Chapter 55

In the afternoon, after finishing work, Zhou Jingyu returned to the apartment. He bought some ingredients and cooked for Wen Tang himself.

Wen Tang had only one and a half days off. Director Xu’s movie was about to start shooting, so she would be leaving for Lingcheng City tomorrow afternoon. She planned to visit  Grandpa Zhou in the morning since she had been too busy for the past month and a half to see him.

Zhou Donghai hadn’t seen Wen Tang for a month and a half, so he was quite happy to hear she was coming.

However, his health was deteriorating. A month ago, he could still chat with Wen Tang for half an hour, but now he was weak and exhausted. Although he tried to stay awake, he was suffering from illness, and even speaking was difficult for him.

“Tang Tang… when you have time, come and visit me more. My health… probably won’t last much longer.”

Zhou Donghai, lying in bed, spoke with difficulty.

In reality, he should have died a long time ago. He was just hanging on with money, delaying the inevitable for more than half a year. He was keeping an eye on Zhou Jingyu’s return from France to take over the company, and watching the people in the company to ensure they didn’t create trouble just because Zhou Jingyu was young.

He knew very well that as long as he was alive, even if only barely, the senior figures in the company would still help Zhou Jingyu out of respect for him.

Now that Zhou Jingyu had been with the company for over six months, was familiar with its operations, and held firm control, Zhou Donghai felt his part was almost done.

At this point, he had no other regrets except not seeing Zhou Jingyu married, which left him somewhat unwilling.

“I… I wish I could see you two get married before I die.”

He took Zhou Jingyu’s hand and placed it in Wen Tang’s, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Wen Tang hadn’t expected Zhou Donghai to say this. She was momentarily at a loss. She had never considered marriage, not with anyone, including Zhou Jingyu.

Although Wen Tang liked Zhou Jingyu a lot and thought about him constantly when they were apart, she was only 26, still young. Her original family had caused her a lot of pain, so marriage seemed too distant. Being single was fine, and having a relationship was also good. There was no need to rush into marriage, which might lead to divorce and cause stress. Marriage was less free than dating.

“Um…” Wen Tang hesitated. She knew she couldn’t tell him the truth, that she wasn’t ready to marry Zhou Jingyu. She was afraid of upsetting the old man and didn’t want to cause him distress.

After all, she still wanted to continue her relationship with Zhou Jingyu.

Unsure of how to respond, Wen Tang turned to Zhou Jingyu with a pleading look, silently asking for his help.

Zhou Jingyu pressed his lips together and spoke up. “Grandpa, Wen Tang and I have only been dating for less than three months. Isn’t it a bit too early for us to get married now?”

Zhou Donghai sighed. “…Sigh.”

He sighed deeply, acknowledging that he couldn’t force such matters.

After Zhou Donghai needed to rest, Zhou Jingyu and Wen Tang left the nursing home together.

While walking to the parking lot, Wen Tang asked Zhou Jingyu, “How is Grandpa’s health now? He seems to be in worse condition than the last time I visited.”

Zhou Jingyu turned to her, his voice serious. “The doctor said he has at most three months left.”

Wen Tang was silent, feeling as if a heavy stone had been placed on her chest.

She had just avoided addressing a dying elder’s most pressing concern, but she couldn’t lie to Zhou Donghai about her willingness to marry Zhou Jingyu. To her, marriage was a sacred institution, not something to be casually turned into a lie.

Wen Tang fell silent.

Zhou Jingyu held her hand as they walked, and when they took the elevator to the basement parking lot, he turned to Wen Tang and said with unprecedented gravity, “Tang Tang, you know, Grandpa’s greatest wish now is to see me get married.”

Wen Tang nodded softly. She could clearly sense Zhou Donghai’s urgency about seeing Zhou Jingyu married.

Zhou Jingyu gently patted her hand, which had unconsciously tightened around his. “Don’t worry.”

“I’m not trying to force you into marriage. I just want you to be prepared. When you see Grandpa in the future, he might bring this up again. If you don’t know how to answer, just leave it to me.”

Wen Tang breathed a sigh of relief.

She was afraid that Zhou Jingyu might bring up marriage now, and either answer would be wrong.

Two and a half months was too early to discuss marriage.

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead,” Wen Tang said obediently.

Zhou Jingyu nodded and added, “Grandpa really likes you. Don’t let this make you unwilling to see him in the future.”

That wasn’t going to happen.

Wen Tang smiled at him and said, “I won’t. I actually like him a lot too. You know I don’t have many relatives. Seeing him feels like seeing family.”

Zhou Jingyu nodded slightly and didn’t say more.

*

Wen Tang went to Lake City to shoot the film.

The film was scheduled to take three months to complete, though it could take longer if shooting didn’t go smoothly.

Unlike TV dramas, where scenes can be shot in a single take, films require extensive retakes and fine-tuning. Wen Tang, who could often complete a TV scene in one take, found herself retaking scenes five or six times, or even ten, and sometimes even more if the director wasn’t satisfied. There were days when an entire day was spent on a single shot.

Though Wen Tang wasn’t as busy as when she first returned to work, filming still involved considerable pressure. It demanded a rich emotional range and precision from actors. Film directors, especially renowned ones like Director Xu, were much stricter than TV directors, demanding perfection in every aspect.

It was common for shooting times to extend past mealtimes if the director’s vision required it.

Thus, Wen Tang’s daily meal broadcasts ended the day after she joined the film crew.

She could only send messages or videos to Zhou Jingyu during her free time, which was unpredictable due to the flexible shooting schedule—sometimes only in the morning, sometimes in the evening, and occasionally all day.

As the lead actress with substantial screen time, Wen Tang hadn’t managed to return to Lingcheng City in the whole month since filming began.

In mid-July, the results of Wen Anle’s drunk driving and Wen Haifeng’s negligent homicide cases were announced. Wen Tang didn’t attend the trials but received a call from Liu Meifen on the day of the verdicts with the results.

Wen Anle was sentenced to three years for driving without a license, drunk driving, and fleeing the scene. He was currently serving his sentence.

Wen Haifeng, for negligent homicide and tampering with evidence, was sentenced to seven years.

Wen Tang’s only response was a low, “Deserved.”

Time flew by, and by late July, a major scandal hit the entertainment industry. Rising star Jiang Qianya was suddenly exposed in an explicit video, causing a huge scandal!

Though the video was quickly deleted from websites, it had already been widely circulated, shocking many viewers. After the video was removed, numerous incriminating photos and videos surfaced, not just involving one person, causing a massive uproar in the entertainment industry.

Before the scandal, Jiang Qianya had been known for her pure, elegant, and gentle image. Statistically, about 70% of her fans were male, making her one of the few female stars with a significantly higher male fan base.

The scandal profoundly impacted her fans. Male fans who saw her as a dream lover and female fans who saw her as a considerate elder sister were shaken.

Naturally, the scandal drastically altered public perception of Jiang Qianya. With concrete evidence—photos, videos, dates, locations—there was no way to clear her name.

Among those most affected was Jiang Qianya’s current boyfriend, Lu Yi, who quickly sought her out after the video surfaced.

However, Jiang Qianya’s phone was turned off, and her messages went unanswered. When he called her agent, the response was very dismissive. The agent conveyed that Jiang Qianya was deeply sorry for the situation, didn’t want to burden him, and wished to break up with him directly.

As a result, without having made any mistakes, Lu Yi, who was enjoying the vast green grasslands, was unexpectedly dumped by Jiang Qianya.

Lu Yi was furious!

This was clearly a habitual offender! He thought he had found a pure goddess in the entertainment industry, but what was she really? What purity? What goddess? It was all an illusion. She was just a social butterfly flitting between men, someone who had likely shared beds with countless investors!

Fuming, Lu Yi stopped looking for Jiang Qianya. Instead, he hired someone to dig deeper into her background. As a young master of a wealthy family, he had more resources than tabloid reporters.

As expected, the deeper investigation uncovered even more dirt on her.

Under Lu Yi’s command, all the scandalous information was released online.

The flames were fanned, and the internet erupted. Jiang Qianya was thoroughly nailed to the shame post!

Although Lu Yi had vented some of his anger, his heart was shattered into pieces, and it would take a long time to recover.

Despite having many friends, Lu Yi was deeply hurt and didn’t want his fair-weather friends to see him in such a state.

In a critical moment, only a trustworthy brother who had grown up with him was reliable, so he called Zhou Jingyu, and they drank together.

When the drinks arrived, Lu Yi didn’t say a word; he downed a glass in one go.

He drank heavily to drown his sorrows, consuming both white and red liquor rapidly. Within no time, he had emptied half a bottle of each.

As the alcohol took effect, Lu Yi burst into tears.

“I really liked her. I treated her so well, held her close to my heart, obeyed her every wish, thought of her in everything I did, even introduced her to you all. When she agreed to be my girlfriend, I was overjoyed. But look what happened!”

He then downed two more glasses and said angrily, “They’re right—women in the entertainment industry will do anything to climb up. None of them are clean!”

Zhou Jingyu sat beside him, listening to his complaints and watching him drink while remaining completely sober.

He would need to take this drunkard home later.

At first, Zhou Jingyu remained still, his expression indifferent, not showing any emotion. He let Lu Yi vent his feelings, allowing him to curse and complain. But when he heard this, he suddenly shook his head.

“That’s not necessarily true. It’s your own fault for not having keen eyes and for not meeting the right person. Don’t blame everyone else,” Zhou Jingyu said, unflinchingly delivering a verbal jab. “Don’t condemn everyone in the industry. There are still good women out there.”

For example, his girlfriend.