"Remember to buy the press release. Prepare everything. Send it out at 8 o'clock tonight. Be careful not to collide with the other party. Although Xiaox's incident happened suddenly, it has set the tone. Even if it can't be whitewashed, it can be made ashes. We can slowly wash it off later. It's not a moral stain. If you act in a good movie, your reputation will rise. Chinese people are very forgetful." Xue Yao stood in the office of the public relations and publicity department, stepping on 15-centimeter high heels, walking back and forth quickly as if walking on flat ground, pointing her finger at this small country. The department manager stood in front of her, and the people below responded one after another, "And Xiaoo... wait a moment."
Xue Yao looked at the caller ID of "Xia Xiaoba Wang" on her phone, put her hand on the top of the phone, nodded slightly and said, "I'll take the call."
The others fell silent. Xue Yao walked to the corridor outside the door and slowed down her vigorous tone: "What's wrong? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?" She really felt like she was becoming more and more like an old woman.
Oh my God, is she really going to age prematurely
Xia Yitong's voice sounded hoarse: "Can tomorrow's announcement still be postponed now?"
Xue Yao's fingers clenched around the phone: "What happened?"
Xia Yitong: "Lu Yinbing...her depression has relapsed."
Xue Yao swayed violently in her place. If she hadn’t held onto the railing, she would have fallen to the ground. “You…” Her palms were sweaty. “Are you sure?”
"I went to see a psychiatrist today."
The last glimmer of hope was cut off by Xia Yitong, and Xue Yao shook her head and smiled bitterly.
Xia Yitong said: "So I may have to stay at home to take care of her and can't go out of town."
Her address is a two-hour flight from the capital, plus the time for the round trip and the announcement, it takes almost a whole day. Given Lu Yinbing's current condition, how could she let her stay at home alone
Xue Yao said, "I can't push you, but I can contact someone of similar status to replace you. Although this is feasible, for the producers, all of them have to work overnight to modify the event schedule because of your sudden decision. You changed it once, who knows if you will change it a second time. You broke your promise and didn't go after the announcement. If it gets out once or twice, it will be bad for your reputation."
"I don't care."
"What about Lu Yinbing? Did she know in advance that you have to get up early tomorrow morning to run announcements? What will she think if you don't go tomorrow and stay at home? Will she think that she is a burden to you, and will it aggravate her condition?"
"Then should I leave her alone at home? What if she does something? I—" Xia Yitong's eyes suddenly turned red. She opened her mouth several times but couldn't speak. She choked up and said, "What should I do?"
Xue Yao sighed.
"I want to watch her. I want to stay at home with her." Xia Yitong pressed his forehead against the cold glass of the balcony and spoke as if talking to himself.
"Okay, then I'll contact the show's producers to replace them."
"Also, I won't accept any notices until Lu Yinbing gets better."
Xue Yao thought about it and agreed. There were some things that didn't need to be persuaded anymore. Xia Yitong understood, and she understood too, but they couldn't do it.
Xue Yao had never known that Lu Yinbing didn't know if she could make it through this time. Even if she could, it wouldn't be overnight. It took her a year and a half to recover. How long would it take now? She had never known that as a person in the circle, she was sailing against the current. If Xia Yitong stopped, how many people would catch up? She had never known that Xia Yitong's insistence on her own way might not be the best choice for Lu Yinbing, and might increase her psychological burden.
She knew so much, but she couldn't say a word.
Lu Yinbing is not her daughter, but she is better than her daughter. Half of her life has revolved around her. Xia Yitong is her lover, the one who will accompany her until they are old. It is because they have the same position that they make the same decision.
No matter how long Lu Yinbing needs, she and Xia Yitong will accompany her through it; even if Xia Yitong is single for two years, her popularity is declining, and she has no works, what is she doing? She is the most powerful ace agent in the circle, she will help her make a comeback; even if Xia Yitong goes out to take work, she doesn't have enough energy to deal with the patient at home, so it's better to concentrate on staying at home with Lu Yinbing.
Xue Yao returned to the office and said to the department manager, "You handle it yourself. I'm going to be out for a while." Then she left in a hurry without looking back.
Xia Yitong raised her head and forced back her tears. She opened the balcony door and saw Lu Yinbing's face. She didn't know how long he had been standing there.
Xia Yitong said calmly: "I'm going to answer the phone, I'm afraid to disturb you."
Lu Yinbing looked at her.
In order to make a lie more authentic, people always make up details to make it look more suspicious. Xia Yitong smiled and said, "It was the dean's mother who called and asked me if I was wearing long johns?"
Lu Yinbing's lips moved: "Then are you wearing it?"
Xia Yitong said: "Of course I did. I am an old person now and I need to keep warm. Not only did I wear long johns, I also wore knee pads." Xia Yitong raised his legs and knocked his knees twice, making a bang sound.
Lu Yinbing asked: "Am I wearing it?"
Xia Yitong helped Lu Yinbing put on her clothes in the morning. She jumped over and patted Lu Yinbing's knee: "Of course you are wearing them too." There was no banging sound, but a dull sound, as if her palm hit the flesh.
Lu Yinbing said: "I just took it off. It was hot."
"Oh." Xia Yitong said.
The two of them fell into a cold silence for the first time in a long time.
After a while, Xia Yitong returned to the topic and said, "It's quite hot, so I'll take it off too. Why would I wear this when there's heating at home? Right?"
"Let me help you."
"No..." Xia Yitong rejected it subconsciously and turned back, "Okay."
She sat on the sofa and took off her pants quickly.
“…” Lu Yinbing looked at her, and the corners of his mouth seemed to curl up.
Seeing her smile, Xia Yitong wanted to take off her underwear to make her smile. Unfortunately, she had knee pads on her legs, so she twisted her buttocks twice in a hurry, looking very weird.
Lu Yinbing bent down, held the edge of her knee pads with her hands, and said, "If your fans saw you like this, would they all stop being your fans?"
"No, they must love me more deeply." Xia Yitong said.
"But my fans will definitely dislike me if they see me like this." Lu Yinbing put the untied knee pad aside and untied the other side.
Xia Yitong raised his hand and touched Lu Yinbing's head.
They will only feel sorry for you, silly girl.
But she couldn't say this. Lu Yinbing didn't like being pitied, so she said, "Why bother with them? I just love you."
"What if one day you don't love me anymore?"
Xia Yitong's face turned pale: "How could you say such a thing?" She was a little angry, but she remembered what the doctor said and soothed her softly, "I will never stop loving you. I will always love you. Don't you remember what I said to you?"
"… "
She didn't reply, so Xia Yitong asked and answered herself: "I said, I am not a variable, I am the constant in your future life."
Xia Yitong took her phone, unlocked it, opened the WeChat interface, and showed her the pinned contact. "Look at the note you left me, Xia Changchang. The constant will never change. In this life, the next life, and the next life, I will always love you."
"Did you give me three door slams?"
"yes."
"Did I shut you out three times? What if one day I don't remember those things?"
"I don't remember anything. I won't forget it."
"I always forget things now. What if one day, I forget all the memories between you and me?"
"No."
"What if?" Lu Yinbing insisted on an answer.
"If you really forget, I will create new memories with you, just like the movie "50 First Dates", where I can meet a different you every day, and do my best to make you fall in love with me again every day."
“It’s too hard.”
"It's not hard. Loving someone just makes you happy. How can it be hard?"
"Only when you are in love can you be happy, but unrequited love can only bring you pain. What if there was one time in all those years that I didn't fall in love with you, but fell in love with someone else?"
Xia Yitong patiently said, "No, I believe you."
“But I don’t trust myself.”
Xia Yitong felt like a heavy stone was pressing on her chest. She had to stop and adjust her breathing before she could speak again: "Don't you believe in yourself or me?"
She was like a person drowning in the water, the lake had already reached her eyes and was about to submerge her. As she floated up and down with the waves, her hand sank and she looked down to see Lu Yinbing in her arms, his eyes closed and his face pale.
If she sank, Lu Yinbing would surely drown with her.
Lu Yinbing said: "I'm sorry, I was just imagining things."
Xia Yitong wanted to touch her head again, but Lu Yinbing turned her head away.
She stood up, barefoot, curled up on the sofa, buried her face in her knees, and stared blankly at the ground.
Xia Yitong brought her a blanket and wrapped it around her body, stuffing the corners into the gaps and pressing the blanket under her feet. She asked, "Are you still cold?"
"… "
No one responded to her.
"Let's turn on the TV for a while, okay?" Xia Yitong said. In the huge living room, besides the sound of the TV, there was only her mumbling. "Variety shows? Variety shows are not funny, too noisy, so I won't watch them. This Northwest Channel plays anti-Japanese dramas every day, with hidden bombs in the crotch, I'm afraid it will burn your eyes, so I won't watch it either. This family ethics, I'll watch a short clip first, the leading actor's acting is minus 100, and the supporting actor's acting is minus 50, so I won't watch it anymore..."
Xia Yitong seemed to be casually changing the channel according to her own aesthetic taste, but she was always paying attention to Lu Yinbing out of the corner of her eye. Unfortunately, Lu Yinbing did not react at all.
Xia Yitong clicked the buttons in order and came to the movie channel. It was afternoon time and was showing classic movies from the past.
In the movie, the eighteen-year-old Lu Yinbing threw her bamboo hat and poured her inner strength into it. The bamboo hat hit a man's back, and the man staggered and fell to the ground. She shook the three-foot-long sword in her hand and shouted coldly: "You can come and go as you like, and leave as you like. Have you asked about the sword in my hand?"
Xia Yitong's hands were shaking, and she hurried to change the channel. In a hurry, she pressed the menu, but couldn't change the channel for a while. Lu Yinbing, who had been in a daze, flickered his eyes slightly, and his face slowly turned around.
Xia Yitong stopped and said, "This?"
Lu Yinbing nodded slowly.