Act 4: The Rival Arrives on the Battlefield
Why did he remember that Hua Shaoshi went downstairs so easily? Was this really a difficult thing?
It's always like this on the set. Once the actor's condition is wrong again and again, it becomes difficult to shoot normally. The director stopped shooting and let Xu Ran take a rest.
Qi Jixin stood on the second step, tapping the smooth reddish-brown wooden handrail with her fingertips again and again, staring at Xu Ran until he turned into the lounge, then she looked away.
Bing Jie crossed his arms and glanced at Qi Jixin. They both smiled helplessly and spoke in unison.
"Is this scene that difficult?"
"This part isn't that difficult to act, is it?" Bing Jie raised his eyebrows slightly at this tacit understanding, and then said, "Let me try."
Qi Jixin walked down the stairs in two steps and stood at the stairs looking at him, but Bing Jie waved at her, signaling her to step back. Qi Jixin was stunned for a moment before she realized that he wanted to act with her instead of Xu Ran.
I have nothing to do anyway, so I might as well come here.
Bing Jie's expression changed in an instant, and he looked at her with a smile in his eyes: "Boss Qi, long time no see."
Qi Jixin looked at him indifferently, her eyes filled with displeasure. Bing Jie pretended not to notice. He turned his gaze to the empty space beside her and asked with a hint of contempt and curiosity, "Who is this..."
She swept away the patience she had shown in dealing with everyone, looked at the biggest obstacle in the entire party, and answered him directly: "My fiancé."
The man put his hands on the railing and walked down the stairs at a leisurely pace. All the time, he looked at the void around her with an arrogant look. The contempt of a superior was perfectly interpreted by him.
Everyone can see and understand that it seems to be the most normal thing in this class for children from wealthy families to look down on celebrities in the entertainment industry.
As soon as Bing Jie's eyes landed on Qi Jixin, he seamlessly switched to a gentle and amiable tone, chatting with her familiarly about family matters, official duties, and the like. Because of these, the little star couldn't get a word in. He also selectively ignored the fact that Qi Jixin wasn't really listening to him. The fact that he could make the little star feel a little uncomfortable was his achievement.
"By the way, my uncle, aunt and my parents are next door. Let's go meet them." As he said that, he raised his hand and grabbed Qi Jixin's arm.
It's a pity that the void around Qi Jixin couldn't give her any help, but even if Bing Jie was by her side, the script also stipulated that he couldn't do anything. This is also what makes Qi Jixin strange. The two of them just happened to be together for a short time, why would she leave Bing Jie alone and go to meet her parents with the second male lead?
She doesn't quite understand this operation.
Qi Jixin just left a message to the people around her to wait for her to come back, and then followed Bing Jie away. It was not until the two of them pushed open the door of another banquet room that they stopped acting and reviewed what had just happened.
Of course, Qi Jixin also told him the part that he didn’t understand.
As the person involved, Bing Jie naturally understood the significance of this strange behavior. He explained to her, saying he was familiar with the script, "Actually, you're going to meet your parents and give them advance notice. After all, you brought me here without telling them."
It would have been better if he hadn't said this. Bing Jie didn't expect how much of a blow his explanation would bring to himself.
Qi Jixin banged the back of her hand against her palm, her expression becoming even more confused. "This is what really confuses me. I'm a boss who has the final say outside of the office. Am I supposed to be a good kid in front of my parents? Why not just bring my husband in?"
Bing Jie was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say, and then Qi Jixin started talking to him about the rest of the script.
"There's a very subtle point later. Although they were quite critical of this relationship at the beginning, your relationship with my parents was pretty good after we got married. But why did it suddenly take a turn for the worse? We separated due to differences, but I broke up with my parents without mentioning anything at all. This is really confusing."
The entire script is remarkably coherent, and the details are incredibly clever. Each character has their own motivations and distinct personalities. While not all events are straightforwardly told, they generally follow a causal relationship. This particular incident, however, feels abruptly shifted.
After hearing her analysis, Bing Jie felt relieved, letting go of all his worries and answering her questions. "It's not surprising, actually. In the beginning, you really listened to your parents. A large part of the entire script describes how our relationship was torn apart by the interference of the second male lead, but there is a hidden plot behind it. The second male lead was just a scapegoat. The real mastermind behind the scenes was actually your parents."
Qi Jixin raised his hand and scratched his head. After thinking for a long time, he finally felt that his explanation made some sense. But then another confusion came up: "This hidden plot is so deep. What if no one can see it after the TV broadcast?"
She read the script more than a dozen times, but couldn't see through the metaphor. Even though she had the script in her hand, she didn't understand it. Qi Jixin didn't think the audience would understand it.
Bing Jie sighed in his heart. Not only did others not understand it, he didn't understand it at the beginning either.
During that time, he thought it was Hua Shaoshi who was causing trouble. After all, she always pretended to be innocent in front of him, but she dared to do anything in private, and even wanted to hire someone to drive a car to hit Qi Jixin... All the blame was directed at Hua Shaoshi.
And his parents really pretended to be too good. Although they told him that they didn't like Qi Jixin's background, they never mentioned it again after the two decided to get married. They also cared for Qi Jixin very much. All the illusions confused Bing Jie and Qi Jixin.
So when Qi Jixin occasionally went back to visit them and was bullied by Hua Shaoshi who was inexplicably present, neither Bing Jie nor she took her anger out on the two elders.
It wasn't until everything collapsed and Qi Jixin disappeared that Bing Jie finally managed to contact Xuan Jiazhuo with great effort. At that time, Xuan Jiazhuo was abroad and didn't answer his calls or messages. In the end, he only replied to his email with a short line of words:
[Before she died, she said she hated you and your parents.]
It was then that Bing Jie began to reflect on everything and completely overturned all his previous judgments.
"It's okay. Someone will figure it out after it's aired." Bing Jie said without any burden, because he knew that this dilemma would not exist at all and no one would watch this drama.
Qi Jixin became excited and suggested thoughtfully, "Yeah, other people can't see it, I can help everyone interpret it."
Bing Jie's eyebrows jumped, and he thought that the thing he was worried about had happened... Although the entire crew kept their mouths shut and would not reveal the situation of the entire drama, the only and biggest uncontrollable factor was Qi Jixin.
In other words, she was the only one in the crew who could freely discuss the show with the outside world. Even after the show was shelved, the confidentiality agreement couldn't be presented to her, otherwise, she would definitely notice something... It would be difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, Xu Ran returned from his break and the crew started working again. Bing Jie no longer had to think of excuses to fool her. He was not good at this.
This time Xu Ran is in surprisingly good condition, and the stair curse is completely gone. The second male lead he plays is even more arrogant than the one played by Bing Jie just now. When he pulls Qi Jixin away, he directly hugs her in his arms.
Bing Jie did not hide his anger at all under the pretext of acting, but Qi Jixin was completely blocked by Xu Ran's shoulder, leaving Bing Jie with only Xu Ran's mocking smile as he turned his head to the side.
“Crack!”
The director was satisfied and asked everyone to go to another reception room to shoot the second half of the scene. There was no part for Bing Jie in the second half, so he did not stay in the crew to observe as usual, but went straight back to the lounge.
He lay on his back on the sofa, rubbing his throbbing brow with his hand, closing his eyes in deep thought. Qiu Hongbo closed the door before reporting to him that what had just happened—Meng Jingxuan's night out with a celebrity—had already begun to ferment online.
He just said "hmm" and stopped talking. Qiu Hongbo was very tactful and went out, leaving the boss alone.
When talking about his parents, Bing Jie always gets a splitting headache, as if he was back to the afternoon when he received the email. The two pillars of support he had trusted and relied on since childhood collapsed.
He never doubted Qi Jixin, so from then on, he could no longer look up to his parents as before. In the end, everything was gone.
Qi Jixin once teased him, saying that he was a president with a happy family and open-minded parents. He won a lot compared to the presidents in the book whose parents started out by offering sacrifices to the gods or whose parents were extremely controlling.
Unexpectedly, a joke at that time became a foreshadowing of future tragedy.
Since then, Bing Jie has also found some fragmentary clues, but he has to admit that his parents are indeed shrewd enough and there is no evidence pointing directly to them. Moreover, there are always inexplicable things that cut off his path to verification.
Later, he began to gradually separate himself from his parents in order to escape their ubiquitous surveillance, until now, he has become someone who can compete with his parents.
It was at this time that Qi Jixin appeared in his life again.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
There was a knock on the door. Bing Jie thought it was Qiu Hongbo, so he let him in.
"Hey...what's wrong with you?" Qi Jixin hadn't even finished half of her excited words when she suddenly frowned and asked him with concern, "Headache?"
Bing Jie sat up straight and shook his head: "Just lying down and resting, have you finished filming your scenes?" Seeing her excited face, he knew that she must be anxious to tell him something.
As expected, Qi Jixin said, "That's good," and regained the excitement he had just had when he entered the room. "Remember the drama I mentioned last time about President Meng? A photo of President Meng with one of the celebrities just surfaced online. In other words, my guess was right!"
She became more and more excited as she spoke. She even shook Bing Jie's sleeve with her hand, then turned to discuss with him seriously, "I came here to tell you that we both have to pretend that we know nothing. If we offend Mr. Meng, he might punish us."
Bing Jie suppressed his urge to laugh and nodded earnestly, promising that he would never tell anyone. But as soon as Qi Jixin left, Sister Zhuo sent him a message.
【Xuan Jiazhuo: No, what's going on? 】
He replied with a few words: The problem has been solved, isn’t that good?
Sister Zhuo looked at Qi Jixin walking towards her and immediately put away her phone, criticizing in her heart the money power of rich people... Oh, and they also need buddies who are willing to go through fire and water for them.
Never mind, as long as the problem is solved.
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