The Whole World Is Waiting for Me and My Ex-Girlfriend to Remarry (Entertainment Industry) - Chapter 14

Picking up a lipstick.

The buffet restaurant in the crew’s hotel lounge opened at seven in the morning and stayed open until eleven. Since today’s scenes were afternoon shots requiring the sunset, Dong Huaci technically could have guaranteed herself a lie-in during the first half of the day. Yet, at exactly seven o’clock, she appeared in the buffet restaurant. The hotel, having been fully booked by the production crew, was so quiet that the only sound was the sizzling of the chef freshly frying eggs.

Two and a half hours after receiving the message, Dong Huaci was already standing by in full makeup, her exhaustion thoroughly concealed. Her attire stood in stark contrast to the formality of her full face of makeup: a white yoga top paired with a dark, pleated tennis skirt, and on her feet, a pair of thick-soled sandals that seemed chosen purely for convenience. The keyword for a youthful feel is simplicity; whether intentional or not, Dong Huaci’s outfits always managed to find the best way to highlight her presence in any given setting.

She stopped. She was looking for someone.

Actually, the word “looking” wasn’t quite necessary. Zhong Qing was very conspicuous. She was dressed all in black, tight on top and loose on the bottom, yet it still couldn’t hide her lean, muscular physique. Her hair wasn’t tied up; it hung loose. The sight of her back as she pressed the buttons on the coffee machine rooted Dong Huaci directly to the spot.

It had been… how many years since she had looked at her like this?

Zhong Qing was a great beauty. Her natural “cold face,” which had been a disadvantage in the past, had become her unique trump card due to the shift in aesthetic trends over the last two years. Women made up the bulk of her fan base. Dong Huaci wasn’t particularly jealous; instead, she felt a subtle sense of happiness. Firstly, because they had broken up long ago, and such redundant emotions would only add to her own troubles. Secondly, in the past, the joy came from the paranoia of being the only one who could appreciate Zhong Qing’s unique moments of beauty; now, there was a different kind of joy in seeing her loved and craved by more and more people. Especially since, while more people loved her, as long as Zhong Qing still showed even a hint of lingering attachment to Dong Huaci, it made it difficult for Dong Huaci to say to her firmly: I’m sorry, I wronged you back then, but I have no feelings for you anymore. — words like that.

Regrettably, right now, a single kiss from Zhong Qing could still ruin a whole night of sleep for Dong Huaci, and a single message could do the same. At seven in the morning, Dong Huaci had put on a full face of makeup, come downstairs, and caught a glimpse of Zhong Qing’s back.

Perhaps because Dong Huaci had been staring at her back for too long, Zhong Qing sensed something. She turned around and tilted her chin toward Dong Huaci while holding a coffee cup in one hand. The table was already set with plates and milk. According to the old rules, Dong Huaci never picked out food at a buffet herself; she ate whatever Zhong Qing picked for her.

“How long are we going to eat for?” Dong Huaci took her seat, her tone sounding a bit like a guilty thief.

Zhong Qing toyed with her fork, picking up a large leaf of lettuce and eating it with as much relish as if it were a freshly grilled sausage. “Everyone here is one of us, and there are no cameras.” Zhong Qing picked up another piece—no, two kernels of corn. “Are you afraid?”

That last sentence sounded so pretentious; a familiar feeling.

Dong Huaci also knew the subtext of the second half of that sentence: You’re the one who knocked on my hotel door, after all.

Dong Huaci straightened her posture. “You’re famous and attract a lot of gossip; this isn’t good.”

Although Zhong Qing understood, her tone still sounded like she wanted to tease her. “Teacher Dong, the two of us are eating in a public place in broad daylight; we’re not kissing in public.”

Dong Huaci’s next sentence followed incredibly fast, as if she hadn’t processed it at all: “What’s the difference between the two of us being caught eating together in public and any other two people being caught kissing in public?”

Zhong Qing smiled. “What if I’m caught smiling, too?”

Dong Huaci replied: “Back together. Married. Preparing to register the marriage abroad.”

As soon as this topic came up, the awkward atmosphere that had lingered between them suddenly thinned significantly. Zhong Qing couldn’t help but chuckle. When that cold face of hers broke into a smile, it was truly peerless in its elegance, as if she had long anticipated that they would start this topic and how Dong Huaci, sitting across from her, would respond. She turned on her phone and pushed it in front of Dong Huaci; it was none other than the exclusive forum for their “Double CP” fans: “The Secret Base for Planting Trees and Raising Flowers.”

Dong Huaci gave Zhong Qing a look that said: Wait, you read this too?

Dong Huaci also specifically noticed that the web interface for viewing the forum showed she wasn’t logged in. With the regret of not being able to find out Zhong Qing’s account name, she continued browsing. The forum had many new posts today. The most eye-catching one was undoubtedly the pinned post marked with 【Hot】 and 【Update】, with a floor count already heading toward three digits. The title was: 【Tree Planting (Zhong) and Flower Raising (Dong) are living together】.

Anonymous Poster: A friend is a crew member, this melon (gossip) is ripe. They are in the same hotel.

2nd Floor: ???????

3rd Floor: Front row!

4th Floor: Good! I hereby unilaterally announce that they are remarried! (Heart heart)

5th Floor (Devoted to Raising Qing-baby): Help, how can anyone tell this half-baked gossip is real when it’s just one sentence? (Eye-roll.jpg) You can’t even be bothered to Photoshop a chat log screenshot?

6th Floor: How are there solo stans in a CP forum? Can the mods kick them out?

7th Floor (Dian Dian): This matches my gossip.

8th Floor: !!! It actually matches the gossip from the big shot Dian Dian. I originally thought it was a dream-gossip! I didn’t expect it to be real.

9th Floor: Fainted (The kind where you faint from happiness, don’t mind me)

10th Floor: They’re staying for several nights, so they must have—ed many times already.

11th Floor (Dian Dian): No photos, but the check-in info should be reliable. (Attached: Two blurry, pixelated internal screenshots of the hotel’s personal registration system)

12th Floor: !!!!

…

372nd Floor: Wuwu, are there really no photos? I saw a big shot on another platform offering five thousand to buy a photo. I even saw solo stans trying to buy them, probably to bury the evidence. Haha, they’re breaking down, it’s hilarious (covers mouth)

373rd Floor: In fact, everyone knows deep down that they probably haven’t lost contact all these years. The more the solo stans fight, the harder they ship (prayers). It’s just that some people are still being stubborn…

Dong Huaci laughed as she read, but by the end, she felt a bit of heartache. Her vision went dark for a moment as she pushed the phone back. “Thank you. I won’t look anymore.”

Zhong Qing raised an eyebrow and returned to silence, as if dissatisfied that Dong Huaci had only given her those few words.

Sure enough, Dong Huaci had more to say. “In the years I wasn’t in contact with you, I really regretted it. What did I regret? I regretted most that I didn’t break up with you sooner.” She slapped her thigh, her hair swaying and her eyes blinking. The positive connotation of “dazzling and vibrant” was vividly embodied in Dong Huaci at this moment. “That’s right, if we had fallen out sooner, we wouldn’t have had to live through such a long period of bitter days.”

Zhong Qing only narrowed her eyes slightly, remaining very composed, carrying a unique habit of positioning herself as the victim as she took two more sips of coffee.

Fortunately, once Dong Huaci got worked up, she became self-absorbed, developing a delayed reaction to Zhong Qing’s emotions. When mentioning the “bitter days,” Dong Huaci’s expression darkened for a moment. She looked back at Zhong Qing: “Last night was last night; let’s just say it was my mistake. I just always wanted to ask… do you… do you still feel sad?”

Those words were filled with old hurt.

Zhong Qing’s smile had long since faded. Her face dropped again, staring down almost expressionlessly. The atmosphere between them always seemed to fluctuate so wildly. One second, Dong Huaci could make Zhong Qing beam with joy; the next, she could make her fly into a rage or burst into tears. This talent… oh, this talent…

Zhong Qing said: “As long as people are watching, they aren’t ‘bitter days.'” The entertainment industry had its own unique nature.

A sense of shared sympathy arose between the two. Suddenly, Zhong Qing stared intently at Dong Huaci again, her eyes instantly becoming exceptionally persistent: “Why aren’t you eating? You were the one who asked what was for breakfast; you chose this.”

The familiar feeling returned.

Zhong Qing just loved standing on the moral high ground, even if she had no ill intent. This used to make Dong Huaci very resistant to her, yet Zhong Qing’s essence was always to act for Dong Huaci’s own good. In the past, because of dieting, Dong Huaci had developed unhealthy bulimic habits, which nearly drove Zhong Qing—who was already in a relationship with her then—crazy. Every day, she would ask Dong Huaci what she wanted to eat, and every day she would pressure her to eat. It would make Dong Huaci so angry that she would even hit her and scold her: “If I get fat and no one likes me, you’ll be happy? Zhong Qing, are you a pervert?”

Zhong Qing wouldn’t hit her back, but she wouldn’t let her go either.

Thinking about it now, as the saying goes, it really seemed like they were both sick back then. People in love are all a bit crazy. Perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing that Dong Huaci wasn’t in a relationship with Zhong Qing right now. At the very least, at this moment, Dong Huaci didn’t argue with her. Instead, she suddenly found her reason and symbolically began to eat the corn kernels. “Um… no, it’s just been so long since I’ve eaten with you, I suddenly forgot to eat.” The sentence was a bit clunky, but she thought that being this polite should be enough to satisfy Zhong Qing!

But an instinctive dread and fear were still at play. Dong Huaci scratched her hair and brought up last night’s incident again. “Also, yes, I am communicating with our company to have Shi Xiaonan try to avoid arranging any ‘shipping’ stunts between us.”

She added a seemingly official supplement to hide her tracks: “It’s easy to get a backlash. It’s not good for either of us. I don’t want to… I don’t want to owe you even more.”

“Those people, once they have a thought, they won’t let go. They decide on a conclusion, and often that conclusion is pitifully biased; yet for the sake of that conclusion, they are willing to do anything—sell out their character, make oaths—just to prove their thought was right.” Seeing Dong Huaci start to pick at the corn, Zhong Qing’s expression softened considerably. “In the entertainment industry, there is no such thing as owing or not owing; it’s all just going with the flow and making the best of the situation.”

“Teacher Zhong.” Dong Huaci sighed, half-seriously. “You’re still so cultured. You always wrote your own lyrics back then; I knew then that you were very cultured.”

Zhong Qing’s “Bking” (cool/pretentious) persona continued to exert its power in a situation where it shouldn’t: “It was just a casual comment. Back then, I was better at dancing than my academic classes, as you know.”

Dong Huaci sighed wildly in her heart. She didn’t want to eat anymore. But with Zhong Qing sitting across from her, she felt guilty, her legs felt weak, and she subconsciously followed orders.

Bad habits—truly, bad habits die hard.

Dong Huaci gave a fake smile. “Yes, yes, you’re good at every skill. All-around talent.”

“Mhm. So, after you went back last night, did you think of me?” Zhong Qing lowered her head and took a sip of coffee.

When people are embarrassed, they always find ways to keep busy.

Dong Huaci’s face turned bright red. First, she finished the two kernels of corn, then she peeled back the lid of the yogurt and took a sip, only to choke on it. A trace of yogurt probably got on the corner of her lip. She hurriedly took a napkin to wipe it, but ended up wiping off her lipstick. She went to open her bag to reapply it, but her hands were too hurried. The lipstick dropped to the floor. Zhong Qing bent down before she could, her eyes inevitably catching sight of Dong Huaci’s calves and white sandals.

When she stood up and returned the lipstick to Dong Huaci, she suddenly became extra serious, as if the person who had just asked that strange question wasn’t Zhong Qing at all.

It was only while Dong Huaci turned her head to fix her lipstick that Zhong Qing’s face, involuntarily, turned just as red as Dong Huaci’s.