Zhou Zhi rarely dreamed in the past, able to maintain a single posture until dawn. Now, her sleep quality is poor, and she doesn't know when it started, but she has come to resist the night.
After swallowing a sleeping pill, Zhou Zhi lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Her mind was filled with chaotic images—some from her childhood, some from her university years, and some from her post-graduation time in the entertainment industry—intertwining uncontrollably, like a virus spreading, beyond her control.
Zhou Zhi closed her eyes. Her youth couldn't be reversed. The time shared with He Yueming felt like pages already written—ultimately not a hard drive, unable to be formatted. Thankfully, her life after thirty had only just begun.
The next day, Zhou Zhi had an action scene to shoot. The action director suggested they film the scene where she is knocked into the water in the second half first.
She put on her harness and gestured behind her. A few young men quickly adjusted the tension of the ropes they were holding.
As she flew into the air, Zhou Zhi still felt nervous. Her tension didn't escape the eyes of the senior martial arts instructor and action director, who looked concerned.
Flying through the air isn't as easy as it looks. The actor's movements and the control of the wires are key factors that can cause the shot to fail.
"Zhou Zhi is an experienced actress, she's fine," Wang Fu said while watching the monitor. As Zhou Zhi stood on the bamboo branch, he waved his hand, and the assistant director knocked on the small blackboard, shouting, "Action!"
The staff pulled the ropes, and Zhou Zhi was sent flying. Her clothes fluttered as she soared through the dense bamboo forest and fell into the water.
After four or five seconds, "Cut!"
Two staff members, already waiting in the water, pulled Zhou Zhi to shore. Jian Yu, holding a towel, hurriedly came to dry her off.
Though it was summer, the discomfort of being soaked was still unpleasant.
Zhou Zhi's face was slightly pale. After drinking some hot water, she looked at the monitor. The footage showed the few seconds of the scene she had just filmed.
"It's not natural enough," Wang Fu said, slowing the playback. "Let's do it again."
"Okay."
Zhou Zhi didn't object and quickly went to touch up her makeup.
Chen Jia, sitting in a chair, couldn't help but sneer. "She's so silly. She could have just used a stunt double."
The male lead, Feng Hao, playing Li Hao, shook his head. "Not all shots can use a double."
Even without mentioning the actor's professional ethics, for Narrow Path, a xianxia film where most of the scenes require wire work, using stunt doubles for every difficult shot would mean barely showing the actors.
"Not all shots can use a double?" Chen Jia bit her lip, not wanting to be used like a puppet.
"I heard Feng Baiyu's wife had a baby in the hospital. Happy, loving, and the whole family is in harmony, while Zhou Zhi is still stuck in the shadow of heartbreak," Feng Han said, rolling his eyes as he played a game. "Chen Jia, have you memorized your lines yet?"
"…" Chen Jia.
Zhou Zhi finished filming her scene by six in the evening. She packed up and left under the envious gazes of the other actors.
"Zhi Jie, let's go eat seafood?" Jian Yu's face had darkened a lot from the sun. She adjusted the straps of her overalls. "There's a new place that just opened."
Young people have endless energy. Zhou Zhi glanced at the girl in front of her, who had irregular sleeping habits just like her. "You go ahead. I'll go home and sleep for a bit," she said. Then, she added, "Don't stay out too late. Be safe."
Jian Yu noticed the fatigue under her eyelids. "I'll pack some to take back for you."
After parting ways with Jian Yu, Zhou Zhi went home, laid down, and dozed off for a while. When night fell, she decided to make herself some porridge. Just as she placed the millet in the pot, her phone on the bedside table vibrated a few times.
She wiped her hands dry, glanced at the caller ID, and picked up. A man's voice, deep and magnetic, came through, "It's me, Feng Baiyu. I'm also in H City. Want to come out for a drink?"
Zhou Zhi hung up the phone and headed to the address Feng Baiyu had given her. The two old friends, after a long time, shared a brief hug in the corner of a small bar.
Feng Baiyu's gaze swept over the woman in front of him, whose face, though still stunning, looked a bit pale. He joked, "I saw the report, said you got depression because of me, skin darkened, eye bags drooping, body shape changed."
Zhou Zhi's mouth twitched. She had made the right decision not to read the reports.
Feng Baiyu had been unfortunate too. Shortly after Zhou Zhi's incident, his wife got pregnant, and their marriage was revealed early. In a single night, his Weibo was flooded with accusations like "abandoning her after starting the affair," "heartless," "better to adopt a dog than find a man," and many other dirty remarks, even dragging his family into it.
His wife was accused of being the third party and even got doxxed. It was a terrible time.
Feng Baiyu swirled his cocktail. The only relief was that his wife and Zhou Zhi knew each other and understood the situation, or things would have been much worse.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Zhou Zhi asked.
"A pair of twin boys," Feng Baiyu said, smiling with an unmistakable happiness in his eyes.
Zhou Zhi also smiled. "Congratulations."
The former rumored couple clinked their glasses, and the atmosphere fell into a brief silence, as if something was about to be revealed.
"I met He Yueming and An Yiru at Qian Yuan's wedding yesterday," Feng Baiyu said. "An Yiru caught the bouquet. They say a good thing is coming soon."
Zhou Zhi's eyelid twitched slightly, a tiny motion.
"You're not making a voodoo doll at home, are you?" Feng Baiyu teased, watching her. His gaze darkened. "Honestly, looking at him now, acting all smug, I really regret not pushing him out back then."
He said that, but he and Zhou Zhi had a prior agreement. When Zhou Zhi fell unconscious, he couldn't go back on his word. Even when he later found out that He Yueming had betrayed Zhou Zhi, he didn't go digging up dirt on He Yueming. If someone were to do that, it would have to be Zhou Zhi.
"I have a childhood friend. He thinks you're a goddess. Want to try getting to know him?" Feng Baiyu said lazily, resting his elbow on his forehead. "He has everything He Yueming has, and even better."
Such a good man, would anyone not want him? Zhou Zhi looked at him sideways.
Feng Baiyu coughed, probably because his childhood friend was a bit of an oddball. He couldn't think of a suitable word to describe him.
"I'm thinking of getting a dog," Zhou Zhi said after a pause. "Feng Baiyu, do you have any suggestions for breeds? One that's gentle and obedient, like a Samoyed or a Husky?"
Feng Baiyu burst out laughing, unable to contain himself, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Zhou Zhi, getting a dog and finding a man aren't mutually exclusive."
"I think I'll stick with getting a dog," Zhou Zhi said firmly.
"…"
Feng Baiyu had heard about the accident. Zhou Zhi had given everything, loving He Yueming with no reservations. Yet, he abandoned her when she was at her weakest.
So selfish. No matter the excuse, it was all self-inflicted. If it were him, he could never do something so heartless.
After leaving the bar, Zhou Zhi suddenly looked across the street, squinted, quickly put on her sunglasses, and lowered the brim of her cap. She turned into the alley to the left, took a few twists and turns, and chose a quiet, deserted path to go back a different way.
There was a faint sound ahead. Zhou Zhi could only make out a vague silhouette—a tall man. Her first reaction was that tonight was going to be bad. She was going to shake off the paparazzi and run into a thug. Her luck was terrible.
The roar of a motorcycle grew closer, and a beam of light swept from the alley, passing through the space.
The man leaned against the mottled gray brick wall, with messy black hair falling over his forehead. His sharp nose and thin lips formed a cold, hard line. His face was clean-cut, and the air around him smelled strongly of alcohol and tobacco.
In the faint light, Zhou Zhi saw the man with one hand resting on the open zipper of his silver suit pants, the tight stripes of his underwear faintly visible. She couldn't tell if he was pulling it up or preparing to pull it down.
Zhou Zhi's face turned awkward. She recognized him—it was Yu Ze from the film investment company, Lian Shen. She had seen him a few times, though they hadn't interacted much. His face appeared often in the newspapers, so she was sure she wouldn't mistake him.
Yu Ze, stiff with embarrassment, was cursing in his mind. He had been dared to play truth or dare again and again. His friends had insisted that he do it in this alley, thinking it was secluded enough not to be seen.
He wasn't sure if the strange woman wearing sunglasses and a cap at this late hour had witnessed the whole thing.
A breeze blew past, and Zhou Zhi smelled a faint metallic scent. She adjusted her sunglasses nonchalantly, reached out to support the wall, and slowly walked away.
Seeing the woman ahead moving awkwardly, Yu Ze relaxed, realizing she was just blind.