Three hours into the shoot, Ding Jia felt like she was going to lose her mind.... and her ears.
Even during the actual photoshoot, she could hear the sound of the shutter aside from the actual camera shutter sounds from the photographer. Even the open space and strong winds aren't enough to mask that sound.
It was making her more irritable than usual and she was very much on the edge from blasting out on someone except that Xiao Chan was clearly reading her emotions very well and she did her best in appeasing and making her comfortable. Even though her assistant couldn't understand why she was in a sour mood, she was truly a magnificent and sensible assistant dedicated on her duties.
Should she give her a bonus this month?
After more than five hours of shooting under the blazing sun, they finally started wrapping up.
Even the shutter sounds she had been hearing throughout the entire five hours finally stopped. She almost cried tears of joy.
After changing out of the gowns, she was busy reapplying her sunscreen while sitting on the inflatable seat inside the tent when she saw the other actress she just finished working with through the window.
Bored, she watched that other actress walk back and forth outside the tent for the whole ten minutes, unfazed by the heat and sun.
Does she not want her skin anymore?
That actress would often raise her hands, rub her ears and brush her hair for the entire ten minutes. Her small mouth also moves as if she was mumbling something that Ding Jia couldn't make out.
In summary, the actress looked like she was worrying over something or maybe she was itching or anything?
Yu Xia called her name, urging her that they finished packing up and they need to go for the next schedule. Ding Jia cast one final glance at the actress before yelling back.
"Coming!"
She arrived in her apartment almost past ten pm.
Ding Jia felt too exhausted to walk that she was already considering crawling back to her home the moment she stepped inside the elevator. She leaned on the elevator wall like a tired puppy.
After taking a quick shower and changing into her pajamas, the moment she threw her body on the bed, her entire body instantly shut down and Ding Jia fell into a deep slumber.
...
"Not...time..."
".....happy.....we.....together...."
"I...stay...promise."
...
The woman's eyes on the bed flew open.
Ding Jia shot up from her bed with labored breathing. She clutched her chest, suddenly filled with a weird wave of emotions after waking up from a dream.
The temperature within the room was cold, but her back was wet with sweat and she was having a strange pain in her chest.
Strange, what was she dreaming about? She doesn't even remember even a tiny bit of it.
After her emotions calmed down, she got off the bed and grabbed a bottle of sparkling water from the mini-fridge within her bedroom. Feeling the cold liquid flow down her throat, she felt better and refreshed.
Her eyes landed on the flashing red numbers on her digital clock. It was already past nine am and she slept like a log. Thank god she was on a day off today.
She grabbed her phone and saw the messages from her assistant that she dropped by early in the morning to fill up her fridge and her breakfast was already prepared on the table.
Ding Jia changed out of her pajamas and waltzed to the dining area. She saw the two hardboiled eggs, tuna sandwich, and freshly-made apple juice on the table.
"Xiao Chan really plays with my feelings a lot, ah." She mumbled mindlessly after she sat on the chair and picked up one of the hardboiled eggs to peel it.
Her message made it sound as if she cooked something for her for breakfast. Well, I guess the egg could be considered the food she cooked. But really, Ding Jia was actually hoping for a more flavorful breakfast.
She was either eating boiled chicken breast, salad, and eggs in rotation for less than a month now. Her stomach was already protesting for chips and pizza more often these days.
Ding Jia considered the idea. Should she order one today?
Ah... but she was going to have filming soon. She can't gain more weight before that. All her costumes were tailored to her size so it would be very problematic if she couldn't fit in her clothes.
So Ding Jia gritted her teeth and tried to fool herself by imagining that what she was eating in front of her was a slice of pizza instead of a tuna sandwich.
After throwing the dirty bowls in the dishwasher, she changed into her workout clothes planning to do some light jogging outside today.
Need to stay fit to stay pretty!!
She repeated this mantra in her mind.
As soon as she opened her door, she was suddenly met with a dog happily wagging its tail in front of her.
She was easily attracted to Arthur, reaching out to pat his soft white fur coat.
She raised her eyes and met those fiery red eyes for the first time in a long while. With a smile on her face, she greeted him politely.
"Goodmorning, Mr. Luo."