Chapter 55

The outdoor private hot spring pool at the holiday resort was beautifully built. An open-air glass house, surrounded by artificial bamboo that remained lush green even in the harsh winter, with excellent privacy.

The server who led them over specifically emphasized that the hot spring water here was suitable for mineral immersion bathing and that nude bathing was allowed.

Lu Zhi smiled and asked Rong Yin, “Nude?”

Rong Yin, not one to back down, countered, “If you go nude, I’ll go nude.”

But since the swimsuits they had brought were quite pretty, after serious consideration, the two decided to wear them.

Only after entering the hot spring pool did Rong Yin continue their earlier conversation. “What did you say then?”

Lu Zhi said, “I told him I already have a partner.”

Rong Yin said “Oh,” giggling. “So doesn’t that make me his love rival?”

Lu Zhi looked at her. “You’re happy about that?”

“Of course,” Rong Yin lifted her small chin, her expression somewhat gleeful. “Serves him right for having eyes on the back of his head, acting like no one catches his eye. Now he’s kicked a steel plate!”

Lu Zhi was slightly surprised. In her impression, the few times Rong Yin had interacted with He Li, his attitude had been gentle and polite, his upper-class arrogance well disguised. She hadn’t expected Rong Yin to still keenly perceive it and feel so strongly about it.

Rong Yin comfortably leaned against the smooth stone wall, her black hair damp. The little bit of alcohol she had drunk at dinner was now completely steamed out of her. Her fair cheeks, slender neck, and delicate, jade-like shoulders and back were all steamed to a pinkish hue by the thick, warm mist of the pool.

After a while, Rong Yin seemed to think of something. She came over, splashing Lu Zhi with the spring water. “He Li won’t come after me, will he?”

Lu Zhi laughed. “He won’t.”

“Why not?”

“If you were a man, he might. But you’re a girl.”

Rong Yin said, “No way, is he still playing the gentleman act?”

“Exactly, that’s just the kind of person he is,” Lu Zhi chuckled. “Even if he holds a grudge, if he went after you or me because of this, it would be too beneath him. His pride wouldn’t allow it.”

Rong Yin clicked her tongue and muttered, “Living life must be so tiring for him,” while her hands kept teasingly splashing water droplets towards Lu Zhi’s neck.

Lu Zhi tilted her head slightly and reached underwater to wrap an arm around Rong Yin’s slender, soft waist. Her gaze swept over Rong Yin’s collarbone, which looked especially enticing when wet. She leaned in and bit down with her teeth, grinding intensely for a moment, only releasing when Rong Yin let out a soft moan.

“Aren’t you the least bit concerned about my feelings?” Lu Zhi asked her with some dissatisfaction.

“Your feelings? What… what feelings do you have?” Rong Yin was stunned. “Aren’t you into women? Aren’t you into me? Are you also into men? Could you like He Li?!”

Towards the end, Rong Yin’s voice grew louder, her eyes wide.

“Of course, I’m into you.” Lu Zhi kneaded her waist with both hands. Rong Yin’s waist was very slender, the skin and flesh firm yet soft, with a very comfortable touch.

The two were very close, large areas of skin touching beneath the hot spring water. Warm, fragrant, and soft like jade—it was nothing short of that.

But Lu Zhi’s words didn’t raise the warm temperature in the air any further. With a hint of teasing, she continued, “But He Li is the Eldest Young Master of Chenzhou Group. A wealthy, powerful family’s heir, good-looking enough. Aren’t you afraid that for wealth and glory, I might…”

Before Lu Zhi could finish, Rong Yin stretched out her dripping hand and covered Lu Zhi’s mouth, her expression a bit angry. “Stop it. I don’t like hearing that.”

Lu Zhi smiled and indeed stopped talking, her eyes fixed on Rong Yin.

After a good while, Rong Yin finally let go and said, “I’m not afraid.”

Lu Zhi was still somewhat curious. “Why not?”

Rong Yin rolled her eyes at her, slightly annoyed. “Because I’m good-looking! Have a nice rack! Good in bed! Not clingy! And I have money! You’d have to be dumb not to want me!”

Lu Zhi was so amused by the reasons Rong Yin gave that she laughed for quite a while. Only just before Rong Yin was about to blow her top did she pick up a pink begonia flower used as decoration on the snack tray by the poolside. She gently hooked it over Rong Yin’s ear, looked seriously at her small face, and said, “Truly beautiful. A face lovelier than the flower.”

Rong Yin humphed, a little proud and a little pleased, reaching out to pinch Lu Zhi’s soft ear.

Lu Zhi looked at her with a smile, then her gaze drifted downward.

Rong Yin remembered her earlier unreserved self-praise and quickly said, “Hey!” reaching out to cover Lu Zhi’s eyes. “Okay, I get it. No need for you to praise the rest.”

Lu Zhi was utterly slain by her cuteness. She grabbed Rong Yin’s wrist and kissed it, her eyes, like pools of clear autumn water, still fixed on Rong Yin, their gaze burning. Only when Rong Yin wanted to dodge did her kisses trail up along the jade-like arm.

Rong Yin quickly melted. She was a girl very honest about her inner desires, especially under Lu Zhi’s teasing—alluring, soft, tender, and charming. When aroused, she was like a soul-snatching sprite.

“Don’t… don’t go in…” Rong Yin’s voice was broken. Her fingers clutched Lu Zhi’s arm, her fair neck stretched out in an extremely fragile and beautiful arc, fully immersed, murmuring, “Just like this…”

Lu Zhi murmured low in acknowledgment, her hot kisses mixed with gentle bites landing on that delicate throat, letting Rong Yin grind against her palm.

The spring water surged.

It wasn’t until March that Lu Zhi secured a role for Rong Yin in a period drama set against the backdrop of a new era’s development. The show was called “Our Family,” primarily telling the story of the rise and fall of three generations of the Su family in a small southern city amidst the changes of the times at the end of the last century.

This was an ensemble drama. The moment the production team was announced, anyone with discerning eyes knew it was aimed at winning awards. The male and female leads were formally trained actors, and all the supporting roles were veteran performers of the film and television industry.

The role Lu Zhi got for Rong Yin was Su Rui, the youngest daughter among the four children of the main couple. When Su Rui was born, her eldest brother was already looking for work. Due to the large age gap with her older siblings and her good looks, she was the family’s darling from childhood, raised to have a very cute and naive personality.

According to normal plot development, such a role should be likeable but not outstanding. But in this drama, Su Rui was the key point triggering the conflict in the latter half of the plot.

She was beautiful, innocent, but also stubborn and foolish. At the most wonderful age of her life, she met a singer holding a guitar. After a few encounters, this brainless girl fell in love with a libertine like she was possessed by a devil and firmly believed she could make him turn over a new leaf. Later, she was swindled by the singer out of her money and affections, got pregnant accidentally, miscarried alone, became depressed, and finally jumped off the hospital rooftop to her death.

This character didn’t have many scenes, only appearing in ten episodes throughout the entire series. All her screen time added together was just one hour, but it was complete with a full narrative arc—very good for skill development.

Although the pay was extremely low.

Rong Yin didn’t care much about the pay now, because the money in her bank account was generating returns that grew every day. Sometimes she even worried that if this snowballed further, she might get banned by the Securities Regulatory Commission for making too much money.

Lu Zhi told her she was overthinking it.

Rong Yin didn’t care about the pay, but Su Xi did.

Lu Zhi could only express regret at this. People with different principles couldn’t work together.

Because of the contract issues involving Rong Yin and Zhou Mingming, Lu Zhi had spent most of the month at the company. By the time she visited the film set again, Rong Yin’s scenes were almost finished.

The style of period dramas tended towards simplicity and purity, without the extreme pursuit of beauty found in idol dramas.

Rong Yin’s aura was actually a bit mismatched with this drama. How to put it… according to the director, she looked too Westernized, too modern. She was beautiful, the kind of beauty anyone would find eye-catching in real life, but this kind of beauty was very jarring when placed in a film or television work.

People say that being beautiful without knowing it is the highest level of beauty. Rong Yin was the opposite. After being tormented by countless assembly-line idol drama directors, she knew exactly how to make herself look good on camera in every gesture. But her ability to accurately fit the plot’s requirements was infinitely weakened. As a result, once she shed the skin of an idol drama, she was completely out of place with other scenes.

The director naturally wouldn’t lower his filming standards just for her. So, over this past half-month, Rong Yin hadn’t had a good time at all.

Lu Zhi had learned from messages on her phone that Rong Yin had recently lost several kilograms, but seeing it with her own eyes still made her eyelid twitch.

Rong Yin, as usual, was the day’s overall NG Queen. The moment the director called “Cut,” the brilliant smile on her face instantly died.

“This…” Lu Zhi frowned, watching Rong Yin walk dejectedly away through the camera’s viewfinder. She couldn’t help but turn her head. “Isn’t this a bit too harsh?”

The middle-aged director, wearing a baseball cap, opened his thermos and took a sip of goji berry tea. His Mandarin still carried an accent from some unknown place. “Actors, ah. Without natural talent, they all have to be ground down bit by bit. If you can’t handle the hardship, then don’t do this line of work.”

“I say, being a traffic star is pretty good too. A young girl with a face like that is enough to make money.”

Lu Zhi knew he was telling the truth, so she wasn’t angry. Instead, she thanked him before standing up.

“Rong Yin.”

Rong Yin was resting with the script turned upside down over her face. At the sound, she startled, suddenly standing up and looking at Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi watched as the girl who had just been suppressing her sadness instantly turned wronged the moment she saw her. Rong Yin was still wearing clothes from the early 2000s as required by the drama: a dark red, coarse-knit sweater, worn-out, faded jeans. Her originally fair skin tone had been deliberately darkened by two shades by the makeup artist. Although still beautiful, her spirit seemed worn and dim.

Rong Yin’s eyes had already misted over. Her expression was sullen, her little mouth pursed, as if she were about to cry.

Lu Zhi pretended not to notice, reached out a finger to stroke her small face, and spoke very softly, “What’s all this? Not happy to see me?”

Rong Yin shook her head, nearly flinging tears out.

“Then why the long face?” Lu Zhi asked.

Rong Yin pressed her lips together and stammered, “Too… missed you too much…”

Lu Zhi blinked, said “Ah,” then, “I missed you too.”

She paused and changed the subject. “The contract was successfully terminated, and the studio is set up. Happy?”

Rong Yin sniffled and pulled out a smile. “Wow, so happy, so impressive.”

Lu Zhi’s heart softened at the sight of her forcibly cooperative expression and couldn’t help but stroke her face again.