Our Tender Harmony

Once the scene wrapped, Li Feiling, with bandages still on her neck and hands, strode over with large steps. Her heels clicked against the ground as the crew parted to let her pass. Her knitted eyebrows and soul-weary gaze from the scene faded, relaxing into her usual bright, yet intense look. “Linjie! You made it! Finally crawled out of your advertising hole.”

“As if you aren’t in the exact same hole,” Wu Linjie threw a jab back at Li Feiling as he broke into a smile. “Long time no see Senior Li.”

“Senior Li?” Li Feiling raised an eyebrow. She began pulling the bandages off herself as she retorted with a laugh. “I swear you’re not consistent at all with how you address me. It’s always Sister Xia with Ruyun, and then with me it’s Senior Li, Senior Li Feiling, Teacher Li, Sister Li, or Esteemed Senior Li Feiling. Is this some devious ploy? Or is your brain experiencing early onset dementia?”

“No, I think you’re the one experiencing early onset dementia,” Wu Linjie wagged his finger while putting on a shit-eating grin. “You’re the older one after all. I’ve called you nothing but Senior Li.”

“I have text evidence to say otherwise,” Li Feiling reached down to grab her phone, only to have her hand pressed down by Ye Shuhua.

“What’s with you two? Arguing as soon as you meet like a pair of children. Pay attention to your images,” Ye Shuhua pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing.

“It’s fine, we’re just bantering,” Li Feiling patted the back of Ye Shuhua’s hand a couple of times.

Ye Shuhua greeted her with a contemptuous expression, one that screamed ‘It looks like you’re bullying your junior.’

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Wu Linjie reached out, patting Ye Shuhua on the shoulder. “Li Feiling’s a great mentor. I’m past our… complicated previous relationship. These past few months of hard work have really expanded my world view. I realized the feelings weren’t genuine.”

Ye Shuhua’s eyebrows relaxed. “Is that so?”

“Yes, nothing but some misguided admiration. I was young and dumb,” Wu Linjie admitted with a sheepish smile. “Regardless, Senior Li and I have a group chat with Xia Ruyun, and while it’s not super active due to work, even the brief exchanges have helped warm our relationship. Plus, it’s always nice to banter.”

“Yes, you understand me,” Li Feiling shifted her weight onto her heels as she slid her hands into her pockets. She nodded upward as if to motion towards Chu Changfeng through the ceiling. “Although it’s nice to tear into a certain grease-for-blood actor who works a floor above us. It’s always nice to banter with someone who you’re actually friends with.”

Ye Shuhua paused. Then, she let out a faint sigh. “I’ll never get your obsession with bantering, but alright.”

“It’s a way to show personality,” Li Feiling flashed a cheeky smile before returning to a calmer expression. “Regardless, welcome to the set, Linjie. Let me show you around and introduce you to some people. What’s your schedule again?”

“I’ll be here for today and tomorrow. No obligations. Feel free to drag me around,” Wu Linjie nodded, sweeping his eyes over the set. “A surprising amount of people. I’ve been too busy to follow the drama, but the first few episodes that aired seemed to catch fire, congrats.”

“Thank you,” Li Feiling turned on her heel, waving for Wu Linjie to follow. “Come on, let’s go visit Ruyun first.”

---

Noodles.

Later that evening, Li Feiling, Xia Ruyun, and Wu Linjie met up for dinner at an upscale dinner restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel. Bowls of thin rice noodles submerged in a rich brown broth sat in front of each of them, steaming. Sat in a private room on the second floor, they overlooked the bustling main street below. People walked by, chatting after work. Cars sat on the street as every few minutes an obnoxious motorcyclist would roar by trying to show the world how small their ego was.

“You know, over these past couple months after our show wrapped, I’ve really managed to take a few steps forward career-wise,” Wu Linjie twirled some noodles together, settling them in his soup spoon before bringing the noodle-broth combination to his mouth.

“I saw you finally started doing advertisements for more than just men’s fashion and men’s personal care products,” Xia Ruyun swirled her noodles, letting them cool a touch. “Are you starting another project soon?”

Wu Linjie swallowed his food, fanning his mouth after it burnt his tongue. “Yes, I’ll have a quick supporting role in a horror drama as a villain. Looking forward to it. Not only will I get to work with some actors in circles that I usually don’t run in, I’ll be able to portray a type of role I don’t often get.”

“You don’t often get villains, do you?” Li Feiling stroked her chin. She leaned back in her chair, tying her hair back. “Well, you did get one a while ago in the palace drama movie, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but most of the time, when doing villain roles like that, I’m usually playing a fairly soft, gray area villain who tugs at audience heart strings,” Wu Linjie scratched the back of his head. “Nothing wrong with that, but I’m excited to play an irredeemable bastard.”

Xia Ruyun and Li Feiling raised their eyebrows in unison. Their hands holding utensils paused.

“What? Don’t misunderstand,” Wu Linjie chuckled, sipping from his glass of ice water. “I try not to be an irredeemable bastard in real life, so it’s nice to be able to try that in a movie. I’m going to be so ugly too. Absolutely no redeemable qualities! It’s going to be great.”

“You might be surprised,” Li Feiling shook her head. “I did that once, and my fans instead stitched together a bunch of edits to show my ‘locking in’ and still found everything I did hot…”

“Netizens are creative,” Xia Ruyun began digging into her noodles. “Though we’re older than you, Linjie, so you’d probably know better than us.”

“We’re practically the same age, but for sure, netizens can be a little too passionate,” Wu Linjie bit into a piece of meat. He then followed it up with a spoonful of broth and a bite full of noodles. As he ate, they fell into silence. A minute later, though, he broke the silence with a quiet question. “Feiling, what’s the name of the actress who was in the scene with you this morning? The one right before you showed me around.”

Xia Ruyun’s ears perked up. A glimmer entered her eyes as she peeked up from her noodles.

A faint curve tugged at the corner of her lips.

Hmm?

“Oh, her? That’s Han Jingyi,” Li Feiling answered with a nonchalant shrug. “She’s a year younger than you, I think. She’s a fresh grad from A City’s acting school. What about her?”

“Not much, just thought she was a good actress. Held up well in that scene with you,” Wu Linjie brushed off the question. Yet, even he, one of the most promising young actors, couldn’t hide the faint flicker of interest in his eyes.

Xia Ruyun suppressed her smile. “She’s very promising for sure. She’s been coming to hang out with Feiling and I recently. She originally was with Chu Changfeng, but she’s fallen out with him.”

“For the better,” Li Feiling clicked her tongue. She balled her fist. “Get this in your head Linjie, don’t be like Chu Changfeng. That man is cunning. Those who like him think he’s a charming dual CEO and actor, and those who hate him often think he’s a greaseball who thinks with what’s in his pants, but he’s actually a sinister plotter who weaves traps together before you realize.”

Xia Ruyun covered her mouth with a faint laugh. Turning to make eye contact with Wu Linjie, she mouthed “I stepped on her trap card.”

Wu Linjie snorted, suppressing a smile as he turned back to Li Feiling and nodded along. Every few phrases, he’d throw in a “For sure!” and a “Oh, he’s disgusting!” until her mini rant passed.

“Sorry, got incensed… just raise your guard,” Li Feiling huffed before turning back to her bowl of noodles.

“No, it’s totally fine,” Wu Linjie laughed. “It’s always entertaining. You remind me of my father.”

“Euk-“ Li Feiling choked her noodles. “Not even mother?”

“The person sitting next to you has you beat in that department,” Wu Linjie teased as Xia Ruyun clutched her stomach laughing. “You two were the ones that started the adoption center group chat.”

“It was Ruyun’s idea… not mine…” Li Feiling grumbled as she focused on her food.

“At least you’re not an alcoholic uncle,” Xia Ruyun reached over, patting Li Feiling on the shoulder.

“That’s like telling someone who tripped and fell on their face that they should be thankful it was only concrete and not dog poop…”