**59**
For the next two days, Ning Zhi was caught in a state of waiting.
But she still had to work.
She initially thought that after leaving the crew, at most she would only have some idle time to daydream or feel down for a short period, but she didn’t expect it to directly affect her filming.
Her first job after leaving the film crew was shooting a beverage commercial.
Compared to movies, advertisements are simpler by more than one level. The director showed her the script, explained the positioning, and then started filming right away.
Ning Zhi was very focused while reading the script and listening to the director’s instructions, mentally envisioning how she should convey the core message of the advertisement. Everything was perfect until she stood in front of the camera.
Almost in an instant, her thoughts went blank, and her body reflexively slipped into Chi Sheng’s state. When she came to her senses, everyone was looking at her.
“What’s wrong?” the director asked, puzzled.
Ning Zhi made an apologetic gesture and started over.
Taking photos for two consecutive hours, and it still wasn’t going smoothly.
Even Jiang Peng noticed that she was not in a good state and asked her what was wrong on the way back.
Ning Zhi only said she was tired and didn’t want to mention anything else.
Jiang Peng couldn’t get any answers and could only worry by himself.
Back at home, while packing, Yang Yang took out a high school uniform from her suitcase, was surprised for a moment, then recalled that it was the outfit for the first scene, and couldn’t help but ask with a smile, “Did you get it from Director Mei?”
Ning Zhi looked up, then lay back down, muttering a muffled “hmm.”
A few days ago on set, when no one was paying attention, she secretly got it from Director Mei.
Actually, what she wanted wasn’t this piece, but the long dress Shen Yizhi wore in their first scene.
However, Director Mei seemed to have encountered something amusing and laughed for a while. After laughing, she composed herself and seriously refused: “Her clothes can’t be given to you, but you can choose one of Chi Sheng’s as a keepsake.”
At the time, she didn’t think much of it; she just felt that the long dress looked very special on Shen Yizhi, and she wanted to keep it as a memento.
Looking back now, asking for clothes worn by a co-actor can easily lead to misunderstandings.
I hope Director Mei doesn’t tell Shen Yizhi about this, otherwise she would be completely unable to explain herself.
Ning Zhi covered her eyes, feeling even more upset.
After being upset for a while, she calculated the time. If the two days mentioned by Shen Yizhi were literal, then she still had more than thirty hours before she could see her.
Before going to bed, she set a countdown alarm.
Fortunately, after a night of adjustment, the shoot went much more smoothly the next day.
The director also felt much more relaxed. During lunch, he half-jokingly complimented, “If Ah Zhi can win over Director Mei, then a small commercial is nothing.”
Ning Zhi smiled and casually replied with a few words, then took out his phone to check the countdown.
Twenty-six hours left.
She gritted her teeth in her heart, hoping that two days really meant two days.
By the time she finished work in the afternoon, she even spoke harshly to herself: if he doesn’t come in two days, then he should never come again!
She couldn’t tell if it was the discomfort after leaving the crew or because of the three months spent together day and night, but her fondness for Shen Yizhi had deepened to another level.
The longing spread like cancer cells, leaving her completely defenseless.
But by eleven o’clock at night, there was still no news from Shen Yizhi.
They had agreed to inform her in advance before coming, so why was there still no sign?
Ning Zhi’s anticipation turned into anxiety.
She felt that not seeing Shen Yizhi for these two days was like experiencing a strong withdrawal reaction, making her temper changeable, her mood volatile, and her longing for Shen Yizhi infinitely greater.
When it reached twelve o’clock, the quiet phone screen suddenly lit up, with a WeChat message displayed in the center of the screen.
Ning Zhi hurriedly opened it and saw that it was from Shen Yizhi.
I just got off the plane. I have a show to record tomorrow morning, but I’m free after that. When are you available?
Ning Zhi was momentarily stunned. It wasn’t until she read it a second time and confirmed it was from Shen Yizhi that fireworks seemed to explode in her mind, and she was extremely excited.
She hurried to calm herself down, thought about tomorrow’s schedule, and was about to reply when Jiang Peng called.
Calling her at this time must mean something important.
Ning Zhi’s excited mind cooled down, and she answered the phone. Jiang Peng was even more excited than she was, and he started rattling off: “Two pieces of good news. First, the cover deal is done. Once this issue goes on pre-sale, you’ll be the fastest star to appear on all five major magazines!”
As Jiang Peng spoke, his tone became proud.
Ning Zhi also smiled and asked, “When is the shoot?”
“This is the second piece of good news. Tomorrow morning, fly early to City C. Lin Chi will be waiting for you there,” Jiang Peng said rapidly.
Lin Chi, the top figure in the photography world, the most commercially valuable and skilled at capturing personal traits, is known for making celebrities’ photos highly recognizable and atmospheric.
Two good pieces of news in a row—Jiang Peng, who was used to big events, couldn’t help but get excited.
Only after finishing speaking did he belatedly realize that Ning Zhi hadn’t said a word. He couldn’t help but calm down as well and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Ning Zhi struggled in vain: “Isn’t tomorrow too rushed? Has the shooting plan been finalized? The advertisement here hasn’t been finished yet.”
“Advertising will resume after the shoot; I’ve already finalized it. The shooting plan was set last night. The magazine editor-in-chief, Lin Chi, and the people our team sent over have been busy since morning until just now, finalizing the theme and plan. We’re just waiting for you to arrive.” Jiang Peng said, looking cheerful again.
Are you very happy? I saw that you’ve been in a bad mood these past two days, so you need some good news like this to lift your spirits.
Jiang Peng kept talking to himself for a long time.
If it had been three months ago, he wouldn’t have been this excited, but recently a bunch of newcomers have appeared, some with strong momentum, not to mention the rival who has been relentlessly pursuing.
And the movie hasn’t been released yet, so it’s hard to say how the returns will be.
Although Mei Lan and Shen Yizhi, two experts, were in charge, no one is always stable, just as no one is always at their peak. If this movie’s reception is poor, the audience will only blame Ning Zhi, who is encountering the film for the first time.
That would truly be a case of losing both the wife and the soldiers.
Ning Zhi finally got him to shut up, hung up the phone, and the WeChat interface still showed Shen Yizhi’s question: “When are you available?”
She slowly typed: “I have to go to City C tomorrow, can’t meet you.”
Then send it.
It will take at least three days after shooting the cover, and she doesn’t know if Shen Yizhi will still be available then.
Why does it have to be so inconvenient?
She noticed her face was a bit stiff, so she raised her hand to rub it.
Her heart sank to the bottom of the valley. She took a deep breath, unwilling to let it go just like that. After pondering over the chat interface for a while, she typed: “I have a lot of free time next week, you can come whenever you want.”
After reading it once, she felt it was inappropriate and revised it to: “I have a lot of free time next week, shall we arrange another time?”
Before she could finish revising her wording, a message from Shen Yizhi came in: “I’ll come find you after I finish recording the show.”
Ning Zhi’s breath caught, and she read the sentence again in disbelief, a small smile slowly curling at the corner of her lips.
Her mood tonight was like riding a roller coaster, wildly swinging between the lows and the peaks.
She immediately replied, “Then I’ll send you the exact address tomorrow.”
After sending it, she realized it seemed too enthusiastic, so she added a casual tone: “What’s the rush?”
It seemed like the one eager to meet was Shen Yizhi, not her.
After asking, she stared at the screen.
Suddenly the ringtone sounded, a call came in, Ning Zhixin was still uneasy, thinking it was Jiang Peng causing some trouble again, but upon checking the caller ID carefully, she realized it was Shen Yizhi.
Ning Zhi was caught off guard. After a few seconds, he coughed, pressed his hand to his throat, cleared his throat, and continued.
“Ning Ning.” Shen Yizhi’s voice came, very familiar yet distant.
At the moment she called her name, Ning Zhi felt as if her heart was flooded with water, filling up to the corners of her eyes.
“Mm.” She answered softly.
“Have you been well these past two days?” Shen Yizhi asked gently.
It was very quiet on her end, she was probably on the way home by car. Ning Zhi guessed.
She was used to saying one thing and meaning another, and this time was no exception. She said in a nonchalant tone, “Not bad.”
“That’s good,” Shen Yizhi said.
Her voice was consistently calm, her emotions consistently steady. Ning Zhi couldn’t discern her feelings, and felt a bit uneasy.
“What’s so urgent that you need to see me?” She asked the question again, and after asking, she regretted it—if Shen Yizhi had answered directly, wouldn’t there have been no need to meet?
Fortunately, Shen Yizhi didn’t answer. She said, “We’ll talk when we meet.”
Ning Zhi felt the brilliance of looking up in that alley, sunlight passing through the branches and leaves of the paulownia tree, shining directly on her face.
The corners of her lips lifted, and her voice remained steady: “Up to you.”
After a few words, Shen Yizhi told her to go to sleep.
Ning Zhi silently complained that it would be great if Jiang Peng’s nagging could be split in half and given to Shen Yizhi.
Thinking this, she couldn’t help but smile; it was hard to imagine Shen Yizhi becoming so talkative like that.
She closed her eyes to sleep, and before doing so, with a sense of ritual, she extended the countdown alarm clock’s time, roughly calculating and adding five more hours.
Satisfied, she turned off her phone, then suddenly remembered that when experiencing withdrawal symptoms, the worst thing was to come into contact with the source of addiction again, as it would make all previous efforts go to waste and deepen the dependence. If it happened too many times, it would become impossible to quit.
Ning Zhi clenched the corner of the quilt tightly, then after a moment, slowly released it.
She thought resignedly that she simply couldn’t quit.