Fifteen minutes earlier. Luo Mingqing received a call from his agent: "Director Jin wants you to go to his room." He raised an eyebrow slightly, "For what?" "Not sure, maybe to discuss the script." "He's crazy," Luo Mingqing snorted, "Isn't he a germaphobe? Anyone entering his room is like killing him." The agent had also heard about Director Jin's many quirks but still tried to reassure his artist, "Maybe he's grown up. You should grow up a bit too, Mingqing. Since everyone is in the same crew, you'll see each other often. Why keep up the hostility? Just take it as a step down." Luo Mingqing sneered, "He's so sick, I don't believe he'd offer any steps down." He deliberately went over in a bathrobe, trying to disgust the other party. He didn't expect that the only one disgusted would be himself. Ten minutes later, the agent rushed to Luo Mingqing's room in the pouring rain, only to find a scene of utter chaos. Luo Mingqing had smashed everything in sight, the place looked like a disaster zone after a tsunami. "Oh dear, how did it get like this..." The agent carefully avoided the sharp glass shards on the floor and touched Luo Mingqing, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. Luo Mingqing had his back to him, still in the bathrobe, his shoulders slumped, seemingly very downcast. He hesitated for a long time before reluctantly turning around. The agent was stunned. It was the first time he had seen Luo Mingqing cry. His face was covered in tears, his eyes slightly red. His expression was fragile and hurt, like a child abandoned on a rainy day, or a dirty toy left by the roadside. "What happened, Mingqing?" The agent, who had worked with him for a long time, was shocked to see this side of him, "What on earth happened?" Luo Mingqing lowered his head, his voice hoarse but with a fierce tone, "Where's that little model from last time? Call her over." Why was he thinking about women at a time like this? The agent was momentarily speechless and said helplessly, "We're in the mountains now, how is that possible... Why don't you tell me what happened first, why are you suddenly like this..." Luo Mingqing suddenly stood up and strode towards the door. He was barefoot, and as he stepped on the glass shards, several cuts immediately appeared. But he seemed to feel no pain at all—or maybe he was already in too much pain. When he reached the door, Luo Mingqing turned his head and gave the agent a pale smile, "Going for a drive, coming?" The agent's eyes widened, "Are you crazy? It's pouring outside!" Luo Mingqing said, "I've been crazy for a long time." In the end, the agent managed to persuade him and got into the driver's seat himself. The car cautiously moved along the muddy mountain road and stopped at a relatively open area. Unfortunately, it was raining, and all they could see was a blur of rain and mist. The agent said, "Mingqing, what on earth is wrong?" Luo Mingqing threw another empty beer can at his feet and said hoarsely, "Have I ever told you about my family?" The agent shook his head, "I wanted to ask before, but you scolded me." Luo Mingqing pulled the corners of his mouth into a mocking smile. "I wasn't scolding you, it's just shameful to talk about." "When I was little, my mom changed boyfriends every two or three months. She didn't know one of them was a pedophile, who would always touch me when she was at work. Until one time she came home early and saw it, she didn't say anything, just fought with the guy.""I thought she had changed, but after a few days, she brought a new man home, saying he was nice and that she wanted to live with him. This man even brought a daughter with him, and she made me call her sister. I felt utterly disgusted." The agent was stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked at him in disbelief. He had always thought Luo Mingqing was a pampered young master. After all, his mother was a beauty, and his stepfather was very wealthy. He never imagined his artist had this side to him: "Mingqing... you..." Luo Mingqing ignored him and continued, "She promised me this would be her last boyfriend and that she would live well with him. She lied to me. They still fought every day, and when it got really bad, she even wanted to take me to jump off a building with her." "I was only five or six years old then." He gestured with his hand, "About this tall." The rain was getting heavier, pounding on the car window like many hands, many eyes, pressed against the glass watching them. The agent didn't know what to say. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Did your mother eventually... come to her senses?" "No." Luo Mingqing sneered, "It was that sister, a few years older than me, who blocked the door and didn't let her in." The agent breathed a sigh of relief, "Your sister was good to you." "She was very good." Luo Mingqing looked out the window, a cold smile still on his lips, but his eyes betrayed his inner feelings, "She played with me, helped me with my homework, gave me gifts. She was also very beautiful, tall, and could dance ballet." "But I wasn't very good to her." "...Why?" Luo Mingqing lowered his head and opened another can of beer, "I don't know. Maybe I was curious if I was always bad to her, would she still like me? Would she also be lying to me?" The agent pondered for a moment and said, "You were too young then, Mingqing. No one taught you how to respond to others' kindness." Luo Mingqing said nothing, his face sullen. "And then?" "Then she did lie to me. She didn't want me anymore; she left. The next time I saw her was several years later, at her father's funeral." "Uh, my condolences." "Condolences, my ass." Luo Mingqing sneered, "It wasn't my dad who died." The agent gave an awkward smile. Luo Mingqing was silent for a moment, seemingly finding it difficult to say what he was about to say next, so his voice grew even lower. But he finally said it. "Actually, what I wanted to tell her was that she didn't need to pay back the money because I stole it from my stepfather." "Ah, you even stole money? Did your mom find out?" "She did, and I got a beating for it," Luo Mingqing said in a sinister tone. "Tsk, you were still good to your sister," the agent sighed, "Didn't you tell her the truth? Why not?" Luo Mingqing started laughing again. It was an ugly laugh, his teeth showing white, as if his whole face was about to split open. Only his eye sockets were still red. "I told her... never mind. It's not important anymore." He reached into his pocket and silently played with a very old toy car. The toy had been smashed to pieces and later taped back together. It looked terrible because once something is broken, it can never be the same as new. He knew this truth, but it was still hard to let go. Luo Mingqing turned his head to look at the car window. His face was reflected in the glass, seeming to dissolve along with the mist and rain. The agent comforted him, "It's okay. If you really feel guilty, just go back and apologize to her. It's just a misunderstanding; there's always a chance to make it right." "No chance," Luo Mingqing said coldly, touching the broken old toy, "She's dead."Jin Jingyao knew he had done something very boring and meaningless. He deliberately called Luo Mingqing over to let him see who was in his room. Why? Was it because Luo had hugged her impolitely on set? Or maybe he was very curious about Li Ling's reaction. Her reaction was very normal. She tried hard to distance herself from their relationship, strictly business, afraid of causing any unnecessary misunderstandings. There was nothing to misunderstand in the first place. They had done nothing. He didn't know why he felt unhappy. What else could he expect? Li Ling had her back to him. He saw her indistinct face through the foggy glass window, like a mass of water vapor, far away from him. "So, what is your relationship with Luo Mingqing?" Jin Jingyao asked. "Don't you know?" Li Ling was taken aback and instinctively said, "I told Xiao Liu." Jin Jingyao said flatly, "You told him, but not me." Li Ling: ? "That's not what I meant, Director," she said somewhat helplessly. "I thought Xiao Liu would tell you..." Jin Jingyao looked at her without much expression and repeated his question: "What is your relationship?" He seemed very persistent, determined to get to the bottom of it. Even through the misty glass, Li Ling knew his gaze was fixed on her. It was all Luo Mingqing's fault. Today on set, he acted as if he was afraid no one would know they were acquainted, holding her and talking nonsense for a long time. This made the director overthink, which was really annoying. He must have done it on purpose to trouble her. Li Ling explained to Jin Jingyao, "Director, don't misunderstand, I have nothing to do with him. I'm on your side." She didn't intend to hide anything and told him everything. However, when facing Xiao Liu, she could passionately denounce how bad the other person was, but now facing Jin Jingyao, she couldn't say those words. Li Ling kept it simple. Jin Jingyao stared at her coldly: "The one with a belly full of bad ideas, who likes to hit you, pinch you, and pull your braids..." Li Ling: ? She was greatly shocked: "Director, how do you know?" "You said it yourself." Li Ling was even more confused: "I said that? When?" Jin Jingyao looked impatient and didn't intend to answer this question anymore. He moved closer, as if he was going to hug her from behind again. Li Ling was startled and turned around. But he only asked softly, "Are you still mad at him?" Li Ling said, "Of course, how could I not be mad? Maybe more than anger, it's confusion. I've never understood what I did wrong to make him hate me so much." Jin Jingyao said, "It's not that you're not good enough, don't doubt yourself." He leaned down, "Do you want me to beat him up for you?" Li Ling was taken aback. When the young man said this, his eyes were dark and brooding, with a kind of sinister allure, like a tempting hook. Because his tone was so serious, it seemed particularly wicked. The rain poured down like a flood, enveloping the cold atmosphere. He didn't seem like Jin Jingyao, but like Zhou Jing. Li Ling swallowed and, surprisingly tempted, asked, "H-how would you do it?" "What do you think?" "Put a sack over his head and beat him up in a corner?"She laughed with a "hehe," then said more reservedly, "Actually, I don't hate him that much. It's been a long time. If he kneels down and apologizes after I beat him up, maybe I'll forgive him..." Jin Jingyao's tone suddenly turned cold: "Provoking trouble, a fine of five hundred yuan at least." Li Ling: ? Wait, it was a revenge story just now, how did it suddenly turn into a law enforcement channel? She looked at him, a bit confused, and heard knocking on the door again from outside. Even though she was talking about hiring someone to beat him up, Li Ling's body had already honestly hidden in the bathroom. She timidly eavesdropped on the commotion outside. Fortunately, it was indeed the staff delivering food. Jin Jingyao closed the door, and Li Ling poked her head out of the bathroom again, eagerly asking, "Director, is Luo Mingqing still there?" "Gone." She breathed a sigh of relief. Jin Jingyao added, "But his assistant is still watching at the door." Li Ling was speechless: "Director, can you not leave us hanging like that?" "What does 'leave us hanging' mean?" Li Ling looked at him suspiciously: "Are you using 2G internet?" Jin Jingyao: "What is 2G internet?" Li Ling: "..." It sounded like he was joking, but his expression was so serious, like a robot. She couldn't help but sigh: "Director, you seem more like a middle-aged person than my fans." Jin Jingyao looked at her strangely: "You have middle-aged fans?" Li Ling reservedly opened Weibo and showed him part of her conversation with user 9787532754335. Mainly, she was worried that Luo Mingqing would continue to sow discord on set in the future, so she thought it better to show her loyalty to the director in advance, proving how much she loved working with him. The director would surely be happy to know she praised him to her fans every day. Jin Jingyao was not very happy. He was silent for a moment, his expression suddenly becoming more subtle. "Why do you think he's middle-aged?" he asked. Li Ling looked at him, puzzled: "Director, is that the point?" She thought he was a bit too concerned about her middle-aged fan. And his concern was quite untimely. The pressing issue now was clearly Luo Mingqing's assistant standing outside, watching like a hawk. She awkwardly changed the subject: "Director, why do you think that person is waiting outside? Could it be a trap?" Jin Jingyao still seemed a bit distracted. He responded with a "hmm," somewhat agreeing: "You're the rabbit." Li Ling: ?? She pretended not to hear such illogical words and continued her reasonable analysis: "Could his assistant be live-streaming with a phone? As soon as I go out, it will be exposed all over the internet." Jin Jingyao finally seemed a bit more alert, calmly saying: "What's there to expose? We haven't done anything." Li Ling looked at him with exasperation: "Young people really don't understand the dangers of the internet. Do we need to do anything? No, they can just pin a crime on you. Director, that's the horror of defamation and rumors..." Jin Jingyao: "Oh." He slowly took a few steps forward, suddenly lowering his voice as if negotiating with her: "Then maybe we should do something." Li Ling: ? He stepped forward again, reasonably persuading her: "Otherwise, we'll suffer a loss." The damp rainwater, like the tendrils of a climbing vine, seeped in through the window cracks. The young man in front of her had pale skin, deep-set eyes, and an indescribable radiance. For some reason, Li Ling found herself staring at his Adam's apple. She silently swallowed again: "Do, do what..." Jin Jingyao sneered: "Dream on.""