

Cen Zhi drove, her mind wandering, until her thoughts jumped back to the paper sunflower in Duan Rujin’s Weibo post today.

And that sentence: “She said these flowers suit you very well.”

If sunflowers were the flower Duan Rujin used to describe herself, then what did that sentence mean?

Cen Zhi couldn’t find an answer. Or rather, she didn’t dare to think of one. What right did she have to think such things?

Duan Rujin settled in Liucheng. After a brief rest, she and Xiao Yuan went to a rescue station. The stations in Liucheng weren’t even as good as those in Yuncheng, likely because they lacked the sponsorship from shops like Cen Zhi’s “Shining Star.” The animals’ food supplies were limited, and they all looked thin and frail. Unable to stand it, she immediately arranged for truckloads of cat and dog food to be delivered.

The station manager’s eyes turned red instantly as he thanked her for the donation.

Duan Rujin kept that scene in her heart, but looking at the animals left a heavy feeling that was hard to describe. She was quiet for the rest of the day, barely ate a few bites of dinner, and returned to her hotel room. After a shower, she had a video meeting with her team to discuss the situation.

By the time they finished, it was 10:00 PM.

After a morning of traveling and an afternoon at the rescue station, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t tired. However, this level of intensity was nothing compared to the overnight shoots she used to do. She could handle it. She just felt a bit sad looking at her WeChat, where her chat history with Cen Zhi had stayed silent since noon.

Naturally, she hoped Cen Zhi would take the initiative to message her.

But half a day had passed, and the chat box remained motionless. She rolled over in bed, then rolled back, biting her lip. She decided that at this stage, it was better not to be coy. She’d been proactive countless times before; one more wouldn’t hurt. Besides, Cen Zhi had said she needed time to adapt, so sending a message shouldn’t be a problem.

So, she posted a message in the “Go Fur-babies Go” group.

Fine. I’ll be a little more reserved.

She posted photos she took in Liucheng today. The first person to respond wasn’t Yu Lu, but Cen Zhi.

The orange emoji appeared on the screen: “Hard work.”

Duan Rujin sat up instantly. She began to analyze the information she’d received.

First, Cen Zhi replied instantly, which meant she was looking at her phone. Second, Cen Zhi was on her phone but hadn’t messaged her privately—what did that prove?

No, I can’t overthink this. If she did, her mind would inevitably spiral toward the worst-case scenario.

By Any Means: “It was fine!”

By Any Means: “I petted a cat today. Luckily, I can tell now if they’re being hostile, so I didn’t get bitten.”

Cen Zhi said: “That’s good.”

The two were being so polite and formal.

Duan Rujin rubbed her temples, feeling that this was much harder than acting. At least with a script, she knew what kind of person her character was, but when facing Cen Zhi, she was truly at a loss. She decided to stop talking to Cen Zhi in the group and wait for Yu Lu to save the day.

But Yu Lu didn’t show up, busy with heaven-knows-what, and her private chat with Cen Zhi remained quiet.

About half an hour passed.

Duan Rujin received a private message from Cen Zhi. Seeing the red “1” pop up on that avatar’s top-right corner, she almost jumped for joy.

But once she saw the content, she felt like she couldn’t take it—

“What did you mean by “sunflowers suit me very well”?”

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