Rain pattered down on the roof of the cable car, and Hui Yin lost herself in the tracks of the raindrops as they slid down on the window.
The two of them spent the rest of the cable ride in silence, and as they got out of Tianmen mountain and into their hired car, Lu Shen didn't stop Hui Yin when she sat on the passenger seat. The chatter of the driver was now a welcome sound.
Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, and the flight back to Beijing was only interspersed by muffled sounds of thunder.
Lu Shen closed himself off in his study as soon as they returned to the villa, tackling the stacked pile of work with a singleminded focus. When Hui Yin went down to eat dinner in the kitchen, she found a set of dishes on the table that had already grown cold. The maids informed her that 'sir' hadn't eaten anything yet, and only if 'madam' would call him out to eat dinner, then 'sir' would surely stop working and join her.
Hui Yin ate her meal in silence and ignored their pleading faces. She then washed her plate without paying heed to their protests, and went back to her room without looking once at the door on the end of the hall.
When she woke up the next morning, Lu Shen had already gone to work.
She paid a visit to Sister Su, and on that same afternoon, auditioned for her role as Gao Mei. There were only a few actresses that had signed up for it, and Hui Yin was chosen for the role on the spot.
They would start filming in Shanghai next week, renting a tiny apartment building which would function as the primary residence of the 'trainees'. Of course, this was where the actresses would sleep as well.
It had two dance studios, and Hui Yin gulped nervously when it was mentioned that she should at least start practicing a couple of dance moves to prepare herself for the role. She had no idea how to dance at all, and her body was like a cemented brick that could only perform square dancing [1].
Hui Yin reminded herself to ask Liu Jun for some dance-related advice.
When she went back to the villa that late afternoon, Lu Shen was still at the company. Hui Yin took a bath and scrubbed every inch of her skin. She had decided to pamper herself and bought a facial mask, while meticulously polishing her nails.
Hui Yin no longer gave any importance to superficial beauty, but she wanted to look stunning for the party tonight.
When she had been married to Lu Shen, Hui Yin once read a comment on the selfie that Nian Zhen took with her which was posted on Weibo. In it, the poster had described Nian Zhen as the dazzling sun and 'Mrs. Lu' as the moon that had become a 'muted background' to her brightness.
"Muted background," Hui Yin mumbled, her eyes flashing. "I'm the 'muted background'?"
They said that she was the 'moon' and Nian Zhen was the 'sun'?
Well, she was going to show them a solar eclipse in the party tonight!
[1] Square dancing or (广场舞, or guǎngchǎngwǔ) is a dance exercise for groups of people (usually older ladies) who dance together in a block formation.