Seeing Rong Dai in the video call looking even thinner, Huo Shao Ting couldn't help frowning.
But Rong Dai greedily looked at him on the screen, and her somewhat tired eyes revealed a deep yearning.
"Shao Ting, I miss you..."
Leaning on the pillow, her eyes were a little blurred, and she murmured softly.
She really missed him so much.
They had just seen each other at the beginning of the month, and would make video calls or phone calls when they had time.
But for Rong Dai, it felt like a whole century, so long.
She looked forward to time passing faster and faster every day.
That way, she could return to Shengjing to see him sooner.
Rong Dai had never thought there would be a man who made her think about him day and night like this.
Not even when she was the Empress in her previous life.
Hearing her soft and tired voice, Huo Shao Ting couldn't bring himself to chide her as he intended.
He felt heartache but had to support her work.
He knew she was strong-willed and understood what she wanted.
So he could not stop her, only give his full support and cherish her.
"I miss you too, my wife..."
Watching Rong Dai on the screen breathing evenly in deep sleep, Huo Shao Ting's eyes were like tiny twinkling stars, full of tenderness.
He answered her softly, afraid the sound of hanging up would wake her.
Although he knew the possibility was small, as Rong Dai's filming had been very tiring recently, and it was normal for her to be exhausted.
But he still didn't hang up, only turned the phone volume to minimum and put it by the pillow, before going to the bathroom to wash up.
When he came out after washing up, Rong Dai was still sleeping deeply.
Her smooth complexion in sleep looked a little naive, her bright red lips slightly open, her cheeks flushed, very alluring.
Leaning against the headboard, with the quilt covering his waist and abdomen, Huo Shao Ting's gaze remained fixed closely on her in the phone, not wanting to miss a single second.
While Rong Dai was fast asleep, he took screenshots and saved them.
There had never been any photos of anyone in his phone album, not even himself.
Huo Shao Ting opened the album to look, only seeing many photos of Rong Dai inside.
The corner of his mouth curved up into an indulgent yet faintly wicked smile. Counting the time, his wife whom he missed day and night would be back soon.
Rong Dai was woken in the morning by her alarm clock, though it was only 4am at this time, the sky was not yet bright.
Huo Shao Ting naturally heard the alarm too. Seeing her dazed and tired face as she reached out to turn off the alarm, pain pierced his heart.
He really wanted to tell her that her husband had the ability to support her for life, she didn't need to work so hard.
But he knew that wouldn't be her then.
Rong Dai struggled to get up, sitting up in bed with disheveled hair. The soft, tempting bed almost dragged her back down.
"Can't sleep, can't sleep..."
She quickly shook her head with eyes closed, lightly patting her cheeks with her hand. But she was still too sleepy to open her eyes.
"Hiss—"
She suddenly pinched the root of her own thigh, sucking in a breath from the pain. Instantly dispelling all sleepiness.
This action was seen clearly by Huo Shao Ting, whose brow immediately furrowed into deep creases.
Had she been waking up this way every day recently?
Huo Shao Ting's fingertips holding the phone turned white. The swelling pain in his heart made him want to fly to her side right away.
But he pressed his lips tight without speaking, watching as she staggered to the bathroom to wash up. Only then did he silently hang up the video call.
After hanging up, Huo Shao Ting's expression was very cold.
He opened Rong Dai's work email, full of filming tasks for her.
After reading the scenes, he took a deep breath but said nothing. He got up and poured himself a drink.
Shengjing was much quieter at 4am, with only the colorful neon lights flashing.
He stood by the bay window, overlooking Shengjing's night view, his eyes as profound and deep as the sea.
He knew why his wife was working so hard.
So to be able to stay by her side at all times, it was time to resolve some matters.
Rong Dai was unaware of Huo Shao Ting's complex feelings at this moment, and did not know that she had left the video call with him open all night.
After washing up, hearing the doorbell ring, she hurriedly grabbed her phone and went to open the door.
Usually the servant girl brought breakfast over from the nutritionist, but recently Lu Nianzhi had become her assistant, naturally taking over these tasks.
Lu Nianzhi skillfully laid out the breakfast. While Rong Dai ate, she briefed her on the scenes to film today.
Rong Dai nodded, "Let's work overtime tonight and finish shooting these twelve scenes in one go, no need to wait until the day after tomorrow."
Lu Nianzhi was very diligent in her work, so despite Rong Dai having heavy filming tasks and many scenes, she arranged everything neatly.
Rong Dai already knew the lines for these twelve scenes off by heart, and they were not very demanding scenes.
In her previous life she had lived in military camps with her father and brothers, so she knew some martial arts skills. Of course she was also highly skilled at riding, archery and more.
So these twelve scenes were no challenge for her.
It was just that she had been severely sleep deprived this past month, and would be exhausted on set.
"Two days is enough time, no need to rush it." Lu Nianzhi was a little surprised.
Though a super overachiever herself, she never pushed her body to the limit.
She planned her time well to complete all tasks and studying efficiently.
From working with Rong Dai these days, she was also very shocked by the other's willpower and discipline.
But Rong Dai was clearly overdoing it, even overdrawing on her health.
So she didn't recommend rushing it like this.
Rong Dai put down her bowl and chopsticks, and used a napkin to wipe her lips.
"No, I need to leave a day open. It'll be more tiring for the other actors, but I'll cover the food and drinks on set today, just use my bank card. "
Rong Dai shook her head.
She needed to rush back to Shengjing, to work on the design drafts and samples, all very time consuming.
She probably wouldn't have any free time in February either.
And she had already spent quite some time filming here, her mother-in-law would be returning from vacation soon too. She also needed to prepare gifts for her mother-in-law.
Although the Huo family didn't care much for such things, she was the daughter-in-law who had been away for so long, so preparing some gifts was proper.
She didn't want to return to Shengjing empty-handed, even if her mother-in-law wouldn't be unhappy, there would still be disappointment.
Although she could just give money, sometimes money didn't represent everything. Besides, the Huo family was not lacking money, and her mother-in-law's own family background was also good, she certainly wasn't short of money either.
There was a saying, it's the thought that counts. The gift conveys this thought.
"I need to leave a day open to go shopping, to buy gifts for my family. The new year is almost here, I probably won't have time later to prepare gifts for them, so it's better to get them ready in advance."
Seeing Lu Nianzhi's hesitation, she explained.
