A Heartless Omega Regrets It When I’m Dying - Chapter 3

At 7:00 AM the next morning, Lin Wantang woke up punctually.

Last night’s dream had been too beautiful. She vaguely remembered that at the end of the dream, Wen Zhiqing was snuggling in her arms, looking at her with eyes that poured out the brightest sunshine of midsummer.

In the dream, they had even agreed to get married as soon as Lin Wantang graduated.

As the morning light filtered in, Lin Wantang recalled the throb of emotion from her dream. She instinctively tightened her arms just as she had in the dream, drawing an unconscious murmur from the person beside her.

Lin Wantang opened her eyes in surprise and saw Wen Zhiqing curled peacefully in her embrace.

Wen Zhiqing’s eyes were closed, her thick long hair spread across the pillow like silk. Her long lashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes, and her features were relaxed, looking like a meticulously drawn traditional painting.

Lin Wantang stared blankly at Wen Zhiqing nestled against her, momentarily unsure if she was still dreaming.

After gazing for who knows how long, Lin Wantang suddenly realized she had forgotten to wake Wen Zhiqing on time.

“Wen Zhiqing, wake up.” Lin Wantang’s hand rested gently on Wen Zhiqing’s back. Through the thin pajamas, her palm felt the warmth of that soft curve. She rubbed it a few times, as if soothing a child. “Sorry, I’m a few minutes late today.”

She had already easily coaxed the insecure version of herself from the previous night back into composure.

Under Lin Wantang’s tender gaze, Wen Zhiqing opened her eyes, her voice cold: “What time is it?”

“7:10.” Lin Wantang glanced at the humidity level in the bedroom before her eyes settled back on Wen Zhiqing’s face. “The humidity is just right now. It was too dry before; you often had a raspy voice when you woke up.”

“Five minutes late.” Wen Zhiqing turned her head away, her voice even colder than usual. “If you can’t be punctual, let the housekeeper wake me.”

Wen Zhiqing waited a few seconds, but hearing no response, she frowned impatiently and looked at Lin Wantang. She found Lin staring blankly at the magnificent red marks on her collarbone.

She immediately pulled up her collar, cutting off Lin Wantang’s intense gaze.

“I had a dream last night. I dreamt about finishing military training in university and listening to your speech in the auditorium,” Lin Wantang said, standing up to open the wardrobe. She picked out a turtleneck sweater for Wen Zhiqing. “I also dreamt that…”

“What is your point?”

Wen Zhiqing didn’t bother listening to Lin Wantang describe these inconsequential trifles. “A few days ago, you dreamt about the time you became a hostage in my place. Yesterday, you dreamt about when we were dating in university. What, are you writing a memoir in your sleep?”

“No, no,” Lin Wantang explained hurriedly. “I have just been dreaming about you a lot lately, and it’s true they’re all things from the past.”

She regretted it instantly. She shouldn’t have said that; she should have realized sooner that Wen Zhiqing didn’t like listening to these boring things.

It was just that she truly didn’t know what Wen Zhiqing did like to hear her say. Lin Wantang thought to herself that Wen Zhiqing had never once been happy because of anything she had said.

“I don’t want to hear about any of it.” Wen Zhiqing expressionlessly threw the turtleneck Lin Wantang had picked out onto the floor and chose another one herself. “You’d be better off talking less.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again,” Lin Wantang smiled apologetically. “I’ll go downstairs to see what’s for breakfast. I won’t disturb you further.”

Always making promises, always knowingly breaking them. Wen Zhiqing didn’t even spare a glance for Lin Wantang as she practically fled the room.

Only much later would Wen Zhiqing learn that dreaming frequently of a person is simply the brain’s longest practice for completely forgetting them.

Thus, on the day after their anniversary, Lin Wantang and Wen Zhiqing ate their breakfast separately like two strangers sharing a table by chance. The air was so silent that the only sound was the slight clink of porcelain spoons against bowls.

Lin Wantang held back again and again, finally suppressing every word she wanted to say.

Until the moment Wen Zhiqing left the house with a cold face, she only softly said “Goodbye.”

Actually, she had a lot she wanted to say. She wanted to remind Wen Zhiqing to rest on time, to tell her that the anniversary gift was a pair of matching rings, and to ask if she would be home for dinner.

But as she suppressed it, the urge to speak faded.

Indeed, they were all extremely unimportant trifles. Why did she always have to disturb Wen Zhiqing with such trivialities?

Lin Wantang sighed silently. After eating, she walked back to the bedroom and picked up the gift bag that had remained unopened. She carefully opened the bag and took out the dark green velvet ring box.

The matching rings were custom-made by a famous designer Lin Wantang had sought out, costing her entire acting salary for the year.

Lin Wantang took her own ring out of the box and slowly slid it onto her ring finger. The rose-gold ring shimmered in the sunlight, nearly stinging her eyes.

As if the ring were burning her, Lin Wantang took it off almost immediately.

She placed the ring back into the box very solemnly, then opened the bottom drawer of the bookshelf and carefully tucked it inside.

Beneath that box, other exquisitely wrapped gift boxes were stacked neatly. Like this anniversary gift, Wen Zhiqing had never opened or looked at any of them.

In the beginning, Lin Wantang would use every means possible to beg Wen Zhiqing to look at her meticulously prepared gifts. But after an incident where Wen Zhiqing impatiently smashed a jade comb intended as a birthday gift during a disagreement, Lin Wantang gradually learned her place. As soon as Wen Zhiqing showed the slightest hint of displeasure, she would put the gift away as quickly as possible.

Lin Wantang carefully closed the drawer, closing the chapter on the anniversary gift in her heart as well.

In the afternoon, she went to the film set as usual.

The filming location was also in this city, an hour’s drive away. Lin Wantang played a villainous supporting character with not much screen time; she usually only filmed for half a day, and her part was due to wrap up soon.

Just as she got out of the car, a dull pain throbbed in the gland at the back of her neck. She instinctively reached up to touch it, and the vague sensation quickly vanished. Lin Wantang didn’t give it another thought, quickening her pace to merge into the bustling crowd of the film set.

The set seemed even noisier than before, filled with the sounds of indistinguishable whispering that was loud enough to be irritating.

Lin Wantang sat down in silence, waiting for the makeup artist.

She wasn’t exactly a nobody on set, but she didn’t attract much attention either. Lin Wantang rarely spoke about her personal life. The others in the crew only knew she was married, but they didn’t know who her wife was or even what her wife did for a living.

“Wantang, did you hear? Qi Yishu is back. They say she’s going to be directing domestically from now on.” Li Wen, who also played a supporting role, leaned over to chat. “So many people have sent in resumes. Do you think we should send ours too? Even a bit part in a movie by a big director like her would be great.”

Lin Wantang turned her head blankly: “Qi Yishu is back?”

She had prepared herself mentally for the return of Wen Zhiqing’s “White Moonlight,” but she hadn’t expected the day to come so soon.

“She landed at the airport today.” Li Wen’s voice rose with excitement. “They say the script for her next movie is already prepared, though she doesn’t plan on filming immediately.”

“Oh, I see.” Lin Wantang forced a slight curve to her lips, trying to piece together a happy expression. “That’s really good.”

It was indeed good. She and Qi Yishu shared a history; she could even be considered Qi Yishu’s junior from the same school. Now that Qi Yishu was back, she really should feel happy.

“But Director Qi probably won’t look at us anyway; sending a resume is just a waste of time.” Li Wen chatted on for a bit before becoming cheerful again. “My girlfriend isn’t working overtime today. She’s coming specifically to visit me on set.”

“I told her the set is boring and there’s no need to waste time coming here—it’s better to lie in bed and play with her phone.” Li Wen said this, but her eyes brimmed with unmistakable sweetness. “She said I’m just playing dumb. She’s not coming to see the filming; she’s only coming to see me.”

“You and your girlfriend have such a good relationship.”

Lin Wantang praised her sincerely, trying her best not to think about Wen Zhiqing.

It was impossible for Wen Zhiqing to visit her on set.

“She’s even bringing some pastries, sugar-free ones, saying she wants to help me get along with my colleagues.” Li Wen touched her flushed face. “I used to be so jealous of others getting visitors, but I never mentioned it to her. I didn’t expect her to just know.”

Hearing that Li Wen’s girlfriend was coming, the actors who weren’t filming began to gather around in small groups.

“Not easy, Xiao Li. Your girlfriend finally came to visit.”

“Thanks, Li-jie. I’ve been filming all day and I’m starving; a snack is just what I need.”

“Who needs snacks? I’m already full just watching you two being so lovey-dovey.”

Lin Wantang smiled along but didn’t speak. She clenched her palms secretly, terrified that someone would notice her and steer the conversation toward her wife, who had never appeared and was rarely mentioned.

However, it was clearly an unavoidable topic.

“Xiao Lin, you’re the only one left.” Someone smiled at Lin Wantang, but their eyes were full of unconcealed curiosity. “Is your wife even busier than Xiao Li’s ‘996’ programmer girlfriend? Why do we never see her visit?”

“Never mind Wantang-jie’s wife not visiting; even her parents have never been here.”

Lin Wantang skillfully put on a feigned, nonchalant smile. “She’s very busy. Mostly it’s hard to take time off, and we live apart, so a trip here is a big waste of time.”

The sentence lacked a specific subject, so no one could immediately tell if it was Lin Wantang’s wife who was busy, her parents who were busy, or perhaps both.

Lin Wantang worked hard to maintain an indifferent smile, her fingers secretly tightening on the script in her lap until her knuckles turned white from the effort.

She couldn’t tell how many times she had loathed herself, or how many times she had lied. Lin Wantang felt that Wen Zhiqing was right: she truly was good at being a liar.

“Lin Wantang, ready for the rehearsal!”

The assistant director shouted, and Lin Wantang quickly grabbed this lifeline to escape the questions the others hadn’t yet asked. “I have to go to rehearsal. Let’s talk later.”

As she jogged toward her position, Lin Wantang tried her best to shake the news of Qi Yishu’s return out of her head.

The rehearsal went without a hitch. Lin Wantang hadn’t had formal training, so she had to work exceptionally hard to ensure her performance was beyond reproach.

The actual filming went smoothly afterward. The assistant director nodded repeatedly. Lin Wantang politely asked if she could wrap up for the day. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, she let out a long sigh of relief.

She was truly exhausted. She just wanted to go home and sleep without thinking about anything.

But as luck would have it, Wen Zhiqing’s assistant sent a message: [Wujie Hotel, top-floor revolving restaurant. Be there by 7:00 PM.]