Chapter 20, Chapter 20: Ten Needles...
The following morning, Shang Shu, accompanied by Song Lan, arrived at director Li Xian's production company. The assistant greeted them warmly at the door and introduced the company's structure and culture to them on the way to the conference room. Shang Shu also noticed that most of the employees there were girls.
In this industry that has always been a male-dominated field, female directors are stereotyped as "only suitable for making low-budget art films," "relying on luck for success," and "only advocating feminism." As a result, they often have to expend twice the effort to achieve success. Li Xian broke through in this environment, winning the "Aurora Award," known as the crown jewel of the film industry, for Best Director, and founding Rose Pictures.
Although Shang Shu is not an industry insider, she understands the hardships involved, which is why she admires Li Xian so much. This is also an important reason for her appreciation, in addition to Li Xian's influence after winning the award.
"President Shang, it's been a long time." Li Xian smiled as she walked to the conference room door and extended her hand to Shang Shu.
"Director Li." Shang Shu smiled and shook hands in return. She had met Li Xian a few times when she was invited to attend the Macau Film Festival, so she was a little surprised that the other party still remembered her.
Li Xian is only in her early thirties this year, and her every move exudes a cool and capable aura. Shang Shu had seen several of her works before, but now, talking to her face to face, she felt that there was a considerable contrast between her and the extremely delicate style portrayed in the films.
"Thank you for coming all the way to Shanghai, President Shang. I'm about to start filming again and I really can't get away." Li Xian pushed the tea towards Shang Shu.
“I understand. I’m also taking this opportunity to come to Shanghai and see what’s so special about this place that can produce a talent like Director Li.” Shang Shu nodded slightly and said half-jokingly.
Li Xian smiled broadly upon hearing this: "You flatter me, you flatter me. President Shang is also young and promising."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two got down to business. This collaboration was mainly for Li Xian's new film "Gilded Gold," a drama set in the Republican era with a touch of suspense. The S&S design team was to create a set of jewelry for the female lead as a family heirloom, which had to be both period-appropriate and serve to advance the plot.
"I've read the script you sent last time. The idea of setting up a hidden compartment in the necklace is feasible," Shang Shu said, taking the file from Song Lan and flipping through it.
Li Xian nodded: "To highlight the sense of age, I want the materials of the entire jewelry set to be more aged, because the clothing itself is an aged cheongsam, and the heirloom should look older. Yes, and also, we need to ensure that there are not too many traces of modern craftsmanship under close-up shots."
"..."
The two discussed the matter intently, offering their opinions from their respective professional fields and working together for a while. Once the basic framework was agreed upon, Li Xian stood up and said, "The clothing department just delivered some sample garments today. Let's go take a look together, and we'll send out an electronic copy after taking photos for our records."
"Okay." Shang Shu readily agreed, then got up and followed Li Xian to the studio.
*
As soon as Gu Sui returned to the waterfront from Scarlet, she called Gu Qi's secretary and learned that the Gu family's private jet would take at least another day to be scheduled. So she opted for a commercial flight to Shanghai the following morning instead.
She didn't actually know how long Shang Shu would stay in Shanghai. Maybe another week, or maybe she would come back after finishing the cooperation tomorrow. But she didn't want to care anymore. She had already waited for two days. At this moment, she just wanted to fly to her side immediately and clear up the misunderstanding that had made things worse.
Before the plane took off, Gu Sui contacted Song Lanye in advance, so as soon as she landed in Shanghai, she learned the address of Shang Shu and rushed to Rose Film Studio without stopping.
When Gu Sui arrived, Shang Shu was with Li Xian in the costume studio looking at sample clothes. Although it was just a temporary studio within the company, the dazzling array of costumes inside still dazzled Shang Shu. The staff were busy pushing clothing racks back and forth, as bustling as a fashion show.
Li Xian led Shang Shu through the tall, mobile clothing racks, introducing the outfits as she looked: "These are the female lead's everyday clothes, the colors are rather light, and these are..."
Suddenly, two clothing racks collided because the person pushing them was in the blind spot. The metal frames made a dull thud. One of them lost its balance due to its weight and was about to fall towards Shang Shu, but she was oblivious because of the noise and had her back to the rack.
"careful!"
Shang Shu suddenly felt a warm sensation on her back, followed by a force that pushed her to the ground. A muffled groan came from beside her ear. Shang Shu turned around and saw Gu Sui kneeling on both knees, protecting her beneath him.
The tall, heavy steel frame, along with her clothes, slammed down on Gu Sui's shoulders. The sharp metal ornaments on several pieces of heavy-duty clothing tore through Gu Sui's shirt under the weight of the steel frame, leaving deep wounds on her smooth shoulders.
"Ah Shu... are you hurt?" Gu Sui frowned deeply, enduring the sharp pain in his shoulder as he met Shang Shu's eyes.
Before Shang Shu could react to what had happened, she saw a horrifying crimson seep from Gu Sui's left shoulder. The tear in his white shirt was soaked with blood in just a few seconds, which flowed down Gu Sui's shoulder and into his chest.
"Gu Sui!" Shang Shu struggled to her feet in terror, her hands trembling as she supported Gu Sui's body.
"Someone got hit! Quick, quick, help them up!" The staff shouted frantically. The weight of the clothes rack, combined with the clothes hanging on it, meant that it took several people a long time to finally lift it up.
"Are you alright... Oh dear! Why is there so much blood!" A girl nearby exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Gu Sui's wound.
"Someone is injured! Call an ambulance!"
"..."
The scene immediately descended into chaos. Shang Shu and Song Lan helped Gu Sui sit down to the side, and Li Xian immediately brought out a first-aid kit.
Shang Shu hurriedly took out gauze and pressed it on Gu Sui's shoulder to stop the bleeding. Soon her hands were also stained with warm, bright red blood.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Gu Sui said softly, looking at Shang Shu's reddened eyes.
That same phrase again.
Shang Shu pressed down hard on her shoulders, both anxious and annoyed. What kind of time is this to be comforting others?
"Stop talking!" Her voice trembled uncontrollably at the end.
The ambulance arrived quickly, and Shang Shu got in. She only let go of Gu Sui's hand after the doctor took over to treat his wound. She couldn't bear to look at the bloody wound, so she turned to stare at Gu Sui's face.
The doctor cut open Gu Sui's shirt and said to the nurse beside him, "Left shoulder injury, about 7cm, it shouldn't have damaged any nerves, apply pressure bandage first."
The nurse agreed and, while handing over the items, said to Gu Sui, "Your wound is a bit deep. You'll need stitches at the hospital. Hang in there a little longer."
Gu Sui's face was pale from blood loss. She nodded, glanced at Shang Shu's worried expression, turned her head to the other side, and bit her lower lip to endure the pain.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Gu Sui was taken to have his wound cleaned and stitched, while Shang Shu stood outside waiting, her emotions still unsettled.
This was the third time Gu Sui had saved her since they reunited.
She didn't even know how Gu Sui had suddenly come to her side this time, but she was certain that she could no longer ignore her.
After an unknown amount of time, the doctor brought Gu Sui out of the treatment room. Shang Shu looked at the layers of fine sweat on her forehead and bit her lower lip with heartache.
"The wound was stitched with ten stitches. During this period, avoid strenuous activity, do not lift heavy objects, keep the wound dry, do not fly for three days, and it is best to observe for a week..." the doctor instructed while typing on the keyboard.
Ten needles...
Back then, she also needed ten stitches in her wrist, and Shang Shu felt a dull pain in her heart.
"Let's go." Gu Sui stood outside the consultation room and called softly to Shang Shu.
Shang Shu didn't say anything, but just supported Gu Sui's other arm and walked out. Song Lan and the driver had been waiting outside the hospital for a long time. After picking up the two of them, they drove towards the hotel.
Song Lan also sat in the passenger seat and slowly raised the partition, leaving only Shang Shu and Gu Sui in the back.
Shang Shu kept her head down, neither looking at her nor speaking. She only felt a lingering fear. If the steel frame had hit harder, it might have damaged Gu Sui's nerves and bones. If it had hit a little off-center, it might have injured his head instead of his shoulder. She dared not think any further if something had really happened to Gu Sui...
Seeing Shang Shu's appearance, Gu Sui reached out and gently covered the back of her hand. It was cold and bloodless.
Even the slightest movement aggravated the wound, causing a dull ache.
"Ah Shu..." she called softly, and seeing that the other person did not respond, she continued, "Turn your head and look at me."
Shang Shu then turned her head slightly, but still refused to raise her eyes.
She's always so stubborn, Gu Sui thought.
A few seconds later, Gu Sui felt a few warm drops on the back of the other person's hand. She looked down and saw a few glistening teardrops on it.
Gu Sui sighed softly. What she feared most was her tears. "Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
She instinctively reached out to wipe away her tears, but forgot that her hand was on the left, which aggravated the wound and made her flinch.
"Don't move around..." Shang Shu couldn't help but worry.
"Then you mustn't cry." Gu Sui said, trying to catch her breath amidst the lingering pain.
"Who's crying?" Upon hearing this, Shang Shu turned her head to the side and hastily wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Gu Sui smiled helplessly, knowing she cared about her pride. "Alright, don't worry about it anymore."
Shang Shu opened her mouth, wanting to ask if she was still in pain, but then thought the question was stupid. In the end, she changed her question and stammered, "Why did you come to Shanghai?"
She came all the way to Shanghai, to Li Xian's company, but don't tell her she just happened to be here on vacation.
Gu Sui raised an eyebrow. The suddenness of the event almost made her forget the important matter. "You didn't answer my calls or reply to my messages, so I had no choice but to come to you in person."
Shang Shu now knew why she had come, but she didn't want to bring up what happened that morning again, so she didn't respond.
"He came that morning..."
"You don't need to explain to me," Shang Shu interrupted, as if she had no right to be jealous, and given their current relationship, Gu Sui had no need to explain to her either.
She even felt that making a special trip for this matter was very unlike Gu Sui's style.
Gu Sui looked at her and exhaled imperceptibly: "Although you don't want to hear it, I still want you to know that it was the first time I met her that day, and there was nothing between us. Is that alright?"
So... I misunderstood?
Shang Shu's eyelashes trembled slightly. Her face remained calm, but her heart was stirred by her words.
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