Chapter 63 - 2#
“……”
A mechanical voice devoid of any emotion came through.
Signal in the mountains was prone to instability, making it normal for calls not to go through. Unable to reach his lover, Jing Shun had no choice but to give up.
He zoomed in on the photo, then zoomed in further, his gaze fixated on that impossibly familiar face, a whirlwind of emotions surging within him—
Chi Gui? Song Yu?
He had thought they were two people with no connection whatsoever. Could they really be the same person? What if it was just a coincidence of names?
No matter how he thought about it, it all felt too coincidental!
Suddenly, Jing Shun remembered someone who might know the truth. He opened his WeChat contact list and scrolled until he found the avatar he had never messaged before.
After only five seconds of hesitation, Jing Shun directly initiated a voice call.
Toot—toot—toot—
The time until it connected felt unbearably long.
Finally, a long-unheard voice answered, “Hello? Mr. Jing.”
Jing Shun took a deep breath and began politely, “Second Young Master Ji, I apologize for calling you at this hour.”
“It’s fine. It’s still early.”
Ji Tianheng was surprised by Jing Shun’s call, but he didn’t feel disturbed. Instead, he maintained his usual politeness. “What made you suddenly think of calling me, Mr. Jing? Something urgent?”
Jing Shun didn’t deny it. “Second Young Master, forgive my abruptness, but there’s something I need to confirm with you.”
Ji Tianheng, sharp as ever, guessed, “About Chi Gui?”
Otherwise, given that Jing Shun and Chi Gui were lovers, there would be no reason for Jing Shun to bypass Chi Gui and call him instead.
Jing Shun got straight to the point. “Back then, the investor for To Anhe—Song Yu, the vice president of Jinxiao Media—was Chi Gui, wasn’t he?”
“……”
Ji Tianheng was silent for a few seconds before countering, “Did the two of you have a frank conversation about this? Or did you figure it out on your own?”
Those words confirmed the final answer for Jing Shun.
Chi Gui was Song Yu—the same Song Yu who had crossed paths with him long ago!
Jing Shun’s breathing quickened involuntarily. He blurted out, “Second Young Master, did Chi Gui ever tell you why he decided to invest in me back then?”
Jing Shun had originally believed that everything was a series of coincidences—
Song Yu had happened to take a liking to his script and thus willingly funded it.
Chi Gui had happened to run into him when he needed help and proposed that agreement, gradually developing feelings for him in the course of their daily interactions.
But now, every clue and trace was telling him there was another layer of truth he had never uncovered—
Had Chi Gui been paying attention to him all along?
Had what he thought were coincidences and accidents actually been Chi Gui’s deliberate acts?
Ji Tianheng picked up on the slight agitation creeping into Jing Shun’s tone and simply stated what he knew. “The first time I met Chi Gui, he had only recently returned to the Chi Corporation. He had little power or influence at the time.”
Behind the backs of Old Master Chi, who held the reins, Chi Gui’s collateral relatives in the Chi family went out of their way to make things difficult for him, hoping he would make mistakes in projects, incur losses, and lose face.
But Chi Gui always held his ground. Young as he was, he handled things with remarkable ferocity.
That year, in the already established corporate sphere of Zhen City, he had stubbornly bitten off a fat chunk of business. Even the Ji family, who had been bidding to enter the tech market at the time, had fallen short compared to him.
“My older brother admired him a lot and invited him to a Ji family banquet.”
That was the opportunity through which Ji Tianheng and Chi Gui had gotten to know each other.
However, their business fields didn’t overlap much, so even though they had exchanged contact information, they weren’t close.
“Less than a year later, Chi Gui took the initiative to contact me. He said he wanted to ask for my help.”
“……”
Jing Shun felt a stirring in his heart. “Jinxiao Media is a film company under the Ji Group. He used the alias ‘Song Yu’ to be listed under your company, didn’t he?”
“More or less.”
Ji Tianheng recounted the details to Jing Shun. “At first, Chi Gui only recommended the screenplay for To Anhe to me. Unfortunately, the Ji Group wasn’t interested in art-house films at the time.”
Even if they had taken a liking to the script and invested, the amount would have been pitifully small. In a market where such films weren’t popular, even good wine could go unnoticed in a deep alley.
“After learning about that, Chi Gui took the initiative to say he could front the entire investment amount, as long as he could be listed under Jinxiao Media’s name. As for the film’s release—”
“If it lost money, he would bear the loss himself.”
“If it turned a profit, he would split the earnings with Jinxiao Media on a seventy-thirty basis.”
Ji Tianheng was a businessman after all—why turn down a deal?
Besides, given the Chi family’s influence in Haishi, if Chi Gui eventually took control, it would mean an extra favor owed between them.
Ji Tianheng wasn’t trying to take credit for his company. “From start to finish, everything related to the film was handled by Chi Gui’s side. Neither the Ji Group nor Jinxiao Media ever intervened.”
Jing Shun’s gaze wavered. “I see.”
From the beginning of filming to wrap, from editing to obtaining the release license and screening—from start to finish, the two people who cared most about the film’s outcome were:
First, Jing Shun; second, Song Yu.
“Mr. Jing, I don’t know how you view this matter, but from my perspective as an outsider—”
Since they had already started talking openly, Ji Tianheng allowed himself a few extra words.
“Going through all that trouble, wearing a mask just to invest in you, and yet not letting you know he existed?”
“He wasn’t bored or trying to toy with you; that means you must be incredibly important to him, but he didn’t want to put any burden on you.”
“Judging by the state of your relationship now, the latter possibility seems far more likely.”
“……”
Jing Shun’s heart was a storm, the impact leaving him speechless. He was silent for a long time, until he heard noise on the other end of the line.
He snapped back to reality. “Second Young Master, sorry for bothering you. Let’s catch up when we have a chance to meet.”
Ji Tianheng agreed. “Good.”
The call ended, but Jing Shun’s thoughts remained tangled, an indescribable mix of emotions—
He recalled Song Yu from his previous life, remembered their WeChat conversations—chatting about filmmaking and scriptwriting, sometimes going on until the dead of night without feeling tired.
He remembered when he won an international award, the first person he wanted to thank and meet was Song Yu. So after returning to the country, he immediately invited him for a meeting.
He waited and waited, but Song Yu never showed.
Later, their relationship gradually cooled as the film’s run ended, until Jing Shun, confined to a wheelchair, conceived an idea of “saving himself”—
The first thing he thought of was writing a script, and the first person he thought to contact was Song Yu.
But he had never associated their relationship with “romantic love.” He even thought that someone as outstanding as Song Yu should have an equally outstanding partner by his side.
At one point, Jing Shun regarded Song Yu as a friend he could confide in. His last phone call before death was also to him.
Even though it had been too late.
Perhaps it was fate—within the first hour after his rebirth, Jing Shun had encountered Chi Gui at the entrance of the banquet hall.
“……”
The thought that Song Yu and Chi Gui were the same person sent a subtle tide of emotion through Jing Shun’s heart.
Why? Why couldn’t he have told him directly?
Jing Shun didn’t resent Chi Gui’s secrecy, but there were still many details he couldn’t figure out.
The call he had made through his smartwatch hadn’t connected. He had no choice but to suppress his confusion and wait until Chi Gui returned from the charity event to ask him clearly.
Night deepened.
Accompanied by the sound of rain outside the window, Jing Shun gradually drifted off to sleep.
But without his lover by his side, this sleep was restless.
In his dreams, there was Song Yu one moment and Chi Gui the next—the experiences of his past and present lives intermingling, overwhelming him.
—BOOM!
A sudden thunderclap crashed down.
Jing Shun jolted awake from his dream, his heart pounding.
He wiped his forehead, damp with cold sweat. Before he could fully come to his senses, an unexpected knock came from outside the door.
Then, Chen Yiming’s voice: “Mr. Jing?”
“……”
Jing Shun turned over and sat up. It was only six in the morning. Almost instantly, he sensed something was wrong—
If it weren’t urgent, Chen Yiming would never call him at this hour!
The doorbell rang again.
The voice outside continued calling, growing more urgent. “Mr. Jing, wake up!”
Jing Shun quickly got out of bed and went to open the door, not even bothering with his crutches.
“……”
“……”
So early in the morning, Chen Yiming was already dressed in his outdoor clothes, his usually calm demeanor now laced with anxiety.
A pang of unease rose in Jing Shun’s chest. “What’s wrong?”
Chen Yiming knew what needed to be prioritized and that some things couldn’t be hidden. “Mr. Jing, I just confirmed the news—”
“Last night, a sudden rainstorm hit the southwestern mountainous area of Chuan City, triggering mudslides and landslides in several places, including the mountainous region around Yi County!”
Jing Shun felt his heart violently shudder. Without a second word, he grabbed his smartwatch to contact Chi Gui.
Soon, the cold, mechanical voice returned: “Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.”
Chen Yiming said, “I’ve tried both of Mr. Chi’s phone numbers—neither is reachable! The dedicated chip in one of his phones shows that he’s still in the mountainous area around Yi County!”
“I’ve already contacted the charity event organizer. We can’t reach any member of the small team Mr. Chi was with. It’s likely the signal is blocked in the mountains.”
Jing Shun’s legs went weak. Instinctively, he steadied himself against the door handle.
Chen Yiming got straight to the point. “The team has contacted the official rescue team. The organizer and I plan to go into the mountains with them. Mr. Jing, you should stay at the hotel with the others and wait for news.”
“No.”
Jing Shun vetoed it in a second.
He turned back into the room, grabbed his coat, and walked out again. “Assistant Chen, I’m going with you all!”
Chen Yiming hesitated. “But…”
“There’s no ‘but’!”
Jing Shun pulled up his jacket zipper as fast as he could, forcing himself to suppress the immense panic inside him. “I can’t stay here alone. Don’t worry, I won’t cause any trouble.”
He took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”
“Alright.”
“……”
Without another word, Jing Shun hurried over to the elevator. He tried to press the button, but his stiff fingertips wouldn’t cooperate.
Chen Yiming pressed it for him. “Mr. Jing, are you really…”
“I’m fine.”
Jing Shun cut him off, his hands clenched into fists inside his sleeves, his nails almost digging into his palms.
A slight sting rose, pushing back against the most useless tension at this moment.
After calming himself for a moment, he looked firmly at Chen Yiming. “Chi Gui won’t be in danger either. I trust him.”