The call disconnected, and Ruan Yu frowned. She opened Xu Huaisong's WeChat chat, swiped back and forth a few times, then put her phone down. After a while, she picked it up again.
Was it really just a dead battery, or was there another reason?
Xu Huaisong had a history of overworking. The first few days in the U.S. were likely rough due to jet lag, then he pulled an all-nighter last night and spent the entire day in court today. Could something have happened to his health?
Otherwise, why would he have gone to bed as early as six o'clock?
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became, her eyes gradually filling with worry.
The other screenwriters in the car asked if something was wrong.
Ruan Yu shook her head to indicate everything was fine, but when she lowered her gaze, she felt a sense of helplessness.
She was so far away from Xu Huaisong and didn’t know any of his friends. How could she confirm he was safe?
She fiddled with her phone, scrolling repeatedly, until her finger suddenly paused over Lü Shenglan’s WeChat chat.
The overwhelming unease left no room for hesitation. She tapped the cursor and typed: Ms. Lü, I apologize for disturbing you so late, but I can’t reach Huaisong and I’m a little worried. Would you mind asking his roommate if he’s doing alright?
The scenery outside the window blurred past as Ruan Yu pressed send.
But Lü Shenglan probably didn’t use WeChat often, so there was no immediate reply.
The car exited the highway and entered Su City. By the time they reached the entrance of No. 1 High School, Ruan Yu finally received a message: Hold on, I’ll check.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief and stepped out of the car, immediately spotting Xu Huaishi waving at her from the school gate. “Sis!”
Ruan Yu blinked in surprise, exchanged a quick word with the other screenwriters, then walked over. “It’s freezing—why are you out here?”
“Waiting for you!” Huaishi peeked behind her. “The actors didn’t come with you?”
Ruan Yu smiled helplessly. “They’ll arrive in the evening. Want to keep waiting?”
Huaishi immediately looped her arm through Ruan Yu’s. “Nah, sticking with you guarantees I’ll see the stars.”
Ruan Yu gave her a sidelong glance, one arm held by Huaishi while the other checked her phone again.
“What are you looking at, sis?”
“I can’t reach your brother. I’m a little worried.”
“Huh? Since when?”
“About an hour ago. His calls went straight to voicemail.”
“Weird, I talked to him just two hours ago.”
Ruan Yu froze—that must have been shortly before Zhou Jun tried contacting Xu Huaisong.
“He was okay?”
Huaishi huffed. “Yeah, just sounded really tired. I woke him up, and he was super grumpy. Said his phone was about to die and told me to hang up.”
Ruan Yu exhaled in relief.
So he really had just fallen asleep and his phone died. She’d let her worry run wild, imagining all sorts of things—even reaching out to Lü Shenglan.
She was about to send a message telling her not to bother when another text came through: Asked his roommate. He’s asleep in his room. Want me to wake him?
Ruan Yu quickly replied: No need, let him rest. Thanks for checking.
With the weight off her mind, she relaxed and turned to Huaishi, eyeing her knee-length school skirt. “Aren’t you cold in just that?”
“The crew’s coming to film our New Year’s fireworks event tonight. Classes were canceled this afternoon, and my classmates and I signed up as extras. Gotta look good, right?”"With thousands of people on the field in the middle of the night, and fireworks exploding everywhere causing chaos, who could possibly recognize anyone?"
"Then why did you wear a short skirt to the fireworks show eight years ago, sis?"
Ruan Yu choked up. This was the tragedy of having every detail of one's romantic history exposed to the public.
She sighed, "If I'd known your brother would like me even if I bundled up like a bear, I wouldn't have been silly enough to freeze myself."
The two chatted as they walked inside.
Xu Huaishi asked excitedly, "Sis, are you heading to the field now?"
Ruan Yu nodded.
"But you'll be freezing there until nightfall! My brother would be heartbroken."
"It's work. I've got warming patches on, it's fine."
"The actors haven't arrived yet, and the crew is still setting up. You'd just be sitting around if you go now. Why not come shopping with me? Tonight I'll invite some classmates to celebrate together—I'll treat you to barbecue!"
Ruan Yu shook her head, "You go with your classmates. Our director is notoriously strict in the industry. Asking for leave on the first day wouldn't look good."
Xu Huaishi looked crestfallen, "But I already bragged to everyone that my future sister-in-law is in the crew..."
The term "future sister-in-law" gave her a sense of responsibility and mission. After a pause, she said, "Let me ask then."
Ruan Yu called the director. Before she could finish explaining, a male voice chuckled on the other end, "Oh, you came this early? I must have forgotten to notify you—you only need to arrive by 10 PM."
She froze, "Then what about now—"
"Don't come freeze on the field in this cold. We'll notify you when the actors arrive."
Hanging up, she saw Xu Huaishi's expectant face, "Well? Was the director reasonable?"
Ruan Yu nodded blankly.
What golden director? What notorious strictness? He was as gentle as her father.
That evening, Ruan Yu left campus with Xu Huaishi and a group of student extras, heading to a nearby barbecue joint.
The simple decor radiated warmth—barbecue, soda, chattering students, silly truth-or-dare games. All of it together filled the void left by Xu Huaisong's absence, giving her a real sense of holiday spirit that made her heart feel young again.
After noisy revelry until 9 PM, she received a message from Xu Huaisong: I'm awake. What are you up to?
Completely relieved, she told Xu Huaishi and stepped outside to call him.
The call connected instantly. Shivering in the cold wind but smiling, she said, "I'm having barbecue with Huaishi and her classmates. Youth is wonderful—makes me wish I was seventeen again."
Xu Huaisong chuckled, his voice slightly hoarse from sleep, "What's so great about seventeen? Not even legal age yet."
Ruan Yu paused, about to ask what legal age he meant, when he added, "Couldn't even drink baijiu then."
"..." He'd really taken a liking to that liquor.
During the silence, car horns sounded through the phone.
"You're outside?" Ruan Yu asked in surprise.
"Yeah, driving out for breakfast."
"Then focus on driving—we'll talk later."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Ruan Yu checked the time and gathered the students to return to campus.The playground had been fully set up, brightly lit on all sides. Several massive cameras stood on the green field, while extras sat in the stands on standby. Crew members bustled about busily below the stage.
After parting ways with Xu Huaishi, Ruan Yu greeted the director and walked over to the actors' tent. There, she saw Li Shican and Sun Miaohan dressed in Suzhou No.1 High School uniforms, rehearsing their lines with scripts in hand.
She sat down across from them and had just rubbed her hands together when Li Shican handed her a hot water bottle: "We have an extra one. Here you go."
She thanked him and casually asked, "How's the rehearsal going?"
Sun Miaohan patted her chest confidently: "No problem at all!"
Li Shican also nodded: "We're good."
Seeing their overconfident expressions, Ruan Yu didn't feel entirely reassured and cautioned them: "Don't underestimate this scene just because the male lead only has one six-word line. Actually, it contains the most intense emotions in the entire film. It's like a fountain pump reaching maximum pressure, then being abruptly restrained right at the brink of eruption... Expressing without dialogue is the hardest part. I was actually wondering why they chose to film this scene first."
Sun Miaohan quickly said, "Probably to save budget—we have ready-made extras and atmosphere props here."
Ruan Yu nodded, then frowned slightly and whispered, "But why does it have to be exactly at midnight?"
The weather seemed fine—wouldn't it be better to finish early and wrap up? She still wanted to video call Xu Huaisong.
Sun Miaohan chuckled awkwardly, scratching her head without an answer, and nudged Li Shican with her elbow.
Li Shican went "Oh" and explained, "Uncle Cen values symbolism. He thinks it's auspicious, so he insisted the first scene must be filmed exactly at midnight. I think it's a nice meaning, right, Miaohan?"
"Right, right! Very nice!"
Ruan Yu blinked dryly and picked up her phone to complain to Xu Huaisong: This crew is unbelievable. From the investors to the director to the actors, everyone seems a bit off.
Huaisong: When you think the whole world is abnormal, maybe you should reflect on whether the abnormal one is actually yourself.
Ruan Yu: What's with you? Got knives hidden in your words?
Huaisong: Making my girlfriend angry and then coaxing her back is one of life's little pleasures.
Ruan Yu: You seem off too... Maybe I really am the abnormal one...
Putting down her phone, Ruan Yu waited resentfully for midnight.
By 11:30 PM, the director finally called the thousands of extras to their positions on the field. Then at 11:50, the two leads walked onto the green.
Crew members scurried about confirming lighting and firework positions. At 11:55, someone called Ruan Yu's name: "Sis Ruan, could you come check the camera angle?"
Just as she was about to video call Xu Huaisong for the New Year countdown, Ruan Yu set down her phone and stood up in confusion.
Why would they need her opinion on camera angles? She wasn't "Director Ruan."
Led to the center of the field, Ruan Yu listened as the director spouted technical jargon she barely understood, finally catching one clear sentence: "Xiao Ruan, the first scene isn't about the leads—it's a wide shot. Just stand here and see if the setting matches your original novel."
"..."
Though she'd never worked on a film before, this process felt strange. Hesitantly, she asked, "Director, isn't this the center point? Won't I be in the shot if I stand here?"
The director said "No" and launched into another round of technical explanations.She listened in a daze, and by the time she snapped out of it, it was already 11:59.
The director slapped his thigh with an "Oh no!" and shouted through the megaphone, "Countdown ready!" Then he solemnly instructed her, "Make sure you stand right on this spot, look up, and feel it with your heart!"
"..."
Ruan Yu began to suspect she had stumbled upon some bizarre, half-hearted film crew.
Under the director's command, the surrounding extras crowded around her in a circle, while she stood at the very center of the field like a duck being forced onto a perch, gazing up at the deep blue sky.
The Milky Way stretched overhead, with countless stars shining brilliantly.
The countdown began from all sides: "Five, four, three, two..."
As the word "one" fell, fireworks exploded, silver blossoms of fire soaring into the sky, painting the horizon in a riot of colors.
At the same moment, a hand grasped Ruan Yu's.
She nearly screamed, the "Ah!" already on her lips, but she turned her head first and saw the owner of the hand.
In the flickering light, she saw a man dressed in a sharp suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking down at her with a smile.
Xu Huaisong.
Xu Huaisong, who should have been over ten thousand kilometers away at this very moment.
Ruan Yu's mouth fell open in shock, her mind reeling. She stiffly turned her head to look at the smiling faces of everyone around them and finally understood.
Movies were never filmed like this.
There had never been any magical film crew—only bought hearts. Over a thousand bought hearts.
She stared at Xu Huaisong, her heart belatedly pounding in sync with the fireworks exploding overhead.
But this time, even after the fireworks faded, he didn't let go of her hand.
As if sensing what was about to happen, Ruan Yu swallowed nervously.
Though surrounded by over a thousand people, not a single sound was made. Everyone was waiting for Xu Huaisong to speak.
Then, under the bright, daylight-like lights, they saw him holding his leading lady's hand and saying, "Eight years ago on this day, I told a lie here, deceiving the girl I liked. Eight years later on this same day, I deceived her again, making over a thousand people lie for me all day. So many lies, all to explain the very first one—to tell her that though I once spoke nothing but lies, from beginning to end, I've only ever had one heart that loved her.
Because I liked her, I never told her that ten minutes before the fireworks that year, I had been standing on the high bleachers, only spotting her looking around in the crowd in the last thirty seconds before jumping down from the railing.
Because I liked her, I never told her that it wasn't just the bleachers—I had searched for her over and over in the gym equipment room, the library reading hall, the cafeteria serving window, the computer lab in the teaching building...
Because I liked her, I never told her that their class's assigned cleaning area was always filthy, yet on her duty days, not a single fallen leaf could be found—not because she was lucky, but because I had secretly cleaned it all up.
Because I liked her, I never told her that the math mock exam that year wasn't hard at all, and that I only went to the office to ask questions to glean information about her from her father, committing every word about her to memory.
Because I liked her, I never told her too many secrets, choosing to give up before even speaking. But still, because I liked her, I ultimately spent eight years circling back to this day, returning to stand before her once again."Xu Huaisong smiled as he spoke, then took out a deep blue ring box and opened it, kneeling on one knee before her.
The surrounding crowd finally couldn't hold back their gasps and cheers.
Yet Ruan Yu felt a lump form in her throat, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. The diamond ring and him reflected in her eyes seemed even more dazzling than the stars in the sky.
Looking up at her, Xu Huaisong continued, "I came here today, hoping to spend the next eight years, eighteen years, eighty years telling her all the secrets from eight years ago about how much I loved her. I want to ask if she's willing to listen. So, Ruan Yu, will you marry me?"
—Ruan Yu, will you marry me?
Before this moment arrived, she had thought that as a romance writer, she would have many creative responses to this question.
Romantic ones. Unique ones. Groundbreaking ones.
But when this moment truly came, she found herself losing all ability to think amidst the overwhelming silence.
Just as the only possible response to "I love you" seems to be "I love you too," she couldn't come up with any extraordinary words.
Ordinary and insignificant as they were, when faced with love, they ultimately fell into what might be called a clichéd ending.
And like all loved girls in the world, at this moment, her eyes welled up with hot tears. She nodded solemnly at the man gazing at her and told him, "I do."
[————End of Main Story————]
Author's Note: Thank you all for your support over these two months for my first contemporary romance novel. The physical book will likely be published next year. The online epilogues will start being posted this Sunday—allow me a couple days to rest first. My next book will be either "Wine and Beauty" or "The Tyrant and the Delicate Flower"—the title might change before publishing, so you can bookmark it now to avoid missing it! For those willing to continue supporting, please "gracefully lift your noble hands" to follow me by clicking the author bookmark in my column! See you this Sunday for the epilogues.
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