Chapter 43: Supporting and Slapping in the Face

"Jiang Jiaoming?" Liang Kongxiang slid down and disappeared into the water, a layer of white foam covering her collarbone.

No one answered her from outside the door. Liang Kongxiang frowned as she looked at the dark figure. It was obvious that the figure was neither her grandmother nor her mother, but she called out to him twice without receiving a response.

Just as Liang Kongxiang was about to get up, the dark figure suddenly reached out and pressed down on the doorknob.

She sat back down helplessly, but the person outside seemed to just place their hand on the doorknob and made no further move.

...What exactly does he want to do?

The dark figure calmed down, and Liang Kongxiang glanced at the bath towel beside her. Just as she was standing up from the bathtub, the doorknob was pressed down again.

The door opened this time.

A sliver of light peeked out and hit the tip of Jiang Jiaoming's slippers at an angle. He heard another splash from the bathroom; she must have sat back down.

Jiang Jiaoming stood at the doorway, only able to vaguely make out the outline of his own body through the door panel; nothing else was clear. However, he knew the material of this type of door. Liang Kongxiang could see the figures outside from the inside, and he couldn't imagine how annoyed she was right now. Just thinking about her beautiful face and her angry expression made him restless.

Thinking about this, Jiang Jiaoming couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Jiang Jiaoming," Liang Kongxiang said helplessly. The dark figure outside the door trembled, and with that laugh, she understood perfectly well. He was deliberately trying to scare her.

She simply stood up, walked barefoot straight to the door, and dripping water flowed down her calves, leaving a trail.

"You..." Before she could finish speaking, "Bang!" the door slammed shut. Liang Kongxiang frowned. What exactly did he want?

"Why aren't you dressed?" He spoke from outside the door in the tone of a respectable young man, harshly reprimanding Liang Kongxiang's behavior. His voice was casual as he criticized her: "This is indecent behavior, you know?"

Liang Kongxiang went back to dry herself off and changed into a bathrobe. Jiang Jiaoming's muffled voice came through the door.

"I was in a good mood just now, so I won't pursue this further. Keep it up, understand?"

"I don't understand." Liang Kongxiang opened the door.

Jiang Jiaoming leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed. When he saw me come out, he stared at me and glanced at me from head to toe: "Wow."

He suddenly reached out towards Liang Kongxiang's chest, but Liang Kongxiang instinctively dodged, and Jiang Jiaoming's hand missed. He smiled and flicked her forehead: "Are you dodging a dog?" Then he beckoned with his finger: "Come here."

"What are you doing?" Liang Kongxiang didn't think he was going to do anything serious, but he still took a step forward.

Jiang Jiaoming pulled her into his arms, his other hand holding two fingers of her clothes at her chest, slowly folding one side of the fabric over the other, completely covering her neckline. His fingertips lightly brushed against her, "If you don't want to lose sleep all night, cover yourself up a bit more."

As he spoke, his head lowered further and lower, his breath spraying onto her collarbone. Just as their lips were about to touch, Liang Kongxiang laughed and pushed his face away: "Jiang Jiaoming, can you have some shame?"

"Isn't it here?" He bumped his cheek against Liang Kongxiang's lips and clicked his tongue. "Oh, this face has been stolen for a kiss."

This left Liang Kongxiang completely helpless, unsure how to deal with him. She could only purse her lips and look up at him, not giving him any opportunity to take advantage.

"If you can't even handle this, what will you do in the future, hmm?" Jiang Jiaoming smiled, kissed her glaring eyes, and sighed, "How can you be so cute even when you're angry?"

"If you keep talking like this, it'll be dawn soon." Liang Kongxiang patted his lower back, telling him to relax. "Go to sleep, you have a dinner party tomorrow."

She threw back the covers, turned around, and saw Jiang Jiaoming standing there without coming over. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Sleep." Jiang Jiaoming looked at her for two seconds, then suddenly said, "I'm going back to my room to sleep."

They've kissed and hugged, and now he's trying to play the virtuous man: "I'm not one of those promiscuous young men out there. I'll always protect my innocence for my future wife, understand?"

"Whatever." Liang Kongxiang didn't understand what trick he was up to this time. When she lay down on the bed, she thought he would do what he always did, just say something, or add something like, "But I see from your expression that you really want my hug, so I'll reluctantly sleep with you," and then he would move closer to her and continue kissing and hugging her. But he actually left.

"Goodnight, wife," Jiang Jiaoming said softly before closing the door.

Liang Kongxiang looked at the doorway, smiled, lay down, tucked the blanket around her neck, and was enveloped in warmth. She suddenly realized that what used to be a huge hole in her heart, from which water flowed endlessly, was now being repaired and filled by something.

When I woke up, it was already bright outside the window, and the white light shone through the thin gauze, illuminating the room.

I glanced at the time; it was already noon.

Liang Kongxiang got out of bed to wash up, and while brushing her teeth, she unlocked her phone and saw a text message Jiang Jiaoming had sent her at 7:30 that morning: "I went to the market with your grandma."

The nanny usually goes to buy it, why did you go to buy it yourself today?

She wiped her face, changed into a beige loungewear set, and as soon as she stepped out, she heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

"Oh my, Xiao Jiang, your cooking looks pretty good."

"It's alright. Please sit and wait."

"It's okay, I'm not tired. It's rare to have someone at home to talk to. Can you just let me stand? Am I bothering you?"

"No, then I'll bring over a chair so you can sit down and we can chat."

Jiang Jiaoming wiped his hands with a tissue and was about to go out to get a chair when he turned around and saw Liang Kongxiang standing in the living room, smiling at him.

He raised an eyebrow and walked over: "Awake?"

"Hmm, why are you up so early?" She glanced at the kitchen. "Did Grandma knock on your door?"

"No, I woke up early. There's no reason for a son-in-law to sleep in on his first day at his new home." He really acted like a son-in-law meeting his mother-in-law, saying, "I had my assistant order some gifts. Some of the jewelry isn't available in China, so they'll be delivered later."

"There's no need to buy this random stuff," she said helplessly. "They don't like it."

"Whether you like it or not is one thing, but your intentions are another. Don't worry, I ordered a painting for your mother, she should like it." Jiang Jiaoming took her hand: "Come and eat."

Although Liang Kongxiang had just woken up and didn't have much of an appetite, she still filled a bowl with the familiar aroma of food.

Jiang Jiaoming had a lot of things to do back in China, a pile of work waiting for his approval. After lunch, he went back to the company. Liang Kongxiang stayed in her room, looking at scripts on her computer. Recently, more and more scripts had been sent to Chen Yun, but good projects were few and far between. The film market was becoming increasingly sluggish, with many big-budget productions that looked glamorous from afar but were rotten up close.

Back in college, Jiang Jiaoming had discussed with her that movie stars are just a product of capitalists in the film industry chain. In the current environment, there aren't many people who truly love movies. There are good scripts, but they're often mismatched and can't find good production teams. Good production teams need to be backed by big investors, and capitalists are always arrogant. They never stoop down to understand the masses, so how can they understand the reasons for low box office? They just attribute the result to the audience's lack of taste.

The scripts in her email were all a bit lacking, so she simply closed them. She then checked her schedule. Although the movie night in a few days wasn't a professional award, she still had to give the platform face. Besides, filming had just wrapped up, and the movie needed exposure, so she had to attend.

Tian Lei, as both the investor and director, will also be present.

She had already foreseen the bloodshed that day.

Her impression of this young girl was still that she was harmless and well-behaved. In fact, she didn't seem like a bad person. However, since she was new to the entertainment industry, she was inevitably tempted and instigated by others.

In the evening, as she was opening the wardrobe, Jiang Jiaoming called.

Are you home?

"Hmm." Liang Kongxiang picked out a long, flowing knitted cardigan and sheer skirt. "What's wrong?"

"I have two meetings to attend, so I can't leave. I sent Xiao Lin over to go with you." He glanced at his watch, and while on the phone, he texted Wang Jianbo to tell him not to wait, as something came up and he couldn't make it. If he hadn't mentioned it, everyone might have been waiting until who knows how late.

“Okay,” the wrap party wasn’t really a big deal for Jiang Jiaoming, and Liang Kongxiang told him to stay at the company: “No need to make a special trip.”

"If Xiang Hang can go, why can't I?"

"Why are you dragging other people into this again?" Liang Kongxiang chuckled and surrendered, no longer trying to persuade him. "Remember to eat something to fill your stomach, the party will be over by the time you get here."

"Wait for me in the private room after the show. Call me immediately if you run into trouble, understand?" Jiang Jiaoming's instructions were not without reason. This was in Gongtai City, and the place Wang Jianbo booked was a restaurant frequented by people in the industry. Her career was booming, and she was short of a bodyguard. Who knew what kind of trouble she might run into?

"Okay," Liang Kongxiang replied and hung up the phone.

The restaurant reservation was at Min Ru Banquet, next to which stood a landmark building in Gongtai City, its white spire soaring into the clouds.

The glass corridor leading to the private room runs through a lush green forest. Liang Kongxiang, carrying a small handbag, followed behind the waiter, stepping on the openwork glass. A faint, warm golden light filtered through the rustling green leaves, gently illuminating her face, giving her a soft and elegant aura.

"Miss Liang, we've arrived." The waiter stepped aside in front of the private room with the room number written on it, bowing slightly.

Liang Kongxiang smiled at her and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

As I pushed open the door, a faint smell of smoke drifted in.

Wang Jianbai, who was stubbing out a half-smoked cigarette between two fingers, looked up and saw Liang Kongxiang push the door open and enter. He was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "Well, I put out this cigarette just in time."

"What troubles could possibly warrant a cigarette, Mr. Wang?" Liang Kongxiang sat down two seats next to him and placed her bag behind her.

"It's not that I'm upset, it's just a pity that President Jiang didn't come."

Liang Kongxiang smiled, just as the door was pushed open again, and this time there were four or five men and women coming in.

"Wow, you're all here so early?" Kong Jingying was fully armed as soon as she returned to China, with her sunglasses pushed up to her head and her mask pulled down to her chin. "When I bumped into Xiang Hang outside, I thought he was early enough."

"Elite Sister," Liang Kongxiang greeted her, her gaze passing over her to the tall girl behind her with a high ponytail, and she called out with a smile, "Xiao Gao."

“…Hmm?” Gao Ling moved two steps to the left from behind Kong Jingying and smiled, “Sister Kong Xiang.”

"Mm." Liang Kongxiang nodded. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it's been a long time. I was so envious when you guys switched groups." As she spoke, she lively moved closer to Liang Kongxiang and sat down to reminisce.

Wang Jianbai was somewhat surprised by Liang Kongxiang's initiative to make friends. He took a sip of water without showing any emotion, wondering what kind of interest chain she had gotten involved in, whether she had simply made friends with someone, or whether she was doing something for Jiang Jiaoming.

"Where's Director Cao?" Gao Ling asked.

As soon as she finished speaking, Cao Lengyu pushed open the door and came in. She was wearing a purple windbreaker, and her hair was neatly tied up, leaving only a small tail at the back of her head.

Liang Kongxiang jokingly pointed to the door: "Hmm. The artist you've been thinking about has arrived."

"What artist?" Cao Lengyu casually tapped her head with her phone, sat down between Liang Kongxiang and Wang Jianbai, and greeted Gao Ling in a low voice when she glanced at her.

Gao Ling pursed her lips, and the sweet "Director Cao" she was about to say was swallowed back down her throat.

Liang Kongxiang joked, "Even if you're not an artist, you still have the ability to make Xiao Gao so infatuated. She's been idolizing you since filming started. I'm only getting special attention from Xiao Gao because of you." After she finished speaking, she looked at Gao Ling with a gentle expression and said, "Don't you think so, Xiao Gao?"

“…Yes.” Gao Ling’s mind went blank for a moment, a buzzing sound. She looked at Liang Kongxiang’s smiling face and felt that although her eyes were smiling, she wasn’t really smiling. Her excited nerves were suddenly snapped, and her interest clearly waned. She stopped trying to engage in conversation and just sat quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words with Kong Jingying.

The camera director and art director were old acquaintances of Cao Lengyu. After a few rounds of drinks, they began to reminisce about the past and remarked that life was getting better and better.

The cameraman's face was flushed. He rested his elbow on the table, his wrist weakly gripping a half-empty glass of baijiu. He became emotional as soon as he spoke, the liquor swirling in the glass and nearly spilling several times: "Back then! When Tian Lei and Wu Lin were driving us to our doom, I thought I was doomed. But heaven rewards the diligent. As long as we persevere and have the willpower, we will definitely...we will achieve great things in the future! Cheers!"

He let out a loud burp, blinked hard, shook his head to stay sober, poured himself another glass, and raised it to Wang Jianbai. When the men drank, they inevitably engaged in lively conversation, discussing politics and the future.

Cao Lengyu's face was flushed from drinking, with a few strands of hair falling across her cheeks. She leaned back lazily in her chair, arms crossed, and let out a long sigh, her breath reeking of alcohol.

Liang Kongxiang frowned, took out two tissues and handed them to her, leaning closer to whisper a reminder: "You'll have an allergic reaction if you drink too much."

"Are you happy?" Cao Lengyu wiped her mouth and suddenly turned her head to blow a breath precisely into Liang Kongxiang's nose.

Liang Kongxiang stepped back a little, bent her index finger and held it horizontally under her nose, and said with a smile, "How come you're just like Jiang Jiaoming?"

When he was drunk, he would blow on her or forcefully kiss her with his own liquid in his mouth. If she choked, he would kiss her cheek and laugh, saying that if she couldn't even swallow such a small amount of stimulating liquid, what would she do if she swallowed other liquids?

Thinking of this, Liang Kongxiang smiled helplessly and glanced at her phone. Jiang Jiaoming was probably still busy and hadn't sent her a message.

Knock knock. The waiter knocked on the door and came in, his hands slightly folded in front of him. He slowly walked up to Liang Kongxiang and said in a low voice, "Hello, Miss Liang, a young master Zhao from the next private room wants to invite you to have a drink."

Liang Kongxiang frowned: "Young Master Zhao?"

"Yes. He said he is the nephew of Mr. Tian from River Films and wanted to catch up with you."

"Okay. I understand. Thank you for your hard work." Liang Kongxiang nodded lightly.

The pretense of reminiscing was just a pretense; the real intention was to stir up conflict.

She had no connection whatsoever with the young master surnamed Zhao; she was most likely using Tian Lei's name to humiliate herself. This wine was neither safe to drink nor could she refuse it.

"That brat Zhao Yingrui dares to make such a big show?" Cao Lengyu sneered, stood up, and seemed to want to go through alone.

Liang Kongxiang calmly took her wrist. "Sit down. I'll be back in five minutes."

“Tracing the root of the problem is my business. Don’t get involved.” Cao Lengyu pulled her hand away and started to walk forward.

"Elite Sister, please help me hold her."

Cao Lengyu already had grievances against people like Tian Lei, and now that she was drunk, she might act impulsively.

The others sat quietly, offering no opinions. These two powerful forces were not ones they could easily align themselves with; it was best to keep their distance to avoid getting involved. Kong Jingying, hearing Liang Kongxiang call her name, paused for a moment before coming over and pulling Cao Lengyu away.

“I’ll go with you.” Wang Jianbai straightened his cuffs and stood up. It was obvious Liang Kongxiang was Jiang Jiaoming’s mistress, and Jiang Jiaoming had deliberately revealed this to him—wasn’t this a subtle hint that he should pay more attention to Liang Kongxiang? If something happened to Liang Kongxiang while he was with her today, Jiang Jiaoming would definitely hold him accountable. Besides, he didn’t intend to show too much favoritism; after all, the other side was also an industry leader, and there was no need to be a villain on both sides.

As soon as Wang Jianbai opened his mouth, Liang Kongxiang knew what he was planning. She smiled and said, "Alright, I'll get on your good side and get in touch with Young Master Zhao."

"Oh." Wang Jianbai waved his hand and smiled.

The waiter led the two to a secluded spot and stopped outside a private room with a black door framed with gold trim and fresh flowers adorning the entrance.

The door was half-open, and the air inside reeked of alcohol. A drunk man sat down at the table, his feet on a black cushioned chair, a cigarette between his fingers. He turned his head at the sound, and instead of getting off the table, he arrogantly crossed his legs and glanced at her sideways: "Oh, Liang Yinghou is here."

"Young Master Zhao," Wang Jianbai said, walking ahead of Liang Kongxiang with a glass of wine in his hand, "going out for drinks with beautiful women without inviting me, isn't that a bit unfair?"

Seeing his expression, Liang Kongxiang smiled faintly. This kind of playboy was not in her sight: "Young Master Zhao, you have always been popular. There are so many drinking buddies sitting around. It won't be a big deal if I'm not here tonight. I won't drink with you."

Zhao Yingrui was momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected her to be so bold. Most people would come over and offer smiles and drinks to settle things, so why was she standing there looking down on him?

Before he could even speak, the person next to Zhao Yingrui, who was staring at his phone, suddenly said, "Damn, Jiang Jiaoming is here."

The person next to me asked, "Mr. Jiang from Zaiying Film Industry? Isn't he absent?"

"Xiao Lin said he's coming to our private room."

“President Jiang?” Zhao Yingrui frowned, jumped off the table, straightened his clothes, and tidied his hair. “Quickly invite him in and tell him there’s a good show for him.”

I heard that Jiang Jiaoming openly dislikes Liang Kongxiang. If this play goes well, he might be so happy that the two film and television companies will break the ice, and he will be the biggest contributor.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yingrui warned Liang Kongxiang again: "Don't be ungrateful. The people coming in later won't be as easy to talk to as I am. If you obediently accompany them for a drink, we'll be even. Otherwise, you'll suffer."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a steady voice came from the doorway.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Jiang Jiaoming, dressed in a suit and tie, stood ramrod straight, his leather shoes making a dull thud on the floor as he slowly approached.

He casually walked behind Liang Kongxiang, his tall body looming over her. He raised his left hand and loosely put his arm around her shoulder, looking at Zhao Yingrui with an extremely imposing gaze.

"Then tell me, what kind of suffering do you want my wife to endure?"

-----------------------

Author's note: Jiang Jiaoming (pinching Liang Kongxiang's face): Quickly say that line.

Liang Kongxiang: Which sentence?

Jiang Jiaoming: Just that sentence.

Liang Kongxiang: Which sentence?

Jiang Jiaoming: Say it, my husband is Jiang Jiaoming.

Upon hearing this, Liang Kongxiang chose to drink with Young Master Zhao.