After the National Day holiday ended, Spring in March Is Just Warm officially began filming.
On a wide, open green field, Jiang Qing stood in elegant period costume. With one hand, she held up the hem of her dress, and with the other, she held Song Qin Ning’s hand.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled with life, and the faint dimples at the corners of her lips appeared and disappeared as she smiled directly at Song Qin Ning.
Song Qin Ning let herself be led. She didn’t speak, didn’t move.
Only the gentle amber hue in her eyes shimmered with deep warmth and affection.
The two stared at each other for a long time. Even the air seemed to fill with a soft sweetness. Then Jiang Qing suddenly laughed.
Her laughter was bright and cheerful, startling a few birds into flight.
Before Song Qin Ning, already shy, could react, Jiang Qing gave her hand a tug and took off running with her.
“Wait, Princess!”
What answered her flustered voice was a string of bell-like laughter.
The autumn wind blew across the meadow. One in red, one in blue, the two figures running across the grass created a scene more beautiful than the sky above or the earth below.
A camera on a crane zoomed slowly from wide shot to close-up, stopping at the vivid, youthful faces of the two leads.
“Cut. That’s a wrap for this morning.”
Director Chen Mu Zhi, seated behind the monitor, spoke into the walkie-talkie with satisfaction.
Almost at the same time, Song Qin Ning pulled her hand away. Back in her usual calm state, she returned to her poised, untouchable self. After giving the staff a polite nod and slight bow, she walked toward her assistant, Xiao Yu.
On the way, she passed Manager He, who was heading toward Jiang Qing. They exchanged a few words.
Manager He then continued to Jiang Qing and said, “Didn’t Song Qin Ning help you out publicly not long ago? What did you do to make her ignore you again?”
It wasn’t just her. Almost everyone in the crew thought the relationship between Jiang Qing and Song Qin Ning was as tense as the online rumors claimed.
Take lunch, for example. Everyone was eating at the production’s arranged restaurant.
Even though the two actresses played a romantic couple in the drama, they sat on completely opposite ends of the room.
They didn’t even bother pretending to get along.
But while Manager He was only mildly curious, others in the crew had already started speculating more deeply.
Most of them believed the rumors online and thought Song Qin Ning hadn’t spoken up for Jiang Qing out of goodwill. There had to be some hidden industry pressure or financial power behind it.
Jiang Qing had no idea about all the gossip swirling behind her back. But honestly, her relationship with Song Qin Ning wasn’t nearly as bad as everyone thought.
It felt more like a tangled ball of string. One end was tied to her, and the other to Song Qin Ning.
She hadn’t found where the knot started. And she didn’t know what Song Qin Ning was thinking on her end either.
Jiang Qing said, “Maybe I didn’t do anything to upset her. Maybe it’s just because we’re both Alphas. AA relationships are supposed to keep a respectful distance.”
“You don’t get to just change proverbs,” He Shu replied. “The saying is AO should keep their distance, not AA.”
“Close enough.”
“No, it’s not even close,” He Shu said. “Omegas are a protected class now. You can’t just get close to them whenever you want. With the current government policy, most Omegas don’t even work in the industry. They’re staying at home, living off government protection grants.”
“Just look at our crew,” He Shu said. “How many Omegas do you actually see here?”
It was true. Looking around, Omegas were few and far between. The ones that were present could be identified by the bite-proof collars around their necks, and even they could be counted on one hand.
But Jiang Qing, who had grown up with the idea that everyone should be treated equally, couldn’t understand the logic behind this society’s government policies.
To prevent unwanted conflict between Alphas and Omegas, the authorities had simply restricted Omegas’ career options.
In her eyes, it was just another way to take away their freedom under the excuse of “protecting their delicate nature.”
When Jiang Qing had first learned about the laws that limited Omega professions, her mind had immediately jumped to the feudal societies she had studied in history. Even though this world was far more advanced than the one she came from, the idea felt just as backward.
“Not even being allowed to choose your own career. How is that protection?” she said.
She opened her lunchbox, then added, “Too much protection just turns someone into a caged canary. What’s the difference?”
He Shu was stunned.
So were the stagehands sitting nearby, eating quietly while half-listening to their conversation.
It was the first time they had ever heard someone express this kind of opinion.
As people born and raised in Hua Nation, they had grown up with the deeply ingrained belief that Omegas were supposed to be protected.
No one had ever stopped to ask, or cared to know, what an Omega might actually want.
In fact, in their minds, Omegas were fragile by nature. People like that couldn’t possibly handle demanding or complex work anyway.