In the kitchen.
Xiao Cheng moved quickly.
The hum of the range hood and the aroma of the food filled the room with the warmth of everyday life.
Outside the kitchen.
Jiang Chiyan lay on Xiao Cheng's bed, his expression complicated.
He thought about the secret of Xiao Cheng's that the system had told him.
For a long time, he couldn't collect himself.
Jiang Chiyan asked the system inwardly, "You didn't lie to me?"
[I really didn't lie to you!] [Xiao Cheng's secret is...] [He doesn't want a romantic relationship.] [He rejects the idea of a romantic relationship with anyone, including you.]
Jiang Chiyan asked, "Why?"
He knew the system hadn't lied.
He had confessed his feelings to Xiao Cheng twice.
Once six years ago.
Once last month.
Xiao Cheng hadn't rejected him, but...
He had never explicitly accepted, either.
[If you want to know why, please continue completing missions to unlock it, host.]
Suddenly, Jiang Chiyan felt terribly panicked.
He urgently wanted to see Xiao Cheng's future.
So, when Xiao Cheng brought out two plates of home-cooked food and called him to eat.
Jiang Chiyan took hold of Xiao Cheng's wrist.
He saw a video appear on the transparent projection above Xiao Cheng's head.
In the video, Xiao Cheng cupped a woman's face and slowly leaned down to kiss her.
Kissing a woman???
Jiang Chiyan narrowed his eyes.
An icy glint flashed in his beautiful, foxlike eyes.
He glanced at the timestamp in the bottom-right corner of the video.
[Time: August 22, 2021, 10:30 a.m.]
August 22... wasn't that tomorrow morning?
Jiang Chiyan's eyes widened, his gaze fixed blankly above Xiao Cheng's head.
His stare gave Xiao Cheng the creeps. "...What's wrong?"
Jiang Chiyan gently pushed him against the wardrobe and held him there. "Where are you going tomorrow morning?"
Xiao Cheng froze. "Tomorrow? I'm filming in Studio B."
Jiang Chiyan smiled nonchalantly. "I'm coming with you."
"...Okay."
That night, Jiang Chiyan postponed his business trip for the next day and handed it off to another colleague at the law firm.
The next day, inside Studio B.
Two people followed behind Best Actor Xiao.
One was Xiao Wu; the other was Jiang Chiyan, bundled up tightly for fear of being recognized.
A sun hat, sunglasses, and a mask.
He looked as though he was going to rob a bank.
The assistant director spotted Jiang Chiyan and asked Xiao Cheng, "Teacher Xiao Cheng, is this your bodyguard?"
Xiao Cheng nodded. "Yes, he's new."
The assistant director asked, "Then why is he wrapped up so tightly, like a mummy? Isn't he hot?"
In summer, temperatures of 34 or 35°C were normal in Hengdian.
Xiao Cheng casually made something up. "He used to be on the Antarctic Expedition Team. He's sensitive to sunlight-he's allergic to UV rays."
The assistant director chatted with Xiao Cheng a little longer, and before long, it was eight in the morning.
At eight, filming officially began.
Director Liao Xian walked over with a beautiful woman in a white dress.
At the sight of the beautiful woman, everyone present began whispering.
"Song Qiao? Why is she here??"
"Song Qiao, the ratings queen of period dramas-she-she-she's filming Lawyer Storm too?"
"With her standing, she's probably playing the female lead opposite Best Actor Xiao, right?"
"But... Lawyer Storm doesn't have a female lead."
The babble of voices reached Jiang Chiyan's ears.
Jiang Chiyan's expression darkened.
The woman he had seen kissing Xiao Cheng in yesterday's video...
Was this very Song Qiao.
Just then, Liao Xian cleared his throat softly.
"Quiet down, everyone. Hear me out."
"We've made some last-minute changes to the script. Teacher Song Qiao will... play Yao Manman, the female lead in Lawyer Storm, opposite Teacher Xiao Cheng."
After saying this, Liao Xian glanced at Xiao Cheng, anxious and guilty.
He was anxious because Xiao Cheng never filmed intimate scenes with actresses.
And the revised script included a scene in which the male lead kissed the female lead's forehead.
He felt guilty because, under pressure and threats from the investors, he had been forced to compromise as the director to keep them from withdrawing their funding, making the screenwriter revise the script overnight and agreeing to let Song Qiao join the cast with funding.
Song Qiao, who stood beside Liao Xian, spoke.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Song Qiao."
Though she greeted everyone, her gaze remained on Xiao Cheng the whole time.
Song Qiao stepped forward, her small face slightly flushed. "Teacher Xiao Cheng, when we worked together on the film Marriage Is a Besieged City, I really liked Gu Changci in the film, and I admire you very much too."
Gu Changci was the film's male lead. (Played by Xiao Cheng.)
The corners of Xiao Cheng's lips lifted slightly, making him look elegantly poised.
"Thank you. We haven't been in touch for so long, yet you still remember a film from three years ago so clearly, Teacher Song Qiao."
"I should learn from you, Teacher Song, and spend more time honing my acting."
The smile on Song Qiao's face froze.
She was humiliated and embarrassed.
Xiao Wu still didn't understand and quietly asked Jiang Chiyan.
"Lawyer Jiang, is there something wrong with what Brother Cheng said?"
Lazily, Jiang Chiyan translated for him.
[Original: We haven't been in touch for so long.] [Translation: Don't flatter yourself.] [Original: You still remember a film from three years ago so clearly.] [Translation: I forgot who you were ages ago.] [Original: Spend more time honing my acting.] [Translation: Spend less time on unrealistic, brainless romance. I'm not interested in you.]
After hearing the translation, Xiao Wu said, "..."
Xiao Wu swallowed. "Lawyer Jiang, could Song Qiao... have feelings for Brother Cheng?"
As though to confirm his words.
The very next second-
Liao Xian said, "This is the upcoming scene between the male and female leads. Please take a look, both of you."
Xiao Cheng took the revised script.
After reading it, he frowned outright, not bothering to hide it.
This was a scene in which the male lead confessed his feelings to the female lead.
Moreover, the male lead was to kneel before the female lead on one knee and kiss the back of her hand like a knight.
After the female lead accepted, the male lead was to kiss her forehead tenderly.
A deep French kiss.
From between her brows to the bridge of her nose, from the tip of her nose to her lips...
Finally, there would be a five-second close-up of their lips pressed together.
So there was no way to fake it with camera angles.
He could only kiss her for real.
Xiao Cheng's entire presence turned cold.
He raised his eyes and looked at Song Qiao.
Song Qiao's face was full of bashful delight, without the slightest trace of surprise.
It seemed she had known all along.
She held the script, a smile of triumph and anticipation on her face.
The hundreds of millions she had poured into this scene, investing in Lawyer Storm under someone else's name, hadn't been in vain.
All the romantic scenes between the male and female leads had been written by her.
She made them as suggestive as possible.
The romantic scenes included no fewer than eight kissing scenes and one bed scene.
Before Xiao Cheng could speak.
Xiao Wu, standing behind Xiao Cheng, glanced at Weibo, and his expression changed.
"Brother Cheng! Look at Weibo, quick!!"
Xiao Cheng took Xiao Wu's phone and glanced at it.
Several topics had suddenly landed on Weibo's trending searches.
#Xiao Cheng and Song Qiao: Eight kissing scenes#
#Lawyer Storm: Xiao Cheng's first on-screen kiss#
#I ship Xiao Cheng and Song Qiao#
Song Qiao walked over to Xiao Cheng, holding up her skirt with a slightly troubled air, and said understandingly.
"Teacher Xiao Cheng, if you mind..."
She had already made the kissing scenes a done deal.
If Xiao Cheng refused, he would be throwing his weight around as a star, and would also have to pay the Lawyer Storm production team hundreds of millions in hefty breach-of-contract penalties.
Song Qiao looked down at Xiao Cheng from her superior position, waiting for him to compromise.
Xiao Cheng remained silent for a long time.
Even Jiang Chiyan thought he was going to compromise.
Jiang Chiyan had already taken a step forward and was pulling his checkbook from his pocket, ready to put up a billion to buy the television series.
Just then, Xiao Cheng suddenly raised his head.
"Sorry, I do mind."