The floral tea in my hand suddenly lost its fragrance.
The second male lead, Yuan Jun, had one foot already on the door of the car, and now taking it back seemed overly deliberate and awkward. So, after hesitating in the doorway for a few seconds, he quickly put on a nonchalant expression, retracted his foot, refrained from entering, and turned to the driver, saying: "Shi Su must not have changed her makeup yet. I won’t get in the car. Could you please help give this teapot to her?"
He then turned his head and added, "After all, the weather is really too cold, making Shi Su stay in the cold water for so long. I’m truly sorry for that."
"It’s okay, we’re all here to make the film better, Mr. Yuan. Do you have any other scenes later?"
"I don’t have any more scenes today. How about you, Shi Su?"
"I have one more scene. Once it’s done, I can go home. See you tomorrow. Let’s give our best for tomorrow." As Shi Su spoke, she made a fist bump gesture to cheer him on, mainly to ease his current uptightness and prevent awkwardness later during filming.
Yuan Jun was genuinely very taken with Shi Su, whether it was her looks or her personality—authentic, transparent, cute yet more mature than those new to the industry. Such a rare beauty, whether she’s married or whatever is going on between her and Mr. Jing... Anyway, there certainly can’t be anything between him and her...
Yuan Jun didn’t dare to look frequently into the car, especially with the aura of her silent companion also emanating intensely beside Shi Su.
"Good luck, I’m leaving." Yuan Jun finished speaking and quickly exited the scene.
The driver initially intended to take the opportunity to smoke a cigarette, but before he could light it, he received the floral tea and took it inside. Although he saw the gentleman next to Shi Su, he didn’t know who he was, so after delivering it, he nodded politely and got off the car.
Shi Su touched the glass teapot, which was still hot inside.
She turned around, rummaged through the mobile home’s cabinet for two small cups, poured herself a cup first intending to let it cool, and then hesitated while pouring a second cup, looking up at the man with quite an imposing presence beside her: "Would you like a cup too?"
Speaking, she lowered her head to sniff and jokingly remarked, "There’s ginger in the tea, a remedy for cold legs."
Jing Jihan wasn’t interested in her tea, but she did need more of such beverages now. Ignoring his discomfort, he took the hairdryer she had just put down and said, "You drink it yourself. Sit down and don’t move."
Before Shi Su could react, she was pressed back onto the edge of the sofa, hot air blowing over her head. She quickly tried to rise, "I’ll blow it dry myself—"
"Sit still." Jing Jihan’s hold was on her shoulder, not heavy-handed yet somehow preventing her from rising smoothly, his cold voice issuing from above her, "With the car door open, there’s a cold draft coming in. Dry it first."
Shi Su still wanted to get up, struggled a bit, and turned her head to face the hairdryer, "I know, I know, let me do it myself!"
As a result, her shoulder was pressed again, easily turning her back over to the sofa.
Sitting on the sofa and unable to get up, Shi Su’s head tilted slightly, her gaze suddenly unsure where it should rest.
The man’s long, strong fingers interlaced among her semi-wet semi-soft hair, Shi Su, due to frequent acting, had never dyed her hair, all left hanging there, just long enough to reach her waist.
Although her hair was long, her strands were soft and fine, drying quickly. Once the wind stopped, she unobtrusively moved away from the man and went forward to pick up the cup to drink some floral tea.
"The flavor is really nice; once swallowed, it warms from the throat to the stomach." Shi Su took another sip, swallowing and then gesturing to the other cup she had already poured: "Mr. Jing, you really don’t want a cup?"
Jing Jihan glanced at the cup in her hand, after a few seconds of silence, he said, "Since you’re being sincere, trying a sip isn’t impossible."
Seeing him looking at her used cup, Shi Su quickly cradled the cup and shifted away.
"Drink it if you want or don’t!" She held the cup and dodged far away, continuing to sip gently, occasionally blowing into it, savoring two sips with a contented squint and sigh.
Warmth! Comfort!
After finishing half the cup, Shi Su suddenly turned to Jing Jihan.
Then she turned back, facing away from the man, sipping tea with puzzled raised eyebrows.
Why keep looking at her?
What’s so nice about messy hair?
Is there something on her face?
He’s just about staring holes into her.
Shi Su even sidled up to the dressing mirror to sneak a peek inside, seeing nothing on her face...
The last couple of days while accompanying him for hospital follow-ups, it was the same.
So, what’s up with Jing Jihan these days?
The Ancient Tomb Sect expressionless tenth-level scholar suddenly struck by winter madness?
It was already past six o’clock by the time the last scene of the day was filmed. In Jiang City, just entering winter, daylight is already short, and the sky has darkened quite a bit.
After removing makeup and changing clothes, Shi Su got out of the mobile home. Since she was picked up by the studio’s car today, she didn’t drive herself. Miss Chen had an impromptu meeting with a new advertisement sponsor and had already driven away in the car.
Chu Jiu called the studio in advance to send a car to pick her up, yet Shi Su had finished removing her makeup and gotten off the car, but the studio’s vehicle hadn’t arrived.
"Can it still make it here?"
"Will it take that long?"
"Considering it’s rush hour in the city, sending another car now—who knows what time it would arrive..."
Chu Jiu, calling the studio, after a few sentences, suddenly put down the phone: "Chen’s car broke down midway, just called for a tow truck. It can’t be repaired immediately and won’t catch up. If they dispatch another vehicle to fetch us now—the city roads are jammed, I saw the map earlier showing red congestion status. I suppose it wouldn’t arrive quickly, should we hitch a ride back with someone from the group? This place is quite remote, we can call a taxi once we reach the city?"
Shi Su had no objections; the studio’s car usually could be called up promptly, generally arriving at the scene in advance, but unforeseen circumstances coupled with the traffic jam were indeed an unavoidable issue.
Chu Jiu glanced around; Shi Su was the last actor to finish filming today, the others had already left in their cars once their parts were completed.
Presently, some staff and a few extras were left; while there were cars, it was clear the relationships weren’t particularly familiar.