Chapter 13

That night, Xitang finished filming around two in the morning. After the wrap-up, she went out with her co-stars for a late-night snack. As she walked out, she saw Zhao Pingjin waiting outside.

The yellow streetlights reflected on the bluestone road. He was wearing a gray short-sleeved polo shirt with his hands in the pockets of his casual trousers, looking relaxed but his figure was like a silent blade of shadow.

The actress who played her master in the drama, a Taiwanese woman, teased her, “Hey, don’t call you Xiye anymore, your boyfriend is waiting.”

There were some media reporters from a cooperating company waiting outside for the main cast. When they saw her, they greeted her familiarly. A gossip reporter with sharp eyes said, “Xitang, when did you get such a handsome boyfriend? Oh, look at your head, true love, huh?”

Xitang smiled politely all the way, but she didn’t say a word.

The two of them walked side by side towards the town. Xitang was on the phone the whole way.

She didn’t have an assistant, so she couldn’t answer calls while filming. Usually, when she had missed calls, they were about job opportunities. Xitang called them back one by one. Zhao Pingjin listened for a long time. At first, it was about scheduling and scripts, and it seemed like she was only doing one-take scenes. There was one scene with a heavier role, and Xitang hesitated a bit when discussing the pay.

That night, Xitang finished filming around two in the morning. After the wrap-up, she went out with her co-stars for a late-night snack. As she walked out, she saw Zhao Pingjin waiting outside.

The yellow streetlights reflected on the bluestone road. He was wearing a gray short-sleeved polo shirt with his hands in the pockets of his casual trousers, looking relaxed but his figure was like a silent blade of shadow.

The actress who played her master in the drama, a Taiwanese woman, teased her, “Hey, don’t call you Xiye anymore, your boyfriend is waiting.”

There were some media reporters from a cooperating company waiting outside for the main cast. When they saw her, they greeted her familiarly. A gossip reporter with sharp eyes said, “Xitang, when did you get such a handsome boyfriend? Oh, look at your head, true love, huh?”

Xitang smiled politely all the way, but she didn’t say a word.

The two of them walked side by side towards the town. Xitang was on the phone the whole way.

She didn’t have an assistant, so she couldn’t answer calls while filming. Usually, when she had missed calls, they were about job opportunities. Xitang called them back one by one. Zhao Pingjin listened for a long time. At first, it was about scheduling and scripts, and it seemed like she was only doing one-take scenes. There was one scene with a heavier role, and Xitang hesitated a bit when discussing the pay.

Zhao Pingjin couldn’t help himself and grabbed the phone. “Ten thousand.”

The man on the other end, with a rough voice, said, “Ten thousand for what?”

“For Huang Xitang’s scene.”

“Who are you?”

Zhao Pingjin frowned unhappily and said, “I’m her agent.”

The man on the other end sneered, “You must be a new agent. Don’t ask for such a high price. I only feel sorry for her because she’s always looking for roles. Tell her that if she has five thousand, she can come, otherwise there are plenty of people lining up.”

Zhao Pingjin said coldly, “Ten thousand, no more nonsense.”

The other person suddenly roared, “Ten thousand? Are you dreaming? Do you think you’re a big star? What agent? She doesn’t have an agent, she’s just a wild woman who will never become famous. And she’s still bargaining? I’m telling you, it’s five thousand, and I can find ten others who would line up for me to choose from. Ten thousand, you can go fuck yourself!”

Zhao Pingjin’s expression didn’t change at all.

He ended the call, held her phone, and stared at her face, slowly asking, “Do all those men insult you like that?”

Xitang still had that indifferent look and even smiled slightly, “Ah, this guy’s swearing is so illogical.”

Zhao Pingjin didn’t know where the anger in his heart came from, he just looked at her coldly and said, “Huang Xitang, do you have any shame?”

Xitang’s smile stopped for a moment, then she said nothing, but simply turned her head away.

Hengdian Wansheng Street was a sleepless city.

On a hot summer night, restaurants set up awnings outside their shops, and all kinds of restaurants, bars, fruit stalls, barbecue stalls, and tricycles filled the street. Palace maids in qipao were buying vegetables, and Japanese soldiers with guns were buying cigarettes on the roadside. In a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant on the side of the road, directors were often discussing scripts, unknown actors were waiting for their luck, and there was a constant flow of people.

It was a magical realist town full of illusions and materialism.

Black cars could be seen occasionally on the street, with men wearing glasses peering out of the car windows, looking for news. They were paparazzi who had been squatting on film sets for a long time.

It was too easy to catch celebrities having one-night stands or cheating on their co-stars in a place like Hengdian. Once you got a big scoop, all kinds of public relations agencies would go crazy and throw money at you, and you would become famous overnight.

Xitang looked calm, wearing a white shirt and blue overalls, and sat at a greasy outdoor table at Old Song’s barbecue restaurant, smoking a cigarette.

At least one thing hadn’t changed about her: she still liked to wear white.

Xitang showed no emotion, and even smiled a little, “What do you want to eat? The roast lamb here is pretty good.”

Zhao Pingjin replied indifferently, “Choose whatever you like.”

The two of them could actually sit at a table and chat calmly. In the past, when Zhao Pingjin was young and arrogant, he was very mean with his words, and sometimes when they argued, Xitang couldn’t win against him. When they were young, they were both delicate and fragile, and Xitang would feel very wronged whenever they argued. She would either cry loudly in the room or slam the door and leave. Zhao Pingjin would chase after her in his car, and then she would probably cry in his arms while telling him how he had bullied her. Zhao Pingjin couldn’t do anything about it when he heard her say that. He could only lower his head and apologize. After a few words of comfort, Xitang would forget about it and they would return to being lovey-dovey.

But later, she stopped crying in his arms, and he stopped apologizing. At that time, he really felt that their relationship had come to an end.

She was a very proud person, and even his strong-willed mother couldn’t do anything about her. Now that she had heard him say those words, she simply pretended not to hear and just turned her head and smiled.

Perhaps in her eyes, he was no different from any other benefactor.

What did he care about anymore? She no longer cared about anything.

Zhao Pingjin thought about how she had been handling all the trivial matters by herself on the set today, “Didn’t your company assign you an assistant?”

Xitang extinguished her cigarette and began to look at the menu, “I’m fine, I don’t need one.”

Zhao Pingjin couldn’t help but ask, “After filming so many movies, you still don’t have a chance to play a better role?”

Xitang suddenly smiled at him deliberately, “Do you think I’m beautiful or not?”

Zhao Pingjin looked at her smiling face and replied coldly, “So-so.”

Xitang didn’t mind at all, and while quickly ordering her food, she lowered her voice and said, “Look to your left.”

Zhao Pingjin glanced over. There were a few men and women sitting there drinking beer.

“Look to your right.”

Zhao Pingjin glanced over again. Several girls were sitting on the roadside, posing coquettishly.

Xitang laughed happily, “Which girl in Hengdian waiting for a role isn’t beautiful? It doesn’t matter if they’re from a film school or not. Every year, thousands of girls enter this industry, and so many seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls come to play...”

She lit another cigarette and smiled meaningfully, “The lead actors are chosen by the investors, Mr. Zhao. You know the rules of the industry.”

Before she finished speaking, her phone rang. Diao Ge’s loud voice came through, “Xitang, there’s a night shoot now, from four to dawn, an extra two hundred yuan per hour, are you coming?”

Xitang glanced at Zhao Pingjin, “I’m not free tonight.”

Diao Ge shouted generously on the other end, “I always look for you first for good opportunities like this.”

Xitang understood, “Okay, I always know that you take good care of me, Big Brother. I’m really not free tonight. Remember to call me next time. You’re at which crew? I’m at Old Song’s place. I’ll have them pack some supper for you.”

“She suddenly seemed so worldly.” Zhao Pingjin watched as she nonchalantly discussed the dirtiest aspects of this industry. He knew she was telling the truth, but hearing these words from Huang Xitang made him feel a little uncomfortable.

He remembered that she used to be an idealist, always topping her class in acting. As a girl from the south, her diction wasn’t very good at first, so she practiced tirelessly. While others would practice ten or twenty times, she would practice dozens or even hundreds of times on her own. Zhao Pingjin had sometimes helped her practice lines, correcting her pronunciation, and by her senior year, her acting skills were so solid that even director Lin Yongchuan had praised her. She was very picky about scripts, refusing to film outside of Beijing because she didn’t want to leave him, and she also refused roles with explicit love scenes. Her first film was a leading role, and she received quite a lot of praise. He had always thought she had a good start.

Xitang smoked and sipped a little light beer, “You’re all the same. You enjoy the glamour of female stars but look down on us.”

Zhao Pingjin picked up a honey-glazed chicken wing, “That’s right. You’re shameless and heartless. What do you have to be proud of?”

Xitang held her cigarette, flicked the ashes lightly, but her expression remained calm, “Mr. Zhao, you’re a high-flying bird, and we’re just people trying to make a living.”

Zhao Pingjin crushed an quail egg with his chopsticks and suddenly looked up, “Come live with me in Beijing.”

Xitang was still quick-witted, but she just smiled and said, “No, I don’t get along with the capital. I’m prone to misfortune there.”

Zhao Pingjin’s eyes dimmed for a second, then he leaned back in his chair, resting his hand on the armrest, and resumed his indifferent expression, “I’ll pay you more.”

Xitang seemed interested and blinked, “How much more?”

Zhao Pingjin thought for a moment, “An extra hundred thousand a month?”

Xitang narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone teasing, “Even if you add a million a month, I won’t go.”

Zhao Pingjin wanted to flip the table.

When they got home, Xitang had been drinking and was visibly relaxed.

She swayed as she climbed the stairs, humming a nameless tune softly.

Zhao Pingjin followed closely behind her. Sure enough, she stumbled on the last step and almost fell.

Zhao Pingjin grabbed her shoulder, opened the door, and threw her onto the sofa. Xitang still had that dazed expression on her face. She sniffed, crawled onto the sofa, and curled up comfortably.

Zhao Pingjin sat on the side and watched for a while. Suddenly, he reached out, roughly turned her face, and kissed her hard on the cheek.

Her soft, delicate skin, warm to the touch, was still so captivating. Zhao Pingjin’s heart trembled, and he slowly released her.

Tears suddenly welled up in Xitang’s eyes. She mumbled drowsily, “Zhao Pingjin.”

Her voice was filled with grievance, “I often dream of you, but they’re never good dreams.”

Zhao Pingjin’s thin, pale face seemed to be smiling, “This is the first time I’ve seen you drunk and so civilized.”

Xitang’s eyes widened, clear and bright. She sat up calmly, as if out of habit, and sat up straight, she said lightly, “I’m not drunk, sit down. You go take a shower first.”

Zhao Pingjin regretted slapping himself.

She had closed her hard and strong shell again.

Zhao Pingjin was stunned for a moment, then silently got up and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Halfway through, the water suddenly turned cold.

He shouted from the bathroom, “Huang Xitang!”

Xitang went over and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhao Pingjin twisted the door open and poked his head out, “The water suddenly turned cold. What’s wrong with this damn water heater?”

Xitang glanced over and suddenly screamed, then covered her eyes.

Zhao Pingjin was stunned for a second, then slammed the door shut.

Xitang peeked through her fingers, “Can you put your clothes on first?”

Zhao Pingjin grabbed his bath towel, reopened the door, and Xitang saw him wrapped in a pink bath towel, his upper body exposed, his hair wet and combed back, and his handsome, thin face with water droplets running down his neck.

It was so beautiful that it was breathtaking.

Xitang took a deep breath, steadied her trembling hands, and went in to check the water heater. “There’s no gas.”

Zhao Pingjin looked at it helplessly, “Why didn’t you pay the bill?”

Xitang grinned at him, “It’s so hot, why don’t you take a cold shower?”

Zhao Pingjin glared at her and pushed her out of the bathroom.

A while later, he came out, and Xitang went in to take a shower.

Zhao Pingjin was standing in the living room drying his hair when he reached out and grabbed her, “Wait.”

He found a new pot from the kitchen, washed it twice, filled it with water, and put it on the electric stove.

Zhao Pingjin looked at her with a disapproving expression while heating the water, “Do you always do this?”

“What?”

“Run out of water, electricity, or gas?”

Xitang smiled sheepishly, “I’m too busy sometimes.”

Zhao Pingjin suddenly reached out and touched her bald head, “Don’t wash your hair with cold water, you’ll get headaches when you’re older.”