Chapter 55. We'll stay at the apartment together tonight.
"I didn't..." Chu Ruofu hurriedly denied. She had been bewitched and kissed his lips, but it wasn't because he had helped her kiss him.
If she kissed him out of gratitude, what kind of person would she be? She would never betray her body for any benefit; she's just a idealist.
Gu Junsheng saw her delicate and lovely face flushed, looking anxious and unsure how to explain. His heart fluttered, and he reached out to stroke her warm face before lowering his head to kiss her.
Chu Ruofu's pupils contracted slightly, and she subconsciously gripped the hem of her skirt, tilting her head back somewhat helplessly.
His lips were warm, and his cool breath, carried by his gentle kisses, slowly enveloped her entire body, filling the car with his faint fragrance.
The kiss was gentle and soothing, restrained and controlled, just like his noble and composed demeanor. He was slowly prying open her lips, with a touch of seduction, enticing her to unconsciously open them.
When their lips and tongues touched, she, like a shy little fish, began to dodge. He, a patient hunter, allowed her to evade, slowly forcing her back, locking her in, and then entwining her again.
A tender, intoxicating kiss instantly stole her breath.
Gu Junsheng lowered his long eyelashes, suppressing the darkness surging in his eyes, and slowly kissed her, as if playing a game with her, sometimes entwining her, sometimes letting go, guiding her to tremble on her own.
Under the starlit night sky, the car was exceptionally quiet, except for the sound of water.
Chu Ruofu felt dizzy and lightheaded, her mind went blank, and she could hear nothing but the clear thumping of her heart.
Gradually, a stimulating electric current ran down her spine, her body became limp and weak, and she breathed heavily as she slumped into his arms.
Gu Junsheng kissed her for a while, then released her exhausted lips and tongue. He looked down at her slightly red eyes and her weak and powerless appearance, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
He helped her into the seat, sat back down, and gazed at the bright city night view ahead, his chest rising and falling slightly.
Only after tasting it did he realize how delicious and sweet it was, just like the fruit candy he loved as a child. It tasted so good that he wanted to chew it up and swallow it whole, and then keep it in his mouth to savor it again and again.
The car was quiet. Gu Junsheng suppressed the surging heat within him and forced himself to calm down.
He wasn't the typical urban man and woman; even if he liked someone, he could still restrain himself and maintain proper decorum.
Chu Ruofu resumed normal breathing and secretly glanced at Gu Junsheng. His profile was smooth and clear, and his cool eyebrows and eyes were tinged with desire. He was extremely restrained, which made him look particularly alluring.
At that moment, she thought of the Buddhist monk in the Beijing circle described in the novel, aloof and ascetic, with indifferent eyes like a flower on a high mountain, and she wanted to pull him down from his pedestal.
See him overcome with emotion, see him yearn for what he cannot have, see him broken.
Chu Ruofu cupped her flushed face in her hands, thinking to herself, "What on earth is she thinking? It's terribly wicked."
Gu Junsheng turned to look at her, his voice hoarse: "It's getting late."
Chu Ruofu's heart began to race, and her voice trembled slightly: "Shall we go back?"
Gu Junsheng hummed in agreement, started the engine, and drove down the mountain.
Chu Ruofu glanced at him occasionally, her eyes flickering, her mind wandering.
Is their relationship progressing too fast? They are both adults, and it's normal for things to go on like this, but she's not ready yet.
She bit her lip, feeling extremely nervous the whole way.
When the car arrived at the apartment building, she suddenly came to her senses. Gu Junsheng had already unbuckled his seatbelt and gotten out of the car, and came over to the passenger seat to open the car door for her.
Chu Ruofu was so nervous that she forgot to unbuckle her seatbelt and was forced to sit back down after standing up.
"Don't move, I'll do it." Gu Junsheng bent down and came over.
Chu Ruofu leaned back in her seat, looking down as he reached out his well-defined hand to unfasten her seatbelt, then reached out to her and led her out of the car.
His palms were clean and warm, enveloping hers and holding her hand tightly until they returned to the apartment.
After closing the door, the two were alone.
Chu Ruofu looked up at him.
Gu Junsheng said, "I'll stay here tonight and take you to the airport tomorrow."
Chu Ruofu's mind began to wander in disarray. She stood in the apartment, dazed and confused.
Seeing her at a loss, Gu Junsheng said gently, "If you feel uncomfortable, I can leave."
“No need,” Chu Ruofu said immediately. “This is your apartment; you can stay here if you want.”
Gu Junsheng walked towards the master bedroom: "I have some work to take care of."
"You're busy, you're busy," Chu Ruofu quickly waved her hand.
When the two kissed while looking at the stars on the mountain, it just happened naturally. Back at the apartment, she felt uncomfortable and embarrassed.
Gu Junsheng noticed her discomfort and chose to return to the master bedroom, closing the door to give her some breathing space.
Chu Ruofu hurriedly ran back to her bedroom, grabbed her pajamas, quickly washed up, and then returned to her bedroom.
When filming the variety show, the guests all lived under the same roof, and she didn't feel anything special. But now that she meets Gu Junsheng in private, she doesn't know how to get along with him.
Having been busy all day, Chu Ruofu was exhausted and lay on the bed like a salted fish that couldn't turn over.
After lying quietly for a while, she took out her phone and sent a message to Xue Fangfei, who had returned to Haicheng and reported her whereabouts, asking about her return to the company today.
Xue Fangfei didn't reply to the message, so she got a little worried and picked up her phone to make a video call.
It took two tries before the other party answered.
The background of Xue Fangfei's video call was at home. Chu Ruofu breathed a sigh of relief and asked her, "How was your trip home today?"
"It's fine," Xue Fangfei complained. "When I got back to the company, that greasy guy scolded me. He said he would deduct my pay, so I immediately refused and argued with him for a bit."
"What a lousy company! They only pay me so little each month and they still have the nerve to deduct money from my pay. If my contract didn't still have several years left, I would have already quit this lousy company. You should come with me."
When the two signed the contract, they were both fresh out of college and didn't read the terms and conditions carefully. The company said that the longer the contract was signed, the more benefits they would receive and the more resources they would get, so they signed for many years.
The company contract stipulates that if a breach of contract occurs, the breaching party will have to pay the company an exorbitant amount of compensation.
It's common for artists and their companies to fall out and go to court. Some artists want to leave less famous companies after they become famous, while others are exploited by companies that are unethical and want to ruthlessly exploit their artists and bleed them dry to promote newcomers.
Even worse, these unscrupulous capitalists give any script or advertisement to artists, regardless of whether it will affect their image. All they care about is profit.
Ultimately, the two sides often end up in a bloody mess.
Chu Ruofu hadn't received many good resources at the company. Recently, because of her newfound fame, she's been approached by many advertisements for substandard or counterfeit products, but she hasn't agreed to accept them.
Xue Fangfei told her boss that her market value would definitely rise after the dating show ended, and she would be able to get higher-priced advertising endorsements in the future. She told him not to rush to give her too many advertisements so as not to affect the recording of the variety show.
After thinking it over, the boss realized that he had a long-term vision and would reap greater benefits, so he reluctantly agreed.
Now, finally, a director and an investor have come knocking on their door with a female-centric script. No audition is needed; they specifically want Chu Ruofu to play the role. The two of them went to Beijing for a social event and ended up beating up the investor.
The boss was in a hurry to call the two back. Xue Fangfei went back first and got a good scolding from the boss.
Chu Ruofu knew that Xue Fangfei was preventing her from going back so that she could take the blame for the boss. Don't be fooled by Xue Fangfei's seemingly relaxed demeanor; those who get scolded don't have it easy.
Listening to Xue Fangfei's complaints, she asked how it ended.
Xue Fangfei lowered her head with an apologetic expression and said, "Fufu, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. That old man surnamed Ma is no longer cooperating with our company, and I've lost your first leading role."
Chu Ruofu already knew in her heart that she couldn't accept the script when she was harassed yesterday.
At the time, she and Xue Fangfei left the restaurant directly. The director and investors would also feel alienated from her. In the future, when the crew was filming or having dinner together, they would always find opportunities to make her feel alienated.
It would be better if she didn't accept scripts like this for the female lead.
She'd rather forgo scripts and fashion resources than be subjected to unspoken rules.
Chu Ruofu comforted the guilty Xue Fangfei: "Don't be sad. Even if I had accepted this script, I might still have been persecuted by them in the future. You protected me."
"So many celebrities have been murdered in the entertainment industry. If you live well, there will always be a day when you can make a name for yourself."
Xue Fangfei sniffed and said, "You're right. Nothing is better than living well. As long as you're alive, there's hope."
"At first, I was so happy that you could play the female lead that I was overjoyed. There was no need for an audition. You were directly chosen as the female lead. I was so stupid. There's no such thing as being that lucky."
"Good things that are given away for no reason in this world actually come with a hidden price tag."
“In our parents’ generation, powerful men would make whoever they fancied the leading lady. As for how they got the leading lady, the hardships behind it were unknown to others.”
Chu Ruofu hummed in agreement. Actually, things weren't much better now. For artists with connections and backgrounds, when to film what movies, what awards to win—it was all arranged in secret.
After calming down, Xue Fangfei analyzed the situation rationally: "The period drama market has become saturated in recent years. There are no new scripts, and the audience is already tired of them. It's hard to produce a hit drama."
"It's a script adapted from a popular IP, and we don't know how the director will drastically change it, or who the male lead will be. It's better if you don't take the role."
"Fufu, you have a great talent for acting. We need to choose scripts carefully and resolutely refuse to accept bad scripts."
Chu Ruofu said, "You didn't say that before. You said you'd take any role if you could, accumulate experience first, and eventually become a big star."
“You’ve accumulated enough experience over the past few years,” Xue Fangfei said. “It’s been ten years of honing your skills, and now is the time for you to unleash them.”
Chu Ruofu's eyes flickered, and she said, "It hasn't been ten years yet."
Xue Fangfei said confidently, "This is a metaphor. Your luck has come, and nothing can stop it. I guarantee you that a great script will soon fall into your hands."
Chu Ruofu smiled and said, "It sounds nicer than what you say."
Xue Fangfei winked at her and began to ask, "Where did you and President Gu go on your date today?"
Chu Ruofu said, "We didn't go anywhere. He just took me around the tourist attractions, and then we went to the resort for dinner together."
"I know that. You told me everything. The resort that President Gu took you to costs several thousand yuan per person, it's ridiculously expensive." Xue Fangfei pressed, "You came back right after dinner?"
Chu Ruofu blushed and said, "I went up the mountain to look at the stars for a while and then came back."
Xue Fangfei asked suspiciously, "You didn't do anything?"
Chu Ruofu pursed her lips slightly, feeling a little shy as she recalled kissing Gu Junsheng in the car.
Xue Fangfei guessed, "Is President Gu impotent? He has such a beautiful and vibrant woman like you, yet he hasn't done anything with her."
Chu Ruofu quickly told her not to say anything nonsense, otherwise Gu Junsheng next door might hear her and she would be immediately killed.
Xue Fangfei said, "I'm doing this all for your own good. If a man can't give you sexual happiness, then you can't have him."
"I kissed him," Chu Ruofu quickly vouched for Gu Junsheng.
Xue Fangfei said meaningfully, "President Gu looks aloof and abstinent, but he's actually quite sexually averse to it. That's why he can't hold back."
"Is he the third man you've kissed? How was his technique?"
When her best friend asked that question, Chu Ruofu couldn't help but compare her kisses with them in her mind.
Lu Xubai's kisses were like a beast invading, forcefully stealing her breath; Li Yichen liked to tease her, enticing her to fall into depravity; Gu Junsheng was gentle and steady, guiding her to take the initiative to entangle with him.
"That's good, he's very gentle." Chu Ruofu's voice was barely a whisper.
Xue Fangfei stopped teasing her and said, "I booked you a flight for this morning. Get some rest and don't stay up late."
Chu Ruofu said goodnight to her, hung up the video call, felt a little thirsty, got out of bed, put on her slippers, and prepared to go out to get a glass of water.
As soon as he opened the door, he bumped into Gu Junsheng, who was standing on the balcony making a phone call. Hearing the noise, he turned around to look.
The man wore a dark bathrobe, the belt tied tightly, leaving only a glimpse of his firm, fair chest; the fabric was thin, and his muscles were faintly visible.
This was a side of him she had never seen before, brimming with the hormones of a mature man, talking on the phone with someone, his eyes and brows exuding the oppressive aura of someone in a superior position.
Chu Ruofu's breath hitched, and she wanted to turn around and sneak back to her bedroom.
Gu Junsheng hung up the phone and walked towards her: "Still not asleep?"
Chu Ruofu lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him, and said, "Come out and get some water."
Gu Junsheng asked her, "The island has boiled purified water, and the refrigerator has mineral ice water. Which one would you like to drink?"
"Ice water." Chu Ruofu felt she needed ice water to quench her thirst.
Gu Junsheng went over, opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water, and unscrewed it for her: "Drink this."
Chu Ruofu took the water bottle and looked up to drink. She saw him staring at her with a dark look in his eyes and almost choked. The water moistened her lips, making them look tender and delicate.
Were you just working?
Gu Junsheng said, "There's been a small problem with the project."
Chu Ruofu asked worriedly, "Is it serious?"
Gu Junsheng said calmly, "It's not serious, it can be resolved."
"That's good." Chu Ruofu held the bottle and said softly, "I'm going back to my room. Goodnight."
Gu Junsheng suddenly grabbed her wrist.
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Author's note: [Crying] I was having so much trouble writing this.
I'll update at 9 PM, which is 6 PM, and there will definitely be two chapters tonight.
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