Oh well, never mind.

On the way back, apart from the almost negligible ambient noise from the heater, there was no other human voice in the car. The temperature was hot and dry, but the atmosphere was cold and desolate.

Jiang Songhe sat upright in the invisible enclosure on the driver's side, devoting a small portion of his attention to safe driving and the majority to introspection and contemplation.

He forced himself to prioritize the project, wondering what he should do if he lost his trump card of inviting Jonathan to sing for "Yan Ge Xing".

The paparazzi group that has solid evidence of Shen Zongli's domestic violence cannot stay in Jianggang forever. During this period, the producers of other projects in which Shen Zongli participated have taken measures to stop the loss, either by bringing in new projects to boost their broadcast or by letting them stagnate.

Once everything is completely settled, they will naturally stop focusing on the threats. It's likely that the moment Lei Dachui's men return to China and show their faces, they'll be summoned for questioning by Ciyi. At that point, Yunhe will have lost its community of shared risks and will once again find itself isolated and helpless.

Jiang Songhe knows that in the industry, everything is based on mutual benefit, and he has followed this principle all the way through his career.

Although the nine-point share of "Yan Ge Xing" was given to Tao Nian, it was tantamount to giving it to his father, Tao Lifeng. Although the other investors did not have large shares, most of them initially invested because of Tao Lifeng's reputation. If the project failed, they might try to transfer their shares to Tao Lifeng first.

Yunhe Entertainment currently holds a 51% stake, Taode Pictures 39%, and other investors 10%. This 51% stake represents the critical point where Yunhe has absolute control over the project; the stake is unyielding and the benefits are irreplaceable.

The best course of action is to broadcast the show as soon as possible, which would minimize losses. If that fails, the only options left are face-swapping or reshooting. Jiang Songhe can manage the additional post-production investment, but the consequences of synchronizing with the investors' situation, without touching Song Yun's inheritance, will be difficult for him to handle well.

He had previously been fully prepared to face the worst possible outcome alone, but now, the mere thought of losing everything and being utterly disgraced made him restless and anxious.

What will become of his relationship with Jonathan?

Even though Jonathan's company had already promised to implement the cooperation, if things had proceeded as agreed, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state, overwhelmed and furious by the resentment of being "unqualified" and "mismatched."

Jiang Songhe gripped the steering wheel tightly with all ten fingers, his nails digging into his palms until he felt a piercing pain, before finally pulling back slightly from the wheel. He suddenly noticed that the car had passed an intersection, and the traffic light ahead was already yellow.

When the brakes were slammed on, the entire car shook, and the screeching of the tires could be heard inside the cabin.

Jonathan's hand slammed onto the windshield unexpectedly, making a dull thud.

Jiang Songhe gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. She pulled her gaze away from the faintly visible solid line and turned her neck to look at Jonathan: "I'm sorry, I... are you alright?"

Jonathan, who had removed his gloves and mask at some point, gripped the seatbelt in front of his chest with both hands. His mouth opened and closed as if he had been interrupted, but he finally pursed his lips, shook his head, and looked at Jiang Songhe with concern.

"Sorry." Jiang Songhe repeated subconsciously, turning her head back to the traffic light.

He realized with a start that he had just been taking his anger out on others and had once again disregarded Jonathan's safety.

Even though he should have understood that changes are normal in collaborations and that he shouldn't have taken his anger out on anyone, whether it was Jonathan or Jonathan's company.

At the same time, he mocked himself for being hypocritical, knowing he shouldn't have thought that way, and that his feelings for Jonathan might not have been so pure. Perhaps, like Jonathan's previous playthings, he was worthless.

That feeling of self-loathing was stirring within him, and a twisted expectation arose in his heart: that Jonathan would leave him as soon as possible.

The green light came on at the intersection, and Jiang Songhe mechanically stepped on the gas and turned the steering wheel, smoothly getting back on the road.

"Jiang Songhe, have you ever been to Bincheng?" Jonathan asked Jiang Songhe softly, but looked out the window. "I heard... there's a beach there called Jinyao Bay, where you can find beautiful seashells while beachcombing."

Bincheng, a coastal city in Northeast China, is also known as the Romantic City. Even the longest drive there wouldn't take more than half a day. Zooming in on a map to a certain extent, it bears some resemblance to the outline of Maner.

"No." Jiang Songhe had a premonition that Jonathan would continue to say something like "let's go together sometime," so she reluctantly said, "Winter is not a good time for beachcombing."

"Afterwards" can mean either near or far.

Thinking about the immediate future, Jiang Songhe will be going to work tomorrow. Thinking about the long term, Jonathan will eventually have to return to the country he's used to.

How can the pleasure of going to a city with a similar outline to experience the beach compare to the satisfaction of having everything that matches it for a long time? I'm afraid that even if you've been there, you'll find it's nothing special, and feel aggrieved for wasting your precious time on a cheap, pirated version.

Why start a journey that's bound to be terrible?

"If you like seashells, I'll find another way to buy them for you as soon as possible." If you like them and want more, "They're beautiful, before you leave."

The two didn't make eye contact, and Jiang Songhe couldn't tell from their reactions whether they wanted it or not. After a long while, he finally heard a rejection that lacked emotional depth.

"...I see...Never mind."

-

Back at the Jiang family villa, Jiang Songhe told Jonathan to get out of the car and go inside first. He told him not to worry about the groceries he had bought, and he would bring them in after parking the car.

After Jonathan disappeared through the door, Jiang Songhe turned the car around and backed it into the garage. Sitting in the driver's seat, he took out his phone and called Lin Duole to inquire about the progress of Yunhe's contract signing with TANG.

"The signed version from TANG was just notarized this morning through the 'cross-border e-visa' process, and I received the attachment in my email!"

Lin Duole's voice was hoarse from just waking up, and burst with unbridled joy: "I've confirmed with the legal department that the content is consistent with the last version we sent out!"

Jiang Songhe pulled the phone away, let out a deep breath, then pulled it closer, put the microphone to his lips, and said in a deep voice, "Understood. Be sure to upload our stamped version as soon as possible. After completing the online signing, immediately arrange for the platform and investors to come to Yunhe for a screening."

"Don't worry, Mr. Jiang, I've already made an appointment with the legal department. I'll go to the company to go through the procedures in a bit." The sound of rustling wind came through the receiver; Lin Duole was probably already getting dressed.

"Thank you for your hard work." For once, Jiang Songhe did not follow the principle of being an enlightened boss who does not take up employees' private time on weekends. He even made an additional request: "Please also confirm as soon as possible whether Janus has any other work arrangements during his stay at the porcelain studio. We need him to cooperate with the recording of the theme song in the near future."

"Awooo—" Lin Duole suddenly howled like a wolf, excitedly asking, "Is Janus still in the Porcelain Country?! I thought he had already returned to Maner!!! Where in the Porcelain Country is he, President Jiang? Is he still in Jingting?!!!"

Jiang Songhe frowned in shock and hummed in agreement.

"That means I still have a chance!! To see my idol again in person!!!?!"

Jiang Songhe originally intended to remind Lin Duole to pay attention to the professionalism of a producer when working on set, but the words on the tip of her tongue inexplicably turned into a silent, slight smile. After the smile, she seriously corrected him: "It's not just one aspect; we also need him to cooperate in filming some promotional materials for the drama."

"Waaaaah—" Lin Duole heard the sound and it seemed like it was about to mutate.

Fearing that his newly recruited right-hand man's departure from human form might delay important matters, Jiang Songhe asked seriously, "Have the publicity plans been arranged and planned?"

"." Lin Duole slammed on the brakes and shut up. Finally, a human gasp came through the receiver.

General Manager Jiang, now known as "Skinny Jiang," launches a barrage of deadly questions.

"Is the content for the presentation at the film screening ready?"

"..."

"Have you received all 18 OSTs from the music director?"

"..."

...

"The car I called is downstairs, Mr. Jiang." After saying that, Lin Duole hurriedly hung up the phone.

Jiang Songhe raised an eyebrow, locked the screen, and casually stuffed the phone into her jacket pocket. Knowing that Yunhe's collaboration with TANG hadn't fallen through, the heavy weight in her heart slowly lifted, and her energy surged. Even the large bags of groceries in her hands felt effortless.

As I walked out of the garage carrying the groceries, I caught a glimpse of handprints on the Volvo's windshield out of the corner of my eye, and a heavy weight rose in my heart once again.

On the way back, Jiang Songhe's "hedgehog syndrome" flared up, and his cold and unsympathetic remarks must have offended Jonathan.

Otherwise, Jonathan wouldn't have gotten out of the car and gone inside without a word. Earlier at the farmers' market, he had reminded Jiang Songhe that he was also a man and should help share the weight. Just now... did he say anything else? What was his reaction?

Jiang Songhe's brain is a little itchy.

Tsk, Jonathan moved too fast, I didn't catch him at all.

There is still some muscle weakness in the limbs.

The bag of ingredients, dripping and gurgling, suddenly felt as heavy as lead, causing Jiang Songhe's shoulders to slip down.

As Jiang Songhe walked to the villa's entrance, she gulped down, bit her lip, glanced down at the fingerprint lock on her right, sighed awkwardly, and then weakly bumped the doorbell in front of her with her shoulder.

Drip-drop—

Nobody's driving it.

Drip-drop—

Still no one is opening it.

Not good.

Jiang Songhe raised his hand listlessly, about to unlock the door himself, when the door opened.

He forced a stiff smile while keeping his head down, but the moment he looked up and met the person inside the door's gaze, the smile vanished instantly.

It was opened by Wasin.

"Give it to me." Vasin stretched out his massive arm and reached out to Jiang Songhe.

"No need." Jiang Songhe straightened his back, stepped past Wasin, and strode briskly towards the kitchen.

I didn't change my shoes.

There was no one in the living room, no one in the dining room, and no one in any visible part of the ground floor.

This is very bad.

Jiang Songhe arranged the ingredients one by one on the island counter. When she saw the ribs and lamb belly, she belatedly realized that she had forgotten to buy sea bass.

"Tsk." Jiang Songhe dejectedly threw the pork ribs and lamb belly in his hand onto the table. Was there any point in cooking this? Even if he did, people might not want to eat it.

No, I have to eat even if I don't want to. Food is essential for life.

Jiang Songhe mentally prepared himself for a moment, rubbed the soles of his leather shoes, and left the kitchen for the guest room. Passing through the living room, he saw Vasin sitting imposingly on the sofa. Vasin turned his head and looked over, his thick lower lip gesturing towards what was behind him beneath his rough, dark brown face.

The scene seemed familiar, and Jiang Songhe boldly guessed that there was most likely a thumb moving in sync behind the sofa armrest.

Jiang Songhe nodded slightly, turned around, and stepped onto the stairs to the second floor.

-

The suitcase, which had been laid flat and wide open before leaving the room, has now been slid up and is standing against the wall.

Jiang Songhe's breathing only relaxed a little after he walked in, his gaze completely covering the small group at the head of the bed, and the figure of the person in pajamas with his back turned.

I still think I might want to eat it.

Jiang Songhe touched the ground heel first, then the tip of her shoe, and walked as quietly as possible to the head of the bed, to the side where her silver hair was buried. Then she bent down and quickly touched her soft hair: "Aren't you hungry? Eat before you sleep."

Jonathan remained silent and motionless.

A while later.

“Look.” Jiang Songhe knelt on one knee on the edge of the bed, one hand supporting herself next to the back of the silver-haired man’s head, the other holding her phone in front of Jonah’s eyes. Her thumb awkwardly slid and tapped on a shopping app page. “The shipping locations are all in Bincheng…”

Jonah stretched slightly and glanced at the screen, lifting his long eyelashes.

Encouraged, Jiang Songhe picked out a giant white conch shell from the display area that he thought met the "beautiful" standard, clicked on it, zoomed in on the picture, and showed the details to Jonathan: "Order today, and it will arrive tomorrow or the day after."

To everyone's surprise, Jonathan chuckled, his chest and back suddenly swelling like an inflating balloon, until they were completely full. He snatched Jiang Songhe's phone, flipped over, and sat up on his knees.

It rose too suddenly and swayed uncontrollably twice, as if it was about to lean backward.

Jiang Songhe didn't have time to wonder and quickly reached out to lift the person up.

Once Jonathan was steadied, he angrily shoved Jiang Songhe away, glared at him, and after panting for a while, flicked his wrist, throwing his phone at Jiang Songhe. The phone was then bounced off his chest muscles and landed on the bed.

For the first time, Jiang Songhe shamelessly and humbly coaxed anyone other than her brother. Although she couldn't bring herself to admit her mistake, she had already pushed herself to the limit. Unexpectedly, instead of getting a favorable response, she was attacked with a cold weapon.

He groaned in pain, instinctively clutching the area where he had been attacked, his anger flaring up: "You motherfucker?! You!!"

After using the word "you" for a long time, no one actually used a stronger word to express it.

"What the hell?!" Jonathan mimicked angrily, "What the hell do I need you to buy some crappy conch shell, Jiang Songhe?!"

Every time Jiang Songhe heard Jonathan address her by her full name so disrespectfully, she didn't feel offended at all. Instead, she had a feeling that Jonathan had caught her out on something, and she suddenly choked up: "..."

"I fucking want to go to Bincheng with you!"

"I fucking want to find a conch shell that looks like an orange rose while I'm beachcombing!"

"I fucking want to deliver it to you in person, by hand!!!"

"You fucking bastard!!!"