Chapter 748: A Million Times for You (110)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She put on her clothes in a bid to leave immediately. Xiao Yue hurriedly held her back and said, “Sis Erlan, you can’t just go out looking like that. There are tons of paparazzi outside. You’ll be having dinner with Yan Ge, and they’ll definitely snap photos of you. You wouldn’t want photos of you being barefaced to be circulated online, would you? Did you forget what Sis Yangyang instructed you? You must be mindful of your image at all times, especially in public. Put on some makeup before going. At most, just remove it again when you come back.”
Fang Erlan expressed assent and did as instructed.
“Alright, I can go on my own. You’ve had a long day, you don’t have to follow me. Go get some rest, I’ll be fine with Yan Ge and the rest around. It’s just downstairs anyway.”
“Alright then, don’t drink too much, Sis Erlan.”
“Of course, I know my limits.”
Fang Erlan did not proceed to meet Jing Shui immediately and instead gave Yan Ge a call, which was answered by Xiao Li.
“Is Yan Ge done with filming?”
“We just arrived at the hotel. Aren’t we going for dinner tonight? Brother would like you to come here.”
“I’ll head there right away.” She ended the call and took a look at the time to see that it was already half past nine.
Fang Erlan picked up in her tracks and entered the elevator.
She arrived at the highest floor where they’d agreed to meet. As soon as she reached the door of the private dining room, she heard the sounds of an ongoing conversation coming from inside.
The moment she entered, Jing Tian greeted, “You’re here, Erlan. Come have a seat here.”
She stepped forward and sat down on a chair. Apart from Yan Ge, Jing Tian, and the host, Jing Shui, the other co-director, the supporting actors, the lighting technician, cameramen, as well as other crew members were also present.
The conversation mostly revolved around the television series. Fang Erlan kept Mei Yangyang’s words in mind and refrained from speaking too much or drinking too much alcohol and instead continued to eat.
She avoided drinking as much as possible, especially since she could not hold her liquor well.
After chatting with each other, they began playing some games with a dice, which Jing Tian and Fang Erlan were both reluctant to join in. However, the enthusiastic Jing Shui could not contain his excitement and insisted on having Fang Erlan join in on the fun. Thus, she had no choice but to play a few rounds, all of which she lost.
After having lost three consecutive rounds and downing three glasses of liquor, Fang Erlan decided to stop playing.
She was already getting dizzy spells and felt like leaving. However, she dared not utter another word upon seeing how thrilled everyone was.
The dinner finally came to an end when it was almost eleven o’clock.
Fang Erlan heaved a sigh of relief, and everyone exited the private room.
Fang Erlan’s mobile phone began ringing all of a sudden while she was walking along the corridor. She whipped it out to see that it was a call from Jing Shui.
She looked up to glance at Jing Shui, who was walking away, and did not pick up.
She soon received another text message, which read: “My room number is 628. Come over later, I have something to say to you.”
Fang Erlan could tell that something was fishy, even if she was slow-witted.
She immediately understood what he meant.
She replied: “Let’s talk tomorrow instead. It’s getting late, I’d like to rest now.”
Yan Ge had already read the text messages on her mobile phone while walking beside her. He quickly looked away and entered the elevator together with her, as if he did not see anything at all.
Fang Erlan entered the elevator and stood in front of Jing Shui. Yan Ge subconsciously switched places with her and nudged her toward the wall of the elevator.
The elevator stopped at the sixth floor, after which Jing Tian, Jing Shui, and the other crew members exited, leaving the actors inside the elevator.
The elevator continued to ascend.
It came to a halt again on the eighth floor, and they all exited together.
They returned to their rooms one after another.
Fang Erlan changed into her slippers and lay onto the bed. Upon recalling the text message she’d received, she cursed in her head, Is this co-director blind or something? My gut instincts were right, I knew he was eyeing me ever since day one. Does he think I’m a pushover?
Calling me to his room at such a late hour to “talk about something”?
“Cut that bullshit,” Fang Erlan cursed out loud before tucking herself beneath the blanket.
Her phone began ringing all of a sudden.
She took a look at the caller display to see that it was from Jing Shui.
Fang Erlan did not answer and instead allowed her phone to keep ringing.
She thought that that would be the end of it all. To her surprise, the doorbell began to ring a few minutes later.
She tiptoed toward the door and peeked through the peephole. It was none other than Jing Shui!
Shocked out of her senses, she immediately switched off the lights and sneaked beneath her duvet to call Yan Ge, who was staying in the room beside hers.
“What’s wrong?”
“Yan Ge, the co-director just tried to call me but I didn’t answer. He’s standing outside my door and pressing on my doorbell now. What am I supposed to do?”
“Oh, I see… don’t open the door and just leave him be,” said Yan Ge, who was smoking while leaning against the headboard. A look of dismay had formed in his eyes upon hearing her words.
“What if he keeps pressing?”
“He won’t. He’ll leave after a while.”
“Yes, but I’m a little scared. He even texted me when we came out of the dining room and asked me to go over to his room. I immediately turned him down, yet he actually showed up at my door. Yan Ge, I told you he was looking at me weirdly. I’m a little afraid.”
“Have you guys met before?”
“No, I’ve never seen him before. This is my first time hearing his name. I’m being serious.”
“Alright, go to bed first and observe the situation. If he acts inappropriately again, call the studio directly. They’ll handle it from there.”
“Okay, I understand.”
After ending the call, Fang Erlan crawled out of her duvet with sweat trickling down her forehead. Jing Shui was still pressing the doorbell.
She lay in bed and tucked herself beneath the duvet. Fortunately, the ringing stopped after a while.
She could finally fall asleep in peace.
——
In the darkness of the night, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were lying in bed to watch a movie in the dimly-lit bedroom.
The end credits scene came on, signifying the end of the movie.
An Xiaoning stretched her back and said, “I hate watching horror flicks. It makes me so tensed and jittery all the time.”
“Don’t you have anything else to say about this movie?” he asked, switching off the television with the remote control.
She lay down and turned to lie on her side to face him. “Abortions are bad. I know that even without having to watch horror flicks about ghost fetuses. Suffering a miscarriage is different from going through an abortion.”
“How so?” Jin Qingyan asked.
“Take this movie that we just watched for an example. The female lead is only a student, and she accidentally got pregnant after playing with fire and trying to taste the forbidden fruit. She didn’t have the guts to give birth to the baby so she decided to abort it after having a discussion with her boyfriend, who was another student. It would be a different case if she’d suffered a natural miscarriage.”
“They’re just kids, after all. Even if they didn’t abort the fetus, they wouldn’t have had the financial ability to raise the child.”
“Since they were aware that they were incapable of raising a child, why did they have to be so ignorant as to get pregnant accidentally? Sensibility is not linearly related to age. To be frank, there’s a predestined number of children every person will bear in their lives. It counts even if the child is aborted. Not only does abortion bring about karmic retribution, but it’s also harmful to one’s health. Some people would kill to have a child, yet some intentionally get rid of them. In fact, there are even those who abandon their child as soon as it’s born. Even if these people don’t receive their retribution in this lifetime, they’re bound to be punished in their next one.”