After a while, someone approached and sat down nearby. Lin Xiaoman didn’t look up, hearing the sound of someone picking up a wine glass and taking a sip. Then silence.
Lin Xiaoman closed her eyes, almost falling asleep.
“I learned cooking for someone,” a low, magnetic voice suddenly spoke.
Lin Xiaoman suddenly came to her senses, looking at Ji Zhixian. His handsome and extraordinary side profile was as beautiful as snow jade in the moonlight, yet it carried an inexplicable, deep melancholy that could make the air feel sorrowful, just like before.
She quietly looked at him, saying nothing.
Ji Zhixian took another sip of red wine: “I heard she liked desserts, specially went to France to study them, and failed countless times before making a cake.”
He was the one who liked steak.
“Do you really like him?” Lin Xiaoman asked softly, as if afraid of disturbing the night.
Ji Zhixian turned his head to look at her, his gaze focused and serious: “Yes, I like her. From the first moment I saw her, I’ve loved her. All these years, I’ve been following her footsteps, hoping to stand together with her.”
He hoped this would make Lin Xiaoman understand.
“You really like him,” Lin Xiaoman’s gaze became complex. She had always thought that someone like Ji Zhixian, cold and awkward, wouldn’t understand emotions, but now she realized he was also a pitiful person. “Does he know?”
“Whether she knows or not doesn’t matter, because we can never be together, never,” Ji Zhixian’s eyes deepened, “But I will only love him.”
Lin Xiaoman’s sympathy grew deeper. There was nothing more painful in this world than a gay person falling in love with a straight man.
As a public figure, finding love was already difficult, and he had fallen in love with someone who would never love him back – it must be even more painful.
She consoled him: “This just means he’s not right for you. You’ll meet someone more suitable in the future.”
“I don’t care about anyone else,” Ji Zhixian said decisively.
Even without Tang Feifei, he would not fall in love with anyone, including the person in front of him who looked five or six parts similar to Tang Feifei.
“Why torture yourself like this?”
Lin Xiaoman thought of her past self.
When she was about to announce her relationship with Huo Qizheng, many friends advised her to wait, saying that feelings might fade, they might have conflicts and break up, and she shouldn’t sacrifice her future career for a momentary passion.
At the time, she had confidently declared: “I will only be with him. We will never break up.”
Just like Ji Zhixian now.
They were both pitiful people who had lost themselves in love.
“That person is not worth it. There will be someone better who deserves your love.”
Ji Zhixian hated hearing anyone speak ill of Tang Feifei the most.
He put down his wine glass heavily, stood up, and looked coldly at Lin Xiaoman: “Know your place. I will absolutely never fall in love with you.”
Watching his departing figure, the slightly drunk Lin Xiaoman finally reacted.
“Who would want to love you? Unlucky guy!”
The next day, Lin Xiaoman didn’t meet Ji Zhixian as she had to shoot an advertisement and left early.
When she arrived at the shooting site, it was lively and the atmosphere was good. Ji Yuan was earlier than she expected, chatting and laughing with the director, showing no signs of the previous hot search’s impact.
Lin Xiaoman had just found her seat when Ji Yuan hurried over to show his concern: “Xiaoman, your coffee.”
“No thanks, I don’t drink coffee,” Lin Xiaoman realized he was more formidable than she thought.
After publicly expressing disgust last time, he could still interact with her normally – truly a deep and cunning person.
“This is for everyone, everyone gets one,” Ji Yuan crouched down, offering the coffee with a submissive expression, “Don’t you want to give me face?”
“I’m allergic to coffee.”
Previously it was roses, now coffee – clearly an excuse. But Ji Yuan’s expression didn’t change, still smiling: “My oversight. What would you like to drink? I’ll get it for you.”
“Oh, I’m not thirsty.”
“Xiaoman, you’re so cold,” Ji Yuan looked pitiful. “I really didn’t know about the previous incident. I even need to thank you that day. Don’t you want to give me a chance to thank you?”
“Just stay away from me,” Lin Xiaoman didn’t give Ji Yuan face even in front of others. “I’ve thanked you.”
“Is it because of Wei Qinghuan? I knew nothing about that. My Weibo has always been managed by my agent. I was the last to know about that day’s events.”
Ji Yuan’s eyes were long and narrow, with an upward curve at the corners.
When he made an innocent expression, he looked particularly sincere, with a clean and pure youthful feeling. The nearby young girls couldn’t help but blush.
But Lin Xiaoman remained unmoved. If we’re talking about someone more sunny, youthful, and innocent-looking, no one could compare to her ex-boyfriend Huo Qizheng. Though not from a professional acting background and with average acting skills, Huo Qizheng was beloved by young girls for his beautiful appearance. He had starred in many youth idol dramas, and whenever his TV series aired, he would consistently top the trending charts.
So Ji Yuan’s attempt at a beauty trap was somewhat low-level. Ji Yuan saw the reactions of the young girls around him and thought that Lin Xiaoman’s coldness was just about saving face, believing that no one could resist his charm.
He continued performing: “Xiaoman, I hope you don’t have any prejudice against me. I hope we can cooperate happily.”
As he spoke, he extended his hand, smiling adorably. “Xiaoman, the director is looking for you,” Xiaobai appeared just in time. Ji Yuan was still half-squatting on the ground with his hand extended towards Lin Xiaoman. Xiaobai hurried forward to help Ji Yuan up: “Bro, please get up. It looks like a proposal and might cause misunderstandings.” Ji Yuan’s face turned pale, and he glared resentfully at Xiaobai.
“I’ll go right away,” Lin Xiaoman stood up, distancing herself from Ji Yuan, and nodded slightly, “Happy cooperation.”
Lin Xiaoman walked away with Xiaobai. Xiaobai asked proudly in a low voice, “How was my performance?”
“You’re quite clever,” Lin Xiaoman laughed.
Before arriving on set, she had already told Xiaobai that if Ji Yuan came to pester her, Xiaobai should find an excuse to call her away, ensuring they would never have a chance to be alone.
This way, it would be difficult for Ji Yuan to create rumors.
Initially, she thought Ji Yuan’s frequent rumors were just him deliberately getting close to female celebrities to be caught by paparazzi. But after seeing the photos of Wei Qinghuan with him, Lin Xiaoman felt the paparazzi had chosen an exceptionally good angle.
She became suspicious of Ji Yuan, believing everything was staged, and thus wanted to keep her distance on set to give him no opportunity.
After greeting the director and other staff, shooting began. The advertisement was divided into two parts. The first part mainly showed how the male and female leads met. Lin Xiaoman, playing the shop owner, had only one line – responding “Expert!” after the male lead mentioned “Yiyuan’s dishes”.
This type of scene requiring no acting skills was easy for her.
Although Ji Yuan’s character was questionable, his basic professional ethics remained, knowing how to pose attractively for the camera. Their initial scenes passed in one take.
The main challenge was the waltz afterward.
