Chapter 023 Shadow of the Movie King (23)
Ah Ying was the first to react. He melted his body and tried to drill into the carpet. After he melted into a piece, he found that the carpet had just been thrown onto the sofa by Tao's father. He moved around for a few times and had nowhere to hide. He then obediently returned to his three-dimensional form, hid behind Tao's father, and timidly poked out half of his head.
Tao Xing walked over step by step.
Aying shrank back behind Tao's father again.
Tao's father stretched out his hand: "Hey, son... don't blame it, it's just..."
Tao Xing pushed his father's hand away and stared at Ah Ying: "Did someone in the Taoist temple bully you?"
"No." Aying replied tremblingly.
"No, he didn't." Father Tao continued, "He just wanted to see you. He looked like this because he was looking for you, and he was exposed to wind and rain on the way."
Tao Xing pulled the black ball out, stroked the wheel tracks, and frowned, "Does it hurt?"
Ah Ying looked up in panic, suddenly at a loss as to what to do.
Father Tao said again: "Son, it... doesn't want to stay in the Taoist temple, why don't you send it there?"
"Okay, if you don't want to go, then don't go." Tao Xing nodded, "If you had told me at the beginning that you didn't want to go, I wouldn't have sent you off then."
Aying was stunned, and Tao's father was also stunned.
He wasn't angry, he was just worrying for nothing.
Ah Ying slowly raised his hand and gently stroked his chest. Even without a heart, he still experienced the ups and downs.
Father Tao tried again, "It wants to stay with you."
There was silence in the room for a moment.
Ah Ying stopped moving, not daring to move, and lowered his eyes slightly.
Tao Xing said, "Okay."
The black shadow was shocked and looked up suddenly. He couldn't see the face of the person in front of him, only a white outline, as beautiful as if shrouded in moonlight.
Tao Xing's eyes did not move away, still on the wheel tracks, and asked again: "Does it hurt?"
Ah Ying's red eyes suddenly swelled and felt sour. He didn't know what the reaction was. Now he only had an impulse, and he gently raised his hand.
He raised his hand with a "sleeve" and put it on Tao Xing's shoulder.
An action that is exactly similar to a human hug.
Beside him, Tao's father couldn't help but widen his eyes.
In his sight, a dark shadow wrapped up his son, leaving only his head exposed.
The human body temperature was cold against her. Ah Ying rested her head on Tao Xing's shoulder and whispered, "It doesn't hurt." Then, her eyes moved and a drop of water fell on her arm.
It took a look at the water drop.
This is what humans call tears.
It has tears.
Don't humans only shed tears when they are sad? But it is obviously very happy now.
"It really doesn't hurt?" Tao Xing loosened his grip a little and looked at its face.
"It doesn't hurt. My body doesn't have...energy. It can't recover. Take a shower and have a rest, and the mark will be gone." Aying said seriously.
"Okay then." Tao Xing smiled and brushed off the broken grass on its head. "Go take a bath."
Ah Ying didn't move. A strange emotion surged up in it again. This feeling made it want to resist a little, but also a little impulsive.
It said, "You have washed, I will go by myself."
"Oh." Tao Xing stretched out her tone, "You've rubbed me with dust again. I'll wash it again. Let's go."
Ah Ying quickly patted his clothes and said, "I'm sorry."
Tao Xing pulled its hand and said, "I was just kidding. I don't blame you."
"Then you wash first." Aying still didn't leave.
Tao Xing was slightly startled and looked at it suspiciously: "Uh...then you should go first."
The shadow didn't argue any more, let go of him, and walked into the bathroom.
Tao Xing looked at it until its back disappeared, but she was still confused. Didn’t it like to take a bath with her and play in the water?
Taking advantage of this time, he called Ruyi Taoist to find out more details. After hanging up the phone, he was slightly surprised.
The opportunity has been lost, Aying can no longer become a human being.
It didn't matter whether it turned into a human or not, but he thought that Ah Ying was willing to go to the Taoist temple because he wanted to become a human, but it gave up after one day.
There was a ding-dong sound in my mind, and 080 interrupted at the right time: "Host, since you are not going to sink, I will re-plan your departure plan for you."
Tao Xing thought for a moment: "If it escapes, the ending will change. Is my mission still accomplished?"
080 said, "I didn't receive any notification about the mission change." It clicked on the details to check, "Your mission is confirmed to be completed. The mission target has changed the ending on its own. It has nothing to do with you, the host. You can leave. No matter how things develop in the future, it has nothing to do with you."
Tao Xing paced a few steps and smiled faintly: "Xiao 8."
080: "Call me?"
Why is this smile so creepy?
"Yes." Tao Xing said softly, "Please cancel it again. I won't leave."
080: "!!"
"Go ahead."
The system cannot go against the host's wishes, so it has to go back to work with a pout.
When it has time, it must go back and ask if other hosts are the same!
After Ying finished showering, Tao Xing also took a quick shower, then took Ying's hand and said to Tao's father, "Dad, let's go to bed first."
"Are you...sleeping together?" Father Tao's eyes widened.
"Yes, we have always slept together." Tao Xing replied as he led Yingzi into the house.
After washing, Aying became black, shiny and clean again. The tire marks had indeed disappeared. It stood in the room for a while, walked slowly to the sofa and lay down.
Tao Xing just shook off the quilt and turned around: "Why are you sleeping there? Come here."
Aying sat up, seemed to be in a daze for a while, then stood up, walked to the bed, and lay down on the left side of the bed. It had been sleeping in this position for the past few months.
It wasn't long since it left, just a few days, but when it came back here, it felt as if it was completely different from before.
Nothing has changed here, except perhaps itself.
The quilt was covered, a small lamp was left on the bedside, and a warm palm suddenly covered its heart.
Ah Ying moved his body and turned his head in a daze.
Tao Xing smiled and said, "Although you don't feel any pain anymore, I'll still rub it for you."
Ah Ying then remembered that his chest was also where the wheels had passed through.
As his palm brushed over again and again, Ah Ying felt as if he had a heartbeat again.
"Actually..." Tao Xing rubbed it and talked to it, "If you want to come back, ask Taoist Ruyi to call me and I can drive to pick you up. Or, if you miss me, I can also go to the Taoist temple to accompany you."
Ah Ying said softly, "I didn't think so much. I wanted to see you, so I left."
"It's okay." Tao Xing smiled, "I'll rub it for you, you go to sleep."
Ah Ying was not asleep. He said, "The lamp and photos you gave me are inconvenient to take. I didn't bring them with me. Can I... go and get them back?"
There is no place to hide it, and if you hold it and crawl on the road, it will look too weird and people will find it.
"No need to take it, anyway..." Tao Xing laughed again, you don't like fireflies anyway, and since you can't become a human being, you can't see your appearance in the photo, so it's useless to have it.
And... there is another consideration. Tao Xing will not leave now, but human life is limited. After a few decades, when the original owner's body reaches the end of its life, he will still have to leave.
And Ah Ying could live for a very long time, and at that time, he still wanted to ask Ruyi Taoist Temple to take care of it. It didn't matter if it didn't receive offerings or become a human, but it must have a place to stay.
So, many years later, Aying will probably have to return to the Taoist temple.
Ah Ying was nervous: "Do you still want to send me back?"
"No." Tao Xing stroked it gently, "What I mean is, since you stay with me, I will give you more things in the future. You don't need those two."
Ah Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief and went to the quiet room. He seemed to feel his heartbeat again, thump, thump...
"Go to sleep." Tao Xing said again.
The red eyes curved slightly and closed.
Tao Xing rubbed his face and didn't know when he fell asleep. He also didn't know that the shadow beside him opened his eyes again and looked at him quietly in the soft light of the night.
The next day, he took Ah Ying out and saw Tao's father in the living room: "Dad, you haven't left yet."
Tao's father glared at him and said, "Are you chasing me away?"
"No, no."
Father Tao didn't plan to leave. He hadn't seen enough of this little shadow. The shadow was not human. It was alive, could talk, could transform, and could even take a bath by itself.
Now that he is here, Tao Xing no longer needs to order takeout. Three meals a day are arranged by the housekeeper and delivered on time.
Ah Ying didn't need to eat. He sat at the table and watched them eat. To be exact, he watched Tao Xing eat. He watched as long as they ate, as if he could never watch enough.
Not only do I watch while eating, I also watch while drinking, talking, and doing almost everything.
It can speak, but not much. When asked, it sometimes answers and sometimes tilts its head to indicate that it understands.
If Tao Xing touches it, its body will move to show that it is happy.
These days they not only play at home, but also go out to play. The father and son took Aying on a private yacht and plane, watching the sea and sky merge into one, and listening to the harmony of waves and breeze.
When there were no outsiders around, Aying remained as she usually was, and most of the time, she held hands with Tao Xing. What made Tao's father admire her very much was that they were used to holding hands, and they didn't feel uncomfortable or inconvenient at all.
Whenever a waiter or someone came over, Ah Ying would melt into a piece of paper and lie on the ground, pretending to be a real shadow. Sometimes, it would shrink into a tiny dot, slip into Tao Xing's sleeves, and wrap around his wrists. If it was too late, it would slip through his trouser legs and wrap around his ankles.
It was wrapped around the wrist like a little snake, and looked very cute. Father Tao was jealous and said, "Little shadow, you can also wrap yourself around my hand."
Ah Ying stuck her head out, took a look, said nothing, then retracted her head and wrapped herself around Tao Xing even tighter.
"Hey..." Father Tao frowned, "You still recognize people."
When they are tired of playing outside, they stay at home. Sometimes they go to the villa, which is large and well-equipped, to swim, watch movies and play ball. Or they return to this community, where the wind is cold and snow is falling outside the window. The two of them sit on the carpet and play cards and games. The house is well heated and the fruit tea on the table is steaming.
The only drawback is that although Aying was taught how to play cards, it was too honest. It would answer whatever was asked and would be exposed as soon as it said something. Therefore, Tao Xing always lost when he was in a group with it.
When they were having fun, Tao Xing's cell phone rang. It was his agent, who wanted him to review the plan for the next year and reiterated that he hoped he would cooperate with Jiang Lin's public relations.
Tao Xing calculated the time: "If I remember correctly, my contract has expired." The company only signed a one-year contract with the original owner.
"Yes, yes, but we will definitely renew the contract with you, don't worry about that."
"Oh." Tao Xing said, "But I don't want to continue."
The other side was shocked: "Teacher Tao, how could you do this?"
"I didn't renew the contract when it expired, so what's the matter?"
There was a rustling sound on the phone, and the agent calmed down and said, "Teacher Tao, I was too busy before and neglected you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me for my mistakes. You can't leave. We are preparing to re-sign a contract with you. You can propose any conditions."
"I don't bear any grudges, I just really don't want to stay in the entertainment industry." Being ignored when not popular, and being sought after after becoming popular is common in the industry, so there is no need to care about it. Tao Xing spent a lot of effort to become popular for Ah Ying's freedom. He himself has no interest in this industry. He said, "I will go to the company to complete the termination procedures tomorrow."
The other side was stunned for a moment, and after hearing his firm and decisive words, he did not dare to say anything more, so he could only respond: "Yes."
Tao's father was sitting next to him and could hear the call clearly. Hearing this, he turned on his phone and looked through the trending searches: "You and Jiang Lin's CP has been on the trending search list for two months."
In the past two months, hot searches, video clips, and fan fiction have emerged one after another, and the number of CP fans has increased day by day.
"No matter." Tao Xing said. If this matter is clarified, it will be hyped up and purified by the other party. Just giving him a look will cause heated discussion.
Only by completely ignoring it can the heat be reduced. The other party will not be able to continue the hype one day, and then the backlash of the hype will fall on the head of the instigator.
"Okay." Tao's father also understood. He wanted to use the Chen Group to put pressure on the other party, but after thinking about it, he decided that his son was going to retire anyway, so it would be better to keep quiet and let the heat die down naturally to avoid leaving any handle.
Ah Ying didn't quite understand, so he asked, "Is it fake?"
"It's fake," Tao's father said. "It's all for traffic."
Ah Ying added: "He is real."
"Who is the real one? Are you talking about Jiang Lin?" Father Tao had a gossipy expression on his face. "Does Jiang Lin really like my son? How did you know? Oh, by the way, you are Jiang Lin's shadow, you must know him. It turns out that he likes men, but my son said he doesn't like him."
"Yeah." Aying moved his body.
Father Tao looked at its movements, rolled his eyes, and asked it with a smile: "Little shadow, why do you care so much?"
Aying didn't reply. It seemed that it didn't understand, or perhaps it didn't know how to answer.
Tao Xing was sitting on the sofa over there, looking down at the contract documents: "Dad, don't bully Aying." After reading it, he looked up, "I'm going to the company tomorrow, Aying, I won't take you with me, you stay at home with my dad, okay?"
Ah Ying tilted his head: "I will listen to everything you say."
"Yes, but you only listened to it for one day before." Tao's father replied at the right time.
Ah Ying remained silent, her red eyes drooped slightly, looking aggrieved.
Tao Xing shook his head: "Dad, I told you not to bully Ah Ying."
Father Tao shrugged, smiled, and touched Aying's head.
The next day Tao Xing went out.
There was no one to look after Aying, so he felt restless. Father Tao asked him to play cards, but he didn't want to. He also didn't want to go to play games.
Tao's father came over and asked: "What's wrong with you?"
Ah Ying said slowly: "I miss him."
"He's only been gone half a day."
"That's what I want to do."
Father Tao pinched his chin, thinking about a question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time: "Aying, do you like him?"
Ah Ying responded after a while and said, "I like it."
Father Tao was not surprised and continued, "I don't know if your understanding of love is the same as what I said. It's not the kind of love that small animals have for humans, nor is it the kind of love that comes from blood ties between parents and relatives, nor is it the harmonious relationship between good friends, nor is it the kind of love that fans admire for their idols. I'm talking about the kind of love that humans have in love. Do you... like him?"
Ah Ying stood up slowly and said, "I am attached to him, but more than attached. I admire him, but more than admiring him. I want to be cared for like a family member, but I don't want to treat him as a family member. At first, we were good friends, but later I hoped that I would be his only good friend. If other people get close to him, I will feel heartbroken."
Father Tao was startled and looked at it: "Maybe... you really fell in love with him."
But...they are not the same species.
This is a shadow, how can it have human emotions?
However, then again, isn't it even more rare for Shadow to have feelings because of a person?
This feeling is so sincere.
Father Tao thought for a while, turned a few steps, and looked back: "Okay, I'll help you, come on, I'll teach you." He pulled Ah Ying to sit on the sofa, "If you like it, you should take the initiative and have more contact."
Ah Ying: "We have been holding hands."
"What's the point of just holding hands? Aren't you two sleeping in the same bed? How do you do that?"
"Sleep on both sides."
Father Tao rolled his eyes and said, "Tonight you can squeeze in next to him and sleep next to him to see how he reacts."
Aying thought for a long time and tilted his head: Okay.
Father Tao nodded, and when he stood up, a doubt suddenly popped up in his mind: Is it possible to use the human model to teach non-humans?
"Never mind, just give it a try."
That night, Tao Xing was half asleep and half awake. She felt like she was holding a big block of ice. The ice was soft and flowing. She also dreamed that she fell into cold water. The water was black and no light could be seen.
He couldn't fall asleep again, so he opened his eyes. Under the soft light, he saw a dark ball in his arms. It was soft and sticky, with a pair of red eyes staring at him.
His breathing stagnated slightly: "Aying, you..."
Ah Ying's body stiffened: "Can I hold you while sleeping?"
"Sure." Tao Xing said, "Are you cold?"
"It's not cold, I want to hug."
"Um... OK." I'm just a little cold. Tao Xing pursed her lips and turned up the heating. "Then go to sleep."
Ah Ying crawled into his arms, stretched out his arms, and spread his arms on him like a thin blanket. Its body was somewhat sticky, and it was not completely still, it would move unconsciously, and the feeling of draping over his body was like countless tiny tentacles slowly crawling.
It's a little cold, which makes people want to shiver, and also a little... itchy in a different way.
He fought the feeling and forced himself to sleep.
In the second half of the night, Aying looked up again, glanced at his sleeping face, lowered her eyes slightly, and quietly stepped back, keeping a distance from him.
The next day, Ah Ying answered Tao's father's question: "He is unhappy. He is shaking."
"Ah?" Tao's father was surprised.
If you don't like it, it's okay to push it away or reject it, but what is this trembling reaction?
"Let me think about it again." Father Tao said, "Isn't it clear enough? Then, you... kiss him." He paused, "Do you know what this means?"
Ah Ying was silent for a moment, then said, "My mouth is not convenient."
"Why is it inconvenient?" Tao's father was startled and stared at it carefully. "By the way, I haven't seen your mouth. You don't have a mouth, do you? It's okay. Just touch it with the place where you talk."
"Touch where?"
"The face, the forehead, whatever you want."
Ah Ying stood there and digested these words.
That night, Tao Xing brought an extra quilt so that if she was still cold, she could cover herself with more.
However, Aying didn't come close to him tonight. It stayed in its own place, quietly, without moving at all, but it wasn't asleep either. It had its eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.
Tao Xing patted it and said, "What are you thinking about?"
Ah Ying seemed to be frightened, trembled a little, and slowly turned his head: "It's okay."
"Okay, go to sleep." Tao Xing stroked its head.
The night is deep, and even breathing can be heard beside me. The soft light on the bedside makes the human face look gentle and peaceful.
Ah Ying slowly turned sideways and moved towards the middle. After moving a few times, he touched the skin of the person next to him. The sleeping person did not react. The heating was on high today and it was no longer cold.
It became bolder and lay lightly on the human's body. It was very light and weightless, so it couldn't crush him.
The pair of blood-red eyes stared at the person under him, and then, a slight creaking sound came from the quiet room.
That was the sound of something sticky separating. Ah Ying's head turned 180 degrees and turned upside down. At the top, a mouth with teeth was revealed.
Where can I kiss you? Tao's father said, you can kiss anywhere you want.
It looked at it, lowered its head, touched the human's neck, and gently rubbed the bulge.
This place called Adam's apple has always made it curious.
Humans don’t speak now, but if you listen carefully, you can still feel a little vibration.
It rubbed slowly against the Adam's apple, the warm skin, the heaving chest, and the subtle tremor.
The sleeping person seemed to sense something strange and snorted softly. It looked up quickly, but saw that the person was not awake.
It paused for a moment, then lowered its head and touched the Adam's apple again.
In the dark night, not a single light could penetrate through the closed curtains. The bright white light covered the quiet room with a layer of gauze. The cold and soft lips brushed against the warm skin, and the slight tremor made Ah Ying's body tremble as well.
The non-human was surprised at his own reaction and didn't understand why he was trembling, but he couldn't help it. He also couldn't help a certain emotion, which he couldn't explain. He wanted to resist but also yearned for it.
This emotion was a bit like the time when I didn't want to take a bath with Tao Xing. At that time, I said no, but I had an inexplicable impulse in my heart. However, this time, the impulse was greater than the resistance and was much stronger than that time.
The black shadow raised its head, its body trembling more and more the more it tried to suppress itself, impulses coursing through it like boiling blood, clamoring and galloping madly.
Those eyes were redder than usual, and the boiling blood seemed to have reached an unbearable point.
Suddenly, the sticky body of the black shadow scattered and flowed around like a melting candle. The flow was not aimless, but had a clear direction. It spread into long and thin shapes above and below, as if a human suddenly stretched out his hands and feet from the quilt.
But they are much thinner than human hands and feet. They are like ropes or the tentacles of mollusks, extending, stretching, and then curling up.
The end of the roll is the hands and feet of the sleeping person.
The extended "tentacles" wrapped around Tao Xing's limbs, wrapped around his wrists and ankles, gradually exerting force and tightening deeply.
It seems that only by doing this can the boiling emotions in the body be relieved.
The mouth with sharp teeth still fell on the trembling Adam's apple, and unconsciously increased its strength as it entangled the limbs.
Tao Xing took a deep breath and woke up from a nightmare.
He dreamed that his limbs were tied and he was about to be torn into pieces by five horses.
He suddenly opened his eyes and broke out in sweat.
He calmed himself down and came to his senses, and saw a shadow swaying in front of him.
In an instant, his eyes widened in shock, and his soul, which had just returned, almost flew away again.
The shadow in front of him was spinning with its mouth pointing upwards, as it was preparing to eat someone. Now the mouth was at his neck.
Looking around, he saw that his hands and feet were wrapped up in a cold and sticky manner, so tightly that he could not move. The binding force was increasing as if it was going to break his wrists and ankles.
"Aying..." His voice was unstable due to fear.
Hearing the voice, Aying looked up suddenly.
Tao Xing was shocked again.
Those eyes were redder than ever before, as if blood was about to spurt out.
"Aying...what are you going to do?" he asked.
Ah Ying stared at him in a daze. When she came to her senses, she moved quickly. The restraints on her hands and feet loosened instantly, as if all her strength was used up in an instant. The "tentacles" fell down softly and retracted into her body little by little.
The black shadow, as if it had made a mistake, slowly slid down from the human's body, flowed to the edge of the bed, and then fell from the bed. Half of its body was on the ground, and the upper half was lying on the edge of the bed. This was the sleeping posture it had in the beginning when they were not familiar with each other.
Tao Xing rubbed his hands. Under the dim light, he saw a few red marks on his wrists. He turned his gaze to the bedside: "What's wrong with you?"
Ah Ying said nothing and lowered his eyes slightly.
There was nothing to be learned from the question, so Tao Xing didn't say anything more. He wouldn't ask if you wanted to eat me, because he believed that it wouldn't eat itself.
Maybe it was having a nightmare just like me?
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, calmed himself down, and pulled up the quilt: "Come up and sleep, I'll hold your hand, you won't be afraid." His breathing was still unsteady.
Ah Ying climbed up obediently and huddled to one side of the bed, not daring to look him in the eye.
Tao Xing covered the quilt and said, "Go to sleep. If you get scared again, just wake me up, okay?"
The black shadow was stunned for a long time, then tilted his head and dared not say anything.
"Yeah." Tao Xing calmed his breath and slowly closed his eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, the night returned to calm, and Ah Ying's eyes had returned to normal. The strong blood color disappeared, and the light in her eyes dimmed in the deep red, but her boiling emotions had not subsided and her heartbeat was still violent.
In the second half of the night, the sound of even breathing was heard beside him again, and Ah Ying, with his eyes open, felt a suffocating pain in his heart.
The next day, Tao's father took the opportunity to pull Ah Ying over and asked, "Did you kiss him? How did he react?"
Ah Ying lowered her eyes and said nothing. Tao's father was very anxious and kept asking questions.
After a long while, it finally spoke out, "He doesn't like it."
"No?" This was beyond Tao's father's expectation. "He rejected you. Are you sure? Did he directly say that he didn't like you?"
"I don't know, he was sweating a lot."
"He was shaking last night and sweating today. Why are his reactions so strange?"
Aying remained silent.
Tao's father was so anxious that he stamped his feet and ran to find Tao Xing.
Tao Xing was changing clothes. Just as he put his arm through his sleeve, someone who came in saw something and asked, "Son, what happened to your arm?"
Tao Xing put the shirt on smoothly, covering the red marks on his wrists, and turned around to button it up: "It's okay."
Father Tao's eyes rolled and he asked in surprise, "Could it be that Ah Ying did this?"
“Uh…” This one seemed impossible to hide, “Although I don’t know why it did this, it won’t hurt me, Dad, don’t worry, and don’t ask it.”
"I know it won't hurt you, but..." Father Tao frowned, thought about it, shuddered, and ran out again.
He pulled Ah Ying further away and asked: "Did you cause the scars on my son's hands?"
Aying lowered his head even more, took a step back, and dared not speak.
"Didn't I ask you to kiss him? Why did you strangle him?" Father Tao asked in a low voice, "I'm not here to accuse you. I know you have no ill intentions. Answer me honestly."
Shadow, with his eyes downcast, finally spoke, and replied timidly, "I can't control it...."
Tao's father's eyes widened, and he took a long time to react: "Then... then you can't strangle him." He was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat, and his tone became stern, "Is this your race's way of courtship... No, the way of having sex, I asked you to just kiss him once, and you give me the full package?"
Ah Ying stepped back again and shrank into a small ball: "No, no, really not."
"What do you mean?"
"It's just... I want to hold him tightly. There's a fire burning in my body, and only by holding on to him can I feel relieved." Ah Ying's voice trembled.
Father Tao sighed: "Okay." This little shadow can't lie.
However, this also reminded him of a previous question.
The way a shadow expresses love may be different from that of a human, so it cannot be taught using the human model, right?
He thought for a moment and then asked, "So how does your race courtship? Let me ask something more explicit. How do you go to bed?"
Ah Ying's eyes darkened a little more, he shrank and lowered his head, the suffocating heartache from last night reappeared: "I have no race, only me."
It was born because of humans and is the shadow of humans. The way it expresses love should be the same as humans, but it is not a real person and cannot do the same.
There is only one of it in the world, it has no racial characteristics, it was not born from nature, and it has no instincts.
It can't do anything.
Humans are not easily satisfied, and so is it. At first, it just wanted to be by his side, even if it couldn't touch him or talk to him, as long as it could see him, but now that he's by its side, it doesn't just want to be by his side.
Father Tao was slightly startled, frowned and said: "This is a bit troublesome, I don't know how to help you."
Ah Ying stopped talking. It huddled in the corner, curled up into a ball, like a small animal hugging its legs.
When Tao Xing came out, he saw its huddled figure. He walked over and gently stroked its trembling body: "What's wrong?"
The shadow raised his head, and felt the warmth of his body on his shoulder. A gentle and kind voice rang in his ears. He paused for a moment and said, "It's okay."
"Okay." Tao Xing helped it up and smiled, "I have something to tell you. I'm going to receive the award."
"What prize?" asked Tao's father.
"The director just called me. It was about the previous drama. I won an award, the most prestigious award for Chinese drama, the Golden Swallow Award. The Best Newcomer Award has been announced and it's mine. The Best Performance Award is still under review and will be announced tonight. I also have great hope." He raised his eyebrows and said to Ah Ying, "Do you want to come and play with me?"
"Son, don't you want to quit the entertainment industry? Why are you still accepting this entertainment industry award?"
"Go ahead, why not claim the prize?" Tao Xing said, then looked at Aying.
It is actually inconvenient to carry it in crowded places. Ah Ying said: "I am afraid of being seen."
"You are still wrapped around my wrist. You can't see it if I pull up my sleeve." Tao Xing smiled at it, "Didn't you say that the light makes me look good and you like to see it? Tonight, there will be many lights on me on the podium, all kinds of lights, do you want to see it?"
Ah Ying looked at him for a moment, then tilted his head and moved his body. Noticing the marks on his wrist, he lowered his eyes and stepped back.
The inexplicable emotion from last night is stirring again.
The lights were bright and the award ceremony hall was magnificent, gathering many celebrities who were dressed in their best clothes.
Ah Ying could not see the luxurious decorations that filled the hall, nor the colorful dresses, nor the various beautiful faces. In its eyes, there was only black and white. The light was white, and the people were black. Tao Xing, walking under the light, was bright and vivid.
Besides Tao Xing, it only recognized one person. It wrapped itself around Tao Xing's wrist and moved gently. Tao Xing raised her hand to her ear and listened to it say, "Jiang Lin."
Tao Xing turned around when she heard the voice and met Jiang Lin's gaze.
In the past few months, the CP of the two has been on the hot search list. It was very popular at the beginning, but because Tao Xing never paid attention, the popularity has gradually declined.
When Jiang Lin saw him, he paused and nodded slightly. He would never show any of his thoughts in front of others.
Tao Xing didn't respond, turned around and walked towards her seat.
Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment, and his assistant Xiao Wang whispered, "Teacher Jiang, if you don't leave now, you'll be blocking the road."
Jiang Lin walked forward expressionlessly and sat next to Tao Xing. They were in the same crew and sat next to each other. His status as the best actor was still there. People kept greeting him along the way, and someone complimented him, "Teacher Jiang seems to have lost weight. Don't work too hard."
The unintentional words made Jiang Lin's expression change slightly.
What hardship? He hasn't had any film contracts in the past few months. He has indeed lost weight. The drama was a hit but he was not. He was rejected when he confessed his love. The other party didn't cooperate in promoting a CP. All his resources were suddenly gone. Who wouldn't be worried about this series of bad luck?
He dressed very formally for today's award ceremony and took it very seriously.
He has won many awards, including the Best Actor title, but he has not yet won the most authoritative award in the industry, the Golden Swallow Award for Best Performance.
He only lacks this one, the most powerful one.
This is the highest award in the industry and the best recognition for every actor. It is the dream and lifelong goal of any actor who wants to pursue a career in acting.
If you get this award, you won't have to worry about resources anymore. The title of this award will last you a lifetime.
There are sources revealing that this award is most likely from their crew. If the Best Performance Award is not given to the leading actor, will it be given to the supporting actor? Awards are given based on performance, not popularity, so it doesn't matter if he didn't become a hit.
Jiang Lin is determined to win this award.
At the beginning of the award ceremony, the crew won several major awards including the Best Screenplay Award, Best Photography Award, and Director Award.
Next are the awards for actors, which are also the most concerned by the media and netizens.
The Best Newcomer Award, which has been announced before, is Tao Xing.
Tao Xing walked onto the stage amid thunderous applause. Ah Ying stuck to her sleeves, poked her head out a little, and looked up at him.
Seeing that his whole body was covered with shimmering light, like sparks and fluorescent lights, floating and jumping, the black shadow couldn't help but stare in a daze.
Applause broke out from the audience again. The intoxicated shadow quickly shrank back, wrapped around that warm wrist, his heart beating fiercely.
After Tao Xing finished her thank-you speech, she returned to her seat and listened to the name of the Best Performance Award being announced on the stage.
The lights in the hall were turned off at the right time. In the dim light, there was silence. Everyone held their breath and was nervous. The media did not dare to press the shutter.
Jiang Lin clenched his hands tightly.
"Best Performance Award, Tao Xing!" the presenter announced loudly.
The lights suddenly came on and Jiang Lin looked up suddenly.
Amid the cheers, a beam of light shone down from above and enveloped Tao Xing.
Tao Xing stood up unexpectedly. He really didn't expect to receive this award. He walked onto the stage amid thunderous applause. The beam of light followed him from the audience to the stage. Everyone else was dark except him. He was shining brightly under the white beam of light.
Ah Ying watched quietly, emotions surging wildly.
It touches the heart.
It is not human and has no racial nature, but it is driven by instinct.
Its impulse, its emotion, its inability to control itself, its...love, its love for him is an instinct.
Instinct, cannot retreat, even if there is no return.
The crew returned home with great success at this award ceremony. Tao Xing won two awards, especially the Best Performance Award, which was so valuable that his value skyrocketed overnight and he became the latest movie emperor.
Netizens and audiences are discussing this enthusiastically on various platforms, both online and offline. Although Tao Xing has only filmed this one drama, he is still the most popular actor at the moment.
Some were happy, some were sad. In the studio, Jiang Lin angrily threw his phone.
The prize that he had been looking forward to for a long time, had high hopes for, and was determined to win was gone. What else did he have?
The employees had never seen him get angry, so no one dared to say a word.
An inopportune phone call came in. After the agent answered it, he came over timidly to report: "Teacher Jiang, another director rejected us."
With a "bang", Jiang Lin suddenly clenched his fist and smashed it on the table.
Everyone came to persuade him: "Teacher, calm down..."
Amidst the chatter, Jiang Lin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said to Xiao Wang, "Didn't Chen Group sponsor the crew for me before? Contact them. If they can provide follow-up resources, I... can have a meal together, but I have to emphasize to them that no other requests are allowed."
Xiao Wang hurried to contact him. Not long after, he came back with a troubled look on his face, hesitating, "Chen Group said... it's not for you, it's for... Tao Xing."
Jiang Lin was stunned and grabbed Xiao Wang by the collar: "Impossible, Tao Xing was not famous at that time."
"People say it's indeed because of Tao Xing." Little Wang repeated.
Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment, then let go of him helplessly and staggered back a few steps: "I want to be alone, everyone get out!"
He was silent for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.
It was getting late and he went home in a daze.
As luck would have it, I met Tao Xing again in the garage. There was a middle-aged man next to her. The two of them were chatting and laughing, and were quite cordial.
The other party didn't see him, and he didn't go forward.
As they walked over, Jiang Lin's pupils suddenly shrank, and he thought of something. He immediately called Xiao Wang: "Why is Tao Xing still living in this community?" Although he had lost one cell phone, he naturally had more than one.
At this point, no matter how narcissistic he was, he couldn't think that the other person was doing this for him.
Xiao Wang was confused by this nonsense: "Maybe he bought a house there. Your community is the most upscale, and there are other celebrities living here."
"No, he lived here before he became famous. Go check whether he bought or rented the house and when he bought it."
"Oh, okay."
Xiao Wang managed to get things done quickly, and soon replied to him: "It was probably bought last summer, when the crew returned to the city from the suburbs to shoot. Mr. Jiang, your suspicion is reasonable. How could he have the money to buy a house here at that time?"
Jiang Lin walked around the room a few times and asked, "What's the name of the person in charge of the Chen Group and what does he look like?"
"I'll ask right away."
After Xiao Wang finished asking, he replied, "Teacher Jiang, the current head of the Chen Group is very mysterious. His identity has not been made public. I used my connections to find a screenshot of a video of him in pajamas. I sent it to you. Please take a look. As for his name, I really don't know. Since it's the Chen Group, his surname must be Chen."
Jiang Lin opened the picture and his expression changed in shock. The hand holding the phone trembled slightly. After a long time, he spoke in a stern voice, squeezing out a few words from between his teeth: "Tao Xing is the lover of the head of Chen Corporation!"
The other party was shocked: "Teacher Jiang, are you sure?"
"What else is uncertain?" Jiang Lin's eyes were red with anger. She could afford to buy a house here when she had no name or surname, and she could get sponsorship from the Chen family, and she could also... reject him. If she didn't have a partner, how could she be so firm and resolute?
"To put it nicely, he's my lover. To put it bluntly, he's my kept man." Jiang Lin gritted his teeth and said, "I was blind to like him. It's an insult to me to like someone like him."
"Then...what should we do? Should we continue to promote the CP?" Xiao Wang asked.
"What are you hyping? Immediately find some marketing accounts and spread the news that Tao Xing is being kept. Let everyone see what kind of face this new movie emperor has behind him."
Xiao Wang was shocked. He had never seen him so angry before: "Teacher Jiang, please think twice." Being kept was just speculation, and it was someone else's private matter.
"Go quickly, am I the boss or are you the boss?" Jiang Lin didn't listen.
Xiao Wang had no choice but to say yes, and turned to discuss it with his agent and others. Everyone was a little hesitant, so they went to ask Jiang Lin for instructions.
On the phone, Jiang Lin roared, "I have the final say. You guys do it right away. Whoever doesn't do it will get out!"
Everyone responded quickly and went about their business.
Jiang Lin hung up the phone, and in the quiet and empty room, he suddenly lost his strength and collapsed to the ground.
Why... nothing has been going well recently. Why has all my good luck run out?
Good luck...runs out!
He suddenly remembered something, and after a moment, cold sweat broke out on his back. He quickly stood up, looked up a number, and dialed it with trembling hands.
The next day.
Tao Xing was having lunch when he heard his father exclaim.
The man and the shadow looked over in surprise.
Tao's father raised his phone and said, "Son, you are on the trending searches."
The popularity of the award she just won last night has not yet subsided, occupying various headlines, and her CP with Jiang Lin is still popular. Now, another topic has soared: [Tao Xing is kept by the head of Chen’s]
Be brief and to the point.
The topic of being kept and the topic of CP complement each other, and the popularity rises together. As many people discuss the issue of being kept, as many CP fans are sad or make excuses.
They couldn't find Tao Xing's personal cell phone, so the media and fans went to Tao Xing's previous company to inquire about the news. They heard that he had terminated his contract with the company. As for his private residence, they only knew the community, but the security in the community was very strict and outsiders were not allowed to enter. They had no place to ask even if they wanted to. As for the Chen Group... they didn't dare to block it.
Countless people were anxious and finally, they all rushed to Jiang Lin's studio.
They didn't know that the news of the sponsorship was spread by Jiang Lin, but some people who supported the couple believed that the two had feelings for each other and went to speak up for Jiang Lin. Others thought that the couple was just hype, but the relationship between the two should not be bad, so they could at least ask for some inside information.
Jiang Lin shot himself in the foot and the studio was surrounded by people.
The staff was helpless and couldn’t move forward because the road was blocked, so they called Jiang Lin to ask what to do.
Jiang Lin was in a car heading deep into the mountains at this time. His anger had subsided a lot, but now he was a little flustered: "I can't go back today. You... notify them that I have a media meeting tomorrow. We can talk about anything tomorrow."
Tomorrow, he will publicly distance himself from his relationship with Tao Xing.
As for the matter of being kept, even if he spread it, it was the truth and he didn't make it up. Although he was a little panicked, there was nothing to be afraid of.
The studio immediately announced to the media: "Please be patient, tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, Teacher Jiang will be online and offline at the same time to give everyone a complete explanation of the matters related to Teacher Tao Xing."
Everyone was in an uproar. Although they were eagerly waiting, they didn't bother him anymore and just waited to come back tomorrow.
However, they were not idle. When they couldn't find Tao Xing, they shouted online: "Teacher Tao, Teacher Jiang will explain your relationship tomorrow. What do you think?"
"If you are a real man, don't hide behind others. Come over here and apologize to Teacher Jiang."
"Tao Xing, are you really being kept by someone? Won't you explain?"
“…”
There were so many shoutings that Jiang Lin's studio, under pressure, politely tagged Tao Xing and sent a message: "If Teacher Tao is willing to come and explain together, we welcome you even more."
At the dinner table, Tao's father said angrily: "Supporting? My own son, what's the point of supporting him? I can spoil him however I want. These marketing accounts are simply lawless and spread rumors at will. I immediately asked someone to suppress the news. What is Jiang Lin doing holding a meet-and-greet? Is he trying to get you some help?"
Tao Xing smiled faintly: "To be able to spread rumors that I'm your sponsor, it must be that someone saw us together. The probability of someone seeing us together is very high. I've seen it several times. Moreover, we just won the award last night and the marketing accounts are already out on a large scale today. There must be someone behind this."
"Ah, who is it?" Father Tao stood up.
"That's the person who's going to hold a meet-and-greet."
"Jiang Lin, he's not quiet yet. I'm going to settle the score with him." Tao's father slammed the table. "Now the whole network is calling for you to go to the fan meeting tomorrow. Are you prepared? What should I do?"
"Then go ahead." Tao Xing said, "I'm not being kept by someone, so what am I afraid of? Aren't we going to settle the score?"
"That's right." Tao's father said, "He spread rumors, so he has to pay a price."
Tao Xing nodded.
In the afternoon, all media and netizens discovered that Tao Xing forwarded the message from Jiang Lin's studio and replied: "Thank you for the invitation, I will definitely come as promised."
Everyone was excited again, discussing enthusiastically that there would be something interesting at tomorrow's meeting!
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