QTMWSFC Chapter 18

At the same time.

At the famous film and television base in A City, busy shooting was taking place.

“Jiang Li, I’m sorry, I’m really tired…”

With that, a woman gave a bitter, sorrowful smile and then sank heavily into the water.

“Cut!”

A moment later, the person in the water came ashore, gasping for air.

The director called cut, his face looking pleased. “Xia Qingmeng, you did very well in this scene. Great performance! Congratulations, you’re officially wrapped!”

Assistant He Xiaoxiao quickly came forward, wrapped Xia Qingmeng in a towel, and handed her a thermos filled with ginger tea.

“Xia Qingmeng, congratulations on wrapping!”

“Congratulations!”

Other crew members and actors also brought bouquets of flowers, pressing them into Xia Qingmeng’s arms and congratulating her.

This kind of enthusiastic scene only started happening after she and Xu Xinghe went public with their relationship. Because everyone knew that the Xu Group had significant influence in the entertainment market, even if not particularly focused on it.

Xia Qingmeng dried her hands with the towel and accepted the flowers.

The director watched from a distance as Xia Qingmeng said goodbye and thanked the crew, then posed for photos. He silently sighed to himself.

She was a good actress, hardworking and motivated, but she just didn’t have resources or opportunities.

Come to think of it, she had been publicly together with the young master of the Xu family for a while now. So why were her resources still so poor? Logically speaking, with that kind of backing, getting famous should have been a matter of minutes.

The director couldn’t figure it out. He suspected there was more to the story beneath the surface. Xia Qingmeng was too pure. She probably couldn’t handle a young master from a big family like the Xu family.

The director shook his head and soon turned his attention to the male and female leads. At the end of the day, Xia Qingmeng was at most the fourth female lead. Now that she was wrapped, they probably wouldn’t have many chances to work together again.

“Xiaoxiao, let’s go pack up at the hotel first and then go home.” Xia Qingmeng gathered her belongings on set. Not much, just a small crossbody bag.

He Xiaoxiao carried some miscellaneous things towards the nanny car.

Once she was wrapped, there was nothing left for Xia Qingmeng to do. She had no upcoming public appearances or new projects lined up. She felt a bit lost for a moment. Her resources had always been few, so she had much more free time than most popular actors.

She scrolled through her contacts. She didn’t have any particularly close friends. The only few friends she had were busy with their own careers. Who had time to eat and chat with her, an idle person?

After He Xiaoxiao stored everything away, the driver took them back to the hotel.

The water in the shooting pool was somewhat fishy and salty. Xia Qingmeng took a careful shower before starting to pack her things at the hotel.

Her belongings were always few, and with Xiaoxiao’s help, packing was quick.

While organizing, Xia Qingmeng received a call from her agent Ye Qin. Ye Qin said she had secured a variety show opportunity for her and told her to check her email when she got home. Xia Qingmeng agreed.

Just as she hung up the call, a message popped up on her screen.

[Xu Xinghe: Same routine.]

It meant that today being Friday, he would come to stay at her place at night and stay until Monday morning to leave.

Of course, this rule only applied when she was in A City. When she was away filming elsewhere, Xu Xinghe never visited her on set.

Xia Qingmeng pressed her lips together, unsure whether she felt disappointed or happy.

She originally thought that getting together with Xu Xinghe would be the start of her happiness. But now, it seemed that wasn’t quite the case.

Even though they were in a romantic relationship, she rarely saw Xu Xinghe smile. It was as if the man were born unable to smile. He was always cold and aloof, only showing a bit of passion and dominance in bed.

Even though they were obviously a couple, he treated seeing her like a task. He arrived punctually every Friday night, engaged in an intimate ‘exercise’ with her each night, and then left on Monday morning.

What kind of relationship was that? It was utterly strange!

She cleared the message from her screen. Xia Qingmeng sighed, picked up her small amount of luggage, and got into the car to go home.

If Xu Xinghe was coming over tonight, she would have to think about what takeout to order. Xia Qingmeng knew her cooking skills were very average and unpalatable, but not particularly good either.

She was afraid that Xu Xinghe wouldn’t like her cooking, so she always ordered takeout. She didn’t dare order anything cheap, and it always cost a lot of money.

Although they were both in the capital, the filming location was quite far away from home. On top of that, they hit rush hour, and the drive took over three hours. By the time Xia Qingmeng got home, it was already dark.

Fortunately, the takeout had already arrived. Although the late autumn evening was a bit chilly, the insulated bags kept the food still steaming hot.

After saying goodbye to Xiaoxiao, Xia Qingmeng put down the takeout, arranged the dishes on the table, and then collapsed onto the sofa in exhaustion.

No matter how nice other places might be, home was home. There was nowhere more comfortable to stay. Even the sofa felt the softest.

…

At nine o’clock in the evening.

As soon as Xu Xinghe finished his business dinner, he rushed to Xia Qingmeng’s place.

He had been busy for most of the day, and now he couldn’t wait to see her.

Arriving downstairs in the apartment building, Xu Xinghe looked up according to the memory in his mind and saw that Xia Qingmeng’s unit was pitch dark.

Could she not be home?

His pace quickened involuntarily as he climbed the stairs.

He entered the passcode and opened the door.

Sure enough.

The lights were off.

But his sharp eyes immediately spotted Xia Qingmeng curled up on the sofa, fast asleep. On the dining table sat the now-cold, abundant dishes. They were clearly ordered takeout.

Xu Xinghe approached the sofa silently.

Even with the lights off, he could clearly see Xia Qingmeng’s face. It was the same face from the previous small world, just as beautiful, with that little touch of stubbornness that was uniquely hers.

But why did her face look slightly flushed?

Xu Xinghe’s heart tightened. He quickly felt her forehead.

It was a little hot!

The chill of late autumn was biting, and the temperature difference between day and night was huge. Wearing only two thin layers of clothing, lying on the sofa without even a blanket, she had naturally caught a cold.

What’s more, she had just finished work and was exhausted after a long day. Her resistance was low, and it was easier to catch a cold!

Xu Xinghe immediately scooped her up, carried her to the bed, and covered her with a blanket.

He rummaged through the room and found a small medicine kit by the bedside. There were no cooling patches inside or any fever-reducing medicine. After much searching, he found a single blister pack, which was expired. There were also a few other assorted pills. In the end, the only thing useful was a thermometer.

With no other choice, he immediately ordered medicine via delivery. Then he put the thermometer in place, wet a towel, and wiped Xia Qingmeng’s face to cool her down manually.

When enough time had passed, Xu Xinghe took out the thermometer. It was 37.5 degrees. Fortunately, it was just a slight fever. Physical cooling would be enough.

About twenty minutes later, the delivered medicine arrived. Xu Xinghe applied a cooling patch to Xia Qingmeng’s forehead and made her drink plenty of warm water, then finally breathed a small sigh of relief.

While feeding her water, Xia Qingmeng groggily woke up for a moment. She vaguely saw a face very close to hers and felt water being poured into her mouth. She swallowed instinctively while feeling uncomfortable, and then nothing more.