《Forbidden.Desire》3《Will You Come Home Tonight?》
Chapter Eight: Mirror Tug-of-War
1、False Tenderness
In the luxurious living room of the overseas villa, a warm yet cold light was on.
Shen Rui'an sat awkwardly on the edge of the sofa, watching Jiang Yuhe elegantly fastening his shirt cufflinks. On this business trip, Jiang Yuhe had brought her along as his secretary, but both knew exactly what it meant.
Jiang Yuhe's attitude toward her was extremely strange. Sometimes he was as cold as if looking at an inanimate object, too lazy to spare her an extra glance; yet other times he would shower her with countless romantic gestures and expensive jewelry, even gently holding her in his arms at night.
But Shen Rui'an knew perfectly well that there was no love in this man's eyes. This was merely his habitual way of treating women, like teasing a pet. She clearly understood her position, so she asked for nothing, demanded nothing, and made no fuss. Whatever Jiang Yuhe said, she did, like an obedient little dog.
That night, inside a private room at a luxurious high-end club.
The local partner, Director Fang, clapped his hands and called in several hot-bodied, boldly dressed spicy girls.
“Director Jiang, it must be tiring working overseas. Pick two to relax?” Director Fang smiled obsequiously.
Jiang Yuhe sat in the center of the sofa, his handsome face hidden in the dim light. He didn’t even glance at Shen Rui'an in the corner, casually pointing with his slender fingers and quickly selecting the two hottest girls.
The two women immediately clung to him like leeches. Jiang Yuhe embraced them on both sides, even letting their ample breasts press against his arms.
Shen Rui'an sat in the darkest corner of the room, watching everything with a blank expression. Under the guise of business, her nails dug deeply into her palms. The suppressed sourness and humiliation spread wildly in her heart.
Halfway through the gathering, Director Fang and several executives began taking turns pouring drinks for Jiang Yuhe. Under the assault of strong liquor, Jiang Yuhe soon became somewhat drunk, his eyes tinged with a hint of crimson. With drunkenness, he kissed and hugged the spicy girls beside him, flirting with practiced ease.
The two girls were even more excited. After all, the man before them was handsome, wealthy, and had a top-tier physique. They used every trick to seduce him on the sofa.
At this moment, Director Fang turned his head and noticed Shen Rui'an in the corner, his eyes carrying a greasy playfulness:
“Little sister, sitting there alone must be boring? Come help your Director Jiang block some drinks! Can’t you see he’s about to pass out?”
Shen Rui'an stood up stiffly. At this time, Jiang Yuhe’s handsome face showed a light flush, yet he still forced himself to push the spicy girls aside, picked up a full glass of whiskey, and sneered, “It’s fine, I can still handle it. You old foxes haven’t fallen yet, how could I?”
Seeing him about to down it in one go, Shen Rui'an suddenly stepped forward with unknown courage, snatched the glass from his hand, and under everyone’s shocked gazes, tilted her head back and finished the spicy liquor in one gulp.
Jiang Yuhe watched her action. On his slightly drunk handsome face, the corner of his mouth curled up almost imperceptibly, but the smile was immediately extinguished, replaced by an even colder question:
“Why did you snatch my drink?”
Shen Rui'an was slightly startled by his icy tone and trembled. But she took a deep breath, tried to stay calm, and raised her clear yet stubborn eyes to look at him:
“Director Jiang, you’re drunk. I’ll take you home first.”
2、Alcohol and Negotiation
“Home?” Upon hearing this, Director Fang’s face immediately darkened. The contract hadn’t been signed yet. This overseas cooperation had powerful consortiums from both sides eyeing them covetously, and that consortium was targeting Jiang Yuhe the most.
That was why Jiang Yuhe needed to handle it overseas personally.
Director Fang smiled insincerely: “Director Jiang, this contract… we haven’t signed it yet. You… need this cooperation very much, don’t you?”
This remark was barbed, as if trying to trample Jiang Yuhe’s pride underfoot.
Jiang Yuhe pressed his temples hard, trying to clear his alcohol-numbed mind a little. He coldly glanced at the spicy girls beside him, his voice low and hoarse: “Get out.”
The girls were frightened by his murderous aura and quickly left.
“Good, let’s talk business.” Jiang Yuhe loosened his tie.
But when they actually discussed the contract, because both sides had been drinking, they couldn’t agree on profit distribution. As words escalated, tempers flared on both sides, and it looked like this life-or-death cooperation was about to fall through completely.
Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Shen Rui'an grew anxious. Her sharp instinct made her jump out immediately, leaning close to Jiang Yuhe’s ear and whispering persuasively, “Director Jiang, we need this cooperation. We absolutely cannot argue at this moment…”
Jiang Yuhe heard her advice, turned his head, stared at her with dark eyes, his face growing even colder.
Director Fang on the opposite side saw this scene and suddenly let out a malicious, lewd laugh. He casually opened a brand-new, unopened bottle of whiskey and slammed it heavily on the marble coffee table:
“Come! Director Jiang, since your little secretary has spoken, let this girl finish this bottle! As long as she drinks it all, the contract terms will follow what you just conceded. I, Old Fang, won’t insist! Let me see your sincerity, see if this girl is willing to help you!”
Director Fang was deliberately making things difficult, wanting to crush Jiang Yuhe’s pride and force him to bow.
Shen Rui'an normally never drank, but seeing the contract that determined the company’s fate, she didn’t hesitate at all and reached for the whiskey bottle.
Jiang Yuhe’s large hand pressed firmly on the table, his deep black eyes staring straight at her, a complex dark gleam flashing in his gaze, as if asking: [Can you do it?]
Shen Rui'an nodded firmly at him.
She grabbed the bottle and poured it fiercely into her mouth. The spicy, burning liquor felt like fire rushing into her stomach. After just a few gulps, she was choked by the terrifying potency, coughing violently, her small face flushed red, tears streaming down.
“Smack!”
Jiang Yuhe’s face turned terrifyingly dark. He snatched the bottle from her hand. Staring at Director Fang opposite him, his eyes filled with ruthless ferocity: “Director Fang, I’ll drink.”
Without giving the other a chance to speak, Jiang Yuhe tilted his head back, his Adam’s apple rolling wildly, and with near self-torturing speed, viciously poured the entire bottle of liquor into his stomach. He knew he had to end this disgusting social engagement quickly, otherwise both would collapse here.
After putting down the bottle, Jiang Yuhe’s eyes were somewhat unfocused, but he forced himself to hold on to his last bit of willpower, looking at Shen Rui'an who had already passed out drunk on the sofa. He picked up a pen and coldly pushed it over:
“Director Fang, I need to take my secretary home. Please sign the contract.”
Director Fang was intimidated by his ruthlessness and chuckled twice: “Very well, Director Jiang is indeed straightforward. Happy cooperation.”
After signing and shaking hands, Jiang Yuhe could barely stand. Gritting his teeth, he scooped up the unconscious Shen Rui'an from the sofa and strode out of the smoky private room.
3、Gunpowder Outside the Scene and “NG”
“Cut! Qin Che, your expression just now was wrong! Too hard. I want the heartache mixed with drunkenness, not the ruthless killing intent from the business world! And Taiyang, your action of snatching the drink was too fake. The two of you have no emotional connection at all!”
The director’s dissatisfied roar blasted through the walkie-talkie on set.
The lights brightened instantly. In the overseas villa living room set, the thick erotic and business-war atmosphere vanished in a second.
Qin Che kept a straight face and put Taiyang down from his arms. His black suit was slightly disheveled, and his dark eyes were now filled with coldness and irritation. Taiyang coldly patted her skirt, too lazy to spare him an extra glance.
Because of last night’s “phone incident” and this morning’s argument about script handling, their off-screen cold war had reached its peak. This terrible private emotion had inevitably carried into their performance just now.
“One more time! Scene two, Action!” the director shouted.
“Why did you snatch my drink?” Jiang Yuhe pinched Shen Rui'an’s chin, his tone stiff and cold, carrying a condescending sense of oppression. That was not Jiang Yuhe’s tug-of-war with Shen Rui'an at all; it was Qin Che himself venting his dissatisfaction at Taiyang through the lines.
“Director Jiang, you’re drunk…” Taiyang delivered her line just as stiffly, the resistance and anger in her eyes almost spilling off the screen.
“Cut! NG! Qin Che, your tone is too aggressive! Taiyang, what are you resisting? You’re supposed to be an obedient little dog, not an opponent flipping the table with the big boss!”
“Cut! One more time! The tone is still wrong!”
“Cut! No tug-of-war in the eyes!”
Five or six consecutive inexplicable NGs left the entire crew too scared to speak. The two bosses were “fighting” each other with lines on set, the atmosphere so tense it was about to explode.
“Damn.” Qin Che finally couldn’t help but curse under his breath. He irritably loosened his tie, turned to look coldly at the director, his voice as dark as if he wanted to kill: “Take a ten-minute break. I need to readjust my emotions.”
With that, he kept a straight face, strode into his exclusive lounge, and slammed the door shut.
Taiyang stood in place, looking at the tightly closed door. Her own temper was completely ignited at this moment. She sneered, slammed the script in her hand onto the table, and without hesitation, stormed in her high heels straight toward Qin Che’s lounge door and pushed it open.
“Bang!” The door slammed shut behind her.
Qin Che was sitting on the sofa, one large hand pressing his temple, his face terrifyingly dark. Seeing Taiyang barge in, he didn’t even lift his eyelids and coldly said, “Young lady, if you’re here to argue with me, I’m not in the mood to entertain you right now.”
“Qin Che, explain yourself clearly!”