One Pet Gets Married

Chapter 43

After leaving home, Tang You'an called a car and headed to the Jinyu Hotel.

She arrived around 6:20 PM. As soon as she pushed open the private room door, she saw Xiao Meimei sitting there, waving at her.

"How long have you been waiting?" Tang You'an asked as she sat down across from Xiao Meimei, taking off her shoulder bag.

"Not long, just a few minutes. What's wrong? You look down," Xiao Meimei asked while summoning the waiter.

Tang You'an looked up at her. "It's nothing."

"How can it be nothing when you look like this..." Xiao Meimei eyed her.

At this moment, the waiter entered with the menu.

So Xiao Meimei stopped talking, took the menu, opened it, and started ordering.

Tang You'an flipped through the menu but found nothing she particularly wanted to eat, so she closed it and handed it back to the waiter. "Let's start with these. If we're still hungry later, we can order more."

"Meimei, I'm your fan. Can I get your autograph?" the waiter then shyly asked Xiao Meimei.

"Of course," Xiao Meimei smiled sweetly after hearing this, her voice soft and tender. "Where would you like me to sign?"

……

Tang You'an had no interest in listening to their conversation and just intermittently looked at the photos of herself and Song Xici on her phone screen.

"Oh right, You'an, look, I made all of these. Take them home and try them. Tell me which ones taste good and which ones need improvement!" After taking a sip of water, Xiao Meimei put down her glass and hurriedly pushed several bags on the table towards Tang You'an.

"Thank you, these are all..."

"Some are things you like to eat, and some are... well... hehe..." Xiao Meimei scratched her head shyly.

"What?" Tang You'an raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Remember Liu Hanjun I told you about before?" Xiao Meimei blinked.

"Oh, yes, the swimmer. He's won quite a few medals." Tang You'an nodded.

"I recently got a list of foods he likes, so... I made some. Your taste buds are amazing, so I figure if they pass your test, I'll have his stomach in the palm of my hand!" Xiao Meimei interlaced her fingers under her chin, smiling happily. "Ah, why is he so handsome? Tall and handsome. To be honest, for someone of my height, it's really rare to find someone like him. 150cm girls want to find 180cm guys with good faces, 160-170cm girls also want 180cm+ guys with good faces. The result is there aren't necessarily that many 180cm+ guys, but I have a lot of competition, sigh."

"I see, so I'm your food taster, right?" Tang You'an smiled.

"No, no! I made things you like too, didn't I?" Xiao Meimei put her hands down, hurriedly explaining.

"Alright, no need to explain. I'll try them carefully." Tang You'an nodded.

After a while, Tang You'an looked at her again: "How long have you been pursuing him?"

"About a month, but not very directly. Taking it slow, you know." Xiao Meimei played with her hair.

"But what if he ends up only seeing you as a friend? What would you do then?" Tang You'an thought for a moment, then asked.

"I'd just give up. In this day and age, no one is indispensable," Xiao Meimei seemed quite optimistic. "Besides, I don't like him that much right now. It's just another card to play."

"That makes sense." Tang You'an picked up her teacup and took a sip of water.

"Oh, come on," Xiao Meimei gave her a sidelong glance. "You don't look like you think what I said makes sense. What's wrong? Did you have a fight with Song Xici?"

Hearing this, Tang You'an looked up at her, then shook her head: "I would never fight with her."

"Well, isn't that good?" Xiao Meimei smiled.

Tang You'an could only nod.

Meanwhile, Song Xici was alone at home, alternating between watching TV, looking at the fish, reading magazines, going to the rarely-used gym to run on the treadmill and lift weights, and then to the equally seldom-visited home karaoke room to sing song after song frantically. After all this, it was only a little past 8 PM, not even 9 yet.

And Tang You'an still hadn't returned.

Before she knew it, 10 o'clock passed...

Then 11 o'clock passed too...

Where did she go? Surely she didn't get a room with Xiao Meimei? People named "Meimei" are never up to any good!

Finally, Song Xici tore open a bag of chips and collapsed on the sofa, eating while watching the time.

Just then, there was the sound of the door opening outside.

Song Xici froze, quickly threw the chip bag into the trash can, turned on the TV, and sprawled back on the sofa, pretending she wasn't waiting for anyone but had fallen asleep watching TV.

Opening the door, Tang You'an changed her shoes, tossed her keys aside, took off her bag, then walked in tiredly, raising her hand to rub her forehead.

She didn't know what was wrong with herself, but she felt less and less energetic with each passing day. Especially after Song Xici had seemed so happy that day, she now felt a bit tired no matter what she did.

Xiao Meimei had invited her for a foot massage in a few days. She wondered if that would make her feel better.

After walking a few steps, Tang You'an noticed the TV was on and Song Xici was sleeping on the sofa. She frowned and walked over.

As she approached, Tang You'an casually placed her bag and the food Xiao Meimei had given her on the coffee table. She crouched down next to the trash can full of junk food wrappers and looked at Song Xici: "Are you a pig? So disobedient."

Song Xici kept her eyes tightly shut.

Tang You'an looked at her, paused, then reached out to wipe away a bit of food residue from the corner of her mouth. She turned off the TV, pulled Song Xici's arm up, put her on her back, adjusted her position, and carried her to the bedroom.

"Don't stay up so late watching TV anymore, dummy." After pulling up the blanket and covering Song Xici, Tang You'an stood up straight, turned around, opened the door, and walked out.

Only when she heard the crisp sound of the bedroom door closing did Song Xici open her eyes. Then she bit her lower lip hard and gripped the blanket tightly.

Finally, she buried her entire face in the blanket.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the audition arrived.

Since both Tang You'an and Song Xici were going, they left together early in the morning for the audition location.

The building looked enormous, with the audition taking place on the 31st floor. After entering with their respective managers, they saw many people already waiting there with number tags.

When Tang You'an and Song Xici arrived, the others' gazes turned towards them.

Although these two had recently re-entered the public eye, outsiders might be interested, but insiders knew better. Most people in the industry still looked down on them.

Privately, everyone called them "trending poison," thinking these has-beens had no real skills but were quite adept at creating hype.

Undeniably, people were envious of their ability to trend. But at the same time, no one really saw them as competition.

After all, everyone knew Tang You'an's abilities. Her films had been getting worse and worse, visibly regressing. As for Song Xici, she always played the same pure, innocent characters. No one believed she could make any significant changes. Could she really pull off playing a "seductive vixen" like Xiao Yujun? Trying to fool Ouyang Du wouldn't work.

After exchanging superficially warm greetings with some colleagues, Tang You'an and Song Xici sat down together nearby.

Just as they sat down, they saw the room door open and a girl with red-rimmed eyes walk out, shaking her head as she hugged someone. Then, a staff member called out, "Number 4, Miss Xiao Guangya, please come in for your audition."

Song Xici couldn't help but cover her heart with her hand. It had been a long time since she'd auditioned like this, and to be honest, she was quite nervous.

Perhaps due to being overly anxious, Song Xici was shaking a little.

Tang You'an glanced at her, then took out one of her earphones and put it in Song Xici's ear. Soothing music played, with a calming effect.

Song Xici was slightly taken aback. She turned her head to see Tang You'an staring at her phone screen, adjusting the music volume with a neutral expression. "Don't be nervous."

Song Xici turned back and nodded.

Then, they both opened their scripts and started reading.

But after just a few minutes, a commotion erupted nearby. Tang You'an closed her script and looked over. She saw that the newcomer was Liao Bixin, a woman known as the "walking hormone" of the entertainment industry.

Perhaps due to her looks, she had played many seductive roles and could be said to exude charm effortlessly.

"Wow, Sister Song is here too?" Seeing Song Xici, Liao Bixin tossed her hair back and walked over in a very alluring manner.

Although everyone was bare-faced, it must be said that Liao Bixin still looked quite bewitching.

"First, I quite like Director Ouyang. Second, since Director Ouyang invited me, of course I had to come. Otherwise, it would be too impolite, right?" Song Xici looked up at her.

Liao Bixin smiled after hearing this. "What a coincidence, I was also invited by Director Ouyang. Actually, I don't want to compete with you, Sister, but I can't refuse either. Sorry about that."

She said this deliberately, wanting to put psychological pressure on Song Xici from the start. If she could affect her mood, that would be ideal.

"Miss Liao, what are you saying?" At this moment, Tang You'an spoke slowly.

Although things had been a bit awkward with Song Xici lately, when it came down to it, she still couldn't stand seeing anyone subtly say strange or unpleasant things to Song Xici. It was almost a reflex, making her want to retort.

So, Liao Bixin turned her head to look at her.

"Talking about whether you can or can't face something implies that you've taken something that should belong to her and not to you," Tang You'an adjusted her earphones and closed her eyes. "Let's not even discuss who this role belongs to. Just talking about 'competing,' whether you can or can't take it away is still unknown, so how can you talk about facing it or not?"

After speaking, Tang You'an also turned her head to look at her, her gaze cold.

When Liao Bixin's eyes met Tang You'an's, she couldn't help but clench her fist. She felt that this Tang You'an was no better than Song Xici, perhaps even more detestable. On the surface, she seemed calm and pleasant, but in reality... whenever she was around, Liao Bixin couldn't gain the upper hand.

Song Xici looked at Tang You'an, then at Liao Bixin. "It's fine. Acting is about whoever is capable gets the role. And as You'an said, nothing's decided yet. You don't need to apologize, Bixin. Just relax."

"That's not what I meant. Alright, I'll go sit over there for a while." After saying this, Liao Bixin went to sit down elsewhere.

After a while, the staff member called out again: "Number 9, Miss Liao Bixin, please come in for your audition."

So Liao Bixin handed her bag and coat to her assistant and pushed open the door to enter.

Song Xici looked at the door, then lowered her head to look at the script, letting out a breath. She was still a bit nervous.

Soon, Liao Bixin came out, looking quite happy with a smile on her face, indicating she was confident and at least satisfied with her performance.

Seeing Liao Bixin's expression, the others in the room looked at each other, all feeling they probably had no chance. This role seemed likely to go to Liao Bixin.

"Miss Liao, Miss Liao, how do you feel about this audition? Seeing you smile so happily, are you confident you've secured the role?" At this moment, a reporter squeezed through, holding out a microphone to her.

"How do I feel? Of course, it's okay. Although I'm not sure if I can get it, it doesn't matter." Liao Bixin glanced at Tang You'an and Song Xici out of the corner of her eye, then walked away casually.

"Number 10, Miss Song Xici, please come in for your audition." At this time, the staff member's emotionless voice sounded again.

So Song Xici quickly took off her earphones and stood up with the script.

"Good luck." At this moment, Tang You'an gripped her wrist.

Song Xici heard this and turned her head to look at her. These past two days, there seemed to be a strange barrier between her and Tang You'an. It wasn't clear who had erected this barrier, but it was there, making Song Xici unsure how to interact properly with Tang You'an.

"Working with him is your dream, right?" Tang You'an then looked down at the floor. "Winning awards is also your dream, right? So, do your best."

"Mm..." Song Xici nodded. "Thank you."

After saying this, Song Xici went in. It was a large, bright room with three people sitting inside. The one in the middle was Ouyang Du.

"Hello." Ouyang Du looked up at her after glancing at her information.

"Hello, Director Ouyang. I'm Song Xici, born in... I've acted in..." Song Xici bowed and then rattled off her personal resume like spilling beans.

"Quite modest." Ouyang Du nodded after listening.

"Not at all. I just wanted to explain clearly on my own. If you had to prompt me for each step, it would waste too much time," Song Xici smiled.

"You've read the script, right? And analyzed the character's personality?" Ouyang Du asked.

"Yes," Song Xici nodded.

"Then let's not waste words. Let's begin now," Ouyang Du looked at her, pointing to a bag of sunflower seeds he had nearly finished eating in front of him. "Act out Xiao Yujun eating sunflower seeds for me. The only line is 'Want some?' You design the body language yourself."

Song Xici was stunned for a moment. This director was quite spontaneous.

Then, Song Xici nodded, walked forward, took a few sunflower seeds in her hand, and returned to the center.

Afterward, Song Xici took a sunflower seed, slowly put it in her mouth to crack it, then slowly raised her eyes to look at Ouyang Du. She walked over thoughtfully and gracefully, leaned against the table, scanned everyone in the room, and said softly, "Want some?"

Then, Song Xici put down the sunflower seeds and returned to her original position.

Ouyang Du nodded, then said, "The dialogue on page 26, paragraph 3 of the script. Let's run through it together."

"Alright." Song Xici nodded and opened to that page.

Ouyang Du cleared his throat and looked up at her: "Why have you come here?"

Song Xici slowly raised her head, her lips curling slightly, her eyes seeming to ripple like peach blossoms: "Naturally, it's to see you. I missed you."

Ouyang Du: "Yuxu Palace is surrounded by a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, impenetrable. At a time like this, you still come to talk about love with me? Do you think I have no ability to discern at all?"

Hearing this, Song Xici's smile deepened. She clutched the script to her chest and took two or three steps to the left: "Is it impossible for me to miss you and have business to discuss with you at the same time?"

Ouyang Du: "If you have something to say, say it straightforwardly. No need to beat around the bush. What do you want by coming here?"

Song Xici stopped in her tracks, turned to look at him, and parted her red lips: "Either reconciliation, or..."

Ouyang Du: "A fight to the death?"

Song Xici's lips curled: "Liuyue, oh Liuyue, why must you put us in a life-or-death situation?"

At this point, Ouyang Du put down the script and nodded at her.

"Thank you," Song Xici immediately broke character and bowed to him.

"You can go out now. If you're suitable, I'll contact you," Ouyang Du said, cracking a sunflower seed and taking a sip of mineral water.

"Alright, thank you." Song Xici smiled slightly, then fanned her face with her hand as she walked out.

"Although it felt good, she seemed a bit nervous," said the person sitting next to Ouyang Du.

"Mm." Ouyang Du nodded.

"Wouldn't Liao Bixin be a bit better?" That person spoke again.

"Bixin is a bit oily," Ouyang Du frowned.

"Oily?"

"Let me put it this way: I'm looking for pork belly, but Liao Bixin seems like pure fat. Plus, she kept flirting with me. You'd think her family owned the national power grid. She likes to add and change too many things," Ouyang Du said, causing everyone to laugh. Then he looked at the staff member, "Continue."

At this time, after Song Xici went out and sat down next to Tang You'an, she let out a long breath.

"How was it?"

"How did it go?"

Tang You'an and Chen Shihan asked simultaneously.

"I don't know," Song Xici shook her head, smiling.

"Don't worry too much," Tang You'an said again.

Song Xici nodded in response.

After waiting for quite a while, it was finally Tang You'an's turn.

So, after putting her clothes and other items aside, Tang You'an adjusted her collar and pushed open the door to enter the room.

"Hello, Director Ouyang. I'm Tang You'an..."

As soon as Tang You'an spoke, Ouyang Du quickly looked up at her. While Tang You'an introduced herself, Ouyang Du observed her expression, appearance, and physique.

It was perfect. Not to mention anything else, her overall appearance and aura were exactly what Ouyang Du wanted.

Even her voice was the type he greatly appreciated. To be honest, among this batch of people today, he was most interested in Tang You'an.

"I saw your performance in 'Literati Gathering.' You seem to know many things, right?" Ouyang Du asked.

"I know some," Tang You'an answered.

"You understand music theory, poetry, swordsmanship... By the way, can you perform some swordplay for me right here? There are many swords on that weapon rack over there. Go choose one that suits you," Ouyang Du pointed to the sword rack on the west wall.

"Alright." After nodding, Tang You'an walked over with one hand behind her back, her steps light and graceful.

After careful selection, Tang You'an finally chose an unsharpened Yue King sword. She gripped the scabbard with one hand and the hilt with the other, slowly drawing it out.

The silver blade was covered with faint forging patterns. As the blade was fully drawn, Tang You'an dragged the long sword and walked to the center of the room with her head lowered. Then she raised the sword, her index and middle fingers pressed together on the blade. Her right wrist suddenly changed position, the blade flipped sideways, and following the movement of her fair wrist, she twirled the sword in several flourishes, her hair flying with the sword, her posture as graceful as a dancing dragon.

Most astonishing was Tang You'an's incredible jumping ability. She only needed to lightly touch a chair with her toes to borrow momentum and leap over a zhang high, making people feel as if they were watching acrobatics.

"Good, very good," After Tang You'an finished her swordplay, Ouyang Du clapped his hands and then said, "Let's run through some lines. Script page 31, second paragraph."

"Alright." Tang You'an smiled and nodded.

Ouyang Du opened the script and squinted: "I have so many choices. Why must I join forces with you?"

Tang You'an looked at him, her eyes seemingly devoid of emotion, her lips slightly curved: "If Immortal Chang felt that cooperating with me would be a loss, why would you meet me? After all, you're not one to waste time on meaningless matters. So, you must be very clear about what benefits you'll gain from cooperating with me, right?"

Ouyang Du looked at her: "It seems the rumors are true. You're quite confident."

"Without confidence, I wouldn't have come this far, would I?" Tang You'an lightly brushed her hair with her hand.

Ouyang Du: "Not just confident, but also quite ruthless. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"Pretend to surrender to Yuxu Palace," Tang You'an lowered her eyes to look at the floor. "Then, on the chosen day, eliminate them."

After hearing this, Ouyang Du looked at her with admiration and nodded, then said, "Alright, thank you for coming to audition. You can go back now. If you're suitable, I'll contact you."

"Thank you. I'll take my leave then." Tang You'an smiled after hearing this, then left the room.

"It's too perfect. Did you tailor this role for her?!" At this moment, the person next to Ouyang Du spoke again.

"Nonsense." Ouyang Du glared at him. Then, Ouyang Du looked at Tang You'an's resume again and nodded with satisfaction.

After both auditions were over, it was already past 2 PM.

The two left the building together, said goodbye to their managers and assistants, and got into the car. Song Xici thought for a moment, then turned to Tang You'an: "Do you have any plans for this afternoon?"

"Do you have something to do?" Tang You'an turned her head to ask.

"No, just... if you have any plans, I can drop you off there first, then I'll go home," Song Xici said.

"Oh," Tang You'an nodded. "I just have plans with Meimei for a foot massage."

Song Xici really couldn't stand hearing the name "Meimei." Just hearing it made her feel uncomfortable all over.

"Okay, which shop? I'll drop you off first," Song Xici said.

"Relax Light Living Health Foot Massage Parlor," Tang You'an answered.

"Alright." Song Xici nodded, then started the navigation and headed there.

On the way, the two were silent again.

When they arrived at the foot massage parlor, Tang You'an picked up her bag and got out of the car. At the car door, she adjusted her mask: "I'll probably have dinner with her too. You can either make plans with someone else or eat on your own. Or I can cook when I get back if you want."

"I got it. You don't need to say so much. Go have fun," Song Xici said, waving her hand.

So the next second, Tang You'an closed the car door.

Song Xici hesitated, about to turn around and go home, but at the last second, she slapped the steering wheel and drove into the parking lot.

Then, she ran into the building, followed the signs to the 25th floor, and peeked around at the entrance of the Relax foot massage parlor.

Seeing Tang You'an and Xiao Meimei registering something at the front desk, Song Xici quickly turned and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing her hand and letting out a breath.

When she looked again, they were gone.

So Song Xici simply went to a dessert shop called "Quarter Time" across the hall and chose a seat facing the entrance.

This position allowed her to directly observe the comings and goings across the way, convenient for monitoring everything.

After about an hour, Song Xici finally saw Tang You'an and Xiao Meimei emerge. Xiao Meimei had one arm around Tang You'an's shoulders, laughing and talking. They were so clingy that Tang You'an even stepped back with her left foot, her body swaying.

Looking at Xiao Meimei's long legs, Song Xici looked down at her own short legs, feeling a mix of emotions. Envy, jealousy, resentment, and various other feelings surged in her heart.

Moreover, Xiao Meimei was really clever. No matter what she did, she would post about it on Weibo, always calling Tang You'an either "Moyan" or "big brother." With both of them having somewhat androgynous features, she managed to fool people, and everyone thought they just had a sibling-like relationship!

The moment Tang You'an and Xiao Meimei turned towards her, Song Xici pressed down her hat, buried her face in her arms, and clenched her jaw tightly.

Afterward, Song Xici, like a stalker, followed them to a Southeast Asian restaurant, choosing a private room opposite theirs. She would eat a few bites of food, then open the door to peek across at them.

Around 8 PM, Tang You'an stood in front of a store for a while, listening to Xiao Meimei complain about the swimming champion being a blockhead. She smiled and replied a few words, then took out her phone to check.

There were still no messages from Song Xici.

Several hours had passed, and she wondered what Song Xici was doing. She hoped she wasn't watching TV and eating junk food again.

After thinking for a moment, Tang You'an dialed Song Xici's number directly. She knew this number by heart and didn't need to look it up in her contacts.

The call connected quickly and was answered.

"Where are you?" Tang You'an asked when the call connected.

"At home, what's up?" Song Xici pressed her mask.

"Nothing, just wanted to ask if you've had dinner," Tang You'an asked.

"No, I haven't." In her daze, Song Xici misspoke. After saying it, she suddenly thought it might be better not to correct herself. This way, wouldn't Tang You'an come home earlier? Before she could think further, Song Xici sneezed.

"Why haven't you eaten again? And are you catching a cold?" Tang You'an asked.

"A little bit..." Song Xici rubbed her nose.

"Then drink some hot water first and lie down in bed. I'll be back soon to make you something to eat." Tang You'an looked at the night sky, her brows furrowing tighter.

"Oh..." Song Xici held her phone, swallowing. "Okay..."

"Really now. Be good. I'm coming right back." Tang You'an said, then hung up the phone.

Song Xici looked at the hung-up phone screen, sniffled, and rubbed her hands. She couldn't quite describe how she felt at that moment.

After being stunned for a while, she hurriedly ran towards her car.

Rushing home before Tang You'an, Song Xici had just parked the car in the garage and walked out when she saw Tang You'an's figure appear at the front door.

At that moment, she didn't know what came over her. Perhaps having a guilty conscience made her brain malfunction. She went around to the kitchen side and tugged at the window there.

She remembered this window had been broken for two days and hadn't been locked, so Song Xici planned to open it and climb in. But...

Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why was it so hard to pull open?!

Song Xici used all her strength and finally managed to pull open the stubborn window. Then, with a tense expression, she placed both hands on the counter and hoisted herself up.

Like a corgi climbing onto a table, she struggled to get up. One leg inside the house, one leg outside, and one shoe fallen onto the lawn outside... Blowing away the hair that had fallen across her nose, she felt like she was about to meet her maker.

Meanwhile, Tang You'an, who had just entered and changed her shoes, heard the strange noises from the kitchen. She frowned, then took a wooden stick from the corner of the cabinet by the door, twirled it, tapped it lightly in her palm, and walked quietly towards the kitchen.

Just as Tang You'an approached the kitchen door, there was suddenly the sound of something shattering inside, as well as the thud of a heavy object falling.

So she quickly quickened her pace and walked in.

As soon as she opened the door, Tang You'an saw a woman sitting on the floor with her legs splayed, a stainless steel soup pot on her head.

Author's Note: _(:зゝ∠)_