Bai Yin had been in a daze and felt very uncomfortable.
Chen Huaixiao held her, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.
"Chen Huaixiao, I feel dizzy," Bai Yin said.
"I know," he replied.
His fingertips gently massaged her head, relieving the pressure in her skull.
When Bai Yin was little, the house she lived in was very damp. She later developed rhinitis. If she caught a cold, the pressure in her brain would easily rise, causing her to feel dizzy.
Later, Bai Yin insisted on morning exercises every day. After her resistance improved, her rhinitis rarely flared up.
But if she was too tired from work during the day and lacked sleep, the pressure in her brain would rise, still causing dizziness.
It was only in recent years that she had strengthened her body, but the roots of illness caused by poor conditions in her childhood could not be completely cured. She could only nurse herself little by little.
"Were you up all night?"
"No."
"No?"
Bai Yin looked into Chen Huaixiao's pitch-black piercing eyes and knew she could hide nothing from him. Hesitantly, she reluctantly murmured in agreement.
"Because I had to meet the deadline, I had to finish shooting the campus scenes before the students went back to school, so..."
"No need to explain, I don't want to hear the reasons," Chen Huaixiao said coldly as he put the cup of warm water on the bedside table. "Starting tomorrow, go home on time every night."
"You know that's impossible. The second female lead has a lot of nightclub scenes."
Chen Huaixiao took out his phone. "You also know I only need to say one sentence to have this project shut down."
Bai Yin quickly snatched his phone and hid it under her body. Her hoarse yet rude voice said, "Since when does my plastic husband care so much about me!"
"Because your work is affecting my life."
"Funny. I do my thing, how does it affect you?"
Chen Huaixiao let her rest her head on his legs. His slender fingers fiddled with the strap on her shoulder. His voice was sexy and low. "It affects the quality of our married life."
"... "
Bai Yin's mind was muddled. She didn't want to argue with him anymore.
Chen Huaixiao brought over a cup and fed her some warm water.
Bai Yin felt dizzy and nauseous after drinking it. She gagged and threw up all over Chen Huaixiao's pants.
He immediately gently patted her back, then took some tissues to wipe her mouth.
Bai Yin knew he was a very clean man, even fastidious. Looking at the wet spot on his leg, she said softly, "I'm sorry."
But Chen Huaixiao didn't care about her apology at all. Still holding his phone, he paced back and forth and called his private doctor in a sexy, low voice: "I'll give you one minute to get over here, or you're fired!"
After hanging up, his face clearly showed anger.
Seeing his cold, stern figure, Bai Yin didn't even dare speak.
An angry Chen Huaixiao was indeed very frightening. No wonder the company employees were extremely careful around him.
After fifteen minutes, the private doctor rushed over, out of breath.
Chen Huaixiao draped his suit jacket over Bai Yin and had the doctor examine her.
"It's just a common cold, Chairman Chen. Don't worry. I'll prescribe some medicine for Madam. After sleeping for a while and sweating it out, she'll be fine by tomorrow."
"She just threw up. It's never been so serious before."
"Madam has rhinitis. Rhinitis can cause dizziness and vomiting," the doctor explained. "The dizziness is from lack of rest. Getting caught in the rain made it worse. She just needs good rest. There's nothing seriously wrong."
After speaking, he wrote a prescription and explained the timing and dosage to Chen Huaixiao.
After the doctor left, Chen Huaixiao separated the pills from the different medicine packets according to the prescription. He placed them in his palm and fed them to Bai Yin.
The little wife licked the capsules from his palm like a puppy and swallowed them down with a few big gulps of warm water.
The usually calm Chen Huaixiao couldn't hide his impatience and anger. "Is this drama so important to you?"
"Very important."
"Because the male lead is Qiao Yan Shi?"
Bai Yin was startled. She didn't expect Chen Huaixiao to say that.
It turned out all the prickly provocation tonight was because of this.
"This has nothing to do with Qiao Yan Shi. Where did you get that idea?"
She was afraid Chen Huaixiao's jealousy, more corrosive than sulfuric acid, would splash onto Qiao Yan Shi.
Even a tiny bit would be too much for him to bear.
She patiently explained, "I just like this role."
Chen Huaixiao clearly didn't believe her words, thinking she was just making excuses. "You're telling me you like playing a vicious villain who gets cursed out? Why would you like that?"
Bai Yin gritted her teeth and said heavily, "What's wrong with a vicious villain? Isn't that how you see me in your heart?"
"Do you know how I see you in my heart?" Chen Huaixiao pulled her close to himself, his voice icy cold. "You know nothing."
"You protect me. I act as a substitute for your first love, so you can... relive her old dreams with me." Bai Yin gave a cold laugh. "Chen Huaixiao, business requires honesty. I've done my best to cater to and please you. Whenever you want me, I don't refuse. Can't you also show some sincerity and stop blocking my path?"
These words thoroughly enraged Chen Huaixiao.
She could clearly feel his hand holding her...trembling.
It was quite aggravating.
Watching Chen Huaixiao's retreating back as he slammed the door, Bai Yin knew those words were indeed aggravating.
She had never seen Chen Huaixiao so angry before.
Tearing apart the most cruel essence of this marriage was like tearing off that beautiful, splendid wedding gown, exposing the most tattered, shabby slip underneath.
All the warmth and pampering were fake.
Bai Yin lay in bed for a while. Her mind was filled with thousands of thoughts, and she felt even more dizzy and uncomfortable.
Chen Huaixiao was really angry.
With just a few words, she had angered this man who faced Mt. Tai collapsing in front of him without blinking an eye.
...
Chen Huaixiao returned to his room and sat alone in the dark for a long time before finally calming down.
The thread had sunk deeply into his heart, trussing it up and causing it to bleed.
He had never felt this way before—
Longing with no way to obtain it, living worse than death.
Chen Huaixiao closed his eyes and ordered himself to calm down, to not let her control him anymore.
Since she was so ungrateful, he vowed to never care about her again. He would let her stay up late and get sick on set however she wanted. He wouldn't ask her a single question.
Just then, Chen Huaixiao's phone suddenly dinged.
He had set it to Do Not Disturb mode. Except for Bai Yin's messages, no one else's messages would make a sound.
Chen Huaixiao hurriedly sat up and picked up his phone from the bedside table.
Little Bun: "I think the central air conditioning in my room is broken. Can you come take a look?"
Chen Huaixiao: ...
None of his damn business.
He lay back down and closed his eyes to sleep.
However, one minute later, Chen Huaixiao angrily strode out of the room.
...
Indeed, the air conditioning in her room was broken. Hot air wouldn't blow out, only cold air.
Chen Huaixiao fiddled with the control panel on the wall for a while. "Can't use it tonight," he said.
"Then what do we do?"
Bai Yin sat on the bed, half covered by the blanket. She squinted her eyes, lazy and lethargic, extremely sleepy.
"Apologize for what happened earlier, and I'll carry you to my room."
"Bye." Bai Yin lay back down, resolutely refusing to apologize.
Chen Huaixiao knew she was stubborn by nature. She only wanted others to apologize to her. She never apologized for her own words.
He stood in the darkness for a while before finally walking over, slipping under her blanket, and hugging her entirely from behind, using himself as a human heater.
"Go away. Annoying."
"Sleep."
"I'll kick you."
"Then kick."
She did indeed lift her leg to kick his legs.
Chen Huaixiao didn't budge an inch. Instead, he hugged her even tighter.
"Get out."
"This is my home. No one can tell me to get out."
Bai Yin was extremely sleepy. She had no energy to haggle with him.
Chen Huaixiao's body was indeed scorching hot like iron. Curled up in his embrace, nothing in this world, no biting frost or piercing sword, could approach her.
Bai Yin slept in a daze. She instinctively inched closer to the warmth.
Chen Huaixiao held her tight, so tight he trembled...as if trying to press her into his own body.
Holding her in his arms, Chen Huaixiao felt his heart melting.
No matter how much it hurt, it could never hurt enough.
He knew that everything she was doing now was for self-interest.
The one who had fallen...was him.
Willingly being used, losing everything completely and thoroughly.
*
The next day when Bai Yin woke up, she felt much better.
Last night, nestled in Chen Huaixiao's embrace, relying on his scorching body temperature, Bai Yin slept without dreams, unprecedentedly sound.
She turned her head. The space beside her was empty. Chen Huaixiao had already left, but the sheets still held his warmth.
She rolled over to his side of the bed, burying her face in the bedding and breathing deeply.
That was the scent that gave her a sense of security even in her dreams.
She no longer needed love, but craved that sense of security she had lacked since childhood.
A few capsules were on the bedside table. Bai Yin took them with warm water and her illness completely cleared up.
She had been worried Chen Huaixiao would sabotage the crew of "Next Station, Wait for You." But finding everything fine a few days later, she knew Chen Huaixiao was just scaring her that night.
Qiao Yan Shi's endorsement shoots went on as planned. His idol variety shows weren't affected either. None of his resources had decreased.
Chen Huaixiao never took out his anger on anyone else.
Bai Yin felt relieved, but to take care of her health, she didn't dare stay up late shooting anymore either. She went home early every night. Occasionally when she worked overtime, she would text Chen Huaixiao to inform him.
He didn't reply to any of these texts.
No reply meant acquiescence. Bai Yin hoped for this man to stop minding her business.
As filming entered the final stage, the actors were given three days off. When they returned, they would start shooting the wrap scenes.
After leaving campus, Bai Yin texted Chen Huaixiao:
"I'm off this afternoon."
She thought as usual Chen Huaixiao wouldn't reply, but unexpectedly, her phone buzzed a few seconds later. Chen Huaixiao was calling her.
"Come to the company."
"Come to the company to do what? I'm going home to rest." Bai Yin hailed a taxi on the street and got in.
Chen Huaixiao said, "Someone once said business requires honesty. Whenever I need you, you won't refuse."
"... "
Bai Yin rolled her eyes and told the taxi driver, "Go to Shining Star Media."
*
Half an hour later, Bai Yin took the elevator up to the top floor office.
In the hallway, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she saw the man sitting at the head of the long conference table.
His black suit was impeccable. His shirt collar constrained his fair, slender neck. His casually reclining posture seemed nonchalant, but his artistic, beautifully slender fingers held a document he was reviewing.
The other executives in suits sitting beside him had solemn, dignified expressions, afraid of making the slightest mistake and displeasing the CEO.
Chen Huaixiao looked over the document unhurriedly. His tranquil eyes lazily raised and just happened to meet Bai Yin outside the window.
Bai Yin wore a denim suspender skirt and white sneakers. Her hair was in a ponytail. She looked youthful and pretty.
She huffed on the foggy window and wrote three characters—
"You're a dog."
The corners of Chen Huaixiao's mouth faintly turned up. His brow and eyes couldn't hide the welling laughter.
Seeing the CEO's inexplicable smile, the others looked back in shock and saw the three clear characters through the fog on the glass.
Bai Yin had long since fled far away.
...
Half an hour later, Chen Huaixiao returned to the living room. Bai Yin was sprawled in his office chair, looking over the final script for the wrap party, silently memorizing her lines.
Chen Huaixiao walked over and casually picked up a hard candy from the coffee table, unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth. "Try this, I brought it back for you from Seoul."
"I'm going to make a decisive battle in the entertainment industry, so I'm controlling my sugar intake." Bai Yin deliberately avoided looking at the colorful candy bowl, suppressing the gluttony in her heart. "I quit sweets long ago."
Chen Huaixiao noticed the yearning in his young aunt's eyes. He walked up to her, gripped her chin, and kissed her.
"Mmm..." Before Bai Yin could react, the orange-flavored hard candy had already been transferred into her mouth.
The warmth of the hard candy bloomed into a subtly sour sweetness on her tongue. Before Bai Yin could properly taste it, Chen Huaixiao's nimble tongue had already snatched it back.
Enjoying yourself?
Not one to back down, Bai Yin took the initiative to attack him, wresting the candy from his tongue.
The two tangled for over ten minutes, passing the candy back and forth, until it had completely melted away in their passionate kiss.
With the lingering sour-sweet taste still on their tongues, Chen Huaixiao's eyes darkened as he noticed Bai Yin's soft pink lips had become slightly swollen.
Just as he was about to further invade her, a knock sounded at the door. Shen Bin's voice came from outside, "Mr. Chen, there are a few contracts that need your review and signature."
Chen Huaixiao tidied his collar and finally released Bai Yin, sitting down at his desk. "Come in."
Shen Bin entered while Bai Yin went to sit on the sofa, continuing to go over her script.
"You'll also need to review this proposal for next year's variety shows."
Chen Huaixiao swiftly signed the documents and said indifferently, "Why are most of the variety shows focused on romance?"
"Well... relationship-themed shows are really popular lately," Shen Bin said nervously. "Viewers like watching them."
"When one type of show becomes a big hit, there's always a bunch of copycats. After the second and third versions, viewers get bored and it damages the artists' reputation too," Chen Huaixiao bluntly discarded the proposal. "You've followed me long enough, how can you still not understand this?"
Seeing Chen Huaixiao's darkened expression, Shen Bin broke out in a cold sweat and quickly responded, "I...I'll have the team revise it right away to reduce the proportion of romantic shows!"
After speaking, he wiped his brow and left the room.
Bai Yin grabbed a candy and tossed it to him with a smile, mouthing "Don't worry, it's okay."
He smiled back and silently mouthed, "Thank you, dear."
Chen Huaixiao glanced up at her.
She was gentler to his subordinates than she was to him.
