**Chapter 66: Soul Resonance**

After being dragged by He Lingji for a week of filming under the scorching sun in a helicopter for his “blockbuster shoots,” Qin Mang went from voicing her resistance to complete despair.

Originally, she was the one clinging to He Lingji.

Now, she couldn’t wait to start filming—just to get away from this terrifying man!

However, before joining the crew, Qin Mang indeed stopped fearing facing the blazing sun alone.

And she no longer feared fire.

Not because of that week of “training”—

But because—

She saw for the first time the burn scar on He Lingji’s ankle.

The day He Lingji completely removed his bandages happened to be a blazing hot noon.

The transparent floor-to-ceiling window separated two worlds.

Only the endlessly pouring sunlight bridged them, becoming the essential connection.

Qin Mang personally removed the bandages.

This was something He Lingji had promised her—as long as she didn’t try to sneak a peek during recovery.

Known for being rebellious and unruly, Qin Mang was unusually obedient this time. She resisted the urge to secretly peek at night.

Under the bright, clear sunlight—

The burn marks were still red and clearly visible, trailing from his exquisitely pale ankle up to the side of his calf, like fire crawling upward.

Or like an immaculate glacier, scorched with a fiery crack by the blazing sun.

A beautiful person, even bearing such scars, looked as if they were adorned with intricate carvings on a priceless piece of art.

Qin Mang pressed her red lips together, eyes fixed on the fire-like scar.

From He Lingji’s angle, all he could see were her long, lowered lashes—like a dead leaf butterfly resting there, quiet and tinged with sorrow.

He chuckled lightly, “Scared?”

“He Lingji.”

Qin Mang didn’t answer. Instead, she called his name, her fingertips trembling as they hovered over the flame-like scar, as if afraid to hurt him. “I’m not scared anymore.”

The fire and light were all on him.

What was there to be afraid of?

Under He Lingji’s gaze, the girl suddenly bent down.

Her slightly warm red lips gently touched the tip of the fire-shaped scar on the side of his leg.

The moment she made contact—

He Lingji effortlessly lifted her up.

His lips, usually cool and indifferent, now seemed to burn as they captured her deeply.

It wasn’t their first kiss.

But for Qin Mang, it was the first time she felt a soul resonance—like the all-consuming wildfire in her dreams had ignited between their lips, burning all the way to her heart, too intense to ignore.

Qin Mang suddenly felt a strong impulse—

To take him to meet someone.

But the impulse faded quickly—not because of He Lingji, but because of—

Her weekly phone call with her little uncle.

When Qin Yan heard that Qin Mang was planning to take He Lingji to the cemetery to visit Guan Yueyan, the image of his older brother immediately flashed in his mind—how he cradled that ornate wooden box even during his first trip down the mountain in years.

Utter speechlessness.

He thought about how Qin Mang was an adult now—not a little girl anymore—and even wanted to introduce her husband to her mom.

But still—

“What’s there to see? It’s just an empty grave.”

“What?!”

Qin Mang’s pupils shrank abruptly in shock. She almost flung her phone.

“How’s that possible?!”

Qin Yan, calm and unimpressed, replied, “Her ashes are with your dad.”

“He carries them everywhere.”

Qin Mang’s heart had just been trembling, imagining all sorts of dramatic scenarios.

Like maybe her mom hadn’t really died, but had faked her death to escape her controlling husband.

But reality turned out to be even more absurd than her wild imagination.

Qin Mang: “…”

She was silent for a long time.

And strangely, her mood gradually calmed.

Having lived through her father’s manic, suicidal phase, she wasn’t surprised by anything he did anymore.

After a long pause, she muttered, “He’s a psycho, isn’t he?”

Qin Yan: “Yep. He’s a psycho.”

For once, the uncle and niece were in full agreement.

They calmly said “goodbye” and hung up in perfect sync.

Both probably needed some space to digest the fact that there was a psycho in the family.

She vowed never to call He Lingji a psycho again.

Her own genes were even more twisted.

What if she turned out to be a little psycho herself?

She had no right to judge others.

Qin Mang didn’t even realize that she had come to accept everything her father had done—calmly.

As for visiting her mother—

She postponed it.

Because she still couldn’t face Qin Han.

Filming for *Depression Patients* wasn’t finished yet. One timid actress—cast for a special role—hadn’t even joined the crew before being scared off. Somehow, she heard a creepy story about the filming location and refused to come, claiming the place was haunted.

The tale was strangely detailed.

They even mentioned how the fire happened *exactly* when Qin Mang was filming her rooftop jump scene, as if timed by fate, and how she almost got trapped.

The actress boldly requested to break her contract.

And walked off the film.

The director was nearly driven to a stroke.

Thankfully, she hadn’t started filming yet.

During the crew’s break, the director stayed busy with more auditions.

But after the “haunted set” rumor spread, only a handful of oddballs showed up to audition—none with screen-worthy looks or skills.

Previously, *Depression Patients* had actors scrambling for auditions.

The director had strict standards and preferred no one over someone bad.

He was about to cut the role altogether—

When, unexpectedly—

Qi Rong’s agent reached out to request the part.

There was nothing to “request.” The director immediately agreed, terrified she’d change her mind.

They had only communicated via WeChat recently and hadn’t met face-to-face.

Qi Rong’s studio had initially opposed her joining the film. After all, people in the entertainment world were superstitious. But Qi Rong insisted—saying the director might reward her kindness by casting her as a future lead.

And surprisingly, she convinced them.

Qi Rong’s baby-face made it hard to land lead roles unless directors tailored them for her.

But realistically—

Given her current status, that kind of opportunity might be at least ten years off.

So—

On Qin Mang’s first day back on set, she saw Qi Rong.

This filming arc wasn’t long.

Only about a week.

Luckily, most scenes at the psychiatric hospital were already done. Only a few close-up shots remained, which could be done with set decorations.

The other scenes were set in downtown Kun City.

Qi Rong had visited the fire scene, now reduced to rubble. Still shaken, she said, “You’re seriously lucky to be alive.”

“Seriously,”

Qin Mang nodded.

At the time, she had almost given up.

But He Lingji didn’t give up on her.

Recalling the ghost rumors—

Now that Qin Mang was perfectly fine, Qi Rong marveled again: “Thank goodness your man has strong yang energy.”

“Kept them all at bay!”

Qin Mang, remembering her own “little furnace” body constitution, muttered stubbornly, “My yang energy is even stronger.”

But her red lips stayed curled in a smile—especially whenever He Lingji was mentioned.

Qi Rong, a veteran in such matters, understood at once. “You’ve got that springtime glow. Did you really give yourself to him? The kind of ‘give’ that ends in marriage?”

Qin Mang neither nodded nor shook her head. Instead, she asked, “If someone risked their life to save you, would you marry him?”

Qi Rong replied without hesitation: “Of course!”

“These days, where do you find a man like that? Who needs a damn bike when you’ve got a car like him?”

Qin Mang said cryptically, “You’d have to give up your fish pond.”

Qi Rong blinked, then whispered very softly, “I don’t care about the other fish… but I’m not tired of the blackfish yet.”

Blackfish?

Qin Mang didn’t catch on right away.

“You mean Wu Yuan?”

“You two still seeing each other?”

Qi Rong looked conflicted. “Sigh… He wants to marry me.”

That really surprised Qin Mang. Not only had they not broken up—they were more tangled than ever, even talking about marriage.

“I thought you always wanted to marry into a rich family. If he wants to marry you, isn’t that perfect?”

Qi Rong covered her mouth and whispered, “But his family said that if I want to marry in, I have to quit the entertainment industry. I don’t want to quit. I want to act.”

So for now, things were at a standstill.

The key issue was that with a family like the Wu family, they could easily dig into all of Qi Rong’s background—how many boyfriends she had, how many hookups she’d had.

Qi Rong had thick skin and wasn’t ashamed.

Romantic and sexual relationships are normal. Wu Yuan had plenty of female companions in the past too. No one should judge anyone.

The Wu family’s parents had watched Qin Mang grow up and treated her very well, so she couldn’t bring herself to say they were being unreasonable. After all, elders had their own concerns—this was the way the upper class survived.

Still, she felt lucky that she had married into a family like the He family.

They respected all her freedoms.

Not only did they give her freedom in her career, but even something as important to wealthy families as producing heirs—they gave her freedom there too.

They never pressured her to have children.

On one hand was career, on the other was love. Qin Mang couldn’t make that decision for Qi Rong.

But looking at how carefree and cheerful she was, she didn’t really seem… emotionally attached?

She seemed more attached to Wu Yuan’s body.

The director, worried about unforeseen delays, had been rushing the shoot ever since they resumed.

They had to finish everything, with both quality and quantity, within a week.

Originally, the director was waiting for Qin Mang to resume her perfectionist tendencies—to insist on retakes even for minor flaws that wouldn’t affect the overall film quality.

But since her return, Qin Mang had gone back to the zen-like attitude she had at the start.

She just followed whatever the director said.

At first, the director still habitually asked her, “Teacher Qin, is this take okay?”

Given they had just gone through a fire, the director felt the need to check in on her mental state and be more considerate.

But Qin Mang, whose mental health was perfectly fine, was about to go insane from being asked so much: “Why don’t you act, and I’ll be the director?”

Director: “?”

What the hell?

Why was he like this?

Wasn’t it because this little troublemaker had driven him crazy before?

Soon enough, the director got his chance for revenge.

The day before Qin Mang wrapped filming—

A low-key gray Volkswagen drove into downtown Kun City without drawing much attention.

Inside, however, the car had been refitted for maximum comfort.

Even though it might only be used for a day or two.

Cong Zhen thought about how He Lengji had postponed two days’ worth of schedule just to pick up his wife after she wrapped.

He couldn’t help but glance in the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of his boss’s flawless side profile.

He Lengji’s gaze passed over a claw machine on the roadside.

Probably because Qin Mang had visited before, unlike the previously empty area, now there was a crowd around the machine.

Cong Zhen noticed it too and explained, “Since Madam came to try it and failed completely, a bunch of claw machine experts came to challenge it. The owner even adjusted the claw strength.”

“It’s probably harder to win now.”

“Otherwise, there’d be even more people.”

He Lengji hadn’t forgotten the promise he made to Qin Mang while she was lying in the hospital bed.

Coming to Kun City to pick her up was part of keeping that promise.

He didn’t want his wife to be disappointed.

Half an hour later.

Qin Mang had just finished filming for the day.

Just as she was about to leave, the director, sitting on his tall chair, suddenly shouted through a loudspeaker, “Qin Mang! Your man’s here! Go pick him up yourself!”

Everyone on set turned to look.

Even someone as socially fearless as Qin Mang couldn’t handle being called out like that with a loudspeaker!

Her pretty face stiffened as she walked step by step toward the entrance, under the gaze of envious, shocked, and amused eyes—to meet her man.

It was near dusk.

Kun City had beautiful surroundings, and the sunset was stunning.

On the seemingly narrow and old street, if you looked up, you could see the sky painted in vibrant colors like spilled oil paints, burning from the horizon all the way down to a tall, slender figure.

He wasn’t wearing anything fancy—just a simple black T-shirt and pants—clean and fresh.

He held a box of lychees in his elegant fingers, and it looked slightly chilled.

Exactly the way Qin Mang liked them.

The awkwardness and stiffness she’d felt—

Vanished the moment she saw him.

Qin Mang sped up for a few steps and then suddenly ran toward him.

He Lengji seemed to hear something, raised his eyes slightly and looked over. The corners of his lips lifted gently as he reached out to catch—

His sun.

He instinctively picked her up and spun her around a few times to absorb the impact.

Qin Mang’s eyes curved with happiness. She didn’t care about all the stares and gave him a kiss on the cheek in public, landing softly on her feet. “That’s a reward from your fairy.”

Before He Lengji could respond—

A familiar female voice rang out:

“What the hell?”

“That’s your man?”

Qin Mang looked up and saw Qi Rong in the distance, sipping milk tea through a straw.

She casually answered, but her fair, slender arms still wrapped around her man’s neck, refusing to let go—leaning on him like a little lioness marking her territory.

With affectionate eyes and a lazy, seductive voice, she said, “Mm, he’s mine. What about it?”

At this point, the entire crew already knew who He Lengji was.

But due to NDAs and the man’s own intimidating aura, no one dared risk their career to leak the info just for gossip.

They all wanted to stay in this industry.

So they pretended to be blind.

Only Qi Rong, who joined the crew mid-way, didn’t know.

Qi Rong bit her straw and took two big gulps of cold tea to calm herself, then clicked her tongue, “No wonder you didn’t share your connections with me back then!”

Who could bear to part with such a premium man?

Of course, he had to be kept to herself!

As soon as she said that—

Qin Mang wanted to cover her mouth.

As expected—

A cold voice sounded by her ear: “Oh? Share connections?”

“So Madam He has… those kinds of resources?”

He emphasized the word “resources” heavily.

Clearly, he understood the subtext of what Qi Rong had said!

Qin Mang’s eyelid twitched. Ignoring the nosy Qi Rong, she grabbed He Lengji’s wrist and walked away, “I’m done filming. You remember what you promised me, right?”

“They say it’s even harder to win from that claw machine now. Can you do it?”

“Wait—men aren’t supposed to say they can’t!”

“You’re the best, hubby!”

With her soft, coaxing voice, a little sugary and playful—

Their silhouettes gradually faded from sight.

He Lengji, seemingly generous, let it slide for now:

“Of course I can.”

“Madam He knows that best.”

Qin Mang: “…”

Were they even talking about the same kind of “can”?

But she had been caught, so she tactically surrendered.

As the sun set—

The claw machine five blocks away had only a few people left.

After all, as the “future Best Actress’s” man, He Lengji wasn’t ready for public exposure.

Qin Mang wrapped him up tightly, only revealing his elegant hands.

The kind you’d expect from someone who had played piano for years.

They stood together before the machine.

Inside, there was now a new little white lion plushie.

Its corners were upturned like a smile, just as cute as the last one, but buried under two other toys.

At first, Qin Mang was just trying to change the topic, but now she genuinely wanted it.

She looked up at He Lengji with puppy eyes: “I want it.”

He obediently inserted a coin: “Okay.”

Then Qin Mang witnessed what a real claw machine master looked like—someone who didn’t care if the claw was loose or tight.

Loose? There’s a method.

Tight? There’s a method.

One grab, one toy.

One grab, one toy.

Qin Mang, who had failed to grab even one plush after a thousand tries, finally experienced the joy of a successful claw machine run!

So it really was her fault all along!

She hugged the two plushies with one arm.

Looking up—

Even though the claw machine’s lights were colorful and cheap-looking, they still couldn’t dim the man’s refined beauty.

He Lengji was focused while grabbing the toy, his pale side profile calm and cold.

Qin Mang’s gaze drifted back to the machine—

Her little white lion was coming out!

Afraid of drawing attention, she just stomped adorably and clung to his shirt like a kitten, excited but restrained.

Suddenly—

Someone cried out, “Wow, that’s Qin Mang!”

“Who’s that next to her?”

“Her fanboy helping her with the claw machine?”

“…”

Just as the little white lion dropped out.

Qin Mang instinctively let go of He Lengji’s shirt.

He glanced down at her.

Then bent over to pick up the lion plush.

But the next second—

Qin Mang boldly reached out in front of the crowd and took the “fanboy’s” dangling hand—

And laced her fingers with his.