lovenovelstory Episode 3 of Chapter 41 aired, and some people cried while others laughed.
Episode 3 of Chapter 41 aired, and some people cried while others laughed.
Sunday. 7 PM. Su Yu is helping out at the convenience store. Boss Park's daughter is getting married next month, and the old man is extremely busy. He called the day before yesterday and said, "Hey kid, come over and lend a hand if you have some free time."
"My thighs were numb from the vibration of my phone in my pocket, like I had a miniature motor inside. When I took it out, Cai Xiubin's messages were flooding the screen like bullet comments."
What time are you coming?
[Eight o'clock? Or nine o'clock?]
I'll be waiting for you at the company. If you dare to be late, I'll...
I'm going to post your basement address online!
Su Yu's lips twitched, and he replied with three words: "【Working as a laborer.】"
A "crazy" emoji appeared instantly in response, followed by another message: 【Bring plenty of snacks! We're going to war today, I need ammunition!】
Su Yu didn't reply, put her phone back in her pocket, and greeted Boss Park. The old man, who was worrying about the wedding invitations, waved his hand and said, "Get lost, get lost, don't interrupt my show."
"What show?" Su Yu asked knowingly.
"What else could it be? 'Model Taxi'! My daughter said there's that... who was it again? Oh right, Ahn Go-eun! She said she's a newcomer, quite pretty." Boss Park said as he shoved the invitation into Su Yu's hand. "Come on, come on, share in the joy, and I'll help you find a wife someday."
Su Yu, feeling both amused and exasperated, pushed aside the invitation and entered the alley.
A gust of cold wind blew in, and he shivered. Half of the streetlights in the alley were broken, flickering like will-o'-the-wisps with poor contact. His shadow was stretched long, like that of a lonely vagrant.
When I arrived at the company building, I could hear rustling sounds coming from inside before I even entered. I pushed open the door and saw Cai Xiubin sitting cross-legged on the windowsill, holding the leaves of the potted plant in her hand and muttering incantations. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was casting a spell.
"What are you doing?" Su Yu threw a bag of snacks on the table.
"I'm mentally preparing it." Cai Xiubin said without turning her head, "If the ratings flop, I'll eat this weed."
"Grass doesn't taste good, it's too fibrous and easy to get indigestion." Su Yu pulled out a chair and sat down, skillfully opening a bag of potato chips. "Besides, if you're going to eat something, you should eat me, I have more meat."
Cai Xiubin turned her head and glared at him. She wasn't wearing a ponytail today; her hair was loose, making her face look only the size of a palm, but her eyes were frighteningly bright, like two searchlights.
"Su Yu, I'm nervous." Her voice trembled slightly. "My mom said she opened a bottle of red wine at home to celebrate. What if... what if nobody watches?"
"Then consider it as a way to enhance the red wine experience." Su Yu popped a potato chip into his mouth, crunching it loudly. "Ratings are like a man's promises—just listen to them and don't take them too seriously."
"Where did you get that promise?" Cai Xiubin keenly grasped the key point.
Su Yu choked for a moment, then pointed to the television: "Watch TV."
At 8:50, Yoon Shi-yoon arrived. This guy had messy hair, was carrying two iced Americanos, and had a "I'm being forced to work" expression on his face.
"Can't you two have some self-respect?" Yoon Shi-yoon slammed his coffee on the table. "It's just the third episode, why are you acting like it's the end of the world?"
"You don't understand." Cai Xiubin curled up in a ball, hugging a pillow. "This is a do-or-die situation. If this episode fails, I'll really have to go back to working at the convenience store."
Yoon Shi-yoon rolled her eyes, sat down on the sofa, and took out her phone to start scrolling through Twitter: "Don't worry, people on Twitter are already talking about you. There's an ID called 'Taxi Driver's Little Fangirl' who said that if Ahn Go-eun dies in this episode, she's going to send the writer razor blades."
Su Yu paused in his drink of cola: "Then let her send it. The address is fake anyway."
Nine o'clock sharp.
The screen went black, and the opening theme started playing. Jin Daoqi's cold, stern face appeared on the screen, accompanied by background music that was so rousing it sounded like a bomb was about to explode.
The three people fell silent instantly.
Cai Xiubin's fingers gripped the cushion tightly, her knuckles turning white. Su Yu leaned against the window, seemingly nonchalant, but her eyes were fixed on the screen. Yin Shiyun was still scrolling through her phone, but her fingers had stopped moving.
The first fifteen minutes are setup, and the plot moves very quickly. The comments are sparse, mostly discussing the male lead's driving skills.
Until the twentieth minute.
The scene in the internet cafe.
The pale blue light of the screen illuminated An Gaoen's face. She wore headphones, her fingers flying across the keyboard, her eyes focused as if she were defusing a bomb. Suddenly, a line of text appeared on the screen, and her pupils contracted sharply.
There were no lines at that moment.
But Cai Xiubin's eyes changed. From focus to shock, then to a betrayed anger, and finally to a resolute coldness. The whole process took less than five seconds, yet it was like a silent tsunami.
The live chat exploded instantly.
[Holy crap! That look!] [Who's this newcomer? His eye acting is amazing!] [Angoun's killing me!]
Cai Xiubin loosened her grip on the cushion. She stared at the screen, her breathing becoming soft.
Su Yu looked at her. The screen light reflected on her face, flickering. He suddenly remembered the scene he was writing, where Cai Xiubin was secretly eating a lollipop in the convenience store. She looked like that then too, her eyes sparkling, as if the whole world consisted only of that lollipop.
But he didn't expect that she could portray that "abandoned by the whole world" look so realistically.
The thirtieth minute.
The main event is coming.
An Gaoen stood on the second-floor windowsill. Below was the hard concrete floor, and behind her were thugs chasing after her. She had no way out.
The script says, "Ahn Go-eun took a deep breath and jumped."
But on the screen, Cai Xiubin did not take a deep breath.
She just glanced back.
That glance was brief, lasting less than half a second. It wasn't at the pursuers, nor at the ground, but in the direction Jin Daoqi had left. There was no plea for help in his eyes, only a regret that "you can't see me anymore," and a stubbornness that "I don't need your help."
Then, she jumped.
The wind howled.
Landing.
There is no perfect posture. She fell heavily to the ground, staggered a couple of steps, and braced herself against the wall, her nails scraping against it with a harsh sound. She raised her head, her hair disheveled, her lip cut, but her eyes shone with a frightening intensity, like a small beast cornered and baring its fangs.
The comments section went completely crazy.
[Ahhhhh, she turned around!] [She's looking at Kim Do-gi! She has feelings for him!] [I'm totally shipping this couple!] [Is this a newbie? Was that a stunt double for the action scenes?] [Is the person upstairs blind? Look closely at her face, she did the dancing herself!]
Cai Xiubin's tears fell without warning.
"I...I turned back." Her voice was trembling with tears, and she covered her mouth with her fingers. "The script didn't tell me to turn back."
"You added some scenes," Su Yu said, her voice a little hoarse.
"I'm afraid he won't remember me." Cai Xiubin sniffed. "Ahn Go-eun is so stupid, she's afraid that Kim Do-gi will never come back after he leaves."
Yoon Shi-yoon snorted coldly from the side, but Su Yu saw him secretly wipe the corner of his eye.
"Alright, stop crying." Su Yu pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket and tossed it to her. "Your makeup's all ruined; you look like a panda."
Cai Xiubin took the tissue, wiped her face haphazardly, and then smiled through her tears: "Su Yu, did I act well?"
"It's alright." Su Yu turned her face away and looked out the window. "It's better than the last time I cut seaweed rice rolls."
After the third episode finished airing, the end credits began to roll.
The company was silent for a few seconds, then erupted in cheers.
"It's gone up! It's gone up!" Yoon Shi-yoon exclaimed, holding up his phone. "The live viewership rating has broken 7! It's trending number one on Twitter!"
Cai Xiubin jumped up from his chair and sprang to Su Yu like a spring: "Su Yu! We did it!"
Su Yu was knocked back a step by her, but when he regained his balance, he looked at her face, which was streaked with tears yet beaming with a bright smile, and a corner of his heart suddenly softened.
"Don't get too excited," he poured cold water on the idea, "He'll still jump off the building tomorrow."
"I'll jump!" Cai Xiubin declared with unwavering spirit. "For Ahn Go-eun, I'd jump ten times!"
It's past ten o'clock.
I escorted Cai Xiubin downstairs.
The streetlights in the alley were still broken, leaving the area pitch black. Su Yu took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and shone the beam of light in front of him, illuminating the path beneath his feet.
"Su Yu." Cai Xiubin walked beside him, her voice very soft.
"Um."
My mom called me today.
Did I insult you?
"No. She cried." Cai Xiubin kicked at a pebble on the roadside. "She said her daughter finally looks like an actress."
Su Yu stopped and turned around to look at her.
Her face was half-lit and half-shadowed by the glow of the streetlights.
"You were an actor to begin with," Su Yu said.
"And what about you?" Cai Xiubin suddenly looked up, staring intently at him. "Will you remember Ahn Go-eun?"
Su Yu was stunned for a moment.
"Once this drama finishes airing, Ahn Go-eun will be dead." Chae Soo-bin's voice trembled slightly. "Will you remember her? Or will you only remember Chae Soo-bin, the one who made terrible kimbap?"
Su Yu looked at her.
The wind blew in from the alley entrance, ruffling the ends of her hair.
He suddenly reached out and ruffled her hair, turning her carefully styled hair into a bird's nest.
"Ahn Go-eun was played by Chae Soo-bin," he said. "As long as I remember you, I will remember her."
Cai Xiubin was stunned.
A few seconds later, she suddenly laughed, laughing like a fool.
"Su Yu, were you flirting with me just now?"
"I'm just stating the facts." Su Yu withdrew his hand, put it back in his pocket, and said, "I'm leaving. See you at the company at seven tomorrow."
"Su Yu".
"What now?"
"I want to eat seaweed rice rolls tomorrow."
"Do it yourself."
"Yours tastes better."
"...Alright then."
Watching Cai Xiubin skip and hop away until he disappeared at the alley entrance, Su Yu took out a cigarette and lit it.
My phone vibrated.
It was a message from Sulli.
Oppa, I watched episode 3.
Su Yu replied: 【How is it?】
Shirley: [Did you write that scene where she turns around?]
Su Yu exhaled a smoke ring: "No. She added it herself."
Shirley remained silent for a long time before replying: "She's a genius. You've struck gold."
Su Yu looked at the screen and smiled.
【Yes. I've struck gold.】
Back in the basement, water was still dripping from the ceiling. Drip, drip.
Su Yu lay on the bed, looking at the water stain.
He used to think the sound was like a death knell, keeping him awake at night. But tonight, he thought it sounded a bit like a heartbeat.
Boom, boom, boom.
That was the sound of dreams coming true.
He closed his eyes, his mind filled with the image of Cai Xiubin turning back before jumping off the building.
That look in his eyes was stubborn, lonely, and yet held a hint of expectation.
"Goodnight, Angoun," he said to himself.
"Goodnight, Cai Xiubin."
Outside the window, someone is playing music.
"If this isn't love, then what is there for me to be sad about..."
Su Yu turned over and pulled the blanket over her head.
Tomorrow will be another new day.
Tomorrow, I'm going to jump off a building again.