Chapter 12

Night had fallen deep.

Xitang took a fresh set of bed sheets from the closet and made the bed. Zhao Pingjin came out of the bathroom after showering and saw her putting her pillow on the sofa.

“Come up and sleep,” Zhao Pingjin said, closing his eyes as he rested on the bed.

Xitang was startled.

Zhao Pingjin sneered, “Don’t worry, I’m really not that good in that department. I definitely don’t have the courage to touch you.”

Xitang’s body seemed to tremble slightly, but she still didn’t say anything. Then she put the pillow back on the headboard.

The lights were turned off, and Xitang lay on the edge of the bed with her back turned to him. Zhao Pingjin lay flat on the bed.

The room was dark, and the sound of rain could be faintly heard through the window.

“You have a strange smell on you,” Zhao Pingjin suddenly said from the other side of the bed.

Xitang’s mind was slow due to fatigue, and it took her a while to react. “Oh, I went for a massage before I came back. It’s probably the smell of the liniment. Can you still smell it after I’ve showered?”

“I just smelled it,” Zhao Pingjin said.

“You finished work so late and still went for a massage?”

“I’ve had a lot of fight scenes lately.”

Zhao Pingjin glanced at her right shoulder in the darkness, “Can you still hold a sword with your right hand?”

Xitang clearly didn’t want to talk about it anymore, “It’s okay. It’s late, let’s sleep.”

The room was finally quiet. Xitang tossed and turned for a while before falling asleep, exhausted.

In the middle of the night, she suddenly woke up. The fan was still spinning, and the rain had subsided. She turned to look at the person beside her. Zhao Pingjin was curled up on his side with his back to her, and his entire back was covered in cold sweat.

“Hey?”

“Zhao Pingjin?”

“What’s wrong with you? Is it your stomach?”

She turned on a small lamp by the bed.

Zhao Pingjin still had his back to her, his left arm was pressed horizontally against his stomach, and he remained motionless, his whole body stiff.

Xitang smiled, “If you can’t take it anymore, just say so.”

Zhao Pingjin gritted his teeth and said coldly, “Don’t mind me, just go to sleep.”

Xitang turned off the light with a snap and lay back down.

She closed her eyes. The person beside her was very quiet, not making a sound, except for occasional heavy, irregular breaths that were suppressed.

Lying on the bed, Xitang had made up her mind to ignore him, no matter what happened. After enduring for a long time, she couldn’t help but say, “Where’s your medicine?”

Zhao Pingjin was panting in pain and couldn’t speak for a moment.

Xitang got up and rummaged through the pockets of his coat on the coffee table.

“It’s not there...” Zhao Pingjin said intermittently, “It’s in the car.”

Xitang found his car keys from the old tea table in the room. She put on a coat over her pajamas. Zhao Pingjin had already sat up.

She was about to leave, but Zhao Pingjin grabbed her hand.

Xitang looked at him, “What are you doing?”

Zhao Pingjin tried to stand up, but his vision was a bit blurry without his glasses. Huang Xitang’s face was also blurry. “It’s the middle of the night, and it’s raining outside. Are you safe...”

She only heard Huang Xitang’s voice, with a hint of indifference, “Don’t worry, I’m much safer than you.”

She pushed his hand away.

Zhao Pingjin was unable to resist and was pushed back against the headboard.

She shook her sleeves and went downstairs quickly.

After only two seconds, Huang Xitang turned back, “Which car is yours?”

Zhao Pingjin’s vision was a bit blurry from the pain. It took him a while to understand her. “It’s parked a bit far away, the black Range Rover. Besides, you won’t know how to press the key?”

Xitang turned and went downstairs.

Zhao Pingjin leaned against the headboard, wiped the cold sweat off his face, pursed his lips slightly, and endured the burning pain in his stomach. Huang Xitang had always laughed at him for this, saying that he was spoiled and didn’t know the hardships of the world. Such a pampered young master from two wealthy families would actually have gastritis. Despite the teasing, when she graduated, she finally agreed to move in with him because she was worried about his health. At that time, the company was expanding rapidly, and he was working day and night, writing project proposals every night. He often suffered from stomach pains in the middle of the night. Whenever he felt unbearable pain, he would sneak into the bedroom, hold her hand, and say softly and aggrievedly, “Tangtang, wake up.”

She used to love sleep and could fall asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, but whenever he called her, no matter what time it was, she would struggle to get up, half-asleep. In fact, she had already cooked him some millet porridge and kept it warm in the pot before going to bed. She had also told him before going to sleep, but Zhao Pingjin never remembered these little things. When he felt unwell, he would close his eyes and lie in her arms, and he would feel better.

How much she had loved him back then. She couldn’t bear to see him suffer even a little bit. She would hold a bowl of porridge and feed him at the bedside, put a hot water bottle on his stomach, and hold him to sleep, comforting him like a child. Soon, he would fall asleep comfortably.

Half a year later, Jingchuang Technology was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the company’s scale doubled. They moved into a high-end office building in Zhongguancun. Zhao Pingjin formed a board of directors and basically stopped writing programs himself. He had survived the most difficult period, and his stomach had healed by about 70%. Even Li Ming said that Huang Xitang deserved some credit for his recovery.

He had even thought about giving her shares. The startup funds for Jingchuang were basically angel investments from his family. During that period, Huang Xitang had a complete falling out with his mother, and they argued every day. Once, during an argument, she had shouted at him, “Who wants your stinky money? Don’t underestimate me!”

Zhao Pingjin’s head was also dizzy from the pain. The only thing he remembered was that she had indeed not taken his money and had disappeared from Beijing as quickly as she had appeared.

Huang Xitang returned with an umbrella, her clothes still damp. She poured him some water and gave him the medicine. Zhao Pingjin obeyed and fell into a hazy sleep.

The medicine took effect, and the pain eased. He slept lightly and opened his eyes to find that she was gone.

The bathroom light was on.

He pushed open the door.

Xitang was sitting on a small plastic stool, and she turned around suddenly like a startled rabbit. Her head was bare, and her eyes were shining brightly, not sure if it was tears or rainwater. She was holding a cotton swab dipped in iodine, and there was a row of pink Hello Kitty band-aids on her knees.

Zhao Pingjin’s heart ached. She was still the same, so impulsive and quick to run. She must have fallen. He asked, “Have you disinfected it?”

Xitang nodded.

Zhao Pingjin leaned against the door frame and said, “Come back to bed, it’s almost dawn.”

The next day, they were filming in a guest house in the scenic area. Xitang didn’t have many scenes, so she was relatively relaxed. At noon, she could eat her boxed lunch on time.

The shed was very stuffy. The temperature had already been above 30 degrees Celsius for several days in June, and because they needed to record the sound, they couldn’t turn on the air conditioner. Therefore, period dramas were usually filmed in colder weather, trying to finish before the hot summer arrived. It was really hard work for the actors to wear layers of costumes and complex headgear and walk back and forth in front of the camera, sweating profusely.

Xitang took her boxed lunch and went to sit under the shade of a corridor.

As soon as she sat down, she saw Zhao Pingjin walking in.

He had just woken up, his hair was a mess, and he was wearing a pair of sunglasses. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked like a bored tourist.

When she got up this morning, Zhao Pingjin was still asleep in the room.

Zhao Pingjin sat beside her and said, “I’m starving. Do you have any food?”

Xitang went back and got another boxed lunch for him.

Xitang didn’t use the disposable bamboo chopsticks that came with the boxed lunch. She used a wooden spoon, drank the soybean soup, ate the vegetables, and rinsed the meat slices in a clean water cup before eating two slices.

Zhao Pingjin only ate the white rice and the green pepper and pork.

Xitang glanced at him and said, “It’s spicy, you should eat less.”

Zhao Pingjin looked up at her and then at the spoon in her hand, “Eat some food, you’re too thin.”

It was the first time she had seen her in a costume. She was wearing a white undershirt and a gray robe, and her daytime makeup was very light, making her look like a lively and carefree little nun. She was very cute.

Some tourists passing by took pictures of her.

She held her lunch box and didn’t pay any attention, only occasionally raising her head to smile lightly at the passersby with cameras.

Before she had finished a third of her boxed lunch, Xitang carefully washed her wooden spoon and put it in the cutlery box in her bag.

After the heavy rain last night, the sun was even more intense today. Xitang was sitting under a tree, memorizing her lines, and Zhao Pingjin was unbearably hot beside her.

Zhao Pingjin fanned her with her folding fan for a long time and couldn’t help but lose his temper, “Isn’t there a dressing room or something for you to rest in?”

Xitang looked up from the folding stool and shook her head, “Only the lead actors and director have one. Why don’t you go to the hotel and get a room?”

Zhao Pingjin said, “I’ve already asked someone to install an air conditioner this morning, and I’ve left the key with the landlord.”

Before Xitang could reply, someone from the set called for her. It was her turn.

Zhao Pingjin followed her in. It was even hotter inside the studio, and the lights were like a scorching furnace. All the staff were wiping their sweat with towels. Xitang was wearing a thick costume and acting opposite a young actor with oily hair. The other actor had forgotten a few lines and NGed several times. Both of them were sweating profusely.

Finally, the director called cut.

Zhao Pingjin walked straight over and handed a bottle of mineral water to Xitang, “Are you finally done?”

The man was so outstanding that even though he was wearing sunglasses, his arrogant demeanor made it impossible to ignore him.

Even the female assistants who were fanning and applying makeup for the male lead couldn’t help but turn to look.

Zhao Pingjin ignored the gazes around him and didn’t talk to anyone. Xitang didn’t introduce them either, and the two of them sat down in the rest area and chatted quietly.

Zhao Pingjin sat for a while, and Xitang saw that his black hair at the temples was slightly damp, and the back of his shirt was also wet. “Why don’t you go back? I’ll be in trouble if you get heatstroke.”

Zhao Pingjin replied angrily, “You’re filming for more than ten hours a day, why aren’t you getting heatstroke?”

Xitang had nothing to say to him. Fortunately, Shen Min called and said that Li Ming wanted to meet him, so he went out.