Volume Two: Shadows of the Past Chapter Fifty-Five: All Men Think with Their Lower Bodies

The entire film "SPL: Kill Zone" was mostly shot at night, which meant the crew inevitably had to work overtime under the cover of darkness. After finishing the seaside scenes, Chen Jing had planned to film the shot where he throws a bottle on Wang Bao’s turf once they moved locations. However, the person in charge of hiring extras had mixed up the schedule and failed to hire any, making it impossible to shoot that scene.

Zhang Jing pondered the situation and decided not to switch venues just to film the next shot. After all, it was the first day of shooting, and there was no need to rush the schedule. So, he simply let the crew leave early.

After leaving the set, Chen Jing didn’t return to his apartment immediately; instead, he headed to the office. He had just received a message from Lin Xi asking him to come by when he had time.

By the time he arrived at the company, it was already past seven, and most people had left for the day.

Chen Jing walked to Lin Xi’s office and saw that she was alone, sitting on her desk intently reading a document in her hands.

Lin Xi was dressed in a sleek professional skirt suit, her makeup radiant, exuding a calm and composed aura—a true goddess in every sense.

Chen Jing couldn’t help but admire her silently before knocking lightly on the door and entering.

Lin Xi looked up upon hearing the sound and smiled warmly when she saw Chen Jing. “You’re back. How was your first day on set?”

Chen Jing sat opposite her, shrugging. “It was okay. A few minor hiccups, but nothing serious. Just some more coordination with the crew is needed.”

Lin Xi didn’t press for details. Instead, she comforted him. “That’s normal. After all, it’s your first time directing, and you don’t have your own team yet. Once you’ve done a few more projects and have your own crew, these small issues won’t happen so much.” She could easily imagine the kinds of minor problems Chen Jing had encountered.

Chen Jing nodded noncommittally, then asked, “Lin Xi, you said you wanted to see me about something. What’s going on?”

Hearing him bring it up first, Lin Xi remembered and didn’t hesitate. “A while ago, didn’t someone from Tomorrow Entertainment contact you?”

Chen Jing was surprised but didn’t want to hide anything from Lin Xi. He nodded. “Yeah, a while back Xu Ce and his manager—who I think is Zhang Qun, the executive director at Tomorrow Entertainment—invited me out to dinner.”

“Hearing those two names...” Lin Xi’s lips curled slightly in distaste before she asked directly, “Did they want you to jump ship to Tomorrow Entertainment?”

“Exactly,” Chen Jing teased. “They offered a pretty generous deal—contracts for a top-tier singer, twenty million in film investment, and I wouldn’t even have to show up. They’d handle the lawsuit with Jingrun and pay the breach of contract penalties for me. Haha, how about that, Lin Xi? They really rolled out the red carpet, didn’t they?” He glanced at her with a playful smirk.

Lin Xi chuckled softly and gave him a sharp look. “So, what did you say to them?” She already knew he must have refused but wanted to hear his reason.

Chen Jing replied without hesitation, “Of course not. I’m doing well at Jingrun. Why would I want to leave? Lin Xi, you know me—money isn’t that important to me.”

“That’s it? Just that?” Lin Xi raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with the answer.

Seeing her slightly “pitiful” expression, Chen Jing grinned and said, “That’s just part of it. The main reason I don’t want to leave Jingrun is because you and Zitan are here. For me, a company with you here is where my heart truly belongs.” He looked at Lin Xi sincerely.

Lin Xi finally smiled brightly, clearly pleased with his answer. What she didn’t know was that in Chen Jing’s mind, he was silently adding, “And of course, there’s Ruo Han, Xue Yue, Meng Ru, and... let’s throw in Xue Yao too. Haha, these are all reasons I don’t want to leave Jingrun.” She had no idea what was going on in his head, or she might not have been so cheerful.

Lin Xi handed him the contract she was holding and said with a smile, “Take a look.”

Curious, Chen Jing took the contract. “What’s this?”

“The company has decided to upgrade your contract to the top-tier singer level. From now on, your contract terms will be the same as Ling Ruo Han’s—the highest level in the company.”

Chen Jing’s brow furrowed. Without hesitation, he asked, “Did Tomorrow Entertainment deliberately leak that they approached me to the company?”

The sudden upgrade in his contract terms could only mean one thing—the company was reacting to some pressure, probably afraid he might jump ship. The better contract was a way to keep him tied down, making it harder for other companies to poach him. While his benefits increased, so did the company’s hold on him.

Lin Xi nodded. “Yes. Yesterday the company received a smokescreen from Tomorrow Entertainment claiming you had reached out to them. They said it was because the company refused to invest in your film, and you were upset, so you wanted to jump to their side.”

Chen Jing rolled his eyes, annoyed. “They were the ones who approached me first, alright? And Xu Ce invited me personally.”

At that, Lin Xi fell silent for a moment, then calmly asked, “You know about my past with Xu Ce, don’t you?”

Chen Jing’s heart skipped a beat. He knew he’d said too much. Shoot—he’d spoken out of turn. Feeling regretful, he was about to change the subject when Lin Xi cut him off.

She said pointedly, “Zitan must have told you. That girl really can’t keep her mouth shut.” She then pursed her lips.

Chen Jing silently sympathized with Lin Zitan. “Zitan, sorry you got caught in the crossfire with me as your clueless teammate.”

Just as Chen Jing braced himself for a harsh interrogation, Lin Xi sighed and then said nonchalantly, “It’s fine. It’s not like it’s something shameful. Now you know, that’s all.”

“Ah?” Chen Jing looked at Lin Xi in surprise, then couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Lin Xi saw his “thankful for mercy” expression and rolled her eyes at him in amusement.

Suddenly, Chen Jing thought: Since Lin Xi has let it go, maybe I can dig a little deeper to find out the truth? When did I become so fond of gossip? Hmm... definitely Zitan’s influence. Yes, that must be it.

Finding an excuse to justify himself, Chen Jing cautiously asked, “Lin Xi, can I ask you a slightly personal question?”

Lin Xi gave him a sharp look. “No.”

“Uh...” Chen Jing was immediately stuck—asking was risky, but not asking felt worse.

Lin Xi snapped, “You want to know why you and Xu Ce broke up, don’t you?”

“Hahaha! You know me too well, Lin Xi.” Chen Jing laughed heartily.

Chen Jing ignored her teasing and asked, “Didn’t Zitan tell you the whole story?”

“She only gave me the gist—that Xu Ce is a scumbag and that’s why you broke up with him.”

Lin Xi nodded, then shook her head and sighed as she recalled, “When I first became Xu Ce’s manager, we weren’t even dating yet. But later, Xu Ce pursued me. I thought he was okay, so I gave him a chance to see how it went. We were together for less than a month before my family found out I was dating an entertainer. They were strongly against it from the start, saying entertainers weren’t reliable and few were sincere. At the time, I didn’t listen—I wanted to prove them wrong.”

Chen Jing couldn’t help but ask, “So, what happened?”

Lin Xi scoffed disdainfully, “The result? Men are all just animals driven by their lower desires. Completely unreliable.”

Chen Jing: “...” Who did I offend? Lin Xi just launched a full-scale indiscriminate attack on all men, including me.

Thankfully, she was just venting. She continued, “My family was right. I planned to have a platonic relationship with Xu Ce for the remaining two years of university to prove my family wrong, but men are all the same—they can’t control their impulses. As Xu Ce became famous, he hooked up with a fan with an amazing figure. Not long after, I caught him red-handed. You know the rest.”

Chen Jing stared at Lin Xi, dumbfounded. Damn, Xu Ce deserved it. Having a girlfriend as incredible as Lin Xi but only able to look, not touch—who could take that?

Of course, Chen Jing was only teasing himself. Deep down, he agreed with Lin Xi. Couples should remain pure for each other and not make unforgivable mistakes because of temptation.

“So all men are the same, huh? Isn’t that right?” Lin Xi saw Chen Jing silent and added with disdain.

Uh-oh, Lin Xi was angry. Best not to provoke her.

Chen Jing shook his head and smiled wryly. “Not all men are like that, Lin Xi. Don’t paint all men with the same brush.”

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow, half-smiling. “Which man isn’t like that? Don’t tell me you’re the exception.”

(The End)