“Don’t talk nonsense…”

Wu Man felt somewhat of a headache from this scene. Liang Zi’an’s gaze uncontrollably wandered back and forth between Zhui Ye and her, wearing an expression of disbelief at having stumbled upon major gossip, mixed with a few traces of doubt and a profound questioning of life itself.

Zhui Ye was noncommittal, completely failing to receive Wu Man’s look signaling him to temporarily keep quiet. He raised his chin: “So can you come with me now?”

Liang Zi’an sucked in a sharp breath.

Wu Man hurriedly adopted an all-business demeanor to introduce them: “This is Zhui Ye, an actor I worked with on my previous production ‘Spring Night’. He’s here filming a commercial and we happened to run into each other. This is Liang Zi’an, the male lead of this drama.”

Liang Zi’an extended his hand with sudden understanding, saying: “Hello, hello. I’ve been wanting to find an opportunity to meet you!”

Zhui Ye didn’t even lift his arm, responding with a nasal “Mm, hello.”

Liang Zi’an awkwardly withdrew his hand.

Wu Man smoothed things over: “I’m going with him to get my birthday present. You should head back first.”

“Oh, oh, okay. I’ll go back to my room then.” He waved his hand, turning to leave with an embarrassed yet polite manner.

Zhui Ye lowered his eyes: “Have you gotten into character again?”

Wu Man was completely bewildered: “What are you talking about?”

“You seemed very nervous when you were explaining to him.”

“That’s because I was afraid he’d misunderstand.”

“So I’m asking you, have you gotten into character again?”

Only then did Wu Man understand his meaning.

He thought she had developed feelings for Liang Zi’an again, which was why she was explaining so frantically.

“Of course not! I just don’t want the facts to be distorted. It wouldn’t be good if word got out.”

“For people who don’t matter, having the facts distorted doesn’t mean anything. As long as the people who matter understand, isn’t that enough?”

“…I finally understand why you have so many rumors about you.”

Zhui Ye froze, his expression suddenly serious: “Those are all fake. I thought you already knew that.”

“I know. Didn’t you say you’ve never been in a relationship?” Wu Man was torn between laughter and tears. “What I meant was that it’s exactly this indifferent attitude of yours that invites these rumors.”

“Toward those people, my conscience is clear, so there’s no need to be secretive.” Zhui Ye then lowered his voice, “But toward you, my conscience is not clear.”

“I actually want Liang Zi’an to misunderstand.”

Wu Man’s tone faltered. She immediately changed the subject: “The present… if you keep dawdling, my birthday will be over.”

*

The two put on face masks, and Zhui Ye led her all the way out of the hotel to an RV.

Wu Man had also brought an RV for this shoot. For productions with poor filming conditions like this one, she would have an RV brought over to rest in during breaks. The one before her was his RV, much smaller than hers, and the interior setup was completely different.

She had barely decorated the inside at all—everything was the RV’s original default configuration. The only additions were massage devices, skincare products, and a few books.

His RV, however, was like his secret base. From the driver’s seat, Wu Man casually glanced back and saw it was colorful and vibrant, with a harmonica, dreamcatchers, and figurines whose names she didn’t know.

Like a little hamster, he had hoarded everything he liked inside, so those things could always follow him.

This cramped space gave Wu Man a strong sense of security, filled with comfortable, homey warmth. She curled up on the seat cushion, which was even shaped like a little Shiba Inu sticking out its tongue.

Neither of them spoke. The vehicle drove silently along the deserted mountain road. There wasn’t a single lamp the entire way, only the headlights blazing out a beam of light, like a bedside night light—the kind that just looking at it made one feel the drowsy urge to sleep.

Wu Man slowly let her eyelids droop and fell asleep without any defenses.

Zhui Ye had been watching her from the corner of his eye. When he saw her head tilt to one side and heard her shallow, long breathing, he pulled out one hand to grab a small blanket from the side and cover her with it. Then he opened his phone camera, selected a pig-head filter, and secretly snapped a photo of Wu Man’s sleeping face. Only then, satisfied, did he return his hand to the steering wheel to focus on driving.

*

When Wu Man was woken up, she was shocked to discover she had slept very deeply.

Over these years, filming had trained her to sleep anywhere, anytime, but she always slept lightly. Whether in a car, on set, or backstage, her ears could always hear the buzzing of movement and noise.

But perhaps because this night was remote and quiet, she hadn’t heard any sounds at all and slept exceptionally deeply. By the time Zhui Ye woke her up, there were already two cigarette butts at his feet.

Wu Man got out of the car and saw a noodle shop. But the shop door was already closed.

She asked in surprise: “You’re going to treat me to noodles?”

“Not treat—I’m going to make them myself.” Zhui Ye pulled out keys from his pocket, rolled up the shutter door, turned on the lights, and gestured for Wu Man to come in.

“How do you have keys? Don’t tell me you own this noodle shop?”

“Of course not. I asked the producer to rent out the venue.”

…The producer was a bit of a sucker.

“But it’s so late already. If I eat now, I’ll get fat.”

“You don’t have to finish it. Just take one bite to show the gesture. My mom once said that you must eat longevity noodles on your birthday to be safe and sound.” He said sincerely, “I hope you’ll be safe.”

Wu Man touched her nose, saying awkwardly: “Alright then, I’ll just take one bite.”

Zhui Ye went into the kitchen while she sat down and looked around. The noodle shop’s decor wasn’t luxurious or grand. There were yellowing oil stains in the corners, and the wattage of the lights hanging from the ceiling was very low, making everything look so dim. The sound of the wok in the kitchen broke this tranquility, and in less than half a moment, the aroma of noodles drifted over.

Wu Man twitched her nose, an expression of extreme shock flashing across her face.

She hadn’t smelled this aroma in over ten years.

…How could this be?

Unable to contain herself, she got up and walked to the kitchen. At first glance, she saw Zhui Ye’s back as he concentrated on making noodles.

Just a few hours ago, he had been wearing this same suit filming a high-end automotive brand commercial, but now he was outside tying on an apron stained with cooking oil, willingly confined to the kitchen.

Nothing was more touching than this scene. Wu Man remained at the doorway without making a sound, suddenly understanding what it felt like to have thunder in silence—the rain was gentle, the wind was delicate, softening her entire body.

When Zhui Ye turned around carrying the finished noodles, he suddenly came face to face with Wu Man and saw her dazed expression.

“Why didn’t you go sit down?”

“I smelled the aroma.” Wu Man peered at the bowl he was holding. The noodles were indeed the rice noodles she was familiar with—only her hometown would habitually use these to make noodles.

In all her years away pursuing her career, the noodles she ate were all wide noodles or flat noodles. She wasn’t quite used to them. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried having her assistant learn to make her hometown noodles for her, but those noodles were very particular, requiring attention to the broth and timing—one degree more and they’d become mushy, one degree less and they’d be undercooked. She would just shrug and say forget it, not eating them wouldn’t be a big deal.

Life was always full of various compromises. The process of changing from a child to a dull adult meant going from unreasonably insisting on having exactly this to learning to settle for that being okay too, understanding that no one would indulge you unconditionally anymore.

Though she was an exception, having never enjoyed the privilege of being unreasonable even as a child. So compromise seemed to have become one of her instincts. Even though she now had the capital to be willful, she never took it upon herself to squander that power.

She had never dared hope that someone could penetrate a certain longing of hers, even if it was only about the simplest matter of food and drink.

“Try it? I don’t know if I made it authentically enough, but it should be pretty good.”

Zhui Ye’s tone was casual, but Wu Man could clearly read traces of nervousness in his expression.

The two walked outside to sit down. Wu Man picked up some noodles with her chopsticks and chewed slowly.

Then she put down her chopsticks.

Zhui Ye’s face stiffened: “…You really meant just one bite?”

Wu Man shook her head: “It’s just that this flavor makes me… a bit dazed. I need to collect myself.”

“It doesn’t taste good?”

“It’s too similar, too similar.” Wu Man repeated herself, “Although I knew your cooking skills were good, how can you even make this?”

This compliment obviously pleased him greatly. He propped his chin up, his expression light: “I went to your hometown before and learned from a local master.”

“When did you go?” Wu Man began to lower her head and slurp up the noodles, asking indistinctly through her mouthful.

“Mm… I think it was when I was seventeen.”

“You really know how to pick places to visit.” She self-deprecatingly blew on her noodles. “There’s nothing fun there.”

“I thought it was very interesting.” He was looking at her eyes, yet also seemed to be looking through them at something from much longer ago. “That’s the place where Sister grew up. Maybe the street I walked on, you also walked on when you were a few years old. It feels very miraculous.”

“When I think about how when I was walking around, you didn’t even have legs yet, that’s pretty miraculous too.”

Zhui Ye was amused by her words and leaned back in his chair: “Not only can I walk now, I can even carry you and walk like I’m carrying a little kid, no problem.”

Wu Man knew the real kid in front of her was annoyed. She didn’t talk back anymore, just smiled and continued to lower her head to eat noodles. Zhui Ye suddenly reached over with a spoon to compete with her.

“What are you doing?” Wu Man protected her noodles. Zhui Ye took the opportunity to scoop up a spoonful: “Watching you eat so happily made me a bit hungry too.”

“Then go make yourself another bowl.”

“Haven’t you heard that food tastes better when you have to fight for it?” He instead moved even closer, his forehead gently bumping against hers, adopting an excessively intimate posture as they pressed together.

But this posture was fleeting, gone in an instant. He scooped up another spoonful, then quickly retreated. Everything was just an accidental touch during their playful competition.

The chopsticks Wu Man was using to poke at the noodles lost their rhythm. Afraid Zhui Ye would do this again, she pushed the noodles toward him.

“Fine, the rest is yours.”

Zhui Ye hurriedly pushed them back: “I was just playing around with Sister. These noodles were made for you to eat.”

“I’m not eating anymore.” She touched her face and sighed inwardly. “If I keep eating, I’ll definitely wake up with a puffy face tomorrow.”

“Will you swell up like a little pig?”

Wu Man was about to retort when she suddenly burped.

She embarrassedly covered her mouth instantly. Zhui Ye couldn’t hold back his laughter, his shoulders slightly shaking.

Her annoyed voice leaked out from between her fingers: “What’s so funny? You never burp when you eat?”

“I’m happy.” Zhui Ye curved his eyes. “This shows you ate very satisfyingly. As the chef, I share in the glory.”

“…” Wu Man awkwardly coughed twice, saying quietly, “Thank you. This is the best birthday present I received today.”

“Huh? But I haven’t given it to you yet.”

Zhui Ye’s words shocked Wu Man once again. One surprise after another only made her feel all of this was too unreal. She wondered anxiously if something would go wrong with filming tomorrow—otherwise, the happiness heaven was stuffing her way was just too much.

He got up to fetch a bag from the RV and returned, handing it to her: “This is the real one.”

Wu Man pulled it out to look. It was a plant encyclopedia with a bookmark tucked inside. The bookmark was very unique, made of seeds.

She gently fingered the edge, asking curiously: “What kind of seeds are these?”

“Barnyard grass.”

Wu Man muttered to herself—how did he have so many strange and unusual things?

She held it in her palm and played with it a few times, then wondered why he would give her a book that looked somewhat boring. Could it be using the same method to give her a similar gift?

She secretly checked the publication date—it wasn’t from the year and day of her birth. The little stone in her heart clattered and rolled far away, no longer pressing down.

If the things someone gave her were the same as what they gave others, no matter how unique, she wouldn’t treasure them.

“I only received a similar gift when I was in elementary school, from my homeroom teacher—’One Hundred Thousand Whys.'” Wu Man laughed. “I never thought at thirty-two years old, I’d receive one again.”

“…My meaning is definitely not the same as your homeroom teacher’s.”

She seized the opportunity to ask: “Then what is your meaning?”

Zhui Ye, however, carried the noodles into the kitchen, his voice drifting over from afar.

“Movies have post-credit scenes, and presents have them too. This is an Easter egg I’m leaving for Sister to discover on her own.”