Chapter 37

Chapter 37

"Do you think I have mental problems?" After laughing, An Ye asked.

This is a life-threatening question.

An Ye had asked this question to many people—her mother, Wang Shanshan, her manager Yan Wan, her past assistants, and even the actors, makeup artists, and directors who had seen her in character.

Every person who saw her "in character" for the first time had a similar reaction of being scared, especially in recent years, when she had suddenly found the same feeling she had when she first entered the role of Lin Luo in front of a mirror. This time, it wasn’t in a mirror. This time, she had finally pierced through the mirror, allowing her to completely shed the shadow of An Jiu Jiu when entering the role.

This transformation wasn’t scary on screen because the audience assumed she was just acting, and they would only marvel at how superb her acting was.

However, face to face, this transformation was very shocking. The sensation of realizing that the person in front of you looked completely different except for their features—it was very much like witnessing someone being possessed by a spirit.

At those times, An Ye would ask this question. It was her way of self-defense against those uncomfortable, awkward stares.

The answers varied. Some people said there was no problem, some hesitated, others suggested she see a doctor, and her mother, after being scared several times, never went to the set again.

Although she didn’t know the standard answer to this question, none of the answers she received made her feel comfortable.

After all, it was a question that wasn’t meant to make anyone feel at ease.

Asking it at that moment really killed the atmosphere.

Chi Tuo, who had just let a smile slip because of An Ye’s laughter, became a bit more serious. He replied, “Kleine-Levin syndrome, it’s a type of mental illness, right? It's a sleep disorder?”

An Ye: “Huh?”

Her mind twisted in confusion.

An Ye: “Huh!”

He answered so tactfully, which meant he was implying she had mental issues, right?

“Isn’t there medicine for that?” Chi Tuo asked.

“...No,” An Ye said. “When the hypersomnia is very severe, psychiatric medication can be considered, but it only helps alleviate the symptoms.”

Chi Tuo: “Mm.”

An Ye glared at him: “Can you stop deflecting the topic every time? You know that’s not what I’m asking.”

Chi Tuo finished the last small piece of bread.

Then, he slowly took out a wet tissue, handed one to An Ye, and slowly wiped his own hands clean.

“Jiu Jiu,” he said, carefully choosing his words. “I’ve seen you in a state of hypersomnia, and I’ve also seen you just now when you entered the role.”

An Ye looked at Chi Tuo’s fingers.

“I even called my mom’s psychiatrist to ask about Kleine-Levin syndrome.”

“I am genuinely concerned about your mental health, but after interacting with you a few times, I think your hypersomnia and being in character are actually quite similar to how they were ten years ago.”

“Oh, wait, your state when entering the role is much better than it was ten years ago,” he corrected himself.

“Speak plainly.” After going around in circles, An Ye finally decided to be blunt.

“I think your mental state isn’t as bad as your mom thinks, but you’re definitely under a lot of pressure right now,” Chi Tuo said in one breath.An Ye, in this situation, couldn’t help but silently count the words in her mind—36 characters.

Forcing him to speak plainly, to make him talk without thinking, and the result was compulsive…

She inexplicably lost her anger. She felt that Chi Tuo’s problem was more serious than hers—he had even started talking about it…

“So I’m worried that acting in Director Yang Zhengyi’s film will take a lot out of you,” Chi Tuo continued. “When you were getting into character in the garden earlier, the flesh on your cheek really scared me.”

He pointed to his own cheek. “Did you notice how it sunk in? Your last film, the courtesan character, at least had some curve to the cheeks.”

“Have you watched every one of my films?” She got distracted again.

“I’m a mid-level officer in your fan club,” Chi Tuo said in a very serious, formal tone, giving an absurd self-introduction. “I even lead the fans in voting for you.”

An Ye: “…Oh.”

Her mind quickly flashed to the scene of the Huanyou Entertainment publicity team always setting up a small office whenever she had promotional needs, a group of people in there typing away on keyboards and making phone calls.

Because real data was needed, the people who actually organized these activities were often the mid-level members of the fan club. She hadn’t expected Chi Tuo to be one of them.

She couldn’t imagine the studious, upright Chi Tuo would actually be involved in such things.

This thought made her relax a bit, and she squeezed the wet wipe Chi Tuo had given her, folding it again and again, before saying, “I actually really want to act in this film.”

“One time, I had a hypersomnia episode. When I woke up, I found myself tied to the bed and unable to move.”

“My mom was really scared of me. She said that in my last film, I played a murderer, and I kept researching how to perfect a murder scene. She was afraid that when I fell asleep, I wouldn’t be able to tell if I was dreaming or awake and might actually kill her with a knife.”

“After that, I lay in bed for seven days. Everything had to be done in bed. My mom took care of me like I was someone who couldn’t take care of themselves—feeding me, wiping me down, cleaning me up.”

“After that, I became really afraid that I would actually go crazy.”

“Because I realized that the connection between my mom and me… it’s really stretched thin.” An Ye gestured. “Normally, it’s not noticeable, but if something unexpected happens—even something small—my mom would immediately tie me to the bed.”

“If I really did go crazy, whether it’s depression, schizophrenia, or whatever, I can’t even imagine what would happen to my mom. Maybe our family would just end up two crazy people locked in a house, throwing shit at each other.” An Ye chuckled.

“These years, I’ve always been in this state. I’ve always been tense. This year, Huanyou Entertainment is going through a big overhaul, and the direction is completely at odds with my career. Yan Wan is planning to completely drain me of my remaining value, so I…”

“Need to find an outlet.” She said.

She didn’t like An Jiu Jiu, and she liked An Ye even less.

Their lives were too messed up.

That’s why she preferred acting—no matter what happened to the character, there was always an ending. A good one, a bad one, but everything always came to a conclusion.

Life, on the other hand, was different. Life was messy, tangled with a thousand threads, always a little bit connected, and the period at the end of the sentence was somewhere far away, unseen, too tiring.

Chi Tuo didn’t speak for a while.

An Ye lowered her head and smiled.

She was too relaxed, so she accidentally said a bit of her true feelings.

Chi Tuo was indeed the most relaxing memory in her not-so-long life. Even after ten years of not seeing each other, she couldn’t help but feel that way.

But she was so much worse off than ten years ago. Ten years ago, she was just a third wheel in her parents’ divorce drama. Ten years later, she was the whole damn baggage.

“Let’s go,” she raised her head. “There’ll be more people soon…”There was a warm sensation on her cheek.

She looked at Chi Tuo in confusion.

Chi Tuo, after warming his fingers for a long time, finally managed to get them warm and dry before gently pinching An Ye’s cheek. He clicked his tongue and said, “I thought you had makeup shading, but it’s really that there’s no flesh left, huh?”

An Ye: “...What happened to you in these ten years?”

It felt like she was back to being eight years old.

Chi Tuo let go of her and slowly continued wiping his fingers with the wet wipe.

An Ye: “...”

Before she raised her foot, she hadn’t expected to do it, and she didn’t expect that after nearly twenty years, there was still muscle memory for this movement.

With a swift kick, Chi Tuo, sitting on the bench, was sent flying to the ground.

She stared wide-eyed.

Chi Tuo also stared wide-eyed.

“...Let’s go.” She stood up firmly, pretending nothing had happened. “It’ll be harder to leave once there are more people.”

Chi Tuo was still in disbelief: “How did you kick me just now?”

An Ye: “...A sweeping kick.”

She didn’t expect to be able to knock such a big person down.

Chi Tuo: “...”

The phone rang. When she looked down and saw the name, the smile on her face froze for a moment, but she quickly answered, calling out, “Mom.”

Chi Tuo, who had been sitting on the ground, had intended to say something, but upon hearing the way she called out, he closed his mouth. An Ye stood up quietly and patted her butt.

The hospital had started to get crowded. An Ye was on the phone, and Chi Tuo pulled her gently to the side of the road, standing between her and the crowd.

He casually helped her lift the hood of her puffy jacket, covering half of her face.

An Ye’s mood seemed okay, and she even mouthed a "thank you" to Chi Tuo.

“I can’t go.” But this somewhat calm mood didn’t last long. After a couple of casual exchanges, An Ye raised her voice. “Next time, don’t answer Yan Wan’s calls, okay? She said she’s not going to interfere with my work, but she can’t stop herself from doing it…”

The voice from Wang Shanshan on the other end of the phone was loud enough that Chi Tuo, standing beside her, could hear most of it. It sounded almost the same as ten years ago, like something along the lines of "If you keep going like this, you’ll ruin your future…”

Chi Tuo found it odd. An Ye was like this, but Wang Shanshan’s lines hadn’t changed at all. Future? Which girl could buy the most expensive penthouse in the most expensive area of Baigang City, be a top-three award-winning actress in domestic cinema at such a young age? Wasn’t that future enough in Wang Shanshan’s eyes?

“I’ll handle it myself…” An Ye’s words were once again interrupted by an almost continuous barrage of complaints.

So An Ye stopped talking.

She quietly listened to Wang Shanshan finish everything she had to say, and she coldly responded with a simple "Oh."

Wang Shanshan, however, seemed satisfied. She quickly changed the subject and asked An Ye, “Are you coming home for the New Year this year?”

“I’m not coming back.” An Ye replied. “I have to go to the set early, I’ll spend the New Year there.”

She paused for a moment, then asked, “Do you want to come? The set should be pretty lively.”“No, no, no.” Wang Shanshan said repeatedly, “Who would dare watch the character you’ve taken? It’s so intense, the heart might just jump out.”

An Ye smiled but didn’t say anything.

After that, it seemed like neither of them had much to say. An Ye told her to take care of herself and call if anything happened, then hung up the phone.

After hanging up, she smiled at Chi Tuo.

Chi Tuo said, “Give me the address for Wangcheng, I might go visit your mom during the New Year.”

“What for?” An Ye’s eyes widened again.

Being with him was exhausting; her eyes couldn’t even get a break.

“My mom bought a bunch of stuff to send to your mom…” Chi Tuo seemed a little embarrassed. “I didn’t dare contact you right away when I came back before, so it just got delayed.”

“Then you bring some stuff back for me.” An Ye quickly sent Chi Tuo an address.

After sending it, she glanced at Chi Tuo.

She wasn’t stupid. Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, she’d seen all kinds of hidden meanings.

Since reuniting with Chi Tuo, they had met only three times. The first time, she wasn’t in a good state, so it didn’t count. By the second and third meetings, they were indeed getting more and more comfortable.

But this wasn’t something she did; it was Chi Tuo’s doing.

He had subtly interrupted her sinking mood several times with this kind of lighthearted topic.

“What are you thinking about again?” he asked.

They were almost at the hospital entrance, and the crowd was getting larger. An Ye pulled out a mask from her coat pocket and put it on, answering, “Nothing.”

“Oh, right.” Chi Tuo said, “There’s something I wanted to discuss with you—the matter of helping you break the contract and becoming a legal consultant for your future studio. I should be reporting this to my leadership this week. Also, I’ll need to inform them about our personal relationship.”

An Ye: “Will your boss… give you a hard time?”

Chi Tuo paused: “What do you mean by give me a hard time?”

“This thing’s pretty complicated,” she wasn’t sure how to explain. She just subconsciously didn’t want Chi Tuo’s people to know that he knew her. It wasn’t exactly a glorious thing.

“A lawyer is for solving problems, right?” Chi Tuo said. “Before I returned to the country, Old Yuan already knew about our relationship. Anyway, you’ve already started paying me, so it’s not really private. The team at the firm, I’ve trained them all myself; they’re trustworthy people. When Yan Wan starts making moves, it’ll be better with more people handling things.”

An Ye: “...Oh.”

Just like that, her mind shifted from her mother’s words about having no future, no prospects, no brains, to the lawyer fee that wasn’t even enough for anything. Why had she paid earlier, and now what’s the process for paying him back? How come Chi Tuo seemed so unreliable? If it was through official channels, there would be a different process… Wasn’t this problematic? This barefoot lawyer...

So annoying.

“Chi Tuo.” An Ye sent a message to Lan Yifang, asking for the driver to come over, deciding not to let him off easily. “Do you have time today?”

“No.” Chi Tuo said, “I’m off until the 4th.”

“Then come with me in the car.” she said.

After all, he was here to visit her.

“Help me deal with a gossip scandal.” She looked at the approaching van.