Spring Night of Misty Rain - Chapter 11

When Qin Zhiyue asked that question, Shen Zeyu couldn’t help but be reminded of the past, and her mood darkened slightly.

She tilted her head, trying her best to shake off the shadows of old memories, and adopted a light tone. “Mm… about a month or so ago.”

Qin Zhiyue gasped. “A month ago? Shen Zeyu, you little brat…” She spoke through gritted teeth, looking as though she wanted to grab Shen Zeyu and give her a few more knocks on the head.

Shen Zeyu laughed sheepishly. “I’m still not quite used to life on the outside, so…” She gave a forced smile, offering it as an explanation for why she hadn’t reached out.

Having finished her crepe, Meng Fei picked up a bowl of rice noodles and began eating heartily. Between bites, she asked, “So, what are you having trouble adjusting to? Is it daily life or… your mental state?”

“How is your schedule? What about your diet? Are you writing again?”

She fired off a string of questions, and Shen Zeyu answered them one by one. “My schedule is fine. Senior Sister Chen found me a fitness coach who monitors my three meals a day. I’ve been working out, too…”

Meng Fei nodded, looking quite satisfied. “Not bad, not bad. Was it that woman who greeted us earlier? She’s quite pretty.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Shen Zeyu’s relaxed demeanor and the healthy color in her face, Qin Zhiyue also breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good; this suits you. A regular routine, no staying up late to grind out scripts—once your body recovers, your spirit will follow.”

The more she spoke, the more pleased she became. She turned to Meng Fei. “Maybe I should find a coach for you, too. You need to exercise. Your last check-up showed you had a fatty liver.”

Meng Fei shook her head frantically, clutching her pancake with a look of utter reluctance. “No, no, I won’t do it! I eat well, drink well, and sleep well. There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m not exercising.”

Shen Zeyu and Qin Zhiyue burst into laughter at the sight.

The three of them shared updates on their lives, chatting comfortably with one another.

Xu Luosu sat silently to the side, observing Shen Zeyu’s expression out of the corner of her eye. The sun had come out, reflecting in Shen Zeyu’s pupils and turning them into the color of pure, golden amber.

As Xu Luosu watched, she couldn’t help but let a smile spread across her face.

Shen Zeyu’s house was truly enormous, spanning nearly a thousand square meters. It was empty, spacious, and lacked a sense of human presence.

As soon as Chen Ci heard that Qin Zhiyue wanted to rent it, she sold Shen Zeyu out without hesitation, leasing it for the high price of six million.

The day after the contract was signed, Qin Zhiyue arrived with a renovation team.

The house became a cacophony of noise. Every day when Shen Zeyu opened her front door, she was greeted by a swarm of workers.

The carpets were moved to the storage room on the second basement level, and the precious ceramics displayed throughout the house were carefully secured in glass cases.

With Shen Zeyu’s permission, the third-floor studio was transformed into a makeup room for the female lead and second lead. Every day, Meng Fei led a group of stylists there to design looks for the characters.

All of Shen Zeyu’s usual haunts were occupied. Out of necessity, she began spending her time at a teahouse after her gym sessions, only returning home once the renovation team had left.

However, she was caught by Qin Zhiyue the very next day.

When Shen Zeyu walked through the door under the moonlight, Meng Fei was pulling Qin Zhiyue into a discussion about the character Ye Lan’s styling.

The moment she saw Shen Zeyu, Qin Zhiyue looked as if she’d seen a savior and called her over. “A-Ze, come here, come here!”

Shen Zeyu walked over, bewildered. “What’s wrong?”

Qin Zhiyue shoved a stack of documents into her arms and urged her, “A new task from the Little Boss: she wants a hundred different looks for Ye Lan. The style is Traditional Chinese or Neo-Chinese. Fei-Fei can’t draw them all by herself. You know how to draw—help her out.”

Having finished her piece, she slipped away as fast as if her feet were greased. “I still have to finalize the locations with the stage managers. I’m busy, so busy! I’ll leave this part to you two.”

Shen Zeyu’s eyes widened as she watched her go. “Wait, Teacher Qin…”

Dumbfounded, she turned to Meng Fei, only to see her bowing slightly with her hands clasped in a plea for help. “Please, A-Ze, help me out. I really can’t keep up with the workload…”

Having spent years on film sets, Shen Zeyu naturally knew how hectic things were before filming began.

She sighed, holding the stack of papers, and said to Meng Fei, “Fine, I’ll give it a try.”

Shen Zeyu sat down in the meeting room with Meng Fei. She flipped through the materials and, after a couple of glances, understood the vibe Meng Fei was going for.

Out of professional habit, she asked, “Who is playing the role of Ye Lan?”

Meng Fei was sketching rapidly on a piece of draft paper with an art pen. Without looking up, she replied, “It’s the Little Boss.”

Shen Zeyu’s pupils dilated slightly. “?”

It’s Xu Luosu?

Shen Zeyu frowned as she thought about it. Ye Lan’s cold, almost inhumanly wicked personality actually paired quite well with Xu Luosu’s own nature of “not listening to reason.”

Shen Zeyu knitted her brows slightly. “If she’s acting in it herself, she should know how difficult the styling is. Why would she suddenly make a request like this?”

At this, Meng Fei grew animated. She looked up at Shen Zeyu, her eyes shining. “It’s because of the costume sponsorship from ‘Jing Ye Si’.”

“‘Jing Ye Si’?”

Meng Fei nodded vigorously and began introducing the brand with great enthusiasm. “‘Jing Ye Si’ is a top-tier luxury brand that has risen in China in recent years. They mainly focus on Suzhou embroidery and Southern weaving. Their lead designer, Xia Siqi, just happens to have a connection with our Little Boss.”

“Hehe… I just asked the Little Boss if we could collaborate with Xia Siqi.”

As it turned out, Xu Luosu really did secure a collaboration with Xia Siqi, but the price was that she had to wear a hundred different outfits from ‘Jing Ye Si’.

In a sense, this was a form of “soft advertising” for the partner.

Shen Zeyu immediately understood the whole story. She nodded thoughtfully. “I see.”

She thought for a moment, took out her phone, and opened Xu Luosu’s “Moments” (social feed) to browse through it seriously.

Compared to Shen Zeyu’s feed, which was so quiet it might as well have grown weeds, Xu Luosu’s was incredibly lively. She posted three to five updates almost every day to record her life.

Shen Zeyu scrolled for a long time and found that Xu Luosu’s dressing style matched her impression of the girl—it was incredibly diverse.

Whether it was a cool hip-hop biker style, a gentle and quiet “forest girl” aesthetic, a sophisticated and mature “big sister” look from the south, or even a sharp professional style, she carried them all off perfectly.

Shen Zeyu observed closely and noticed a lack of overtly seductive styles, allowing her to roughly deduce Xu Luosu’s preferences.

With one hand scrolling through the screen, her other hand moved quickly in a sketch, capturing Xu Luosu’s hairstyles and facial features.

Before long, she had produced seven or eight sketches of different expressions.

Soon, the photos scrolled down to this year’s Spring Festival, where Shen Zeyu found a new set of pictures.

It seemed to be in a garden in Nanjiang. Xu Luosu was wearing a silver qipao, sitting sideways on a corridor bridge overlooking a lotus pond. Her jet-black hair was pinned up with a silver-pink fishbone fan. She rested one hand on the bridge and lowered her eyes slightly, revealing her slender neck. Her expression was both charming and enchanting.

Shen Zeyu’s hand suddenly froze.

She was dazed for a moment, and her finger slipped—accidentally “liking” the post.

Alarm bells went off in Shen Zeyu’s head instantly. She scrambled in a panic to unlike the post.

But it was too late; Xu Luosu had already seen it. Almost at the same moment, a message from Xu Luosu arrived: “?”

Feeling the guilt of a thief, Shen Zeyu stared at her phone screen, not daring to move.

Xu Luosu sent another: “Is Senior Sister browsing my Moments?”

Shen Zeyu…

Shen Zeyu’s heart finally plummeted.

She exited the feed, took a photo of her sketches, and sent it over. “Yes. I’m working on the styling settings for Ye Lan with Teacher Meng, so I was using your photos as a reference.”

It was so awkward. Shen Zeyu felt that even if she added up her last life and the one before that, she had never been this embarrassed.

However, at that moment on the other end of the phone, Xu Luosu clicked on the full image. Looking at that row of vivid sketches, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly.

She zoomed in on one of the photos, thought for a moment, and replied: “Then draw a few more. It just so happens to be my birthday today. I’ll consider these sketches from Senior Sister as my birthday present.”

Just as she finished sending the message, the household staff rolled in a cake they had spent all afternoon making.

In the crowd, her eldest sister, Xu Qingyue, had her arm around her girlfriend, Xia Siqi, and waved at her. “Susu, stop playing on your phone. Come take a photo.”

“Coming,” Xu Luosu called out. She checked her phone one last time and saw there was no response. Only then did she move, the fishtail hem of her gown swaying as she walked slowly into the center of the crowd.