Lady By The Pillow - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Eyes (2)

“Just bear with it.”

“Don’t move.”

Wei Jiuyi’s voice was low, and spoken directly above Shi Qing, it had an oppressive, condescending quality. Shi Qing tried to pull her wrist away, but the grip tightened.

“If you don’t want your eyes to get infected, don’t move.”

The air stilled, and their breathing was clearly audible. Shi Qing’s thoughts were unknown, but Dong Ya kept her head down and didn’t dare to move. Why did the 97 who used to help with Shi Qing’s fan projects seem like a different person? She was a little scary.

Dong Ya looked at Zhang Yulan, who also seemed to be minding her own business. Zhang Yulan quickly mumbled, “I’ll go to the car to get something,” and slipped away. Dong Ya also wanted to leave, but she was afraid that Wei Jiuyi would bully Shi Qing, so she slowed down her disinfecting process. If Wei Jiuyi dared to do anything, she would fight her. But if Wei Jiuyi was just helping her Qing-jie with her eyes, she would offer a hand.

Dong Ya was always like this, stuck between being “a bad person for her own side” or “a bad person for the other side” and ending up being “a bad person for both.”

Wei Jiuyi moved a tall stool for Shi Qing to rest her head on her lap. Shi Qing’s eyes had stopped tearing up, but the whites of her eyes, which were visible when she blinked, were red from the sand.

“Can you open them?” Wei Jiuyi’s voice was much softer than before.

“Mmm.” Shi Qing struggled to open her eyes a little. Her eyelids trembled.

Wei Jiuyi used her fingers to hold down Shi Qing’s upper eyelid. The fine grains of sand were visible in her eye. Her beautiful pupils looked like glass beads at the bottom of a spring.

“Just bear with it.”

Wei Jiuyi put a few drops of a newly opened bottle of eye drops into the inner corner of Shi Qing’s eye. The warm liquid quickly filled the entire eye socket, dislodging the sand and washing it out from the outer corner. As the water was about to run down her temple, Wei Jiuyi paused and pulled a disposable tissue from a nearby table, pressing it against Shi Qing’s temple.

“Press down.”

Shi Qing reached up to press the tissue, and Wei Jiuyi began the second rinse.

The entire process was quiet, including Dong Ya, who was meticulously disinfecting the wound on Shi Qing’s knee. The actors had finished for the day, and it was just the three of them in the air-conditioned tent. The warm air from the vent made her sleepy, and her muscles felt soft and relaxed, as if she were lying on a bed of cotton.

On a nearby table, there were two notebooks, both the same style. One was misty blue, and the other was dark brown.

The scene was peaceful, more serene than a painting above a fireplace.

But, in the extras’ rest area not far from the tent, people were buzzing.

That night, a hashtag with #WeiJiuyiShiQing# quietly climbed to the hot search list. It didn’t have a high ranking, only making it to 16 before it quickly dropped. The promotion team saw their chance and immediately contacted a few bloggers who specialized in fake relationships, releasing behind-the-scenes videos and photos. In no time, the discussion started to blow up.

[@SisterDog4eva: Wei Jiuyi is cleaning Shi Qing’s eyes on set! What kind of loyal puppy-like girlfriend is this? I can’t handle it… Are they really not going to have any chemistry being this close? [image.jpg]]

[@LazyCivilServant: This distance is for kissing and only for kissing.]

[@MyCPisEternal: Details +1. 77 isn’t wearing her costume, but Shi Qing is. This means either 77 didn’t have a scene but still came to accompany her sister, or she finished her scenes and waited for her to finish.]

[@80yoGrannyLovesSoftCandy: To be honest, it’s normal for colleagues to help each other, but Wei Jiuyi, did you forget you have an assistant? Wouldn’t it have been better to have your assistant help?]

[@UltimateTop1: Hahahaha, did anyone notice Shi Qing’s assistant? She didn’t dare to look up the whole time.]

[@ModernSherlockHolmes: Assistant, look up! Look at them! I don’t believe you didn’t see anything!]

[@MoreBeautifulWomenPlease: Believe me, this was definitely Wei Jiuyi’s idea. I’ve seen Shi Qing in person, and she’s a top-tier succubus. I don’t know if she can seduce men, but she can definitely seduce women.]

[@IsItMe: Did anyone notice the notebooks next to them? I remember the dark brown one is Wei Jiuyi’s journal. Is the other one Shi Qing’s? They’re couple’s items!]

[@SoHungryForFood: Can we get into this couple, sisters? I just followed a couple that broke up, and I’m a little scared.]

[@ShipAnythingForAHealthyDiet: Don’t worry, sisters, just jump in. I read the original book. Their characters have a bit of a romantic storyline, and the production team will definitely capitalize on it. They’ll be promoting this for at least a year until the show airs.]

That’s right. The chemistry between actors has always been a key focus of promotion, whether it’s a romance, a boy’s love, or a girl’s love story. Especially in a power struggle like Empress, where there’s no obvious romance, a forbidden love can bring in a huge amount of traffic.

Thanks to the discussion, Shi Qing’s follower count increased by 110,000 overnight. She remembered that after her last film was released, she didn’t get that many new followers in an entire month.

“You know, a fake couple gets a lot of attention.”

Fang Fei’s words echoed in her ears. Shi Qing gave a bitter smile. Yes, it was a lot. Even an accomplished award-winning actress would bend over backward for it. Why should she, an actress with no fame, no money, and no popularity, object?

She slid her phone open to see a new post from Wei Jiuyi.

[@WeiJiuyiMeow: Thank you all for your concern. Teacher Shi got a lot of sand in her eyes while filming yesterday, so I just helped her out. Please continue to support our show, Empress.]

The post seemed like a clarification, but it only fueled the fans’ excitement. She was a true professional. The top entertainment companies always knew how to respond at the right time. The post was timed perfectly at 8 a.m., peak hour for office workers scrolling through their phones on the subway.

Shi Qing took a deep breath and went back to her messages to reread what her agent had sent her.

“Reply and thank her for helping. Say that she’s very thoughtful to her colleagues.”

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. She finally typed, “Thank you, Teacher Wei, for your help. I look forward to working with you more in the future.” She didn’t praise Wei Jiuyi’s kindness. After all, she wasn’t used to the superficial sweetness of promotional relationships.

She looked up at Wei Jiuyi, who was waving to her in the distance. Her smile was polite and distant. “Good morning, Teacher Wei.”

Wei Jiuyi’s smile froze for a second before becoming flawless again. “Good morning. We don’t have many scenes today, so we should finish early.”

Shi Qing nodded. “Yes, we’re filming indoors, so it’ll be warmer.”

“Right,” Wei Jiuyi said. “It was so cold yesterday, and your clothes were thin. How are you feeling now? Do you have a cold?”

“I’m fine. Xiao Ya made me ginger tea.”

“That’s good.”

As they were talking, Guo Xi ran up to them. “Teacher Shi, Teacher Wei!”

They both turned around. Guo Xi’s hair was still wet from her shower. Wei Jiuyi asked, “Scriptwriter Guo, why aren’t you in your room writing? What are you doing here?”

Guo Xi made a face of frustration. “Don’t even get me started. I have no inspiration. Director Fan said he wanted to change the dialogue for the horse scene, and I have no idea how. So I came to you guys for inspiration.”

“The horse scene? Which part?” Wei Jiuyi asked.

“The part where you’re fighting the lieutenant. I’m telling you, it’s…”

The three of them walked toward the set. Since it was Wei Jiuyi’s scene, Guo Xi mainly talked to her. Shi Qing just listened and walked along until Dong Ya ran up to her.

“Qing-jie, Fei-jie is here to visit.”

“Fei-jie?” Shi Qing was surprised. “Why is she here? Is she here already?”

Dong Ya held up her phone. “Not yet. She just called me and said she’ll be here this afternoon. She told me to keep your schedule open and not to tell you, so it’ll be a surprise.”

As they spoke, the other two stopped their discussion. Guo Xi raised an eyebrow, a gossipy look on her face. “Oh, a surprise. Is it a girlfriend?”

Shi Qing gave a wry smile. “An old classmate, just catching up.”

Guo Xi said, “Oh. Are you going to ask Director Fan for time off?”

“No,” Shi Qing said. “We don’t have many scenes today, so we should finish early. Scriptwriter Guo, you two go on ahead. I’m going to get my makeup done.”

Guo Xi nodded at her. “Okay.” She turned to continue her conversation with Wei Jiuyi but noticed Wei Jiuyi was distracted. “Teacher Wei, what’s wrong?”

Wei Jiuyi smiled, a flawless expression on her face. “Nothing. Where were we? The confrontation, right?”

“Right. I was wondering how to change it…”

Their conversation went deeper into the plot, but Wei Jiuyi’s hand remained clenched in her pocket. For an entire year, she had never heard Shi Qing mention a “Fei-jie.” But Dong Ya knew her, and she was an “old classmate.”

Had she just not shown up for that whole year, or had Shi Qing intentionally kept her a secret?