Our Tender Harmony

Gold was Li Feiling’s color.

Jewelry, for one. Lighting, for another. Her suite, as if built specifically for her, had come with warm lights that cast the entire room in a gentle golden glow. Under it, her hair seemed to melt into chocolate waves. Her amber eyes softened, glittering as if they held the stars.

Without cameras to document the scene though, only Xia Ruyun and Han Jingyi would ever know. Together, the two of them sat at the table in the center of Li Feiling’s suite. Made of walnut, the table anchored the suite as a central island—its rounded edges sloping down and outward only aiding in its image.

Albeit at the cost of usability.

“The lengths people go for artistry,” Han Jingyi mumbled as her pen rolled off the table for the second time. Two times in five minutes though, she felt, represented an act of the heavens telling her of the table’s accursed nature.

“Are we not in an industry predicated on those exact lengths?” Xia Ruyun murmured as she underlined a couple lines. She lifted her foot onto her chair and propped her chin onto her knee as she continued reading. “But, yes, I would agree that this table was not designed with use in mind.”

“That’s a good point,” Han Jingyi twirled her pen between her fingers. Having lost her focus though, she looked towards the small kitchen area. “Senior Li, do you need any help?”

“No, no, I’m bringing the tea over now,” Li Feiling picked up a tray with three teacups and a now steaming pot of tea on it. Dressed in loungewear, her slippers dragged against the floor as she walked over. “Also, please, just call me Li Feiling, Feiling, or even Feiling-jie if you want, I truly don’t care. You’re already here in my suite late at night studying the script, and you’ve seen me without makeup in loungewear, there’s truly not a lot of dignity that needs preserving still.”

“Same,” Xia Ruyun murmured as she flipped a page.

“I-... I shall try,” Han Jingyi mustered with a weak smile. She cleared a space for the tea tray, and before Li Feiling could pour out the teacups, she snatched the teapot. “Please, let me do something at least.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t complain,” Li Feiling raised her hands, taking a seat while laughing. Wiping her hands with a napkin, she picked up her script. “So, the scene that you two share is tomorrow, then, the day after is when Han Jingyi and I share our scene. Plenty of time. Do you two feel good about your scene?”

“I feel... fine. This is my first real show after graduating from acting school so... obviously there are a few nerves...” Han Jingyi’s voice trailed off. “I’m more used to doing artsy films...”

“Ah, that is a very different style,” Li Feiling reached over, patting Han Jingyi on the shoulder. “There’s a lot more acting volume and a lot less time for rehearsal.”

“For sure... I’m not used to memorizing so many pages of script a day...” Han Jingyi warmed her hand on a cup of tea. “Anyway, what I mean to say with all my despondent mumblings is that I don’t really have any questions for now. I need to memorize a couple more pages first. Then I’ll go through and get some feedback from you.”

“Of course, of course, I’m here to help,” Li Feiling leaned back in her chair. She traced the edge of her script, but, faced with the already annotated and memorized page, her eyes wandered.

Her eyes wandered to the window. Dark outside. The rest of the world, seemingly, had already fallen asleep. The corporate world they acted to mimic had long since called it a day.

Her eyes wandered to the rest of the room. Her half-unpacked suitcase. Her skincare, peeking out from the crack left by the half-open bathroom door.

Her eyes wandered to Xia Ruyun, focused as always on her script. Her pen moved in slow strokes, yet each time it did, it left a trail of calligraphic characters. Li Feiling, herself, didn’t even notice as her eyes traced over Xia Ruyun’s knuckles.

Pale. Tinged with a faint redness.

Jade-like.

Her gaze deepened as she remembered their morning interaction. Their only interaction. The rest of the day, somehow, had their schedules completely misaligned.

What bad luck for the first day of shooting.

Lost in her own thoughts, Li Feiling reached out, grabbed her teacup and began taking sips.

Xia Ruyun, meanwhile, had just finished going over the last part of the script. With more corporate espionage on her agenda for the next day, she couldn’t help but feel a bit like a real-life spy.

It felt... cool.

A departure from any traditional role in an office drama.

She flipped back through the pages, reading out the lines under her breath one more time. Once done, she looked up. “Han Jingyi?”

“I’m still going over it a bit, sorry,” Han Jingyi pressed her hands together. “I would be down to practice the hand-off right now though?”

“Works for me,” Xia Ruyun stood up from her chair. Leaning backward, she let out a faint hum as she stretched. She walked over to the kitchen, unplugged her phone, and walked back. Sitting down at the table once more, she slid it to the center of the table. “Let’s use this as the prop?”

“Totally fine with me,” Han Jingyi set her script aside, flipping back to the front page to hide her lines. “Though, you start with the phone in your lap.”

“Ah-... yeah,” Xia Ruyun moved the phone to her lap with a shake of her head. One deep breath and one Li Feiling “Three, two, one,” later, she grabbed her phone from her lap. “It was so nice to meet you! Can we exchange contact information?”

“Oh, of course!” Han Jingyi beamed. She grabbed her own phone, offering it forward for Xia Ruyun, together, they exchanged phones, entering their contact info into the other’s. “Let’s meet up again sometime? Want to get a meal together again? Next week?”

“Yes, I would love to, just text, since I’m not too sure on my availability...” Xia Ruyun sighed, offering Han Jingyi’s phone back to her. “Does this look alright?”

Han Jingyi shifted her body, and together, she and Xia Ruyun leaned together to ensure the other had the correct contact information in the other’s phone. As they did, though, they blocked Li Feiling’s view for just a moment before pulling back apart. “Yes, that looks good, alright, thank you so much!”

As they pulled apart, they slid the phones in their hand back into their pockets, notably, without switching their phones back to their original owners.

“... And that’s it,” Xia Ruyun shrugged, looking towards Li Feiling. “There’s a couple more lines of pleasantries but that’s fairly basic. Thoughts, Feiling? We’ll be sitting at a table against the wall, which blocks people from seeing the lack of a switch from the other side.”

“I see...” Li Feiling tapped her chin. With her other hand, she motioned towards the tea. “Take a sip, take a sip. Overall, not bad at all. You both delivered your lines smoothly and the switch was quite seamless. I don’t think I would’ve noticed if... well, your phone cases are quite different.”

Xia Ruyun’s phone had maybe the most basic case amongst the entire cast. It was black, unadorned, and unbranded.

Han Jingyi’s phone case, meanwhile, was a pale sage green with a frog on the back. A decorative string of beads hung off the side, a relic of a ‘make a friendship bracelet’ workshop that she had attended back in college.

“True, also, here you go,” Xia Ruyun pulled the phone out of her pocket, offering it back to Han Jingyi who did the same.

“If I had to say anything, it would be to bring a touch of nervousness into each of your voices? You two just seem like friends, which... I mean, is great, but also you must remember that it’s both characters’ first time doing corporate espionage. People aren’t that calm and confident when they know they’re breaking the law, especially since it’s the first time,” Li Feiling offered, the finger she had been tapping her chin with pausing. “That’s all I’d really say. I’d say the mechanics with which you two delivered your lines was great. No real notes there.”

“That’s a good point...” Han Jingyi’s eyes lit up. “Thank you so much Senior L... Thank you so much, Feiling.”

Hearing Han Jingyi correct herself mid-sentence, both Xia Ruyun and Li Feiling looked at each other cracking a shared smile. Xia Ruyun, a second later, nodded her head and mouthed a ‘thank you.’

“Of course,” Li Feiling whispered back, reaching over and patting Xia Ruyun on the arm.

“Seniors, wait, waitwait! I had a burst of inspiration!” Han Jingyi broke into a wide smile. “I didn’t expect it, but I think you helped me understand my character in a different light. So, let me write this down, in the meantime... Ruyun, feel free to just practice your lines with Feiling, I need a second.”

Faced with... youthful enthusiasm, both Li Feiling and Xia Ruyun fell quiet. They exchanged another glance, and as they did, a thousand messages of ‘we’re old’ and ‘where does she get this energy at 11 PM’ passed between them.

“Sounds good, just take your time,” Xia Ruyun reached over, patting Han Jingyi on the head.

“Yes, take your time, digest your thoughts slowly, we’re in no rush,” Li Feiling patted Han Jingyi on the back. “Also sit up a little straighter, your back will thank you.”

“Thank you, Seniors!” Han Jingyi answered back, fixing her posture as a faint thought flashed through her mind.

Why do I feel like their child suddenly?