In Taipei, June always made it impossible to tell whether the weather was simply too hot or whether the air itself carried a suffocating heaviness.
At three in the afternoon, heavy rain suddenly began falling outside.
Rain drummed against the awning outside the soundstage, filling the air with a dense, relentless patter.
Shen Zhiyi stood at the soundstage entrance with her script in her arms and glanced down at the time on her phone.
2:57 p.m.
Three minutes until they officially began filming.
She drew a deep breath.
“Zhiyi.”
A familiar voice came from beside her.
Zhou Yuqing walked over with a folder in her arms and looked at her.
“You’ve been staring at that script this whole time.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head.
One page of the script had already been turned so many times that the edges were beginning to wrinkle.
“Have I?”
“You have.”
Zhou Yuqing answered without any hesitation.
Shen Zhiyi pressed her lips together and closed the script slightly.
“I’m just a little nervous.”
“It’s normal to be nervous when it’s your first time working on such a big production.”
Zhou Yuqing handed her the documents in her arms.
“But remember, you’re not here to be a fan.”
“I know.”
“And you’re not here to prove whether you’re worthy of acting with Lin Wanxing.”
Shen Zhiyi fell silent for a moment.
Zhou Yuqing looked at her, her tone gentling.
“You’re standing here because you passed the audition.”
“So stop thinking about how incredible she is.”
“All you need to do is act your best.”
Shen Zhiyi nodded.
“Okay.”
But although she said okay, she still couldn’t stop herself from thinking of that name.
Lin Wanxing.
Almost no one in the entertainment industry didn’t know those three words.
Twenty-nine years old, with three Best Actress awards.
In the ten years since her debut, she had experienced almost no true low point.
She had made arthouse films as well as commercial blockbusters.
She could play a gentle woman, or a villain so cold she was terrifying.
She rarely appeared on variety shows and seldom gave interviews about her private life.
So the impression the public had of her had always come down to one word.
—Cold.
Distant.
Calm.
So calm that people felt there was always an invisible pane of glass separating her from ordinary people.
Shen Zhiyi had only ever seen her on a screen.
She had never imagined that one day they would actually stand in the same soundstage.
Much less that Lin Wanxing would become her scene partner.
“Zhiyi.”
Zhou Yuqing suddenly called her.
“Hmm?”
“She’s here.”
Shen Zhiyi followed her gaze.
The once-noisy soundstage entrance had fallen quiet at some point.
Several crew members were greeting a woman.
She wore a long black coat over a simple white top.
There was no elaborate styling or excessive jewelry.
Her long hair fell naturally over her shoulders.
As she listened to the crew members speak, she lowered her head to check the script in her hand.
It was an utterly ordinary movement.
Yet Shen Zhiyi recognized her at a glance.
Lin Wanxing.
She was really here.
“Ms. Lin.”
The director hurried over to greet her.
“Sorry. Traffic was a little heavy.”
Lin Wanxing spoke softly.
“No problem, no problem. We’re still getting ready, too.”
The director smiled and stepped aside.
“We’ll shoot a few simple scenes today so everyone can get familiar with each other.”
Lin Wanxing nodded.
“Okay.”
Her gaze swept across the soundstage.
Then it stopped on Shen Zhiyi.
It lasted only a few seconds.
Yet Shen Zhiyi inexplicably felt nervous.
She instinctively straightened up.
Zhou Yuqing whispered beside her,
“Go say hi.”
“Now?”
“What else?”
Shen Zhiyi drew a deep breath.
She walked over with the script in her arms.
Every step felt stiff and awkward.
Only when she reached Lin Wanxing did she speak.
“Hello, Ms. Lin. I’m Shen Zhiyi.”
Lin Wanxing lifted her eyes.
For the first time, their gazes truly met.
The introduction Shen Zhiyi had prepared suddenly vanished from her mind.
All she could remember were Lin Wanxing’s eyes.
They were beautiful.
But they weren’t as cold as they appeared on camera.
At least right now, as she looked at Shen Zhiyi, her gaze was quiet.
“I know you,”
Lin Wanxing said.
Shen Zhiyi froze for a moment.
“You know me?”
“Mm.”
She nodded.
“I’ve seen your audition clip.”
Shen Zhiyi’s heart seemed to suddenly beat a little faster.
“Really?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Was she being too direct?
But Lin Wanxing didn’t seem bothered.
“Really.”
She smiled faintly.
“You were very good.”
“Thank you.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head.
Her ears, however, quietly turned red.
Lin Wanxing noticed, but didn’t point it out.
“You don’t have to call me Ms. Lin.”
Shen Zhiyi looked up.
“Huh?”
“We’ll be filming together for a long time.”
Lin Wanxing said,
“Just call me Wanxing.”
Shen Zhiyi stared at her for a moment.
“But…”
“It’s okay.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“If it feels strange, you can take your time.”
Shen Zhiyi nodded in the end.
“Okay.”
After a second, she called softly,
“Wanxing.”
Lin Wanxing smiled.
“Mm.”
In that instant, Shen Zhiyi suddenly felt that the name sounded even better than she had imagined.
She didn’t notice that after she turned and walked away, Lin Wanxing continued watching her retreating figure.
That was, until her manager, Gu Nanqiao, spoke up beside her.
“What are you looking at?”
Lin Wanxing withdrew her gaze.
“Nothing.”
“The newcomer?”
“Mm.”
Gu Nanqiao glanced at Shen Zhiyi.
“Her acting’s pretty good.”
Lin Wanxing didn’t answer.
She simply lowered her head and opened the script.
But for some reason, that slightly nervous face from moments ago remained in her mind.
At four in the afternoon, filming officially began.
Today’s scene was the leads’ first meeting.
More precisely, it was the first meeting between two women.
Shen Zhiyi played Su He, a girl who had just moved to Taipei.
Lin Wanxing played Gu Yan, a photographer with a distant personality.
Their first meeting took place on a rainy day.
Because Su He’s phone had died, she could only stand alone at the mouth of an alley and wait for the rain to stop.
Gu Yan approached from the other end.
Then she handed Su He her umbrella.
The scene looked simple enough.
Yet it was one of the most important scenes in the entire film.
Because the director didn’t want an ordinary encounter.
He wanted the audience to sense something indefinable from the first time the two of them locked eyes.
“Get ready.”
The crew began adjusting the lights.
Shen Zhiyi took her place in the street set built inside the soundstage.
An artificial rain curtain fell from overhead.
Her hair was quickly soaked through.
The director watched her through the director’s monitor.
“Zhiyi, remember.”
“You’re not looking at Lin Wanxing right now.”
“You’re looking at Gu Yan.”
Shen Zhiyi nodded.
“I know.”
“Good.”
“Departments, stand by.”
“Camera.”
“Lights.”
“Action.”
The rain began to fall.
Shen Zhiyi stood at the corner with her head lowered.
Half her clothes were already soaked.
The soles of her shoes stood in pooled water.
She looked at the phone in her hand, already powered off, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Footsteps approached from the distance.
She raised her head.
A black umbrella appeared in her line of sight.
Lin Wanxing stepped into the frame.
She said nothing.
She simply stopped in front of Shen Zhiyi.
The two of them locked eyes through the curtain of rain.
After a few seconds, Lin Wanxing angled the umbrella slightly toward her.
“Where are you going?”
Shen Zhiyi didn’t answer.
She only looked at her.
Her eyes held unfamiliarity, wariness, and a hint of helpless uncertainty.
Lin Wanxing spoke again.
“The rain’s heavy.”
“You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here.”
Shen Zhiyi finally spoke.
“What about you?”
Lin Wanxing paused faintly.
“What?”
“Aren’t you out in the rain, too?”
The two of them fell silent.
At last, Lin Wanxing smiled faintly.
“That’s why I’m asking if you want to leave together.”
Shen Zhiyi looked at her.
After a few seconds, she nodded lightly.
“Okay.”
“Cut!”
The director’s voice suddenly rang out.
The entire soundstage went silent for a moment.
Then the director stood up immediately.
“Excellent!”
“That’s it!”
He turned back toward the director’s monitor.
“Especially that moment when the two of them locked eyes.”
“Don’t move. This feeling is great.”
Shen Zhiyi let out a breath of relief.
She had actually been so nervous she could barely stand it.
Only now did she realize that her palms were covered in sweat.
“Your first time filming a scene like this?”
A voice came from beside her.
She turned her head.
Lin Wanxing was looking at her with a towel in hand.
“Mm.”
“Nervous?”
Shen Zhiyi honestly nodded.
“Very nervous.”
Lin Wanxing handed her the towel.
“Dry off.”
Shen Zhiyi stared for a moment.
“Thank you.”
She accepted the towel.
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“You really don’t have to be nervous.”
“This is my first time filming with you, too.”
Shen Zhiyi couldn’t help smiling.
“But you’ve acted in so many productions.”
“Having acted in many productions doesn’t mean I never get nervous.”
Her voice was calm.
“And acting isn’t something one person does alone.”
“When your scene partner feels comfortable, you feel comfortable, too.”
Shen Zhiyi looked at her.
She suddenly felt that the person in front of her was different from the rumors.
Not nearly as cold.
In fact, she was gentler than Shen Zhiyi had imagined.
“Wanxing.”
“Mm?”
“Are you like this with every newcomer?”
The moment she finished asking, Shen Zhiyi froze herself.
Had that sounded strange?
But Lin Wanxing only smiled.
“No.”
“Then why…”
“Because you acted very well just now.”
One sentence left Shen Zhiyi at a loss for how to respond.
She could only lower her head and look at the towel in her hands.
“Thank you.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her slightly flushed ears.
The corners of her mouth lifted a little before she realized it.
At nine that evening, filming finally wrapped for the day.
Shen Zhiyi sat in the dressing room, removing her makeup.
Looking at her tired reflection in the mirror, she couldn’t help letting out a breath of relief.
The first day.
It had gone more smoothly than she expected.
At least she hadn’t made any major mistakes.
She picked up her phone.
Dozens of messages popped up.
Most were encouragement from friends and family.
She replied to them one by one.
But when she finally exited the chat app, she saw a new friend request.
“Lin Wanxing has requested to add you as a friend.”
Shen Zhiyi froze.
She stared at the phone screen for several seconds, making sure she hadn’t read it wrong.
It really was Lin Wanxing.
She instinctively straightened in her seat.
“What’s wrong?”
Zhou Yuqing asked.
“Nothing.”
Shen Zhiyi quickly tapped accept.
The other person sent a message almost immediately.
[Wanxing: You worked hard today.]
Shen Zhiyi stared at the words.
For some reason,
although it was just an ordinary message,
she looked at it for a long time.
Finally, she slowly typed a reply.
[Shen Zhiyi: You too.]
She thought about it, then added another sentence.
[Shen Zhiyi: Thank you for today.]
The reply came quickly.
[Wanxing: Don’t mention it.]
[Wanxing: See you tomorrow.]
Shen Zhiyi stared at the final three words.
See you tomorrow.
She suddenly smiled.
The rain outside still hadn’t completely stopped.
The city’s neon lights reflected across the glass, blurring into a hazy wash of color.
No one knew that on this ordinary June night,
two people who should never have had much to do with each other were slowly, bit by bit, stepping into each other’s lives.
At the time, Shen Zhiyi still didn’t know.
Years later, she would think back to this day countless times.
She would remember the rain.
The umbrella.
The faint smile she saw when she met Lin Wanxing for the first time.
Even less did she know that—
three years later, the two of them would stand before each other once again because of the same love.
Only by then,
they would no longer be the people they were that day.
And the beginning of it all
was simply a rainstorm in June,
and one very simple—
“See you tomorrow.”