Chapter 17: Battle With The Inner Demon

Chapter 17: Battle With The Inner Demon

???? Thank you Thuyen Tran for your novel donation!! Your support is much appreciated. ???? Dear Readers, if you really like the translations please donate to support the work. It’s much appreciated! ????

Meanwhile, the young man with a ‘steel straight male heart’ still didn’t understand why Zhi Qi suddenly got angry.

Jiang Qi stood up somewhat awkwardly, shaking his head in explanation, “I only recently saw it. Before that, my assistant used to log in to this account. I didn’t... didn’t intentionally see it and not come to find you.”Geett the latest novels on no/v/elbin(.)c/om

He thought Zhi Qi was angry because of this reason, explaining with genuine emotions.

Zhi Qi, still embarrassed, didn’t look at him, turned her head and asked with a pout, “Then why are you here now?”

Jiang Qi replied without hesitation, “I just found out you were here, so I wanted to come and find you.”

...

Perhaps when it comes to someone you care about, the bottom line is that a casual sentence from them can easily break down all the defenses you’ve built in your heart. Just like six years ago, when they reunited. In reality, there were many questions she wanted to ask—

‘How was it inside? When did you come out?’

‘Why did you enter the entertainment industry? Are you doing well now?’

‘In these years... have you ever thought of me?’

But with countless thoughts swirling in her mind, she suddenly felt like she couldn’t ask anything.

After a while, Zhi Qi just sighed softly. Then, she turned around, familiarly removed half of Jiang Qi’s mask and put it back on for him, her voice gentle, “Your phone has been ringing continuously.”

The garden was very quiet, and she could already hear the constant buzzing vibration of the young man’s phone in his pocket. This vibration reminded Zhi Qi of a fact—Jiang Qi was no longer the same as before; he wasn’t hers alone. He was now the male lead with a billion-dollar box office hit, the rising star in the entertainment industry, a presence that could captivate countless people with every move.

The young man was no longer the one whose handsomeness only she could appreciate.

Although there were still many people who disliked and attacked him, unlike before, there were also many people who cared about him and liked him. Just like now, in the few minutes Jiang Qi spent with her, his phone kept ringing non-stop.

Zhi Qi knew she had possessiveness, but even so, it didn’t prevent her from being happy for Jiang Qi. However, amid the happiness, there was always a bit of disappointment. Jiang Qi couldn’t help but feel annoyed and furrowed his brow, realizing he had stupidly forgotten to turn off his phone.

His entire focus was on Zhi Qi’s every move, completely oblivious to the ringing phone. The young man, feeling a bit irritated, took out the phone, intending to hang up after seeing the flashing ‘Qiu Mi’ on the screen.

“Don’t, don’t hang up.” Zhi Qi quickly stopped him, her voice gentle and sincere. “What if someone has an emergency?”

One of the three most frustrating moments in life is when you urgently need to contact someone, and their phone is unreachable.

Jiang Qi had no choice but to answer the call.

Qiu Mi’s voice on the other end resonated loudly in the quiet garden, “Brother Qi! Where are you? Can you hurry and come to Director Shen’s place? It’s urgent, Director Wang Zhaoqiu specifically wants to meet you.”

Jiang Qi replied coldly, “I’m busy.”

“Um...” Qiu Mi seemed to be frozen by his coldness for a moment, then weakly said, “But it’s an emergency. It’s Director Wang Zhaoqiu, the renowned director. He specially came to see you.”

*

When Jiang Qi drove to Shen Lei’s place, surprisingly, Wang Zhaoqiu had been waiting unexpectedly. The irritable and self-righteous old director didn’t explode in anger or show impatience. Instead, his eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Qi push the door open.

Shen Lei was extremely sensitive to this kind of gaze, understanding that it was a mutual admiration among directors.

Wang Zhaoqiu truly ‘values talents.’

“Jiang Qi.” Shen Lei intervened, directly instructing the inexperienced young man, “Greet him.”

Jiang Qi obediently said, “Director Wang.”

His attitude was much more relaxed than when they were on set before, and Shen Lei, while relieved, was also somewhat surprised.

—It seems that asking this guy to go find the girl he likes is effective.

“Yeah.” Wang Zhaoqiu pointed to the documents on the table but kept his eyes on Jiang Qi. “I still want to stick to my previous idea; you are the most suitable person for the lead role in my new movie.”

To know that he could say such words, actively ‘inviting’ a rookie actor to play the male lead in his movie, was basically unprecedented. But Jiang Qi was unaware of these intricacies; he just furrowed his brows, feeling somewhat awkward.

Wang Zhaoqiu took advantage of the momentum, “Do you want to take a look at the script?”

Shen Lei discreetly tugged at Jiang Qi’s sleeve. After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Qi reached out and took the script.

...

After reading it, Jiang Qi placed the script back on the table and shook his head. Wang Zhaoqiu’s expression changed instantly.

“Jiang Qi.” Shen Lei’s face also changed. He quickly grabbed Jiang Qi’s shoulder, turning him around with a stern expression. “Didn’t I tell you to think carefully before making a decision?”

Could it be that this guy, after seeing Zhi Qi, decided to quit the entertainment industry?

“Brother Shen, I’ve thought it over.” Jiang Qi brushed off the hand grabbing his shoulder, looking indifferent. “I can’t act in this movie.”

Then, he turned to face the extremely gloomy and unpleasant Wang Zhaoqiu, earnestly explaining, “It’s not that your script is bad, but it’s my problem.”

Wang Zhaoqiu took a deep breath, suppressing the heavy anger, and asked, “What problem do you have?”

Normally, if there was such an ‘inexperienced’ young person repeatedly challenging his authority, Wang Zhaoqiu would not be able to resist using some means to teach him a lesson. However, looking at Jiang Qi... he finally understood what it meant to love talent and the frustration of not being able to find a rare gem. It was a feeling of being a talent scout but unable to discover a hidden talent, a desire to destroy yet yearning to possess.

Wang Zhaoqiu had to soften his approach and seek clarification.

“Brother Shen may not have told you, but I took on the role of ‘Gazing at the Sky’ because I can act. My mental state is an issue; at the age of sixteen, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and anxiety by a doctor. Moreover, the reason I ended up in prison is because I indirectly killed my own father.”

The young man spoke openly and even in the face of several surprised gazes, he laughed coldly and unscrupulously, “So, playing the lead role in ‘Gazing at the Sky,’ I can truly empathize.”