11 Am I Your Goddess?

"The steak will get cold if you leave it too long. Try it, this place does quite good steaks."

Yuan Ge refills their glasses with red wine and clinks his glass lightly with Amélie's, but doesn't continue the previous conversation.

Amélie drops the subject and looks down at her plate as if she were concentrating on enjoying her steak, but she knows in her heart that Yuan Ge's attitude is still one of clear rejection. The man can only speak eloquently and genuinely when it comes to his art, but when it comes to his personal life and relationships, he is always vague and indifferent. Amélie knows that Yuan Ge, as a good film director, must have a delicate and rich emotional world, and his reluctance to discuss his personal feelings can only mean that she has not yet aroused his interest enough.

For the past year, she has been working hard on this small start-up company. As one of the four founders, she has put her life savings, all her time and energy into it without a minute of relaxation, taking on several jobs at once and acting as everyone's housekeeper and nanny. But Amélie never complained, did her best with limited resources, ignored her gender and threw herself into her career with enough professionalism to show that she was excellent at what she did. In this regard, she can see that she has gained Yuan Ge's respect and recognition, and his trust and reliance on her is growing. However, he has never shown the same eagerness towards her as the other two partners have towards their female peers. Even when she takes the initiative to make obvious hints, as she did today, they are ignored without comment. She cannot think of anything she hasn't done well enough to explain why he remains indifferent to her after a year of acquaintance.

"What are you thinking about? So engrossed."

Amélie looks up and meets Yuan Ge's gaze. Since beating around the bush didn't work, she might as well be more direct, "You." With that said, she lifts her glass to her lips and takes a small sip, without taking her eyes off Yuan Ge.

"I was thinking, what kind of a goddess the future Mrs. Yuan would be."

"What Mrs. Yuan? You've been living in the West for too long. It's not popular for women in China to take their husbands' names after marriage. Nowadays it's all about the heroine plus her subservient husband or queen plus her loyal servant. It's impossible to find a traditional woman who is willing to play a supporting role to her husband and children!" Yuan Ge replies, with a mischievous look in his eyes, as if the question has nothing to do with him.

Amélie's heart beats faster, the words "I'm willing if it were you" almost comes out of her mouth, but she holds it back.

Don't lose your composure. In front of such a wonderful man, do not let him take you lightly by behaving imprudently.

She tells herself.

"Don't change the subject. We're talking about your choice of wife, Director Yuan." She smiles brightly and decides to push him one more time.

Seeing Amélie's insistence, Yuan Ge has no choice but to reply, "Lady Producer, look at the state of DDP, with its current size and operations, it's not even a third-rate film production company in China. I don't want to sound conceited, but I do understand that everyone is doing their best to keep this company going, more or less because of me. Our first film was an art-house film that received international acclaim thanks to a niche subject and overseas setting, but the domestic audience knows almost nothing about us and we have to start from scratch. This film with its traditional theme is therefore crucial to our survival and our ability to gain a firm foothold in the mainstream film market. This is a huge responsibility on my shoulders."

Amélie understands that Yuan Ge was telling the truth, but she doesn't want him to switch the conversation back to work and art so quickly. Unwilling to drop the subject, she asks again, "I understand, and that's why I want to be your best comrade in arms. It's just that, work aside, don't you want a life? I'm curious what kind of woman you'd be attracted to."

"I never seem to have time to think about that."

"Love is the source of art. How can you pursue the ultimate art but not have a high regard for love? Or is it that our great Director Yuan has too many untold love affairs and too many women to choose from that he has become numb to them all?"