Famous Actresses, Please Keep Your Distance From Me - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Regarding the fact that Duan Rujin was “picking her up” from work, Cen Zhi felt she was mostly used to it by now. However, the moment she saw the message, she still felt a spark of pleasant surprise. Her lips quirked up as she replied with a quick “coming down now” and started packing her things.

Wen Lin returned to the office, drying her hands, and saw Cen Zhi zipping up her bag. She raised an eyebrow. “In a hurry for a date?”

“Mhm.” Cen Zhi’s answer came without a second of hesitation.

She unilaterally considered it a date. There was no one else anyway, and besides, when Yu Lu had used the word “date” to describe the two of them before, Duan Rujin hadn’t denied it at all.

This time, it was Wen Lin’s turn to be stunned. “Huh? With who?”

“No one.”

After saying that, Cen Zhi stood up to walk around the desk. Wen Lin stuck her leg out, blocking her path, and said with a grin, “It’s ‘no one else,’ right? For you, there’s only her.”

“Would you mind retracting your leg? You think you’re the only one with long legs?”

Wen Lin shrugged and let her go, though she hadn’t really intended to stop her.

Cen Zhi reached the first floor. There weren’t many customers in the lobby; at this hour, most people were at the columbarium. Cen Zhi didn’t head over there. She said goodbye to Feng Xingxing, pushed through the glass doors, and immediately spotted Duan Rujin standing in the courtyard.

Duan Rujin was, of course, wearing her mask and hat. Cen Zhi unlocked her car, and Duan Rujin moved in sync, walking to the passenger side and sliding in. Cen Zhi gave a light cough to suppress her smile before slipping into the driver’s seat herself.

“I thought ‘Hong Huo’ would be in the car,” Duan Rujin started.

Cen Zhi shook her head. “No.” She started the engine. “I left it at home.”

Duan Rujin watched the scenery ahead turn into a wide road and asked, “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know,” Cen Zhi replied with a question of her own. “Is there somewhere you want to go?”

Duan Rujin hummed in thought. “No.” Then, as if remembering something, she added, “Wait, actually, there is. I want to see a movie. A friend has a film with a limited screening these few days, and I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Lu Ling’s Drift?”

“Yes.” Duan Rujin answered, then paused. “Wait, how did you know?”

Cen Zhi pursed her lips and said with feigned helplessness, “Maybe because I also use the internet.”

In reality, she knew because she followed Duan Rujin’s Weibo. Duan Rujin had promoted Lu Ling’s new film, and the two had reminisced in the comments about their deep sisterhood from their time on the same film set. Lu Ling and Duan Rujin interacted frequently, and they seemed to have a very good relationship.

“Then I’ll buy the tickets? Shall we eat first?”

“Okay.”

After finishing dinner at their usual restaurant, they headed to a nearby cinema.

Drift was a suspense thriller. Since its official release date was during the May Day holiday, it didn’t have a Douban score yet, but the word-of-mouth from the early screenings was quite positive—at least the plot wasn’t a mess.

Of course, Cen Zhi wasn’t actually that passionate about movies. These days, who she was with mattered far more than what they were watching. They had watched a movie together the night they drank at Duan Rujin’s house, but that was in a private home; this was different.

Back then, she didn’t have so many “motives.”

Having just finished dinner, neither of them felt like buying popcorn. They just picked up a bottle of mineral water from a shop outside. They soon entered the theater, collected their tickets, and took their seats. The hall wasn’t very large, but since this was the only screening tonight, it was fairly crowded.

Duan Rujin had chosen seats at the very end of a row. They didn’t have to squeeze past anyone; they could walk straight in from the front. She took off her hat, but kept her mask on for a while since people were still trickling into the aisle, murmuring “excuse me” and “sorry” as they passed in front of them.

Soon, the movie started, and the theater went dark. Duan Rujin finally removed her mask and began watching seriously.

Occasionally, the sound of people whispering theories about the plot would rise in the theater. By comparison, the two of them were perfect audience members—staring straight at the screen, barely turning their heads, only moving to take a sip of water.

It wasn’t until near the end when the killer suddenly lunged out. Because of his terrifying makeup, Duan Rujin was startled into grabbing Cen Zhi’s hand. Her upper body leaned over instinctively, her face burying into Cen Zhi’s shoulder. Her reaction was relatively quiet; others in the theater actually yelped.

The scene passed quickly. Duan Rujin didn’t maintain the pose; she let go of the hand and straightened up, acting as if nothing had happened.

But that was a reflexive reaction. She worried that reacting like that was a bit “cliché” or outdated. Would Cen Zhi suspect her? Suspect that she did it on purpose? Duan Rujin pursed her lips, lost in thought.

The movie was over two hours long. Because the pacing was tight, it didn’t feel tedious, and the twists were excellent. As people filed out, the general consensus was that it was a “good watch.”

Cen Zhi and Duan Rujin waited until most of the crowd had left before moving. Their water was almost finished, so they tossed the trash on their way out. Duan Rujin pulled on her mask and joined the discussion like everyone else: “I really didn’t suspect that killer at first. This movie is so anti-trope.”

Cen Zhi glanced at her sideways, her eyes full of mirth. “Mhm. It certainly managed to give you a fright.”

Duan Rujin endured the embarrassment. “Weren’t you scared then?”

“I was,” Cen Zhi said, drawing out the word. “But you chased it away for me.”

They had already exited the cinema. The sky outside was dark, making the neon lights flicker even brighter. Duan Rujin’s exposed eyes seemed even more luminous. “Do I have the power to exorcise demons and ward off evil?”

Cen Zhi didn’t know if Duan Rujin truly didn’t understand or was just playing dumb. She thought for a moment, reached out, and pulled Duan Rujin’s hand. Then, she lowered her head and rested it on Duan Rujin’s shoulder.

There weren’t many pedestrians on this stretch of road, and their behavior looked perfectly normal—like a friend leaning on another after a long day of fun.

But Duan Rujin knew it wasn’t like that. She felt as if she had been pinned to the spot.

“It’s like this,” Cen Zhi said, reaching out with her other hand to take Duan Rujin’s, her fingertips intentionally or unintentionally grazing Duan Rujin’s palm. “Before I even had time to react, you appeared.”

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