Spring Night of Misty Rain - Chapter 40

Over the past six months of working with Xu Luosu, Shen Zeyu had become well-acquainted with the other woman’s stubbornness. Since she could neither drive Xu Luosu away nor bring herself to hurt her with cold words—and certainly couldn’t afford any major emotional fluctuations—she had no choice but to take a step back. They adopted a principle of mutual non-interference, maintaining a surface-level peace.

Shen Zeyu appeared soft-hearted, but in reality, her heart was the hardest of all. After that night, she reinforced the barriers around herself to wall off Xu Luosu’s emotions. After all, in her eyes, the base color of Xu Luosu’s feelings for her was “pity.”

Anyone in her current situation would receive Xu Luosu’s care, not to mention that Xu Luosu’s feelings were already somewhat ambiguous and hazy. Shen Zeyu didn’t look down on such feelings; pity and compassion are among the highest human emotions and form the foundation of “love.” If personal feelings weren’t mixed in, Shen Zeyu would actually be grateful to have such a friend with boundless compassion.

But she was weak-willed; she always fell for those who were sunny, cheerful, and shone upon all living things. She wanted a moon that belonged only to her, yet her moon had shone on countless others.

Unrequited love can produce twisted resentment. Shen Zeyu had struggled to crawl out of that abyss to make herself indifferent to those people, so she would do everything in her power to protect herself, never allowing another person to step inside.

Shen Zeyu tossed and turned all night and eventually drafted a “scumbag’s three principles”: Don’t be proactive, don’t refuse, and don’t take responsibility.

It wasn’t until the horizon turned a faint blue that she finally fell into a deep sleep, resting her head on her arm. When she woke up, it was noon again. As soon as she sat up, Xu Luosu drew back the curtains and spoke brightly: “Are you awake, Senior Sister?”

“We’re having hotpot today, tomato soup base.”

The air was filled with the scent of tomatoes. Shen Zeyu propped her head on her hand and looked toward the coffee table, discovering that an induction cooker had been set up at some point. The soup pot sitting on top was bubbling away.

Shen Zeyu couldn’t help but complain: “Tomatoes again. Just how much do you love eating tomatoes!”

Xu Luosu laughed, her laughter bright and clearing away yesterday’s gloom. “I just really like them.”

She was wearing a V-neck Klein blue sweater over a white T-shirt with matching pants, standing by the window. Her long black hair was loose over her shoulders, and her gaze was tender as she looked at Shen Zeyu. “When it’s something you like, you never get tired of it, no matter how many times you have it.”

In the early morning, Shen Zeyu felt as if she had been stuffed with a tomato—both sweet and sour. She couldn’t be bothered to look at her and walked from the bed to the bathroom, picking up her toothbrush and toothpaste.

While applying the toothpaste, she suddenly noticed a layer of paste already on her brush. She froze. Shen Zeyu’s breathing quickened as she clutched her electric toothbrush, nearly going frantic in her mind: Argh! Damn juniors! I hate juniors! Too many tricks!

Complaints aside, she still had to brush her teeth. Shen Zeyu finished with a stony face and eventually sat down before the hotpot with a sense of resignation to eat lunch with Xu Luosu.

Compared to yesterday’s frost-cold resistance, Shen Zeyu was much softer today. Xu Luosu didn’t expect to suddenly deepen their bond; aside from being vigorous in her career, she was very much someone who let things happen naturally.

For instance, right now, as long as Shen Zeyu was willing to eat a little, Xu Luosu could withstand the high-pressure resentment coming from the other woman and calmly place food in her bowl. After Xu Luosu had filled half her bowl and she saw she couldn’t finish it, Shen Zeyu hurried to stop her: “Enough, enough…”

Xu Luosu said with a smile, “It’s fine, you can have a couple more bites…”

Shen Zeyu quickly covered her bowl with her hand and said with a frown, “No, I can’t eat another bit.”

Her resistance was too obvious, so Xu Luosu had to sigh and retract her chopsticks. She propped her chin on her hand and said regretfully, “Fine…” Then she smiled, her eyes curving. “But you have to finish this bowl, okay?”

Even adding an “okay” at the end… Was she a kindergarten teacher? Shen Zeyu suppressed her emotions and said crossly, “I’ll try.”

With no one adding food, the table became quiet. That bit of awkwardness surfaced again in Shen Zeyu. She poked at her rice bowl. “Do you really not need to go to the film set?” It was already January; the second season should have started by now.

Xu Luosu looked up at her. “Which set are you talking about, Senior Sister? If it’s Night Languor, Director Qin is busy with post-production. If it’s Breaking the Moon, my role has already been recast, and progress is smooth.”

Shen Zeyu was surprised. “Isn’t the post-production team editing Night Languor? Why is Director Qin doing it herself?”

Xu Luosu tilted her head and thought. “Because we plan to release the first and second seasons together to compete with Daybreak.”

Shen Zeyu fell silent. After a long while, she said irritably, “We are on Zhuyu; it has nothing to do with domestic platforms. What competition!”

Xu Luosu wagged a finger. “After the New Year, Xia will allow Zhuyu to open a youth section. The rating for Night Languor happens to fit that category. I have the project schedules for all domestic platforms. Daybreak is aiming for the summer slot, so we are too.”

Shen Zeyu’s heart skipped a beat. Looking at the serious girl before her, she said with certainty, “You told Qin Zhiyue the news, so she went to do the ‘fine-tuning’ herself?”

Xu Luosu smiled but said nothing. Shen Zeyu had other concerns: “Since you’ve planned it out, shouldn’t you be preparing for the second season even more?”

Instead of playing this silly ‘Knight Syndrome’ game with me in a psychiatric hospital.

Xu Luosu sighed, set her chopsticks on her bowl, and looked at Shen Zeyu with a gaze full of helplessness. “Didn’t I tell you? Because I’m worried about you, I can’t eat or sleep well, so I can’t act well either. More importantly, the entire crew isn’t ready to start the second season yet, so the start date was pushed back.”

Shen Zeyu felt she was playing the victim card. She gave a light “tsk” and said indifferently, “So in the end, it’s all my fault. Oh, my apologies; I’m a crazy person who has become your burden and delayed your filming.”

People are multifaceted; however polite Shen Zeyu appeared on the surface, she was just as biting when she turned sarcastic. Having been in business since her teens, Xu Luosu was very good at grasping the core point. The fundamental reason for this relationship with Shen Zeyu was that there was a massive wound in Shen Zeyu’s soul. Such a wound wasn’t something that would heal just by meeting someone who loved her. She needed to complete a process of self-healing before she could accept other relationships. Until then, it didn’t matter who loved her.

Xu Luosu was very open-minded. Her wish for Shen Zeyu was just like the safety lock she had given her: she wanted her to be safe and healthy. Therefore, she wasn’t annoyed at being snapped at; instead, she laughed. “If only you truly were willing to be my burden.” As things stood, it seemed that was just her own wishful thinking.

Shen Zeyu felt like she had punched a cloud of cotton; all the hostility generated by her illness was absorbed. She muttered a few words and stopped being sarcastic, quietly finishing her lunch. After the meal, she smelled entirely of tomatoes. Unable to stand the scent, she grabbed her pajamas and went to the bathroom to shower. When she came out, the table had already been cleared.

Xu Luosu had brought over a large Lego model of the Titanic from somewhere and was opening it on the coffee table. Seeing Shen Zeyu come out of the bathroom, she beckoned to her: “Hurry over, let’s build Lego together.”

Shen Zeyu rubbed her hair with a towel and walked to the bed with her wet hair. “No.”

Childish. I stopped playing with Legos when I was ten! This middle-aged woman in her thirties looked down on the little trinket brought by the girl in her early twenties. She sat by the bed, picked up the hairdryer, plugged it in, and began the loud whirring of drying her hair.

She hadn’t been drying for long before Xu Luosu ran over. She naturally took the hairdryer from her hand and said with a smile, “Let me do it.”

Shen Zeyu didn’t let go, her voice lazy. “Let go. I’m not paralyzed; I can take care of myself.”

“Yes, yes, yes…” Xu Luosu agreed, but her hand didn’t release the dryer. Instead, she said softly, “Our Senior Sister is so amazing and can take care of herself very well. But I’ve never dried such soft curls before; let me help…”

If Chen Ci were here, she would have recognized Xu Luosu’s tactic as being the same as how their master used to praise Shen Zeyu. Making pottery is hard work; Shen Zeyu was the type who was talented but lazy. When they were kids throwing pots together—a task that required both detail and focus—Shen Zeyu didn’t like doing it. Halfway through, she would cry that her hands were sore. Their grandmother would coax her: “Our A-Ze is so great today! The pot you threw is beautiful. If you finish it and it’s fired, it will definitely look amazing. How about grandma makes you something delicious when we get home?”

Now that she was older, she could push herself with self-motivation and a competitive spirit, but at her core, she was no different than when she was a child; she needed to be praised. Qin Zhiyue had only discovered this secret after collaborating with her for nearly ten years. Before script meetings, she even taught Xu Luosu the secret: With Shen Zeyu, first plead, second coax, and third act like a spoiled child.

In private, she even whispered that Shen Zeyu was like a kitten—on the surface, she looked mature and steady, being picky about everything and acting very precious. In reality, she was very soft-hearted; if a woman coaxed her a bit, she would agree to anything.

Xu Luosu had used this tactic once when tricking her into writing the script, and again when tricking her for a birthday gift. This was the third time. As it turned out, the “Shen Zeyu Strategy Guide” provided by the partner was indeed very effective. Shen Zeyu did indeed let go and handed the hairdryer to her. “Fine, you do it.”

“Okay~” Xu Luosu took the dryer, held it a bit away, and placed one hand on the woman’s slightly damp curls. She asked tentatively, “Is the temperature okay?”

“Mm.” Shen Zeyu nodded. The warm air hitting her hair was so soothing she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Her hair was thick and curly; it took quite a while before it was mostly dry.

Xu Luosu looked down and saw that Shen Zeyu’s bangs now covered most of her face. She asked curiously, “It feels like your hair has grown a lot, Senior Sister. Do you want to trim it?”

Shen Zeyu waved her hand with an indifferent expression. “No need. Just let it grow.” Since it hadn’t reached her waist yet, she let it grow as it pleased.

“Alright…” Xu Luosu raised her hand, seemingly brushing aside the curls at the back of Shen Zeyu’s neck. “I heard Assistant Wang mention before that you have Slavic blood. Was it from your grandfather’s generation?”

Hearing this, Shen Zeyu propped her hands on her knees and squinted at her. “What, are you checking my family registry?” Her expression was playful.

Xu Luosu sighed and answered truthfully: “Not exactly. I was just wondering if you would like to go to the Soviet Union with me for the Spring Festival this year?”

She turned off the hairdryer, leaned over, and looked steadily at Shen Zeyu, her voice carry a hint of allure: “We’ll temporarily discharge you before the Spring Festival and go play in the Soviet Union for half a month, okay?”

Shen Zeyu looked into her eyes. It was as if an electric current passed through her brain, causing a wave of goosebumps. It took her a while to recover and ask in return, “Don’t you have to go home for the New Year?”

In the ten years before, Shang Qiuchi had gone home for the New Year every single year, leaving Shen Zeyu to cook dumplings alone in the film city nearly every time.

“I do.” Xu Luosu straightened up, looking at her with a beaming smile. “But I’d much rather go out to play with you.”

For a split second, Shen Zeyu had to admit that she was shamefully moved.