Drifting on a String - Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Just as they left the conference room, Tao Jin suddenly said, "Let's not go to Shiqi. It's too crowded there."

Chen Piaopiao was a celebrity; it was different from their usual get-togethers.

"OK," Arick got it instantly and pulled out her phone. "I'll find another spot then."

Tao Jin said, "Let's go to Le Pavi. You book a table first. They need an hour's notice, which is just enough time for me to go back and take a shower."

"That's expensive," Arick said with a cheeky grin. "We'll put it on the budget, then."

Tao Jin smiled. "Put it on my budget, how about that?" Not bothering to look at Arick's triumphant expression, Tao Jin called for A'Fay to head back to the dorms with her.

Chen Piaopiao watched her retreating back, a little fish swimming through her chest.

The whale had grown up. Colder, more distant, more inscrutable, but she had to admit, also more captivating.

Five years ago, Tao Jin had been the sun on earth. Five years later, she was the sun behind the clouds—warm and gentle, yet also high and remote.

The young assistant checked the directions on WeChat and followed them to Chen Piaopiao's dorm room. It was called a dorm, but they had actually booked out an entire designer guesthouse. It had antique-style carved beams and painted pillars, with a two-story building surrounding a square courtyard. The setting sun painted upon the flowers and plants, a cluster of light here, a patch of shadow there. A swing in the courtyard swayed in the breeze.

Chen Piaopiao's room was on the second floor—the best suite, which included a living room with the master bedroom in the back. The suitcases that had been sent over were already on the luggage rack. The young assistant sorted out her own things, adjusted the temperature and humidity for Chen Piaopiao, and then said her own room was right next door and that she was going to drop off her luggage.

"Thank you for your hard work," Chen Piaopiao said. "If you don't want to go to the dinner party, you don't have to."

She had seen her young assistant secretly searching for good takeout nearby.

"I can't. It's your first day, I'd be worried," the young assistant said, shaking her head. Though two years younger than Chen Piaopiao, she had the air of an older sister.

"Alright. I'll take a nap on the sofa, then. Come get me when it's time."

As the young assistant was about to close the door, she glanced back and saw Chen Piaopiao lying face down on the sofa, the irregular hem of her dress fanned out like a goldfish's tail. The color of the dress was too plain, and combined with Chen Piaopiao's pallor, it made the goldfish look like a polluted, dying one. For some reason, her heart suddenly softened.

She called out, "Sister Piao."

"Hm?" Chen Piaopiao opened her eyes.

The young assistant closed the door, poured a cup of hot tea, and handed it to her. Then she crouched down in front of her and asked, "Are they going to bully you?"

Bully?

That one word made Chen Piaopiao's mind race. She remembered someone else who had once held a pair of snow boots out to her with that same wholehearted concern, saying, If anyone bullies you, you have to tell me.

And now, someone else was asking if that very person's team would bully her.

Chen Piaopiao cradled the teacup. "Why would you say that?"

"That Arick, she seems really arrogant," the assistant said, even though she knew she probably shouldn't. But she wouldn't be here for long anyway. "She even called you 'the actress'."

"But aren't I an actress?" Chen Piaopiao tilted her head.

It was hard to explain.

Chen Piaopiao understood what she meant. She believed Arick was just joking, but she also knew that no true theater person would genuinely admire a high-traffic actress who got her start in short-form dramas. There were benefits to being direct.

She took a sip of tea. "They'll come to like me."

The corners of her lips hooked up, her eyes curving into a smile.

She was merely indulging a little in the past. But the whale wasn't the only one who had grown up. A fox that has rolled through the mud knows better how to fight.

Tens of thousands of people already liked her. She had even won over the notoriously difficult Director Sun, so why not Arick? Why not Tingting? Why not Fay?

Chen Piaopiao also took a shower, removed her makeup, and applied a primer. She changed into a tie-dye-style gauze dress. Having taken out her braids, her hair now fell in large, alluring waves. She arrived at Le Pavi with a simple, understated look. It was a French country-style restaurant with a long table set up in a courtyard under grapevines and strings of twinkling lights. Wooden wine barrels were stacked here and there, and the air was fragrant with the scent of mature fruit wine.

Arick and the others were already seated. Chen Piaopiao sat down across from them and said in a soft voice, "Arick, I couldn't find 'the drama of dust' you mentioned in the meeting earlier. Could you send me a link?"

That was something Arick had mentioned offhandedly while giving a screenwriting example. She was a little surprised. "Sure, let's add each other on WeChat."

She leaned forward, holding out her phone with the QR code. "Hit me up anytime you need anything."

"Does that include coming over to pet your dog?" Chen Piaopiao asked with a smile as she tapped her screen to add her.

"You know I have a dog?"

"Your profile picture. It's the same one from this afternoon, right? A West Highland Terrier?"

Arick, who loved her dog to death, immediately launched into a story. She said her dog was stubborn as hell and suffered from serious hair loss—if it were human, it would be bald.

Chen Piaopiao rested her chin in her hand, listening with a gentle smile, her eyes shimmering like spring water under the string lights.

Tingting was also listening, her cheek propped in her hand. She clicked her tongue and, out of the blue, complimented Chen Piaopiao, "I think you're genuinely beautiful."

The compliment was sincere. They saw celebrities all the time and were usually unfazed, but Chen Piaopiao had a lasting beauty. Especially at night, the edges of her skin seemed to blur, giving her an ethereal, dreamlike quality.

No wonder Director Sun had chosen her for The Dreamer. She really did seem like the person from a dream.

Chen Piaopiao nodded, even more sincerely than Tingting. "I think so too."

The table fell silent for a moment, then erupted in laughter. Tingting cackled like a duck. "You're hilarious."

They hadn't originally planned on casting a high-traffic actress for this play, so they were all a bit put out when Director Sun's assistant suddenly sent over Chen Piaopiao's profile one day. And when she'd arrived that afternoon, she really had the whole celebrity-on-the-town vibe—big sunglasses, full makeup, assistant in tow. She hadn't said a word, just stared at Tao Jin with that intense gaze of hers.

It was hard to form a good impression.

They hadn't expected her personality to be so likable.

The ice broke with surprising speed. After a bit more chatting, Tao Jin arrived.

She wore layered gray and black spaghetti-strap camisoles and athletic drawstring pants. Her center-parted hair, still carrying a damp fragrance, fell to her shoulders. Others from the team had been notified about the dinner, so the table was quite full. There happened to be an empty seat to Chen Piaopiao's right, and Tao Jin took it.

Chen Piaopiao caught the scent of her perfume.

It was still cedarwood, but not the Chloé one. This was Mefisto; the cedarwood in its base notes was sharper, more nobly austere and solitary.

Amidst that stirring, crisp fragrance, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and asked Arick across the table, "Have you ordered yet?"

"Already finished," Arick answered.

"Should I leave, then?"

Everyone laughed. Fay said, "The food hasn't arrived yet."

Tao Jin and Chen Piaopiao didn't greet each other or even look at one another. They chatted casually with the others, occasionally taking a bite of pizza. Before long, the fruit wine was served, and the atmosphere grew livelier. With a group of young people together, the conversation flowed freely. They talked about the play they were working on, current trends, some producer who had a meltdown on Weibo and called the audience "mountain boars who can't appreciate fine bran," and a musical where the actors were caught lip-syncing and the audience demanded refunds on the spot.

The juicier the gossip, the stronger the drinks became. A few normally serious faces flushed red, and a few usually reserved tongues loosened.

Tao Jin sat to one side, drinking quietly and occasionally joining the conversation.

Chen Piaopiao heard the sound of her own heart sinking. From the idle chatter, she pieced together a fact: Tao Jin had spent nearly a year in the UK and hadn't been back for very long.

So all this time she had been fruitlessly scrolling through Tao Jin's WeChat Moments, not even realizing the updates she was seeing were delayed by a time difference.

Later in the evening, a guy showed up—tall, thin, and rather flamboyant.

He seemed to be an actor everyone knew well, someone who had worked with them a few times. The moment he arrived, he sidled up to Tao Jin and started acting flirty.

"Jin! Aiya, long time no see! You must have missed me so much you've lost weight. Look at this little face of yours."

"You psycho," Fay cursed. "Get away from her!"

Even a gay man had to have some decency. She dared him to try and lay a hand on Tao Jin.

Tao Jin bit down on her straw, a smile playing on her lips—a smile that flickered in Chen Piaopiao's peripheral vision.

Chen Piaopiao was a little drunk. She could feel the alcohol sloshing inside her, making her dizzy. Her breaths were heavy as lead, as if goading her to do something.

She was about to lose control. The scent of cedarwood was stripping her reason bare, and the blood thrumming in her veins was ready to burst forth.

She wanted to sleep with Tao Jin. In her dreams, in reality, in her room, right here.

She hated this feeling—that Tao Jin was familiar with the whole world, yet a stranger only to her.

But she was the one who had bitten her neck. She was the one who had entered her body. She was the one who had made her murmur "no" and "more" in a daze. That had all been her.

What a bitter "once."

Chen Piaopiao slowly blinked her hot, heavy eyelids, forcing herself to calm down. She turned to the side to chat with her young assistant. Her voice grew softer, as did her gaze. She lowered her lashes, looking fragile and delicate. The hem of her dress brushed against the calf of her crossed leg, sending a ticklish tingle through her skin.

The young assistant's eyes followed her leg down and she suddenly pointed. "Sister Piao, you've got a bite right there."

"Oh?" Chen Piaopiao looked down to check, the end of her syllable trailing off like seaweed floating on water.

"See?" The young assistant reached out to scratch it. "Is it itchy?"

Please let it be a mosquito, she prayed, and not some weird bug from this old town.

"It is," Chen Piaopiao laughed softly, her breath trembling and her eyes misty. "It's really itchy now that you've scratched it."

Her voice was a mere whisper, a soft rustle. The young assistant felt her own face burn for some reason. "Oh, I didn't bring any insect repellent."

"It's alright. It's just one bite."

Chen Piaopiao pushed her hair to one side, sat up straight, and picked up some food.

After a few more bites, she suddenly heard Tao Jin's voice near her ear. "I think I forgot to tell you."

"Hm?"

"For rehearsals, it's best to wear simpler clothes so we can observe your physicality." She turned her head slightly to look at Chen Piaopiao.

Chen Piaopiao's gaze was captured by hers. She pressed her lips together, her eyes unconsciously sweeping over the tip of Tao Jin's nose and her lips.

The moment their eyes met, hers darted away.

"Got it. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Amidst the clinking glasses and lively chatter, they had exchanged this tiny snippet of conversation, so small it barely counted as an interaction.

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