Chapter 18, "Jiang Jiaoming, his self-righteousness has other motives..."
"President Jiang!"
Everyone was already excited because of the torrential rain. Those who usually didn't dare to speak to Jiang Jiaoming were now boldly shouting. Some young girls took advantage of the chaos to quietly follow behind and shout, and the calls of "President Jiang" rang out one after another.
Jiang Jiaoming thought it sounded like the croaking of frogs. He chuckled in response, closed his umbrella, and stepped inside, right next to Liang Kongxiang.
The scent of sandalwood instantly filled the air with the rain. Her gaze remained fixed on the bottom of the silver container dripping with water, which Jiang Jiaoming had passed by, as she stared blankly at the full water droplets reflecting the light as they fell.
Perhaps because there were too many people and not enough room to stand, and because Jiang Jiaoming was tall and strong, he inevitably bumped into Liang Kongxiang. The fabric of his clothes was half-wet from the rain and clung to Liang Kongxiang's clothes, quickly leaving a wet black stain on his apricot-colored cotton coat.
Jiang Jiaoming glanced at her and greeted Cao Lengyu across her.
Seeing that Jiang Jiaoming was dressed in thin clothes, and his hair was blown back by the wind, making his features look even sharper and colder, Cao Lengyu asked him, "Why don't you wear more clothes?"
"The clothes you want to wear are at the hotel," Jiang Jiaoming's gaze lightly swept across Liang Kongxiang's face, "I'll come back to get them."
“I knew it,” Cao Lengyu smiled. “It’s the New Year.”
"Zhang Bingjie said you guys are still filming on set. I saw this torrential rain and came to check on you." Jiang Jiaoming asked, "Are you still filming?"
“It’s soaked like this,” Director Cao glanced around. Dirty water was flowing on the ground, and the rain was being blown around by the strong wind. She assessed, “It’s not going to be easy to film.”
"It's New Year's Eve today. Either let everyone go home and rest," Jiang Jiaoming said in a low voice, but it excited the staff present. They all pricked up their ears, afraid that the loud rain would make them unable to hear him. Jiang Jiaoming continued, "Or streamline this part of the footage and try to finish filming it. If we really can't finish filming it, we'll postpone it for a day, and let President Wang and Zaiying handle the losses."
With those words, Cao Lengyu felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay."
As the rain was about to stop, everyone moved their belongings inside and fled the film set as quickly as possible to get back home for New Year's Eve. By then, it was even darker, and the surroundings were very quiet. Liang Kongxiang and Jiang Jiaoming were still standing at the door.
The water droplets that had gathered on the shed were dripping in the darkness.
"Aren't you going home for the New Year?" Liang Kongxiang asked. She didn't look at him.
“I haven’t received the clothes yet,” Jiang Jiaoming said, staring at her. “I’m itching to get them.”
Liang Kongxiang glanced at him indifferently, her words carrying a hidden meaning: "It's freezing cold, wearing a shirt and shorts won't keep you warm."
"What if I insist on wearing it?" Jiang Jiaoming looked at her calmly, his voice very soft at the end, "What do you plan to do?"
"I thought General Jiang knew what clothes were appropriate for what temperature."
Jiang Jiaoming: "Both of these are clothes I've worn before. How could I not know if they suit me or not? You're being far too presumptuous."
"Be careful not to catch a cold." Liang Kongxiang avoided Jiang Jiaoming's gaze, opened her umbrella, and prepared to leave.
"Liang Kongxiang," he called out to her from behind, "is this how you show concern for me?"
Liang Kongxiang, who had only taken a few steps while holding her umbrella, turned around upon hearing this and suddenly laughed, "Jiang Jiaoming, there is someone else who is self-righteous."
"Is that so?" Jiang Jiaoming caught up in two steps, his gaze fixed on her changing expression, and pressed, "Who is it?"
His ability to ask questions he already knows the answer to is getting better and better. Liang Kongxiang glanced at him, didn't answer, and was about to walk forward when Jiang Jiaoming grabbed her arm, "Get in the car."
Liang Kongxiang paused, turned her head and frowned: "My assistant is here to pick me up."
A few steps away, a car slowly drove up from the night, its headlights illuminating the two former lovers who were still struggling.
Jiang Jiaoming recognized the driver's seat; it belonged to the assistant.
He released Liang Kongxiang and locked his car. "Simple."
Without any instruction, he got into the car, opened the back door before Liang Kongxiang, and sat down in the middle with an air of a CEO. He turned his head and ordered Liang Kongxiang outside the door, "I'm getting into this car with you."
As soon as Chang Xin came to a stop, a tall, dark figure darted up from the road. When she heard it was Jiang Jiaoming, she didn't dare to turn around and look, remaining frozen in the driver's seat.
In the rearview mirror, Liang Kongxiang was still standing at the door, not moving, just calmly looking at the people in the car.
The silence around her finally forced Chang Xin to weakly speak up to protect Liang Kongxiang, turning her head and deliberately asking, "Sister Kongxiang, you get carsick, would you like to sit in the front?"
Liang Kongxiang indeed sat in the passenger seat.
Jiang Jiaoming glanced at Chang Xin.
"..."
Jiang Jiaoming slammed the door shut a little too hard, which startled Chang Xin so much that she initially turned off the stove.
Liang Kongxiang frowned and glanced at Jiang Jiaoming through the rearview mirror, but Jiang Jiaoming raised his eyebrows, stared at the rearview mirror, and mouthed, "How is it?"
Chang Xin originally thought that President Jiang was just hitching a ride and would part ways with them after arriving at the hotel. However, Jiang Jiaoming stayed by Kong Xiang's side until they entered the elevator.
She looked at the elevator buttons and saw that only her and Kong Xiang's floor numbers were lit up.
That's even more terrifying. And this is during the Lunar New Year!
Liang Kongxiang could easily see what Chang Xin was thinking. Her thoughts were written all over her face, a mix of nervousness, worry, and curiosity, all while she thought she was hiding them well.
She smiled and patted Chang Xin's head, "You go back now, Happy New Year."
Jiang Jiaoming stood in the corner, staring at Liang Kongxiang's hand that had been raised and then lowered.
Chang Xin breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the elevator.
But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that after she came out, President Jiang, who was standing in the corner, seemed to have moved a little, as if he was moving towards Sister Kong Xiang...
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Jiang Jiaoming stopped pretending and instinctively stood next to Liang Kongxiang, exiting the elevator with her.
As Liang Kongxiang entered the password, he stared at her fingers.
A few beeps indicated an incomprehensible password.
As Jiang Jiaoming was pondering the string of numbers, Liang Kongxiang opened the door: "Just set it up on the spot."
"Oh." Jiang Jiaoming followed him inside.
This was his first time entering Liang Kongxiang's room on set, and he looked around for a while.
Liang Kongxiang ignored him and went straight to the room to get the clothes and return them to Jiang Jiaoming.
She opened the closet and rummaged through a row of clothes, staring down at the paper bag, seemingly lost in thought. She stood there for a while, then turned around and met the gaze of Jiang Jiaoming, who was leaning against the door of the room.
Jiang Jiaoming pointed to the clothes in her hand, "A collector's edition?"
Liang Kongxiang ignored his words and handed him the items, saying, "They're clean."
Jiang Jiaoming took it, held it up, and sniffed it. A faint fragrance wafted from it. He whispered, "It really does smell like you."
Liang Kongxiang selectively ignored this and closed the door. "The movie starts at midnight, aren't you busy?"
"You're actually worrying about Boss Zaiying now." Jiang Jiaoming acted as if he were the host, placing the bag on the table and sitting down comfortably on the sofa, his long arms outstretched, the smooth muscles faintly visible under the light.
This left Liang Kongxiang at a loss for words. Fortunately, Jiang Jiaoming then changed the subject, seemingly staring at Liang Kongxiang for a long time before suddenly asking out of the blue, "Do you plan to keep acting?"
She paused for a moment, realizing that almost no one had asked her such a question in recent years.
Why would you ask that?
“It’s nothing,” Jiang Jiaoming said. “I saw you taking photos this afternoon.” He added, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you take photos.” His tone was indifferent.
Liang Kongxiang: "I didn't have the chance."
"What opportunity?"
“A director has a lot to do,” she said. “No profession can simply focus on its core job. I’m learning from Director Cao.”
"How did you meet Cao Lengyu?" Jiang Jiaoming asked.
"What's wrong?"
“I’m curious,” Jiang Jiaoming said, resting his chin on his hand. “You’re not talkative, and neither is she. You have no connections, no background, and you’re not from a professional acting background, so how did Cao Lengyu end up casting you as the female lead in two movies?”
What do you want to ask?
“It’s nothing,” Jiang Jiaoming said. “You’ve already been categorized as part of Cao Lengyu’s faction in other people’s eyes. Since you’re in this circle, you have to be constantly wary of other people forming cliques.”
"I know." Chen Yun often said this to her too. Liang Kongxiang looked at him: "Thank you."
"Saying thank you with empty words again?" He stood up, clapped his hands, opened the refrigerator, and glanced at her with disdain. "How come there's so little stuff?"
Judging from his posture, it seems he intends to cook here.
She looked at him and slowly frowned.
"Why are you being so fierce?" Jiang Jiaoming glanced at her, closed the refrigerator, and looked down at someone, texting as he said, "How can it be nothing?" He typed quickly, revealing a chat window showing his conversation with the hotel chef, "I'm going to make New Year's Eve dinner."
"……What?"
"Didn't you hear me?" Jiang Jiaoming suddenly walked over and stood very close to her, bending down and whispering in her ear, "I said, I want to make New Year's Eve dinner."
Liang Kongxiang turned her head and glanced at him. Jiang Jiaoming's head, which had been close to hers, remained pressed against her face. The two were face to face, their lips almost touching. Jiang Jiaoming glanced down and straightened up. "Did you hear me?"
The room was silent for a few seconds before Liang Kongxiang looked at him.
Jiang Jiaoming leaned against the refrigerator with one hand and half-crossed his hip with the other, also looking at her.
A silent standoff.
Ten seconds later.
"Whatever you want," Liang Kongxiang finally said.
She returned to her room and drew back the curtains. The drizzling rain outside hadn't stopped; it clung to the clear glass like shredded white paper from a washing machine stuck to her pants, everywhere.
She pondered whether letting things go unchecked was a form of tolerance or irresponsibility.
Perhaps the word "New Year" masked all the old problems, while the word "happiness" stirred up emotions she had been hiding for a long time, forcing her to stand in the gray area of her relationship with Jiang Jiaoming, neither moving forward nor backward.
It was a beautiful day, not a time for reminiscing about conflicts. Liang Kongxiang sat by the window and thought, "Let's reminisce about something happy."
Where to begin reminiscing...?
Fireworks seemed to be going off outside the window; it was the children downstairs setting off firecrackers. Several kids, dressed in bulky, brightly colored cotton-padded coats, covered their ears with their hands. The firecrackers they lit were tiny, held between their already small fingers, and were completely invisible from several floors away. You could only see the small, muffled popping sounds coming through the glass after they ran away. They were muffled, but they kept going.
Liang Kongxiang recalled that after the Spring Festival one year, Gongtai City held a 30-minute fireworks show on the riverbank.
It was the first time in five years that a large-scale fireworks show was allowed in the city, so it was packed with people. The massive crowds surged into the viewing area like ants.
At that time, Liang Kongxiang got her first camera, a 70-200mm lens. She was feeling excited about it and planned to carry it with her to record the fireworks show.
Jiang Jiaoming was already quite busy at that time, working with his father on the Spring Festival film releases. During a break in their meeting, he asked her, "What are you doing, wife?"
The weather was nice, and the pink sunset leaped into the river. Liang Kongxiang followed the crowd along the riverbank and replied, "I'm taking pictures of the fireworks show."
"Fireworks show?" He sent a link after a while. "This one?"
Liang Kongxiang said yes, Jiang Jiaoming called.
It's very quiet over there. "I'm in my dad's office. They'll leave after their meeting. Do you want to come over? I have a great view from here."
From the top floor of the building, the entire fireworks display can be seen without any obstruction.
"Never mind," Liang Kongxiang was already being pulled forward. The heads in front of her looked like dumplings stuck together in a pot of boiling water, making it difficult for her to separate them. She glanced around. The building wasn't tall, and only some trees blocked her view. "I can take a rough picture from here."
Liang Kongxiang wanted to say that there were too many people here and it was hard to find, but Jiang Jiaoming insisted on coming over, so she had no choice but to try to walk against the flow of people while apologizing and protecting the camera in front of her neck.
When she finally reached a less crowded area, she breathed a sigh of relief. A thin layer of sweat had appeared on her forehead, and her neck was sore from carrying the heavy camera lens. She took it off and wrapped it around her wrist, about to walk forward, when Jiang Jiaoming's car beeped twice and rolled down the window. "Get in quickly."
As soon as they drove off, traffic police cordoned off Second Avenue, and more and more people gathered behind the car.
Jiang Jiaoming rubbed Liang Kongxiang's neck. "I'll get you a massager in a bit."
"No need," Liang Kongxiang said with a smile, "This is nothing."
“Oh,” Jiang Jiaoming glanced at her and hooked her chin, “you’re destined to be a director.”
Liang Kongxiang tilted her head and slapped his hand away. "I hope so."
"What is hope?" Jiang Jiaoming said matter-of-factly, "If you're willing, I can invest right now."
"Aren't you afraid I'll bankrupt your company?" Liang Kongxiang said half-jokingly.
"With me here, we won't lose out." He spoke arrogantly, as if he had the ability to save every mess, as if nothing could break him, no matter what happened.
Liang Kongxiang smiled.
Jiang Jiaoming added, "But don't be fooled by the glamorous appearance of this industry, with its billions in box office revenue and fame and fortune. In reality, it's full of rotten apples and scum. Those with creative talent are often a bit arrogant, and no one is willing to submit to anyone else. So, there's always cliques forming within the industry, with people suppressing one another and bullying another. For example, the most popular film released these past few days, I heard, had a script that was stolen."
"...Stolen?" This was the first time Liang Kongxiang had heard this explanation.
"Whether it's true or not remains to be verified, but the style doesn't really seem like Tian Lei's own," he said. "I remember you quite liked his movies."
Liang Kongxiang was somewhat unwilling to believe it, "How could a script be stolen?"
Liang Kongxiang didn't say anything more.
They went up another staircase in the company building, didn't run into anyone, and went straight to the rooftop. Jiang Jiaoming locked the door.
A thick layer of pink clouds, like the filling in a cookie, nestled between a vast expanse of dark blue sky and staggered buildings, gradually emanates a pale yellow hue.
Liang Kongxiang stood by the glass railing, turned on her camera and aimed it at the clouds in front of her. The wind from the rooftop blew from afar, and her long, straight black hair fluttered backward in waves, accompanied by the soft sounds of focusing and shutter clicking.
Jiang Jiaoming stood behind her watching and took out his phone to take pictures.
Liang Kongxiang didn't notice him. After taking two pictures, she readjusted the camera settings and raised it to take another picture.
As the sun gradually set, Liang Kongxiang closed the cover of her phone. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with Jiang Jiaoming's phone. She paused for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Why are you taking pictures of me?"
"No filming?" Jiang Jiaoming seemed to be recording a video. He circled Liang Kongxiang, poked her cheek, and asked, "Do you like Jiang Jiaoming?"
Liang Kongxiang walked to the chair and sat down, helplessly blocking the camera with her hand. Jiang Jiaoming seized the opportunity to take her hand and asked, "Do you love Jiang Jiaoming to death?"
"I like it, I love it," Liang Kongxiang said with a smile. "Is that alright?"
Jiang Jiaoming stopped recording after getting a satisfactory answer. He sat down next to Liang Kongxiang and hooked his little finger around her finger. "Want to go see a movie after this? There's a movie theater inside the company, so no one will bother us."
Liang Kongxiang withdrew her hand, remaining noncommittal: "Isn't this making it easier for you to touch me inappropriately?"
"Slandering me?" Jiang Jiaoming poked Liang Kongxiang's face with dissatisfaction, caressing her full lips, his thumb already inserted a bit inside. "I only use my mouth."
Liang Kongxiang looked at him.
"What, you don't believe me?" He leaned down and kissed Liang Kongxiang's lips, starting with a clumsy attempt at reverse psychology. "Come and see for yourself later?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling firework rose into the sky and exploded overhead with the first sound.
Liang Kongxiang pushed Jiang Jiaoming aside, quickly opened the camera cap, and walked towards the railing. She glanced back at Jiang Jiaoming with a hint of reproach in her eyes, "I missed the first cluster." Then she ignored him and focused intently on capturing the fireworks rising into the sky, her brows slightly furrowed as she looked at the scene in the lens.
Jiang Jiaoming rubbed his temples, sighed, and walked behind Liang Kongxiang.
The view of Gongdae City from this angle is beautiful, with its dim streetlights, streets, crowds, scattered buildings, and fireworks still going on in the distance.
Liang Kongxiang held the camera and took pictures intently.
Suddenly, a very light kiss landed on her cheek, gently pecking at it.
Under Jiang Jiaoming's watchful gaze, Liang Kongxiang tiptoed and kissed him.
The popping sounds of fireworks around her ears became muffled, as if she was trying her best to catch them, but the sound grew farther and farther away, and the frequency of the firecrackers became lower and lower.
Perhaps the kids downstairs got tired of playing.
She refused to open her eyes, so she didn't get an answer.
The room was quiet until the door opened, followed by familiar footsteps.
"How can someone fall asleep here?"
The voice was very soft, as if afraid of waking her or breaking the brief peace.
Since he chose to put away the needles he carried, Liang Kongxiang was also willing to pretend to be deaf and dumb for once on this New Year's Eve, which might represent bidding farewell to the past.
Let it go.
Let it go.
The new year is coming.
Suddenly, Jiang Jiaoming picked her up.
She was placed on a soft quilt, and the room became quiet again. The rustling sound of clothes rubbing against each other was gone. Liang Kongxiang suspected that he had left, but she did not hear any footsteps or the door closing.
After a while, the area above my eyelids suddenly turned dark, as if something was very close.
It wasn't until the sandalwood scent entered Liang Kongxiang's nose along with her even breathing that she came to an absurd and terrifying answer.
Jiang Jiaoming's face was directly above hers.
It gradually subsided.
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Author's note: Starting tomorrow, updates will be at 9 PM every day.
Nutrient solution, nutrient solution, please water me! [Pleading face]
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