Chapter 401: Chapter 401 - 395: Even If You Drive Into the Sea

Jing Jihan: [I have an appointment with the doctor to go to the hospital for a follow-up tomorrow.]

More than a month passed, and when Shi Su received a WeChat message from Jing Jihan again, she was sitting in the makeup room on the set, her face painted with wounds, looking pitiful.

Her intentionally pale fingers touched the phone screen, lingering on Jing Jihan’s name without moving for a while.

After leaving his house that day, she didn’t go back. He hadn’t contacted her since then, only Hui occasionally called to update her on Jing Jihan’s injury recovery condition.

Hui was quite surprised back then to learn that Mr. Jing was still in contact with Shi Su, and was very anxious when she found out about Jing Jihan’s serious injury. However, due to Jing Jihan’s warning, she didn’t report anything back to Mr. Jing. She just made excuses to go to Kaixing Mansion under the pretext of buying groceries each day, busying herself for a while, without daring to ask too much.

In phone calls, Hui’s tone remained as kind and gentle as ever, not asking why Shi Su disappeared back then nor how she had been in the past two years. She was dutiful in reporting on Jing Jihan’s recovery, not saying a word more than needed.

A few days ago, knowing that Jing Jihan was recovering well, Shi Su felt relieved, with the heavy guilt and pressure eased considerably.

But whether he went for a follow-up or not, the fact that he mentioned it means he’s indeed recovering well. So why suddenly tell her?

After all, his injury was because of her. If he didn’t mention it, she could deceive herself into thinking it was over. But now she couldn’t avoid it. Her blood-stained finger gently tapped out a reply on the phone.

Shi Su: [Going for a follow-up so soon? It seems like you’re recovering fast. Hui’s care must have been thorough.]

Jing Jihan: [Won’t you accompany me for the follow-up?]

Shi Su: [?]

Shi Su: [You’re a grown man, just going for a check-up, not surgery. Why do you need someone to accompany you? Besides, Lu Zhao and Zhou He can drive. Why are you asking me to go?]

Jing Jihan: [Miss Shi Su, one should finish what one starts.]

Even across the screen, those few words silently conveyed the man’s rightful, lecturing tone.

Shi Su: [I have a lot of scenes to shoot tomorrow, where will I find the time?]

No matter how Shi Su expressed her discontent with this so-called "finish what one starts," Jing Jihan didn’t reply. She didn’t know if he was busy or just didn’t want to engage in a word game with her.

He had the demeanor of a high-and-mighty Mr. Jing. "I instruct you to come accompany me for a follow-up tomorrow," he seemed to command. No arguments, no excuses.

Not even giving her a chance to refuse.

The next scene was about to start; Shi Su handed her phone back to Chujiu while the scene was shooting for forty minutes. Afterward, when she picked up her phone again, there was still no reply from Jing Jihan.

She stared at those four words "finish what one starts," sitting in the makeup room, tapping the phone screen forcefully: [I really have to shoot tomorrow!]

Still no reply.

It was as if a few cold words were transmitted into her mind from a distance—"you figure it out yourself."

And stamped on her forehead seemed to be a mockingly charged phrase—"ungrateful."

Frustrated, Shi Su bared her teeth at the man in her WeChat who was ignoring her, deciding not to say more. She tossed the phone back to Chujiu, turning around to change costumes.

Shooting dragged into the evening, leaving Shi Su pondering how to ask the director for leave, unable to figure out a plausible reason.

She couldn’t lie about going out of town for business.

Feigning illness was out of the question, too.

With everyone so busy, nobody would grant an unwarranted leave, particularly since her leave would delay all the staff and actors scheduled to work with her by a day.

As she wrestled with her options, Miss Chen happened to come over from the director’s side and said, "Zhao Molili, who’s supposed to have scenes with you tomorrow morning, suddenly got a stomach flu and took leave. Your morning scenes got pushed back a few days, so come by in the afternoon. Since you haven’t rested well recently, why not sleep in a bit at home?"

To her surprise, another actor requested leave first. Shi Su’s eyes lit up, "Really?"

Seeing Shi Su’s understated relief mixed with a feline sneaky satisfaction, Miss Chen glanced at her, "What? Is this convenience hitting the mark because you have something scheduled in the morning?"

Shi Su reined in her expression, deflecting with a soft laugh, "I do have some personal matters to attend to. What’s the latest time to show up to the set tomorrow?"

Miss Chen checked the schedule that Chujiu handed over, "Before 1:30 PM."

Just in time.

The next day, at Kaixing Mansion.

Shi Su didn’t go upstairs but waited at B1 level in the underground parking lot.

She only honked the car horn to signal her position when she saw Jing Jihan stepping out from the elevator.

With winter approaching fast, Jing Jihan, possibly just coming from home with her special run to pick him up, faced barely any chill. He wasn’t wearing a coat, dressed in a gray casual sports knit top and similarly styled comfort-long pants. As he steadily and languidly walked in her car’s direction from the elevator, he carried an aura of serene recuperation, calm and indifferent.

The man got in the car and sat in the passenger seat. Noticing him, Shi Su took a glance outside at where his car was parked, then hesitantly asked, "You’re taking my car?"

Jing Jihan glanced at her, his gaze seemingly clear as water, yet something about it felt unknowingly penetrating as if she imagined it. It silently fell upon her.

"What else?"

"...I assumed you just asked me to drive you to the hospital and I might get a taste of driving a Bentley." Shi Su curled her lips.

A faint smile appeared in the man’s eyes, "You can drive it."

"Forget it. Even if you don’t mind degrading yourself to ride in my broken Audi, I don’t bother causing a fuss. Although I’d like to drive yours, I wouldn’t get used to it, and if it gets scratched or bumped, I’d have to pay for it." Shi Su simply started the car.

"If you like it, drive it, even if you drove it into the sea, you wouldn’t need to pay."

Shi Su gave a light snort, "My driving skills aren’t that bad. Drive into the sea? Are you mocking me as a road menace? I’m not a rookie driver!"

Her little Audi had been in use for several years. Although she’d earned enough over the past two years to switch to a better car, she was too lazy to change. Mainly because of habit, and it enabled a low profile in traffic, was not conspicuous, and avoided media tailing. Thus, she never thought about changing car.

As Shi Su drove out of Kaixing Mansion’s underground parking lot, she glanced over to check if Jing Jihan had fastened his seatbelt, but accidentally caught his gaze when she turned her head.