Chapter 24: Perfect Fit

“No wonder you’re so happy; turns out our little film queen has a suitor.”

Shang Jie sat cross-legged on Jiang Xingxing’s couch, calmly searching for information about Shi Yi on his phone. He read aloud, “Shi Yi, rose to fame overnight after starring in “Reflection of Youth”. He capitalized on his success by taking on a few more well-received projects, earning both critical acclaim and box office success. This year, he’s been nominated for the Palme d’Or as the youngest Outstanding Male Actor.”

Jiang Xingxing emerged from the bathroom, drying her damp hair, and looked at him wordlessly.

Shang Jie twirled the phone in his long fingers, his eyes flashing with a hint of hostility as he drawled, “What a model youth—quite bold, daring to covet my woman.”

“Don’t do anything reckless,” Jiang Xingxing explained. “He and I are just coworkers, nothing more.”

“But he’s taken a liking to you,” Shang Jie said coldly. “I won’t tolerate that.”

“So what do you intend to do?”

“Remove him from the lead role, blacklist him for ten years. By the time he wastes his youth and finds himself middle-aged and washed up, he can reflect on what he did wrong.”

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In essence, there was no difference at all.

His affection and indulgence towards her were premised on her absolute obedience and compliance. And to her dismay, Jiang Xingxing found she lacked the courage to tear off this facade.

She had already resigned herself to being his little white rabbit.

“I’ll… make you some late-night snacks.”

Jiang Xingxing turned and headed to the kitchen. She lit the stove, poured in oil, added the ingredients… busily cooking to hide the turmoil in her heart.

Outside, there was the sound of slow footsteps. The man stood at the door, silently watching her flustered back.

“Jiang Xingxing.” He called her name in a low voice, the first time he had ever said her full name.

“Go wait outside; it’ll be ready soon.”

“I’m not hungry,” he said. “Come out, let’s talk.”

Jiang Xingxing paused, gripping the spatula, then continued stirring the fried rice. She didn’t want to face him alone; she couldn’t even bring herself to look at him.

Her mind felt just like the golden fried rice in the pan—chaotic and confused, unable to make sense of anything.

Seeing her stay put, Shang Jie took a few strides forward and embraced her from behind.

The force of his grip made her body tremble violently.

His large, warm hand pressed firmly on her front, gripping her tightly, a gesture of ultimate control from a man over a woman.

The gentleness was gone; all that remained was the raw, primal drive for conquest.

As his fingertips pressed down slightly, a soft, involuntary moan escaped her lips, and her body began to shiver uncontrollably.

He kissed the back of her neck, wild and out of control, leaving marks on her fair skin, pressing hard as if he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had molded her completely into himself.

Only now did Jiang Xingxing truly understand what “addiction” meant—it wasn’t about frequency, but a state of being.

He was nearly out of his mind now.

“You’re… you’re hurting me, Mr. Shang.” Her voice was shaky, and her neck was already red and swollen from his actions, looking shockingly bruised.

Shang Jie kept marking her body tirelessly, as if she were his trophy.

Finally, after sensing her resistance, Shang Jie gradually stopped his frenzied kisses. He opened his eyes and looked at her—her eyes were tightly shut, her brow furrowed, and her whole body was tense with pain.

This wasn’t what he wanted…

Tonight, everything was out of control.

Feeling his actions loosen, Jiang Xingxing opened her eyes. The smell of something burning came from the pan, and she quickly turned to switch off the stove.

Shang Jie leaned against the wall, lighting a cigarette, watching her clean the burnt leftovers in the pan.

His face was expressionless.

When the cigarette burned down to the filter, he walked up to her and held the cigarette butt to her lips.

“Open your mouth,” he commanded.

Jiang Xingxing stubbornly refused to move.

“I said, open your mouth.”

She glanced at him, a hint of defiance in her eyes.

Suddenly, Shang Jie grabbed her chin and kissed her. This time, there was no gentleness, no affection; she merely let him take what he wanted.

After a long moment, Shang Jie’s interest faded. He let her go, grabbed his coat, and headed out the door.

“I’m leaving.”

Jiang Xingxing didn’t stop him. She felt drained, slumping onto the edge of the couch and hugging her knees.

The lipstick on her lips had smudged to her cheeks. Jiang Xingxing took a tissue and vigorously wiped the corners of her mouth.

Two minutes later, she received a call from Shang Jie—

“Do you want to break up?”

This time, it was him asking those words.

“Is that possible?” she asked weakly.

“It will never be possible,” he said through clenched teeth, then hung up the phone with force.

Jiang Xingxing: …

…

The next day, Shi Yi noticed the red marks on Jiang Xingxing’s neck.

Even though she had applied a lot of makeup to try and cover them up, the marks were too obvious to hide.

Shi Yi averted his gaze, pretending not to see anything, and continued acting normally in their scenes together.

Jiang Xingxing, on the other hand, deliberately kept her distance from Shi Yi. If it wasn’t necessary for work, she tried to avoid too much interaction with him.

She was worried that Shang Jie would get jealous and abruptly replace the male lead. The film was already near the end of shooting, and if the male lead was replaced at this point, all the hard work would be wasted.

Fortunately, none of that happened. Jiang Xingxing kept herself busy with the hectic shooting schedule, and every night she would fall asleep almost as soon as she got home. Shang Jie didn’t come to disturb her again.

Had he finally grown tired of her?

A man like Shang Jie had many ways to amuse himself, and to him, she was just a temporary novelty. Now that the novelty had worn off, their relationship would probably end soon.

Jiang Xingxing didn’t feel relieved, but at the same time, she wasn’t particularly sad, either.

She had genuinely liked Shang Jie, drawn to the masculine allure he exuded. He was the most manly guy she had ever encountered in her life, and no woman could resist a man like that.

But his status and position were not something she could ever hope to attain.

She had asked for too much, expecting more; after receiving his indulgence, she yearned for love. That wasn’t right. She should have understood this from the start—pulling out early would have been the sensible move.

At the year-end party of “City of Daylight”, everyone was in high spirits, toasting, giving speeches, and wearing bright smiles.

This was Jiang Xingxing’s first movie as the leading actress.

Director Gu Ye said she was a hidden gem, and having her was the entire crew’s good fortune. With her effort and talent, she would definitely become famous—if not today, then tomorrow, but she would definitely make it.

Jiang Xingxing expressed her gratitude to the director for his praise and was especially thankful for the opportunity he had given her.

Director Gu Ye smiled and said, “Actually, I was against it at first. If not for the pressure from the financiers, I might not have chosen you at all. I owe you an apology for that—I almost missed out on a great actress.”

Pressure from the financiers…

Jiang Xingxing thought of Shang Jie again, the man who hadn’t contacted her for two weeks now.

Feeling a bit heavy-hearted, she unknowingly drank too much. Shi Yi stayed by her side, trying to help her avoid drinking too much. People around joked, “Shi Yi, you care so much about her, are you planning to turn your on-screen romance with Bai Qingqing into a real one?”

Shi Yi smiled faintly, “Please don’t joke around, it would be troublesome if rumors started.”

However, everyone could see it clearly—the gentle look in his eyes when he glanced at Jiang Xingxing revealed his undeniable affection for her.

The others smiled but said nothing more, not wanting to expose the young pair. If they really became a couple because of this film, it would be a beautiful outcome.

Jiang Xingxing drank too much, and Shi Yi volunteered to take her home.

Jiang Xingxing was groggy, muttering unclear words that Shi Yi couldn’t understand. He simply held her arm and guided her into the elevator.

But as soon as the elevator doors opened, the man who appeared made Shi Yi freeze.

The man was dressed in a black suit, standing tall and straight, looking confident under the lights.

He was accompanied by several other men in suits—his clients.

Shang Jie noticed that the woman in Shi Yi’s arms was Jiang Xingxing, and the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, his deep brown eyes turning icy.

Jiang Xingxing was completely unaware and didn’t notice the cold, expressionless stare from the man across from her.

Shi Yi, of course, knew who the man was, but a strange courage rose within him, driven by male pride. He didn’t look at Shang Jie, instead guiding Jiang Xingxing out of the elevator, brushing past him.

“Mr. Shang, after you,” one of the suited men respectfully held the elevator door for Shang Jie.

Shang Jie paused for two seconds, then stepped into the elevator.

With a soft “ding,” the elevator doors slowly closed. At the last moment, just as the final sliver of the gap was closing, Jiang Xingxing suddenly turned her head.

“Mr. Shang…” she mumbled, barely articulating the words.

A hand suddenly shot out through the closing gap, jamming the doors open, causing them to mechanically slide back. Under the surprised gazes of everyone, Shang Jie strode out of the elevator and quickly caught up to Jiang Xingxing.

“Xingxing.” He stopped a few steps away from her, calling softly, “You’re drunk. Let me take you home.”

It was an unprecedented gentleness, and also… an unprecedented sign of surrender.

When Jiang Xingxing recognized Shang Jie’s handsome face and his eyes filled with warmth, she broke free from Shi Yi’s grip and stumbled towards Shang Jie. “Mr. Shang…”

In her intoxicated state, he was still the first boyfriend she had ever officially dated in her over twenty years of life—her dearest boyfriend.

Shang Jie opened his arms and embraced her tightly.

Jiang Xingxing stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and cradled the back of his head, lifting her face to kiss him.

It was the first time she had initiated a kiss with him.

Shang Jie closed his eyes, savoring her tender kiss. She clumsily parted her lips, her warm, soft tongue tentatively brushing against his teeth, gently prying them apart. Shang Jie easily let her in, opening his mouth to welcome her.

The taste of wine mingled between their lips, stirring up a mess in his heart.

“Mr. Shang…” she called out softly, her voice tinged with a timid sob, “Do you not want me anymore?”

“I thought about it, but I can’t bear to,” Shang Jie murmured as he gently kissed her lips, “You’re my woman, always.”

He lifted her into his arms, and she instinctively hooked her legs around his waist, clinging to his neck affectionately.

“You didn’t come to find me, I thought you didn’t want me anymore.” She displayed a rare girlishness, almost whining.

“My anger hadn’t subsided,” Shang Jie said softly, “I was afraid I’d lose control again and hurt you. After that night, I regretted it so much, but I just couldn’t swallow my pride. I had never backed down for a woman before.”

His voice carried a kind of magic, the gentle words soothing all the pain.

“Are you still angry now?” Jiang Xingxing asked him.

“When I see you, all the anger disappears. I need to reflect on why I have such a bad temper.”

Jiang Xingxing rested her chin on his shoulder, muttering, “It’s good you understand. Don’t be so rough with me in the future. It… it makes me sad.”

“Yes, it was my fault. I was a jerk.”

She clung to him like a kitten, rubbing against his leg and then curling up beside him to sleep.

Even a man with a heart of stone couldn’t resist a woman’s gentle, tender affection like this.

“Why did you drink so much?” Shang Jie wiped her face with his sleeve, which ended up smudged with her light foundation. The suit shirt, worth tens of thousands, was probably ruined, but he didn’t care at all and continued wiping away the moisture from the corners of her eyes.

“Because I was sad,” Jiang Xingxing confessed.

Shang Jie spoke to her as if comforting a child, “Are you still sad now?”

Jiang Xingxing shook her head repeatedly, “When you’re here, I’m not sad anymore.”

“Come home with me, okay?”

Jiang Xingxing mumbled a “hmm,” resting her head on his shoulder.

Shang Jie turned to his clients and said, “I’m sorry, my girlfriend had too much to drink.”

The clients were stunned, watching Shang Jie, who was usually so cold and reserved, treat a girl with such tenderness—it was almost unheard of!

It wasn’t just his business partners who were shocked; even Shi Yi was left speechless.

Just from that passionate embrace they had just shared, Shi Yi could see it clearly—there was no room for a third person in the close, intimate relationship between these two.

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