Lu Zhi stepped out midway to wash her hands.
The hotel venue’s restroom was well-designed, spacious, with clean, transparent marble countertops in the stalls. A sandalwood-scented electronic diffuser continuously released a fine, lingering mist of water vapor, light and hazy, swaying into various hazy, suggestive shapes with the faintest air currents.
“You… you go out first…” Rong Yin’s voice was pleading, sweet, and indolent. Even the force she used to push Lu Zhi away was almost like a coquettish act, her slightly upturned eyes red at the corners, her gaze still carrying a trace of dazed allure. She looked so delicately beautiful, a sight no one could refuse.
Lu Zhi lightly kissed the reddened corner of her lips, which were opening and closing to suppress her breaths. The tomato-red lipstick there had been wiped clean, but her lips were even redder than when colored, their moist and full shape tempting her to take her time savoring them before finally letting go. She then obediently pushed the door open and walked out.
She placed her pale hands under the automatic faucet and washed them carefully. As she wiped them with a paper towel, she noticed several wrinkles on her fingers from being soaked in water.
“Bang—”
A door, not quietly opened, sounded. Lu Zhi looked up at the mirror. The stall at the very end opened from the inside, and a woman with short hair, wearing a black off-shoulder dress, stepped out. Her gaze fell on Lu Zhi with a hint of curiosity.
Lu Zhi’s expression remained unchanged as she nodded politely to her.
The woman returned a polite, perfunctory smile. Under Lu Zhi’s calm and composed demeanor, the flicker of questioning scrutiny in her eyes quickly vanished. She washed her hands and walked out.
Lu Zhi waited quietly outside for a long time before Rong Yin seemed to recover. She walked out of the stall, her navy blue dress already tidied back to its original state. Yet, her delicate face still carried a spring-like pink flush, and a pair of beautiful eyes glared at Lu Zhi with a mix of feigned anger and reproach.
Lu Zhi curved her lips in a light smile, an undisguised, lingering affection flowing between her brows.
Rong Yin nearly lost her footing.
Lu Zhi supported Rong Yin’s slender waist, waiting only until she finished washing her hands before taking a black lipstick tube from her clutch. Her left hand’s fingers naturally pinched the other woman’s chin.
“Touch up your lipstick.”
Rong Yin lowered her dense, raven-feather-like eyelashes. A glance from the corner of her eye caught two very distinct tooth marks on the knuckles of the other woman’s index finger. It was obvious that, in their earlier play, she had bitten down uncontrollably to stifle the sounds trying to escape.
She had been pushed to the edge and didn’t dare make a sound, completely unaware in her muddled consciousness that she would bite so hard. Now, looking at those two abrupt red and swollen marks on the fair, slender finger, she couldn’t help but frown slightly.
Seeing her expression, Lu Zhi smiled softly. She used the tip of her finger to wipe away a smudge of lipstick applied outside Rong Yin’s lip line and asked softly, “Heart aching for me?”
Her tone was exactly like when she had just whispered, asking her, “Does it feel good?” Upon hearing this, the faint trace of guilt Rong Yin felt vanished instantly. Remembering how she had been bullied by the other woman to such a state, her ears burned red with embarrassment. So she deliberately snorted and muttered quietly, “Serves you right.”
Only after a bit of tidying did the two of them saunter out. The cocktail party had entered its latter half. The crowd in the venue seemed to have changed entirely, with the clinking of glasses and murmuring conversations intensifying. Everyone looked like a master networker with boundless social skills, chatting in small groups.
The middle-aged director was nowhere to be seen, perhaps having left early, or perhaps seeking new investors elsewhere.
Lu Zhi led Rong Yin back to their seats. Passing by the buffet table, the constantly replenished delicacies released their fragrances unbridledly into the air.
Rong Yin had eaten breakfast sometime past eleven and had only drunk some water since then.
In the past, if she had eaten carbs for breakfast, she could easily last the whole day. But she hadn’t really been hungry recently, perhaps also because she had just expended some energy. Anyway, she couldn’t quite help herself, and her eyes lingered on the food for a couple of seconds.
Lu Zhi noticed immediately. While refilling her water glass, she used a small silver fork to spear a small cake and place it on a delicate little plate.
Rong Yin looked somewhat conflicted at the colorful cake, putting down the fork in her hand, sighing, “If I eat this, I’ll just gain weight again.”
Lu Zhi consoled her: “We can exercise together when we get back tonight.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Rong Yin rolled her pretty eyes at her.
Lu Zhi was puzzled: “Hmm?”
Rong Yin scolded her quietly: “Dirty rogue.”
Lu Zhi paused slightly, looking at Rong Yin innocently. “What are you thinking? I meant real exercise, like fitness, body sculpting.”
“…”
Rong Yin gritted her teeth, turning her back to her in embarrassment and annoyance, refusing to speak to her.
Lu Zhi’s face showed a doting smile. She hooked her finger around Rong Yin’s hand. “If you want some, just nibble a couple of bites. Give the rest to me.”
Rong Yin was awkward for a short while, but ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of the cake dessert. She took the small fork and licked a couple of mouthfuls of the fine, soft cream, then gave the rest to Lu Zhi to finish.
—
After resting for two days, Rong Yin took the audit pass Lu Zhi had gotten for her and started attending classes at the Film Academy.
Before she turned eighteen, she had eagerly anticipated going to university. Unfortunately, after the college entrance exam, she dove straight into the entertainment industry, constantly shuttling between various film crews, acting jobs, and promotional events. Naturally, the company wouldn’t possibly let her go back to school.
So, being able to attend classes in a lecture hall was still quite a novel experience for Rong Yin.
After school, Lu Zhi waited for her downstairs from the teaching building. Although she knew that, given Rong Yin’s current status as a female star and her beautiful looks, most people would definitely treat her kindly, she still asked.
“Are you settling in okay? How are the teachers? Are you getting along with your classmates? Is anyone bullying you?”
Like asking a human toddler on their first day of kindergarten.
Rong Yin’s expression was even smugger than the most popular kid in kindergarten. She placed her hands on her hips, lifting her chin high. “Hmph, I’m practically the Queen of Entertainment! Who else would dare bully me besides you?”
Lu Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She bent her finger and lightly rapped her on her little head.
Lu Zhi had hired someone to renovate the villa’s basement, which was now divided into a screening area and a fitness area, specifically for Rong Yin to practice her physique and performance.
Rong Yin was very serious about attending classes, carefully completing her homework every day.
In the morning, she would fuss about getting up early to practice vocalization on the balcony. Even during meals, baths, and sometimes in bed, she would suddenly burst out with a few perfectly enunciated drama lines.
In the evening, besides fitness and yoga, another activity was added: dancing. Coming from Splendid World Entertainment, which made its name creating idol stars from talent shows, and having inexplicably served as a mentor on one such show herself, Rong Yin knew some girl-group dances due to the environment. She also had a foundation in ballet, which she was now picking up again.
Sometimes, she would even get Lu Zhi to be the camerawoman as she practiced walking or eating like a gorilla or a polar bear.
“Stanislavski said that performing requires liberating one’s natural instincts…” Rong Yin’s face was a little red, but she forced herself to look calm, staring at Lu Zhi. “Don’t you dare laugh at me!”
Lu Zhi looked utterly serious. “Not laughing. It’s not funny at all. Not one bit.”
Rong Yin pursed her lips, still unsatisfied. She tapped away on her phone, as if consulting someone, and even sent two voice messages.
Lu Zhi smiled and asked, “Made a new friend at school?”
Rong Yin mumbled ambiguously, finally looking up after a moment. “Not really. It’s just that whenever there’s a pair rehearsal, Teacher Fang always partners me with her. We’re just ordinary classmates, not really at the ‘friend’ stage yet.”
Lu Zhi made an “oh” sound and asked casually, “What’s her name.”
“Li Luo.” Rong Yin continued tapping on her phone. “You probably wouldn’t know her anyway.”
Lu Zhi raised an eyebrow. She actually did know this person.
As the so-called Destined Girl in the original plot, third-year Film Academy student Li Luo had yet to formally debut. Like countless young men and women sinking in the lower rungs of the entertainment industry, she was still just a minor Cannon Fodder drifting from one set to another. The plot’s first description of her was that next summer, she would pass an audition for a palace drama and then encounter the first “monster” on her career leveling path: a minor top-tier star with an arrogant, domineering personality who coasted through work — Rong Yin.
In the original plotline, although Rong Yin’s death couldn’t entirely be blamed on Li Luo, her appearance was absolutely the trigger.
She never expected Lu Zhi’s arrival would lead to such an interaction between two people originally destined to clash.
Was this another kind of fate?
Rong Yin lowered her head to ask a couple more questions. When she put her phone down, her round, bright eyes narrowed, smiling like a little fox. “Sister, there’s also a performance form for two people, called mirror exercise. It requires two people to learn each other’s movements. So, you have to do it with me.”
Lu Zhi looked up, simultaneously pushing aside thoughts of the plot. After all, with her here now, barring force majeure, Rong Yin would absolutely never repeat the tragic path of the original story.
Rong Yin walked over enthusiastically, pulling Lu Zhi to stand in front of her.
Standing face to face, Rong Yin pointed at her own eyebrows. “You copy me first. Move wherever I move.”
Lu Zhi cooperated fully, saying “okay,” and mirrored her by pointing at her own eyebrows.
Seeing her so receptive, Rong Yin nodded, satisfied, her smile curving her eyes into crescents.
Lu Zhi soon mirrored her again, revealing an identical sweet, clear smile.
Rong Yin’s heart instantly exploded. Her enthusiasm for learning soared. She began wildly controlling her facial features — wiggling her eyebrows one moment, rolling her eyes the next, baring her teeth, then pouting her lips. She poked her cheeks, pretended to have convulsions, and ran wildly around the room…
Lu Zhi followed suit, wiggling her eyebrows, grimacing, making faces, and running around playfully, not caring one bit about looking ugly or foolish.
The two played face-to-face for a long while. Rong Yin ran until her entire back was slick with a layer of sweat. Finally, she stopped with a sliding kneel in the center of the glass mirror.
Lu Zhi’s sliding kneel wasn’t as natural and graceful as hers, but she still knelt opposite her, the positioning and hand placement an exact match.
Looking at Lu Zhi, Rong Yin suddenly burst into loud laughter — a genuinely happy laugh, joy and contentment spilling from her eyes. One could tell immediately it wasn’t an act.
“Sister,” Rong Yin reached out and cupped Lu Zhi’s face, even rubbing it twice with increasing boldness, then planted a loud “muah” on her lips. Pressing her forehead close, she declared, “I’m going to love you to death!”
Lu Zhi smiled too. She reached a hand out to hold the back of Rong Yin’s head. They leaned very close, breaths intertwining. For a certain moment, even their breathing synchronized.
Laughing softly, Rong Yin slowly closed her eyes.
The two began kissing, naturally.
