There's room to wait

Episode 7

From the hot tea and chocolate cake at their first meeting to the coordinated conversation at the dinner table, and now the stomach medicine, the day's interactions with Sibley flashed through Elaine's mind like a carousel. Maybe she was overthinking, or perhaps Sibley was just being her usual kind self. Yet, Elaine still felt a warm current flowing from her heart, spreading through her entire body.

A smile she couldn't suppress bloomed on her face, her eyes slightly warm. The impulses and emotions swirling in her mind urged her to grab the box beside her and stride out of the room.

When she actually stood at Sibley's door, about to knock, Elaine regained her composure.

But this time, her desire was too strong to be suppressed by reason.

She bit her lip, giving herself no more time to hesitate, and gently tapped on the door twice.

Unexpectedly, Sibley responded much faster than she had anticipated. Almost immediately, the door opened a c***k, revealing Sibley's pale face under the dim light.

"What's up?" Sibley asked with a furrowed brow and a faint tone.

Elaine, rarely seeing Sibley show such impatience towards her and having been stung by her attitude several times today, was momentarily at a loss. In front of others, she could be a smooth-talking orator, but in front of Sibley, a single look from her would revert her back to her original form—a clumsy, tongue-tied mute.

Unconsciously fidgeting with her hand, she felt the box she was holding and remembered the purpose of her visit.

"I was too rushed when we met earlier, so I didn't have time to give you the gift I had prepared," Elaine said with a forced smile, not exposing Sibley's earlier kindness in bringing the medicine.

She opened the box, revealing a bracelet inside, and handed it to Sibley, her voice soft and warm. "The red dot in the middle is something I insisted on adding. Sylvia didn't understand and argued with me for a long time, but I think you would like it." Sylvia was the French designer Sibley liked, whom they had visited during a trip to France and had a good relationship with.

The instant Sibley saw the bracelet in the box, her fingers tightened on the door handle, and her eyes flashed with unhidden astonishment, confusion, and pain.

Elaine saw it clearly and thought Sibley didn't like it, her heart leaping to her throat.

The tension felt like it lasted only a few seconds, yet it also felt as if it stretched on for centuries.

"I really like it." Sibley eventually opened the door wider and took the box.

Elaine wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt that after Sibley looked down at the bracelet and then back at her, her eyes seemed to have warmed up a bit.

"I haven't prepared a gift for you," she said calmly.

Elaine instantly softened her expression, saying gently, "That's okay. The fact that you like this gift is the best present for me." After a pause, she half-jokingly added, "Besides, I have to thank you for tonight. It's thanks to you that I can stand here in one piece."

For Elaine, raised with good manners, saying 'thank you' was common, both to those close to her and to others. She habitually expressed her gratitude. But Sibley, perhaps triggered by these words, suddenly turned cold. The chill in her eyes intensified, surpassing the chillness from before.

"So, should there be a thank-you gift as well?" Sibley tightened her grip on the box and lowered her pale neck, speaking coldly.

Elaine was taken aback, stuttering, "No, there isn't."

"Heh," a barely audible sound, like a muffled sneer. Sibley lifted her head, moving her hand holding the box towards Elaine, then abruptly stopped and withdrew it.

After a moment, she averted her gaze, looking past Elaine into the darkness, emotionlessly saying, "Thank you for the gift. Is there anything else?"

Elaine clearly understood the unspoken request to leave. She sensed she had somehow made a mistake, but in her panic, she didn't know what to say.

"Wait..." Seeing Sibley step back to close the door, Elaine instinctively interrupted.

Sibley paused, as Elaine had hoped.

With the light being blocked, Sibley's face appeared ambiguous and unclear in the dim lighting, seemingly cold yet also carrying an indistinct emotion.

Elaine, whose mind had briefly cleared after her bath, now felt muddled again, as if under the influence of alcohol. Finally, she remembered something important, firmed her gaze, and spoke seriously: "I just read the script. The director has arranged for you to perform a stunt from 'The Empire' in the opening mentor show. But how can your body handle such intense movements? It's too risky."

Two years ago, during the filming of the movie "The Disparity," Sibley suffered an accident due to a mistake by the crew. She fell from a height of three stories while suspended on wires, narrowly surviving but breaking her left hand and ribs, with other parts of her body also fractured and bruised. The doctors regretfully stated that Sibley, a rare talent in recent years with her stunning martial arts skills, would henceforth be unable to participate in action movies.

Oddly, as a mentor in the show in her previous life, Sibley did not perform this segment. This worried Elaine, who feared something might have happened during rehearsal that led to the change.

Elaine's concerned and gentle voice soothed Sibley's heart; it was warm but brought an unbearable pain.

She closed her eyes, reliving the fearful and painful days as if they were just yesterday. Everything hurt—her body and her heart. The moment she fell, she thought she was going to die and wanted to see Elaine. When she miraculously survived and woke up, she felt pain and fear, but still longed to see Elaine.

When she needed Elaine so desperately, but where was Elaine?

Such belated concern was like a summer quilt or a winter fan—superfluous and laughable.

Sibley crossed her arms and stepped aside, leaning against the door frame. The light spilled out, allowing Elaine to see Sibley's face clearly.

Her eyes were as sharp as ice, and her brows were frosted.

"What does it have to do with you?" Sibley replied, curving her lips slightly.

That emotionless, brief question was like a sharp arrow, cold and piercing, stabbing straight into Elaine's heart.

Elaine's face turned pale, her mouth opening to speak, then stopping. Filled with sorrow, she awkwardly explained, "Sibley, I'm just worried about you. Talk to Director Willis; he'll understand. We don't have to take risks, right?"

"We?" Sibley repeated the word, lowering her head to chuckle softly, the emotions in her eyes fading. "In what identity are you saying this? As a colleague? A friend?"

"Or... perhaps..haha, a kind-hearted ex?"

By the end of her sentence, there was a faint hoarseness and trembling in her voice, hidden beneath her aggressive demeanor. Elaine didn't notice; her mind was in turmoil, thinking, No, none of those...

She didn't want to be her colleague, her friend, or her ex.

But when she tried to speak, no sound came out. Right now, she really was nothing...

Sibley seemed unwilling to continue this conversation. She stood upright, clearly preparing to close the door.

In her panic, Elaine instinctively chose to say, "As friends, Sibley, can we still be friends?" She comforted herself, thinking to first ease the relationship and secure a position where she could legitimately care for Sibley. Everything else can progress step by step; she still have time.

She lacked the confidence to say, "I want to start over with you," as a former lover who had disappointed Sibley greatly and hadn't contacted her for two years. She feared it would only increase Sibley's disdain.

However, this answer didn't seem much better.

Sibley curled her lips as if she had heard a very amusing joke, laughing until her eyes were moist. After laughing, she sighed and remarked, "Miss Chasey is consistently forgetful, forgetting even her own words. Or perhaps..." She paused, then changed her statement to, "No, we can't."

"Don't insult me, and don't insult yourself," she declared seriously, furrowing her brow.

This time, after she finished speaking, she closed the door without hesitation, leaving Elaine alone in the darkness and silence. Insult? Elaine stared at the unyielding door, momentarily unable to process what had happened.

What had she said? Elaine, with a sense of detachment, aimlessly returned to her room.

In the dark bedroom, the flashing blue light of the phone on the bedside was particularly noticeable. Elaine rubbed her temples, trying to calm the whirlwind of thoughts in her mind, and quickly walked to her bed.

It was a Telegram message notification—Claire had added her to her contact.

Elaine casually accepted the request and then climbed half into bed under the thin quilt, closing her eyes to rest.

Suddenly, the phone in her hand vibrated. Elaine looked at it; Claire had sent an emoji to greet her and explained, "Good evening, Miss Chasey. Sorry to bother you. It was President Glover who insisted I add you."

Add her for what? It was obvious.

The script she received today was now in the hands of every student, and they were all starting to prepare.

In the first episode of the show, the 99 contestants will each perform a solo act lasting 1-3 minutes. The mentors will then assign an initial rating based on their performance. Later ratings will be determined by the popularity of the contestants, as voted by offstage fans. In later competitions, which are all group performances, the contestants select their co-performers in order of their ratings and popularity, from highest to lowest. Obviously, the more popular a contestant is, the more autonomy they have, and strong alliances are more likely to stand out. Those with high popularity naturally prefer to perform with other popular contestants to generate more buzz. For those with lower ratings, overturning their situation is clearly challenging.

A good start is winning half of the battle. The significance of the initial rating is evident.

In this program, Claire is certainly not the first, nor the only one, to leverage available resources for an advantage. Moreover, few of those selected for the show are there without having made any connections or arrangements. The extent and closeness of these connections vary.

In every aspect, there are favors and unspoken rules.

Fortunately, Elaine does not dislike Claire. In fact, after Claire's suicide in her previous life, she admired and pitied this "Dreamy Women." This made the idea of giving Claire some extra guidance seem relatively less bothersome.

Moreover, later in the show, mentors will choose their own students to guide. Claire would naturally be under her mentorship, so Elaine rationalizes that she might as well start guiding her in advance.

Elaine can't bring herself to blatantly lie or unfairly assist contestants during critical evaluations, like some of her colleagues do, so Claire must mainly rely on herself. After some consideration, Elaine helps Claire choose and slightly modify a script that is clever and easy to manage.

She doesn’t aim for great success, but rather to avoid any significant mistakes.

Claire is somewhat surprised by the choice but accepts it without objection.

Just when the conversation was about to end, Elaine's gaze inadvertently fell on the panda booster beside her pillow. She suddenly decided to ask Claire for a favor, saying, "Claire, could you please make a detour to my house tomorrow on your way here and bring some things for me?"

Claire agreed amicably to each request.

After giving the instructions, the night had grown deep. Elaine turned off the lights to rest. Despite being physically exhausted from the day's activities, her mind was restless like a wild horse, making it impossible for her to fall asleep.

Tossing and turning around on her bed, just as she was about to drift off, Elaine suddenly sat up, as if she had grasped a precious reed in an endless sea.

She understood what Sibley was saying.

Years ago, during a casual conversation about relationships, Elaine said, "People who have dated can't become friends after breaking up. Unless they never truly loved each other." At the time, Sibley strongly agreed.

Elaine slumped against the headboard, reflecting on her own words. She realized she had misspoken.

But then again, if one could be a lover, who would want to be just friends?