Chapter 55: Distance
Jiang Mi postponed her plans to go home.
After Spring wrapped up, work piled up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Her daily schedule barely gave her a chance to breathe.
Yan Wei was also very busy, with various red carpets, film festivals…
The time they had to meet was naturally compressed a lot, but they still had at least one phone call or video call every day.
Jiang Mi was quite content, but sometimes she felt that this state couldn’t last long.
In early July, Huai City was wrapped in a stuffy heat.
Jiang Mi, who had just finished filming a cold medicine commercial, got into the car, picked up a cup, and took several big gulps.
The air conditioning in the studio was running in vain. The stuffy air had long since made it hard to breathe. She let out a long sigh, her voice tinged with weariness, “Where to next?”
Zhao Jia handed her a wet wipe. “Rest.”
“Are you serious?” Jiang Mi raised an eyebrow.
“I am.” Zhao Jia: “I specially carved out this time for you. You have to earn money, but you can’t sacrifice your health—we haven’t earned much yet, so don’t wear yourself out first.”
“Ooh—” Jiang Mi dragged out her voice and leaned on Zhao Jia. “Sister Zhao! Dear sister! You’re the best manager in the world…”
Zhao Jia rolled her eyes at this exaggerated acting.
The industry’s sense of smell was the most sensitive.
In fact, even before Spring had finished filming, far-sighted crews and advertisers had already come looking. Once the film was released, Zhao Jia knew how big of a fire Jiang Mi could start. It would only be more tiring then.
And just the current non-stop work was already exhausting Jiang Mi.
Zhao Jia’s fingertips paused. She calculated that in the future, she would have to screen out more miscellaneous jobs for her and try to focus on good scripts.
“By the way,” Zhao Jia turned to look at her, “have you finished reading the script for Blessing?”
Hearing this, Jiang Mi’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she said without hesitation, “Mmm, the script is really solid. I want to fight for it.”
“I’ve been in contact with Director Zhao’s side before.” Zhao Jia’s tone was slightly tense. “But they have a priority candidate, and the communication… is not completely finalized. I’m considering, when we go to Nanjing for the drama promotion in a couple of days, to see if we can find someone to connect us with their crew. You can go and meet Director Zhao in person. Director Zhao is the producer, and she’ll be on set for those few days—there’s a newcomer filming there.”
Of course, Jiang Mi had no objection.
She had already seen the setting of that urban dual-female-lead drama. The story was about two women who grew up together, struggling in the quagmire of their respective families, and finally finding the power of healing and support in each other.
The first time she read that script, the suffocating pain and subtle moments of redemption, every conflict, every confrontation between the characters, carried a heavy emotional tension that made it hard for her not to be moved.
Zhao Jia looked at her burning eyes, paused for a moment, and then suddenly laughed. “Speaking of which… you’ve changed quite a bit since you got together with Teacher Yan.”
“Oh?” Jiang Mi’s curiosity was piqued. “For example?”
Zhao Jia deliberately dragged out her tone and asked teasingly, “For example… you’re more motivated? You weren’t so keen on fighting for scripts before.”
Jiang Mi was taken aback. She thought about it seriously for a moment, then smiled frankly, her eyes curving. “Mmm… it seems so.”
It was just that Yan Wei was too powerful, impeccable in terms of acting skills. It was precisely because of their relationship that she would feel a sense of pressure every time she saw Yan Wei’s achievements.
On the other hand, she also hoped that the gap between her and Yan Wei would not be so big.
Her wish had not changed. One day, she would stand on the awards stage with Yan Wei.
“Tsk,” Zhao Jia feigned dissatisfaction. “Can’t you have a little more ambition?”
“I think I’ve been quite ambitious lately, haven’t I?” Jiang Mi blinked, her expression quite innocent.
Zhao Jia said irritably, “Ambition means not being a little tail in front of Teacher Yan, okay? I really want to stuff a mirror in your face and let you see how you look when you mention her…”
“What do I look like?” Jiang Mi pressed, the smile in her eyes impossible to hide.
“Alright, alright.” Zhao Jia quickly raised her hand in a “stop” gesture. “Don’t show off your love.”
The curve of Jiang Mi’s lips still couldn’t be contained, as if the two words “Yan Wei” themselves could make flowers bloom in her heart.
“But besides you, who else can I show off to?”
Zhao Jia: “…I’m getting out of the car.”
“You’re not allowed.”
“?” Zhao Jia: “Alright, alright. Now that you have a backer, you’re really getting carried away.”
Jiang Mi smiled. Actually, she really missed Yan Wei.
For some reason, she suddenly remembered the day they wrapped up. She had been crying uncontrollably and had locked herself in the break room to calm down.
Yan Wei had knocked on the door and come in. When she saw “Qin Shui’s” familiar cheongsam, her dried tears had burst out again.
But that day was not a completely sad day.
The moment Yan Wei took off that cheongsam in the break room, all her sadness had melted into that pool of spring water.
They had held back their voices.
In each other’s world.
“Jiang Mi,” Yan Wei’s voice was very low, with a clarity that came from passing through a role. Her fingertips gently brushed against her tear-stained cheek. “Look at me. Now tell me, who am I?”
The face in front of her, stripped of the character’s halo, revealed a familiar silhouette and a deep gaze.
“Yan Wei.”
She was choking, but every word was clear.
“Mmm.” Yan Wei’s response was as light as a sigh, yet it carried a heavy weight. “I’m here.”
Something heavy landed in her heart.
She felt that Yan Wei was very good. Yan Wei was really very good.
Jiang Mi unlocked her phone and opened the chat that she had pinned at the very top, the one that simply displayed the word “Sister.”
Her fingertips hovered for a moment, then she chose a GIF with exaggerated rabbit ears and a frantic heart sign and sent it.
Then she asked:
[What are you busy with?]
[Busy?]
[I finished work early today. Do you want to meet? I can come find you?]
[Hehehe~~~]
She didn’t expect an immediate reply. Waiting had now become almost a habit for her.
Especially after the curtain call of Spring, the two of them were rushing around in different city maps. The gaps where they couldn’t meet were filled with an endless stream of text.
Zhao Jia glanced at her as she turned off the screen, with a knowing and helpless look.
“She’s busy,” Jiang Mi saw her look and answered as if it were a matter of course, as if this conclusion were a law of nature.
Zhao Jia’s throat moved, and she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, she couldn’t hold back.
“Mi,” she slowed her tone, with a rare earnestness, “you know Sister Zhao never meddles in your affairs. Even if that person is Yan Wei, with our status, we shouldn’t put ourselves so low, okay?”
“But when two people are together, isn’t it about mutual accommodation?”
Hearing this, Zhao Jia sighed:
“Does she really wake up later than you every morning? With her status, does she really need to do everything herself? Is she really busier than you? Or does the Movie Queen not have time to eat? Can’t she find you first, contact you?”
After she finished, she seemed to feel that her words were a bit too cruel. “I’m not trying to rain on your parade. I believe Teacher Yan really likes you, but sometimes, the efforts of two people must be equal to last.”
One-sided accommodation, for a while, was fine. But over time, there would always be resentment.
This sentence splashed a deep mud pit in Jiang Mi’s heart.
The car was parked in the hotel’s parking lot.
After wrapping up, Yan Wei no longer stayed at this hotel. But because she still had a new shoot in Huai City, she had to stay for another half a month.
Jiang Mi was sitting on the sofa. After a shower, all her pores were open, and she was so comfortable she was about to fall asleep.
She took out her phone and looked at the quiet screen. It had been three hours since she had sent a message to Yan Wei. She was also in this industry. She could understand that sometimes, when you were busy, you didn’t even have time to eat.
Her fingertips rubbed the screen for a few seconds, and suddenly, her fingertips vibrated. She looked down in pleasant surprise, and was slightly surprised to see the caller ID.
Mo Xi.
Jiang Mi hadn’t been in contact with Mo Xi for a long time. She had taken the initiative to contact her once, because Yan Wei had mentioned Mo Yun’s suicide attempt…
But she hadn’t received a reply.
She didn’t know the details of Yan Wei’s relationship with her family, so she didn’t dare to get too involved.
“Hello?”
On the other end of the line, the deafening electronic music and the clamor of people were like a chaotic background noise, almost swallowing Mo Xi’s voice.
But Jiang Mi still keenly caught the long sigh of relief in the other’s tone.
“Sister Jiang Mi…” Mo Xi’s voice came through the noise, with a pleading tone of exhaustion. “Can you… can you help me? I really can’t find my sister… I… I don’t know who else to turn to… I’m sorry…” The last three words were already wrapped in a thick sob.
Jiang Mi’s brow instantly furrowed, and her lazy body suddenly tensed, sitting up straight.
“Don’t worry. First, tell me clearly, what happened?”
“My classmates and I… were at a KTV…” Mo Xi’s voice was trembling. “A scumbag… was touching us… I… I couldn’t hold back and pushed her… as a result, that person fell on a broken beer bottle and bled a lot… now they’re holding us and not letting us go… they say she’s a pianist and want a hundred thousand to let us go… where are we going to get so much money…”
“How is the injured person? Is it really serious?”
Jiang Mi’s voice sank.
“It’s just a cut on her shoulder. It looks like a lot of blood, but it doesn’t seem to be very serious. I told her to go to the hospital, but she refused. She said she won’t let us go if we don’t give her the money.”
Jiang Mi calmed down a little and asked again, “Have you called the police?”
“I… I don’t dare…” Mo Xi lowered her voice, revealing a deep fear. “If my sister finds out… I…”
Jiang Mi slowly stood up.
Her thoughts were racing in her mind—if this matter blew up, any sensational report, the first person to be pushed to the forefront would definitely be Yan Wei.
If it could be solved with money, there was no need to let the problem escalate.
But Yan Wei hadn’t said anything. If she rashly interfered…
“Sister Jiang Mi! I’m begging you…” Mo Xi’s urgency came from the receiver. “Sister Jiang Mi, please help me. My mom just had a fight with my sister, and her health is not very good. I don’t dare to let my mom know. And if those people find out my sister’s identity… my sister… she’ll really never acknowledge us again…”
A chill quietly crept up Jiang Mi’s spine.
Of course, she didn’t want this matter to affect Yan Wei. Apart from that, there was also the friendship between Mo Yun and Jiang Youshu.
After a brief hesitation, she quickly made a decision.
“Don’t worry. First, give me your location,” Jiang Mi instructed. “You guys protect yourselves and stay in touch.”
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Mi tried to call Yan Wei’s number, but the only response she got was a busy tone.
Her fingertips flew, and she quickly sent a WeChat message to Yan Wei, briefly explaining the situation. Then she called Zhao Jia. At this moment, she couldn’t show up at the bar herself, so she could only entrust it to Zhao Jia.
The car wheels rolled over the road, and half an hour later, it stopped on the side of the bustling bar street.
In the back seat of the car, Jiang Mi was clutching her phone, her gaze locked on the flashing neon sign of the KTV. Time passed, second by second. Finally, that familiar figure appeared behind Zhao Jia.
Jiang Mi’s shoulders quietly relaxed.
She picked up her phone again and sent a message to Yan Wei: [I’ve got her. Don’t worry.]
Her fingertips hovered for a moment, then she added another sentence:
[I’ll take her home first. Contact me when you’re done.]
Outside the car window, Mo Xi’s figure was getting closer and closer, her face still showing the panic of a near-miss. Just as she reached out to pull the car door, the phone in Jiang Mi’s palm suddenly vibrated.
The screen lit up with that familiar name, and her slightly chaotic thoughts suddenly calmed down.
“Sister,” the corners of Jiang Mi’s straight lips unconsciously lifted, and then she said, “I…”
“This is not your business.”
The harsh words came without warning.
Jiang Mi’s slightly open lips froze in place. The moment the car door was pulled open from the outside, Yan Wei’s voice came through the current, “Did you hear me?”
