Chapter 15 "Why is there saliva on your mouth...?"
Liang Kongxiang stood by the bed, racking her brains but still unable to remember what had happened last night.
This kind of blackout rarely happens. She hasn't been in the industry for long, and Chen Yun and Cao Lengyu often accompany her on occasions, so not many people try to get her drunk. She also knows her own alcohol tolerance and usually stops drinking at a certain point.
Last night, perhaps because Jiang Jiaoming was sitting next to her, she seemed to subconsciously believe that she was in a safe zone, so she drank without restraint.
This house...
"You bought it?" She rarely came here after she moved out. Every time she came, she only saw the door tightly closed, covered in dust, or perhaps it was just her own imagination. Later, she simply stopped coming. But now, she has stepped into this place again in an unexpected way.
“I thought you would ask,” Jiang Jiaoming said, “how did you end up here?”
His gaze moved from Liang Kongxiang's shoulder, where she had just adjusted her bra strap, to her still relatively calm face: "At the very least, he'll ask how you changed your clothes."
"There's no need to ask obvious questions." Liang Kongxiang saw her phone on the bedside table, bent down to turn it on, and found that there were no messages from Chen Yun. She unlocked it.
"Isn't the answer to your question obvious?" Jiang Jiaoming said.
"...What did you say to Chen Yun?" Liang Kongxiang frowned. There was a five-minute phone call here, showing it was from 11:30 last night.
Jiang Jiaoming pulled the blanket up, clearly not having had enough sleep, yawning repeatedly, and tilted his head as he said, "I told her you were drunk, and she told me the flight information."
Chen Yun didn't seem like someone so tactless; Jiang Jiaoming must have told her something else. Although Liang Kongxiang was puzzled, she knew that asking Jiang Jiaoming now wouldn't yield any results.
She opened the door to her room. The clothes were indeed hanging on the balcony. Because there wasn't much sun, when she touched them, she only felt a damp, soft patch. On the far right, there were also underwear and bras. The wind blew in through the half-open window, and the thin clothes fluttered in the breeze.
The door to the room behind him opened again, and Jiang Jiaoming tossed him a long coat, saying, "If you catch a cold and delay the filming, can you take responsibility for that?"
Actually, the central air conditioning in the living room was on, so it wasn't very cold. However, Liang Kongxiang still put it on, the large clothes wrapping around her body.
Liang Kongxiang asked, "Where are my clothes?"
Jiang Jiaoming raised his chin: "They're all there."
"Overcoat," Liang Kongxiang reminded him.
"You still have the nerve to mention my coat?" Jiang Jiaoming laughed angrily: "You threw up all over yourself, and then you came over and rubbed against me. My coat is now spotless because of you."
"Me, hug you and rub against you?" Liang Kongxiang repeated calmly, her eyes filled with suspicion as she looked at Jiang Jiaoming.
"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do." He seemed genuinely confident, one hand on his hip and the other on the table, and began to say, "The dry cleaners will be delivering in less than an hour. You can ask them yourself."
Given her popularity, seven or eight out of ten random people would recognize her face; how could she possibly confront someone directly?
Liang Kongxiang calmed down and didn't ask him any more questions.
Jiang Jiaoming turned around and went to the kitchen to make noodles.
Liang Kongxiang stood on the edge of the small balcony, touching her half-wet clothes again, lost in thought.
Turning around, Jiang Jiaoming had already put on an apron and taken out eggs and vegetables from the refrigerator.
She glanced around and found the house very tidy, with even vegetables in the refrigerator. Suddenly, she asked, "Do you come to stay here often?"
“I don’t like staying in hotels,” he said, tearing open the noodle package with a “rip” sound. “Since I have a house here, why should I stay outside?”
Liang Kongxiang didn't ask him why he bought this place. Because the answer was indeed obvious.
Liang Kongxiang understood him very well. After all, she had thought about buying it when she had some money later, but she was told that someone had signed a long-term lease, so she had to give up.
It now appears that the person who bought it before her was Jiang Jiaoming.
"Why didn't you stay here the night before last?" Liang Kongxiang asked instead of going to a hotel.
Jiang Jiaoming stopped stirring the noodles with his chopsticks, turned to the side and looked at Liang Kongxiang with a half-smile: "Your question is quite interesting."
"What do you want to hear?" He put the lid on the pot, turned around, and leaned against the counter, slowly looking at Liang Kongxiang. "It's because I know you're at the hotel, so I wanted to create a chance encounter with you."
Liang Kongxiang's expression didn't change at those words; she remained calm and composed, like water at a constant temperature, waiting for something.
“Do you dare listen to me say this?” Jiang Jiaoming said.
The water in the pot was bubbling and gurgling, and the lid was so big that it was about to fall off its post. Liang Kongxiang lifted it off and put it upside down on the side: "It's because the hotel is close to the venue."
Jiang Jiaoming chuckled, raised his hands as if in surrender, said nothing, and simply scooped out the noodles.
At the dinner table, Liang Kongxiang glanced at her phone again. This time, it was a message from Xiang Hang. Without thinking much of it, she casually clicked on the voice message.
When are you going back to the film set?
The slurping sound of noodles suddenly stopped.
Liang Kongxiang glanced at Jiang Jiaoming, who lowered his head, wiped the corner of his mouth, and continued eating.
She typed a reply to him saying she would arrive in the afternoon and asked if he had anything to do.
Fortunately, she and Jiang Jiaoming had broken up, but her long-standing habit made her subconsciously want to explain. After all, Jiang Jiaoming used to be extremely sensitive about this topic. Whenever he saw her interacting with any man, he would try to make a scene. They had argued about similar things before, and after making up, they fell into the same predicament.
The problem did not improve after these arguments; instead, it caused pain for both parties.
She wondered countless times why Jiang Jiaoming was so sensitive. Was it because he couldn't feel her love? Was it because something about her wasn't obvious enough? Why did her love cause so much pain to the person who loved her?
She couldn't understand it.
In the end, Jiang Jiaoming didn't ask anything, as if he hadn't heard her, and said, "The underwear is in the closet, I bought it yesterday."
Liang Kongxiang had a strange feeling. Actually, Jiang Jiaoming's cold face was the normal reaction, but he didn't say "okay".
I can't tell whether I should be happy that "he has really changed" or feel confused about something else.
Thinking only brings a lot of pain, so she would rather not think too deeply. In any case, there would be no future with Jiang Jiaoming anyway, and being in a muddled state when they were together was better for both of them.
Thinking of this, she looked at Jiang Jiaoming washing the dishes and frowned: "We've already broken up, and yesterday's situation shouldn't happen again."
"Do you think I want this?" Jiang Jiaoming, his hands covered in foam, turned back while washing the dishes. "It's not like we haven't seen it before, what's there to be shy about?"
“…It has nothing to do with being shy.” Liang Kongxiang’s voice seemed a little louder than before, as heavy as if five goose feathers had been added to the original object.
But Jiang Jiaoming sensed her bluff, looked at her for two seconds, and laughed in exasperation.
"You're just being stubborn." He rubbed the bowl vigorously.
Liang Kongxiang's hand, which was resting on the wall, gradually slipped down, and she became too lazy to argue with Jiang Jiaoming.
Just as she was about to go back to her room, the doorbell rang.
"Stand still in the kitchen." Jiang Jiaoming shook the water off his hands and glanced at Liang Kongxiang. "Didn't you want to know what you did last night? When you were hugging me in the room, someone was listening through the door."
Liang Kongxiang still didn't believe it. Standing in the kitchen, not far away, she heard Jiang Jiaoming open the door, then take the clothes and say thank you.
“Wait a minute,” Jiang Jiaoming called out to the dry cleaner’s employee, “What did you hear when you came to pick up your clothes last night?”
The employee, wearing an orange hat with the store's name printed on it, looked rather dull. Upon hearing this and seeing the tall, burly man in front of him, he immediately waved his hand and said, "I didn't hear anything."
Jiang Jiaoming: "..."
He turned his head and glanced at the kitchen behind him. "Say it again."
"Brother," he asked spinelessly, his eyebrows drooping inwards, "are you telling the truth?"
Jiang Jiaoming vowed to call the complaint hotline, "Yes, to tell the truth." His voice was already trembling with rage.
"Oh." The man's mouth formed a circle, and after a while he scratched the back of his head: "I just heard a beautiful woman say sorry... and then you told her to stand still and not to hug you... and she seemed to say sorry again or something."
Liang Kongxiang felt as if a huge hole had been carved into a mountain cave, and a flood was pouring down inside.
"Alright, thanks." Jiang Jiaoming closed the door, abandoning his intention to complain.
He grabbed two pieces of clothing, walked slowly towards Liang Kongxiang, shrugged, and looked at Liang Kongxiang with an air of "I wasn't wrong, was I?", which was quite irritating.
Liang Kongxiang calmly took the clothes back from Jiang Jiaoming's arms and said, "This is not a reason for you to change my clothes."
"When you touched me, I never imagined that you would put on your clothes the next day and start saying such high-sounding things."
"What...?"
Jiang Jiaoming raised his hand to interrupt her, lifted his shirt to reveal his firm abs, and Liang Kongxiang subconsciously looked away. Jiang Jiaoming pulled her hand and forced her to press closer: "Here, do you see it?"
Teeth marks?
"...Impossible." Liang Kongxiang pulled her hand back, her mind reeling. This was no less than someone telling her that Lin Daiyu had volunteered to perform breaking stones on her chest.
It's absolutely absurd; how could she possibly do such a thing?
"So you're saying I bit myself?" Jiang Jiaoming sneered. "Or would you rather believe I had another woman bite me?"
"What are you imagining now?" Liang Kongxiang's voice turned cold as she looked at him.
The atmosphere became tense again, and Jiang Jiaoming remained silent for a while, saying nothing more.
There was no dryer, so Liang Kongxiang had to fold her half-wet clothes into a paper bag. Chen Yun had packed her luggage and taken it with her; all she needed to do was find Chen Yun and meet up with her.
There weren't many clothes in the wardrobe, so it seemed Jiang Jiaoming didn't stay often. Liang Kongxiang found the drawer where she usually kept her underwear, opened it, and sure enough, she saw them.
But after she put it on, she discovered another problem.
It's too late to have it delivered to your door now.
Jiang Jiaoming opened the door and bumped into Liang Kongxiang, who was dressed very "thinly." He asked without any sense of shame, "Why are you running around naked again?"
Liang Kongxiang threw the pajamas she was holding at his face. Jiang Jiaoming caught them, leaned against the door, and asked in a good mood, "What did I do wrong?"
But his tone was completely "What did I do right to deserve such a reward?", leaving Liang Kongxiang at a loss for words.
"Get out." Liang Kongxiang put on her trench coat and searched for a unisex garment that suited her in the closet full of Jiang Jiaoming's clothes.
"If you don't point out the problem, how dare I go out?"
Liang Kongxiang pulled out a shirt that didn't look too big, took off her trench coat and put it on. As she buttoned it up, she looked coldly at Jiang Jiaoming and said, "These pajamas are something you bought last night."
"Otherwise what?"
"So you know I didn't have any clothes to change into the next day, but only bought a set of pajamas?"
Jiang Jiaoming looked her up and down. She was tall and slender, and her shirt barely covered her bottom. "Didn't you change into it?"
"Where are your pants?"
Jiang Jiaoming walked over and picked out a pair of cropped pants from a row of clothes. "The waist is a bit big." His gaze fell on Liang Kongxiang's wrist. "Don't you have a hair tie?"
Without having a second thought, Liang Kongxiang could only quickly implement the plan Jiang Jiaoming had given her, hurriedly putting on a hat and mask and rushing to the airport.
After getting off the bus, Jiang Jiaoming didn't leave, but instead went into the airport with them.
Liang Kongxiang didn't want to get entangled with him anymore, so she ignored it and went to the lounge to find Chen Yun.
A short while later, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that boarding was about to begin. Liang Kongxiang and Chen Yun sat in first class and put on eye masks to sleep as soon as they boarded the plane.
What happened in those few hours was utterly absurd.
The darker it was, the easier it was for images she cared about to surface in her mind. She couldn't help but think of the teeth marks on Jiang Jiaoming's lower abdomen, the familiar little house, the warm noodles, and Jiang Jiaoming's eyes in the midst of a raging storm.
She frowned slightly, forcing herself to clear her mind of these thoughts, otherwise the images would become more and more vivid and real, and she could even smell Jiang Jiaoming's scent again.
When you close your eyes, your heart will wander uncontrollably.
She had no choice but to take off her blindfold and lean back in her seat to let out a sigh of relief.
I finally managed to close my heart.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Jiang Jiaoming again.
Thick clouds hung outside the window. The plane had already flown away from Songjin City. Sunlight streamed in, casting a thin golden glow around Liang Kongxiang's feet.
She put on the blindfold again, and tiny purple-black and red-black particles shifted and changed inside her eyelids, like lightning bolts connecting together.
She didn't ask him where he was going, because this flight only had one destination.
Half asleep, half awake, the constant buzzing of the engine filled my ears, mixed with the hissing sound of the fuselage rubbing against the air as it passed through the clouds.
The two sounds bothered her ears, making it difficult for her to sleep.
Listening more closely, it sounded like some metal object was tapping against the thick glass, making a dull thud.
Immediately afterwards, a series of ringing sounds vibrated in my palm.
Twenty-year-old Liang Kongxiang, sitting at the convenience store checkout counter, opened her eyes on a snowy day.
I checked my phone; it was a spam call.
She frowned, and after hanging up, glanced at the time.
At this hour, the convenience store was still open. She poured herself a cup of hot water and quietly listened to the sounds of city management officers and sanitation workers shoveling snow outside the window.
The sanitation workers were dressed in thick clothes, bending over and carefully shoveling snow, their shoulders already covered with a thin layer of white.
Liang Kongxiang reached into the cabinet at her feet, pulled out an umbrella, poured some hot water into a disposable paper cup, and pushed open the door.
The sanitation worker looked up, her eyes were cloudy, and the skin under her eyes was loose and drooping. She seemed a little flattered and declined, saying, "Thank you, young lady."
"It's cold," Liang Kongxiang said, not having any extra gloves. "Warm your hands." Her knuckles were covered in purplish-red bumps.
Outside, the wind and snow were fierce, and Liang Kongxiang's hands and feet became icy cold after standing for only a short while. She went back into the shop, poured herself a small half cup of hot water, and held it in her hands, gently blowing on it.
On a snowy day, almost no customers would run outside, and business in the store was very poor. It was so quiet that Liang Kongxiang had unconsciously fallen asleep.
She was watching a documentary on her phone, with a announcer's voice describing insects around the world. Liang Kongxiang was mentally calculating how much money she would need to save each month to afford a camera, assuming she had to deduct rent.
My convenience store salary is 4,000, my mom gives me 2,000 for living expenses, and my rent is also 2,000 per month, so that adds up to 4,000. But that 4,000 doesn't even include a bag...
The wind chimes jingled.
Liang Kongxiang put down the hot water and pulled up her mask. When she looked up, twenty-year-old Jiang Jiaoming was standing in front of her.
He was wearing a black overcoat, the snow on his shoulders had not completely melted, and his hair was wet, as if snow water had melted inside. He looked cold and lonely, staring at Liang Kongxiang, but his eyes were burning.
Snow was falling outside, and the night was five degrees below zero, but Liang Kongxiang's heart was momentarily warmed by that gaze.
They hadn't seen each other for almost half a year since graduating from high school until this winter night.
Jiang Jiaoming took a loaf of bread from the shelf closest to Liang Kongxiang and said, "Checkout."
Liang Kongxiang took it, her eyes meeting his cold fingertips, and scanned the code with her head down, "Six yuan."
With a beep, Jiang Jiaoming paid and disappeared into the quiet convenience store.
All of this happened so suddenly and too quickly that Liang Kongxiang suddenly felt that the hot water beside her was a match. When it was steaming, the illusion came; when it cooled down, the illusion disappeared, and Jiang Jiaoming disappeared as well.
She sat absentmindedly at the cashier's counter. The sanitation workers outside the window had already left, and the flat snow had been shoveled into uneven patches, with deep and shallow shoe prints.
The cup was empty, so Liang Kongxiang refilled it, and steam rose up, swirling in the air.
A while later, around 10:40 or 10:50, Liang Kongxiang tidied up her things and locked the door.
She was about to turn right, holding her umbrella, when she saw Jiang Jiaoming squatting in the corner.
The heavy snow hadn't stopped, and his shoulders were already covered in a thick layer of snow. He had a loaf of bread he'd just bought at the convenience store on his knees, his hands tucked into his pockets, and he was squatting in the corner, looking up at Liang Kongxiang with a cold expression.
Like a wet, stray dog abandoned by its owner in the dead of winter.
Liang Kongxiang moved the umbrella over his head and stood there for a few seconds before squatting down in front of him.
Jiang Jiaoming's gaze followed Liang Kongxiang's face from top to bottom, finally settling on her at eye level.
"Aren't you cold?" Liang Kongxiang touched his face with the back of her hand.
He was quickly captured by Jiang Jiaoming.
His hand was burning hot, gripping Liang Kongxiang's wrist tightly. "Why didn't you come to me?"
Why should I look for you?
Jiang Jiaoming: "Didn't you ever like me?"
Liang Kongxiang stood up and looked down at Jiang Jiaoming: "If you even need to ask this kind of question, you can pretend I never liked you."
Jiang Jiaoming gripped her hand tighter and tighter, pulling her towards him. Liang Kongxiang was forced forward, pressing her hand against his chest, and frowned: "What are you doing?"
"Then why didn't you come to me?" Jiang Jiaoming asked again.
Liang Kongxiang patted his head, her hands covered in water: "Come home with me first."
Jiang Jiaoming still didn't let go of her.
Liang Kongxiang walked ahead holding an umbrella, while Jiang Jiaoming trailed behind, holding her hand tightly and following in her footsteps.
Liang Kongxiang took out the key to open the door, and Jiang Jiaoming then let her go.
"You can wear these." Liang Kongxiang handed him a pair of men's slippers.
Jiang Jiaoming stared at the slippers, his face grim: "I don't wear things that other people have worn."
Liang Kongxiang ignored him, hung up the umbrella, went to the kitchen to boil water, and came out to find Jiang Jiaoming standing at the door, refusing to come in.
She explained with a laugh, "Nobody has ever walked through here."
Jiang Jiaoming had just changed into his wet coat when he took it off: "Where do I put it?"
The coat was difficult to wash, so Liang Kongxiang pointed to the balcony: "Let's hang it there to dry first."
The house wasn't big, with one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, and one kitchen. Jiang Jiaoming could take it all in one and a half glances.
"Go take a shower first," Liang Kongxiang said. "Drink some hot water afterward, otherwise you'll catch a cold tomorrow."
“Aren’t you curious how I knew you were at the convenience store?” Jiang Jiaoming sat down at the table.
Liang Kongxiang found him a towel, "Wipe yourself off."
"I won't wipe it." Jiang Jiaoming stubbornly handed the towel back to Liang Kongxiang.
Unexpectedly, Liang Kongxiang grabbed his head and rubbed it twice. Jiang Jiaoming's head, wrapped in a dry towel, swayed back and forth a couple of times. He yanked it off and glared fiercely at Liang Kongxiang.
Liang Kongxiang ignored his gaze and threw the towel into the washing machine. "You can find out where I am in a million ways, just like back then at the tutoring center, I never asked you why you knew where I was."
This is the point that Jiang Jiaoming finds most difficult to accept.
He couldn't accept that Liang Kongxiang wasn't curious about him. She said she liked him, but he often felt that he was forcing this feeling, unilaterally declaring it to be true.
It's like he's rehearsing a shadow puppet show, creating a false image of mutual affection for himself.
Each time, he refrained from contacting her, and she was also able to remain calm and not ask him where he was during the days he disappeared, what he was thinking, or why he didn't come to find her.
This made Jiang Jiaoming feel conflicted. He wondered if Liang Kongxiang really liked him. Yet she allowed him to get close, just as she allowed him to touch her and enter her private space, but she never said "I like you".
Jiang Jiaoming has always believed that bowing down for love is the act of a loser. Love equals weakness, surrender, and being inferior. Loving someone means voluntarily handing over the right to abuse oneself to the other person. Therefore, he is unwilling to admit that he prefers Liang Kongxiang.
After graduation, immense pain tore him apart.
Where is she now? What is she doing? Has she eaten? Has she smiled at anyone? Does anyone care about her like this? Does she tolerate others getting too close?
Longing is almost like the rainy season, extremely lingering and never-ending.
When he was by her side, he was tormented by the realization that he might be attracted to her, but when he was too far away from her, he was tormented by the fantasy of not being able to see her.
Jiang Jiaoming began to ponder why Liang Kongxiang represented so much pain to him, yet at the same time paradoxically gave him happiness he had never experienced before.
He repeatedly forced himself to detach himself from these two contradictory states, so he learned to stay away, no longer going to Binjiang Avenue, no longer following her home, and no longer asking her if she wanted to include him in her future.
Stay away, stay away, stay away.
But being away from home doesn't necessarily mean greater freedom.
After the scores came out, he refrained from asking Liang Kongxiang where she would go. Later, he learned from other people that she had gone to another university in Songjin City.
He could understand; after all, Liang Kongxiang's chosen photography major was indeed more suitable for another university. As long as the two of them were in the same city, he could easily commute between the two schools every day, which wasn't difficult.
But Liang Kongxiang never contacted him.
"If I don't look for you, will you never look for me?" Jiang Jiaoming swallowed and suddenly asked, his voice becoming a little hoarse.
"Yes," Liang Kongxiang replied truthfully.
The water was hot, so she found some brown sugar in the cabinet above the kitchen, poured some in to dissolve, stirred it a few times with chopsticks, and then handed it to Jiang Jiaoming.
Jiang Jiaoming silently accepted the answer, surprised by it. He thought Liang Kongxiang would say something like "you misunderstood," but she only said "yes," which was unexpected and left him at a loss.
“My not contacting you has nothing to do with whether I like you or not,” Liang Kongxiang said, making herself a cup of tea and blowing on it as she did so. “It’s simply because I’m not used to it.”
"What's the meaning?"
"I'm not used to taking the initiative to reach out to others." It's always others who reach out to her, including her friends. Ruan Jiayan's personality is such that she naturally likes to gravitate towards her quiet friends; she's actually not used to her talkative friends, so she had no idea that Liang Kongxiang had never taken the initiative to reach out to her.
But Jiang Jiaoming still couldn't understand it. "Don't you... ever think of me?" He started off a little softly, but became more assertive as he spoke, and took a sip of water.
“Yes,” Liang Kongxiang said, “but thoughts cannot change facts. I cannot make you appear by simply fantasizing.”
He held the warm brown sugar water, and the two of them fell silent.
The windows were tightly closed, and although it was snowing heavily outside, the house was warm as springtime and peacefully quiet.
Jiang Jiaoming quietly moved to Liang Kongxiang's side and hugged her tightly.
Liang Kongxiang did not refuse, but silently indulged Jiang Jiaoming's seemingly inconspicuous approach, letting him bury his wet head on her shoulder.
Then I heard him say, "You don't need to take the initiative. From now on, I'll be the one to come to you."
The snow stopped in the middle of the night, and Liang Kongxiang opened her eyes. The spot next to her was cold.
She drew back the curtains, and outside was a thick, white blanket of snow.
As soon as the door opened, Jiang Jiaoming put on an apron he'd somehow found, holding half a bag of noodles in one hand and a spatula in the other, watching a tutorial. Hearing the door open, he turned around and arrogantly commanded her, "Go sit over there and watch your boyfriend show off his skills."
On the table was a bouquet of very fresh flowers, with water droplets still on the petals, covered by a transparent glass dome.
There is a small card next to it.
Liang Kongxiang picked it up.
While the noodles were still in the pot, and the water was boiling and bubbling, Jiang Jiaoming received his first kiss ever at the kitchen counter.
His breathing slowed, and he carefully pulled Liang Kongxiang close to his waist, lowered his head and opened his mouth to kiss her. He turned off the stove and lifted Liang Kongxiang onto the counter, supporting himself with his hands on the countertop, tilting his head back and sucking hard on her lips.
Liang Kongxiang couldn't breathe and leaned her head back to avoid Jiang Jiaoming's increasingly persistent tongue. Jiang Jiaoming then tirelessly pecked at the corners of her mouth, as if he never knew fatigue, kissing her from her forehead and eyelids to her neck. Finally, he tried to kiss Liang Kongxiang's lips, but Liang Kongxiang pushed her head away.
He stared intently at Liang Kongxiang's face, breathing softly. He tucked the hair that was sticking to Liang Kongxiang's cheek behind her ear. "You're sweating."
Liang Kongxiang's lips were glistening. Jiang Jiaoming rubbed them, and a strand of saliva on his finger was still stringy.
He smiled and put it in his mouth, as if genuinely curious, and asked, "Why is your saliva sweet?"
Receiving no response, Jiang Jiaoming kissed Liang Kongxiang's lips forcefully again, making her head tilt back. "Why won't you speak?"
He said with certainty, "You're shy."
Liang Kongxiang helplessly covered his mouth. Actually, shyness was only a small part of the reason. The real reason was that if Jiang Jiaoming continued to kiss her like this, her lips would definitely swell up, and she couldn't keep up with Jiang Jiaoming's high-frequency rhythm. This kiss was very tiring.
A head suddenly appeared in front of my chest.
Jiang Jiaoming buried his face in Liang Kongxiang's chest and said in a muffled voice, "Talk to me."
Liang Kongxiang was also tired, so she simply lowered her head and rested her weight on Jiang Jiaoming's head, deliberately asking, "What did you say?"
Hearing Liang Kongxiang's voice, Jiang Jiaoming's restless heart was calmed down. He quietly snuggled up to Liang Kongxiang and hugged her for a while, with Liang Kongxiang resting her head on him.
Every time Liang Kongxiang recalls this part, she wants to fall into a deep sleep again.
Before all the arguments, before all the partings, before everything is beyond repair, let's have a small space again, a space where she and Jiang Jiaoming, both twenty years old, stand. They stand at the starting point, marching towards happiness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Gongtai City. The local time is January 23rd, 12:30 PM. The temperature outside the cabin is currently..."
The broadcast sound came from afar, but not very clearly reached Liang Kongxiang's ears as she slept soundly.
Suddenly, the blindfold on her face was removed, and a blinding white light pierced her eyelids, instantly waking her up.
She half-opened her eyes and frowned as she looked at the person who stood up beside her.
"We've landed."
Jiang Jiaoming glanced at her coldly, tossed the blindfold to Chen Yun, and walked out before them.
We've arrived in Gongtai City.
Once Songjin was gone, the brief dream ended.
*
Jiang Jiaoming strode out of the airport. Zhang Bingjie's car was easy to recognize. After getting in, he rolled the car window all the way down as if he was in a bad mood.
You can imagine how biting the wind was at the end of January; it was so strong it felt like Zhang Bingjie's brains were about to spill out of the driver's seat.
He hurriedly closed the window, glared at Jiang Jiaoming beside him, and said, "What happened to you at the film festival?"
"Stop talking nonsense and drive." Jiang Jiaoming impatiently lowered the sun visor a little, then closed his eyes to sleep.
He refused to say another word.
Why did Liang Kongxiang act as if she didn't see him on the plane? She didn't seem to care about him at all and fell asleep peacefully? Wasn't she nervous? Why was he the only one who felt nervous and anxious every time she got close?
While they were at home, it was as if they had briefly traveled back in time. He saw Liang Kongxiang angry with him, eating the noodles he had made, and even wearing his clothes.
She accepted everything, so why did she turn her back on him and deny it when they went out?
Was her tenderness reserved only for him in her memories and in the past?
This was something that Young Master Jiang, who had enjoyed a smooth life for over twenty years, couldn't figure out.
“I said,” Zhang Bingjie swerved the steering wheel into another lane, gloating, “you didn’t run into Liang Kongxiang at the film festival, did you? What a coincidence…”
"A coincidence?" Jiang Jiaoming sneered.
"Hey, you," Zhang San glanced at him, "you're all talk and no action. You're secretly thrilled, aren't you? Otherwise, what are you doing on the film set again?"
"Can't I come and supervise the project I invested in?"
“Sure,” Zhang San said. “Perfect. I wouldn’t mind if you packed up your wife and kids and brought them over to supervise the work.”
He finished speaking with a laugh, his tone smug: "I forgot, you're all alone. No wife, no kids, just an ex-girlfriend you can't win over. She's right in front of you, but it's like trying to catch the moon's reflection in the water—you can see her, but you can't touch her. How about that?"
Taking advantage of a break at the traffic light, he leaned over and said in a sly tone, "I remember how indifferent you were back then, saying things like, 'If you don't like it, that's fine,' and that you were the one who had to hand over the right to abuse yourself to others. How does it feel to be slapped in the face, Mr. Jiang?"
Jiang Jiaoming remained silent.
Zhang San, seeing that things were going well, asked him, "Aren't you going home for the New Year? You're staying on the film set?"
"You're not replying either, are you?"
"I have no choice, bro!" he said. "We need to finish filming here as soon as possible, then we'll be moving to Xisa Port after the New Year. Let me tell you, the scenery there is absolutely gorgeous. Director Cao showed me some photos. What are you doing here now? You have another film coming out during the Spring Festival, and running back and forth will exhaust you. Wouldn't it be better to just go on vacation to Xisa Port after the New Year?"
Jiang Jiaoming remained silent.
"I think you just don't want to associate with Zhuang Yexue." Zhang San thought of Zhuang Yexue and then of Geng Jiali: "Did you run into Geng Jiali at the film festival too? I saw a photo of Geng and Liang trending online. Hey, does Liang Kongxiang know that Geng Jiali used to pursue you? That's quite something..."
"Don't mention her." Zhang San rambled on and on, and Jiang Jiaoming finally responded.
Jiang Jiaoming stared at him coldly. Zhang Sancai pulled the lip zipper shut, then said, "But Zhuang Yexue messaged me a couple of days ago, asking if you were busy. And you're not replying to her messages anymore?"
In fact, aside from work-related messages, Jiang Jiaoming wouldn't reply to any personal questions she asked. Furthermore, Zhuang Yexue and Jiang Jiaoming didn't have a deep working relationship, and besides, the capital behind Zhuang wasn't on good terms with Jiang Jiaoming.
His relationship with Zhuang Yexue was just so-so. When she spoke to him in person, he had to put on a show of responding. After all, his attitude towards her was equivalent to his attitude towards the power behind her. As long as they didn't break off relations, Jiang Jiaoming wouldn't deliberately cause trouble for himself.
"Do you really think that them sending me messages is a form of pursuit?" Jiang Jiaoming said, "What they like is not the person, but the value and resources I can bring them."
Artists like Geng Jiali and Zhuang Yexue are no longer limited to simply acting; they want the power to influence whether others get roles.
“The two are not contradictory.” Zhang San didn’t quite understand Jiang Jiaoming’s split view.
"Then I'll be blunt now, I don't like it, okay?" Jiang Jiaoming hadn't slept much all night, and was already tired and irritable. When he closed the car door, his tone was very harsh: "Also, Liang Kongxiang and I have no chance, so don't mention me in front of her."
Zhang Sanyuan meant well, but he ended up getting shot. He was embarrassed and his face turned ugly, so he casually said, "I didn't say there was anything between you two. I was just joking. I think Liang Kongxiang and Xiang Hang are more likely to get together than you two get back together."
Jiang Jiaoming's face darkened further, and he slammed the car door shut with great force, startling Zhang Sanzhen.
Why is he so angry...? Who upset him?
After he left, Zhang San belatedly realized he had said the wrong thing. Hadn't he just stabbed someone in the heart? He lightly patted his mouth.
But Jiang Jiaoming is too dishonest. He's already on set, yet he still talks about supervising the project... I've never seen him keep such a close eye on other films before. What else could it be besides Liang Kongxiang?
He said that Xiang Hang and Liang Kongxiang simply saw their pairing video online. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful, with slow motion and sweet background music. Wouldn't that be irresistible? He's so jealous. He'll be in big trouble if they start a fake couple pairing later.
Zhang Bingjie was lost in thought, his conscience making him want to make amends to Jiang Jiaoming.
That young master has always treated everyone around him like a maid in the Jiang family compound since he was a child. He's never been in such a sorry state before. It's quite pitiful.
He started the car and went to the film set.
No sooner had Zhang Bingjie left than Liang Kongxiang's car arrived at the hotel.
Chang Xin got out of the car and took her luggage from the trunk, muttering, "That was Producer Zhang's car just now."
Chen Yun patted her head, "Why are you talking so much?"
Chang Xin shrank her neck like a little mouse and said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Sister Chen."
"Alright," Liang Kongxiang patted her head and smiled, "Let's go upstairs."
After quickly finishing lunch, Liang Kongxiang rested for a while before heading to the film set. She instructed Chang Xin to order small cakes and drinks for the entire crew. She'd been away from the set for two days; she should treat everyone upon her return.
She had just arrived at the film set when she bumped into Zhang Bingjie getting into his car. He paused for a moment when he saw her getting out of the car, then smiled and said, "Just got back?"
“I’ve been back for a while,” Liang Kongxiang said, closing the car door and smiling. “I had dinner at the hotel.”
"I see." Zhang Bingjie nodded, opened the driver's seat door and was about to get in when he suddenly seemed to remember something, grabbed the car door, and asked her, "Is Jiaoming at the hotel?"
"Has President Jiang arrived as well?"
“Yes,” Liang Kongxiang said. “Director Cao is focusing on filming these few days. He’ll be working through the night for a few nights before the New Year.”
"That must have been tough."
"Work?" Liang Kongxiang smiled.
"How about we get together after the show? Let's invite Xiang Hang and Gao Ling too," Zhang San said. "We're all so tired, we need to find some fun for ourselves, right?"
At this point, Liang Kongxiang guessed the purpose of Zhang Bingjie's words today.
She couldn't refuse Zhang Bingjie directly, since he had already considered her schedule and hadn't invited just her. If everyone else accepted the invitation but she was the only one to refuse, she didn't know how much gossip and trouble it would cause.
"good."
"Okay, it's settled then." Zhang Bingjie got into the car, the door still open, and pointed to his phone, "I added you on WeChat from the group, remember to accept."
The car sped away, and Liang Kongxiang returned to the film crew.
They were filming a scene with the second female lead. Director Cao sat in front of the monitor, staring at it expressionlessly. As soon as Gao Ling saw Liang Kongxiang return, she immediately ran over and asked with a smile, "Sister Kongxiang, you're back?"
"Hmm," Liang Kongxiang smiled at her, greeted Cao Lengyu, then put on her makeup, sat in front of the makeup mirror, closed her eyes, and reviewed the scenes for the day.
Besides that, she was also wondering what Zhang San's purpose was in organizing the gathering.
She knew Jiang Jiaoming; this was definitely not his idea, nor did he have any intention of doing so. When she met Zhang San at the opening banquet, he clearly didn't know about her relationship with Jiang Jiaoming, and didn't even think much of it when he saw her and Jiang Jiaoming standing together and talking in the corridor.
Judging from today's situation, Zhang Bingjie most likely knows about her relationship with Jiang Jiaoming, otherwise he wouldn't have directly asked her, "Is Jiaoming at the hotel?"
Since he didn't say anything, Liang Kongxiang didn't say anything either. After all, this was a work setting, and it was never good to involve personal relationships. It was better to avoid trouble. She also wanted to let Zhang San see her attitude: it was really difficult for her and Jiang Jiaoming to get back together.
Filming lasted from evening until 2 a.m. When Liang Kongxiang finished her scene, Gao Ling still had a solo scene. Zhang San sent her the location and three lines of text.
"I'm so sorry, I was so forgetful today. After I finished talking to you, I forgot to message Gao Ling and the others."
"Xiang Hang is here. Jiao Ming has something come up and won't be coming."
"It's okay, let's eat our own food."
In the past, if Liang Kongxiang hadn't known that Zhang San already knew about her relationship with Jiang Jiaoming, she would never have accepted the invitation from two adult men.
Even though Zhang Bingjie was her high school classmate, Liang Kongxiang remained wary. But she knew that Zhang San and Jiang Jiaoming were in cahoots; he wouldn't harm Jiang Jiaoming. And Jiang Jiaoming, whether in the past or present, even if their relationship deteriorated, would never harm her.
"Okay," she texted Zhang Bingjie.
After receiving the reply, Zhang Bingjie chatted with Xiang Hang while sending a screenshot to Jiang Jiaoming.
Zhang: "Don't say that your brother isn't helping you. It's your own fault for not coming and creating opportunities for others."
Zhang: "What's there for me to talk about with those two? I'm leaving as soon as Liang Kongxiang gets to the private room."
One minute later, the other side replied: "Get lost."
"Hey." Zhang San chuckled as he stared at the screen.
The next day, Xiang Hang opened a bottle of wine and, hearing laughter, asked, "Is there some good news?"
Xiang Hang was happy to be at ease, as he wasn't a big drinker. "Alright then, Kong Xiang probably doesn't like to drink either."
For some reason, Zhang Bingjie chuckled upon hearing this and suddenly said, "Don't say that later."
Xiang Hang didn't understand, so Zhang Bingjie changed the subject and asked him something else.
The two chatted for a few minutes when the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and a gust of wind blew in for a moment.
Jiang Jiaoming wore a scarf that didn't suit his style at all; it was clearly a woman's scarf.
He released his hand from the door, and Liang Kongxiang stood gently beside him. The two looked like strangers, but upon closer inspection, no actor would treat the investor with such indifference.
The four people's gazes intertwined in confusion.
Zhang Bingjie raised an eyebrow at Jiang Jiaoming, whose face looked terrible.
Interestingly, he couldn't say it, but in the end he came in with Liang Kongxiang.
scarf……
Zhang Bingjie suddenly remembered.
She had seen Liang Kongxiang wear it.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Hart Soft
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