Hidden Affection - Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven
Ning Zhi thought about it all the way but still didn’t understand what was wrong with Shen Yizhi, why she was unhappy.

Jiang Peng came to tell her about the schedule arrangements for the past three months on the set.

The mid-year gala of a certain platform was very important, and you couldn’t miss it. The cover shoot for a certain magazine was confirmed, scheduled for the end of the month, and there was also a variety show where you’d be a guest singer. All these things added up, and that was just for this month.

However, compared to Ning Zhi’s previous workload, these were nothing but a drop in the bucket.

Since joining the crew, Ning Zhi felt like she was on vacation. Although the pressure was high and there was a lot to learn, compared to her previous life where she was so busy she had to find random places to sleep, the pace these past two days was much more relaxed. At least she could get six hours of sleep every day.

Probably because she was too idle, she started overthinking, constantly wondering what she did wrong during the day and why Shen Yizhi was unhappy.

Annoyed by her own thoughts, Ning Zhi muttered to herself that it would be better if Shen Yizhi didn’t show up. For the past six years, Ning Zhi had managed just fine without her, but once she appeared, Ning Zhi’s mind was completely thrown off.

What a troublemaker.

“All of this has been discussed with the crew, Director Mei has agreed, and I’ll come to pick you up then.” Jiang Peng finished giving instructions, glanced at his watch, and noted that he had booked a nine o’clock flight. The company had just poached a few newcomers from the film academy and asked him to mentor them for two months.

Most agents tend to be a bit naggy. Before leaving, he kept on fussing and nagging, only hurriedly leaving when it was almost too late to go.

…

…

Ning Zhi saw him out the door, then came back and opened the social app she had downloaded yesterday.

She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Shen Yizhi and just wanted to talk to someone. That 0929 from yesterday was pretty nice.

Although she called Ning Zhi a little dog right away, Ning Zhi felt that this person still had a sense of propriety, so it should be fine to talk to her about her troubles.

So Ning Zhi vented all her grievances about Shen Yizhi to 0929.

Shen Yizhi was also at the hotel, only a few rooms away from Ning Zhi.

Assistant Zhou Tong had made the bed for her and ironed the clothes she would wear tomorrow. When she was about to leave, she found Shen Yizhi staring blankly at the just-opened computer.

She wore a pair of rimless glasses on the bridge of her nose, her eyes behind the lenses lowered, seemingly lost in thought.

Zhou Tong knocked on the open door. Shen Yizhi looked up but said nothing, only asking with her eyes what she wanted.

Zhou Tong had been her personal assistant for six or seven years and was long accustomed to her silent demeanor in private.

This seemed to be a common issue among many actors deeply engrossed in their roles—the more varied the characters they played and the more energy they invested in the films, the quieter they became off-screen, as if they had left half their soul in the movie.

“Weren’t you quite happy when you woke up this morning, like you had found some rare treasure? How come after going to the set and coming back, you seem so distracted?” Zhou Tong stood by the door and asked.

Shen Yizhi knew she was concerned about him, smiled slightly, shook his head, and said nothing.

At that moment, the phone on the table lit up. Shen Yizhi glanced at it and immediately picked it up.

A message from the puppy.

“Hello, I want to complain about my colleague.” She greeted politely.

Then came a series of angry accusations.

She is very nasty and cold; it’s hard for most people to talk to her.

And she’s moody—you never know when she’ll suddenly be happy or suddenly get angry.

“The other colleagues performed well at work, but she was sparing with her words, even her praise was perfunctory.”

“I’ve never met anyone harder to get along with than her—cold and strict.”

Zhou Tong saw her looking down at her phone and thought she was handling something important, so she said, “I’ll leave first then.”

But Shen Yizhi called out to her, “Wait a moment.”

Zhou Tong turned around, and Shen Yizhi looked at her. There was a hint of hesitation in her calm eyes. After a few seconds, she finally spoke, “Am I difficult to get along with?”

Zhou Tong was stunned. It was the first time she had heard Shen Yizhi ask such a self-reflective question.

Thinking this might be a long conversation, she released the door handle and walked over, sitting down on an empty chair opposite Shen Yizhi. After considering for a moment, she said, “You are indeed quite difficult to get along with. Do you remember two years ago when you filmed that action movie without a stunt double and ended up injuring your leg?”

Shen Yizhi listened, her fingertips tapping on the table bit by bit. When her mind was unsettled, she would subconsciously do this.

“I hired a temporary assistant, a young girl who graduated from a nursing school.”

“Yes. She’s even your fan.” Zhou Tong found it amusing to bring this up. “After working for half a month, she insisted on leaving no matter what. When she left, she almost cried and told me, ‘Sister Zhou Tong, why is Yi Zhi usually so dull and doesn’t say anything? It’s so hard to communicate with him. How can someone be so different in front of people and behind their backs? The Shen Yi Zhi I see on TV isn’t like this.’”

She imitated the girl’s exaggerated tone vividly.

It was the first time Shen Yi Zhi had heard about this, but he wasn’t surprised, nor did he mind people talking about him behind his back.

Zhou Tong knew she wouldn’t mind, which was why she said it.

Shen Yizhi didn’t really care about how others judged her. As a public figure, people’s opinions of her were everywhere. She had long since gotten used to it and had learned not to be swayed by others’ views, following her own heart instead.

But now, she was indeed asking her whether she was a difficult person to get along with.

The moment she asked, it showed that she cared deeply about the answer.

Hearing her response, Shen Yizhi’s delicate and gentle features showed a trace of loneliness under the night’s light.

After a while, with a hint of frustration in her tone, she said, “Forget it.”

Zhou Tong said again, “But you are very different with that little celebrity.”

It was like suddenly seeing a glimmer of hope in the darkness; Shen Yizhi’s expression froze.

Seeing her reaction, Zhou Tong finally understood why she was acting so unusually tonight.

She had been following Shen Yizhi closely these past two days, watching everything clearly.

Whenever that little star appeared, Shen Yizhi’s calm brows would show subtle changes.

After getting off the elevator, she would deliberately slow down, falling behind with her, just to spend a little more time together.

Before the little star had left the scene, she would purposely remind her that there was still lipstick on her lips. Seeing the little star looking both shy and pouty, the corners of her mouth would quietly lift, as if she were very pleased.

Zhou Tong noticed all of this and pointed out these details one by one, seriously telling her, “You’re too special to her, it’s different from how you are with others.”

Shen Yizhi remained silent and did not refute, which was taken as tacit approval; she truly was different when it came to Ning Zhi.

However, her admission only made Zhou Tong more puzzled.

Since Ning Zhi was so special, there should be some different emotions when mentioning her in private—perhaps a smile, or distress, or a slight shyness like most girls.

But none of these emotions appeared on Shen Yizhi’s face.

She remained silent, her expression calm. If there was any difference from usual, it was only in her eyes, which seemed to be covered by a layer of moist mist, making them even more serene and even more silent.

Zhou Tong couldn’t guess what she was really thinking, so she tentatively reminded her half-jokingly, “You should be careful with your limits. What if you flirt too much and she misunderstands, ends up liking you?”

Her words made Shen Yizhi pause for a moment. She recalled the last time she met Ning Zhi six years ago.

Under the streetlamp downstairs from their home.

It was a cold winter, and the air was especially chilly.

Ning Zhi’s usually bright eyes were extinguished, staring at her darkly and hollowly. Her voice was low: “I have no right to talk to you about liking someone, nor do I deserve you to like me. But Shen Yizhi, I have never once hoped that you would respond to me.”

She had never heard Ning Zhi say such self-deprecating words before, but that day, it was as if she abandoned all the dignity she had painstakingly built amidst her parents’ abandonment, others’ pity, and gossip.

“Don’t worry, I won’t bother you anymore.” She lowered her head, not even daring to look at her.

Then, she truly never appeared in front of her again, never called her, never sent a message, allowing her to avoid her completely, disappearing thoroughly.

Shen Yizhi was somewhat dazed. When she came back to her senses, she smiled faintly: “She won’t, she won’t like me.”

Zhou Tong didn’t expect her to speak so confidently and hesitated, saying, “Who can be sure about that?”

“Ning Zhi…” Shen Yizhi said the name, recalling that a few months ago, she learned from her parents that Ning Zhi’s grandmother was seriously ill.

She didn’t care about anything else, only thinking that if something happened to her grandmother, Ning Zhi might not be able to hold on, so she anxiously rushed to the hospital.

When she arrived, she met Ning Zhi’s father outside the ward, who softly said to her, “If you have time, come visit your father often. We haven’t talked for a long time.”

She knew how much Ning Zhi cared about the fact that neither of her parents wanted her, and she also knew that for a long time, Ning Zhi had been waiting for either her father or mother to come and see her.

But that day, she looked at the man in front of her with a mocking expression, her tone calm yet sharp: “I don’t need you anymore.”

As she said this, she turned her head away, her eyes still filled with biting sarcasm, her gaze meeting his eyes as if speaking directly to him.

It was the second time they had met in six years. The first time was last autumn, at a television station. They were separated by a not-too-far distance, and Ning Zhi saw her and immediately walked away, showing no intention of reuniting with her.

Seeing that she paused after saying the name “Ning Zhi,” Zhou Tong pressed on, “What about Ning Zhi?”

Ning Zhi had been treated like a burden and tossed around since childhood. She valued her pride deeply and possessed a kind of pride that perhaps even she was unaware of.

She would never let those who had looked down on her belittle her again.

She wouldn’t be fond of belated concern.

Shen Yizhi didn’t know how to describe it at the moment, and she was unwilling to analyze Ning Zhi in front of others. After a while, she answered evasively, “I didn’t handle some things well before, which made her very upset.”

Zhou Tong heard a lot of entanglement in her words and suddenly found it hard to say anything. She looked at Shen Yizhi’s calm face and finally tentatively asked, “What about now? Do you like her now?”

Shen Yizhi didn’t expect her to ask such a question. His expression froze for a moment. After a while, he smiled and shook his head, looking at Zhou Tong for a few seconds. As if finding the question ridiculous, he shook his head again and said, “How old is she anyway?”

This time Zhou Tong laughed out loud, her voice tinged with teasing: “Twenty years old, not young anymore. Even for ordinary young people, at this age, they would have already been dating in college.”

Let alone in such an open environment like the entertainment industry.

Shen Yizhi seemed to be suddenly awakened to something and froze for a moment, but quickly she recalled Ning Zhi’s words about not disturbing anymore, remembered the indifferent turn at the TV station, and the sharp, mocking look in the hospital.

In the end, she still didn’t overthink it and said, “Once the movie is finished, we won’t have any more contact.”

After the movie was finished, Ning Zhi would probably come to her again, most likely to propose a divorce.

Ning Zhi complained to 0929 for a while, and after finishing, waited for a long time without getting a reply.

But Ning Zhi felt much better; Yan Jin was right—when people are unhappy, they do need a “tree hole” to pour their hearts into.

She tossed aside her phone and continued reading the script.

Now, when she read the script, it was no longer like before when she was an amateur struggling blindly; having learned many techniques, she could already discern many nuances.

As usual, she worked hard until very late, jotting down points she was unsure about, planning to ask the director tomorrow.

She wouldn’t allow herself to be a burden to the crew.

After finishing her shower, she stretched lazily and collapsed onto the **, only to find that 0929 had replied to her.

Her reply was still very brief, still just one sentence.

Then she’s really annoying.

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