During a break from filming, Ning Qiuxiu, Fang Jinran, and Xu Ya were playing a game of “Landlord” together.

Xu Ya and Ning Qiuxiu had initially been at odds, and even made her drink three glasses of alcohol when they first met.

However, after spending time together, Xu Ya’s opinion of Ning Qiuxiu improved greatly.

Plus, Ning Qiuxiu had helped Xu Ya figure out a tricky scene that had been giving her trouble, which helped them become good friends.

“Not so fast,” Fang Jinran calmly threw down two cards and said, “Bomb! I only have one card left too.”

“…Wow, you’re cheating. Obviously, I and Qiuxiu played two rounds and your three cards remained untouched. I thought you didn’t have a bomb. You’re so sneaky.”

A crew member watching them play said, “Xu Ya, Fanran guessed you still had bomb, so he waited until you used your bomb to double up. You should have guessed he had a bomb when no big cards appeared.”

“I didn’t know he was a master at holding back! I always play my bomb as soon as I get it. That’s not fair, right, Qiuxiu?”

Qiuxiu shrugged: “Anyway, I won without trying.”

Xu Ya: “1551, you’re bullying me.”

While Xu Ya was dramatically accusing Fang Jinran of being manipulative, there was suddenly a commotion nearby.

Everyone turned to see what was happening when the assistant director rushed over and said, “The investors’ boss is here for a visit. Everyone, go and greet him. Quickly pack up the signs; don’t let him see them.”

It turned out the big investor had arrived. Ning Qiuxiu didn’t have a good impression of the investors.

Last time, Mr. An had claimed to know her father, but her father only remembered meeting him once at a social event and exchanging business cards.

Nevertheless, basic courtesy required Ning Qiuxiu to go with the others to greet the visitors.

She was taken aback when she saw not only the main investor but also the big boss behind him—Zhan Qingyuan.

Everyone only knew about the main investor and didn’t recognize the big boss behind him.

When Mr. An introduced Zhan Qingyuan to the crew, everyone was stunned: the renowned head of the Zhan family was young, handsome, and impressive.

“I’m here to visit my friend Weiliang. Sorry for the interruption,” Zhan Qingyuan said politely as he was surrounded by the crew.

Since his relationship with Ji Weiliang wasn’t public, he referred to her as a good friend.

The crew couldn’t help but envy Ji Weiliang, not delving into the details of their relationship.

Just having the chairman of the Zhan Group visit was enough to make anyone envious.

“You didn’t give us any notice before coming. You caught us off guard and we weren’t prepared,” Ji Weiliang said, which led everyone to rethink her relationship with Zhan Qingyuan.

— For most people, just trying to please someone like Zhan Qingyuan would be a lot of effort, so they wouldn’t dare complain about him.

“Then I’ll make amends,” Zhan Qingyuan said kindly. “I’ll treat everyone to lunch today. You choose the place, how about that?”

Everyone agreed immediately.

“Then thank you, Second Young Master Zhan,” Ji Weiliang said with a smile. “It’s sunny outside, let’s go sit inside.”

Ning Qiuxiu watched the whole process and found it a bit amusing.

As soon as Zhan Qingyuan appeared on set, he showed off his wealth, which made Ji Weiliang look good.

Ji Weiliang had probably been having a rough time lately, so now she finally had a chance to show off.

Ning Qiuxiu disliked people who used money to show off and solve problems, but at the same time, she depended on rich people like Zhan Qingyuan to solve problems and show off.

She wondered if Ji Weiliang ever felt conflicted about that.

Since it was Zhan Qingyuan, Ning Qiuxiu didn’t bother to join in and went back to her own dressing room.

Later, a crew member brought a box of large, plump cherries, saying that Zhan Qingyuan had sent two big boxes for everyone.

“It’s just cherries. Who can’t afford them?” Once the crew member left, Xiao Chi said angrily and started to throw away the box, saying, “I’m throwing these out!”

Ning Qiuxiu was amused by Xiao Chi’s intense dislike and said, “There’s no need to be so dramatic. It’s from Zhan Qingyuan, not her. Just eat them; it’s no big deal.”

Xiao Chi suddenly remembered that her own artist seemed to like Zhan Qingyuan before and felt sorry for her artist.

Seeing that Ning Qiuxiu didn’t seem unhappy, she tentatively asked, “Qiuxiu, you… are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’ve moved on. You can wash the cherries; I want to eat some too.”

“Okay.”

Xiao Chi went to wash the cherries, and the break room fell silent.

Ning Qiuxiu thought they wouldn’t be filming this morning, so she stretched and was about to lie down for a rest when the door to the break room was knocked on again.

“Come in.”

Ning Qiuxiu assumed it was someone from the crew and didn’t get up to open the door, letting the visitor enter on their own.

She regretted it when she saw who walked in.

Zhan Qingyuan, noticing Ning Qiuxiu’s displeasure, didn’t bother to hide it: “Are you really that unwelcoming?”

Ning Qiuxiu rolled her eyes and said, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“……”

Zhan Qingyuan was momentarily at a loss.

Recently, he had been reflecting a lot due to his brother’s situation and realized he had been quite biased against Ning Qiuxiu.

Mainly, her personality had not been very pleasant to him.

But now that his brother was waking up, he needed to reassess their relationship.

He actually wanted to make amends with Ning Qiuxiu.

They had no deep-seated grudge, and there was no need for hostility.

However, Ning Qiuxiu’s attitude made it difficult.

“This is soup that Aunt Feng made. Grandpa asked me to bring it to you,” Zhan Qingyuan said, placing the insulated lunch box on the table.

Ning Qiuxiu liked Aunt Feng’s soup, and the old master had insisted he bring it.

“Oh,” Ning Qiuxiu was touched by the old master’s thoughtfulness.

Since liquids can’t be carried on a plane, it must have been checked in.

Her attitude softened a bit. “Thank you for bringing it.”

Zhan Qingyuan smiled slightly and sat down in the chair next to her, asking, “Ning Qiuxiu, what are your plans for the future?”

“What plans?”

“My brother is recovering well. He’ll probably wake up soon,” Zhan Qingyuan said.

Ning Qiuxiu shrugged. “So, am I just going to continue being Mrs. Zhan? Are you all planning to use me and then kick me out?”

Zhan Qingyuan frowned. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“How would I know what you mean? I’m not a mind reader.”

Zhan Qingyuan: “……”

Xiao Chi came back with the box of cherries, looking anxious. “I just saw Zhan Qingyuan leave looking upset. What’s going on?”

Ning Qiuxiu replied honestly, “I made him mad.”

Zhan Qingyuan really couldn’t handle it and left.

She didn’t say anything, though.

This little incident was just a minor distraction and didn’t cause much of a stir.

A month later, the outdoor filming for “Falling Leaves” was completed, and everyone returned to the film base on the outskirts of City A.

The set had just been finished, and filming would continue there for the next month.

With her frequent travel finally over, Ning Qiuxiu would have more time to visit the hospital.

She had also run out of the special paper charms she used for Zhan Qingyue and needed to make more.

It had been over a month since Zhan Qingyue had started regaining consciousness.

Though his condition was improving, there were still no signs of him waking up.

The doctors said that there was no need to rush and that his recovery would depend on his own progress.

Ning Qiuxiu hadn’t been back for over half a month.

When she returned, the first thing she did was feed Zhan Qingyue the special water.

She now knew how to feed a person in a coma without making them drink her own saliva.

Using tweezers, she dipped a cotton ball in the special water and rubbed it on Zhan Qingyuan’s teeth, letting the liquid flow into his mouth.

On her third attempt, Zhan Qingyue’s slightly open mouth suddenly closed.

Ning Qiuxiu had heard that he might have some reflexive movements, so she wasn’t too concerned and tried to open his mouth by gently squeezing his chin.

As she was holding his chin with one hand and trying to insert the cotton ball with the tweezers into his mouth with the other, the person who usually lay still suddenly moved.

Ning Qiuxiu had never seen Zhan Qingyue move before and was stunned for a moment.

She then couldn’t help but smile.

She knew from Jingjing that Zhan Qingyue’s reflexive movements were becoming more frequent, so it wasn’t something to be too surprised about.

As she was about to continue feeding him, Zhan Qingyue suddenly opened his eyes without warning, startling Ning Qiuxiu so much that she missed her aim and ended up poking the cotton ball into his nose.

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”