Chapter 133 Cleaning up the trash
Xia Mian didn't go with Gao Yifeng; she stood still until Tan Jingcheng and Jiang Chun noticed something was wrong, by which time they had already walked up to him.
The supporting actors had scheduling conflicts; they've been filming mostly scenes with the main characters, so Xia Mian and Tan Jingcheng haven't appeared together before. Now that they're in the same frame, they suddenly look like two separate layers!
Especially when viewed through a high-definition camera without filters, Xia Mian's bone structure is prominent and her skin is smooth. Although Tan Jingcheng is well-maintained and has a high level of makeup, one can still faintly see sagging lines such as tear troughs, nasolabial folds, and marionette lines on his face.
It is also slightly inferior in terms of appearance.
Gao Yifeng sighed inwardly, "It's truly a case of the new generation pushing the old one aside, while the old one crashes onto the beach."
Zhou Pingchuan glanced at the camera, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Yes, I'm here to visit Xia Mian on set."
"Why didn't Xia tell me beforehand? I wasn't prepared at all," Gao Yifeng told his assistant. "Go downstairs and book a teahouse. Let's go now."
"Director Gao, there's no need for you to go to such trouble. I just came to take a look."
Gao Yifeng had never met Zhou Pingchuan and didn't know his style of doing things, so he didn't dare to offer any advice. He just laughed and said, "Filming takes almost half a year, which is affecting your relationship as a couple. Xia, what are you waiting for? I'll give you half a day off so you can spend some quality time with your family."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Jingcheng, Jiangjiang, you two come over and get to know each other too."
As one of the top conglomerates in the country, no one would want to miss Zhou Pingchuan. Upon hearing this, Tan Jingcheng walked straight over, while Jiang Chun went to Xia Mian's side first, pinched his arm, and then secretly made a face at him.
Xia Mian knew she was trying to comfort him, afraid that he would be unhappy, throw a tantrum, and make the situation even more awkward, offending the crew.
What she didn't know was that Xia Mian didn't need to be coaxed at all.
When he realized he liked Zhou Pingchuan, he could quickly decide to pursue him. When he no longer wanted to like Zhou Pingchuan, he could also quickly walk away. He learned to be decisive and let go gracefully of what he wanted, a quality he acquired from his parents.
"It's alright." Xia Mian smiled and walked to the outer edge of the crowd with Jiang Chun.
Gao Yifeng also felt awkward, but if he didn't call the actors over to greet them, it would seem disrespectful to the big boss. Once everyone was there, he forced himself to introduce them: "Mr. Zhou, these two are the male and female leads of this drama, Tan Jingcheng and Jiang Chun, respectively."
Tan Jingcheng and Jiang Chun extended their hands together.
Zhou Pingchuan had been observing Xia Mian and could tell that Jiang Chun treated Xia Mian well, while Tan Jingcheng and Xia Mian had a poor relationship.
He then bypassed Tan Jingcheng's hand and very gentlemanly touched Jiang Chun's fingertips: "Xia Mian has just joined the crew, please take good care of her, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Chun: "You don't need me to help you, your Xia is super, super talented."
Zhou Pingchuan smiled and said, "I can tell."
Jiang Chun: "?"
Xia Mian, who was listening nearby, thought: "?"
No, what did you see?
Jiang Chun felt as if this giant Buddha was spreading its tail feathers at him, his mind was blank, but he tried his best to make small talk with his professional skills.
Everyone was chatting and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere, but Tan Jingcheng, standing in the middle, felt like he was invisible, ignored by everyone.
He looked down at his right hand, which had been outstretched and then remained frozen in mid-air for a long time—Zhou Pingchuan simply ignored it.
He recalled that snowy night when Zhou Pingchuan wouldn't even give him a second glance, belittling him to nothing.
What exactly is it about Xia Mian that he lacks?
Xia Mian stood to the side and behind him. Tan Jingcheng turned his head. In the winter sunlight, the boy's expression was indifferent, unperturbed by praise or criticism, as if the great Buddha that everyone wanted to befriend had not come to see him, as if he did not have that marriage that everyone inside and outside the industry envied.
...What a pretentious act! Tan Jingcheng gritted his teeth, making the already sagging lines on his face even more pronounced.
***
After a brief chat, Gao Yifeng kept his promise to give Xia Mian half a day off, and dragged her all the way to Zhou Pingchuan's car.
Old Wang was watching "Our Little Life" for the second time when he saw the host return. He quickly turned down the volume on his phone and lowered the partition between the driver's seat and the back seat.
In the quiet little space, only the two of them remained.
Xia Mian vaguely remembered that the last time Zhou Pingchuan asked Lao Wang to put down the barrier was on the day of the first snow, when he and Chang Yi had finished eating.
Zhou Pingchuan had someone pull him into the car, and then... kissed him.
For some inexplicable reason, Zhou Pingchuan also remembered that day, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "One more hour."
After that, he had to fly to Europe to attend the forum.
"Let me treat you to a meal," Xia Mian said, glancing at the time. "There's a local Shanghainese restaurant down the mountain that's pretty good, but the ambiance is so-so."
Xia Mian was wearing a theatrical costume, which would easily attract attention in public places. Zhou Pingchuan said, "No need to trouble yourself."
He paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered the boy's smug little expression when he praised Xia Mian's looks a couple of days ago: "This costume is very beautiful."
As he spoke, he leaned towards Xia Mian. The familiar, chilling aura drew near, like invisible threads, wrapping around Xia Mian's body, forming a cocoon that enveloped him.
Xia Mian couldn't help but swallow.
The car has sun-blocking film, which blocks some of the light. Even during the day, the rear lights aren't on; only the starlight from the roof vents twinkles. Absolutely quiet, absolutely private, absolutely… ambiguous.
Zhou Pingchuan glanced at the boy, quite satisfied with his reaction. He chuckled softly, raised his hand, and reached out to pinch the boy's delicate chin—
Xia Mian suddenly turned her head away: "The character I play usually wears dark clothes, but occasionally I change into light colors, which makes me look very fresh. Third Master, if we're not going to eat, let's each go about our own business."
Zhou Pingchuan's gaze was fixed on Xia Mian's face. A few seconds later, he withdrew, and the lingering, all-pervasive scent vanished instantly: "Okay."
.
After the forum, the usual networking session followed.
Zhou Pingchuan's superyacht happened to be managed by a nearby yacht club. After a brief discussion, his partners, along with some temporary female and male companions, ostensibly discussed matters privately, but in reality, they just wanted to find a place far from their families to have their way with each other.
That's how these people are. On the surface, they maintain a good image of successful people, but behind the scenes, they all have wilder and wilder lives. Fortunately, they can restrain themselves a little in Zhou's territory. They don't bring any minors and dare not hold those messy "group parties."
Zhou Pingchuan never participated. His eyes were slightly closed, his handsome face shrouded in shadow, and he was replaying in his mind the tone of Xia Mian's last words to him.
Polite, distant.
Anyone with a slightly sensitive mind could sense that Xia Mian's emotions were off, let alone someone like him who had been manipulating people's hearts for years. Zhou Pingchuan knew that Xia Mian was sulking with him again.
But he shouldn't have offended him recently, he hasn't said anything wrong, and his visit to the set was very timely. So what went wrong?
He picked up his phone: "Yu Heng, check Mr. Xia's recent activities."
Ten minutes later, Zhou Pingchuan received the packaged data sent by Yu Heng.
The materials include photos, embellished blog posts from the media, and various "causes and consequences" speculated by netizens.
Yu Heng collected all the information in just ten minutes, which shows that the matter has already escalated significantly. He was busy with inspections and formulating the new year's business plan, and he only found out about it now.
This time, I've really offended them.
Zhou Pingchuan sighed softly, then called Cheng Qi over: "You guys continue having fun, put the bill on my tab, I'm going back to China first."
Cheng Qi sensed something and chuckled, "In a hurry to go back and be with your little husband?"
Zhou Pingchuan didn't quite agree with the term "little darling husband," but he was too lazy to refute it: "Of course I'll accompany him, but more importantly, I'll clean up the mess."
"Rubbish?"
"Um."
The information suggests that the so-called "private meetings" were orchestrated by public opinion manipulation and hype.
After marrying Xia Mian, Zhou Pingchuan was bound to be involved in the entertainment industry and could no longer remain invisible in front of the media, so he gradually increased his exposure.
But this isn't about doing the work for some random, shady people.
"Dare to use him for publicity—Zhou Pingchuan's expression suddenly turned cold—they really don't want to do this job anymore."
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