Chapter 1 A Familiar Photo

The clouds hung low.

At the end of December, the film city was swept by strong winds, which felt like they carried sand, stinging and cold against the face.

The outdoor crew had only set up a few simple tents. The wind, like a rampant monster, roared and howled through the tents. The few heaters available were surrounded by people, but they were far from enough.

"Achoo!"

A disposable cup was handed over. Adrian Whitney took it, feeling the warmth in his hands. He then tightened his down jacket.

What bad luck. He only had ten scenes in total, and every time he had to shoot, the weather was terrible—either raining or windy. It looked like it might snow tomorrow. If it really snowed, would they continue shooting?

He had graduated from a second-tier drama school a year ago and signed with a small film company. He had been acting for a year, always taking minor roles. This time, he finally got a third male lead, but the weather was so bad. He didn''t know if it was just bad luck or a coincidence.

His fair, slender fingers held the disposable cup to his lips, letting the warm steam from the water touch his nose and cheeks. The warm, pleasant scent slowly seeped into his lungs, slightly alleviating his discomfort. His long eyelashes fluttered slightly, casting shadows on his fair face, making him look somewhat pitiful.

Under his black down jacket was a light blue long shirt, and he wore thin black cloth shoes. His toes were slightly curled, probably from the cold.

"Adrian, this crew is too basic. In such cold weather, there are only a few heaters, and they don''t provide any other warm items. You''ve suffered so much these past few days. Let''s not shoot anymore, okay?"

His agent, Cody Smith, said as he handed him a freshly heated electric hand warmer. These hand warmers and warm water were all prepared by Cody himself. The crew only provided terrible boxed meals and awful accommodations, with no other care.

"How can I not shoot? I''ve already done half of it." Adrian looked up, his eyes misted from the steam, dark and shiny like a small animal''s eyes. He sniffed and pleaded, "There aren''t many scenes left. Let me finish, okay?"

Cody sighed, "It''s not that I don''t want you to shoot. You clearly... clearly have better options."

Clearly, he had married the billionaire president of Echo Corporation, GrahSpectrum Group Carnegie. Wouldn''t it be better to be a president''s wife, a wealthy lady? Even if he didn''t want to be a wealthy lady, Mr. Carnegie could easily arrange a few scripts and better roles for him, which would be much better than playing a third male lead in this small, shabby crew.

When he got the call from GrahSpectrum Group to be Adrian''s agent, he thought he had struck gold. A same-sex partner of GrahSpectrum Group''s president—if not made into a movie star, at least a popular young actor, right?

But no, it''s been a month, and they''ve been stuck in this small, shabby crew, starving and freezing.

Anyone who didn''t know better would think he was here for charity.

He couldn''t understand what this little brat was thinking.

Adrian tilted his head back and drank the now lukewarm ginger and brown sugar water in one go, still holding the warm paper cup tightly. He stared at the remaining bit of reddish-brown water in the cup, "Hmm... I have no other choice."

"Huh?"

Cody didn''t react immediately.

Adrian turned to look at him, his face not looking too good, "Don''t bring this up again."

Cody was even more confused.

What did this little ancestor mean by "this matter"? Was he referring to his marriage to GrahSpectrum Group? Why not mention it?

Could it be that Adrian and Mr. Carnegie weren''t getting along? Or had they had a fight recently?

But then again, it seems that ever since they got married over a month ago, he hasn''t seen GrahSpectrum Group come looking for Adrian. If they were really newlyweds, why wouldn''t they come looking for him? But to say that GrahSpectrum Group was forced to marry Adrian, that''s impossible too. Adrian, a small-town nobody, had nothing to do with GrahSpectrum Group before. Besides, GrahSpectrum Group isn''t the type to let anyone dictate their marriage.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

Adrian, however, placed the paper cup aside, held a hand warmer in one hand, and a script in the other, reciting his lines with a serious and focused expression. His delicate face showed no signs of impatience or frustration.

Cody thought the scene was too beautiful and quickly grabbed his phone to take a picture, posting it on his Twitter:

"In the biting cold, my little guy is super diligent! [So happy]"

Cody had previously managed the popular young star Edwin WilliSpectrum Groups, but Edwin had terminated their contract. However, many fans still followed him, so he posted Adrian''s photos to help him gain more followers.

Sigh, who knows when his followers will exceed five million, it''s really worrying.

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"Ding dong~"

In the conference room, everyone in suits was buried in their documents when a sudden phone notification sounded. Everyone instinctively looked towards the sound and saw the big boss at the head of the table pick up his phone, intently looking at the screen. They didn''t think much of it and went back to their documents.

The man held a document in one hand and his phone in the other, skillfully opening his special notifications. A photo prominently appeared in the list—

Outside a cluttered studio, a young man sat on a small folding chair, wearing a thick black down jacket. One hand was on a green hand warmer, the other holding a script, looking at it with focused attention. His nose and the bridge of his nose had a delicate and beautiful curve, and under his long eyelashes, his black eyes seemed to hold a thousand stars, shining brightly. His lips were slightly parted, and his chin and jawline were at a perfect angle.

The sharp and cold expression on his face softened considerably upon seeing the photo. His thumb gently touched the screen, as if touching the person in the photo.

The meeting ended, and GrahSpectrum Group held another small high-level meeting. It wasn''t until after four in the afternoon that he finally finished his work.

Closing the office door, he finally sat down.

He took a sip of coffee, only to find it had been cold for a long time, now bitter and astringent.

Habitually opening his phone, the person he missed day and night appeared on the screen. He realized he had kept this page open the whole time.

The coldness between his brows softened again, and as if thinking of something, even the corners of his lips lifted a bit. He pressed the intercom button and, without waiting for the other person to speak, said:

"Elijah, arrange a car for me. I''m going to the film studio."

"Okay, Mr. Carnegie. Should I book a private room at a restaurant? What would you like to eat?"

"Adrian likes Jade cuisine, so Jade cuisine it is."

"Alright."

Hanging up the phone, GrahSpectrum Group opened his social media page again, clicked on the pinned conversation, and typed:

"Are you free tonight? I''ll come see you."

Just as he was about to send it, he felt it was inappropriate and deleted the whole sentence, retyping:

"I''ll come see you tonight, around seven."

—Although he felt his sweetheart wouldn''t refuse him, what if? What if?

Mr. Carnegie touched his chest, suddenly realizing that sometimes he could be quite sensitive.