Little Meteor Chapter 1
byChapter 1: “Long time no see.”
Jiang Chengxuan had been working non-stop for nearly thirty hours. If he hadn’t received a call from the Dean, he probably would have slept the night away in the changing room.
He had just finished several surgeries and hadn’t even changed out of his Sterile Scrubs. Not daring to keep the leader waiting, he took the shortest possible shower.
He thought the Dean needed him for something major, but it turned out a film crew was coming to the hospital to shoot scenes and needed him as a Medical Consultant.
The Dean listed a series of benefits: enhancing professional image, promoting occupational exchange, and advancing Medical Popularization.
He had no reason to refuse, especially since he was granted half a day off.
The director team was arriving that afternoon. Having been awake for nearly thirty hours, Jiang Chengxuan didn’t have the energy to drive home. He tidied up and went to the hospital dormitory, where he lost consciousness the moment his head hit the pillow.
The Producer notified Shen Mu that the meeting was scheduled for 2 PM. Shen Mu was punctual and didn’t keep the client waiting for a second.
The crew borrowed a conference room at the hospital for the Script Workshop. The Male Lead and Female Lead were a CP that had recently become viral.
It just goes to show that being an actor requires a bit of Luck/Metaphysics. The leads in their previous show were Top-tier Celebrities/A-listers and it was an S-Class Major Production, but the audience felt the main couple lacked CP chemistry. Instead, the BE (Bad Ending) videos of the Male Supporting Character 3 and Female Supporting Character 3 were widely shared, with everyone tagging the director to give them their own show.
Shen Mu felt his script was chosen thanks to the popularity of the leads. After all, he had been writing scripts for ten years, and this was the first time he’d been involved in such a massive production.
Shen Mu briefly introduced the characters and plot. Afterward, most of the discussion was led by the director and the Producer. The meeting had been going on for most of the afternoon when the legendary Medical Consultant finally arrived.
When Jiang Chengxuan appeared, the conference room fell silent for a few seconds. He apologized, “I’m sorry, a patient delayed me.”
This was normal; a doctor’s time was always precious, and they should be grateful he could spare even this much time.
“Not at all, not at all,” the Producer stood up. “You must be Doctor Jiang?”
“Oh my god,” the actress couldn’t help but swoon. “He is way too handsome.”
He was indeed handsome, and he hadn’t changed at all.
Neurosurgery Department, Jiang Chengxuan, thirty-two years old, highly skilled, mature, stable, good-tempered, and most importantly, single and unmarried.
The actress, who had somehow managed to gather this information, kept muttering about it while they ate.
The Renji Hospital cafeteria was genuinely good. The sweet and sour fish was appetizing, and the braised pork was excellent.
The benefits this time were great; they had cafeteria cards during their time on set. The boxed meals ordered by the crew truly couldn’t compare to the Renji Hospital cafeteria.
“Teacher Shen, don’t you think Doctor Jiang is really handsome?”
The actress, Su Xieyi, was a complete Looks-Obsessed Person and a Social Butterfly/Extrovert. Being a Social Butterfly was one thing, but being unwilling to socialize deeply was another. For instance, when the crew arranged a dinner, she refused to go, preferring to eat in the cafeteria with Shen Mu.
“Handsome, handsome,” Shen Mu agreed. “He is really handsome.”
Su Xieyi waved her hand and enthusiastically called out, “Doctor Jiang.”
Jiang Chengxuan was holding his tray, looking for a seat. Unfortunately, the cafeteria was crowded today. Hearing someone call him, Jiang Chengxuan looked over, vaguely remembering she was the Female Lead in the show.
When Jiang Chengxuan sat down next to Shen Mu, Shen Mu caught the scent of mint on him.
Sure enough, a person’s habits never change. He was still using the same body wash after all these years.
Jiang Chengxuan said, “Long time no see.”
The familiar voice was deep and gentle.
Shen Mu’s chopsticks paused mid-air as he was picking up a piece of sweet and sour fish. He smiled. “It has been a long time.”
“You two know each other?”
Su Xieyi looked like she had stumbled upon explosive gossip. She was about to launch into an interrogation, but Jiang Chengxuan’s simple “Long time no see” had already blocked her.
“College classmates.”
Shen Mu offered a brief explanation, then lowered his head to continue eating. But after barely three bites, he stood up. “I’m done. Enjoy your meal.”
Su Xieyi watched Shen Mu’s retreating back, her gossip-fueled soul burning brightly. “Doctor Jiang, you really know Teacher Shen.”
Jiang Chengxuan didn’t answer the question. A perceptive person would have stopped there, but Su Xieyi wasn’t about to let him off the hook. She said excitedly, “Could it be a reunion of Ex-Lovers?”
Jiang Chengxuan paused for a moment. “Not Ex-Lovers.”
After all, he and Shen Mu had never actually started anything.
–
Shen Mu still had Jiang Chengxuan’s WeChat contact; he had never deleted it, but he hadn’t contacted him either.
It proved that not contacting someone meant not contacting them, regardless of WeChat or phone calls.
He never migrated WeChat chat history when he got a new phone, thinking it was a waste of time. He only started paying attention to keeping chat records after he started working.
He hadn’t thought about this person for a long time, so seeing him today was truly unexpected. He clicked on Jiang Chengxuan’s Moments. The most recent post was a picture of his New Year’s Eve dinner.
So old-fashioned and boring.
As if he had heard Shen Mu’s silent complaint, Jiang Chengxuan’s WeChat message arrived perfectly timed, nearly making Shen Mu drop his phone.
Jiang Chengxuan sent several images, followed by a long voice message.
“There’s a detail issue in Scene 37 of the script. The description of the patient’s Pupil Dilation isn’t accurate enough. It should first describe Unilateral Pupil Enlargement before progressing to bilateral. This is a critical indicator of Cerebral Herniation.”
The images were densely covered with annotations written in red fountain pen, the handwriting as neat as print.
Shen Mu checked the time: 1:30 AM.
It was rare for such a busy man to carve out time to review his script. He remembered that in the past, when he showed Jiang Chengxuan something he had written, Jiang Chengxuan would say “later” but then toss it aside to do his own thing. When Shen Mu asked about it, he couldn’t answer anything, eventually forcing out, “That’s my Professional Blind Spot. I don’t understand Dramatic Conflict either. It’s useless to show me.”
Back then, Shen Mu would have argued with him. Now, after all these years, he was more mature. He felt quite calm, realizing things were different when professional fields were involved.
Shen Mu clicked on the voice message and listened again.
Jiang Chengxuan’s voice was deeper than he remembered, with a familiar, almost rigid professional tone.
Many untimely memories surged up, making it hard for him to breathe.
His finger hovered over the keyboard for a long time before he finally replied, “Thank you.”