Chapter 14

Zhao Pingjin left the next afternoon.

He found her at the outdoor filming location, a hillside near a village, with wild trees scattered around. Explosions from the set of an anti-Japanese war drama could be heard from the distant mountaintop, illuminating the misty mountains with an orange glow. Xitang walked out from the set, and he was there to pick her up.

Zhao Pingjin handed her the house keys. They stood outside and talked for a while. Zhao Pingjin needed to catch a flight and looked at his watch, ready to leave.

Xitang was wearing a long wig loosely and had makeup on her face. She was smoking and waiting under a tree, looking indifferent as the wind constantly messed up her hair.

Zhao Pingjin drove his car over to her and suddenly remembered something. He rolled down the window and sat in the driver’s seat, speaking to Huang Xitang, “Did you hide that jade pendant?”

Xitang smiled and replied, “It’s mine.”

Zhao Pingjin frowned, “Give it back to me. It’s mine.”

Xitang had a pair of identical jade pendants at home, a beautiful translucent green, finely crafted. When Xitang went to university in Beijing, her mother had brought them to her, repeatedly telling her to take good care of them. When they were together, Zhao Pingjin had bought her all kinds of clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and later even gave her a house. Xitang felt that she couldn’t accept it, but Zhao Pingjin insisted on giving it to her, so he asked her for one of her treasured pendants.

He had a mischievous look on his face at the time, leaning close to her ear and saying, “Does this mean we’re engaged? I have to ask your mother to marry you to me.”

Xitang’s heart was filled with sweetness, and she reached out to pinch him playfully, “You can dream on.”

Sometimes when Xitang called her mother, Zhao Pingjin was there and couldn’t join in the conversation. He would look at her respectfully.

Several times after Xitang hung up the phone, he would say, “Why don’t you let me talk to your mother-in-law?”

Xitang blushed. She had secretly dated in college and was still afraid that her mother wouldn’t be happy. “Wait until I graduate and start working.”

Later, she graduated and started working, but she was left alone.

Zhao Pingjin had always kept that pendant, putting it in the bag where he kept his medicine. His assistant usually carried it with him whenever he went out, and no one else had ever touched it except for Huang Xitang.

Xitang smiled, “What good is it to you?”

Zhao Pingjin sneered, “You’ve taken so much money from me, are you going to take back even a small gift?”

Xitang said calmly, “I’ll give you something else in exchange. My mother was sick and had surgery a few years ago, and she wanted to see the pair of pendants. I couldn’t find the other one, so I didn’t dare to show it to her.”

Zhao Pingjin was stunned for a second, then asked, “What was your mother’s illness?”

Xitang didn’t want to talk about it and said, “She’s fine now.”

Zhao Pingjin looked at her, “Let’s go.”

Xitang took a puff of her cigarette and nodded.

Zhao Pingjin started the car, the engine roared, and he stepped on the accelerator. The car sped forward for less than five meters and then suddenly braked.

Xitang was still standing there.

The black car reversed straight back towards her.

The car window rolled down, and Zhao Pingjin sat in the driver’s seat, looking down at her domineeringly, “Quit smoking.”

Xitang still held the cigarette and pointed it at the air, “None of your business.”

Zhao Pingjin insisted, “I can’t stand the smell of cigarettes.”

She didn’t bother arguing with him about the inconsistencies in his words. He smoked himself, and she wasn’t the first woman he had been with who smoked.

After saying that, Zhao Pingjin released the handbrake and was about to drive away.

“Zhao Pingjin—” Xitang suddenly called out.

He stopped and looked out the window.

The woman was standing under the tree, wearing a green robe. The strong wind was whipping her black hair around her face. She was still holding a cigarette and skillfully tapped the ash off with her finger, and calmly replied, “Okay, but pay me more.”

Zhao Pingjin’s face instantly stiffened, and he was speechless. He could only glare at her fiercely, stepped on the accelerator, and turned the steering wheel slightly. The car hit a large rock with a bang and sped off.

The black off-road vehicle roared away in the dust.

At ten o’clock in the morning, the blinds blocked the bright sunlight between the buildings. Li Ming slammed the last report shut. The morning meeting of the senior management team ended, and Zhao Pingjin pushed back his chair. Secretary Xiao Dong, who had been waiting outside, came in and lowered his voice, “Mr. Zhao, Director Xu from the Economic and Information Commission is here.”

Zhao Pingjin nodded and stood up.

The assistants swarmed around him, busily tidying up the documents and materials on the desk.

Shen Min followed Zhao Pingjin into the office. Zhao Pingjin suddenly turned around and said softly, “Find someone to pay the utility bills for that house in Hengdian.”

Shen Min was stunned, “Comrade Xiao Huang didn’t even pay the utility bills?”

Zhao Pingjin frowned unconsciously, “She’s living like a pig.”

Shen Min immediately said, “I’ll take care of it personally.”

Secretary Shen turned around and a smile appeared on his face. The boss was... feeling sorry for her?

Zhao Pingjin returned to his office and worked for a whole day. When the secretary came to remind him of his evening engagement, he looked at his phone again. Shen Min must have already informed her, but she never called him.

A woman could be so heartless.

He pressed his aching head and lay down on the sofa.

Huang Xitang was much more awake than he was. Her life in Hengdian had nothing to do with him anymore.

Over the years, he had been running back and forth between Beijing and Shanghai. Whenever he came south, all his work and social engagements were usually in Shanghai. In the past, when there were female celebrities who needed to be entertained at a dinner party, even if they were filming in Hengdian, they would rush back to Shanghai as soon as they were arranged by their agency. He was so confused, going all the way to a broken-down small town to see a small-time actress who wasn’t going anywhere.

He threw his phone to the ground. He wouldn’t go anywhere except Beijing.

In mid-July, the Gao family hired a new cook, so the men and their families had dinner at Gao Jiyi’s house.

In recent years, everyone had returned to their family lives. After dinner, they didn’t go out anymore. Gao Jiyi had installed a set of top-of-the-line Danish audio equipment in his living room, but the women were using it to watch TV.

Gao was brewing tea at a nearby teahouse, and Lu Xiajiang sat beside him, examining one tea canister after another. Zhao Pingjin and Fang Langfei were chatting.

Fang Langfei smiled and raised an eyebrow, “Zhouzhou, you’ve been running to Shanghai quite frequently. Why haven’t you gone recently?”

Zhao Pingjin leaned back in his chair, smoking a cigarette, “What’s wrong?”

Gao Jiyi said excitedly, “You’ve been single for a while now. Aren’t you really preparing for marriage?”

Zhao Pingjin extinguished his cigarette in annoyance, “Don’t mention that.”

Lu Xiajiang carefully interjected, “Yingzi is doing well. I saw her once in Los Angeles before I came back. She’s even more beautiful.”

Zhao Pingjin frowned and didn’t respond.

Gao Jiyi nudged his shoulder and said in a knowing tone, “Just get married. It’s only a matter of time.”

Gao Jiyi’s wife was his second marriage. She had just given birth to a son who was younger than Qingqing. The child had a nanny, and she still went for beauty treatments and shopping every day, living a more comfortable life than before marriage.

In the living room, the women gathered together chatting and watching TV. At around eight o’clock in the evening, an awards ceremony was on the TV.

Suddenly, a familiar melody sounded in the living room.

Gao Jiyi’s wife exclaimed excitedly, “Ah, who’s that man?”

Qingqing replied softly, “It’s Jiang Chao. I used to really like him.”

The women suddenly stopped talking.

A male star was singing on stage.

A tall man, with slicked-back hair and a white suit, was still a very charming man.

Zhao Pingjin recognized him of course. He had spent a week on the set watching this man. He was acting opposite Wu Zhenzhen, and after each scene, his face was numb and he looked exhausted. His assistant served him tea and water, and he just kept smoking.

It was an old Cantonese song.

The noisy women in the spacious living room suddenly quieted down. The crystal chandelier sparkled brightly, and on a large LCD screen, the women craned their necks to watch the male star.

A slightly hoarse male voice sang, “I see you sad... Even your tears are beautiful... I can only gently kiss your hair...”

The camera then turned to the audience. In the front few rows of the audience, there were many familiar but nameless celebrity faces. However, the camera skipped over them and focused on the side profile of a girl in the back row.

It was an almost perfect silhouette.

With red blush and white powder, thick eyebrows, a pointed nose, and full cherry-red lips, she had a bright yet melancholy beauty... The person being filmed was unaware. She was simply looking up at the stage, her gaze fixed on a point in the void.

Tears were slowly rolling down her beautiful cheek.

It was so poignant that it took one’s breath away.

The cameraman paused for almost ten seconds.

The living room was silent. Gao Jiyi glanced at the TV and suddenly asked, “Who is that new female star?”

Fang Langfei quietly got up and walked over to his wife. Qingqing nestled beside him and said emotionally, “I love this song.”

Gao Jiyi also stood up and walked over to watch the TV with interest, “Zhouzi, call the TV station and ask who that beauty is.”

Gao Jiyi’s wife called out, “Hey, Lao Gao!”

Gao Jiyi didn’t care, “Your wife is angry. Isn’t there still someone unmarried?”

Everyone looked at Zhao Pingjin. Zhao Pingjin sat motionless by the coffee table, his handsome face pale and frosty.

Lu Xiajiang sat opposite him and felt inexplicably nervous. His hands were pressed on his knees, and he tried to suppress his trembling arms.

Gao Jiyi continued to shout from the living room, “Hey, Zhouzi, come over and see if there are any more shots. That girl is really beautiful.”

Zhao Pingjin suddenly stood up and threw a teacup on the table, smashing it right in front of Lu Xiajiang. The fine porcelain shattered into pieces, and shards of porcelain splattered everywhere. Lu Xiajiang instinctively reached out to block it, and his arm was immediately cut.

Everyone in the room was stunned and silent.

Zhao Pingjin grabbed the cigarette case and said, “I’m going out for a smoke,” before leaving without looking back.