Chapter 60: The person you are destined not to keep by your side.
The next morning, Xu Shaoting accompanied Zhao Xinglan to breakfast.
Although Zhao Xinglan has stepped down from her position behind the scenes of the group and relieved herself of heavy responsibilities, thus reducing her pressure considerably, leisure activities such as beauty treatments, tea drinking, and shopping are ultimately only a small part of her life. The family's charitable foundation and various public welfare organizations still require her attention and effort to manage, and when she gets busy, she may not be much less idle than Xu Bozheng.
The mother and son rarely have the opportunity to sit down and have a good chat like they do today.
The weather was fine today, with warm sunshine. Zhao Xinglan had a silk scarf loosely tied around her neck, making her look extremely elegant in the warm sun.
She took a small sip of soup and asked casually, "Why didn't you bring your girlfriend home for the New Year?"
“She’s busy filming.” Xu Shaoting swallowed a sip of red tea, calmly adding, “Given Dad’s temper, now is not the time to bring her back.”
"Your father may have a short temper, but he does it all for your own good."
Xu Shaoting lowered his eyes, his knife and fork still moving. "It's for my own good, so I can't love the person I want to love."
Zhao Xinglan can maintain a pleasant demeanor and stable emotions for 360 days a year, but when it comes to the tense relationship between father and son, his expression inevitably breaks down. "It's not that simple. He has to consider more than you do, and it's also very difficult for him."
"And what about you?"
"What about me?"
What are your thoughts?
"I support you dating."
Xu Shaoting chuckled softly, finally raising his eyes to look at his mother. "I've been urging you to get married, haven't I?"
This corner of the restaurant fell silent instantly.
Zhao Xinglan straightened his expression. "To be honest, I quite like this girl, but marriage and dating are two different things. You are the future master of the Xu family, Shao Ting, your wife. In the future, you will also reach my position, sit in my seat, do the things I do, and others will be more demanding of her than they are of me. You will have to give up some of your freedom."
She looked tenderly at her eldest son, “She needs to invest far more than just time; she also needs to focus her energy and image. This position requires her to be low-key, pragmatic, and family-oriented. But the career of a celebrity is the opposite; it requires exposure, buzz, and facing public judgment. These are fundamentally two different paths. I worry that she won’t be able to play two completely opposite roles well at the same time, and ultimately she will find it difficult to balance both.”
"So in the end, it all comes down to identity. Not only is my identity wrong, but hers is wrong too."
Zhao Xinglan hesitated for a moment, then said, "What matters most is your preference. I won't object to the marriage, but I hope both of you will consider what I've said before making a decision. Marriage isn't child's play; it's not something you can just decide to do. It requires weighing the pros and cons, and one party will inevitably have to give up more than the other." Her words were very sincere, and she added at the end, "You love her so much, you probably wouldn't want to see her split into two people for this love, struggling between the spotlight and family responsibilities, right?"
Bringing Wen Jia home formally is something that requires careful consideration. Even if the two of them are truly in love, there are still many things to consider. He had been too hasty before, and only now does he realize that he shouldn't have brought up marriage in front of him so early.
He was too reckless, too eager, and too eager to cash in, so he forgot to consider whether she was willing to give up her career, and whether he was willing to see her give up the career she loved and become a caged canary.
Xu Shaoting had to admit that Zhao Xinglan always managed to enlighten him with her own experiences at such crucial moments.
Because he knew that Zhao Xinglan had also given up her career and pursuits for the Xu family when she was young.
Do you regret it?
“Regret.” Zhao Xinglan’s voice was soft. “Shao Ting, everyone has to pay the price for their choices. I’ve lost a lot and sacrificed a lot to earn the respect I have today. Even though I’m doing well now, I often think back and wonder if everything would have been different if I had chosen a different path.”
She looked at her son and said, "I don't want the person you love to look in the mirror one day and find that they can no longer recognize themselves."
"You mean that in my position, I'm destined not to have the person I love by my side?"
-
This year's Lunar New Year celebrations are unusually late; the first month of the lunar calendar officially ended in mid-March.
Zhang Linzhi is a decisive person. Taking advantage of the Chinese New Year period, she quickly and decisively settled the division of interests with An Xiyue, and left Xing Shuo with her resources in the industry.
Next, she will focus on managing her two artists and work hard for her 25% stake.
Xu Shaoting's two hundred million could not be given directly to Wen Jia or Zhang Linzhi personally; it could only be transferred through the new company's corporate account. Therefore, this huge sum of money became Zhang Linzhi's motivation.
Throughout the entire first month of the lunar calendar, Wen Jia was driven to distraction by her constant urging.
Not only did she have to film, but she also had to manage the affairs of the new company. Although Zhang Linzhi could handle most of the procedures, some pre-registration preparations and groundbreaking required her, as the major shareholder, to participate in discussions personally. She would always wait until she wasn't working late into the night, and then hurriedly call Xu Shaoting and Zhang Linzhi after finishing work.
Xu Shaoting didn't interfere much, just listened quietly from the sidelines, occasionally offering some advice.
After discussing the registered capital, business scope, and equity ratio, choosing a company location became a major challenge. Lin Youzhe was ready to meet with Zhang Linzhi at any time, and he listed out a list of good office locations in Linzhou for Zhang Linzhi to look at one by one.
Zhang Linzhi couldn't see anything special about it, so he specially invited a master to look at the feng shui. In just half a month, he decided to locate his office on the 46th floor of the Linzhou Building.
Once the location was decided, naming the place became another major challenge.
Wen Jia and Zhang Linzhi listed several names, but after much deliberation, they couldn't choose the one they liked best. So, the latter took these names to a master, who finally decided on the name 'Lingguang'.
In the first week after the Lunar New Year, Zhang Linzhi submitted the relevant materials to the Market Supervision Administration.
With a major matter settled, she called Wen Jia to share the good news.
"Honey, we just submitted the documents, and now we're just waiting for the business license to be issued."
Wen Jia had just finished work and was huddled inside her down jacket, her voice sounding exhausted, "Quick enough."
“I’ve specifically calculated the time. By the time all the paperwork here is complete, my non-compete period will be almost over, and you can terminate your contract with Xing Shuo. From now on, I’ll focus on training you and Zhong Rui. How’s your filming going? Do you need me to come with you?”
"Don't come anymore, go and focus on the company. Kaiqing is here."
After hanging up the phone, Wen Jia was about to leave the film set when Yu Jianshan called her back, along with Song Yanlin.
Wen Jia seemed to understand his meaning by leaving only the two lead actors behind.
"We'll be filming a kissing scene tomorrow," Yu Jianshan said bluntly.
He arranged it this way on purpose.
These days, Wen Jia has been almost completely immersed in Feng Yingxue's life, completing the filming of the remaining intimate scenes.
She was used to Chen Xu's embrace. The moment his strong arms lifted her up, she nestled against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. They snuggled together, holding hands, doing everything lovers do in front of the camera, their breaths mingling, their body heat mingling.
However, in all the ambiguous and suggestive moments, a kiss was always missing.
Yu Jianshan knew better than anyone that kissing in film and television narratives was often used too cheaply, becoming a shortcut to advance relationships or a gimmick to grab attention. He disdained that.
That's why he's so stingy and precious with kissing scenes. He postpones kissing scenes again and again, filming the ambiguous scenes first, until both the characters and actors are fully prepared and ready, before easily bringing it up.
In addition, with several intimate scenes in the past few days, Wen Jia was able to understand Feng Yingxue's emotions without him having to explain the scenes, and Song Yanlin's expression of emotions became more and more accurate.
He knew the kissing scene couldn't be delayed any longer.
Wen Jia nodded and calmly accepted his arrangement.
She had no choice but to accept it.
Wen Jia returned to the hotel and removed her makeup. Usually, Xu Shaoting would video call her after she had showered, but today, she seemed unable to wait even a moment longer and took the initiative to call him.
The man looked at her plain face on the screen, which wasn't yet in her pajamas, and smiled slightly. "Why are you up so early today?"
Wen Jia did not answer immediately; her eyelashes drooped, and her gaze was somewhat dazed.
"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
"I have to film a kissing scene tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Xu Shaoting paused in his calligraphy, and a drop of thick ink fell onto the Xuan paper.
Xu Yitang had actually told him about this a long time ago; she had even asked him if he wanted to visit the set.
Xu Shaoting refused without even thinking.
He doesn't have that kind of fetish for seeing her kiss other men.
"Is it absolutely necessary to film this?"
“Hmm,” Wen Jia turned her face away, “the main event.”
"Go ahead and take the picture," he said calmly.
However, the pressure he applied when writing calligraphy grew heavier with each stroke, the ink soaking into the rice paper, and he was unaware that his strokes were going beyond the lines.
"I wonder if Yu Jianshan will use a camera trick."
“No need,” Xu Shaoting said, his tone even more resolute than hers. “Do whatever works best.”
"It's my own fault for not wanting to kiss you." Her voice carried a hint of resistance.
Xu Shaoting then smiled and loosened his grip, "You and him, haven't you kissed before?"
"My feelings are different," Wen Jia couldn't explain to him why she disliked Song Yanlin, so she just mumbled:
"I don't want to kiss him right now."
-
The kissing scene was scheduled for the second scene the following day.
Wen Jia wore a camel-colored trench coat and sat side by side with Song Yanlin on the sofa in the art studio.
"The first kiss scene between Feng Yingxue and Chen Xu is crucial. We need to shoot it from two cameras and try to get it in one take." Yu Jianshan rolled up the script and stood next to her and Song Yanlin to explain the scene. "We've almost finished shooting the intimate scenes before the kiss scene. There are so many ambiguous moments between Feng Yingxue and Chen Xu, even some explicit physical contact, and a lot of scenes where they were supposed to kiss but didn't. But why is the kiss scene coming so late? It's simple, because it's not the right time yet."
"This kiss, for both of them, was not an impulse, not a test, but a confirmation." He held up the rolled-up script and gently tapped it between them. "All the previous ambiguity, tugging, and even explicit contact were all centered around 'liking' someone. A fluttering heart is liking someone, an irresistible urge to get closer is liking someone. But a kiss is different. It means I accept you into my world, and I'm ready to enter your future."
"For Chen Xu, kissing you meant, 'I know your illness, I know the future may be tough, but I accept it, you're the one.' For Feng Yingxue, letting him kiss her meant, 'Even someone as proud as me dares to entrust my most vulnerable and uncertain future to you.'"
"So this kiss is not the climax of desire, but the beginning of responsibility. It is more important than any physical contact, much more important. You two are waiting for this kiss not for physical contact, but for the final psychological confirmation that 'now is the time.'"
Yu Jianshan finished speaking in one breath, "Do you understand?"
Wen Jia felt uneasy and nodded haphazardly.
Yu Jianshan wouldn't allow her to back down: "If you understand, show me once first."
The two moved closer as instructed. Song Yanlin turned towards Wen Jia, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and their eyes met for a moment.
The lines were simple, just some flirtatious words. After they were spoken, they saw their own reflections in each other's eyes, and their emotions gradually heated up. Everything was perfect.
Song Yanlin tilted his head, and just as their lips were about to touch,
Wen Jia dodged it again.
"..."
Song Yanlin subtly furrowed his brows, seemingly dissatisfied.
Yu Jianshan pursed his lips, stood silently for a moment, and instead of blaming Wen Jia, he waved his hand and said, "Everyone on the sidelines, get out! Clear the area! Everyone get out!"
After yelling, his eyes subconsciously scanned the surroundings of the film set, seemingly searching for someone to make him hide, but he found nothing.
He turned back and emphasized, "Lao Fang and I designed two shots for the kissing scene. One is a close-up, and the other is a shot of the reflection in the window. I allow you to use camera tricks for the reflection shot, but a close-up is absolutely not allowed."
His tone left no room for argument, and his gaze seemed to dissect her from head to toe.
"I know."
"Then what do you mean by avoiding him?"
"Director Yu, I'd like to shoot the scene with the reflection first, to get a feel for it and let us get used to each other."
“Okay.” Yu Jianshan agreed readily.
Wen Jia should be grateful that this film was directed by Yu Jianshan. If it had been directed by any other great director, those intimate scenes would have been taboo.
Unrestrained style is not his style; subtlety and blank space are his keynote.
Therefore, even the kissing scene was designed to be extremely restrained. The close-up shot slowly zoomed in from behind Song Yanlin, while another shot focused on the hazy reflection in the window.
It deliberately leaves room for the audience's imagination.
"Try it once with your fingers in between, let me see the effect."
Song Yanlin still had one arm around Wen Jia's waist, and raised the other hand, gently pressing his thumb against her lips. Then he turned his head and kissed the back of his thumb.
Although their lips did not actually touch, the sudden force and sensation still made her tremble all over.
She closed her eyes tightly.
She felt quite uncomfortable. But she adapted very well and didn't let Yu Jianshan notice anything unusual.
She wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable. Yu Kaiqing stood outside the shooting area, looking around as if she were searching for someone.
Having filmed so many kissing scenes with her, this was the first time she felt she couldn't bear to watch.
At times like this, Chairman Xu should be here, protecting her when she can't get out of character, just like last time. Yu Kaiqing thought.
Ten seconds later, Yu Jianshan spoke up to stop them, readjusted their positions, and then prepared to start filming.
The staff were all dispersed, and the filming area was eerily quiet. Yu Kaiqing couldn't leave; she had to protect her. So she stayed on set. Besides her, only Lin Zhongyuan, the photographer, the script supervisor, and the lighting technician remained.
The clapperboard snapped with a crisp "snap".
The sofa sank deep, absorbing the warmth of their intertwined bodies. Feng Yingxue's fingers hesitated at first before climbing onto Chen Xu's shoulder, the touch so light it seemed as if it might dissipate at any moment. Chen Xu's breath hitched, and he placed his palm over her icy hand, holding it firmly.
He didn't rush to get closer, but instead carefully traced her features with his eyes before slowly leaning in, a slow process that gave her enough time to escape.
But she didn't hide.
The atmosphere is right.
"Chen Xu, kiss him," Yu Jianshan commanded.
Song Yanlin did as he was told, raised his hand, placed his thumb on Wen Jia's lips, and kissed her.
Wen Jia obediently closed her eyes, her long eyelashes drooping down, and her thin eyelids fluttering slightly.
The photographer found a perfect angle from the side of the two people that wouldn't give them away.
Two seconds later, Yu Jianshan gave the order again: "Turn."
The camera gracefully pans away, focusing on the glass window to the side. The reflections of a man and a woman are intertwined, ambiguous and full of meaning.
"Zoom in".
The entire shot lasted for more than ten seconds.
"Click—"
With a click of the shutter, the photographer finished recording, the lighting technician turned off the headlights, and left the shooting area.
Wen Jia opened her long eyelashes instantly, only to find that Song Yanlin's eyes were incredibly clear, his dark pupils unfathomable, staring straight at her.
Song Yanlin did not release her immediately, but looked at the woman who was so close to him.
So close, a distance he had longed for for so long.
The familiar scent lingered around his nose, and the woman before him gradually overlapped with the departing figure deep in his memory.
He knew in his heart that his feelings for Wen Jia had long since fermented and deteriorated over time, and were no longer pure. It was difficult to measure them with a simple love or hate. There was a mixture of resentment at being forcibly stopped, and a kind of obscure conquest that desperately needed to prove something.
He wanted to win her back; this idea had been deeply ingrained since he saw her again. He wasn't a man with strong self-control, so he had repeatedly tested her during their previous intimate scenes.
In words and actions.
Directly and indirectly.
But her resistance struck a nerve with his pride, igniting an even deeper obsession within him.
At this moment, this distance evoked a strange, old, belated possessiveness that surged into my heart, bringing an unprecedented excitement.
But something seems to be hindering the spread of this excitement?
He tightened his grip on Wen Jia's arm, and in that moment, he understood what was holding him back.
It was the way Xu Shaoting stared at him that day.
Like a sharp blade. Those eyes held everything: contempt, warning, but no provocation.
At that time, Song Yanlin couldn't understand why Xu Shaoting's eyes didn't show any provocation, given their sensitive relationship. Only in this instant did he realize that it wasn't that Xu Shaoting was unwilling to provoke him, but rather that Xu Shaoting felt he didn't even have the right to be provoked by him.
Jealousy and competitiveness, like poisonous vines, suddenly tightened around Song Yanlin's limbs, forcing him to abruptly restrain her waist.
Wen Jia realized his intention and tried to escape, but he held her down even more forcefully.
Her consciousness was instantly pulled back. She felt his thumb still covering her lips, and she tried desperately to pry it off, but to no avail. The man's pressure grew stronger, almost leaving a mark.
"Wen Jia, tell me, who are you thinking about right now?" Song Yanlin's deep eyes locked onto her.
Sensing her resistance, he seemed even more interested, his grip tightening with an undeniable desire to control her. "Are you thinking about your boyfriend? Or are you thinking about me?"
Wen Jia didn't respond to him, but struggled hard to break free from his embrace. However, the difference in strength between men and women was too great, and she couldn't make a sound while he was holding her.
Seeing this, Song Yanlin chuckled softly, "When you're filming a kissing scene with me, you should be thinking about me."
Panic gripped Wenjia, her lips were sealed, and she could only let out muffled sobs.
The next second, Song Yanlin abruptly removed his hand from her lips, cupped her face tightly with both hands, and turned his head away again in a completely restraining manner.
The goal is a real, off-screen, unavoidable kiss.
Just as their lips were about to touch.
A gasp rippled through the set.
"What happened...?"
Lin Zhongyuan and Yu Jianshan, who had been focused on the monitor watching the previous clip, were startled and looked over at the same time.
Yu Kaiqing looked up from her phone and saw that Wen Jia had already pushed Song Yanlin away, so she suddenly stood up.
She frowned, looking at Song Yanlin with an expression that was a mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief.
Song Yanlin, however, merely wore a faint, almost imperceptible smile as he lightly said:
"Sorry, I couldn't get out of character for a moment."
Wen Jia was clearly deeply emotional. She covered her mouth, glanced at Yu Jianshan, then at Song Yanlin, and finally said nothing. She turned and ran quickly toward her RV.
Yu Kaiqing realized what was happening and quickly followed.
Inside the RV, the faucet was turned up to the maximum, and the sound of running water could be heard. Wen Jia buried her head in the sink and frantically wiped her lips with a wet tissue again and again, as if she wanted to wipe away some disgusting filth.
Yu Kaiqing stepped forward, swallowed hard, and asked, "Did he just... try to... forcibly kiss... you?"
The tap was turned off. Wen Jia held onto the edge of the sink with both hands, water droplets hanging from her chin. She spoke slowly and deliberately, trying to suppress her emotions, "How disgusting."
It's nice that they have a kissing scene, but it's just acting; it's ultimately fake. And it wasn't Wen Jia kissing, but Feng Yingxue.
Beyond the clicking sound, his perverse compulsion was extremely unsettling.
He wanted to deliberately prolong the intimacy after a permitted intimate situation ended, in order to test Wen Jia, provoke Xu Shaoting, and try to re-establish his dominance over his ex, thereby healing the trauma of being dumped years ago.
It is an aggressive and unhealthy emotion.
Make her nauseous.
"Did he touch you?" Yu Kaiqing pulled her up from the table and held her shoulders, but saw that her eyes were red.
"It seems not, but we almost touched each other..." Wen Jia's mind was in turmoil; she couldn't even tell if he had actually touched her. She felt wronged, and only one thought remained: "How disgusting..."
She continued to mechanically and forcefully wipe her lips, leaving a red ring around the lip line, seemingly oblivious to the pain.
Yu Kaiqing grabbed her hand, stopping her movement. A surge of anger welled up inside her, and she swore. Then, she pulled out her phone and said firmly, "..."
"I need to talk to Chairman Xu."
Wen Jia panicked a little and subconsciously said, "First..."
Yu Kaiqing, ignoring what she was about to say, cut her off, slammed the RV door shut, and choked back tears, "Why?! Why? Why don't you tell Chairman Xu anything? Song Yanlin has harassed you more than once or twice, hasn't he? He's so shameless. He's so well-behaved when Chairman Xu is around, but when Chairman Xu isn't, he touches your hand, hugs you in the play, and won't let go off-screen. Now he wants to kiss you, and I'm always watching from the sidelines. Every time I'm about to tell Chairman Xu, I say no. Why? Are you really going to keep putting up with this?!"
Yu Kaiqing spoke in a low voice, her chest heaving, her grievances seemingly no less than Wen Jia's.
"I must say it today."
She took a deep breath, sat down on the sofa, and without any regard for politeness, dialed Xu Shaoting's number for the first time without any prior notice.
"Hello?" a deep male voice came from inside.
“Chairman Xu, Wen Jia, she…” Yu Kaiqing clicked her tongue, rubbing her forehead. She had clearly prepared the words in her mind, but why couldn't she say them?!
With her eyes closed, she finally spoke succinctly:
"Wen Jia was forcibly kissed by Song Yanlin!!!"
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