Chapter 77

The next morning, Leng Xiang got up early, but the bed next to hers was empty.

She went downstairs, where everyone gathered around the dining table for breakfast. Jiang Sisi was still absent.

Leng Xiang grabbed a bowl and chopsticks from the kitchen, picked a seat at random, and sat down. She picked up a youtiao.

Lu Rui sat beside her. Lu Rui used to chat during meals to liven up the atmosphere, but that morning, she kept her head down unusually silent, occasionally glancing at Leng Xiang with an unpleasant expression.

After breakfast, the production team continued filming.

After Yi Jing’s outburst the previous day, the directors didn’t dare interfere too much.

The day’s filming continued the four-person shura field group from yesterday and Xu Xingche and Lu Rui’s sweet and loving duo.

After a full day of dates the day before, the six guests were all a bit tired. They stayed inside the Love Cottage, each doing their own thing. The female guests clustered together, discussing their impressions of the male guests, and vice versa.

The script provided not only scene prompts but even wrote out every single line for each guest.

Following the script, the female guests went to Bai Rou and Lu Rui’s room for a chat session. Leng Xiang sat on Bai Rou’s bed next to her, while Lu Rui sat on her own bed.

Their dialogue was all scripted, but Yi Jing’s antics the previous afternoon had altered the shura field group’s itinerary. Sticking to the script would feel mismatched.

They decided to improvise.

Lu Rui stayed fully in character, smiling sweetly as she said, “What did you all do yesterday?”

Leng Xiang hugged Bai Rou’s pillow, her expression blank, as if she didn’t want to talk.

Bai Rou spoke gently, “Yi Jing and I went to the racetrack in the morning. We ran into Sister Leng Xiang and Qin Yang at lunch, and we all hung out together in the afternoon.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Lu Rui: “…”

Leng Xiang: “…Racetrack?”

Bai Rou smiled gently and nodded. “Yeah, the racetrack.”

Lu Rui: “…And the afternoon?”

Bai Rou: “Rock Climbing Gym.”

Lu Rui: “…”

Leng Xiang still felt her legs go weak thinking back to the Rock Climbing Gym.

It was a wall several meters high, covered in footholds. One slip could be dangerous, and the safety rope on her back felt unreliable. Once up, she didn’t dare look down and could only grit her teeth and climb.

Bai Rou, beside her, changed into climbing gear and moved like a nimble monkey. With hands and feet working together, she reached the top in no time—and even teased her.

Yes, teased her.

Though it was good-natured teasing, Leng Xiang never imagined Bai Rou could be so… lively and athletic.

She was utterly exhausted by the time they left the Rock Climbing Gym.

Lu Rui let out a dry laugh. “You all have such diverse hobbies.”

Bai Rou said regretfully, “I actually wanted to try parkour, but I figured the cameraman couldn’t keep up, so I skipped it.”

Lu Rui: “…”

Leng Xiang: “…”

The cameraman silently filming nearby: “…”

Bai Rou had played the delicate and refined lady for two days, but now she finally revealed her true self, unconcerned about breaking character. Yi Jing had already set the precedent, and the script was starting to crumble anyway. Her going off-script was just following suit—no big deal.

Bai Rou bit her lip, smiled sheepishly, and changed the subject. “What about you two? What did you do on your dates?”

Lu Rui and Xu Xingche had gone to an amusement park in the morning and the Cat Cafe in the afternoon, following a warm and sweet script. But next to Bai Rou’s adventures, it felt lackluster.

So she brought up Xu Xingche. “Brother Xingche is super gentle and loves little animals. The cats nestled in his arms—so cute. I took some photos. Want to see?”

Bai Rou raised an eyebrow and leaned in. “Let me see.”

The two huddled together over the photos. Lu Rui felt like she’d regained some ground and smiled. “Sister Leng Xiang, what about you?”

Leng Xiang said, “Qin Yang and I made cakes in the morning. They’re still in the fridge—we can eat them later.”

Lu Rui clapped lightly. “Great, great.”

With Yi Jing among the male guests, they didn’t bother pretending to discuss the female guests. Their talk deviated wildly from the script, revolving mostly around the Rock Climbing Gym and racetrack.

At lunchtime, two cakes sat in the center of the table—the ones Leng Xiang and Qin Yang had made.

The weather was still cool, and after a night in the fridge, they weren’t fresh anymore.

The others were polite, showering Leng Xiang and Qin Yang with compliments before digging in.

After lunch, as Leng Xiang cleared the dishes, she noticed the camera crew packing up too, as if preparing to leave.

Leng Xiang asked, “No filming this afternoon?”

The cameraman grinned amiably. “The director said we’re done for the afternoon. We have enough footage to edit an episode, and the script needs revisions back at base.”

Aside from Lu Rui and Xu Xingche, who cooperated somewhat, the other four had completely ignored the script so far. The directors were now agonizing over what to do next.

Leng Xiang had a good idea what was going on. She curved her lips. “Thanks for your hard work.”

…

With nothing much in the afternoon, Leng Xiang took a nap. When she woke, the Love Cottage was empty.

Love Diary alternated between live and recorded episodes. The recorded ones had to connect to the live content, so after finishing this recorded episode, the next one would be live.

From today until Sunday, it was the guests’ free time.

The other guests had already left the Love Cottage.

Variety shows were great—free food and lodging, good pay, less hassle than filming dramas or movies.

Since the Love Cottage wasn’t her place and she had nothing to do, she might as well go home.

She had the second live episode on Sunday, so she’d return Saturday night. Most of her luggage stayed behind. She only packed the script Wang Linlin had given her last time to read at home.

She finished packing, grabbed her canvas tote bag, and opened the door to leave. But something weird gripped her ankle, stopping her from moving her leg.

Leng Xiang looked down. A fluffy mass lay on her foot, tiny paws clutching her calf, refusing to let go.

Xiangxiang lifted its head, its glassy bead-like eyes meeting Leng Xiang’s.

Xiangxiang meowed pitifully.

The production team had left to revise the script, the guests were gone, and Jiang Sisi wasn’t there. Xiangxiang was alone in the Love Cottage—what if something happened?

Leng Xiang thought, what could happen? Was a thief going to break in and steal the cat?

She crouched down, picked up Xiangxiang, set it on the entryway, and ruffled its head. “Be good and stay here. Jiang Sisi will be back tonight to keep you company.”

Would Jiang Sisi come back tonight?

Maybe not.

Leng Xiang set Xiangxiang down and turned to leave, but it sat in the entryway, staring at her with clear, innocent eyes.

It made Leng Xiang feel guilty.

She opened the door, hesitated, and glanced back at Xiangxiang.

But Xiangxiang was no longer in the entryway. Suddenly, her canvas tote felt much heavier, weighing down her arm.

Xiangxiang leapt lightly onto the tote’s strap, then climbed onto Leng Xiang’s shoulder.

…

It was so heavy she could barely breathe.

Leng Xiang lifted Xiangxiang off her shoulder and chuckled helplessly. “You just want to come with me, don’t you?”

Xiangxiang meowed obediently and gazed at her innocently.

…

Fine.

Leng Xiang held the fluffy bundle in one arm and the canvas tote in the other as she left.

Before going, she thought for a moment and called Jiang Sisi.

On the other end, Jiang Sisi seemed busy amid noisy chaos. She faintly heard the vice director bellowing, “We can’t do it like that—absolutely not! Those old fogeys at the broadcasting authority will cover their eyes and toss this film into the Mariana Trench!”

Jiang Sisi covered the phone and yelled back at the vice director, “Those old fogeys’ boss is my dad. If I say it’s fine, it’s fine.”

Vice director: “…”

The vice director said dryly, “Fine, capitalism is awesome. Really great.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

After arguing with the vice director, Jiang Sisi uncovered the phone. “Xiangxiang, why are you calling? Something up?”

Leng Xiang: “Your cat insists on coming with me. It’s clinging to my leg.”

Jiang Sisi laughed on the line. “Xiangxiang has no sense of security and can’t be left alone. I always take it with me when I’m out.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

That sounded so weird.

Jiang Sisi asked, “Where are you headed?”

Leng Xiang: “Love Diary wrapped the recorded episode. The team said they’re revising the script. I have nothing to do, so I’m going home for a few days.”

Jiang Sisi: “Take Xiangxiang with you then.”

Leng Xiang: “Don’t you need it to sleep?”

Jiang Sisi: “Yeah.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Jiang Sisi smiled. “It’s fine. I need to get used to it. Xiangxiang can’t be with me forever.”

…

Leng Xiang hung up, got Jiang Sisi’s approval, and left with Xiangxiang.

The production team sent a car to drop Leng Xiang at her rental.

By the time they arrived, it was evening.

Leng Xiang thanked the driver, held Xiangxiang, and carried her suitcase into the complex.

She opened her apartment door, and Xiangxiang jumped from her arms, darting inside.

She hadn’t expected to return after just two days, so the place wasn’t too dirty—no need for a deep clean.

Leng Xiang made some food for herself and Xiangxiang in the kitchen, serving it in a small bowl.

Xiangxiang buried its face in the bowl. Leng Xiang stroked its fur, twirling its cat toy with her fingers, and pulled out her phone with her other hand.

It was just past nine.

With nothing to do that night—and free time ahead—she didn’t want to stay home reading scripts. She could go out.

She opened WeChat, scrolled down, and paused at Black Pool Boss’s avatar.

For some reason, ever since leaving the set, Black Pool Boss hadn’t chatted with her much.

Black Pool Boss didn’t initiate, and Leng Xiang had no reason to reach out.

Maybe head to Black Pool Bar tonight. She hadn’t been in ages.

…

South Third Ring, top floor of Hengmao Building, Shiyue Studio.

Shiyue Studio occupied an entire floor of Hengmao Building, all knocked open into one vast space.

At 8:30 p.m., the studio blazed with lights. Everyone hunched over desks, voices mingling with the clatter of mice and keyboards echoing throughout.

Pre-production promo, operations, rough cuts, post-production—all Shiyue Studio’s work happened in this area.

The editing team had their own darkroom. Jiang Sisi had holed up there with the directors and editors for days.

Aside from hosting Love Diary, ever since wrapping the shoot, Jiang Sisi spent every free moment here editing.

Bright fluorescent lights, wide desks, rows of computers, thick carpets, papers and files strewn everywhere, a massive projector screen on the wall.

Takeout boxes overflowed from corner trash cans. The whole studio was a mess—utter chaos.

In a word: messy.

The period right after filming was a disaster for the entire studio.

The directors and editors had been grinding away here for a while.

Luxury Goods, with its unspeakable, subtle themes, faced huge hurdles in review—especially the final scene, which basically blasted the audience with, “Haha, gotcha—we’re a gay art film.”

Hard to edit, hard to pass review—everything was hard.

Even with her dad as the station head, it was tough.

Jiang Sisi buried her head in a pile of papers, unwilling to face it all.

A stack of files fluttered lightly onto Jiang Sisi’s head.

She lifted her head from the papers, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Several buckets of KFC family meals—someone’s order—sat on the desk, their aroma filling the workspace.

The assistant director held a fried chicken drumstick in his left hand and a chicken wing in his right. He ate with his mouth glistening with oil and reached out to offer her a drumstick. “Old Jiang, aren’t you hungry? Want some?”

Jiang Sisi shot him a disdainful look and ignored him.

The assistant director withdrew his hand sheepishly. “Hmph, you don’t appreciate good intentions.”

“You haven’t eaten anything all day today, huh? Not hungry at all?”

Jiang Sisi waved him off.

She was the picture of overwork right now—her mind a total mess, and she couldn’t stomach any food.

It was time to relax a little.

Jiang Sisi stood up and headed outside.

“Tired. I’m going for a walk.”