"Mandy, where are we going?"
Zhou Man sat in the car, trembling. The argument earlier seemed to have drained all her strength, and now, back in the car, she felt she had performed terribly.
The assistant asked again, and Zhou Man snapped back to attention.
"To Xiangzhou Garden."
"Are we going to... Teacher Luo's house?"
"If you know, why ask!"
"But Teacher Luo said he would never see you again?"
"Just go where I tell you to, why so much nonsense!"
The assistant sighed and informed the driver. She worried, though, if they would be able to see Teacher Luo smoothly today.
To avoid the embarrassment of being turned away, Zhou Man instructed the driver to park outside the residential complex and not to let her assistant follow.
Zhou Man waited for quite a while at the gate. By chance, someone came out, and she was able to enter the complex.
Wearing sunglasses and a scarf that covered her head tightly, Zhou Man was unrecognizable as a big star to outsiders, but she still drew many curious glances.
Luo Ying had lived in this complex for a long time. The old neighbors knew that a once famous screenwriter lived there.
So, when Luo Ying went out, he often greeted the uncles and aunties like he was just chatting. If he wasn't introduced, no one would guess he was Luo Ying.
Just then, Luo Ying, dressed in an old, faded cotton coat and worn-out leather shoes, was watching the elderly men play chess in the downstairs garden's fitness plaza.
He was also carrying groceries from the market, and it was unclear how long he had been there, as there was already a pile of sunflower seed shells beside him.
This disheveled appearance was nothing like the spirited screenwriter Luo Ying from years ago. It showed how poorly he had lived all these years!
"Luo..."
An auntie carrying a lunchbox walked up to Luo Ying.
"Teacher Luo, thank you so much for tutoring my granddaughter's composition. Here, I specifically made sea cucumber dumplings for you. Please don't dislike them."
Luo Ying immediately opened the lid of the lunchbox. Steam was still rising from the food. He grabbed a dumpling and popped it into his mouth.
"Oh, it's hot, delicious, delicious! Auntie, why are you being so polite? I just helped out casually."
"My granddaughter's class teacher praised her! She even read it aloud in front of the whole class!"
"Really? That means your granddaughter is bright."
"It's all thanks to Teacher Luo's good teaching. I say, you should open a class in our complex. Teachers outside aren't as skilled as you."
Luo Ying looked a bit embarrassed.
"Alright, Teacher Luo, you carry on. I have to go pick up my granddaughter. It's time for school to end."
"Ah, okay, Auntie, take care."
Luo Ying slowly lowered his hand. He had already seen Zhou Man standing not far away. Even though she had wrapped herself up so much that only her nostrils were visible for breathing, Luo Ying recognized her instantly.
It had been more than ten years since they last met. He never expected their reunion to be under such circumstances.
Seeing Luo Ying turn to leave, Zhou Man quickly ran up to him.
"Teacher Luo..."
Luo Ying stopped in his tracks. She called him Teacher Luo...
Luo Ying continued to walk forward briskly. Zhou Man followed closely, climbing the stairs all the way to Luo Ying's doorstep.
"Let's talk, Teacher Luo."
Luo Ying ignored her and took out his keys from his pocket. But his hand was trembling so much that he couldn't even insert the key.
Zhou Man grabbed Luo Ying's hand and then quickly pulled away as if she had been shocked.
Luo Ying turned his head to look at Zhou Man, but he couldn't see anything. He couldn't see Zhou Man's deep affection, just as on the day she left.
Luo Ying took a deep breath inwardly and finally opened the door.
As Luo Ying was about to close the door, Zhou Man quickly raised her hand to block it.
"Are you never going to speak to me again in this lifetime?"
Luo Ying's gaze shifted to the hand Zhou Man used to block the door. He had seen that scar on television. Now, there was a new deep red scratch on it.
Luo Ying let go of the door. He let Zhou Man in after all.
On the coat rack by the door hung a pink cashmere scarf. Zhou Man gently stroked it. It was hers.
"I didn't expect you to keep it."
Luo Ying also glanced at it. For a moment, it was as if the owner of the item had returned, yet hadn't.
"Have you been well these years?"
Luo Ying searched silently in a cabinet, not answering. He felt that for questions like these, one could tell from looking, so why get an answer from his mouth?
"You still hate me, don't you?"
Luo Ying finally found what he was looking for among the messy pile of things.
"Stick out your hand."
Zhou Man looked at what Luo Ying was holding, then at her own wrist, and smiled.
Luo Ying very carefully treated Zhou Man's wound. Time seemed to rewind to a distant past.
—Zhou Man's Recollection—
That was the first drama Yan Shizong cast Zhou Man in. To make Zhou Man famous, Yan Shizong hired a screenwriter who was already well-known in the industry to write a script for her.
It was during that first collaboration that Luo Ying, initially full of anticipation for this newcomer actress, found her wooden performance, being not from a performing arts background, made everyone shake their heads repeatedly.
Perhaps it was his youthful arrogance, but Luo Ying directly approached Yan Shizong. He didn't want his hard work to be wasted on a mere pretty face with no other redeeming qualities.
At that time, Yan Shizong was not the decisive and ruthless figure he was today, nor had he become the authority in the entertainment industry. Therefore, he knew that to establish himself, he had to align himself with experienced talents.
Yan Shizong offered a very tempting price. He had no status, but he had money.
Money could move mountains, let alone convince Luo Ying to humble himself and teach Zhou Man line by line. He even used Luo Ying's connections to find the best performance teachers from the academies to assist.
Fortunately, Zhou Man was tenacious. Like Yan Shizong, she had a spirit of never giving up. Even knowing she was being criticized behind her back, she pretended not to hear, determined to perform her first drama well!
Through this process, Zhou Man and Luo Ying became very familiar with each other.
Luo Ying's attitude gradually shifted from initial frustration at her lack of progress to seeing Zhou Man's achievements. He finally began to praise the new actress in front of the media.
With the success of the first drama, subsequent collaborations became smoother, and Luo Ying became the man who had made Zhou Man.
The media always reported on these two together, as nine out of ten dramas were written by Luo Ying.
During one filming, Zhou Man was supposed to perform a scene involving a horse fight. A stunt double had already been hired, but just before filming, Zhou Man suddenly decided to perform it herself, putting everyone on set on edge.
After filming a few takes, the director felt it wasn't good enough, and Zhou Man was very cooperative, reshooting repeatedly.
But during the very last take, the horse seemed to be startled, causing Zhou Man to fall off!
Staff immediately rushed to check on her. They saw Zhou Man's forehead was bleeding profusely. Everyone was so scared that they immediately called a halt and sent Zhou Man to the hospital.
Upon hearing that Zhou Man was injured during filming, Luo Ying rushed to the hospital and took care of her for three days and three nights.
From that moment on, rumors of Luo Ying and Zhou Man dating spread like wildfire. It was then that Yan Shizong gradually realized that he was the one who had brought Luo Ying to Zhou Man's side, leading to the development of an inappropriate relationship between the two!
—End of Zhou Man's Recollection—