Actresses

Chapter 63 Old Friends

"Ranran? What are you thinking about?"

He Yuran only reacted after Jiang Fan called out to her repeatedly.

In the evening, the two took a walk along the West Lake and sat down on a bench. She had been lost in thought for a long time.

The mountains before her were already asleep, a half-moon hung in the sky, and a gentle breeze on the lake stirred up shimmering waves that came from afar, reflecting not only the lights of heaven and earth, but perhaps also her own thoughts.

The natural scenery and poetic atmosphere, combined with the light and shadow created by modern technology, give this place a unique poetic charm. Stepping into it is like entering a natural photography studio, where the heavens and earth have already provided the parameters; all you need to do is blink and look carefully, and every frame before your eyes will be the best scenery.

He Yuran looked up and saw that the clouds that night were long and thin, like several mountains floating in the sky, which no human could possibly climb. This made the azure lake in front of her even more beautiful and approachable.

"Ranran, look at this lake, it's unbelievably blue, like it was painted on," Jiang Fan said.

"Yes, shall we go check out the broken bridge later?"

"Let's wait until after 10 o'clock to see the Broken Bridge. There will be fewer tourists then, and you can see what the bridge looks like in its original state."

"You know so much about this? Do you come here often?"

Jiang Fan smiled and shook his head. "It's been almost ten years since I last came to Hangzhou. I was filming a drama in Hengdian back then, and I had a few days off, so I came here to have some fun. Unfortunately, I was young and didn't cherish it. I just wandered around and ate, and left in a hurry without even taking many photos."

He Yuran frowned sharply. "That time, you weren't alone, were you?"

Jiang Fan and He Yuran exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. "I didn't want to remember, but I still remembered. Yes, it was with my ex-husband."

He Yuran snorted. "I knew it."

"We were on a date during a break from filming. We were afraid of running into paparazzi, so we came to West Lake in the middle of the night. We didn't expect that once we got to the Broken Bridge, we couldn't get a taxi no matter how hard we walked. But we didn't feel tired at the time. We just kept walking and walked, and before we knew it, we had walked the whole Gushan Road. He told me that he thought he was going to walk until dawn."

"Looking back now, it was quite beautiful. Back then, he and you were in love."

"I didn't mean to deny the past, I just never thought that people could change so drastically. But the West Lake in front of me hasn't changed much compared to back then, so I say things have changed."

"But you've become better than before," He Yuran smiled.

Jiang Fan turned his head and stared at her intently. "Ranran, I think you've grown up so much. I used to think that our industry doesn't have a very good influence on an artist. If you gain fame and fortune, you'll inevitably give up some of your most precious things. But you've shattered my preconceived notions."

He Yuran shook her head. "Actually, I've changed a lot, but a lot has happened in the last few months. I think I'm slowly remembering why I love acting. These past few years, I feel like I've been trapped, completely unable to find a way out, like I'm drifting in one place. Fan, seeing you again seems to have brought back the inferiority complex and resentment I had in college, but that tenacity seems to have returned as well. I should say that through you, the present me and the me of the past have met again."

"Actually, you always talk about how I was back then, but the reason I have the motivation to come back to this industry now is because you came to me. And you've given me the biggest help. No matter what we were like back then, we are the most precious people now. So Ranran, you are already the best version of yourself."

"Fool, it's useless for us to just know whether we're good or not. We need to let more people know, we need to be ambitious. Otherwise, what's the point of you praising me and me praising you? Just because we're sitting here, does that mean we'll start filming a movie?" He Yuran said with a smile.

"Let's go to the Broken Bridge! Let's not just sit here and look at the bridge's dazzling lights, let's go for a walk." Jiang Fan suddenly stood up. "Dare to walk across together?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I can accompany you to walk the Lonely Mountain Road again."

The two got up and slowly walked towards the broken bridge, following the direction of the pedestrians.

"If we come in winter, we can see the Broken Bridge with its remaining snow. The part of the bridge where the snow melts first looks like it's broken off. Unfortunately, I didn't see it when we went on our date in the summer, and I still haven't seen it now," Jiang Fan said.

"Then let's come back in winter. I'll find you a film shoot in Hengdian during the winter. You'll suffer a bit, but I'll fly over and spend a few days with you, and we can go on dates, okay?"

"Great. I hope I'll have that opportunity."

"Don't get your hopes up. I'm serious. Just make sure you're not too bored to meet me in the dead of winter. I know my place; I can't compare to your ex-husband, who was so devoted when he was dating."

Jiang Fan couldn't help but laugh. "Ranran, only when you're young do you feel that love is worth risking everything for. Now, I don't feel that way at all. Family and friendship are all more important than love. Especially your boundless support for me, which I've never even received from my own family. So I will come with you without hesitation to see the Broken Bridge in the winter, and we must see even better scenery."

The two continued walking hand in hand. He Yuran, her eyes fixed ahead, suddenly blurted out, "Tell me, if we smashed all the streetlights with pebbles and trampled all the string lights along the roadside, would West Lake still be as beautiful as it is?"

"Then neither of us knows."

Why?

"We're both in jail, how would we know?" Jiang Fan said quietly. "We can only ask the police officers."

He Yuran laughed, "What, you've started telling jokes too!"

"It's still a bit chilly at night, but the lights make it feel warmer. Don't you think the lights at night are all warm? Especially in winter."

"You always think the best of things. It's just a few light bulbs. Besides, you've never seen West Lake in winter."

"We'll know next time we come together!" Jiang Fan rarely smiled.

After staying in Hangzhou for two days, He Yuran and Jiang Fan returned to Beijing. Although she didn't urge Shi Jiahe, she was indeed preoccupied with the script's progress.

At He Yuran's insistence, Shi Jiahe showed her the first five episodes on a projector at the company, saying that the first draft had already been revised.

He Yuran was quite excited. "Is it just my imagination? It seems better than some of the dramas I've watched. And I imagined that if we actually made a movie together, it would be pretty good."

"How could it be a misperception?" Shi Jiahe said. "Boss, you have to trust your own judgment."

"Sometimes, even the most confident person finds it hard to be..." He Yuran paused, "...absolutely confident. After all, I've mostly read movie scripts before, and I don't watch many domestic dramas to begin with, plus this matter involves myself—"

He Yuran didn't continue. But Shi Jiahe had already picked up on the unspoken message. It was perfectly normal for He Yuran to lose confidence after a series of film failures in recent years.

"Ran-jie, I feel like you haven't been in a good mood lately. Like the other day you kept asking me what day it was, it's probably because you're too anxious. Why don't you go back and rest now? I'll keep you company?"

"Hmm." He Yuran nodded, but after thinking about it, she still felt uneasy. "I can't say it's a definite feeling, but my mind is just vague, like it's reminding me that I've forgotten something."

"Then go back and get a good night's sleep." Shi Jiahe turned off the projector.

"You also think it was the right thing to decline that interview, right?"

Shi Jiahe blinked. "An interview?"

He Yuran realized for the first time that Shi Jiahe was unaware of her feelings. Hadn't Ding Yi told her? Oh well, she'd already been rejected, there was no point in saying anything more. So she stood up. "It's okay, you stay at the company and keep busy, I can go back by myself."

"No, boss, what kind of interview are you talking about?" Shi Jiahe's expression was clearly a little nervous.

He Yuran waved her hand. "I'm sleepy."

He yawned as he spoke. Then he walked past Shi Jiahe and quickly left the conference room.

Unless there's something important to confirm, He Yuran never sets an alarm clock unless she's woken up by a phone call. So she slept until her jet lag was messed up again, and the next day was the same.

By noon on the third day, He Yuran felt like a cup filled with water, unable to withstand even a drop of new sleep. So she got up and started moving around.

I checked my phone's backlog of messages, and the top one was a long WeChat message from Shi Jiahe. It basically said: "Boss, you didn't answer the phone. I'm relaying the platform's feedback. Wei Ning said that if the three currently confirmed lead actors could invest their salaries as equity, it would significantly reduce upfront investment, making it easier for the platform to approve the project. Also, the script is now in the final stages of preparation."

He Yuran replied, "Understood. Just let me know if you need my cooperation."

Then he casually tossed his phone aside.

But she felt like she'd missed something, so she scrolled up the messages and found a long message from Shi Jiahe. It said something about a change on Zhuang Pan's end: "Boss, Sister Shi told me that the production team for that serious drama recently came back to her. They don't know what they heard, but they're renegotiating the terms." Although they were surprised that the production team had suddenly become so proactive, Sister Shi confided to me that it shouldn't affect the fundamental choice. But I felt I should still tell you, so we can be prepared.

He Yuran chuckled. It seemed Chen Yueming wasn't so stubborn after all. But she wondered if Shi Jiahe would be angry if she knew this was all because of her boss. Oh well, better go back to sleep.

However, that strong intuition compelled her to open her eyes again.

He Yuran scrolled through the hundred or so unread messages again and was surprised to see a name he hadn't contacted in a long time.

She stared at those three words for a long time, her memories being pulled back to ten years ago.

At that time, He Yuran had already established herself with the success of two big-screen works and was noticed by the most famous artist management company in China. The company was very sincere, not only offering a sky-high signing fee, but also promising five big-budget films over five years. He Yuran thought the terms of the management contract were quite generous.

For film actors at the time, it coincided with the most prosperous era of cinema. Films had huge budgets, star-studded casts, and box office revenues were climbing to unprecedented heights that filmmakers had never dared to imagine before.

This industry is like it's gone mad. In the words of He Yuran's boss at the time.

But while everyone was chasing big-budget, big-cast movies, a young actor went against the grain and told his boss that he only wanted to act in small-budget films.

That person is the one who sent the WeChat message at this moment.

A name that had been buried in He Yuran's memory for five years.

Li Luoan.