Our Tender Harmony

In another section of the hotel, a dining section had been cordoned off for a more private dinner. All but one table by the window table. On it, a candle flickered as atmospheric decoration as the surrounding lights had been dimmed to give the room a more cozy look. Coincidence or not, the table itself overlooked one of the hotel’s grassy courtyards. The one where a certain so-called Movie Prince had chosen to host his gathering. At the table though, sat Chu Changfeng and two young women in their early twenties: Han Jingyi and Liu Fangjie.

Unlike another gathering where all the men had dressed in casual clothing for a night of beer and games, the three of them dressed as if they had a red-carpet walk coming up. Han Jingyi and Liu Fangjie both wore long gowns and sparkling heels. Chu Changfeng, on the other hand, wore a tight-fitted just-ironed tailored tuxedo.

For their gathering, Chu Changfeng had ordered a seven-course meal from the cooks, and within ten minutes of sitting down, the waiters had begun serving the first course.

“Eat as much as you want,” Chu Changfeng swirled a glass of whisky. He sat back in his chair, and crossed his legs into an ankle-on-knee cross. “How are you two doing? Adapting well to the set?”

“Yes, thank you for the help,” Han Jingyi nodded, her voice quiet. After she spoke, her red lips pressed into a line.

Not a second later, Liu Fangjie flashed a brilliant smile and leaned closer towards the center of the table. “It’s been great! I’ve really been enjoying this show! It’s been so wonderful to act alongside you!”

“Of course, I’m here for you two whenever,” Chu Changfeng tapped a finger against his glass.

Clink.

He swept his eyes to the side, scanning the party unfolding below.

Clink. Clink.

Oblivious to his lack of focus, Liu Fangjie began heaping on the praise, showering Chu Changfeng with “the best senior in the whole world” and “the light of her acting life.” Han Jingyi, meanwhile, murmured a “thank you” to the two waiters as they finished setting out the dishes.

Yet, as she looked down at the braised fish with golden flakes framed with fresh leaves sitting in front of her, she couldn’t help but to feel a prickle in her heart.

She frowned as she picked up her utensils and her mind wandered.

Somehow, the food in front of her just seemed less appetizing while sitting across from Chu Changfeng. Somehow, even though she would be working, even though she wouldn’t have good food, she felt she’d rather go back to the night before, hanging out with Li Feiling and Xia Ruyun.

Sitting at the table in Li Feiling’s room felt so much... warmer, kinder, and safer.

“Just take your time.”

“Sit up a little straighter, your back will thank you.”

Those two phrases echoed in her mind, and, for a second until she pushed the feeling away, Han Jingyi wished she could put down her utensils and walk back upstairs.

Why am I here... just for my career?

Her little conflict though, did not go unnoticed. Across the table, Chu Changfeng frowned as he watched her pick at her food with a distant sigh.

She’s comparing this to something... but what?

After a second, he shelved the thought. Responding to Liu Fangjie’s compliments with a practiced set of gentle smiles and a couple of “truly, you overpraise me”s, he let his mind wander back to his original line of thought.

I wonder if I could use Jingyi to get Feiling or Ruyun to come to dinner...

Feiling oh Feiling...

I just need to take every person in your life one-by-one. Then you’ll know my inevitability.

---

Li Feiling returned to the hotel at nine in the evening, three hours later than planned. Worn to the bone, she looked messier than a raccoon coming out of a trashcan. The advertisers, though, happy with her work, had gifted her with a couple outfits on the spot from the modeling shoot.

She and Ye Shuhua, as a result, hauled the new outfits back to her suite on the fifteenth floor. Once settled, she took a quick shower and shot off a text to Xia Ruyun.

[Li Feiling: Sorry! Been really occupied! Want to practice some lines together / hang out?]

A couple minutes later, just as Li Feiling considered going down a floor to check on Xia Ruyun, a text came back.

[Xia Ruyun: Sure, be right there]

[Xia Ruyun: cat_march_sticker.jpg]

---

Though they both met up with the intention of getting some work done, Li Feiling had practiced enough of her lines during the drives and Xia Ruyun, while waiting for Li Feiling, had also finished practicing her lines.

Truly, excuses could always be found by those with the eyes to look for them.

In the end, neither woman managed an iota of work. Instead, somehow, they ended up sprawled across the couch, resting and chatting to let out the residual stress of the day.

Li Feiling dried her hair with a towel as Xia Ruyun scrolled through her phone, sorting through her somehow never-ending inflow of messages. Halfway through, she paused again, a note of amusement appeared in her voice. “Wu Linjie texted me again.”

“Oh?” Li Feiling ran a brush through her still-damp hair.

“He’s asking how his Esteemed Sister Feiling is doing,” Xia Ruyun teased, turning her phone so Li Feiling could read.

“Tell him that his Esteemed Sister Feiling would rather that he asked her himself,” Li Feiling rolled her eyes and snorted.

Xia Ruyun shot off a text, but when Wu Linjie refused, and instead asked her to carry a message for him, she just sighed. “You know, what if I just made a group chat with the three of us. Maybe that’d help Linjie overcome his fear for his Esteemed Sister Feiling.”

“You-” Li Feiling shook her head with a faint laugh. “There’s truly no need for you to call me that either.”

“No, no, I should show proper respect, shouldn’t I?” Xia Ruyun’s eyes twinkled as she turned to Li Feiling and fluttered her eyes. “An esteemed Movie Queen, I can’t afford to offend you... I’ve seen what you do in those cultivation dramas.”

Wha-???

Li Feiling froze for a second.

So long, yet so short.

In just that second, a few unmentionable thoughts flashed through her mind before snapped back to attention. Shocked at where her mind went, she shook her head and facepalmed while sighing. “I don’t even know what to do when you say that.”

Xia Ruyun, after watching Li Feiling stiffen up like a scarecrow, suppressed a chuckle. “Then don’t do anything, Esteemed Sister Feiling.”

“YOU! At this rate you’re just asking for it!” Li Feiling raised her fist, laughing as Xia Ruyun scampered away to the other end of the couch.

“See! Your true colors show!” Xia Ruyun threw her hands up in feigned fear. Before she could continue her act though, Li Feiling’s phone began buzzing. Dropping the matter, she slid back over. “Want me to step out?”

“No need, it’s just Shuhua,” Li Feiling stood up, grabbing her towel as she did. Walking to the other side of the room, she dried her hair with one hand while holding the phone with her other. “What’s up?”

Xia Ruyun, after confirming everything seemed fine, returned to her phone. With a few taps, she created a new group chat with Li Feiling and Wu Linjie.

Click. Click...

Hmm...

What theme would go well for this group chat?

...What if I do a daycare theme?

[Xia Ruyun has changed the name of the group chat to “Li-Xia Foster Shelter”]

Snorting, she suppressed a fit of laughter. After sending a couple of greeting messages, she turned back to her previous scrolling.

---

A couple hours later, as the clock neared midnight, Li Feiling and Xia Ruyun sat in quiet silence, enjoying the serenity as they both just rested.

“You know, I haven’t seen Gao Qian around?” Li Feiling asked after responding to some messages from Ye Shuhua. “And you don’t have an assistant, but you mentioned something about the company with that.”

“Mn, yeah, the company said they’ll consider one after our movie comes out,” Xia Ruyun rolled over to face Li Feiling. A flicker of melancholy flashed through her eyes. “Gao Qian is always busy though, she’s prioritizing some other artists, whether on her own volition or because of company orders, so it’s honestly like I don’t particularly have a manager or assistant.”

Li Feiling frowned.

“I don’t have any brand endorsements right now since I haven’t formally re-debuted either,” Xia Ruyun sighed. “I’m not too worried about that though, they’ll come once the movie releases and I’m properly back in the entertainment world.”

“Why do you stay with the company?” Li Feiling asked, softening her voice.

Xia Ruyun paused. “... History, I guess.”

“It doesn’t seem like they treat you that well either...” Li Feiling murmured, putting her phone aside. “I’ve heard that companies' contracts are quite overbearing.”

“Well, you’re mostly right about that; they’re not very accommodating," Xia Ruyun admitted with a distant smile. “But it's not like I'm a great artist to have, in their eyes at least. Because I signed my contract so early on, I have really favorable conditions. I can veto pretty much anything. Like during my hiatus I used that to veto every advertisement they made me do...”

Li Feiling checked her nails under the gentle golden light. She opened her mouth a few times, yet, nothing came out, as if gagged by her nervousness.

A faint tension hung in the air.

An unspoken question floated in the air.

Swallow.

Li Feiling felt parched, and her voice came out ashy. “Would you consider switching?”

Tremble.

Everything seemed to tremble.

Xia Ruyun’s hand holding her phone, Li Feiling’s voice, and the air itself.

Xia Ruyun looked up, only to run into Li Feiling’s piercing amber eyes.

In a second that felt like a million, a thousand messages seemed to cross the gap. Yet before any true thoughts could make it across, Xia Ruyun tore her gaze away.

“It’s something I’m open to considering in the future. My current company hasn’t been treating me particularly well after all...”