The night was dark and heavy, the cold wind howled, and the dazzling city lights were spread out below.

A girl in a white sweater sat on the rooftop. The wind messed up her long hair, making it float in the night like seaweed in water, carrying a sense of eerie fear. Her long, slender legs hung suspended, swinging lightly. She raised her pale face to the sky. What a silent night. Perfect for dying.

She suddenly turned and stared at the man behind her. “Don’t come any closer.”

Lu Yanzhou’s expression was cold and serious. “Get down first. Dying won’t solve any problems. This is avoidance. I will help you.”

Pei Yuan laughed lightly, raising an eyebrow at him. “Who said I want to commit suicide? I just think sitting here is thrilling.”

Lu Yanzhou: “When your mind becomes numb to this kind of thrill, you’ll want to jump.”

Pei Yuan suddenly stopped laughing.

Wei Zhong frowned at the monitor and called out, “Cut! Zhou Yining, relax a little more. There is still a trace of fear in your eyes. Pei Yuan has reached the point where she’s not even afraid of death anymore. Relax.”

Zhou Yining took a deep breath. Her dangling legs were trembling slightly. “Okay…”

Ji Dongyang was watching her. Their eyes met. His were calm, dark, and focused entirely on her. Miraculously, she suddenly found courage.

She used to be unafraid of even death, but now, she was afraid of heights and even more afraid of dying.

Zhou Yining bit her lip, looked away, and lifted her head to stare at the deep,  night sky. If there was a star in the sky, it must have been given to her by Ji Dongyang.

The shoot started again.

In the final moment, Pei Yuan suddenly stood up. Her frail, slender figure stood on the edge, arms wide open. She walked a few steps along the rim, only a few centimeters from stepping into the void and falling. Lu Yanzhou’s heart hammered in his chest, but he dared not shout. His voice was hoarse. “Pei Yuan, get down. I’m begging you.”

He approached slowly. Suddenly, she turned around, looked down at him, and gave a sweet smile. “I won’t jump.”

The next second, she suddenly leaped off the rooftop edge. Lu Yanzhou quickly reached out to catch her, fiercely pulling her back towards the doorway.

…

Zhou Yining’s legs were uncontrollably weak. When Ji Dongyang pulled her, her entire body started to slump to the ground. Ji Dongyang was still immersed in his character. His hands suddenly felt the dead weight, and he snapped back to reality. He turned around, bent down, put his arms under her armpits, and lifted her, letting her lean against him.

Out of context, Wei Zhong could only wave his hand and call “Cut,” walking over to them.

Ji Dongyang looked down at her. Her face was ashen. She must have been holding on to finish that segment, collapsing the moment it was over. Her legs were too weak to stand, almost cramping. Her body started to slide down. Ji Dongyang followed the movement, squatting so she could lean on his legs.

Zhou Yining felt utterly useless, but she still trembled. “I almost thought I was going to fall just now…”

Wei Zhong reached them and happened to hear her. “That segment is done. We’ll start shooting the rest of the scene on flat ground. You won’t have to stand on the edge anymore. Take a break. If you can manage, we’ll continue in a bit. Let’s finish this scene tonight.”

Zhou Yining nodded. Her palms were slick with sweat. She struggled to stand up. “My legs are weak. I can’t stand…”

Ji Dongyang: “Should I carry you?”

She nodded.

He picked her up and told Wei Zhong, “I’ll take her back to the restroom first to let her recover.”

Wei Zhong stared at Ji Dongyang for a few seconds. “Go ahead.”

After they left, the staff began discussing:

“Forget Zhou Yining, even I, a grown man, felt my legs shaking just watching. One misstep and you’d fall. Even if the safety measures are foolproof, hanging in mid-air is pretty scary.”

“It is scary. But she’s also so tough. I really thought she wasn’t scared just now. I can’t believe her legs gave out the moment she was done. I’m impressed by that acting.”

“But, Dong-ge is really… so gentle today.”

“Just basic gentlemanly conduct. If a girl can’t walk and collapses in your arms, aren’t you going to carry her?”

“That’s true…”

…

Ji Dongyang carried her into the elevator. It was empty. The moment the door closed, Zhou Yining lifted her head to kiss his lips. She quickly pulled away, staring directly at him. “Your hand shook a little just now when you grabbed me.”

He looked straight ahead. “It didn’t.”

She tilted her head up even higher. “It did.”

“No.”

“You did, I felt it. You were worried about me, right?”

“…”

“You were afraid I was going to jump, weren’t you?”

“…”

“I won’t jump. I’m afraid of heights.”

Ji Dongyang glanced at her, giving a low, “Mm.”

Ding! He carried her out of the elevator and walked towards the office area. The person at the front desk was probably in the washroom; the desk was empty. He walked straight into his restroom. A few steps later, he heard the voices of several women behind them; they were heading downstairs to the washroom.

Back in the restroom, Ji Dongyang placed Zhou Yining on the chair. As he was about to stand up, she hooked her arms around his neck. He had no choice but to brace himself on the sides of the chair and bend over. “What, still need a hug?”

She pulled him down harder, craned her head up, and kissed his lips.

Ji Dongyang neither responded nor pushed her away. After she kissed him a few times, she released her grip on his neck and moved her legs, standing up.

Ji Dongyang also straightened up, walked to the coffee machine, and started brewing coffee.

Zhang Ran stood guard outside the door. She hadn’t noticed Zhou Yining and Ji Dongyang’s relationship until Wan Wei called and told her a few days ago. She had originally intended to follow Zhou Yining into the elevator, but A Ming stopped her.

The two assistants guarded the door. They were ready to alert the people inside at the slightest sign of trouble.

A Ming looked at Zhang Ran. “This secret relationship of theirs always makes me so nervous.”

Zhang Ran sighed helplessly. “It was better when I didn’t know. Now… I’m the same as you.”

A Ming smiled. “It’s fine. No one else has found out, right?”

That was true, but A Ming was still worried. Dong-ge had never dated a co-star before; he hadn’t broken that rule in all these years, until he met the little devil.

Zhou Yining walked up behind Ji Dongyang, wrapping her arms around his lean waist. She rubbed her head lightly against the man’s firm, rugged back. “Who was that person who bumped into us just now? What if they tell someone?”

She had been too nervous earlier; now she regretted not looking at them.

Ji Dongyang moved slightly, pouring two cups of coffee. He rubbed the rim of his cup with his thumb. “They probably only recognized me.”

Zhou Yining gave a little “Oh.” His body had completely shielded her, so it was indeed unlikely they’d seen her. Ji Dongyang’s tall figure wasn’t hard to spot. If it were someone from the crew, they would definitely recognize him.

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“No.”

This was the truth. If they couldn’t hide it, there was nothing he could do. Ji Dongyang only hoped it wouldn’t affect her or the crew’s schedule. Everything else could be managed.

After their break, the remaining scenes for the night were completed.

…

The Lunar New Year was approaching, and the crew was arranging holiday breaks. Zhou Yining absolutely hated the New Year. This year’s New Year coincided with Zhou JiaHui’s birthday. She didn’t want to go back to the Zhou family home. She asked Ji Dongyang, “Can I spend the New Year with you this year?”

Ji Dongyang turned to look at her. “Not going home?”

She shook her head. “No. You?”

Ji Dongyang: “No.”

She was silent for a while, thinking of the rumors online, the ones she didn’t know were true or false. If they were true, were they truly kindred spirits? She quickly shook her head. No. Ji Dongyang was different. He was cold-faced and had a temper, but he was normal, very normal, and even warm. His kisses could calm her down.

Ji Dongyang turned to her and suddenly asked, “Where do you want to go? We have at least five days off.”

The young girl’s eyes lit up. “You agreed? We’re spending the New Year together?”

He nodded. He would be alone anyway. If it weren’t for her, he would probably have gone to A Ming’s house for New Year’s Eve dinner this year. Home, he would not be going back to.

She pressed him. “So if I hadn’t said anything, where were you planning to go?”

“A Ming’s house.”

“…”

How boring. She thought he would say he wanted to spend it with her or something. Sure enough, she couldn’t expect a single nice thing to come out of this man’s mouth.

The day before the holiday, Zhou Yining and Ji Dongyang were scheduled to film their first kissing scene. She had counted: four kissing scenes and two intimate scenes. This was her first time filming a kiss, but since the person was Ji Dongyang, she felt no nervousness whatsoever, only anticipation.

That day, Shen Yanjun came to visit the set. Zhou JiaHui came with him. Zhou Yining glanced over and immediately frowned.

Shen Yanjun immediately walked towards her and explained, “I didn’t bring her.”

Zhou Yining frowned and didn’t speak.

Zhou JiaHui lifted her chin, looking haughtily at her, then looked around. Seeing Ji Dongyang, she smiled brightly and quickly walked over.

“Dong-ge.”

Ji Dongyang was reading the script. He looked up when he heard the voice, saw an unfamiliar girl dressed in designer clothes standing in front of him, and nodded lightly.

Zhou JiaHui’s voice became a bit shy. “Um, do you remember me? You even attended my 18th birthday party.”

Ji Dongyang finally looked at her properly. He remembered. The little princess, Zhou Yining’s half-sister.

Zhou JiaHui’s voice dropped even lower. “My birthday is in a couple of days. Could you come to my party again?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time.”

“…Okay then.”

Ji Dongyang’s focus returned to the script. Zhou JiaHui didn’t dare to bother him anymore and walked disgruntledly to the side.

Zhou Yining walked past her, going directly to Ji Dongyang. She challenged him, “Dong-ge, can we run lines together?”

Ji Dongyang looked up at her, slowly setting the script down. He said casually, “There’s no need.”

Zhou JiaHui stopped walking, looking somewhat smugly at Zhou Yining.

Zhou Yining quickly pressed. “Why?”

He stared straight at her. Zhou Yining immediately understood. The kissing scene didn’t need practice, because they had already practiced it many times.

“I was talking about other scenes.”

Could he not think of her as a hooligan?

She moved closer to him, staring intently. Say yes to her.

Ji Dongyang finally nodded. “Fine.”

The two ran their lines together. Zhou JiaHui watched them for a while, then angrily returned to Shen Yanjun, huffing. “She thinks she’s amazing now that she’s an actress? Didn’t she say she didn’t like Dong-ge? And now she’s running lines.”

Shen Yanjun’s expression was grim. He looked at the pair running lines together, his face darkening even further.

After a while, Wei Zhong came over to talk to them about the scene. Once the cameras were adjusted, he asked the lead actors to take their positions. The clapperboard snapped, and Wei Zhong called out, “Action!”