When we left, it was just after midsummer, and when we came back, it was already a cold and bleak winter.
The crew estimated that the filming would be finished in mid-January. The meteorological bureau reported that there would be snowfall at the film and television base in early January. During the past half month, the crew was shooting the final scenes in the later stage, and Xia Yitong became the most idle person in the entire crew.
This year, she had a new play to be released during the Spring Festival. There would be a lot of publicity, so she would be too busy to go back to the welfare home for the Spring Festival. So she simply asked the crew for a week's vacation and returned to a county town in Y City, Z Province.
She didn't tell anyone about her return trip, not even Fang Hui. She got up early, caught the earliest train, and then took a taxi. When she arrived, it was just daybreak, and the sun only showed a half smile.
After taking a deep breath of the fresh air in the small place, Xia Yitong, wearing a woolen hat, came to the big iron gate and kept standing on tiptoe to look inside. The security guard took a nap, and woke up with his head hitting the table. As usual, he looked around and rushed out: "What are you doing? What are you doing here sneaking around?"
Xia Yitong raised his hand, took off his hat and smiled at him.
The security guard immediately showed a pleasant smile: "You are back, I will tell the dean right away."
Xia Yitong said, "Please open the door for me. I will go in and see her myself."
"Okay," said the guard.
Xia Yitong said, "Uncle Wu, don't tell anyone that I'm here, or I'll be treated like a monkey again."
Uncle Wu straightened his chest and said, "That's for sure. But..." He added, "I have a favor to ask of you."
"What?"
"Please sign two autographs for me before you leave. My granddaughter heard that I knew you and begged me to do it for her." Uncle Wu rubbed his hands, "Xia... what do you think?"
"Okay, I'll sign it and send it to you in a moment."
Uncle Wu opened the door for her, and Xia Yitong slipped in as soon as it opened a little, then trotted away and hid behind a corner of a house. The land here was cheap, the area was large, and most of the houses were bungalows. There was only one three-story building, which the children were not allowed to play in casually. It was filled with slightly more expensive things, such as musical instruments, which were bought with the director's personal money.
When Xia Yitong was younger, he often went in through the back door to practice piano secretly.
The trees were lush and green, stubbornly green even in winter. A gust of wind blew past them, and they didn't move at all. Xia Yitong sat on a stool under the tree, looking up, and somehow she felt happy. She picked up her phone, took a photo of the scenery above her head, and sent it to Lu Yinbing.
Isn't it better than the trees in the north? In your area, the trees are all bare in winter.
Lu Yinbing replied quickly. I guess she hadn't started work yet. She was putting on makeup. You have to distinguish the four seasons. What's the point of your green eyes all day long? If you don't look at the calendar, you don't even know what season it is. Are you still beautiful
Xia Yitong - I lost.
Lu Yinbing—Thank you.
Xia Yitong - Actually, even when all the leaves have fallen, it's still quite magnificent [Meditative]
Lu Yinbing - It's also good to have four seasons like spring [Meditation] x2
Xia Yitong - Sometimes I think, it would be nice if I were a northerner, with heating [Thinking] x3
Lu Yinbing - I don't really want to be a southerner, because without heating, an old man like me can't stand it and will get rheumatism [Meditative] x4
Xia Yitong - I can hold you to sleep [Thinking] x5
Lu Yinbing—Teacher Xia, hug me.
Xia Yitong—hug.
The two of them were chatting happily. There was a clear cough above their heads. Xia Yitong turned the phone, locked the screen, and put it in his pocket in one go. He turned his head and put on a brilliant smile: "Dean."
The dean was about fifty years old. Perhaps because he was too worried, there were a few strands of silver hair hidden in his black hair. He had an easy-going face and kind eyes. The dean sat in the empty seat next to her and patted her hand on her knee.
The breeze blew between the two of them, calming their hearts.
"Are you busy at work?" asked the dean.
"not busy."
"… "
"That's... busy."
"Are you getting along well with your colleagues?" The dean calls everyone who works with her in the crew colleagues.
"fine."
"You were such a loner when you were little," the dean said with emotion, "how come you are so capable now?"
Xia Yitong grinned: "Haven't I always been quite capable?"
The dean said, "Virtue."
"Anyway, you like my character, you made me more confident, but now you despise me."
"When did I dislike you?" The dean said, looking up at the sky. "I don't know who called me crying last time."
Xia Yitong was surprised: "Did you hear it? I didn't cry."
"I've raised you for so many years in vain, and you can't even hear this?" The dean glanced at her with a mixture of disdain and pride.
Xia Yitong gave her a thumbs up.
"It's time for the monkeys to get up and eat." The dean stood up and walked to the cafeteria with her hands behind her back. Xia Yitong followed her. Here, the older ones take care of the younger ones, and they are self-reliant. The children are very obedient. The children that Xia Yitong used to take care of have now become little adults, taking care of the younger children to eat.
She helped take care of the child for a while, and then followed the dean around, sometimes saying a few words, but more often not saying a word.
The dean asked, "How long will you stay this time?"
Xia Yitong said: "One week."
The dean nodded, looking pleased: "That's great, I'll go buy some food and cook it myself."
"Okay."
"What do you want to eat?"
Xia Yitong named a few dishes and the dean wrote them down.
Walking back to the room, Xia Yitong said, "Mom, I'm in love."
The dean asked, “Who?”
"This." Xia Yitong showed the photo to the dean. The dean held up Xia Yitong's phone, put on the reading glasses on the table, looked at it carefully, and finally said "hmm" softly, and uttered two words: "It looks good."
Xia Yitong smiled.
The dean added slowly, "But not as pretty as you."
Xia Yitong smiled even wider.
She is closer to me than my own mother.
The dean put down his phone, picked it up again, and said, "No, she looks so familiar to me." Then he found several old DVDs in the drawer, and compared them with each other. When he recognized her, he smiled and said, "It's Qiao'er."
There was a tenderness in his tone.
Qiao Er is Lu Yinbing's first and only TV series, and it is a household name. Many older people don't watch movies, and in their minds, only Lu Yinbing's Qiao Er is left, but it is also amazing enough.
The dean frowned, as if he was struggling with something. After a while, he said, "Qiao'er is prettier than you."
This time, Xia Yitong supported herself on the bookcase with her hands and laughed so hard that she fell backwards.
The dean frowned and said, "When you were a child, I trained you to be like Qiao'er, but who knew you went astray."
Xia Yitong: “…”
Looking at Xia Yitong's frustrated look, the dean returned all the laughter Xia Yitong had just laughed at, and almost couldn't catch her breath, so she sat on the reclining chair to rest. She had a little bronchitis, an old problem, and she would choke easily when she was emotional.
The dean took a breath and said, "When will you bring it back for me to see?"
"I'll bring her here if I have the chance."
…
night.
Xia Yitong and Lu Yinbing connected via video and talked about what happened during the day. Lu Yinbing couldn't help laughing, "I am popular with both young and old. My charm is still as good as ever. Hey, who do you think is prettier, me or you?"
Xia Yitong said: "You look good."
Lu Yinbing said: "You look good."
Xia Yitong still said: "No, you look good."
Lu Yinbing nodded, touched his chin, and agreed: "Yes, I think so too."
Xia Yitong laughed: "Hey, do you know how to write the word modesty, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Yinbing said: "To deny it once is modesty, to deny it twice is pretentious, face the facts, Mr. Xia."
Xia Yitong said: "Teacher Xia doesn't want to answer you and put a..."
She got stuck when she said this, the word at the end was a bit vulgar, although everyone would put it in there... but Teacher Lu is a fairy, she wouldn't put that kind of thing in there.
She imagined it and laughed again.
Lu Yinbing said with a teasing look: "What did you put in there?"
Xia Yitong suddenly had an idea and made a heart gesture: "I put a little heart in you."
Lu Yinbing smiled: "You are smart."
"That's right, don't you see whose girlfriend she is?" Xia Yitong was very proud, and the invisible little tail behind her was curling up, which made Lu Yinbing feel itchy and he wanted to drill through the screen and give her a good rub.
Unable to touch or rub, he could only satisfy his craving for her. Lu Yinbing moved closer to the screen and said in a hoarse voice, "Girlfriend?"
The three words "girlfriend" made Xia Yitong feel an electric shock in his heart, numb and tingling from the top of his head to his coccyx, and his little tail was also electrified, and his legs almost went weak.
"Teacher Xia..." Lu Yinbing called again in that low, hoarse voice that he only used when he was emotional, "girlfriend."
"What, what's wrong?" Xia Yitong opened her mouth and heard that her voice was as hoarse as hers. Her body suddenly became hot for no reason.
"Do you want to..." Lu Yinbing's eyes looked through the camera at her loose neckline, extending downwards. His throat rolled down and he swallowed his saliva, "Take off your clothes?"