After Joining the Same Variety Show as My Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 1

“Congratulations to Gu Jingxi, the actress who played the female lead Lin Yi in the film Sentiment, for winning this year’s Golden Spirit Award for Best Actress…”

Inside the apartment, a documentary was playing on the television, while the sound of running water came from the bathroom not far away.

Buzz, buzz.

The phone on the coffee table suddenly began to vibrate, but no one came to answer it. Before long, the call automatically ended. Then, as if the caller refused to give up, the phone rang again.

On the third call, the sound of water in the bathroom finally stopped. A moment later, a tall woman wrapped in a bath towel, her black hair dripping wet over her back, walked barefoot across the clean floor to the coffee table. She picked up the phone, narrowed her eyes to see the caller clearly, and only then swiped to answer.

“Mom.” The woman spoke, her voice like ice wrapped in smoke—cold, yet alluring.

“You girl, why did you only answer now?” A woman’s reproachful voice came from the other end of the phone.

The woman paused, turned on speakerphone, and wiped her still-dripping long hair with a towel as she said calmly, “What’s wrong, Mom?”

“Lanlan, have you been busy lately?” Xiao Wenjun asked.

“Not busy. I’ve finished revising the manuscript I had on hand. I’m giving myself a vacation for the next while.” Jian Lan sat down on the sofa, wiping her long hair while lowering the television volume.

“That’s good. I heard from your Aunt Tang that Xixi is coming home tomorrow. She’s suffered quite a bit out there on her own, so I’m planning to invite her over to our house for dinner the day after tomorrow. You might as well come home too. You two sisters haven’t seen each other in a long time,” Xiao Wenjun said with a smile.

Jian Lan’s hand, which had been wiping her hair, paused. Looking at the blurry crimson figure on the television—unclear, yet engraved in her mind—she subconsciously wanted to narrow her eyes to see the person on the screen more clearly.

“Lanlan, are you listening to Mom?” Seeing that Jian Lan had not replied for quite some time, Xiao Wenjun could not help asking again.

“I know. I’ll go back.” Jian Lan came back to herself and responded softly. Then she said, “Mom, I won’t talk to you for now. I just finished showering and haven’t dried my hair yet.”

And she could not put on her glasses to see the television clearly.

She did not say that part.

As soon as Xiao Wenjun heard this, she hurriedly said, “Then hurry up and dry your hair. Make sure you dry it completely, do you hear me?”

“I know.” Jian Lan answered.

Only then did Xiao Wenjun hang up.

Once the call ended, Jian Lan paused the television. Then she got up and went into the bathroom. A moment later, the roar of a hair dryer sounded.

When she came out after drying her long hair, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses already rested on her face. Her long hair hung loose behind her. After going to the bedroom and changing into comfortable loungewear, she returned to the sofa in slippers and pressed play on the remote.

On the television screen, a dazzlingly beautiful woman with chestnut-colored, wavy long hair and an almost bewitching face was giving her speech with a bright, charming smile. Her skin was like suet jade, and the crimson evening gown only made her figure look even more graceful, like an enchantress born from fire.

She really was an enchantress.

Jian Lan lowered her lashes slightly and pursed her lips, which had become a little dry and dehydrated after her shower.

She picked up her phone, found a number, and dialed it.

“Yo, Sister Jian, what made you suddenly think of calling me? Don’t tell me… you agreed?!” On the other end of the phone, a man laughed carelessly.

“Fu Hang, if I remember correctly, the variety show you’re producing this season is still short one regular guest, isn’t it?” Jian Lan asked calmly.

“Yeah. Wait, Sister Jian, don’t tell me you want to be a regular guest? This… doesn’t really match your status in the industry. If your fans find out, I’m afraid they’ll tear me apart with their bare hands.” Fu Hang spoke half-jokingly, but the difficulty in his tone was still audible.

“No,” Jian Lan said decisively. Then she added, “I have a candidate.”

“Who?” Fu Hang asked instinctively.

Jian Lan gazed at the crimson figure on the television, her voice low.

“Gu Jingxi.”

…

“Attention, passengers. This flight is about to arrive at its destination, M City. Please remain in your seats and do not move around. Fasten your seat belts, put away your tray tables. The plane is about to land…”

“Sister Gu, Sister Gu, wake up. We’re almost there.”

Amid the flight attendant’s announcement and her assistant’s urging, Gu Jingxi, who had been sleeping against the back of her seat, finally reached up impatiently and removed the panda eye mask from her face, opening her bright amber eyes.

There was still sleepiness in her eyes, but her assistant was already skilled at putting a baseball cap, mask, and disguise gear on her, covering that calamity-level, enchantress-like face of hers completely.

“Thanks, Xiao Mu.” Through the mask, Gu Jingxi’s voice sounded a little muffled, yet it still carried a trace of soft drowsiness from having just woken up.

Mu Yu suppressed the scream in her heart and said with a serious expression, “Sister Gu, are you going straight back to the company or home?”

“Home. Why would I go to the company? This old lady has practically worked all year without a break, and you still want me to go to the company?” At the mention of this, Gu Jingxi’s morning grumpiness instantly vanished.

Mu Yu silently changed Gu Jingxi’s schedule in her little notebook.

The flight finally landed. With the help of the staff, Gu Jingxi took Mu Yu and quickly left through the exclusive passage. Unexpectedly, they were still caught red-handed by fans who had come to pick her up at the airport.

If not for the help of the airport security guards, they might not have been able to get out tonight.

The moment she got out, Gu Jingxi repeatedly apologized to the security guards. After the guards comforted her with all kinds of “It’s fine, we’re used to it,” Mu Yu dragged her into the car.

As soon as she got into the car, she had just turned off airplane mode on her phone when a call came in. The instant she saw the contact name, Gu Jingxi felt terrible all over.

She glanced at Mu Yu. Mu Yu sat upright, looking anywhere but at her.

Gu Jingxi could only let out a long sigh and accept her fate by answering the call.

“Um… Sister Fu…” Gu Jingxi spoke ingratiatingly.

“Heh. Gu Jingxi, you’ve really grown capable, haven’t you? You left your own security team behind and ran off first with your assistant? Best Actress Gu, do you still think you’re some unknown little cabbage?” Clearly, the person on the other end had no intention of waiting for her to finish and immediately began scolding her head-on.

Even though the person was not in front of her, Gu Jingxi still instinctively shrank herself into a little quail.

“I just…” Gu Jingxi said awkwardly, “didn’t expect the media to come block me so early.”

Fu Wen was nearly angered to the point smoke came out of all seven orifices. She gritted her teeth and said, “My Eldest Miss Gu, it’s not like you were taking your family’s private plane. You left your own security team behind at the airport overseas. Do you think the paparazzi wouldn’t know?!”

Gu Jingxi obediently took the scolding and did not dare say a word.

Gu Jingxi, this person, was especially good at acting obedient in front of acquaintances, particularly people she had a very good relationship with. Relying on her good looks, whenever she pretended to be pitiful, she looked so delicate and wronged that people could not bear to be harsh with her. That was why every time she was scolded, the punishment was always raised high but set down lightly.

Mu Yu had already seen through all of this.

She could already imagine what Fu Wen, as Gu Jingxi’s manager, would say next.

“Tsk, forget it. Considering your reaction at the airport was at least quick, I won’t argue with you for now. You don’t have any work arrangements for the time being, so rest properly for a while.” Fu Wen’s furious tone softened, clearly no longer as angry as before.

See?

Mu Yu quietly smacked her lips.

She knew it.

“Okay! Thank you, Sister Fu. Goodbye, Sister Fu.”

After saying that, Gu Jingxi heartlessly hung up right away.

Fu Wen on the other end of the phone: “…”

“You heartless little thing!”

…

After ending the call, Gu Jingxi stretched lazily without a care. The driver who had come to pick her up was her family’s own driver, so she did not care about her image at all and slumped sideways onto Mu Yu’s shoulder.

“Ugh, Sister Fu was so fierce just now.”

Mu Yu forcefully suppressed the little person in her heart who was about to fly up in excitement and sat upright. “But you wouldn’t dare say that directly in front of Sister Fu.”

Hearing this, Gu Jingxi immediately sat up and looked at her in shock. “Xiao Mu, you’ve changed. You actually know how to make sarcastic remarks to me now.”

Mu Yu paused and was just about to speak when someone’s paw reached over and began rubbing her head.

“Aiya, this truly makes your Sister Gu feel gratified.”

Mu Yu was expressionless.

Regarding Gu Jingxi as a boss, all she could say was that she was good. So good she could not be any better. She was beautiful, had a gentle temperament, knew how to handle things, and was never stingy with red envelopes during holidays. Looking across the entertainment industry, how many bosses like this could there be?

But…

When they were not familiar, she was like a flower on a high mountain.

After they became familiar…

Mu Yu numbly felt this person’s hand acting unscrupulously on top of her head.

Sister Gu, do you know that if outsiders saw you like this, your public persona would collapse on the spot?!

After causing enough trouble, Gu Jingxi finally deigned to withdraw her hand. Then she took out her phone, tapped it twice, and Mu Yu felt her own phone vibrate.

She opened it and took a look. Good heavens. Gu Jingxi had transferred five thousand yuan to her.

“Daddy!” Mu Yu almost blurted it out.

“Pfft.” Gu Jingxi was directly amused by her.

Only then did Mu Yu realize that she had “spoken wildly,” and she was instantly so embarrassed she could have dug out a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with her toes.

“Alright, alright. Sister Fang said I’ll be resting for a while next. You should take a proper vacation too. This is your bonus. Go out, eat and drink, buy whatever you want. I’ll call you if I need anything.” Gu Jingxi waved her hand. Looking out the window, she realized they were almost at the Gu family mansion.

“Okay, Sister Gu.” Mu Yu answered on the spot.

You ask why she did not refuse?

First of all, if she refused, a “foolish but rich” boss like Gu Jingxi would definitely get angry. Besides, what worker would ever turn down their own bonus?

When they arrived at the Gu residence, Gu Jingxi refused Mu Yu’s help in bringing her luggage inside and only instructed the driver to take Mu Yu home.

Watching the car drive away, Gu Jingxi pulled her suitcase, hummed a song, and pushed open the door to her house.

“I’m home~”

“Stand still and don’t move!” A beautiful woman walked out of the kitchen holding a spatula.

Almost instinctively, Gu Jingxi pulled her suitcase in front of herself as a shield. Looking at Tang Yun, who was holding the spatula, she subconsciously swallowed.

“Mom, a lady uses her words, not her hands!”

Tang Yun raised a brow. “Come here.”

Looking at Tang Yun’s expression, Gu Jingxi pouted bitterly and obediently stepped forward.

Who would have thought that Tang Yun would shove the spatula into her hand and say, “Watch the food in the pot yourself. When it’s cooked, eat it yourself. The rice is in the rice cooker.”

After saying that, Tang Yun went upstairs without looking back.

Gu Jingxi came back from her daze. Looking at Tang Yun’s retreating back, she could not help asking, “Teacher Tang, may I ask where you’re rushing off to in such a hurry? Also, where’s the auntie at home?”

“To go on a date with your dad! Auntie asked for leave today. Solve dinner yourself.”

Tang Yun’s figure disappeared around the corner of the staircase.

Gu Jingxi: “???”