Neon B-Movies

Later, Chi Xiaoman moved out of that twenty-square-meter rental room. Her eczema never came back, and she never thought of Chen Yue again. The poorest year of her life was when Chi Xiaoman was twenty She was still living in a basement in an urban village, sharing the place with a woman. The basement was terribly rundown, with mold covering the ceiling. They could only eat the cheapest noodles beneath it, and kiss on a bed that creaked with every movement. In the dark, they could hardly tell whether the other was laughing or crying. Chi Xiaoman was so stingy. She cracked just one egg into the woman's noodles, while eating plain noodles herself. The woman sharing the room with her was so generous. She spent all day under the blazing sun as a stand-in, only to get cheated out of her pay. But when she passed a secondhand market, she still picked up a cheap stereo because Chi Xiaoman loved listening to music in the hazy half-sleep of an afternoon. Back then, they had nothing. They were young and down on their luck. That year, Chi Xiaoman couldn't remember exactly how she left that rental room. She only remembered that, before they parted, she made the woman a bowl of noodles with an egg in it. She also remembered how the woman stared at the noodles, which had two eggs this time, then calmly raised her eyes to Chi Xiaoman and said, “Chi Xiaoman, I hope your future is bright.” - Later, Chi Xiaoman got everything she'd wished for She saw her endorsement posters plastered all over the streets and alleys, bought a spacious, sunlit apartment in the city's most prosperous district, and insured for a fortune the face she'd once cared for with cheap moisturizer. That same year She heard that Chen Yue, one of the industry's finest actresses, had finally won the Best Actress award. Chi Xiaoman once posted a vague “Congratulations” on Weibo. But when it sparked heated discussion, she quickly deleted it. That night, Chen Yue responded openly with a gracious “Thank you.” Apart from that, the two had no further contact. By then, Chi Xiaoman was a top-tier star, with antis as devoted as her fans. Wherever she appeared, controversy followed. Chen Yue, meanwhile, was a low-profile award-winning actress, known for her hard work and dedication, with both critical acclaim and box-office success. Everyone said that Chi Xiaoman was just as ruthless as the rumors claimed, willing to do anything for fame, even chasing after Chen Yue's buzz. After all, for years Chi Xiaoman had never appeared at the same event as Chen Yue, never joined the same variety show, and never worked on the same production. Even when they happened to attend the same awards ceremony, Chen Yue had already accepted her award and left before Chi Xiaoman finally arrived, trailing her evening gown behind her. Rumors that the two couldn't stand each other had circulated in the industry for years. Then, suddenly, news broke Chi Xiaoman was switching careers to make a film, with Chen Yue as the female lead. Everyone was certain the film would be a spectacular disaster. [Reader's Guide] 1. One-on-one romance, happy ending, each other's first love, and they take turns topping. Neither is exclusively the top. 2. This is fiction, and the plot is dramatic. Please don't map it onto the real entertainment industry. 3. The characters aren't based on real people. Please don't speculate about who they represent. Comments bringing up the real entertainment industry will be deleted. 4. The plot is a slow burn, with an intense push and pull between the leads, the kind where even broken bones remain connected by sinew. 5. The tone is bittersweet. Everyone has flaws: they're stubborn, awkward, and cowardly. Divider Coming soon: "Dali Love Mishap" (a separate story). Premise and characters: [A sweet, scatterbrained, naive writer tricked into seeking healing * a laid-back, free-spirited beauty who owns a guesthouse in Dali] When Qi Xuandong was twenty-five, she set off on a spur-of-the-moment budget trip and met a gorgeous woman with huge earrings in Dali. A month-long trip. The woman taught Qi Xuandong, who was slow to react and hopeless with directions, how to ride a motorcycle. She took her hiking to watch the sunrise and taught her to grow flowers in empty beer bottles. She also taught the woman, who'd never been in love, to kiss beneath a crimson sunset, sing loudly under a sky full of stars on dew-covered grass, and lose herself in passion. Later, they even agreed to take a road trip together, driving all the way from Dali to Bangkok, and getting married when they reached their destination. But Qi Xuandong was timid by nature and cautious in everything she did. She'd never imagined she'd go so far because of a chance encounter, or that a muddled budget trip would turn into a love affair gone wrong. On the day they were supposed to leave, she broke her promise and bought a train ticket home in the middle of the night. Later, Qi Xuandong accepted the fact that her books wouldn't sell and her ideals weren't worth much, and went back to working day after day in a cubicle. A year later. A new boss joined the company. Word was that she was beautiful, came from a wealthy family, and had a gentle nature. A few years earlier, she'd refused to inherit the family business, left home, and opened an inn instead. Now that business was struggling, she'd returned to take over the company, planning to start at one of its branch offices. On the new boss's first day, everyone stood up to welcome her. Qi Xuandong paid no attention, secretly dreaming up wild ideas in her cubicle. She hadn't even typed a few words when an elegant hand rested on her desk and tapped twice. Qi Xuandong raised her head, still half-asleep, and met a pair of smiling, alluring eyes. Then she heard the same tender voice she'd heard countless times while lying on the grass, appearing again after a year, “Excuse me, colleague, ” With everyone watching, the woman fixed her gaze on Qi Xuandong's name badge and smiled brightly. “Do you have some kind of problem with me?” In the hands of her old nemesis, Qi Xuandong barely had time to run errands for her, let alone complain. But their polite pretenses didn't last long. That night, they were the only two left working overtime. Qi Xuandong turned to run. Instead, Zhu Shihuan planted her red high heel against Qi Xuandong's workstation and leaned her red lips close to her ear, sounding like she hated her so much she could grind her teeth, “First you ran away from our wedding, now you're running away from work, ” The woman folded her arms and gave a cold “heh.” “Qi Xuandong, you really are good at running.” Theme: Love means acceptance: accepting the other person and accepting yourself.