Acting Spoiled and Arrogant [Rebirth] - Chapter 4

Lu Xingxian eventually accompanied Zuo Xian to a movie, but before that, she stepped away to make a phone call for nearly ten minutes.

Zuo Xian knew she was coordinating her schedule, so she sat there obediently waiting, making no unnecessary movements. Finally, the two sat together in the cinema’s waiting area, doing nothing but breathing the same air.

Since the tickets were a last-minute purchase, they had to wait about forty minutes for the earliest screening. It wasn’t a long wait, so they settled into the waiting area.

At this point, Zuo Xian’s career was just beginning. Most of her work had been in modeling with a niche audience, so her public recognition was low. In her previous life, it had been a very long time since she could move about so freely, dressed up but without a mask or a cap to hide her face.

In contrast, Lu Xingxian had a harder time.

No matter how cold it was outside, the cinema was blasted with heat. Shortly after entering, Zuo Xian was already so warm she had taken off her coat and bundled it to the side. Lu Xingxian could remove her coat, but she couldn’t take off her mask for fear of being recognized. Wearing a mask in a well-heated room was far from comfortable.

Zuo Xian checked the time again and finally heard the announcement for their screening. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed the tickets and stood up quickly. “Axian, shall we go?”

Lu Xingxian nodded silently, gathered her things, and followed Zuo Xian inside.

As they turned a corner, two girls walking arm-in-arm seemed to be in a rush to enter their own screening. In the blink of an eye as they swerved, a bit of their drink splashed out, landing right on Zuo Xian’s arm.

The drink was ice-cold. Given it was winter, the sudden shock of cold liquid against her skin made Zuo Xian jump.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” the girl who bumped into her apologized profusely. Her companion quickly fumbled through her pockets, looking for a tissue to give to Zuo Xian.

Zuo Xian squinted with a smile and shook her hand. “It’s no trouble.”

She was in the habit of rolling her sleeves up to her elbows when in warm places, so her skin was just a bit wet. The girl who apologized looked up at Zuo Xian, let out a sigh of relief, but still looked quite guilty.

Since Zuo Xian had wet wipes in her own bag—an essential for her—she didn’t linger. After the ticket check, she skipped along, pulling Lu Xingxian with her to find their seats.

The theater wasn’t crowded, and they had arrived early. Zuo Xian looked down at her ticket and fell silent for a moment.

Aftershock.

While this was a classic among classics—winning the Best Film award the following year and featuring veteran actors who reached new heights through it, while also launching several “it-girls” and rising young actors—it was a heavy film.

Zuo Xian looked at the ticket hesitantly, seriously considering whether they should exchange them. After a moment, she pursed her lips and reconsidered. At this point in the year, theaters nationwide were dominated by this film. With the heavy promotion, it was playing almost around the clock. It felt inappropriate to ask to see something else now.

As the lights dimmed, Zuo Xian pulled out tissues from her bag in anticipation of the tears to come. However, she suddenly saw a familiar scene in the pre-movie advertisements.

Her eyes widened in horror. In the next second, a girl appeared on the big screen walking gracefully from a distance. She wore a pale pink off-the-shoulder gown that trailed on the floor. She walked with a confident pace to soothing music, but as the camera cut, her bag suddenly fell to the ground.

The girl looked momentarily lost.

In the next second, she gently covered her neckline and picked up the bag with a playful, clever movement. When she stood back up, she was once again the poised, elegant person everyone first saw, a proper smile on her face. However, she secretly stuck her tongue out and whispered to the camera: “Good thing the bag isn’t afraid of getting dirty!”

—It was herself.

Zuo Xian covered her face. For the current time, this advertisement was considered excellent—one of the first to allow the audience to create a “before and after” narrative in just a few dozen seconds. But compared to the future era of viral, high-concept ads, it was just average.

Since it was just a pre-screening ad, the audience didn’t react much. Zuo Xian peeked at Lu Xingxian. The room was dark now, so Lu Xingxian had removed her hat and mask.

“Axian, what… what do you think of my ad?” Zuo Xian sat up a bit straighter. After all, the person sitting next to her was a true “National Treasure artist.”

Lu Xingxian thought about it seriously. The girl’s smiles, her panic when the bag dropped, and her playful relief when she saw it wasn’t dirty flashed before her eyes. She said softly, “It’s very good.”

Zuo Xian’s eyes crinkled into crescents as she nodded and whispered, “Thank you!”

Shortly after the ad ended, a small gasp came from the row behind them. Zuo Xian heard a voice, hushed but vibrating with excitement: “Wait, isn’t that the older sister we met at the entrance? Wow, she looks so pretty in that gown! She’s even better looking in person than on TV, and she’s not arrogant at all!”

“Yeah!” another voice agreed. Realizing her voice was a bit high, she whispered something else to her friend. The two girls then squeezed each other’s hands and did a little giddy stomp in their seats.

Zuo Xian couldn’t hear the rest clearly, but she assumed it was more praise. In her past life, she always had a good temper and high standards of conduct; later, after appearing on variety shows, she was labeled “considerate,” “warm-hearted,” and “high EQ.” Though she later questioned if those labels were entirely accurate, being praised by strangers right now made her very happy.

Sensing something, Lu Xingxian turned her head slightly, catching Zuo Xian in her peripheral vision. She whispered, “Congratulations.”

The movie lasted 136 minutes, adapted from a centennial earthquake. When it ended, Zuo Xian’s eyes were swollen, yet she stubbornly dragged Lu Xingxian out of there before the credits finished.

—Near the end, she had overheard the two girls behind them mentioning they wanted to ask for an autograph. Zuo Xian didn’t mind for herself—she wasn’t famous yet—but what if Lu Xingxian was exposed?

The two walked through the aisle, one in front of the other. Because the path was hard to see, their hands were tightly clasped together.

Zuo Xian didn’t think twice about it, but Lu Xingxian’s eyes remained fixed on their joined hands. Behind her mask, the corners of her lips twitched upward for a fleeting moment before falling again, as if she had remembered something that only made her sadder.

By the time they got outside, it was pitch black. Because of the cold, the streets were empty. Zuo Xian exhaled a puff of white mist and shivered, pulling her arms tighter, which finally made her realize their fingers were still interlaced.

Noticing Zuo Xian’s gaze, Lu Xingxian’s eyes lowered, and she gave a gentle tug to pull away.

Zuo Xian’s eyes widened, and she gripped even tighter.

Lu Xingxian stopped resisting. She had heard what the two girls said, so she simply sighed, assuming Zuo Xian was just nervous. “You can let go now. They won’t chase us out here.”

Zuo Xian didn’t know what to say, so she just shook her head instinctively, her eyes still wide—she wasn’t letting go! Her eyes were still red; she didn’t realize her makeup had smeared slightly, with mascara leaving dark shadows under her eyes.

“I-I’m not hiding from them… well, I am, but I’m hiding from them for you,” Zuo Xian said. “I didn’t want them to discover it was you.”

The air went still for a moment. Then, in the corner of the street, Lu Xingxian looked at their joined hands and asked, “You were… trying to protect me just now?”

Zuo Xian’s eyes lit up, and she nodded quickly like a chick pecking at grain.

After a long pause, Lu Xingxian sighed softly and pulled the girl into her arms. Pressing her lips lightly against Zuo Xian’s forehead, she whispered, “Why are you so silly?”

Zuo Xian blinked but said nothing. She rubbed her eyes, still refusing to let go of Lu Xingxian’s hand. Standing on the line where light met shadow, she asked softly, “Axian, what did you think of the movie?”

Lu Xingxian thought for a moment and smiled. “Impressive. Looking at the trends for this year and next, this film will be a dark horse.”

She was always more rational and better at seeing the big picture than Zuo Xian.

The two continued walking together on the roadside, stepping through the half-melted snow. Zuo Xian kept her head down, not looking at the path. She whispered, “The part that stuck with me most was when the mother said, ‘Only when it’s gone do you realize what “gone” really means.’“

When that line was spoken, it was the moment the entire theater sobbed in unison. Zuo Xian remembered that in her previous life, many people had extracted that audio clip, and fans had even created numerous radio dramas based on it.

A massive earthquake had destroyed countless families. A resilient mother, looking at the ruins and her husband’s body, had uttered those words in despair.

In this life, the root of everything is life itself. When someone dies, everything truly is “gone.”

Lu Xingxian seemed to be thinking the same thing. She said warmly, “Yes. If a person dies… everything becomes empty.”

Zuo Xian suddenly stopped.

Because of the distance, their joined hands tugged. Lu Xingxian stopped and turned to look at her. A nearby shop emitted a warm yellow glow, with bursts of warmth escaping through the cracks of the door. The girl standing before her had eyes like bright stars. Her pink lips parted as she spoke slowly but firmly:

“Axian, in the past, you were always the one protecting me. I won’t make grand claims, but in the future, I will work hard to reach a position where I can stand by your side.”

Lu Xingxian’s pupils trembled; her throat felt tight.

“We have an engagement. When we get married in the future… I will definitely make sure I’m the last one to go,” Zuo Xian finished, her eyes curving into a smile. “Okay, Axian?”

Lu Xingxian immediately pulled Zuo Xian’s head toward her, pressing it hard against her chest. After a long while, Zuo Xian heard a voice from above, almost a mumble:

“Okay.”

They embraced for a moment before continuing their walk. Zuo Xian, having finally unburdened her heart, felt much lighter. However, as they stepped onto a curb, Lu Xingxian suddenly spoke softly:

“Actually, I thought… you called me out today to break off the engagement.”

Zuo Xian stumbled, nearly performing a very real-life faceplant on flat ground.