Chapter 49: "Does he know who he's after...?"
The next morning, Wen Jia woke up at the same time as Xu Shaoting, which was quite unusual.
The two spent a long time being intimate in the room. When Yu Kaiqing knocked on the door, she was right under his gaze and reluctantly took the diamond ring out of the safe.
"Didn't you say it was under the pillow?"
Wen Jia didn't dare look at him, saying, "Don't expose me."
Xu Shaoting chuckled, took the ring, and personally slipped it onto her middle finger before letting her take Yu Kaiqing to the airport.
She deliberately didn't let him drive her, and when she got into the nanny van, she didn't seem to dare to even look at him.
I'm afraid I won't be able to bear it.
Linzhou is a two-hour flight from the film and television city. After landing, the crew members picked us up and took us to the hotel.
Wen Jia is the lead actress and a big star, so the production team arranged five-star suites for her, complete with all the amenities. As the assistant of a top star, no one dared to neglect Yu Kaiqing, so she was also assigned an executive suite, right next to Wen Jia's.
As the crew members gradually settled into their hotel, they inevitably grew distant after not seeing each other for a while. Yu Jianshan decided to book a large private room at a nearby restaurant and organize a welcome dinner.
Wen Jia slept until evening, and when she entered the private room, most of the main actors had already arrived.
They looked at each other, sizing each other up, and then suddenly burst into laughter.
Everyone transformed into their character, cutting their hair short, shaving their heads, and some even dyed their hair a fiery red.
To better embody his role as a scientist in the drama, Song Yanlin cut his hair shorter and styled it in a side-swept style, which made him stand out among the many good-looking male actors.
He saw Wen Jia, smiled at her, and his smile wasn't as polite as others'; it carried a hint of teasing, like that of an old friend reuniting. As he smiled, he pulled out the only empty chair beside him, besides the head seat.
Wen Jia silently snorted in her heart. These foxes arrived unusually early. They probably deliberately reserved seats so that she and Song Yanlin could be squeezed together.
She greeted the others who were already seated, and then walked confidently toward Song Yanlin.
Once he was fully seated, he turned and glanced at her, skipping the pleasantries, "You dyed your hair back? You definitely look much better with black hair."
Wen Jia paused almost imperceptibly.
At first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with what was said, but for two people who had been in a relationship, it seems to be a subtle overstepping of boundaries. Rather than a plain narration, it sounds more like a condescending affirmation and judgment.
Wen Jia wasn't sure if he said it unintentionally or just to make conversation, so she politely replied, "How did you know I dyed my hair? I don't think I saw you at the event."
“I also go online,” Song Yanlin said nonchalantly. “Weibo is everywhere; it’s hard not to see it.”
"You're quite generous, willing to look at things related to your ex, and even willing to mention them in front of your ex."
Song Yanlin tugged at his pants and deliberately hissed, "So you mean you'd feel uncomfortable seeing me online?"
“I don’t go online.” Wen Jia turned to him with a standard smile. “I’ve never been interested in my ex’s updates either. I suggest you give it a try.”
Their relationship was pure and innocent when they first started dating, and she was the one who initiated the breakup. After the breakup, he tried to contact her again for a month, but Wen Jia, true to her principle of not going back to someone she already knows, didn't give him any response. Eventually, he got discouraged and stopped bothering her, so the breakup was clean. Years have passed, and she's long since relegated him to the ranks of colleagues. She has no interest in chatting or reminiscing with him and intended to deliberately kill the conversation. However, she didn't expect that even after so long in the entertainment industry, Song Yanlin's sharp edges on matters of principle had been worn down, but his talkative nature remained unchanged.
"You don't go online? Then you don't know what people are saying about us online right now?"
After saying that, he leaned back in his chair with an air of nonchalance, crossed his arms, and shook his leg, waiting leisurely for her response.
Wen Jia looked away and smiled.
Of course she knew what people were saying about them online.
CP fans, who had been dormant for eight hundred years, have been resurrected, clamoring that they have found real couples, and have revived the super topic of "Neighbor CP" which is covered with spider webs, making it their happy home.
Driven to madness, the die-hard fans overturned tables and smashed chairs, waving the banner of "each is beautiful on their own" and parading around, frantically controlling comments under the movie account's posts, trying to nip any chance of a reunion in the bud.
Passersby, who enjoy watching the drama unfold, quietly drifted by, not daring to show their true colors in front of the die-hard fans on Weibo, and instead went to other apps to enjoy past sweet moments.
Seeing the slight change in her expression, Song Yanlin became even more interested, his roguish mask seemingly welded onto his face. "Now everyone online is saying that we'll rekindle our old flame. What do you think?"
She slowly poured herself orange juice, completely unfazed. "Rekindling an old flame requires the foundation of existing feelings. As for the two of us, let's just call it quits."
Meeting his gaze, she took a sip of her drink. "Besides, you're so fond of the internet, haven't you seen my new relationship's Weibo post yet?"
Song Yanlin slowly stopped shaking his leg. "I really didn't see it. Are you serious?"
"Stop pretending. Even if you didn't see it, with so many mouths in the crew, you must have heard about it by now."
Song Yanlin chuckled twice and asked again, "Do I know him?"
"Sorry, I'm not in the industry."
You're unlikely to know him; Xu Shaoting doesn't deal with just anyone.
She kept those words to herself, without saying them aloud.
"When did you start talking about people outside the entertainment industry? Have you changed your taste?"
Song Yanlin's personality has changed a lot. It's not that she didn't notice. During the script readings, Wen Jia vaguely sensed that he had become more outgoing than he had a few years ago, but this outgoingness always carried a hint of offense and recklessness.
Hearing his words, she felt an indescribable discomfort. "What do you mean by 'taste'? It's just that I've dated people in the industry, so I want to date people outside the industry now."
Song Yanlin cleared his throat, momentarily speechless. His gaze swept over the ring on her middle finger, and his eyes darkened noticeably. "Was this ring also a gift from your boyfriend?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
He was taken aback, then raised an eyebrow. "Fine, so it's not a difference between insiders and outsiders, it's just that they like rich people."
"You envy me, don't you?" Wen Jia confirmed his offense at this moment. "If you're envious, go find a rich man. There are plenty of men and women in the industry who are bisexual. Just settle for it and you won't have to show your face in movies for the rest of your life. You're not bad, you should be in demand."
Although her voice was soft, it was full of confidence. She was clearly criticizing him, but he couldn't find any fault with her. With a frivolous tone, she politely returned his smile.
Unable to argue with her, Song Yanlin didn't show any resentment. Instead, he shamelessly moved closer to her.
Wen Jia suddenly felt a perfume scent assault her nose. It wasn't a common, mass-produced fragrance, but rather a very mixed scent, with a hint of feminine richness mixed in with the aquatic notes of men's perfume.
Whether it was her imagination or he really had caught someone's scent, she didn't know.
Song Yanlin tried to get closer, but Wen Jia dodged him. His voice faded as he asked, "Then tell me, is there still a chance for us?"
Wen Jia frowned, stopping her sipping of orange juice. She couldn't understand how he could say such things so righteously.
After a long silence, he calmly replied, "Between the two of us, there's only the possibility of working together. Let's just work together well and finish filming the movie. Let's not end up not even having the possibility of working together anymore. That wouldn't be good for either of us."
There were some things she just had to say. "Besides, I have a boyfriend now, and you already know that. Asking him like that is completely disrespectful to him. How do you think I would answer you?"
"What's with all this talk about respect? Is it really that serious? If you're really willing, we might actually be able to rekindle our relationship. I can't really say that I have absolutely no feelings for you anymore."
Without blushing or skipping a beat, he stared at her and casually clicked his tongue, "I don't mind being a third party anyway."
Such things happen a lot in the entertainment industry. For example, the male and female leads of a certain drama might fall in love off-screen and dump their original partners; or a certain couple might be photographed rehearsing late at night even though they each have other partners. In any case, it's just a tacit, fleeting affair that ends once filming wraps.
She had heard about it and even witnessed it firsthand, but never considered getting involved. A few years ago, she was almost unwittingly drawn into this kind of controversy; if Zhang Linzhi hadn't shielded her, it might have become a black mark on her record by now.
Having been in the industry for so many years, she has faced all sorts of outrageous reasons from rivals and haters to drag her down, but no one has ever said that she has a messy love life or that she rose to fame through relationships.
She suddenly remembered that Xu Shaoting had said the exact same thing.
Xu Shaoting spoke the same few words casually, making them sound like flirting when they were clearly immoral.
Song Yanlin spoke inappropriately; his words were clearly immoral, yet he spoke as if they were truly immoral.
She finally suppressed her remaining smile, and what was more of a response than a statement was, "I don't like this kind of joke, and neither does my boyfriend. Saying these things only makes me glad that we broke up cleanly back then. Have some self-respect."
After saying that, she gently touched his cup to his.
In front of everyone, they still gave him a little face.
Song Yanlin was silent for two seconds, and when he spoke again, his tone was somewhat perfunctory, and he said "okay" three times in a row.
The door to the private room was pushed open, and Yu Jianshan walked in. Everyone in the seats stood up to welcome this great figure.
With his arrival, everyone finally began to eat. Yu Jianshan disregarded drinking etiquette and did not urge others to drink. Instead, he downed one glass after another. Halfway through dinner, he was already slightly tipsy, his cheeks flushed and his eyes a little moist.
He poured himself another small glass of baijiu, stood up, and gestured to the crowd, "Alright, alright, everyone, please be quiet for a few minutes."
"First of all, thank you all for coming together to this group from all over the world. Fate is a wonderful thing, bringing together such a large group of capable people to work together for the same story."
His voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was sincere, unlike any other big-name director in the industry. "Tomorrow, we will officially start filming before the freeze. I know that everyone here, whether it's our lead actors or every hardworking colleague behind the scenes, has been preparing for this moment for a long time. The script has been polished again and again, the sets have been built again and again, and the equipment has been adjusted again and again. Thank you for your hard work."
He paused, straightened his expression, and surveyed the entire room. "Starting tomorrow, we won't have any of you teachers or big shots anymore. On set, we'll only have one identity: acting fanatics. I hope that all of us, including myself, can put all our energy, passion, and professionalism into the filming. Let's work together to make this a success."
A round of applause erupted around the table in agreement.
"Alright, that's enough talk. Everyone, enjoy your meal and drinks tonight, but remember, we need to be at work in top form tomorrow morning!"
Filming starts tomorrow, so no one dares to drink alcohol. They all use soft drinks instead, tapping them on the edge of the table as a sign of sincerity.
This was a set of perfunctory words; not saying them would be undignified, but saying them would be pointless. Yu Jianshan had a few things on his mind that he couldn't say in public, but he had no choice but to say them.
He clinked his wine glass with Wen Jia beside him, then across her to clink it with Song Yanlin, getting straight to the point: "Tomorrow's first show is your highlight, with a huge emotional range. I hope you two can put aside some of your past personal grudges," he said, his gaze lingering subtly on Wen Jia, "and there are other factors as well, so give it your all."
Wen Jia was texting 'Other Factors' when she heard this. She replied seriously, "Director Yu, there is no personal grudge between me and Teacher Song. There are no other factors either. I am still very professional."
Yu Jianshan glanced at her screen, his face stern, "So what are you doing right now?"
Wen Jia smiled and said, "It's not due to any other factors."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyun, who was sitting on the other side of Yu Jianshan, turned her gaze to Wen Jia.
-
After the banquet, Wen Jia returned to her top-floor suite and buried her head in the pillow without a care in the world.
Yu Kaiqing was tidying up her luggage by the sofa and tossed her a lace nightgown. "What's wrong? You came back like this after just one meal."
"It's exhausting to deal with that old fox Yu Jianshan. I always feel like he's implying something in his words, deliberately not making things clear and leaving people to guess." A sigh came from under the pillow.
"You scared me to death," Yu Kaiqing patted her chest. "I thought you and Song Yanlin had really gotten together."
"I'm not scared, why are you so afraid?"
"I was afraid you'd fall for him again, so your aunt specifically told me to keep an eye on you yesterday."
The person on the bed suddenly sat up and threw her pajamas at Yu Kaiqing. "Are you crazy? I hit it off with him. It's just filming. What do you all take me for?"
"Although I often say some immoral things, it's just talk. If you really rekindle your old flame with him, I'll be the first to disagree."
“No,” Yu Kaiqing looked at her meaningfully, “I should wait a bit. Chairman Xu should be the first to disagree.”
"Do I think their moral standards are very low?"
"...No, it's because he thinks the moral bottom line is very low."
Yu Kaiqing was just trying to make amends, but unexpectedly she actually got a nod of affirmation, "You're really right. How come I never noticed before that his moral standards were so low, and he's changed quite a bit. No wonder my mom reminded me like that yesterday."
"How so?"
“He seems to have become very slick.” Wen Jia gestured, unsure how to describe it. “He seemed to have tried to touch me just now, but luckily Qin Jiawen made me switch places with him, separating Song Yanlin from me.”
Yu Kaiqing was utterly shocked. "Holy crap, you touched me?"
“I didn’t let him run into it, and I won’t let him run into it.” Wen Jia shook her head. “When I was dating him before, he was the kind of guy with a very straightforward personality. He didn’t even know how to win a girl’s heart. Now he’s started to become a bit glib and doesn’t know how to say anything. Anyway, I don’t like him.”
The entertainment industry is a big dye vat; anyone who enters will get tainted, and many lose their humanity in the process. However, she never imagined that Song Yanlin might become one of them.
"It's also possible that he's always been like that, and he's just putting on a good act in front of you."
“Then I can only say that his acting skills are quite good,” Wen Jia felt an indescribable emotion rising in her heart. “He just asked me if there was still a possibility between us.”
"What did you reply?"
"Of course I denied it, and then, you know what he said?"
He said he wouldn't mind being my mistress.
Yu Kaiqing almost choked on her water. "Does he even know who he's trying to take advantage of?"
"I don't know, I only told him he's not in the industry."
“Good, don’t tell him. Let him lose his head without even realizing it,” Yu Kaiqing made a ‘snap’ motion on her neck. “To be honest, he can’t even afford to offend President Zhou, so why would he want to offend Chairman Xu? He just doesn’t want to work in this industry anymore.”
“I wouldn’t dare let Xu Shaoting hear this.” Wen Jia imagined a million possibilities in her mind, then waved her hand. “I thought he had matured a bit when we were doing the reading a while ago, but I didn’t expect he only matured in front of Yu Jianshan.”
"Alright, alright, we have to get up early tomorrow. Go take a shower first, the bathtub is already filled with water."
Wen Jia obediently walked towards the bathroom. Just as she stepped inside, Yu Kaiqing's voice came from behind her, "What is this?"
She pulled a slender-necked, double-eared fragrance bottle from her suitcase, held it and examined it for a moment, "Perfume?" she said, spraying out a pump.
Wen Jia took two seconds to react, then suddenly turned around, teleported in front of Yu Kaiqing, and snatched the item away, saying, "I just bought it."
"When did you start liking this woody scent?" Yu Kaiqing closed her eyes and took a deep, enjoyable inhalation. "It smells quite nice. Can you give me a sample?"
“You wish,” she retorted immediately, her tone righteous and firm. “I have so many bottles on my desk, you can pick whichever you like, I’ll give you the full-size ones, but this one won’t do.”
"What's wrong? Is it a limited edition?"
Wen Jia wouldn't tell her that it really was a limited edition.
The perfumer, nearing sixty, has long since retired from the market and no longer provides services to the public. He only serves five clients a year, yet he still earns a fortune. He has his own fragrance team, and since the condition of cedarwood is different every year, it is difficult to completely replicate the same formula.
Xu Shaoting ordered the housekeeper to deliver it to the villa early this morning before she left.
She said that if she missed him, she wanted to smell him, and he really had no reason to refuse.
Yu Kaiqing, oblivious to anything amiss, reached out to snatch it, saying, "So precious? I want it even more."
Wen Jia ignored her and carefully hid the fragrance bottle under her pillow. "I'm giving you everything on my dressing table. I'll keep this one for myself."
Yu Kaiqing scoffed dismissively, "Fine, don't give it to me then, why all the mystery?"
Seeing that she had given up, Wen Jia finally felt relieved and went into the bathroom for a bath. After coming out, she went straight to the bed and crawled into bed so quickly that when Yu Kaiqing looked up, all that was left was a huddled-up blanket.
She pulled the bottle out from under her pillow.
All night she could only smell Song Yanlin's complicated scent, and now she desperately needed Xu Shaoting's scent to cleanse her nasal passages.
She sprayed two pumps onto the sheets.
She took a deep breath; it was her favorite scent—the crisp aroma of cedarwood and the deep fragrance of agarwood. He wasn't there, but his scent embraced her, finally washing away the smells of smoke, alcohol, and mixed perfume.
Outside the sheet, Yu Kaiqing closed the last suitcase, clapped her hands, and said, "Alright, get some rest. I'll wake you up at five tomorrow morning."
The room lights were turned off. She opened the door and was about to step out when that faint fragrance wafted into her nose again.
Yu Kaiqing suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Wait, why does this scent smell so familiar?
She slapped her forehead and sighed deeply.
Separated by a door, the bedroom was dark, and the entire space was filled with Xu Shaoting's presence, which made Wen Jia feel very comfortable.
Her nose feels better now, but her ears are still aching.
Song Yanlin's uncomfortable words still echoed in her ears from time to time, giving her goosebumps all over her body.
Find Xu Shaoting to hedge the risk.
She took out her phone and sent him a voice message.
"What are you doing?"
He replied quickly, but not via voice message:
"Going home from the company"
She moved closer to the microphone, her voice muffled as she listened from under the covers:
"I miss you."
I want to hear your voice.
"inconvenient"
When communicating with people through a screen, Hsu Shao-ting always keeps it brief and never sends voice messages.
Wen Jia coaxed and pleaded for a while, and Xu Shaoting couldn't resist, so he agreed:
What would you like to hear? Singing is an exception.
Wen Jia began, "Do you remember saying before that you regretted not becoming my mistress?"
"how?"
"Could you say it to me again?"
'Snap'
The sound of a phone being thrown away came from inside the Maybach; the force was considerable, and it made a crisp sound even when it hit the leather seat.
Xu Shaoting squinted and looked out the window.
What's wrong with this woman?
-----------------------
Author's Note: ...Song Yanlin, good luck to you.
(Qin Jiawen is the supporting male character in "Before the Freeze" mentioned before.)
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