Lady By The Pillow - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Buying Medicine (2)

“The door’s opening.”

It was freezing in the studio city’s winter night. The temperature, a few degrees below zero, seeped through her clothes and into her bones. After just a few minutes of riding, Shi Qing’s hands were numb.

She sped along at 25 km/h, afraid of any delay. Dong Ya was as delicate as she was; one bout of diarrhea could leave her sick for two days and a few pounds lighter.

Following the navigation, Shi Qing was almost there when the e-bike decided to have its fun.

“You are leaving the service area. Please be aware.”

“You are leaving the service area. Please be aware.”

With one hand on the handlebars, Shi Qing pulled out her phone and saw she was at the very edge of the service area.

“If you continue, the system will automatically power down for safety reasons.”

The e-bike warned her again, forcing Shi Qing to stop. The pharmacy was still 500 meters away. It wasn’t a long walk, but it would add at least ten minutes to her trip.

There were no other bikes around. Shi Qing had no choice but to park the e-bike on the side of the road and jog the rest of the way.

Her phone rang. It was Dong Ya.

“Hello, Xiao Ya,” Shi Qing said, still running.

“Jie, where are you…?” Dong Ya’s voice sounded even weaker than before.

“I’m almost at the pharmacy. How are you?”

“I just went to the bathroom again… My stomach hurts so much…”

“I’ll be back soon. Can you hang on? Should I call an ambulance?”

“No, it’s an old issue. I’ll be fine once I take the medicine… I just wanted to see how far you were…”

“I’m almost there, I promise. Xiao Ya, don’t hang up. I want to be able to hear you. If you feel bad, just call out to me, okay?”

“Mmm, okay…”

Shi Qing ran for a bit longer, the cold air burning her throat like needles, making her cough violently.

“Cough… cough, cough…”

She unzipped her jacket and leaned forward with her hands on her knees, wondering why the winter in this city was so cold and why the pharmacy was so far.

She turned her head and saw a private car turning onto the main road, waiting at a red light. Fang Fei, in the passenger seat, clutched her seatbelt. Her eyes met Shi Qing’s for a moment before she quickly looked away. The driver, Wei Jiuyi, had one hand on the steering wheel. She gave Shi Qing a cold look that Shi Qing caught.

Suppressing the pain in her throat, Shi Qing straightened up and walked toward the car, waiting at a spot just past the intersection.

The light turned green, and the car drove forward. Shi Qing stood on the side of the road and raised her hand, waving at the car.

“Teacher Shi?” Fang Fei lowered the window halfway, her surprised expression flawless. She greeted Shi Qing warmly. “We ran into you again! What a coincidence!”

Shi Qing nodded politely. “Yes.” She then used one hand to hold her jacket collar, revealing her chin, and leaned forward to speak to Wei Jiuyi. “Teacher Wei, could you give me a ride? The e-bike can’t go any farther from here.”

Her tone was professional and polite, a perfect blend of stranger and acquaintance, no different from how she was at the table read. A good actor can create a compelling scene with minimal effort.

Wei Jiuyi’s smile was just as professional as if she were talking to any other colleague. “Sure, Teacher Shi. Where are you headed?”

Shi Qing held up her phone screen, showing the pharmacy on the map. “The convenience pharmacy up ahead. About three or four hundred meters away.”

Wei Jiuyi feigned surprise. “That close? Well, get in.”

Shi Qing gave a small smile. “Okay, thank you for your help.” The word “you” in Chinese was used in a polite, formal way.

Shi Qing got into the back seat and closed the door. The warm air rushed over her, but her numb fingers didn’t regain sensation immediately.

As the car started moving again, Wei Jiuyi glanced in the rearview mirror. Shi Qing was still catching her breath, and her makeup-free face was pale from running.

“Teacher Shi, are you not feeling well, going to the pharmacy so late?” Wei Jiuyi couldn’t help but ask.

Shi Qing’s reply was polite. “Oh, it’s for my assistant. She’s not feeling well, so I’m getting her some medicine.”

Fang Fei chimed in. “Wow, Teacher Shi, you’re so good to your assistant. It’s usually the other way around. This is the first time I’ve seen a celebrity go out at night to get medicine for their assistant.”

“My assistant has been with me for a long time. We’re very close. She takes care of me when I’m not well, too,” Shi Qing replied courteously.

“That makes sense,” Fang Fei agreed. “Hehe, you look like a person who’s really kind to others.”

Wei Jiuyi, pressing harder on the gas pedal, interrupted. “Is it enteritis again?”

The phrasing “Is it enteritis again?” hinted at a prior familiarity. As an outsider, Fang Fei immediately picked up on the subtle implication. “Teacher Wei, you know Teacher Shi’s assistant?”

Wei Jiuyi’s tongue tightened against her teeth. Of course she knew her. Back when she and Shi Qing were together, she and Dong Ya had been close. For a while, when Shi Qing was getting a lot of negative press, she and Dong Ya had even teamed up to fight back against the online trolls.

She knew Dong Ya had a weak stomach from a childhood illness and would sometimes have flare-ups of enteritis. The symptoms were never severe—just diarrhea—and a dose of medicine and a good night’s sleep would usually fix it. As Shi Qing’s partner for a year, Wei Jiuyi knew this well. And without thinking, she had blurted out, “Is it enteritis again?”

“Why would I know Teacher Shi’s assistant?” Wei Jiuyi smoothly came up with an excuse. “A few days ago at dinner, I heard Teacher Shi mention that her assistant can’t eat certain raw foods because she gets enteritis easily.”

Fang Fei understood. “Oh, I see! Haha! Teacher Shi, you really care about your assistant; you even talk about her at dinner.”

Shi Qing just nodded. “It’s fine.”

After buying the medicine, Shi Qing saw that Wei Jiuyi had already turned the car around and was waiting for her with the window all the way down.

The fully lowered window was telling. It was a clear invitation, unlike the half-lowered window, which said, “I’m just saying hello and leaving.” Wei Jiuyi wanted to make sure Shi Qing saw her and didn’t think she’d left.

Shi Qing, aware of the inconvenience she was causing, said to Wei Jiuyi after getting into the car, “You can just drop me at the next intersection. I can ride the e-bike from there.”

Wei Jiuyi refused. “It’s not far from the hotel. It’s easier to just take you all the way.”

Shi Qing countered, “But don’t you and Teacher Fang still need to discuss the script? I don’t want to waste your time.”

Wei Jiuyi was unbothered. “Filming doesn’t start for another two days; we can discuss the script anytime. Right, Teacher Fang?”

In the entertainment industry, social interactions were rarely simple. Maintaining a sense of propriety and timing was crucial.

Fang Fei quickly agreed. “Right, and your assistant is sick. You should get back to her.”

Shi Qing apologized. “I’m so sorry for the trouble.”

Fang Fei waved it off. “No trouble at all! Teacher Shi, you’re too polite. We’re all colleagues in the same crew now. There’s no need to be so formal. Look at me, I just hopped into Teacher Wei’s car, haha!”

Shi Qing went along with it. “Mhm, Teacher Wei is very kind, and she’s a good driver.”

“Yes!” Fang Fei said. “She’s a very steady driver. We can still go and discuss the script after dropping you off.”

Wei Jiuyi hummed in agreement, then added, “Or we can just discuss it on WeChat.”

Fang Fei was taken aback. “Huh?”

Wei Jiuyi looked straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to Fang Fei’s shock. Her tone was light as she continued, “It’s convenient. You can send me pictures of the parts you don’t understand, and I can explain it with a voice message.”

Fang Fei thought about it for a moment, then understood what Wei Jiuyi was hinting at. She quickly masked her surprise with a convincing smile. “Right, WeChat is convenient, too.”

The night out, laden with unspoken intentions, ended with the black car pulling into the underground parking lot.

Fang Fei’s room was on the 17th floor. She said goodbye and left the elevator.

The 18th floor was almost all suites, rented by the production crew for the more prominent actors.

Shi Qing and Wei Jiuyi lived directly across from each other.

Shi Qing opened her door and was about to close it when Wei Jiuyi stopped the door with her hand.

“What are you doing?” Shi Qing asked.

“I just want to check on her,” Wei Jiuyi said, her reason sounding perfectly reasonable.