Chapter 42 (1/3)
It had rained all night.
When Mu Wan woke up, Liu Qianxiu was already out of bed. She rolled around twice before finally dragging herself up, one hand bracing her sore waist. The oversized shirt she was wearing slipped down and covered her hips, leaving only her long, slender legs exposed beneath it.
Shoulders drooping, she wandered toward the kitchen.
Liu Qianxiu was in the middle of making breakfast, offering her only his back. Mu Wan walked over and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
After their conversation the night before, they had done it again. She had gone to bed without eating anything, and now she was hungry.
Liu Qianxiu moved back and forth at the counter, and she trailed after him like a little tail, swaying this way and that behind him. When he finally slid the sandwiches into the oven, he turned and picked her up.
Mu Wan wrapped her legs around his waist. Still not fully awake, she let her head collapse against his chest and absently toyed with the undone buttons of his shirt.
The oven timer ticked softly. The kitchen window was open, and the damp, rain-laden breeze drifting in only seemed to thicken the sweetness between them.
Liu Qianxiu tucked her hair behind her ear and bent to kiss her cheek. Her hair brushed her neck, making it itch a little. Smelling the warm fragrance coming from the oven, Mu Wan finally opened her eyes and gave a small laugh.
Lazily, she turned to look out the window. Outside, the world was gray and misted over, as if veiled beneath a layer of pale fog. The distant high-rises were half-hidden in it, giving the city an almost otherworldly feel.
Fresh from sleep, her curled hair was fluffed out and soft, brushing against his chin. Liu Qianxiu lowered his head and kissed the top of it, and the body in his arms seemed to melt even further, her cheek settling against the hollow of his collarbone.
“This afternoon, after you finish filming, we’re going to the Mei house for dinner,” Liu Qianxiu said, smoothing her hair as he looked out at the rain-washed view.
The woman in his arms froze.
She lifted her head to look at him, panic and surprise flashing across her eyes.
“So soon?” Mu Wan asked, completely caught off guard.
A faint smile touched his lips as he lowered his eyes to hers. “Not really. They already know about you.”
Because he had been too busy enjoying the private amusement of being “kept” by her. She just hadn’t known it.
Just then, a meow sounded from the kitchen doorway.
Mu Wan turned and saw Big Head leading Zhongfen and Ertong, all three of them standing there and meowing at them.
Then something occurred to her.
“Who is Xingkong’s husband?” she asked.
“Huai Jing.”
The name was familiar. Mu Wan remembered hearing it in financial news before. If she had actually met Huai Jing the day she went to Xu Xingkong’s house, she probably would have figured out Liu Qianxiu’s identity on the spot.
“You kept him from appearing in front of me on purpose?” she asked, looking back at Liu Qianxiu.
“No,” Liu Qianxiu said. The oven chimed, and the sandwiches were done. “Only the last time. Before that, there really were things going on, so you didn’t meet.”
One coincidence after another had stretched the secret this far. It really was almost absurd. If Mu Wan hadn’t recognized Mei Yaozhi, and if she hadn’t met him once before, she probably would still be oblivious.
There was no point in dwelling on the past now.
Mu Wan slid down from his arms and stood beside him, her little body swallowed up by the oversized shirt. Looking up at him, she asked anxiously, “Then what should I bring when I go meet... your family?”
“They don’t lack anything,” Liu Qianxiu said patiently.
Ah. That was true. A family like the Meis could have anything they wanted.
But Mu Wan still felt nervous. She scratched at her fluffy hair and looked up again. “Then what kind of... I mean, what style should I dress in?”
Before she could finish, he bent and kissed the corner of her mouth, fresh and cool like the morning itself.
Unhurriedly, Liu Qianxiu smoothed her unruly hair into place. In his dark eyes lay a faint trace of fond amusement.
“They like what I like,” he said.
“And you are what I like.”
It felt as if honey had been poured straight over her heart.
Mu Wan lowered her head, smiling to herself, her earlobes turning pink. They had already been together this long. They had done everything there was to do. And yet his loving words still made her shy and made her heart race.
It did not rain that day, but the sky stayed heavy and overcast. The mist thinned at noon, only to gather thick again by afternoon.
Mu Wan had many scenes that day. She pushed through them quickly, but by the time she finished, it was already past four. Afterward, she went to the makeup room to remove her makeup. A few other supporting actresses were there too, and she even chatted idly with them for a while.
She did not know whether it was her imagination or whether things had truly changed. Still, ever since confirming Liu Qianxiu’s identity the day before, it felt as though everyone on set had grown particularly polite toward her. From the director to the producer to the line producer, even Mi Yu—though Mi Yu’s words were still blunt—sounded a good deal nicer than before.
She had only vaguely sensed something yesterday morning while filming. It was only today that she felt it completely.
This production was financed by a subsidiary of Liu Corporation. Liu Qianxiu had hidden the traces well. At first glance, the company name meant nothing to Mu Wan. But thinking back, for a small company to force Shen Entertainment to pull its investment, there had to be more behind it.
At the time, though, she had been too lovestruck to think straight.
She took off her wig and went to the wardrobe to change. When she stepped inside, she ran into Mi Yu.
Mi Yu still had night scenes to shoot and was in the middle of changing. Because the garment was close-fitting, she was doing it herself. She looked up when Mu Wan entered, then lowered her head again to tie the back of her red undergarment.
“I didn’t know you were in here,” Mu Wan said, glancing at the red cloth.
Pulling a light outer layer over it, Mi Yu said carelessly, “Why should you avoid this place? If anyone should leave, it should be me.”
Since Mu Qing had been removed from the role the day before, Mi Yu had come to her with a few meaningful remarks. Mi Yu had been in the industry for years; she had the kind of instincts that came from surviving in it. Maybe it had been yesterday. Maybe even earlier. But she had already figured something out.
They were in the same company, but their career paths were different. There was no conflict of interest between them. Things had been made clear enough.
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2Dsimp. 28 years old. Died of dog food.
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