Chapter 26
At one thirty in the afternoon, the four of them arrived at the hotel’s underground parking garage.
Lawyer Li had contacted the production’s legal department in advance under the pretense of being a lawyer hired by Shen Yishu. The moment she stepped out of the car, she headed directly toward the agreed meeting place.
Zhu Li followed Shen Yishu back to her small standard room, intending to help pack her belongings. From now on, Zhu Li would be moving into this room.
After getting out of the car, Ji Xiangyu received a call from her manager regarding some work arrangements that required confirmation. She told the other two to go upstairs first and said she would follow after ending the call.
When the elevator traveled from the basement to the first floor, someone Shen Yishu did not particularly like stepped inside.
Jiang Wu.
The last time Jiang Wu had blocked her outside her room and said a great deal of strange things, Shen Yishu had concluded that there might be something wrong with her mental state.
Therefore, she had no desire to remain alone with her. She planned to let Jiang Wu take the elevator first while she waited for the next one.
Before Shen Yishu could step out, Jiang Wu stopped her.
“Is the matter between you and Ji Xiangyu real or fake?” Jiang Wu asked.
Her face was also concealed behind a mask, revealing only her eyes and smooth forehead. Her round almond-shaped eyes were wide open as she stared directly at Shen Yishu, scrutinizing her.
“That has nothing to do with you,” Shen Yishu replied irritably.
Even before her relationship with Ji Xiangyu had gained another layer, she had disliked hearing Jiang Wu speak badly about her.
Now that their relationship had changed, Shen Yishu naturally disliked it even more.
However, because she had stopped to answer, the elevator doors automatically closed and began ascending.
Shen Yishu could only endure it.
She and Jiang Wu did not live on the same floor. Once the doors opened, she could simply leave.
“I warned you that nothing good would come from staying beside Ji Xiangyu. Look at you now—you were dragged into her scandal. You’re the one being cursed, and you’re the one who lost your job. Meanwhile, she has it easy.”
Jiang Wu’s cold mockery made it clear that she believed Shen Yishu deserved everything that had happened.
Shen Yishu closed her eyes briefly and suddenly remembered the previous night.
She was broad-minded.
When people cursed her for things she had never done, she did not take it to heart. The occasional insults she saw on her own public feed merely accused young actresses nowadays of being unable to focus on acting because they only cared about becoming famous.
The comments aimed at Ji Xiangyu, however, were not so simple.
Many users with Jiang Wu’s picture as their profile image claimed that although Ji Xiangyu appeared cold and pure in public, she secretly engaged in unspoken industry deals.
Ji Xiangyu had endured an entire day of abuse for nothing, yet in Jiang Wu’s mouth, she had somehow “had it easy.”
“You hate her this much because you couldn’t even pick up the scraps beside her, don’t you?” Shen Yishu scoffed.
Jiang Wu’s expression stiffened.
They had barely exchanged a few sentences when the elevator reached Shen Yishu’s floor.
Shen Yishu walked out without looking back, and Zhu Li followed while hugging her bag.
“I’ve known her for years. How many days have you known her?”
Jiang Wu chased them directly out of the elevator.
She seemed so indignant that she would not stop until she convinced Shen Yishu.
“I knew her in my previous life, all right?”
Ten years of cultivation allowed two people to cross the same river in one boat, while a hundred years allowed them to share the same pillow.
They had already slept together, so how could they not have known each other a hundred years ago?
Shen Yishu strongly felt that if she possessed slightly less integrity, she should take out her phone and record everything Jiang Wu said.
Then she could threaten that if Jiang Wu ever acted insane in front of her again, she would release the recording.
“You’re still defending her? You’ve lost your job and are already packing up to go home, yet she hasn’t even bothered with you.”
Jiang Wu wore an expression that said, I knew this would happen. Ji Xiangyu has always been this kind of person.
The sight irritated Shen Yishu.
“What does any of that have to do with you?”
Shen Yishu finally stopped walking and turned toward Jiang Wu, who had followed them.
Zhu Li hugged her bag, feeling that her state of mind was entirely different from before.
The last time the three of them had spoken in the corridor, she had worried that Shen Yishu would become caught in a conflict between two major celebrities and be beaten until not even her bones remained.
This time, after learning about Shen Yishu and Ji Xiangyu’s relationship, she felt only faint pity for the completely uninformed Jiang Wu.
Ji Xiangyu’s care for Shen Yishu could already be described as meticulous.
The two of them were about to begin sleeping in the same bed.
“Don’t you simply want me to say that Teacher Ji is unforgivably evil and that anyone who gets too close to her will suffer?”
“Or do you believe Teacher Ji personally caused my current predicament?”
“Are you so jealous of Teacher Ji because she effortlessly obtains everything you want?”
Shen Yishu fired three questions in succession, leaving Jiang Wu stunned for several seconds.
She had no desire to waste more words on her.
Shen Yishu knew perfectly well how well Ji Xiangyu treated her. She simply could not reveal those things yet.
“If she’s truly as wonderful as you imagine, why hasn’t she had a single close friend in the industry after all these years?”
Jiang Wu folded her arms, appearing indifferent.
“Why are you so concerned about whether Teacher Ji has friends?”
Shen Yishu looked up in confusion.
“Could it be that you tried to become her friend and failed?”
“Who wanted to be her friend?!”
Her thoughts had been exposed, and Jiang Wu flew into an embarrassed rage.
“What happened?”
Ji Xiangyu happened to emerge from the elevator and saw Shen Yishu looking so furious that her fur practically seemed to be standing on end, even though her face remained cold.
When angry, she resembled a small leopard staring icily at its prey, eager to tear the other person apart.
“Si—Teacher Ji!”
The instant Shen Yishu saw Ji Xiangyu, the glacier between her brows melted.
A smile appeared, and the little leopard immediately transformed into a small Samoyed. One could almost see an invisible tail wagging fast enough to leave an afterimage.
“What happened?”
Ji Xiangyu carried a document Lawyer Li had given her before leaving.
“Nothing.”
Shen Yishu did not want Ji Xiangyu to hear Jiang Wu’s unpleasant words.
Even if Ji Xiangyu herself did not care, Shen Yishu still found them disgusting.
“Why did you come up?”
“To deliver this.”
Ji Xiangyu walked past the frozen Jiang Wu.
“Sign the agreement and give it to the director.”
“It was resolved that quickly?”
Shen Yishu accepted the transparent folder, still slightly surprised.
“The director guaranteed your character. He said you were very dedicated to acting and might have been deceived by your company. Unless you personally returned to the production and withdrew, he refused to believe you intended to leave.”
Ji Xiangyu’s tone remained calm, yet it contained a gentleness even she had not noticed.
Zhu Li stood beside them and pretended she did not exist.
She was completely transparent.
One was technically her employer, while the other held her employment contract.
She had no right to interrupt either of them.
The two continued their conversation as though Jiang Wu were not present.
“So I don’t need to pay the penalty?” Shen Yishu asked with relief.
“No. Go pack your belongings.”
Shen Yishu glanced at Jiang Wu’s complicated expression, used her key card, and entered the room.
Only then did Ji Xiangyu turn toward Jiang Wu in the corridor.
“Are you playing those pathetic little tricks again?”
Even without Shen Yishu telling her, Ji Xiangyu knew what Jiang Wu had said.
After all these years, nothing had changed. She always repeated the same arguments.
“What’s so special about her?”
Jiang Wu’s eyes reddened.
In her eyes, Shen Yishu was merely an ordinary newcomer, yet she had managed to approach Ji Xiangyu repeatedly.
Ji Xiangyu had always guarded her private life carefully. Few people had been able to get close to her over the years.
Because she had no friends, there had not even been opportunities for rumors to arise.
“Don’t you already understand?” Ji Xiangyu asked indifferently, without the slightest emotion in her voice.
Jiang Wu suddenly understood.
The most special thing about Shen Yishu was that from beginning to end, she had never believed a single word Jiang Wu said.
She had stood unconditionally on Ji Xiangyu’s side and refuted her.
No one disliked receiving another person’s unconditional trust.
Ji Xiangyu was no exception.
“Why her?”
From the moment Ji Xiangyu appeared, Jiang Wu had understood.
With the capabilities of Ji Xiangyu’s public-relations team, they would never have allowed the rumors to spread unchecked.
There was only one possibility.
They had silently acknowledged that the scandal was true.
“Leave. You won’t want to know.”
Ji Xiangyu was exceptionally patient. She intended to wait there until Shen Yishu finished packing so they could leave together.
“She’s also an Alpha. The two of you will never be happy.”
Jiang Wu’s voice trembled as she delivered the petty curse.
“Mm. I happen to enjoy excitement.”
Remembering Shen Yishu’s inexperienced marking the previous night, Ji Xiangyu could not suppress her smile. Amusement spread across her brows and eyes.
“I hate you.”
Jiang Wu clenched her fists, her voice trembling.
The delight on Ji Xiangyu’s face wounded her eyes.
“Mm. That’s understandable, but I don’t care.”
Ji Xiangyu withdrew her smile after giving her final response.
Then she turned, entered Shen Yishu’s room, and closed the door, refusing to pay any further attention to Jiang Wu outside.
Shen Yishu had listened carefully for quite a while.
After hearing the tremor in Jiang Wu’s voice, a plausible theory suddenly formed in her mind.
However, she did not dare ask Ji Xiangyu.
Such emotional matters were far too private.
“You can ask if you want. It isn’t something that can’t be discussed.”
When Ji Xiangyu entered and saw Shen Yishu’s curious, hesitant expression, she immediately guessed what she was thinking.
“Has she secretly loved you for ten years until it made her psychologically unstable?” Shen Yishu finally asked.
“Huh?”
Ji Xiangyu laughed.
“What made you think that?”
Shen Yishu began analyzing the matter point by point.
She felt that Jiang Wu’s hatred did not resemble the resentment of a colleague competing for awards.
Instead, it resembled loving someone who would never return those feelings—and deciding that if she could not have that person, no one else should either.
“Perhaps.”
After listening to Shen Yishu’s analysis, Ji Xiangyu realized it did sound somewhat reasonable.
She had simply never considered the possibility.
Ever since her debut, she had regarded Jiang Wu only as an ordinary junior from the same company and had never examined the other woman’s feelings toward her.
“If not, why does she hate you so much?” Shen Yishu genuinely could not understand.
Whenever anyone approached Ji Xiangyu, Jiang Wu immediately appeared to interfere.
Given Ji Xiangyu’s personality, it was understandable that she had no close friends in the industry.
However, Shen Yishu felt that Jiang Wu constantly speaking badly about her behind her back had probably contributed to it.
“For my debut film, the production originally wanted her as the female lead,” Ji Xiangyu slowly revealed, giving an answer Shen Yishu had never expected.
At the time, the director had searched everywhere for the right actress and held three rounds of auditions.
They invited girls around seventeen or eighteen years old, determined to find the person who suited the character best.
Jiang Wu attended the second audition.
Both the producer and investors were quite satisfied with her and had already planned to contact her company to sign the agreement.
However, at the director’s insistence, they held a third audition.
“I was still preparing for the college entrance examination at the time. I attended the third audition after finishing it.”
Jiang Wu had been the person who informed her about the audition.
Her company had already told Jiang Wu that the producers intended to choose her. Believing the female lead role was guaranteed, she suppressed the urge to boast and invited Ji Xiangyu to attend the third round.
She intended to show off after Ji Xiangyu failed.
“And then you were chosen?”
Shen Yishu stared in astonishment.
What kind of innovative plot was this, where someone personally caused her own downfall?
“The moment the director saw me, he said the role was mine. I memorized the audition lines on the way there. After the audition, I signed the contract.”
Shen Yishu had already found the rest of the story online.
Ji Xiangyu became a Best Actress with her debut role.
The film won numerous awards both domestically and internationally. The film itself, its actors, and the investors all earned enormous profits. Everyone benefited.
For an arthouse film created with awards in mind, its box-office performance had also been remarkably strong.
Although released during the off-season, it surpassed several films shown during prime periods and entered the top three.
Ji Xiangyu became famous overnight.
Nearly anyone with the slightest interest in the entertainment industry knew her name, and from then on, she embarked upon a brilliant career.
The film had not been easy to make.
Ji Xiangyu had grown up surrounded by luxury, yet she followed the crew through a land filled with blowing yellow sand for half a year.
She had even submitted her university applications whenever the internet connection became stable enough.
Ji Xiangyu did not believe she had wronged Jiang Wu.
Casting was not determined by who arrived first. It depended only on who suited the role best.
She could understand Jiang Wu resenting her because of it, but that had nothing to do with Ji Xiangyu.
“Sister was simply more outstanding.”
Shen Yishu felt slightly ashamed.
She still had not watched that film.
“You could do the same one day,” Ji Xiangyu said with a smile, though the amusement did not reach her eyes.
That had been her first film.
It had also been her last.
Her debut’s tenth anniversary was approaching.
Fans often asked whether she intended to make another film and suggested that it was time for her career to transition.
Her manager had also been urging her to begin considering film projects again.
Ji Xiangyu looked at Shen Yishu, who was crouched on the floor folding her clothes, and suddenly had an idea.
“I’m not picky. I’ll be satisfied as long as I have something to film.”
Shen Yishu did not dare dream of obtaining such an excellent script.
She was currently a complete newcomer whose company had just kicked her out.
It was already fortunate that Ji Xiangyu could find roles for her. How could she dare be selective?
“Really?”
Ji Xiangyu suddenly wanted to misbehave.
“Really!”
Shen Yishu raised her head and answered solemnly.
“Would you film a bed scene too?”
Ji Xiangyu secretly leaned close to Shen Yishu’s ear, lowering her voice almost to a whisper.
“…I would need to think about that.”
Shen Yishu’s ears instantly turned bright red, and even her voice changed.
Zhu Li: I should be beneath the bed, not standing here.
Ji Xiangyu’s eyes curved with satisfaction as she moved away.
Shen Yishu felt that after they confirmed their relationship, Ji Xiangyu’s personality increasingly contradicted her appearance.
Teacher Ji outside was proper and cold. She barely spoke unless necessary, and even during breaks, she sat as far away from everyone else as possible.
Teacher Ji in front of Shen Yishu constantly devised ways to make her blush, and every sentence seemed designed to make her heart race.
She did not dare say this aloud.
Those who accepted favors had weaker bargaining power.
At present, she was a useless little creature who only knew how to cry that she was hungry and wait to be fed.
Even her work depended on Ji Xiangyu.
She did not have many belongings.
After folding her clothes, she followed Ji Xiangyu out.
Zhu Li remained in the room and would accompany them to the set when they left.
“Am I sleeping in the master bedroom too?”
Shen Yishu pushed her suitcase and asked hesitantly.
She had not forgotten that when they previously shared a bed, Ji Xiangyu had crushed her awake twice and given her one of the rare bad nights of sleep she had ever experienced.
If they slept together every day, Ji Xiangyu might rest wonderfully while Shen Yishu suffered.
“Where else would you sleep?”
After resolving several troublesome matters, Ji Xiangyu was in an excellent mood. Her usually cold face appeared considerably softer today.
Shen Yishu closed her mouth.
She had no choice.
Ultimately, Ji Xiangyu had hired her as a portable charger.
A charger could not suddenly grow a mouth and announce that it did not want to charge the phone.
“Do you dislike sleeping with me?”
Seeing the hesitation and reluctance on Shen Yishu’s face, Ji Xiangyu frowned and asked softly.
“No. I like it very much!”
The moment Shen Yishu heard Ji Xiangyu’s softened voice, she immediately felt inhuman.
Ji Xiangyu had considered so many things for her, yet Shen Yishu complained even about being a charger.
How could she behave that way?
“That’s good.”
Ji Xiangyu suppressed her laughter.
She had also realized that night that her sleeping posture was not particularly good.
However, sleeping beside Shen Yishu had been exceptionally comfortable.
Ji Xiangyu could only harden her heart and allow Shen Yishu to endure this grievance.
After leaving the suitcase behind, they headed to the set.
When they arrived, Jiang Wu was already reviewing the script with the director.
Lin Luosheng stood nearby with her arms folded.
The moment she saw Ji Xiangyu, a smile appeared on her face.
The instant she noticed Shen Yishu behind her, her expression collapsed.
Shen Yishu: “…”
Fortunately, she had never planned to pursue the female lead’s route from the beginning.
At the original novel’s starting point, Lin Luosheng and Zheng Shu already loved each other but refused to speak openly.
The childhood sweethearts misunderstood each other, resolved those misunderstandings, and ultimately achieved a perfect ending.
Had Shen Yishu initially tried to approach Lin Luosheng, she might not be standing on this set today.
She might instead have been beaten senseless in some unknown alley by people Zheng Shu had sent.
“Xiao Shen, you’re back to film?”
The director turned cheerfully and greeted her.
“Thank you for speaking on my behalf, Director.”
Shen Yishu felt deeply moved.
Being a good person truly brought good things.
“There’s no need to thank me. I think you were born to play Li Jin. Someone else might not have captured that feeling.”
The director held his thermos as he explained.
Shen Yishu: “…”
So the director appreciated her because she portrayed a scumbag woman with extraordinary realism?
“Besides, I think you genuinely love acting.”
The director approached and lowered his voice.
“Too many artists in this industry are deceived by their companies. I suspected the same happened to you.”
Shen Yishu nodded furiously.
“Exactly! I woke up and discovered the company had terminated my contract. I knew nothing about it.”
She appeared extremely innocent.
Lin Luosheng, who knew part of the truth, stood nearby and nearly rolled her eyes into the sky.
She could not understand how her cousin had fallen for someone like this.
She turned toward Ji Xiangyu.
The woman who normally resembled an eternal iceberg had a faint curve at the corners of her lips.
Lin Luosheng: “…”
She could not dislike her cousin.
Therefore, she disliked Shen Yishu even more.
“So everything has been resolved?” the director asked.
“Yes. I can continue acting.”
“Good.”
The director relaxed.
“Everyone get ready. We’ll begin filming shortly.”
Standing beside Ji Xiangyu, Lin Luosheng asked with complicated emotions,
“Cousin, have you thought this through?”
Ji Xiangyu nodded.
“We already registered the marriage.”
Lin Luosheng choked on her own saliva.
She coughed so violently that even the people ahead turned around and stared at her in surprise.
Ji Xiangyu calmly patted her back until she recovered.
“Cousin…”
It took Lin Luosheng a long time to catch her breath.
“That was far too fast.”
What she truly wanted to say was that Ji Xiangyu had been irrational.
Three or four days was not enough time to understand someone’s entire character.
Even ordinary people considered marriage for a year or more, much less someone in Ji Xiangyu’s position.
“I couldn’t wait,” Ji Xiangyu explained quietly.
If she waited any longer, the Ji family would begin dealing with Shen Yishu.
Lin Luosheng interpreted the sentence entirely differently.
Ji Xiangyu loved Shen Yishu so much that she could not bear to wait even one extra day and had rushed to register the marriage so she could bind Shen Yishu to her side.
Lin Luosheng stared in astonishment.
The cousin she remembered had never behaved this way.
Could acting as a love-struck fool have transformed Ji Xiangyu into one as well?
Zhou Yi eventually regained her senses later in the story.
Would her cousin manage the same?
“What about the Ji family?”
She lowered her voice.
“They don’t know yet.”
Lin Luosheng’s feelings became even more complicated.
She looked at the lively Alpha around her age, animatedly discussing the scene with the director, and could not resist wanting to ask her cousin:
Do you truly love her that much?
“Be careful. If things become impossible…”
Lin Luosheng pressed her lips together.
“Tell me. I’ll beg Grandfather and ask Zheng Shu for help.”
Ji Xiangyu merely rubbed her head.
She had spent all these years immersed in the entertainment industry, accepting television dramas from every major production company and building connections everywhere precisely for this day.
Before entering the lounge, she opened her phone and glanced at it.
Ji Wenrui expelling Ji Wenhua was no small matter.
Everyone in the capital’s elite circle was discussing it.
Even several work group chats Ji Xiangyu had forgotten to leave were gossiping about what Ji Wenhua had done to be publicly driven out of the Ji family.
Ji Xiangyu put away her phone.
This was not enough.
Simply expelling him from the Ji family was far from enough.
Elsewhere, Lin Luosheng secretly approached Shen Yishu.
Shen Yishu was completely confused.
Lin Luosheng looked as though she wanted to bury her on the spot.
Had this not been a novel entirely without fantasy elements, Shen Yishu would not have doubted that Lin Luosheng intended to eliminate her personally.
“I know you married my cousin,” Lin Luosheng said reluctantly, twisting her fingers together.
“Mm.”
“Do you sincerely like my cousin, or are you after her money?”
Shen Yishu laughed.
“Answer me.”
Lin Luosheng frowned, extremely displeased that Shen Yishu was only smiling without responding.
Shen Yishu did not know how to answer.
They had married neither for love nor for money.
If she had to explain, it was simply that they happened to need each other and therefore came together.
After considering it, she said,
“Because she needs me, and I need her.”
It could not yet be called affection, much less love.
“Do you like my cousin or not? If you don’t like her, why did you agree to be with her?”
At this point in the novel’s timeline, Lin Luosheng had only recently separated herself from her family and still carried a young girl’s innocence.
Shen Yishu strongly felt there was only one possible answer.
If she said no, Lin Luosheng would probably devise a way to drive her away from Ji Xiangyu by tomorrow.
“I like her.”
Shen Yishu concealed every practical consideration she and Ji Xiangyu had made.
She had expected to feel uncomfortable when saying the word like.
Lying against her conscience was usually difficult for her.
Yet after the words left her mouth, she felt no discomfort at all.
It had almost come out naturally.
“Then treat my cousin well.”
Lin Luosheng seemed to remember something and sniffed.
“Life hasn’t been easy for her.”
“I know.”
This time, Shen Yishu’s answer was completely sincere.
The previous day, while holding Ji Xiangyu as she trembled from pain, Shen Yishu had firmly resolved to treat her as well as possible.
“You should leave. We’re about to film.”
Lin Luosheng glared at her.
“If my cousin suffers any grievance because of you, I won’t let you off.”
“I know, I know.”
Shen Yishu genuinely thought Lin Luosheng had the temper of a child.
Not only would Shen Yishu never intentionally make Ji Xiangyu suffer, but even if Ji Xiangyu did feel wronged, she was not the kind of person who would reveal it to anyone else.
At that thought, Shen Yishu once again remembered Ji Xiangyu enduring pain until she trembled before finally asking for a comforting embrace.
Her heart tightened.
As she and Lin Luosheng walked out, Shen Yishu caught the familiar scent of shampoo near the wall.
It smelled like the brand a certain Best Actress particularly loved using.
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