007
Even in a high security small estate, Guan Han had the habit of scanning the surroundings before letting Qin Yinong enter the vehicle.
The car moved gradually out of the estate's gate. It was driving along the street late at night, and the street lights cast a silent shadow.
"Should I send you home, or...?" Guan Han asked politely.
"Find me a hotel somewhere, and send me to the company tomorrow at nine o'clock, I will return home in the afternoon." Qin Yinong replied, frowning.
Her mother had become older and had poor sleep quality, so there was no need to wake her up in the middle of the night. Qin Yinong had previously informed her mother that she would be attending a party and staying overnight with her friend, so she would not be able to return home until the next day.
Guan Han nodded, she took out her tablet, swiftly tapped her fingers on the screen, and said concisely: "Then shall I make an appointment with the psychiatrist for you on the day after tomorrow in the afternoon? There will be a magazine cover shoot in the morning."
Qin Yinong: "Okay."
Guan Han remained silent.
Qin Yinong looked at the receding scenery outside the window with a sidelong glance, then she yawned as she turned her face to cover her mouth.
Her bloodshot eyes were visibly exposed when the car's lights were turned on.
"Qin jie."
"Mn?"
"Do you want to rest for a while?" Guan Han suggested warmly.
Qin Yinong had not closed her eyes for the past 48 hours. She could still try hard to stay awake when facing Tang Ruoyao, but now that she was relaxed, the tiredness filled her limbs.
She mumbled and closed her eyes.
Guan Han dimmed the light in the car and sat aside, breathing lightly.
Qin Yinong had a slight neurasthenia; even a tiny movement could wake her up, and even the stares of others may startle her. So at the moment, Guan Han's presence must be reduced to that of the air to Qin Yinong.
Guan Han held her concentration, maintaining a rigid sitting posture, motionless.
The night was dark, and the shadows of the trees outside the car window were reflected on Qin Yinong's face, her brows slightly furrowed.
After ten minutes, the phone in Guan Han’s pocket vibrated.
Ring—
Her eyelids twitched and she turned to look at Qin Yinong subconsciously.
Qin Yinong pinched her eyebrows with two fingers and sighed wearily.
Guan Han apologized: "Sorry Qin jie, I forgot to silence my phone."
"It doesn't matter, I didn't fall asleep anyway." Qin Yinong waved her hand indifferently, took the mineral water on the table, and checked carefully. After a few seconds, she unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sniff of the water before taking a few sips. The cold liquid slipped into her throat, temporarily alleviating the pain in her temples.
Guan Han pursed her lips, showing a slight guilt in her eyes.
She was recruited into Qin Yinong's studio as soon as she graduated and became Qin Yinong’s personal assistant by chance. Qin Yinong had many other assistants who helped her deal with all kinds of miscellaneous tasks during a set. But Guan Han was her only personal assistant, she was almost inseparable from Qin Yinong, excluding bedtime.
Guan Han was the only person in the world who knew Qin Yinong better than her own family. Even if Qin Yinong never mentioned anything, Guan Han would observe everything, and unknowingly, she felt pity for Qin Yinong.
That was why she felt guilty for disturbing Qin Yinong while she slept.
"What's that expression of yours?" Qin Yinong put the mineral water bottle on the table, and raised her eyebrows slightly, her eyes filled with a bright smile, "I don't have the energy to coax you now, come on. Switch back to the expressionless assistant Guan I'm familiar with."
Assistant Guan switched gear in a second, and said flatly, "Am I doing it right now?"
She wore an impassive face, and it was quite convincing.
Qin Yinong held her forehead lazily with her hand, and smirked, "Fine."
Assistant Guan did not say a word.
The atmosphere became quiet again.
The feeling of fatigue and drunkenness emerged at the same time. Qin Yinong felt her temple twitching in pain, and her eyelids were swollen. She closed her eyes and pinched her increasingly sore eyebrows with two fingers: "Could you, um--could you find the video of Yaoyao receiving her award last night. Show it to me."
Guan Han took out the tablet from her bag and unlocked it. Within ten seconds, she handed the tablet to Qin Yinong.
"Already found it?" Qin Yinong received the tablet in awe. Even though Tang Ruoyao's win had been making headlines for the past two days, it was still hard to believe how viral her video had become in such a short time.
Guan Han smiled at her.
Qin Yinong suddenly realized that Guan Han had known that she would watch Tang Ruoyao’s video, and so she prepared it in advance. She went silent for a moment, lowering her gaze. With indecipherable emotions in her eyes, she held the tablet in her hands, and played the video.
The video started with the host announcing the best actress nominees; there were five in total. After the promotional trailers of each nominee's shortlisted work were presented on the big screen, all of the nominees were displayed on the screen together. As the award presenters opened the golden envelopes, they slowly set up the atmosphere. The screen displayed the four nominees' faces, who all sought to maintain a cool demeanour despite the intense atmosphere at the scene.
Her words were like daggers.
Both Qin Yinong and Tang Ruoyao’s faces went dark.
Qin Yinong sneered after seeing the female guest's face.
So it was her.
This person was called Hao Meihua, who was also one of the seniors in the entertainment industry. To Tang Ruoyao’s knowledge, Hao Meihua and Qin Yinong made their debut around the same time, but Hao Meihua was around six years older than Qin Yinong. The two of them had been nominated three times for the Golden Rose Awards’ Best Actress, recognized as the highest award in the "Three Golds," and Hao Meihua lost to Qin Yinong all three times. Later, she finally won Best Actress as she wished, but she was recognized by the media and netizens as a person who was "taking advantage" because Qin Yinong did not participate in the award ceremony that year.
The two of them had faced each other several times. Hao Meihua wanted to avenge the insult, but she failed again and again, and she completely gained herself the title of "King of exploitation". Her winning was a joke under the shadow of Qin Yinong, and everyone in the industry knew that the words “best actress” best not be mentioned in front of her.
Guan Han saw her pausing the video. She went over and glanced at her, she said, "Hao Meihua treats you as a deadly rival and gossips about you behind your back. There was a rumor on the internet a while ago that you slept with Director Liu Jiang. It was her who started it. There were also some suspicious photos spreading around."
"She's just a clown, not my concern."
"I know."
"Is the Golden Tree Awards nominee list expected to be released soon?" Qin Yinong asked suddenly. (T/N: 金槐奖 Literally Gold Pagoda Tree Awards, the third of the 三金“Three Golds”
"It's May now; it should be announced sometime in July."
"Do I have any movies that are eligible for the award?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Qin Yinong's lips twitched up coldly, and she mocked softly. "I would like to see her wonderful expression when she loses to me again."
Guan Han nodded.
Qin Yinong looked at Hao Meihua, who had "bitterness" written all over her face on the screen, and sneered: "Even after all these years, she still wastes her time on these malicious thoughts. She deserves to be no better than me. I bet even Yaoyao can surpass her anytime soon now."
Qin Yinong's gaze became warm as she mentioned Tang Ruoyao, and she proceeded to continue watching.
In the video, the male guest felt awkward and immediately changed the topic by announcing the name in the envelope with great excitement: "The Best Actress award for this year's Golden Laurel Awards goes to Tang Ruoyao!"
A strong beam of light projected on Tang Ruoyao, and flashing lights one after another greeted the winning best actress. Tang Ruoyao stood up holding the hem of her dress amid the applause and lights. She was wearing a custom gradient blue dress with the color of the starry sky, which suited her tall and beautiful figure perfectly. The dress's hem swayed in a long tail, flickering like the stars.
After a quick hug with everyone, Tang Ruoyao raised her chin, and walked towards the stage steadily like a queen patrolling her territory.
Her impeccable appearance, as if she was born with dignity and arrogance, caused Qin Yinong's breathing in front of the screen to stagnate, and she could not avert her eyes. She gently stroked Tang Ruoyao's indifferent face through the screen with her fingers unconsciously.
The male guest handed over the trophy, and Tang Ruoyao was invited to deliver her acceptance speech.
Tang Ruoyao lowered her eyes, staring at the microphone; she remained silent for a long time.
The audience was on the verge of causing a ruckus.
Tang Ruoyao raised her eyes again, shallow waves flashing by in the depth of amber eyes. She took a light breath and said in a calm voice: "Thank you director...Thank you everyone, I will continue to work hard."
A couple of conventional phrases. There was not a single superfluous sentence.
She bowed and stepped down.
The camera followed Tang Ruoyao as she was seated. There was no sign of happiness on her face after winning, she sat expressionless in her seat, like an exquisite puppet that lost her soul.
Qin Yinong covered up the tablet with mixed feelings.
She felt tightness in her chest. She pressed her hand on her chest close to her heart. Was that a feeling of regret? Regret for deliberately being absent from the awards ceremony last night?
If she was sitting in the audience, what would Tang Ruoyao say to her?
Qin Yinong's thumb gently rubbed the metal side of the tablet, and the curvature of the corners of her lips carried a faint self-deprecation and bitterness.
There should never be an answer to this question.
Qin Yinong closed her eyes, she raised her fingers slightly. Guan Han took the tablet from her lap and put it in her bag.
They arrived at the hotel.
Guan Han sent Qin Yinong upstairs, handed the bag over to her, and explained: "There are sleeping pills in it, but you should not eat them after drinking. If you really can't sleep, sober up and wait around two hours before having some."
Qin Yinong nodded.
"I have ordered sobering tea from the front desk for you." Guan Han said.
Qin Yinong nodded again.
She was as obedient as a student.
Guan Han resisted the impulse to pat her head and walked back to the elevator.
Qin Yinong looked at Guan Han’s back and said, "Thank you."
Guan Han turned to look at her. Qin Yinong looked very thin, she was holding her bag in both hands and pursing her thin lips, standing quietly at the door while watching her. The light in the corridor made her look pale, reminiscent of the petals of the branches crumbling in the storm in the dark night.
She had always been lonely: the loneliness was deep in her bones. No one except Guan Han knew that.
Guan Han’s eyes were sore, she tried to open her eyes and raised a smile: "I am your assistant, this is just what I should do." Without giving Qin Yinong a chance to speak, she said hurriedly, "Rest early, I will pick you up tomorrow. Good night."
Qin Yinong moved her lips: "...Good night."
Guan Han's figure disappeared behind the closing elevator doors, Qin Yinong lowered her eyes, turned around and shut the door.
......
Tang Ruoyao slept soundly through the night. When she woke up, she touched the pillow that was always cold. She sat up and looked at the untidy night robe on her, several ambiguous red marks on her body exposed faintly.
Her ears suddenly felt hot.
After washing up herself in the bathroom, Tang Ruoyao fixed her hair in front of the mirror. While enduring the shame, she loosened and tightened the belt of her night robe again, and adjusted her breathing. Then she opened the door and walked out of the room.
"Jiejie?"
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The author has something to say:
Tang Ruoyao: A question, what should I do if my jiejie is being ruthless with me? Urgent, waiting on the line.
Author: My dear, my suggestion here is that you sleep with her the next time you meet her. ╰(*°▽°*)╯
Thank you: [long list of readers]
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
translated by shugo, edited by mooie and noba.