Song Yunhui finally returned to the hotel with fried rice.
The hotel was booked by the crew and there were several empty rooms available for us to move in directly.
Putting the fried rice on the table, he took out his chopsticks and his cell phone.
Ye Min sent him a message more than ten minutes ago, asking him if he had eaten yet.
She must have received the news from Qin Shu, so she didn't ask him where he had been or what he was doing.
Song Yun replied that he was eating.
Then a video call came in.
He answered the call, adjusted the camera, and then leaned the phone against the table.
Ye Min's face appeared on the phone screen, and behind her one could see the little dinosaur placed in the living room.
The other person had a smile on his face and asked him as usual, "What are you eating?"
Covering her face while laughing, Ye Min turned to Qin Jianyuan and said, "Old Qin, let's not leave!"
Things abroad are very important and she has to go, but she really wants to stay, just to satisfy her craving for food.
Maybe it’s because I just ate two bites of fried rice and my body is slowly warming up.
Ye Min seemed a little regretful.
Ye Min's voice suddenly became much softer, as if she was afraid of disturbing something, and asked, "Are you willing to give up your Uncle Qin?"
Qin Jianyuan came over and patted her on the shoulder.
Her expression changed from sad to smiling in just a moment, and then she began to tease Song Yunhui with a smile, wanting to see his reaction.
He thought briefly.
The smile on Ye Min's face paused for a moment, and even Qin Jianyuan, who was walking behind her with a cup in his hand, froze for a moment.
Ye Min asked him, "When auntie passes away, will Yunzi be willing to leave her?"
She was very good at expressing her emotions directly, and her well-maintained face was wrinkled, and she really looked reluctant.
He knew his limits. Going to the crew this time was already an unwanted request. He had no name or status and was not suitable to be in the crew. Regardless of whether he gained anything or not, he should leave after one or two days.
He asked, "Is Qin Shu not back yet?"
He didn't know whether it was because of hearing the two unfamiliar words "Spring Festival" or for other reasons, but he had an inexplicable feeling in his heart.
He couldn't figure out what kind of feeling this was.
Song Yun replied, “I can’t bear to do that.”
But I didn't expect the other party to frown and reply seriously: "I can't bear to part with it."
Qin Jianyuan was seen drinking water in the background of the video. Ye Min turned to him and asked him to bring her a cup as well. Then she turned back and said to him with her eyes downcast:
Song Yun replied that he would be back in two days.
The room was no longer quiet.
Song Yunhui was stunned for a moment.
Ye Min's expression changed, the smile on her face deepened, but there seemed to be some other emotion in her eyes, which Song Yunhui did not understand at the moment.
Ye Min then began to give him a small safety class, saying,
"When you are alone outside, please be careful and don't keep it to yourself if you are wronged. Tell your aunt if you have any problems and she will help you seek justice."
Like teasing a child, but the attitude is not annoying.
This is also a very serious sentence.
When he wakes up, you can see him off and tell him that he doesn't need to put himself in a difficult position outside - even if it's just a short outing of one or two days.
Song Yunhui could hear the voice coming from the other end of the phone, the complaints of people passing by the door, the shouting of people on the road farther away, and the crying of a baby in the building next door.
The world became clear.
—The day after tomorrow is Orange’s birthday. Song Yunhui still remembers how happy Ye Min was when she told him about Orange’s birthday plans.
"I'll leave after celebrating Orange's birthday one day later. Auntie will be leaving by then, and I won't want to leave Yunzi."
Ye Min waved her hand and said, "He came back very late today. I guess we won't be able to wait for him."
Everything seems to be falling into place.
"We weren't awake when you left this morning. It would have been nice if we were awake."
She later said they had something to do and would be flying abroad in a few days, and when they come back it would probably be the Spring Festival.
Song Yunhui swallowed the rice in his mouth and said, "The fried rice was not bad."
He finally asked, "Aunt Ye, when are you leaving?"
It was not a perfunctory statement made just to please others. It seemed more like he had thought it over carefully and came to a positive judgment through his own considerations.
Ye Min seemed to enjoy chatting. She told him what happened today, all very ordinary little things, and then asked him when he would be back.
Are you reluctant
Song Yun nodded.
Song Yunhui just nodded and kept nodding, not daring to raise any objection.
Ye Min chatted with him for a while, then told him to go to bed early and hung up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Song Yunhui ate two more bites of food, then picked up his phone and left the room.
Putting on a mask as he walked, he looked around and instead of going to the crew, he turned around and walked towards the alley on the other side.
He chose this alley at random.
This kind of alleys are the most abundant thing in this county. They are like the veins of the heart, connecting all places.
The lights in the alley were still on, dimly lit. There were a few grocery stores crowded together in the middle. Two were closed, leaving only one open.
Next to the grocery store there is a square house that looks very simple.
There were two seats in the room, and two mirrors were hung on the wall opposite the seats. The mirrors looked very old, but they were wiped very clean, and the old table top was also tidy.
There is a comb, a clipper and scissors on the table.
A hunchbacked old man sat in front of the house, silently washing vegetable leaves in a basin.
If I'm not mistaken, this should be a barber shop.
Moving forward, Song Yunhui finally saw the whole house.
It turned out that this room not only had a wooden table and a mirror, but also a gas stove and a pot, as well as some seasonings, against the innermost wall.
Like a simple kitchen.
When other people passed by in the alley, the old man would look up every time someone passed by.
It’s just a pity that these people are not his guests.
Not many people get their hair cut late at night, and with the increasing number of trendy barbershops, few people come to such shops anymore.
But surprisingly, the old man finally got a guest.
From a certain Xuan's point of view, getting a haircut at night is not a good idea, but since I've already gotten my hair cut in this shop, I don't need to worry about these things anymore.
A man walked into the store. He was only wearing one piece of clothing on a winter night, with his coat draped over his hand. The light illuminated the sweat on his body.
After he went in, he sat down. The old man put down the food in his hand, stood up, shook off the water, and stood behind him.
The two chatted for a few words. Because they were far apart, Song Yunhui couldn't hear what they said. He could only see the man sitting in the seat raise his heavy eyelids, and then laugh, a hearty laugh.
There is a unique feeling between them that outsiders cannot interfere with.
Song Yunhui stopped and stood at the side of the store for a while before leaving.
At six o'clock, one group of people get off work, and at eight or nine in the evening, another group of people get off work.
Following the crowd, he saw a woman holding her child's hand and waiting for her husband in front of the house, and a couple wearing the same factory uniforms walking home together.
In ordinary county towns, such scenes are played out every day.
The cell phone in his pocket vibrated, but the tiny movement was easily captured. Song Yunhui took out his cell phone and answered the call.
"Wow, Qin Xiaoshu."
He lowered his head slightly and smiled, then blended into the crowd silently and became one of the many ordinary people.
***
The next morning, Song Yunhui got up early and put on a face scarf before going out as usual.
The yellow sand in this place seems to be endless.
Both bases started work early. He asked others about the working hours yesterday and arrived early.
He arrived early, but there were already people on the field.
They shivered in the cold wind as if they had just woken up, and then began to put out the things they had put away last night.
Ma Gang was among them.
Song Yunhui stepped forward and said "Good morning", then asked: "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Ma Gang glanced at him, a little surprised, "So early."
He thought the other party would not be able to get up so early, so he did not tell him the working hours.
Unexpectedly, the other party arrived on time.
The other person stood there with calm eyes and a serious feeling.
Ma Gang hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively:
"Can you help me take inventory?"
This was the least physically demanding job he could think of.
It's just a bit brain-consuming.
There are many and diverse things in the crew, and it is not a simple matter of counting. It takes some thinking to keep track of them.
Ma Gang said, "Do you know these equipment? This is called..." Song Yun replied, "Yes."
His voice was not loud, but his clear voice was somewhat muffled by the face mask.
Ma Gang then stopped talking to save time, handed the list to the other party, and was ready to count it a second time.
According to his experience, it would be great if the crew could parachute in without causing any trouble, but nothing else could be expected.
Nevertheless, no matter how well it was done, it was the first time he saw a paratrooper who could really do something.
Song Yunhui held the list in his hand and looked down at the equipment, turning the ballpoint pen in his hand.
After that, the gate of the base was opened and people came in one after another.
There was constant voice of talking in his ears. Song Yunhui stood there and blinked slowly.
***
The actors and director are already discussing things, and we need to speed up the preparations here.
After filling in the last item on the form and making the comments, Song Yunhui just looked up and saw the person who had worked with him yesterday passing by.
The man also saw him, and the moment he saw him, he shrugged his shoulders as if he was frightened.
Then the other person came over, rubbed the back of his head, and said:
"What a coincidence, you're here so early?"
Looking at the person standing opposite him who looked unpretentious and gentle, he just felt a toothache.
It was as if he was blind yesterday. There was a person who was obviously not suitable for their job standing there, but he didn't see him clearly and just asked him to follow him to do the work.
What a coincidence that work was not easy yesterday.
It was not until yesterday when Ma Gang came to tell him that the field attendant who was supposed to come had taken the wrong bus and would not arrive until tomorrow that he realized something.
At the beginning, Ma Gang told him the whole story, saying that two field staff would come, one was hired to do the work, and the other was just a figurehead, and would only stay for a day or two and then leave. He just needed to let the other party wander around on their own, and help if there were any problems.
Since the people who are doing the work didn't come, the ones left are just holding empty positions.
The situation is already clear.
The man wiped his face.
He also didn't expect that the other party didn't resist at all when he was dragged to work, but worked diligently, as if it were the real thing. No one who saw it would think that he was just there for show.
Feeling embarrassed, he could only wave his hand and say, "Then I'll go do other things first." Song Yun nodded.
After the man left, Song Yunhui stood there with the form in his hand. He drew two simple circles and looked around at the crowd.
Ma Gang walked out of the crowd and wiped the sweat mixed with yellow sand from his forehead.
A busy day starts with a busy morning. The other party habitually wiped his forehead and asked:
"How much is left to be checked?"
He originally planned to count everything again from beginning to end, but he had to start work early today and his boss was urging him to make progress, so he could only continue counting according to the progress.
Song Yunhui handed him the form and said, "We are still short of one tripod and have two extra lens hoods. I asked the person who purchased the equipment, but he said there was no record of their purchase. They must have been borrowed by the group next door and haven't returned them."
Someone was passing by and happened to hear Song Yunhui's words. He slapped his head vigorously and said:
"I put the tripod away late last night. I forgot to bring it back after I put it in Curry. I'll get it back later."
Ma Gang was stunned for a moment, said "OK", then took the list handed to him by Song Yunhui and read it carefully from beginning to end.
With a doubtful look, he took out two lens hoods and weighed them in his hand, then called the crew of the next group to ask if two lens hoods were missing.
The other side was noisy, with all kinds of voices, and the person speaking could only increase the volume:
"Have you counted them? Oh, yes, two are missing. Tell me where they went and I'll get someone to get them right away."
Without any unnecessary greetings, the two of them hung up the phone after discussing their business.
Watching Ma Gang put his phone into his pocket and zip it up, Song Yun asked, "Is there anything else I can do?"
He still has the same attitude as before.
The wind blew the sand up, Ma rubbed his eyes and said, "... Not for now, the tasks have been arranged, you can arrange them freely for now."
Song Yunhui then went to join a group of actors filming.
There are not many people in the camera, but there are a lot of people outside the camera, and one more person won’t make much difference.
The first scene today is the rivalry between the protagonist and the second male lead.
When he was browsing the cast list online before, he had discovered that he didn't know or have dealt with any of the actors listed.
The less I know about it, the more I want to see it.
After filming one scene after another, he found that although the crew of "Return at Dusk" was small and the budget did not seem to be sufficient, the casting was good. They did not spend a lot of money to hire popular actors, but only invited people who fit the role. The saved funds were used for makeup, which made the quality much better.
Many people were squatting on the ground to watch. Song Yun was tired from returning to the station, so he squatted down as well and blended in perfectly.
The scene was very quiet, with only the slight sound of machines operating.
The two actors did not have a dedicated rest room. The chairs they usually sat on were on the side. If they turned their heads slightly, they could see the curled-up script left on the chairs.
When the director shouted "Cut", Song Yunhui and Luo Bai slowly moved their positions and stood up, standing at the back of the crowd.
This is a perspective that has never been experienced before.
He used to stand in front of the camera and do his best to live up to the efforts of others.
Now he is one of those people who works for others.
Standing in the crowd, he could more clearly feel the nervousness and excitement of the people around him, and could feel their anticipation.
They are scattered individuals, but at some point they are also a collective.
Song Yun turned his head and saw Yang He sitting on the side.
She was holding the script in her hand and was still thinking carefully about the script which was twice as thick. Her cell phone was placed on a chair on the other side of a makeshift small table and should have been on silent mode.
Song Yunhui lowered his head, sent her a message, and then turned around.
When he came out of a group, he happened to meet Ma Gang who was taking a break. Ma Gang waved at him and asked him:
"Are you going to have lunch?"
Many people couldn't stand the greasy food in the crew, and some would just run out to eat. He thought it was reasonable for Song Yunhui to do the same.
Song Yunhui neither shook his head nor nodded, but waved at him.
***
During lunch break, Song Yun returned to the hotel.
There is a grocery store in the alley nearby. It sells a wide variety of items, but the quality varies.
He bought a stack of scratch paper.
He has the habit of carrying a pen with him, but paper is heavy, so he usually buys it wherever he goes.
It is different from the paper we usually use. The paper is rough, but it does not affect its use.
He bent over his desk with his brows lowered, and the ink lines under his hands flowed smoothly.
During this time, his cell phone rang several times, but he didn't pay attention to it and was not distracted at all.
Write all the way to the bottom of a piece of paper, just enough to fit the last symbol.
He did not put down the pen and paper in his hand, but took out another piece of paper and placed it under his hand.
He wrote it again, and the notes changed, and there began to be slight differences between the two versions.
It still just squeezed in the last symbol.
After putting both pieces of paper into his pocket, Song Yunhui casually put the pen into his pocket, then picked up his cell phone and checked the time.
He originally wanted to open a ticket purchasing app, but when he saw the WeChat message above his head, he decided to check WeChat first.
The message came from someone at the publishing company, saying that everything had been completely settled and that we were looking forward to his next work.
Song Yun smiled back and raised his hand to reply.
He then bought a ticket back from City D this afternoon.
Not many people use this road, and there are few trains. Today there are only two, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is estimated that it will be evening when I return home.
There was still some time left in the afternoon, and he didn't dare force his laptop to do anything difficult. He finally went out for a walk and took a look at the barber shop he had seen last night, and then returned to the hotel to pack his things.
When we left, we took the same bus we took here. The weather was just as good as yesterday.
Song Yunhui supported his chin and looked out the window, yawned slowly, picked up his phone and checked the message.
Ye Min sent him a message.
It's a photo.
Orange was sleeping in the cat's bed, with his paws resting on the orange doll and a big bubble blowing out of his nose.
Song Yun smiled back.
The scorching sunlight illuminates the smiling light-colored pupils.
Take the bus to the public transport, and then the high-speed rail.
Song Yunhui chatted for a few minutes before and never touched his phone again. He didn't notice that his phone was out of battery when he got on the high-speed train. When he remembered that he needed to report his itinerary, he found that his phone was completely powered off.
By the time he charged the phone and turned it on again, the high-speed train had already traveled halfway.
He called Qin Shu.
***
Inside the car, the cell phone placed aside vibrated.
Qin Shu adjusted his headphones and answered the call.
He heard the other person's voice in the headset, he listened quietly, and glanced through the rearview mirror at the bright sunflowers and gift box on the back seat.
Then he said, "Hmm," and said, "I will pass by the high-speed rail station on my way back, and I will wait for you at the exit."
The other party said "OK".
After hanging up the phone, Qin Shu pulled over and parked the car. He then changed the navigation from heading to a county in City D to heading to the high-speed rail station and turned around at the next intersection.
***
Following the crowd down the high-speed train, Song Yun returned to the exit and the first thing he saw was Qin Shu waiting right in front of him.
He is tall and stands out among the crowd who are also waiting for someone.
Song Yunhui smiled with his eyes narrowed and waved at him.
The time spent queuing to exit the station felt inexplicably long. When Song Yunhui finally swiped his card to exit the station, Qin Shu stepped forward, took the bag from him, and then touched the back of his hand.
icy.
Pulling the other person's wrist and putting his hand into his pocket, Qin Shushu remained calm and said:
"It's warm in here."
Song Yunhui was so happy that his hands were warm. He just let Qin Shu take him to find a car, and then sat in the passenger seat.
People around him kept casting strange glances at him, but he didn't care.
The heater was on in the car, and I felt warm the moment I got in.
Song Yunhui instantly relaxed and became like a salted fish, motionless, staring at the scenery in front of him with his dead fish eyes wide open.
It is now past ten o'clock in the evening. Although it is not my usual sleeping time, I can still feel a little sleepy.
There was no light in the car, but the light from outside illuminated the interior for a moment.
The back seat is also illuminated.
As soon as Xianxian looked up at the rearview mirror, Song Yun was startled and instantly stopped being in a daze.
If that was correct, there should be flowers behind it, and maybe a small gift box.
This doesn't seem like something that would appear in Qin Shu's car.
He turned to look at Qin Shu, his face full of shock: "Qin Xiaoshu! You were in a relationship and didn't tell me!"
Qin Shu glanced at him.
Just with this one glance, Song Yunhui calmed down.
It’s still the usual Qin Xiaoshu, not the love version of Qin Xiaoshu.
Qin Shu asked him, "Don't you remember what day tomorrow is?"
Song Yunhui said in a strong voice: "Orange's birthday!"
He said, “Ah,” and then said, “So you bought it for Orange.”
Qin Shu didn't say yes or no.
Song Yunhui took it as his consent.
It was around eleven o'clock at night when I got home.
Song Yunhui got off the car first this time, and he looked at the time when he got off.
It's almost twelve o'clock.
He hasn't forgotten that tomorrow is Orange's birthday.
According to Ye Min's original idea, everyone would sing birthday song to Orange together in the early morning.
But Qin Shu didn't seem to be in a hurry. He asked him to go first, saying that he had to go out early tomorrow morning and he still had to refuel the car.
He was still surprisingly simple at this time.
Song Yun looked back at the time, so he had to take out his key and open the door.
Surprisingly, it was pitch black inside the door.
Have we started celebrating Orange’s birthday
But it's not to the point where there is no sound at all.
Suddenly, the cell phone in my hand rang.
It was Qin Shu who called.
Song Yunhui was still thinking about celebrating Chengzi's birthday on time. After the call was connected, he said anxiously, "Qin Xiaoshu, listen to me..."
"Song Yunhui."
The door at the back, which was only half-closed, opened and Qin Shu's voice appeared at the door, and the same voice came from the phone.
He said:
"If you don't remember, I'll help you remember."
"Happy birthday."
(End of this chapter)