In the morning, the two elders exchanged gazes as they watched Shen Zhining and Sheng Jiaoyang come down for breakfast with their arms interlinked. They could see the smile in each other"s gaze.
"Have you both reconciled?" Grandfather Shen asked the pair.
"Were we quarreling?" Shen Zhining asked in return as he turned to look at Sheng Jiaoyang.
Sheng Jiaoyang immediately shook her head firmly.
Grandfather Shen pursed his lips, "Next time, don"t get your grandmother to help mediate your troubles. It was already so late last night, and yet she still had to go through so much trouble to help you all."
Shen Zhining pretended as though he didn"t hear anything. He helped Sheng Jiaoyang pull the chair out, and sat down next to her after she was seated.
After breakfast, everyone went their separate ways to focus on their things. Shen Zhining went to settle his work, while Sheng Jiaoyang learned about jewelry design from Fu Lailin. After a few peaceful days in Aureate Manor, the couple embarked on their journey back to China.
Lately, though Sheng Jiaoyang hadn"t appeared in public, her news was still plastered on the most prominent websites and newspapers. Now, everyone was waiting for her to appear before the public eye.
When she joined the cast for the new drama at the film site, a bunch of media journalists came to look for her, but she dismissed all of them with a few words.
"Luckily, the contract has already been signed. Otherwise, how would I be able to afford your casting fee?" Gu Zhou teased.
Although Sheng Jiaoyang hadn"t recalled what happened in the span of the past two years, Xu Ping and Zeng Huan had briefed her about the people around her in advance. Now, Zeng Huan, Sheng Jiaoyang"s a.s.sistant, finally felt that she could be of some use. She followed Sheng Jiaoyang around, and constantly reminded her of the things she needed to take note of.
Sheng Jiaoyang had no plans to let the whole world know that she had lost her memories. Hence, most of the time, she didn"t show any signs that she was suffering from amnesia. As she listened to Gu Zhou tease her like a close friend, she didn"t allow the slightest hint of surprise to show on her face as she followed along and replied, "Even if the contract wasn"t signed, so what? I will definitely make an exception for you."
Gu Zhou didn"t notice she had lost her memory, and he continued to chat and joke with her for a while before he called the director and scriptwriter over to discuss the script.
At the end of the day, with her exceptional conversational skills, Sheng Jiaoyang had forged pretty good ties with everyone in the crew.
Zeng Huan got on the phone to update Xu Ping of the situation, and she said, "Even though Jiaojiao doesn"t remember a single thing, no one could spot anything amiss about her. Sister Ping, there"s no need to worry at all. I think I might have nothing to do again soon."
Indeed, Gu Zhou and the members of the crew who had more contact with Sheng Jiaoyang previously didn"t even notice anything wrong with her. They just occasionally felt that she seemed to have the memory of a goldfish, as she couldn"t remember a single thing they had previously agreed on. However, Sheng Jiaoyang appeared too composed, hence no one thought too much into it. Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t let the cat out of the bag even when someone visited her while Zeng Huan was not around.
Ye Fan was the person that came to visit her when Zeng Huan was not around.
He had just completed his world tour, and came to visit the crew while he was on his break.
At that moment, Sheng Jiaoyang was seated on a chair and memorizing her lines. Ye Fan secretly snuck up from behind her and placed his hands over her eyes. He changed his voice and asked, "Guess who am I?"
Sheng Jiaoyang thought that it was one of the crew members who was trying to play a prank on her. She wasn"t anxious and said, "You have to at least give me a hint, right?"
"I acted as your husband in one of your dramas." Ye Fan deliberately lowered his voice and made it huskier.
"Gu Zhou."
"Why do you only know Gu Zhou? Come on, we worked with each other for months." Ye Fan spoke in his original voice, thinking that Sheng Jiaoyang would now realize his ident.i.ty. Yet, Sheng Jiaoyang only answered with an affirmative before she went silent.
Disheartened, Ye Fan let down his hands, "Say, Xu Jiaojiao, are you dropping your benefactor as soon as his help was not required? Now that we have finished shooting the drama, you are pretending not to know me?"
Sheng Jiaoyang turned to look at the man before her. He was dressed in a black hoodie with a baseball cap on his head. With a calm expression, she said, "Oh, Zhang Yue."
"…" Ye Fan was speechless.
"…" Gu Zhou, who was approaching them, was left speechless too.
Sheng Jiaoyang couldn"t really be blamed for recognizing him wrongly. She merely glanced through the information Xu Ping gave her. In the photos provided to her, Zhang Yue was dressed casually, and he sported a boy-next-door look. Zhang Yue had the persona of the school hunk with a casual and handsome flair, and he often had simple and casual looks in most of his photos.
"Xu Jiaojiao, are you playing a joke on me? Who did you say I was?" Ye Fan dug his ear with a constipated look on his face.
Sheng Jiaoyang thought for a split second and answered, "Indeed, I was playing a joke on you."
Ye Fan was so close to rolling his eyes, "This joke isn"t even funny. Xu Jiaojiao, you are too much. Last year, you promised to come to my concert. In the end, you stood me up just because you wanted to go overseas with your boyfriend. Hoes before bros! And to think I even advertised for you guys then!"
"Impossible. If I promised you something, I would definitely do it."
"Last October, you agreed to be a guest performer at my concert, but what happened in the end? I asked you to come for rehearsal, but you told me you were traveling with your boyfriend and couldn"t come!"
"If I really did that, it could only mean that I didn"t explicitly promise you that I would go to your concert." Sheng Jiaoyang knew her character very well. Even if she experienced many changes in the past two years, she believed that she would still uphold her principles in dealing with matters.
Ye Fan thought back to the moment when he asked her to attend the concert, and he realized it was indeed the case. When he extended the invitation then, Sheng Jiaoyang really didn"t promise him anything.
"There"s also another reason. In my heart, you are not as important as my boyfriend," said Sheng Jiaoyang.
Ye Fan looked at her grudgingly, "Do you know you will lose me if you say that?!"
Sheng Jiaoyang let out a chuckle, "You are speaking as though we have a very intimate relations.h.i.+p."
As her att.i.tude remained the same, Ye Fan didn"t notice anything abnormal about her as well.
Years down the road, when they found out that she was suffering from amnesia for a period of time, they found it inconceivable. It wasn"t because Sheng Jiaoyang was too good at pretending, but rather, because she was too composed. Even though she lost her memory, she continued doing what she had to do; it was like she wasn"t aware that she suffered memory loss.
Other than Ye Fan who came to visit her, a number of others also came to visit her subsequently.
Of course, Shen Zhining was considered a permanent resident, so he wasn"t considered as one of those visitors.
Sheng Jiaoyang was the female lead, and had many scenes throughout the whole series. Hence, the day she completed filming all her scenes was the day when the filming wrapped up. It was the same for Gu Zhou, the male lead.
During the party to celebrate the successful wrap-up of their filming, Sheng Jiaoyang accidentally drank a little too much. She was still okay when she hadn"t drunk a single drop of alcohol, but the moment she did, she went out of control.
Shen Zhining happened to have an international video conference call that day. Hence, he appeared at a later time, and caught a drunkard who was seemingly acting quite normally.
"You"re here," Sheng Jiaoyang smiled at Shen Zhining.
She looked the same as usual, except for her bright smile that was much more exaggerated than usual.
But Shen Zhining knew Sheng Jiaoyang very well, and he knew that she was inebriated.
"Let"s go, we"re heading home, " Shen Zhining held her in his arms.
"Let"s drink together!" Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t want to leave.
Shen Zhining really wished he could knock her out. He gave an acknowledging nod to Gu Zhou before he decisively pulled Sheng Jiaoyang out.
"They are leaving now?" The others who wanted to come over to say hi were dumbfounded.
"The filming lasted for a few months, now that it has finally wrapped up… haha, got it, got it," someone hinted suggestively.
When the other people at the party heard those words, they concurred with his sentiments, and continued to party and make merry.
Meanwhile, having been dragged away by Shen Zhining, Sheng Jiaoyang continued to ask as they boarded the car, "Where are we going to drink next?"
She leaned against the backrest and c.o.c.ked her head to one side. Her face was lined with traces of innocence, a side of her that was rarely shown. She looked silly and adorable.
Shen Zhining couldn"t stop himself from lifting a hand to pinch her cheek. Sheng Jiaoyang was probably so tired from the filming that she had lost weight. The supple and springy flesh on her cheeks were gone, and the touch didn"t feel as good as before.
Luckily, the filming is over.
"Why are you pinching me?"
"Because I like you."
"Because you like me?" Sheng Jiaoyang blinked before she jumped onto Shen Zhining and hugged him, rubbing her head against his chest, "I like you too."
Comrade Man Jun, who remained a single man till this day, was suddenly blasted by many bullets of love. He only had one thought in his head: It was still the original formula, the familiar sweetness.
It was close to July, and everyone was thinly dressed. Sheng Jiaoyang was dressed especially thinly, as she had chosen to wear an off-shoulder evening gown. The faint fragrance on her overwhelmed Shen Zhining"s senses, and the way she rubbed herself against him ignited a fiery pa.s.sion in him. If they weren"t in the car, Shen Zhining would have probably taken the little fox before him there and then.
Shen Zhining could only embrace her tightly. However, that alone was unable to suppress the desire within him. On the contrary, it even added fuel to the flames. Her body warmth radiated towards him through her thin clothes, and his desire burned fervently like ants biting at him, or like an itch that couldn"t be scratched.
Yet, Sheng Jiaoyang was not in the state to fathom Shen Zhining"s feelings. Now that she was held tightly in his arms, she took advantage of the convenience and sat in his embrace. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and her breath gently brushed against his neck.
"Darling Ning, sing me a song. You have such a nice voice, you will surely sing well too," Sheng Jiaoyng cooed coquettishly.
Now, she was completely under the influence of alcohol. She said things that she normally wouldn"t say so naturally.
Shen Zhining stiffened. He wanted to push her away, but he couldn"t bear to, and could only restrain himself arduously.
He coaxed softly, "I"ll sing for you when we reach home."
"No, I want to hear it now!"
Man Jun secretly glanced at the rear mirror. As a result, a barrier came up and blocked his view.
He perked his ears up to listen attentively. To be honest, despite being Shen Zhining"s bodyguard and chauffeur for so many years, he had never heard his big boss sing.
Would Shen Zhining sing?
He didn"t want to sing initially, but after a while, he succ.u.mbed to Sheng Jiaoyang"s enthusiastic whines and hummed her an English song.
You are my suns.h.i.+ne, my only suns.h.i.+ne
You make me happy when skies are grey
Just so you know, dear, you"re all I hold dear
The mellow and magnetic voice sounded softly in the car. There wasn"t any accompaniment, but his voice was crisp and soothing.
The originally restless Sheng Jiaoyang stopped fidgeting and listened silently upon hearing his melodic ba.s.s voice.
After the song was over, Sheng Jiaoyang directly cupped his face and planted a wet kiss on his cheek.
"It sounds so nice!" she complimented with a smile.
Shen Zhining didn"t know if he should laugh or cry. He returned the kiss with a peck on her lips and said, "Alright, the song is over, you must be good and stop causing a disturbance."
Sheng Jiaoyang seemed to have found something interesting and planted a kiss on his lips. On top of that, she even bit down on his lips a few times.
How would Shen Zhining be able to tolerate it? He immediately took the lead and pressed her head against his as he met her lips once again, their tongues battling fiercely.
A drunk Sheng Jiaoyang was much more interesting than her usual self. She even learned from Shen Zhining and matched his pa.s.sion with equal affection. Her enthusiasm had flown off the shelves.
If too much alcohol wouldn"t be detrimental to one"s health, Shen Zhining really wished he could get Sheng Jiaoyang drunk from time to time. She was too cute when she got drunk. She exhibited the capriciousness and coquettish side of her which would never be shown when she was sober.
A few moments into their fiery pa.s.sionate kiss, Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly leaned her upper body away from him. She looked down in confusion and curiosity. "What is this? It"s poking me."
"…" Shen Zhining was speechless.