usenovelgroup Chapter 46 Waiting, Zhang Ziyi's Phone Call
Chapter 46 Waiting, Zhang Ziyi's Phone Call
These past two days, Li Si'an has finally learned what it means to be exhausted.
It's alright during the day. There's a lot going on in the store; Chen Dong is in charge of the video arcade, while he has to keep an eye on the counter.
The cassette tapes need to be restocked, and the posters need to be updated. Wen Kai's shop at Xiushui Street has received a few new summer outfits. I asked him when we could pick them up.
When I get busy with all sorts of things, I don't have time to think about anything else.
But as soon as he has a moment of free time—sitting behind the counter, or leaning back in his chair after a meal—the name Xu Zhongming buzzes in like a fly, impossible to shoo away.
He lived to be forty in his previous life, which meant he was just an ordinary programmer.
He coded in an office building in Zhongguancun, changing requirements when the client changed them and doing what the boss approved. His life was like an assembly line, following the same routine.
The idea of remaining unmoved even if Mount Tai collapses before you—he doesn't possess that kind of profound skill. He didn't in his past life; he's just a different person in this one, but deep down he's still Li Si'an.
So right now, he was feeling incredibly anxious, like he was being scratched by a cat, and he really couldn't take it anymore.
But he couldn't rush him. His uncle told him to wait for news, so he could only wait. Each day felt like a year.
In the morning, Tang Yun and Hu Jing were doing their homework upstairs.
Hu Jing would come every few days, bringing over math problems she had accumulated over several days to ask Li Si'an.
This girl isn't unintelligent; she just doesn't have a solid foundation. She can understand a problem even if you explain it twice.
Li Si'an is able to calm down and focus when explaining problems.
Solving problems has a definite answer: right is right, and wrong is wrong. It's much more satisfying than waiting for Xu Zhongming's reply.
Around eleven o'clock, Hu Jing put down her pen, packed her things, and prepared to leave. Li Si'an saw her downstairs, and when she opened the door, the June sun was already scorching, making the air feel hot and humid.
Hu Jing opened a small floral umbrella, turned around and waved to him, then walked away, her plastic sandals clicking on the floor.
Li Si'an stood at the shop entrance, watching her retreating figure turn the corner. The street was nearly deserted, and the cicadas' incessant chirping was irritating.
The gates of the affiliated high school of Beijing Dance Academy across the street were tightly closed, and there wasn't a soul in sight on the playground. He stood at the gate for a while, seemingly looking at something, before finally turning around and going back behind the counter.
I sat down, and my hand unconsciously reached for the phone. I picked it up, then put it down again.
There's still no news from my uncle, and urging him won't help.
He rearranged the tape rack on the counter and checked the ledger again—actually, there was nothing to check, as Chen Nan kept clear records, with every purchase and sale item written down clearly.
After checking everything, he closed the ledger and leaned back in his chair.
There was a copy of "Audio-Visual World" on the counter, with Jacky Cheung on the cover. He picked it up, flipped through a couple of pages, and put it down again. He didn't read a single word.
Tang Yun came downstairs, carrying two cups. She handed one cup of tea to Li Si'an and kept the other for herself, then sat down next to him.
"Still thinking about it?"
"No." Li Si'an picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Tang Yun glanced at him but didn't call him out. She leaned on his shoulder and quietly drank her tea. The two of them sat there, the only sound in the shop being the hum of the fan.
Around noon, the phone rang downstairs.
Li Si'an paused for a moment, holding her teacup, then stood up and walked towards the counter. Reaching it, she took a deep breath and picked up the microphone.
"Feed?"
"Li Si'an! It's me!"
Zhang Ziyi's voice, even through the phone line, exudes a fiery and energetic spirit.
Li Si'an plopped down in a chair, the tension in her chest finally released. It wasn't her uncle.
"Hey, Happy Zhang. You're still alive?"
"You're the one who's dead!" Zhang Ziyi laughed on the other end. "I'm almost done filming! I'll be back in Beijing in a few days!"
"How's it going? What's it like being a big star?"
"What big star? Let me tell you, this production crew is dirt poor." Zhang Ziyi spoke rapidly, like a machine gun:
"We're staying in a school dormitory in Kunming, and guess what? It's almost the same as our dorm at the Beijing Dance Academy! Bunk beds! I thought we'd stay in hotels when filming movies!"
Li Si'an chuckled: "So you were happy for nothing?"
"That's right!" Zhang Ziyi got more and more excited as she spoke:
"There's something even worse. The character I played had bone cancer, and most of the scenes were filmed in the hospital ward. I was lying in bed every day. The director told me to lie down, so I just lay down."
"After lying in bed for so many days, I feel like I'm about to get bedsores on my butt."
"Pressure ulcers?" Li Si'an laughed. "Do you even know what pressure ulcers are? You have pressure ulcers?"
"I heard it from the crew! It's that thing from lying down for too long!"
"That's something only paralyzed patients have."
"Isn't my character just someone who can't move his legs? Pretty much!" Zhang Ziyi said confidently.
Li Si'an leaned back in her chair, laughing heartily. The anxiety of the past few days had been somewhat alleviated by this phone call.
"Alright, let's talk about it when we get back. Hurry up and finish filming so you can come back."
"Okay, okay. I'm hanging up now, the director's calling me."
The call ended. Li Si'an put the receiver back and sat for a while.
Zhang Ziyi's call came at just the right time; it at least made him laugh a few times. He stood up, drank the now-cold tea in his cup in one gulp, and went upstairs.
Tang Yun looked up at him.
"Who is it?"
"Zhang Ziyi said the movie is almost finished filming and she'll be back in a few days."
Tang Yun smiled slightly, said nothing, and lowered her head to continue reading her English book. Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on her profile and casting a soft golden hue on her hair.
Li Si'an sat down in the chair and took out the drafts of the sheet music from the drawer. "Fairy Tale," "Running," and "The First Time." He had given the sheet music to his uncle, but kept the drafts himself.
He spread the sheet music on the table and looked at it again from beginning to end. Every note was correct, every line of lyrics was correct. He had confidence in his work.
But despite having confidence, waiting for news is still a painful experience.
He put the sheet music away and tucked it back into the drawer.
When evening came, the shop closed and the roller shutters were pulled down. The noise from the video arcade also stopped, and Chen Dong locked the back door and went home.
The only light left in the entire building was the table lamp on the second floor, its orange glow illuminating a small area.
Li Si'an leaned against the headboard, staring at the ceiling. The thoughts that had been suppressed during the day by Zhang Ziyi's phone call resurfaced completely by night.
Will Xu Zhongming accept the offer? If he does, how will he negotiate terms? If he doesn't accept, what are his options?
These thoughts swirled in my mind like a revolving lantern, one coming down and another coming up.
When Tang Yun came out of the bathroom, her hair was still wet, and she idly dried it with a towel. She walked over barefoot in a pair of plastic slippers and bent down to reach for the hand cream on the bedside table.
Li Si'an grabbed her waist from behind and pulled her close. Tang Yun fell backward into his arms, the towel in her hand falling to the ground.
"Hey—what are you doing? My hair isn't dry yet—"
Li Si'an didn't answer, but rolled over and pinned her down.
(Turn on the light)
After all that fuss, Tang Yun was completely exhausted. Her hair was still wet and spread out on the pillow.
She curled up next to him, her breathing shallow and rapid, and it took her a long time to catch her breath.
Her chest heaved, and a small patch of sweat glistened in the hollow of her collarbone under the lamp. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she hummed incoherently, whether it was a complaint or something else, it was hard to tell.
Li Si'an was drenched in sweat, but felt surprisingly relaxed.
The lump in my throat during the day—the anxiety, unease, and restless thoughts—seemed to have drained away with the sweat. My mind is blank; I don't want to think about anything, and I'm too lazy to think.
He reached out and pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed shoulders. Tang Yun, still half asleep, snuggled closer to him, her face pressed against his arm, her breathing becoming heavy and long.
He felt sticky all over; he should take a shower. The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. Forget it, he didn't want to move. He'd do it tomorrow morning.
Outside the window, the shadows of the trees in Zizhuyuan Park swayed in the wind. He stared at the ceiling for less than a minute before his eyelids grew heavy. He slept soundly until dawn.