Chapter 187: Kept in Mind

Liu Tianxian was lying on her back; Fang Hong couldn't hug her, so he just placed his hand on her, and got a glare in warning.

Liu Tianxian scolded him: "Really, you start pawing at me the moment we get into bed—your hand's almost on my chest."

"Oh! So now my hand's a dog's paw."

Fang Hong said it jokingly, but didn't dare act recklessly—his dog's paw had to be careful.

"Always has been!"

Liu Tianxian grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach, to stop him from wandering.

His touch made her uneasy too—her heart felt itchy.

Everyone has desires; she just had more reason.

Fang Hong smiled, then lay still, and both stared at the ceiling.

This was their first time lying together—an inexplicable intimacy hung in the air.

"Hey, I want to ask you something."

Liu Tianxian remembered something and broke the silence: "Back when we talked about The Big Shot, didn't I tell you I'd make a cameo? Why are people saying the role was originally meant for Liu Sisi, that I snatched it away? What's going on?"

She'd seen comments online claiming the role was meant for Liu Sisi, accusing her of being arrogant and stealing it.

The Big Shot is hot now, and the actors are getting attention too—Liu Tianxian and all the others received praise, their acting was solid.

Liu Sisi's side naturally resented it, feeling she could've gotten the same praise.

Fang Hong fell silent—he hadn't taken it seriously back then, hadn't told the assistant director, and that's what caused this.

"Why aren't you talking? What's the real situation?" Liu Tianxian turned her head to look at him.

"I thought you were going to act in The Four Constables, so I assumed you wouldn't be in The Big Shot—I didn't tell the assistant director," Fang Hong admitted.

Liu Tianxian sighed, tapped his head: "You're so careless. I told you—I was definitely taking the role. Why would I not?"

"It's my fault. I'll have Guo Fan come out and clear your name," Fang Hong said.

"Make sure it's clear—don't let people misunderstand," Liu Tianxian instructed.

"I'll make it crystal clear."

Fang Hong promised, glancing at her: "Don't pay attention to what those people say."

"I'm not paying attention. If I'd done it, I'd admit it. If I didn't, I ignore it. But this time, your carelessness made others misunderstand too—it's unfair to them."

Liu Tianxian spoke almost poetically, subtly pointing out that Fang Hong's carelessness had hurt someone else too.

To her, this wasn't a big deal—just clarify it and move on.

"You're making me feel ashamed," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian was growing increasingly clear-eyed, while he was standing still.

"I didn't say anything to you—I just want you to think before you act, so you don't hurt others. Now that your status is higher, one decision could affect someone else's entire career," Liu Tianxian said softly.

This wasn't about her being kind—it was simply that she never deliberately hurt others, and this issue was Fang Hong's fault, not Liu Sisi's.

Her words made him feel even more ashamed—he'd never considered others' feelings, just done whatever he wanted.

In his mindset, if someone resisted, you crushed them until they submitted; clearing out Liu Sisi was nothing, and even silencing Tangren was just a matter of time.

"Let me tell you—prepare yourself for the day when you might lose everything. Ambition is truly a demon of the heart."

Liu Tianxian said this because she understood this man's mindset.

Sometimes people won't wake up unless they hurt—only after pain do they awaken.

She didn't want Fang Hong to one day kick a wall so hard he broke his foot—that would hurt terribly. But she didn't want him to feel that pain, so she often restrained him.

Fang Hong said nothing, accepting Liu Tianxian's mental guidance.

He understood everything she said—but once you're in the jungle, you're bound by its rules: if you don't fight, you'll never rise past your current stage, because the cake is only so big.

Every major corporation rises through struggle—no exceptions.

Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance—they've all been fighting nonstop; no rise has ever been smooth.

But he couldn't deny her words—they were truly for his good.

Liu Tianxian had little ambition; she only wanted to be a good actor, an artist—her goals were completely different from Fang Hong's.

"That script I told you about—will you take it?" Fang Hong asked.

"Which one?" Liu Tianxian looked confused.

She'd been busy lately, with many scripts—film companies everywhere were sending her material, even from Hong Kong.

This was the influence Fang Hong had on her.

After her box-office hits, Hong Kong saw she was viable again and wanted to squeeze more profit from her.

"The Star You script!" Fang Hong said.

"I think I'll pass. If I go back to TV dramas, I'll lose my movie acting skills," Liu Tianxian sighed. She followed Fang Hong's advice—once she chose, she'd push forward fully; without effort, she'd never know if she could succeed.

"This script could make you famous across Asia," Fang Hong turned to look at her.

"I can't have it all—I can only pick one goal and strive toward it. Didn't you say choice matters more than effort? Since I chose the movie path, I must first abandon the TV path," Liu Tianxian said.

Fang Hong understood. He rolled closer, smiling: "Xiao Feifei, you're so insightful today!"

"Be serious!" Liu Tianxian frowned.

She'd only spoken to break the awkwardness—she didn't know what to say, so she went poetic.

It warned herself and taught Fang Hong at the same time.

Fang Hong pulled his hand free and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand: "Don't you think people just need to slowly find their own goal and live according to their heart?"

"Yes. As long as you find your goal and strive for it, your life becomes meaningful," Liu Tianxian said, looking at him.

She didn't stop his gesture.

She also enjoyed talking about such topics with Fang Hong—it brought their souls closer.

"My goal may be overambitious, but it's something I must do. I'm not doing this to bully others—I'm just refusing to let others bully me. You should understand."

Fang Hong explained her words from just now.

He didn't say it was to protect Liu Tianxian—that would be too deliberate.

Fighting under the guise of helping others makes you look like a scumbag; fundamentally, Fang Hong acted for himself, and defending Liu Tianxian was merely incidental.

"I understand. Just be yourself."

Liu Tianxian had said that just to tell him to tone it down, not to give up—he encouraged him: "If you have this dream and this wish, just work hard. The process may bring difficulties or misunderstandings, but I believe any dream you've truly pursued can come true."

His words made Fang Hong smile—it had a touch of inspirational-poster flavor. Hard work doesn't guarantee dreams will come true.

Even by 2024, Liu Tianxian hadn't said her dream had come true; back then, she still hadn't won any major award through acting.

That night, the two talked a lot—from life to ideals, from ideals to thoughts, from thoughts to dreams, from dreams to philosophy, and from philosophy to… well, Fang Hong didn't manage to talk Liu Tianxian to sleep, but he fell asleep first.

After all, he was sick—how could anyone resist falling asleep to Liu Tianxian's soft, babyish voice using Hypnosis?

Liu Tianxian didn't sleep; instead, she lay on her side, propping her head up with one hand, staring at the man's silhouette beside her—just staring, as if there were something fascinating to see.

That night, Fang Hong sweated heavily again; Liu Tianxian touched his forehead, got up, found a towel, heated it with hot water, and placed it on his forehead.

After this bout of heavy sweating, the man should be fine.

Actually, even without the injection, Fang Hong could have toughed it out—it wasn't a serious illness.

Early the next morning, Xu Liyun arrived at the hospital with a lunch box; seeing Liu Tianxian dozing off beside the bed, she tapped her shoulder.

"Auntie!" Liu Tianxian jolted awake and stood up.

"You must be exhausted. Eat something," Xu Liyun said warmly, handing her breakfast.

Liu Tianxian took it and ate: "He sweated several times last night—he should be fine."

"You've gone through so much. Eat, then go rest. I'll take over," Xu Liyun said, concerned for her after a sleepless night.

Liu Tianxian nodded, agreeing without objection.

As she ate, the two chatted quietly, then Liu Tianxian went home to rest.

When Fang Hong woke up, he didn't see Liu Tianxian—only his mother: "Where is she?"

"She went home. That girl watched over you all night—don't you let her rest?" Xu Liyun said.

Fang Hong said nothing, only felt a quiet disappointment at not seeing Liu Tianxian that morning.

Then he learned she'd gone to sleep—and felt relieved!

"I'm telling you, son, Yifei is a good girl—you must cherish her," Xu Liyun said sincerely.

"I know," Fang Hong nodded.

He had seen everything, and he had remembered it all.

After Christmas, the box office for The Big Man dropped to 11.7 million; Jinling Thirteen Beauties reached 12.69 million; Dragon Gate Assassins hit 10.67 million.

For these past few days, all three films had been earning in the tens of millions, with Jinling Thirteen Beauties the most stable.

Of the three, this one had the most depth.

Now we wait for New Year's Day—that's the final surge at the box office.

Fang Hong was kept hospitalized for three or four days under Liu Tianxian's watch, and underwent a full body check; only after confirming he was fine did Liu Tianxian drive him home herself.

He couldn't be held back any longer—Fang Hong had important matters ahead.

The TuPiaopiao investment meeting is scheduled for the 31st.

(End of Chapter)