Lu Yi watched Yan Huan pick her way through the snow with great difficulty. Finally, she reached the gate of the community, where she stopped—it looked like she was trying to decide whether to continue onward or turn back. Lu Yi was headed north, towards his office, but Yan Huan appeared to be headed south, where the breakfast food stalls were located. He knew about the food stalls; the food sold there were inexpensive, yet delicious. In fact, some of them tasted better than even the larger restaurants.
He lifted his foot to take another step in the direction of his workplace, but suddenly changed his mind. On second thought, he thought to himself, maybe I should get something to eat instead.
Yan Huan was faced with a dilemma: should she turn back, or forge on? If she turned back now, she would be returning to her apartment empty-handed, which meant she would have walked in the freezing cold for nothing. And she and Yi Ling would have to go without breakfast that morning, because she didn’t have the time to restock the food supply in the pantry. But if she forged on to buy breakfast, her shoes would be dripping wet from the snow by the time she returned to her apartment.
She bit her lip. Just as she had made up her mind to step into the snow, she saw Lu Yi walk towards her. He continued past her without looking at her, leaving a long line of large footprints behind him.
Her heart leapt with joy. What a stroke of good luck!
She stepped onto the trail of large footprints. Her shoes remained clear of the snow.
Lu Yi stopped in front of a food stall. He appeared to be buying breakfast, too.
She quickly followed after him and bought two bags of buns, plus two bowls of porridge. She looked up at the sky: the snow was still falling. A few snowflakes fell into her eyes—she felt their icy coolness melt over her vision.
She lifted the bag, turned around, and happily retraced the large footprints to her apartment. She was in a good mood.
Lu Yi had bought a steamed bun as well. He bit into it as he watched Yan Huan’s retreating back. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth lifted into an uncharacteristic smile. He moved away from the stall in long, easy strides.
He did not have to drive to his office as it was located nearby, about a 20-minute walk away. In fact, he had not started his car in a long while—he preferred to walk if he did not have to hurry.
Back in Yan Huan’s apartment, Yi Ling dug into her steamed buns. She said, in between bites, “The agency still hasn’t brokered new jobs for you lately, but that’s because they’re waiting to get better rates for you as your popularity increases. You should take this opportunity to rest and recharge. By the way, I found a number of promising movie projects. Here. take a look. They’re mostly supporting roles, unfortunately—it’ll take a while before we get offers for the primary and secondary female leads.”
Yan Huan took a steamed bun and ate it slowly. Little Bean lay on her lap, too lazy to move.
The movies were slated to go into principal production over the next several months. Yan Huan would have to audition for a role if she was interested in any of them.
Yan Huan leafed through the scripts.
There was a casual Wuxia movie, a melodrama, and a period piece.
Yan Huan remembered the three movies from her previous life. The casual Wuxia movie and the period piece were both by famous directors, but most of the roles open for casting were the minor supporting roles. The “biggest” role on the table was the tertiary female lead.
The title for the melodrama project was Divorced. It told the tale of how two wide-eyed, innocent college students met and fell madly in love with each other. Their college romance had its share of ups and downs, but a timer hung over their relationship.
“Let’s break up once we graduate. How many college sweethearts actually end up staying together forever?”
The story tracked the male and female leads over the years, beginning with their tempestuous college romance as they strove to overcome every difficulty thrown their way. Their college years tested their youth and their love for each other, and they passed with flying colors.
