Shen Zhiyi didn't leave the house all day.
The curtains were drawn.
The only sound in the room was the hum of the air conditioner.
Her phone lay on the bed.
The screen kept lighting up.
Notifications from her agency.
Messages from the production.
Calls from unfamiliar media outlets.
And private messages from people she didn't even know.
She didn't reply to a single one.
Until three in the afternoon.
Her phone rang again.
This time, it was Lin Wanxing.
Shen Zhiyi stared at the name for a long time.
In the end, she answered.
“Hello.”
“Have you eaten?”
Lin Wanxing's voice was soft on the other end.
Shen Zhiyi's nose stung.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I don't have an appetite.”
“Zhiyi.”
Lin Wanxing called her by name.
“At least eat something.”
Shen Zhiyi fell silent.
“What about you?”
“I haven't eaten either.”
“Then why are you telling me to eat?”
“Because I know your stomach hurts when you don't eat.”
Shen Zhiyi froze for a moment.
She hadn't expected Lin Wanxing to remember even that.
“You remember.”
“Yeah.”
“You remember everything.”
Lin Wanxing didn't answer.
Silence stretched between them for a long time.
Finally, Shen Zhiyi asked, “Can we really not keep filming?”
Lin Wanxing was silent.
“Only for now.”
“For how long?”
“I don't know.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head.
“Is it because of me?”
“No.”
“But if it isn't me—”
“Zhiyi.”
Lin Wanxing's tone suddenly turned serious.
“Don't say that again.”
“You didn't do anything wrong.”
“I know.”
Shen Zhiyi's eyes reddened.
“But I still feel awful.”
There was no sound from the other end.
A few seconds later, Lin Wanxing said, “Me too.”
At six that evening, Shen Zhiyi finally went downstairs.
Wearing a hat and a mask, she walked to a nearby convenience store and bought a few things.
On her way home, she suddenly saw someone familiar standing on the opposite corner.
A black hat.
A black jacket.
A mask covering half her face.
But Shen Zhiyi recognized her at a glance.
Lin Wanxing.
Shen Zhiyi stopped.
Lin Wanxing saw her too.
They stared at each other across the street.
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Lin Wanxing crossed over first.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Buying something.”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah.”
Lin Wanxing glanced at the bag in her hand.
There was only one rice ball and a bottle of milk inside.
She frowned.
“That’s your dinner?”
Shen Zhiyi said quietly, “I really can’t eat much.”
Lin Wanxing didn't scold her.
She simply took the bag from her.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“To get dinner.”
“But…”
“Relax.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“No one’s here.”
In the end, Shen Zhiyi followed her.
They arrived at a very small private restaurant.
Lin Wanxing seemed to know the owner.
After they entered, the owner only glanced at her before leading them to a private room in the back.
“Don’t worry,” the owner said with a smile. “No one will bother you here.”
Lin Wanxing nodded.
“Thank you.”
The door closed.
Shen Zhiyi sat across from her.
Suddenly, the scene before her felt a lot like the past.
They were eating together.
Talking together.
Only this time, the atmosphere wasn't as easy as it had been before.
“Why did you come find me?” Shen Zhiyi asked.
Lin Wanxing lowered her eyes to the tabletop.
“I wanted to see you.”
It was such a simple sentence.
Yet it made Shen Zhiyi's eyes turn red instantly.
“But didn't the agency tell us not to see each other for now?”
“They didn't forbid it.”
“Just told us not to appear together in public.”
“Then why did you still come?”
“Because I wanted to see you.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head.
She didn't dare look at her again.
She was afraid she would cry.
When the food arrived, Lin Wanxing pushed a bowl toward Shen Zhiyi.
“Eat.”
“I really don't have much of an appetite.”
“Just a few bites.”
Shen Zhiyi picked up her chopsticks and began eating slowly.
Lin Wanxing kept watching her.
“Stop staring at me.”
“Why?”
“I won't be able to eat.”
Lin Wanxing smiled.
“Fine. I won't look.”
She turned her head away.
Shen Zhiyi couldn't help laughing.
“You're so childish.”
“You're laughing too, aren't you?”
“No, I'm not.”
“You are.”
“No, I'm not.”
After just a few short exchanges, they were both laughing.
It was as if all those news stories,
all that pressure,
all those problems,
had temporarily disappeared.
Halfway through the meal, Lin Wanxing suddenly spoke.
“Zhiyi.”
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever thought about leaving this show?”
Shen Zhiyi's chopsticks stopped.
“No.”
“Even if the agency really makes you quit?”
“I still wouldn't want to.”
“Why?”
Shen Zhiyi was silent for a while.
“Because I really like this role.”
“What else?”
She raised her head.
“Because…”
She looked at Lin Wanxing.
“I want to finish filming it with you.”
Lin Wanxing froze.
She hadn't expected Shen Zhiyi to answer that way.
“What if we really can't finish filming in the end?”
“Then there won't be anything we can do.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head.
“But at least I don't want to give up on my own first just because I'm afraid.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
For a long time, she said nothing.
Finally, she smiled faintly.
“Okay.”
“Then we won't give up.”
At eight that evening, they left the restaurant.
Lin Wanxing didn't take her straight home.
Instead, she took her to the riverside embankment.
The night breeze was cool.
In the distance, the city's lights reflected on the water.
They walked side by side.
Shen Zhiyi suddenly asked, “Wanxing.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you regret it?”
Lin Wanxing stopped.
“Regret what?”
“Yesterday.”
“No.”
“Not even a little?”
“No.”
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head.
“But if we hadn't gone on that date, there wouldn't have been any photos.”
“And if there hadn't been any photos, you wouldn't have been dragged into this.”
“I could still be filming just fine right now.”
“Zhiyi.”
Lin Wanxing stepped in front of her.
“If you could go back to yesterday, would you still go out with me?”
Shen Zhiyi didn't answer right away.
She looked at Lin Wanxing.
The sunset that had appeared as the Ferris wheel rose came to mind.
The book in the bookstore.
The laughter in the coffee shop.
And that long-lost sense of peace when they sat together.
In the end, she nodded.
“I would.”
Lin Wanxing smiled.
“So would I.”
“Then don't regret it.”
Shen Zhiyi looked at her.
“But…”
“I know what you're afraid of,” Lin Wanxing said.
“You're afraid I'll lose a lot of things because of you.”
Shen Zhiyi said nothing.
“But have you ever thought about this?”
“Maybe the things I lose aren't because of you.”
“Maybe they're because of the choices I make.”
Shen Zhiyi froze.
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“I'm not a child.”
“I know what I'm doing.”
“So don't make decisions for me.”
Shen Zhiyi's eyes reddened.
“Okay.”
On the way back, Shen Zhiyi sat in the passenger seat.
She didn't say a word the entire drive.
Only when they were nearly home did she suddenly speak.
“Wanxing.”
“Hmm?”
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
Shen Zhiyi tightened her grip on the seat belt.
“Actually…”
She paused for a long time.
“I think I really might have fallen for you.”
The car fell silent in an instant.
Lin Wanxing's hands tightened slightly around the steering wheel.
She didn't say anything.
Shen Zhiyi's heart began racing faster and faster.
She lowered her head.
“You don't have to answer.”
“I just…”
“Wanted you to know.”
The car stopped at a red light.
At last, Lin Wanxing spoke.
“Why don't you want me to answer?”
“Because I'm scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“That you don't like me.”
Lin Wanxing looked straight ahead.
There were still twenty seconds left on the red light.
She suddenly smiled.
“If I didn't like you…”
Shen Zhiyi's heart slowly sank.
“I wouldn't have shown up today.”
Shen Zhiyi lifted her head.
Lin Wanxing turned to look at her.
“I like you too.”
For a moment, Shen Zhiyi went completely still.
She even wondered if she'd heard wrong.
“You…”
“I said,” Lin Wanxing's voice was soft, “I like you too.”
Tears spilled from Shen Zhiyi's eyes instantly.
She quickly turned away.
“Don't cry.”
“I’m not…”
“You clearly are.”
“It’s because…”
She wiped away her tears, but the more she wiped, the more came.
With a smile, Lin Wanxing handed her a tissue.
“Take your time.”
“We don't have to decide everything right now.”
“We don't have to tell everyone right away.”
“And we don't have to give this relationship a name yet.”
Shen Zhiyi took the tissue.
“So what are we now?”
Lin Wanxing fell silent.
She thought for a moment.
“I guess…”
“Two people who like each other.”
Shen Zhiyi smiled.
“Does that count as an answer?”
“It does.”
“But I want something more definite.”
Lin Wanxing looked at her.
“Once things have calmed down a little…”
“I'll ask you properly.”
Shen Zhiyi nodded.
“Okay.”
The car started moving again.
In the darkness of the night, neither of them spoke.
But the atmosphere had completely changed.
Shen Zhiyi stole a glance at Lin Wanxing.
The streetlights softened the lines of her profile.
Lin Wanxing suddenly asked, “Why are you looking at me?”
Shen Zhiyi immediately turned away.
“I’m not.”
“You've said ‘no’ all day.”
“I really wasn't.”
“Okay.”
Lin Wanxing smiled.
Shen Zhiyi smiled too.
She lowered her head.
Her fingers lightly gripped the seat belt.
For the first time, she felt a strange sense of certainty settle in her heart.
She finally knew.
Her feelings weren't one-sided after all.
All those coffees,
all those messages,
all those unintentional moments of drawing closer—
They all had an answer.
It was just that they still couldn't tell everyone what that answer was.
However, just after they left the riverside embankment, another car stopped not far away.
The person inside lowered their phone.
On the screen was a video that had just been recorded.
In the footage, Lin Wanxing and Shen Zhiyi stood by the river.
They were very close.
The audio wasn't clear.
But the final sentence had been captured perfectly.
—“I like you too.”
The person watched the video, the corners of their mouth slowly curling upward.
“Finally said it out loud.”
The phone screen switched.
A message was sent.
[Video confirmed.]
[It can go public tomorrow.]
In the early hours of the following morning, Shen Zhiyi was sleeping deeply.
She had no idea that a confession meant only for the two of them had been secretly recorded.
And this time,
maybe the photos could still be explained away as two friends.
But the words “I like you too” in the video could no longer be covered up with any excuse.
The real storm
was about to begin.