Chapter Thirty
The black phantom followed the white Alpha to a stop in front of the courtyard gate, and Lin Zhiyuan hurriedly followed Su Xuan into the house.
Are you feeling unwell?
Su Xian shook her head. "It's nothing. I probably just caught a chill."
With her back to Lin Zhiyuan, she lifted her leg to take off her high heels, when she suddenly felt a warmth on her body as his suit jacket was draped over her shoulders.
"What have you been talking about for so long in the dead of winter?"
"Teacher Lu wants me to play a role in that movie, and the director is Sun Qi!" Su Xuan was overjoyed and couldn't wait to share it with him.
"Oh? What kind of role?"
"The specifics are still unclear, but it was probably one of the underground party agents who seduced him."
So you'll be filming with him for many days?
The shoe cabinet door stopped halfway open. Su Xian pursed her lips. "It's a minor role; it won't take long to film." She bent down to put the high heels back in the shoe cabinet, closed the door, and turned around to ask calmly, "What do you think?"
Lin Zhiyuan leaned against the door with his arms crossed, watching her quietly, his smile not reaching his eyes.
“Bai Lin’s influence is limited to television dramas. This is a great opportunity presented to me by Director Sun’s movie. I can’t possibly refuse it,” Su Xuan continued.
She didn't want this opportunity; plenty of people would be vying for it. She didn't believe Lin Zhiyuan didn't understand such a simple truth.
"You want to make a movie, why didn't you tell me? What kind of movie do you want to make? Domestic? Foreign? I can help you with any famous director, I can even replace the lead role in Director Sun's movie with you."
Lin Zhiyuan's words were quite forceful, and Su Xian raised his head, his face expressionless.
At that moment, she truly felt that he was the future heir to that lofty business empire. A few casual words could change the course of her life—this was what she hated most.
"No need," Su Xuan said coldly. "I'm capable of handling my own work."
The temperature inside the house dropped to freezing. She and he were only a few steps apart, yet it felt like an insurmountable chasm.
When Lin Zhiyuan spoke again, his tone softened slightly, "You said it yourself, it's seduction, so there must be intimate scenes. Could you consider my..."
"You've seen what a film set is like. In that chaotic environment, how can you possibly concentrate?" Su Xian thought his idea was naive, so she simply put it more bluntly, "Acting is my job. Let alone intimate scenes, I'd even stand naked in front of the camera. You'd better figure that out by now!"
"I just don't want you to film intimate scenes with him," Lin Zhiyuan said, softening his voice.
Su Xian was both annoyed and amused. "What's wrong with him now? It's been years. Have I ever minded your past relationships with those women..."
"You don't mind! That's because you don't care at all!" Lin Zhiyuan's suddenly raised voice interrupted her.
“We’ve been together for so long, and I’m always the one who calls you every day. I’m always the one who flies back and forth just to spend a day or two more with you.”
“I’m willing to accommodate you, and I understand your concerns. You want to keep things low-key, so our dates will either be at home or in a quiet place.”
"At a small gathering like tonight, how will being my date affect you? I invited you to dinner with my friends because I want them to know you, to know you're my girlfriend. How will that affect you?"
Lin Zhiyuan's chest heaved. He never knew he could be so emotional. His words echoed throughout the house, eventually reaching Su Xian's ears, leaving her mind in a jumbled mess.
"You may not even truly accept me in your heart." Lin Zhiyuan's voice seemed to come from a very distant place, but it sounded so desolate that it tugged at her heartstrings.
"Or perhaps, I'm just part of your job."
Su Xian looked at him blankly. In those eyes that she had been so enamored with, there was no tenderness, no affection, only sadness.
She suddenly understood what Lin Zhiyuan meant; he thought her affection for him was all an act.
Su Xian's heart ached terribly. She knew she had made a mistake, but she didn't know how to correct it. She didn't want to see the sadness in his eyes; she wanted Lin Zhiyuan to look at her the same way he always did.
Su Xian's lips moved, as if she wanted to speak in her defense, but Lin Zhiyuan didn't give her the chance. He turned around, opened the door, and walked out of her sight.
A howling cold wind suddenly rushed towards Su Xian, blowing the black suit jacket on her shoulders to the ground, but strangely, she didn't feel cold.
He left, taking with him the warmth within her body. Her heart plunged into a cold abyss, and the more she struggled to escape, the more it ached.
Exhausted, Su Xuan slumped to the ground.
She hadn't had insomnia in a long time, and Su Xian lay in bed repeatedly thinking about what Lin Zhiyuan had said.
They had been together for more than half a year, but they were always separated. Su Xian had always believed that with Lin Zhiyuan's status and position, it would be too easy for him to win a woman's heart, so she always felt that Lin Zhiyuan's kindness to her was no different from that of his ex-girlfriends.
But Su Xian forgot that given Lin Zhiyuan's status and position, if he didn't love her, why would he be so accommodating? She always harbored the thought that her relationship with Lin Zhiyuan wouldn't last, passively accepting his efforts and avoiding his social circles, which led him to mistakenly believe that she didn't love him.
She was wrong this time.
The argument stemmed from Lu Ran's movie offer, but this opportunity was too rare for her to pass up. She knew Lin Zhiyuan was a reasonable person, and this was an outburst after pent-up frustration for a long time, so she could only try to appease him.
When this idea came to her, Su Xian herself was somewhat surprised, because she never had the patience to do such things. In the past, when Lu Ran was too controlling, she decisively made things clear and broke up with him. And when her college boyfriend misunderstood her as a materialistic actress, she didn't bother to explain.
But this time, when it was Lin Zhiyuan, she softened.
Su Xian wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, her two hands stroking the star and moon ring in front of her chest. The crescent moon was closely connected to the small blue star.
Lin Zhiyuan once said that Su Xian was the bright moon, but she felt that Lin Zhiyuan was the one.
She had never known before that the best love is about mutual tolerance, understanding, and respect, and about making changes for each other to make each other happy without compromising principles. This kind of beautiful love is like fertile soil, allowing lovers to take root in it and draw courage from it to continue moving forward.
His appearance illuminated her life.
The filming of "Life in Shanghai" used a specially built set in Haishi, and Su Xian was amazed by the realism of the set on her first day. Because her role was small, she didn't have Bai Lin arrange for a driver to bring the RV to Haishi, which meant she could spend more time on set. This was her first time experiencing filmmaking, and it was always good to see and learn as much as possible.
During her break, Su Xian leaned against the brick wall, her phone lying silently in her down jacket pocket. Lin Zhiyuan hadn't called once in all this time; he seemed genuinely angry this time. But Su Xian was still at a loss for how to apologize. She sighed softly.
Someone touched her sleeve, and Su Xian turned her head away. The large light hanging in mid-air illuminated the entire film set as if it were daytime.
Lu Ran held two coffee cups in her hand. "I know you don't drink beverages, so I bought a cup of hot milk. It's getting really cold tonight, so this will warm you up."
"Thank you." Su Xian took it, opened the lid, and took two sips, feeling a warm sensation rise in her slightly cool body.
"What are you thinking about so intently?" Lu Ran stood against the light, and Su Xian could only smell the rich aroma of coffee.
"It's nothing," Su Xian smiled.
Lu Ran didn't mind her concealment and changed the subject, "It's almost finished filming. How was it? You must have learned a lot this past week."
Su Xian nodded, "Filmmaking places more emphasis on visuals and demands higher standards for emotions and dialogue. I've really learned a lot these past few days working with Director Sun. Thank you too, Teacher Lu."
“I also have to thank you for your help, but…” Lu Ran hesitated, and Su Xian looked at him in confusion, “But I’m still worried that he might mind if you act in the movie with me.”
“No, he understands my work,” Su Xuan answered without hesitation.
Although he may not understand now, this time she is willing to patiently explain to him so that he can understand her.
"That's good," Lu Ran murmured softly.
"Teacher Su, Teacher Lu, it's ready!" the stage manager, Xiao Liu, called from afar.
"Let's go." Lu Ran lowered his head and stopped looking at her. The two returned to the film set one after the other.
On the way back to the hotel after work, there was a long traffic jam. What usually takes 10 minutes took half an hour tonight.
"Why is there such a traffic jam?" Su Xian looked out the window in surprise.
“It’s Christmas Eve today,” Qingqing replied.
The white Christmas tree in front of the hotel was twinkling with lights, and a crowd of people had gathered under it to take photos, vying for the best spot. Snow is rare in Haicheng, so this white Christmas tree certainly fulfilled people's wishes for a winter Christmas.
It's sure to snow in England for Christmas. I wonder if Lin Zhiyuan's Christmas tree is decorated with lights like this. If they hadn't argued, I wonder if he would have spent the holiday with her in Haicheng, or celebrated with his family?
Su Xian took out her phone and lay on the bed. She opened the chat window with Lin Zhiyuan and saw that the call history was still from three weeks ago. She hesitated to send the four words "Merry Christmas" that she had just typed.
My phone vibrated and a chat window with Bai Lin popped up. Lin said that the gift she had planned would probably take about a week to complete.
Waiting another week would be just in time for Lin Zhiyuan's birthday, but what gift should she give him? A thought flashed through Su Xian's mind. She deleted the words in the chat box and found another number in her phone's contacts to dial.
After a few beeps, a male voice greeted her.
"Hi Allen, I have something I'd like to ask you for help with..."
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