The Whole World Is Waiting for Me and My Ex-Girlfriend to Remarry (Entertainment Industry) - Chapter 30

She is my girlfriend.

It was a pity that the dormitory space provided by the company was truly limited. By the time Dong Huaci finished her shower and swapped shifts with Zhong Qing, He Xizi had already returned, kindly bringing late-night snacks for them. Zhong Qing’s face was still slightly flushed; she left without saying a word. He Xizi waved at Dong Huaci and called out to her, “Little Tree, Little Tree, come here quickly. If she won’t eat, we will.”

Although Zhong Qing and Dong Huaci had not yet explicitly said anything to those around them, the fact that their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds this month was obvious to anyone with eyes.

The nickname “Little Tree” had thus begun to circulate.

Unlike Zhong Qing, who would sometimes suddenly become cold or awkward, Dong Huaci felt more natural when He Xizi was present. She asked, “Xizi, where did you go today?”

He Xizi replied, “Where else could I go? That devil Teacher Wang made me do extra practice today, saying the boss pointed out that I was slacking off during the last public performance.” She sprawled out on her bed and pointed to the plastic bag. “I had to buy something sweet to make up for it.”

Dong Huaci subconsciously shuddered as well; just hearing that name made her muscles feel sore. “The dance teacher is really strict; I feel like a mouse seeing a cat whenever I see her. Don’t be nervous; my foundation is so poor, yet I’ve managed to thicken my skin and endure it.”

He Xizi laughed loudly. “I just love talking to you. You’re not like that Zhong Qing; you can say a couple of words and she just can’t empathize. Sigh, geniuses cannot empathize with humans.” The last sentence carried a hint of sarcasm—the kind used between close friends, without malice.

Dong Huaci gave a kind smile, suddenly feeling a strange sensation, as if she were making friends on Zhong Qing’s behalf.

He Xizi looked curiously at the shimmering bottle on the desk. “Oh, you guys bought a new perfume? Let me see. It’s Zhong Qing’s, right?”

Dong Huaci neither admitted nor denied it; she simply passed it to He Xizi, and the two huddled together to study the label and the scent. He Xizi knew about Zhong Qing’s obsession with cleanliness, so she didn’t suggest trying it on, but she caught the fragrance on Dong Huaci’s body and remarked gossipy, “Zhong Qing let you try it, huh?”

Dong Huaci felt truly embarrassed. “She gave it to me. I don’t even know how to pay her back; I didn’t even look at the price.”

He Xizi let out a long, meaningful “Oh—.” When Zhong Qing finished her shower and came out, He Xizi didn’t say much more, only greeting her: “Zhong Qing, with a face that sour, I guess I didn’t come back at the right time.”

Zhong Qing had just stepped out of the shower, still enveloped in steam. She gave a subtle smile. “Does it smell good?”

He Xizi said, “Sigh, some people go on sweet shopping trips while others suffer in the dance studio. I’m thinking I need to move dorms. I can’t live like this anymore.”

Zhong Qing took the perfume, put it away, and then naturally sat down beside Dong Huaci. “No one is making you move. Didn’t Fangfang accompany you to the dance studio today? Why are you so unhappy?”

He Xizi said, “Teacher Wang flew into a rage, saying I’ve been lazy all along. I have her class again tomorrow; it’s so annoying.” She prepared to change her clothes. “I’ve prepared sweet soup for you both. You guys eat it; just don’t drink it like a wedding toast in front of me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the three of them burst into laughter together. Dong Huaci felt that these days were like a dream. In this small space, she had a lover like Zhong Qing who was almost completely obedient to her while remaining indifferent to everyone else. He Xizi looked after her as well. These past few days were so happy that it felt surreal. Almost every other week, Zhong Qing would individually give her a bottle of fragrance or a bouquet of flowers. Amidst her touched emotions, Dong Huaci couldn’t help but worry. Was the money for this new roommate she was dating falling from the sky?

Zhong Qing would only ever say: “I like this feeling of yours.” She stroked Dong Huaci’s hair as if touching the most vibrant petals of a blooming flower. “So, you don’t need to think about anything else. Just keep it.”

Naturally, Dong Huaci could not afford to pay her back, so she could only look after Zhong Qing more in other ways. In this relationship where the imbalance of the scales was beginning to show, Dong Huaci was always paying attention to Zhong Qing in very minute ways. For instance, which scent to spray today, which clothes to change into; occasionally, when she was in a good mood, she would wear Zhong Qing’s clothes, or perhaps go to the rooftop to pull a temperamental Zhong Qing back down.

As the number of performances increased, the growth of Zhong Qing’s popularity was not proportional to her strength. Although it is said in the entertainment industry that making it big depends on fate, it is difficult not to doubt yourself after hitting a wall many times despite your efforts. Dong Huaci knew that Zhong Qing had argued with the dance teacher, Teacher Wang, several more times recently, and once she had almost directly given the boss an attitude. Although this kind of confidence was something Dong Huaci never possessed and could not help but admire, when faced with this side of Zhong Qing, everyone—without wasting any effort looking for others—would find Zhong Qing’s “best friend,” or rather, the person they felt “was actually her girlfriend.” They would report matters to Dong Huaci as if all conflicts regarding Zhong Qing would be magically resolved through her.

Therefore, when Zhong Qing learned that her mysterious good friend—the one who had previously resigned from this dormitory—had lost a lawsuit, she went missing for the afternoon. Dong Huaci once again shouldered the heavy responsibility of finding her.

“She’s gone again? Is she on the rooftop?”

Dong Huaci naturally knew that Zhong Qing couldn’t be reached, but she felt a sudden surge of exhaustion today. In the early stages of love, her heaven-sent courage seemed to gradually dissipate along with the rifts and consumption of reality. In its place was a feeling that when she saw the new perfume on the desk, there was no longer a surprise, but rather an unbearable weight. More than anything else, she was worried about her popularity for the next public performance.

At this moment, she was in the cafeteria with a bare face, treating herself to a mung bean slushie. Faced with the boss’s inquiry, she felt too embarrassed to keep eating.

“Alright, I’ll go look for her.”

Where would she go?

Dong Huaci went to the rooftop, the convenience store, and the dormitory, but the person was nowhere to be found. Messages were sent, but Zhong Qing did not reply. Dong Huaci felt a sense of dread; she suddenly felt extremely lonely, realizing that if Zhong Qing wanted to cast her aside, it would be such a simple and easy thing to do. In the dormitory, she arranged several bottles of perfume in a staggered fashion on a cramped little table. Beautiful, useless, and glowing—just like this relationship. A relationship with no responsibility, no constraints, and no clear future, leaving only impulse and friction, made Dong Huaci instinctively feel helpless.

She felt as though she had returned to that Grade 12 classroom; there was no one around, and she desperately wanted to know what the next class was, but it was empty, with nothing but rows of neat desks. She didn’t know her place, nor did she know what to do in the future; she just stood there on the spot.

And so, Dong Huaci stopped looking for her. She took her phone but turned it off, and randomly boarded a bus, regardless of the chaos she and Zhong Qing had left for the company. This bus was still within the city limits; it seemed that no matter how many circles it ran, it couldn’t escape a certain mysterious magnetic field.

The bus took her directly to the center of Shanghai. Without Zhong Qing by her side, every beautiful house here, every delicious meal, and every piece of clothing sparkling in the shop windows had nothing to do with her. However, the Huangpu River belonged to everyone.

She walked along the river, thinking of nothing. The wind whipped against her face, and Dong Huaci felt a sense of relief.

It was a pity that her face was still striking, or perhaps a girl walking by the river at night possessed such an unfortunate “attraction”—during this time, Dong Huaci perfunctorily brushed off two people who came to hit on her, eventually deciding to move toward the more crowded parts of the shore. She sat on a stone bench. The river rolled on; mediocre, superficial conversation could not solve her inner confusion. Compared to Zhong Qing, she had to selfishly admit that she cared more about herself right now.

However, when Dong Huaci turned on her phone and saw dozens of missed calls from Zhong Qing, she suddenly couldn’t help but want to cry.

It felt like she was cared for in Shanghai. She was no longer a drifting boat.

Even if this process, this method, might be uninteresting, entangled, and eventually trend toward the mundane.

“Hello.”

When the next call came in, Dong Huaci answered.

On the other end was a heavy sigh.

“It’s eleven o’clock. Where are you?”

Dong Huaci put the phone on speaker and set it aside. “I’ve been thinking about the question ‘where are you’ all afternoon, Zhong Qing.”

“Where are you? Dong Huaci.” In the phone call this time, Zhong Qing’s voice was bordering on frantic.

Dong Huaci had no choice but to answer her first. “It’s eleven o’clock in Shanghai; what could possibly happen to me? What about you? Where are you?”

The dialogue between her and Zhong Qing always seemed to have a time lag. “Never mind. Your phone is on now, and I have the location from my old phone. Don’t move. It might take some time, but don’t move, Little Tree.”

The call continued; neither of them hung up.

Dong Huaci was nearly exhausted. “Zhong Qing, what is our relationship?”

“Why are you asking that?” Her voice grew tense.

Dong Huaci said, “Why didn’t you reply to my messages? Why did you disappear for so long for no reason? Just because of a stage position? But…”

“It was my fault for not handling my issues well,” Zhong Qing suppressed her voice. “Wait a little longer; I’ve caught a taxi.”

Dong Huaci was wiping away tears, but she forced herself not to make a sound. This was her habit—crying silently. Dong Huaci’s voice still sounded very calm. “Zhong Qing, in the two months since joining the company, I’ve been dating you for one month and performing for one month. The criticism I’ve received compared to other rookies is already double, even exceeding many seniors. Because I can’t dance and can only act cute. But some people like me—if some people like me, why should I care about other nonsensical things?”

Zhong Qing said, “Wait ten more minutes.”

“Why is it that you can find me so easily, as if me being out of contact for one more second is a crime, yet I have to beg and pray to find you? What is our relationship? Are we dating?” Dong Huaci’s emotions became more unstable as she spoke. She knew that continuing to speak like this was useless. She hung up the phone.

When did the moon first shine upon a person by the river? Dong Huaci gazed at the Huangpu River, her heart sinking bit by bit. She was unwilling to admit that she was here waiting for Zhong Qing. She was both afraid Zhong Qing would come and afraid she wouldn’t. Instead of Zhong Qing, she was met by several foreign men.

“Beautiful lady, why are you sitting here all alone?”

They used awkward Chinese to praise Dong Huaci’s looks. They seemed drunk. Dong Huaci felt she couldn’t stay but couldn’t leave either; she just froze on the spot. They didn’t do anything excessive, so Dong Huaci didn’t feel right shouting; she could only get up from the stone bench and try to back away. As she stepped back, however, she fell into a familiar embrace. Zhong Qing put her arm around Dong Huaci, flashed a smile that couldn’t be described as kind, and said in beautiful, fluent English:

“Sorry, but she is my girlfriend.”