Chapter 57: Response

At Ningcheng Airport, Xu Lingjia was fully armed with a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a mask—not one was missing. He got into the car sent to pick him up and shivered from the cold air, speaking to his family’s driver in a sour tone, “Did you set the temperature this low to freeze me to death?”

The driver apologized profusely and immediately raised the temperature by two degrees.

Tossing the removed hat and mask aside, Xu Lingjia stared at the billboard outside the window. It happened to be a promotional poster for “Mountain Range Line,” with his face squeezed into a corner, completely lacking presence.

A few passersby stopped, pointing excitedly at the poster and saying something. Xu Lingjia’s lips curled up unconsciously. When he saw those girls taking turns to stand in front of Shen Xici’s solo poster, taking photos with radiant smiles, Xu Lingjia withdrew his gaze, cursing “unlucky” several times in his heart.

A WeChat message from Director Wu Ya came in, asking if he had arrived in Ningcheng and if the journey was smooth. Xu Lingjia read it but didn’t reply, turning off his phone. Out of sight, out of mind.

Every day it was money, money, money. Not enough here, not enough there, constantly asking him for it. But the funding gap was so large, where was he supposed to get so much money? He told Wu Ya to be more frugal, but Wu Ya directly said that if the money ran out, they might as well just halt filming and everyone could take a break.

How could such a large production crew just sit there? Most importantly, with the Spring Festival release date drawing closer, Xu Lingjia couldn’t possibly just watch the entire crew stop working. If the crew stopped, what would happen to him, the male lead? He was very clear about his current situation. With the Zhong Yue incident plus the mediocre feedback for “Mountain Range Line,” “Double-Faced” was the best hope he could grasp.

The car stopped outside the villa’s garden. Xu Lingjia opened the door and got out. Checking the time, he estimated that his godmother had probably already arrived. Unlocking the main gate with his fingerprint, he put on an obedient and pleasing smile, about to call out to someone, when the sound of conversation suddenly came from the reception room to the side.

Ye Mei’s voice was tinged with anger: “…This hype was a complete misfire! If I had known from the beginning about Jiajia’s performance in the movie, I would never have bought that ‘Newcomer Actor Xu Lingjia’ trending topic! Now look, all the massive hype we built up has just benefited Shen Xici. What’s the difference between this and handing the popularity over to him on a silver platter? On the trending list, Shen Xici’s name appears several times. Every time I open it and see it, I get two more wrinkles from the anger.”

Cheng Ningyu’s voice was gentle and very recognizable: “It is indeed infuriating. Why didn’t you confirm more before buying the trending topic?”

Ye Mei gave a bitter smile. “How could I not have confirmed? I asked Jiajia at the time if he was sure Wan Shan was praising him. Jiajia told me, yes, it was definitely him. It’s also my fault for being too busy at the time. Otherwise, if I had just watched two clips from the movie, I would have seen that Jiajia’s acting is simply no match for his.”

She sighed. “To prop Jiajia up, we really do need to suppress Shen Xici. But we shouldn’t have done it from the acting angle. We all know there are plenty of ways to knock a newcomer who’s just gaining some traction down to the bottom so he can’t get back up.”

Standing at the doorway, Xu Lingjia didn’t take a step forward for a long time.

All he could hear was that sentence: “if I had just watched two clips from the movie, I would have seen that Jiajia’s acting is simply no match for his.”

His whole body felt frozen, followed by immense anger.

So this was what his godmother actually thought in her heart?

What did she mean, “it was obvious he couldn’t compare to Shen Xici”?

Instead of trying to protect his highlight scenes and screen time, instead of properly fighting the negative comments for him, letting those haters curse him from head to toe, she was secretly blaming him for his acting not being good enough, not as good as Shen Xici’s?

“Yes, it’s not a difficult matter.” Cheng Ningyu comforted her, then joked, “You’ve already done your best. If my son were Shen Xici, we wouldn’t have to worry about this. But what can we do? He’s our own flesh and blood, we have to bear with him no matter what, right?”

Ye Mei also laughed. “Exactly. When he was just a tiny thing, he was already calling me godmother in his milky voice. I need to think about how to solve this situation…”

Xu Lingjia originally wanted to rush over and question Ye Mei—besides looks, where was he not better than Shen Xici? But Cheng Ningyu’s words felt like a blow to the head, pinning him to the spot.

If Shen Xici were my son… if Shen Xici were my son…

In that instant, Xu Lingjia felt deeply that he had been betrayed by his two closest relatives at the same time!

For over twenty years, the one who had been in this family, accompanying them and making them happy, was him, Xu Lingjia, not Shen Xici!

In the prophetic dream, after the baby-swap incident was exposed, Cheng Ningyu, Xu Yuanjin, and Ye Mei had always stood by his side. But he never expected that his own mother and godmother actually thought this way behind his back.

This must be their true thoughts, right? They disliked that he wasn’t as good-looking as Shen Xici, felt he was inferior to Shen Xici in every way, and even wished Shen Xici were their son!

His eyes darkened. Xu Lingjia’s chest heaved. Thinking that the funding gap for the “Double-Faced” crew still depended on his parents and Ye Mei, he took a deep breath, put on a smiling face, waited another two minutes, and then walked in while calling out, “Godmother, Mom, I’m back!”

In the reception room, Cheng Ningyu wore a light-colored long dress, her chestnut-colored long curly hair braided into a loose, lazy-style braid over her shoulder. Seeing Xu Lingjia come in from the doorway, she chided, “I was just saying to your godmother, could there be traffic? Your godmother has arrived, but you’re still not home.”

Ye Mei had come directly from the company, dressed in a white suit set, looking sharp and capable. She also said affectionately, “Auntie Zhang has stewed your favorite soup. Drink more later at dinner. How come you look like you’ve lost so much weight?”

Xu Lingjia sat on the sofa and complained coquettishly, “Our crew is too poor. I reckon in another ten days or half a month, there won’t even be any meat in our boxed lunches.”

Ye Mei found this strange. “Your parents invested twenty million, the company invested fifty million, and added another thirty million just over a week ago. Plus the initial investment, the total has long exceeded one hundred million. How could you be so poor you can’t even afford meat?”

“Godmother, you don’t know. This Director Wu Ya is extremely talented, but he has very high standards for camera work, set design, costumes, and the like. Promotion is also a big black hole now; a lot of money needs to be poured in to get results. One thing leads to another, and the money is not enough again.” Xu Lingjia hyped up Wu Ya for a bit, then acted spoiled again. “My two beautiful ladies, this is the first movie starring your son! Can you support a little more, please?”

Ye Mei and Cheng Ningyu exchanged a glance and said earnestly, “It’s not that we don’t support you, Jiajia. For a Republican-era film, without hiring top-tier celebrities with high fees and without involving a large amount of special effects, it shouldn’t burn so much money. Could that director be taking advantage of your youth and colluding with the producer and finance department to trick you?”

Cheng Ningyu also chimed in, “It’s not that Mom and Godmother won’t give you money, but this money can’t just be thrown out senselessly, right?”

Xu Lingjia’s hands hidden by his side clenched into fists, but he put on a pitiful expression. “Director Wu Ya wouldn’t lie to me. He’s really amazing. And this movie is really important to me; it’s about my future and prospects! Trust me, I guarantee that when this movie is released, the box office will be explosive. The company and our family making two or three, even three or four times the investment will be no problem at all!”

Over the years, compared to Cheng Ningyu and Xu Yuanjin, Ye Mei had always trusted and doted on Xu Lingjia more, almost granting his every request.

Her pregnancy and Cheng Ningyu’s were only two months apart, but when Ye Mei was a few months pregnant, it was found that the fetus had severe developmental defects and would not survive even if born. She had to have an abortion, and during the surgery, she suffered a massive hemorrhage. After that, she could no longer have children of her own.

At that time, she once fell into a state of post-abortion depression. Later, after Xu Lingjia was born, Cheng Ningyu let her be Xu Lingjia’s godmother. Watching Xu Lingjia grow up healthy and happy every day, she slowly recovered.

So she had always placed a lot of her emotions onto Xu Lingjia and was particularly indulgent with him.

But while she could indulge him in other matters, when it came to something as major as film investment, she had to be cautious, especially since both she and Cheng Ningyu felt that the director was not right.

Moreover, the last time when they swapped the roles of the mute boy and the undercover agent A’Zheng, Xu Lingjia had made the same guarantee. His tone and expression were exceptionally firm, looking utterly confident, talking about becoming a household name, winning awards, making three or four times the profit, as if he was certain these things would definitely happen.

Ye Mei’s tone softened again and again. “Jiajia, investing in movies isn’t so easy to make money from. Godmother has seen many people’s money go in and not only fail to make a splash but also lose everything, ending up deep in debt.”

Remembering the words he heard at the doorway, the smile on Xu Lingjia’s face slowly disappeared, and his expression turned cold. “In the end, you just don’t believe in me and don’t have faith in me, right? Or is it that my future and prospects are not as important as that little bit of money in your eyes?”

After speaking, Xu Lingjia grabbed the bag next to him, ran upstairs, and slammed his bedroom door shut with a “bang.”

Lying on the bed, he stared at the ceiling. After pondering for a while, he made a phone call. “You mentioned signing a valuation adjustment mechanism agreement before. What are the specific details of signing it?”

For Shen Xici’s holiday, there wasn’t much difference between taking it and not taking it. On the second day of the break, he went to a private hospital for a full body checkup. In the afternoon, he interviewed staff members with Ge Lanjing. On the third and fourth, he looked at several more places and finally gave up on office buildings, deciding on an office location for the studio at No. 9 Qingchi Road—a detached French-style old mansion with a small garden.

The main door of the house opened onto a back street, with lush plane trees at the entrance. The surroundings were quiet, but the location was not remote, close to the central business district. Looking up, one could see the top of the Shenghe Group building in the distance. In short, it was convenient for ordering takeout or taking the subway.

Shen Xici had always thought his stamina was quite good, but after walking 20,000 steps a day for two or three consecutive days, plus all sorts of miscellaneous tasks, he didn’t even have time for lunch or dinner, only hastily nibbling on two bites of a sandwich. By past eight in the evening, his energy was almost depleted.

After seeing Ge Lanjing off into her car, Shen Xici stood by the roadside, about to hail a taxi himself, when a message from Sheng Shaoyan happened to arrive. Three simple words—”Coming to get you?”

Having been influenced by Lu Jiming’s habit of stretching one penny into five for a few months, and with the studio just starting up, he was the sole shareholder, which meant that all the money spent was his money. Now, the opportunity to save a taxi fare was right in front of him. Shen Xici sent his location without hesitation.

Not long after, two Maybachs stopped at the entrance of the mansion. Shen Xici opened the car door, and just as he was about to get in, he suddenly asked a little embarrassedly, “A’Shao, do you want to see my studio?”

After saying it, he couldn’t help but laugh first, feeling like a little kid who got something new and couldn’t wait to share the feeling.

With a “click,” the living room lights were turned back on. The house was very empty, but the basic renovation was very presentable. Shen Xici walked in front: “I want to partition this area as a leisure and reception area, decorated with green plants.”

He then pointed to the room next to it. “That room is very spacious, with large windows, very good lighting, and you can also see the plants in the small garden. It’s suitable for an office. I have very few employees here; even when fully staffed, it’s only a few people. But it’s perfect, as everyone can choose a spot they like to work.”

Sheng Shaoyan asked, “Who have you hired so far?”

“Just one, an executive for publicity, named Xiao Ning. She was trained by Sister Lanjing from the beginning. My career is just starting, so there’s not much to do. And since I’m still filming on set, Sister Lanjing can temporarily take on the business side of things. We can slowly find suitable people for other positions. But I want to poach a video editor; I just don’t know if the other party is willing.”

Sheng Shaoyan’s tone was somewhat strange: “A video editor?”

“Yes, the one called ‘Dongyu,’ the growing master I mentioned to you before. You’ve seen his edited videos.” Shen Xici had a deep impression of Dongyu. The other’s growth in video editing skills was astonishingly fast. From a novice to a master, it was almost an overnight thing.

So as soon as he thought of hiring people, the name “Dongyu” immediately popped into his head.

Sheng Shaoyan: “You want Dongyu to come work at the studio?”

“Mm, but it’s just a thought. I don’t know where he lives, how old he is, or whether he’s in school or working. But if the master is in school, or has a full-time job, maybe we can try to discuss whether he can do it online part-time? Maybe the master is willing to earn some extra cash.”

Shen Xici then asked for Sheng Shaoyan’s opinion. “A’Shao, what do you think? I remember you also thought his skills were very good and his aesthetic sense was very high at the time.”

Sheng Shaoyan was silent for a moment before giving a suggestion: “You can contact him first to see if he’s willing.”

“That’s what I was thinking, contact him and try first.” Shen Xici pointed to the second floor. “That room is the manager’s office. The window view is very beautiful. Sister Lanjing is very satisfied.”

Seamlessly changing the subject, Sheng Shaoyan asked, “And you? Where are you?”

Shen Xici led him to the third floor. “Here. I’ve requisitioned the entire attic. In the future, I’ll put a recliner under the skylight. Lying there to read scripts will definitely be very comfortable.” He thought for a moment. “Or should I put two recliners? It’s not far from Shenghe. If you have time to come over, you can lie with me and look at the plane trees outside the window.”

Sheng Shaoyan leaned against the window. His well-tailored, dark handmade suit and the two jewel cufflinks at his cuffs that gleamed with a cold light naturally exuded an invisible pressure. He lowered his eyes slightly. “You want me to come over?”

Shen Xici answered without thinking: “Of course I do.”

The leaves of the plane trees outside the window rustled in the wind.

Sheng Shaoyan sometimes felt that Shen Xici was like a mystery. The tone of his reply was so matter-of-fact, as if he needed him very much. But before this, the one who hadn’t contacted him and had taken no action for so long was also him.

These past few days, he had been living at Shen Xici’s place and knew that Shen Xici was looking for a studio location. For this, he had specifically had someone compile a list of site selection suggestions and had himself deleted a few places that didn’t match Shen Xici’s preferences.

But Shen Xici had no intention of asking him for help at all.

Just like when the movie was short on investment before, Shen Xici had sought out Cheng Mingye but hadn’t cashed the check, nor had he come to him.

He wasn’t sure if this was a highly skilled tactic of playing hard to get, hooking one’s heart up and down, making one feel insecure, unsure of what the other person was really thinking, and unsure of his own position in the other’s heart.

The judgment that was invincible in another field was completely ineffective when it came to Shen Xici.

Whether it was playing hard to get or not, Sheng Shaoyan willingly agreed. “Okay, when you’ve sorted things out here, I’ll come over and look at the plane trees with you.”

It was getting late. Shen Xici led Sheng Shaoyan on a tour, exhausting the last of his energy. The two walked downstairs together. Unexpectedly, just after passing the turn on the staircase, the lights overhead flickered a few times and went out.

“It should be the aging wiring. The agent specifically reminded me that the house is too old and the wiring needs to be checked regularly, otherwise it’s prone to failure.” Shen Xici didn’t expect the failure to happen so quickly.

Holding the railing without moving, Shen Xici said this while reaching for his phone. Unexpectedly, he touched nothing. He froze. “I think my phone is downstairs; I didn’t bring it up.”

The phone was always with him, but at this moment, Sheng Shaoyan nonchalantly replied, “My phone is in the car.”

Due to the obstruction of the plane trees, the light coming in from the skylight was very limited. Even though his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, Shen Xici still couldn’t be sure where Sheng Shaoyan was, let alone step on the narrow and steep stairs below.

The hand on the railing tightened involuntarily. Just as his breathing frequency changed, Sheng Shaoyan noticed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have some night blindness… It’s too dark, and I’m not used to it yet.”

Although Shen Xici tried hard to slowly adjust his breathing, his heart still beat faster and faster.

He was actually very uneasy.

Without light, he wasn’t sure if he would bump into the walls or railings, nor could he judge the severity of the impact. Even if he successfully went downstairs and got outside the house, without a mirror, he couldn’t observe if he had any external injuries or if his movements were strange.

Even if he missed a step and fell down the stairs, in front of Sheng Shaoyan, what kind of state and expression should he show that would be correct and appropriate?

Sharp fangs seemed to be hidden in the darkness, about to bite the mask he was trying so hard to maintain into pieces.

A huge sense of unease and helplessness washed over him like a tide, drowning him completely. He stood there, motionless, utterly wretched.

Until a voice sounded.

“I’ll lead you.”

Shen Xici suddenly raised his eyes and “looked” in the direction the voice came from.

A brief rustle of fabric.

“My hand is right in front of you. Try and see if you can hold it.”

Just hearing this voice, the tide of negative emotions in Shen Xici’s heart was more than half intercepted. His fingers curled at his side, and finally, he raised his hand, groping in the darkness in the direction the voice came from.

The airflow passed between his fingers, but he touched nothing. Just as Shen Xici thought he had gotten the direction wrong and wanted to pull back, his hand was suddenly held.

The other’s body temperature was higher than his, their palm warm.

After losing his vision, his senses of touch and smell became exceptionally sensitive. With his hand being held, the nerve endings under his skin seemed to awaken, becoming surprisingly sensitive.

Restraining the urge to pull his hand back, Shen Xici called out, “A’Shao?”

He sensed that Sheng Shaoyan’s hand holding his moved, and he instructed, “Hold the railing. I’ll tell you where the steps are, where the corners are, and what things are there.”

Trying his best to suppress the unease and fear in his heart, Shen Xici nodded. “Okay.”

Perhaps sensing something from his voice, Sheng Shaoyan’s tone softened but was also unyielding, “Don’t think about anything else. Trust me.”

Of course he trusted him.

Whether in the last life or this life, Sheng Shaoyan was the person he trusted the most.

Holding the railing and the wall, Shen Xici followed Sheng Shaoyan’s guidance, moving through the darkness.

He couldn’t help but think of his childhood. Every night, it was pitch black everywhere. He would lie in bed, not daring to move around. Even if he was thirsty, he wouldn’t dare to grope in the dark for water.

At that time, everything around him was filled with sharp thorns in his eyes. If he wasn’t careful, he would be scratched without his knowledge.

He had been trying hard to learn how to better protect himself, every day, every minute, every second, not daring to slack off.

This was the first time someone held his hand, leading him, guiding him, step by step forward.

“A’Shao…”

“Mm?”

Shen Xici suddenly didn’t know what to say.

He just felt a lump in his throat and couldn’t get half a word out.

Perhaps thinking he was scared, in the darkness, the texture of Sheng Shaoyan’s voice became more pronounced, low and with a unique magnetic quality, soothingly saying:

“If you’re scared, just call my name. No matter where you are, I will answer you.”