After that day, Shen Zhiyi began to notice something very strange.
She seemed to be getting more and more used to Lin Wanxing's presence.
When she arrived at the set in the morning, the first thing she did was look for her.
At lunch, she would instinctively check where Lin Wanxing was sitting.
After finishing a scene, she couldn't help wondering what Lin Wanxing thought of it.
Even after returning home at night, whenever her phone failed to light up, she would instinctively glance at it.
Only then would she remember.
They had actually known each other for less than a week.
They were merely senior and junior colleagues working on the same production.
But feelings had never seemed to care about reason.
The more she told herself not to care,
the easier it became to care.
Day seven.
The soundstage was quieter than usual that morning.
They were filming an interior scene today.
Shen Zhiyi arrived half an hour early and sat in the dressing room reading the script.
She turned to the most important scene they were filming that day.
The content of the script was simple.
Gu Yan and Su He got into an argument over something trivial.
Neither of them was truly angry.
They were simply realizing for the first time that they actually cared about the other person's feelings.
At the end, Gu Yan asked in a low voice:
“Do you care about me that much?”
Su He didn't answer.
She simply turned and walked away.
There was no kiss in the scene.
No embrace.
Not even a single “I like you.”
But the director had said this was the first time in the entire movie that the audience would truly feel the emotions between them.
Shen Zhiyi read it over and over.
Yet she still felt that it wouldn't be easy.
“If it were you.”
A voice suddenly came from behind her.
Shen Zhiyi jumped.
When she turned around, she saw Lin Wanxing standing in the doorway.
“When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
Lin Wanxing walked over.
“What are you looking at?”
Shen Zhiyi handed her the script.
“This scene.”
Lin Wanxing glanced at it.
“Having trouble?”
“Yeah.”
“Where?”
“I don't understand why she won't say anything when she clearly cares.”
Lin Wanxing sat down beside her.
“Because she's afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Afraid that once she says it out loud, their relationship will change.”
Shen Zhiyi fell silent.
“What if she doesn't say it?”
Lin Wanxing lowered her eyes to the script.
“Then all she can do is keep guessing.”
“Guessing whether the other person feels the same.”
“Guessing whether she cares.”
“Guessing whether she'll leave.”
Shen Zhiyi looked at her.
“Which do you think hurts more?”
Lin Wanxing raised her eyes.
“Not saying it.”
“Why?”
“Because at least if you say it, there's still a chance of getting an answer.”
“If you don't, all you can do is keep waiting.”
Shen Zhiyi didn't ask anything else.
She lowered her head and looked at the script.
She didn't know why.
Those lines didn't seem to be merely dialogue between the characters.
Ten in the morning.
They officially began filming.
The two of them sat at opposite ends of the dining table.
Shen Zhiyi spoke first.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Lin Wanxing looked up.
“Tell you what?”
“Where you went yesterday.”
“Didn't I tell you? I had work.”
“What kind of work did you have to keep from me?”
“I didn't keep it from you.”
“Then why didn't you say anything?”
Their emotions slowly began to rise.
“Su He.”
Lin Wanxing called her name in a low voice.
“What exactly are you angry about?”
Shen Zhiyi froze.
She looked at Lin Wanxing.
A trace of hurt gradually appeared in her eyes.
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Lin Wanxing asked.
Only then did Shen Zhiyi realize
that her tears had already begun to fall.
“I just...”
She paused.
“I don't like it when you don't tell me anything.”
The air fell silent.
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
After a long while,
she finally asked:
“Do you care about me that much?”
Shen Zhiyi went still.
She didn't answer.
She simply stood up and walked away.
“Cut!”
The director didn't speak right away.
After a moment,
“Very good.”
“That was exactly the feeling.”
“They both know the answer.”
“But neither of them dares admit it.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head.
She was still immersed in the emotions from the scene.
It wasn't until Lin Wanxing came to stand beside her that she heard:
“Are you okay?”
Shen Zhiyi looked up.
“Yeah.”
“You cried so convincingly just now.”
“Maybe I got too deep into character.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“Sometimes getting too deep into character isn't a bad thing.”
“But don't let yourself actually get hurt.”
Shen Zhiyi smiled faintly.
“I know.”
At noon,
the production added an interview scene at the last minute.
The two of them needed to film a promotional behind-the-scenes segment together.
The photographer had them sit on a couch.
“Move a little closer.”
Shen Zhiyi shifted slightly to the side.
Lin Wanxing moved closer as well.
“A little closer.”
They moved closer again.
Their shoulders lightly brushed against each other.
Shen Zhiyi's body instantly tensed.
She could feel Lin Wanxing's warmth.
She could even smell the faint fragrance on her.
The photographer didn't notice at all.
“Great.”
“Look at the camera.”
“How's it been working together today?”
Shen Zhiyi answered:
“Wanxing has taken really good care of me.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“She works hard, too.”
“Are you close off-camera?”
The question left both of them silent for a second.
Shen Zhiyi answered with a smile:
“Very.”
“We'd say we're friends.”
Lin Wanxing didn't contradict her.
She simply looked at the camera.
But after filming ended,
Shen Zhiyi kept thinking about those two words.
Friends.
They were friends.
But...
Were they really just friends?
That afternoon,
Shen Zhiyi sat alone in the break room, looking at her phone.
Promotional news about the movie had already begun appearing on Weibo.
Someone had posted behind-the-scenes footage from that day's shoot.
One of the photos showed her and Lin Wanxing sitting on the couch.
They were sitting very close together.
The comments quickly filled with messages.
“The new leading lady is gorgeous.”
“She and Lin Wanxing have such great chemistry.”
“These two really look perfect together.”
“Lin Wanxing seems to take really good care of her.”
Shen Zhiyi stared at the comments.
An indescribable feeling welled up inside her.
She scrolled down.
Then she suddenly saw one comment.
“Please don't start pushing another ship. Lin Wanxing does this every time she works with a newcomer.”
Her hand paused.
The next one read:
“Just a newcomer riding Best Actress's coattails, right?”
The smile slowly faded from Shen Zhiyi's face.
She knew this was all perfectly normal in the entertainment industry.
But seeing it with her own eyes
still hurt.
“What are you looking at?”
Lin Wanxing's voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Shen Zhiyi hurriedly turned off her phone.
“Nothing.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“Someone insulting you?”
“No.”
“Let me see.”
“Really, it's nothing.”
Lin Wanxing didn't ask again.
She simply sat down beside her.
“Don't look at that stuff.”
“Okay.”
“Things people say online aren't worth getting upset over.”
Shen Zhiyi was silent for a moment.
“But I'm afraid people will think I'm using you for attention.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“You're not.”
“But everyone else won't see it that way.”
“That's their problem.”
Shen Zhiyi looked up.
Lin Wanxing said seriously:
“You don't have to exhaust yourself trying to prove you're not someone else's accessory.”
“You're Shen Zhiyi.”
“You have a name of your own.”
“And your own path.”
Shen Zhiyi's eyes grew slightly warm.
She lowered her head.
“Thank you.”
Lin Wanxing said nothing.
She simply raised a hand and gently rubbed Shen Zhiyi's hair.
The gesture was completely natural,
yet it left Shen Zhiyi frozen.
Lin Wanxing seemed to realize that the gesture was a little too intimate.
Her hand stopped in midair.
Then she slowly pulled it back.
“Sorry.”
“It's okay.”
They both looked away at the same time.
The air suddenly grew very quiet.
After wrapping for the night,
Shen Zhiyi didn't go home right away.
She walked alone to the rooftop behind the soundstage.
The night wind was strong.
Leaning against the railing, she looked out at the city in the distance.
A lot had happened that day.
It was the first time she'd filmed an emotional scene with Lin Wanxing.
The first time Lin Wanxing had comforted her.
The first time Lin Wanxing had touched her head.
And the first time she'd clearly realized—
she might really have fallen for her.
Shen Zhiyi closed her eyes.
She didn't want to admit it.
But her heart already knew the answer.
She liked Lin Wanxing.
It wasn't the way a fan liked an idol.
It wasn't the way a newcomer admired a senior.
It was the way her heart raced whenever she saw her.
The way receiving a message from her made her happy.
The way she missed her when she wasn't around.
Even the way seeing her get too close to someone else made her a little uncomfortable.
Those feelings
could no longer be explained away as ordinary friendship.
“So...”
Shen Zhiyi whispered,
“I really do like you.”
Footsteps suddenly sounded behind her.
She jumped.
When she turned around,
Lin Wanxing was standing in the doorway.
The color drained from Shen Zhiyi's face.
“What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you.”
“Looking for me?”
“Yeah.”
Lin Wanxing walked over.
“Zhou Yuqing said you hadn't left yet.”
“I just came out for some air.”
“Are you feeling down?”
“No.”
Lin Wanxing came to stand beside her.
Together, they looked out at the night view.
“Don't take today's comments to heart.”
Shen Zhiyi froze.
“You know?”
“Yeah.”
“I'm actually over it.”
“Good.”
After a brief silence,
Shen Zhiyi suddenly asked:
“Wanxing.”
“Hmm?”
“If one day...”
She stopped.
She didn't know whether she should ask.
“If one day you fell for someone,”
Lin Wanxing turned her face toward her.
“Hmm?”
“But that person might affect your work.”
“What would you do?”
Lin Wanxing didn't answer right away.
The night wind tousled her hair.
She raised a hand and smoothed it back.
“I don't know.”
“I might be very afraid.”
Shen Zhiyi's heart tightened.
“Would you still like them?”
Lin Wanxing looked into the distance.
“If I really liked them,”
“I think I would.”
Shen Zhiyi looked at her.
“But what if you couldn't be together?”
This time,
Lin Wanxing was silent for a long while.
At last, she said softly:
“Then at least don't let yourself have regrets.”
Shen Zhiyi didn't say anything else.
She didn't know why Lin Wanxing had said those things.
Even less did she know
that at that very moment, Lin Wanxing was thinking about the same thing.
Because she had already begun to realize
that what she felt for Shen Zhiyi
seemed to have long since gone beyond a senior's feelings for a junior.
As they were preparing to leave the rooftop,
Lin Wanxing suddenly stopped.
“Zhiyi.”
“Hmm?”
“Tomorrow's our day off.”
“I know.”
“Do you have plans?”
Shen Zhiyi shook her head.
“No.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“Then want to grab dinner together?”
Shen Zhiyi froze.
“Just the two of us?”
“Yeah.”
Her heart immediately began to race.
“Okay.”
Lin Wanxing smiled.
“See you tomorrow.”
Shen Zhiyi smiled too.
“See you tomorrow.”
They walked downstairs together.
Neither of them noticed
that outside the glass door some distance away,
someone was holding up a phone.
The camera remained trained on them for several seconds.
Then
the shutter clicked.
“Click.”
In the darkness of the night,
a photograph was quietly captured.
In the photo,
Lin Wanxing and Shen Zhiyi were walking side by side.
They were very close.
And this photograph
would become the first spark that changed their fates one day in the future.
At that point, they still didn't know
that the sweetest moment of falling for someone
was often also the most dangerous.
Because once love began to take shape,
someone would inevitably want to see it.
And in the entertainment industry,
there was one thing it never lacked:
cameras.