The Fourth Star
In the VIP lounge, the lights were bright, and everyone else was chatting in low voices, completely unaware of the misunderstanding that had occurred here.
Jiang Chuyi’s face twitched, and she choked up.
She was so embarrassed that she really didn’t know what to do. She thought about taking the initiative to say something.
Just then, Zong Ye turned his head slightly and looked at her.
Caught off guard, their gazes collided, and she felt a hint of uneasiness.
After a moment of hesitation, he took the lead to break the silence and asked calmly, “Did you scan the wrong code?”
She calmly agreed.
Being stared at by him like this, Jiang Chuyi pursed her lips and barely maintained a calm appearance, “Sorry for disturbing your sleep.”
She thought she was acting calm enough, but little did she know that her earlobes had already quietly turned red.
“It’s okay,” Zong Ye said with a calm expression, “I wasn’t asleep anyway.”
This remark could be considered giving her some face.
Seemingly also understanding her embarrassment, Zong Ye lowered his eyes and picked up his phone, asking, “Do you want me to scan another one for you?”
Jiang Chuyi quickly refused, “No need, thank you.”
She really didn’t want to hear that embarrassing notification sound again.
Fortunately, at this moment, Fu Cheng called out to Zong Ye, and he turned his head.
Jiang Chuyi wanted to get up and sit somewhere else. But feeling that this move was a bit deliberate, she could only lie back down. She focused her attention back on the ceiling in front of her, trying to clear her mind and forget about the small episode just now.
She didn’t know what they said, but Fu Cheng’s tone was slightly raised, “Zong Ye, I’m talking to you. Are you listening?”
“I’m listening.”
Fu Cheng was puzzled, “What the hell are you smiling at?”
Zong Ye sighed, “I can’t even smile without you minding?”
Although his voice was low, it still reached Jiang Chuyi’s ears.
Her earlobes turned even redder.
*
The destination this time was Venice, departing from Beijing, with a transfer in Milan.
Around noon the next day, the plane landed in Milan. They found a place near the airport to have a meal and rest before heading to the train station for the transfer.
After a journey of over an hour, they arrived in Venice.
The city was built on shallow waters of a bay, and even the wind carried a salty and damp feeling.
There were no cars here, only ferries.
Along the way, Xin He and Ji Kai were almost inseparable, chatting non-stop. After boarding the ship, she sat next to Ji Kai, together with the BloodxGentle members.
The assistant director of the crew joked, “Already starting to cultivate feelings so quickly?”
Ji Kai clicked his tongue, “Don’t mess with me.”
It drew another round of laughter.
Jiang Chuyi felt a bit seasick and found a stable spot at the stern to sit down, drinking several sips of water.
Sitting next to her was the screenwriter Er Er, who asked with concern, “Do you want to take some motion sickness medicine? I have some here.”
“Thank you, I just took some.”
“Your face looks really pale.”
“It’s okay, maybe I didn’t sleep well.” Jiang Chuyi suppressed the urge to gag and took another sip of water, “I should feel better after eating something when we get off the boat.”
As they were chatting, a commotion suddenly came from the front. Jiang Chuyi looked over. It was a group of young girls on another boat, three or four of them traveling together, all with Asian faces. They were gesturing to the staff in broken phrases, their faces flushed with excitement. It was unclear if they were Korean or Japanese.
The IM staff stopped them and pointed at the cameras in their hands, indicating not to take photos.
Er Er gossiped in a low voice, “They’re here to ask BxG for autographs again. We encountered several groups on the train earlier.”
Little Zhong interjected, “I kind of want one too.”
As she spoke, she also stole a few glances at Jiang Chuyi.
Jiang Chuyi said weakly, “Why are you looking at me? You want me to ask for you?”
Little Zhong raised her head and blinked her eyes, “Can you?”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
Little Zhong stuck out her tongue, “Just kidding, I don’t want it. I won’t embarrass you.”
“What’s embarrassing about asking for an autograph?” Er Er was amused by her cute appearance, “Who do you like? I can ask for you?”
“Ah…?” Little Zhong hesitated and looked at Jiang Chuyi with longing, pitiful eyes, “Can I… Sister Ning won’t scold me, right?”
“You’re so scared of her? She’s not even here.” Jiang Chuyi found it a bit funny, “If you want it, just ask for it.”
“Really?!”
Little Zhong immediately perked up, took out a few photos she had treasured for a long time from her bag, and after selecting and comparing for a while, handed them to Er Er, “Then this one, thank you, sister.”
Er Er took it and looked at both sides, her tone knowing, “You like Zong Ye, huh?”
Little Zhong had a conflicted expression, “Actually, I like Fu Cheng too, but I don’t want to trouble you too much. One is enough for me.”
Er Er deliberately teased her, “Zong Ye has a very good temper. If you go ask him yourself, he will definitely sign for you.”
“I don’t dare.”
“Why?”
“Well, it’s just…” Little Zhong hesitated, “I’m afraid to make eye contact with him. I’m worried that if he smiles at me, my legs will go weak, and I won’t be able to stop myself from screaming. After all, I’m here to work, so it’s not very good to fangirl.”
Jiang Chuyi: “It seems a spy has infiltrated my team?”
Little Zhong clung to her arm and acted cute, “Oh, being a fan is only temporary. You will always be my eternal goddess.”
Fu Cheng seemed to find it noisy where he was and walked over to sit near them. Little Zhong and Er Er exchanged glances and fell silent in tacit understanding. The casual chatting came to an end.
Jiang Chuyi looked up and glanced elsewhere.
The girls on the other boat were satisfied with getting the autographs and were gesturing again, asking if they could take a photo together.
After being politely refused, they left looking a bit disappointed.
The ferry moved smoothly forward. It was already evening, and white pigeons fluttered and flew past the solemn church, the hands of the old clock tower slowly swinging.
The water alleys meandered, and when the boat passed by, it created ripples. The streets on both sides were long, with various Gothic-style buildings. At a glance, it seemed as if half the city was floating on water.
The feeling of nausea gradually dissipated, and Jiang Chuyi focused on watching the scenery along the way.
*
The hotel they were staying at was on a slightly remote island. It was sparsely populated and quiet, not easily recognized.
After checking in, the director’s team communicated with them about the arrangements for the next few days.
The setup and arrangement of the filming locations would take some time, and BloodxGentle had a busy work schedule. In addition to balancing the filming of the movie and MV, they also had some partnered brands that provided clothes and needed to take a few sets of photos to be used for Weibo promotions.
Jiang Chuyi had nothing to do and could rest for the first two days.
The planner temporarily pulled everyone into a WeChat group, saying that any arrangements would be directly announced in the group and reminded everyone to pay attention to the messages.
Jiang Chuyi entered her room, immediately untied her hair tie, took off her shoes, and went into the bathroom.
After a comfortable bath, she wiped her hair with a towel and walked outside, opening the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window.
From the balcony of the room, one could clearly see the unobstructed sea.
It was already close to dusk, and the glow of the setting sun fell on the sea, creating a golden shimmer on the waves.
After lying on the bed for a while, WeChat dinged a couple of times.
Jiang Chuyi picked up her phone that was charging.
Several unread messages.
Chen Yi: [Want to play King of Glory? I invited a rapper.]
Jiang Chuyi: [I’m abroad. If you need anything, send a letter.]
Chen Yi: [I remember your birthday is coming up soon?]
Jiang Chuyi: [I’ll probably be busy for a month. My birthday this year is destined to end hastily.]
Chen Yi: [Hastily? You’re damn lucky to be able to spend day and night with those handsome guys from BloodxGentle, and you’re still not satisfied, Princess Jiang?]
Jiang Chuyi: [The way you say it, it’s like I can just pick and choose among them.]
Chen Yi: [After you’re done picking, remember to leave a couple for your friends. One is fine too =3=]
Jiang Chuyi laughed.
There was a notification in the group about having dinner together in a bit.
The temperature was a bit low in the evening. Jiang Chuyi casually tied up her long hair, pulled out a silver-white satin strap dress, and put on a hoodie over it.
She arrived late, and most of the people had already taken their seats.
The director waved his hand and said, “Sit further inside.”
Jiang Chuyi walked to the empty seat, and someone had already pulled out the chair for her.
She said a quiet “thank you.”
Zong Ye nodded.
Er Er pulled her aside and chatted in a low voice to pass the time.
Before long, people gradually arrived, and the waiters began serving the dishes.
The table was filled with various seafood, squid ink pasta, and pizza. Jiang Chuyi picked some roasted vegetables into her bowl and ate leisurely.
Seeing that she was only eating the dishes in front of her, Er Er considerately helped her pick a few pieces of seafood and put them on her plate, “These are local specialties here. Try them.”
Jiang Chuyi: “Thank you.”
This restaurant’s crab pasta was quite appetizing. Jiang Chuyi silently calculated the calories for a while but still decided to resist the temptation.
At the dinner table, wine glasses clinked. She ate very slowly and didn’t talk much, occasionally listening to what others were saying.
In order to play roles realistically, Jiang Chuyi had developed a professional habit since she was young—staying somewhere quietly, observing the expressions and actions of the people coming and going, and speculating what they were thinking.
At this moment, Xin He, who was sitting directly across from her, was turning her face to the side, seemingly talking and laughing with Ji Kai, but her eyes occasionally wandered elsewhere unintentionally.
Towards Zong Ye.
Ji Kai must have said something, and Xin He was amused, leaning back and forth, coquettishly raising her hand and pretending to hit him.
Seeing all this, Jiang Chuyi discerned a subtle sense of competition.
Xin He’s commotion seemed a bit deliberate as if she was angry at someone.
She glanced at Zong Ye out of the corner of her eye.
Like her, he had been eating with his head down the whole time and didn’t seem to have said much.
Recalling the gossip she had seen on Weibo before, she silently imagined a melodramatic love triangle in her mind…
While considering this, she picked up the red squid from her plate.
She put it in her mouth, feeling it was a bit spicy. As she chewed slowly, she suddenly heard the director start to give a speech.
Who knows who opened this chatterbox, but the old man insisted on starting from the self-cultivation of actors and talked about what true art was. After ten minutes, everyone at the table was forced to stop talking and laughing and quietly pretend to listen.
A dinner gathering suddenly turned into a seminar.
The director was obviously a bit drunk. As he got excited, he put down his glass and began to call out the names of the popular stars at the table one by one, “Just take today, for example. Some foreign girls came to ask for autographs, but what happened? Wang Tan, Zong Ye, none of you can write well. To be an actor, you need to cultivate both inside and out. What’s the use of being good-looking if even your handwriting is ugly?”
Jiang Chuyi nodded as if she strongly agreed.
Zong Ye looked over with a half-smile.
Jiang Chuyi immediately lowered her head.
After the director finished criticizing and lecturing, seeing everyone’s solemn expressions, he was finally satisfied, “Alright, alright, let’s end it here for today. You guys continue eating.”
The people around her started using their chopsticks. Jiang Chuyi didn’t want to waste food, so she forked the remaining half-piece of cold squid into her mouth.
Zong Ye leaned against the back of his chair. He looked straight ahead, coughed lightly, and slightly leaned his shoulder over, tilting his head as if he had something to say to her.
He was wearing a work jacket, and being so close, Jiang Chuyi could even faintly smell his scent, very fresh, a bit like the bitter fragrance of dried orange blossoms mixed with citrus.
Jiang Chuyi was still chewing the squid. She turned her head and mumbled, “What is it?”
Zong Ye nodded.
Seeing him smile, she was a bit puzzled, “What?”
“Is my handwriting really ugly?”
She swallowed the squid in her mouth and was about to reply when she suddenly felt the chili oil irritate her throat.
Jiang Chuyi couldn’t handle spicy food to begin with, and caught off guard, she was almost in tears. She quickly grabbed the glass of water beside her and gulped down a few big mouthfuls. She turned her head and coughed several times before managing to say, “Why are you asking this?”
“Just now, when the director was talking, I saw you nodding along.”
“Oh…”
Jiang Chuyi was a bit dazed by the spiciness, still holding the fork in her hand. For a moment, she was a bit confused, “It’s not very good-looking.”
Zong Ye was visibly stunned for a moment.
Three seconds after realizing what she was saying, Jiang Chuyi immediately tried to save the situation, “It’s not ugly either, maybe just a bit hard to recognize.”
After a moment of silence, a certain kind of confusion in him seemed to have been resolved. He laughed very lightly, “I see, no wonder.”
Jiang Chuyi said “ah” and was afraid of offending him, so she lowered her voice guiltily, “No wonder what?”
“No wonder you didn’t recognize me?” Zong Ye seemed to be recalling something. His slender fingers tapped on the table as he slowly uttered a name.
“Little Ruby.”
