“Why did it take you so long? Everyone has been waiting.”(你怎么去了这么久，人家都等着呢)

沈若斐对着急急跑回来的Toby微微不满道。看到他额头上密密的小汗珠，又噤住了声。

“My friend, he chatted with me for a while.”(我朋友，他和我聊了会儿天。)

“Sorry, Serena. I'm just back in a hurry. Please forgive me, okay?”(对不起Serena，我这不是紧赶慢赶回来了嘛，原谅我好不好。)

Toby又用上了他的惯用手段——撒娇。

沈若斐没多想，宠溺地应道。

“OK, I forgive you. Let's finish shooting this last set and then we'll go home.”(好好，原谅你了，快最后一套拍好照我们回家了。)

“Here I come!”(保证完成任务！)

接下来的拍摄很顺利，沈若斐依旧是那个专注利落的负责人，指挥着演员走位，核对拍摄细节。

她站在补光灯侧后方，目光稳稳落在取景框里，一眼就看清 Toby 的走位——他步子轻而稳，知道哪里光最匀、哪里不穿帮，走到标记点时微微侧身，既不挡主镜，又能把侧脸线条留得好看。

她指尖轻点平板，没出声提醒，只在他经过暗区那一步轻轻抬了抬下巴。Toby 立刻心领神会，脚步微收半步，刚好落进暖光里。整套动作流畅自然，不用反复喊卡，也不用多余解释，一看就是熟手。

--

今天白天沈若斐一直在图书馆学习，从书海中抬起头时已经晚上八点多了。许是自己最近学得太猛，感觉直起身子都一阵眩晕。她支撑不住，趴在桌上眯了会儿。

没睡着，睡不着，焦虑。就这么闭着眼，突然猛然间她抬起头，发丝随着脑袋凌乱飘散。

绞尽脑汁想了两天Toby爸爸的生日礼物送什么，刚刚刹那间她想到，为什么不送自己最拿手的东西呢？

刚好社团还有多余的大衣，不如就今天叫Toby来试下。他也知道他爸适合什么风格的衣服。

于是晚上八点三刻，Toby来了USC的服装社团内。他到的时候还有大二的团员在拍摄，望了望人群，一眼看到了有着独特面孔的Serena，向她奔过去。

“What's wrong Serena?”

“Your dad isn't having his birthday soon, right? I was thinking there are still some jeans and coats left here. I was thinking of giving them to your dad as a gift. Would you like to help me try them on?”(你爸不是要生日了吗？我想着这儿还有几天牛仔和大衣，我想送给你爸当礼物，你来帮我试试看？)

“OK. Fortunately, my dad hasn't gotten fat yet. My build is similar to his. Let me take a look for you.”(行啊，还好我爸还没发福，我跟他身材差不多，我来帮你看看。)

--

拍摄工作结束时已经是九点半了，沈若斐和Toby走在夜晚的USC校园里，不算冷清，仍有人刚从图书馆内出来。

“Who called you? So long.”(谁给你打电话？这么久。)

“Ethan, he called me via video call. I was afraid it would be inconvenient in the shed, so I went out to answer it.”(Ethan给我打视频电话，我怕在棚里不方便，就出去接了。)

“Ethan？”

这三个字像一颗小石子，猝不及防地砸进沈若斐的心湖。她拎着手提袋的手指猛地一紧，整个人瞬间怔住，耳边的噪音仿佛都被隔绝在外，脑海里只剩下这个许久未被提起的名字。陆则川，那个总是带着点少年气的倔强，会对着她乱发脾气，却也会在她需要时默默出现的男生。

沈若斐和Toby并肩走着，影子被路灯拉得很长，交织在一起。

她犹豫了许久，终于还是开口，声音很轻，带着一丝试探：“Toby, Ethan is in New York. Was he just chatting with you out of boredom? Did he say anything else? For instance... Did he encounter any problems?”(Toby，陆则川在纽约，真的只是因为无聊才找你聊天吗？他有没有说别的？比如……有没有遇到什么事？)

Toby放缓脚步，语气依旧温和：“It's really nothing. I just spend every day at the hospital by my grandma's side. There are all adults around, and there's no one of the same age to talk to. It's just a bit lonely. His parents are busy contacting doctors and arranging for a transfer to another hospital. They have no time to accompany him or chat with his grandma. So he has to bear it all by himself.”(真没事，就是天天在医院陪奶奶，身边都是大人，没个能说话的同龄人，有点孤单而已。他爸妈忙着联系医生、安排转院，根本没时间陪他，也没时间陪奶奶聊天，他就只能自己扛着。)

沈若斐沉默了，脚下的步伐也慢了下来。她在假装想象，陆则川在纽约的样子——一个人坐在椅子上，看着父母忙碌的身影，想帮忙却插不上手，心里委屈又无助，只能对着远方的朋友倾诉。

“Well......”(其实……)沈若斐的声音更低了，带着一丝愧疚，“Before he went to New York, I had a quarrel with him.”(他去纽约之前，我和他吵了一架。)