After A Secret Marriage Agreement With A Rival Omega - Chapter 98

Chapter 98

“The Rest of My Life is in Your Hands.”

On the pristine white screen, the moments of the last four months on set flickered to life.

There was her gloom and explosive frustration when she first became the “social animal” Yao Tai, her aimlessness after resigning, the joy of receiving a letter, and finally, her wild gallop across the grasslands.

The scene shifted.

Yao Tai was framed in the lens, and the image froze.

A pair of tenderly watching eyes appeared, then zoomed out. Jian Jixing’s face filled the screen as she called out, “Cut. You did a great job.”

That single sentence instantly pulled Sheng Ruxi from her acting state back into reality.

Their playfulness on set, their bickering, their mutual teasing—every moment in the corners where no one was watching had been carefully recorded.

Frame by frame, the images turned into powerful vines, into giant hands that gripped Sheng Ruxi’s beating heart, squeezing out a familiar surge of overwhelming emotion.

She no longer suppressed it; she let it pour out. Through a crystalline, blurred vision, Sheng Ruxi saw Jian Jixing walking quickly toward her, hurriedly taking hold of her shoulders.

“Why are you crying?” Jian Jixing rushed to support her, reaching out to wipe away her tears, her voice losing its usual composure. “I’m… truly not very good at organizing surprises…”

She had seen Sheng Ruxi’s dejection on set and knew how much Sheng Ruxi cared about what Gu Shengci had said. Sheng Ruxi cared that their marriage had originally been a mere contract—and Jian Jixing cared just as much.

Originally, she wanted to wait a bit longer. But she simply couldn’t stand seeing Sheng Ruxi sad. As long as she could put Sheng Ruxi’s mind at ease and make her happy, she was willing to do anything.

Sheng Ruxi spoke through sobs: “Are you a fool?” She finally understood why Jian Jixing had enticed her last night; it was just to make her sleep in late. No wonder she had come alone to “select behind-the-scenes clips” without saying anything. No wonder Gu Shengci had been so insistent.

Jian Jixing: “I am… I’ll be whatever you want. Don’t cry. I know I’ve made a mess of this.”

Fool. Truly a fool. She couldn’t even tell these were tears of joy.

The surprise itself wasn’t the point. What mattered was the sincerity, the gravity, and the care within the person who prepared it. Seeing that, any surprise became precious and a resounding success.

Sheng Ruxi wanted to stop crying, but the tears just kept falling. She could barely speak. Between being crazy with happiness and crazy with heartache, she didn’t know why she felt so conflicted.

Seeing her cry without speaking, Jian Jixing grew increasingly panicked, fearing she had rushed things. She glanced toward the jewelry box, intending to quietly take it away.

Sheng Ruxi gripped her wrist: “Don’t you dare.”

“Hmm?” Jian Jixing’s eyes widened. “Wife… I thought you were so angry you didn’t want to talk to me.”

Sheng Ruxi’s eyelashes trembled: “What are you doing today?”

“I already chose the clips. I’m giving you a private screening.” Jian Jixing wiped away Sheng Ruxi’s tears, ignoring her own wet fingertips, and pulled Sheng Ruxi close. “I did this to make you happy because I noticed your mood wasn’t right at the studio this afternoon.”

Her hand no longer moved toward the jewelry box. Sheng Ruxi’s eyes softened; realizing her state had been noticed by Jian Jixing made her lips curve upward unconsciously.

“You saw.”

“I saw. My eyes follow you everywhere.” Jian Jixing’s hand rested on Sheng Ruxi’s waist, her expression solemn. “I know what you’re worried about, so I want to do my best to make you feel secure.”

She walked to the other side of the round table, standing face-to-face with Sheng Ruxi, and opened the jewelry box.

A ray of light spilled out like a dazzling thread, landing perfectly on the flickering images on the screen. The brilliant fire of the stone fell into the eyes of the “Yao Tai” on the screen, lighting up everything.

Unlike a typical round or rectangular ring, a high-clarity yellow diamond had been carved into a four-pointed star. The outer ring consisted of two halos of solid diamonds, making it shine brilliantly even without extra lighting.

Sheng Ruxi’s eyes widened. She owned many jewels, but this one was too unique—so dazzling it momentarily dazed her. She knew it was for her, but did the meaning of this ring match what she was imagining?

Jian Jixing took the ring out. The brilliant light followed her movement onto Sheng Ruxi’s skin.

“You said it yourself—the ring you want has to be big, beautiful, and something no one else has.” Jian Jixing smiled. “Once you put it on, you’ll know it fits the description.”

Nothing Jian Jixing gave to Sheng Ruxi could ever be ordinary. She had commissioned this ring the moment filming started and only received it a week ago.

“So, Sheng Ruxi, will you let me put this ring on you?”

Sheng Ruxi’s hand had already started to reach out, but she stopped halfway, tilting her chin up proudly to tease her. “What if I don’t want to?”

“It’s just the two of us here.” Jian Jixing leaned in, her voice low. “If you don’t want to, I’ll just have to use ‘inhumane’ methods to beg you—”

What! How could “inhumane methods” and “begging” be used in the same sentence?

The low tone of Jian Jixing’s voice made Sheng Ruxi’s ears itch. she turned her face away slightly and whispered, “Fine, I want to.”

Jian Jixing immediately slipped the ring onto Sheng Ruxi’s finger as if afraid she would change her mind a second later. It was a custom fit, sliding on perfectly.

Sheng Ruxi didn’t even have time to admire the ring on her hand before she laced her fingers with Jian Jixing’s.

“So beautiful,” Sheng Ruxi murmured. “Is there only one?” If it was a wedding set, how could there be only one?

“Of course not. These are our real rings.” Jian Jixing leaned in affectionately and rubbed her nose against Sheng Ruxi’s. “Look inside again.”

Sheng Ruxi looked back at the box. It was double-layered. She lifted the top layer to see the second ring. Unlike hers, this one was a high-clarity yellow diamond set inside a star, but more understated. While Sheng Ruxi’s ring had double halos, this one featured a round diamond embedded within the star shape.

They were clearly a pair.

Jian Jixing held out her hand, waiting for Sheng Ruxi to put it on for her. Sheng Ruxi didn’t hesitate, sliding it onto Jian Jixing’s ring finger and then snapping a photo. Jian Jixing admired their hands together, fully satisfied with her own taste.

“The movie is the movie; we are us.” Jian Jixing pulled Sheng Ruxi into her arms, their fingers tightly intertwined. “I want to ask… are you willing to void our old contract, or rather… renew it with me?”

Sheng Ruxi turned her head. “Renew it? For how long?”

“My next life is now in your hands. Let’s renew for that long, okay?” Jian Jixing chuckled. “Of course, that’s just my side of the deal. I don’t require you to—”

“What nonsense! Who are you looking down on?” Sheng Ruxi interrupted, pinching Jian Jixing’s cheeks. “Once it’s on, there’s no going back. Who told you to add all those conditions? I have my own plans.”

Jian Jixing laughed. “It would be more believable if you didn’t sound so reluctant.”

“Who’s reluctant?” Sheng Ruxi smoothed the light red marks she’d left on Jian Jixing’s face, leaned in for a quick kiss, and then wrapped her arms around Jian Jixing’s neck.

“Let’s go home,” Sheng Ruxi whispered in her ear. “I’ll show you just how ‘reluctant’ I am.”

Jian Jixing caught the hint. With a smirk, she picked Sheng Ruxi up and walked toward the door.

…

After a night of “excessive exercise,” Jian Jixing allowed herself to sleep in, ignoring her usual schedule and setting her phone to Do Not Disturb.

It wasn’t until after noon, when the mode automatically deactivated, that the constant vibration of her phone woke her up. When she answered, the person on the other end was so shocked they didn’t speak at first. Just as Jian Jixing was about to hang up, Gu Shengci erupted in a scream.

“My ancestor! How are you still sleeping? Something huge has happened!”

Jian Jixing: “Whatever it is, it can wait until she wakes up.”

She hung up without hesitation. But less than five minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Half an hour later, a sleepy-eyed Sheng Ruxi and a now-awake Jian Jixing stood before a room full of people: Gu Shengci, Zhou Mei, a panicked Manwen, a gleeful Yan Fuzheng, and a man in a sharp suit, Li Li, who wore a polite smile.

“Phones! Tablets! Look! You’ve provided enough content for every entertainment marketing account for this month, next month, and the whole quarter! You’ve single-handedly met Touchbo’s KPI!”

Li Li’s smile became a bit awkward at Gu Shengci’s words. He smoothed his hair and said, “Director Jian, Ms. Sheng, we can cooperate with whatever way you want to handle this.” As a veteran of industry storms, he maintained outward calm even seeing the two of them emerging from the same room.

Last night, a silhouette photo of Jian Jixing and Sheng Ruxi together in the office had gone viral. It was blurry because the lights were off—two figures leaning close together by the curtains. It was incredibly intimate, far exceeding normal social boundaries.

The official word had been that they were working overtime on the film, but then the source leaked another photo: Jian Jixing picking Sheng Ruxi up and carrying her out of the office. There was no explaining that away as “acting instructions.”

While fans were losing their minds, the two leads had been sleeping soundly with their phones off. By now, the heat was so high that even Touchbo’s top brass was alarmed.

When the door opened, the scene gave Li Li a significant shock. Forget rumors and lies—this was real!

Because they had just woken up, the matching rings on their ring fingers were glaringly obvious—something the leaked photos hadn’t caught. Their relationship was undeniable.

Sheng Ruxi was still dazed. Jian Jixing had even helped her change. She’d wondered why Jian Jixing insisted on a turtleneck, but seeing everyone there, she realized it was to hide the “evidence” of last night’s crimes.

“If we’re caught, we’re caught. Just suppress the heat a little,” Jian Jixing said, casually flashing her ring finger at Gu Shengci. “The movie is being sent for review anyway.”

Li Li wiped a non-existent sweat from his brow. “There have been many false rumors saying Ms. Sheng only got the role because of her relationship with you. I’m afraid these photos will make people say the film is just using this for hype—”

Sheng Ruxi cut in: “It’s fine. Once the film is sent out… in about two months, we’ll be meeting the public anyway. We can explain then. For now, just follow the usual procedure and keep the heat down.”

Jian Jixing: “Aren’t you afraid of people talking behind your back?”

“What bad talk? They aren’t wrong. I did come to act because of you. And because the script is good, of course.” Sheng Ruxi winked playfully. “Let them guess. Isn’t it good to build hype for our movie early?”

Zhou Mei looked at the optimistic Sheng Ruxi, hesitant to speak. The traffic was so immense it was nearly crashing Touchbox’s servers. Such overwhelming attention made them an easy target.

Gu Shengci urged: “This isn’t the best way. The film hasn’t even hit the festivals yet; this is just gossip. In the eyes of the public, you aren’t ‘public’ yet. This is bad.”

Jian Jixing and Sheng Ruxi looked at each other. They weren’t in a rush; last night’s confession had left Jian Jixing filled with too much happiness to feel the urgency. But she asked, “What other way is there?”

“Ahem.” Yan Fuzheng cleared her throat, checked her watch, and grinned. “At the critical moment, it has to be me. I’ve found the perfect solution… she should be here any second.”

“Who?”

As if in answer to Sheng Ruxi’s question, the doorbell rang.

“Wow! Perfect timing!” Yan Fuzheng bounced to the door like a spring and pulled it open. “The person who will solve your problem is here! Ta-da—”

Jian Jixing and Sheng Ruxi looked toward the door. As their gazes met, the newcomer revealed a familiar, gentle smile and waved.

“Long time no see?”