In the private room, Wen Nianshen kept filling A-Xin's glass with baijiu, one cup after another.
She poured A-Xin a full glass and herself only half. Surely, she thought, this would be enough to get A-Xin drunk.
Before long, Wen Nianshen's face was flushed crimson as she stared at A-Xin, who remained completely unaffected. "Director Ruan, why are there two of you now?" She waved her hand, shook her head, and continued pouring. "Director Ruan, come on, another glass. I'm just so happy today."
"Alright."
A-Xin took the glass and drained it in one gulp. She set the glass aside and went back to eating. The food was delicious, the wine was good—she'd finally made it to the mortal world, and she wasn't about to miss any of this.
This soul really was full of warmth.
"Director Ruan, one more—"
By now, Wen Nianshen had completely forgotten what she'd come here to do. She poured A-Xin another glass, and in her giddiness, filled her own to the brim too. They clinked glasses and downed them in one go.
A-Xin looked at Wen Nianshen—face bright red, eyes glazed, staring at her with a dopey grin—and couldn't help asking, "You still doing okay?"
"Okay? Of course I'm okay!" Wen Nianshen hollered, her expression all smiles though she was clearly plastered. She filled A-Xin's glass again. "Drink up."
A-Xin drank it down.
"How is she still standing?" Wen Nianshen mumbled, eyeing A-Xin with utter bewilderment. "After all that and she's not even tipsy? Did they sell me fake liquor?" Struck by this thought, Wen Nianshen wobbled to her feet and staggered around as if searching for the door. She ended up in front of a fish tank, addressing the two fish inside: "What's going on with this place? I spent all that money and you're selling me fake booze? Do you know who I am? I'm Wen Nianshen! You dare sell me fake liquor—watch me buy out your whole restaurant and throw you all out on the street!"
A-Xin set down her chopsticks and walked over. "Who are you talking to?"
"Them! These merchants are so dishonest, selling me fake wine! No—I'm buying this restaurant." Wen Nianshen fumbled around in a daze, then grabbed A-Xin's arm. "Have you seen my bag?"
A-Xin caught Wen Nianshen's wrist and guided her back to her seat, pouring her a cup of tea. Breathing in A-Xin's familiar scent, Wen Nianshen grew quiet. Her face still flushed, she gazed at A-Xin with unblinking eyes. "A-Xin."
"Hm?" A-Xin found it strange—why was this soul looking at her like that? "What is it?"
Wen Nianshen cradled her teacup and giggled. "A-Xin, you're finally here."
"I bet you got lost, didn't you? Took you long enough to come find me. Everyone says when you fly down, you should check for obstacles below—don't go cracking your head open."
"And here you are, remembering everything except me."
"I actually lost out to a table full of dishes."
"So annoying."
"I'm furious!"
...
A-Xin listened to Wen Nianshen ramble on and on without the slightest trace of impatience. She understood now—the "A-Xin" in Wen Nianshen's words was her, not Ruan Xin.
Hearing Wen Nianshen say pitifully that she'd been waiting for her for so long, a tenderness stirred in A-Xin's heart. Wen Nianshen laughed and fussed, clinging tightly to her arm, even nuzzling against her, smearing drool all over A-Xin's white clothes. Calmly, A-Xin pulled out a tissue and wiped the corner of Wen Nianshen's mouth.
There must have been some connection between them—one that Wen Nianshen still remembered, but A-Xin had forgotten.
So that was why Wen Nianshen had been acting so strangely. Could it be that because A-Xin hadn't come to find her, this soul's ending had been so tragic? It wasn't that Wen Nianshen couldn't change her fate—she simply didn't want to.
A-Xin didn't know what to call this feeling, only that this soul was a little foolish.
"A-Xin," Wen Nianshen murmured. "Now that you're here, don't leave, okay?"
A-Xin answered without hesitation. "Okay."
"Stay with me for a lifetime, okay?"
"Okay."
"A-Xin..." Wen Nianshen hugged A-Xin's arm, eyes drifting shut. Her flushed cheeks still carried a smile as she fell asleep, her voice dropping to barely a whisper: "You really are the sweetest in dreams. If this is a dream, then I never want to wake up."
After coaxing Wen Nianshen to sleep, A-Xin eyed the half-finished dishes still on the table with a twinge of regret. In the end, she carried Wen Nianshen out of the room. Passing by the neighboring private room, she heard voices inside and had to stop.
"Director Xu, I'm sorry. I'll find a way to pay you back." It was Su Wei's voice, sounding desperate and helpless. "I'll work hard filming, and I'll definitely compensate you for the jade cup."
Director Xu swept his gaze over the pitiful-looking Su Wei, his smile sleazy. "Miss Su, I don't need the money for one jade cup. But this cup was one of a kind—there's no other like it in the world. To me, it's priceless, something no amount of money can buy."
"Then... then what should I do?" Su Wei looked pleadingly at her agent, who wore an equally helpless expression. Despair crept into her heart. She should never have listened to her agent and come to meet some director. Running into Director Xu—who always carried that jade cup around to drink from—and then accidentally shattering it...
The jade cup was worth tens of millions. She was just a newcomer who'd barely debuted—how could she possibly pay for it?
Because she refused to play by certain unspoken rules, endorsements and potentially career-making roles were completely out of reach.
Her agent was already displeased with her. That was why she'd agreed to come this time. Her agent had said it was just to meet a director, make an introduction, get her face known—just be pleasant, nothing else required. Only on that condition had she come.
She'd truly believed it would just be a casual introduction, and that afterward she could rely on her own talent to land the roles she wanted. After all, her previous period drama role had been won on merit alone.
But the moment she walked in and saw Director Xu, unease had settled in her gut. She'd been careful the entire time. Yet somehow, she'd still knocked over his jade cup. Even knowing something was fishy, she was powerless to do anything about it.
Seeing Su Wei on the verge of tears, Director Xu smiled. "I won't make things difficult for you, Miss Su." He had someone set three glasses of wine in front of her. "Earlier, you kept declining drinks, and that made me quite unhappy. How about this—just drink these three glasses, and we'll consider the jade cup matter settled."
"Really? Just three glasses and it's over?" Su Wei asked uncertainly.
Director Xu smiled broadly. "Of course."
"Alright." Su Wei picked up a glass and was about to drink when the door swung open.
At the sound, everyone turned in unison toward the doorway. Seeing A-Xin, they all looked surprised. What was the famously stern Director Ruan doing here?
Wait—the woman leaning against Director Ruan looked familiar...
Su Wei recognized the woman leaning on A-Xin immediately. That breathtaking profile was unmistakable—who else could it be but Wen Nianshen? The others soon recognized her too.
"Xiao Zhu, take Nianshen for me."
Xiao Zhu hurriedly nodded. She'd been waiting outside the private room this whole time, feeling utterly speechless. Wen Nianshen had texted her earlier to wait outside, declaring she was going to drink Director Ruan under the table.
If it weren't for the fact that both Wen Nianshen and Director Ruan were women, she'd have been worried about something else entirely. But when the door opened, all she saw was Wen Nianshen passed out drunk—face crimson, sleeping soundly against Director Ruan.
Thank goodness Director Ruan is a woman, she thought.
If she'd been a man, their beautiful Nianshen sleeping like this—who knows what might have happened?
Xiao Zhu moved to take Wen Nianshen, but Wen Nianshen seemed to sense the change and clung to A-Xin's arm for dear life. Xiao Zhu's expression stiffened. "She probably thinks Director Ruan is one of her stuffed animals at home."
"Then help me bring her inside."
A-Xin felt how tightly Wen Nianshen was gripping her arm, and recalled what she'd said earlier about not wanting her to leave. She decided not to hand Wen Nianshen off to Xiao Zhu after all.
Looking a bit awkward, Xiao Zhu helped settle Wen Nianshen inside and found A-Xin a seat. Wen Nianshen's hands remained firmly wrapped around A-Xin's slender arm, showing no signs of letting go.
"Sorry for the trouble, Director Ruan," Xiao Zhu said softly.
A-Xin shook her head, then turned to Su Wei. "Su Wei, what's going on here?"
"Director Ruan." Su Wei called out pitifully. "I accidentally broke Director Xu's jade cup..."
Before she could finish, Director Xu cut in with a genial smile. "Well, what a surprise—Director Ruan is here too. It's really nothing. I never intended to make Miss Su pay. It's just a little jade cup—valuable, sure. I only asked Miss Su to drink three glasses as a gesture of friendship. Three glasses and the whole thing's forgotten."
Su Wei bit her lip. What Director Xu said was technically true on the surface. But she wasn't sure there wouldn't be more to it, and she had a nagging feeling his intentions weren't good. She wasn't stupid—the cup breaking today had been far too convenient.
But she was backed into a corner. Whether she wanted to or not, she had to drink. Otherwise he'd demand she produce tens of millions on the spot, which she couldn't. If this blew up, she'd be finished. Her only option was to gamble—drink the three glasses, excuse herself to the restroom, force herself to throw up, and hope she could escape unscathed.
A-Xin knew this storyline. The wine was indeed tampered with. But in the original plot, Wen Nianshen had shown up, and Director Xu's scheme had failed. Without Wen Nianshen's intervention, even after Su Wei forced herself to vomit in the restroom, the drug would have been too strong. She would have stumbled out only to be caught by Director Xu, who would have dragged her to a hotel. At the critical moment, Su Wei would have broken free, only to fall into the arms of another man.
That man was the domineering CEO Jing Songyuan, who also had his eye on Su Wei—he just hadn't made his move yet. She was so untouched by the industry's ugliness that he found himself reluctant to taint that. But encountering her this time, seeing her dazed and helpless, stumbling away from another man's clutches and practically delivered to his doorstep—how could he resist? From then on, Su Wei would be entangled with Jing Songyuan endlessly.
A-Xin glanced at the jade cup fragments on the floor. "Xiao Zhu, pick up those pieces for me. I'd like to take a look."
"Director Ruan?" Xiao Zhu was puzzled but bent down anyway, wrapped the fragments in a tissue, and handed them over.
In that instant, the color drained from Director Xu's face.
A-Xin picked up a shard between her slender fingers and looked up at Director Xu. "What a coincidence—I'm a jade enthusiast myself, just like you, Director Xu. Whether antique or modern, you wouldn't mind if I had a look, would you?"
"Of course not. This jadeite cup was something I bought from an old collector. Beautiful craftsmanship—I liked it so much I got into the habit of carrying it everywhere."
"Su Wei is Nianshen's good friend. Since Nianshen is drunk, let me take a look at this cup's value for you, Director Xu. If it really is priceless, three glasses of wine couldn't possibly settle the matter—it would have to be compensated at full value. Anything less would be unfair to you."
"And then we should take it to an appraisal center. Ideally, they'd issue a formal report. It would also be best if you could produce the certificate for this expensive jadeite cup, Director Xu—to avoid any major losses. Something this precious should come with documentation, shouldn't it? If not, no matter—we can just have an expert issue one."
With that, A-Xin stopped looking at Director Xu—whose smile was crumbling—and lowered her head to examine the fragments carefully.
Without realizing it, Su Wei had moved behind A-Xin, gratitude in her eyes. In truth, she barely knew Nianshen or Director Ruan personally. Director Ruan stepping in meant she'd clearly seen through the whole charade.
Director Ruan was a meticulous person, but having been in the industry long enough, she'd seen it all. And now, she was actually helping her. Su Wei didn't know how to express her thanks. Remembering that Director Ruan had also saved Nianshen earlier that day, her admiration for A-Xin bordered on worship. Director Ruan truly was a breath of fresh air in this industry.
Ten minutes later, A-Xin set down the jadeite cup fragments and looked up at Director Xu, who instinctively averted his eyes.
"Director Xu, this jadeite cup is B-grade."
Director Xu's cheek twitched. Of course he knew it was B-grade. If it had been genuine, he wouldn't have been willing to sacrifice it. Lose a highly valuable, collectible jade cup—his personal treasure—over a woman? Not a chance.
He'd planned everything perfectly. What he hadn't anticipated was Ruan Xin barging in halfway—and being someone who knew her jade. One casual glance and she'd spotted it as B-grade.
"Director Xu, it seems you were deceived," A-Xin said with complete sincerity. "Who did you buy this cup from? I think you should take the fragments, the certificate, and the transaction records, and go find them."
"Director Xu?" A-Xin called again. "While it's unfortunate that it turned out to be B-grade, I hope you can get through this."
"How could it possibly be B-grade?" Director Xu blurted out reflexively.
A-Xin seized the moment. "Xiao Zhu, take the fragments straight to an appraisal center. I'm a jade lover myself—I can't stand seeing B-grade goods passed off as the real thing. If Director Xu was cheated, I'm outraged on his behalf. Once the results come in, I hope whoever sold B-grade jade will have the self-awareness to face the consequences."
Xiao Zhu had already caught on. Before Director Xu could react, she swept all the fragments into the tissue, leaned close to A-Xin and whispered, "Director Ruan, I'll leave Nianshen in your care."
"Mm." A-Xin nodded calmly.
All Director Xu could do was watch Xiao Zhu fly out of the room. The words to stop her reached his lips but refused to come out.
"Director Ruan, really, it's not that serious. If I bought B-grade, I can only chalk it up to bad luck. The cup was pretty, at least."
"Pretty or not, B-grade is B-grade. Passing off inferior goods as genuine—whenever I see it, I never let it slide."
Director Xu opened his mouth but found nothing to say. Then he remembered—this Director Ruan had a reputation in the industry for being exceptionally rigorous. That she'd step in over something like this wasn't surprising at all.
"Director Xu, Xiao Zhu will keep you posted. I should be heading back now." She glanced at Su Wei. "Nianshen's drunk and Xiao Zhu just left, so I'm afraid I'll have to borrow Su Wei."
"Director Ruan, I'm happy to help," Su Wei said quickly, her heartbeat finally returning to normal. "Let me help you with Nianshen. I know from experience—when someone's that drunk, one person can't manage alone. My dad used to come home drunk as a puddle. It took several people to haul him back."
"Alright."
Director Xu and Su Wei's agent could only watch helplessly as Su Wei and A-Xin carried Wen Nianshen away. When Su Wei was helping support Wen Nianshen, she barely had to use any strength at all—it seemed like A-Xin was holding up Wen Nianshen's entire weight by herself.
Director Ruan was really strong.
A girl this talented in both mind and body—no wonder she could be a director.
Once Wen Nianshen was settled in the car, A-Xin asked, "Where do you live? I'll drop you off first."
"Thank you, Director Ruan." Su Wei didn't refuse. She'd narrowly escaped disaster today. Thinking about potentially facing the same thing again in the future, her mood sank.
"You know, you could switch to a different agent. And a different company."
Su Wei pressed her lips together. "I don't have connections, I'm not famous, and I won't do certain things. Nobody would want me."
"But isn't there someone right beside you?" A-Xin smiled. Even without her suggestion, Wen Nianshen would have eventually found a way to bring Su Wei into her company.
Su Wei blinked, then realized A-Xin was talking about Wen Nianshen. She hesitated. "Would Nianshen really take someone like me?" She'd heard that Wen Nianshen's company mostly signed female artists.
And these artists weren't the blazing-hot superstars, but rather the ones with genuine talent who somehow couldn't catch a break.
Yet once they joined Wen Nianshen's company, they blew up in no time. She was tempted—what should she do?
"Give it a try."
"You know what, I'll find a time to talk to Nianshen. If she's willing to take me on, I'll work my hardest and make sure I earn her plenty of money." She knew that apart from acting and looking beautiful, Wen Nianshen's greatest love was money.
After dropping off Su Wei, A-Xin brought Wen Nianshen back to her own home.
At dawn, Wen Nianshen's eyes flew open and she bolted upright.
She took in the unfamiliar surroundings with a start. Gradually, the previous night's events came back to her. She'd been trying to drink A-Xin under the table, but somewhere along the way, she was the one who'd gotten drunk.
After that, she remembered nothing.
Wait—she felt like she'd forgotten something incredibly important.
What was it?
Su Wei! That unlucky girl!
Damn it!
How had she let that slip?
Wen Nianshen's expression was terrible. A-Xin walked in carrying a glass of milk and found her sheet-white, frantically searching for something. "Nianshen."
"Di—Director Ruan!" Wen Nianshen said tensely. She finally spotted her bag, leaped off the bed, grabbed it, pulled out her phone, and called her agent Pan Er. "Old Pan."
"What is it, Nianshen?"
"That Su Wei—look into where Su Wei is for me." Wen Nianshen raked her fingers through her hair, looking utterly frazzled—nothing like the goddess she appeared to be during the day. "Hurry up. I need to know that girl's status right now, or I'm docking your bonus."
"Please, my lady, I'm already looking!"
Before long, Pan Er confirmed that Su Wei was fine and had gone to set early that morning.
"Really? Nothing happened to her?"
"Nothing. What could happen? I heard she did have some kind of incident yesterday, but Director Ruan ended up taking her home. Oh right—Xiao Zhu said you were drunk, so no wonder you don't remember. So, Nianshen, are you thinking about poaching this little fresh-faced talent too? Honestly, I think she's got real potential. Train her up and she'd be fantastic. I've watched some of her work these past few days—really impressive. Bring her over and she'll definitely make you a fortune."
"Alright, enough chatter. As long as she's fine."
Wen Nianshen hung up. Her head was clear now.
A-Xin had intervened, which meant Su Wei was safe. Only then did she remember the woman who'd been standing there holding a glass of milk. She spun around—and sure enough, A-Xin was still there.
"Director Ruan."
A-Xin smiled. Last night it had been "A-Xin" spoken with such warmth, and today she was back to "Director Ruan." This woman really was mercurial.
"Drink some milk to warm your stomach."
Wen Nianshen's heart leaped with joy. She bounded over, took the glass, and drank. "Director Ruan, thank you so much. I owe you for yesterday." As she drank, something felt off.
She looked down and realized she was wearing a loose set of pajamas. That's what felt wrong. Her cheeks colored slightly and she snuck a glance at A-Xin.
"Director Ruan, did you change my clothes last night?"
A-Xin nodded. "Yes, sleeping in what you were wearing didn't seem comfortable, so I changed you. Do you mind?"
"Not at all, not at all—why would I mind? We're both women. You've got what I've got, I've got what you've got. It's just changing clothes—what's there to mind?" Wen Nianshen's lips curved upward. She raised her arm and sniffed. There was still a faint trace of body wash. "Director Ruan, you even gave me a bath?"
"Since I was changing your clothes anyway, I figured I might as well."
"Ha... well, thank you so much, Director Ruan. Really, I'm sorry for the trouble." Inside, Wen Nianshen was practically glowing. Her body was perfect. Ugh, why did she have to go and get drunk? If she'd been sober, she could have watched A-Xin's face for any sign of being impressed.
"Director Ruan, when I was drunk last night, did I say anything embarrassing?"
A-Xin nodded. "You did. You drunkenly told two fish that they were selling you fake liquor, and that you'd buy out the restaurant and throw them all onto the street."
Wen Nianshen's expression froze. She'd said that to fish??
"Anything else?" she asked nervously. She hadn't done anything truly humiliating, had she?
"No, that's it." A-Xin lied with a perfectly straight face. Wen Nianshen didn't doubt her for a second and let out a small breath of relief. At least she hadn't embarrassed herself.
Wen Nianshen peered into her empty milk glass. "Director Ruan, one glass of milk isn't much of a breakfast. Do you have anything else to eat?"
"I do. I made you breakfast." A-Xin took the empty glass naturally. "Come on out and eat."
Wen Nianshen watched A-Xin's retreating figure, unable to contain the smile spreading across her face. She'd known there would be breakfast waiting.