Chapter 29 Violent "Our relationship ends here..."

In mid-March, there was still no sign of spring in the Northwest. Everything seemed frozen in ice and snow, the wind was still biting, and the trees were still desolate.

The week before Ji Jiazhen finished filming her scenes, "Desire Angel" was released nationwide.

She didn't finish work until after 8 p.m. that day, and she was filming night scenes the next day, so she had enough rest time during the day.

After returning to the hotel and taking a shower, Wen Siyu noticed that she wasn't sleepy, so he asked her if she wanted to go out and have some fun.

He asked, "Do you want to?", but before she could reply, he had already grabbed his car keys, as if he was certain she would say yes.

Ji Jiazhen didn't ask him where they were going. She changed her clothes and went out with him. When they got to the door, she turned back to get something.

She thought he had found some fun place in the county town again, until she saw the movie theater lights flickering in the darkness.

Perfect Cinema.

The light on the character "美" (beauty) is broken, with only half of it stubbornly and weakly glowing, flickering on and off, as if beckoning.

Ji Jiazhen thought the cinema should be renamed; instead of "Perfect," "Doom" would be more appropriate.

The county town is already underdeveloped, with few young people, and even fewer willing to spend money to watch movies here. I don't know how this cinema has managed to survive to this day.

Wen Siyu didn't say anything, but she knew that he must have been watching the new show that was released today.

She hadn't mentioned it to him, and she hadn't even paid much attention to it herself these past two days; Chen Li was in charge of all the online promotion and sharing.

It was 11:30 p.m., and the outdoor temperature was below zero. On the way here, I didn't see many lights on in the houses, and the movie theater was deserted. Apart from the ticket seller at the front desk, there were only the two of them.

Ji Jiazhen felt that the hat and mask she was wearing were unnecessary. The only staff member at the front desk was doing three jobs: selling tickets, checking tickets, and selling drinks. She was already exhausted. When the two of them came up, she was still dozing off on the table.

When Wen Siyu went to get the tickets, she stood there with her hands in her pockets, watching his back. He was holding her water bottle in his hand. She didn't notice when he had filled it with water and brought it out, but she really didn't drink beverages or milk at night.

He spent a month with her on set and remembered all her habits; he was quite thoughtful.

The theater wasn't big, and at this hour, it was just the two of them. After Wen Siyu sat down, he held her hand, and once he was sure her palm was warm, he let go.

The dragon emblem appears, and the movie begins.

Ji Jiazhen propped her head up as she watched. It had indeed been too long; from the completion of filming to the release of the film, a full three years had passed, and she had almost forgotten the details of the story.

The opening sequence lasted a full three and a half minutes, and the very first scene of the main feature was her face.

close up.

His ambitious eyes stared straight at the camera, his determined gaze sweeping over every viewer looking at the screen. The upturned corners of his mouth were full of smugness, and every micro-expression revealed his persona: a villain who had committed countless evil deeds.

This is her at twenty-two years old.

She sat up straight at that moment.

Life is full of growth and stages. Not everyone can notice the subtle changes at each stage, but you can clearly feel them yourself. Even looking at photos from last year, you might be surprised to find yourself looking like that back then. In the months since her comeback, many people have commented that Ji Jiazhen's face looks exactly the same as it did three years ago. Sometimes she almost believed it herself, until she sat in front of the big screen and looked directly at her 22-year-old self. She realized that time hasn't left any marks on her, but it has definitely taken something away.

At twenty-two, she was arrogant and reckless, acting without considering the consequences. Her ambition was completely open, which made her many enemies. Whenever she encountered a problem, she would call Duan Qiyin.

At twenty-five, she gradually learned to consider the consequences, but she still couldn't shake her impulsive nature. She would act rashly and impulsively, but she would also consider the consequences and take responsibility for her actions. She no longer needed Duan Qiyin to clean up her messes.

So, what exactly has time taken away?

Between asking questions and watching the movie, she chose the latter.

...

The entire film is filled with the word "crime," depicting a life of extravagance, lust, and debauchery. It portrays good people with selfish desires, bad people with genuine hearts, deceit and treachery, police and criminals maneuvering, the truth remaining elusive, and the real culprit escaping justice. This kind of subject matter is one of the reasons why the film is difficult to pass censorship.

Chi Chia-Chen, with a face perfectly suited to the film's title, plays a character in the dark world—an accomplice in human trafficking.

They sell everything for profit, from their bodies to their souls, utterly devoid of humanity.

Even after some of the erotic scenes were cut, the content was still shockingly explicit. When the panting and moaning sounds rang out, Ji Jiazhen turned her head and glanced at Wen Siyu's expression.

He watched intently, completely undisturbed by the fact that one of the main characters on the screen was sitting next to him. He seemed to be still immersed in the character's performance, his expression unchanged.

Seeing how intently he was looking at it, Ji Jiazhen stopped trying to tease him.

When the plot reached the part where she was executed, he adjusted his posture, reached out and took her hand, placing it on her knee.

She looked down for five seconds, neither shaking off nor grasping back.

Her eyes never left the screen until the movie ended.

The people at the cinema were unreliable. They probably didn't want to entertain the two of them in the middle of the night and were eager to get rid of them. The lights came on with only one minute left in the movie. Wen Siyu, however, was completely unaffected and only glanced back at her when the credits rolled.

"You acted very well."

"Thank you for the compliment."

He smiled and touched her flushed cheek with his fingers.

This movie theater is terrible in every way, but the heating works really well.

Ji Jiazhen blocked his wrist, took a sip of the water he offered, and stood up to walk out.

As they left the movie theater, a gust of wind blew in their face, making it even colder than when they arrived. Ji Jiazhen crawled into the car and waited for Wen Siyu to drive.

He started the car and turned on the air conditioning, but didn't start the engine for a while. With his eyes looking ahead and his elbow resting on the window sill, he said, "I'm going back to City A tomorrow. I have something to take care of."

Ji Jiazhen looked at her vague reflection in the rearview mirror and said okay, then asked him, "Are you sleepy?"

Wen Siyu turned his head to look at her, but did not answer. Whether he was sleepy or not depended on her.

Ji Jiazhen took something out of her pocket and showed it to him between two fingers: "If you're not sleepy, go back to the hotel later."

So what she went back to get after leaving the room was a set.

*

The car sped along the highway in the early morning, driving to the Gobi Desert that the film crew had passed through after finishing work once. To the left were the continuous mountain ranges hidden in the darkness, and to the right were the city lights sleeping in the cold night.

They were in the middle of those two, in the desolate wilderness, in the car that had been rear-ended on his first day here, doing something passionate and intimate.

She said he was too fast; he hadn't even held hands with the tent before it was pitched.

He took off her coat, kissed the tip of her nose, then kissed her earlobe, and said, "I can't stand your voice in the movie theater. I'm thinking of ways to make you truly convinced."

Practice proved that he had thought things through, and he did indeed convince her.

In the driver's seat, she sat on his lap, her lower back against the steering wheel, kissing him so intensely she was almost breathless.

In the passenger seat, he adjusted the seat back to make enough space for him to kneel down, then reclined the seat and laid her down as well.

When she got to the back seat, her voice was muffled in her hand, then she bit his arm, her voice gradually turning into a sob.

She then released her emotions, saying, "There isn't a single movie that captures what I looked like at twenty-three and twenty-four."

She harbored resentment over those three years, regretting the wasted youth and the stagnation of her career during that time.

Wen Siyu kissed away the tears at the corner of her eyes and said that from now on, he would hand her all the notebooks.

Ji Jiazhen shook his head and remained silent.

Suddenly, a rumble of thunder sounded from the horizon, and the rain came down in torrents, the downpour pounding against the skylight, the sound drowning out hers.

When Ji Jiazhen was on top, she almost hit her head on the roof and lost her balance. As a result, she couldn't help but put her hand on the car window, leaving a clear handprint, which was quickly washed away by the rain.

Later, she was really exhausted. He held her in his arms and fed her a couple of sips of water. She listened to him whisper sweet nothings in her ear and hear him say he loved her and that he loved her very much.

For the past month, they've shared a room, talking and doing a lot. He talks on and on tirelessly, while she listens with little interest, but he persists, especially tonight.

It must be said that he gave her a night she would never forget.

Perhaps it was because the scene was so unique and the atmosphere so perfect that every word of love he uttered was met with a response from her, even though her attitude remained perfunctory.

"I love you."

"Um."

"The kind of love that makes me want to spend my whole life with you."

"good."

"Ji Jiazhen, I'm not lying. I can't love anyone but you in this life."

"knew."

...

The commotion inside the car and the sudden downpour stopped at the same time.

At that moment, Ji Jiazhen leaned against Wen Siyu's chest, curled up in the seat, closed her eyes and rested for a while before opening the car window a crack for ventilation, and then leaned forward to reach for the cigarette on the center console.

She shook a cigarette out of the pack, and Wen Siyu reached out to her. She gave him the cigarette, took another one for herself, and then turned around. She put the two cigarette butts together, lit them, and stared into his eyes.

He stroked her forehead and said, "Even trials should have a time limit. When will you decide whether she lives or dies?"

"When do you want to go?" she asked him, smoke billowing out as she spoke.

Wen Siyu draped his coat over her shoulders and rolled down the car window halfway. "Now, how is it?"

"OK."

Her answer was so decisive that Wen Siyu was momentarily stunned, his hand, which was flicking ash from his cigarette, paused on the car window, and he forgot what to do.

Are you serious?

Ji Jiazhen raised her eyebrows at him, as if to say, "Of course I'm not joking with you."

He became serious, looking at her and waiting for her to speak.

She brushed a strand of hair from the side of her face and said, "I'll wrap up filming next week. You can go back to City A and take care of your business. You don't need to come over after you're done."

Wen Siyu nodded and said okay.

"After I finish filming, I should fly directly to City C for movie promotion, and then fly to Berlin to attend the film festival. I also have to shoot commercials in between, so I won't have time to go back to City A."

He waited for her to finish speaking.

“I’ve found a new place, not far from yours. You can decide what to do with the things in the house. I want the clothes and jewelry, so please pack them up for me. I’ll send you the address of the new house later, and you can bring them over.” She paused for a moment. “Or if you don’t want to, I can have someone pick them up. You can keep the rest or throw it away, it’s up to you.”

Wen Siyu sensed something was wrong and tightened his grip on her waist. "What do you mean?"

Ji Jiazhen glanced at him and said, “While watching the movie, I kept thinking about a question—what has time taken away from me? I thought about it a lot, about the people I’ve met and the things I’ve experienced over the years. In the end, I figured it out. Instead of thinking about what I’ve lost, I should think about what I’ve gained. Rather than saying that time has taken away my courage, I should say that time has given me the ability to be cautious and careful.”

"so what?"

She laughed, "It seems like I didn't explain it very clearly, so let me just say it directly."

"..."

"That's it for you and me, understand?"

Wen Siyu's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes turned cold, and he called her name, repeating his previous question: "Ji Jiazhen, what do you mean?"

"It means I don't want to play with you anymore. It's over between us, let's cut ties."