NMBJ2 - 27

Spring Delay was officially released on April 2nd. On the third day after its release, the box office crossed one billion. In recent years, the booming Chinese movie market had made this result not earth-shattering, but it gained a strong following thanks to its stable word-of-mouth, and by the second weekend, Spring Delay climbed to second place on the box office chart.

Huang Xitang felt like she was incredibly busy.

One city after another for promotions—first the pre-screening tour, then post-release thank-you events, countless promotional photos, endless interviews, and appearances on various television programs. There were also endorsements and commercial performances. Despite Ni Kailun’s careful selection, it still wasn’t enough. Sometimes, she would move from one task to another without stopping. After one event, she would only need to lift her arms while everyone around her stripped her clothes off. She was so exhausted, she could have fallen asleep standing.

Xitang began to notice that the lake in her heart no longer rippled, as it had when she met Fang Langxi that autumn.

At that time, she had signed on for her second movie and was preparing to start shooting. In September, Ni Kailun used her connections to get her a front-row seat at Paris Fashion Week. The best team from the company accompanied her to Paris. After finishing the work, when Xitang flew back from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Beijing, she ran into Fang Langxi at the first-class lounge at Capital Airport. Fang Langxi approached her first, and when Xitang saw him, she felt calm, even a little happy. “Langxi, on a business trip?”

Fang Langxi nodded. “Mm, what about you? Heading back to Shanghai?”

“Yes.”

“How’s it going?”

“Pretty good.”

“If you’re free in Beijing, come over to our place. I’ve watched your new movie Qingqing Guang in theaters three times this year.”

“Okay, thanks for supporting it.”

Someone nearby snapped a photo with a phone. Assistant A Kuan and Fang Langxi’s secretary stepped forward to block the shot. Xitang smiled at Fang Langxi, who bid her goodbye and walked toward the gate.

They both acted naturally. Fang Langxi knew well that she and Zhou Zhou were truly over. Since that year, from the start of spring, Zhao Pingjin had hardly left Beijing, staying reclusive and almost invisible, only going to Beidaihe with his parents in July.

The ground crew began to arrange boarding, with Xitang walking in the middle and her assistant pushing several large suitcases behind her. She and Ni Kailun had only stayed in Europe for three days, spending all their time shopping frantically, apart from work. They first went to the local tourist hotspots like Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, and Ni Kailun even took her to Le Bon Marché. Various luxury brands’ clothes, shoes, and bags were on display, and Xitang barely needed to try on anything before buying it. It was all for different work occasions, to ensure she was appropriately dressed and radiant. In the entertainment industry, if a female celebrity wears the same outfit on camera more than once, she’s bound to be laughed at.

Back in Hengdian, Xitang often overheard female celebrities chatting in the makeup room, and the most common topic was who had just gone to Hong Kong and spent three million yuan in one hour. At that time, Xitang worked as a background actor, earning about two hundred yuan a day, with company subsidies for the production, but most of her money went into paying off debts. She had never bought even a decent lipstick, only cautiously buying a little soybean to make soy milk for the film set every morning. Life felt absurd back then, and she never imagined she’d live this kind of life one day.

Once she boarded the plane, Xitang finally had a bit of personal time. She looked at her mother’s treatment records for the week on her phone. Ni Kailun leaned over to glance at them and said, “Do you want to switch hospitals, maybe try one in Beijing or even abroad?”

Xitang shook her head. “She doesn’t want to.”

Xitang lowered her head, her voice filled with guilt. “Her illness was caused by exhaustion. She said her back hurt when she was taking care of me in the hospital for that year.”

Ni Kailun reached over and hugged her. She knew Xitang was terrified but was forcing herself to face it. Her mother now goes to the hospital twice a week for treatment, and her condition is closely monitored. There is someone taking care of her, so life is relatively peaceful, but everyone knows there’s always uncertainty.

Zhao Pingjin remembered it was just before the end of the year. He was at the company’s entrance, about to head to a meeting at the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. Just as he was about to get into the car, Shen Min rushed out of the building and whispered in his ear.

Zhao Pingjin froze for a moment upon hearing this. “When did this happen?”

Shen Min said, “The news is from this morning.”

Zhao Pingjin thought for two seconds and said to Shen Min, “Go to Shanghai now. If there’s anything you can help with, assist her.”

Shen Min nodded, opened the car door for him, then walked back to the company building.

Gong Qi came over, helped him with the back seat door, and handed him a water cup and medicine.

The car door closed, and the driver drove toward Dong’anmen Street.

Zhao Pingjin took the medicine, swallowing it while the bitter taste lingered under his tongue, spreading slowly.

How old was her mother? Xitang was twenty-nine this year, and her mother had been very young when she gave birth to her. She passed away before even reaching sixty—far too young.

He knew she couldn’t bear it.

Before entering the meeting room, Zhao Pingjin called Shen Min again. “Where are you?”

Shen Min replied, “I’m at the airport.”

Zhao Pingjin rarely called Shen Min so frequently for a single matter. Even though he didn’t say anything, Shen Min understood his unease. “I’ll try to contact her agent as soon as possible. She’s with her right now, don’t worry too much.”

Zhao Pingjin fell silent.

Shen Min softly added, “I’m boarding now.”

In the evening, Shen Min called back with an update: “The funeral arrangements are being handled by her company and her brother. Everything is in order and low-key, and it’s not open to the media. It’s said to be the family’s request. Some people from the entertainment industry are expected to attend the memorial tomorrow. Ni Kailun is in charge of reception. I’ve arranged for a wreath, and tomorrow I’ll go with the company’s CEO. Is there anything else you need arranged?”

Zhao Pingjin asked, “How is she?”

Shen Min replied softly, “I haven’t seen her yet.”

Zhao Pingjin’s heart tightened.

Xitang had been close to her mother, and this loss was a heavy blow. He didn’t know how she would bear it.

Zhao Pingjin suppressed his emotions, took a deep breath, and said, “Wait until you see her tomorrow.”

At the memorial service, Xitang met up with her university classmates who had come together.

There were about twenty-two students in their drama class, and around ten showed up. Zheng Youtong stood in the middle. Xitang saw Li Hui from her dorm, and tears she couldn’t hold back began to flow. They had lived together for two or three years. Zhong Qiao’er had already passed away, Li Hui became a teacher at the university, and the last one, Wang Linglong, Xitang never wanted to see again.

Li Hui wasn’t very close to her back in school. She was from Beijing, with parents who were university professors. She often went home on weekends. Xitang remembered that Li Hui had passed the Grade 10 piano exam and came from a wealthy family. She was very polite, and now, she tightly hugged Xitang, saying, “Don’t be afraid, everything will be fine.”

One by one, classmates came to hug her. Some hadn’t seen her since graduation, while others occasionally ran into her on film sets, though everyone was busy.

Xitang lowered her head, softly saying to Zheng Youtong, “Thank you, Lao Zheng.”

Near the end, Xitang saw Shen Min, who had come with the thirteenth master. He shook her hand and said, “Take care.”

Xitang bowed repeatedly in thanks. She hadn’t slept in days, since her mother fell ill and she had been at the hospital. Her body and heart felt numb, her tears and blood already drained. All that remained was a hollow shell, standing in front of the memorial, bowing to mourners again and again. The funeral arrangements were handled by the small landlord and Ni Kailun.

After the memorial service, a large group of media gathered outside the funeral home.

Zheng Youtong’s film from last year had been nominated for major awards at all five Chinese film festivals. In the end, she won her first movie award in Lanzhou. This October, she received another award, this time for Best Actress, and Xitang’s name was engraved on the golden trophy. The award was presented to her by Zheng Youtong. Their class of drama majors had become stars, and on the night of the award ceremony, they shone brightly. With a great work to their name, both Zheng Youtong and Xitang had risen in status as skilled actors. Zheng Youtong was currently filming a big director’s martial arts movie, where she played the lead role. She was all over the headlines, and her name was constantly in the news. Zheng Youtong was the only one who had been photographed with Xitang, sparking rumors of a romantic link. The paparazzi, knowing they were from the same class, zoomed in on their faces, hoping to catch any hint of a scandal.

Cars continued to leave one after another outside, and the reporters, after causing a commotion, eventually fell silent.

Ni Kailun came in, leading her to the adjacent lounge, closed the door, and turned to her. “Your father’s people are waiting and would like to meet you.”

Xitang looked up in confusion, not immediately understanding what she was referring to.

Ni Kailun looked at her pale, thin face and softened her tone. “This is something from the older generation. Your mother asked me to take care of it. She said that if your father recognizes you after she’s gone, you’ll have a family, but if he doesn’t, then we’ll never need to tell you.”

Xitang’s voice was weak but tinged with anger. “I have a family.”

Ni Kailun had promised Xitang’s mother to handle this matter, so she was determined to see it through. She said, “The people came from Beijing. You should meet them.”

She opened the door.

Standing at the doorway were two people. One was an elderly man in his sixties, his hair graying, with a broad face. Next to him was a middle-aged man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, wearing a gray coat with the collar of a white shirt peeking out.

The elderly man’s chin trembled slightly, and the corners of his wrinkled eyes showed signs of emotion. “You are... you are...”

Xitang stood frozen, not moving.

The man beside him looked at her, his voice calm yet strong. “Miss Huang, I offer my condolences for your mother’s passing. My name is Li Shu’an. I came with Professor Jing to Shanghai.”

“This is Professor Jing, a retired teacher from the United University.”

Ni Kailun said, “Mr. Jing, please come in and speak.”

She gently pulled Xitang inside.

The four of them sat in the cold funeral home. Xitang remained silent. Her father spoke, and his emotions gradually became more agitated. “Your mother never contacted me. I only found out about this yesterday...”

“I’m sorry for you both, but I didn’t expect her to never even make a phone call, and she didn’t see me before she left. All these years, what difficulties could she have faced, raising a child...”

An old man kept wiping his eyes in front of her.

Xitang felt lightheaded and dull, only hearing his repetitive muttering. He spoke about how he had looked for her mother once, and they had agreed to abort the child and separate, but her mother had agreed at the time. He never imagined she would have kept the child, and later they moved several times and lost contact.

Xitang remained sitting, unmoving.

Li Shu’an gently patted her father on the shoulder, using that calm and steady voice again. “Old Jing, the daughter is in pain, please calm down.”