Our Tender Harmony

A minute later, the electric atmosphere in Li Feiling’s suite faded like the morning mist. With a light exhale, Han Jingyi took a seat at the table in the middle of the room. Li Feiling, having composed herself, set down a tea set with a light clink before pouring out three steaming cups of lavender tea. After stretching, Xia Ruyun grabbed her own script from her bag. It crinkled under her fingers as she pulled a chair back to take a seat.

Yet, now that the previous incident had passed, her sleepiness began to come back in waves. No matter what she did, it seemed insistent on dragging her to dreamland.

“Are you doing okay, Sister Xia?” Han Jingyi looked over after taking out her own script. “If you’re too tired, it’s fine, you don’t have to accompany us. You’re not in this scene after all.”

“I’ll be fine, I’d like to keep you two company, it’s the least I could do…” Xia Ruyun murmured, pinching her own leg under the table to jolt herself back to life.

“Thank you as always for being here, your consistent presence is quite warming,” Li Feiling reached over, rubbing Xia Ruyun’s back.

“It’s the least I can do, I’ve already stayed inside for three years straight, no need to add to that streak,” Xia Ruyun chuckled, only to pause as she faced Han Jingyi’s confused look. “You didn’t know?”

“Didn’t know…? Is there something I should know?” Han Jingyi tilted her head. She set down her pencil. “About your past?”

Xia Ruyun pressed her lips together. She tapped the side of her script with a finger. Li Feiling, as if to pitch in her own support, patted her once on the back.

Warm.

Smiling and reaching out with her free hand to pat Li Feiling back under the table as thanks, she posed a question. “Where do you think I’ve been for the last three years, Han Jingyi?”

“Enjoying life? Traveling the world because you had a lot of money?” Han Jingyi ventured a guess. “Seeing your expression, I’m going to assume that I’m off the mark.”

“I didn’t have that much money sadly,” Xia Ruyun shook her head. “A poor first contract with a greedy music label, family, and a lot of medical bills took most of it. I ended up being a shut-in for three years.”

“Oh, that’s not good…” Han Jingyi’s eyebrows knitted together. “I’m sorry for assuming…”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry,” Xia Ruyun leaned back into her chair. “I did a good job dodging the paparazzi during my disappearance, so most people don’t know.”

“I see. Well, thank you for sharing,” Han Jingyi bowed her head. Without a follow-up, she turned her attention back to the script, flipping to the important scene Feng Wei had asked her and Li Feiling to practice ahead of time. “Senior Li, any preliminary thoughts on the scene? Or do you want me to share first?”

Li Feiling paused.

Suddenly, a sense of incongruity welled up inside of her.

How is it suddenly Sister Xia versus Senior Li again…

Am I really that intimidating to the juniors in comparison?

She, however, answered without issue. “Feel free to share first. I’d love to hear your interpretation. There are no wrong answers. Why do you think this scene is important?”

“Understood,” Han Jingyi flipped to the next page to reveal a dense page of hand-written notes. “Well, I think the primary importance is that this is the second negotiation scene, arguably the scenes the show prides itself on the most. During these, the power users actually clash instead of having individual scenes with the executives of their respective companies. Even more, these are the scenes where Jiang Jinlong actually encounters the main antagonist, Zeng Xiaojing.”

“Hmm…” Li Feiling stroked her chin as she mulled over Han Jingyi’s words. “I agree on a broad level. I like how you’re thinking about more than just the show in isolation, that’s important. In the end, art is always changed by the context of when and how it's presented, and to what audience it's targeting. In your future projects, make sure to keep this view, it’ll help you avoid shooting a movie that lands wrong for being ‘completely tone-deaf.’”

“Thank you,” Han Jingyi nodded before scratching the back of her head with a hesitant smile. “I feel like you’re about to say ‘but’ though. My senses honed from school are tingling.”

Li Feiling laughed. “Sort of.”

“You’re doing great Jingyi, don’t stress,” Xia Ruyun sipped from her teacup. “Feiling doesn’t have the chance to mentor that often, so she’s just itching to say more.”

“Ah, I feel called out,” Li Feiling grabbed the tea pot with a laugh, refilling Xia Ruyun’s teacup. “I swear I’m not scary, but somehow no one ever asks. I want to make it clear though, Jingyi, I loved the perspective on your analysis, it's very mature for someone just starting their career.”

As Li Feiling spoke, a stray thought wandered through her mind as she stared at Xia Ruyun’s teacup.

Had it been more than half full just now?

Yes.

Did she care?

No.

Refocusing, she set the teapot back to the side as Xia Ruyun thanked her. After nodding to acknowledge Xia Ruyun’s thanks, she took her own cup and downed a small sip. “I just think the other dimension to consider is the character arcs in the show. Yes, it’s a trashy, ‘watch it just to decompress’ show, but even in trashy shows, a director like Feng Wei did well to ensure that each important character gets their own arc.”

At that moment, one of Xia Ruyun’s bangs came loose from behind her ear. Fluttering in front of her eye, she blinked before setting the cup down.

Yet, as she reached up to brush the strand of hair back, Li Feiling reached over and brushed it while continuing her explanation to Han Jingyi. “To me, this scene also brings dimension to both of our characters. For your character, you’re generally a background character, no offense.”

“No offense taken,” Han Jingyi raised her hands. “It’s the truth. My most notable scene is the phone exchange scene with Du Ruolin.”

“This scene is just as important, I’d argue. Because you’re the first person in Zeng Xiaojing’s company to rush up to her as she collapses,” Li Feiling raised a finger. “Half the executives take a step back; the other half take a step forward. Your character, meanwhile, runs forward. As my secretary, you’re the most loyal subordinate I have. Instead of telling the audience that you’re a good secretary, Feng Wei can use this to show it.”

“But why is that important? Didn’t I already show it with the phone exchange scene?” Han Jingyi pointed to Xia Ruyun.

“It distinguishes you from Xia Ruyun’s character,” Li Feiling wet her lips with tea. “From that scene alone, both your character and Du Ruolin are shown to be willing to break the law. Cool. But the most valuable part of your character is that she’s the foil to Xia Ruyun’s. You’re both secretaries, but one is the most loyal subordinate the leader has, one is the most traitorous. Your character might not seem to do much, but it drives home the pain that Jiang Jinlong feels, helping to justify his later actions.”

“I… see…” Han Jingyi looked down at her script.

It…

looks so different now.

Her title really isn’t just empty words…

“Thank you for your explanation. Let me write down some notes.”

“Of course,” Li Feiling set down her own script, taking another sip from her tea.

“What about your character though?” Xia Ruyun leaned over, asking in a quiet voice as she flashed a small smile. “You shouldn’t just brush your own character aside.”

Li Feiling paused.

A second later, a matching smile appeared on her face. “Thank you for caring. Do you want to hear about it?”

“Of course, I’d love to hear the Movie Queen’s analysis,” Xia Ruyun moved her chair closer before nodding towards the hand-on-fire Han Jingyi. “Let’s keep our voices down to not disturb Han Jingyi.”

“Sounds good,” Li Feiling lowered her voice to a whisper. “So, this scene is nice for Zeng Xiaojing because while she does have a lot of ‘oh I’m so hot and cool’ moments early on in the script, she’s generally just characterized as an asshole. I mean… she is, but that’s a bit of a one-dimensional characterization.”

“Confidence is attractive, you know what they say,” Xia Ruyun nodded.

“But this scene is the first one she shows vulnerability,” Li Feiling pointed to her script. “She’s caught off guard, and it reveals a different part of her that the viewers otherwise don’t see anywhere but at the end of the show. She shows pain. Emotional pain, and that makes her human.”

“… True,” Xia Ruyun read over the line in the script. “Do you really think she shows emotional pain at the end of the show though? Or is she saying it just to slightly redeem herself?”

“I think she says it from the heart,” Li Feiling reached over, lacing her fingers with Xia Ruyun. “She wouldn’t just deceive Du Ruolin at that point. I think as she leaves business, she also sheds that asshole persona. At least in my interpretation.”

“I see,” Xia Ruyun sighed, leaning forward and resting her head on Li Feiling’s shoulder. “That’s a nice way to put it.”

It was at that moment that Han Jingyi finished writing her notes. Looking up, she froze for the second time that night.

… Okay is there something between them? There’s too much tension in this room. There’s no way their relationship is 100% innocent…

Then again there’s nothing about it online.

…

Maybe I’m just buying into the ship early?

There’s no platonic explanation for the position you two are in!

Well this is, but still…