It was a subtle expression shot from behind, showing only the kissing action without the actual kiss.
She watched this clip repeatedly, unconsciously showing a hint of appreciation for her own work.
Almost every clip from this shoot could be used.
She continued dragging the progress bar. In the last clip, the one of them watching fireworks at Magpie Bridge, Yu Wanwan finally heard the content of the lines Zhang Jingxu had added without permission.
And his reaction during the confession didn't seem like something that could be acted out. She repeatedly dragged the progress bar and paused the frame on his profile looking at her.
His gaze was too focused, too intense, thick enough to pull strings, reflecting a tiny her and the flowing lights.
Yu Wanwan's ears suddenly felt a bit hot. Thinking back to when Zhang Jingxu said he didn't add any lines last night, she frowned in confusion. A ridiculous and alarming thought couldn't help but pop up in her heart: "Could this confession have been his true feelings? No way?"
...
With her relentless effort in front of the computer, Yu Wanwan finally condensed two days' worth of footage into a 23-minute video before sunset, and wrote a very romantic love script for this video.
"Done!" Yu Wanwan published the video, leaned back in her chair, and rubbed her sore eyes.
Today's editing workload was probably the toughest since she became a blogger.
She picked up her phone and checked the time. It was already 6:30. Zhang Jingxu should be back soon, right?
Speak of the devil. Just as she thought of him, his call came unexpectedly.
Yu Wanwan answered the phone, her voice sounding very cheerful: "Are you coming back?"
"No. I have a business dinner tonight, so I might be back a bit late." Zhang Jingxu's voice on the other end sounded slightly tired. He paused, then said, "I might not be able to film with you tonight."
"Oh." Yu Wanwan picked at the mouse pad, opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, said nothing.
Zhang Jingxu continued: "I've already asked Auntie to come cook for you. Whatever you want to eat, just tell her."
"Oh." Her voice suddenly dropped, no longer as cheerful as before.
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up?"
"Mm." She thought for a moment, then added just before the call ended, "Remember to come back early."
After hanging up, a huge sense of loss, accompanied by a clear realization, suddenly overwhelmed her like a tsunami.
She seemed to have gotten used to having him in her life, used to hearing someone bustling in the kitchen every evening, and... the seemingly real yet fake interactions both inside and outside the frame.
This clear realization suddenly made her restless. So much so that when she sat at the table and ate the king crab dinner carefully prepared by Auntie, though the crab meat was fresh and delicious, without someone's presence, the dinner felt like it had no seasoning—tasteless.
After dinner, Yu Wanwan didn't go upstairs. She watched TV alone in the living room.
The TV was playing the hottest variety show. The guests were laughing hysterically, but she only found it noisy.
She used the laughter as background noise, while her attention kept drifting to the entrance.
After an unknown amount of time, Yu Wanwan's consciousness gradually faded in the waiting, and she unknowingly fell asleep.
When she woke up again, Yu Wanwan groggily got up from the sofa. She looked around; Zhang Jingxu seemed not to have returned yet.
She checked the time—it was almost 10.
She sighed, opened WeChat, and sent him a message asking when he'd be back.
Only after sending that message did Yu Wanwan suddenly realize that she had been waiting for him all along.
This discovery caught her off guard.
It's usually only wives who eagerly await their late-returning husbands. What was she doing waiting for him?
Yu Wanwan looked at her phone again. Five minutes had passed, and he still hadn't replied.
It seemed he was really busy today.
She put on her slippers and went to the kitchen to check the chicken soup she had specially saved for him. The soup had completely cooled down during the long wait, with a thin layer of oil on top.
Yu Wanwan took a spoon and skimmed off the oil, then turned on the heat to warm it up.
She rested her chin on one hand and continued waiting in the living room.
Just as the soup was reheated, Yu Wanwan's phone finally rang.
She eagerly picked it up, looked at the familiar number, and pressed the answer button, her voice full of a cheerfulness she herself hadn't noticed: "Are you coming back?"
The number was his, but the voice on the other end was a stranger's.
The man claimed to be his secretary, saying that Zhang Jingxu had drunk too much at the dinner, and hoped Yu Wanwan could come and handle it.
Yu Wanwan asked for the address, turned off the stove, and quickly took a taxi there.
Arriving at the destination, Secretary Xiao Zhao had been waiting at the hotel entrance for a long time.
As he led the way, Xiao Zhao said: "President Zhang doesn't usually drink. It's just that today the company successfully signed a deal with Shengshi. He was happy, and the other executives kept toasting him. I didn't know his alcohol tolerance was so low. I'm really sorry to trouble you to come all the way this late."
Yu Wanwan had heard of the name Shengshi. It was known as the largest business empire in the country. It was said that last night's century fireworks were set off by the group's heir to win a smile from his beloved. Partnering with a business giant like Shengshi was indeed worth celebrating.
She pushed open the heavy private room door. A tall man emerged from the private room, wearing an expensive custom suit, with a faint smell of alcohol mixed with a strong aura that kept strangers at a distance.
Yu Wanwan recognized him at a glance. The man was Song Chou, the heir of the Shengshi Group.