At seven in the morning, A Ming called. Zhou Yining kicked Ji Dongyang, her voice hoarse. “Noisy.”

Both of them had been a little wild last night. Ji Dongyang hadn’t held back either; it was a rare indulgence. After tossing about for several hours, they definitely hadn’t slept enough.

Ji Dongyang frowned, found his phone, checked the time, and remembered they had to go to the airport soon. He woke up a bit and answered in a deep voice, “Got it.”

Hanging up the phone, Ji Dongyang propped up one leg, leaning against the headboard to wake up. He looked down at Zhou Yining, who had fallen asleep again, and leaned close to her ear. “We should get ready to go to the airport.”

Zhou Yining didn’t move. Ji Dongyang was silent for a moment, then simply picked her up. Zhou Yining finally opened her eyes, frowning. After a long while, she said, “Okay.”

Ji Dongyang lifted the quilt and walked into the bathroom.

Zhou Yining stared at his back, looking towards the bathroom. In the past, she had tried many ways to relieve stress and seek thrills: drag racing, drinking, smoking, shooting, learning karate to fight people, and, at her worst, even self-harm.

In those years, she had thought about letting go countless times. Zhang Hui held her back, constantly persuading her, “You’re not thinking clearly right now. Yining, you’re sick. If you get better one day, you’ll regret it.”

Remembering the thrill of last night’s pleasure, she was obsessed, even addicted.

Ji Dongyang made her addicted.

Ji Dongyang came out of the bathroom and found her staring blankly, clutching the quilt. He called her name. “Zhou Yining.”

Zhou Yining looked up at him, smiled, and threw off the quilt to get out of bed.

Her legs were weak, and she couldn’t stand steady. She frowned, looked at him, and said, “Carry me.”

Ji Dongyang walked over, picked her up, and carried her to the bathroom.

Putting her down, he smoothed her long hair and kissed her forehead. “Take a shower. You’ll feel better. There’s still time.”

Zhou Yining took a shower. When she came out, A Ming had arrived and was waiting in the living room. Zhang Ran was also waiting in the underground parking lot.

She had little luggage, so packing was quick.

Zhou Yining left the door open. Turning around, she saw Ji Dongyang standing in her living room.

She smiled at him and walked over. “Ready.”

Ji Dongyang grabbed the strap of her backpack, unzipped it, and saw quite a bit of cash inside. He had wanted to ask last night, but didn’t have the chance. “Do you carry cash because of that incident?”

Zhou Yining nodded, giving a soft “Mm.”

Ji Dongyang took out a few stacks of her cash and tossed them onto the sofa. “Will this make it a little lighter?”

Zhou Yining frowned, unhappy. “Put it back. I want to carry it.”

Ji Dongyang stared at her, took a card out of his wallet, and handed it to her. “Take this. This card won’t be stopped.”

Zhou Yining opened her mouth, looking at the card in his hand, then suddenly laughed. “Why give me a card? Were you comfortable last night, so you’re giving me a tip?”

Unsurprisingly, Ji Dongyang frowned.

Ji Dongyang was somewhat speechless. He stuffed the card directly into her palm and told her the password. “I’m giving it to you, so take it.”

Zhou Yining was still smiling. “I have cards too, and my own money. It’s just a habit.”

She was too young back then. Although she didn’t like the Zhou family or Zhou Lihui, she couldn’t deny that she needed Zhou Lihui’s support. In those years, Zhou Lihui gave her a lot of money and various cards, never stingy with food or expenses. Whenever she felt irritable, she would swipe his cards fiercely.

She swiped when she was happy, swiped when she was unhappy. Those cards never maxed out.

Until the day before the incident, when her cards stopped working. All of them.

Ji Dongyang didn’t give her a chance to refuse. He turned to leave. “It’s almost time. I’ll go down first.”

Zhou Yining pinched the card, looking at the cash thrown on the sofa. This thin card felt heavier and safer than those heavy stacks of cash.

When she left, the stacks of cash on the sofa remained.

Ji Dongyang and A Ming left a step ahead of her. The two arrived at the airport separately to board the plane.

It wasn’t yet noon when they returned to S City. Zhou Yining went home briefly, then met the crew at noon.

When she arrived, it was break time after lunch.

“I wonder what Dong-ge said on the show. I’m so curious.”

“Yeah. Even though we see him every day on set, I always feel he’s deeply mysterious. Aside from talking about acting with the director, he barely speaks. Last time I fought with my boyfriend and couldn’t help crying by the sink, Dong-ge saw me. I was so shocked I forgot to cry.”

“Did he say anything?”

“No… Knowing Dong-ge’s personality, it would be strange if he did say something.”

…

Zhou Yining leaned against the wall, sitting on a chair, memorising her script. The two young girls were discussing Ji Dongyang just on the other side of the wall.

This situation was common when filming the Taiping Dynasty. She could hear girls on the crew discussing him everywhere. Back then, she thought Ji Dongyang was cold and pretentious. In reality, that was just his personality, not gentle, not considerate, unable to speak sweet nothings.

His eyes and body language were far more moving than words.

Wei Zhong came over to talk to Zhou Yining and Lu Ling about the scene. “Zhou Yining, push Lu Ling a bit harder later. Lu Ling, when you fall back, make it look real.”

Lu Ling played Peng Yi, Lu Yanzhou’s assistant. Peng Yi had a secret crush on Lu Yanzhou. Her carefree personality was just a facade; in reality, she was sensitive and had driven away many women who tried to get close to Lu Yanzhou without him knowing. Pei Yuan was different, different from all those previous women.

She was a patient. Lu Yanzhou had absolute tolerance for patients. If Peng Yi went too far, Lu Yanzhou would definitely fire her.

Seeing Lu Yanzhou care more and more for Pei Yuan, beyond what was normal, and having seen them kiss last time, Peng Yi couldn’t hold back anymore.

Lu Ling thought for a moment and looked at Zhou Yining. “Push harder later.”

Zhou Yining: “If you don’t mind.”

Lu Ling: “I don’t mind.”

Filming officially began.

Pei Yuan was triggered by Peng Yi saying, “You don’t deserve him.” She stood up abruptly, approaching her. The coldness in her eyes made Peng Yi panic for a few seconds. Soon, she used even harsher words to hurt her, forgetting that the woman in front of her was a patient with bipolar disorder who couldn’t handle provocation.

The next second, she was shoved hard. Pei Yuan looked down from above at Peng Yi, who had fallen to the floor. “You are even less qualified.”

Wei Zhong watched the monitor. “Cut! Lu Ling, what’s wrong? Your expression is off.”

Lu Ling’s face was slightly pale. “Director, I think I twisted my ankle.”

Zhou Yining pursed her lips, frowning. She bent down to help Lu Ling up, squatting in front of her to look at her ankle.

Lu Ling shrank back. “Don’t touch it.”

Zhou Yining’s hand froze in mid-air. She slowly withdrew it, stood up, looked at her, and said, “Sorry.”

Lu Ling’s face was white. “It’s fine. It was an accident. I was careless just now and retreated too fast.”

Wei Zhong had already walked over and asked a few questions. Lu Ling’s assistant brought a chair for her to sit on, squatted down, and took off her high heels. Lu Ling hissed. The assistant said, “It’s swollen… I don’t know if the bone is hurt.”

Wei Zhong sighed and waved his hand. “Leave it for now. Go to the hospital.”

Then, Lu Ling was helped out by her assistant.

Zhou Yining stood there, somewhat at a loss.

Ji Dongyang, who was waiting on the side, walked up to her and looked down. “It’s fine. Accidents happen often during filming.”

Since Ji Dongyang had spoken, Wei Zhong also smiled. “Yeah, it’s fine. Bumps and bruises are common in filming. When Dongyang filmed Black and White, he had injuries for three straight months. It’s the same for other actors.”

Zhou Yining came back to her senses and smiled. “I know. I’m just afraid of affecting the crew’s progress.”

Wei Zhong: “That’s true, you’re right about that. Get ready. We’ll shoot your scene with Dongyang.”

Wei Zhong finished explaining the scene to them, and filming was about to start.

The second kissing scene.

Passed in one take. Their chemistry was unbelievable.

In the end, Wei Zhong looked at them with a hint of a smile in his eyes. “Much better than last time.”

Zhou Yining looked at the director, feeling like… he seemed to have realised something.

She stood in front of Ji Dongyang, savouring that kiss.

Lu Ling rested for a day and came to the set the next day.

Zhou Yining ran into her in the elevator. Seeing her walking a bit unnaturally, she asked, “Are you okay?”

Lu Ling said indifferently, “I’m fine now.”

Zhou Yining pursed her lips and didn’t speak again.

Time flew to the following Thursday. The personal interview program Ji Dongyang recorded was about to air.

Zhou Yining had agreed to have dinner with Zhou Lihui, so she couldn’t watch it on TV. Like last time, they ate at a family restaurant. Zhou Lihui talked to her about some company matters. Zhou Yining wasn’t interested, eating with her head down, unsure if she was even listening.

Finally, Zhou Lihui took out a document bag and spread out the documents. “Ningning, sign this.”

Zhou Yining flipped through it. It was a transfer of company shares. She pushed it back. “No need. You should leave it for Zhou JiaHui.”

Zhou Yining had no interest in fighting with Zhou JiaHui for family property.

Zhou Lihui frowned. “This was originally your share. JiaHui has hers too.”

Zhou Yining glanced at him, didn’t speak, took the pen directly, signed, and pushed it back to him. “Done.”

Zhou Lihui breathed a sigh of relief. After a long while, he said, “Ningning, can you forgive Dad for what happened back then?”

Zhou Yining’s expression changed slightly. She didn’t speak.

When she encountered the robbers back then, the cards were stopped by Zhou Lihui. After she went abroad, she refused to return to the Zhou home. Back then, Xia Yun had said, “You give her so much money, she lives freely abroad swiping cards, of course, she won’t come back. If you stop her cards and she has no money, won’t she come back?”

In light of Zhou JiaHui’s words, Zhou Lihui really did stop her cards.

This incident was the fuse. It crushed her emotions, which were already on the verge of collapse. Not long after, she fell ill.

When Zhou Lihui rushed to the UK, Qin Yuan slapped him.

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