novellhall Chapter 43 Please delete the photos from last night.
Chapter 43 Please delete the photos from last night.
The next morning, sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a narrow white line on the floor.
Li Jiaxin woke up first. The dull ache of a hangover still lingered in her temples. She frowned, rolled over, and then opened her eyes.
The first thing you see is Zhang Baizhi curled up on the other side of Lin Dong, his head resting in the crook of Lin Dong's left arm, the blanket only covering his waist.
The events of last night kept replaying in my mind: the wine at the wrap party, the hangover soup at Happy Valley, the torn bra strap, the unzipped zipper.
And then there were the muffled thuds from the three people on the bed.
Li Jiaxin's face changed from white to red, then from red to green. She suddenly sat up, the blanket slipped off, revealing her flawless white body, and then reached out to grab Zhang Baizhi.
Zhang Baizhi's eyes opened almost simultaneously.
I wasn't woken up by noise; I was prepared all along.
She woke up when Li Jiaxin turned over, and pretended to be asleep with her eyes closed, watching Li Jiaxin's expression changes the whole time through her squinted eyelids.
Seeing that hand reaching out to her, she slipped out of bed like an eel, stepped barefoot onto the floor, and rushed into the bathroom in the bedroom.
The door slammed shut. As the latch clicked in, Li Jiaxin rushed over and slammed her hand on the door.
"Open the door."
"I won't open it." Zhang Baizhi's voice came from behind the door, hoarse from just waking up. "Michelle, are you still angry? Don't be angry, it's bad for your health."
Li Jiaxin took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and turned to walk back to the bedside.
Lin Dong leaned against the pillow, holding a glass of water in his hand, and was drinking it slowly.
"Ah Dong, can you delete the photos you took last night?"
She was a model, so she knew all too well what those photos meant.
"Why?" Zhang Baizhi's soft voice came from the bathroom. The door made him even more brazen. "The photos are so beautiful, Michelle, don't you think so? Dong-ge likes them too!"
Li Jiaxin was furious. She clenched her fists, strode back to the bathroom door, and raised her hand to slam the door.
"Alright."
Lin Dong's voice wasn't loud. Li Jiaxin's hand froze in mid-air.
"Open the door," Lin Dong said.
The bathroom lock hesitated for two seconds, then clicked open.
The door opened a crack, and Zhang Baizhi poked half his head out. His hair was a mess, like a bird's nest, and his eyes darted from Li Jiaxin's face to Lin Dong's.
Lin Dong put down his water glass. "Stop fooling around. Get ready and come to the company with me."
Li Jiaxin turned to look at him, her brows furrowed.
"Han Sanping and the others are going to sign the contract today." Lin Dong got up from the bed, put on his shirt, and buttoned it up one button at a time. "You'll come with me. It'll be good for you to get to know them."
Li Jiaxin's brows instantly relaxed. She stood there, looked at Lin Dong, and then nodded.
Well-behaved. The kind that doesn't show any acting.
She certainly knew what this opportunity meant; it was a way of validating her identity.
She looked down at herself—the tea-brown satin evening gown she wore last night was completely wrinkled, the shoulder straps were broken, and the zipper was torn; it was impossible to wear it out.
"I need to go back to Mid-Levels." She stood up. "Change my clothes, it'll be quick. Meet me at the company."
"it is good."
Li Jiaxin picked up the ruined evening gown from the ground and then rummaged through Lin Dong's wardrobe to find one of his trench coats to wear over it.
As she reached the door, she glanced back at the bathroom. Zhang Baizhi peeked out from under the door, his eyes meeting hers, and he blinked.
Li Jiaxin withdrew her gaze, opened the door, and left.
The bathroom door opened completely as soon as the lock clicked shut.
Zhang Baizhi ran out barefoot, threw himself into Lin Dong's arms, wrapped his arms around his waist, and pressed his face against his chest.
"Brother Dong, she's bullying me." She looked up at him pitifully. "You have to stand up for me!"
The grievance in her voice was palpable.
Lin Dong looked down at her without saying a word.
He certainly wouldn't get involved. He had tacitly approved of what happened last night, but he would never act as a referee between the two women.
However, to be fair, Zhang Baizhi's performance last night was indeed quite good. He was obedient and cooperative, and even cooperated in filming so many embarrassing poses.
Moreover, her clever scheme did indeed help him achieve his goal of getting Li Jiaxin and Zhang Baizhi to be honest with each other.
Thinking of this, he reached out and ruffled her hair. "Alright. I've already arranged a role for you. Lead actress."
Zhang Baizhi's eyes lit up instantly. His grievances vanished, his pout disappeared, and his entire face went from gloomy to sunny in less than half a second.
She buried her face in his chest again and rubbed against him forcefully.
"I knew Dong-ge was the best." She tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "Then—as long as Dong-ge is happy, I'd be happy even if Michelle-jie was on top of me."
Lin Dong smiled and patted her on the back. "Alright. Go back and change your clothes, don't be late."
"I promise I won't be late." Zhang Baizhi let go of her hand, bent down to pick up the wrinkled white cotton house dress from the ground, put it on in front of Lin Dong, then smoothed her hair with her fingers and turned to walk out.
As she reached the door, she turned back and smiled at him, a smile that contained three parts obedience and seven parts smugness.
At 10:30 a.m., Lin Dong returned to Tengda. He had just sat down in his office when Chen Xinjian walked in.
"Mr. Lin, Director Han's people will be here in about ten minutes."
"Is the contract ready?" Lin Dong leaned back in his chair.
"Both the investment agreement for 'The Birth of a Nation' and the shareholding agreement for 'The Legend of Shushan' are still available."
Chen Xinjian sat down opposite him and opened the folder—every document inside was categorized with labels.
Lin Dong nodded. At that moment, Li Jiaxin knocked on the door and came in. Her face was expressionless. She sat down obediently in the reception area of his office.
Twenty minutes later, Han Sanping arrived.
He brought two people with him: one was the legal representative from Beijing Film Studio who had flown in overnight, and the other was his accompanying secretary.
Han Sanping was in good spirits; the aftereffects of the five bottles of Moutai he drank last night seemed to have no effect on him.
He strode into the office, shook hands with Lin Dong, and nodded to Li Jiaxin—his expression was neither overly formal nor dismissive.
"Director Han, this is Li Jiaxin, the manager of our artist department at Tengda," Lin Dong introduced her, gently placing his hand on her waist.
Han Sanping then looked at Li Jiaxin properly and extended his hand. "Miss Li, it's a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Lin is indeed surrounded by capable people."
She strikes the perfect balance in maintaining social distance.
Li Jiaxin smiled and shook his hand, responding politely, "Director Han, you're too kind."
After exchanging pleasantries, they took their seats. The legal representatives from both companies each took out their contract texts and checked them line by line.
Not long after, the legal representative of Beijing Film Studio closed the document and nodded. "Director Han, there's no problem with the contract."
Han Sanping picked up the pen on the table, unscrewed the cap, and signed his name on the last page of the "Emerging from the Sky" investment agreement.
Then came the "Legend of Shushan" share agreement, following the same process: exchanging texts, signing, and stamping.
After finishing everything, Han Sanping stood up and put the pen into the inner pocket of his Zhongshan suit.
"Mr. Lin, my flight back to Beijing is this afternoon. There's a ton of work piling up at the factory, we can't delay any longer. We—" He stopped after saying only two words and reached out his hand.
Lin Dong stood up and took his hand. "I'll take you to the airport."
Kai Tak Airport, 2 PM.
Han Sanping's convoy arrived ten minutes earlier than Lin Dong's. By the time Lin Dong's Mercedes turned into the drop-off area, the people from Beijing Film Studio were already waiting at the international departure gate.
Jiang Wen also stood to the side, his stubble shaved off, and he had changed into a clean dark blue shirt, looking much more energetic than last night.
Lin Dong opened the car door and got out first. Li Jiaxin followed behind him. A-Qiang and several bodyguards kept their distance in the crowd, not approaching.
Han Sanping came forward. The two stood facing each other.
"See you in the capital." Han Sanping said only three words, then reached out and shook hands with Lin Dong, giving him a firm handshake.
Jiang Wen stepped forward from the side.
"Mr. Lin, filming for 'Devils on the Doorstep' will begin next month in Hebei." He held up two fingers, making a shooting gesture. "If I have some free time, I might even do a cameo role."
Lin Dong smiled and nodded. "Okay. I've always had a dream of killing Japanese devils. If I can't do it in reality, it'll be good to act it out in a movie."
Jiang Wen laughed heartily and slapped Lin Dong on the shoulder with a heavy thud. "It's settled then! I'll arrange it for you—play an Eighth Route Army soldier, one shot, one kill, how exhilarating!"
"Haha, that's great!"