The next morning at six-thirty, Shen Zhiyi was jolted awake by her phone alarm.
Still half-asleep, she reached for her phone and turned off the alarm, then buried her face in her pillow again.
Filming had ended late the night before.
By the time she got home, it was nearly eleven. After showering, putting everything away, and going over today’s script one more time, she didn’t actually fall asleep until after one in the morning.
She’d expected to sleep through the alarm.
But before seven, the first thing that surfaced in her mind was, unexpectedly, what Lin Wanxing had said the night before.
—See you tomorrow.
Shen Zhiyi opened her eyes.
She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then suddenly found herself amused.
It had only been an ordinary goodbye.
What was she even thinking?
She rolled over and picked up her phone.
There were no new messages on the screen.
She let out a sigh of relief.
And yet, for some inexplicable reason, she also felt a little disappointed.
“What was I even hoping for...?”
she murmured to herself.
Then she sat up in bed.
She had a full day of filming ahead of her.
She didn’t have time to let her thoughts run wild.
Eight in the morning.
Shen Zhiyi arrived at the soundstage.
Half an hour earlier than the day before.
She’d thought she was early, but the crew was already busy at work.
Cameras, lighting equipment, and props were being brought in one by one.
After greeting everyone, she headed to her dressing room.
“Zhiyi, you’re really early today.”
The makeup artist smiled at her.
“Didn’t they say we weren’t starting until eight-thirty yesterday?”
“I was worried about traffic.”
“You don’t even live that far away.”
Shen Zhiyi smiled.
“I’m used to getting here early.”
The makeup artist didn’t ask any more questions.
As she fixed Shen Zhiyi’s hair, Shen Zhiyi took out her phone and checked the time.
Eight-oh-three.
She lowered her head and opened the script.
She had far more scenes today than yesterday.
One of them was a scene where the two characters had their first real conversation in a coffee shop.
She went over the lines several times.
The more she read them, the more nervous she became.
Because this scene wasn’t like yesterday’s.
Yesterday, all she’d had to do was convey the unfamiliarity of a first meeting.
Today, she had to begin building a sense of familiarity between the two characters.
They would also have to stand much closer during the scene.
“Are you ready?”
Zhou Yuqing walked in through the door.
“More or less.”
“What time did you go to bed last night?”
Shen Zhiyi paused.
“After one.”
Zhou Yuqing frowned.
“You have eight scenes today.”
“I know.”
“If you knew, why didn’t you go to bed earlier?”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head and smiled.
“I couldn’t really sleep last night.”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah.”
Zhou Yuqing looked at her.
“Or were you thinking about Lin Wanxing?”
Shen Zhiyi jerked her head up.
“No!”
The answer came far too quickly.
Zhou Yuqing raised an eyebrow.
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
Shen Zhiyi: “...”
“Whatever.”
Zhou Yuqing smiled.
“As long as you know what’s going on in your own heart.”
Shen Zhiyi didn’t answer.
She lowered her head and pretended to keep reading the script.
But her ears slowly turned red.
At eight-twenty, a crew member’s voice suddenly came from outside the dressing room.
“Wanxing’s here.”
Shen Zhiyi’s hand tightened slightly around the script.
She looked up instinctively.
The next second, there were two soft knocks on the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Lin Wanxing stood in the doorway.
Today, she was wearing her character’s costume: a light gray shirt, her long hair simply tied back.
She didn’t walk in right away.
She merely leaned against the doorframe and looked at Shen Zhiyi.
“Morning.”
Shen Zhiyi froze for a moment.
Then she smiled and answered,
“Morning.”
Lin Wanxing walked in.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Pretty well.”
Shen Zhiyi paused.
“What about you?”
“Pretty well.”
The two of them suddenly smiled at the same time.
For some reason,
though it was nothing more than ordinary small talk,
there was an indescribable sense of familiarity between them.
Lin Wanxing glanced at the script in her hands.
“How far have you gotten?”
“The coffee shop scene.”
“Anything you don’t understand?”
Shen Zhiyi shook her head.
“Not really.”
“Good.”
Lin Wanxing didn’t leave.
Instead, she pulled over a chair and sat down beside Shen Zhiyi.
“Want to run through it together?”
“Now?”
“Yeah.”
Shen Zhiyi quickly nodded.
“Okay.”
The two of them lowered their heads over the script together.
The makeup artist stood nearby, watching them lean close as they read through their lines, and couldn’t help smiling.
“You two are getting along so well.”
Shen Zhiyi looked up.
“It’s only our second day.”
The makeup artist smiled.
“You’re already this comfortable with each other on the second day. That’s great.”
Lin Wanxing said nothing.
She simply lowered her head and continued reading the script.
But there seemed to be the faintest smile at the corners of her lips.
The first scene of the morning was filmed in a coffee shop.
The set had been built by the production team.
Outside the window was a fake streetscape, and two cups of coffee sat on the table.
Shen Zhiyi sat by the window.
Lin Wanxing sat across from her.
The director stood behind the director’s monitor.
“This scene is simple.”
“Don’t force the chemistry or make it overly suggestive.”
“Just treat it as two people who’ve only just met, slowly becoming curious about each other.”
“Don’t rush.”
“The feelings have to develop slowly.”
The two of them nodded.
“Action.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head and stirred her coffee.
Lin Wanxing watched her.
“Why did you move to Taipei?”
Shen Zhiyi looked up.
“Work.”
“That’s the only reason?”
“What else would it be?”
“I don’t know.”
Lin Wanxing took a sip of coffee.
“You just don’t seem like the kind of person who would run off to a strange city alone.”
Shen Zhiyi smiled.
“Then what kind of person do you think I am?”
Lin Wanxing didn’t answer.
She simply looked at her.
A few seconds later, she said,
“I don’t know yet.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her eyes.
“Then you can get to know me slowly.”
“Okay.”
It was only a simple word.
And yet, their gazes lingered on each other for a long time.
“Cut.”
The director didn’t call for the next shot right away.
He stared at the director’s monitor for a few seconds.
“That was great.”
“The feeling between you two just now was excellent.”
He walked over.
“Especially that last beat.”
“Don’t smile so obviously.”
“Stay in this exact state.”
“Like you’re both starting to care a little, but neither of you has realized it yet.”
Shen Zhiyi nodded.
“Okay.”
Lin Wanxing nodded too.
The next scene began soon after.
This time, the distance between them was even closer.
Following the script, Shen Zhiyi reached for the coffee on the table.
But she accidentally brushed against Lin Wanxing’s hand.
They both froze at the same time.
Shen Zhiyi instinctively pulled her hand back.
“Sorry.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“It’s okay.”
The director called, “Cut.”
But Shen Zhiyi didn’t come back to herself right away.
The moment their hands touched had been brief.
So brief it had lasted less than a second.
And yet she had clearly felt Lin Wanxing’s hand.
It was warm.
“Zhiyi?”
“Huh?”
She came back to herself.
Lin Wanxing was looking at her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Shen Zhiyi quickly shook her head.
“I’m just a little nervous.”
“You get nervous pretty easily.”
“Do I?”
“You do.”
Lin Wanxing smiled.
“You were like that yesterday too.”
Shen Zhiyi felt a little embarrassed.
“And you still kept telling me not to be nervous.”
“Because you really don’t need to be.”
“But I’m afraid I won’t do well.”
Lin Wanxing was silent for a moment.
“Zhiyi.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know why you get nervous?”
Shen Zhiyi shook her head.
“Because you care too much about whether you’re doing well.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“But acting isn’t a test.”
“You don’t need every scene to be perfect.”
“Sometimes the best performances happen when you forget you’re acting.”
Shen Zhiyi listened quietly.
This was the first time anyone had ever told her something like that.
“Then how do I do that?”
Lin Wanxing thought for a moment.
“Start by not being afraid of making mistakes.”
“If you really forget your lines, just look at me.”
Shen Zhiyi froze.
“Look at you?”
“Yeah.”
Lin Wanxing smiled.
“I’ll catch you.”
The instant those words fell, something seemed to gently strike Shen Zhiyi’s heart.
She didn’t say anything.
She simply looked at Lin Wanxing.
And Lin Wanxing didn’t look away either.
They remained that way until the director called for the next scene.
“Both of you, get ready!”
Only then did they return to the camera.
But this time,
Shen Zhiyi really did seem a little less nervous.
At lunch, the production team prepared boxed meals.
Shen Zhiyi carried her meal to a corner.
She had barely sat down when a bottle of water appeared in front of her.
“Here.”
She looked up.
Lin Wanxing was standing in front of her.
“Thanks.”
Shen Zhiyi took it.
Lin Wanxing sat down beside her.
“Do you mind?”
“Of course not.”
The two of them ate in silence.
No crew members came near them.
There were no cameras either.
It was the first time they had sat together without the identities of their characters between them.
“Do you usually eat this little?”
Lin Wanxing glanced at her meal.
“Do I?”
“You barely touched the rice.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her eyes to look.
“I’ve been watching my weight lately.”
Lin Wanxing frowned.
“You don’t need to lose weight on purpose.”
“Cameras make you look heavier.”
“You’re already very thin.”
Shen Zhiyi smiled.
“Was that a compliment?”
Lin Wanxing paused for half a second.
“I suppose.”
Shen Zhiyi couldn’t help laughing.
“Then I’ll take it.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“You’re easy to please.”
“Why?”
“One sentence is enough to make you happy.”
Shen Zhiyi thought for a moment.
“Because not everyone says nice things.”
Lin Wanxing didn’t say anything else.
She lowered her head and continued eating.
After a while, she said softly,
“Then I can say more from now on.”
Shen Zhiyi froze.
She didn’t know whether Lin Wanxing had just said it casually.
But her heart had begun to slowly lose its rhythm.
After filming ended that afternoon, Shen Zhiyi was alone in the lounge, packing up her things.
Her phone suddenly buzzed.
She looked down.
It was a message from Lin Wanxing.
[Wanxing: What time will you get here tomorrow?]
Puzzled, Shen Zhiyi replied.
[Shen Zhiyi: Around eight.]
The other person replied almost immediately.
[Wanxing: Okay.]
She stared at that one word for several seconds.
Finally, she couldn’t help asking:
[Shen Zhiyi: Is something wrong?]
After a while,
[Wanxing: Nothing.]
[Wanxing: I just wanted to see you earlier.]
Shen Zhiyi’s hand stopped over the screen.
She froze completely.
Her heartbeat grew faster with every beat.
Just as she was wondering how to respond,
another message popped up.
[Wanxing: We have a scene together tomorrow. I want to run through it with you beforehand.]
Shen Zhiyi looked at those two messages.
The first made her heart race.
The second quickly brought her back to her senses.
She lowered her head and smiled.
So it was just work.
She didn’t know why she felt a little disappointed.
Only after a long while did she reply.
[Shen Zhiyi: Okay.]
[Shen Zhiyi: See you tomorrow, then.]
This time, Lin Wanxing didn’t reply right away.
It wasn’t until Shen Zhiyi had finished packing and was about to leave that her phone buzzed again.
[Wanxing: See you tomorrow.]
Shen Zhiyi looked at those three words.
The corners of her lips slowly lifted.
What she didn’t know was that,
on the other side of the soundstage,
Lin Wanxing was also sitting in a car, looking at the chat on her phone.
Gu Nanqiao sat in the driver’s seat.
She glanced at Lin Wanxing through the rearview mirror.
“Who are you texting?”
“Shen Zhiyi.”
Lin Wanxing didn’t deny it.
Gu Nanqiao’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“It’s only your second day.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve already exchanged personal contact information?”
“It’s for work.”
Gu Nanqiao didn’t call her out.
She merely reminded her in a mild tone:
“Wanxing.”
“I know.”
Lin Wanxing set down her phone.
She looked out the window.
The soundstage lights were still glowing in the night.
She was silent for a long time.
Then she said quietly,
“I just think she’s interesting.”
Gu Nanqiao didn’t answer.
And Lin Wanxing herself hadn’t realized it either.
The “interesting” she was talking about
was slowly, bit by bit, turning into another, far more dangerous emotion.
Back then, they both believed
that they had only met because of a movie.
That they were only working together.
That they were only friends.
That they only saw each other every day, ran scenes together, and chatted.
No one knew
that some feelings never happen all at once.
They were more like a very slow rain.
At first, only one drop fell.
Then a second.
Then a third.
By the time you finally realized you were soaked,
it was already too late.
And Shen Zhiyi didn’t know
that from this day forward,
what she looked forward to most each day had slowly become something very simple.
Seeing Lin Wanxing tomorrow.