"Looks like someone's here to pick you up."
"And then?"
Stella swirled her large water bottle, listening with great interest as Ji Shuhe recounted her romantic breakthrough on New Year's Eve, taking advantage of the break before filming began. Just as she thought the relationship would progress like normal adults—maybe a kiss or two, or even heading home for some fun—Ji Shuhe suddenly stopped.
"What then?" Ji Shuhe blinked in confusion. "He took me back to the hotel, and that was it."
Since resolving the friction with Wen Shaoyu, the worry on Ji Shuhe's face had noticeably lessened. But now, her beautiful face showed clear confusion. Although her expression didn't change much, her wide, round eyes made it easy to tell what she was thinking.
Stella closed her eyes in silence, then rephrased her question: "So what's your relationship now with your childhood sweetheart?"
"Friends," Ji Shuhe answered without thinking.
Friends?
Stella nearly choked, feeling like Ji Shuhe was going to exasperate her to death: "You two are in Xinhai and the UK respectively, pining for each other for eight years! He loves and hates you, even to the point of pretending to be strangers when you meet! Now that you've finally cleared up the misunderstanding, you tell me you're just friends?!"
Ji Shuhe wanted to nod, but faced with Stella's wide eyes, she didn't dare.
But Stella saw right through her. She took a deep breath and pressed on: "Does your childhood sweetheart know you two are just friends?"
Ji Shuhe felt that when it came to emotional states after a long separation, there was still a significant cultural difference between Eastern and Western cultures, so she tried to explain to Stella.
"Stella, both he and I are inherently reserved and subtle Easterners. Easterners value timing, so if you miss the chance to confess your feelings when you're young, it's hard to seamlessly pick up where you left off when you're older. Plus, there's an eight-year gap between us. Now, eight years later, he's established in his career, and I have my own work. So..."
Her voice choked as she spoke, growing hoarse: "So the best state for us is to go back to being friends."
"...Perhaps." Stella understood, but shrugged noncommittally.
In her view, Ji Shuhe was the only one between the two parties who was bent on being friends.
However, out of politeness, even as a friend, she didn't intend to meddle too much in Ji Shuhe's personal feelings, so she changed the subject: "But at least there's good news: your childhood sweetheart is finally willing to cooperate with us."
"We haven't signed yet; it's just Manager Li giving a heads-up." Ji Shuhe didn't want to admit that the difficult nut of technical cooperation with Tuowei had been cracked because she had mended her relationship with Wen Shaoyu. "Cooperation is a mutual choice between companies; it has nothing to do with him."
Stella realized that Ji Shuhe had always been serious and responsible about her work, and had been maintaining communication and negotiations with Tuowei during this period. Her comment essentially denied Ji Shuhe's contributions, which was indeed unfriendly.
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking straight. That was unfair to you. I take it back." Stella immediately apologized solemnly upon realizing the problem.
Ji Shuhe was slightly startled, then put her arm around Stella's shoulder: "It's okay, I know you didn't mean anything by it."
It was a beautiful day. Xinhai rarely had smog in winter; the sky was blue with white clouds and bright sunshine. The light and shadow falling on the red bricks, black tiles, and carved doorways brought light and warmth while also endowing the old buildings with traces of time.
Ji Shuhe was dazzled by the beam of sunlight, staring blankly at the moss sprouting from a crack in the wall.
According to their shooting plan, the filming locations were divided into three parts: Hui'an Lane, where residents were still waiting for relocation; Xiafei Lane, where relocation had been completed and demolition and restoration plans were pending; and Yong'anli, where demolition and restoration had been completed.
These three old alleys represented three different states of urban architecture regarding the past and present. Some had been reborn as new landmarks, while others carried the hopes of countless people for better housing conditions.
For many, they had left indelible memories at different stages of life. Of course, including Ji Shuhe.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have strongly recommended Yong'anli.
"By the way, do you know that Shen Xing's flight lands this afternoon?" Stella banged her large thermos on the table and let out a long sigh.
"I know. I arranged a car to pick him up." Ji Shuhe tightened the lid of her thermos for her, afraid that if it spilled, it would drench the monitor.
Stella pouted: "Damn, the good times are over."
"Senior is coming for the Golden Crane Awards ceremony; he won't specifically come to the set as a supervisor."
Ji Shuhe checked her messages on her phone, confirmed that the award ceremony for the pending award was in a neighboring city, and tried to reassure Stella: "Don't be so paranoid. Senior is easy to get along with."
Hearing this, Stella was nearly amused into anger: "Only you think he's easy to get along with! He trained you, and your work style is his, so of course you get scolded less!"
"Anyway, if I had to see Shen Xing's fake smile every day, I'd be annoyed to death. When I'm in a bad mood, I can't stand to look at the forced footage." Stella rolled her eyes at the sky and emphasized, "It would delay the schedule. A vicious cycle, get it?"
Ji Shuhe didn't quite get it. After all, they had collaborated many times with a high award rate, and outsiders called them a golden partnership. So she was even less clear about the source of Stella's aversion to Shen Xing.
But Ji Shuhe was never a particularly curious person. Seeing that the camera and lighting adjustments were complete, she quickly handed the small speaker on the table to Stella: "Well, let's hurry up and shoot before Senior arrives. We're almost done with Xiafei Lane. I'll arrange Hui'an Lane in advance, and then we can try to catch up on the schedule."
Stella took it with a resigned expression: "See? Exactly the same inhumanity."
Ji Shuhe didn't reply but called for the crew to slate and start filming.
During the official shoot, Stella was in charge on set, while Ji Shuhe finally had time to coordinate the filming in Hui'an Lane.
Compared to the completely evacuated Xiafei Lane, the shikumen buildings in Hui'an Lane still had residents, so more communication with the subdistrict and neighborhood committees was needed before filming.
She was in the middle of a conversation when her phone screen popped up with an incoming call, showing Wen Shaoyu's name before the red and green answer and hang-up buttons.
Ji Shuhe pursed her lips and glanced guiltily at Stella, who was directing the photography. For some reason, after talking with Stella, she had an inexplicable feeling that she was a jerk.
Looking at the name still bouncing on the screen, she suddenly wanted to ask him what he thought their relationship was now.
"Hello?"
"It's me." Wen Shaoyu sounded relieved.
Ji Shuhe muttered inwardly that she knew it was him; she had his contact saved: "I know."
"Your brother just called me. He said your mom has set up a 'Hongmen Banquet' for him tonight and asked me to pick you up and go rescue his sorry ass together." Wen Shaoyu cleared his throat, a hint of hesitation in his tone. "Are you free tonight?"
Saving her brother's... ass—Ji Shuhe was certainly duty-bound. Today, filming in Xiafei Lane was winding down, mainly just a few supplementary shots, so it should wrap up quickly. However...
Ji Shuhe found it strange: "Why didn't my brother contact me directly?"
"He's probably busy with a court case. Or maybe he figured since I'm picking you up, he could just have me pass it along." Wen Shaoyu answered smoothly without a second thought, completely disregarding Ji Shulang's basic character as a sister-obsessed brother.