"Frost's Descent!"
Lin Yili's loud shouting quickly attracted the attention of many strangers. There were many paparazzi around, and Li Man worried that staying any longer would lead to malicious leaks, so she drove away.
But Lin Yili kept blocking the car, preventing them from leaving.
Li Man frowned: "Why is this guy so annoying? Shang Qi is already dead, isn't it too late for him to pretend to be a good guy?"
Ling Shuangjiang had a slight headache. The stalemate with Lin Yili was having a bad influence. Just as he was about to open the car door and get out, Lin Yili was suddenly grabbed by the collar and taken away, disappearing into the snowy night.
Before Ling Shuangjiang could even grasp the situation, the two people outside had already started fighting.
Li Man craned her neck and hurriedly said to Ling Shuangjiang, "Shuangjiang, it's President Xie!"
Ling Shuangjiang immediately sensed something was wrong and hurriedly got out of the car.
Not far away, Lin Yili's glasses and scarf were scattered all over the ground.
Xie Wang pressed down on Lin Yili, throwing punch after punch, and Lin Yili had no power to fight back.
Ling Shuangjiang ran over quickly and hugged Xie Wang's arm from behind, her voice anxious: "Stop fighting, something bad will happen if you keep fighting."
Xie Wang stared intently at Lin Yili: "Do you know why I kept you until the end?"
Blood seeped from the corner of Lin Yili's mouth, and the cold air he inhaled made his internal organs ache.
"Why?"
Xie Wang: "Because of you, I have to teach you a lesson myself."
That evening, Lin Yili suddenly appeared, holding a video of Ling Shuangjiang, which Xie Wang saw.
Ling Shuangjiang was terrified in the scene, but Lin Yili not only refused to let go but also acted recklessly, even trying to kiss Ling Shuangjiang's neck from behind.
The thought of that incident made Xie Wang wish he could tear Lin Yili's flesh and blood apart on the spot.
All of Ling Shuangjiang's misfortunes in England stemmed from Lin Yili, that hypocritical and despicable man.
Instead of staying far away, this person actually dared to harass Ling Shuangjiang.
Hastily removing his watch, Xie Wang's eyes were bloodshot, and he punched Lin Yili hard once again.
"Thank you, Wang!"
Ling Shuangjiang's last voice was somewhat hoarse, carrying intense unease and panic.
He whispered, "Stop hitting me, I'm afraid something will happen to you."
These words pulled Xie Wang back from the brink of losing control. He stood up, hurriedly walked to Ling Shuangjiang's side, and lowered his head, saying, "I won't fight anymore, I'll listen to you."
Holding Xie Wang's right hand in her hands, Ling Shuangjiang looked at the external injuries on it with heartache in her eyes.
"let's go."
Xie Wang nodded obediently, picked up his wristwatch before leaving, and glanced at Lin Yili lying in the snow.
"Two years ago, you colluded with other families in the British Chinese community to seize the Shang family's shares, using improper means to infringe on other people's property, causing many people to go bankrupt and suffer from depression, with a terrible impact. Your current situation is already considered very lenient. You definitely can't stay in China anymore, I advise you to return to the UK to accept the police investigation."
Lin Yili lay on the snow, making soft, painful noises from the corner of his mouth, but no one answered for a long time.
He stared blankly at the snowy sky and closed his eyes.
Inside the car, the heating was on full blast. Ling Shuangjiang sat in the passenger seat, clutching the roses Xie Wang had given him, still feeling lingering fear and unease.
The two remained silent, and the atmosphere in the car was somewhat tense.
"Ah Jiang, I'm hungry, I want to eat wontons."
Xie Wang glanced at Ling Shuangjiang secretly, his tone slightly coquettish.
"Okay, I'll pack it for you when we get back."
Although Ling Shuangjiang verbally agreed, she remained sullen and preoccupied.
"Xie Wang, can you please not be so impulsive in the future?" Ling Shuangjiang frowned, feeling uncomfortable having kept these words bottled up for so long. "What if something happens to him? You'll be severely affected too. It's not worth it. And what if he has a weapon? What if he gets carried away and grabs a brick to hit you?"
Xie Wang smiled, only to be glared at by Ling Shuangjiang.
"Okay, okay, I swear." Xie Wang parked the car on the side of the road, held Ling Shuangjiang's hand and coaxed him, "I will never fight again next time."
Ling Shuangjiang clearly didn't trust him: "What if you get into another fight?"
Xie Wang pondered seriously: "Punish me with eight times a night."
Ling Shuangjiang wasn't amused this time. She turned to look out the window and ignored him.
Xie Wang said in a gentle tone, "If I get into another fight, you can do whatever you want with me, okay?"
"Okay, it's a deal."
After coaxing Ling Shuangjiang, Xie Wang took advantage of the situation and leaned closer: "Baby, give me a kiss."
Ling Shuangjiang refused and turned her face away.
Xie Wang, shameless as ever, reached out and continued kissing him until Ling Shuangjiang smiled, at which point he finally stopped.
—
A film was finally completed after 55 days of shooting.
Ling Shuangjiang plans to rest at home for half a month and continue working after the New Year.
Lin Yinci plans to develop her career in Bintan in the future, and this year is her first New Year spent here.
To prevent Lin Yinci from missing Suzhou while she was there, Xie Wang and Ling Shuangjiang drove to the nearby SKP shopping mall the next morning to buy some local Suzhou New Year's delicacies.
"On the day of Frost's Descent, can you sing Suzhou storytelling?"
The two were wearing the same style of coat, one black and one white, and appeared at the mall entrance wearing sunglasses and masks.
"The soft, gentle Wu dialect is what I felt most deeply when my grandfather and I listened to Pingtan back then. Your hometown dialect is very gentle."
Ling Shuangjiang: "Yes, I can sing."
Xie Wang: "You really can sing? Can you sing me a couple of lines?"
Ling Shuangjiang raised an eyebrow: "It depends on your performance."
The two of them were fully armed, so Xie Wang didn't care about passersby. He clung to Ling Shuangjiang, as if he wanted to hang on her. "Before the New Year, I arranged a hot spring resort trip for our parents. Does that count as doing a good job?"
Ling Shuangjiang: "Hot spring? Where is it?"
Xie Wang: "In the mountains on the outskirts of the city, Chen Siqi's newly opened hot spring resort is very quiet and there are very few people."
Walking into the food section, Ling Shuangjiang picked out some local specialties from her hometown and put them in her shopping cart, saying softly, "So, we're going to let both sets of parents meet?"
Xie Wang's initial idea was simple: he just wanted both sets of parents to enjoy a relaxing hot spring bath before the Lunar New Year. However, he didn't consider that Lin Yinci and her parents hadn't officially met yet.
His eyes were uneasy: "I'm sorry, I forgot about this. I should have discussed it with you beforehand. If you feel that now is not the right time to meet, I will go with you first, and then go with my parents."
Seeing his nervous expression, Ling Shuangjiang smiled and said, "We can meet. You can make the arrangements."
"Really?" Xie Wang leaned over and put his arm around Ling Shuangjiang's waist from behind. Many people in the bustling shopping mall looked at the two of them.
“In our northern region, once the parents of both sides meet, it’s basically considered a done deal.”
Ling Shuangjiang patted his head, signaling him to let go of her.
"Settled? How so?"
Xie Wang's smile implied: "It's like an engagement. You have to marry me in the future. If you dump me, you'll be proven to be ungrateful and heartless."
Ling Shuangjiang raised her eyes: "So it's like an engagement? Li Man is also from the North, let me ask her."
"No!" Xie Wang hurriedly snatched his phone, frowning. "Why ask others? Just ask me. Even if... it doesn't mean we're engaged, our relationship is basically settled."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled faintly and continued walking, pushing the shopping cart.
"Do you prefer a Western-style wedding or a Chinese-style wedding?" Xie Wang asked tentatively from the side. "It would be more suitable for us to get married this year. The fortune teller said that it would be very auspicious for me to get married at 29, but not at 30."
"Really?" Ling Shuangjiang said thoughtfully, "Then it's also fine to get married after 30."
"The ancients said that one should be established by the age of thirty. If I am not married by the age of thirty, what is going on?"
Xie Wang continued to cling to Ling Shuangjiang, hooking his arm around his: "Let's get married this year, okay?"
If it were anyone else, Ling Shuangjiang might think that this person was just trying to save trouble and didn't want to propose. But since it was Xie Wang, Ling Shuangjiang planned to give him a hint.
Is this considered a marriage proposal?
Xie Wang was taken aback: "Yes, it counts."
Ling Shuangjiang tossed the lotus-shaped pastry to Xie Wang: "Go marry it."
Xie Wang still didn't understand, and hung his head, looking sullen.
His little frost rejected him.
I don't want to marry him this year.
After buying a huge pile of New Year's goods, Ling Shuangjiang and Xie Wang went out for a meal and bought clothes along the way.
Passing by a jewelry store, Xie Wang's eyes were drawn to the couple's mugs inside.
"Frost's Descent, come and see."
Xie Wang picked up a pair of deer antler couple mugs: "Do you like them?"
Ling Shuangjiang: "Do you like it?"
Xie Wang examined them closely: "I like them. To celebrate 1314 hours we've officially been together, we can buy them."
Ling Shuangjiang: "Okay, then let's buy it."
When they were paying, the saleswoman stared at the two of them, feeling that they looked familiar and resembled celebrities.
“I remember you said when you were recording a variety show that you didn’t understand people who always remembered anniversaries and bought couple-style household items.”
Ling Shuangjiang asked with a hint of sarcasm, "Do you understand now?"
Xie Wang frowned, holding his mug: "Did I say that? I don't think so."
Ling Shuangjiang: "Let's go eat."
Xie Wang had never been to any of the chain restaurants in the mall before; this was his first time. As the two passed a steakhouse that offered great value for money, Ling Shuangjiang said, "This is a chain restaurant; I loved eating there when I was in high school."
Xie Wang suggested, "How about we eat this today?"
Ling Shuangjiang: "Are you used to the food? Their steak is very affordable, only 124 yuan a piece."