Chapter 16 Holding Hands on Set Do You Miss Me

Snowflakes continued to drift down, falling like goose feathers onto Sun Hao's neck, and he felt a sudden chill.

He looked at the man beside him, feeling more wronged than Dou E ever was.

He’s not a celebrity manager who can think of everything so thoroughly. He had also reminded Han Rao to reach out to him if anything came up. But Han Rao went to Hengdian to shoot the film all by herself without mentioning the assistant at all. So can he assume that she doesn’t need an assistant?

Of course, Sun Hao didn't dare to say this out loud. He turned his head to look at Zhao Jichuan, who was blatantly staring at Han Rao, and remained silent in frustration.

Han Rao probably hadn’t fully recovered yet. She buried her head in her arms, staring blankly at the snowflakes drifting in the air. She reached out her hand to catch them; the snowflakes landed in her palm and, touched by the thirty-seven-degree warmth, melted within seconds.

Han Rao pressed her lips together. She thought that her Princess Yueyang’s ending was indeed heroic. Yueyang was originally a beautiful, strong, and tragic character who had done many bad things, so such an ending would surely satisfy the audience.

But in her heart, Princess Yueyang was a stubborn person just like her. Someone so strong-willed and proud would never kneel and crawl on the street to beg for forgiveness from the protagonist she hated the most.

A few days ago, she brought up this idea to the director and the screenwriter, but they rejected her suggestion to change the script. The screenwriter even scolded her, saying that today's audience only buys into this kind of story, and if Yue Yang doesn't die tragically enough, she would be the one getting blamed.

Han Rao was left speechless by the retort. She knew she had no say in the matter and feared her judgment might not be as accurate, so today she just followed the script.

She thought that if she acted this way, it wouldn't be her true feelings, and she wouldn't be this miserable.

But the truth proved that she was no longer Han Rao, but Yue Yang, and this kind of heart-wrenching pain could still resonate.

Zhao Jichuan didn’t know she was still pondering the script in her heart; he only saw the purple hem of her dress fluttering in the wind, making the breeze seem especially enchanting.

The man looked at that petite figure, listening to the polite chatter surrounding the female lead, his eyes darkening.

This world is, after all, survival of the fittest and the strong prey on the weak; he understood this truth better than she did.

Seeing that she was being ignored, he still inexplicably felt an impulse to step forward, even if he did nothing, just getting closer to look at her would be enough.

The man lifted his foot instinctively.

At that moment, the director suddenly called out "Yue Yang,"

asking her to come over and review the previous take.

Han Rao woke up as if from a deep dream, wiped the remaining tears from her face, and leaned in front of the monitor.

Zhao Jichuan immediately stopped in his tracks and turned his head to ask Sun Hao, "How long do you think the shoot will take?"

Sun Hao: "I'll go ask."

Zhao Jichuan called after him, "Forget it, wait a moment."

Zhao Jichuan listened as the director explained the scene to Han Rao. He seemed so absorbed that the director took off the down jacket draped over Han Rao, grabbed her arm, and guided her movements.

Fortunately, Han Rao was quick to understand and soon grasped the director's meaning, then performed the scene simply once more.

The director was very satisfied, released her, and said they would do one more close-up take of the scene where Yue Yang goes offline, then it would be finished.

What the director didn’t say was that because Han Rao’s performance was so outstanding, he had spontaneously decided to add a close-up shot.

The moment Han Rao stood up and looked up, she saw Zhao Jichuan.

She was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at him for several seconds, as if trying to determine whether he was human or a ghost.

She absolutely refused to believe that he would come to the set for her.

Zhao Jichuan’s eyes were deep and dark as he stood motionless in place.

He wondered, had she cried herself silly? She didn’t even greet him.

Sun Hao was more proactive and waved at Han Rao from a distance.

Han Rao showed little emotion, gave a slight nod, and then turned around to continue filming.

Sun Hao: "…"

He looked at Zhao Jichuan, feeling that Miss Han had a downcast expression and seemed quite unwilling to engage with the two of them.

Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to say that out loud.

　　-

The makeup artist quickly touched up Han Rao’s makeup and tidied her hair.

With all departments ready, the director gave the order, and she began to act.

She slipped into the role quickly, or rather, she had never truly stepped out of character.

This scene was filmed quickly.

After the shoot, Han Rao seemed to have something on her mind and didn’t get lost in the character like before.

She put her down jacket back on and took out her phone from her pocket.

Suddenly, the phone vibrated once.

Zhao Jichuan lowered his eyes.

Han Rao: [I'm busy.]

Han Rao: [Can I come find you after work?]

Zhao Jichuan let out a light chuckle, looked up, and found that she was also looking at him.

She was wearing matcha green contact lenses today, and her pupils looked especially beautiful.

The man curled the corner of his lips and casually put his phone away.

Sometimes he really felt that he knew Han Rao too well; just one glance, and he could read the unspoken subtext.

On the surface, she said she was busy filming and had no time to pay attention to him. But in her heart, she wanted him to stay away from her and not expose their relationship in front of others.

Zhao Jichuan glanced at her sideways. It had been so long since they last met—did she really think he had become kind? Since when was he someone easy to talk to?

Under her gaze, the man lifted his long legs and strode over with big steps.

Han Rao's heart tightened. Was he deaf? Knowing full well that she didn’t want to see him, he still kept coming closer.

Zhao Jichuan calmly walked up to the director. The director didn’t recognize him from the photo; after all, he liked to remain a mysterious behind-the-scenes investor, and very few people had ever seen his true face.

Sun Hao briefly introduced Zhao Jichuan to the director, who gradually shook hands with him.

At this moment, Han Rao was very close to him and heard him say to the director, "You guys go ahead, I'll just take a casual look."

"Alright."

The director smiled and raised his hand to help Han Rao come over to watch the monitor playback.

Han Rao leaned in, the director and the screenwriter sitting there, and she stood slightly behind them, bending her waist a little.

Zhao Jichuan stood right behind her, just a step away.

Han Rao always felt a burning gaze on her. While listening to the director talk about the scene, she felt uneasy but didn’t dare to look back.

Until a sense of pressure came from behind.

At this moment, the female lead's team gathered around, diverting everyone's attention.

She asked the director if he wanted her to set up a scene with Han Rao beforehand to help her better embody the role, and also asked if she should film a close-up of herself, one that would highlight her own beauty.

Han Rao listened quietly, suddenly feeling very envious of the female lead, who could add scenes whenever she wanted and voice her opinions whenever she wished.

But just as her thought began to form, she felt that sense of oppression grow even stronger.

She glanced back, and Zhao Jichuan, without her noticing when, had come up close, standing right behind her.

Han Rao reflexively stepped back, anxiously stepping on her own skirt and nearly falling.

She glared at him, stood properly again, but felt the man's fingertips touching her wrist.

Gentle, dry, faint, tingling and itchy.

Han Rao’s scalp tingled, and she felt a sudden chill at the soles of her feet.

Zhao Jichuan was indeed quite perverse, playing this game of secret affairs with her.

How had she never noticed his perversion before? Or was it intentional? Was it because she hadn’t lowered her guard to coax him for such a long time?

Han Rao hadn't had time to think deeply and instinctively pulled her hand back.

Before it could even be lifted, it was caught by him.

The bulky down jacket and loose purple clothes formed a wall, blocking the view of their intertwined fingers.

This was the first time Zhao Jichuan held her hand. He tightly grasped her slightly cold little hand, sliding his fingertips between her fingers, then gently squeezed.

Han Rao felt her blood rush backward, struggling to stay calm.

They were damn well on a film set, surrounded by cameras everywhere. She definitely didn’t want to become infamous through gossip before gaining fame through her acting or roles.

Isn't this damn thing exactly like "dying before the mission is accomplished"

?

Han Rao tried hard to shake off his hand, but Zhao Jichuan gripped tighter and tighter, gradually transferring the warmth from his hand to hers. She could only feel the heat burning her, scorching her heart until it trembled.

The intermittent voices of the female lead and the director reached her ears, but Han Rao was unable to think.

She only felt time stretch endlessly, as if she were nailed to the spot, unable to move at all.

Han Rao restrained herself and turned her head away, lightly biting her lip, mouthing to the cruel man: "Please."

Please don't make things difficult for me anymore.

She frowned, the decoration on her head gently swaying, looking so pitiful!

Possessiveness stirred within him. Zhao Jichuan really wanted to touch her little face, grab her neck, and forcefully kiss her. He wanted to ask her how she managed to go two months without contacting him.

But he did nothing, only feeling the sweat seeping from their clasped palms, mostly hers.

She was highly nervous and prone to sweating easily.

Han Rao pressed her lips together, showing weakness proactively, and mouthed, "Please stop bullying me."

Finally, the man, magnanimous, slowly released his grip.

Regaining her freedom, Han Rao immediately stepped away from him.

Sun Hao found it amusing to see how Han Rao avoided Zhao Jichuan as if he were the plague.

Miss Han's fearless spirit completely vanished, and in front of President Zhao, she was like a little white rabbit.

From Sun Hao's perspective, he also didn't see Han Rao and Zhao Jichuan's tightly clasped hands.

If he saw it, he would definitely sympathize with Han Rao and secretly curse his own boss in his heart for being a pervert, bullying someone to such an extent.

Han Rao had just escaped from the tiger's mouth when the lead actress also finished discussing with the director. As a result, they insisted on adding a close-up shot for the lead actress, but Han Rao had to act off-camera to support her.

Han Rao had no complaints and diligently cooperated to finish the performance of this scene.

This scene ended, and in fact, she was done for the day.

The director wanted to make the most of the snowy scene, so he arranged scenes for other characters.

Usually, whether she had a role or not, Han Rao quite enjoyed hanging around the film crew.

Watching others perform and listening to the director discuss the play, she gained much more than when she usually reviewed scenes on her own.

But today, she willingly gave up on that thought.

Zhao Jichuan was still waiting for her; she had to find the time and energy to deal with him.

Han Rao held the script, glanced at Zhao Jichuan, and took out her phone to tell him,

She needed to go back to the dressing room to remove her makeup first; it wouldn't take long. If he had nothing urgent to do, he could wait for her.

She thought his thinking was quite normal; since he had the leisure to stay on the set for so long, didn’t that mean he had the time?

Since there was time and they had already waited so long, a little while for her to remove her makeup certainly wouldn’t make a difference.

As a result, the man received the WeChat message, sent her the hotel address and room number, and then turned and left.

Han Rao: "…"

When a person is speechless, they are truly speechless.

After removing her makeup and packing her things, Han Rao took a taxi to the hotel that Zhao Jichuan had mentioned.

That hotel was quite far from the film and television base. By the time she arrived, the snow had already stopped, and her stomach was growling with hunger.

It was already 1:30 in the afternoon, and she still hadn't eaten lunch, so she spent a little over ten yuan by the roadside to buy a one-and-a-half-pound roasted honey sweet potato.

She carried her lunch, took the elevator upstairs, found the room according to the door number Zhao Jichuan gave her, and then gently knocked on the door.

After a short while, the man opened the door from inside.

He had just finished showering, wrapped in a bathrobe, his hair still wet. Water droplets trickled down his smooth jawline onto his neck, then slowly continued downward, disappearing onto his abs.

Han Rao withdrew her gaze, intending to formally greet him. She was debating whether to say "hello"

or "long time no see"

when she was suddenly pulled in by the waist.

Zhao Jichuan pinned her against the door panel, just as he had imagined on the set, his hand covering her neck, applying slight pressure. He could feel her pulse beating.

He lowered his eyes to carefully examine her small face without makeup—clean, clear, lacking the battle-worn look from the set that once stirred a destructive desire.

The two were very close, he was almost completely pressed against her.

Han Rao could feel his breath and also the warmth on her neck.

She casually threw what was in her hand onto the ground, then wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against his chest.

At this moment, she was like a completely different person from the Han Rao on set who pretended not to know him.

Her eyes were as seductive as silk, sparkling with delight and filled with love, as if she was genuinely happy he had come to Hengdian to see her.

Zhao Jichuan was somewhat dazed, wondering if her acting skills had improved again, and if her mastery of being a person had also advanced.

She actually didn’t stiffen her neck to argue with him about why he treated her that way on set.

He had actually already thought of what to say; he was just afraid she was cold and wanted to warm her hands for her.

Han Rao saw his hesitation and curiosity, and could anticipate his questioning and entanglement, so she decided to strike first.

She tilted her head back, raising an eyebrow, and asked him with deep affection, "Zhao Jichuan, it's been a long time. Do you miss me?"