One Useless Rebirth

“Wait.” He Bai stopped her and examined her dressing carefully. “You are in the right room. It is Di Qiuhe’s room.” That plum wine tasted like juice, but had a strong delayed effect. The more sober he was, the worse his headache was.

And this Dong Ni who showed up suddenly...made things more complex.

Dong Ni quickly pulled back her leg and looked at He Bai from top to bottom. She kept her smile and asked politely, “Sorry, but you are...?”

“His friend, just come to visit him during the vacation.” He Bai answered briefly. He imagined the complicated things in the future and decided to eliminate all the potential troubles in the bud as quickly as possible. So, he entirely opened the room door, ensuring that even if there was paparazzi or someone copied the monitoring video, they could not see any possibility that the people in and out the room had any special relationship. He smiled to Dong Ni and said, “Wait a minute, let me call him out.” Before Dong Ni could refuse, he went to knock the washroom door. Then he came to the bed, taking his camera bag and phone, standing in the doorway again.

Dong Ni: “...” She never thought of this result as she came here early in the morning.

She glanced at He Bai’s camera bag and phone and then checked the room number again. Then she saw the monitor at the end of the corridor. It was a safe distance between her and He Bai. She lowered her head to remove her stiff expression and then asked with a smile, “So, why do you carry a camera?”

“Oh, well.” He Bai leaned against the door frame and smoothed his hair, smiling, “Forget to introduce myself. I’m He Bai, the junior schoolmate of Di Qiuhe, majoring in journalism and communication, a future journalist. I like to carry a camera with me due to my major.”

Dong Ni: “...”

“Maybe in the future, I can have the chance to cooperate with Miss Dong as a journalist.” He Bai began to talk nonsense. He raised his hand and massaged his forehead, trying to relieve the headache after intoxication. He continued: “I heard you from Director Jiang. With your talent, efforts and resources, you will become a hit sooner or later. By then, I will be the one who has ever chatted with the superstar Dong Ni in a hotel in the early morning. My colleague must be very jealous.”

He deliberately accentuated “efforts” and “resources”, which made Dong Ni nervous and shocked. She almost failed to restrain her feelings. When she looked at He Bai again, her eyes were tainted with curiosity and scruple. She suggested, “Mr. He, I am just a new...”

“What’s wrong, Xiao Bai?” Di Qiuhe walked out from the washroom with brand-new shirt and trousers. When he saw the widely opened door and Dong Ni, the mildness and intimacy in his eyes disappeared. Di Qiuhe frowned for a second and soon relieved. He showed a polite and confused expression, pressing He Bai’s shoulder. He stood behind He Bai with a slightly intimate posture, looking at Dong Ni and asking politely, “Who are you, please?”

Seeing him, Dong Ni’s eyes were glued on him and shined. She couldn’t help stepping forward with a sweet smile, “Hello, I am your new costar Dong Ni. Our cooperated filming will be on the day after tomorrow, I think...”

“Ah, so it’s you.” Di Qiuhe interrupted her with a smile and patted He Bai’s shoulder to assure him. Then he came out of the room sideways and nodded to Dong Ni. He strode to the room door diagonally across theirs and rang the doorbell.

Dong Ni woke up from that bewitching face yet still showed a face full of bewilderment, while He Bai just twitched his lips.

A few seconds later, Jiang Guanshan, who apparently just got up, opened the door. Seeing Di Qiuhe standing there, he said with confusion, “Why do you get up so early? Anything wrong? Where is Xiao He, let’s have a breakfast together.”

“Thanks for your invitation. He just got up, so he couldn’t make it.” Di Qiuhe answered with regret, “So Miss Dong is here and tells me that she wants to get familiar with the filming after the vacation, but I have promised Xiao Bai to visit his parents’ graves, so...” Then he turned sideways and presented Dong Ni to him. Jiang Guanshan looked at Dong Ni and frowned deeply. He checked the time and said with slight dissatisfaction and dislike, “Why now?”

Dong Ni: “...” Things seemed to be heading in a wrong direction.

“It’s good for a new actress to be work hard, but that working ethic should be displayed on appropriate occasion.” Jiang Guanshan knew her background, but he was not afraid, so his dissatisfaction showed a little on his face. But he still said with responsibility, “But since you’re here, go prepare your filming. Your first shot requires wire work. There are many things to watch out. Come with me, let me take you to the action choreographer.”

“Thank you.” Di Qiuhe said and turned to Dong Ni, saying apologetically, “Miss Dong, I’m sorry that I cannot welcome and accompany you. Director Jiang will walk you through the key points about the following scene. I am going to order breakfasts for you, see you.”

He Bai immediately turned on his camera and took a titbits photo “The director and actors discussing the script harmoniously.” He waved to Dong Ni with a smile, “Miss Dong, wish you a good work and hope you can spring into fame.”

Hearing that, Jiang Guanshan bantered, “Nonsense. There are so many actors springing into fame but only last for a short time in showbiz. A good actor should delve into acting skills and make efforts to maintain his fame. Xiao He, your acting awareness is not high enough.”

He Bai hurriedly clasped hands and apologized.

Di Qiuhe smiled and said something for He Bai, “Xiao Bai just hopes that Miss Dong’s first performance can impress the audience. I believe that with her talent and resources, she will make us proud.”

Dong Ni smiled with embarrassment. She lowered her head, running a hand through her hair and smoothed her collar.

The first experience in showbiz was a little bit different from her imagination. Maybe because she got too early and had an unclear mind, she felt it hard to distinguish whether these people were satirizing her or just some simple talk to flatter each other. All they said was just something beautiful but contrived.

Anyway, she glammed up for nothing today. ‘Geez, talking about getting off the wrong foot.’

After Dong Ni and director Jiang left for the action choreographer, He Bai finally relaxed. He covered his mouth and yawned.

And Di Qiuhe just finished ordering breakfasts and hung up. He turned around and saw He Bai yawning. Frowning, he examined He Bai’s face and asked with care, “Didn’t sleep well? I saw your eyes are bloodshot, go back to have some sleep.”

“No, just some delayed effects and a bit of a headache.” He Bai massaged his temples and shook his hand, “I can’t sleep sound now, just wash up and get ready, so that we can come back early.”

Hearing that, Di Qiuhe was even more dissatisfied with Dong Ni and her sudden appearance. He took He Bai’s camera and phone from his hands and said, “I have borrowed a car from filming group. We will be driving there so that you can sleep on the car. What are you craving for? I’ll order now.”

“Something light, please.” He Bai answered and narrowed his eyes, examining Di Qiuhe from top to bottom. He rubbing his chin confusedly, “It’s weird. For this while I woke up, you still haven’t riled me up, on the contrary, you are being so considerate, do you...”