Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhou Xufang opened yet another can of milk. She was not an avid fan of the beverage previously, but when she had bought the specific brand of milk for Jiang Zhi, she’d ordered an extra box for herself, and it was then that she had fallen in love with its taste.
It was her third can for today.
Before noon had even struck, Zhou Xufang had already downed 3 cans of the premium imported milk.
It was probably because of Ah Wan’s speech to his young master about how the “screen protector lady had fallen for him” that Jiang Zhi would steal glances at the woman from time to time. Suddenly, he shifted his gaze away as he changed into a more comfortable position in his seat. “Call Assistant Director Zhao over.”
Ah Wan left to call the assistant director over as the young master had ordered.
For him to be called out so abruptly, a panicked look surfaced on the assistant director’s face. “Did a problem arise for Director Jiang to order me here?”
With an absent-minded look on his face, the director swirled the can of milk in his hands. And with no prior explanations nor any conclusions, he simply uttered two words. “Mass actors.”
“Huh?” The assistant director was puzzled by what the director intended to convey. “Mass…is there an issue with the mass actors? Is it their poor performance that’s bugging you? Or perhaps it–”
“How much per day?”
“Umm…”
It seemed that the great Director Jiang had started worrying about the wellbeing of the people under him. To his unexpected question, the assistant director answered truthfully. “From 120 to around 200 yuan, I guess… Though, the more specialized the role, the higher the pay.”
Two hundred.
The three cans of milk she had downed this morning would have amounted to over a hundred or so yuan, which raised suspicion in Jiang Zhi’s mind. Even if she had sold more screen protectors the night before or worked extra hours on delivery, they were jobs that simply could not support her milk consumption.
Could it be that this young lady was working yet another job to buy all the milk she was drinking?
Wait, this was weird. Why would he even be remotely intrigued by a mere mass actor? He toyed with the can of milk in his hands. Perhaps it was because he had too much time on his hands. “The mass actors on set here have performed relatively well so far.”
A lot could be implied from that single sentence.
Assistant Director Zhao scratched his head. “Then…what do…you…think about it?”
Director Jiang raised his eyelids.
“Increase their pay for the day by half?” Assistant Director Zhao asked reluctantly.
The director remained silent, staring blankly at the assistant director who almost buckled over under pressure.
With sweat pouring out of his pores, he quickly went back on his words. “Twofold?”
Pop!
The director opened a new can of milk and took a sip.
Assistant Director Zhao wiped the sweat off his forehead and stammered. “Five…fivefold?”
Without uttering a single word, the man stood up and pulled his coat over his shoulders. He then left the scene while coughing intermittently. The director still appeared to be under-the-weather as he wrapped his overcoat tighter around his body as he walked, looking as if he could be blown away by the breeze at any moment if his attention slipped.
What’s he up to?
Assistant Director Zhao’s mind was muddled.
It was only when he had walked a significant distance away that Jiang Zhi turned around and replied with his iconic emotionless face. “Do as you see fit.”
“Huh?” Assistant Director Zhao once again, wiped the sweat off his face. His mind was now filled with nothing but more question marks.
Ah Wan looked down at his watch. It was already past 1 pm, meaning it was time for the young master to take his rest. He quickly caught up with Jiang Zhi.
“How’s that chicken faring?” Jiang Zhi asked out of the blue.
“Pretty good. It’s gotten two kilos heavier,” replied Ah Wan.
After that, no more words were exchanged between the two. For the rest of their walk, the silence would only be broken by the sound of the young master’s coughing from time to time. His coughs were so painful to listen to that it made Ah Wan’s chest go numb.
‘His body isn’t too healthy,’ thought Zhou Xufang.
“Xufang.”
Fang Lixiang waved her hand in front of her friend’s eyes. “Xufang.”
Zhou Xufang was still locked onto something in the distance.
Fang Lixiang hopped in front of her, blocking off her field of vision. “Possessed! You’ve been possessed by a spirit!”
Xufang’s head turned sideways. “Hmm?”
She didn’t even have the time to hide the curious look in her eyes, which was a stark contrast from the soulless eyes she would usually have.
Fang Lixiang pulled a young lady over to the front of Zhou Xufang. “This is my assistant.”
After she had entered into a contract with Bao Guang, it could be said that Fang Lixiang was now much more significant a person than she ever had been. Her manager was Lin Shang, one of the top-dog managers of the company. Apart from her, Lin Shang was also in charge of an A-list celebrity as well as two other B-list ones. While the amount of attention given to her was not a lot as compared to the others under his wing, to make up for that, he provided her with a personal assistant.
At first glance, you could tell that this assistant was very young. She kept her hair short and appeared to be a very neat young lady.
“Nice to meet you, my name is Jiang Wei’er.”
Her smile was as sweet as sugar, giving off the impression that she was a very obedient girl.
Zhou Xufang, who still was not accustomed to direct eye contact with other people, lowered her gaze and blurted out her name. “Zhou Xufang.”
Perhaps out of surprise at her shyness, Wei’er giggled. There was a very shallow dimple on the left side of her cheek that would only appear when she smiled widely, revealing her pearly whites.
She too had Jiang in her surname and was also a very good-looking person. These thoughts surfaced in Zhou Xufang’s mind.
“Xufang, you have any more milk? Gimme some to drown out the joy in my heart!” Fang Lixiang said as she clutched her chest excitedly. Her eyes darted around at lightning speed as if she had taken one too many adrenaline shots. “I’ll be acting in a scene alongside my idol later. Gotta make sure my heart doesn’t explode, y’know.”
Wei’er’s eyes widened, and with a surprised look on her face, she asked, “Is your idol Xiao Linshu?”
“D*mn right he is!” Fang Lixiang was not gonna let this chance of getting her idol’s phone number slip out of her hands. Taking out her phone from her pocket, she swiped at the screen a few times before showing them a picture of her “idol”. Then, she started her brainwashing session on the two girls beside her. “Isn’t he cute as heck!? I can look at his face for a hundred years without blinking!”
The male protagonist of this film was Xiao Linshu. Because Zhou Xufang’s role in the film was minimal, never once had she bumped into the person Lixiang was drooling over. She looked a few seconds longer at the screen to process the man’s picture in her mind.
Then, she stated. “He’s not as good-looking as Jiang Zhi.” Glancing at the screen one more time, she added, “Jiang Zhi’s eyes are more beautiful than his.” Pausing for three seconds, she continued. “His lips are also better-looking than his.” Basically, everything about Jiang Zhi far surpassed her friend’s celebrity crush.
Then came a death-stare from Fang Lixiang.
From Jiang Wei’er too, came a death-stare.
Zhou Xufang went silent, popping open the can of milk before passing it over to her friend.
With a “ding”, a message popped up on Jiang Wei’er’s phone screen. She glanced at it before rising from her seat. “I’m gonna head to the bathroom.”
The bathroom was adjacent to the resting area with just a corridor separating the two. Jiang Wei’er had just turned the corner before she felt something grab her wrist. In a split-second, she was pulled to a random corner.
“Wei’er.”
The man’s voice was low, which sounded pleasant to her ears.
Xiao Linshu was raised to be a singer, so it was natural that he had a good voice.
Jiang Wei’er nervously scanned the surroundings and tried to pull back her wrist. Yet, his grip grew ever tighter. “Let go of me first. If not, I’ll be spotted in no time.”
Xiao Linshu adamantly refused to let go of her wrists. Instead, he reached out his other hand and rested it on her hip. “Well, it’ll be made official if you’re spotted.”
All the while, he had always appeared to be a conservative man, refined in all aspects of his mannerism, and so, it was rather unexpected to see him act in such a brutish way. Regarding the “official” thing, if her identity was revealed to the public, considering that she was a member of the Jiang family and that Jiang Zhi was her nephew, no matter how much effort Xiao Linshu had put into his career, accusations of nepotism would forever plague his future.
“You signed a contract with Bao Guang?”
“Yep.”
Xiao Linshu wrapped his arms around her tightly. He then nestled his jaw on her shoulder, rubbing it gently, and with a slightly unhappy tone, he asked, “Why didn’t you come over to my side?”
He was a man with mixed-blood, hence his beautiful facial features. However, he also had the refined attitude of an East Asian man. Having debuted in the entertainment industry many years ago, he had long established himself as an A-list celebrity in the hierarchy.
“It doesn’t matter where I am.” Jiang Wei’er obediently clung to him like a child, but with a cheeky smile on her face. “It’s easier to avoid suspicion too.”
His voice sounded thick and heavy as he whispered right beside her ear. “Wei’er, let’s make it public when I get crowned the Film Emperor.”
“Alright.” She replied softly with a smile on her face.
Their private moment was interrupted by someone calling out for Linshu.
“Go,” said Jiang Wei’er as she released her grip and pushed him away.
He pecked her softly on the cheek.
It wasn’t until he had left that Jiang Wei’er appeared from her hiding spot. Raising her head, she was met with two familiar faces.
The man holding his chin with a strange expression on his face was none other than Xue Baoyi. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He sounded extremely hostile as he shook his head. “How disgusting. As Jiang Zhi’s aunt, aren’t you acting a bit too conspicuous?”
Without responding to the man’s judgment, Jiang Wei’er turned and left.
“Wei, Wei’er.” Xue Bingxue hurriedly yelled out with a face as red as beetroot.
“Hm?” Jiang Wei’er turned around with a puzzled look.
She was wearing a long, flowing white dress. With makeup on and her fringe over her forehead, she looked like an innocent maiden from your neighbor’s family.
Back then, she would never wear dresses and refused to apply even the most basic of all makeup on her face. With furrowed brows, Xue Bingxue said in the most gentle tone, “If anyone in the circle is bullying you…yo-you come and tell me about it right away.”
He stammered even though all that was said was a single sentence.
Sh*t, he was already wearing big boy pants and yet, he was acting all nervous like a 14-year-old boy on his first date.
Xue Baoyi paid no heed to his uncle and scoffed. “As the fifth child of the Jiang family and Jiang Zhi’s fifth aunt, who would even dare lay a finger on her?” His eyes scanned Jiang Wei’er’s body from top to toe. That white dress was extremely offensive to his eyes. His temper was boiling over at the sight of her and coldly, he mocked her. “Jiang Wei’er, how hopeless of a woman are you? For the sake of one man, you’ve yanked out all your thorns and magically transformed yourself from a poison ivy into a precious little blossom?”
He couldn’t believe the fact that she was wearing a dress. Back then, this woman wouldn’t even flinch when stepping on a two-hundred-pound man. However, just because that Xiao Linshu guy preferred tiny white blossoms, this devilish flower had pinned on an innocent white dress and had gone running off into the entertainment industry to work as an assistant.
The more Xue Baoyi thought about it, the more infuriated he became. “Just where the hell did the dominatrix that took up the challenge of three full-grown men go!?”
Jiang Wei’er licked her lips, and no longer able to restrain herself, she stepped forward and sent her leg flying toward its target. “Go f*ck yourself. I dare you to poke your greasy nose into my affairs again! I’m gonna pummel you to death next time!”
Xue Baoyi hugged his bruised calf, gritting his teeth as he took in the pain.
Godd*mn!
He was so angry that steam almost came shooting out his ears. “There it is! You’d only act like a cute little kitten that got its claws removed in front of Xiao Linshu! You good-for-nothing woman!”
Xue Bingxue made a pained expression and begged his nephew. “Please, stop saying such nasty things about Wei’er.”
Xue Baoyi’s anger could no longer be held back by his uncle’s words. “And you’re still defending her!” He was so disgusted by his uncle’s words that he wanted to smash his cotton candy-filled, naive little skull. “When did our Xue family produce such a nut-less man!? You’ve been going after her for over a decade now and somehow, you’re still getting cucked. Have you no shame!?”
Xue Bingxue’s despair continued to pile up. Hugging his head, he said out loud in a self-deprecating tone. “Wei’er doesn’t like me after all.” What could he have done, right?
This was precisely what Xue Baoyi described as a hopeless man.
“Why won’t you use a bit more force, then!?” Xue Baoyi was so frustrated that he kicked at his lame excuse of an uncle.
Xue Bingxue’s face turned an even brighter shade of red as soon as his nephew’s words entered his ears. Fearing that Jiang Wei’er would overhear his nephew, the man dragged Xue Baoyi aside and stared him down angrily. “You..you filthy scum!”
“…”
Such a naive man. Xue Baoyi felt that his uncle deserved to be cucked to the core.
Xue Bingxue was the youngest child of the Xue family and so was Jiang Wei’er. There was only a day’s difference between their birth dates and yet, their personalities were so drastically different. Theoretically, they would’ve been a match made in heaven, and what’s more, Xue Bingxue had been silently crushing on the girl ever since he was fourteen up until today, where he was twenty-eight. For 14 years, he had been chasing after her, and despite this, he would rather die than to hold the woman’s hand.
Argh, this was so d*mn frustrating!
Xue Baoyi kicked his pathetic uncle once more before legging it.
In the director’s resting room.
Ah Wan gently knocked on the door. “Master Jiang.”
The man inside was definitely enjoying his slumber. With a hoarse voice, he mumbled a reply. “Sleeping. Don’t be noisy.”
Even if someone had come looking for him, Ah Wan would typically not dare to wake the young master up as he tended to throw a massive tantrum after being woken up abruptly.
“Miss Zhou, the screen-protector lady, would like to meet you.”