Meeting
Happy breakup.
Of course, Lu Zhenqiu knew Jin Shuilan. There wasn’t a single person in this circle who didn’t know her. Jin Shuilan had achieved fame at a young age; her first novel was incredibly popular. She subsequently published two or three more, and those characters became the white moonlight1 and cinnabar mole2 in the readers’ hearts. Later, she sold the film and television rights and was invited to participate in screenwriting. The viewership ratings once crushed contemporary TV dramas, and just like that, she completely opened up the baihe market.
In the hearts of many readers and authors, she was not just a storyteller but an unattainable goddess.
But Tang Yingxia didn’t like her.
Tang Yingxia had told her more than once that she hated Jin Shuilan. Lu Zhenqiu knew some of the reasons; it seemed to be a conflict caused by an audio drama.
The release schedule for one of Jin Shuilan’s audio dramas clashed with Tang Yingxia’s on the same day. Originally, it wasn’t a big deal, but being on the same day meant it was inevitable they’d be singled out for comparison. And Jin Shuilan’s numbers, needless to say, left everyone else in the dust3. Tang Yingxia felt she had lost face4. After that, their new books clashed in genre again, and the grudge5 between them deepened. Lu Zhenqiu understood her feelings, so she rarely mentioned Jin Shuilan in front of her.
However, she hadn’t mentioned this to outsiders, so Hua Luo wasn’t aware.
Lu Zhenqiu also never imagined that the friend Hua Luo mentioned who had a house for rent would be Jin Shuilan.
After all, they didn’t seem like people who would have any interaction.
Hua Luo didn’t get a response for a long while and couldn’t help but call out, “Qiuqiu?”
Lu Zhenqiu came back to her senses and said, “I know.”
Only then did Hua Luo feel relieved. She said to Lu Zhenqiu, “Then I’ll go type6 for now. Call me when you arrive.”
Lu Zhenqiu knew she was busy with her new novel and didn’t disturb her further, replying, “Okay.”
Putting down her phone, Lu Zhenqiu looked around. This was the house Tang Yingxia used to live in. Later, Tang Yingxia bought an apartment in the city center, finding it more convenient to live there, so this place was left vacant. Lu Zhenqiu had just hired a housekeeping service to clean it before she came.
She didn’t have much attachment to the house, but she did to people.
A large part of the reason she decided to move to this city to develop her career was because of Tang Yingxia. When they first got together, Tang Yingxia always asked her to come here, asking if she wanted to live together. But she felt things were progressing too quickly and didn’t agree. Later, Tang Yingxia’s novel adaptation was successful, and she gradually became more active in the circle, getting very busy. The topic of living together was never brought up again.
Lu Zhenqiu had this idea in mind when she came this time, but the matter between Tang Yingxia and Yu Wen was a rude awakening7 for her.
Completely sobered up.
Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head and petted Maomao, then grabbed her bag and hailed a taxi to find Hua Luo. On the way, she received a message from Tang Yingxia: 【Wifey?】
So glaring. Lu Zhenqiu closed her eyes for a moment, then sent to Tang Yingxia: 【Where are you?】
Seeing the reply, Tang Yingxia called her. Lu Zhenqiu heard some noise in the background on Tang Yingxia’s end. Tang Yingxia asked, “Did you find Maomao?”
Lu Zhenqiu’s throat felt tight. She coughed lightly and said, “Found him.”
Hearing her cough, Tang Yingxia frowned. “Is your cold still not better?”
The familiar concern made Lu Zhenqiu feel dazed for a moment. She gripped her phone tightly. “Almost better.”
Tang Yingxia said, “Xiao Zhou8 called me, said you didn’t go to her platform?”
Xiao Zhou was a friend of Tang Yingxia’s. Previously, Lu Zhenqiu’s signed platform’s section head was her. Later, when the platform ran into trouble, Xiao Zhou also resigned and went to another platform. Now, she didn’t have many streamers under her. Hearing that Lu Zhenqiu had terminated her contract with her platform, she wanted to sign her.
Tang Yingxia had discussed this with her before she came, and Lu Zhenqiu had planned to go at the time.
Now, she wasn’t going.
Lu Zhenqiu thought for a moment and said, “Not yet decided.”
Tang Yingxia was puzzled. “Didn’t we agree you’d go?”
Lu Zhenqiu said, “I’m still considering.”
Tang Yingxia: “Considering what? The terms Xiao Zhou offered are pretty good. Your current platform can’t bring in many viewers. She told me, she’ll give you more recommendations over here, and once you’re stable, she can raise your rate a bit.”
Lu Zhenqiu didn’t speak. After a while, she asked, “Where are you?”
Tang Yingxia paused. “Me?”
She looked around. “I’m out.”
Lu Zhenqiu’s voice was calm. “Are you out for something important?”
Tang Yingxia opened her mouth. Someone walked towards her. She said to Lu Zhenqiu, “It is something. I told you last time, the investors want me to visit their company.”
She had said that.
But she hadn’t said the investors were connected to Yu Wen.
Lu Zhenqiu pressed her lips together. “When will you be free?”
Tang Yingxia: “Later, I guess. What’s up?”
Lu Zhenqiu said, “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Tang Yingxia glanced at Yu Wen, who had walked up to her, and said, “Then I’ll call you later.”
Lu Zhenqiu was silent for two seconds, then hung up. Tang Yingxia didn’t pay it much mind. Yu Wen walked over with two cups of milk tea, handed one to Tang Yingxia, and asked, “Girlfriend checking up on you9?”
Tang Yingxia: “No.”
The two sat at an outdoor milk tea shop. Yu Wen leaned closer to her. “I heard from Xiao Zhou that your girlfriend is going to her platform?”
Tang Yingxia nodded and explained to Yu Wen that although the live streaming industry was booming, there were only two or three major platforms. Going there would surely mean getting lost in the crowd. The platform Xiao Zhou was on was neither too big nor too small, suitable for new talent to develop. Plus, with Xiao Zhou there, she could get more promotional spots, making it no worse than a major platform.
Yu Wen said, “That’s great. Why isn’t your girlfriend going?”
Tang Yingxia sighed lightly. “I don’t know what she’s thinking.”
Yu Wen said, “Maybe she’s also weighing her options. But competition on major platforms is fierce. Xiao Lu10, you know, has been on a major platform for three or four years and only has just over a million fans.”
The entertainment section mostly had streamers who danced and sang, unlike the gaming section. Over a million fans in the gaming section would only count as a somewhat popular streamer, but in the entertainment section, it was enough to be considered a top sister11. The Xiao Lu Yu Wen mentioned was someone Tang Yingxia knew, named Lu Yan12. She started as a voice actor and later signed with a major platform as a streamer. She was earning from two sources13, so naturally, she had more fans. Moreover, with the increasing number of works featuring same-sex themes, their popularity soared, and even streamers like them reaped considerable benefits.
Tang Yingxia had come out today to meet Lu Yan. She wanted to invite Lu Yan to voice the main character in an audio drama adaptation of one of her novels. The three giants of the voice acting circle were Bai Nuannuan14, Zhao Qinghe15, and Lu Yan.
Bai Nuannuan was a long-time friend of Jin Shuilan, and Zhao Qinghe had also collaborated with Jin Shuilan several times. Tang Yingxia wasn’t keen on either of them, which was why she sought out Lu Yan. Coincidentally, Lu Yan was Yu Wen’s friend, so they came together.
Yu Wen said, “Alright, don’t look so down.”
Tang Yingxia shook her head. “Am I?”
Yu Wen took out a mirror from her bag. “See for yourself.”
Tang Yingxia looked in the mirror. Yu Wen leaned closer to her. In the mirror, the two of them were very close. The wind tangled their hair together. A taxi drove past them on the road. Lu Zhenqiu turned her head and saw Tang Yingxia and Yu Wen sitting closely together. She didn’t say anything, just kept watching the two of them through the rearview mirror.
Talk later.
It seemed there was no need anymore.
Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head and unfollowed Tang Yingxia on all social media. Her hands kept trembling, her face was pale, and the corners of her eyes were bloodshot. She lowered the car window a little. The wind blew in, her profile looking icy cold.
When she reached the entrance of Hua Luo’s residential complex, she didn’t go in directly. Instead, she sat on the edge of a flowerbed downstairs. People came and went around her, but she hugged her knees, her head resting on them.
The sounds around her were clamorous, yet she seemed isolated, trapped in her own world, lonely and desolate. In a car not far away, Jin Shuilan sat in the driver’s seat, the window open. One hand supported her chin, the other rested on the steering wheel, habitually tapping her fingers. Her gaze quietly fell on Lu Zhenqiu.
Three years ago, the first time she saw Lu Zhenqiu, she was also like this. At that time, Jin Shuilan had just had a disagreement with the director about whether to add scenes. Full of anger, she went downstairs and saw Lu Zhenqiu sitting by the flowerbed, head down, softly reading a script. Lu Zhenqiu was there for a voice audition. It was too noisy inside, so she came out because she couldn’t concentrate. It was early autumn then; although the weather wasn’t hot, sitting for a long time was still stuffy. Lu Zhenqiu’s fair cheeks were flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
She sat beside Lu Zhenqiu, listening to her slightly low voice reciting lines, and suddenly felt her heart calm down.
Not long after, Lu Zhenqiu packed up her script and stood up. Perhaps from sitting too long, she felt a little dizzy as she stood, her body swaying. Jin Shuilan reached out and supported Lu Zhenqiu’s wrist, hearing a “Thank you.”
She said, “You’re welcome.”
After Lu Zhenqiu went inside, the softness and warmth of Lu Zhenqiu’s wrist lingered in her palm, along with a faint, elusive scent of perfume.
For the first time, her heart raced because of a single touch.
The phone on the passenger seat beeped twice. Jin Shuilan came back to her senses and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Hua Luo, asking if she was about to arrive. Jin Shuilan replied with one hand: 【Three minutes.】
The moment Hua Luo saw this message, she jumped up from the sofa!
She immediately called Lu Zhenqiu: “Qiuqiu! Have you arrived yet?”
Lu Zhenqiu stood up from the flowerbed. “Arrived. I’m downstairs.”
“Hey, then don’t move, I’m coming down!” Hua Luo said, grabbing her bag and heading downstairs, still explaining to Lu Zhenqiu on the phone, “I didn’t know Teacher Jin’s exact rental address, so I wanted Teacher Jin to send me the location. I didn’t expect Teacher Jin to be discussing things nearby and offer to take us there together!”
She said excitedly, “Teacher Jin is actually quite nice, not as aloof and unapproachable as the rumors say!”
Lu Zhenqiu acknowledged. Then she saw Hua Luo’s figure and waved. Hua Luo walked over. Just then, a car pulled up beside them.
“Teacher Jin!” Hua Luo immediately stood ramrod straight, like a student who suddenly saw the dean of discipline, completely stiffening up. Jin Shuilan glanced at Hua Luo, then looked at Lu Zhenqiu.
Hua Luo explained, “Teacher Jin, this is the one who wants to rent the house, my friend, Lu Zhenqiu.”
Lu Zhenqiu gave Jin Shuilan a slight nod. Her eyes were still tinged with red, glistening with moisture, clear and bright. Jin Shuilan paused for two seconds before nodding. “Get in the car.”
Hua Luo exclaimed “Aigh,” and originally wanted to sit in the back with Lu Zhenqiu, but then felt it would be impolite, so she opened the passenger door and got in. Jin Shuilan glanced at her and said, “Miss Lu is the one renting, right?”
Hua Luo nodded. “Yes, yes, it’s Qiuqiu.”
Jin Shuilan said, “Then let her sit in the front. It’s more convenient for her to recognize the way.”
Hua Luo finally reacted. “Okay, okay.” After saying that, she didn’t forget to flatter16, “Teacher Jin is so thoughtful.”
Jin Shuilan didn’t say anything, silently watching them switch places. After Lu Zhenqiu sat down, Jin Shuilan said, “Seatbelt.”
Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head and fastened it.
Jin Shuilan watched her movements out of the corner of her eye, her hand kept rubbing the edge of the steering wheel. Only after Lu Zhenqiu had fastened her seatbelt did she start the engine. After the car started, the car stereo automatically played music.
【Happy breakup… you must be happy… you can find someone better…】17
Hua Luo felt her scalp tingle from listening. She cleared her throat and said softly, “Teacher Jin, can we change the music?”
Jin Shuilan turned her head, her voice faint. “Sure.”
She casually pressed for the next song, and the car immediately filled with: 【Let me live alone… please don’t hold on so tight with your hands… alone, I’m at least neat and efficient…】18
Hua Luo was speechless.
For a moment, she didn’t know if it was Lu Zhenqiu or Jin Shuilan who was breaking up.
The author has something to say:
Fifty red envelopes, muah muah. Thanks, everyone, for the ‘mines’19 and ‘nutrient solutions’20.
The two songs in the text are from “Happy Breakup”21 and “Set Free”22.
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