Chapter 289 - 275 was glimpsed by Jiang
"You... You better take this seriously. Remember to stay relaxed." Zhao Chun turned his face away, not daring to look at her, and said shyly, "If this keeps happening..."
"Got it, Director Zhao." Tian Sangsang suddenly felt cheerful. "It seems I’ll need you to sacrifice your charm again. This time, I promise no hesitation—I’ll nail it on the first take."
The scene remained unchanged.
The radiant girl Zhou Yun quickly planted a kiss on the cheek of the simple and naive Geng Hua.
Geng Hua pressed his parched lips together, feeling even more awkward. His flushed face, paired with his bright black eyes, nervously glanced at Zhou Yun. "Someone might see."
Amused, Zhou Yun pinched his nose, wrapped her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder.
She said coyly, "There’s no one else, just us."
Between heaven and earth, everything dimmed in comparison to this blissful couple.
No one else, just us—or so it seemed.
Not far away, in the woods, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, scattering fragmented light.
The man’s body beneath his trench coat was stiff, his fists clenched tightly. A gust of wind roared past, lifting the icy edge of his coat.
His eyes were locked onto the couple, filled with a violent and chilling intensity.
"Jiang, it’s time to move." The man behind him followed his gaze, observing the pair in each other’s arms while others operated cameras nearby.
It turned out the group from the train were actors.
As someone whose emotional life was nearly nonexistent, the special soldier genuinely felt that the scene was wonderfully romantic and picturesque.
The trench coat man turned away indifferently, his deep eyes swirling with unsettling darkness. He spoke in a low voice, "John is hiding in Lushan Mountain. We must find him. Let’s go."
The faint sound of footsteps faded away. As an autumn leaf fluttered down, the place seemed untouched, as though no one had ever been there.
**
"Hey, Charles!"
On the forested trail, Charles hurriedly appeared, still wearing the same outfit from yesterday.
Except the neat suit now sported a few wrinkles and smudges of dirt.
"Zhao, Tian!" Charles stopped in front of them, his pale complexion betraying his distress. "Apologies, I missed the meeting."
He spoke while beads of sweat formed on his brow, his hand weakly clutching his stomach.
"It’s okay," Zhao Chun shook his head. "Huh, your complexion doesn’t look good..."
Before Zhao Chun could finish speaking, Tian Sangsang suddenly gasped.
Charles had lost his balance, stumbling forward, his hand landing on the backpack slung over Tian Sangsang’s back just in time to steady himself.
"Charles! What’s wrong with you?"
"No problem... I just skipped breakfast, too hungry," Charles muttered, moving his hand away from the backpack.
Zhao Chun extended his hand to support him, only to be abruptly shoved aside.
At the very moment Charles pushed him, a gunshot rang out sharply, splitting the air. The bullet struck a tree trunk, leaving a gaping hole.
The tree trunk was precisely where the three of them had been standing moments earlier.
There weren’t many people nearby—most were scattered about resting or taking in the scenery.
Aside from Zhao Chun, Tian Sangsang, and Charles, the only one left was the person holding the gun.
Shooting? Why?
"Run now!" Charles shouted as he dashed in the opposite direction.
The gunman glanced at Charles’s retreating figure, then focused on Tian Sangsang and Zhao Chun, raising his firearm again.
"What the hell!" Tian Sangsang cursed inwardly in the face of the life-or-death moment. "We’re just passing by—what’s with this madness? Why would they try to kill us too?"
But Zhao Chun reacted faster. He pulled Tian Sangsang close, and the two of them rolled off the edge of the trail, tumbling down the slope together.
Two small fish weren’t worth the trouble for the gunman. He fired another shot in their direction before turning to chase after Charles.
In the depths of the woods, Zhao Chun and Tian Sangsang lay among fallen leaves, both dazed.
They had come to Lushan to film a romance movie, enjoy the scenery, but why had they suddenly encountered an assassin?
An assassin? It surely had to be an assassin.
All they wanted was to find some extras for the shoot, yet it led to crossing paths with a killer. Unlucky to an extreme!
If anyone didn’t know better, they’d think they were shooting a spy thriller.
"Damn!" Tian Sangsang cursed, her profanity masking her inner turmoil. She sat up to survey their surroundings.
Through the gaps between the trees, a few silhouettes of tourists milling about were visible.
It seemed they were temporarily safe.
As long as there were people around, there was some measure of security.
However, if the gunman turned on the tourists, what could they do?
Police... Were there any police nearby?
Suddenly, Tian Sangsang recalled the two officers she’d seen yesterday.
Silence enveloped them—still, eerily so.
Tian Sangsang’s heart skipped a beat as she instinctively glanced at Zhao Chun.
Thankfully, he was alive.
He lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, wordlessly lost in thought.
Poor guy—he must have been terrified.
Although Tian Sangsang prided herself on having watched countless similar films, she would keep her fear bottled up—unlike Zhao Chun, who was visibly shaken.
"Hey... Zhao Chun..." She extended a hand, forming a "three" with her fingers. "How many fingers do you see?"
Zhao Chun’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. His eyes focused on her. "Three, Tian Sansan."
"So you’re conscious—not totally knocked out." She leaned closer to peer into his eyes. Something unusual had surfaced beneath his gaze.
It felt like he was still himself, but also... not quite. "Zhao Chun?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah," he replied hoarsely. "It’s me."
"Do you like being jealous?" Tian Sangsang teased, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Ugh!" Startled, his expression changed. He scrambled to his feet, keeping a meter’s distance from her and shaking his head.
Silently, Tian Sangsang chuckled. Who knew that knocking his head once would actually knock some sense into him?
The pair focused on quickly distancing themselves from the chaos, hurrying to regroup with Yao Yu and the others.
Along the way, Zhao Chun reflected on the snippets of his recent amnesia. Thankfully, he hadn’t done anything outright scandalous.
Still, "Tian Sangsang... Will Xiaoyan hold it against me?"
Tian Sangsang pondered for a moment before affirming, "Indeed."
Zhao Chun winced. Back then, he’d acted beastly—cold and indifferent toward Xiaoyan when passing by. He resignedly realized he’d have to make amends.
No doubt the poor kid’s heart was broken.
Lost in thought, he abruptly halted, turning to cast a glance into the dense forest. "Did you hear gunshots?"
She had heard it, as likely did everyone in Lushan. Tian Sangsang shuddered. "We need to go!"
She silently prayed it wasn’t a tourist, or Charles, but the gunman who had fallen.
Just as Tian Sangsang had prayed, the gunman—the one sent to silence Charles—had been shot to death by the trench coat man.
The would-be victim, Charles, was gravely injured, now panting heavily as he leaned against a tree.
His companion crouched to search him, then stood up and shook his head. "It’s not here."
"Where is it?" the trench coat man asked.
"Hahaha..." Charles tilted his head back and began hoarsely laughing.