Chapter 21

Chapter 21

To the north of the restaurant was the bustling city. The top floor had a semi-open rooftop terrace, originally set with outdoor dining tables, which had been put away due to the cold weather. He Mingshuang had come up for some fresh air, only to find someone had already beaten her to this quiet spot.

The person stood with his back to her, short hair tousled by the wind. One hand rested casually on the ornate iron railing, while the other moved in front of him. His cheeks puffed out intermittently, as if he were smoking.

"Chu Heng?"

Chu Heng turned at the sound, a flicker of surprise in his eyes before a smile spread across his face. "Sister Shuang, what are you doing here?"

A white plastic stick stuck out from between his lips. He Mingshuang realized he was eating a lollipop. She walked over, tucking the hair at her temples behind her ears. "I'm here for dinner. You too?"

"Yeah. Are you shooting here too?" Chu Heng removed his hand from the railing, making room for He Mingshuang. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another lollipop. "Want one? Strawberry flavor. Should be to a girl's taste."

"I'm hardly a girl anymore." He Mingshuang shook her head with a wry smile, taking the candy. She unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. The sweetness spread across her tongue, and she found herself relaxing. "I just joined the crew not long ago. If I'd known you were here, I would've come to find you earlier. Has the provincial TV station been giving you a hard time?"

Chu Heng waved it off. "Don't worry. I just won't do their shows."

He Mingshuang was still worried. "But it's still a major provincial station."

Artists who go against capital never fare well. Moreover, Chu Heng had been going it alone all these years, his only reliance being himself. He got into this because he helped her.

Feeling guilty, He Mingshuang hesitated before saying, "Do you want me to help? My... my man has some connections with the provincial station."

Chu Heng asked, "Then why did he let you get bullied?"

He Mingshuang's face paled slightly. Chu Heng realized his blunder and quickly apologized. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He Mingshuang forced a smile. "Stuff like that happens all the time. No need to get on their bad side over something so small."

Chu Heng changed the subject. "Is your injury better?"

He noticed her lips still looked a bit pale.

He was really touching on a sore spot. He Mingshuang's smile became even more strained. "Much better."

She wasn't wearing much, her chic little jacket looking more fashionable than functional. As she finished speaking, she shivered. Seeing this, Chu Heng took off his own coat and offered it to her. When she hesitated, he added, "Put it on. I'm not cold."

It was nearly nine, but the film and television city was still bustling. Few crews wrapped up at this hour. Various sounds drifted up, muffled as if through a curtain of water. The skyscrapers outside the studio lot were already lit with white or yellow lights. Further away was the cross-river bridge, where the colorful neon lights and city slogans on the guardrails were faintly visible.

Wrapped in Chu Heng's coat, a flicker of melancholy flashed between He Mingshuang's brows. "I never used to be afraid of the cold either."

Chu Heng shot her a sideways glance.

He Mingshuang continued gazing at the dazzling scene before her. After a moment of silence, she pressed her lips together and smiled. "After having a child, my health deteriorated. No amount of nursing could bring it back."

Her smile resembled the kind used on screen to mask emotions. She touched her face and spoke seemingly out of nowhere. "Actually, he was very good to me before. He never hit me, never scolded me. He gave me flowers every day, beautiful clothes, all kinds of jewelry, and often praised me as the most beautiful girl in the world."

"He was very understanding of my work. He never minded my CP marketing with others, never interfered with my work, and even used his connections to help me, making my career smoother. He never demanded we go public either."

"When I was with him, I felt like the happiest woman in the world, but I also often felt guilty, like I was letting him down."

He Mingshuang paused. Perhaps it was the wine she drank earlier, perhaps the candy from Chu Heng made her feel like she was back in her carefree, pampered girlhood, or perhaps the night view was too beautiful, and the person beside her was so gentlemanly. Suddenly, she felt a reckless urge to confide, the kind only a young girl would have.

Chu Heng chimed in appropriately. "So you married him and had his children?"

Based on He Mingshuang's account, this seemed the logical progression. However, He Mingshuang shook her head. "No, I didn't marry him. The child was just an accident."

She took a deep breath and looked at Chu Heng, speaking softly. "In our circle, there aren't many ways to climb up and secure your footing quickly, right?"

A crisp *crack* sounded between his teeth. The slowly melting candy shattered instantly. Chu Heng even bit the soft flesh inside his cheek, but in his shock, he didn't feel the pain.

But he soon realized he was mistaken.

Misinterpreting his reaction, He Mingshuang averted her eyes and said quietly, "You might think I'm shameless, cheap. But if I hadn't gone with him back then, I would have had to endure even more humiliation. At least among those people, he was the youngest, the kindest. Though not exceptionally handsome, his looks were passable."

"I hadn't been with him long before everything became smooth sailing. Countless scripts came my way daily for me to choose from, and everyone around me bowed and scraped. Few could refuse such a life, at least the younger me couldn't. Soon, I stopped resisting going to bed with a man nearly ten years my senior, with whom I had no emotional foundation."

"He really treated me well. Sometimes I even deluded myself into thinking I wasn't being kept, but was in a real relationship. Ridiculous, right?"

Chu Heng bit down on the plastic stick, suddenly feeling extremely irritable. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together hard.

Unaware, He Mingshuang lowered her eyes, a look of profound sorrow appearing on her face. "By the time I realized it was an illusion, it was too late. His business wasn't going well; he kept hitting walls. He started drinking heavily and hitting me."

Chu Heng closed his eyes. "Why didn't you leave him? Did you love him?"

"Love?" He Mingshuang couldn't help a light, mocking laugh. "Feelings between men and women are the most illusory thing in the world. Only in dramas do they last forever. I thought you understood that too."

Chu Heng said, "Yes, of course I understand..."

He Mingshuang drew a soft breath. "I didn't leave because he held evidence against me. Just a little leak would ruin me completely. Later, I got pregnant unexpectedly. He threatened me not to get an abortion, and that's how we had the child."

"We're entangled, but we also despise each other. I take variety shows partly to avoid him as much as possible."

Chu Heng's fingers trembled slightly. He Mingshuang finally noticed his poor complexion and was taken aback. "Are you cold?"

Chu Heng snapped back to reality, forcing the corners of his mouth up. "A little."

He Mingshuang took the coat off her shoulders and handed it back. "Sorry, I lost my composure tonight." She looked up at Chu Heng and smiled. "But still, thank you for listening. I feel much better."

Chu Heng took the coat and smiled back. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell others?"

He Mingshuang blinked playfully. "Would you?"

Chu Heng was about to say 'no' when a furious roar suddenly erupted beside them.

"What are you two doing?!"

He Mingshuang's face instantly darkened. Sensing something, Chu Heng turned to see a slightly overweight middle-aged man standing at the glass door to the terrace, his face flushed red, glaring at them furiously.

More accurately, glaring at He Mingshuang.

Pointing at Chu Heng, he almost shrieked at He Mingshuang, "I came all this way to have dinner with you, and you ditch me to have a secret rendezvous with this pretty boy?!"

Jia Xianyi felt a sinister rage surge from his heart, shooting straight to the top of his head, rendering him incapable of rational thought. Clenching his teeth, the whites of his eyes bloodshot, he stared fixedly at the two on the terrace. His body hunched with anger, the black and gold business card in his hand crumpled into a ball.

Running into Xiao Hongbo today had been an unexpected windfall. If he could just get on Xiao Hongbo's boat, everything he wanted would be within easy reach. Overjoyed, he had returned to the private room, eager to share the good news with He Mingshuang, to tell her he could give her resources and support like before.

He Mingshuang cared most about her status in the film and television industry. He could help her win awards continuously, secure the Best Actress in a Television Series title, then the Best Actress in a Film title, win this year's Gold Award, then the next. That way, He Mingshuang wouldn't think about leaving him.

But He Mingshuang wasn't there. Thinking she had gone to the restroom, he sat down to wait. Just imagining the expression He Mingshuang would have when she heard the news made him happily pour himself drinks. But he waited over half an hour, only to be approached by a waiter.

The waiter brought the business card he had just given away not long ago. "Sir, your business card was accidentally dropped in the flowerbed downstairs."

Even Jia Xianyi, as dense as he was, understood he had been snubbed; the other party simply couldn't be bothered with him. His mood plummeted from the clouds into the abyss. After downing a whole bottle of wine in frustration, he wanted to find He Mingshuang and leave.

He needed to vent, whether through more drink or something else. After asking several waiters, he finally learned He Mingshuang had gone to the rooftop terrace. He had already calmed himself, deciding not to lose his temper with He Mingshuang tonight, as their interaction earlier had been a rare moment of harmony.

But what did he see?

He saw the woman who'd been giving him the cold shoulder laughing and talking warmly with another man, even holding that man's jacket in her hand!

Rage exploded in Jia Xianyi's mind. "You cheating bitch!" he roared.

"You slut!"

He Mingshuang's face turned pale, a mix of fear and hatred. Her hands clenched the jacket she hadn't yet let go of, and she took half a step back behind Chu Heng.

This scene was like adding fuel to the fire for Jia Xianyi. He gritted his teeth with a grating sound, and his eyes instantly reddened. The alcohol he'd downed rushed to his head.

He stormed over, swinging his fist at Chu Heng like a rabid animal.

His fist cut through the air with a cold gust. Chu Heng frowned, gently pushed He Mingshuang to the side behind him with one hand, and blocked Jia Xianyi's punch with the other.

Thanks to thirty years of training in the underworld, he had learned quite a few moves. Dealing with a drunken man was child's play. Since this was He Mingshuang's personal business, he didn't strike back, only forcefully shoved the man aside.

Jia Xianyi, already dizzy and unsteady from the alcohol, fell to the ground in a disheveled heap.

"You dare hit me!" The dull pain from his tailbone and elbow cleared his head a bit. He roared while looking up, finally getting a clear view of the man He Mingshuang was meeting secretly. This man, enveloped in the hazy glow of neon lights, was strikingly handsome and now looked down at him with a cold, disdainful gaze.

Gritting his teeth, he spat out the words almost through clenched teeth: "It's you again! Chu! Heng!"

The crumpled business card lay beside him. Chu Heng withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Mr. Jia, you've misunderstood. Sister Shuang and I just happened to run into each other."

"Hah." Jia Xianyi let out a cold laugh, propping himself up on the railing and staggering to his feet. Weak all over, he could only lean crookedly against the railing. "Happened to? Happened to be filming in the same studio city? Happened to eat at the same place? Happened to be on the same show? Happened to become partners hugging and holding each other during games? Happened to have an accident so you could play the hero saving the beauty?"

He suddenly raised his voice: "So many coincidences, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Brother Jia!" He Mingshuang's pale face flushed red, not from shyness but from anger. Chu Heng had, after all, saved him, and now he was being humiliated. She felt utterly mortified. "Haven't you always known there's nothing between Chu Heng and me? We're just ordinary business partners."

"Who knows if you haven't taken the act too far? I saw it long ago—your heart hasn't been with me for a while. Let me tell you, don't even think about leaving me. You'll be mine for life!" Jia Xianyi pointed at Chu Heng. "Do you know what kind of scum he is?"

He Mingshuang hugged the jacket in her arms, still retaining some residual warmth, sensing he was about to say something terrible. She tried to step forward to support him: "Brother Jia, you're drunk. Let's go back."

Jia Xianyi shoved her away and continued pointing at Chu Heng: "He's just a male prostitute who got ahead by selling his ass!"

He Mingshuang stumbled from his push. Just as Chu Heng steadied her, she heard these words. She looked up in shock, instinctively turning her gaze to Chu Heng. The hand supporting her arm seemed to stiffen slightly, and a cold temperature seeped through her clothes. He Mingshuang clenched the jacket tightly; the residual warmth vanished completely in the cold wind, turning icy.

He Mingshuang stared at Chu Heng, shocked and bewildered.

Chu Heng quickly released her, lowering his gaze. The night was deep. Whether it was an illusion or not, the city lights in the distance grew increasingly blurry, forming one halo after another. Chu Heng's expression, hidden within the bizarre and colorful nightscape, appeared surprisingly calm.

Jia Xianyi seemed quite satisfied with her reaction and laughed heartily: "You think I don't care about you two stirring up publicity? It's because he's just a cheap whore who got ahead by selling his ass. He's only so arrogant because he got lucky and latched onto a sugar daddy—"

He suddenly stopped here, his expression turning strange. After a long pause, he seemed to realize something: "I get it, I get it. So that man was him. He's out now..."

Chu Heng's eyebrow twitched slightly.

Jia Xianyi said, "Do you know who fucked him?"

"I don't want to know," He Mingshuang pleaded with him. "Brother Jia, stop."

"A murderer." Jia Xianyi spat out each word, feeling increasingly gratified. "This high-and-mighty big star, in private, is just someone who gets railed by a murderer..."

He didn't get to finish because Chu Heng suddenly punched him hard in the face.

Jia Xianyi was knocked to the ground, the left side of his face instantly swelling. Chu Heng, his face dark, grabbed him by the collar and started pummeling him.

The dull thuds of fist meeting flesh spread through the cold night. He Mingshuang let go in panic, and the high-quality jacket fell from her hands.

Was this man before her, with such a savage look on his face, still the Chu Heng she had always known?