24 Chapter 24

He wants the stars to come to him.

The autumn rain lasted for three days.

Three days later, the rain stopped, and Xiao Ji was ready to start filming.

Jiang Hui came early in the morning to say goodbye to them.

"Thank you for your help these past few days, Brother Xiao. I'm all better now, so I won't bother you anymore."

He was clearly much more at ease around Song Jinyu. "Brother Song, I'm going to register at school soon. I bought you a few skins. I'll come visit you when I have time."

Jiang Hui spent every day playing games with Song Jinyu, and Song Jinyu felt a little uneasy when he left.

Xiao Ji had dressed him in a stylish windbreaker outfit today. Upon hearing this, he zipped the jacket up to its maximum. "Since you can't bear to part with him, how about I send you to live with him?"

Song Jinyu felt like he was about to be murdered. He tilted his head back and reached out to hook the zipper, but because he wasn't flexible enough, he tried for a long time and ended up with nothing.

"You stingy person."

He cursed in a veiled way.

Although the weather had cleared up, the temperature wasn't high. Xiao Ji was still wearing his coat. He stuffed Song Jinyu into his pocket and said, "You can stay inside and sleep in the morning. If you feel bored in the afternoon, you can play in the office."

Song Jinyu stayed up watching anime until midnight yesterday, and threw a tantrum when she was dragged out of bed this morning. Hearing what he said, she lay down and, after a while, felt something was a bit uncomfortable. She reached out and touched a bank card.

He opened his pocket and shouted, "Your bank card is poking me, hand me two pieces of paper."

Xiao Ji stuffed in some paper, and then stuffed in a small toy.

The pocket was pitch black. Song Jinyu reached out and held it up. "What's this?"

"To lull you to sleep."

He touched it and found it was a carrot.

Song Jinyu: "..."

Song Jinyu kicked the carrot aside.

He rested his head on the bank card, occasionally hearing Xiao Ji's indifferent voice, which was unhurried even when he was cursing, making it particularly hypnotic.

I woke up around noon.

The sound of the male and female leads talking could be heard outside, indicating that they were filming. Song Jinyu quietly lifted a crack in the door.

Before he could even see clearly, Xiao Ji pulled him out of his pocket.

He was placed on the man's shoulder. Xiao Ji took off his headphones, tilted his head towards him, and said softly, "Can you stay still on my shoulder?"

Song Jinyu had never seen acting before, and upon hearing this, she straightened her back slightly.

The script was sent to Xiao Ji's grandfather after his birthday. The screenwriter and actors were unknown, but Xiao Ji himself had chosen them.

He sat on Xiao Ji's shoulder and watched the male and female leads' scene together. It was a confession scene, filmed from various angles and camera positions, back and forth, which made Song Jinyu feel exhausted.

The assistant brought over coffee, and as she walked over to Xiao Ji, her gaze swept over his shoulder. Just then, during intermission, she couldn't help but ask, "Director Xiao, is that doll on your shoulder yours?"

Xiao Ji said, "It was a doll given to me by a friend. I like it, so I keep it with me."

What kind of friend would give such an exquisite doll as a gift?

Besides, who brings a doll given to them by a friend to a movie shoot?

The doll, dressed in a flamboyant manner, seemed out of place with the aloof Xiao Ji, and the assistant couldn't help but take a second look.

The male lead came over with the script.

His eyes darted around Xiao Ji twice, then he leaned closer, head bowed, and said in a soft voice, "Director Xiao, there's something I don't understand. Can I ask you about it?"

Xiao Ji tilted his head and glanced at him while holding his coffee. "If you can't even understand such a simple emotion, I seriously doubt the true level of your academic qualifications."

The male protagonist's face immediately turned somewhat purple.

In the morning, even a simple scene had to be reshot more than ten times, and even the bitterness of the coffee couldn't suppress Xiao Ji's inner irritation.

He had planned to go to the hospital that night, but now it seems he won't be able to leave.

Thinking of this, his expression grew even colder. "Since I can decide to use you, I can also decide not to use you. My crew doesn't keep useless people. If you can't film, I'll replace you as soon as possible."

“And…” He took the doll off his shoulder, picked up his coffee, and stood up, “put away those inappropriate thoughts.”

office……

Song Jinyu jumped on the table a few times, "I didn't expect you to be so fierce."

When she gets cold-faced, it's kind of scary.

Although Song Jinyu often saw him with a cold face, he could sense that Xiao Ji's cold face in front of him was different from his cold face in front of others. He couldn't quite put his finger on the difference, but at least when Xiao Ji was cold in front of him, Song Jinyu just wanted to tease him as much as he wanted to.

fierce?

As Xiao Ji tidied up his things, he thought about what Song Jinyu had just said. Because Song Jinyu was present, he had already been very careful with his words.

Even though he hasn't been a director for many years, Xiao Ji is incredibly sharp-tongued and doesn't hold back when he's being sarcastic. He's made several actors, big and small, cry.

Before he could answer, Song Jinyu continued, "You were always so polite and gentle at home. I thought you'd be bullied as a director."

Xiao Ji lifted her eyelashes, accepting the "refined" compliment without any hesitation, "There's no way around it, people always have to grow up."

Song Jinyu thought about it and agreed, "It's better to be a little fierce. If you treat others the same way you treat me, you'll be bullied to death."

Seeing that he was a little unsteady, Xiao Ji reached out to support him. His fingers supported the back of the doll, and his slender fingertips wrapped around it from behind, holding the slender neck in a completely controlling posture.

"Song Jinyu, have you ever thought about this question?"

Song Jinyu turned her head blankly.

A man, his clothes reeking of coffee, stood at the table, looking down at him.

"I wasn't born with a good temper; I just gave you all my good temper."

-

Xiao Ji died long ago.

He died in that sewage-filled underground tunnel, when he chewed up rat meat, skin and bones, with his teeth and swallowed it.

It was that little rabbit with the scent of caramel that he kept in his arms that brought him back to life.

He never told anyone that the flowers on his grandmother's balcony were blooming so brightly; the first thing he noticed was the eyes of the neighbor's child.

It's sparkling, like a star.

Xingxing is really called Xingxing. He made him angry and then came to apologize, stuffing his favorite rabbit into his arms.

Later, when they went to fly kites, he knew perfectly well that Song Jinyu, who was only in kindergarten, couldn't push a wheelchair, but he still agreed.

He fell into a ditch and broke his leg; his reward was one star.

Song Jinyu always felt that it was Xiao Ji's fault for breaking his leg, so she followed Xiao Ji around every day, doing everything for him. After school, she would even stop playing her favorite games and cling to Xiao Ji, hoping that he would get better soon.

Xiao Ji used the pocket money his grandmother gave him to buy Song Jinyu's favorite snacks.

Despite his young age, he inherited the good temperament of the Xiao family, and when he lowered his eyes, he always seemed fragile.

Xiao Ji's health was indeed not very good; he would cough after saying just a few words. He was always unconsciously gentle with Song Jinyu.

"It has nothing to do with you, it was my mistake. I was very happy that you took me to fly a kite."

Song Jinyu still had tears in his dimples, but his eyes were glued to the snacks. When Xiao Ji gave him the snacks, he felt that there was no one better than him in the world.

"From today onwards, you will be my best friend, and I promise I will never let anyone bully you."

Human desires can never be satisfied.

He became Song Jinyu's best friend, but not his only friend.

He is always surrounded by people, men and women. There are so many stars in the world, yet they insist on competing with him for his one and only star.

As a result, he sought out the coach more and more often.

The pain and sweat kept him sane.

He maintained his status as a friend, teetering between rationality and collapse, unsure when the increasingly taut string would snap.

Later, Rong Jiao said that they were all still young and needed to calm down.

The plate of dumplings gradually cooled down in front of Xiao Ji. He didn't know how long he sat there before finally finishing the greasy dumplings.

The next day he agreed to Rong Jiao's request.

Having calmed down for over a decade, Xiao Ji had long since calmed down enough.

This time, he's going to try a different approach.

He wants the stars to come to him.

-

Song Jinyu paused for a few seconds, then subconsciously retorted, "What do you mean you're saving your good temper for me? With your dog-like temper, if I didn't have a good temper, I would have beaten you up long ago."

Xiao Ji sat down again, took a sip of coffee, raised a finger, and gently poked the palm-sized doll onto the table.

"How am I supposed to beat you up? With your tiny body that I could easily poke with one finger?"

Song Jinyu sat blankly on the table, seemingly not expecting Xiao Ji to treat him like this. He opened his mouth to make a pig-like squeal when there was a knock on the door.

The assistant said from the doorway, "Director Xiao, everything is ready. They asked me to come and ask when filming will begin."

Xiao Ji lowered his eyes.

Song Jinyu crossed her arms and said, "Even if I'm bored to death today, I won't pay any attention to you."

The man's voice was light and airy, "That was a terrible punishment."

Song Jinyu: "..."

Xiao Ji's mouth should be classified as a controlled weapon.

He said he was ignoring people, and didn't say a word to Xiao Ji until he got home that night.

When she got home, she stopped playing and went to the bedroom to get her little blanket, looking like she was determined not to sleep with someone tonight.

Xiao Ji wasn't in a hurry. He watched as the boy chose a spot in the living room, pulled the blanket over his body, and turned his face away, leaving only his fluffy head in his sight.

Song Jinyu held his breath, listening to the footsteps grow fainter and fainter until they disappeared at the study door. He turned his head and found that Xiao Ji was really gone, leaving him alone in the empty living room.

"..."

No, they just leave without even saying sorry?

His eyes were sore from staring, but Xiao Ji still didn't come out.

Song Jinyu: "..."

Song Jinyu was furious.

The palm-sized doll kicked its legs under the covers for a while, changed positions several times, and finally managed to wed itself into the sofa cushions.

Song Jinyu tried to move, but found that he couldn't get out. He struggled for a while, but instead of getting out, he sank deeper and deeper.

Until Xiao Ji pulled him out.

The man smelled of coffee, which Song Jinyu found repulsive.

"Get out of my way, I don't need your help!"

"Are you still angry?"

The doll left him with a stubborn back of its head.

Xiao Ji reached out and touched the back of his head, his voice flat, "Song Jinyu, I not only have to go to work every day, but I also have to take care of you. I'm already busy enough. When I come back, I still have to see you throwing a tantrum and apologize to you in a humble voice."

The doll in his hands was a little stiff, and its face turned to the side almost imperceptibly.

Xiao Ji continued, "We're just friends. Don't you think what you've done to me has crossed the line of friendship?"

Song Jinyu couldn't help but say, "Where is this going too far? Haven't we always been like this?"

"Do you treat others like this too?"

"..."

He fell silent.

A soft sigh came from Xiao Ji.

"Song Jinyu, you really have no intention of getting the hang of it at all."