DOS
Was it the movie that's interesting? Or was it the director?
Lisa forced herself not to ask. But her face definitely couldn't have looked very good.
However, even though Irene was usually skilled at reading people's expressions, she acted as if she hadn't noticed as she sat down next to Lawyer Son.
"Today's meal is on me."
"Of course, it should be your treat." Lawyer Son poured a glass of water for her, "Don't think that I don't know whether you were working or on a date. When I called you earlier, you were clearly at a movie theater!"
Although Irene was exposed on the spot, she didn't appear the least bit embarrassed, simply putting on a helpless expression.
"Nae, nae, nae, and tomorrow I even arranged to go mountain-climbing with him. Do you want to come along as a chaperone, young lady?" She didn't even glance around as she spoke those words.
But Lisa couldn't help but substitute herself in, as she imagined what it'd be like if she shadowed Irene on that date, before then immediately coming to her senses, scolding herself internally for going crazy.
How could she do such an inelegant, graceless thing?
Perhaps her expression had grown too strange, as even Lawyer Son couldn't help but stare at her.
"Miss Manoban, are you all right? Why do you keep furrowing your brows?"
"It's nothing." Lisa hurried to flash her a smile. "I'm simply a bit tired."
"If you're tired, you should go back and rest early. It's already quite late anyway." Irene was sitting on the side, unhurriedly drinking tea, and give her an advice.
—Just like a good friend would.
It was very different from how Irene used to talk. When she encountered this kind of situation in the past, she'd always think of some way to poke at Lisa, mocking her for always using work as an excuse.
And Lisa actually very much missed that kind of Irene.
She really did feel tired, but she continued to sit there, unwilling to move.
She didn't know why she had wanted to come today. On one hand, she kept thinking about how to forget Irene, but on the other hand, she also kept hurrying over to see this person. When they were unable to meet, she kept hoping they would, but when they actually met, it simply made her angry.
While Lisa couldn't bear to leave, Irene actually stood up first.
"There's still some things in the kitchen that I need to handle, so I'll go and check it out first. You two can continue talking."
Lisa watched as the other walked past, Lawyer Son's words earlier suddenly jumping out in her mind.
If you don't hold tightly onto... the things you love...
She anxiously wanted to grab hold of Irene's hand.
But right as her fingertips were about to touch, Irene wordlessly avoided her and, as if nothing had happened, continued to walk away.
Lisa felt as if her mind was completely empty. She lowered her head to stare blankly at her own hand, unsure if that... had already been stolen away?
Perhaps because her face looked too unsightly, Lawyer Son insistently urged her to return home to rest. She originally wanted to wait a while longer for Irene, but unfortunately, Irene hid in the kitchen and refused to come out.
In the end, having no other choice, she took her car and left first.
It actually wasn't too late when she returned to her apartment.
An envelope was waiting for her in her mailbox downstairs, and Lisa grabbed it before getting into the elevator. Under the elevator lights, she could see that the envelope had been written very carelessly, with only her name and address on it, without any indication of the sender.
Her heart was completely focused on Irene and Director Kim's date, to the point that her head was starting to ache from all the thinking, so she wasn't concerned about who exactly would mail something to her. The moment she got through her door, she ripped open the envelope.
The only thing inside was a single DVD.
She simply turned on the TV without much thought and stuffed the disc into the DVD player before sitting on the sofa to watch.
At first, no image appeared on screen, simply a slight rustling sound.
Lisa was thinking only of Irene.
The image gradually cleared up, and the scene of an elegant bamboo grove slowly unfolded.
Lisa was still thinking of Irene.
With a turn of the camera, Irene's beautiful face suddenly appeared on the TV screen.
Lisa froze, arrested in an instant.
She saw Irene in historical clothing flying through the bamboo forest, relying on her lightness skill to chase after a similarly clothed man, grabbing hold of him from behind.
Lisa thought back and remembered that she had once seen this scene on set. It was that historical drama Irene was filming last year, the one which had specially gone all the way to Damyang City for its location shots. The current scene playing on the TV was precisely the climax of the series.
She knew what would follow afterwards.
When she had seen it at the time, she had felt as if her chest had been fiercely struck and had even wished to hide this kind of Irene away, not allowing anyone else to see. As such, she had told the director to re-take the shot and edit out the previous version so that she could keep it for her own private collection.
However, the frightening car accident had happened right afterwards, and she had practically forgotten all about this matter; she hadn't actually expected the director to mail her the DVD.
And she hadn't expected... that she'd rewatch this scene so suddenly, without any prior preparation.
The Irene on screen covered the male lead's eyes with her hands, kissing his hair as she slowly raised her head.
Lisa felt a bit short of breath.
She hurried to find the remote, wanting to turn off the TV, but her hands were shaking so much that she almost knocked over the glass of water on the table.
Irene was currently looking right at the camera, at her, those eyes so focused and full of emotion, as if this person was staring right at her true love. Lisa was completely unable to escape, and she collapsed against the sofa as even her heart started trembling.
Irene opened her mouth to speak.
That voice was low and hoarse, and a trace of ruthlessness flashed through her infatuated eyes.
In that moment, it was like Lisa was seeing Irene cut open her chest, digging out and handing over her own bloody heart. Even as her fingertips were covered with blood, she still gave the camera a smile, saying that beloved and touching line one word at a time.
I love you.
("I love you, " ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?)
▒ ▒ ▒
For the past few days, Irene had been running this way and that in the city, doing all sorts of publicity. The new movie's contract had also been just about decided, and only a few details remained to be pinned down. As such, she picked a free day to do a promotional photoshoot.
Lisa was well-informed and so was also on set on the day of the photoshoot. After so many days of not meeting, she was still as impeccably attired as always, it was only that her energy seemed a bit low.
From the position of a friend, Irene asked after her health.
Lisa first expressed her thanks, and then she said something that seemed to be completely unrelated, "My DVD player at home broke down."
"Huh?"
"So I got a new one, and recently I've been watching a lot of different movies and TV series."
And then, in one breath, she named a bunch of different titles.
As she listened, Irene startled, feeling as if all those titles sounded extremely familiar.
After a moment, she remembered. Everything that Lisa mentioned were movies and TV shows in which she had acted. Several that sounded more unfamiliar to her were ones that she herself didn't even remember what roles she had, as she had most likely been on set for barely any time as a minor background role.
Irene thought for a bit and then purposely avoided this topic.
"CEO Manoban's work is so busy that it's probably better if you stop staying up too late and start resting early."
"Although I watched a lot of meaningless, melodramatic stories, I feel like the time I spent was quite worth it." Lisa smiled, her gaze remaining fixed on Irene as she said, "At least, it let me understand a certain person better."
"It's all just acting. There's no real use in studying it."
"But when you're acting, you're definitely also immersing yourself in those emotions."
For a moment, Irene wasn't sure how she should reply.
Fortunately, the stylist had already arrived and was currently calling for her to change. She thus took the opportunity to end this conversation, turning around and walking into the makeup room.
Because the new film was set in modern times, the makeup wasn't as troublesome as the historical drama. Irene simply had her hair tidied up, cutting her bangs a bit shorter so as to expose her pitch-black eyes and clear forehead, and then changed into a large white gown with some rimless glasses. Just that, and she was mostly finished.
It was an extremely simple style, but the result was extraordinary.
White clothes had originally suited Irene's reserved disposition very well, and those glasses in particular not only didn't cover up her beauty but also actually deepened it with an understated flair. She was just like a piece of polished jade, appearing peaceful and subdued but also exposing a faint ice-cold sharpness.
The moment the light shone on her, people were so mesmerized that they couldn't look away.
Several of the crew called out 'how gorgeous' in succession, and even the photographer couldn't help but give a few words of praise. Only Jun Cotton remained as unmoved as ever, standing on the side with his arms folded, giving only a simple thumbs up to Irene.
Irene understood very well and responded with a smile.
Lisa took in this entire scene, feeling upset in her heart. But she couldn't do anything but endure it. As expected, Director Kim did have good eyes; the appearance of Irene right now was indeed very well-matched with the image of the character in the script.
After this shot was finished, Irene changed into a few other clothes. Work progressed very smoothly, but by the time it ended, it was already the afternoon.
Although hungry, Lisa stood waiting on the side. Once she saw Irene change back, she walked up, "Let's go and eat lunch together."
"Sorry, but I don't think I can find the time today."
"What? Do I now have to book an appointment first before asking you out for a meal?"
Irene didn't have time to respond before Jun Cotton arrived first and asked, "Still busy?"
"No, I'll be ready to leave after I finish tidying up. It's rare to eat with Director Kim, so of course I wouldn't miss it." When Irene finished speaking, she once again looked at Lisa and asked, "Isn't that right, Miss Manoban?"
Lisa was choked by these words and really didn't have any way to object. For the sake of maintaining her image, she could only swallow her anger and watch blankly as Irene left together with Jun Cotton.
Director Kim never drove. According to him, either he had a chauffeur to drive him or he'd walk there with his own two legs. Regardless, he'd definitely never drive, and he hadn't even bothered to get a license. So, for the meal today, Irene became his temporary chauffeur.
They hadn't been driving for too long when the two of them discovered that another car was following behind them.
Irene blinked and then pretended she didn't notice, so Jun Cotton also followed her example and didn't mention it, simply recommending a certain restaurant downtown to her.
When they reached their destination and had just sat down, Lisa also pushed open the door and entered. She didn't go over to talk to them, simply settling down in a nearby seat.
From that angle, when she looked over, she was able to get a perfect view of Irene's back.
Irene didn't turn around even once.
"She ordered the same dishes as you." It was Jun Cotton who ended up saying a careless line while they ate.
Irene naturally knew which 'she' this was, and the hand she was using to hold chopsticks trembled slightly.
Jun Cotton didn't expose her, simply saying, "There's an art exhibition nearby. Come check it out with me after we eat."
Irene said with some embarrassment, "In all honesty, I don't have a single artistic bone in my body."
"This has nothing to do with whether you understand art or not. Beautiful things are beautiful." Jun Cotton let out a rare laugh.
It wasn't like Irene had anything else to do, so she nodded and agreed.
After they finished eating, it was still up to Irene to drive, and Lisa's car also stubbornly kept following behind them. Irene was really starting to suspect that this person had been replaced by someone else; how could the always flawless Lisa actually do something this abnormal?
Jun Cotton turned around to look a few times and lazily said, "It seems like someone has the same idea as we do and also decided to go see that art exhibition."
Irene didn't know how she should explain things and did her best to gloss over it, "I have a bit of a misunderstanding with my CEO ... so..."
"I understand."
With how long Jun Cotton had been in the circle, how could he have not guessed at such things? He didn't display any sort of curiosity, simply smiled in his usual indifferent way and raised his head to look at the scenery outside the window.
"Most people in the world are like this. When you allow them to take advantage of you, they're cold and unfeeling, but when you turn cold yourself, then they turn around and want you to take advantage of them."
These words made quite a lot of sense.
But it sounded like they were said from personal experience. Irene couldn't help but shoot Jun Cotton a glance and saw that he still had on an expression as if nothing had happened. Irene really couldn't tell if he was the cold-hearted person or the one being taken advantage.
Director Kim wasn't much interested in most things other than those relating to his film projects, and so this topic quickly came to an end. Afterwards, the two people made some intermittent small talk and, not long later, reached the art gallery.
Irene quietly walked forward, looking at each and every exhibition piece. She really enjoyed some of the statues that used bold and brazen colors, extremely catching to the eye.
Jun Cotton conversely stopped in front of a landscape painting for a very long time.
The painting depicted a beautiful scene of the sea and sky, with the waves reaching for the heavens in the front, and the blue horizon stretching out as clear as water in the back. Sheer rocks and cliffs were faintly visible in the background, with a seaside villa on the tip of the topmost mountain, reflecting a glimmer of saffron light. Because it was only a few strokes, it was hard to distinguish whether the light was real or an illusion.
Jun Cotton stared at this one painting with his full attention, as if he had entered that strange and majestic world, and also as if he was immersed in his own hidden memories. If they hadn't been in a public place, then tears might have actually started rolling down his face.
It was only after a long time later that he seemed to curb his thoughts, turning around to Lisa to say with a smile, "The beauty of nature really makes people speechless with reverence."
Irene immediately voiced her agreement.
However, she internally thought that this painting definitely had a story behind it.
But Jun Cotton hadn't probed into her business, so She naturally also wouldn't ask this person about such private affairs. sHe simply continued forward to look at the rest of the exhibition.
When she walked towards a darkened corner, she suddenly bumped into Lisa.
"Let's talk for a moment." As if afraid that the other would run, Lisa grabbed Irene's arm with one hand.
― 23 ―
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