Self-Perception - Chapter 20

Hearing her aunt’s words, Gu Wansheng played along, trying to butter her up, “How can Auntie be old? You’re clearly a blooming, vibrant woman right in the prime of her career.”

“I wonder who taught you to be so ingratiating,” the woman said before hanging up the phone.

The room was well-lit. On the desk were only a computer and a small pot of cactus.

Gu Wansheng had bought the small cactus two days ago. Knowing she was going to write a novel, she specifically asked Meng Qiu to buy one, saying it could protect her eyes and purify the air.

Although she was nearsighted and didn’t really need such a thing, she didn’t interfere with Gu Wansheng’s freedom.

Midway through writing, she stopped and gently touched the spines on the cactus.

Su Muqing called. Wen Jinyan was startled by the sudden ringing of the phone, and her hand was pricked. She took a sharp, small breath.

“What is it?”

“I’ve uncovered a piece of information. Zhang Wen’s account suddenly had an extra four million yuan before she withdrew from the entertainment industry.”

“Can you find out who gave her the four million?”

“No, the other party erased the information. However, Zhang Wen later transferred one million yuan, and I can trace that destination. I’ve sent it to you.”

Wen Jinyan switched the computer screen to check the information.

Li Fei…

“Can you find the information on this person, Li Fei?”

“Yes, I’ll send it to you shortly.”

“Okay.” Wen Jinyan hung up the phone.

A knock sounded on the door. Wen Jinyan closed the page. “Please come in.”

Gu Wansheng came in, holding a box of washed green grapes. She set them down next to Wen Jinyan. “Bai Jin just sent fruit to everyone in the crew. Try some.”

The green grapes were all plump and juicy, looking very delicious.

“Thank you.” Wen Jinyan took one and ate it. It was very sweet and full of juice.

“Is it sweet?”

“It is,” Wen Jinyan said truthfully.

Hearing this, Gu Wansheng’s eyebrows curved into a beautiful arch.

“If it’s sweet, eat more. I’ve already eaten my share. This is yours.”

“Alright.”

Gu Wansheng took her gaze off Wen Jinyan’s face and inadvertently let it fall on the computer. The computer screen was still on the Word document. “I’ve always thought that people who work with words are especially amazing.”

Wen Jinyan paused in the act of biting the grape. A few seconds later, she finished chewing the remaining fruit and asked gently, “Why?”

“Because you create characters and stories. They have different personalities, traits, and ways of speaking. And when you create them, merely through words, you can immerse the reader into the world you’ve built. It’s like having the power of a creating god.”

Gu Wansheng’s voice was soft, but every word was clearly articulated, transmitting perfectly into Wen Jinyan’s ears.

“So, one must be responsible for their work,” Wen Jinyan said, her eyes cast down.

But she wasn’t. She failed to protect her own hard work. Therefore, she didn’t deserve to hold this title with a clear conscience, at least not yet.

Gu Wansheng was thrown off balance by the sudden, unrelated statement and hadn’t jumped her thinking to that context yet.

“Then what do you think of the character of the Princess?”

Gu Wansheng thought for two seconds, then slowly began, “I think she is a person of deep sentiment and great righteousness, but at the same time, she is strategic and ambitious. She would scheme for years, meticulously laying traps just to seize political power and become the first female emperor of Great Zhao, the one above ten thousand people. She would also feel pity for the common people displaced by various nations fighting over land and resources, thus planting the seed of securing peace for all under heaven.”

“Why the sudden question? Are you testing how familiar I am with the role?” Gu Wansheng teased.

“You are very dedicated and excel at grasping the essence of the character,” Wen Jinyan sincerely praised.

Her serious expression made Gu Wansheng feel a little self-conscious. She raised her hand to touch the tip of her nose. “I won’t bother you anymore, then.”

In the afternoon, both went to the set as usual. Gu Wansheng finished her makeup and went to film. Meng Qiu and several crew members were standing in a group, laughing and chatting.

Wen Jinyan, carrying a small stool, walked past and was called out to by Meng Qiu.

“Sister Jinyan, did you get to eat the green grapes Director Bai sent?”

“Mhm. I did.”

“Weren’t they very sour?” Meng Qiu winked at her.

The surrounding staff quickly chimed in, “I heard Director Bai bought them wholesale, and wholesale fruit is bound to have a few sour ones.”

“They were sour, but there were a few sweet ones. It’s just that some didn’t have much juice.”

“You wouldn’t believe it, one of our staff members ate an extremely astringent green grape last night. She has sensitive teeth, and her face was instantly contorted in agony.”

Wen Jinyan listened to their discussion.

Sour? But she thought they were very sweet.

“They weren’t sour.”

Her light, fleeting comment stood out clearly in the surrounding chatter.

“Not… sour?” Meng Qiu jested. “Then maybe you just have a high tolerance.”

The topic was quickly dropped. Wen Jinyan walked over and sat down next to Bai Jin, looking at Gu Wansheng on the monitor. A different thought popped into her head.

“Director Bai, thank you for the green grapes. They were very sweet and delicious.” She said it deliberately, wanting to probe Bai Jin’s reaction.

Bai Jin sighed. “Don’t bother comforting me. I know what kind of green grapes I bought. Even my own teeth were practically dissolving from the sourness. You have no idea, Gu Wansheng came to complain first thing this morning about what sour grapes I bought.”

“But there were still some sweet ones, right…?” Bai Jin’s voice still echoed in her ears, but Wen Jinyan seemed to have automatically filtered it out.

So, the juicy and extremely sweet green grapes she ate were all individually picked out by Gu Wansheng for her.

Wen Jinyan felt a wave of confusion.

Is she being too kind to me?

“Jinyan, Jinyan.” Bai Jin noticed she was spacing out and waved a hand in front of her.

“Hmm?” Wen Jinyan snapped back to attention.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I was wondering, Director Bai, do you still have any of yesterday’s green grapes?” Wen Jinyan looked intently at Bai Jin.

“…Yes.”

Wen Jinyan held a box of washed green grapes. The grapes were of varying sizes and hardness. They were completely different from the ones she had seen this morning.

She picked up a relatively hard one and took a bite. The sour, astringent taste immediately filled her mouth, causing her to salivate involuntarily. Wen Jinyan’s face contorted, her eyes squinted, and she spat the half-eaten grape into the trash can.

The sourness lingered in her mouth. She grabbed a nearby bottle of mineral water and rinsed her mouth.

So sour.

It felt like her teeth had gone soft from the acid.

So, Gu Wansheng was sorting through the hard, unattractive grapes, picking out the plump, juicy ones and giving them to her.

Wen Jinyan sat in the lounge, leaning back against the sofa, gazing up at the ceiling. Her shoulders were relaxed, and the box of green grapes was still resting in her palm.

They were both simply using each other for their own needs. She hoped to improve the emotional depth of the story through Gu Wansheng, while Gu Wansheng was interested in her looks. The two of them didn’t even have enough time to get to know each other, yet they got married and formed a family in just a few days.

Gu Wansheng was kind to everyone. She would hand an unopened bottle of water to a staff member who looked thirsty; she would sit on a small stool and eat a ten-yuan boxed lunch just like the crew she would humbly seek advice from other actors and when an unknown extra came to ask for guidance, she would patiently reply and help them analyze the role, even if the actor was just playing a palace maid with only one line and one movement.

She would approach it with complete enthusiasm and patience.

Perhaps an actor, fundamentally, should be like Gu Wansheng.

So, she was being very kind to her, too, because she was inherently a very gentle person.

The sound of the phone pulled Wen Jinyan’s thoughts back. It was Su Muqing calling.

“Jinyan, I found it.”

“Send it to me.” Wen Jinyan immediately sat up straight.

Wen Jinyan checked the message while Su Muqing’s voice kept coming from the phone. “Are we going to find her?”

“Yes, but not now.”

“Why?” Su Muqing’s voice conveyed confusion.

“Bai Jin is looking for someone to sing the theme song for the new movie.”

“I want to recommend Lu Wan,” Wen Jinyan’s eyes slowly sharpened. “I want to draw her into the game.”

The afternoon passed quickly. Bai Jin was in a great mood. The two leads managed to pass their scenes on the first take all afternoon, making the efficiency very high. However, she started to get stressed over the selection of the theme song singer.

In the evening, Bai Jin wrapped up early. She brought the lead actors and other key personnel into a room to discuss who would be the most suitable singer. The singer for this movie needed to be both famous and have strong vocal skills, and their voice needed to be compatible with the cinematic feel of the movie.

Everyone had different preferences, and in the end, they couldn’t reach a consensus. Bai Jin felt frustrated; the discussion tonight was pointless.

There had been singers who nominated themselves, but either their voice didn’t fit, or their emotions were too flat.

In short, none of them had the feeling she was looking for in her heart.

When Gu Wansheng returned to the room, Wen Jinyan was blow drying her hair. She walked over, took the hairdryer, and began to dry it for her.

Wen Jinyan said thank you.

Gu Wansheng half-jokingly said, “Wen Jinyan, can you stop being so polite with me?”

“Okay,” Wen Jinyan nodded.

Gu Wansheng laughed, annoyed. “What I meant was, you could express your gratitude in a different way.”

Wen Jinyan lowered her eyes, looking at her palm, and didn’t speak. When the sound of the hairdryer stopped, she turned around and gently pressed a kiss on Gu Wansheng’s cheek.

“This?” Wen Jinyan tilted her head slightly, waiting for Gu Wansheng’s answer.

Gu Wansheng paused for two seconds, then her expression slowly softened. She coiled the hairdryer cord and responded with a low sound.

“Mhm.”

The sound of running water started in the bathroom. When Gu Wansheng came out, the room light was off, leaving only a small nightlight on. She quietly walked to the other side of the bed and lay down.

She turned to her side and looked at the woman’s sleeping face.

Sleeping so soundly.

In the dim light, Gu Wansheng quietly reached out and hooked Wen Jinyan’s exposed finger.

She belatedly realized that this action was a bit stealthy, and she laughed at herself.

Why should she be so sneaky with her own wife?

The hand hooking Wen Jinyan’s little finger let go, instead holding her entire hand in her own.

The next day, Wen Jinyan arrived on set. She saw Bai Jin sitting glumly to the side, looking at some documents, while the assistant director was watching the monitor.

She glanced at the set. Gu Wansheng was not in sight, so it wasn’t her scene yet.

“Director Bai,” she called, sitting down in her usual spot.

“Mhm,” Bai Jin looked at her, responded, and then continued flipping through the documents.

“Still stressing over choosing the singer for the movie?” Wen Jinyan stared at the documents in Bai Jin’s hand.

“Yes,” Bai Jin sighed, not even wanting to look through the documents anymore.

These documents were either from people sent by investors who couldn’t sing, or self-nominated people whose voices weren’t suitable.

“I have a suggestion for a person,” Wen Jinyan said calmly.