Chapter 3. Zaiying Pictures has decided to invest in the film. ...
"General Manager Jiang."
The man, who was browsing the project proposal, didn't even look up when he heard this: "Didn't I tell them to wait?"
Assistant: "President Bi has returned to Yunhe, saying he has something to discuss."
"Oh. Yunhe?" Zhang Bingjie spread his arms wide, leaning back on the sofa as if boneless. He had only been sitting in the office for a short while when he heard this news. "Liang Kongxiang from her company is all the rage today. You can see her on every app."
Although it was a guess, his tone was very certain: "You came for this, right?"
Zhang Bingjie: "Hey, you're so heartless. We're old classmates, aren't you going to help me?"
He clicked his tongue twice and shook his head: "You didn't like her back in school, and I heard you still don't like her now? Isn't she a nice person? Beautiful and capable..."
Jiang Jiaoming glanced at him.
"What kind of look is that? What did I say wrong?" Zhang Bingjie was genuinely intimidated by his cold gaze and sat up straight.
“Old flame.” Jiang Jiaoming repeated the word, chuckling. His assistant was still waiting nearby. He glanced at his watch: “When did they leave?”
"Five minutes ago, but the receptionist said..."
"What did you say?" Zhang Bingjie asked instinctively.
"Miss Liang is back and wants to make an appointment with you."
"Is she alone?" Zhang Bingjie asked, his eyes scanning Jiang Jiaoming. Suddenly remembering the previous declaration of single status, he joked, "Your rumored girlfriend is here, aren't you going to see her?"
Jiang Jiaoming tidied up the documents, closed the blinds, and the room instantly became much darker. He said in a flat tone, "I won't see you."
Zhang San exaggeratedly clutched his chest, condemning Jiang Jiaoming's behavior: "You're so heartless! He's still your old classmate."
"Old classmate? Yours?"
“Although we weren’t in the same class, I remember we had some tutoring together before you came here… When was it?” He frowned and recalled, “Senior year, I think. You suddenly started studying really hard, and the school even organized an exchange class for top students. You even stopped playing basketball to go and attend that class. Is that right?”
The office was quiet. He talked for a long time but no one responded. The more he talked, the less confident he became. He also felt that it was pointless to put on a one-man show and that he was just being ignored. So he simply waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, I'm leaving. You can get back to work."
"President Jiang..." The assistant was unsure of Jiang Jiaoming's meaning. He couldn't say he wouldn't see him, but President Jiang hadn't actually allowed him to refuse; he'd kept him in the office, clearly intending for him to ask again. Yet, Jiang Jiaoming remained silent when asked to see him.
After a while, Jiang Jiaoming glanced at his watch again, "Besides her, who else is here?"
"No, it's just Miss Liang alone."
Jiang Jiaoming leaned back, looking at his assistant with an extremely imposing air. After a few seconds, he spoke, "Let her come over."
Assistant: "Is this the meeting room?"
Jiang Jiaoming remained silent.
"……OK."
The assistant had a pretty good idea of what was going on. When he saw Liang Kongxiang, he acted as usual, smiling as he invited her into the elevator: "Ms. Liang, Mr. Jiang is waiting for you in his office."
The other person was wearing a trench coat, with both hands in the coat pockets, standing in the middle of the elevator. He looked very relaxed and nodded slightly to him: "Thank you for your hard work."
With a ding, the elevator stopped.
The sound of stiletto heels echoed on the top floor. Liang Kongxiang was led by her assistant to the door of Jiang Jiaoming's office. The assistant opened the door for her, and Liang Kongxiang walked in calmly. The wind from her clothes rustled the clivia by the door, causing its thick leaves to tremble.
"Mr. Jiang, Miss Liang has arrived."
"knew."
The man rested his hands on the table, his broad shoulders slightly hunched, his arms with smooth, defined lines, and the muscles beneath his white shirt were taut. He was looking down, seemingly adjusting his sleeves, his thumb rubbing against the jade button on his cuff. He didn't look up when he heard the noise.
The assistant received a response, lowered his head, and left, closing the door behind him.
Jiang Jiaoming slowly raised his head and stared silently at Liang Kongxiang, who was standing no more than a meter away from him, for two seconds. Neither of them spoke first.
“President Jiang,” Liang Kongxiang looked away, “I’m here today to discuss the investment in ‘Brilliant Past’ with you.”
Jiang Jiaoming looked at her, leaned back, rested his elbows on his office chair, and propped his chin up with his hands: "This isn't your business, is it? Let me think..."
He asked, "Did Wang Jianbo send you?"
"We're all part of 'Brilliant Past,' there's no need to be so clear about it. Since President Wang suspects that I'm the reason Zaiying is hesitant to invest, then I think it's my responsibility to resolve this matter."
Liang Kongxiang's words were vague, but they also showed her determination for the film. The loss that Wang Jianbai had caused them couldn't be let go so easily. What he said this morning wasn't just a guess; it was practically a direct statement. But she didn't want to offend anyone, so she could only speak vaguely.
It made sense for her to mention it to Jiang Jiaoming.
First, Jiang Jiaoming is, after all, a producer. Even if he dislikes us, there's no need for him to offend Yunhe repeatedly. Therefore, Wang Jianbo's words cannot be taken at face value.
Secondly, Wang Jianbo dared to do this because he knew her personality was taciturn, and the outside world's speculation about her relationship with Jiang Jiaoming led him to underestimate her. Even if the final investment wasn't in Zaiying but in another production company, Wang Jianbo's attitude towards her would still be one of disdain. With several months left to spend together, plus the upcoming publicity and award applications, if Wang Jianbo believes he can easily manipulate her, he might become increasingly arrogant and exploit her.
Although she has only been in the industry for two or three years, she has encountered many such incidents. Liang Kongxiang does not consider herself a purely virtuous person, and it is almost impossible for her to remain untainted in such a place.
Based on her understanding of Jiang Jiaoming...
"Wang Jianbo thinks that you are the reason why I am unwilling to invest in the film, is that right?" Jiang Jiaoming suddenly asked.
Liang Kongxiang responded with silence. Just as she was thinking about her next step, she heard another sentence.
He's right.
“…What?” Liang Kongxiang was taken aback.
“He’s not wrong,” Jiang Jiaoming said, pointing forward with his right index finger, his expression indifferent: “The reason is you.”
In an instant, the peace that the two had been deliberately feigning since they entered the room was torn apart by Jiang Jiaoming's words and expression, leaving fragments flying everywhere and making it hard to stand.
Liang Kongxiang stood, while Jiang Jiaoming sat, the two facing each other across a desk.
silence.
The dim light pressed down in the stuffy space, and the computer screen reflected off Jiang Jiaoming's high nose bridge, illuminating his slightly fierce eyebrows and eyes.
“Jiang Jiaoming,” Liang Kongxiang looked at him for a moment, “do we really have to come to this?”
“Miss Liang is overthinking it,” he suddenly became polite again, as if his previous aggression was just Liang Kongxiang’s illusion: “Zaiying’s consideration of the film is not based on my personal likes and dislikes.”
"There are plenty of actresses who are good-looking, have great temperament, and have excellent acting skills. There are also actresses who have worked closely with Zaiying and fit the bill. Since we are the investors, why should I choose you?"
After listening, Liang Kongxiang didn't rush to refute or explain. She slowly sat down on the sofa behind her, two or three meters away from Jiang Jiaoming. "Under the same conditions, the returns I can bring to Zaiying would be much greater. My online presence is equivalent to a good publicity campaign, with pre-sales forecasts at least in the hundreds of millions. If we were to strictly screen candidates, I don't understand why Zaiying would refuse?"
When Liang Kongxiang spoke, Jiang Jiaoming neither interrupted nor responded. He looked at her for a while before turning his head to stare at the half-closed blinds. Silence fell over the office again.
His expression was strange. Liang Kongxiang frowned slightly, ignoring the unusual feeling.
Jiang Jiaoming suddenly stood up and walked towards Liang Kongxiang. He had always been in good shape; he loved playing basketball in high school and often took her hiking in college. Looking at Jiang Jiaoming from Liang Kongxiang's perspective, it was as if hundreds of similar scenes overlapped with her own.
There are scenes of Jiang Jiaoming asking her to hug him while she is sitting; scenes of him feeding her medicine with a pained expression while she is lying in bed sick; and scenes of him proudly taking pictures of her while she sits on a hot rock when she can't walk anymore.
Instead of the way it is now.
Jiang Jiaoming walked closer and closer, almost touching Liang Kongxiang's legs, her view blocked by Jiang Jiaoming's broad chest.
Liang Kongxiang frowned slightly.
As Jiang Jiaoming leaned down, Liang Kongxiang instinctively flinched back. He didn't move, and the two remained in that position. He didn't press down any further, but instead stepped back, straightened up again, stared at Liang Kongxiang for a few seconds, and then decisively leaned down and pulled Zhang Bingjie's phone, which had fallen there, from behind her.
He waved his phone mockingly, then answered Liang Kongxiang's earlier statement in an icy tone: "The conditions are about the same, why should we risk taking on a risky artist?"
After Jiang Jiaoming finished speaking, he left. Before leaving, he glanced back at Liang Kongxiang and said casually, "However, I really don't like to involve my ex-girlfriend in my work."
The loud thud, though at a normal volume, sounded jarring to Liang Kongxiang's ears.
Her body, which had been stiff, gradually relaxed after the muffled thud, and she rubbed her temples with her right hand on the sofa.
It is said that the Proust effect can awaken many long-forgotten memories. No matter how hard Liang Kongxiang tried to forget, she couldn't help but close her eyes and have a hundred rolls of film, three thousand six hundred one-time moments, appear in her mind. Those indelible, irreplaceable, and unforgettable moments, like the four sharp corners of a photograph, pierced her whole body.
From the early hours of the morning until now, she has been running around non-stop, dealing with all sorts of people, but none of that has made her as tired as she is now.
Exhausted, both physically and mentally.
She closed her eyes, her body seemingly sailing on the sea, rising and falling, just like the past few years she had lived, as if she were always drifting, drifting.
The phone beeped, and Liang Kongxiang took out her phone and opened her eyes again. The screen light was so bright that it made her eyes and head ache.
She glanced at the note; it was sent by her agent.
Director Cao said that Zaiying Pictures has decided to invest in the film.
Liang Kongxiang was stunned.
A note from the author:
----------------------
I have plenty of drafts, so feel free to read. My next book is a story about a woman's unrequited love, titled "Wandering Heart," which you can check out for pre-orders on my homepage. It's a story about a woman's unrequited love who suddenly becomes a top star, and how their unrequited love eventually comes true years later.
The text is as follows:
During her student days, Yu Liyang was a quiet and honest girl who was very proper even when she had a crush on someone, and dared not overstep any boundaries.
Facing Xiang Yi, a proud son of heaven who always had many titles, she always stood far away, only daring to steal a glance at him when she was many steps behind him.
The closest I got to him was during a winter training camp. They were participating in the same competition, and he always sat in the corner by the window, upright and aloof, and no one dared to talk to him casually.
Yu Liyang was secretly delighted, for they had twenty-eight days to see the same corner of the sky.
Just as she was delighted with this brief encounter, Xiang Yi suddenly rose to fame with his song "Mistakes," becoming a household name across the country.
He rarely came to school after that, and her unrequited love ended abruptly with Xiang Yi's sudden rise to fame.
Too hasty.
*
Yu Liyang originally thought that she was just an ordinary passerby in his dazzling life. She kept this lonely feeling in her heart for many years, thinking that she would gradually forget it.
Thus, Yu Liyang began her cautious pursuit.
Like every one of his posts on WeChat Moments, test the waters to find out his ideal type, sing the love songs he wrote in front of him at karaoke, and attend every concert he attends.
These things were too insignificant, and Xiang Yi still seemed indifferent to her.
Yu Liyang realized with frustration that Xiang Yi was really hard to win over.
She sighed and decided to attend his latest performance one more time before giving up.
On the day of the performance, his familiar face appeared on the giant screen, attracting the attention of thousands. At the same time, Yu Liyang suddenly received a WeChat message.
Aren't you going to come after me?
What I had been longing for finally came to pass on that day.
*
On a snowy day, a tall, thin boy took off his scarf and covered the head and face of the girl next to him, shielding her face with his large hand and coldly staring at the paparazzi's camera.
Through his fingers, the girl's burning eyes never left the boy beside her for a second, following his every move with an almost greedy gaze.
By then, they were already together.
Yu Liyang was shocked to realize that her crush might have been known to the person in question all along.
Tears silently streamed down her face, and Xiang Yi gently kissed them away. "Why are you crying?"
Yu Liyang buried her head deep in his chest, wiping her face and eyes with the clothes on his chest, venting all the grievances of her unrequited love over the years into one sentence: "Do you know... how hard it was for you to pursue me back then?"
Xiang Yi simply smiled: "Yu Liyang,"
He pinched her cheek. "Do you know... I won't let everyone have a chance to pursue me?"
My wandering heart comes to an end.
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