Lu Wen seemed to be talking to himself. "It's not Ye Shan's fault. Father Ye died in an accident that no one could have predicted. If you're going to trace it back to the root like that, then I was the one who caused my mom's death too."

Qu Yanting said, "That's different."

"There's no difference," Lu Wen retorted.

Fearing things were taking a wrong turn, Sun Xiaojian quickly interjected, "Screenwriter Qu wrote the script. What are you arguing with him for? Be good, go back to untangling your earphones."

Lu Wen wasn't arguing; he was expressing his innermost feelings. "I'm only speaking for myself. I feel really sorry for Ye Shan. If there were really such a person, I hope..."

Qu Yanting's Adam's apple bobbed. "What?"

Lu Wen said, "I hope he never has to cry like he did tonight."

The car was silent for the rest of the journey. By the time they reached the hotel, the sky was about to brighten. Lu Wen and Qu Yanting parted ways in the hallway. Saying "good morning" or "good night" both felt inappropriate, so they tacitly swiped their key cards and entered their rooms, bidding a temporary farewell.

The carnation was still on the entryway cabinet. Qu Yanting gently touched a petal before heading to his bedroom to rest.

A day and a night had passed. It was a cloudy morning, the sky a grayish-blue.

His phone vibrated on the pillow. The caller ID showed "Screenwriter Qiao." Qu Yanting woke with a start, guessing there was news about Professor Wu. He answered the call as he got out of bed.

Screenwriter Qiao was surprised. "That was fast today."

Qu Yanting tried to be cool. "My hand slipped."

He walked into the bathroom while on the phone, turning on the hot water, unbuttoning and taking off his clothes with one hand. After the call ended, he soaked in the hot water and took a comfortable bath.

Qu Yanting had slept for too long and needed to stretch his muscles. He didn't call for the driver and instead took the subway after the morning rush hour. He felt no discomfort among the sparse, distant strangers.

After getting off the subway, he walked two blocks to the film set.

Group A was filming on the third floor. Qu Yanting didn't go up. He sent Xiao Zhang to run an errand, telling him to inform Ren Shu that he had something to attend to and to ask Ren Shu to come to room 101 after he finished filming.

Ren Shu didn't delay after finishing his scene and immediately went to find Qu Yanting. Room 101 was unlocked, and the living room was empty. Qu Yanting was on the balcony in high spirits, watering the flowers.

"Why are you here this morning?" Ren Shu walked over. "You're not busy. That's quite unusual."

Qu Yanting was concise. "I was looking for you."

Ren Shu was completely clueless. He stood next to Qu Yanting, two grown men staring at a pot of malnourished little flowers. He flicked a petal. "Whatever it is, just give the order."

Qu Yanting wasn't one for jokes and got straight to the point. "The TV Artists Association is holding a seminar in Beijing in a couple of days."

Ren Shu knew about it and understood that Qu Yanting wouldn't bring it up for no reason. He grunted in acknowledgement, waiting for what was next.

Qu Yanting pinched off a yellowed leaf. "Professor Wu from the production center will be attending. Weren't you saying you wanted to meet him?"

The production center, fully known as the China Central Television Drama Production Center, had Professor Wu as its deputy director. When they were in university, Professor Wu was the vice dean and the doctoral supervisor for feature film cinematography in the cinematography department. He had always been Ren Shu's idol.

"Buddy," Ren Shu had always wanted to meet him but never got the chance. He asked, a little excitedly, "what do you mean?"

Qu Yanting didn't keep him in suspense. "Our studio has a TV series that's part of this seminar. We're sending Screenwriter Qiao to attend. After the conference, we'll organize a dinner or a tea gathering and invite Professor Wu."

He pinched off a small handful of withered leaves and dead flowers, carefully cupping them in his palm, and his voice softened. "If you're willing, you can make a trip back to Beijing. I'll have Screenwriter Qiao arrange it, and you two can go meet Professor Wu together."

Ren Shu stared at Qu Yanting, his eyes shining brightly, like they held glowing sparks.

Qu Yanting belatedly made a joke. "Look in the mirror. You look like you're about to transform."

Ren Shu let him tease. "Why are you being so good to me?"

They hadn't been in touch much over the years, only reuniting for this drama. During a late-night chat in the prep period, he had mentioned wanting to meet Professor Wu. He never expected Qu Yanting to remember it all this time.

Qu Yanting said, "I got through university on financial aid, and our major was a money pit. During those years, you were always 'mistakenly' buying extra clothes or topping up the wrong meal card, and every time I went to your place, you'd feed me and send me home with more. I have some conscience, at least. It's only right to repay a kindness."

During the hotpot dinner, they had reminisced about many things, but Ren Shu never mentioned any of this. The hardships of youth were like old scars on one's pride, and he couldn't bear to reopen them. "We were helping each other out. What's this about kindness? Are you trying to shame me again?"

"Let's not say anything more." Qu Yanting turned the page on that topic. "If you need to book a flight, book it. Arrange your work for the crew."

The excitement just now had almost made Ren Shu forget he was the director. He became conflicted. "I'll be gone for a day or two. The crew here, with everyone..."

Qu Yanting said, "Just delegate the tasks to the director's team."

Ren Shu grunted, staring dazedly out the window. Four or five seconds later, he pulled the shooting schedule out from his jacket, a weary smile on his face.

"Delegating is easy. The key is to have someone in charge, someone to oversee things."

"See who you think is suitable, then—"

"Stop fussing with that pathetic flower." Ren Shu interrupted, placing the crumpled call sheet on the windowsill. "I think you're quite suitable."

Now it was Qu Yanting's turn to be surprised.

His gaze fell on the paper and refused to move, locked in a stalemate with the black and white text. After a while, he replied, "Stop joking. I'm a screenwriter."

Ren Shu said, "You were the top student in the directing department."

Qu Yanting said, "Studying and working are different. Maybe I'm only good on paper."

"I think you're selling yourself short." Ren Shu placed the call sheet on the windowsill. "Besides, you've been learning from Director Zeng all these years. Your skills have surely only improved."

Qu Yanting swallowed a mouthful of air, his lips pressed together.

Ren Shu said, "Just agree to it. You wrote the script, you invested the money. Isn't it only natural for me to entrust it to you? You rarely voice your opinions when watching the scenes, ensuring I have the greatest authority as a director. I know all that. So this time, just follow my arrangements."

Qu Yanting hesitated, a faint, hard-to-capture excitement in his eyes.

"Okay... I'll give it a try."

Qu Yanting agreed. As he reached for the call sheet, he realized his hand had unknowingly balled into a fist. He opened his hand. The light sweat on his palm moistened the withered flowers and leaves, as if they were experiencing spring once more.

They had to review the dailies today. Ren Shu asked, "Want to watch them together?"

Qu Yanting had made a special trip over and would be heading back to the hotel soon. He had a conference call with the studio in the afternoon.

Seeing this, Ren Shu requisitioned the break room. He sent a message for his assistant to notify the director, cinematographer, and male lead of Group A to gather in this room to review the footage.

The male lead received the message and ran down from Unit Three, a box of pastries in his hand. He had received so much praise during the all-night shoot that he was feeling flashy and wouldn't be comfortable without treating everyone.

The box Lu Wen was carrying was for Qu Yanting. The man hadn't been there in the morning, so they had gone cold. Now that he was going to the screenwriter's break room, he could take them over.

Halfway there, he saw the screenwriter himself walking towards him.

Qu Yanting was holding the director's call sheet, reading it as he walked. He passed by an old utility pole, and a shadow fell before him. He looked up to see Lu Wen blocking his path as if staging a robbery.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the hotel."

"Why are you going back so early?"

Qu Yanting found it strange. Did he need to report his comings and goings to this person now?

Lu Wen also realized he was being too nosy. He gave a silly laugh to brush it off and handed over the pastry box. "I bought breakfast for the whole crew. This is your share, pineapple bun and cream puffs."

This was at least the third time. Qu Yanting said, "The small fee you're earning isn't even enough to cover all these treats."

"I like doing it." Lu Wen shook the box. "So are you eating them or not?"

Qu Yanting didn't take it. "I've already eaten. You can keep them as a snack."

Lu Wen didn't insist and pulled his hand back. As Qu Yanting walked past him, he turned to look at the man's retreating figure. He had never asked, was his pay really higher than Ruan Feng's?

If so, why did Qu Yanting lie to him that day?

Lu Wen kicked a small pebble and headed towards Unit One.

Seven or eight grown men were squeezed into the living room of 101. The sofa was full, and Lu Wen, having the lowest status, consciously moved a small stool to sit on the side. He opened the pastry box and took out a crispy pineapple bun for himself as an extra meal.

Ren Shu said, "You haven't even started work, and you're already eating."

Lu Wen mumbled, "I like to eat something when I'm watching footage."

The assistant director was setting up the clips and laughed when he heard this. "What the hell, 'watching footage.' We're reviewing the dailies."

The dailies were set up and connected to the TV. It was the content filmed the night before last: the conflict where Ye Shan and Mother Ye's emotions both erupted, followed by Ye Shan waking from a dream and looking at his father's photo.

There was no background music or editing. The raw footage wasn't as perfect as the final product, but it had a surveillance-like reality, a kind of raw-power shock.