One Pet Gets Married - Chapter 77

Over a month had passed since Tang You’an left. She was not only recording variety shows and filming commercials, but also shooting a new drama that had been previously scheduled—”Fragrance”.

This new drama seemed relatively short based on its content, a very slice-of-life piece. Moreover, Tang You’an was cast as the lead. Initially, she had auditioned with a “let’s give it a try” attitude, but unexpectedly, the director immediately approved her after the audition. At the same time, the director was astonished by her remarkable expressiveness.

In the script, the female protagonist Fang Jing originally came from a well-off family and was a privileged girl. However, due to her family’s decline, she lost everything that her peers once envied. She had to work to support her younger brother Fang Hua and sister Fang Ling on her own. During this process, she encountered many setbacks but grew stronger with each challenge, always growing towards the sun—an inspiring character.

In this drama, Tang You’an’s attire and appearance were very plain. She had to eat a lot of coarse food and do many things that modern girls rarely do, but fortunately, she could handle most of it.

Perhaps due to her high aptitude, no matter what the director explained, she always seemed to internalize it perfectly.

The filming work was quite smooth. The only thing that was hard to bear was not being able to see Song Xici.

After all, she had no free time, and neither did Song Xici. With filming and rushing to appointments, they couldn’t even manage to visit each other on set.

So, when not filming, Tang You’an liked to keep staring at her phone, checking if Song Xici had replied to her messages. If not, Tang You’an would scroll back and forth through her Moments and Weibo posts.

During this time, if Song Xici replied, Tang You’an would be so happy she couldn’t stop smiling while typing.

As always, no matter what interesting things she discovered, Tang You’an would habitually take a photo or video and send it to Song Xici.

In short, she was always sharing. Even as summer arrived and the weather became unbearably hot, with the scorching sun beating down, the entire crew looked like wilted eggplants, listless and constantly suffering from heatstroke. Only Tang You’an remained energetic, always finding a shady spot to message or call Song Xici whenever she had free time.

As a result, everyone in the crew gave her a nickname: “Tang the Fool.”

Tang You’an didn’t care what they said. If being a fool meant being in love, so be it. Why bother arguing with single people, right?

During this period, as Song Xici’s popularity surged again, various shows and scripts extended invitations to her. With more options available, she and Chen Shihan began to carefully select projects.

Perhaps it was because Ouyang Du had first discovered her potential versatility, or maybe it was due to the eye-catching movie poster and trailer featuring her and Tang You’an, which made netizens express their eagerness to watch. Whatever the reason, the scripts offered to her recently showed great diversity.

There were roles like a protagonist with eight personalities, an antisocial serial killer with a twisted personality, and various obsessive characters. These were all roles Song Xici had wanted to try but never had the chance to before. Although the quality of the scripts varied, with Chen Shihan’s assistance, Song Xici still managed to select a pretty good one.

This script was for an urban suspense drama called “Never Silent.” Song Xici had never filmed this type of show before.

In the script, the beautiful and shapely Jessica was constantly bullied and oppressed in school due to her extreme introversion and enviable beauty. After entering society, she frequently encountered workplace harassment or abuse of power. Her husband died in a work-related accident, but the construction site boss tried every means to evade responsibility.

Originally, Jessica chose to endure silently, but in the end, when she could no longer bear it, she joined forces with another woman named Chen Lulu, who had similar experiences, to carry out a series of revenge plans against those people.

After reading the script, Song Xici and Chen Shihan immediately decided to contact the director to arrange an audition.

Perhaps it was Ouyang Du who had opened her versatility switch and broken some of her previous constraints, causing her to have an epiphany. After nearly ten years in the industry, it seemed like she was truly “getting it” now.

However, it’s also possible that Song Xici’s mindset had changed after experiencing being kidnapped and her loved one facing a life-threatening situation.

She was no longer as eager for success as before, always thinking about how to perform excellently to win awards. Now, she felt that peace and safety were true blessings. Inadvertently, she had become more indifferent to many things. Unexpectedly, after adopting a calm mindset and treating acting as a hobby, she became more relaxed, and her acting skills improved dramatically.

During the filming period, Song Xici hardly caused any concerns. Most of the time, she only needed slight guidance from the director to understand completely. Occasionally, she would share her own ideas, making the character more well-rounded.

During the filming of this drama, there was a rare afternoon and evening off, but this short time was not enough to go see Tang You’an. So, Song Xici and Meng Meng planned to go out and have some fun. Before leaving, they called Zhou Yi, but Zhou Yi said she was a bit busy, so Song Xici and Meng Meng had to give up on that idea.

Meanwhile, after turning down their invitation, Zhou Yi thought for a moment and then continued working.

After finishing her tasks, Zhou Yi looked down at her watch and realized it was already two in the afternoon.

So, Zhou Yi sat there in a daze, recalling what a psychologist had told her recently. The counselor said that when dealing with a partner who is relatively insecure and sensitive, it’s crucial not to constantly criticize their shortcomings. Instead, one should praise their strengths more often, building their confidence rather than making them feel worthless.

Ironically, something as simple as giving compliments was something she rarely did in the past. Criticism, on the other hand, she had done plenty of. What had she been doing? Acting like a contrarian.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up, filled a kettle with water, and walked to the balcony to water the flowers. Zhou Yi pinched the flower petals between her fingers and looked out, only to see the dazzling sunlight outside, causing her to squint involuntarily.

At this moment, her phone vibrated, and a news notification popped up on Weibo. It was about a claw machine fanatic who had emptied all the dolls from a machine in an arcade and was subsequently blacklisted.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi’s lips curved into an involuntary smile.

Chang Ye used to love claw machines too. However, Chang Ye’s skills were abysmal, and she had never succeeded.

Thinking of Chang Ye, Zhou Yi lowered her head and unlocked her phone screen, revealing a blue ocean wallpaper that looked very steady.

Entering Chang Ye’s Weibo, she saw that Chang Ye had reposted a Weibo about the reality show “Delicious Food is Here” yesterday: “It’s my first time participating in such a variety show, please support me everyone, love you!”

Seeing this, Zhou Yi put one hand in her pocket and smiled. There are many chaotic variety shows in the entertainment industry, but this was the one Zhou Yi found most suitable for Chang Ye to participate in.

Firstly, Chang Ye was very efficient at cooking, and her food looked great. Secondly, this show was quite popular, with流量 stars as regular guests, and the quality wasn’t bad, which could help boost her popularity. Lastly, Chang Ye had a good personality, and if she could get widespread exposure and be presented to the public, she had the potential to become popular.

After all, who wouldn’t like a beautiful, sweet-voiced girl who’s good with her hands and great at cooking?

Slowly, Zhou Yi covered her lips with her hand.

The scene from that night unfolded in her mind like an old movie. She still remembered Chang Ye’s warm lips and tears.

Chang Ye said she missed her.

But just when she wanted to embrace her, Chang Ye said she didn’t dare to gamble anymore, didn’t want to gamble anymore, because she couldn’t afford to.

Then, Chang Ye crouched down against the wall like a stray animal, sobbing quietly…

Pulling her gaze back from the window, Zhou Yi stood there backlit, staring fixedly at the phone in her hand. After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Yi still sent a message to Chang Ye: “Are you busy?”

After sending the message, Zhou Yi clutched her phone, pacing in her office, unable to calm her anxious heart. How could she dispel Chang Ye’s worries and piece together their shattered world?

A few minutes later, Chang Ye replied: “I’m free at the moment, what’s up?”

“I… want to go to the arcade,” Zhou Yi sent another message.

After a moment, Chang Ye responded: “The arcade?”

“Yes, it seems a bit strange to go alone. The people around me are quite old-fashioned, they don’t really play these things.”

Chang Ye: “What about Meng Meng?”

“Meng Meng is working,” Zhou Yi lied, feeling a bit guilty. In fact, Meng Meng had taken time off to hang out with Song Xici.

Chang Ye: “Then, what about Xici?”

“Xici is filming,” Zhou Yi rubbed her nose, telling another lie.

Chang Ye: “Okay, I’ll tidy up my room and come out. Can you wait half an hour?”

“Sure.” Seeing Chang Ye agree, Zhou Yi finally let out a sigh of relief, then raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat that had formed on her forehead from lying.

So, a few dozen minutes later, the two met. When they met, Chang Ye was already wearing a mask. It seemed her popularity had indeed increased, to the point where she had to worry about being recognized easily.

On one hand, Zhou Yi was happy for her, but on the other hand, she was afraid that Chang Ye’s life might be disrupted because of it. People can be contradictory like this sometimes. However, even with the mask on, Chang Ye’s exposed eyes were still beautiful enough to make one want to keep looking at her.

“Last time… thank you for sending me back to the hotel,” Chang Ye said upon seeing Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi shook her head in response: “Has work been very tiring recently?”

“Not really,” Chang Ye’s eyes curved into a smile, “I’ve been lucky recently. Good roles are coming my way, and even popular variety shows are inviting me. My manager says I might have hit rock bottom and now I’m experiencing a rebirth.”

“Are you happy?” Zhou Yi asked, hands behind her back, turning her head to look at her.

“I am,” Chang Ye nodded.

“That’s good then,” Zhou Yi’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Afterwards, the two entered an arcade on the third floor of a shopping mall together.

Because it was a weekday during summer vacation, the arcade was almost completely taken over by children and teenagers. Although there weren’t many adults around, it still looked lively and bustling.

Upon entering, Zhou Yi looked around, searching for a place to exchange game tokens.

Finally, Chang Ye gently tugged at the sleeve of her short-sleeved shirt, then walked towards a counter on one side.

“I remember the first time I came to a place like this was when you brought me,” Zhou Yi said, looking at Chang Ye as she held a basket of game tokens.

“Yes, when you first came in, you were like a curious baby. You tried all the facilities and kept asking me every few days if I wanted to go to the arcade,” Chang Ye laughed.

Zhou Yi smiled hearing this: “But I haven’t been to a place like this in the past few years.”

“Why?” Chang Ye asked.

Zhou Yi stared at the ground, thought for a moment, then turned to look at her: “Because without you by my side, I felt like these things weren’t fun anymore.”

Hearing this, Chang Ye gazed at her, feeling her heart contract for a moment, as if she could fall for her at any time. Then, she quickly averted her eyes from Zhou Yi’s: “What do you want to play? I’m terrible at everything except basketball.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s just for fun, not a competition. We can play anything,” Zhou Yi said as she followed her to the basketball hoops.

They played everything from basketball to dance machines to shooting games, not missing a single attraction.

After playing for a while, Chang Ye got a bit excited. Especially when playing the racing game, she became so nervous that she was about to lose control. She pulled down her mask and screamed, “Zhou Yi, help me, help me!”

So Zhou Yi leaned over beside her, gripped the steering wheel, and helped her control the car.

As they played, their bodies drew close, touching each other almost imperceptibly. Zhou Yi alternated between looking at the car on the game screen and Chang Ye’s face, her brow slightly furrowed throughout.

Finally, victory.

Chang Ye clapped her hands twice and made a “Yeah” gesture.

“Impressive,” Zhou Yi said.

Her voice was so close, it was as if she was speaking right into her ear, causing her skin to tingle.

Chang Ye froze for a moment, then turned her head. As she did so, her mind suddenly went blank.

It was too close. Zhou Yi’s beautiful and delicate features were right in front of her, her slightly upturned eyes seeming to hold a unique emotion.

Looking at her straight nose and crimson lips, Chang Ye’s mouth opened slightly, then quietly closed again.

Zhou Yi, gazing at the light reflected in Chang Ye’s pupils from the arcade’s lighting, also lost herself for a moment.

Author’s Note: [Although it’s approaching the end, it’s not ending immediately]