So it must be said, Jin Yiken’s ability to annoy people was truly extraordinary.

He didn’t say anything, but with just that one move, he made everything crystal clear, also leaving a particularly heavy-flavored bowl of noodles in everyone’s hearts—couldn’t swallow it, couldn’t shake it off, very uncomfortable. Moreover, he simply checked out of the hotel, bringing both car and luggage to stay with her at the guesthouse halfway up the mountain. Couldn’t stop him. Later Long Qi just figured forget it—anyway, this bunch of people all knew now. Whether discovered sooner or later, it was discovered. Whatever he wanted.

When they arrived at the guesthouse, they happened to run into a young couple checking out at the front desk. Jin Yiken helped her switch rooms to that one, paid the price difference, moved the luggage, and checked the ceiling inside and out. Throughout, Long Qi sat on the balcony rattan chair scrolling through her phone. His footsteps busily went up and down stairs, also buying her drinks and fruit on the way up.

Eight o’clock sharp, the girl writing the script reposted the document in the group.

Then AT-ed her, asking her opinion and role preference.

She didn’t reply.

At nine o’clock, Wu Yishan was sent up, knocking on Long Qi’s door. At that time she was on the sofa in the room having a voice call with Wu’er discussing script issues. Jin Yiken sat on the balcony rattan chair, also listening to some business calls, wearing a T-shirt, his right arm’s large tattoo showing, left hand wearing a watch and men’s ring, bored and fiddling with the playing cards the front desk sent, the coordinate tattoo on his tiger’s mouth clearly visible.

She asked Wu’er to wait a moment, hanging one earbud, opened the door.

Wu Yishan’s expression was a bit stiff, carrying some awkwardness. Originally leaning by the doorframe, as soon as the door opened she straightened up to stand properly, calling out: “Long Qi……”

Jin Yiken was still on the balcony on his call, not paying attention to this side. Wu Yishan glanced sideways inside, saw him, then withdrew her gaze: “Um, the script posted in the group—did you see it?”

“Received it.”

“What do you think?”

“Is this asking my opinion?”

She answered flatly.

“Because you’re the person among us with the most filming experience. Everyone thinks we should ask your opinion.”

Long Qi crossed her arms, looking at Wu Yishan.

Wu Yishan also looked at her anxiously.

Five seconds later, she slowly laughed, smoothing back hair that had fallen by her cheek, five fingers passing through the strands, separating several tangled tips: “Are you all trying to kill me with praise, or preparing to apologize? Be direct. Let’s not waste anyone’s time.”

“Long Qi, don’t misunderstand.” Wu Yishan’s expression straightened, hand pointing downward, pointing at “that bunch downstairs.” “That group chat we have was temporarily created yesterday during card games to send red envelopes. You’d already gone to bed. That group’s messages were too frequent—didn’t want to disturb you. Then this morning I came to knock on your door. You weren’t there, right? So everyone thought you hadn’t woken up yet, so they went down the mountain to eat breakfast first. We were preparing to bring you breakfast. This backfired—it’s a misunderstanding.”

After a pause, Wu Yishan continued: “That, Yinling and Nalin—they did speak a bit excessively. It’s also because Fu Yu’ao’s matter wasn’t handled well. But they were wrong this morning. They both acknowledge it, and asked me to convey an apology. Long Qi, you…… um, sorry. In any case, we shouldn’t have discussed you like that.”

Starting from “spoke a bit excessively,” the following words had quite a bit of water in them. Knowing Wu Yishan had a peacemaker personality, soft backbone, that’s why she’d been sent out to reconcile with her. Long Qi listened to half, dismissed half. In the end didn’t respond at all, asking instead: “What time do we leave to start filming?”

……

“Moved to eleven o’clock. Everyone is now waiting for you to claim a role. The rest will be distributed among ourselves…… um…… an hour for hair and makeup, then we depart.”

“Got it. I want the female lead.”

After speaking, she tilted her forehead slightly with an attitude of “anything else?” Wu Yishan nodded dully, indicating she understood. Long Qi crisply closed the door.

“Oho.” On the earphone side, Wu’er who’d listened to the entire conversation laughed: “Which unlucky girls are stirring up trouble on our little young mistress’s turf?”

“Extracurricular activities are really boring,” she replied.

At ten o’clock, the group sent a message telling her to go to room 205 on the second floor to change costumes. The girls were all gathering there.

When she arrived, Ge Yinling had already finished her styling. Nalin was doing makeup for the other two girls. The few people only made eye contact when Long Qi entered, no greetings, no extras, as if they were transparent people in each other’s eyes. So intuition was right—this pair of good sisters’ backbones were definitely not that soft. Long Qi took the dress belonging to the female lead and went back to her own room to change.

Passing through the corridor, she ran into Fu Yu’ao who was waiting.

He was somewhat sensible, didn’t take the male lead role, automatically withdrew from the cast list to do some filming work. Sitting on the corridor sofa, seeing her he stood up, looking like he wanted to speak but hesitated. Long Qi didn’t pause, turning to walk toward another staircase.

Attitude very decisive.

However, Jin Yiken finally got to see Fu Yu’ao in person.

Originally having a bit of crisis feeling due to international distance, he was now extremely relaxed, as if boys also had a chain of contempt, and he stood tall and upright at the top. Long Qi feared he’d tease Fu Yu’ao like he used to tease Zhou Yicong at nightclubs, also feared the scenic area had many people with mixed intentions who’d expose him online. She expended much effort, moved a pile of various tasks to keep him at the guesthouse. When she left, he even had a bit of temper, sitting on the balcony with head lowered smoking. After Long Qi departed, she sent him quite a few messages throughout the journey to maintain contact, finally coaxing him into a good mood.

Afternoon filming went fairly smoothly. No one caused trouble. Completed the day’s task amount steadily and smoothly.

Evening five o’clock, filming ended, wrapped. Jin Yiken agreed not to accompany her filming, but didn’t agree not to come pick her up. Right on time, the car stopped beside the two commercial vehicles. When he got out, the girls who were packing up a pile of costumes and props all looked over there. Especially tall, especially handsome, hands in pockets, cigarette between fingers, upright body with a roguish soul. Long Qi was leaning against a tree memorizing tomorrow’s lines. Seeing him, arms crossed, she went toward him and got in the car.

He took her to a locally famous small night market street, ate a particularly sumptuous dinner.

But the evening was hard to endure.

She had thoughts in mind, so deliberately dawdled until very late, returning to the guesthouse past eleven, convenient to fall asleep immediately. But Jin Yiken this person had abundant energy, saw through her, deliberately had to hold her and chat before sleep. Holding and holding, the body heated up again. Was chased by Long Qi to the balcony to stay for the duration of one cigarette.

He said there was no way around it. Nearly the fourth year, he still had a full chest of passionate love feelings for her, always had desire. Even if she just moved a finger, he found it incredibly sexy.

Long Qi said then what would he do if she was confirmed positive.

He said he’d originally only planned to live to forty-nine anyway. However he lived was living.

Long Qi didn’t understand this sentence.

He said if she didn’t understand then don’t. Didn’t need to understand.

The mountain night wind was very cool. The balcony’s orange-yellow dim light shone on his bare shoulders. He held a cigarette, right arm hanging at his side, smoke drifting with the wind. Behind his ear was a tattoo shaped like a lock core, tattooed during their breakup period. The newest “Qi” character tattoo at his nape—inside the “Qi” character, the horizontal stroke was designed as the shape of a key. Long Qi watched from inside the room. He just like that, cooling his body while alone contemplating some matters, probably some boring yet void things like life philosophies. Later she played with her phone until bored, finally starting to consider whether he’d catch cold. Got off the bed, opened the door preparing to call him.

But the moment her steps walked out to the balcony, the corner of her eye caught the light from another balcony not far to the left. Turning her head to look, just happened to see the balcony next door to next door. Nalin turned back into the room. The door “swoosh” closed.

Jin Yiken belatedly noticed, looking over following the sound, then turning back to look at Long Qi.

“What to do? Your husband’s such an impressive physique was peeped at by another girl.”

Insufferable to death. She kicked toward his leg: “Get inside!”

Seeing him so lonely yet obedient today, the next day’s filming, Long Qi agreed he could come along.

He got up earlier than anyone.

Possibly because of rats, the shops in this small town all loved keeping cats. The guesthouse owner also kept one. When Long Qi came downstairs, Jin Yiken was sitting on the lobby sofa lazily making eye contact with that cat. He’d courted death yesterday. Today indeed caught a cold. Changed his outfit—T-shirt with an added hooded jacket outside, a pair of trendy shoes. The usually exposed ankle section was also covered tightly and strictly. Legs crossed, impossibly handsome, impossibly manly. But what she didn’t expect was that Nalin was also there.

Nalin also got up very early, squatting, using her phone to photograph that cat. A head of black hair draped over her shoulders. Her entire outfit looked much softer than usual, smiling radiantly. Later looking up and seeing her, she put away her smile, put away her phone and stood up, unprecedentedly saying to her: “Eight o’clock sharp, gather in room 205, okay?”

After speaking, chatted a few more sentences with the little girl at the front desk, then went upstairs.

Long Qi hands in jacket pockets, wandered over to Jin Yiken’s side, took an orange from the coffee table fruit plate, peeling it while using her knee to bump his knee once: “Chatted with you?”

“Who?”

“Stop pretending.”

He turned his head away, glancing at Nalin going upstairs, replying with a heavy nasal tone: “Chatted about cats. She said she also keeps cats, five or six stray cats.”

Finished peeling, stuffed a segment in his mouth. He slowly moved his cheeks. She asked: “Sour or not?”

“Sweet.”

Only then did she put the second segment in her own mouth. But one bite and the sourness hurt right to the gums. Immediately pulled out tissue to spit it out. Only then did Jin Yiken also spit out the orange segment in his mouth, laughing. While laughing, got hit by her. Hit until he coughed.

Finished spitting, also finished hitting satisfyingly. She pulled out a second tissue, calmly pointing upstairs: “That girl likes you.”

He glanced at her, with an attitude of “goes without saying, saw through her little schemes long ago,” devilish rogue appearance. Long Qi returned him a “figure it out yourself” look, checked the time on her phone, went upstairs to 205.

Arriving at 205, Ge Yinling and several girls had already started styling. Nalin was on the balcony, categorizing a pile of cosmetics.

Their script’s theme was “human trafficking.” Long Qi’s female lead played a girl who’d suffered from human trafficking organizations as a child. Nalin and Ge Yinling were young beautiful college students traveling from the city to the mountain area. Although the female lead was in a pit of depravity, she always held a thread of longing for life, for those young and beautiful things. After the two female college students became the trafficking organization’s newly targeted prey, the female lead and the local villager male lead worked together to help. The four embarked on a thrilling escape experience.

This day Long Qi’s main styling was making herself look rustic.

Wore a particularly outdated plain-colored T-shirt, tied a ponytail with black string exposing yellow rubber bands, applied foundation liquid in a deeper shade, making the entire face dull and yellowish. Outside wore a baggy plaid shirt. She noticed the script wrote that the girl appeared at first doing farm work, so got some soil, filling the nail crevices until grimy and dark. In contrast, Ge Yinling and Nalin went as pretty as possible. They just applied daily makeup like usual, literary styling. Nalin holding a curling iron, while helping Ge Yinling curl her hair, Wu Yishan asked: “Long Qi, is your boyfriend going later?”

Ge Yinling sat beside her in front of the vanity. She was studying a pair of canvas shoes to wear, feeling the shoes were too clean, not like what working people wore. Absentmindedly replied: “He’s going.”

“Then can your vehicle help carry some props? One of our cars has some brake issues. Called a mechanic to fix it. With just one car, the props won’t fit.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks. I’m under a lot of pressure talking to your boyfriend. It’s great that you agreed.”

She looked up.

Ge Yinling was lowering her head looking at the script. Nalin stood behind Ge Yinling’s chair, leisurely curling strands of hair, glanced at the mirror, imperceptibly withdrew, casually picking up Wu Yishan’s words: “It’s fine. I think Long Qi’s boyfriend is quite nice.”

The topic naturally began. Nalin continued without looking sideways, asking Long Qi: “You two are long-distance, right?”

Just as if all the sharp sarcasm from before had been put away, as if nothing had happened. Long Qi continued studying the shoes, ignoring her. Wu Yishan this peacemaker extremely self-consciously picked up the topic: “Yes. I followed all the gossip during that period.”

“Long-distance relationships are very hard,” Nalin said.

……

……

“Do you worry about him?” After a long while, Nalin asked again. This time, her gaze looked toward the mirror in front of Long Qi, meeting her eyes.

“Worry about what?” Long Qi replied.

“That. What long-distance fears most isn’t that?”

“Which?”

Nalin released a curled strand of hair, blew on it, replied: “Women.”

……

“When he goes to see friends, you can’t be sure what kind of friends he’s seeing. Might be friends like he says, might not be. When he says he’s going to eat, you also can’t guarantee he’s really going to eat…… Boys with charisma—girls are very willing to follow them. And boys sometimes are open to all female pursuers who come their way.”

“You seem to have a lot of long-distance experience.”

Nalin’s hand paused in midair.

Ge Yinling finally looked up from the script, looking at the mirror: “Her ex studied in Australia.”

Ex.

Just this title made everything clear. Long Qi decided to make the shoes dirtier. No interest in chatting with them anymore. Finished styling, left.

Morning filming was in the deep mountains.

Cars could only stop at a mountain pass entrance. The rest had to be walked on foot. Fu Yu’ao and them scouted the location in advance, rented a local villager’s ancestral home deep in the mountains for filming. About a fifteen-minute walk from the parking spot.

The mountain path was muddy. She finally got the shoes dirty as wished. Jin Yiken accompanied her all the way to the filming location. His cold was a bit worse compared to morning. Half an hour into filming, after confirming there’d be no danger, he took a cold medicine tablet he carried. The medicine had some drowsy effects. He went back to the car to rest.

Near the ancestral home was a mountain spring. Water flow was okay, not rushing. They filmed an escape scene by the spring. Filmed until everyone was soaking wet. Nalin wore a white cotton-linen long dress, was the most thoroughly soaked. The remaining scenes didn’t have her part. After saying a few words to Ge Yinling, she called out to Wu Yishan: “Clothes are too wet, uncomfortable. I’m going to change clothes then come back. Do you all need me to bring anything over?”

“No, no, you go back.”

Long Qi was filming a laundry scene at that time.

When Nalin left alone, the guy called “cut.” She exited frame, wiping her hands with tissue, glanced once.

She actually knew Nalin’s personality was prickly, actions bold.

Ge Yinling appeared to regard her as enemy number one, but ultimately there was still Fu Yu’ao’s inducement factor. At most just love-addled brains. But with deep sisterly feelings with Ge Yinling, sharing a common enemy, possessing a pile of beauty fans online, excellent family background, excellent grades, sticking her head out when appropriate but also when inappropriate—spoiled young lady Nalin was the most difficult person in the entire girls’ dormitory to get along with her.

But she didn’t expect Nalin could be bold to that degree, able to operate with a matter-of-fact mentality coming to the mountain pass, circling around the commercial vehicle, pulling open the Land Rover’s car door, sitting in the passenger seat, allowing the long dress’s thin layer of cotton-linen fabric to wetly cling to her chest, propping her hand to lean toward the driver’s seat. While pushing aside Jin Yiken’s wearing earphones, while stuffing a condom from her palm into his pocket, lips approaching near the neck. By the sleeping his ear, blowing air, softly asking: “You and Long Qi—how long has it been since you did it?”