CH 22

This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized.

Liang Yin couldn’t sleep for a long time that night.

She sat on the bed with the reading light looking at the script without assimilating a single word and it was already 11pm.

Zhou Jianchen turned around and left her dumbfounded on the spot after saying that sentence during the day. Then it was filming again and apart from the script dialogues, he didn’t speak a word to her anymore. When they had screen time together, he did look at her but she wasn’t able to see clearly the emotions in his eyes. He seemed to be fully playing the role of Zhou Zhaozong and nothing else.

But she could still sense his mood. Remaining silent, his eyes had turned cold and everything clearly depicted his sadness.

When work ended at eight and everyone went for supper together, she went along but he merely said “Not going”, “A little tired”, then turned and walked away.

His sadness seemed to be afflicted by her. He spoke out that sentence and waited for her to answer. Without her reply, he would just continue waiting.

Silence response, just waiting for your answer.

But, what could be her answer?

The room was terribly quiet. Sitting there, Liang Yin’s heart was even heavier.

It’s not that she didn’t perceive his liking for her. She was rather uncertain at first, but when he sent those things over, she totally understood.

But how could she accept it? Those snow boots were indeed warm, but she couldn’t put them on after all.

It was just too intimate and leapt across too many attachments.

Liang Yin didn’t know when Zhou Jianchen fell in love with her. He once said that he liked her, except he just clarified it as merely a joke and not worth mentioning later. When they met again in the airport, he was also indifferent which she expected was due to his temperament. She was also preoccupied at that time and didn’t take it seriously. He then let his assistant send her home while he got caught in the whirlpool of publicity which he again personally came out to resolve later and cleared all of her suspicion, but her heart eventually sensed a hint of inkling. However, without any basis, everything was fleeting leaving without a trace.

Until his kiss yesterday, she finally knew about it in an instant. When he wiped the lipstick smudge around her lips later and those things that he sent later, she was completely sure.

She has always been an acute person. Once she seemed to have isolated everything because of Zhong Mingzhen but now, she has total insight.

That kiss of his was too earnest. He wanted to control his own rhythm for that kissing scene but was thrown into confusion at once. She had never had such a passionate kiss with anyone and for a moment, she seemingly could feel his beating heart.

However, that’s all there was to it.

She has loved Zhong Mingzhen for more than 10 years and though it is over, she has never thought of starting again.

Without him speaking openly about it, she could only tell him tactfully, thank you for your kindness, but I’m sorry. Not wearing those shoes was precisely to express her intention.

She was not guileful enough. She thought this was probably the best way to deal with it.

But who would have thought that seeing it, he was silent and when she thought it would just pass like this, he could no longer hold back.

“You do know I like you, right.” As if afraid that she wouldn’t understand and he seemed quite unwilling to give up.

Contrarily, carrying along that kind of sadness couldn’t have been clearer.

Liang Yin didn’t know when he liked her or why he liked her, but that kind of sadness made her feel uneasy.

Closing the script, she picked up her cellphone and tapped into Weibo. The first post nevertheless was his news.

It actually was a song shared.

The time was 10 minutes ago.

Looking at it, Liang Yin’s heart stirred up at once.

She thought he ought to have fallen asleep long ago, but she didn’t expect him to be awake all along.

The comments below were already buzzing.

– My God! How come Brother Chen is still up so late!

– What does Brother Chen mean by sharing this song ah?

– Eventually sensing that Brother Chen is feeling very low ah …

– Oh my, this song is so sad and my heart is broken thinking that my Brother Chen is listening to this kind of song in the middle of the night!

– So who is Brother Chen sharing this with …

In addition, there were:

– Thank you Brother Chen for sharing Cen Ye’s new song, and wishing that Brother Chen’s new movie will be a great hit!

Looking at it, Liang Yin tapped into his Weibo homepage and on it were several of his recent tweets.

When her gaze fell on the Weibo he posted yesterday, her heart stopped again for a moment.

– This store’s porridge is pretty good.

A photo with just a few simple words yet explained a lot.

Browsing through several other posts, the thoughts that she once had was finally confirmed and her gaze eventually quivered.

Those Weibo that Zhou Jianchen had posted were indeed related to her.

The picture of a table he posted that day was after he sent her home; he then posted a photo of Ah Zhao after asking if she needed help finding an assistant; the one yesterday was after bringing her the seafood porridge; as for today ….

Liang Yin listened to the lyrics and understood all of it.

– He really likes you, but has never mentioned it …

He hasn’t posted on Weibo for a long time, but recently, he has initiated a total of 6 posts, in addition to the initial ‘Ah’, and also those latter posts were all related to her.

Even the post of [Qing Cheng Jue] was also after she hadn’t been clarified …

The more complicated Liang Yin felt, the more distinct Zhou Jianchen’s feelings seemed to be, but was also more heavier.

Refreshing Weibo, Zhou Jianchen’s Weibo has been updated again.

Zhou Jianchen: You’re welcome.  // Cen Ye: Thank you Brother Chen for your likes.

Once this Weibo was posted, there were countless comments again. No one thought that Zhou Jianchen would still be browsing Weibo at this late hour, let alone his reply.

Seeing it, Liang Yin understood all at once.

He hasn’t slept, perhaps he has been waiting.

Waiting for her to answer him.

You do know that I like you, right?

Either she knew or not, she eventually should give an answer.

With a quivering gaze, Liang Yin finally switched to WeChat and found his name.

Zhou Jianchen was frank without concealment. His profile appeared to be him feeding the pigeons in a square. That place seemed to be the city where she had lived for 5 years.

Hesitated for a long time, Liang Yin still typed out the words –

– Zhou Jianchen, you should find someone more befitting you.

She is not right for him after all.

After confirming there was no mistake, she sent it out …

Sitting on the sofa in the room, the song kept looping on his cellphone. Zhou Jianchen could not sleep, so he browsed through Weibo randomly and inadvertently saw someone recommended this new singer, so he clicked on it at will and listened, on which he just tuned in to it.

He knew nothing about music, but the verse “He really likes you, but has never mentioned it” sang into his heart.

He has been waiting for Liang Yin’s answer. Without any response, he just kept waiting and not willing to go to sleep.

He has never expressed himself so frankly. The kind that unveiling his innermost being and exposing himself without any disguise was heartbreaking and unbearably painful.

That kiss finally made him choose to face up to his feelings. It is not illegal to like someone. So what if he has once liked her and still likes her all this time, and will continue to like her in the future.

But he didn’t expect she would still reject him.

He thought she would accept, it was merely a pair of shoes, a bowl of porridge and some heat pads. What was the matter to just accept it, but who knew, she just put it aside in the end.

She seemed to see through his mind at once and then refused without the least hesitation.

But he didn’t understand what had he done incorrectly for her to keep rejecting him like this, then and now.

It wasn’t like he didn’t grieve. All his feelings were unworthy 5 years ago and 5 years later, he once again mustered up the courage but the outcome was still the same.

He has really never felt so inferior before.

A WeChat message popped up on the phone all of the sudden and his heart sank to the bottom once again after just a glance.

Tapping on it, it was merely a sentence – “Zhou Jianchen, you should find someone more befitting you.”

The rims of Zhou Jianchen’s felt warm all at once. After waiting for the whole day and after so many years, she finally gave him this answer.

“Why?” Holding it down, he sent this message out.

The once verse “He is a very outstanding actor” to this now “You should find someone more befitting you”, all were rejection words.

“Am I no good?” He typed out a few more words.

He couldn’t ask this last time, but this time he must ask clearly.

Looking at those few words, Liang Yin wanted to answer but she didn’t know what to reply.

Is he no good? Of course he is good. He is everyone’s favorite ‘Brother Chen’, the person grata in the entertainment industry with countless fans, innumerable honors, most popular wherever he goes and any of his Weibo posts can lead to heated discussion. As long as he is willing, not knowing how many girls want to marry him.

She, however, is really just not suitable.

“I was married.” She finally replied.

After a pause, another sentence, “I like him a lot.”

He ought to have a better girl, while she, never thought about starting again even if it has ended.

Zhou Jianchen originally wanted to reply “I knew that already”, but looking at the next sentence she sent, all the words just ran aground.

He had guessed the reason she married into a wealthy family and he had thought a lot about it, but he never thought it would be this.

How much affection was there to add ‘a lot’ at the back of the words and for her to still use this as a reason to reject him after they are separated?

Thinking of the man he saw last time, jealousy spread in his heart, but in the end, it just turned into heart-wrenching pain.

He wanted to say something back, but he had lost again and again, and had nothing more to say.

The cellphone beeped again, it was Sister Shao calling.

“Hello?” Glancing at it, Zhou Jianchen still put it through.

Sister Shao’s words were still direct, “Even if you like Liang Yin again, you should still pay attention to the consequences. Forwarding such a song, aren’t you afraid of being rejected again when the time comes?” The lesson from the past is still in sight.

As shrewd as Sister Shao is, she naturally realized the meaning of his Weibo again. He didn’t get what he wished for 5 years ago and he is still unwilling to give up 5 years later.

Zhou Jianchen listened and only replied, “She has already turned me down.”

“ ….. “ His voice was forlorn and all of Sister Shao’s words were muted.

Zhou Jianchen quickly hung up the phone again. Looking at WeChat, he finally didn’t answer back.

Exiting WeChat, the interface was back to Weibo.

The two comments just now were still buzzing. He looked then finally still deleted them.

After the deletion, he then called Zhou Zuokang’s cellphone.

“Found a newcomer, Cen Ye, who sings well. You can sign him up.”

A favor owed would eventually be repaid.

Zhou Zhuokang on the other end of the call did not ask much. He just wrote the name down and said, “Okay.”

**********

Nothing happened the next few days. All the filming process went smoothly, except everyone could sense Zhou Jianchen’s bad mood.

He didn’t lose his temper, but just sat there without saying a word and no one dared to approach him.

No one knew what was wrong with him. The scene with Cheng Qingqing had long been completed and the few subsequent scenes went smoothly, hence no one knew why.

Du Yafu actually did ask a few questions, but Zhou Jianchen did not reply, so he had to give up.

He more or less knows Zhou Jianchen’s temper. He more often than not appears cold-faced, but only when he is really in a bad mood does he completely ignore others.

The calmest person on the set was still Chen Hua’en. He doesn’t care about the mood of the performers as long as the scenes are filmed well. Zhou Jianchen’s performance is still praiseworthy, hence he just pretended not knowing about anything else.

Liang Yin was most aware of all this, but she could only remain silent.

Zhou Jianchen had not the least interaction with her these past few days and the WeChat message was never answered, so she thought perhaps he had already figured things out.

He just needed time now.

She was even more diligent with her acting, not daring to hold up every second and minute of his time.

**********

After shooting a scene today, Liang Yin felt the unusual gazes of everyone around her.

She was a little confused. Once she returned to her seat, Xiao Tian handed her the cellphone and said, “Sister Yin, Sister Ruona called you just now.”

Hearing Ruona’s name, an ominous feeling rose in Liang Yin’s heart. Ruona knew she was filming and had only sent her WeChat messages at night recently. She would never look for her at this hour.

Not forgetting everyone’s gazes just now, she did not immediately call Ruona but switched to Weibo right away.

On hot search, her name was indeed trending again.

Expanding it for a look, it was – “According to an insider, Film Empress Liang Yin’s retirement was merely because she married into a wealthy family. She has now divorced and been reduced to being an abandoned rich wife.”

**********

A week ago when Hua’en Studio announced the beginning filming of [Winter], the whole internet was momentarily buzzing.  Zhou Jianchen was acting again after 2 years and Film Empress Liang’s comeback after 5 years, all of which became hot topics.

All her fans were rejoicing at her return and everyone was speculating that her return might be due to Chen Hua’en’s request. The countless casting of the female lead in [Winter] had long been a well-known matter.

There were also some who were curious about Film Empress Liang’s whereabouts during these past 5 years, but under the heated discussion of the entire internet, these outdated topics were instantly submerged. After all, there was still the prerequisite of a car accident that year.

But a while ago, someone just consequently broke the news.

Liang Yin’s retirement from acting 5 years ago was merely because she married into a wealthy family, but now that she is divorced and has been completely reduced to being an abandoned rich wife. The specific reasons were not conveniently elaborated, but being able to marry into a wealthy family back then was nothing more than her employing subtlety tricks.

As soon as this explosive allegation came out, everyone was in an uproar and the internet instantly blew up.