The Secret of Second Marriage

"Should I believe you? Last time, he took a taxi to see you in front of the police station in the middle of the night and claimed to be your relative's younger brother."

Jiang Man, do you dare say you didn't lie to me back then? I knew that boy wasn't your brother. As a man, my intuition told me at first glance that he liked you.

It's just that I didn't want to point it out at the time.

"General Jiang said in a low voice."

For a moment I didn't know how to respond. At that time, I really didn't want President Jiang to know about my relationship with Shen Xing, for fear that he would misunderstand.

I didn't expect that he would misunderstand me now.

I took a deep breath and said, "President Jiang, whether you believe it or not, I can explain. I didn't intend to go out for barbecue with Shen Xing last night!"

Since we started dating, I've made it clear to Shen Xing that it's impossible for us to be together.

We've hardly ever met in private. Neither he nor I have done anything to wrong you.

"And tonight, the female lead of our show invited us to a barbecue dinner. She asked Shen Xing to come out for drinks, but she had to leave halfway through."

"Man, I believe you!"

Mr. Jiang suddenly said, "We are all over 30 years old. We need to learn to accept that the most important thing for a relationship to last is trust."

I believe everything you say! I hope you're not lying to me!

"I won't lie to you anymore."

I suddenly said, "One lie leads to countless others. I'm right here in Hengdian, helping Shen Xing find someone to represent him in court. No matter what, I can't watch him go to jail!"

"Okay, he saved you, so he's my benefactor too. Man, take good care of yourself in Hengdian. After I finish things here, I'll take the earliest flight tomorrow morning to come see you."

President Jiang said.

He's a workaholic; he was willing to put his work aside and come to Hengdian with me to solve problems.

I'm so glad that the man I chose was fine.

After I finished my phone call with Mr. Jiang, I tossed and turned for a while before I finally fell asleep.

In my dream, two men were holding my hands and wouldn't let me leave. One was Shen Xing, and the other was President Jiang. Who should I choose?

Life is always full of variables.

I suddenly realized that Shen Xing and I were like two stars destined never to be together. He was at one end of the world, and I was at the other. Our occasional encounters would only be fleeting moments, like shooting stars passing by...

We are kindred spirits, echoing each other from afar, but the world seems to have a hard time accepting that I am so much older than him, and I don't have the courage to break through the shackles of the world!

He got injured and went to jail today because of me. What should I do?

It seems I owe Shen Xing more and more, to the point that I can hardly repay her.

The next morning, it was raining. The autumn rain was drizzling and carried a biting chill. The Hengdian film set was covered with raincoats and plastic sheets to prevent the set and filming equipment from getting wet.

I took a deep breath and went into the director's studio, where there were the director's equipment, chair, and a pile of script documents.

The director glanced at me, frowned, and said, "Yesterday's big news caused quite a stir in Hengdian."

Why did you and Shen Xing go out for barbecue after work? How did you end up getting into trouble with thugs? How did you end up killing someone?

Shen Xing is the male lead in our show. Now that he's in trouble, the entire production has to stop. The investors are demanding that we replace him immediately so as not to delay the rest of the filming.

I'm really worried right now! Jiang Man, do you have any suitable actors to recommend to me?

"Director, could you wait a little longer?"

I said, "Shen Xing accidentally killed someone, but he did it to save me. He's currently at the police station, but he's been released on bail by a lawyer and should be able to resume filming soon."

"I also want him to come back to filming as soon as possible, but now the person he killed has caused negative news. You know, once negative news comes out, it will affect the normal broadcast of the TV series, especially since he is the male lead. He has already made it to the trending topics and caused a great uproar."

I'm afraid we can't save him this time!

The director said.

I watched as the director called several assistant directors, producers, and others from the crew together for a meeting to discuss whether or not to replace Shen Xing!

I don't know where I got the courage to say, "If you're going to replace Shen Xing, then replace me too!"

"Jiang Man, how can you be so immature?"

The director was a little unhappy when he heard what I said.

After weighing the options, I said, "He got into this accident while saving me. I can't just abandon him. Anyway, if the production crew is going to fire him, then let him fire me too!"

I'm not in the mood for filming anymore.

Even if it means stopping work, I will go to save him.

After I finished speaking, the director hesitated for a moment. After all, Shen Xing had already filmed the first 10 episodes. If we replaced her, all the money spent in the early stages would be wasted.

It's important to know that filming in Hengdian for a day is not cheap. There are also expenses for the location, extras, photographers, costume department, props department, etc. The daily expenses can reach hundreds of thousands of yuan. It's no exaggeration to say that this does not even include the salaries of the main actors.

Moreover, if I were to be replaced as well, and two actors were to be replaced and retrained, then the entire production would be ruined.

The director reluctantly said, "Jiang Man, you are a very kind and righteous woman. In that case, for your sake, I can let the crew stop filming for three days."

If Shen Xing is released on bail in three days, filming can continue. If not, don't blame me for replacing her!

"Okay, director, thank you."

I just did something risky and daring, but fortunately, it yielded a relatively good result.

After I left the film set, I immediately contacted Attorney Guo, who had already submitted the documents to the court.

The court saw that public opinion on Weibo had reversed, and the surveillance footage had been released, clearly showing that Shen Xing did not maliciously assault others, nor did he cause death by negligence.

He acted in self-defense when his life was threatened.

The court determined that Shen Xing's case did not pose a significant threat to society and that he could be released on bail.

After we submitted the documents, they needed to be approved at each level. Three days later, on the morning of the third day, Shen Xing was finally released on bail from the police station.

When he saw me and Attorney Guo come to pick him up, he gave me a gentle smile.

The boy's smile shone so brightly in the sunlight, so youthful and pure, just like the gardenia planted on the windowsill outside the classroom.

I haven't seen such a bright and pure smile in a long time, without any worldly taint.

Having grown accustomed to the deceit, scheming, betrayal, and disappointment of the adult world, seeing Shen Xing's smile now, I suddenly realize how wonderful it is to be young.

Seeing how thin he had become, I couldn't bear it and said to him, "You've suffered these past three days in the detention center. What would you like to eat? I'll make it for you!"

"Sis, I want to eat hot pot."

Shen Xing said.

this is very simple.

Shen Xing and I went to the supermarket and bought ingredients: beef balls, hot pot base, fish, shrimp, tripe, beef, etc. Most of them were meat, along with some vegetables, a bottle of juice, and a bottle of red wine.

When we were almost at the hotel room, I asked the hotel reception to prepare a brazier, which was a ceramic basin with burning yellow paper inside.

People who have been to prison have a tradition that when they go home, they must step over a brazier to get rid of all the bad luck on their bodies.

Shen Xing said to me, "Sister, thank you for picking me up today."

When he was at the height of his fame, everyone in the entertainment industry fawned over his father's position as a director, showering him with attention, introducing him to resources, and taking him out for social events and meals.

But now he's down on his luck.

In the three days since he was arrested and detained at the police station, his father has not shown him a single word of concern, and even scolded him, saying, "How could I have given birth to such a scoundrel as you?"

His father was a top-tier, well-known director with a great reputation, but also a very eccentric temperament.

Today, besides myself, only Attorney Zhao was there to pick him up from the detention center.

I said, "Shen Xing, from now on, you are my savior and my younger brother."

As you step over the fire pit, your sister wishes you all the best from now on, and that you will achieve great success!

"Sister, I've crossed the fire pit. Things will only get better from now on."

I'm going inside to cook. You just relax and wait for dinner to be served.

Shen Xing said.

He carried a large bag of convenient ingredients into the kitchen, and neatly arranged the vegetables and meat on the counter in the bathroom.

He put on an apron and prepared to process the ingredients. His clean, fair fingers picked up the vegetables and carefully washed them.

I said, "Let me help you with some things that I can."

"Sis, no need. How about I show you my cooking skills today?"

Shen Xing said to me while washing the vegetables.

After washing the meat and vegetables, he busied himself in the kitchen, working in both directions, and on average, he chopped and plated a hot pot side dish every ten minutes or so.

Meanwhile, a pork rib soup was simmering in the divided pot over low heat. The soup contained hot pot base, one of which was tomato sour soup and the other was spicy beef tallow.

We borrowed a divided hot pot from the hotel, and a sumptuous hot pot was served very quickly.

Around 8 p.m., Shen Xing finally finished washing and preparing all the ingredients, and the hot pot soup was also ready.

I went to the kitchen and brought out all the soup base and side dishes, then set the table. I turned on all the lights in the living room.

I asked Shen Xing if she wanted some juice.

Shen Xing said he'd drink some red wine with me tonight.

I took two stemmed glasses, poured half a glass of red wine into each one, and then used chopsticks to put the ingredients into the hot pot. It was ready to eat very quickly.

Although it wasn't a candlelight dinner, this simple hot pot made me feel warm in a strange city and a foreign land.

Shen Xing seemed to have forgotten that he was carrying a legal case and had committed a murder. Instead, he was very happy to let me try his cooking skills.

I tried a bite of tripe that had been scalded for 10 minutes, along with the dipping sauce; it was both spicy and fresh.

"Delicious! Your cooking skills are on par with those of other chefs..."

I say.

Shen Xing smiled shyly: "Right? I actually really enjoy cooking. I feel a sense of healing when I cook."

It's hard to imagine that Shen Xing is such a good cook, and so good at it. It turns out he's a young man who loves cooking and life!

As I ate my hotpot, I poured myself a glass of red wine and said to him, "Shen Xing, this is a toast to you! If it weren't for you, those thugs might have stabbed me to death in the street!"