This Is the Surprise
Auntie Wu turned back to breakfast.
Mu Wan was smiling as she headed toward the bathroom.
She had barely reached the living room when her phone began ringing in the bedroom.
Thinking it might be Liu Qianxiu, she hurried back.
The screen showed Li Nan’s name.
Mu Wan answered.
“Hello, Your Excellency.”
“Four this afternoon. Go to Room 1306 at Runze Tower for an audition.”
Apparently, the agency had not abandoned her.
They had already begun looking for audition opportunities.
Mu Wan stood at the bedroom doorway and looked toward the gloomy sky outside.
A sense of helplessness settled over her.
Auditioning itself was not a problem.
But even if she won the role, Mu Qing could probably have her removed again.
As long as their conflict remained unresolved, Mu Wan doubted she would be allowed to film anything.
“Your Excellency…”
Mu Wan was about to explain.
Li Nan laughed before she could continue.
“It’s for the empress in Thousand Threads of Snow.”
He added,
“Wasn’t that the role you wanted in the first place?”
Mu Wan froze.
Li Nan continued,
“You don’t need to worry about the audition. They just want the director and the others to see you.”
Then he dropped the real surprise.
“The contract has already been sent over.”
Silence came from Mu Wan’s end.
After a while, Li Nan called,
“Mu Wan?”
“I understand.”
Mu Wan finally recovered.
“All right. Prepare properly.”
Li Nan sounded satisfied.
“They start filming next week. It’s a good character. If you play it well, you won’t have to worry about finding work afterward.”
Then he hung up.
Mu Wan had been standing at the end of a dead road.
One phone call from Li Nan had suddenly revealed another path.
This could not possibly be Mu Qing’s doing.
If Mu Qing had anything to do with it, she would never allow Mu Wan to play a character this good.
The marble beneath Mu Wan’s bare feet was cool.
She stopped thinking about it.
Instead, she immediately called Liu Qianxiu.
Her excited voice traveled through the phone and into the silent mountain temple.
“Liu Qianxiu, I got the empress role!”
The brush in Liu Qianxiu’s hand paused.
The scent of ink mingled with sandalwood in the main hall.
He set down the brush.
A faint smile appeared over his usually restrained features.
“Mm.”
“Can you come back a little earlier today?”
Mu Wan’s voice was overflowing with happiness.
“If you were standing in front of me right now, I could hug you and kiss you while I told you the good news.”
Her voice softened.
“All right.”
Liu Qianxiu agreed.
Mu Wan became happy all over again.
She chatted with him for a little while longer.
Then Auntie Wu called her to breakfast, and she ended the call.
Liu Qianxiu picked up his brush again.
Across from him, Qingchan was practicing calligraphy on white paper.
Ink had smudged across one side of his porcelain-pale cheek.
He looked like a little spotted cat.
“Was that Sister Mu Wan?”
Qingchan looked at the faint curve at the corner of Liu Qianxiu’s mouth.
Liu Qianxiu lifted his eyes.
His expression returned to normal.
“Mm.”
Qingchan lowered his head toward his calligraphy again.
“Why does she like clinging to you when she’s happy too?”
The little Daoist boy clearly did not understand the mystery.
After another moment, Liu Qianxiu looked down at the characters Qingchan had written.
“Did Master say when he’s coming back?”
Qingchan looked up.
“Junior Brother Qianxiu, do you want to leave?”
His bright eyes filled with disbelief.
“You never wanted to leave before.”
He reminded him,
“You said the Dao in your heart was here.”
The Dao in his heart was here.
But the person in his heart was not.
After Li Nan’s call, Mu Wan reread Thousand Threads of Snow at home.
At three in the afternoon, she took a taxi to Runze Tower.
The moment she entered the audition room, the director seated in the center looked up.
Mu Wan smiled.
The director smiled too.
“We met yesterday.”
“Yes, Director Li.”
Several people in the room could immediately tell that Director Li was pleased with her.
He said,
“Begin.”
Mu Wan chose one scene and started performing.
Before graduating, she had not yet signed with an agency.
She needed money to eat, so she had attended plenty of auditions.
Her acting had never been the problem.
Even in small supporting roles, she knew how to disappear into a character.
When the scene ended, Director Li’s smile deepened.
Just like that, the role was settled.
The empress in Thousand Threads of Snow did not have especially heavy screen time.
But she was connected to the main storyline.
Her scenes would be difficult to remove without damaging the plot.
Once Mu Wan was officially confirmed, she went to the agency with Li Nan and signed the contract.
Only after everything was finished did she finally allow herself to relax completely.
Happy again, Mu Wan took a taxi home.
On the way, she called Liu Qianxiu once more.
He told her only that Xuanqingzi had not yet returned to Qingyuan Temple.
Most likely, he would not return tonight.
The happiness Mu Wan had carried all afternoon suddenly seemed covered by a thin veil.
She watched the setting sun outside the window and ended the call.
By the time she reached Jiayuan Residential Community, it was already six.
The sun had not fully set.
A faint layer of shadow had only just begun settling across the city.
It was close to the end of the workday and dinner hour.
Food stalls were setting up near the entrance of the neighborhood.
Thinking about it carefully, Mu Wan realized that she had barely eaten anything from street stalls since the kittens had moved into Liu Qianxiu’s apartment.
The food Auntie Wu had prepared that morning had only been enough for lunch.
After spending the entire afternoon running around, Mu Wan was hungry.
She looked over several stalls.
Heavy oil.
Heavy salt.
Once, the smells would have made her appetite surge.
Now, none of them appealed to her.
Liu Qianxiu had thoroughly spoiled her palate.
In the end, Mu Wan bought nothing.
She headed home.
It had rained again for most of the day.
Several paving stones in the old neighborhood had warped at the corners.
Step on the wrong one, and muddy water would explode upward.
Mu Wan knew the route well.
She walked close to the wall, left the narrow alley, and headed toward her apartment building.
The old residential blocks towered overhead, completely blocking the setting sun.
The air smelled of wet earth and leaves.
Heavy with the warmth of ordinary human life.
Then, as Mu Wan approached her building, something cool and distant entered her vision.
In an instant, it swept away all that mundane warmth.
Mu Wan stopped.
She stared.
The man had changed out of his Daoist robes.
He wore a cotton-linen shirt and trousers.
Tall.
Lean.
Quietly aloof.
He stood beneath her building, looking up toward the third floor.
Then he heard her footsteps.
Liu Qianxiu turned.
The moment his calm eyes landed on the woman standing there, something changed.
Like a drop of dark ink spreading through clear water.
Those restrained features suddenly became richer.
Deeper.
Mu Wan’s heart stopped twice.
Then began pounding.
She came back to herself.
Her beautiful eyes lit up.
Mu Wan ran toward him.
She stopped in front of Liu Qianxiu and looked up.
“Liu Qianxiu, you came back.”
Her smile was brilliant.
Like clouds being wiped away from the sun, revealing all the light beneath.
“Mm.”
Liu Qianxiu turned fully toward her.
He lowered his eyes.
“You said your master hadn’t come back…”
Mu Wan frowned in confusion.
Then her eyes suddenly brightened again.
“Are you trying to surprise me?”
She had not even finished when Liu Qianxiu cupped her face between both hands.
Mu Wan’s chin tilted upward.
Her heart jumped.
Then his lips came down on hers.
His kiss covered her mouth.
Soft.
Tingling.
Mu Wan’s eyes gradually widened.
Her lashes trembled.
It felt as though Liu Qianxiu had buried all the longing he had not spoken into the kiss.
Before long, Mu Wan closed her eyes.
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders.
Her heart grew noisy beneath his kiss.
When Liu Qianxiu finally pulled away, sunset light filtered through the camphor leaves beside the building and scattered into Mu Wan’s unfocused eyes.
Tiny fragments of gold flickered there.
She looked up at Liu Qianxiu, breathing slightly unevenly.
The corner of his mouth lifted.
His voice was low.
“This is the surprise.”
Mu Wan’s body had gone a little soft.
She held on to him.
Even her fingertips felt hot.
“Liu Qianxiu…”
She looked at him.
“Stay at my place tonight?”
Liu Qianxiu lowered his eyes.
Blood seemed to rush straight into Mu Wan’s face.
Her cheeks burned.
A tiny sound escaped her throat.
She wet her red lips with the tip of her tongue.
Then looked down.
And back up again.
“My bed…”
She stumbled over the words.
“My bed is pretty soft.”
A cool breeze passed.
It carried the same warm scent of ordinary life she had noticed earlier.
Liu Qianxiu looked at her quietly.
His gaze was deep enough that Mu Wan felt as though she might drown in it.
Her heart remained suspended.
Patient.
Restless.
Waiting for his answer.
“All right.”
He agreed.
— End of Chapter 34 —
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