What are your bodyguards doing?
"President Jiang, the results of the poll for the OST singer of 'Yan Ge Xing' are in! The post with the most reposts, comments, and likes is better than the others..."
Jiang Songhe, who hadn't slept for almost 40 hours, watched the bus carrying Jiang Songyun drive away. When she took a deep breath, she was choked by the exhaust fumes. She held her breath and walked to the other end of the parking lot before finally asking Lin Duole on the phone, "Uh, who is it?"
Lin Duole, probably worried that the boss hadn't heard of the idol singer he was about to mention, who had absolutely no connection with the Chinese film and television industry, announced the name with a slightly limp voice: "Janus."
"Who?! Cough cough cough cough..." The magical attack from the exhaust fumes had a strong aftereffect.
"President Jiang, it's been so long, and you're still not better from your cold?!" Lin Duole asked worriedly.
Jiang Songhe grumbled as he pulled out a pack of wet wipes from his pocket, took one out to wipe his lips, and after relieving his cough and wheezing, he held it in his palm and rubbed his knuckles with one hand in an disorderly manner: "I'm fine, you can continue."
"Although Janus has been developing his career in Man'er, he's a native of China, so there shouldn't be any problems with him singing the Chinese OST for 'Yan Ge Xing.' Moreover, he's recently preparing to transition into a singer-songwriter, and it's said his first original single is even aiming for a Grammy! If we can also acquire the film and television rights to Janus's single, wouldn't that perfectly align with 'Yan Ge Xing' being a transformative work for Teacher Jiang?!"
Jiang Songhe casually tossed the crumpled wet wipe into a roadside trash can and walked straight toward the main gate of the park. After listening to Lin Duole's long, enthusiastic recommendation, she rubbed her temples and asked, "You know so much about him, are you a fan too?"
"Oh? That's right! Teacher Jiang is also a fan of Janus! Wow, this is a dream collaboration!"
Hearing the ecstatic voice on the phone, Jiang Songhe wanted to make an objective and calm decision from the professional perspective of a project producer, but he was really not in the right state of mind at the moment.
My brain was suddenly attacked by that name, and then it went completely out of control, with all my thoughts filled with absurd and nonsensical things about the person who owned the name...
After leaving the park, Jiang Songhe gestured to the street to flag down a taxi. His immediate priority was to get back to the hotel and catch up on sleep. Only after getting enough rest could he return to a normal state of mind.
"Let's contact the top three most popular participants first and let them know..." Jiang Songhe closed the back door of the taxi, "the time for fulfilling the promised benefits."
"Received, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Songhe slumped back in his chair, already starting to doze off. The driver turned at an intersection, and as he eased off the accelerator, the car jerked, and Jiang Songhe was pulled so hard by the centripetal force that he slumped and bumped his head.
Looking down, he realized his phone, which was resting on his lap, was still on a call. So he brought the phone to his ear again, cleared his hoarse throat, and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Um... Mr. Jiang, 'contacting the top three' means exactly what it says, right? And it's not some other meaning I came up with, is it?"
"Otherwise what?" Jiang Songhe was getting a little annoyed by Lin Duole's hesitant and tentative probing.
"Exactly, you haven't said whether you want to continue moving forward. If you don't explain it clearly to me, I don't know how to report to my boss. If I don't report to my boss, we can't go through the process, and going through the process takes time for approval. The release dates for the film lists on various platforms are coming up soon..."
Jiang Songhe took a deep breath, suppressing her anger and trying to make her clenched teeth less obvious: "Get to the point."
"Have you taken a liking to Janus, Mr. Jiang? Humble Xiaolin is waiting online, and it's getting urgent..."
"..." Jiang Songhe choked on a mouthful of blood. After a while, he finally couldn't suppress his gritted teeth and said, "I'll think about it. Wait for my reply."
"Got it, Mr. Jiang! I'll go contact Mr. Jiang now! Please take good care of yourself, Mr. Jiang!" Lin Duole hurriedly hung up the phone.
Jiang Songhe: "...?"
-
The agent's phone is always on 24/7. Jiang Songhe dozed off the whole way in the taxi, but didn't get a good night's sleep.
The flashing lights shone through the car window onto Jiang Songhe's eyelids, alternating between red and blue, accompanied by the car horn's "Oh oh oh".
"Holy moly! What happened here?" The driver stuck his head, which was wrapped in a headscarf, out the window and peeked out, intercepting a passerby's gossip with an exclamation.
"Somebody jumped from the top floor..."
"Shhh... Oh sorry, sir. I'm afraid you'll have to get off here because the road is blocked..."
A loud bang startled the driver who turned around to warn him.
"The police cars..." The driver, looking bewildered, gave the final reminder to the back seat where there were only a few banknotes on the floor.
Buzz—
The incessant buzzing sound pierced back and forth between his temples, a sound Jiang Songhe knew all too well.
On the morning of the Spring Festival in 2008, from the moment Jiang Songhe answered the call from the police station to identify the body, the thought kept echoing in his mind all day. Even his younger brother's birthday, February 7th, would become the background noise in his midnight dreams every year afterward.
This year it was almost half a month earlier.
The sound was like an airtight cover, blocking out his hearing. Jiang Songhe could only hear his own heavy, disordered breathing.
The red and blue flashes became increasingly dazzling, and Jiang Songhe slowed down, stopping outside the circle of onlookers.
He tried with difficulty to swallow his saliva, but he couldn't; his throat was so tight that it wouldn't budge.
"Ugh." Jiang Songhe suddenly turned around, facing away from the crowd, and bent over with her hands on her knees, but nothing came out.
Cold sweat trickled down his back, and his heart pounded wildly, defiantly exposing Jiang Songhe's cowardice. The sense of impending death that he had been trying so hard to avoid rose like a tide, inch by inch, from the soles of his feet.
In the end, he did not look in that direction.
Jiang Songhe felt as if he were walking on floating clouds as he entered the lobby of the Tang Dynasty Hotel with difficulty. He leaned against the wall to reach the elevator, swiped his card, and entered the elevator car.
The elevator doors closed, the metallic glint of which flashed briefly on the sign outside. The sign, written in both English and Chinese, read: "Dear guests, this elevator will be undergoing maintenance from 10 PM today to 6 AM tomorrow. For your safety, please use..."
His fingertips trembled uncontrollably. Several times he aimed at the top button, but repeatedly missed the one on the side. Jiang Songhe had to use his other hand to support his wrist and hold it tightly for assistance.
The button was successfully pressed and lit up, and the elevator slowly ascended to the top floor.
Ding, the elevator door opens.
At first glance, the once tranquil and beautiful rooftop garden is now completely occupied by swarms of uniformed men in black uniforms.
Jiang Songhe straightened his shoulders, calmed his breathing, and walked towards the suite door with a composed demeanor.
A rough voice came from inside room A, most likely police officers questioning him. Jiang Songhe tried his best to listen but still couldn't make out the details, only managing to catch some keywords intermittently.
"Contestant elimination", "following the cleaning staff", "hiding", "infrared alarm", "murder"...
The buzzing and heartbeats of the struggle inside the enclosure instantly ceased, leaving only the lingering sound of Jiang Songhe gasping for breath.
“…surveillance video…fully cooperate…” A weak voice came from inside the room. Although it was spoken in English, it was enough to make Jiang Songhe’s heart start beating again.
There was no sound of conversation inside for a long time. After a while, a team of police officers filed out of room A.
Jiang Songhe stood motionless in place, brushing past the continuous black clouds against the current.
Until the last few police officers cleared the view of the opposite door, the silver-haired figure appeared at the end of the room. Their eyes met, and they approached step by step. When they came to each other, Jiang Songhe still did not move.
"You're back?" Jonathan's thin lips were deathly pale, yet a smug, irritating smile curved his lips. "You almost disappeared, haha~~"
"Haha" my foot.
When Jonathan said "just a little bit," he seemed afraid that Jiang Songhe wouldn't understand exactly how small it was, so he raised his hand and pinched his index finger and thumb together, leaving a tiny gap that was almost negligible.
His smile was infuriating, and his gestures were even more so.
Jiang Songhe was furious, so furious that the corpse seemed to warm up a little.
He turned his stiff neck, tilting his face downwards, and saw a forearm that was scraped and bloody.
It's on the left again.
A surge of anger welled up inside Jiang Songhe, and like a zombie rising from the dead, he grabbed her wrist, which had very little contact surface.
Didn't he want me to hold his hand properly?
How am I supposed to lead a horse when it's always courting death?
How can you hold onto someone who's already dead?
...
Thinking of this, Jiang Songhe realized that his mental capacity was currently low, and all he was thinking about was absurd nonsense. The person in his hand had never personally mentioned any "holding hands" request; it all happened in the erotic fantasies that made him break his vows, and he had no standing whatsoever.
“If you do that, it will hurt a little.” Jonathan blinked and shook his wrist against Jiang Songhe’s lock.
There is no such thing as "If you do this, I won't feel any pain."
Once again, Jiang Songhe was at Jonathan's place when he remembered the only pet he had ever owned in his life, the chick that he had personally crushed to death.
He even began to suspect that the chick was truly crippled and dying, and whether ending its suffering was all a memory alteration he had made to cover up his twisted possessiveness. In reality, his way of expressing affection would ultimately only result in harm...
"What's wrong with you?" Jonathan raised his other hand, first waving it in front of Jiang Songhe's eyes, and then reaching towards his forehead.
Jiang Songhe instinctively slapped the hand away, but then realized what was happening and was startled. She immediately let go and took a step back.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of the elevator starting up behind me, followed by the sound of someone running.
The next second, Jiang Songhe felt his right arm being forcefully twisted and his left shoulder being tightly gripped.
"Get out!" A deep voice brushed past Jiang Songhe's ear, indicating that someone with the right to protect Jonathan had arrived.
With his adrenaline surging, Jiang Songhe slid down on one leg, twisted his upper body and lowered his head. As he freed himself, he stepped on Vasin's opposite foot and suddenly raised the leg that had invaded his lower limb triangle area, delivering a steady, accurate and ruthless blow.
The beast-like man crashed to the ground, and Jiang Songhe countered with a grappling move, then pulled back his knees and stood up.
"What kind of bodyguard are you?"
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