Chapter 37

Yulia had been waiting at the door for Winnie since late in the evening, right up until after 11 p.m.. When she saw the Benz pull up, she didn't even care that her legs had gone numb. She limped toward the car as fast as she could. But Winnie got out of the car alone. Yulia peeked into the car and asked, "Mr. Marlowe didn't drop you off?" Winnie turned back and thanked the driver before walking up the front steps. She looked up at the bright moon overhead. The wind was strong tonight, and the thick clouds had been blown away. The moon was distant but bright. As her life assistant, Yulia lived with Winnie, sharing the same space. She knew that Winnie loved taking long baths, so she had already filled the tub with hot water. As the sound of the water flowed, Yulia asked, "What did Mr. Marlowe take you to do tonight?" "Shopping," Winnie replied. "Wow!" Yulia's eyes widened. "Did he buy you a gift?" "Not exactly. It's more like something from him and Wyatt." Yulia gasped. "He's not gay, is he? Does he like Wyatt?" Winnie rolled her eyes in disbelief. "I really don't know what goes on in your head sometimes." The gift Van had given her was incredibly valuable, but she hadn't yet taken it out to hide it or admire it repeatedly. Instead, she had simply tossed it into her evening bag. Only after taking her bath, drying her hair, and putting on her robe did she finally take the small velvet ring box into her hands. Kneeling on the soft bed, she cradled the box in her palm. The sheets beneath her knees were made of high-thread Egyptian cotton, shimmering with a silk-like sheen. The grass-green color resembled the long, rolling meadows basking under the spring sunlight. Yulia pushed the door open and saw Winnie holding the small box in her hands, raised to eye level, staring at it without blinking. "What's this?" "A box." "I know it's a box, but what's inside?" "A beam of moonlight." "Who gave it to you?" "The moon." Yulia walked over to the window, looking up at the moon. "It's not a full moon today. Wait for the full moon, and let it send you another one." Winnie flipped over onto her back on the bed, her hand still holding the small box pressed to her chest. "There won't be another one. The full moon wanes. I prefer it like this, incomplete." The two of them chatted aimlessly for a while. Yulia made the bed for her. "Alright, time to sleep. You still have to drive back to Graceland tomorrow." Winnie asked her, "Did the X trend go down?" She was too lazy to check it herself. "It's down. David had someone post the picture of you and Mina laughing together. You two even exchanged looks. It seemed pretty genuine. The fans went into full damage control, saying you two had a really good relationship, so the rumors were debunked without anyone needing to address them." Winnie sighed with some relief. "Mina hasn't done anything new?" "She can't exactly jump out and say you stole her lead role. Who's more noble, huh?" Yulia realized she had said something wrong and immediately slapped her own mouth, then cautiously glanced at Winnie to gauge her reaction. Winnie smiled. "You're right, who's more noble. But one thing—if it weren't for Wyatt pushing me into this and David insisting on taking it, I wouldn't have agreed to this project. Even if Director Fang brought it to me, I wouldn't have taken it." "This is his swan song, his final work. It's been ten years in the making," Yulia said seriously. "So what? It's just a conventional commercial film. He wants to go out with a bang, trying to prove his commercial ability before retirement." Yulia finished making the bed and opened a packet of steam eye masks. "You're done with the shoot. Let's not talk about him. Time to sleep." Winnie slid under the covers, pulled out her phone, hesitated for a moment, then sent Van a message. Her wording was very restrained: Good night. Van replied before she even put her phone down: Good night. The next day, Yulia opened the door and saw Winnie's head still under the covers, wrapped up like a little caterpillar. Yulia called out to her softly. "I'm not going," Winnie mumbled, her voice muffled from being buried in the blanket. "Then I'll call Ruby." Winnie shot up from the bed, fully awake. "No, don't." She pushed her eye mask up, revealing the bright sunshine outside. She squinted, yawning, and stretched, revealing faint dark circles under her eyes. The drive to her mom's house took two hours. Yulia was behind the wheel, and Winnie dozed off. When they arrived, it was a villa neighborhood that had clearly been around for some years. The red brick houses with glazed tiles, and the yard outside was overgrown with weeds, giving it a somewhat rustic but lively feel. Winnie wore a fisherman's hat, large sunglasses, and a face mask, covering herself up completely. When they rang the doorbell, she kept glancing around. Yulia stood guard, and they looked like thieves sneaking around. After a moment, the iron gate opened, and a wealthy-looking woman appeared. Her wealth was easy to spot: a chic Chanel-style jacket and jeans, a black turtleneck, and a pearl necklace that wrapped three times around her neck. On her ears were Chanel earrings, and her light brown hair was cut at neck length with French bangs. Yulia greeted her politely, "Good morning, Ruby." Winnie walked in and hugged her. "Good morning, Mom." Ruby had once worked as a fast food waitress. In that era, when everything was about money, she was the beauty that attracted customers, even wearing roller skates to serve food and save time. Though not great with words, her eyes, which could smile at customers, made her more than enough of a draw. Every day, men would flock to the store to buy hamburgers, and some, thinking they were "regulars," would jokingly ask, "How about joining me for a drink tonight?" Ruby knew how to make her beauty work for her, but she hadn't prepared for a life where she would rely on her looks to secure her future. She often replied that she was too busy. "You're a bit late. Did you sleep in this morning?" Ruby took off Winnie's hat and patted her head. "Just finished shooting, still haven't recovered." Winnie had worried about her mother being lonely, so she hired a nurse to take care of her daily needs. But her mother was content with reading books and tending to flowers, even getting a Persian cat, which Winnie found too aloof and gave away to the nurse's little grandson. The smell of curry meat soup wafted from the kitchen, and Winnie, who hadn't had breakfast, asked the nurse to serve her a bowl to fill her stomach.