Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Female-Oriented — Passing His Room, She Heard Something She Shouldn't Have... Nan Shu's pupils contracted, a faint trace of surprise surfacing in her eyes. But Xie Zeyan spoke unhurriedly, his tone calm: "Auntie, you must have the wrong person." That was true. Xie Zeyan had studied in England for university—there was no way he'd be sitting outside a film academy eating a bowl of noodles. Nan Shu chimed in: "Auntie, my friend didn't go to university in China. This is his first time here." "Is that so?" The owner took another look. Earlier, when she'd been in the kitchen watching Xie Zeyan and Nan Shu play with Pudding, she'd had the nagging feeling she'd seen Xie Zeyan before—more than once, even. "Then I must have been mistaken. Ah, I always thought I had a good memory, but I suppose I'm getting old." Nan Shu scooped up a spoonful of noodle soup. Xie Zeyan asked her, "How did you know I didn't go to university in China?" Nan Shu's hand, holding the spoon, froze mid-air. After her college entrance exams, she'd asked Liang Jiayi and learned that Xie Zeyan had gone abroad. Not wanting Xie Zeyan to know she'd been keeping tabs on him, Nan Shu steadied her breathing and explained: "Mm, after I transferred schools, I kept in touch with quite a few classmates. Later, at a class reunion, I happened to hear them mention it." "I see." Xie Zeyan looked up, his dark eyes reflecting the girl's blurred silhouette. "What about you? Why did you suddenly transfer schools?" "In high school, I lived with my aunt's family, but in my senior year, my uncle got a work transfer, so I followed them to Jiangzhou to finish my final year." From the moment her uncle received the transfer notice to the day she finished the paperwork and left Jingjia, only three or four days had passed. Everything felt like a dream. It wasn't until she arrived, dazed, at her new home in Jiangzhou that she realized she'd never had the chance to properly say goodbye to her friends. Nor had she managed one last stolen glance through the window at the boy she liked. • "Hahaha, Huituichang baby is amazing—he actually called Xie Zeyan himself!" Liang Jiayi had been on a business trip for the past few days and only had time to video call Nan Shu tonight. Nan Shu told her about Xie Zeyan helping walk the dog and the two of them having lunch together during the day. Liang Jiayi couldn't help but laugh after hearing it all, teasing her: "Also, since when are you and Xie Zeyan this close? Come on, come on, spill it all." Nan Shu dropped a slice of freeze-dried lemon into her mug. "It's not like we're... that close." Liang Jiayi clearly wasn't buying it. "If it were anyone else, I'd believe you, but this is Xie Zeyan we're talking about. Back in high school, barely anyone could even get a word in with him, and now he's walking your dog and going to noodle shops with you? That's way too down-to-earth." "Hey, Nannan, what do you think of Xie Zeyan? Why don't you seize the opportunity and snatch him up?" What did she think of Xie Zeyan? Nan Shu remembered that Liang Jiayi had asked her the same question back in high school. Nan Shu took a sip of her lemon water. "He's great." As for snatching him up... Even if she had the nerve, she didn't have the guts. Liang Jiayi said while applying her face mask, "If I were you, I'd take advantage of the fact that the campus heartthrob is down on his luck right now and just trick him into coming home with me. Isn't that the standard answer fairy tales give us?" Nan Shu set down her cup and joked, "But TV dramas also taught me that you don't pick up random men on the street." "You're so hopeless. Fine, fine," Liang Jiayi tapped a few times on her screen. "I've got some good stuff over here. Even if we can't make a move in real life, we can at least use our imaginations, right?" She sent over a female-oriented audio collection. Nan Shu opened the file and skimmed through it—each audio title was spicier than the last. Without so much as a blush, she tapped download. Liang Jiayi was a real one. After hanging up, Nan Shu set the air conditioner on a timer and lay down on the bed. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so she opened the audio collection Liang Jiayi had just sent. The phone screen's glow was harsh on her eyes. Nan Shu squinted as she scrolled down. Her gaze landed on the third audio from the top, and she tapped it. [Previously: You and your secret crush end up as roommates under the same roof, maintaining a proper distance—neither of you crossing the line. Tonight, unable to sleep, you go to the living room for water. Passing by his room, you hear a sound you shouldn't have...] That's the one... this is it! In the dim room, only a warm yellow moon lamp was lit. Nan Shu put in both Bluetooth earbuds and buried her head under the covers. A continuous stream of ambiguous sounds poured through the earbuds. The more Nan Shu listened, the more a restless heat surged within her. She flipped over like a frying egg, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, vowing never to listen to this kind of audio before bed again. Not only did it fail to help her sleep, it gave her the urge to drag her art supplies out of the study and start drawing comics. The blanket was already bunched up in her arms. She rolled over, and the audio was nearing its end—the wet, smacking sounds pushing the atmosphere to its climax. The sultry, lingering sounds came to an abrupt halt, and then someone suddenly called out, "Nan Shu." She jolted upright from her near-slumber like a corpse springing back to life. Nan Shu practically shot up from the mattress. Wait—how was she hearing Xie Zeyan's voice? Was there something wrong with her earphones? Nan Shu was about to take off her earphones to check when she heard three more barks: "Woof! Woof! Woof!" And what was Huituichang doing in this? She fumbled under her pillow for her phone, which showed a call recording from Friday night last week. Friday night last week... that was the day before she went to Hushi to shoot the commercial. Nan Shu remembered that her phone had an automatic recording feature for WeChat calls. So this audio must have been from Huituichang accidentally stepping on her phone that day and calling Xie Zeyan. Nan Shu kept listening. The man on the other end of the line was clearly taken aback upon hearing the three barks. "...Oh, it's Huituichang." Xie Zeyan's voice was accompanied by a low, muffled chuckle from his throat. Nan Shu couldn't help it either—she laughed out loud. Who actually talks to a little dog like that? Hearing its own name, Huituichang barked "woof woof woof" several more times. Nan Shu could roughly imagine how excited it must have been, circling around a glowing brick that could also say its name. Xie Zeyan, however, seemed to have endless patience. He waited until Huituichang stopped before asking, "Where's your mom?" Where's your mom? Those words landed in her ears, and Nan Shu's chest felt like a feather had brushed against it—she trembled involuntarily, a tingling numbness spreading through her entire body. Perhaps it was because Xie Zeyan's tone was too gentle, like he was speaking to a child. Nan Shu couldn't help but start imagining—if Xie Zeyan ever had a child, would he also teach them so carefully, patiently explaining every little lesson? The voice in her earphones continued. A few lines in the middle were unclear, whether due to a glitch or not, the recording cutting in and out. This was probably an encrypted call between Xie Zeyan and Huituichang. The moment that thought surfaced, the corners of Nan Shu's lips unconsciously curled upward again. Until finally, the man's magnetic, deep voice came through the earphones once more. "Huituichang, while you're home, be a good dog and listen to your mom." • Over the next few days, Nan Shu stayed home and lived a life with her days and nights flipped upside down. When she wasn't on set, she tended to be a homebody, preferring to curl up indoors. And since Liang Jiayi was away on a business trip during this time, there was no one to push her to go out anyway. She started binge-watching a recently popular acting variety show, originally just for entertainment, but unexpectedly it was packed with useful content. Nan Shu held a small notebook and filled it up completely in less than a week. On Sunday afternoon, while Nan Shu was still having sweet dreams in bed, Sister Fu knocked on her door. "Oh my dear girl, how are you still sleeping? I called and you didn't pick up." Nan Shu's room had the curtains drawn, too dark to see anything. Sister Fu casually pulled them open a crack. It was around dusk, and the setting sun filtered through the gap, gilding Nan Shu's hair in gold—brown with hints of orange in the light. Nan Shu rubbed her eyes and sat up. Seeing a string of missed calls on her phone, she said, "I was sleeping too deeply and didn't hear the calls." Huituichang pounced into Sister Fu's arms, and Sister Fu picked it up, making a few "tsk tsk" sounds to play with it. Sister Fu had just had lunch with the production team. She'd managed to negotiate a bit more on Nan Shu's behalf regarding the pay. The actor's contract was now finalized, with the filming start date set for after National Day. The film Nan Shu was to shoot was an ancient-costume detective mystery, in which she would play a villainous femme fatale who turns to the dark side. Both the character and the genre were completely new territory for her. Before leaving, Sister Fu stared at Nan Shu's pallid face and asked one more question. "Are you feeling unwell? Your lips look a bit pale. Don't stay up late, okay?" Nan Shu had indeed been feeling a bit off since this morning—her temples had been throbbing with pain, and her limbs ached with weakness. She'd assumed it was because she'd impulsively done two hours of Pamela Reif the day before. After seeing Sister Fu out, Nan Shu casually blanched two leaves of greens for dinner, but then even her stomach started hurting. She really didn't have the energy to take Huituichang downstairs for a walk today, so she played with it at home with a ball instead. Then she went to bed early. Just as drowsiness was about to overpower the pain and she was drifting off, she vaguely heard whimpering sounds coming from Huituichang's room next door. Usually, Huituichang would already be asleep at this hour. Nan Shu had a bad feeling and immediately got up to go to Huituichang's room. Turning on the light, she indeed saw several puddles of yellowish-brown vomit on the floor. Huituichang's head was drooping, lying motionless on the ground. The usually lively little dog was now at death's door. Nan Shu panicked and quickly scooped Huituichang up from its bed. Huituichang's eyes, usually as bright as black gems, were now lifeless. It leaned against Nan Shu's chest, letting out intermittent "grr-woo" sounds. "What's wrong with Huituichang?" Nan Shu was so anxious tears were about to spill. Even back when Huituichang had been a stray on the streets, it had never looked this listless. She pulled out her phone to search for nearby veterinary clinics and found the nearest one was ten kilometers away. Nan Shu only had a small electric scooter. If she put Huituichang in the front basket, the bumpy ride would only make things worse. She switched through several ride-hailing apps in rapid succession, but no driver accepted the order. Seeing Huituichang collapse in her arms like a deflated balloon, Nan Shu paced anxiously around the room. Liang Jiayi was currently on a business trip far away in Jiangzhou—who else could she call? What about Liang Xubai? He had always treated her like a younger sister. Nan Shu didn't have time to hesitate any longer. She dialed Liang Xubai's number. "Beeeeeep—" The dog in her arms began to tremble, showing signs of vomiting again. Nan Shu strode quickly toward the bathroom. "Beeeeeep—" Nan Shu crouched by the sink with Huituichang in her arms. Liang Xubai still hadn't picked up. Frantically, she switched between several ride-hailing apps, which still showed "contacting driver." After the third ring, a cold, mechanical female voice announced: "Hello, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..." Liang Xubai hadn't answered. Nan Shu couldn't afford to worry about that now. She rushed back to her room, changed clothes quickly, grabbed the keys to her electric scooter, and prepared to take Huituichang to the hospital herself. Just before leaving, she took one last hopeless glance at the ride-hailing app—still no driver accepting. As she exited the app, her finger slipped and tapped on WeChat. The familiar profile picture and name at the top of the list appeared before her eyes. Should she call... Xie Zeyan? They hadn't been in contact for days. Would it be inappropriate to call him out of the blue like this? Besides, their relationship wasn't close enough for her to call him whenever she wanted without a second thought. Her mind was still weighing the options, but her hand, purely on instinct, tapped the voice call button. She was too worried about Huituichang. At this moment, she couldn't afford to think about anything else. Again, the anxiety-inducing electronic ringtone. Then, suddenly, there was a brief second of silence. Following that, the man's familiar voice came through. "Nan Shu?"