LOVING AGAIN

CINEMA

Friday came in the blink of an eye for Nie Xi.

She huffed and puffed as she munched on popcorn and watched as VIP guests made their way to their seats. Why did Jiang Li bring her to the most popular cinema in town? And why was there even a provision for VIP guests to make an entrance? She had no one to ask.

She glanced at her watch. Ten minutes already.

"Xi, I'm sorry for the delay," Li said. He had seen Xi sulking. He found it cute, but he still felt the need to apologize.

"Don't apologize, Li. You clearly want me to be happy and it's not your fault," Xi replied.

She watched as the celebrities were introduced and secretly criticized them. She didn’t spare their clothes, their hairstyles, their shoes, or even their bodyguards. But she stopped chewing the moment the last man entered. She hadn't caught his name. She hadn’t been paying attention.

He was... She couldn’t describe him with mere words. His mannerism, the aura around him, was unique. It was a pity she didn’t see his face. His hair was gelled to the back, not a single strand out of place. His stature spoke of daily workouts. His walk exuded arrogance. She didn’t have enough time to access his clothes, because she had once been a fashion designer but she knew they were freaking expensive.

Jiang Li watched as Xi criticized the celebrities, but stopped at that man. He clearly knew who he was but he didn't know why someone like him would be at a rural cinema.

"Xi?" He called, but she didn’t hear him. Her eyes followed the man to his seat.

"Xi!" He called louder this time.

"Huh? You called me?"

"You were so engrossed in that man you didn’t hear your name," he nudged her as he commented jokingly.

"Oh, really? Quick, tell me his name," she said, failing to notice the way he gazed at her.

"I didn’t get it," he lied.

The lights suddenly dimmed and the movie started. Jiang Li was grateful for the movie, or Xi would have kept asking about the man.

The name of the movie was, 'I Can Do Without You'.

The female lead in the movie was rich and beautiful, but she was betrothed to a man who didn’t value her. She did everything she could to please him, even doing things she hated just to make him happy.

Unbeknownst to her and her parents, the man and his family were only after her wealth.

After an accident, she found out she wasn’t the real child of her parents. The moment the real child was found, her parents and her fiancé transferred all their love and resources to her.

The beautiful girl did many stupid things just to get a little attention, but she was treated badly. The real child although kind, couldn't do much to help her. After some time, she realized all her efforts were useless. So she told them she could do without all of them and went back to her real parents to continue living her life, where she met her true love.

Nie Xi compared herself to the female lead and they were just alike. Their story was cut from the same clothe. But she wasn’t betrothed, she had an arranged engagement to Meng Bo. And the things the real child, Chen Meiling, had done to her were far more extreme than in the movie. Chen Meiling had even arranged for her to be killed. The female lead had faced reality, but Lingxi refused to. She became so foolish that she couldn’t tell right from wrong.

...

Jiang Li glanced at Lingxi when the movie ended. She hadn’t moved. Her eyes were distant, like she was somewhere far away. He bit back the urge to call her name and left a folded note on her seat:

Washroom. Be right back.

Lingxi didn’t notice. She was drowning in memories. Her chest ached, but she refused to cry. Not here. Not ever. She pushed her spectacles up and blinked hard until the sting faded. The lights came on, harsh and bright. She looked to her side. Jiang Li’s seat was empty.

Pay attention, Xi, she scolded herself.

She stepped outside to wait for him, but then she saw him again.

The man from the VIP line. The one with the aura that made the air go still. She still hadn’t seen his face. Curiosity burned hotter than common sense. She slipped behind a pillar, heart thudding. There was something about him she couldn’t name.

...

President Si ended his call mid-sentence. A prickle ran down his spine. Someone was watching him. He stopped.

"President?" His assistant almost crashed into him.

President Si turned, eyes sweeping the hallway — and landed on her, not directly though; on the pillar she was hiding against.

Nie Lingxi froze. Her heart slammed against her ribs. What am I doing? Stalking a stranger? Shame flooded her. She turned and fled through the nearest exit.

"Wait!"

The word cut through the noise, but she was already gone. The only thing he caught was a flash of bright blue eyes in the shadows, gone in a second.

"President?" his assistant tried again.

"Never mind," President Si said quietly. His jaw tightened. Blue eyes weren’t rare. He was seeing ghosts again. He didn’t need this town thinking he’d lost his mind. He started walking, faster.

"Should I get the manager to pull the guest list for today?" the assistant asked carefully. He knew that look.

"I said no need!" Si snapped. The words came out sharper than he meant.

Why did everything remind him of her? A pair of eyes. A shadow.

"Y-yes! boss,". I’m just doing my job. The assistant thought miserably.He’d lost count of how many times this happened. A glimpse of hair. A turn of a head. And President Si would tear the city apart looking.

There was the time at the club. The president had sworn it was her. He chased a figure through the crowd, missed a 10 million yuan contract, and drank until he couldn’t stand.

Since he’d gotten his memories back — the ones his grandfather forced him to forget — he’d become obsessed. Erratic.

Chen Qianci. Everyone knew she was dead. If anyone said it near him, they regretted it.

His men prayed to every god they knew that she was alive. Because the man he’d become without her was ice. Cold to everyone. Cold to everything.

...

Nie Xi pressed a hand to her chest and forced her breathing to steady. Her heart was still racing. She pulled out her phone and typed quickly to Jiang Li:

Something came up, I had to leave first... sorry.

She shoved the phone away.

Admiring strangers is not on my to-do list. She repeated it until the words felt real.

...

Nie Lingxi didn’t sleep. Hours passed and she was still sitting on the floor, breathing in the slow burn of incense. The smoke curled around her, dragging her mind into something quieter.

At 4am she stood up. No alarm. She never needed one.

She did her morning workout until her body burned, then showered and started getting ready for the audition.

...

"Mom, you're back," Lingxi said, crossing the room to press a kiss to Wanwan’s cheek.

"I’m going to one of my auditions," she continued, voice steady. "I’ll be back with success."

"Xi’er, I’ve told you not to worry about money," Wanwan said softly. "Aren’t you already working at the restaurant?"

Xi cut in with a dry laugh. "I’ll probably get fired for lateness soon anyway."

"You could help out at the orphanage too," Wanwan tried.

"Mother, don’t bother," Lingxi said. Her eyes were bright. "I love acting. And don’t we need money to take care of the children? I won’t let you down. Or the kids."

Wanwan studied her daughter for a long moment, her daughter had never mentioned her passion for acting before, then she smiled. "If you say so. Good luck, my girl. Stop by the orphanage when you’re done. The children love having you around."

She didn’t want to cage Lingxi’s choices although she knew the passion for acting was a lie.

"Sure, Mother," Lingxi promised, already grabbing her bag.