Chapter 508: Things of Memory
An Xiayue showed her friends the group photo of her and Yu Linna, which was also the only group photo of the two of them. After Linda had seen it, she had praised this person for being beautiful and found it hard to believe that she was a writer. During this period of time, Yu Xiayue had talked about her.
Only Toni had a pensive look, thinking if she had seen this girl somewhere before.
“Toni? What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s nothing, just…”
Toni hesitated, thought for a moment, and still decided to say it.
“Don’t you think this girl and Yueyue look a bit alike? This may be my subjective thought, but I really think you two look very similar.”
She said so.
…
While Yu Xiayue was busy filming in Australia, the situation in her home country was still the same as before, with no change.
In California, USA, Yu Xiayue’s mother, Catherine, happened to have no work arrangements this day and was rarely at home to rest. It was just that she had nothing to do when she went back. After thinking for a moment, she decided to make some baked cakes. Ever since she had retired from Hollywood, Catherine had not filmed for many years. Before, she might have still brought her own daughter to film, or to mingle in Hollywood’s social circle. But now she was really not interested anymore, because she had no intention of returning to Hollywood now.
“Mrs. Yu, someone is calling for you.”
At this time, Catherine was just making some snacks when a Chinese butler in her home spoke to her, saying that someone was looking for her. Catherine’s home had many butlers and servants, and she also employed Chinese people. Her own Chinese blood was not very strong, but her ancestors were Chinese after all. She still had a very good impression of the Chinese.
“Alright, I’m coming.”
Catherine spoke fluent Mandarin, put down what she was doing, wiped her hands clean, and went to answer the phone. She had originally thought it was just an ordinary private call, but she had not expected that it would actually be a transnational call from England. The other party was an English director.
“Good afternoon, madam. I’m Heston. I think Miske has already greeted you.”
“Yes. I hear you want to talk to me about a cooperation.”
“It’s good that you can understand. It’s like this. A movie of mine is about to start filming, and the cast has also been more or less decided. I would like to invite you to make a guest appearance as a character. The salary will definitely not be perfunctory. It will be set according to your market price from twenty years ago. One minute, just one minute is fine.”
“Mr. Heston, you should know that I am not taking on any roles anymore.”
Catherine tried her best to politely refuse the other party. Ever since she had decided to leave the circle, she had not planned to take on any roles anymore.
After all, there was no need, and she did not want to be exposed to the light. For a person like her to still live under the light was really not worthy.
“Why is that? Madam. You are a legend. You were once the biggest star in Hollywood. Why don’t you consider a comeback? You are not old, and you are beautiful, and you also have talent. I don’t understand why you chose to retire when you were at your peak.”
“What you said is not quite right. I am not a talented, capable person. I don’t want to stand under the light, because I feel that I don’t have the qualifications.”
“You’re joking. Isn’t your daughter also an actress like you? She is very similar to you. I don’t think you have no qualifications. I dare say that in this world, no one is more qualified to stand on the stage than you. I am sincere, madam. I really hope you can stand on the stage.”
“I’m very sorry, Heston. I won’t be going.”
“Alright, madam. I respect your opinion. I will invite you again next time if there is a chance.”
The phone was hung up.
Actually, Heston was also considered a famous director in England, and had also filmed movies in Hollywood. This time, he had suddenly invited Catherine to England to film, probably because he was preparing for a big production, and even for the purpose of breaking into Hollywood. Now was not like twenty years ago. In the past, it was literary and love stories that were popular. Now, it was almost all entertaining big productions. This was also the reason why Catherine felt that it was not very suitable.
“Madam, I picked this up when I was cleaning the warehouse just now. Do you need to throw it away? I see that this thing seems to be a bit old.”
At this time, a white maid in the house brought over something. It was a hairpin, a very cute strawberry hairpin. At a glance, you could tell it was a child’s thing. And it was a few years old, very old.
Catherine’s eyes widened, and she repeatedly stepped back, bumping into the table behind her. The water glass on the table was also bumped and fell to the ground, breaking into several large pieces, and water spilled all over the floor. Catherine’s eyes were full of fear.
“Madam? This thing should be… not wanted, right?”
The maid asked tentatively.
Catherine held her head, panting heavily. She had almost lost control of herself. She held onto the sofa and sat down.
“Shemie, can you help me put this back in the warehouse? You don’t have to show it to me again when you’re cleaning in the future.”
“Alright.”
“Thank you. Also, can you clean the floor? I’m very sorry. I want to rest for a while.”
“No problem. Madam, you should rest well.”
Catherine leaned against the sofa. It was not easy for her to calm down. She took out a mirror to look at her own face, and it was actually full of tear stains. She wiped them clean with a tissue. It had been so many years. How could it still be lingering? What should have passed should have passed. Catherine felt that she was a little weak, very unseemly.
The dignified former Hollywood queen had now become a woman like glass. What on earth had happened to her? Was it because of that incident from more than ten years ago that had made her so weak? Indeed, she had blamed herself for a long time, and had also felt that it was her fault. But what could she do about the past? The person was no longer here. What else could she expect?
This was a lifetime of pain for her. Perhaps she would really never be able to forget it in her lifetime.
Suddenly, the phone rang. She looked at the contact. It was her husband. She opened it and answered.
“Honey.”
“Honey, you’re home?”
“Mmm. I’m a little empty by myself. My old problem has come back.”
“You’re thinking of the child again?”
“Mmm.”
There was a silence on the other end of the phone. During the time that Catherine was leaning against the sofa, the other party seemed to be also looking for a topic, thinking about how to comfort his wife.
“Darling, it’s not your fault. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.”
“I know. But I just can’t forgive myself. How old was she when she left? Just two years old, babbling. I hadn’t even had time to tell her to grow up, and she was gone.”
“Kate, it’s already in the past.”
“I am a mother. I am a mom. I still feel so sad. It’s been so many years, and I can’t forgive myself. I punish myself. I don’t want to appear in front of the camera. I don’t have the qualifications to be dazzling. If it weren’t for Yueyue, and you, I might have thought of going myself.”
“No, you can’t do that. I’ll be back today. You don’t go anywhere, okay?”
“Mmm. You should come back soon. I want you to be with me.”
Catherine leaned against the sofa, almost wanting to cry, but she still held it in. Some people, once they are gone, they are gone. But some people, what they can’t get over is what they can’t get over. And this entanglement is for a lifetime. Usually, it was nothing, but sometimes, Catherine really couldn’t control herself. She had regular check-ups with a psychologist every month, and did treatments, just because she had a long-term heart disease.
This day in California was still a peaceful day.
And in Guangnan, China, today was also a peaceful day.
It was just that when she had woken up in the morning, her head was hurting badly. Yu Linna had found some headache medicine for herself and had taken it, and then had logged into Weibo and had seen that someone was flaming her, was cursing her, and also helping her to speak up. She didn’t really care about these things. These people were too boring. She was being gossiped about for even making a donation, and there were also people who complained that she had donated too little. What kind of people were these?
“I really think these people are beasts. To actually force a donation.”
Early in the morning, Qian Jiaxuan was also sitting at Yu Linna’s house, having breakfast with Yu Linna. It had to be said that Yu Linna’s cooking skills were really good. Whatever she made was so delicious. Eating it made the whole person smell fragrant.
“By the way, Sister Qian, why are you having breakfast at my house so early in the morning?”
This was the point that Yu Linna wanted to complain about the most. How did this person get out so early in the morning?
“You also know, today is the weekend. Today, my friends are either at work or on a date with their boyfriends. I’m the only lonely old person left. Ying ying ying…”
“Get to the point.”
“I want to spend the weekend with Shion-sensei. I’m very easy to feed. Just feeding me three meals is fine. I promise not to do anything.”
“…I say you, you like to drill into my place so much. Do you like me?”
“Yes, yes, I like Shion-sensei the most.”
Yu Linna indicated that she did not want to bother with her. To expect this straight woman, Qian Jiaxuan, to understand what “like” means, it seemed to be not very possible. Forget it. She had no other arrangements for today. It was also quite good to spend it with Qian Jiaxuan.
Today, she planned to go to the supermarket to buy a few days’ worth of food. She wanted to lock herself at home for a few days to write her manuscript properly. As a novelist, being a hikikomori at home was a necessary skill.
“Shion-sensei, what’s in this big box? It seems to be food. Can I eat it?”
“Eat, eat.”
“Wow, thank you! These are all snacks, quite precious, and all famous brands. They’re quite delicious.”
Qian Jiaxuan was already eating snacks on the side, without any image of an editor. Plus, Qian Jiaxuan was now wearing her private clothes, not the formal attire she usually wore for work. Her whole image had collapsed quite a bit. Looking at such an imageless editor, Yu Linna began to miss Chen Xi.
These snacks were all sent to her by Ye Zhiyun. She had said that she wanted to pursue Yu Linna, to start over. Although Yu Linna did not think it would be successful, and had also told her not to send them anymore, Ye Zhiyun had not been willing to give up.
“You’ve just finished breakfast, and you’re eating these again. Be careful not to get fat.”
“It’s fine. Snacks are in another stomach.”
“The last person who said that has already become a dead fat otaku…”
Taking advantage of her free time, Yu Linna first cleaned the house, tidied it up, and then tied up the books she didn’t need and prepared to throw them out. After living alone for so many years, she still had this skill. It was just that she sometimes thought that the space in her house was a bit small. The things she needed were getting more and more, and she vaguely felt that the space was almost not enough.
“Shion-sensei, you’ve been living alone all this time. Don’t you feel very lonely?”
“No, I’m used to it.”
“If you’re lonely, you can move to my house! My parents are very easy to talk to!”
Yu Linna gave her a look of contempt. She continued to clean her own place. Qian Jiaxuan liked to move her things around everywhere, and even went to rummage through the drawers in her room. At first, Yu Linna didn’t think much of it. Suddenly, she saw her rummaging through an exercise book in her drawer. At that moment, she was anxious.
“This is mine. Don’t move it.”
Yu Linna snatched it over with one hand, not letting her move it. Qian Jiaxuan immediately felt very wronged.
