Today's day is a bit cold as compared to yesterday, but I have already reached the set and changed into my costumes and I am waiting for the director to start the shooting.
"Hey Shiza, can you please do me a favour?" Yang Lulu asked me in a hurry. "Actually, I need to go home early today as my brother is coming from Beijing, so there is a small house party for him."
"Oo Beijing? You know what, even my grandmother's house is also in Beijing. My mother is from Beijing, but after marrying my father she lives where my father lives and she changed her place from Beijing to there."
"Oo that's nice, but tell me first—will you help me?"
"Yes, of course. Say what I have to do?"
"Nothing… just actually Mr. Xu Yuan's assistant has fallen ill due to the changing weather, so he gave him an off from yesterday itself and asked him not to come on sets unless he gets properly recovered."
"Oo so that's why yesterday he was driving his car by his own and not answering me when I asked about his assistant. He is always like that, I know him. He even asks his fans not to wait for him at his shooting location till late because he really cares for everyone's health. He is sooo considerate."
"Zhao Shiza, where are you lost? Are you thinking something?" asked Yang Lulu.
"No… just tell me what I need to do."
"Just nothing, give him this contact number for a new assistant till his old assistant gets back."
"But why do we need to give him this paper? Can't we just message him?"
She takes a deep sigh and says, "Miss Zhao Shiza, he is Xu Yuan. THE Xu Yuan. We don't have his phone number, not even his WeChat, so we have to hand over this paper to him in the traditional style only."
"Oo yes yes, how can I think that? I got it, give me."
Yang Lulu left from there. I went to his room and knocked on the door—one knock, no reply… second knock, no reply… third knock louder than the other two.
"Come inside."
I got inside. He was sitting on his couch as usual, busy on his phone. I stepped inside and placed the paper on his table, and without saying anything I started moving towards the door.
"Hey you silly childish girl, won't you tell me what kind of paper this is? Or should I just do brainstorming for it?" he said while still looking at his phone.
He has such a great sense, but I said, "Actually, Yang Lulu gave me this to hand over to you. It carries a phone number for your new assistant. You can call him and help yourself afterwards."
I turned around towards the door again, but again I was stopped by him.
"Isn't someone owing me milk tea? Sorry—China's best milk tea available in whole Shanghai?" he asked me with curiosity, a curiosity to know my answer.
I took a long deep breath and turned towards him, now more confidently, and said, "Yes I do. But how can I treat that person when he is so much busy in his phone, so much inside the digital world?"
The moment I said this, he put his phone down on the couch and looked at me.
"See? That someone already put down his phone. Now do it."
I got a little nervous and said, "Ain't this ruin your reputation if you drink milk tea with an ordinary girl like me?"
He just smiled and didn't answer my question. Then he got up from the couch, patted my head and said, "Come with me."
I followed him. We came out of the set location, just walking on the roads.
I asked him, "Ain't we getting late for shoot? What if Director Li is calling us to shoot a scene?"
He smiled and said, "Tell me, were you a question mark in your last life?" and laughed after saying it.
I rolled my eyes and said, "Wait, what if Director Li is calling us? You won't get any trouble because you are the Xu Yuan, but he'll definitely scold me and throw me out of this drama."
He again laughed, even bigger than before.
"You are such a childish girl. I think you must still be in kindergarten, getting scared of teachers—'what if he scolds you?' Amazing," and he laughed again.
We kept walking and then I said, "Stop."
"What happened?" he asked shockingly.
"Come here, just come."
There was a shop—an old shop where Uncle Wang Lei sells the best milk tea.
"You know what? Since these 4 years of my journey in Shanghai University, this is the place that lightens my mood. When I come here, I forget everything—everything I don't want to happen with me."
"Hey Uncle Wang Lei, how are you?"
"Look who comes today after so many months! Where were you, child?"
"Nothing… just busy in studies. You know your shop is far away from my dorm, so I just got busy in assignments and everything."
"That's why promise me—when you graduate, you'll design a shop for me near your dorm."
I smiled and said, "Of course Uncle Wang Lei, it's Zhao Shiza's promise to you. And Zhao Shiza never breaks her promise. Even if the mountains break, Zhao Shiza's promise never breaks."
Then we both laughed.
"What are you studying in Shanghai University?" Xu Yuan asked me.
"Actually my major is art and design. I mean… I'm going to be an interior designer."
He widened his eyes—I could see it even through his black mask.
"Who's this boy? I have never seen you coming with a boy," Uncle Wang Lei asked me.
"Just a random classmate, nothing more. Don't think much about him," I said casually.
"Classmate or…?"
I cut his sentence before he finished and said, "Stop assuming things on your own, Uncle. Just give us two zhēn zhū nǎi chá."
"Okay, just wait for 5 minutes," he said, and went inside.
Xu Yuan was still staring at me with curiosity in his eyes.
"What? Why are you staring?" I asked him without looking at him.
"Just thinking about what Uncle Wang Lei said—that you never bring a boy here. He never saw you with any boy in the past 4 years. Just wondering why."
"No need to wonder anything. It's normal," I said.
"So didn't you have nán péng yǒu ma?"
I moved my eyes to the other direction and said, "No."
"I don't believe this," he said.
"What you didn't believe?" I asked him.
"I don't believe that no one has approached you. I really don't believe it. Stop lying," he said while assuming things on his own.
"I didn't lie," I said.
"Again lying. See, just now you lied to your Uncle Wang Lei—that I am your… what did you say? Yes, got it, random classmate."
"So what do you want me to tell him? That you are THE Xu Yuan, China's TV global face, so that everyone gathers here and creates the most crowded place in whole Shanghai? And gives breaking news that Mr. Xu Yuan was spotted near a milk tea shop? Tell me, should I do that? Look, I don't have any problem. I am just an ordinary girl. But you will be responsible for the consequences," I said to him.
"Are you blackmailing me?" he asked.
"No. I am just saying that I am not a compulsive liar. I lie because when I know a situation is not in control and the truth will make the situation even worse, then only I lie. Yes, I call myself a pretty liar—not a compulsive one. Because I don't think there's anything wrong in lying unless or until it harms somebody."
"It's your point of view, which might be right… but I don't completely agree. From my point of view, we need to say the truth in every situation, no matter if it becomes worse. And people who take lying as an option are pretty escapist," he said, pointing towards me with his eyes—those eyes that speak more stories than any book.
"Ok, then I'll remove your mask," I said while giving him a mischievous smile.
"Hey stop! Are you mad?" he panicked.
I laughed. "No, I'm just following what you said—that we need to tell the truth in every situation. So now let people see Xu Yuan standing here waiting for milk tea."
"Ok kids, sorry for delay, here is your milk tea. Take it and enjoy it. And Zhao Shiza, you forgot to do marketing for my shop. I gave you a target to bring 5 customers in a month, but you only brought 2 till now—even counting your friend today, still 2 only. Complete your target," Uncle Wang Lei said.
He laughed while listening to all this and sipping the tea.
In a low voice, so that only he could hear, I said, "Uncle Wang Lei doesn't know who came today to drink his milk tea. If he knows, then you'll be counted as 5 customers—whole 5—and my target will get easily completed."
"Stop scaring me, okay?" he said.
And suddenly, the rain started heavily…