Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

The film crew wrapped up work at midnight and returned to their hotel in the Cangyan Mountain scenic area.

Li An told everyone to go to bed early because they had to get up early the next day to film. The scene of misty mornings and distant mountains could only be seen in the morning.

Everyone echoed in agreement, but Zhang Ziyi seemed distracted, his brows furrowed as if he were pondering something important.

After returning to her room, she sat on the bed for a while before picking up her phone and dialing a number.

After washing up in his room, Jiang Lai thought for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed a number. He called Zhou Xun.

Meanwhile, in a restaurant far away in Beijing, most of the people at the table had already passed out. Zhou Xun, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, answered the phone.

"Feed? Who is that?"

"I."

Zhou Xun recognized the voice and happily exclaimed, "Oh! It's you! Why are you calling me? Did you miss me?"

"Didn't you call me?"

Zhou Xun cutely tapped her head, "Oh right, I forgot, hehehe."

Then she blinked, pouted angrily, and said, "No! Why did you hang up on me!" Then she suddenly burst into tears, "How dare you hang up on me, waaaaah!"

Jiang Lai sensed something was wrong and asked suspiciously, "Have you had too much to drink?"

"I'm not drunk!"

Zhou Xun waved her hand and slapped Pu Shu across the face, knocking him to the ground. She pointed at Pu Shu and chuckled, "I'm not drunk! It's...it's Pu Shu who's drunk, hehe."

Jiang Lai could tell Zhou Xun was genuinely drunk, so he patiently chatted with her, asking, "Who is Pu Shu?"

"Pu Shu... he's amazing! At the wrap party tonight, he sang so many songs while holding his guitar! He sounded so good."

"Really? He's really amazing."

"Yeah, let me tell you, he can also... he can say 'I love you' in 17 languages, hehe, I can't understand any of them."

Just as Jiang Lai was about to reply, he heard a knock on the door. He stood up to open it and said into the phone, "Seventeen languages, that's really impressive."

Zhou Xun leaned on the table, her eyes half-closed, "Guess how I knew he could say 'I love you' in 17 different ways?"

"What's wrong?"

"He told me, Jiang Lai, that he confessed his feelings to me."

"Why is it you? What are you wearing... Ugh! Beep—beep—beep—"

"Why can't it be me!"

Zhou Xun shrugged in dissatisfaction. "I...I have a lot of people who like me, okay! But I rejected him. How about that? Surprised?"

"Hehe, do you know what the director said when filming wrapped? He said that I acted out a love story with him, hmph, just like what Lou Ye said about us back then."

Her gaze grew increasingly unfocused, as if she had returned to the beginning of 1998, and to that filthy Suzhou River.

"Look, love can actually be acted out! How funny, hehehe, but I don't believe it. Do you know why?"

"Hmph~ Why aren't you saying anything? Fine, I'll tell you then."

"Because while we were filming, I was constantly thinking about you, so I don't believe it! I don't think our relationship was just an act."

"Tell me! Are we acting?"

"Say something, Jiang Lai!"

"Jiang Lai..."

Zhou Xun collapsed onto the dinner table, muttering Jiang Lai's name.

Her agent, Li Xiaowan, walked in. The strong smell of alcohol made her cover her nose. Seeing the group of people who had collapsed, she helplessly began to clean up the mess.

Leaving one assistant behind to wait for the burly men to sober up, she and another assistant helped Zhou Xun back to the hotel.

The next day, Zhou Xun woke up groggily, feeling extremely unwell from the hangover. She got up, went to the bathroom to wash up, and then went back to bed.

Suddenly, she remembered something, took out her phone, and found a call log.

1 minutes 26 seconds.

Zhou Xun stared at the string of numbers. She vaguely remembered that the call had lasted for quite a while.

Rewind to the early hours of the morning.

After Zhang Ziyi dialed the number, she was surprised that the other end answered. She immediately put on a mournful face, "Hmph~ Zeng Zeng~"

Zeng Lai raised his index finger and shushed the surroundings, then pointed to the phone and said, "It's Ziyi."

The group of '96 girls, who were having a late-night chat with beautiful women, immediately fell silent, all curious as to why Zhang Ziyi would call at this hour.

"Ziyi, why are you calling so late?" Zeng Li asked.

"Zhou Xun keeps looking for him." Zhang Ziyi sat cross-legged on the bed, her little hands constantly tugging at the blanket, as if she had a grudge against it.

Upon hearing this, Zeng Lai knew she had to turn on speakerphone; they had come to consult her strategist. She turned on the speakerphone and placed it on the bed. "Ziyi, tell me the details."

Zhang Ziyi recounted the short message from the desert years ago, as well as the phone call he made late at night.

Hu Jing was the first to lose his temper, shouting, "Ziyi! You two have been dating for almost two years now, how come you still haven't won Jiang over? It's so hard for you to even date!"

Zhang Ziyi said, feeling wronged, "Well, it hasn't been two years, has it?"

"You're still being stubborn!"

Qin Hailu spoke domineeringly, "Ziyi, if you ask me, you should go to his room tonight and sleep with him! Then you can openly control him from now on, and I don't believe it."

Zhang Ziyi was completely petrified. "Is...is this appropriate?"

Zeng Lai smiled and said, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. I think Hailu is right!"

"But wouldn't this make him think..."

"No buts!" Qin Hailu interrupted. "As Eileen Chang said, the path to a woman's heart is her vagina, and men are much the same! Just go for it!"

Zhang Ziyi blushed instantly, and the sound of her girlfriends' teasing laughter came from the other end of the phone.

After talking for a long time, Zhang Ziyi hung up the phone and finally made up her mind.

That's what she actually thought too. She was just calling to seek psychological support. She quickly ran to the bathroom, washed up, and then put on some light makeup and lipstick.

After rummaging through the pile of clothes for a while, she picked up a bright red bellyband. Her girlfriends had told her that men liked lingerie, and since they were limited by their circumstances, she could only make do with this. It was even a piece of underwear given to her by the costume department for filming.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Ziyi pulled out a light blue gauze dress, which was also given by the costume department. She put on a bright red bellyband and then covered the gauze dress, making her body curves appear and disappear.

She smiled contentedly, opened the door, peeked out into the hallway, and then sneakily ran to Jiang Lai's room when no one was around.

"Knock knock knock!"

She knocked on the door, waiting anxiously.

A moment later, the door opened, and Jiang Lai looked at Zhang Ziyi with surprise, holding up his phone.

"Why is it you? What are you wearing... ugh!"

Before Jiang could finish speaking, Zhang Ziyi tiptoed forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her red lips directly to his mouth.

Jiang Lai was pushed back two steps. He didn't care about the call with Zhou Xun anymore. He hung up the phone and threw the phone on the ground. With a flick of his toe, he closed the door.

The two staggered backward and then fell onto the bed.

As Zhang Ziyi rode on Jiang Lai's back, his heart pounded wildly, and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he wanted to devour someone.

She leaned down, sliding her hand from the corner of her lips to her chin, pulling aside the cumbersome clothes, and continuing downwards to her neck and chest.

Jiang Lai could feel her hot breath moving across his skin. His hand unconsciously went to her back. The veil slipped off her shoulders, and the delicate white skin made his eyes redden, and his breathing became rapid.

He rolled over and pinned Zhang Ziyi beneath him, lifted the red bodice, and roughly kneaded her with his large hands.

"Hmm~"

Zhang Ziyi bit her lip and hummed softly, her eyes glistening with spring water.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer, so close that their noses touched and their breaths mingled, making it impossible to tell whose was hotter.

The curtains weren't drawn tightly, and moonlight squeezed in through the gaps, drawing a cold, distinct line between their overlapping shadows.

The pattern of mandarin ducks playing in the water on the red bib seemed to come alive under the moonlight.

The two mandarin ducks sang in harmony, their calls melodious and rhythmic. If you listened closely, you could also hear the gentle murmur of water.