Gu Jinyan kept frowning, pondering this question until a crease nearly formed on his forehead. But the question had no answer.
He didn’t remember that night, and Jiang Tian didn’t remember that night either. What was worse, as someone who had previously wanted to break off the engagement but couldn’t, now that Jiang Tian had finally stopped clinging to him, why was he still thinking about such trivial issues?
However, the award-winning actor Gu himself wasn’t clear about the sudden surge of anger he had just felt!
It was obvious to everyone that the award-winning actor Gu was in a bad mood.
Jiang Tian noticed it too.
But she couldn’t be bothered to care.
She and Lu Xin had been discussing the plot quite well. There was a lot to explore between them.
“See You There” could be described as a heartwarmingly sweet story, sweet from start to finish. The male and female leads trusted each other, and there were no third parties or rivals to speak of. In her past life, it had once been hailed as the best youth campus drama.
However, when it came to the pairing of the goddess and the top student, it was quite heart-wrenching.
Due to their personalities, backgrounds, academic performances, and other factors, the two constantly tested and hurt each other.
Clearly in love, yet stubbornly refusing to confess.
After the goddess Su Zhuang rejected the top student’s love letter, the top student couldn’t accept it. He skipped class to go to a bar but got into a car accident on the way, nearly losing a leg. The goddess felt sorry for him but didn’t dare to visit. She could only sneak in late at night to see him, taking care of him when he had a fever due to an inflamed wound.
When the top student woke up, he thought the goddess hadn’t shown any concern for him. Finally letting go, after recovering, he threw himself back into his studies but completely ignored the goddess from then on.
The goddess, due to her poor family background and low grades, ultimately didn’t get into college and ended up as a bar hostess.
At the top student’s wedding later, she gave a red envelope.
Inside were two worn-out fifty-cent coins.
This was the hint from the top student’s first confession.
My fifty cents, your fifty cents.
Let’s be together.
Now returning it to him meant severing this bond.
This CP contained almost all the tragic moments of the entire drama.
From the campus storyline to later university, graduation, and work.
Their entangled, heart-wrenching emotional journey was deeply lamentable.
Unfortunately, due to issues with the portrayal of the characters, this CP didn’t become widely popular.
Instead, the silly, sweet role played by Jiang Tian was criticized to no end, becoming notoriously infamous.
When Jiang Tian handed over a full twenty pages to Lu Xin, he was stunned.
“This is…”
“Important turning points in the plot, analysis of character personalities, and emotional storyline analysis.”
Jiang Tian replied.
Lu Xin’s eyes instantly widened.
He hurriedly flipped through the pages.
Seeing the densely packed analysis, he was once again shocked.
Could this really have been done by a newcomer who had just debuted?
He had only seen such analyses done by dedicated veteran artists and a few award-winning actors or actresses who had received lifetime achievement awards.
But Jiang Tian…
“I think it’s better to be well-prepared. In this industry, every opportunity is hard-won, so we must seize each one. Every character must be interpreted thoroughly. I hope you can fully cooperate with me.”
“…”
Lu Xin stared blankly at Jiang Tian, who was sternly and seriously giving him instructions.
He suddenly felt that the person before him wasn’t some newly debuted young girl but rather a seasoned veteran who had spent years steadily building her career in the entertainment industry. The queen-like aura about her made him admire her so much he wanted to become her follower.
After reading the analysis, Lu Xin’s admiration for Jiang Tian rose to another level.
Her interpretation was comprehensive.
She had considered every aspect, and many of the detailed insights were things Lu Xin had never thought of. After seeing Jiang Tian’s written ideas, Lu Xin felt that the characters of the top student and the goddess seemed much more vivid.
The emotional storyline also became more organized.
Even he couldn’t help but become more serious.
“I understand. I’ll do my best to perform well this time.”
If earlier on his drive this morning, he had only wanted to give one hundred percent of his effort, now that he saw his partner being so diligent, Lu Xin wanted to give one thousand percent, even ten thousand percent.
Seeing Lu Xin’s seriousness, Jiang Tian couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“Then let’s run through the scene for a while.”
“Okay.”
Lu Xin nodded with a smile.
On the other side, Gu Jinyan, as usual, finished his scenes in one take. Just as he stepped off set, he saw Jiang Tian and Lu Xin leaning in together, talking with animated expressions.
They even exchanged glances from time to time.
Award-winning actor Gu: …Hmph ╭(╯^╰)╮
“Brother Gu, your phone is ringing.”
“Who is it?”
Gu Jinyan frowned.
Unbuttoning, he prepared to take off his costume. Li Xia glanced around and lowered his voice. “It’s Sister Xiying.”
Gu Jinyan: “…Give me the phone.”
“Sure.”
Gu Jinyan took the call, and the person on the other end laughed softly. “You finally decided to answer my call. What’s going on? What have you been busy with these past couple of days? You haven’t called me, and you didn’t answer when I tried to reach you.”
“I’ve been a bit busy with something these last couple of days.”
“Busy with what, that you couldn’t even take my call?” The person teased lightly.
Then, getting to the point: “By the way, I’m at the airport now. Can you come pick me up? Isn’t my part in Director Tang’s drama scheduled for tomorrow?”
“…”
When Zhao Xiying mentioned this, Gu Jinyan remembered that her role had already been taken over by Jiang Tian.
And he had actually forgotten about this matter, letting Jiang Tian continue to play the role…
“We’ll talk about this later. I’ll come pick you up first.”
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Xiying sounded a bit puzzled. “Alright then, hurry up. I’m already at the airport entrance.”
“See you in a bit.”
“Okay, see you soon.”
…
After hanging up, Gu Jinyan took off his costume jacket and changed into his casual coat, asking Li Xia for the car keys.
“Brother Gu, are you going to pick up Sister Xiying?”
Li Xia was somewhat excited.
Having been with Brother Gu for so long, he had seen all kinds of female stars, but his favorite was still Sister Xiying.
Sister Xiying was the most beautiful and graceful actress he had ever met.
It was just that Sister Xiying was wholly focused on furthering her studies and rarely appeared on screen, so she hadn’t become widely famous yet.
And this time, it was Brother Gu who had suggested to Director Tang that Sister Xiying take part.
Brother Gu had even stepped in himself for Sister Xiying, using his status as an award-winning actor to bring attention to the drama.
But…
Thinking about how Sister Xiying’s role had been replaced by Jiang Tian,
Li Xia couldn’t help but worry about how his Brother Gu was going to explain this later.
Gu Jinyan took the keys. “Yes, I’ll pick her up myself. You can take the day off today.”
“Great, thank you, Brother Gu.”
Gu Jinyan said goodbye to Tang Jiang. As he passed by Jiang Tian, she didn’t even look up.
Still engrossed in discussing the plot with that guy named Lu Xin.
Gu Jinyan: Hmph, putting on an act!
In truth, Jiang Tian really hadn’t noticed Gu Jinyan leaving the set. She and Lu Xin were deeply engrossed in their discussion.
Lu Xin looked refined and handsome, but when it came to the script, he was very studious, with a solid foundation in acting.
Plus, Lu Xin was formally trained, unlike Jiang Tian who had debuted midway and gained popularity mainly through her looks. He understood much more about the professional aspects.
After their exchange, Jiang Tian herself benefited greatly.
This would have been impossible in her past life.
Because after “See You There” made her famous, few people thought she had acting skills, and they couldn’t even be bothered to engage with her.
Jiang Tian was stubborn and proud. If others ignored her, she couldn’t be bothered with them either. So, throughout her three years in the entertainment industry in her past life, she mostly buried herself in self-study, rarely having the chance to engage in deep conversations with professionals.
On the other side, Gu Jinyan arrived at the airport.
As soon as he got out of the car, he saw a tall, slender beauty with long hair standing at the airport entrance, wearing a white dress.
The woman saw him too, raised her hand in a wave, and walked over with a smile, pulling her suitcase.
“You got here so fast? Did you speed again?”
The woman took off her sunglasses and teased with a smile. Her face, as small as a palm, was lit up with a gentle smile, her eyes curved. Without any makeup, she looked as pure and elegant as a lotus.
“No.”
Gu Jinyan’s expression softened a bit, but he still replied in a flat tone.
Zhao Xiying didn’t mind. After knowing him for a long time, she understood that Gu Jinyan was like this—cold and aloof toward everyone.
Gu Jinyan helped Zhao Xiying lift her suitcase and placed it in the trunk.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiying stood by the car door, smiling as she watched him.
Gu Jinyan understood. He walked over, opened the door for her, and made a gentlemanly “please” gesture.
But inside, he felt a bit awkward.
He couldn’t help but furrow his brows slightly.
Zhao Xiying got into the car with her eyes curved in a smile.
She said in a playful tone, “You’re still not used to such gentlemanly gestures, are you, Award-Winning Actor Gu? Am I the only woman you’ve done this for?”
For a moment, Gu Jinyan didn’t know how to answer.
He had seen many women, but he hadn’t interacted closely with many of them.
If it weren’t for the Zhao family having done his family a favor, he might not have had much contact with Zhao Xiying either.
“Mhm. If it were anyone else, I’d probably just toss them aside.”
“You mean Jiang Tian?” Zhao Xiying asked with a smile.
Gu Jinyan hadn’t mentioned his fiancée, Jiang Tian, before.
But she knew there was a woman who had been clinging to Gu Jinyan.
One reason she had returned this time was to break through the unspoken barrier between her and Gu Jinyan.
So, a woman like Jiang Tian couldn’t stand in her way.
“I heard she’s your fiancée, and it’s been three years already. Are you planning to get married?”
Hearing the word “marriage,” Gu Jinyan’s brow furrowed.
He couldn’t help but think of Jiang Tian’s insistence on breaking off the engagement that morning.
She really didn’t leave any room for sentiment.
“No.”
He replied coldly with a single word.
But in the rearview mirror, a look of relief flashed across Zhao Xiying’s face.
“If neither of you has feelings for the other, it might be better to end it sooner. What do you think, A Yan? I think Miss Jiang is quite a good person. Maybe once she breaks up with you, plenty of people will be lining up to pursue her.”
“…”
Gu Jinyan’s face darkened even more.
Plenty of people lining up to pursue her?
Hmph, isn’t that the truth?
Wasn’t that woman now busy trying to hook up with Lu Xin so she could dump him?
In his anger, he suddenly stepped hard on the accelerator.
The speed instantly shot up.
Zhao Xiying, caught off balance, let out a startled yelp.
“A Yan, what are you doing?!”
“…”
Hearing this, Gu Jinyan immediately eased his foot off the pedal.
He said calmly, “Mention Jiang Tian less from now on.”
Zhao Xiying was taken aback for a moment, then a slight smile curled at the corner of her mouth. “Oh.”
Zhao Xiying had just returned and missed Beicheng dearly. Along the way, she cheerfully asked Gu Jinyan if there were any interesting places nearby.
Gu Jinyan knew her personality well, but he generally had little patience for shopping with others. After driving Zhao Xiying to the shopping area, he called a female assistant to accompany her, then drove off himself.
After Zhao Xiying finished shopping, Gu Jinyan took her to Ju Xian Lou for a meal.
But just as the two entered the elevator, two people rushed over in a hurry from the entrance.
“Wait a moment.”
A slender, fair hand with red nail polish quickly stopped the elevator door from closing.
She squeezed in with the young man behind her.
Both of them were wrapped up tightly, but Gu Jinyan recognized them at a glance.
Jiang Tian and Lu Xin.