Lady By The Pillow - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Waist (1)

◎ “Right next to Wei Jiuli.” ◎

The reunion after a long separation came too suddenly. The two graceful figures were like the gold foil on a door. The dark orange door remained motionless, reflecting a thin, velvety glow in the warm winter sun, like an old-fashioned picture frame. The god of time focused, framing this very moment.

Their eyes met.

“Teacher Shi, long time no see.”

The young woman walked up to her, the sharp angles of her brows and eyes telling a story of growth. Her tone was light, but the emphasis on her words seemed to intentionally remind Shi Qing.

We have met before.

For a moment, Shi Qing was in a trance.

The fog on her glasses had already dissipated. She put them back on and looked at the person whose features had become so sharp.

“Yes, long time no see.”

Her words swirled in the cold air, their sharp edges polished into round pearls.

She replied calmly, the curve of her lips natural, as if she were meeting any other colleague she had worked with.

She was approachable, but with a hint of detachment.

Wei Jiuli saw this and mirrored the exact same smile. With her sharper features, the same expression on her face looked a bit more untamed.

Her long, slender hands clasped together for a moment, then quickly separated. She asked a casual question.

“Teacher Shi is also in this drama?”

Shi Qing’s composure was unshaken. She recalled what Dong Ya had said about 97 being sad. But now, it seemed she was wrong.

She replied, “Yes, and you are too, I see?”

“Yes. Who are you playing?”

“The Empress, ‘Jiang Ke.’ You?”

“The Princess, ‘Ji Lan.'”

Shi Qing’s eyebrows raised slightly, her smile unwavering.

“That makes sense. You’re a first-tier actress now. If you were in this show, you’d definitely be the female lead. I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you on winning Best Actress for your debut role.”

Wei Jiuli had heard these compliments too many times in the past six months.

She looked at Shi Qing’s face, which was soft and gentle, with a faint smile. But looking into those beautiful eyes, there was no hint of a smile.

It was as if the words of congratulations weren’t sincere.

This thought was like a thorn in her heart.

“Thank you.”

Thank yous had to be said, and appearances had to be maintained.

A long-lasting relationship had to be one of feigned maturity and proper boundaries, neither too close nor too distant.

“I should also congratulate you on your Best Supporting Actress nomination.”

Wei Jiuli said.

Shi Qing’s smile widened. She was genuinely happy about that.

“Thank you.”

A nomination, and she’s still so happy about it.

Wei Jiuli thought to herself, then remembered how Shi Qing used to stay up all night writing a character biography for a role, and it all made sense.

As the two of them spoke, a strong, resonant female voice echoed down the hallway.

“You two are here already?”

They turned to see a middle-aged woman in a long black down jacket. Her hair was in a neat bun, with sparse hair at the crown. She wore black-rimmed glasses and seemed full of energy.

This was the director of the show, Fan Erhua.

She walked briskly, a backpack on her back, and greeted them.

“Jiuli, Shi Qing, why are you two so early?”

Wei Jiuli was lively and cheerful. “My flight was early, so I came ahead of time. I figured I might as well read the script instead of just waiting around.”

Any director loves a driven actor. Hearing this, Fan Erhua immediately patted her shoulder and praised her.

“That’s great, you have a lot of drive. That’s exactly the kind of energy I saw in you—it’s just like Ji Lan!”

Then, as if remembering something, she said, “This is your first time meeting, right? Let me introduce you. Shi Qing, she’s playing the Empress ‘Jiang Ke.’ She’s been acting for… almost 10 years, right?”

She looked to Shi Qing for confirmation. Shi Qing replied, “Nine years, almost there.”

Fan Erhua nodded. “That’s right, almost 10 years. A very diligent and hardworking actress, you can consider her a senior. And this is Wei Jiuli, who just won Best Actress. Young and very talented. She’s playing the Princess ‘Ji Lan’ in our show.”

This introduction was redundant. It was a good thing Dong Ya wasn’t there, or she would have complained about the “old monk’s lecture.”

But neither Shi Qing nor Wei Jiuli stopped her. They played along, acting as if they had just met.

Wei Jiuli looked at Shi Qing, politely raising her hand. “Teacher Shi, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope we get along well.”

Shi Qing shook her hand in a dignified manner. “Teacher Wei, I look forward to working with you as well.”

Both were excellent actresses, and they played their parts of meeting for the first time with ease.

Only when they let go of each other, Wei Jiuli’s thumb lingered a little longer on Shi Qing’s hand, lightly stroking the back of her palm.

It tickled slightly.

Fan Erhua looked at the two main leads she had carefully chosen, and she liked what she saw. With a wave of her hand, she said, “Come on, let’s go inside. The others will be here soon. It’s too cold out here.”

The three of them walked in together.

The conference room had been rearranged with a large round table in the middle and chairs arranged around it in two circles.

Fan Erhua tossed her backpack onto the chair directly across from the door and said to the two of them, “Sit wherever you like. Besides filming, my crew is all about being relaxed.”

So, Shi Qing sat down across from Wei Jiuli, with the large round table between them. Fan Erhua sat in the center, forming a perfect isosceles triangle.

Fan Erhua looked at where Shi Qing had settled and nodded approvingly.

“Shi Qing’s spot is good. It’s by the air vent, so it’s warm.”

Shi Qing replied, “Yes, I get cold easily.”

She did get cold easily.

She remembered once, when they were filming, the power went out at the hotel and she was too cold to sleep. Wei Jiuli ordered two hot water bottles, filled them, and placed one by her feet and one by her legs. She then held Shi Qing in her arms, and Shi Qing slept soundly all night.

After sitting down, Shi Qing took off her down jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. She wore a soft, lake-blue knit sweater over a light-colored collared shirt.

She bent down to pull a blue hard-shell folder from her shoulder bag, opened the stainless steel clip, took out her character biography, closed the folder, and put it back in her bag. The biography was a thin stack of a dozen pages, not a single wrinkle on it.

Fan Erhua noticed this detail and smiled with satisfaction.

In the next few minutes, the director’s assistant and other crew members arrived, serving hot tea at each seat. Ten minutes before the meeting began, the actors and screenwriters started to show up.

The lead screenwriter was the most clever, arriving at the last minute.

She was a young woman with short hair and an androgynous appearance that made it difficult to tell her gender at first glance. She wore a single earring and a baggy hoodie that hung loosely on her stick-thin frame.

She wasn’t wearing a jacket.

“Wow, so many people here already?”

She had a Beijing accent. Shi Qing immediately recognized it.

Fan Erhua pointed to the seat next to Wei Jiuli, which was specifically saved for her.

“Here, we were just waiting for you.”

The lead screenwriter closed the conference room door, shutting out the cold air. She glanced at the dozens of people and gave a warm smile.

“Sorry, everyone, for making you wait.”

When she wasn’t smiling, she looked unapproachable, but her smile was incredibly friendly, making people want to talk to her.

Fan Erhua said with a sigh, “It’s fine, you’re just on time. We were just talking about making a rule to fine people for being late. I guess you broke the rule on the first day!”

The lead screenwriter played along.

“Aww, if you had told me, I would have been a minute late. I would have bought everyone milk tea.”

She was quick-witted and had a way with words. Everyone in the room laughed. Her social skills seemed to belong to a seasoned adult, completely unlike her youthful appearance.

Shi Qing wasn’t surprised. People who were good at socializing were the ones who succeeded in this industry.

Once everyone was seated, Fan Erhua scanned the room and began her opening remarks. She was an experienced director who had started with low-budget films before building her network and directing several well-received blockbusters. The Empress was her first TV series. She gave a general overview of the show’s theme and purpose, then shared her directing philosophy.

“There’s only one rule: work hard when you’re working, and live your life when you’re not. Off-set, we can joke around and have fun. When we’re filming, I expect you to give it your all. My crew doesn’t pull all-nighters or work till dawn. I hope you won’t give me a chance to overwork you.”

Crews that didn’t pull all-nighters were rare. Hearing this, everyone in the room applauded.

Fan Erhua raised her hand to quiet them.

“Okay, now let’s go around and introduce ourselves, and the roles we’re playing. Let’s start with the person to my right.”

Following the clockwise order, Wei Jiuli was first, and Shi Qing was last.

Wei Jiuli received a nod from Fan Erhua, straightened her back, and looked up as dozens of pairs of eyes watched her.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Wei Jiuli, and I’m playing the Princess, ‘Ji Lan,’ in this show. Ji Lan is a woman who fights back against the patriarchal society of ancient times. After being suppressed by the throne and framed by political enemies, she is exiled to the borderlands. Finally, unable to bear the Empress’s constant persecution—”

Here, her eyes brazenly looked directly at Shi Qing, who was sitting across from her.

Shi Qing noticed the deliberate look and, without a change in expression, moved her gaze away, playing the part of an observer.

Wei Jiuli continued, “—she leads an uprising and establishes a new dynasty with a female empress.”

When she finished, Fan Erhua nodded in approval. “Well said. We’ll analyze Ji Lan’s character more during the discussion. Next.”

The next person was the lead screenwriter.

She leaned back in her chair and scratched the back of her head. With a bit of a mischievous look, she playfully glared at Wei Jiuli. “You spoke so well? Now I feel a little pressured.”

She seemed carefree and unreliable.

She continued, “I’m the screenwriter for this show, Guo Xi. You can call me ‘Xi-zi.’ I also wrote the original novel, The Empress. If you have any questions about the characters or the plot, you can ask me.”

Then, her tone changed.

“But I won’t make any changes. If you don’t understand something, please try to understand it. If you really can’t, ask the director, but please, don’t ask me.”

If someone had told Shi Qing that the unreliable young woman in front of her was the author of The Empress, she wouldn’t have believed it.

The novel was a grand, female-led political drama with a massive world, complex characters, and a professional military system. It was about a regime change, strategy, and power—all things that required extensive knowledge and wisdom. Shi Qing had read the novel five times to prepare for her character biography and had always imagined the author to be a worldly and calm middle-aged woman.

She never expected it to be Guo Xi.

Many people were as surprised as Shi Qing.

Fan Erhua sensed the subtle shift in the atmosphere and laughed.

“Don’t let her fool you. I’ve worked with Xi-zi before, and she’s a completely different person when she’s working. Also, don’t listen to her; if there are any problems with the script, just go to her.”

Guo Xi complained, “Director Fan, why do you always expose my secrets?”

“Haha—”

Everyone laughed. The atmosphere was light and pleasant.

The circle of introductions continued, from actors to screenwriters to the assistant director, finally landing on Shi Qing.

She straightened her back, placed both hands on the table, and began.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Shi Qing. In this show, I’m playing the Empress, ‘Jiang Ke.’ She is a woman who believes only in power. In her eyes, power is the most important thing, and she can sacrifice anyone for it.”

As she spoke, her gaze met those of the people looking at her.

Suddenly, one of those gazes was particularly intense, as if a piece of frosted glass had been removed, reflecting a powerful light.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment before quickly looking away.

Her monologue paused for a beat.

“She, therefore, she is betrayed by everyone. In the end, she is defeated by Ji Lan’s army of a million, and when the capital falls, she takes her own life.”

She spoke concisely, condensing a biography of thousands of words into three or four lines that summarized Empress Jiang Ke’s life.

When she finished, everyone applauded politely. Guo Xi’s applause was particularly loud, so loud that it made Fan Erhua’s ears hurt.

“Xi-zi, any thoughts?”

Guo Xi propped her face on her hand, a mischievous smile on her face.

“No, it’s great. When I wrote this book, I always imagined Jiang Ke as a great beauty. So when I talked to Director Fan, I told her the first requirement, no matter who she chose, was that they had to be beautiful. I do have a question, though.”

Shi Qing’s heart sank slightly. “Yes, Screenwriter Guo?”

Guo Xi said, “It’s a little cold over here. Can I switch seats with you?”

Shi Qing was speechless.

Guo Xi was only wearing a loose hoodie and no jacket, so the cold from outside hadn’t completely dissipated. Shi Qing was sitting by the air vent, the warmest spot in the room.

It was a perfectly reasonable request, and Shi Qing couldn’t refuse.

“Okay.”

She gathered her things and picked up her jacket. In those few seconds, Guo Xi had already darted to her spot.

“You’re the best! I’ll buy you milk tea tomorrow!”

Shi Qing smiled. “You’re welcome.”

It was her habit to help others.

But this time, it was a little different—

Guo Xi’s seat was right next to Wei Jiuli.