Chapter 41: Day 41 as an Object Part 1

Not long after Little He kicked her out, the Soul Splitting Talisman’s time ran out. The discomfort in her ribs vanished completely, leaving her refreshed.

The afternoon was all scenes opposite Shen Wenyi. Dinner was pushed back as usual. That was just how it was on a film crew; getting to eat at all was lucky, let alone on time.

That was why few serious actors had good stomachs. She had only been in the industry a few years, and hers was already failing.

She carried her boxed meal to the folding table. It was the table Little Xie had brought, only set up during meals.

The table wasn’t big, just barely enough for her and Little Xie to sit facing each other and eat.

As Little Xie ate, she kept glancing over her shoulder. Glancing, and then suddenly picking up a piece of chicken and bringing it to her lips.

Little Xie said, “Teacher Jiang, let me feed you.”

What nonsense was Little Xie up to now?

“Wait till I’m crippled, then you can feed me.”

She tilted her head away and continued eating her own boxed meal.

Little Xie said, “See? I knew something was off.”

She swallowed the eggplant in her mouth. “What’s off?”

Little Xie said, “Shen Wenyi and her assistant.”

Little Xie leaned forward, close to her, and lowered her voice. “I think their relationship isn’t normal.”

She found it a bit ridiculous. If it wasn’t normal, it was Shen Wenyi acting abnormal towards her. What did it have to do with Little He?

“How did you reach that conclusion?”

Little Xie jutted her chin toward behind her. “I just saw Little He feeding Shen Wenyi.”

She turned to look. Little He was sitting beside Shen Wenyi, eating her own boxed meal, definitely not feeding Shen Wenyi. Shen Wenyi’s boxed meal sat on their folding table. Shen Wenyi was flipping through the script, not eating.

She turned back. “You must have been seeing things.”

Little Xie said, “I was not. I saw it clearly. Little He tried to feed Shen Wenyi just now, but Shen Wenyi didn’t eat it.”

If she didn’t eat it, how did that count as feeding?

She said, “Well, you just tried to feed me, and I didn’t eat it either?”

Little Xie said, “It’s not the same. I was copying Little He. I wanted to see if a normal person would eat food offered by someone else. But Little He wasn’t copying anyone; she just did it on her own.”

She picked up a bite of rice, distracted. “But Shen Wenyi didn’t eat it. I gotta say, why are you so focused on Shen Wenyi? You never pay this much attention to other actors. Aren’t you a big fan of Zhang Yang?”

Little Xie said, “Shen Wenyi is your rival. Of course I have to keep an eye on her constantly.”

Fine, at least you’re loyal.

Little Xie added, “So she doesn’t choke on her food or water, and then her fans blame you.”

She said: “…………”

“That probably won’t happen. Just eat your food properly.”

Little Xie shoveled down two bites of rice, then said, “I still think something’s off.”

She couldn’t be bothered with Little Xie. They always said socially anxious people were prone to wild thoughts; guess it wasn’t just nonsense.

Little Xie said, “Think about it. Why would Little He try to feed Shen Wenyi for no good reason? If they were in private, maybe. But this is in public. So many eyes watching. If someone filmed this and put it online, what if people said Shen Wenyi was being a diva, needing her assistant to feed her?”

Now that Little Xie put it that way, it actually made sense.

Little Xie continued, “And Little He isn’t new. She couldn’t possibly overlook that. Why would she dare be so brazen?”

“Then analyze it for me. Why would she dare be so brazen?”

Little Xie took a sip of water. Her eyes were bright. Clearly a social introvert, yet her inner cosmos ignited for gossip.

Little Xie said, “My analysis is: either Little He has a shady, unspeakable relationship with Shen Wenyi, or Little He is deliberately trying to get Shen Wenyi hated on. Little He was bought off!”

What kind of messy analysis was this?

She couldn’t even be bothered to roll her eyes at Little Xie.

“Okay, okay. Just eat your food.”

Little Xie said, “Teacher Jiang, don’t dismiss it. I’m guessing they have that unspeakable relationship. Look, why isn’t Shen Wenyi eating? She must be having a spat with Little He. And why would Little He disregard the setting to feed Shen Wenyi? Definitely coaxing her wife. What other explanation is there?”

No matter the explanation, it couldn’t be that! Can you not be such a crazy shipper? Even though Shen Wenyi indeed wasn’t straight.

Unable to bear it, she lifted her eyes to Little Xie, chopsticks still holding a piece of vegetable.

“Can’t you even eat a meal in peace? Am I your press conference? Are you the assistant, or am I?”

Little Xie scratched her chin and let out an embarrassed laugh, but her thief’s heart hadn’t died.

Little Xie said, “Anyway, Teacher Shen not eating dinner is pretty strange. You didn’t see it just now, but Little He pleaded with her for ages, holding the food, and Shen Wenyi still didn’t eat. Even if there’s no melodramatic reason, she’s at least queasy or uncomfortable, right?”

Uncomfortable?

She suddenly remembered Shen Wenyi’s injured right hand. But she had already treated the wound. The scrape was near the web of her hand, and using chopsticks mostly involved the fingers. What did a scrape have to do with it?

Could it not have been just a scrape after all?

Little Xie’s voice rang out again. “Teacher Jiang, you think it’s strange too, don’t you? You haven’t blinked.”

She blinked and glared at Little Xie. “What’s strange? Whether she eats or not, what does it have to do with us? Isn’t it better if she doesn’t eat? Then she won’t choke, and you don’t have to worry about the blame falling on me. Honestly, spare yourself these idle worries.”

Little Xie immediately fell silent, ducked her head to shovel a bite of rice, then cautiously lifted her eyes to glance at her.

She pretended not to notice and continued eating her own meal.

Little Xie said, “Teacher Jiang, are you angry?”

She couldn’t be bothered with Little Xie. Might as well let her think she was angry. So noisy.

Little Xie said, “It’s not that I’m meddling. I was just thinking…”

Little Xie stalled, struggling for a moment before she made something up. “I was just thinking it’s good Shen Wenyi isn’t eating dinner. It means she must be uncomfortable somewhere. If she’s uncomfortable, we should be beating drums and gongs. After all, she’s our…”

Before Little Xie could finish, she saw Little He walk out carrying an empty lunch box and a water cup, and she stood up.

Rather than let Little Xie nag her to death, she’d rather play the good Samaritan.

She was just annoyed by Little Xie, that was all. Just that.

Little Xie jumped in surprise, looking up at her. Seeing her taking her little camp stool to leave, Little Xie panicked even more.

Little Xie quickly stood too. “Teacher Jiang, don’t be angry, I…”

“Watch your words. This is a public place.”

Little Xie immediately shut her mouth.

She added, “Don’t follow me.”

She tucked the script under her arm, picked up her boxed meal and her stool, and went to sit next to Shen Wenyi. Her eyes swept over Shen Wenyi’s left hand holding the script, and the right hand resting to the side.

“Shall we rehearse our lines together?”

Shen Wenyi lifted her eyes to glance at her, then looked down at her unfinished boxed meal.

“Eat your food.”

She said, “I can eat. You eat too.”

Shen Wenyi said, “I’m not hungry.”

“Not hungry? I get it. I wanted to say it at noon. Have you gained a little weight lately? Is this you dieting now?”

As if she couldn’t be bothered, Shen Wenyi looked down at her script. “Mm, dieting.”

“Really dieting?”

“Mm.”

She reached out and pulled Shen Wenyi’s script away, shoving the boxed meal from the table into Shen Wenyi’s hands. Lowering her voice, she said, “You wish. I eat and you don’t? Then I’ll get fat and you’ll get thin. We’re going to be in the same frame on camera. Don’t even think about one-upping me.”

Shen Wenyi looked up at her like she was an idiot. “How much weight can I lose by skipping a meal or two?”

“You said you were dieting. Who knows what other weight-loss schemes you’re cooking up behind my back?”

Shen Wenyi said, “I only said ‘dieting’ offhandedly to shut you up.”

“You want to shut me up? Simple. Eat, and I’ll shut up.”

Shen Wenyi looked at her, her chest rising and falling once. She set the boxed meal down, reached over to snatch back her script, looked down, and flipped a page.

“I have no appetite. Stop bothering me.”

She picked up the boxed meal and placed it directly on top of the script.

“You know me. I just love seeing you annoyed. The more you refuse to eat, the more I’ll keep pestering you.”

Shen Wenyi drew a breath. When she looked up again, her eyes were icy cold. “Jiang Shiyang, did you take the wrong medicine today? You’ve been unrelenting since this morning.”

She smiled and nodded. “Yep, I took the wrong medicine. Get angrier. I want to see.”

Shen Wenyi said, “This is a professional setting. Can you act normal for once?”

“What’s not normal about this? Isn’t this just workplace infighting? I cannot let you get thinner than me.”

Shen Wenyi said, “I’ll say it again. I have no appetite. Not eating.”

“No appetite… meaning you’re uncomfortable? Fine. I’ll go find Director Chen right now to get you leave. You go to the hospital and get checked out.”

She set her own half-eaten boxed meal on Shen Wenyi’s table and made a feint to go find Director Chen. Shen Wenyi grabbed her arm in a flash.

Shen Wenyi lowered her voice. “Jiang Shiyang, don’t push your luck.”

She looked down at Shen Wenyi, raising an eyebrow slightly, and smiled. “That line sounds familiar. I think I heard it once this morning. I’m especially curious—where exactly did I push my luck? Explain it clearly. And while you’re at it, explain this morning too.”

The rim of Shen Wenyi’s ear visibly reddened.

“In all the shameless people I’ve met, none surpass you.”

“Knowing I’m shameless, don’t try to clash with me. Eat.”

She tore open the plastic packaging on the chopsticks and handed them to Shen Wenyi.

She was different from Shen Wenyi. Shen Wenyi cared a lot about her image in front of others. She didn’t care at all, unless it was during promotional time, when professional ethics made her care a little.

Shen Wenyi glanced around—probably afraid she’d make an endless scene and draw attention from others. Her long lashes lowered. With a cold face, she took the offered chopsticks.

She reached out again to pry open the lid of Shen Wenyi’s boxed meal. She pressed her palm to the outside of the box. Still okay. Not hot anymore, but not cold either. Lukewarm.

Shen Wenyi held the chopsticks in her left hand and looked at her. “I said I’ll eat. You can leave now.”

“No, I need to watch you eat. What if you take one bite and consider that ‘eating’?”

“Jiang Shiyang, what is wrong with you today? Is this small matter really worth harping on endlessly?”

“It’s not. So why not just eat and be done with it?”

Shen Wenyi lowered her eyes. Her left hand tried to pick up some food, but it fell before the chopsticks could even lift it.

She sat on her small camp stool, watching Shen Wenyi’s chopsticks, then looked up at Shen Wenyi.

“Let me see your right hand.”

At some point, Shen Wenyi had tucked her right hand into her down jacket pocket. If she tried to pull it out by force, it would absolutely draw attention.

Shen Wenyi didn’t move, still stubbornly trying to pick up food with her left hand.