She Said She Has Feelings For Someone - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Utopia — The Little Fish is Hooked.

When the news arrived that the guest group wanted to travel to F-City alongside the production team, Lu Shuyu had just met up with Zheng Yu.

The two hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Zheng Yu performed a hundred-meter sprint straight into Lu Shuyu’s arms. Luckily, Shuyu had a stable stance and caught her firmly.

“My little Shuyu baby—” Zheng Yu hugged her and sniffed her like a cat. “I missed you to death!”

Lu Shuyu couldn’t help but laugh, gently patting her friend’s back. “You straight girl with zero sense of boundaries, please let me go?”

Zheng Yu let go instantly, glancing around like a thief. “What’s wrong? Did Best Actress Xia come too?”

Zheng Yu knew about the reunion with Xia Leshuang, but both had been too busy to talk about the details. Zheng Yu was also one of only two people who knew about Shuyu’s long-standing crush on Xia Leshuang.

“She’s not here! I can’t stand you.” Lu Shuyu headed toward the mall. “Hurry up, let’s get food. I’m starving.”

Zheng Yu breathed a sigh of relief and corrected her righteously: “I just haven’t fallen for anyone in real life! Don’t call me a straight girl!”

“Fine, fine,” Lu Shuyu nodded, then teased, “But technically it fits. You’re ‘steel-plate straight’—impenetrable, loving no one, just a slab of straight steel~”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Zheng Yu pouted.

They met at a grilled fish restaurant. They had known each other since middle school. Back then, Zheng Yu was so insecure about her nickname “Steamed Fish” (Zheng Yu) that she wouldn’t even eat fish. Later, Lu Shuyu wrote an anonymous letter to comfort her, praising how cute “Steamed Fish” was. However, because Shuyu’s handwriting was so recognizable, the anonymous letter became a signed one. From then on, Zheng Yu always sought her out, and they slowly became best friends.

Recalling these old stories while watching the person in front of her eat fish with great gusto, Lu Shuyu’s expression softened, her smile deepening.

Zheng Yu looked up, saw Shuyu’s face, shivered, and threw her a flirtatious wink: “What? Falling for me?”

… The filter shattered. Lu Shuyu had nothing to say except to offer a giant eye-roll.

“Hahaha…” Zheng Yu laughed uncontrollably.

As they chatted about their lives, Zheng Yu mentioned casually: “How is Teacher Lu doing? I haven’t gone back to see her in a long time.”

Lu Shuyu shook her head. “She doesn’t have time for you right now. She’s busy helping her students sprint toward the College Entrance Exams; she doesn’t even ignore me.”

Just as she finished speaking, her phone vibrated. Shuyu glanced at the screen, her eyes widening.

Zheng Yu was startled. “It couldn’t be Teacher Lu, could it?”

“Hello, Teacher Lu~” Lu Shuyu answered the call, solving the mystery. “I’m eating. You know me, I’m very healthy. How are you lately? Okay, I got it.”

A few short sentences, and Shuyu hung up.

“That’s it?” Zheng Yu marveled. “As expected of Teacher Lu. Concise and efficient, no nonsense!”

Lu Shuyu laughed. “I’ll pass that along next time I see her. I’ll print you a ‘Sweet Talker’ certificate.”

Zheng Yu was delighted, then let out a long sigh. “I really have to thank you and your mom. My mood has improved so much.”

“What happened?” Shuyu asked. In the professional world, it was hard not to get frustrated. Even with experience, you can’t always avoid the “pot” (blame) falling from the sky.

After listening, Lu Shuyu said without thinking, “In that case, come to Cherry.”

Ever since filming Velocity and forming an all-female team, she had suggested that Zheng Yu should jump ship to Cherry once things stabilized. Zheng Yu was capable; though she was extroverted and a bit flighty, she was grounded and meticulous when working, rarely had conflicts, and had a solid portfolio. Even without Shuyu’s recommendation, entering Cherry wouldn’t be hard for her.

“Let’s talk about it later,” Zheng Yu shook her head. Seeing Shuyu glare at her, she explained, “How can you put all your eggs in one basket? We should each climb our own mountains and then meet at the top!”

“You’re just being stubborn,” Lu Shuyu rolled her eyes. “Leaning on a friend isn’t embarrassing.”

“It’s not,” Zheng Yu smiled, “but can a friend take care of me for a lifetime?”

“Why not?” Lu Shuyu’s eyes were wide and incredibly serious.

“Oh, you…” Zheng Yu laughed helplessly. “What if you and Best Actress Xia end up together? Can you still take me with you?”

Lu Shuyu knew Zheng Yu’s refusal was partly due to her pride and partly because she didn’t want to be a burden. But she didn’t expect such a clumsy reason. She put down her chopsticks and said firmly, “Yes.”

She hadn’t told anyone that leaving with her mother years ago was something she had begged for. She begged her mother, she begged that person, and she begged that person’s family to get that result. From then on, she didn’t treat her mother just as a mother, but as a teammate living and fighting alongside her. Her dream for the future then was just for her and her mother to live well. As she grew up, the blueprint of “living well” included more people.

If, after middle age, she could live in the same place as her family, lover, and friends, looking after one another… that was a dream she barely dared to dream.

Zheng Yu was so shocked her mouth hung open. After a long time, she sighed: “That dream of yours is really too beautiful.”

So beautiful it felt as distant as a utopia.

Lu Shuyu knew this too, which was why she had never told anyone. However, she wouldn’t give up on that dream and would work silently to achieve it. “Anyway,” she said, “don’t push yourself too hard. Tell me if you have trouble.”

Zheng Yu nodded with a smile. “Okay, I will. Enough about me, let’s talk about you.”

“What do you want to hear?”

“You know what.” Zheng Yu looked excited for gossip. Shuyu smiled and, after a moment’s thought, summarized her recent interactions with Xia Leshuang.

“Wow…” Zheng Yu gaped. “There’s so much info I don’t even know which one to ask about first.”

Lu Shuyu gave a hum of laughter, sipped her apple sparkling water, and said, “Then why don’t you help me solve a mystery first?”

“I’m listening.”

“You say she’s so considerate toward her teammates. Why isn’t she willing to be friends with me?”

The scene in the conference room was still fresh. Xia Leshuang’s initiative to fly to F-City with the crew was a bit abrupt. But she had clearly seen that Luo Han and He Wenyin wanted to go and considerately stepped up first to give them a “bridge” to follow.

“Oh…” Zheng Yu was amused. “So you were angry back then?” No wonder she sounded like she was grinding her teeth.

Lu Shuyu rolled her eyes. “I asked you to solve a mystery, not to call me out.”

“My bad, my bad.” Zheng Yu pondered for a moment. “Then there’s only one possibility. She doesn’t want to be friends with you.”

… Lu Shuyu waited. “Is there a difference between what you just said and saying nothing?”

“No,” Zheng Yu explained, “it’s possible she wants to be something else with you. If being ‘friends’ creates an obstacle for that, it’s better not to be friends.”

What kind of wild words are these? Lu Shuyu was shocked and immediately denied it. “She’s not that kind of person.” She looked a bit disgusted. “Forget it, pretend I didn’t ask.” Asking someone with no real-life romantic experience about emotional problems was her mistake.

“Don’t think I can’t tell you’re judging me!” Zheng Yu, annoyed, slammed the table. The chopsticks flew up, startling them both.

“What are you doing?” Shuyu whispered.

Zheng Yu retrieved the chopsticks, covering her face. “My hand really just slipped.” The commotion drew the eyes of several customers and the waiter. Since they were finished, they paid the bill and went out for a walk to digest.

Zheng Yu hooked her arm around Shuyu’s shoulder. “I haven’t fallen for anyone in reality, but I ship fictional characters! I’ve read as many GL novels, comics, and audio dramas as you!”

Lu Shuyu gave a helpless smile, but she admitted it. Not just because Zheng Yu read a lot, but because Shuyu read very little. She had tried under Zheng Yu’s recommendation, but it was too easy to think of Xia Leshuang, so she stopped.

“Anyway, I think the current Best Actress Xia has changed a lot compared to before, but she’s still a good person—and she’s single! The point is, you like her, so just go for it! Don’t bother starting as friends, just go straight to the end: confess and be a couple!”

Lu Shuyu took a deep breath, once again realizing that talking to Zheng Yu about feelings was a bad idea. Passing a cultural gift shop, she pointed: “Want to go in?” This was Zheng Yu’s favorite kind of place.

Instantly, Zheng Yu stopped gossiping about romance and happily rushed into the shop.

The shop was crowded. Following Zheng Yu, Shuyu suddenly heard some girls talking about Xia Leshuang.

“I don’t know why she stopped acting in good movies to do a variety show.” “She likes it, what’s wrong with that?” “But did you see the leaked clip? She sang ‘Against the Light.’ I feel like her imitation is so good, the pronunciation and tone are so much like ‘Er Yu’ (While Meeting).”

Er Yu? Lu Shuyu thought the name sounded familiar.

Zheng Yu heard her. “Er Yu? You want to listen to an audio drama?”

In a flash, Lu Shuyu remembered the CV Chi Shan had mentioned. “Is that a voice actor for audio dramas?”

Seeing Zheng Yu nod, Shuyu pulled out her phone and headphones and played the clip of Xia Leshuang singing.

“The Best Actress sings this well?” Zheng Yu was surprised. After listening carefully, she frowned. “It really does sound a bit like her.”

…

Back home, Lu Shuyu quickly washed up and got into bed. She opened her browser and searched for “CV Er Yu.”

In the talented world of voice acting, the name “Er Yu” wasn’t particularly famous. She started as a minor character in audio dramas and eventually played the female lead in GL (Girls’ Love) dramas, slowly gaining more recognition. Occasionally, she posted singing clips imitating various singers. Her most popular one was “Against the Light” in the style of Stefanie Sun.

Lu Shuyu found Er Yu’s social media page. After comparing it with Xia Leshuang’s version of “Against the Light,” she found them strikingly similar. Er Yu only existed in the voice acting circle. Her last project was three months ago. Accounting for production time, that lined up fairly well with the signing period for the guests of Silence of Gold.

Listening to Er Yu’s other singing works, Lu Shuyu recalled what Chen Qian had said about meeting Xia Leshuang for the first time— “I thought she was a college student who just graduated and couldn’t find a job, so she came here to earn some meal money.”

So… could it all be true?

She remained silent for a moment and sent a message to Chi Shan. The reply was instant.

Chi Shan: Yes, it’s Er Yu. Doesn’t it sound just like her?

As expected, Chi Shan was talking about Er Yu too. Lu Shuyu exited the chat. She suddenly wanted to ask Xia Leshuang herself, but opening her contacts, she remembered she hadn’t added Xia Leshuang on WeChat yet.

“…Sigh.”

She slid down into her blanket. Her phone rang again; it was another message from Chi Shan.

Chi Shan: So who is this Er Yu fan you’re talking about? It’s hard to find a fellow fan in real life, introduce me!

Lu Shuyu chuckled. She was about to say something, then remembered the “pots” she had made Zheng Yu carry in front of Chi Shan… She typed: Forget it, she’s shy and introverted.

Another ‘pot’ for Zheng Yu… Lu Shuyu sighed. She thought it might not be a bad thing for them to know each other. Just as she was about to explain the situation to Zheng Yu, she had a sudden stroke of inspiration.

She sat up quickly and opened Zheng Yu’s chat. She forwarded the “CV Er Yu Work Collection” link that Zheng Yu had sent her earlier—straight into the Guest Discussion Group.

It was still early. Sure enough, the group became active shortly after.

Jiang Fei: [Cat peeking gif] Zhong Wen: Is PD Lu recommending a CV to us? [Blushing]

Lu Shuyu held the message, counting the seconds. Soon, Xia Leshuang’s notification popped up. Shuyu immediately withdrew the message.

Success, she thought, breathing a sigh of relief. The first step of “fishing” was complete.

Xia Leshuang: You probably sent that to the wrong place? [Laugh-cry] Lu Shuyu: Sorry, I meant to send it to a friend. Wrong chat~ [Face-palm]

The other three were late to the conversation, but Lu Shuyu didn’t care what they said. She left the chat and opened the “Contacts” page, waiting with bated breath.

Just as she thought the “fishing” had failed, a red number finally appeared on the “New Friends” tab.

It was Xia Leshuang.

The little fish was hooked.