Countless Blossoms: The Actor's Gamble | Chapter 6 | A Chance Encounter | Novela.app

On the morning of their departure, Beijing was hit by heavy snow. Upon learning that their flight was delayed, Qi Bailu spent a little extra time in the bathroom. He took half an hour to shower and blow-dry his hair while his manager, pacing the living area of the suite, handled work with growing impatience. However, when Qi Bailu finally emerged, the manager set aside his luggage and called for the makeup artist to apply some powder to the actor's face. Qi Bailu was pale and looked utterly drained; since fans were likely lying in wait in the hotel lobby, the manager wanted him to face the cameras in peak condition. The manager, assistants, and other staff were only permitted to stay in the living room. After his light makeup was finished, Qi Bailu returned to the bedroom to retrieve his backpack. Zheng Kunyu was already awake, sitting up in bed with a laptop. Seeing Qi Bailu enter, he looked up and asked, "Leaving now?" Qi Bailu was busy stuffing his script and charger into his bag and didn't answer. Seeing that Qi Bailu appeared relatively calm and wasn't in a temper, Zheng Kunyu said, "Once I've finished my business in Beijing, I'll come to Hengdian to visit the set." Qi Bailu gave him a perfunctory glance before walking to the nightstand to pick up his bottle of medicine. Taking advantage of the moment, Zheng Kunyu caught his hand and pressed it to his lips in a gesture of extreme tenderness, his eyes behind his glasses fixed intently on Qi Bailu. Once the kiss was over, Qi Bailu withdrew his hand and said, "You're welcome to." Noticing that Zheng Kunyu was still staring at him, Qi Bailu paused, then leaned down slightly to kiss Zheng Kunyu on the lips. This was their established ritual. Sure enough, after Qi Bailu straightened up, Zheng Kunyu shifted his gaze back to the computer screen. "Tell the driver to take it slow," he said. "Stay safe on the road." Qi Bailu checked the time on his phone and headed for the door at his manager’s urging. The moment his back was turned to Zheng Kunyu, his expression shifted; though he looked the same as before, his entire aura settled into a relaxed, cold indifference. When the group stepped out of the elevator, they found fans waiting in the lobby as expected. Because of the snow, there weren't many people this time. As soon as they saw Qi Bailu, the fans immediately raised their phones to take photos. Seeing them shivering from the cold, Qi Bailu pulled down his scarf slightly and said, "Go home soon." The girls were overwhelmed by the unexpected favor and began talking to him enthusiastically. The assistant following behind instinctively spread his arms to block them. The manager, Cheng Wenhui, looked exasperated, but since he couldn't say anything in front of the fans, he simply stood before Qi Bailu with a cold face to act as a shield. After passing through the revolving doors, there was still a short walk to the production van. The snow hadn't stopped, falling continuously in large, feathery flakes. The fans followed Qi Bailu out, running ahead of him and turning back to film short videos of him walking through the snow. In the videos, Qi Bailu wore a long black down coat, walking toward the camera through the flurries, his short hair slightly tousled by the wind. He looked up at the lens a few times, his clear eyes visible above the cashmere scarf covering his nose and mouth. Once they were inside the van and the vehicle began to move slowly forward, leaving the enthusiastic fans behind, Cheng Wenhui watched the receding figures in the rearview mirror and immediately began to scold Qi Bailu. "Didn't I tell you before? Don't talk to them." The makeup artist tried to smooth things over. "Brother Cheng, the weather is so bad. Xiao Qi was just worried about them." Cheng Wenhui was a well-known veteran in the industry; everyone referred to him as "Brother Cheng." Unmoved by the makeup artist's words, he said, "If you talk to them today, they'll follow you tomorrow wanting to hear more. By the day after, they'll be planting recording pens in your room. Do you have any self-awareness as a star?" The interior of the van fell silent. After a moment, Qi Bailu replied flatly, "Understood." The assistant shook out a blanket and handed it to Qi Bailu to ease the temporary tension in the car. While filming a snow scene last month, Qi Bailu had injured his leg, and his knees couldn't handle the cold. Under the manager's watchful eye, Qi Bailu took the blanket, spread it over his knees, and closed his eyes to catch up on sleep. He seemed truly exhausted, falling asleep within minutes. Cheng Wenhui had intended to have him recite his lines, but seeing how tired he was, he let it slide. Fortunately, there were no fans waiting at the airport. They used the VIP channel and passed through without a hitch. Qi Bailu sat in First Class alone, while Cheng Wenhui and the others sat in Economy. After finding his seat and stowing his luggage, Qi Bailu took out his phone to reply to a friend's WeChat message. Lin Yuewei was complaining about the slow progress of a new script and asked him to send a few jars of homemade chili sauce from a certain restaurant in Hengdian. He replied with a simple "Okay." Aside from that, he ignored the messages from casual acquaintances. He then turned off his phone and took out his headphones and a tablet that hadn't been turned on yet. At that moment, a middle-aged man with graying hair sat down next to him. Qi Bailu looked up briefly before lowering his head to untangle his knotted headphone cord. But two seconds later, he looked up again. Across the aisle, in the seat to Qi Bailu's back-right, sat a man in a charcoal-gray coat. He looked like he had just boarded and was currently removing his gloves. As he pulled at the fingers of the gloves, he casually scanned his surroundings. His gaze stopped abruptly when it landed on Qi Bailu. Because of a person moving between them, they only saw each other's faces in glimpses. Ruan Qiuji raised his eyebrows in surprise, clutching his gloves in his palm, and quickly offered Qi Bailu a smile. Out of politeness, Qi Bailu smiled back. He hadn't expected such a coincidence at all. Qi Bailu turned back and focused intently on untangling his headphones, but the wires in his hands were a mess, tightening like a ball of hemp the more he pulled. Less than half a minute later, a voice suddenly sounded above him. "Hello, would you mind switching seats?" Qi Bailu and the man next to him looked up together. Ruan Qiuji was leaning slightly forward, one hand resting on the back of the man's chair, looking every bit the polished gentleman. The man looked at him, then at Qi Bailu, realizing this stranger was speaking to him. "The person inside is my friend." "Sure." Having received his answer, Ruan Qiuji stood straight and raised a hand to a nearby flight attendant. The attendant saw that they were of similar build and granted the request to switch seats. Qi Bailu watched as the man stood up and walked away to sit in Ruan Qiuji's original seat. Ruan Qiuji naturally sat down to Qi Bailu's right. He was a man of long limbs, and his presence was immediate the moment he sat. Qi Bailu caught a faint scent of tobacco in the air, mixed with a hint of women's perfume. "Heading back to Hengdian?" "Yes." "Zheng Kunyu didn't come with you?" "He stayed in Beijing." Qi Bailu glanced at the people passing in the aisle; some passengers had already recognized him and were casting curious glances their way. Qi Bailu lowered his head and continued to deal with the headphone cord. Ruan Qiuji knew he was wary of the foot traffic and didn't want to talk much, so he cooperatively remained silent. As the passengers settled into their seats, Ruan Qiuji watched Qi Bailu untangle the cord for a while, as if observing an interesting performance. Seeing that he was making little progress, Ruan Qiuji suddenly asked, "Shall I help you?" Before the words had even fully landed, Ruan Qiuji's hand reached out and caught one of the wires. Qi Bailu didn't want to make a scene over such a trivial matter; he paused for a second and then let Ruan Qiuji take the headphones. Out of professional habit, Qi Bailu was used to observing people. He silently studied Ruan Qiuji, his gaze moving from the man's profile to his hands. Ruan Qiuji had beautiful hands with clean, well-manicured nails—clearly the hands of someone who lived a privileged life. But Ruan Qiuji quickly sensed his gaze and looked up. After locking eyes with those deep, unfathomable eyes for a few seconds, Qi Bailu looked away nonchalantly and turned toward the window. Small snowflakes were drifting outside. The runway had been cleared of snow, but a thin layer of white had already settled again, with a few winding tire tracks visible in the distance. A few minutes later, Ruan Qiuji handed the headphones back to Qi Bailu. Qi Bailu said, "Thank you." Beyond the window, a sea of clouds surged. Qi Bailu kept his face turned toward the window until the seatbelt sign turned off. Only then did he turn back and open his tablet. A flight attendant pushed a cart down the aisle, softly asking if they needed anything. Ruan Qiuji ordered wine and juice. Seeing that Qi Bailu was wearing headphones, the attendant placed the cups on Ruan Qiuji's tray table and continued forward. Not long after Qi Bailu started a downloaded video, Ruan Qiuji placed the glass of juice in front of him. Qi Bailu took off his right earphone, a strange expression on his face. Ruan Qiuji said naturally, "It's for you." "Thank you." Qi Bailu held the glass and took a symbolic sip. He hadn't paused the video on his tablet, and the plot was slowly unfolding. Qi Bailu set the glass down, turned back to the screen, and used his finger to drag the progress bar back. Ruan Qiuji caught a glimpse of the screen and asked, "*Exquisite Beauty*?" On the screen, a Spanish woman stood by the roadside waiting for someone, her beautiful brown hair drenched by rain. She wore a red suit with a black coat over it; looking closely, one could see a bright red, soaked stain on the chest of her suit. She paced the street, looking around in panic and distress. The camera followed her closely, capturing the confusion and misery in her eyes. A taxi stopped to ask if she wanted a ride, but she shied away as if startled, turning and walking away in her high heels. The film's quality was somewhat coarse, with many colors crowded together, giving the image a gaudy feel. In the distance was a dark green billboard featuring a Pop Art-style head of a blonde woman, her chin tilted up as she looked lazily at the crowd. The protagonist, her lips painted red, walked beneath the billboard. Hearing footsteps, she suddenly turned back and recognized someone in the darkness. The camera didn't show who the newcomer was, freezing instead on her sorrowful face before the film's title appeared in purple-red font. Below it was the Chinese translation. This long take was from the Spanish film *Exquisite Beauty*. Working in the film industry, it wasn't strange to have watched a vast number of movies. Qi Bailu asked, "Have you seen it?" "I have a set of this director's discs," Ruan Qiuji said. "It took me several years to collect the full set." ***