His tone was casual and indifferent but when each word travelled into her ears, it made her silent for a long time. She lowered her head, pouring a cup of steaming hot ginger c.o.ke for him. “Yes, extremely regretful.” She could not decipher what was real and what was fake in his words, yet she used a joking manner to admit the honest truth.
After admitting as such, she immediately turned around to pour herself a cup. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cheng Chen staring at her intently. The courage and calmness from a moment ago all but disappeared. Even though the warmth from the cup was hurting her fingers, yet she actually didn’t move. She was afraid he was going to bring up more things from their past, she could only stare blankly at the slices of ginger floating in the cup. The wall lights in the pantry were turned on year round, but under such circ.u.mstances, it actually highlighted how ambiguously romantic the atmosphere was… Before her heartbeat could race uncontrollably, she heard the voice of the cleaner ah yi. She seemed to be asking if there was anyone left in the company. Having found her saviour, she quickly called out, “Here, there’s still someone in the pantry.” In a moment, the old ah yi’s head popped in to look. Laughing, she said, “It’s Director Cheng and scriptwriter?” Having said that, she turned on the main lights. “Why are you still here? Luckily I came in to look around, if not you two will end up getting locked in.” Cheng Chen smiled lightly. “We’re discussing the script.” That night when they left, Si Nian said she was taking the taxi. Seeing her insistence, Cheng Chen also didn’t say anything. Only when the script was almost finished, did Li Xiao Qing brought up the issue of actors. Honestly, most of the roles were already pre-determined. It was only the second male lead that was not nailed down. The character had paranoia, someone who carried the burden of the world upon his shoulders, yet had endless love for the female lead, a very standard character. Yet it was this never-changing character trope that would make its actor famous. Li Xiao Qing wanted to use her company’s new actor but the company that invested wanted the rising star Shen Zhe. Cheng Chen didn’t comment. That night, when they were having dinner at Namnan Pavillion, while eating the fragrant foie gras, she made clear her opinion after much thought: “I want to use Shen Zhe, he’s very suitable for period dramas. Just look at how he acted in Lan Rong Ruo…” A childlike staff immediately agreed, “That’s right, that’s right, it’s a total cla.s.sic.” The other women who was holding bamboo skewers, about to barbeque the meat, also nodded their agreement. Shen Zhe rose to fame thanks to period dramas, his model-like looks paired with his feathered fan and silk threads had long won over the hearts of young girls everywhere. If not because of their big boss insisted on supporting their company’s own actors, the ladies would have already demanded for him ages ago. Cheng Chen smiled a little but said nothing. He merely played with his lighter, listening to the others’ pa.s.sionate discussion. The director’s a.s.sistant pushed over a plate of green pepper. With a knowing glance, she pressured Si Nian to do her duty as a fellow woman. That look made Si Nian guilty. When she advocated for Shen Zhe, she really did it because she thought he was suitable for the role, completely unlike these biased women… She picked up one of the peppers and took a small bite. “I tried to use him in my last project, but he insisted on not shaving his head…” Before she could finish her sentence, a wave of nauseating heat rose to her nostrils. Her eyes immediately teared, but she stubbornly continued her words, “This time I still feel that the role of the second male lead must be him.” Having said her piece, she glanced at the person sitting across her. Cheng Chen was about to light up the cigarette between his teeth, when he saw her looking at him, he lightly fingered his lighter. He hinted for her to wait until he finished lighting the cigarette. After a light flickering noise, he only opened his mouth. “You seriously want to use him?” Without fearing her own death, she nodded. She completely discarded Li Xiao Qing’s wish. Cheng Chen pondered for a moment, and then quietly took out his phone to text someone. Very quickly, they heard a light noise indicating there was a reply. Everyone’s eyes were focused on him, waiting for his response. “He seems to be interested but there’s also another movie that wants him, the schedule clashes with ours. If you want to try, then prepare a summarized script by tomorrow,” he said, putting down his phone. “After he read the script, we can meet to discuss.” Everyone started cheering excitedly, only Si Nian’s mouth seemed to be twitching. Summarized script? She hadn’t written anything yet… Thankfully Cheng Chen didn’t try to kick her while she was down. Since it was everyone’s request, he even picked a few suitable staff members and brought them home to finish the work overnight. Therefore this group of people who barely finished their overtime at the company had to begin working overnight to secure their second male lead. They immediately went and bought various snacks and beer to tide off the night at Director Cheng’s house. Upon opening the door, Sprite could already sniffed out Si Nian’s presence. He immediately stopped from pouncing on his owner, instead he jumped into Si Nian’s embrace. She was excited and was about to baby him but then noticed five, six pairs of eyes staring at her. It was quite shocking… animals like dogs would only be so friendly with their family… Si Nian smiled mockingly. “My house is nearby, I once ran into Director Cheng walking his dog.” Everyone tactfully made an “oh” sound. Cheng Chen looked at Si Nian with slight glee, and then called for his dog, “Sprite.” Sprite didn’t quite bother with him, he kept on licking Si Nian’s palm. He appeared to be very close with her, didn’t seem like he just ‘ran into’ her once or twice that simple... Si Nian smiled ambiguously and explained further, “Last time I fed him spam, I think he likes it very much, that’s why he remembered me.” Everyone seemed to have understood, only made another “oh” sound. No one spoke until one of the a.s.sistants who lagged behind, a.s.sistant scriptwriter Dong Xiao came out the elevator. The young man was especially excited when he saw the dog, he immediately stooped down to play with him. “What is he called? How adorable.” “Sprite,” someone answered. “Ah?” Dong Xiao was surprised. “How coincidental. Scriptwriter, isn’t your cat called Cola?” That sentence was so powerful that everyone present understood something. Whether their pets were having an affair, that was unknown. What was known was that rumours of the owners having a love affair were definitely forming. Si Nian found no argument to retort while Cheng Chen seemed indifferent and in no hurry to explain anything. She could only tried to pretend that she was also indifferent, wasn’t it simply just rumours of an ambiguous relationship? Which production team did not have such rumours, what did she have to be afraid of? Even Sprite was supportive of everyone’s wild imagination. That entire night he ran around her, even when Si Nian was in the washroom, he would also guard the door. When they were finally finished around four, Sprite was still lying next to her legs, tiredly waiting for her to go to bed. Si Nian felt helpless; she could only go along with Sprite and went into one of the guestroom under everyone’s watchful eye. For the sake of the ladies, this guestroom even had its own washroom. Even though it seemed to be unhabituated, the room had all the necessities. Si Nian saw that the producer was still on the phone, so she went and took a satisfyingly hot water bath. When she was just about to towel dry her hair, she heard her phone ring. She immediately left the washroom and told the woman standing outside, “I’m done, you can go in now.” Having said that, when she took a look at her phone, she was stunned at the name displayed. It was Cheng Chen. Wasn’t he just next door, what was he calling for? She answered the call and, afraid that the producer would heard her, she walked to the bedside to ask, “What’s wrong? Is it that you left something in the guestroom, you want me to bring it over for you?” Other than this reason, she cannot guess what other urgent reason he would need her at this hour. Furthermore, he had to do it so sneakily. The person on the other end were suddenly quiet for a moment. He then said, “Tonight you should sleep in my room. Pack your belongings and come over now.” “Ah?” Si Nian was flabbergasted. She thought she misheard him so she said, “The line is not good, can you say that again?” In the first place Cheng Chen’s voice was already a little awkward, after she asked him to repeat himself, he found it even more difficult to say so. He lightly sighed and explained, “The person in your room is a little special… it’s not that convenient for you to sleep with her.” This time she heard it clearly, but sleeping with another woman, how inconvenient could it be? She tried to reason, “Going to your room this late at night, that’s even more inconvenient…” The line was quiet again. He finally sighed. “Get dressed and come over. Just say I want to discuss the script with you overnight.” Wasn’t this just trying to deceive oneself? They had already wrapped up everything just now, who was going to fall for that lie? But Cheng Chen didn’t give her the chance to consider at all, he immediately hung up. Si Nian could only get dressed neatly and tell her roommate through the door that the director wanted to meet her, that she needed to go and change the script. She asked her not to wait up for her. The person inside the washroom was a little surprised, laughingly said that the director was indeed a workaholic. Si Nian also laughingly complained a while before taking leave. The distance from the guestroom to the master bedroom was only a few metres, yet she hesitated for three minutes, not daring to knock the door. This late at night, having bathed and dressed, standing outside a director’s room… Why did she felt like she was trying to sleep her way into getting a role? The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt. She turned around to walk away. But after giving it another thought, it was better not to provoke Cheng Chen. She walked another few steps in his direction, but remained hesitating in front of his room. Sigh, whatever. Didn’t he say they were going to discuss the script? Then let’s discuss the script. Then, gritting her teeth, she knocked on the door. The moment the door opened, there was a subtle mint fragrance. Both of them stood in front of each other, and it was more awkward than ever. After a long stretch of awkward silence, Cheng Chen helplessly raised his chin and pointed at the other guestroom. “You keep on standing in front of my door, you’re not worried that they will see you?” The moment he said that, the people in the guestroom cooperatively laughed, carrying the sound over. Si Nian no longer dared to hesitated and hurriedly entered his room. There was little furniture in the bedroom, with a very large bed sitting in the middle. There were some clothes scattered on the carpet. There was no place for her sit. Cheng Chen sat down on the side of the bed, drying his hair with a towel. He motioned for her to sit anywhere she liked. “When I was washing up, I suddenly remembered that she likes women. For you, sleeping with her is like sleeping with other men, there’s no difference.” He paused for a moment. “Therefore it’s better for you to sleep here tonight, I’ll sleep on the floor.” She pondered over his words thrice. She understood but was also confused. Even if the producer was manly inside, she was still biologically a woman, wasn’t she? Yet the Great Director Cheng was an actual man, no matter how she looked at it, wasn’t sleeping with him even more dangerous? Furthermore, she didn’t even mind if the producer liked women… Si Nian watched him take out fresh pillows and blanket from the cabinet and remained feeling that the situation was not right. “Why don’t I sleep in the living room?” “If you sleep in the living room, what would she think?” Cheng Chen naturally turned down her suggestion. Right… she might not think much of it, but the other party might overthink it. Fine. She would just insist to death that they were only discussing the script. Resigned to her fate, she sat on the bed. Her hair was still dripping water, she didn’t even have time to dry it properly earlier. Thoughtlessly she reached for the towel on the bed and dried the water sitting at the tips of her hair. When she was just worrying if anyone saw her coming into his room, Cheng Chen turned around to look at her. He suddenly completely stopped moving. She looked at him curiously. Sensing that the towel she was using was slightly damp, she immediately understood the situation. The towel she was using was actually the one he was using earlier. “Sorry,” she said, hurriedly putting the towel back in its original place. “I only picked it carelessly, I didn’t notice.” He didn’t utter a single word. He took out a new towel from the cabinet and walked over to give it to her. “It’s okay, I only used it to dry my hair, nowhere else.” Nowhere else, nowhere else… she also wasn’t thinking he used it on anywhere else… Lowering her head, she extended her hand to grab the towel. She dried her hair hurriedly, her entire body was flushed, even her neck was red from embarra.s.sment.