Let Me Meet You chapter 39
Sunrise (Part 2)
“That’s Ying Jie,” Sheng Min reminded him, just as Yu Fuying approached, warmly grabbing Li Xuan’s hand.
“Finally, you’re here! They said you’d be arriving, and I waited and waited. Got stuck in traffic, didn’t you? The roads here are worse than the capital,” she said enthusiastically. Yu Fuying, in her early fifties, wore heavy makeup—perfect for the camera but a little jarring in person. Li Xuan felt she looked quite different from the photos in the materials he had received beforehand.
“Ying Jie,” Li Xuan greeted her.
“Why are you calling me Jie? You used to call me Mom,” she said in slightly accented Mandarin with a TVB-style intonation. She cracked a joke that wasn’t particularly funny, then laughed heartily, leaning back and forth, while affectionately patting his hand. “I mean in the drama! When we filmed together. That must’ve been, what, 15 or 16 years ago? Gosh, you were just a little thing back then. I even gave you candy on set!”
Her overly familiar demeanor felt at odds with what Sheng Min had mentioned about them not being in contact for years. Li Xuan glanced at the cameraman following them and confirmed that the cameras were still off—filming hadn’t started yet. However, he noticed a faint flash of white light just beyond the barricade—a sign that some dedicated fans or paparazzi were seizing the moment to snap pictures during the crew’s attempts to keep them at bay.
“You’ve grown so much in the blink of an eye. I still think of you as a kid, but now you’re starring in romance dramas. Wangyang Willows is doing really well lately; all the girls in my studio are hooked on it.”
Li Xuan’s hand started to hurt from her firm grip, his fingertips reddening from the pressure. The only woman he knew of Yu Fuying’s age was Shu Xin, though their situation was unique, and he lacked much experience interacting with women of this age group. He found her perfume overwhelmingly strong and discreetly tried to pull his hand free. She noticed and, to her credit, let go.
“I’ve been wanting to invite you here for ages.” Before Li Xuan could relax, Yu Fuying had already linked arms with him in an even more intimate gesture, sighing dramatically. “I’ve told them so many times, we must get together, must have you join us… You all heard me, right?”
At some point, a small group of people had gathered around them—her assistants or the production crew, perhaps—all laughing cooperatively and chiming in agreement. The scene reminded Li Xuan of Lin Daiyu entering the Jia Mansion. Only this time, the “true Precious Jade” had been pushed half a meter away by the crowd. Catching Li Xuan’s searching gaze, Sheng Min gave him a subtle smile.
“Enjoy yourself these few days,” Yu Fuying continued, delivering her lines with such precision that it seemed scripted. “If you need anything, just let me know. Since you’re here, I’ll make sure you have a great time before heading back.”
Li Xuan loathed such contrived situations but maintained a perfunctory smile. “Okay, thank you, Ying Jie.”
“Mr. Sheng, Ms Ying, could you both head in for makeup touch-ups? We’ll start filming shortly,” a staff member finally interrupted.
“Oh, I nearly forgot!” Yu Fuying exclaimed dramatically, slapping her forehead. “Come on, Xiao Min, let’s go—Xiao Min?”
Taking advantage of her distraction, Li Xuan pulled his wrist free, took a couple of steps back, and reached out to drag Sheng Min back to his side.
“Let’s go, Ying Jie,” he said, meeting her slightly surprised gaze before turning and leading the way into the tent. In the noisy backdrop of the seaside wind, he leaned toward Sheng Min and whispered, “Stay close to me. Don’t get separated again.”
When it comes to reality shows, the only “real” thing about them is the people. Li Xuan had thoroughly learned this lesson by the end of the morning shoot.
They had to reshoot the scene of getting out of the car twice. The first take captured a large logo of a beverage company on a nearby umbrella—an old sponsor of the show that had since withdrawn. Post-production blurring would look awkward, so the cameraman shyly suggested a retake, likely fearing backlash from the director. Sheng Min tugged at Li Xuan’s sleeve from behind, so he agreed without further comment.
The rest of the filming went similarly. For a scene where they sat on the beach chatting, three reflectors were set up nearby. Since the wind wasn’t strong enough, fans were brought in to ensure every strand of hair floated perfectly.
The conversation was, of course, pre-scripted: reminiscing about the past, discussing the latest or upcoming dramas of each guest, and casually addressing scandals in a seemingly offhanded manner.
“I’ve been single for about four or five years now,” said one of the male guests. “Ying Jie, do you know any suitable girls to introduce to me? I don’t have high standards—just someone kind and filial would do… But honestly, I’m not really in a rush to date. At this stage, my priority is delivering quality dramas and giving back to the fans.”
Sitting nearby, Li Xuan thought to himself how grateful he was that Sheng Min never spoke like this. Just imagining it was enough to make his skin crawl.
The conversation followed the script halfway through, but the already poor weather turned gloomier as a few clouds rolled in. Even with artificial lighting, the shots didn’t turn out well.
“The lighting is terrible right now… It probably won’t rain; the forecast says it’ll clear up by noon. Let’s take a break, everyone. Once the light improves, we’ll resume,” the chief director called out, halting the shoot.
“Sheng Min, let’s rest in the tent for a bit. Outdoor filming is always like this—when the sun’s out, it’s unbearably hot, and without it, we can’t capture anything decent,” Yu Fuying said, gesturing to him.
“No need, Ying Jie, you go ahead,” Li Xuan replied firmly, scanning the area for Sheng Min. Spotting him in the distance, his slightly furrowed brows relaxed. “I’ll stay here for a bit.”
Seeing his determination, Yu Fuying relented. After brushing some sand off his shoulder, she finally entered the tent with her assistants in tow.
“Thanks for your hard work,” Yu Fuying said as she left. Only then did Sheng Min approach, handing Li Xuan a bottle of water with a smile. “Tired?”
“Where did you go?” Li Xuan asked, taking the water and walking a few steps away with him. They sat down on two adjacent lounge chairs.
“Not far. I kept an eye on you the whole time. As soon as they called a break, I came over,” Sheng Min explained. He paused, noticing Li Xuan’s silence and seemingly displeased expression. Softly, he added, “Didn’t you tell me—”
“What did I say?”
“You said to stay close to you,” Sheng Min replied hastily, turning his head slightly to the side.
Li Xuan froze for a moment, forgetting what he was about to say. He took a big gulp of water before responding, “I wasn’t talking about that… Your pant leg is wet.”
“Oh… I stepped in some water,” Sheng Min said, the damp sand still clinging to his ankle.
“Wipe it off.” Li Xuan handed him a tissue. Seeing Sheng Min’s expression falter as he silently bent down to clean it, Li Xuan reflected on whether his tone had been too harsh. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat. “I wasn’t scolding you.”
It’s just that I couldn’t find you earlier, he thought but held back from saying it.
“Got it,” Sheng Min replied with a faint smile, still looking down.
Then why aren’t you looking at me? Li Xuan wondered inexplicably. Before he could think of something else to say, the light in front of him dimmed. Looking up, he saw the male actor who talked about “giving back to his fans” standing in front of them.
T/N:
The part talking about Lin Daiyu entering the Jia Mansion is an extract from the book Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, considered to be one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.