She Said She Has Feelings For Someone - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Nostalgia: “Yes, Boss.”

It was now 3:00 PM, and the location for the hot pot gathering had been arranged—a hot pot restaurant that the production crew had been frequenting privately. It was close, had many large private rooms, and because of an additional service fee, it was easy to book on short notice.

The six guests shared one car, with Luo Han driving. The filming for the hot pot session was simplified: Lu Shuyu and Song Yi took Chi Shan and Chen Qian in the signal van, following the guests’ car, while the remaining five staff members followed in another vehicle.

Not long after hitting the road, the guests’ car became lively with conversation. Having established a private chat group during their previous encounters and solidified their bond during the morning recording, they were now much more familiar with each other.

“Shuang-shuang, did you send the photo?” Jiang Fei asked from the passenger seat.

Only then did Xia Leshuang take out her phone and send the photo to the large discussion group containing the entire production staff. “Sent it now.”

“The group photo from earlier?” The others took out their phones to check.

“Yes,” Xia Leshuang replied. “Sent it to the main group.”

Luo Han let out an “Oh no!” “I want to see it too.”

“It’s okay, Sister Han, you’re driving,” Jiang Fei comforted her. “I’ll send it to you privately.”

“Thanks, Fei-fei~”

In the signal van, Lu Shuyu opened her phone. With the guests leading the way, the main group was already being flooded with messages.

“It’s practically a praise group,” Chi Shan remarked.

Lu Shuyu ignored her, instead zooming in on the group photo. She was surprised to find that she was actually right next to Xia Leshuang. Of course, Xia Leshuang was in the foreground, and because of the angle, Lu Shuyu didn’t even look half the size of her head.

This seemed to be… their first photo together.

“Speaking of which, Leshuang’s high school class was really impressive. There was PD Lu and then there was Bian—”

Realizing she was about to mention an unrelated superstar, Zhong Wen slammed on the conversational brakes. Beside her, He Wenyin rescued her just in time: “Then Leshuang and PD Lu must have had a good relationship in high school, right?”

The topics in the guests’ car had shifted through several rounds, from reviewing the recording to praising one another, and now suddenly to Lu Shuyu.

“Do they…” Chi Shan asked uncertainly, “…know we can hear them?”

“Probably,” Song Yi smiled, “not.”

Among the six, only Tang Jiahe and Xia Leshuang had relevant recording experience. Currently, Tang Jiahe was keeping her mouth shut and playing dumb, while Xia Leshuang seemed hesitant and remained silent.

Just as Lu Shuyu thought she would find a random topic to gloss over it, Xia Leshuang spoke.

“PD Lu was very popular.”

“She had beautiful handwriting. People from the whole school queued up to ask her to sell her calligraphy.”

“Wow—” gasps of admiration echoed in the guests’ car. “That impressive?”

Chi Shan raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I didn’t know you had that kind of past?”

Lu Shuyu gave a smug smile. “The number of love letters that passed through my hands is countless~”

And, of course, the fanfiction…

At that thought, the memory of the “Oolong” blunder caused by fanfiction flooded back. Perhaps colored by the memory, Xia Leshuang’s voice came through the signal, soft and gentle, as if saturated with nostalgia.

But soon, she laughed twice, and those emotions vanished instantly, clean as if they were an illusion.

“So I could only look at her from a distance; I never had the chance to get to know her well.”

“That makes sense,” Jiang Fei expressed her understanding. “Shuang-shuang was very busy back then too. It was just a case of two very busy people!”

Zhong Wen suddenly let out a snort and joked, “Two career-driven minds—how could any sparks of love fly between them~”

Before the other guests could react, Tang Jiahe coughed violently, finally unable to resist reminding them: “Wen-wen, they can hear us…”

The guests’ car fell into a sudden, dead silence.

Chi Shan: “…”

Lu Shuyu burst out laughing. Just as she was about to do something, her phone vibrated with a friend request from Zhong Wen. As soon as she accepted, the phone shook repeatedly with “crying cat” emojis and apologies.

Zhong Wen: I’m so sorry PD Lu! I shouldn’t have gossiped about you behind your back. I was wrong!

Zhong Wen had become famous at nineteen for playing supporting roles in two hit series but was forced out of the industry for refusing “unspoken rules.” After a muddled six-month marriage, she had re-entered the industry at twenty-three, only slightly older than Jiang Fei.

Regardless of her age, Lu Shuyu wouldn’t blame her. After dealing with so many people over the years, she could accurately distinguish whether someone spoke with malice.

Lu Shuyu: It’s fine, don’t take it to heart.

Despite saying this, the guests’ car remained silent. Lu Shuyu thought for a moment and sent another message: Could you please pull me and all the guests into a discussion group?

Zhong Wen did so quickly. Lu Shuyu then added Song Yi, Chi Shan, and Chen Qian to the group.

“What are you doing?” Chi Shan asked, puzzled.

“‘Jin Jin Tuan’ Mommy’s Fan Club?” Song Yi read the group name Lu Shuyu had changed it to, showing a rare bit of disdain.

Lu Shuyu laughed, unable to think of a better name for the moment. “Just make do with it for now.”

Her fingers flew as she sent the first message.

Lu Shuyu: Please feel free to speak your minds, teachers. Lu Shuyu: The post-production will edit everything out, so don’t worry~

There was still a ten-minute drive left. Even if she didn’t force the footage, she didn’t want the guests’ car to remain in that awkward silence.

Song Yi was the first to respond, sending a “Yes, Boss” sticker and reminding the others: “You two send something too.”

Once Chi Shan and Chen Qian replied, the guests’ car became active again. The “trouble” from earlier turned into a small interlude that brought everyone closer.

“PD Lu is still so approachable,” Chi Shan mused. “But, have you ever thought, what if…”

She only started the sentence, but the three in the van understood her meaning. Having worked for so long and met so many people, it was impossible to always meet normal, compatible people. They had encountered many strange ones: those who stole and framed others, those who formed cliques to isolate colleagues, or those who bullied newcomers.

But those troubles were always resolved properly because more people simply wanted to work hard and live well.

“At the start, when they made those choices… beyond being brave.” “It was because they trusted us.”

Lu Shuyu concluded: “Trust is mutual.”

Then she laughed, her voice ringing clear: “Besides, we have Teacher Song!” She grabbed Song Yi’s arm and shook it, acting coy. “Teacher Song is our pillar of strength!”

“Ugh, I can’t take it!” Chi Shan shuddered, hugging herself in mock disgust at the sight of her acting cute.

Chen Qian was stunned; it was her first time seeing Lu Shuyu act like this. Song Yi shook her head with a sigh: “Seems it’s time for you to grow up.”

“I don’t want to~” Lu Shuyu hugged her arm tightly, twisting and leaning against her.

“Barf—” Chi Shan couldn’t take it anymore.

…

The other staff members would arrange their own meal after clearing the set. When Lu Shuyu and the others arrived at 3:30 PM, there were only a few tables of customers in the lobby. The staff who had arrived early to set up met them: “Let’s go, it’s upstairs in Room 101.”

At 4:00 PM, filming officially began.

The hot pot session had been organized in a hurry, so Lu Shuyu had improvised two games and took charge as the host.

“In this box are twenty-six initials.” Lu Shuyu patted the black opaque box, which featured a lemon-yellow Jin Jin Tuan logo sticker. “After the six guests successfully complete a round of ‘Drawing and Guessing,’ you can draw once. Then, using that letter as the initial, you must name a corresponding food ingredient.”

As she spoke, she reached into the box and pulled out a ball with a letter. “For example, this ‘C’,” she showed it to the guests and the camera, “could be Qingcai (Green Vegetables) or Caixin (Chooy Sum).”

“So as long as it’s the initial, it doesn’t matter which word in the phrase it is,” Tang Jiahe noted.

“Correct,” Lu Shuyu replied.

“Then that shouldn’t be too hard,” Zhong Wen said.

“It seems so,” He Wenyin added. “It just tests our reflexes and knowledge of ingredients.”

“Yes,” Lu Shuyu countered, “but please note that every round is timed. All six of you must name one ingredient in turn within the time limit to succeed. You can repeat the letter, but you only get one portion of the ingredient.”

“PD Lu has really gone to great lengths to let us eat,” Luo Han laughed.

“Yeah,” Jiang Fei clutched her heart, “PD Lu is so good~”

Lu Shuyu chuckled. “That’s to ensure we don’t waste food.” She then added a reminder: “However, whether you like it or not, everything that makes it to the table today must go into the pot and be finished.”

“Yes, Boss!” the six shouted in unison, Xia Leshuang included.

Lu Shuyu was caught off guard. She instinctively patted the box beside her to hide the small flutter of excitement in her heart. “Alright, let’s begin.”

Drawing and Guessing involved one person drawing and the next person guessing and then redrawing it for the next, so the initial communication was vital. After some discussion, they decided Luo Han, He Wenyin, and Zhong Wen would draw, while Tang Jiahe, Xia Leshuang, and Jiang Fei would guess.

“Timer starts now.”

Chen Qian raised the prompt board. Luo Han almost gasped. “How do I draw this…”

Beside her, Tang Jiahe encouraged her: “It’s fine, just start!”

Luo Han frowned in thought for two seconds, then made up her mind: “You guys are young, I believe in you!”

Time was tight. She couldn’t draw five patterns, so she only drew three. Tang Jiahe took off her blindfold and her eyes widened instantly. “What is this?”

On the top right of the board was a round smiley face, in the middle was a piece of watermelon (X2), and then a shell-like object (X2).

Luo Han tapped the smiley face. “Young people, Jiahe! You’re five years younger than me!”

Tang Jiahe furrowed her brow, her gaze circling the three icons, and then she had an epiphany: “Oh! I think I know!”

“Five seconds left.”

She quickly wrote four characters on the whiteboard. He Wenyin took off her blindfold, stared at the words for two seconds of silence, and then immediately picked up the pen to draw.

Miraculously, He Wenyin seemed to share a brain with Luo Han, drawing a similar watermelon (X2) and a wide, laughing mouth (X2). It was even more concise. Luo Han couldn’t help but say, “Yes, that’s how it should be drawn.”

They were filled with expectation, thinking they were safe, but they didn’t expect that when Xia Leshuang took off her blindfold, her clear eyes would grow wider and wider with increasing confusion and helplessness.

“What… is this…”

Her sincerity was so heavy it crushed their hopes.

Chi Shan laughed while watching. “Does the Movie Queen not understand homophone puns (xieyin geng)?”

Lu Shuyu was equally surprised, but the timer was running, and she had no time to think.

“Five seconds left—”