Perfume ads

After the three public performances, Yun Heng erupted in conflict with Yu Xiao over his capital-driven first place. She smashed the trophy and hid on the rooftop, filled with disgust at her "stolen victory." Looking at the scattered shards, Yu Xiao began to question for the first time whether his method of using capital to "protect" Yun Heng was fundamentally wrong.

While the controversy lingered, the brand, taking advantage of the couple's popularity and buzz on the show, forced them to endorse a couple's fragrance. The campaign's theme was "Forbidden Heartbeat," and a key shot required the two to stare closely, their noses almost touching. Yun Heng, already extremely resistant to this capital-driven relationship, naturally tensed up at the prospect of such an ambiguous request, frequently making NGs and adding to the tension on set.

In the studio shooting a perfume commercial, the scented mist floated like a veil under the spotlight. Yun Heng stood in front of the white backdrop, his tailored white shirt, perfectly pressed, unable to conceal the tense lines of his shoulders.

"Come closer, come closer!" the director shouted through the megaphone, his voice particularly harsh through the loudspeaker. "Imagine you two are doing a slow dance, your noses almost touching—yes, that's the tension!"

Yun Heng's eyelashes trembled, and she was forced to take a half step forward. Yu Xiao stood opposite him, his black suit making him look even taller. Two buttons of his collar were undone, revealing his collarbone, which glowed coldly in the warm light.

This was already the thirteenth NG. The surrounding staff began to murmur. The makeup artist stood by, clutching her powder box, her eyes filled with anticipation. Yun Heng's fingertips were clenched until white, and her shirt cuffs were darkly stained with sweat.

It wasn't that he couldn't act, but facing Yu Xiao's face, he simply couldn't act the slightest bit friendly. The past, controlled by capital, was like a thorn in his throat, making even breathing painful.

"Take a five-minute break." The director threw down the speaker and turned to negotiate with the brand representative.

Yun Heng immediately took a half step back, creating a safe distance, and snatched the bottle of mineral water from the assistant's hand, guzzling it. The cold liquid slid down her Adam's apple, but it couldn't suppress the irritation in her chest.

"Are you in a difficult situation?" Yu Xiao's voice rang out beside him, with a nonchalant smile. He leaned against the backdrop, twirling a pen between his fingers—the silver one, the one worth enough to buy the entire studio.

"What do you think?" Yun Heng turned away, her tone as cold as ice. "If Mr. Yu feels this isn't exciting enough, why not just tell the brand to change 'close to the tip of the nose' to a French kiss? You don't care what others think anyway."

Yu Xiao paused, his pen resting on his fingertips. He looked up at Yun Heng's reddened ears, a complex emotion flashing through his eyes, like muddied waters.

"Don't make trouble." His voice lowered, with a subtle tension. "This is work."

"Your job is not mine." Yun Heng squeezed the mineral water bottle until it was deformed. "I'm just a trainee who was forced to stay here by you. I can't act out this kind of drama."

Just then, the brand director came over with a polite smile on his face, but his tone was undeniably strong: "Teachers, time is almost up. Let's try to get a pass. The client is still waiting to see the sample."

Yun Heng took a deep breath, his nails digging into his palms. He knew he had no right to refuse. From the day Yu Xiao threatened him with the wheat field, he had become a puppet in his palm.

When Yun Heng returned to the center of the set, his body was as stiff as a piece of iron. The moment the director shouted "start", he forced himself to raise his eyes and look into Yu Xiao's pupils.

There was a bottomless ocean in the other person's eyes, reflecting his tense face. There was not a trace of teasing, only a heavy possessiveness that was almost overflowing.

Yun Heng's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously tried to step back, but Yu Xiao gently grabbed his wrist. The force was light, yet it held him in place with an unbreakable grip, pulling him forward.

The distance between them instantly closed, their breaths mingling. The perfume in the air suddenly became overpowering, almost cloyingly sweet. Yun Heng could clearly smell the cedarwood scent on Yu Xiao, mixed with the rose from the commercial fragrance, forming an extremely aggressive aura that enveloped him like an invisible net.

"Look at me." Yu Xiao's voice was low, so only the two of them could hear it. His warm breath swept across Yun Heng's ear, carrying a hint of dangerous temptation. "Cooperate a little, huh?"

Yunheng's eyelashes trembled violently. Just as she was about to turn away, she heard the other person say in a softer voice, "After this scene, I'll have your grandmother transferred to the VIP ward of a private hospital. I've already contacted the expert team."

These words were like a needle, accurately piercing Yun Heng's soft spot. He looked up suddenly, a trace of shock and humiliation flashing in his eyes, but when he saw the determination in Yu Xiao's eyes, all his resistance waned.

He lost. From the start.

In the face of absolute capital and weakness, his pride and stubbornness are nothing but a joke.

"Very good." A faint smile played at the corner of Yu Xiao's mouth, so quick it was hard to catch. He released Yun Heng's wrist, and his fingertips gently brushed across her Adam's apple. The movement was slow and ambiguous, with a kind of almost pious possession.

The camera captured this scene - Yun Heng's eyelashes drooped, and there was a gleam in his eyes, as if he was enduring and also as if he was moved; Yu Xiao's fingertips rested on his Adam's apple, his eyes were so hot that they seemed to burn through the screen, and there was a smile of determination at the corner of his mouth.

The scented mist in the air just happened to drift by, blurring the outlines of the two people, but making the tension even more deadly.

"Cut! Perfect!" The director excitedly jumped up from the monitor. "That's the feeling! Taboo yet thrilling!"

Yun Heng suddenly stepped back, avoiding Yu Xiao's touch as if he'd been burned, his chest heaving violently. He didn't look at the cheering staff around him, nor did he pay attention to the tissue Yu Xiao handed him. He turned and walked towards the lounge.

The pale light in the corridor cast a shadow on his panicked figure. Yun Heng rushed into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on his face, trying to suppress the heat on his face and the humiliation in his heart.

The self in the mirror had red eyes, tightly pursed lips, and the touch of Yu Xiao's fingertips still remained on his neck, like an invisible brand.

He recalled the appearance of his grandmother's hospital room - a small space, mottled walls, and the coughing sounds from the bed next to him that continued all night. He had always wanted to save money to move his grandmother to a better hospital room, but he never thought that this would be the way to achieve it.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text message from an unfamiliar number, with a photo attached—a panoramic view of a private hospital VIP ward, spacious and bright, with a vast lawn outside the window. The sender had only two words: Yu Xiao.

Yun Heng stared at the photo, his eyes suddenly sore. He clicked on the reply box and typed for a long time, but in the end he just deleted all the words and put the phone back in his pocket.

When the door to the lounge was pushed open, Yu Xiao was leaning on the sofa, talking on the phone. He calmly instructed his assistant, "Schedule the expert's consultation for next Monday... Yes, keep it confidential."

Seeing Yun Heng come in, he hung up the phone, picked up an unopened bottle of mineral water from the table and handed it to her: "Are you tired? I asked my assistant to order some food."

Yunheng didn't answer the call or say anything. He just walked to the other end of the sofa and sat down, curling up into a ball like a wounded little animal.

The lounge fell into silence, with only the cold air from the air conditioner blowing.

After a long while, Yun Heng finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "Yu Xiao, what do you want?"

Yu Xiao raised his eyes and his gaze fell on his tense profile: "What's going on?"

"Is it fun to force me to cooperate this way?" Yun Heng's voice trembled. "Using my grandmother's illness, the wheat fields in my hometown, everything I care about to threaten me... Don't you think this is very fulfilling?"

Yu Xiao frowned and put down the pen in his hand: "I just want to help you."

"Your help means turning me into your property?" Yun Heng suddenly raised her head, the bloodshot eyes spreading like spiderwebs. "You want me to be like a puppet, cooperating with you in the role of a couple, accepting the victory you've bought with your money, and living in a cage you've built with your capital?"

Yu Xiao was speechless. Looking at Yun Heng's red eyes, his heart felt like it was being tightly gripped, causing a dull pain. He opened his mouth, wanting to say "That's not the case," but found that any explanation seemed pale and powerless.

He really wanted to help Yun Heng, wanted him to live a better life, wanted him to stop worrying about money and stop being bullied. But the way he did it was like a blunt knife, bit by bit cutting into the other person's pride and dignity.

"I'm sorry." Yu Xiao's voice was very soft, with a hint of panic that he himself didn't even notice. "Regarding the ward...if you don't like it, I can try another way..."

"No need." Yun Heng interrupted him, her voice as cold as ice, "Let it be. I'm almost done anyway. After the finals, I'll leave here and go back to my hometown to grow my wheat. Then, Master Yu, you won't have to bother 'helping' me anymore."

After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the door. When he reached the door, he stopped, but did not look back. He just whispered, "I will cooperate with the filming of the commercial, but that's all."

The door was gently closed, isolating the two worlds.

Yu Xiao sat in the empty lounge, the warmth of Yun Heng's Adam's apple still lingering on his fingertips, burning and numb. He looked at the unopened bottle of mineral water on the table and suddenly felt a sense of incomparable irony.

He thought that he had built a protective shield with his capital, but he never imagined that in Yun Heng's eyes, it was just a gilded cage.

And he, the self-righteous guardian, eventually became the most hurtful executioner.

Sunlight streamed in through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Yu Xiao pulled out his cigarette case, his fingertips trembling so much he couldn't light a cigarette. For the first time, he realized with such clarity that some things simply couldn't be bought with money.

For example, Yunheng's smile, the light in his eyes, and the pure trust without any calculation.

And all of these seemed to have been destroyed by his own hands.

The shoot continues, the two people in the camera still working in perfect harmony, their eyes meeting with each other, seemingly filled with endless affection. But only they themselves know that beneath that ambiguous surface lies an unfathomable chasm, separating capital and ideals, control and freedom, and two hearts that are drifting apart.

This forced endorsement ultimately became another straw that broke the camel's back in their relationship, making the already tense situation even more precarious.