Chapter 20.1
Zhai You raised an eyebrow, then quickly lowered it again.
She looked at Jiang Bailu’s phone. Her manager called “Hello? Hello?” several more times from the other end, and just from the sound of him, he didn’t seem like someone easy to deal with.
Only then did Jiang Bailu belatedly move to hang up. She didn’t want Zhai You to hear those things, but then she heard Zhai You say mildly, “Put it on speaker. I want to hear.”
After thinking it over again and again, Jiang Bailu inexplicably gave in and actually turned on the speaker.
Her manager’s voice was amplified. “Jiang Bailu, what’s wrong with you? You’re not being proactive about such a good opportunity, and now you’re pretending to be deaf? If you keep this up, the company won’t even want you anymore!”
On the last sentence, her manager’s voice nearly cracked. It was obvious he was extremely worked up.
Jiang Bailu lowered her eyes dejectedly, not daring to look directly at Zhai You as she wondered what Zhai You would think.
She probably wouldn’t care. Someone who could propose a mistress contract in the first place would probably be very accepting of something like this.
Jiang Bailu wanted to explain that she wouldn’t agree to it, but then thought—why explain that to Zhai You?
It wasn’t as if Zhai You was anyone to her. Their relationship was simple and innocent.
Jiang Bailu’s heart twisted into a knot, and her emotions were plainly written across her face. Zhai You listened to the manager berate her. In his eyes, Jiang Bailu seemed to be nothing more than an ungrateful money-losing burden.
“If Auntie knew about this, she’d be so upset,” Zhai You said lightly.
She saw Jiang Bailu’s grip tighten even further.
Zhai You snorted. “Why are you just standing there? Curse him back.”
“If you don’t know how, I’ll do it for you. And if you don’t want me to curse him out… then I’ll go tell Auntie.”
“No!” She couldn’t let her mother worry any more.
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Jiang Bailu’s lips. “He’s my manager. If I curse him back, it’ll affect the roles I can get. It’ll also delay you from making money, won’t it?”
The clothes they had bought while shopping today, her mother’s medical expenses, and the role in Deliberate Love had all cost Zhai You a great deal of money. If Jiang Bailu wanted to repay her, she had to act and earn appearance fees.
She couldn’t offend her manager.
Zhai You grew impatient. She heard the other end of the line go quiet, as though the manager was about to hang up, so she directly snatched the phone out of Jiang Bailu’s hand.
Jiang Bailu tried to grab it back, but to keep the manager from hanging up, Zhai You had already fired back first.
“If it’s such a great opportunity, why don’t you go yourself? Isn’t securing good conditions for your artist what a manager is supposed to do? Why are you pushing her out instead?”
“Oh, you’re incompetent. Fine. But then you blame your own incompetence on Jiang Bailu? What exactly are you getting paid for, ascending to heaven?”
Jiang Bailu’s manager froze.
Why did that voice sound so familiar?
Before he could ask, Zhai You swiftly hung up. If you wanted to infuriate someone, this was how you did it.
Fire back at them, then don’t even give them a chance to respond.
“You…” Jiang Bailu wanted to criticize her impulsiveness.
Zhai You shoved the phone back into her hand, trying to distance herself from the whole thing, pretending what had just happened hadn’t happened at all—or at least had nothing to do with her.
But Jiang Bailu’s delicate brows were knitted together, and the sight was far too distressing.
Zhai You was worrying internally, but on the surface, she smoothly started spouting nonsense. “You said yourself that you can’t delay me from making money. So how can the appearance fees you earn from acting be split with your current company?”
Jiang Bailu couldn’t quite keep up with her train of thought. She wanted to say that this was stipulated in the contract she had signed when she joined the company.
But before she could speak, she suddenly realized what Zhai You meant. “You want me to sign with your company?”
She had never heard of Zhai You owning a talent agency.
Zhai You was signed with Xingyu Entertainment. Although Xingyu wasn’t considered a major company in the industry, it still managed to secure one major production every year. Its artists didn’t have many jobs, but their schedules were never completely empty either.
It was a company that was neither particularly successful nor unsuccessful, with a rather laid-back, go-with-the-flow attitude.
After Xingyu Entertainment signed Zhai You, however, it suddenly started shining brightly.
Whenever Zhai You liked a variety show or drama, she would find some way to get involved. If that didn’t work, she would find a way to become an investor instead, just like with Deliberate Love.
Sometimes her enthusiasm only lasted three minutes. One second she would love something, and the next she would already be bored with it.
Those opportunities would then fall to the company’s other artists.
Yet strangely enough, anything involving Zhai You attracted attention. And beneath all that attention, no matter how viciously people cursed Zhai You, they rarely extended that hatred toward the artists who stepped in to replace her.
Those artists somehow even became mildly popular…
Not wildly famous, but definitely not flops either.
Jiang Bailu had once heard some barely-known seniors at her company complain enviously that it would have been so much better if they had signed with Zhai You’s company. Back then, they shouldn’t have looked down on Xingyu Entertainment for being so laid-back and uncompetitive.
While everyone else had been looking the other way, Xingyu had quietly brought in a giant like Zhai You.
Even more infuriatingly, everyone had been waiting for Zhai You to squander her entire fortune, yet somehow she had actually made a small profit.
Of course, the original owner hadn’t cared about that money. She had mainly been doing it for fun~
Having Zhai You at Xingyu Entertainment was absolutely a blessing for the company.
Although Jiang Bailu didn’t know why Zhai You had signed with this company in the first place, all of this made it obvious that Zhai You had considerable influence within Xingyu.
If she wanted Jiang Bailu to sign there, it really might be possible.
Jiang Bailu’s brows relaxed as she asked in confusion, “But even if I sign with Xingyu, you still wouldn’t get the money…”
Perhaps Zhai You owned shares in the company, but surely not many.
So what was the point?
Zhai You choked on her anger. “It’s still better than letting that lousy company of yours make money.”
She suddenly remembered something. The original owner’s family was rich, but the righteous love interest had to be even richer. Otherwise, how could she have crushed the original owner, who was merely a cannon-fodder love interest?
So after the righteous love interest returned to the country, she not only dealt with the original owner but also Jiang Bailu’s current agency.
Then… with a wave of her hand, she created an entire team specifically for Jiang Bailu, signed Jiang Bailu directly under her, and found countless excellent resources for her.
Zhai You sighed endlessly in her heart. She had thought she had become filthy rich, only to discover she was still at the bottom.
“My manager is actually pretty good. She can manage you.” Zhai You spoke well of Sister Ji with a cold expression.
She hadn’t even gotten the chance to show off in front of Jiang Bailu yet.
“She happens to like you too. You… think about it.”
It was obvious that Zhai You was genuinely thinking of Jiang Bailu’s best interests.
Zhai You looked awkward, as though she wanted to say everything outright but was holding it back because of something. Her brows drew together, and the impatience leaking through made her seem even more vivid and alive.
Jiang Bailu’s breathing gradually slowed. She stared straight at Zhai You, then revealed an extraordinarily beautiful smile.
It was faint, but more genuine than any of her previous smiles.
Close enough that Zhai You could have reached out and touched it.
Jiang Bailu looked at Zhai You with flickering eyes. In that instant, it seemed as though all their misunderstandings had dispersed.
She said, “You’re a good person.”
Zhai You: ……
That hurt.
Qiao Yan still hadn’t returned from wherever she had gone with her new rich target. She only sent Jiang Bailu a text saying that something had come up and she had to leave first, telling Jiang Bailu to stay where she was and wait for Zhai You.
At the same time, Qiao Yan called Zhai You. “Hey, hurry up and pick up your wife.”
Zhai You had just been given the good-person card and had no idea what Qiao Yan had said about her in front of Jiang Bailu.
She ground her back teeth. “Your bonus is gone!”
Then she hung up, leaving Qiao Yan even more furious on the other end. She had worked herself half to death and was getting nothing out of it? Damn you, Skinflint Zhai! So generous to Jiang Bailu, but to her, she was worse than she would be to a beggar!
“…Let’s go home.”
Once they returned home, Zhai You was eager to terminate Jiang Bailu’s contract.
That man could call Jiang Bailu today and tell her to do something she disliked. Would he start forcing her tomorrow?
Mentally putting a huge mark against Jiang Bailu’s manager, Zhai You couldn’t swallow this anger and contacted Sister Ji. “Do you know Jiang Bailu’s manager?”
Although he had quite a few scenes in the original novel, he was still less important than the original owner, who was cannon fodder herself.
Meaning he was even more cannon fodder.
Zhai You could only remember the rough plot and couldn’t remember who this person actually was. Thinking hard, she vaguely recalled the novel describing sunken cheeks and an unsettling, lingering presence.
Sister Ji knew plenty of managers in the industry. They would privately exchange work experiences, so she had heard a little about Jiang Bailu’s manager.
“I think he’s called Sister V or something, but he’s actually a male Beta. Sigh, you know the type.” Sister Ji strongly disliked the man, but she didn’t offer too much commentary. She simply answered whatever Zhai You asked.
“He used to manage a few minor idols, but none of them ever became particularly popular. Eventually, all of them left the industry.”
“There were rumors, though, that one of them married into a wealthy family…”
Using unspoken rules to push artists upward was Sister V’s usual method. But with his connections, he couldn’t exactly find any truly powerful figures.
Who knew how much mental preparation those minor idols had needed before going to entertain those people.
Even before Sister Ji signed Zhai You, she would never have used methods like that. She had broad connections and knew plenty of people, so she could still secure some benefits for the artists under her.
It was just that Xingyu Entertainment’s salted-fish culture ran so deep that everyone thought the company was simply coasting through life.
No ambition whatsoever.
What no one seemed to notice was how clean the company actually was inside: it didn’t force people, didn’t support such behavior, and even opposed it.
Zhai You didn’t know why the original owner had signed with this company, and the novel hadn’t explained it either. But since she was already signed there, and she could tell Sister Ji was a decent person, she was willing to keep working with her for now.
Today, Zhai You had told Sister Ji that she wanted Jiang Bailu to sign with them.
Sister Ji was sharp enough to understand immediately what Zhai You suddenly asking about Sister V meant.
“What? Did he force your little Omega to do something?”
Zhai You gave a quiet “Mm.”
After hearing Sister Ji’s explanation, her expression turned cold. Her flawless features suddenly looked extremely aggressive, carrying an almost condescending aura.
Especially with that full head of red hair, she looked even more murderous.
Merely solving the contract issue probably wouldn’t be enough.
Zhai You’s gaze swept aside and fixed on a certain direction.
“Sister Ji, can you help me investigate who’s interested in Jiang Bailu?” Zhai You curled her lips into a half-smile while tapping her fingers against the back of her phone.
One of Sister V’s so-called big shots?
How powerful could they really be?
Could Zhai You take them on?
Sister Ji had a complicated expression. The way Zhai You was standing up for someone made her want to advise her.
You could risk anything except your heart.
Sister Ji had seen too much of the coldness and fickleness of human relationships in the entertainment industry. She was also used to the original owner’s casual attitude toward everything.
But now Zhai You had inexplicably started taking things seriously, and it made Sister Ji uneasy.
Her instincts told her it was as though they had somehow crossed paths with something formidable.
But then she thought about it again. What kind of truly powerful person could someone like Sister V possibly know?
It was probably just her imagination.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose and, after thinking it through carefully, agreed. “Okay.”
Since Zhai You was determined to sign Jiang Bailu, it wouldn’t hurt to investigate things in advance.
Better than bringing her over only to discover there was still a whole trail of loose ends that hadn’t been dealt with.
They needed to make whoever Sister V had found abandon the idea.
Ideally, they could persuade that person to give up quietly. Given Zhai You’s current momentum, Sister Ji suspected she might personally march right up to their door otherwise.
After hanging up, Sister Ji suddenly laughed.
Why did it have to be Zhai You of all people?
If it were any other celebrity, maybe they could even build a deeply devoted persona out of this.
But Zhai You—
her record was far too terrible.
Even if they released this story, no one would believe it.
Even with irrefutable evidence, it still wouldn’t be enough to overturn the public’s impression of her.
Zhai You didn’t care whether anyone believed her. She had always been broad-minded and liked tossing her own problems to the back of her mind.
Looking toward the mirror in the room, Zhai You met the eyes of her reflection.
Her irises were actually rather light. But framed by her red hair and striking features, everyone tended to think Zhai You had large, dazzlingly bright eyes.
Looking at them alone would only make people feel that Zhai You’s personality had changed.
Zhai You withdrew her gaze, scrolled through her contacts, and finally called Su Luo.
Then she practically scrambled to her feet and hurried off, knocking on Jiang Bailu’s door.
“Are you free tomorrow?” She actually felt Jiang Bailu probably wouldn’t be.
Jiang Bailu’s attitude toward Zhai You had improved, so she patiently explained, “I need to go to the hospital tomorrow.”
“………………Can it be the day after tomorrow?”
There was already a caregiver at the hospital whom Zhai You had hired. Delaying her visit by a day or two wouldn’t matter. Jiang Bailu had already taken time while she was sick to confirm that with the doctor.
So far, Zhai You had never lied to her.
Because of that, Jiang Bailu quietly glanced at her, wondering if Zhai You had something important to do.
Zhai You had helped her so much.
It was about time Jiang Bailu helped her for once.
“Okay.”
Zhai You breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first time she had ever felt something was this difficult. She tugged at the ends of her hair, then noticed Jiang Bailu had been watching her the entire time and hurriedly stopped the little gesture.
She couldn’t let Bailu think she was childish.
Zhai You deliberately lowered her voice into a mature register. “Then it’s settled.”
Jiang Bailu’s gaze followed Zhai You’s hand down to the ends of her hair.
Her well-maintained hair was exceptionally smooth and made people want to touch it. Especially that naturally rare shade of red, which made Zhai You look even more like a big fox.
Was her hair dyed, or was it natural?
Because it suited her so perfectly, Jiang Bailu had never even wondered about it before.
Thinking carefully, Father Zhai and Mother Zhai both had black hair, so it was probably dyed.
That fit Zhai You’s personality perfectly.
Once all the misunderstandings were cleared up, Jiang Bailu even found Zhai You somewhat cute. Her favorable impression of her was rising surprisingly quickly.
But no matter how quickly it rose, it still wasn’t enough for Jiang Bailu to abruptly ask that question.
Instead, she asked, “Do you really like Qiao Yan that much?”
Zhai You blanked for a moment. Her withdrawn hand had nowhere to go, and in the end she cautiously reminded her, “After getting married, we’re supposed to remain faithful.”
How would she dare?
How could she possibly!
Whatever the original owner had done had nothing to do with her!
Zhai You was urgently trying to establish a new image for herself: a dependable good woman after marriage.
She wanted Jiang Bailu to trust her.
…On top of already thinking she was a good person.
Jiang Bailu raised her head slightly. Her soft curtain bangs hung beside her ears, revealing a smooth forehead.
Looking down at her from above, all Zhai You could see was Jiang Bailu’s clear gaze.
She wasn’t smiling. Zhai You’s reflection was visible in her eyes, and her pink lips parted slightly as she said calmly, “The marriage agreement can be voided.”
“It can’t be voided.” Zhai You frowned. Seeing Jiang Bailu’s calm expression, she suppressed the urge to let her face darken.
Why did Jiang Bailu have to be the one bringing it up?
And why did she have to say it so casually?
The marriage agreement absolutely could not be voided.
If it were, Zhai You would have one less excuse to cling to Jiang Bailu.
How would she keep her by her side then?
“You may have misunderstood.” After a long while, Zhai You spoke coldly, a faint hurt visible in her eyes. “I don’t like anyone.”
Before meeting you.
“I already explained why I signed the marriage agreement with you. Don’t overthink it.”
“And don’t bring up ending the agreement again.”
Zhai You lowered her eyes slightly.
If Jiang Bailu had shown even the slightest sign of being moved, she would have directly said that she liked her.
Unfortunately—
there was none.
Pursuing someone was difficult.
Zhai You had already started learning how to speak indirectly.
But at the very least, she could feel Jiang Bailu’s attitude changing.
Zhai You became happy again.
She looked at Jiang Bailu as all sorts of chaotic emotions surged through her heart, sweet and painful all at once, before finally turning into a single thought:
Worth it.
Jiang Bailu stood obediently in front of her.
The novel had described her as wonderful, but now that she was standing here as a living, breathing person, Zhai You felt that she was even more wonderful…
One day, she would definitely be able to hold her in her arms.
Zhai You’s throat moved. Her cheeks felt a little hot, and she blurted out randomly, “Tomorrow we’re going to meet a friend. Don’t give us away.”
“That’s good,” Jiang Bailu murmured softly.
Her voice was extremely quiet, but how could Zhai You, who had been paying such close attention to her, possibly miss it?
Her heart skipped several beats, and for a moment she nearly felt as if her brain wasn’t getting enough blood.
That sentence sounded like relief.
Why was Jiang Bailu relieved?
Zhai You’s pupils trembled rapidly. She lifted a hand in front of her face, trying to hide her burning cheeks, only to hear Jiang Bailu continue, “I saw her get into someone else’s car. I thought the two of you were…” in a cuckold relationship.
Zhai You was so good. How could anyone make a fool of her like that?
Fortunately, she didn’t like Qiao Yan.
Otherwise, Jiang Bailu would have felt that her friend had been horribly wronged.
Zhai You: ……
Why do you believe there can be purely platonic friendship between an Alpha and an Omega?
After the two returned to their respective rooms, Zhai You was still lying there tossing and turning with a frown, tangled up in her thoughts.
Jiang Bailu, on the other hand, unexpectedly slept very peacefully that night.
When she opened her eyes again, morning had already arrived.
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