There are some things that women cannot escape.
Dandan believed that everything required decisiveness, and sooner was better than later. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps it was self-deception, but somehow, she found herself genuinely yearning for something new, such as a desire for men. How strange, this desire crept in stealthily, as if it had been lurking for a long time, waiting for its chance to erupt—or perhaps she had already guessed it in secret?
A restless excitement coursed through my body. It grew stronger and stronger.
She was still a favored person. No longer abandoned, happiness burned within her, her body melting into a pool. Her lips were parched, and she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She was very nervous, even passive. Her nylon stockings felt like layers of skin being peeled off.
She dared not move.
Jin Xiaofeng managed to straighten her contorted body. Faced with his imposing presence, she could only become more limp, her usual composure vanishing without a trace.
Like a fish being scalded, she suddenly cried out, "Ouch! It hurts so much! Please let me go!"
His Xiaoman—
He went to her favorite "bookish boudoir." She had no feelings for him, only offering him a cup of tea... He couldn't possibly serve tea every day, but eventually, when his blind mother was away, he insisted on having her.
Kawa, Mitsuru, the moment I see your face, I think—"
Satisfied, he resisted with all his might, his voice hoarse. Overturned teapots, tobacco pouches, and melon seeds littered the ground, scattered like weeds. Once a man desires a woman, he becomes like a raging beast, his eyes bloodshot—he doesn't understand, he's already a prime target, he's clearly favored her, and after all this time, doesn't she appreciate it at all?
Because she struggled so desperately, as if fighting to the death, he became violent and slapped her delicate, pale face twice, immediately making his beard sting and turn red. He was panting heavily.
Satisfied, she was stunned, tears welling up in her eyes, and cried out, "Don't force me! I already have someone in my heart!"
To this day, Jin Xiaofeng still doesn't know who he truly lost to. This is an enemy lurking in broad daylight. He may never uncover their true strength in his lifetime. But on that day, he went all out like an avalanche or a tsunami, and his extreme excitement left him with no way out.
Suddenly, caught off guard, Satisfied picked up a shard of a teacup and slashed a bloody cross across her face. She screamed in a hysterical voice, "My face is ruined! Please, have mercy on me!"
Jin Xiaofeng suddenly realized that Dandan, who was convulsing from the pain, had an icy cold tongue. She let out a long, mournful sigh:
"I'm going to die!"
She was terrified of dying, yet she could no longer muster any strength, her mind in turmoil as if possessed by demons. Jin Xiaofeng tenderly cradled her face, and he rekindled his initial infatuation.
—Could it be a karmic entanglement from a past life? Such an impossible person, now pressing down upon him. He kissed Dandan deeply, his pain boundless. He cried out, "Xiaoman!"
Xiaoman was attacked by a beast-like beast, her face and bed covered in blood. The next day, she jumped into the Huangpu River.
She must have been weighed down by the heaviest weights—stones, iron, and deep-seated hatred—all submerged in the river's depths, refusing to give him a chance. Even as he stood by the river every night, watching the turbulent, murky current, his heart heavy like a boat laden with worries, drifting like a spirit crossing the river at night, the shore lights casting a sinister glow. Every few days, desperate people would come and jump into the Huangpu River. But was it simply because she didn't love him that she preferred death? Later, Jin Xiaofeng rose to prominence, and for the sake of his undisclosed "Mrs. Jin," he remained unmarried for life.
They never mentioned it.
Dandan was left only with a fine sheen of sweat, barely clinging to life. She hadn't even had time to ponder how, overnight, she had become his. Everything seemed so uncertain…
"Haha, haha, ahaha..." Huaiyu laughed to Duan Pingting.
"Hmm, that forced smile looks so fake."
“It’s not fake, it’s difficult.” Huaiyu said, “Each character has a different way of laughing. It has to be similar in both form and spirit. Sun Wukong’s laughter is different from Zhu Bajie’s laughter.”
Why is Sun Wukong laughing?
Huaiyu made a silly, wide-eyed monkey face at her, which pleased Consort Duan. She then asked, "Why is Pigsy laughing?"
Huaiyu remained silent.
"How do you laugh?"
"It has a big, clumsy nose sitting on its mouth, and no one knows how it smiles. Maybe it never smiles at all."
Why are you laughing?
Huaiyu finally smiled from the bottom of her heart, a smug smile.
"The Peach Blossom Spring" ran for a full month at the Central Grand Theater. Although problems did emerge—almost every screening had issues—because during the screenings, one projector and one record player were running at slightly different speeds, causing a disconnect between the actors' movements and pronunciation. In some scenes, the actors opened their mouths before speaking, and in others, they spoke first before opening their mouths. This kind of double-act-like wax disc dubbing was a bit of a "regret," but everyone was captivated by the first installment.
They all became infatuated with the male lead in the film.
He laughed, and once he got going, he unleashed every laugh he'd ever learned in his life—the laughs his master had taught him, the laughs he'd witnessed—on his leading lady. There were cold laughs, sly laughs, forced laughs, arrogant laughs, fawning laughs, maniacal laughs, bitter laughs, shy laughs, jealous laughs, stiff laughs, horrified laughs, who-laughs, silly laughs, infatuated laughs, ferocious laughs, tragic laughs… Tired of laughing, Huaiyu sprang to her feet: “To the post office.”
Duan Pingting leaned against the bed, lighting a cigarette.
Through the wisps of smoke, she began to think: today's laughter, tomorrow's tears, and after the tears, sorrow. The seven emotions and six desires, perhaps they pass quickly—what does it matter once they're over? He grows more magnificent each day, while she ages second by second. Love, like the cigarette in her hand, burns away, turning into a wisp of white smoke.
Huaiyu changed into light sportswear and walked along Xiafei Road. Xiafei—that was exactly his free spirit. The weather was getting cooler, but the autumn sun in Shanghai was warm and cozy, like a woman caressing your face.
He didn't have to go to the post office by himself, nor did he have to go so early, but he did so for a moment of "freedom."
As he walked, a car drove by on Avenue Joffre.
Shi Zhongming was somewhat surprised to find that the young lady Lai Mudan, who was accompanying him, was no longer like his first encounter with her.
She has undergone a strange transformation, most notably in her eyes, which now shine brightly and involuntarily. How long has she been here? Yet, the corners of her eyes and brows have subtly changed, revealing a newfound youthful beauty.
She became both smug and melancholic.
Shi Zhongming hadn't really paid much attention to this young girl, yet he was always by her side. She was his boss's person, and so was he. In the terrifying place of Shanghai, if you had the ability, you would constantly have people around you, other people's children, who would do everything in their power to get what they wanted.
He had seen many women like Lai Mudan, but none had ever asked him a question that even he found strange:
"Miss Song, we're having a meeting with a screenwriter later. Mr. Jin instructed him to write a script specifically for you. Mr. Jin—, Ms. Song, are you happy?"
Dandan smiled.
Now Dandan has become more refined; she simply laughs off anything that's difficult to say.
"What—is this really for?"