The Whole World Is Waiting for Me and My Ex-Girlfriend to Remarry (Entertainment Industry) - Chapter 49

Reunion, Designated Leading Lady, and Meeting the Family

Zhong Qing stood at the door with long, straight hair, a large mask, a knit beanie, and a heavy black down jacket that concealed her figure well, looking exceptionally warm in the typically damp and cold winter of Shanghai. Her expression carried a slight trace of exhaustion. Had it not been for the massive suitcase by her side, it would have seemed as if she had just stepped out for a stroll and had only now returned.

Seeing Zhong Qing, Dong Huaci failed to react for a moment. She instinctively looked at herself—she wasn’t wearing her slippers properly and was clad in thick, white cotton plush pajamas. Her makeup, however, was perfectly done for her livestream. Standing at the door, she dithered for two stunned seconds before uttering this sentence: “My dinner delivery is overdue.”

“Let me in, I’ll make you something.” Zhong Qing stood at the door; jet lag seemed nonexistent for her. This woman’s energy and capability always had a way of refreshing Dong Huaci’s perception when least expected.

Dong Huaci stepped aside to let her in.

As the door closed, Zhong Qing first pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.

Dinner almost didn’t happen. In the bathroom, Dong Huaci had already posted an announcement to her private livestream room regarding an indefinite hiatus, and her makeup had been scrubbed clean. When she emerged, a freshly steamed fish was already on the table. Wrapped casually in a bathrobe, Zhong Qing had already tossed Dong Huaci’s unopened takeout into the trash.

Dong Huaci sat down and picked up her chopsticks.

Zhong Qing turned off the stove and sat quietly beside Dong Huaci, watching her eat. This was a characteristically “Zhong Qing” style of tender gaze. Dong Huaci unconsciously shifted into her “work mode,” making her movements as slow and elegant as possible.

Zhong Qing spoke up abruptly: “Are you still purging?”

Dong Huaci did not stop her chopsticks. At this moment, she truly found the fish delicious. Facing this interrogation, she merely laughed it off. “You’ve always known, haven’t you?”

“I wanted to ask you personally.”

“No.” Dong Huaci was very natural in facing this question now. She even pulled at Zhong Qing with an unfazed expression. “You come eat too.”

Zhong Qing suddenly spoke again: “I have a movie.”

Dong Huaci stopped her chopsticks.

When Zhong Qing spoke of professional matters, she always maintained that professional tone: “The script is already bought. It’s an arthouse film. The team consists of me and a group of my classmates. The investors are mostly settled. Only one thing remains.”

Dong Huaci had already anticipated what it was: “I haven’t acted in a long time. But I’m willing to try.”

Zhong Qing smiled. “Yes, I need you to be my leading lady. The investment is relatively small, and the script is a bit convoluted. It won’t necessarily be a hit… it’s roughly about a person’s spiritual predicament in the city, but it has nothing to do with romance. Which is to say, there is no male lead in this film.” She felt a bit nervous again. “Aren’t you even curious about what kind of movie I’m specifically planning to shoot before you agree?”

Dong Huaci didn’t reply with sweet nothings. Instead, she squeezed out a smile. “Many things in this world are like that; it doesn’t always depend on whether you like it or not. Sometimes…” She wondered if this was another form of “unspoken rules” (casting couch). No, this was more like the bright red apple for Adam and Eve. You know what will happen if you eat it, but you will eat it eventually. Just like Shanghai was to the eighteen-year-old Dong Huaci, and just like Zhong Qing was to the twenty-eight-year-old Dong Huaci.

Zhong Qing went silent.

Dong Huaci shook her head again, her tone almost consoling: “Zhong Qing, you must have misunderstood me. I just need a little time to accept it. It’s too sudden. What is the name of this movie?”

Zhong Qing said slowly: “The Flower Decided to Become a Tree at Thirty.”

Dong Huaci laughed. “It sounds like a name that won’t get popular. It’s too artsy.”

Zhong Qing hummed. “I like it.”

So, Dong Huaci laughed along with her. She knew Zhong Qing had always been brooding over the incident with Huang Jue. She minded very much that Director Liu Miao had given Dong Huaci a chance at fame, and even that Zhong Qing herself had belonged to the category of “screened merchandise.” She was tired of being screened; she wanted to create, from start to finish, rather than being loved under the spotlight or being chosen through picky selection.

This was the stark difference between Zhong Qing and Dong Huaci. Dong Huaci felt that being appreciated was a form of love, while Zhong Qing preferred that the world leave her mark behind.

She wanted to leave Dong Huaci behind with her.

During this period of silence, Zhong Qing couldn’t help but press further: “What were you thinking just now?”

Zhong Qing loved asking these highly pressured questions; over all these years, she hadn’t changed a bit.

Dong Huaci chose to be honest: “I was actually wondering if this counted as a form of ‘unspoken rules.'”

Zhong Qing laughed and finally picked up her chopsticks. “You’re finally willing to tell me your concerns… Little Tree, this is a form of steadfast choice.”

Appetite is a testament to one’s mood. After finishing dinner, they didn’t do much else and almost immediately fell asleep in each other’s arms. Dong Huaci rarely slept so peacefully in this house that she felt shouldn’t belong to her.

The next day, Zhong Qing received a message from her mother inviting her for a meal. It was very last minute and casual—lunch today.

After all, having not returned to the country for two years, Zhong Qing had to find time to see her mother. Her mother, Ms. Nie Qing, had already sent the location link—a small private room in a Japanese restaurant. Zhong Qing gave her mother a brief call while fiddling with Dong Huaci’s hair, saying she understood, then suddenly added: “Little Tree hasn’t had lunch either. Little Tree will come along.”

It was unclear how the other side responded, but the originally drowsy Dong Huaci woke up instantly.

She jumped up from the bed, her protest very weak: “Wait a minute, I need to put on makeup.”

Zhong Qing also got out of bed, draping a coat over herself. “Actually, you don’t need to.” She turned her head to look at Dong Huaci as if she could never tire of the sight. “You look good regardless. It would be even better if you were a bit fatter.”

Dong Huaci listened halfway, deciding only to apply base makeup, her tone carrying a subtle, charming pout: “You’re too thin. I’m afraid I’d crush you to death.”

Zhong Qing laughed loudly.

She loved this perspective of watching the busy Dong Huaci in front of the mirror. Dong Huaci was picking up an eyeliner; Dong Huaci was applying highlighter. At this moment, every movement of Dong Huaci represented a certain kind of life she had long yearned for.

Just one step left.

One step away from Dong Huaci’s glorious debut.

In less than half an hour, they were on the road.

Since it was a last-minute invitation, Zhong Qing drove while Dong Huaci sat in the passenger seat lost in thought. The heater in the car blew against them. At every red light, Dong Huaci would always use her left hand to touch and squeeze Zhong Qing’s right hand. Dong Huaci had rarely had the time over the past two years to keep long, pointed nails with dangling beads. As Zhong Qing touched them, she thought of the strength and the marks those nails had left on her back when they met yesterday.

Upon arrival, the meeting took place in the private room. The three of them greeted each other very politely. Zhong Qing seemed to inexplicably put on a bit of a distant front with her mother. They had just finished ordering and hadn’t even exchanged much small talk before Zhong Qing’s phone began ringing repeatedly.

Dong Huaci nudged her with a smile: “Go on, it’s fine. I won’t eat all the salmon—otherwise, what if our movie falls through?”

The three of them laughed at once. Zhong Qing went to answer the phone, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Nie Qing spoke first: “Huaci, just now when Xiao Qing was here, it wasn’t easy for me to praise you too much—you don’t know her temperament; she always wants the whole world to revolve around her dreams. In my heart, you are very beautiful, and I prefer your kind of beauty.” She gave a light hum. “Zhong Qing is beautiful, but you don’t know how many ugly faces she’s shown me in private. I was thinking, your mother must also be very beautiful and very gentle, which is why she could raise someone as good as you.”

Dong Huaci’s next sentence seemed to come from the bottom of her heart, yet it also seemed as though it had been rehearsed many times, so the reply was very brief—brief to the point of being official: “I am already very lucky to have had a very good mother. Unfortunately, she passed away early.”

She did not mention her father.

Nie Qing propped up her head, gazing at her gently, seemingly waiting for her to continue.

Having spent a number of years in the entertainment industry, Dong Huaci knew that this kind of silence was a form of expectation. She had to say something more.

She smoothed her hair, adopting a non-aggressive posture: “My father’s situation is very complicated…” For no reason, she felt a sense of guilt, even though she was entirely a victim of her original family. “He is a lot of trouble. Strictly speaking, in my heart, he doesn’t count as a human being. Zhong Qing resolved that trouble for me and never asked too much about it. So, regarding this matter, I have always been very grateful to her.”

Nie Qing laughed upon hearing her words. She neither confirmed nor denied anything, taking a sip of tea. “I actually know about that matter. Back then, Xiao Qing came to beg me.”

She winked at the somewhat dazed Dong Huaci. “It’s alright. I’m glad I could help you. You don’t need to have a sense of debt toward my daughter—I understand her very well.” Nie Qing put down her teacup. “She is an insecure person because since she was small, both her father and I were nearly strict with her and provided little companionship. If you asked me to recall things from her childhood, I would only remember that she seemed to like playing single-player games alone, or wearing headphones and dancing in front of the mirror. I walked in on her once and was frightened; I thought she had gone mad. To my surprise, she took off the headphones with a cold face, said I didn’t respect her privacy, had a huge fight with me, and directly smashed the glass mirror, almost making me send her to the hospital.” Nie Qing laughed again as she spoke. “This all led to her taking a path in her adolescence that her father and I never imagined. You see, whether an original family is perfect or not does have a relationship with a person’s growth, but whether this is a blessing or a curse often depends on that person’s single thought after reaching adulthood.”

Dong Huaci still smiled with some constraint: “But I… to be honest, I feel she has always been much more capable than me.”

“I heard it was you who dumped her back then. I also know that many fans hope the two of you will reconcile.” Nie Qing was truly a very fashionable and approachable mother. “I follow your accounts. I’ve seen those photos and videos, and I also think you two are a good match.”

Dong Huaci said with some embarrassment: “Oh… speaking of that…” She looked toward the door for help, just in time to see Zhong Qing returning. Zhong Qing’s expression was slightly unnatural, one could even say she looked very nervously at Dong Huaci: “What’s wrong?”

Thinking she shouldn’t cause trouble for Nie Qing, Dong Huaci’s acting skills suddenly exploded as the desire to perform surged: “Your mother asked what our relationship is.”

Hearing this after sitting down, Zhong Qing suddenly coughed. Dong Huaci and Nie Qing exchanged a glance, and with the encouragement in her eyes, Dong Huaci continued to smile and talk nonsense: “I actually wanted to say we are roommates and best friends…”

“—I’m also going to marry her, Mom.”

Zhong Qing slowly calmed her emotions and dropped a bombshell.

The room went silent. She squeezed Dong Huaci’s hand and followed up: “If we can’t get married domestically for the time being, we’ll go abroad. After this movie is finished filming.”

Nie Qing looked at Dong Huaci, and as if to put Dong Huaci’s mind at ease, her choice of words was deliberate and slow, shifting from warmth to a professional and calm narrative: “Speaking of the movie… Huaci, don’t worry. Sponsors have been arranged. Don’t worry about the investment; an arthouse film won’t require that much. You also don’t need to worry about whether the investment can be recouped—in short, the money spent is to ensure your first movie isn’t an eyesore. Furthermore, many investors are actually coming for you.”

Dong Huaci broke into a laugh. She understood that they were actually coming for the hype of “Zhong Qing directing, Dong Huaci starring, and they are both women who might have had a past.” But Nie Qing’s words were so well-said that in the end, amidst her complex emotions, a heavy sense of touched gratitude arose.

She looked at Zhong Qing again, realizing that this was likely not a last-minute decision to meet the family.

Nie Qing continued to ask: “So, Huaci, are you willing?”

Willing to do what?

Dong Huaci felt as if she had lost her soul; everything felt very surreal. From the moment Zhong Qing returned yesterday, it had all been very surreal.

Nie Qing kept looking at Dong Huaci. This habit was very much like Zhong Qing’s, or perhaps Zhong Qing had inherited exactly her mother’s sharpness and efficiency. “Our Xiao Qing, being with you forever. Choosing a lifelong partner is a very important decision for a person. You don’t need to be in a hurry; rather, you need to be quiet, completely rational, and firm in making this decision. Do not do it out of being moved, and certainly do not do it on impulse.”

Nie Qing seemed like Dong Huaci’s own mother, specifically there to undermine Zhong Qing. Yet the twenty-eight-year-old Dong Huaci fully understood that these words were spoken because she was loving both of them equally as a mother.

Dong Huaci instinctively looked at Zhong Qing again.

Zhong Qing was nervous. She wanted to smile, but her facial expression management seemed to have suddenly spiraled out of control. She was afraid. She was afraid of Dong Huaci’s answer, or perhaps she had some strange premonition. She brushed her hair, losing all of her usual dominance, appearing to resent her own loss of composure, seemingly viewing this formal confession as a failed performance.

For some reason, Dong Huaci loved this fear in Zhong Qing, and she also loved this pessimism in Zhong Qing.

She smiled, revealing an emotional firmness and an indomitable spirit: “Auntie, I love Zhong Qing very much. I am willing to be with her for a lifetime.”

As the words fell, Dong Huaci’s eyes were sparkling, looking exactly as she did when she graduated from the Gaokao and decided to come to Shanghai for interviews with her friends, speaking to her mother. She was blinking her eyes just like that, feeling that same fear, yet also letting the power of hope and love overshadow the fear, until the whole world was left with nothing but the fine, shimmering lights in her eyes.