Sunday was like a soothing balm to Xiulan’s soul. He slept in late, took a bath in the morning, did his skincare routine, and relaxed on the balcony with a book in his hand. On top of that, the thought of him making up with Jian Lan made him smile.

After their conversation, he walked him to the front door of his apartment building, an ordinary flat complex with only six floors and no security. There was a lock on the front door that someone could access only with a magnetic chip. This made Wen Xiulan’s condominium watched by two security guards look like a highly secured mansion.

On their way to Jian Lan’s home, his junior explained the situation about his divorced parents, how neither of them wanted to take in his younger brother, who was only 8 years old back then.

“I had to drop out of college and move out of the dorms to rent an apartment.” He said briefly about his past.

Even though Xiulan had various additional questions, he didn’t dare to ask. Their ways parted shortly afterward, saying a proper goodbye to each other for the first time. Wen Xiulan then called Jack while walking back to the subway, improvising an excuse for not coming to the bar. Jack let him off the hook only after promising to pay for everyone the next time.

Upon remembering that part, Xiulan’s eyebrows formed a small frown on his face. The nice weather suddenly could not brighten his mood anymore. Xiulan managed to unlock the memory he thought he forgot some time ago.

Money had never been an issue in his life, his family was always well off due to his parents’ high-income jobs. Thanks to that, Xiulan was to pay whenever his friends invited him out. Although he knew Jack’s urging words didn’t mean any harm, Xiulan was still reminded of those times. Many fake people tried to stick to Wen Xiulan like a glue, forcing him to be harsh and keep the distance.

His mood worsened for the rest of the Sunday. It changed only after a message he received by the end of the day.

𝘼𝙣 𝙉𝙞:𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭.

Xiulan got a strong urge to call her or at least text back and ask what happened, yet decided not to. She was going to tell him the next day anyway, he knew it well.

𝙒𝙚𝙣 𝙓𝙞𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙣: 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺.

There was not much to say but he wanted to reply at least.

Before Xiulan went to bed, he took the script that was about to fall apart and went through scenes they were supposed to shoot the next day.

He was in almost every scene due to being the main character and could already feel how exhausting was Monday going to be. He skipped through the pages to refresh some of his parts when he stumbled across a kissing scene with Hua Ling.

There were two kisses to happen between them and since Xiulan knew the filming algorithm well, one of the scenes was going to be shot the next day. Xiulan didn’t feel any particular emotion while reading the lines.

The most intimate scenes he had with Jian Lan was carrying him to the hospital. The carrying style wasn’t specified, so Xiulan was left hoping it wouldn’t be the bridal one. There was only one reason for that. Wen Xiulan, despite being fit and in good shape, wasn’t confident enough in his strength to move another body this way for hours.

A long sigh echoed in his bedroom and he rubbed his eyes roughly. The alarm clock on his nightstand flashed the time. 10:43 p.m. This only made Xiulan groan as he lifted his body and got on his feet to turn the light off.

***

Morning came in a blink of an eye. Xiulan felt his body weighed at least twice as much as in the previous evening. He didn’t have trouble falling asleep but the anniversary was coming. His nightmares became more frequent despite his best effort of ignoring them.

By the time he locked his apartment and appeared in the parking lot, An Ni was already waiting at her usual spot. As soon as Wen Xiulan started approaching the car, his heart started beating faster. His body opposed when he reached for the handle to open the door.

He tried to show his struggle as little as possible and even forced a professional, acting smile when he finally sat down next to his manager.

It took Xiulan one look before his expression darkened. Even his fear was temporarily suppressed. An Ni looked as if she didn’t sleep for a month, her makeup was put on very messily and her face was pale.

“Good morning.” It was the only appropriate greeting Xiulan could think of. She repeated the phrase to him and started the engine. There was silence the first few moments of the ride. Only the soft music of a radio could be heard in the background.

“What’s wrong?” Xiulan asked directly as they left the parking lot.

“Nothing, we’re not late.” She stated as she glanced at the clock. It was only 6:37 a.m., but the shooting location was far away. They weren’t going to the company headquarters anymore.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m asking you as a friend, not an employer.” Wen Xiulan replied firmly. He usually didn’t care about nor asked about personal problems, but An Ni was different. She helped him when he was at his lowest, after the accident. He swore he would always be there for her.

“I know, I just… I’m sorry.” She apologized and sighed heavily.

“Why are you apologizing? If you can’t or don’t want to tell me right now, it’s fine. I was just worried.” Xiulan explained with a gentler tone.

“You can talk to me whenever you feel like it.” He added.

A faint smile formed on her face and she let go of the gear to squeeze his hand quickly.

“It’s not as big of a deal as it might seem but if we can grab a coffee sometime later, that would be nice.” She confessed.

“Okay.” Xiulan nodded and was satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. He didn’t think she would open up to him that easily anyway. He was also like that after the incident.

“Now… tell me, how did you survive without me? Has anything notable happened?” Bao An Ni asked with a less serious tone.

“You make it sound like my life depends on you.” Xiulan rolled his eyes a little and the car slightly wobbled when making a U-turn. He grabbed onto the handle above him in an instant.

“It doesn’t?” She teased him a bit, returning to her normal self.

“Anyway,” Xiulan coughed and ignored her comment, “I took the metro during your leave. It is not as bad as I was expecting plus it’s environmentally friendly.” He quickly revised all the events that happened while An Ni was away. “Also, I think I make up with Jian Lan, the other male lead.” He explained casually.

His manager’s face lit up.

“For real? That’s great, I was a little worried. The director also shared her doubts with me and messaged me every day about the progress of your relationship…” She confessed with a relieved smile.

This made Xiulan frown.

“So you were getting daily reports about me, huh.”

“As if I didn’t have anything more interesting to read. It wasn’t my idea, I was just supposed to step in in case the two of you didn’t get along. I’m glad my guidance wasn’t necessary.” His manager quickly explained not to cause any misunderstanding.

“Yeah, I get it, I get it. You don’t have to worry anymore, I even walked him home yesterday just to make things better.” The casual mention of such an event made An Ni speechless. She had known Xiulan for over five years and he never once walked anyone home. This left some mixed feelings behind because she wasn’t sure what to think about it.

“We’re going to be there soon. The traffic wasn’t as heavy as I expected it to be.” She informed him as they entered a remote residential part of Beijing. The filming was starting at 7:50, it was only something over seven when they arrived at the parking lot.

“I know I should stay with you the whole day but I have so many things to take care of due to my absence.” An Ni put on an apologetic expression as soon as Xiulan got out of the car.

“That’s okay, just pick me up after we finish. I’ll text you later. Drive safely.” He cut their goodbye short when he spotted a familiar person on the other side of the lot. Jian Lan just parked his car across them.

“Okay, good luck today, see you later.” She waved him and drove off.

An Ni wasn’t only Xiulan’s assistance, she was also a full-time secretary of CEO of the acting company Xiulan was part of. She accepted both jobs at once after she finished her management college and didn’t give up on either of them ever since. Whether she couldn’t let go of the assistant job out of the sentiment she felt for Wen Xiulan or the responsibility she bore, it didn’t matter. The feelings were so strong she’d rather quit her secretary post than let Xiulan down.

Xiulan approached his junior as soon as An Ni was out of sight.