Substitute Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 49

The sound of water stopped.

Jiang Cha finished her shower, pushed open the bathroom door, and slowly walked out.

As usual, she looked at Ji Fan and found her sitting on the bed, with a plate of cut watermelon on the bedside table.

Ji Fan’s gaze drifted out the window.

She was wearing a smoky gray, large-lapel shirt, her collarbones were white and translucent, and two white buttons were fastened all the way to her waist. Her long legs in black tube skirts were crossed, straight and slender, thin yet strong.

“I’m done. It’s your turn.”

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes and said softly.

She glanced at the watermelon on the fruit plate, her red lips pursed slightly, and she picked up a piece with a toothpick and put it in her mouth.

It wasn’t a seasonal fruit, but it tasted sweet and refreshing, cold and sweet.

Ji Fan kept glancing at her.

Perhaps because she had just come out of the bathroom, the long period of hot air had made her cheeks slightly flushed, like a touch of red in the snow, delicate and cute. Then Jiang Cha lowered her head, her white fingertips tapping lightly on the screen, and the corners of her lips curved.

Ji Fan lifted her eyelids to look at her.

Who was she chatting with?

How could she be so happy chatting with someone else.

Jiang Cha looked up, her pure and bright eyes glanced at Ji Fan, seeming puzzled as to why she was still sitting there.

Ji Fan turned her head awkwardly.

She lowered her head and turned to busy herself with work, her expression calm, but there was a hint of unease beneath the calmness.

This unease made her stand up again, find a bathrobe from the closet, and take a towel to go take a shower.

Who was she chatting with?

Ji Fan wondered as she turned on the shower, as she squeezed out the shower gel, as she wrapped herself in a bath towel after taking a shower, and even after she put on her bathrobe.

She put on the watch she kept in the storage cabinet under the mirror.

She glanced at the sapphire blue dial on her wrist.

The silver-white thin hand trembled and pointed to eleven fifteen.

Okay, half an hour had passed.

Ji Fan came out of the bathroom without expression and said nothing.

After a long time, she shrank into the quilt and asked muffledly, “Are you still chatting?”

Jiang Cha felt that she seemed to be unusually cold.

“Yeah.”

Ji Fan turned over:

“Then you continue chatting.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Cha found that she was curled up in a ball, her face pale, as if she was feeling unwell, so she asked, “Does your stomach hurt? Or your stomach?”

Ji Fan: “Nothing.”

If it’s nothing, then it’s nothing.

Jiang Cha was communicating with several other main actors in the group about the play, and she didn’t have the energy to ponder Ji Fan’s little thoughts. She had been chatting for too long and for a moment, she even forgot her existence.

After a long time, Ji Fan suddenly said, “You don’t care about me so much, aren’t you afraid of losing me?”

Jiang Cha turned her head and saw a lumpy figure in the quilt: “…”

She stood up, placed the phone screen down on the desk, took a deep breath, and turned off the light.

“Go to sleep.”

The night was quiet, and Ji Fan kept waiting, waiting for Jiang Cha to say something in response to reassure her. But after a long time, she heard nothing. Jiang Cha was still sleeping with her back to her, her long hair spread out on the lavender-scented pillow, quiet and peaceful.

So Ji Fan turned over and turned her back to her as well.

••••

Perhaps because of the fragrance of the flowers filled in the pillow, Jiang Cha’s thoughts were a little confused, and she seemed to have a dream in her hazy sleep.

The light in the dream was very dim, and a yellow chandelier cast light from the ceiling, casting shadows on a woman in front of her.

Long hair, rather thin.

But the woman’s face was always veiled, indistinct, the only thing I remember was her hands.

Rather thin hands, with long slender fingers, a slightly transparent, cold white skin tone, the faintly blue veins and slightly protruding tendons on the back of her hand were clearly visible. Jiang Cha held her hand and gently kissed her fingertips, kissing all the way from the fingertips to the back of her hand.

Looking up, she met a pair of black and white eyes, her gaze slightly dim.
Jiang Cha smiled, swallowed a finger, and gently sucked on it.

It seemed like it was always raining in the dream, there was always the sound of raindrops gently tapping against the window glass outside, and the air was damp and sticky.

Rainwater passed through the branches and fell on the grass, drop by drop, slowly sliding down, crawling out a winding wet trace on the muddy path.

The rhythm of nature, one after another.

Jiang Cha bit her shoulder, tightly clinging to her bare and beautiful back, her slender fingers curled and scratched lightly, her fingers pinching a strand of thick, dark curly hair, only making a vague nasal sound.

Clearly, waking up in a sweat, Jiang Cha opened and closed her lips slightly, feeling a sense of loss.

It seemed like she had a dream last night.

And it was rather erotic.

She had forgotten most of what happened in the dream, only remembering that steamy, intense feeling. Everything else was hazy and unclear.

••••

10 AM.

XinYu Media, Yang Yan’s office.

“That’s how it is.”

Yang Yan picked up the glass beside her, bent down to fill it with hot water, and explained slowly to Jiang Cha, “The honeymoon trip production team has changed the rules again. This time, there won’t be two people sharing a room. Everyone will have a single room.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Cha’s gaze fell on the script for the scene she was going to shoot in the afternoon, marking a line with her pen.

“Think about it again?” Yang Yan raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Okay.”

Jiang Cha still had no reaction.

As her agent, Yang Yan was arguably one of the better ones.

Some people had very strong principles, and Yang Yan was one of them. She didn’t force, she only urged and suggested, and almost every time she made a choice, she would seriously consider the matter from Jiang Cha’s standpoint.

Jiang Cha was very grateful to her.

But this time was different.

Yang Yan looked up and examined her.

Jiang Cha had a very good foundation. She had hardly any makeup on this time, but her lips were red and her teeth were white, and her eyes were naturally beautiful. She was simply stunning, like a painting, just by sitting there casually.

In a variety show, the cast was a mix of different types. Some were responsible for being humorous and witty, some for making jokes, some were serious, and some were simply responsible for being beautiful.

But she felt that Jiang Cha had many other qualities besides being good-looking. For example, she had a gentle personality and never lost her temper; for example, she was diligent and often inadvertently helped others with some trivial matters, and for example, she was very kind…

Of course, as her own artist, she had a filter, and everything looked good.

Yang Yan was very much hoping she would participate.

To a greater or lesser extent, tearing off the label of being hated and starting over.

Yang Yan sighed softly.

She knew that Jiang Cha was gentle on the outside but stubborn on the inside.

“Are you sure you’re not going?”

Yang Yan thought for a moment and explained to her, “In the last season of the show, there was an actress in a similar situation to yours who didn’t want to be bundled up and hyped, so she refused to participate in the show and refused to be involved in any CP. It seems very principled, doesn’t it? But guess what happened to her later?”

“…”

“She gradually faded out of the spotlight not long after.”

Jiang Cha’s pen tip paused for a moment, but she didn’t say anything.

“You have to consider the negative impact that refusing to participate may bring. In the last season of the show, the production team also used similar tactics to build up hype by announcing the list of invited guests in advance to create anticipation among the audience. In this way, if any of the stars that everyone was waiting for did not participate and refused, the audience would be disappointed.”

“If the audience is disappointed, do you think that’s good?”

“Reality shows bring the audience closer to the real actors, which is great.”

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she whispered, “I’m an actor, and I’m just focused on acting.”

“You’re so naive.”

Yang Yan said, “Times have changed. Who doesn’t need to participate in a variety show and post a few hot searches to establish a likable persona? To be able to participate in such a popular show, others would be overjoyed.”

“Such a good opportunity, you really don’t want it?”

“No need.” A cold and stiff refusal.

“If you really let it go and don’t care, why would you make such a compromise for one person?” Yang Yan picked up her cup again, took a sip, and said seriously, “Tomorrow is the last day, and I’m waiting for your answer to the production team.”

Jiang Cha asked softly, “What kind of arrangements are there in the show?”

“It’s just a group of people doing tasks according to the director’s requirements. It’s a normal variety show, nothing special. Perhaps the only intimate contact is a small random punishment given when a task is not completed.”

“Punishment?”

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes, her red lips trembled slightly, and she asked softly, “Even if I agree, will Ji Fan agree to participate?”

Yang Yan smiled, “Ms. Ji agreed the first time she was invited.”

Jiang Cha was a little surprised.

Outside the window, the wind gently swayed the branches of the banyan tree, and the light brown beards fluttered gently.

In the dim light, her expression was blurred.