Chapter 51 (The last part is a fragment and doesn't translate directly. It likely refers to a scene where leather shoes step on someone.)
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Jiang Jiaoming strode across the company lobby.
A tall, slender woman stood by the glass revolving door, wearing a thin white dress and dragging a suitcase beside her. As he approached, she released the suitcase handle, smiled faintly, and opened her arms to look at him, saying, "Hug."
Jiang Jiaoming knew she was downstairs the moment he came down, and ran over to hug her tightly.
Liang Kongxiang was jolted awake, her chin resting on his chest. For a moment, she felt breathless, then laughed and scolded, "Do you miss me, or do you want to kill me?"
Jiang Jiaoming was slightly out of breath and didn't speak. He hadn't seen her or hugged her for more than twenty days. When he smelled her scent, he felt his blood boil. He didn't hug her for more than two seconds, as if that wasn't enough. He released his hands from her waist and instead cupped her face. Then he pressed down and kissed her deeply. The smacking sounds were particularly clear in the quiet lobby.
As he kissed her, he started touching her.
"Stop..." Liang Kongxiang was being kissed so passionately by him that she only realized where she was when her back hit the cold wall. She then pushed away his groping hands and whispered, "This is downstairs from your company."
Jiang Jiaoming stopped, looked at her flushed face, lowered his head and kissed her cheek: "...Then let's go back to the office."
"Isn't it better to go home?" Liang Kongxiang straightened her clothes, then was led by Jiang Jiaoming towards the elevator.
“No. I want to play in the office.” He said firmly and confidently, pulling her into the office with one hand and dragging her suitcase with the other.
The last time they came here was to ask Jiang Jiaoming about investment. Back then, their conversation was full of sharp words. I never expected that half a year later, they would come back as a couple.
The office layout remained largely unchanged. There was a lounge at the far end, and outside it was still a desk, a bookcase, a small sofa, and potted plants—no fancy decorations whatsoever.
Behind the desk is a bookshelf with trophies and books on it.
Liang Kongxiang pulled out a book and flipped through it casually. Jiang Jiaoming put down his suitcase and walked over, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck tenderly. Liang Kongxiang's neck tickled, so she closed the book and put it back. She smiled and pushed his face away, saying, "Don't play around in the office, it's not appropriate."
Noticing that he was rambling again, Liang Kongxiang pressed her finger against one ear and said helplessly, "Where do you get so many strange quirks?"
“This is perfectly normal. Wouldn’t everyone like this?” Jiang Jiaoming was very understanding and generously said, “We can switch. You can sit on the chair and I’ll squat down. I have no objection.”
Aren't both methods rewarding him?
“President Jiang,” Liang Kongxiang was speechless, “being your employee is too miserable.”
"Can't you feel sorry for your husband, huh?" Jiang Jiaoming pinched her chin and shook it from side to side. "I'm not even thirty yet, do you want me to become a monk?"
Liang Kongxiang chuckled: "Monks are supposed to be celibate, but can you achieve even one-thousandth of their purity and abstinence?"
"No." He carried Liang Kongxiang to the desk, bent his knees to spread her legs apart, stretched out his long arm to pull over a chair, sat down in front of the desk, then used one hand to protect her waist and the other to lift her buttocks down, pulling her directly onto his lap.
This sudden series of actions caused Liang Kongxiang to lose her balance. She instinctively grabbed Jiang Jiaoming's neck, somewhat annoyed: "What do you want to do?"
"I love you," Jiang Jiaoming said bluntly, deliberately shaking his leg mischievously.
The lights outside the window were bright, and the floor-to-ceiling window on the side faced the street and other buildings. She would never play here with him no matter what.
Liang Kongxiang reached back, trying to use the table for leverage to get up, but before she could exert any force, Jiang Jiaoming forcefully grabbed her wrist and shoved her forward. Several pages of documents on the table were accidentally pulled off by her arm and fell to her feet with a clatter.
"Want to play?" Jiang Jiaoming leaned close to her lips and bit them. Liang Kongxiang was about to open her mouth to refuse when Jiang Jiaoming covered her mouth to stop her from speaking.
When Liang Kongxiang was out of breath, Jiang Jiaoming released her and coaxed her softly, "Play with me, wife, it feels good."
Jiang Jiaoming kissed her again.
“Playing…playing…okay, stop now…Jiang Jiaoming!” Liang Kongxiang grabbed his wrist to stop him and patted his shoulder: “Pick up the documents on the ground first.”
Liang Kongxiang's gaze was constantly fixed on those few sheets of white printed paper. She kept thinking about them, afraid that she might accidentally step on them while she was in a daze.
Upon hearing this simple request, Jiang Jiaoming immediately complied, bending down to pick up the documents. One page had drifted quite far away, out of reach of his hand.
"I'll go pick it up." Liang Kongxiang released his neck and was about to get down.
"No." Who knows if she'll obediently sit back down after she leaves? He's learned this the hard way too many times. He patted her bottom: "Sweetie, you can't step on it anyway, you can pick it up later."
However, Liang Kongxiang has obsessive-compulsive tendencies in this regard. Once she has started something, she must insist on finishing it well. She doesn't like the feeling of thinking about something that hasn't been completed yet. That feeling is like having a fishbone stuck in your neck, which is quite uncomfortable.
"No." Liang Kongxiang refused and then got off him.
Before they had taken more than two steps, Jiang Jiaoming immediately stood up and followed behind her, helplessly reaching out to support her waist, afraid she would fall. She was so weak, yet she still wanted to go down.
This is the filing record for "Brilliant Past".
She frowned as she looked at it and turned the page, but the registration form was printed on one side only, with the back blank.
“I haven’t asked you these past few days,” Liang Kongxiang turned around, handed the documents back to him, and asked, “How’s the film submission process going? Director Cao has been asking me about it these past few days.”
"It should be ready in the next few days." Jiang Jiaoming followed her back, tidied up the few pages of paper with messed-up page numbers on the table, pinned them together with paperclips, and set them aside.
Liang Kongxiang sat down in a chair, and Jiang Jiaoming sat down at the desk without hesitation, reassuring her, "When the dragon emblem is issued, I will notify you to come for a meeting. It will be a bit rushed, but you'll make it in time. Don't worry, it's not a big problem."
Liang Kongxiang hummed in agreement. "I've been keeping an eye on the film festival lately. There are quite a few films planning to compete this time, so the competition is fierce and the situation isn't optimistic."
This kind of film festival, which is open to the whole world, is a battle of the best every year. Very few films can be shortlisted. However, if you can be shortlisted, it is no different from a fish leaping over the dragon gate.
“Don’t worry about the loan,” Jiang Jiaoming ruffled her hair. “I’ll take you home for a meal in a few days. According to my information, He Ciqian is one of the judges at this year’s film festival. I plan to have my dad invite him to our house for a meal.”
Liang Kongxiang had never met Jiang Jiaoming's father, but she had heard that he was a very strict person.
“It’s alright, you don’t need to say anything, just show your face,” Jiang Jiaoming said, worried that she might feel uncomfortable. “Go to my room and wait for Director He to come over before you come out to eat.”
"How can this be?" Liang Kongxiang said helplessly. There was no reason for this to happen, and besides, this was her matter; how could she let Jiang Jiaoming handle it alone?
“There’s nothing that absolutely has to be done,” Jiang Jiaoming said. “You just need to decide whether you want to do it or not, and leave the rest to me.”
"We'll see," Liang Kongxiang said vaguely. Having a general idea in mind, she took out her phone to call Cao Lengyu.
Seeing her serious expression, Jiang Jiaoming suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Oh no, the promised office play session is ruined again.
He clicked his tongue, snatched Liang Kongxiang's phone away with displeasure, and when he saw that she was about to call Cao Lengyu, his expression softened a little, but he still kept the phone to himself. "We've only met for an hour, can't you cherish me a little?"
"Stop joking around," Liang Kongxiang reached for her phone. "Cao Lengyu is worried about this. She's one of us. I'll talk to her about it."
“So what if I made a scene?” He put his phone in his pocket, patted her face, and replied matter-of-factly, “It was you who made the scene.”
"Jiang Jiaoming".
Jiang Jiaoming, like a student whose name has been called, lazily raised her hand: "Here. Your husband isn't dead."
"Don't curse yourself." Liang Kongxiang sighed.
"Now you know how to care about me?"
Liang Kongxiang took his hand and said bluntly, "I've always felt sorry for you."
It was rare for Jiang Jiaoming, with his roguish nature, to be speechless. He just looked at her and pulled his hand away from hers: "...Fine."
This tactic worked well on Jiang Jiaoming, and he indeed returned the phone to her. Liang Kongxiang dialed the number, and even as the dial tone sounded, her smile hadn't faded.
After briefly explaining the situation to Cao Lengyu, Liang Kongxiang glanced at her watch and saw it was already 3 a.m. She was off tomorrow, but it was currently summer vacation, and Jiang Jiaoming was very busy these days, so she figured he would have to get up early tomorrow as well.
She hung up the phone and called out "Jiang Jiaoming".
Jiang Jiaoming was on the sofa with his laptop, checking the payment requests from the X Movie News. He knew Liang Kongxiang had finished her call when he heard her call his name. He quickly scanned the document and replied, "What's up?"
"Are you done with your work? You can deal with any urgent work tomorrow." Liang Kongxiang noticed the faint dark circles under his eyes, walked over and kissed his cheek.
"Mmm." Jiang Jiaoming, unusually, did not return the kiss. He slid two fingers down the touchpad, thinking she was sleepy. "There's a lounge over there. Go and sleep for a while. I'll carry you back in a bit."
Liang Kongxiang didn't move, watching Jiang Jiaoming work. He was very different when he was working seriously. He unconsciously rested his chin on one hand, while the other hand slid across the touchpad. He frowned slightly without realizing it, and his profile was sharp.
She suddenly took out her phone and snapped a picture of him.
A snap.
Jiang Jiaoming subconsciously turned his head. He always looked at people with a sharp gaze, and his direct gaze met hers.
Liang Kongxiang's heart skipped a beat.
"Bored?" Jiang Jiaoming asked thoughtfully.
"No." Liang Kongxiang pressed the lock screen. "Didn't you tell me to feel sorry for you? Go to sleep."
"Alright." Jiang Jiaoming closed the spreadsheet, put the laptop on the coffee table, and stood up: "My wife rarely shows me any kindness, so I'd be a fool not to sleep with her."
"You're talking nonsense again," Liang Kongxiang said helplessly.
Liang Kongxiang patted him lightly, as if a leaf the size of his palm had drifted by. Jiang Jiaoming smiled and surrendered: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything more. How can you be so cute..."
*
On the morning the film's official seal was issued, Liang Kongxiang was reading on Jiang Jiaoming's balcony. Just as she was about to turn the page, her phone rang. It was Chen Yun calling. She answered and continued turning the page.
"Hello? Where are you?" Chen Yun asked from inside the car. "I have to go to President Jiang's for a meeting now. I'll come pick you up."
Knowing this was related to the Berlin Film Festival, she sent Chen Yun an address, changed her clothes, and went downstairs.
When the two arrived at Zaiying Film Studio, everyone else had already arrived.
Jiang Jiaoming's assistant led them to the conference room. On the way, they ran into Wang Jianbo and Xiang Hang, and the group nodded and greeted each other.
As soon as the door opened, Cao Lengyu and Jiang Jiaoming were already inside, along with a few unfamiliar faces, who were probably all from Jiang Jiaoming's company.
Jiang Jiaoming sat in the first seat on the left, with a PowerPoint presentation related to the meeting next to him. When he saw them come in, he didn't exchange many pleasantries. He gestured to his assistant with his chin, and the assistant understood and went to pour warm water for Liang Kongxiang.
"We'll have a short meeting today, mainly to discuss the Berlin Film Festival." Jiang Jiaoming was very serious when he worked, and his voice was steady. He first instructed Wang Jianbai: "The film license has been issued. Next, I'll trouble you, Mr. Wang, to handle the registration for participation in overseas film festivals."
He then called out "Xiao Lin" and instructed a staff member in the legal department: "Go and follow up on this to make sure there are no problems with the reviewed materials."
"Yes, Mr. Jiang."
"Hmm." Jiang Jiaoming glanced at Liang Kongxiang and Xiang Hang: "Thank you for your hard work in providing Zaiying with your personal information. We also hope you two will continue to support and cooperate with the film's promotional efforts."
"Of course," Liang Kongxiang smiled.
"President Jiang," the head of the publicity department suddenly suggested, "we compared the attention and discussion surrounding the films, and found that so far, 'Brilliant Past' is lagging far behind 'The Parade,' especially in lower-tier markets." She pursed her lips, "Could we take a shortcut and have the two lead actors create a scandal..."
Those present instinctively turned their gaze to Liang Kongxiang and Xiang Hang.
Actually, this isn't a big problem. Hype and attention-grabbing are common tactics, especially during such important times.
Hype has its advantages and disadvantages. Liang Kongxiang is indeed a part of the movie, but her own interests must be considered first.
The key question is whether this situation is more harmful or more beneficial for her; it's really hard to say...
She and Chen Yun exchanged a glance, and just as they were about to speak, she suddenly felt a chill beneath her.
A pair of leather shoes lifted the hem of her skirt.
They stepped on it.
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Author's Note: Jiang Jiaoming: Did you cheat on me in front of my face, as if I were dead?
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