Prophecy
A child was a very restrictive and difficult character.
Especially a child who was around four years old. They were physically weak, they spoke in phrases and declarative sentences, they could not really use long sentences or complicated sentence structures, there was always an adult around them to look after them, they almost had no freedom.
A child could not do the things an adult would be able to do, a child could not say the things an adult would be able to say. If Ning Ning were to tell Yu Sheng about Pei Xuan in a straightforward manner, the latter would definitely not believe her. She had to use another method, a method unique of a child to caution her.
Ning Ning cozied up beside Yu Sheng and looked at her script, “Who are you acting as?”
“I’m acting as a female teacher.” Yu Sheng answered with a smile.
Ning Ning scanned the script, the role that was marked on it was Female Teacher A, there were a total of three lines.
“What was I doing in your dreams?”
“It’s just a dream, teacher will not die.”
“Ah!”
It was a role that would have a small screen time then die an unnatural death.
She was going to portray the kindergarten teacher of the female lead character. The female lead dreamt of her death one day, so she described her dream to the teacher, but the teacher did not believe it. In the end, she looked up and was smashed in the head by a flower pot.
This was not a difficult role, the lines were not difficult either; but to prevent any mistakes, Yu Sheng would still read the lines repeatedly. She would occasionally make gestures to go along with the lines she was reading out.
“Teacher.” A child’s voice suddenly rang out from beside her.
Yu Sheng who was immersed in her role came back to her senses. She turned her head to look at Ning Ning. “Hmm?”
“I dreamt of you yesterday.” Ning Ning sniffled as she looked at her.
Yu Sheng was stunned for a while, then smiled and asked her, “What was I doing in your dreams?”
Ning Ning, “I dreamt that you died.”
“That was just a dream.” Yu Sheng touched Ning Ning’s head. “Teacher will not die.”
Ning Ning did not say anything, her eyes slowly shifted upwards and looked above her head.
Yu Sheng thought it was strange, she also looked up above her head, then both of her eyes widened, “Ah!”
The scene ended here.
“You acted really well.” Yu Sheng praised Ning Ning without hesitation. “You’re so talented, you would definitely become a famous actress like your mother in the future.”
Ning Ning immediately acted like a real four-year-old who would revel in any praise. The moment someone praised her she would smile really widely like she was floating in the air. For the sake of getting praised again, she tugged on Yu Sheng’s sleeve, “Again!”
It was a good thing to be able to rehearse with someone. Moreover, establishing a good relationship with her would equate to establishing a good relationship with Ning Yu Ren, thus Yu Sheng did not decline. After they finished for the second time, Ning Ning sniffled, but this time she did not suck the snot back in, it dribbled out, making things very awkward…
“Wait for me.” Yu Sheng quickly got off the floor and borrowed a roll of paper towel. She pinched Ning Ning’s nose with the paper towel and said, “Here, blow your nose.”
Ning Ning blew her nose a few times. While she was doing that, she stared at Yu Sheng’s face as if she was trying to confirm something.
“I really did dream of you yesterday.” Ning Ning said abruptly.
Yu Sheng thought that Ning Ning was still rehearsing the scene with her, thus she reflexively read out the next line, “What was I doing in your dreams?”
“An uncle wanted you to act for him.” Ning Ning said.
Yu Sheng was stunned for a moment. She could not speak for a long while.
“What am I acting as?” She smiled and asked in the end.
“Lian Lian.” Ning Ning ran past her once she answered the question.
Yu Sheng turned back and saw a few people walking over—the director, his assistant, Ning Yu Ren and others… They were all important people whom an insignificant person like her could not afford to mess with. She quickly stood up and put her hand with the paper towel behind her back.
“Mama!” Ning Ning jumped on Ning Yu Ren.
Ning Yu Ren bent down and picked her off the floor, nodded to Yu Sheng then turned around and left. Ning Ning hugged her neck and waved her hand at Yu Sheng.
Yu Sheng smiled back at her and waved at her. It looked like she did not take her words to heart, or maybe she treated her words as nonsense a child would say; but even if Ning Ning were to tell her the truth in a straightforward manner, it would probably still be treated as nonsense.
“I cannot make you believe me now.” Ning Ning looked at her and thought, “The day Pei Xuan finds you, you will think of me and remember what I told you today… My prophecy.”
Then, Ning Ning left the crew in Ning Yu Ren’s arms.
A car was already waiting at the entrance. As Ning Yu Ren bent down to put Ning Ning in the car, she frantically hung on to her neck and shouted repeatedly, “No! I don’t want to go!”
“Don’t be silly.” Ning Yu Ren pinched her face. She had the expression of someone looking at a child throwing a tantrum. “You’re sick, you should go home to take your medicine and rest. Mama will come home and play with you after I finish filming.”
But Ning Ning could not leave. <<Dreams of the Future>> started filming in August, Yu Sheng would meet up with an accident somewhere in September. Within a month, Pei Xuan would find Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng would then become a vegetable due to a traffic accident in this period of time. So in this month, Ning Ning had to stay with the crew, she had to be in a place where she could directly be in contact with Yu Sheng.
So she racked her brain to come up with an excuse. “I want to act too.”
“It’s fine, you can just take a good rest.” Ning Yu Ren gently shook her head. “Mama will get someone to act for you.”
Things ultimately still turned into what Ning Ning remembered.
Although she took part in the shooting for <<Dreams of the Future>>, eventually she had to be substituted due to her sickness, losing the role of the child female lead.
She returned home with a heavy heart. Nanny Xu Rong had already prepared a mountain of food for her.
“Be good, don’t be sad, have a bite of the little bunny.” She put a rabbit in Ning Ning’s bowl.
It was a steamed bun in the shape of a rabbit, cute and exquisite. After you take a bite, the rich custard would flow out. It was a dessert children like to eat.
Although Ning Ning was in a very bad mood, but this rabbit steamed bun gave off the scent of childhood, so she ate a few consecutively. She was small, so was her appetite. When the main dishes were served, she rubbed her stomach and discovered that she was almost full, thus she got off the chair to walk around the house to help with digestion.
“You won’t grow up if you don’t eat. Here, take a bite.” Xu Rong filled a little bowl with rice and dishes. Ning Ning was acting like a mischievous little princess, Xu Rong followed her wherever she went.
Ning Ning had already given her face by taking a bite. She said in a coquettish tone, “I’m already full.”
“Then take your medicine first,” Xu Rong said, “take a rest after you have your medicine, you can eat your meal after you wake up.”
She fed Ning Ning a few flu pills. The flu pills contained chlorpheniramine which caused drowsiness as a side effect. Thus, not long after she ate them, Ning Ning started to yawn nonstop.
Xu Rong carried her to her bed and pulled a blanket over her, gently patting her chest with her hand as she hummed a melody without lyrics.
Ning Ning remembered that melody, it was the main theme for <<Dreams of the Future>>: “I pluck a red dress for you, I pluck a yellow hat for you, I pluck a pair of white boots for you, I pluck a good future for you… Wishing you bliss, my daughter…”
“Nanny Xu,” Ning Ning looked at her, “Do you have children?”
“I do.” Xu Rong looked at her gently. “I have a daughter.”
“How old is she?”
“She is as old as you.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s…”
Those words blurred out, Ning Ning did not listen carefully, because she fell asleep.
She did not know whether the effects of the pills were too great or her flu had worsened, she still felt dizzy when she woke up the next day.
Xu Rong fed her milk custard by her side. Ning Ning shook her head, she was unwilling to eat it.
“I want Mama.” She said weakly, what she thought was: I want to return to the crew!
“You’re already this sick.” Xu Rong reached out and touched her head while she said with tender love, “I have already given your mother a call, she would be back soon. Here, have some medicine first.”
Ning Ning struggled to get up to take the medicine. She gulped down the cup of water in Xu Rong’s hand, swallowing the pills and warm water into her stomach.
She wanted to get better quicker. It was already a problem to be transmigrated as a child, she was sick on top of it, there was even less chance for her to be able to do anything.
But while it was easy to get sick, it was not easy to recover from sickness. The more she wanted to get better, the more it wouldn’t get better. She slept another day away. It was already night time by the time she woke up. She felt something furry by her face. She turned around and looked to discover that there was a little teddy bear on the bed.
“Your mama just came back. She did not wake you up because she saw that you were sound asleep.” The table lamp was on, Xu Rong was sitting in the middle of light and darkness, holding a little bowl in her hand. Ning Ning heard the sounds of a spoon stirring a liquid. “You must be hungry, have some food first…then take your medicine after.”
Eat, medicine, sleep, then another day passed by.
Seven days later, Ning Ning laid on the bed while hugging the little teddy. She looked at the ceiling and asked, “What day is today?”
The sounds of a spoon stirring a liquid rang out by her ear along with Xu Rong’s voice, “Twenty fifth of August.”
A corner of Ning Ning’s eyes twitched.
It had already been seven days.
Even if she was a child, even if she was sick, but it was only a flu, why did she sleep for so long? And once she fell asleep, she could not wake up at all. She frequently woke up during the day and at night alternatively… Was that how a child’s flu worked?
It was already the twenty fifth of August, there were not many days left until September! How was Yu Sheng? Did Yu Sheng look for her?
A mountain of questions swirled in Ning Ning’s mind, she struggled to get out of bed.
“Hey, stay still, stay still, you are sick.” Xu Rong stopped her from the side. “Quickly lie down, I will bring you any food or toy you want.”
“I want Mama!” Ning Ning pointed to the table across the room, on the table was a telephone.
“Your mama is at work, she has to earn money to buy teddy bears for you, so you cannot disturb her.” Xu Rong said with mild and affectionate words in an attempt to dispel those thoughts from her mind. “Be good and take your medicine then wait for Mama to come back, ok?”
“Not ok!” Ning Ning wilfully used a child’s ace in the hole—snitching, “I’ll tell Mama, you don’t let me call her!”
Xu Rong had no choice, she could only help her give Ning Yu Ren a call.
The phone rang a few times, Ning Yu Ren answered, “Hello?”
“Mama,” Ning Ning said as she held the receiver, “I miss you.”
“Be a good girl.” Ning Yu Ren softened her voice, “Mama is working right now, I will play with you in a few days, ok?”
After a few days, the cow would have come home already!
“I want to go see you.” Ning Ning said.
“That won’t do. You’re not feeling well, how can you be out and about?” Ning Yu Ren rejected her.
Feeling the eyes behind her, Ning Ning was getting a little anxious. Everything else could wait, but she had to leave the house first and foremost. “I want to go out in the sun, I can recover that way!”
Ning Yu Ren considered it for a moment before she said, “Give Nanny Xu the phone.”
Xu Rong answered the call and said yes repeatedly, then gave the receiver back to Ning Ning.
“You can only go out for an hour.” Ning Yu Ren said gently, “After you are done standing in the sun you have to be a good girl and go home.”
“I will!” Ning Ning answered.
An hour was too short, it was not even enough for her to go to the crew.
Was Yu Sheng even at the crew right now? She might have been brought away by Pei Xuan already.
Ning Ning thought about it when Xu Rong was helping her change her clothes. By the time Xu Rong walked out of the house with Ning Ning in her arms, she had already decided. Ning Ning pointed slightly to the right and said, “I want to go to Central Park! I want to look at birds!”
She did not actually want to go to Central Park, she just wanted to head in that direction.
An hour was too short, it was not enough for her to go look for Mama at the filming location, it was also not enough to look for the Mu siblings, it was only enough for her to visit a place—Pei Xuan’s house!
NN be careful! You can die this time, you’re acting as yourself.
Thanks for the update ?!
Ning Ning!!! Be careful of Nanny Xu ???? I suspect there’s something wrong with the medication
Aiya. I’m suspecting Munchausen’s by proxy. ????