Incurable Chapter 25 Can I Come with You? (1)

Something Was Wrong

The movie ended, and the two of them left the theater.

It was already nine at night.

The cinema had quieted considerably.

When they first came out of the screening room, Liu Qianxiu had been walking behind her. Now he had caught up and was beside her.

Mu Wan glanced over.

His expression had returned to normal.

Even the fatigue that had lingered in his dark eyes was gone.

During the movie, he had slept almost the entire time.

Only when her scenes appeared had he opened his eyes and watched.

Once they were over, he had closed his eyes again.

I woke up to see you.

The sweet scent of popcorn still lingered around her.

Mu Wan caught her lower lip between her teeth and smiled.

“How did you get here?”

The corridor ahead divided in two.

One direction led toward the elevators and underground parking.

The other led toward the mall exit.

Liu Qianxiu stopped.

“Taxi.”

That made sense.

He had just finished surgery and had been tired enough to fall asleep in the theater.

He probably had not had the energy to drive.

Mu Wan looked up at him.

More than half of the popcorn in her arms was gone.

She had eaten almost all of it herself.

Liu Qianxiu did not care for processed snacks like this and had not touched a single piece.

“You haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you?”

Mu Wan glanced around.

Most of the businesses on this floor were restaurants.

“Do you want to eat something here? Then you won’t have to go home and cook tonight. You look pretty tired.”

The cinema lights flickered in her eyes.

Liu Qianxiu lowered his gaze to the popcorn bucket in her arms.

“Are you hungry?”

Mu Wan’s fingers curled slightly around it.

Her stomach was already full of popcorn.

She answered honestly.

“Not anymore.”

“Let’s go home.”

Liu Qianxiu declined calmly.

When someone was truly exhausted, appetite disappeared.

All they wanted was rest.

Mu Wan knew the feeling well from overnight shoots.

She nodded.

“Then I’ll take you home.”

This time, Liu Qianxiu did not refuse.

Mu Wan followed him out of the mall.

Once they found a taxi, she gave the driver the address.

Then she turned toward Liu Qianxiu.

His eyes were already closed again.

After they reached his apartment, Liu Qianxiu went straight to his bedroom.

Mu Wan fed the three kittens and refilled Zhouyi’s food.

Once everything was settled, she did not stay long.

She went home.

Perhaps it was fortunate that yesterday’s shoot had been canceled.

Otherwise, Mu Wan would have been filming through the night.

Her next scene was scheduled for early morning, so she woke before dawn and headed to the production base.

The heavy rain two days earlier had washed the oppressive humidity from the air.

But it had taken only a day for the heat to return.

Even before sunrise, the air was already thick and suffocating.

Today’s production was a period drama.

After years of supporting roles, Mu Wan’s casting pattern had become fairly predictable.

Because she had a graceful figure and moved well, period dramas usually cast her in action roles.

When the role was larger, she played the female lead’s henchwoman.

When it was smaller, she was usually an assassin sent to kill her.

In modern productions, she tended to play the male lead’s unforgettable first love.

Exactly like the role in yesterday’s movie.

During the height of summer, Mu Wan much preferred modern dramas.

Female fighters in period productions needed fitted clothing that allowed them to move.

Unfortunately, that usually meant black synthetic fabric covering everything.

Wrists.

Ankles.

Neck.

Not a breath of air could get through.

Within minutes, she would be soaked in sweat.

The only comfortable part was the hair.

At least she could wear it in a high ponytail.

Her scene was supposed to begin before dawn.

Instead, Mu Wan arrived, changed into costume, had her makeup done, and waited until ten in the morning.

The sun climbed higher.

Hotter.

Even sitting in the shade in an all-black costume, Mu Wan felt as though she were slowly being roasted.

She looked around the production base.

Three units were filming simultaneously.

Everyone was busy.

Gao Mei had gone out of town for another production, so Mu Wan had no one to talk to.

She opened Plants vs. Zombies again.

Another hour passed.

It was almost noon.

Mu Wan finally put away her phone.

Waiting around was normal for supporting actors.

But today felt unusual.

If her scene was still being filmed, she would keep waiting.

If it was not, she wanted to leave.

She had plans to find Liu Qianxiu for lunch.

Most of Mu Wan’s scenes were handled by assistant directors.

Only when she acted opposite the leads would the principal director usually take over.

She crossed through the crowd and stood beneath the sun while the assistant director finished a group scene.

Then she called out,

“Director.”

The assistant director on this production was a heavyset man.

Summer was particularly cruel to him.

He had rolled the sleeves of his T-shirt all the way to his shoulders until it nearly resembled a tank top.

Even then, the fabric was soaked with sweat.

When Mu Wan approached, his thick brows drew together.

He looked toward the young assistant behind him.

“What happened?”

He frowned.

“Her scenes were cut. Nobody told her?”

Mu Wan pressed her lips together.

That answered most of the question.

The assistant glanced nervously at the director.

Then at Mu Wan.

“I went looking for her, but I couldn’t find her. There were too many actors.”

Mu Wan had been sitting nearby in black from head to toe for half the day.

Couldn’t find her was nothing more than an excuse.

Mu Wan smiled at the assistant.

“So I don’t have anything to shoot this morning?”

The assistant immediately took the escape she had offered.

“No. Everything was cut.”

Mu Wan had nothing more to say.

She turned to the assistant director.

“Then I’ll head out.”

The assistant director looked her over.

Then waved his hand.

Mu Wan turned and walked away.

She had been acting for several years.

Life on set had generally been steady and uneventful.

She had waited endlessly for scenes before.

Assistant directors had forgotten about her before.

But this time felt different.

Mu Qing came to mind again.

Mu Wan’s brows drew together slightly.

She went to change out of costume.

Since her scenes had been removed, she had nothing left to film today.

By the time she took off the black clothes, her entire body was soaked in sweat.

Her pale skin had been steamed pink beneath the fabric.

She rubbed at her arms, washed her face in the restroom, then started toward the exit.

As she passed the set of a modern drama, Mu Wan stopped.

Beneath one of the large sun umbrellas sat a woman drinking iced water.

Mu Wan pressed her lips together.

Then walked over.

Mi Yu noticed her first.

She wore sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat.

Even beneath the umbrella, she clearly did not trust it to provide enough protection from the brutal sunlight.

An actress’s face was her livelihood.

Getting darker or aging prematurely was unacceptable.

Most female celebrities protected themselves carefully.

It was rare to see someone like Mu Wan walking openly beneath the summer sun in a tank top and shorts.

But it suited her.

She was tall and slender.

The skin she exposed was pale and smooth, her long limbs particularly eye-catching.

She had just washed her face.

Even her eyes seemed freshly rinsed.

Dark.

Bright.

When she noticed Mi Yu looking at her, Mu Wan smiled.

Her lips looked as though they had been touched with honey.

“Sister Yu. Your Excellency.”

After greeting Mi Yu, Mu Wan turned toward Li Nan, who was marking something in a script.

Mu Wan had always been unusually detached from the entertainment industry.

After signing with the agency, she rarely interacted with its other artists.

She sometimes attended company gatherings, but never became particularly close to anyone.

The same was true with her manager.

Most of her communication with Li Nan happened through WeChat.

He sent her jobs.

She went and filmed them.

Mu Wan acted well and never complained about the size of her roles.

She had steady enough work.

Even though everything she did was supporting work, she still earned reasonably well.

Her only obvious flaw was a complete lack of ambition.

If she had come to find Li Nan on her own, there was probably a reason.

Li Nan looked up from the script.

Before Mu Wan could even speak, he gave her another piece of news.

“The production just contacted me.”

He looked at her.

“The scenes you were supposed to shoot tomorrow and the day after have been cut too.”

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— To be continued in Part 2 —

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