A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 8

“People change.” Ming Lang repeated the phrase to herself, letting out an ambiguous, soft chuckle. Perhaps certain points in time had shifted after the rebirth; the Ming Lang of this life had quite a few differences from the one in Ji Chenli’s memory. For example, she talked more, had fewer of those fastidious “foul habits,” and the expressions on her face were much more vivid.

“Then get some good rest. Go to the company tomorrow to meet the director; I’ll have a driver pick you up.” As Ming Lang spoke, she stood up, refastened the two buttons she had undone at her collar, and smoothed the wrinkles in her clothes, looking as if she were preparing to head out.

Ji Chenli was a bit stunned. “You’re leaving?”

“Mhm.” Ming Lang nodded, making a joke she thought was humorous. “If I stay here any longer, I’m afraid you’ll start having nightmares in your sleep.”

A person as serious as Ming Lang didn’t tell very funny jokes; Ji Chenli didn’t even realize it was a joke and nodded earnestly. “That is true.” At that, Ming Lang’s smile faded a little.

“Then rest up.” Ming Lang placed her hand on the doorknob, making a motion to open it.

Behind her, Ji Chenli waited joyfully for her to leave. To her surprise, Ming Lang dawdled for a long time before turning back to ask, as if to confirm: “You really aren’t planning to ask me to stay?”

“…” Ji Chenli forced a slight smile. “President Ming is busy; it’s better not to waste time here with me.”

With that, she half-invited and half-pushed Ming Lang out and shut the door. Finally leaning against the door, she let out a breath of relief. She was finally gone.

Perhaps it really was because of the different timeline, but the Ming Lang of this life was abnormal—simply too abnormal.

After Ming Lang left, Ji Chenli glanced at the tattered script on the coffee table and gave a bitter smile. She had acted in this movie in her previous life, and it had been too mentally taxing. After the film wrapped, Ji Chenli felt as if she had died along with her character. To ask her to do it again—she felt trepidation before even opening the script.

However, if the reward was being able to completely rid herself of Ming Lang, then such a price seemed like nothing.

Clutching the script, Ji Chenli began to daydream about leaving Ming Lang.

If we really divorce, what should I do in the future? Ji Chenli had accumulated a small sum of money during her three years as an actor. As long as she wasn’t extravagant and managed it well, she’d have no problem living a worry-free life.

Maybe I’ll open a flower shop? Ji Chenli thought. Or a bakery, or a coffee shop. At the very least, I could take over a small snack shop in front of a primary school. It wouldn’t matter if it’s a bit expensive; maybe I could even get on good terms with the school leaders to help solve the enrollment issues for the kids at the orphanage.

Speaking of the orphanage, Ji Chenli thought of Tao Yuan again. Tao Yuan was likely so angry right now she wanted to catch her and give her a beating. Right, I need to set aside a dowry for Tao Yuan. In her previous life, Tao Yuan hadn’t even started dating before… In this life, no matter what, Ji Chenli had to see her find someone reliable to spend her life with.

No wonder God let her start over, Ji Chenli thought. It turned out that a life without Ming Lang could be this perfect.

The next day, Ming Lang’s private car was indeed waiting downstairs for Ji Chenli. The driver was a man of few words who safely delivered her to the Ming-Han Media office building. Her manager had been waiting at the entrance for a long time.

“Oh, my Sister Chenli! You’ve finally come!” The moment Ji Chenli got out of the car, her manager grabbed her wrist, her eyes brimming with tears. “I called you so many times and you didn’t pick up. I thought I did something wrong and you had President Ming fire me!”

The manager was named Feng Cai. She was just as noisy as in the previous life—a young girl who had just graduated, smooth and socially adept. She probably hadn’t imagined that seven years later, she would become one of the most successful managers in the industry.

Ji Chenli had a good impression of the girl. Letting her hold her wrist, she smiled. “Xiao Cai, speak with a conscience. Have I ever mistreated you since you started following me? Why would I fire you?”

“Fine, Sister Chenli, I know you’re a great person, okay?” Feng Cai pulled Ji Chenli into the elevator and took a compact of foundation out of her bag to touch up Ji Chenli’s makeup. “My dear sister, at the very least, put on some makeup before you leave the house! Who are we meeting today? It’s the great Director Xie Qinglan! If you leave a ‘sloppy’ impression on her, do you even want to stay in this industry…”

Since she was hand-picked by Ming Lang, she wouldn’t be rejected. Feng Cai didn’t know this, but Ji Chenli knew it perfectly well. Choking on the powder puff, she coughed and said, “A director looks at my acting, not my makeup…”

The elevator stopped on the 20th floor. Feng Cai led Ji Chenli toward the conference room, where they happened to bump into Ming Lang just coming out. Feng Cai was a bit afraid of this stern big boss and stuttered a greeting. However, Ming Lang was too busy staring at the way Feng Cai was tightly clutching Ji Chenli’s wrist. Feng Cai felt a chill from the gaze and quickly let go. Ming Lang then nodded with satisfaction. “Physical contact is prohibited during working hours.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Don’t worry, President Ming, I will definitely follow the company rules!” Feng Cai nodded so hard she almost gave herself a concussion.

Once Ming Lang was far away, Feng Cai patted her chest in lingering fear. “Women in love are truly jars of vinegar. Terrifying…”

Ji Chenli didn’t hear clearly and asked, “What are you muttering to yourself?”

“Nothing! I’m just saying Sister Chenli is so happy, being so lovey-dovey with President Ming! Hehehe…”

Feng Cai didn’t realize her flattery had landed squarely on a sore spot, so when Ji Chenli’s face darkened without warning, she had no idea how she had offended the President’s wife.

Is it easy for me? Feng Cai followed behind Ji Chenli, wanting to cry. It’s hard being a manager; being the manager for the President’s wife is even harder!

Pushing open the doors to the conference room, they saw a woman sitting on the sofa playing with her phone. The woman wore a black baseball cap, casual clothes, and sneakers. She looked like a very ordinary woman, the type you couldn’t find in a crowd, but Ji Chenli knew this woman was the “genius director” Xie Qinglan.

Feng Cai approached fawningly. “Hello, Director Xie. I am…”

Before she could finish, Xie Qinglan raised a hand in a “stop” motion. She checked the time on her phone, looked at the two standing women out of the corner of her eye, and said contemptuously, “You’re five minutes late.”

“So sorry, Director Xie. There was a bit of trouble on the road. Please be magnanimous…” Feng Cai acted subserviently, but Xie Qinglan looked at Ji Chenli and sneered. “If you can’t even manage to be punctual, what kind of actor are you? Why act at all? You might as well just go back to being the President’s wife.”

Most geniuses have personality flaws. Ji Chenli had known Xie Qinglan’s temperament in her previous life, so after they finished filming, she had avoided her as much as possible. Now that she couldn’t avoid her, she originally wanted to let the small matter go, but Xie Qinglan’s words annoyed her. Ji Chenli slapped the table on the spot and huffed, “I happen to not want to act. Why don’t you, the Great Director, go tell President Ming to change the actor?”

Xie Qinglan was arrogant about her talent; few people had ever talked back to her like this. Her face darkened. “I really don’t know what Ming Lang sees in you.”

Ji Chenli had been influenced by Tao Yuan for years; she had a talent for arguing cultivated since childhood. Sitting at the conference table with her arms crossed, she deliberately provoked Xie Qinglan. “She likes that I’m shameless. What, Han Xinyuan doesn’t have that skill, does she?”

Others might not know, but Ji Chenli knew very well that Xie Qinglan and Han Xinyuan were university classmates and were very close. Provoking Xie Qinglan herself was useless, but mentioning Han Xinyuan was a guaranteed explosion.

Sure enough, Xie Qinglan slapped the table and stood up. “What did you say?”

“Director Xie!” Feng Cai rushed to Xie Qinglan’s side to soothe her. “Director, calm down. Sister Chenli didn’t mean it that way. Don’t mind her, just calm down…”

Xie Qinglan looked down at the little manager soothing her and said with a black face, “Hey.”

“Huh?” Feng Cai looked up at her.

“Why are you stroking my chest?”

“Ah? Ah!” Feng Cai jumped back a long distance, her hand still raised in the air, not knowing where to put it in her embarrassment.

Could you blame her? Who told the director to be so flat! Feng Cai wailed in her heart. Sigh, it’s hard being a manager, and even harder being the President’s wife’s manager…

Ji Chenli watched from the side and found it hilarious, her stomach cramping from holding back laughter. Why hadn’t she noticed before? This genius Director Xie was much more interesting than Han Xinyuan.

Since the result was pre-determined by Ming Lang, meeting the director was just a formality. No matter how arrogant Xie Qinglan was, she wouldn’t turn away money. She and Ji Chenli mutually loathed each other, but she still took on the movie. However, after Ji Chenli left, Xie Qinglan couldn’t let it go and stormed into Ming Lang’s office to have a fight.

“Just for some commonplace, vulgar woman, you overturned a script polished for three years? Ming Lang, has your head been kicked by a donkey?”

There were cameras in the conference room. Ming Lang had watched everything that happened from her office. She felt as if she had refound the vibrant Ji Chenli of the past. Watching her leave Xie Qinglan speechless, a slight smile appeared on her thin face. Even when Xie Qinglan burst through the door, the smile hadn’t completely faded.

“You’re here. Is something wrong?” Ming Lang asked, her eyebrows slightly raised. Xie Qinglan’s rage suddenly got stuck in her chest and wouldn’t come out.

It was her first time seeing Ming Lang smile like that. Even when Ming Lang had first taken over as head of the family, she had only slightly curved the corners of her mouth; such a deep and obvious smile had never appeared.

“Ming Lang, I don’t understand,” Xie Qinglan sighed. “Didn’t you marry this actress just for Xinyuan’s sake? What, have you really fallen for her?”

“That is my business,” Ming Lang said. “She is not just an ‘actress’.”

She thought for a moment and added, “And she is not commonplace or vulgar.”

…

Although Ji Chenli had accepted the movie, filming couldn’t start immediately. There were supporting roles to cast and a team to assemble, which would take at least a month or two. Ji Chenli had savings and wasn’t worried, but Feng Cai and the others needed to earn a living. During the gap, Ji Chenli took on a few commercials and endorsements—the money wasn’t much, but it was enough. She used the remaining time to study the script Ming Lang gave her.

To Ji Chenli’s surprise, the framework of Out of Reach hadn’t changed, but the plot had undergone a major overhaul. Although it was still a story starting from school days, the direction of the plot was completely different. The only similarity was likely the “unrequited longing” of the character Ji Chenli played.

The film told the story of the emotional entanglement between the female lead played by Ji Chenli and the second female lead, spanning twenty years from childhood friendship to entering society. Twenty years were condensed into a two-hour movie. Ji Chenli spent a night reading the script. When she reached the words “The End,” she felt a sense of melancholy that was hauntingly familiar. She had likely projected her own ten years of unrequited love for Ming Lang into the role; this time, her understanding of the character was much deeper than in her previous life.

By the time the supporting cast was finalized, it was already November. Filming would start in November and the movie would be released the following year, just in time for the international film festivals. Staff members began joining the crew one after another. Once everything was prepared and the opening ceremony was held, Out of Reach officially began production. At the same time, the other lead joined the crew. Ji Chenli wasn’t surprised at all; just like in her previous life, the other lead was Ming Yan.

What surprised Ji Chenli was that on the day of the official start, Han Xinyuan also joined the crew.