The Fifth Star
She stared at Zong Ye, their eyes meeting.
For a few seconds, she couldn’t even maintain a proper expression.
Jiang Chuyi immediately gripped the fork in her hand tightly, the spicy sensation from her throat spreading to her internal organs.
Jiang Chuyi took a sip of water to cover it up and took a long time before casually saying, “Actually, I did recognize you.”
It was too noisy at the table, and her voice was soft, so Zong Ye didn’t hear clearly. He lowered his head, “Hm? What?”
Jiang Chuyi raised her voice slightly, “I said, I recognized you from the beginning.”
He chuckled lightly, his tone gentle, “Then why did you pretend not to know me?”
Jiang Chuyi choked for a moment.
He was so direct.
What else could it be? Of course, it was to show that she was sensible and would forget the moment she caught him in a “promiscuous scene” before.
Jiang Chuyi racked her brains, thinking about how to end this topic gracefully.
“Is your phone fixed?”
She immediately said, “It’s fixed.”
Zong Ye nodded, as if thinking for a moment, and asked, “Is it convenient to give me your contact information?”
“You two, stop for a moment.”
The conversation was interrupted, and Jiang Chuyi turned her head.
The person who called out was the second assistant director in charge of filming this time.
After a few rounds of drinks, the assistant director’s face was flushed red, and he joked, “Getting so close, what are you two whispering about?”
Zong Ye had his elbow propped on the edge of the dining table, head lowered, pretending to listen. From another angle, his body was slightly leaning towards her, and the two of them were huddled together, their posture very intimate.
Ji Kai had been teased for a while, and now he finally found an opportunity to shift the focus. He immediately laughed and mocked, “Zong Ye, you seem to be quite engaged in the conversation. Did you not hear the assistant director call your name twice?”
Everyone laughed, and he didn’t seem to mind being teased, asking, “Sorry, what were you saying just now?”
Xin He glanced at Jiang Chuyi, her beautiful face expressionless, red lips slightly pouting, “Nothing much, you two continue chatting.”
Finally, the dinner was over, and the director, who was drunk, was helped back to his room. Jiang Chuyi sat in her seat, rubbing her stomach.
Just now, her mind was on other things, and she accidentally ate too much. Only now did she feel a bit bloated…
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the person beside her stand up. She stood up to let him out of his seat.
Suddenly, Jiang Chuyi called out to him, “Hey, wait a moment.”
Zong Ye’s eyes met hers, “Are you calling me?”
“Yeah.”
Wang Tan was standing right next to them, his gaze meaningful, sweeping over them, “What’s up, do you need me to avoid suspicion?”
“No—”
Before she could say the word “need,” Zong Ye said, “Wait for me a bit.”
Wang Tan chuckled, his tone profound, “Wait for you for what? I’ll go first. I wouldn’t dare disturb you.”
Looking at Wang Tan’s departing figure, Jiang Chuyi squeezed out a smile, “It’s nothing important. Why don’t you go with your friend first?”
“He likes to joke around. You don’t need to take it to heart.”
Jiang Chuyi held up her phone, calmly said, “Do you want to connect on WeChat? I’ll add you.”
Zong Ye seemed a bit surprised
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Chuyi suddenly felt a bit puzzled.
Didn’t he just ask for her contact information? Did she misunderstand?
She asked, “Is it inconvenient?”
“No.”
Zong Ye pondered, “My phone is out of battery. Can you search directly?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
He read out the numbers to her one by one.
Zong Ye’s gaze fell on her fingers tapping the keyboard, then gradually moved up. The screen emitted a faint glow, illuminating the contours of her face. When she typed, her expression was focused, even her eyelashes were clearly visible.
After a while, Jiang Chuyi finished entering the friend request. She put away her phone and pointed to the side, “I’ll go first then?”
“Okay.”
*
Jiang Chuyi counted her steps and took a walk outside to aid digestion. Returning to the hotel room, she casually placed her phone on the edge of the bath to play music while taking a shower.
After one song ended, it automatically jumped to the next one.
<<Creep>>
Hearing that slightly familiar, low and melancholic female voice, Jiang Chuyi came back to her senses and thought of Zong Ye again.
Standing under the showerhead, eyes closed, letting the water flow down, she sighed.
Coming out of the bathroom, she dried herself and changed into pajamas, crawling into bed with a hint of weariness.
Her best friend, Chen Yi, called from overseas.
After chatting for a while, Chen Yi suddenly asked, “What happened? You sound so down.”
Jiang Chuyi yawned, “I’m just a bit sleepy.”
“Really?” Chen Yi was suspicious, “Really nothing happened?”
Jiang Chuyi’s thoughts drifted, and she blurted out, “Xiao Yi, do you know Zong Ye?”
“Huh?” Chen Yi was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, sounding exasperated, “Have I not been on the internet these past few years? How could I possibly not know him?! What’s up with him?”
“Nothing, just asking.”
Chen Yi urged, “There must be something. Hurry up and spill.”
“Really, it’s nothing. It’s just that he asked to add me on WeChat today. Oh no, that’s not right.” Jiang Chuyi corrected herself, “It should be I asked to add him on WeChat.”
“Holy shit, you’ve made progress. You’re so ambitious now?” Chen Yi was quite shocked, “Did you add him?”
“I did.”
Chen Yi said something startling, “Could it be that he’s interested in you?!”
Jiang Chuyi lay on the bed, weakly saying, “Don’t tease me.”
“Who’s teasing you?” Chen Yi was gossipy, “Do you think Zong Ye’s WeChat is so easy to add? Sister, you know that Taiwanese girl who’s annoyingly coquettish? Last time, BloodxGentle participated in the Mango TV Mid-Autumn Festival, and she asked Zong Ye for his phone number backstage but was rejected by him.”
“You misunderstood. I added his WeChat to resolve something.”
Chen Yi: “You have the greatest honor to have issues to resolve with Zong Ye.”
Jiang Chuyi choked for a moment, feeling like she had nothing to refute, and could only say, “You’re really mean.”
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Chuyi crawled into the covers and played with her phone for a while. Remembering something, she returned to the WeChat list and found a new chat window at the top.
She clicked on it.
[Sep-2009: I have approved your friend verification request. Now we can start chatting.]
Jiang Chuyi casually changed the chat name.
Jiang Chuyi: “Hello, Teacher Zong 【Rose】”
Zong Ye: “Just call me Zong Ye.”
She carefully considered for a while, repeatedly deleting and revising, and cautiously typed out a small essay: “It wasn’t very convenient to chat at the dinner just now. There are some things I still need to explain to you. When I pretended not to know you at that time, there might have been some misunderstandings. After all, the first time we met, it ended quite unpleasantly 【Face Palm】. I hope you don’t mind.”
Zong Ye: “What misunderstandings?”
Jiang Chuyi: “Uh, nothing much. Anyway, I won’t say anything recklessly. Don’t worry 【Handshake】.”
After waiting for two minutes with no response, she was about to turn off her phone and sleep when the other party replied.
Zong Ye: “You might still have some misunderstandings.”
Jiang Chuyi stared at the message he sent, not knowing how to respond for a moment. She thought for a long time and chose a neutral emoji from the stickers to send over.
The chat box kept displaying “The other party is typing…” then paused after a while.
Zong Ye: “Get some rest early. We’ll chat next time.”
Jiang Chuyi: “You too.”
The conversation ended.
*
The next day was the shooting of the movie’s advertising photos.
Since she was only playing a supporting role with limited scenes, she only needed to take group photos with Fu Cheng and Zong Ye.
Jiang Chuyi had her hair and makeup done and was taken to the shooting location on a semi-circular balcony on the third floor.
When she arrived, Zong Ye was talking to a woman, and the two seemed very familiar with each other.
A staff member introduced in a low voice that the woman’s name was Feng Tao, and she was in charge of their shoot today. She was a senior staff member at IM and the designated photographer for BloodxGentle, having followed them for several years. She was an interesting person and didn’t have much of an ego.
Jiang Chuyi nodded, indicating that she understood.
Feng Tao was wearing a high-slit Western red dress, with thin high heels and big waves in her hair, every movement exuding charm.
Seeing that Jiang Chuyi had arrived, she spread her arms and called out, “Get the hair dryer and light boards ready, let’s start working!”
The shooting process went quite smoothly. Fu Cheng and Zong Ye were directed to pose in a few positions. She sat on the railing of the balcony, and Fu Cheng spread his arms, propping himself up on either side of her.
“Come on! Get ready!” Feng Tao found an angle and took a few shots, “Fu Cheng, lower your head. Chuyi, raise your chin. No, you two make eye contact. Come on, one, two, three, go—”
Jiang Chuyi followed the instructions and slightly raised her head to look at him.
After a while, Feng Tao bent down and browsed through the photos she had just taken on the computer, her brows furrowing and then relaxing. She said to them again, “Fu Cheng, you need to be more lewd. Don’t look at women so innocently.”
When such vulgar words came out, everyone laughed along.
Feng Tao sighed and picked up the walkie-talkie, “The atmosphere between you two is off. Chuyi, when you look back, your eyes can’t be too direct. You need to be more shy and dazed.”
Jiang Chuyi, who was also called out, quickly said “oh.”
She needed some time to get into character, let alone the fact that she didn’t have much experience in shooting magazine covers and hard photos. The affectionate gaze with shyness and dazedness… If it were dynamic, it would be easier to say, but for static poses, she hadn’t received professional training.
Although she had filmed many movies before, due to her young age, her experience with romantic storylines were basically negligible.
Jiang Chuyi looked at Fu Cheng’s cold and hard eyes, feeling a bit troubled.
After adjusting for a while and trying a few more shots, Feng Tao flipped through the newly taken samples and really felt like something was missing.
The assistant suggested, “Why don’t we have the makeup artist put some blush on Ms. Jiang?”
“No need.”
Feng Tao walked up and said gently, “Baby, let’s have a chat?”
Unexpectedly, it was directed at her. Jiang Chuyi’s voice was apologetic, “Sorry, let me find the right state again.”
“It’s okay, don’t be nervous. Let’s treat it as a mid-shoot break.” Feng Tao observed her, “Your willpower is quite strong. You don’t even have a crush on these handsome guys.”
After saying that, she glanced at Fu Cheng, who had his arms crossed and was leaning to the side. Feng Tao sighed.
Forget it, it wasn’t the little girl’s fault. Who could get in the mood when faced with a sourpuss all day long?
Feng Tao looked at Jiang Chuyi’s fair and tender face, deep in thought, “How can we make your heart race?”
Jiang Chuyi seriously suggested, “Why don’t I go run a few laps?”
“It doesn’t need to be that troublesome.” Feng Tao stroked her chin, “Ten seconds and I’ll make you blush.”
Jiang Chuyi was half-believing, half-doubting, “Ten seconds?”
“Let’s change to someone else.” Feng Tao pointed at Zong Ye, who was drinking water, “What do you think of him?”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
“He has a trick that can definitely make a girl blush within ten seconds. It’s foolproof and has never failed.”
Zong Ye screwed the cap back on the mineral water bottle, seeming to have something to say, but Feng Tao interrupted him. She glanced at him sideways and warned mildly, “Hey, this is work. Be professional.”
Seeing them talking in riddles, Jiang Chuyi tilted her head and asked Feng Tao, “What trick is it?”
Feng Tao confirmed again, “You really want to try it?”
Jiang Chuyi was puzzled, “Huh?”
Feng Tao excitedly shouted, “Zong Ye, take off your clothes!”
Out of the blue, Jiang Chuyi suspected that she had tinnitus.
As soon as the words were spoken, she saw Zong Ye look at her.
Jiang Chuyi’s words came to an abrupt halt.
The two of them stared at each other, and for some reason, she couldn’t make a sound.
After waiting for a few seconds, he smiled and cooperatively raised his hand, placing it on the buttons of his shirt. At such a close distance, Jiang Chuyi watched with her own eyes as he slowly unbuttoned one, two, three…
Zong Ye wasn’t wearing a tie. The neat white shirt was properly tucked into his black trousers, tightening around his slender waist, making him look ascetic and impeccable. However, now, with the movement of his fingertips, from his Adam’s apple to his collarbone and down to his chest, the collar gradually opened up.
She stared intently, fixated on a beauty mark on the side of his neck.
He stopped and turned to ask Feng Tao, “Is this enough?”
The scene was unusually quiet.
Jiang Chuyi pursed her lips, her face still calm, but her emotions were a bit complicated.
Zong Ye was too good at this…
According to Gao Ning, if this guy hadn’t dated thirty girlfriends, he couldn’t be this flirtatious.
This wasn’t just making people blush. This was the extent of making even the ants on the roadside feel embarrassed.
Feng Tao couldn’t stop laughing, wiping tears with her fingers, “Zong Ye, what’s wrong with you? Your charm has failed? Why did you stop? We agreed on ten seconds. Does she look shy to you?”
Zong Ye raised his eyes imperceptibly, and his gaze met hers again. His eyes were naturally alluring, with narrow ends but curled eyelashes, looking affectionate for anyone. Especially in this disheveled state, he was gently roguish, not proper at all, breaking all the rules.
Jiang Chuyi lightly coughed and was the first to look away. As a small-time actress, what qualifications did she have to make Zong Ye personally perform this kind of restricted show for her?
Zong Ye observed her for a while, “She doesn’t seem to be affected at all.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Chuyi saw his Adam’s apple slide slightly, as if he chuckled lightly, the ending tone naturally seductive.
He sighed, a bit helpless, “But my own face is about to turn red.”
