She Said She Has Feelings For Someone - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Reunion

Nine years is a very long time.

It was a bright and beautiful April day in L-City. The new City Gymnasium in the North District had recently passed inspection and was set to officially open next month. However, at this moment, the gym was far from empty; in fact, it was quite bustling.

“Shuyu.”

By the monitors, a woman had her mid-length hair tied loosely in a bun. The papers in her hand were a chaotic mix of black printed text and red handwritten corrections. “Are you ready?”

Beneath the climbing wall in the filming area, Lu Shuyu stood tall, efficiently clipping her safety rope with one hand. Hearing her name, she turned her head, her high ponytail swinging in a sharp, graceful arc.

“Ready, PD Song.”

Lu Shuyu’s voice was crisp and energetic. Her amber eyes were filled with a bright, youthful spirit. After speaking, she gave an “OK” gesture to the assistant director following her.

The assistant director nodded and adjusted his position. Song Yi kept her eyes on the monitor, raising her hand. The rustling of the papers in her grip drew the attention of the entire crew.

“Alright, get ready. Three, two, one—action!”

On camera, Lu Shuyu scaled the wall rapidly. Her core strength was exceptional; she moved as if gravity didn’t apply to her, nimbly pulling herself upward. The climbing wall was four meters high. When she reached the midpoint, she glanced up and smiled at the camera: “Keep up.”

With a long stride, she used her core and arm strength to reach the most extreme hold in the upper right corner. In a flash, she drifted up like a feather.

She reached the peak quickly, pushed herself up onto the platform with both arms, and pressed the buzzer. She flashed a “V” sign at the fixed camera as her closing pose.

“Great! Cut!” Outside the set, Song Yi stood up and clapped happily. “Producer Lu, your climbing skills are getting sharper by the day.”

The assistant director hurried back to the monitor to watch the playback with the Director-in-Chief. After watching, the Director-in-Chief nodded. “I think this take was excellent.”

By then, Lu Shuyu had walked over. The Director-in-Chief teased, “Exactly. This isn’t a demonstration for the guests; it’s a total flex.”

Lu Shuyu smiled composedly. “It’s just practice. You guys could do it too if you trained more.”

She stepped behind the monitor as the Director-in-Chief replayed the footage. “No thanks. Since becoming your Director-in-Chief, I’ve evolved into someone who can’t lift a finger. I want to live another two years; I’m not looking for trouble.”

The assistant director laughed. Lu Shuyu ignored the banter and focused on the playback. “The camera work is getting more precise. At this rate, the final cut for the official shoot should be great.”

To film the variety show Silent Gold, they had collaborated with the L-City government to borrow this gym. Six challenge facilities had been set up inside. With the official shoot approaching, today served as both an equipment check and a dry run. Rock climbing was the final item.

As the crew finished watching the last shot, Song Yi smiled. “Everyone has improved so fast. I remember when we shot Velocity 60 Seconds last year, it took a long time for the team to sync up.”

“Especially Assistant Director Chen,” she said, looking at Chen Qian. “You’re the new blood in the team. Thank you for working so hard to integrate so quickly.”

Velocity 60 Seconds was the first variety show Song Yi and Lu Shuyu co-produced last year. Back then, they faced immense pressure to build a team led and created primarily by women. Following its success, they kept the original female staff and expanded, forming an all-female creative team. Assistant Director Chen Qian was one of the new members.

As the pillars and leaders of the team, praise from Lu Shuyu and Song Yi carried significant weight. The eyes of the staff members lit up with pride.

Chen Qian felt a wave of relief. “Thank you, PD Song. It’s my job.”

Director-in-Chief Chi Shan had been friends with Song Yi for eight years and Lu Shuyu for six. Her personality was outgoing, and she expressed “love” freely. She glanced at the crowd, clutched her heart dramatically, and said shyly, “Aww, it’s all because our two PDs led us so well!”

The crowd burst into laughter. Song Yi looked away, smiling, while Lu Shuyu’s lips curled slightly. “If Chief Director Chi ever switches to acting, I’m sure you’ll have a great career.”

“Actually,” Chi Shan rubbed her chin, “I think I’ve got a shot!”

Her confidence and playfulness made everyone laugh, dissolving the tension of the day’s work.

Seeing this, Lu Shuyu checked the time. “PD Song, it’s about time.”

“Right, let’s wrap it up here for today,” Song Yi announced. “Thank you for cleaning up, everyone. Tomorrow is a rest day, and we start the official shoot the day after.” Before anyone could respond, she added, “We’re heading to President Min’s dinner party in a bit. You guys can go out for a nice meal tonight—on the company! Keep the receipts for reimbursement.”

“Whoa!” The crowd cheered, looking at each other before shouting in unison: “Thank you, Boss!”

The volume of dozens of people was deafening. Song Yi and the others flinched at the noise, but Lu Shuyu had already covered her ears, her amber eyes looking calm and innocent.

Chi Shan, unwilling to let her get away with it, shouted, “It was Producer Lu who suggested the treat to President Min herself!”

The moment she spoke, Lu Shuyu grabbed her bag and bolted, ignoring the cheers echoing through the stadium: “Thank you, Producer Lu!”

…

Outside, it was mid-afternoon. The spring day was clear and the sunlight was perfect.

Coming from the enclosed gym, Lu Shuyu took a deep breath of fresh air and felt a vibration in her bag. It was a message from Min Wutong: — I’ve boarded. Should land in about two hours. Might be ten minutes late to the venue.

After a quick reply, Lu Shuyu put her phone away. She couldn’t control the way her heart began to race.

Tonight… she would finally see her.

“Shuyu? Why are you just standing there?”

Lu Shuyu turned around. “President Min said she’ll be a bit late.”

Min Wutong was always busy, so they weren’t surprised. Chi Shan nodded. “Let’s go then. It’s a bit over an hour’s drive.”

Just then, Chen Qian waved her hand. “You guys go ahead. I have to pick up Film Queen Xia.”

Film Queen Xia…

Lu Shuyu froze for a second. Song Yi glanced at her and said, “Together then? It’s on the way.”

“No, no,” Chen Qian waved her off. “I have to stay overnight in B-City anyway, and I have some things to pick up.”

“Alright,” Chi Shan didn’t push. “See you tonight then. Don’t forget your invitation.”

Once the car was on the road, Chi Shan finally let out her excitement. “My god, I’m actually going to meet Film Queen Xia in person tonight. It’s unbelievable.”

In the front seat, Song Yi tilted her head toward Lu Shuyu in the driver’s seat. The latter was expressionless, looking intensely focused on the road.

Song Yi smiled and picked up the conversation. “All the guests will be there tonight. Why do you only remember Film Queen Xia?”

“Oh, come on!” Chi Shan lightly tapped the back of Song Yi’s seat. “Of course every guest is great, but that’s the Xia Leshuang! Best Actress at eighteen! The youngest Film Queen ever!”

After her fangirl moment, she remembered something else and leaned forward, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lu Shuyu. “Shuyu! You and the Film Queen were high school classmates. You must know a lot about her back then, right?”

Chi Shan couldn’t see her face, so she looked in the rearview mirror. Lu Shuyu didn’t look back; she just gave a faint smile. “We weren’t that close.”

She sounded calm, as if they really were strangers.

“Well, she was probably very busy back then,” Song Yi said. “Didn’t she take a year off school for the movie that won her the Best Actress award?”

Chi Shan realized, “True.” She relaxed back into her seat. “Being born with the ability to earn money like that… I guess she didn’t have much of a childhood.”

She sounded wistful, and a brief silence fell over the car.

Lu Shuyu kept her eyes straight on the road, but her grip on the steering wheel tightened.

“The weather is so nice today,” Song Yi remarked, looking out the window before turning on the car’s audio system.

A familiar melody softly filled the car. Chi Shan recognized it immediately. “Against the Light?”

“Sigh,” Chi Shan shook her head. “The Film Queen likes Stefanie Sun, too. If she wasn’t a ‘star child,’ you two probably could have been friends.”

The car stopped at a red light. Lu Shuyu rolled down the window. A warm spring breeze drifted in, and she let out a soft, quiet breath.

The two accompanied her home to change. By the time they reached the dinner venue, the sun was already burning red in the sky.

The sign for “Chun Lan” lit up with a gentle glow. It was a high-end private club owned by a friend of Min Wutong. As the three reached the entrance, Lu Shuyu suddenly remembered something. She stopped in her tracks and let out a frustrated “Ah,” causing the other two to look at her.

“Sorry,” Lu Shuyu said. “I forgot the invitations.”

Seeing her rare lapse, Chi Shan laughed. “As steady as you are, you can actually be this clumsy?”

Luckily, Lu Shuyu only had her and Song Yi’s invitations. Chi Shan had kept her own.

Lu Shuyu didn’t have time to argue; making such a scatterbrained mistake really wasn’t her style.

“You go in first,” Song Yi patted Chi Shan’s shoulder. “I’ll go back with her. We have time.”

When the two finally returned with the invitations, they happened to run into Chen Qian at the door.

And the tall, slender figure standing beside Chen Qian.

The moment her eyes met those clear, dark eyes, Lu Shuyu didn’t expect that she would ever see a world-ending catastrophe reflected in someone’s gaze. She wanted to smile, but she couldn’t.

This meeting—from the autumn of age sixteen to the spring of age twenty-six—had spanned exactly nine years.

Nine years is a long time. Long enough to change many things. For example, back then, their friendship started because Xia Leshuang took the initiative.

But now…

“Film Queen Xia?” Song Yi’s greeting went unanswered because Xia Leshuang was staring blankly at Lu Shuyu, unable to look away.

“Leshuang!” Chen Qian gave her a gentle nudge. Only then did she snap out of it.

Song Yi reached out her hand. “Hello, Film Queen Xia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hello, PD Song.”

She wore a flawless commercial smile, but Lu Shuyu could sense the forced, hollow nature of it. It was so different from the Xia Leshuang in her memories.

Seeing that she had no intention of greeting her, Lu Shuyu took the initiative and reached out her hand. “Xia Leshuang, long time no see.”

Xia Leshuang’s eyes lowered. Her long eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings before she pursed her lips and lightly took the hand.

“Long time no see.”

She kept her eyes down, her voice airy and faint, as if she were extremely introverted.

Lu Shuyu couldn’t help but think back to their first meeting in the autumn when she was sixteen. She had fallen into Xia Leshuang’s arms and been teased as the “Little Sister Lu” who fell from the sky.

Back then, she was the one with her eyes down, not daring to look up.