Rapid Collapse (GL) - Chapter 16

This reason barely convinced Han Ning. She nodded without saying anything and continued driving home.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped in the garage. Shen Xi opened the door, said goodnight, and quickly ran back to her building.

Han Ning watched her running figure, blinked, and felt a little puzzled by Shen Xi’s actions tonight.

Like Shen Xi, after more than ten hours of exhausting work, Han Ning was completely drained. Even taking a shower and removing makeup felt tiring. She jumped onto the bed, lying in a starfish position. After resting for a moment with her eyes closed, she slowly got up, took her pajamas from the closet, yawned, and walked into the bathroom.

At one in the morning, Han Ning finally finished washing up and turned off the bathroom light. The hot shower had made her body feel much better. She climbed under the blanket and fell asleep within minutes.

In the neighboring building, Shen Xi rested her chin on her hand, leaning against the windowsill as she looked at Han Ning’s building. Thunderstorm, her cat, walked over, lightly jumped to her feet, and rubbed its head against her palm. Shen Xi looked down at it, picked it up, and pressed her forehead against it with a smile.

Thunderstorm was very affectionate. It curled up in Shen Xi’s arms, closed its eyes comfortably, and purred.

“She must be asleep by now. Today was exhausting… she even got into a fight. How does she have such guts?” Shen Xi looked at her cat as she spoke. The cat, eyes still closed, let out a faint meow. Shen Xi gently stroked its head and chuckled, “You’re sleepy too, huh? Alright, let’s go to bed.”

At eight in the morning, the alarm rang on time.

Shen Xi turned over, struggled to open her eyes, and turned off the alarm. The cat in her arms stretched lazily. She lifted the blanket, got out of bed to wash up, and returned ten minutes later to tidy up the bed. After applying light makeup and getting dressed, she grabbed her bag and left the house.

She drove to the film studio and saw Han Ning’s nanny van parked next to an empty parking spot. She got out of the car and walked into the studio.

The set was bustling with preparations. Han Ning sat on a chair with her eyes closed, sipping black coffee like she had lost all hope in life.

Shen Xi smiled and quietly walked up to her, snapping her fingers in front of her face. “Wake up.”

The small noise startled Han Ning out of her drowsiness. She glanced resentfully at the energetic Shen Xi. “Stop it… I’m so sleepy.” She pulled Shen Xi to sit down, then, without warning, wrapped her arms around her and rested her head on Shen Xi’s shoulder.

“Let me nap for fifteen minutes. Wake me up then, okay?”

“It’s noisy here. Can you even sleep?” Shen Xi felt uncomfortable being held like this and instinctively tried to move away. Unexpectedly, Han Ning hugged her even tighter. “Don’t underestimate how fast a truly exhausted person can fall asleep,” she grumbled, dissatisfied. “Stop moving… what’s wrong with a hug?”

“Alright, alright…”

Shen Xi had no choice but to stay still. Han Ning’s breathing became slow and steady beside her. Shen Xi suddenly found this scene familiar. She lowered her head, smiled slightly, and thought: My cat sleeps just like this.

Shen Xi dared not move her arms, fearing she would wake Han Ning. After a few minutes, she got bored and started looking around at the extras hurrying about.

But then, something caught her eye. About ten meters away, a black van was parked. Inside, a man wearing a black cap kept glancing in her direction.

When their eyes met, the man either stiffly turned away or pretended to be absorbed in his phone. It was obvious something was off.

Shen Xi thought for a moment and quickly guessed that he was probably a paparazzo following Han Ning. She became wary and woke Han Ning. “Stop sleeping. Someone is taking pictures of you.”

After resting for a while, Han Ning felt more awake. She let go of Shen Xi, yawned, and stretched. “Let them. In this industry, who isn’t being photographed? As long as they don’t invade my privacy, I don’t care.”

Just then, the assistant director called Han Ning over. She got up and followed him to the set.

Shen Xi continued working on her scriptwriting duties and writing draft scripts in her free time.

At eleven o’clock, she stretched her stiff neck, closed her laptop, and took a sip of coffee.

Nie Lan appeared from a distance, still as arrogant as ever, surrounded by a bodyguard team that had grown by two more members. This flashy display attracted plenty of attention and whispers.

Shen Xi put down her coffee, crossed her arms, and stood still. As Nie Lan passed by, she sneered, rolled her eyes, and strutted forward like a proud peacock.

Shen Xi found it childish and didn’t even bother to react.

As she turned to continue writing, her peripheral vision caught sight of the black van parked nearby again. The man in the cap was hurriedly putting away his camera.

Shen Xi pretended not to notice, lowered her head, and returned to her seat. But in that instant, a wave of shock and fear struck her like thunder.

There was no celebrity nearby. Han Ning wasn’t around. Then… was this man following her?

She clenched her fists and forced herself to stay calm. Suddenly, she remembered that when she had looked at Nie Lan earlier, the man hadn’t been photographing her at all.

And as Han Ning had said, Nie Lan had countless scandals. If someone wanted juicy gossip, she would be the prime target. So why ignore her and take pictures of an ordinary person like Shen Xi?

Shen Xi’s fingers felt cold. She grabbed her phone and walked out of the room.

After filming wrapped, Han Ning went to look for Shen Xi. When she didn’t find her, she asked around, but no one had seen her.

Feeling a bit disappointed, Han Ning took out her phone and texted Shen Xi. Ten minutes passed with no reply. Thinking Shen Xi might not have seen the message, she called her.

The call was quickly declined. Just as Han Ning looked at her phone in surprise, a message popped up:

[I’m out handling something. Can’t take calls. Will be back later.]

Han Ning finally smiled, replied with an “Okay,” and dragged Liang Xun off to eat spicy fish.

Behind the fake mountain set, Shen Xi held a camera and flipped through the photos. The man in the black cap stood in front of her, looking defeated.

He never expected her to be so sharp. He had followed them all morning without getting anything useful. Han Ning was either working or resting. Then, Shen Xi suddenly disappeared. When he turned back after answering Nie Lan’s call, she was standing right behind him.

Shen Xi deleted all the photos and handed the camera back. “What’s your name?”

“A… Ah Tian.”

Shen Xi studied him—he looked about twenty, maybe even younger than her. She extended a hand. “Show me your ID.”

Ah Tian regretted his bad luck. He hesitated, covering his pocket. Shen Xi grew impatient.

“Hurry up. I still need to eat lunch.

Her tone made Ah Tian think she was ruthless. Reluctantly, he handed over his ID.

Shen Xi read his name—Tian He. She memorized his ID number and recited it aloud, startling him. “I’ve got your details. Now answer my questions honestly, or you’ll be in big trouble.”

She sat on a rock, crossed her legs elegantly, and casually adjusted her windblown hair.

“That call earlier—it was Nie Lan, wasn’t it?”

Ah Tian nodded. “Yes.”

“She sent you?”

“Yeah.”

Shen Xi’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Then let’s play by her rules.”