Chapter 23 Jiang Jiaoming: "Look at what your ex-boyfriend gave you..."
Jiang Jiaoming's words left Liang Kongxiang's mind blank for a moment, like typing a string of text into a printer but receiving a blank A4 sheet of paper instead.
She was completely unable to process his text.
"Why did you tell her this?" Liang Kongxiang frowned. Unless absolutely necessary, why would Jiang Jiaoming tell Zhuang Yexue this?
“She misunderstood me,” Jiang Jiaoming explained coldly, “thinking that I had feelings for her.”
Liang Kongxiang looked at him in silence for a few seconds. Seeing her indifferent expression, Jiang Jiaoming spoke sarcastically: "I know you don't care whether I like someone else or not, but I'm just stating the objective facts."
As expected, Jiang Jiaoming had misunderstood. Liang Kongxiang sighed inwardly. She was simply sorting out the relationship between Jiang Jiaoming and Zhuang Yexue, and also thinking about how to respond to Jiang Jiaoming's explanation. It would be strange to say that she cared, but she couldn't bear to say that she didn't care.
Jiang Jiaoming was still staring at her with those deep eyes, as if trying to see through everything.
For a while, neither of them spoke. Jiang Jiaoming loosened his tie, rested his elbow on his thigh, and looked out the transparent window. He repeated, "Zhuang Yexue is Zhang San's roommate's older sister. I met her through Zhang San."
Zhang San knew Zhuang Yexue since college. Later, when he went out to eat with Jiang Jiaoming, he ran into Zhuang Yexue having a private dinner with her friends. The two greeted each other, and since they were from the same circle, Zhuang Yexue recognized Jiang Jiaoming at a glance.
We finally managed to have a proper meal, but it ended up turning into a social gathering.
After the meal, Zhang Bingjie introduced them and they exchanged contact information. They were just nodding acquaintances, but later Zhuang Yexue said she was interested in a role in a movie and asked him if he could put in a good word with the director.
Jiang Jiaoming naturally didn't refuse. Zhuang Yexue had a large following and good acting skills. He assumed that Zhuang Yexue wanted to use his influence to exchange for better resources from Zaiying, or that River Films, the company behind Zhuang, was using her as a favor to ease tensions. In any case, it didn't matter who acted, right? Besides, it was all beneficial and harmless, so why not? Jiang Jiaoming naturally agreed.
Later, at a dinner party, a notorious lewd guy in the circle tried to embarrass her by asking her to sing a song to entertain everyone. Jiang Jiaoming helped her out by laughing it off, saying that she happened to see Zhuang Yexue taking throat lozenges and it wouldn't be good if it interfered with her work. When the others heard that it was Jiang Jiaoming who came to her rescue, they didn't make things difficult for her.
That evening, Jiang Jiaoming received a WeChat message from Zhuang Yexue. She thanked him and said she would treat him to dinner another day.
It's inappropriate for a lone man and woman to eat together. Jiang Jiaoming should say he's busy lately and suggest another day. He took Zhuang Yexue's "another day" as an excuse, assuming she was a sensible person who understood his meaning. After all, isn't "another day" just a tacit "never mind" in social situations?
Jiang Jiaoming loosened his grip on the wine glass for a moment, paused, met Zhuang Yexue's gaze, and didn't know what he was thinking at that moment. After a few seconds, he took a sip of wine and said lightly, "Good taste."
After the event, Zhuang Yexue sought out Jiang Jiaoming alone and asked him when he would be free, as she hadn't yet repaid him for the meal she owed him last time.
Jiang Jiaoming smiled faintly, "Don't be so polite, what happened last time was nothing."
But Zhuang Yexue extended the invitation again with earnest words.
Jiang Jiaoming re-examined Zhuang Yexue's purpose and this time gave a time: "Let me first confirm when I'm free, and then I'll contact you on WeChat."
Zhuang Yexue received a positive answer but seemed to expect it, her face showing no emotion. She simply said, "See you next time, Jiang Jiaoming."
When calling someone's full name, the last syllable should be raised, and the voice should be soft.
Jiang Jiaoming leaned against the wall of the dimly lit corridor, giving her a meaningful look. On the way back, he realized what was going on. She had incurred a romantic debt.
Liang Kongxiang didn't care at all. She didn't care whether he liked someone else or not, and she never had any possessiveness towards him. He wished she could tell him, "You're not allowed to like anyone else" or "You can only love me."
But she never says it.
That's hilarious.
But Zhuang Yexue seemed to have lost her mind, and while Zhang San was in the restroom, she bluntly asked him if he also had feelings for her.
Her confident tone made Jiang Jiaoming laugh. He then took a sip of the carbonated drink Zhang San had casually bought at the convenience store and asked her, "Ms. Zhuang, have you misunderstood something?"
Zhuang Yexue seemed to be seeing Jiang Jiaoming smile like this for the first time. She stared at his sharp and indifferent face for a moment, then asked, "Isn't that right?"
"I'm quite curious, what exactly did I do that caused such a big misunderstanding?" Jiang Jiaoming was genuinely curious. In other people's eyes, he had always been a person without sincerity, and most people wouldn't take his polite words to heart. How could Zhuang Yexue have taken his words and actions seriously and even asked him to his face? She didn't seem like a naive or simple-minded person either.
"The way you looked at me after I said 'reset' that day..." Zhuang Yexue was still stunned, "Didn't it mean we shared the same ideals?"
It was June, and after hearing this, Jiang Jiaoming felt as if it were snowing heavily outside. He had never felt so wronged.
"You're overthinking it," Jiang Jiaoming said coldly, unaware of how cruel and heartless his next words were. Hearing Zhang San coming back from the doorway, he only wanted to finish the matter quickly. "Gui Ling is my wife."
Zhuang Yexue's face froze completely, as if she were being pricked by countless tiny needles, leaving her mind blank.
She thought that their eye contact for that one second was because he saw her soul, almost leaping out of her eyes, through her words.
I never expected that his moment of emotion was because he was thinking of his girlfriend.
Something collapsed in an instant.
...
A hazy gray shrouded the sky, and Jiang Jiaoming's face was reflected in the glass. He curled his fingers and touched Liang Kongxiang's quiet profile, which was reflected next to his face. "Did you understand?"
A simple story.
“Hmm,” Liang Kongxiang didn’t offer any comment, “So it’s because of revenge?”
Jiang Jiaoming turned his head and stared at her for several seconds, then suddenly laughed, but his eyes were cold: "You really don't care."
He paused for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully, "I guess you're trying to test whether you know I have an ex-girlfriend I loved deeply?"
I wanted to see a change in Liang Kongxiang's expression, but I still saw her indifferent face. How boring.
Jiang Jiaoming took a breath, shifted his position, leaned back on the sofa with his arms crossed, and asked aggressively, "Any other questions?"
"What's the relationship between Zhuang Yexue and Tian Lei?" Liang Kongxiang asked.
"It's alright, I'm not too sure," Jiang Jiaoming said honestly. "But since we're all from the River System, we're bound to be somewhat familiar with each other. What? You suspect that Tian Lei was the one who did the first thing?"
“It’s not necessarily him who did it,” Liang Kongxiang thought for a moment, “but the video was most likely obtained from him.”
"What were you and Sun Hanwei doing back then?" Jiang Jiaoming asked. He knew the video wasn't fabricated.
"At the time, Director Cao invited Tian Lei under the name of Sun Hanwei. I was worried that something might happen to her, so I went with her."
"Cao Lengyu and he had such a falling out, why would she want to see him?"
Liang Kongxiang shook her head as she recalled the situation: "Director Cao felt that the matter of his inspiration being stolen was hopeless and wanted to use it to exchange for our film getting 10% more screenings in the River Cinema, but Tian Lei refused."
Jiang Jiaoming sneered inwardly. This old bastard is shameless.
"So you had no other choice but to go to the university film club to promote your film?" Jiang Jiaoming recalled a message he had seen online a few years ago. "You suggested it, didn't you?"
Liang Kongxiang had once told him that if her directorial debut film were released, she would use this method to communicate and discuss with all film enthusiasts. Unexpectedly, he did go, but as the lead actress, not for his first film.
Life is truly unpredictable.
Just as Liang Kongxiang was about to ask Jiang Jiaoming how to solve the problem, she suddenly saw Jiang Jiaoming change his demeanor, staring intently at her with burning eyes.
This moment seemed to instantly pull her back to Jiang Jiaoming's youth, her whole being enveloped by his arrogance, his unyielding spirit, and his overbearing confidence.
He looked at her, his voice rising slightly at the end, carrying an air of arrogant pride, and asked, "Liang Kongxiang, do you still dream of becoming a director?"
"What?" Liang Kongxiang was unusually stunned and puzzled, not understanding how the topic had turned to this.
Jiang Jiaoming stood up, dressed in an expensive bespoke suit, his posture upright. He looked down at Liang Kongxiang, whose face was somewhat blank, and laughed, "Look at the big story your ex-boyfriend is telling you."
Liang Kongxiang was puzzled, but looking at him, she couldn't speak for a moment. Her heart fluttered for the first time in a long time, like a dusty bead suddenly smoothed and made bright and round by the wind. Her breathing was steady, and she frowned slightly.
Jiang Jiaoming stood with his back to her in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding his phone and dialing his assistant, instructing him to contact the platform. His broad shoulders, beneath his suit jacket, gradually overlapped with his school uniform…
It was rare for Liang Kongxiang to be distracted by unnecessary memories at such an important moment.
Jiang Jiaoming was on the phone when he suddenly turned around. Liang Kongxiang quickly lowered her eyes and looked away, her face reflected in the smooth, bright floor.
A blank floor, a blank face.
Jiang Jiaoming moved the phone away from his ear, watching her seemingly lost in thought. He suddenly chuckled, then looked back at the mirror-like glass window and said calmly to the person on the other end of the line, "Continue."
Next, the things Jiang Jiaoming asked Chen Yun to do have had a significant effect. The topic of Liang Kongxiang's plagiarism being reduced to zero has almost overshadowed her and Jiang Jiaoming's trending topics, firmly holding the number one spot. Netizens overwhelmingly say that Liang Kongxiang is creating a talent persona, but in reality, she is vain and hypocritical.
Aside from her fans, almost everyone felt that Liang Kongxiang's public image had collapsed, and she was bombarded with criticism online. Even her hair and breathing were deemed wrong. Everyone attacked her relentlessly, as if overnight, her work was stolen, her face was surgically altered, and her fans were fabricated.
However, at the height of public opinion, a clarification suddenly appeared in the public eye.
Liang Kongxiang presented evidence on her social media account and posted a clarification post stating that she and the blogger "Gui Ling" are the same person.
This dramatic and exaggerated fact actually exists, and the online discussion fermented a second time, surpassing the trending topics of the entire Spring Festival season. She went online and posted the rainstorm photo she took on the set of "Brilliant Past" in the comments section.
Actually, her original intention was to promote "Brilliant Past" and also to give Jiang Jiaoming's film, which was released during the Spring Festival, free publicity. She wished everyone a happy new year.
Netizens are now divided into several groups: one group thinks she used the rainstorm photo to imply that she was being sabotaged; another group is still shocked that such a thing could actually happen in reality; and a third group of fans and haters are still engaged in a heated argument, believing that Liang Kongxiang bribed the person behind Guiling.
Jiang Jiaoming gave Liang Kongxiang a trending topic #LiangKongxiangDirectorTalent#, and fans quickly found Guiling's account and used photography to flood the trending topic, leaving the public with the impression that he has directing talent and is low-key.
The entire internet erupted in another frenzy of fan and anti-fan celebration, as lively as an online Spring Festival Gala. In just one day, Liang Kongxiang's popularity far surpassed that of all other celebrities, making her the "Actress Liang" in the eyes of everyone on the streets.
This was truly a resounding victory.
As dusk approached and the sky was just beginning to darken, Liang Kongxiang returned to the film set in Jiang Jiaoming's car.
The air was thick with the dampness of rain. Liang Kongxiang opened the car door and got out. Standing in the cold air, her hand still on the open door, she said to Jiang Jiaoming, who was sitting in the driver's seat, "Thank you."
A cold draft drifted in through the passenger door, which was still slightly ajar. Jiang Jiaoming gripped the steering wheel, averting his gaze from her. "I don't need your thanks," he said.
His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, like a fleeting black loach in the night, its tail impossible to catch.
"I just want you to trust me one more time."
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The author's note: In fact, Jiang Jiaoming's repeated acts of taking an inch and then a mile were all the result of Liang Kongxiang's indulgence.
When Jiang Jiaoming saw his wife looking at him in the mirror, his blood boiled with excitement, and only then did he dare to bring up the past in front of her and try to reconcile.
Every time Jiang Jiaoming makes a harsh statement (carefully studying his wife's expression): Does she still love me?
Our Kong Xiang is like that; if she likes someone, she'll let them get close, but if she doesn't, she won't let anyone have a chance to get near her at all...
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