Jiang Ruan shook her head: "It's nothing."
She lowered her eyes, staring at the man's long, slender, and bony hands, which were as beautiful as a hand model's from the entertainment industry.
In the past, these hands had strategized, decided the fate of enterprises, handling billion-dollar projects with ease.
Now, they were carefully applying a plaster for her.
From this angle, the man's eyebrows and eyes were cold and sharp, with a tight jawline that flowed smoothly, his features were exquisite, as if favored by God.
Rumor had it in Beijing that Bao Group's CEO, Bao Ye's looks could outshine the entire entertainment circle, and it was not just hearsay.
Jiang Ruan pressed her red lips together, suppressing the unrest within her.
"Avoid touching the injury these days." Bao Ye threw the trash into the bin, stood up, and looked down at her, speaking in a deep voice, "Stop filming for a few days. Wait until you have healed."
"I'll take care of things with the crew."
"No." Jiang Ruan refused without thinking, frowning, "It's just a minor injury, I can't delay the crew's schedule."
Seeing the man's face darken.
Jiang Ruan softened her tone, speaking gently: "It's really nothing, it's just my skin is too tender, so it looks serious. At most, I'll film sitting scenes these days, and since it's a costume drama, no leg exposure."
"Besides, the sooner I finish filming, the sooner I can be free to accompany you back in Beijing."
Hearing this, Bao Ye's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed. He put one hand in his pocket and glanced at her knee with his dark eyes.
The brown plaster contrasted sharply against her snow-white legs, like baby skin.
With a light tone: "As you wish."
At that moment, the doorbell rang again.
Bao Ye cast a cold glance at it, and Jiang Ruan stood up: "It should be Sister Qin sending the medicine, why don't you go inside for now?"
Bao Ye: "..."
He became someone who couldn't be seen.
After finally coaxing him into the bedroom, Jiang Ruan checked herself in the mirror to make sure everything was okay before going to open the door.
As she opened the door, Sister Qin walked in with the medicine.
Jiang Ruan didn't even have time to stop her.
"Baby, I got the medicine. It's a plaster, the doctor said it's very effective for bruises. Just apply it for a few days, and you'll be fine."
Jiang Ruan's heart leapt to her throat as she glanced nonchalantly towards the bedroom, smiling, "Okay, thank you, Sister Qin."
Sister Qin took out the plaster.
"Sit down, I'll help you apply it."
Jiang Ruan pulled at the corners of her mouth, coughing slightly, and had to tell the truth: "Sister Qin, I already applied it."
Sister Qin: "Huh?"
"Bai Yi sent it over." Jiang Ruan said, "He had the plaster, maybe he saw how often I kneel down and brought it for me."
She spoke tactfully.
Upon hearing this, Sister Qin was overjoyed: "My God, Bai Yi personally sent you medicine?"
"Tsk tsk, that shows he has a good impression of you. You know, Bai Yi is the movie emperor, with his status, he has never wanted to get close to female stars, never heard of him sending medicine to anyone."
"Who would have thought he'd send medicine to you?"
"Baby, this is a good thing!"
Sister Qin was overjoyed.
Her voice grew considerably louder.
Jiang Ruan listened, her heartbeat almost reaching her throat. She felt both amused and helpless, wanting to beg her to stop talking.
Jiang Ruan glanced nervously at the bedroom.
She raised her voice: "Sister Qin, don't say that. It's just medicine."
Sister Qin: "But that's still a good thing. I was thinking about how to create some CP rumors between you and Bai Yi, maybe get you both on a variety show or something. It could boost the drama's popularity, though I was worried Bai Yi wouldn't agree."
"Now, it seems there's hope. As long as Bai Yi has a good impression of you, it would just take a little cooperation from you both."
"After all, there's a kiss scene between you two in the drama..."
At this moment, a noise came from the bedroom.
"Bang!"
It sounded like a vase breaking.
Jiang Ruan was startled, turning sharply, her heart nearly stopping.
Sister Qin also looked over: "What's that noise?"
"Seemed like something broke?"
Sister Qin asked in surprise: "Is someone in your bedroom?"
Facing the doubtful gaze, Jiang Ruan quickly explained: "No, no, I just opened the window, it must have been the wind knocking over the vase on the windowsill."
Sister Qin retracted her suspicion: "I see, then let me help you clean up."
Saying this, she moved towards the bedroom.
Jiang Ruan hurriedly blocked her way, grabbing Sister Qin's wrist with a smile: "No need, Sister Qin. I'll take care of it myself later."
"You've been busy all day, go get some rest."
Sister Qin: "It's fine, let me do it."
"You're injured after all."
Jiang Ruan felt like crying.
She had to summon her courage: "Sister Qin, my underwear and stuff are all over the bed, I'm shy. Don't go in, I'll clean up myself later."
Seeing her persistence, Sister Qin had to concede: "Alright then."
She asked Jiang Ruan: "Is there really no one in the bedroom?"
Jiang Ruan was the artist she had the highest hopes for, the one she had invested the most in.
She hadn't dated in these years.
Entirely focused on her career.
Sister Qin was quite confident in her.
"Really no one, why would I lie to you, Sister Qin?" Jiang Ruan replied guiltily.
"That's good."
Sister Qin said earnestly: "Baby, you're at the peak of your career now. You absolutely cannot let emotions get in the way, or it will ruin your future."
Jiang Ruan's scalp tingled, she could only reply with a straight face: "Rest assured, Sister Qin, I know what's important."
"Good."
Sister Qin sighed: "Then I'll head back first, you should rest too."
Jiang Ruan: "Mm-hmm."
Finally, she saw her out.
After closing the hotel door, Jiang Ruan turned around and closed her eyes with relief, finally releasing a held breath. Her heart settled back in her chest.
But before she could truly relax, she felt like dying.
Jiang Ruan wanted to cry.
Sister Qin had spoken so loudly, surely the person inside heard it all.
Everyone knew Bao Ye had a particularly strong sense of possessiveness.
He not only forbade her from filming kiss scenes, but also disallowed intimate interactions with other male stars.
Once, she didn't listen and filmed a kiss scene.
But it wasn't real, just a camera trick.
Yet somehow, Bao Ye found out.
At the time, his expression was extremely dark.
It was the first time Jiang Ruan saw him angry.
Like an angry god of death, terrifying.
What made her want to cry more was.
She apologized until her voice was hoarse, cried until she couldn't speak.
Yet it was like he didn't hear at all.
Unrelenting.
She almost died on that bed.
She didn't leave the castle bedroom for three whole days.
It could be imagined how harsh Bao Ye was.
Later, it took her more than half a month to recover.
Even thinking about it now, Jiang Ruan's skin crawled.
And now, history seemed to be repeating.
Bao Ye heard about her kiss scene with Bai Yi.
Jiang Ruan covered her face, standing still, wondering if she could still escape.
She was so enveloped in her sadness.
She didn't notice at all.
A man in a purple shirt, with every fingernail trimmed perfectly, was walking over in black slippers.
Suddenly, above her head, a man's voice sounded dangerous and cold, the tone casual, indifferent.
Yet it seemed to instantly cast her into hell.
"Filming a kiss scene with Bai Yi, huh?"