Chapter 59

The phone was filled only with the man’s deep, steady breathing.

Achieving her goal, Ning Yuxuan curved her lips into a soft smile, lowering her gaze to toy with the ribbon bow at her chest.

Since he had said he missed her, she would give him a more vivid mental image so he would miss her all the more.

After an unknown length of time, Xie Zhiyan’s low, husky voice finally came through the earphones: "Ning Yuxuan."

It had been a long time since he had called her by her full name like this, causing a slight flutter in the depths of her heart.

Ning Yuxuan: "Hmm?"

Xie Zhiyan’s voice was very deep: "So uninhibited—is it because you're certain I have no way to go see you right now?"

Nailing her exact thoughts, Xie Zhiyan’s hit the mark, yet she feigned ignorance: "No, of course not. Wasn't it you who asked me what my dress looked like? You haven't answered my question yet. Was my description detailed enough? Have you imagined what the dress looks like?"

"Not yet," Xie Zhiyan said. "I'll see it in person when I get back."

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

Her fingers, playing with the ribbon, paused.

She let out a soft huff: "In your dreams."

Was the sight of her in her nightgown something she could let him see so easily?

Xie Zhiyan did not dwell on the topic any longer, shifting instead to say: "I'm going to London tomorrow to discuss some business. The flight is at eight in the morning."

Ning Yuxuan: "...Oh."

Xie Zhiyan: "The flight takes eleven hours. Liu Cheng is coming with me. If you have any urgent matters, you can reach out to my other assistant whose surname is Wu. I'll forward his contact information to you shortly."

Ning Yuxuan wanted to say she had nothing urgent, but considering that Huayuan might be troubled by malicious individuals again, having a fallback plan was for the best.

She agreed: "Alright, I understand."

Xie Zhiyan: "Nothing you want to ask me?"

Ning Yuxuan: "No, not really."

Actually, it wasn't that she had no questions.

She wanted to ask him how many days he would be gone and roughly when he would return.

Habit was a terrifying thing. Over the past few weeks, she and Xie Zhiyan had met frequently, with no more than four or five days at most between their meetings.

Thus, she naturally assumed that as soon as she returned to Beicheng, she would see him; he might show up at the show's shooting location to pick her up just like last time, or come straight over to her house on Sunday night to have dinner together.

However, London was more than ten thousand kilometers away. With Xie Zhiyan flying there on a business trip, he might not be able to rush back by the weekend.

Yet Ning Yuxuan was unwilling to ask directly and let Xie Zhiyan know that she actually wanted to see him very much.

Xie Zhiyan: "After I land tomorrow, I'll message you."

Ning Yuxuan spoke insincerely: "It's fine if you don't contact me. I'm not that curious about how you're doing."

Xie Zhiyan: "But I am."

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

Xie Zhiyan added gently, completing the thought: "I will miss you."

Her heartbeat accelerated, and Ning Yuxuan finally couldn't help asking: "Did you go to some dinner party again tonight and drink alcohol?"

Xie Zhiyan gave a faint chuckle, answering the question with another: "Can't I say I miss you without drinking?"

"It's not that, it's just..." Ning Yuxuan calmed her emotions, "The number of times you've said you miss me today is more than the whole past month combined. I'm not quite used to it."

She could only blame herself for lacking resolve; every time he said it, her heartbeat skipped a beat out of rhythm.

Xie Zhiyan: "Does that mean you want me to say it more often so you can get used to it?"

The corners of Ning Yuxuan's lips lifted a fraction higher: "You could interpret it that way."

Xie Zhiyan hinted meaningfully: "Then is there anything you want to say to me?"

Hearing this, Ning Yuxuan unconsciously bit her lower lip: "No."

Xie Zhiyan seemed to let out a soft sigh.

At the same time, someone appeared to be knocking at the door.

Ning Yuxuan couldn't hear it very clearly, so she opened the balcony door to listen closely, and indeed heard the sound of "thump, thump, thump" knocking.

The sound of water in the bathroom had not yet stopped.

"Someone is knocking at the door," Ning Yuxuan said. "I won't talk to you for a moment. I'll go see who it is."

"Alright."

Ning Yuxuan glanced at the screen, hesitated for a second, and then hung up the phone.

Standing outside the door was Ning Shiyue.

"Didn't Mom say earlier that her steam eye masks weren't enough?" Ning Shiyue said. "The shopping mall at the nearby intersection hasn't closed yet, so I went and bought two packs."

Ning Yuxuan accepted the plastic bag from his hand.

"Just let me know if you're still missing anything else." Ning Shiyue glanced in the direction of the bathroom. "Is Mom taking a shower?"

Ning Yuxuan nodded: "Mhm."

"Then I'll head back first."

Not long after Ning Shiyue left, Ning Fei emerged from the bathroom.

"Xuanxuan," Ning Fei said, drying her wet hair. "Was someone here just now?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Yeah, Ning Shiyue came over to drop off some steam eye masks."

Ning Fei nodded: "I'm done washing, Xuanxuan. Why don't you go take a shower early too?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Okay."

Before going to shower, she glanced at her phone.

After the voice call ended, Xie Zhiyan had sent two messages.

One was Assistant Wu's digital business card, and the other was his flight information.

Clutching her phone, Ning Yuxuan typed out a few words, then hesitatingly deleted them.

In the end, she changed "I miss you a little too" to "I'm going to take a shower now."

She knew Xie Zhiyan was different from Gu Yunhao, and she knew her former self had been controlled by the plot, which was why she had been so persistent and discarded her dignity to pursue a romance destined to yield no results.

Yet while feelings could be reined in, past experiences had nonetheless left their imprint deep within her, making her forever accustomed to holding something back in reserve.

Call it being too greedy.

She wanted a great deal: she wanted to hear him say he missed her, and she wanted a formal confession from him.

Yet she was unwilling to bare her inner thoughts completely before him without reservation so soon.

It was as if only by doing this could she remain forever undefeated in this romantic entanglement.

...

The next morning, Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan headed to the set together.

Ning Shiyue had departed much earlier than the two of them. By the time they arrived, Ning Shiyue had already finished styling in the makeup room and was waiting for his scenes.

Ning Fei had brought along all the gifts she packed in her suitcase to present to the crew members.

Although she was an accomplished and celebrated senior, Ning Fei possessed absolute humility. The young actors on the set all loved seeking her out to discuss acting techniques, and once again, she was detained by a group of them.

Ning Yuxuan found a vantage point with a good view on set and watched the lively scene for a while.

When Ning Shiyue went over for light checks, a staff member approached and led Ning Yuxuan away to the styling room.

Under Director Zhang's strong insistence the previous night, Ning Yuxuan had agreed to make a cameo appearance in a scene.

Sitting down in the chair, Ning Yuxuan had her makeup done first before changing into her costume.

The makeup artist looked to be in her early thirties, appearing extremely capable and efficient.

Chatting idly, Ning Yuxuan asked: "Were you doing Ning Shiyue's makeup just now?"

Retrieving her tools, the makeup artist replied: "Yes. Not only the actresses, but I'm also in charge of some of the actors' looks as well. Teacher Shiyue's makeup for this entire drama is done by me."

Ning Yuxuan joked: "Do the two of us look alike?"

The makeup artist pondered for a few seconds: "Just looking at your facial features, not particularly."

Ning Yuxuan smiled: "Right? Back when Ning Shiyue and I attended the same middle school, people always said we didn't look like siblings."

The makeup artist took out a sponge dampened with water to apply Ning Yuxuan's foundation: "There is one thing that's quite similar, though."

Ning Yuxuan: "What's that?"

The makeup artist praised sincerely: "Both of you siblings have exceptionally good skin. Not only is it flawless, but it's also remarkably translucent. I've been doing makeup for people for so many years, and I've met fewer than five people with good skin like yours."

Ning Yuxuan smiled: "Probably because we both inherited it from our mother."

Ning Fei's skin was astonishingly good, and moreover highly resistant to aging; even in her early fifties, her face only showed a few indistinct lines.

Period costume makeup required quite a bit of time. Furthermore, since Ning Yuxuan's character was defined as a great beauty, the makeup needed to look dazzling yet refined without appearing muddy or heavy.

The eye makeup alone took the makeup artist nearly half an hour, applying false eyelashes individually strand by strand.

An hour and a half later, the entire makeup and hair styling was finally complete.

Ning Yuxuan changed into her costume, and a specialized dresser came over to help her adjust and straighten everything out.

When she finally appeared on set fully styled, she drew the sideways glances of many.

Ning Yuxuan had met most of the crew members the night before, but at that time the sky was dark, and she had appeared completely bare-faced.

Today, however, her makeup was quite heavy, and many people failed to recognize at first glance that this was Ning Shiyue's elder sister.

"Is this a newly arrived actress? She's so pretty, how come I've never seen her before?"

"When did another new actress join the crew? Director Zhang didn't even introduce her to us!"

Slowly, people began to recognize her as Ning Shiyue's biological sister, whom they had just met the previous night while celebrating Ning Shiyue's birthday.

Yet no matter how surprised everyone else was, none of them experienced a shock comparable to Ning Shiyue himself.

Aside from the lead actors, a production featured countless supporting cast members.

Some roles only required a few scenes, after which there would be no further overlap, and since Ning Shiyue was not fond of socializing, he likely wouldn't know the other person's name from start to finish.

The scenes for the production were not filmed in chronological order. The scene scheduled for today was one where the male lead, played by Ning Shiyue, encountered a beautiful woman when he first ventured out into the pugilist world.

Lacking any experience in the martial arts world at the time, the male lead helped this woman out of pure kindness, only to unexpectedly be back-stabbed and plotted against by her, plunging him into a crisis from which he was ultimately extricated only with the help of his sworn brothers.

Before filming this scene, Ning Shiyue had no idea who the actress acting opposite him would be.

When he saw Ning Yuxuan standing before him fully styled, his eyes widened into circles.

"Ning Yuxuan?"

Director Zhang chuckled and patted Ning Shiyue's shoulder: "How about it? Isn't it stunning? I told you your sister would be a perfect fit for this role."

Zhang Tai had only laid eyes on Ning Yuxuan's styling a few minutes earlier than Ning Shiyue.

Yet having been a director for so many years, he trusted his eye for talent. The moment he saw Ning Yuxuan bare-faced yesterday, he knew instantly that she was tailor-made for this role.

Whether it was her appearance or her posture, she could flawlessly carry off the persona of a "great beauty."

Once the styling came together, the effect surpassed even what Zhang Tai had imagined.

Had Ning Yuxuan not previously made it explicitly clear that she had no desire to become an actress, Zhang Tai would have wanted to persuade her to try out for a role in his next production as well.

Yet glamorous though Ning Yuxuan's period styling appeared in everyone else's eyes, to Ning Shiyue, it was nothing short of pure terror.

"Director..." Ning Shiyue asked, "Are you certain you want me to act opposite my own sister..."

Director Zhang nodded with a chuckle: "Yes, Yuxuan only has two lines for this scene. Xiao Ning, guide your sister along a bit, and let's strive to get this wrapped within three takes."

Ning Yuxuan and Ning Shiyue both shared the surname Ning, but Director Zhang had grown too accustomed to addressing her that way over the past several days and couldn't break the habit on short notice.