Chapter 65
An Jing discovered that he had an advantage, which was that he was a good actor.
This talent for pretending came from kindergarten. He clearly remembered skipping classes with his classmates to go to the school supermarket to buy snacks. On the way, they met the director of the Moral Education Department. The classmates were so scared that they spoke incoherently, but he knew without a doubt that the director could not have followed them, so he lied and said he was in physical education class.
This personality trait has been maintained to this day. Even after being assaulted by Zhang Zhimin, he can still act like nothing happened and remain calm while having dinner with An Xingmin at the table.
The fear, pain, and anger that was like an abyss filled An Jing, so much so that his meal that night tasted bland. An Xingmin asked, "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
"I don't feel well." An Jing's face turned pale, and his mind involuntarily thought of the afternoon, and a feeling of resistance and disgust arose in his heart.
He took two more mouthfuls of rice. Maybe it was because of his mood, but even his father's best-cooked scrambled eggs with tomatoes looked like a mixture of virgin blood and shit.
An Jing suddenly overturned the dishes on the table, and the porcelain bowl broke into pieces on the ground. The dishes were lying on the ground, obviously dirty.
He cried helplessly, and An Xingmin frowned at his sight, but remained silent. When he was tired of crying, he asked coldly, "Why don't you tell me the reason and see how I'll deal with you."
"I..." An Jing raised his eyes, his eyes red. He wanted to vent all the grievances he suffered in the afternoon. He wanted his father to avenge him and help him deal with Zhang Zhimin.
But as the bad guys wished, An Jing couldn't say it out loud, nor could he reveal his shameful scars to others in order to gain sympathy.
Even when facing his father, those painful words and An Xingmin's strong and cold expression were enough to make An Jing shut up, remain silent, and even bear it alone.
This is also what his family education has instilled in him since he was a child, to constantly strive for self-improvement.
So, An Jing clenched his teeth, not seeking comfort, but with hatred and resentment. He changed the subject and said, "I just remembered a lot of past events, for example, it was actually you who pushed Mom away step by step, and you didn't care."
An Xingmin pouted, knowing his child was old enough to talk back at him. He didn't even want to explain too much; after all, he had just asked an actress to talk about a movie today, and Tao Yunzhou and the like were already out of his mind.
"I can only say that you're still young, and I don't want to teach you so many complicated things right now." An Xingmin leaned back in his recliner and said, "Your mother's beauty is plentiful in the world. I chose to stay in this marriage because she gave birth to you. Besides, I'm really busy right now, and your mother knows it. I've also spent a lot of money on her, buying her clothes, shoes, and cosmetics. Isn't that enough? You don't know your place! Do you really want me to spend time comforting a housewife?"
An Jing memorized his expression and the eye roll in his heart, and even imitated him. The unspoken grievance he felt also turned into a bit of hatred along with his father's attitude.
I knew it. An Jing's eyes moistened as he stared coldly at An Xingmin, thinking: If I tell him, not only will he not stand up for me, he'll probably slap me in the face and call me useless, or even despise me.
An Xingmin laughed dryly, thinking his frustration only came from losing his mother. He smiled strangely, seeming impatient, yet also confident in his own abilities. He said, "An Jing, you are my son. Since you don't plan to go with your mother, you must abide by my rules while staying in this house."
He casually tapped the side of his bowl with his chopsticks and said, "I won't find you a stepmother, and you are not allowed to mention your mother again. Pick up the bowl and clean it up and wash it."
An Xingmin finished speaking, loosened his collar, turned, and went upstairs to the study, looking at his phone. An Jing held back his tears again. When he squatted down to pick up the broken plates, his buttocks were torn and painful. The mixture of shame and oppression filled him with a hatred that could destroy the world.
But, but, all he could do now was to pick up the plate he had smashed, or perhaps his shattered heart that no one had any sympathy for.
"By the way, An Jing," An Xingmin suddenly called out. An Jing looked up and realized that his father liked to stand at the corner of the second floor, looking down at others from a high vantage point. He said, "There's a tech company that's been gaining momentum lately. I've taken a fancy to one of their products. What's it called? A bracelet. It's a phone replacement, but it's completely transparent. I think it's quite interesting. I'll buy it for you to try."
An Jing's mood was rather strange, like someone who had been slapped in the face and then given a piece of candy. He nodded weakly and said, "Thank you, Dad."
"Oh, and about your painting. I still think Teacher Li Jian is better. He is older and looks more stable. How could you twist your waist for no reason? Otherwise, I wouldn't change you to a new teacher. Oh, it doesn't matter. It's just a hobby anyway. What do you think of that Zhang... " An Xingmin said again.
"Zhang Zhimin." An Jing's pupils constricted, and fear was evident. However, he swallowed hard, burying the emotion on his face. He answered through gritted teeth, "Teacher Zhang is very good. I... like him very much."
"Okay, whatever you want. I support you to paint until you graduate from high school." After saying this, An Xingmin turned and went into his study. Then he seemed to have answered a phone call with someone, chatting happily, and gave a hearty smile like Lao Qian.
-
An Jing discovered that he could no longer draw anything.
Whenever he picked up the paintbrush, he would think of what happened that day. His mind would be filled with the pain of his flesh being split apart and the torture of his worldview being pulled out and shattered.
The most terrifying thing was that An Jing discovered that he was not crazy and did not want to die at all. Apart from the calmness and emptiness, the rest was full of hatred that wanted to tear Zhang Zhimin into pieces.
As expected, An Jing was gentle, even aloof and distant at times, and seemed easy to bully. He certainly didn't dare confide his secret scandal to his family. But Zhang Zhimin had misjudged one thing, a standard feature of these wealthy families.
The apparent warmth and humility is nothing but a disguise of morality, concealing the beastly nature of greed for power and profit.
An Jing has been influenced by An Xingmin since he was a child.
Zhang Zhimin always came to his house to teach painting on Sundays. These past few days, he even sent TT messages to An Jing in a flattering manner, inviting him to eat cake or go to the park... After all, the Blue Continent Undersea Base currently lacks infrastructure and the entertainment facilities are mediocre, so there is really nothing fun to do.
There were still five days before they met, but An Jing hadn't replied. He was subconsciously afraid, but his strength came from his father who was full of energy every day. An Xingmin was young and ambitious, and he spent the whole day running around with his money, busy with things that An Jing couldn't understand.
His family at least gave An Jing the confidence to deal with people like Zhang Zhimin.
There are very few schools in Lanzhou at present. The high school that An Jing attends is only at the junior high school level. However, he has already progressed to university with the financial support of An Xingmin. The so-called holiday homework is nothing more than an appetizer for him.
"Why haven't you been painting lately? Don't you like it anymore?" An Xingmin, who was putting on his leather shoes, grumbled casually, "If you really can't, sweep the dust off the table in the house. We'll have guests soon. I've found that some things can only be said in private in the privacy of your own room."
An Jing: "No, cleaning is the job of the housekeeper."
An Xingmin looked up suddenly, as if in surprise, but also as if amused. Finally, he said jokingly, "If I go bankrupt one day, I'll see if you'd be happy with that."
"Art is the most profitable, believe me." An Jing was wearing slippers and drinking water, chatting, "Dad, isn't this why you support my hobby so much?"
"..." An Xingmin stood up straight, put his hands on his shoulders, his expression moved, more like a satisfied look of teachableness. He said, "Actually, I let you study art just to cultivate your aesthetic taste. As for making money, I really don't want you to have such troubles - money is easy to lose, but education and knowledge will always remain in people's minds, especially some social life experiences. Let's talk later. When someone comes to our house, be polite and remember to say nice things."
An Jing nodded and was about to turn around and go back to change clothes.
"Smile more, don't keep a straight face." Before leaving, An Xingmin left a last word, saying, "How can girls like you in the future?"
The door clicked shut, and An Jing murmured to himself, "I learned this from you. I'm just pretending."
She said she had to dress politely, but as An Jing opened her wardrobe, a strange thought occurred to her: Why am I dressing so exquisitely? Who am I showing off to by dressing like a butterfly? Am I going to provoke someone like Zhang Zhimin again to show off my worthiness?
Not knowing who was coming, An Jing finally dressed neatly, but a little simply, not as trendy as before. He looked at himself in the mirror and realized that he hadn't slept well for two days and two nights. He had heavy dark circles under his eyes, which made him look a bit gloomy. He was hanging on to his life with a breath that he didn't know if it was due to stubbornness.
"I want Zhang Zhimin to suffer a fate worse than death," An Jing whispered to himself in the mirror. Then he frowned, as if he felt he was being inappropriate, or even unsure how to achieve such a cruel goal.
Soon, guests came to the house. An Jing heard the lively greetings downstairs and An Xingmin's familiar greetings and laughter.
At this moment, An Jingze was sitting in his father's study on the second floor. It was not his first time coming in, but it was his first time sitting on this leather sofa. He seemed to be in deep thought, more like examining, and also like feeling.
In An Jing's eyes, his father had always been an insurmountable mountain, but at this moment, he felt a little bit of the loneliness behind his strength.
"An Jing! An Jing, where are you?" An Xingmin's voice came from downstairs: "Come over and meet your Uncle Cheng."
An Jing stood up, walked out, and stood at the corner of the second floor. Looking down, he saw the girls dressed exquisitely and beautifully next to the bright and shiny chandelier. He also looked up at the young man with a very indifferent expression on the second floor.
"He's a handsome man." Cheng Bing nodded slightly and said to An Xingmin, "Come to my house someday. My daughter can make that blueberry tart. It's so sweet."
An Xingmin exchanged a smile with him and teased, "You're quite extravagant, Commander Cheng. You only have one in your family, too?"
After all, it is an underwater base, which means that vegetables and fruits from land are luxuries here, not to mention foods like blueberries which are small and difficult to keep fresh.
"My wife isn't in good health." Cheng Bing was just saying this when a woman with a bun-like hairstyle, wearing a silver-white top and a dark green skirt, came over and said, "No, it's just that we love the child. We only want one, so that when she grows up, she won't accuse us of favoritism. We have a daughter, and you've seen it, Mr. An."
There was a burst of laughter from everyone present.
An Jing came over and toasted everyone one by one, or poured drinks for them, maintaining the humility and politeness that was unique to his younger generation. But in fact, he was absent-minded and often distracted, his mind full of the one-on-one torture with Zhang Zhimin in a few days.
Suddenly, he overheard someone say, "Blue Island is new, so we have to promote it. The higher-ups are planning to make a movie about our underwater base, with a peace-themed theme. And the most bizarre thing is, they want us to match the box office performance of 'Rainbow Eyes.' Damn it, who can really explain this kind of folklore?"
"Rainbow Eyes?" An Jing casually said, "It's that movie from Xia Country where the heroine with rainbow eyes was called a monster since childhood, but later became a huge hit."
As we all know, the popularity of this movie has had a far-reaching impact, bringing about a long period of rainbow aesthetics fever.
Then came the decades of decline for the Xia Kingdom, from the birth of fluorescent ganoderma, to its being made into a rampant drug, to the mutated plants releasing miasma, which caused humans to develop fluorescent skin diseases and a sudden drop in oxygen levels on Earth - so much so that people now blame this disaster that has lasted for many years on that movie.
Even the poor actress with rainbow pupils was condemned by everyone.
The miasma was everywhere and it was impossible to survive on land, so some people with foresight had to go to the sea and come to the Blue Island Base.
Someone else said: "Oh, what a bad movie. God knows what happened to that woman now. She is also a nobody now."
"Our leader, Deng, thinks Blue Island is still too small and wants to attract more people. So, he wants us, the entertainment workers, to work hard to promote Blue Island's beauty, prosperity, and advanced technology... Let me tell you, everyone knows what's happening on land right now. There's so much miasma, and those who are waiting to die are out there! Why should we be so magnanimous as to accept them into our base? If they don't want to come, are we going to invite them?"
An Xingmin chuckled after hearing this, thinking to himself: The surface is filled with miasma, and the living conditions are terrible. Aren't all of you here fleeing from the Xia, An, and Jiang kingdoms? To put it nicely, you're immigrants, but to put it bluntly, aren't you just speculators and traitors?
—Now the Blue Continent leaders want to expand and strengthen their base; at least they love Blue Continent. And everyone, since you've all moved here, if you don't love it, please don't stir up trouble or infighting.
"How about making a romance film?" An Jing suddenly said, "Bisexual, with three main characters. The boyfriend represents the land, the girlfriend represents the ocean, and the story takes place in the Blue Continent. The protagonist loves both of them, and is a fence-sitter who goes wherever there's money. He's also addicted to sex and can't live without it. This is the story of the three of them struggling with love."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone in the audience changed suddenly. Some were embarrassed, some burst out laughing, and some looked at An Jing with slightly surprised eyes.
"An Jing!" An Xingmin glared at him and yelled at him to shut up.
An Jing immediately bowed politely and turned to go back to his room. The noisy discussions started again behind him. Just as he was touching the handle, someone put a business card in his trouser pocket.
She was wearing a black lace hat and had very red lips. She said, "Sure, kid, I think your idea is great. Do you want to be an actor?"
"I have a friend who wants to be one." An Jing picked up the business card and glanced at it. It was called Xingyao Entertainment Company. He smiled and replied, "Being famous is what he'd love to do."
"You don't want to?" The woman looked up, revealing an old, weathered face, but her eyes gleamed with wisdom. "Regarding the story you just told me, I can invest in you. I love movies, and I'll let you be the leading actor. I can make you a huge star."
An Jing really didn't want to do that. His artistic pursuit wasn't in this area, he wasn't short of money, and he couldn't make people cry or laugh at will.
"No, no, ma'am, let me recommend someone to you." An Jing pulled out his phone, clicked on Zhang Zhimin's selfie on WeChat Moments, and said solemnly, "Ma'am, he..."
An Jing put his phone away mid-sentence and explained his actions, saying, "I don't know if you understand what I mean, but what I just said is that I hope this movie is a pornographic film, full of sex, violence, and satire. I also think that this movie, to a certain extent, reflects Chief Deng Zhengming's disgust for those who are only interested in profit and are willing to sacrifice national sovereignty and humiliate the country."
The woman looked at him for two seconds, her eyes filled with surprise and even a slight fear. She laughed, then turned serious and said, "Can I take another look at that thing you just mentioned..."
"Okay." An Jing immediately handed over Zhang Zhimin's photo... He narrowed his eyes and said, "And, ma'am, this film will definitely win an award, maybe even Best Actor. Am I right?"
The lady wanted to say something else, but An Jing turned his doorknob and whispered, "If you really want to use my ideas, feel free to use them. I don't need any attribution or any other title. My greatest wish is to have this person's body on the big screen for everyone to comment on."
Isn’t dedicating oneself to art a curse?
An Jing smiled at her and returned to his room, his expression becoming sinister and expectant.
He thought, I can handle it myself, definitely.
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