Substitute Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 50

Time had passed quickly, and Jiang Cha’s parents had booked their flight in advance. The couple bid farewell to Jiang Cha and Ji Fan and returned to the mainland.

They left in the afternoon.

Where Ji Fan would sleep that night became a problem.

After seeing her parents off, the cobalt blue car smoothly drove along a highway, up a gentle slope. The white asphalt road stretched towards the horizon, seemingly endless. Looking at the mountain and wild scenery outside the window, listening to a soothing song playing in the car, Jiang Cha didn’t know how to feel. She should ask Ji Fan to go back.

Looking forward, a woman who hadn’t said a word revealed only a profile, concentrating on driving.

She wore a clean white shirt with a deep V-neck, her collarbones were white and delicate, and the hollows were deeply shaded by the light. A pair of matte gold earrings dangled from her earlobes, with a small white diamond slightly shimmering underneath, one hidden in the ends of her curly hair, and the other casually exposed, with a slight flicker of cold light.

Her two beautiful, bony hands held the steering wheel loosely. The pure black background made the skin on the back of her hands extremely white, and her fingertips were a healthy light red. The sunlight passed through the windshield and fell quietly, momentarily giving off a dazzlingly sharp feeling.

Jiang Cha sat in the back seat, her red lips trembled, and she wanted to speak.

But she felt that Ji Fan didn’t seem to have that intention at all. She looked straight ahead, very calm, and even seemed to be enjoying herself. As if she had forgotten why they were living together.

“Where are you going to sleep tonight?”

Jiang Cha still asked.

Her voice was always soft, and in the quiet of the car, her voice didn’t sound like a cold rejection, but more like a retention.

“In your room.”

Ji Fan pursed her lips, her eyes still fixed on the road, she said slowly.

From the back seat, Jiang Cha could only see her beautiful and sharp jawline outlined by the light, with a clear boundary between light and dark, one side cold white and the other side gray-black.

“No.” Jiang Cha turned her head, not looking at her, but only at the window. The undulating mountains in the distance and the horizon flowed towards the back of the car, smooth and beautiful. Her eyes flashed and she said, “My parents are gone, you should go back.”

Her tone was unhurried and patient.

Ji Fan was silent for a moment, then said softly, “I’m sick. It would be too miserable to stay alone.”

“You’re sick?”

Jiang Cha turned her face.

From the rearview mirror, she saw Ji Fan’s black and white eyes staring at the road.

“Does a cough and cold count as being sick?” Jiang Cha couldn’t help but say, “Besides, you’re almost healed. Don’t play pitiful.”

“I’m not playing pitiful.” She clenched the steering wheel with her white fingers, turned a corner, and said, “I’m really pitiful.”

Jiang Cha glanced at her and said nothing, knowing she was joking, so she said, “If you’re pitiful, then be pitiful, don’t look for me. I don’t feel sorry for you.”

Ji Fan looked ahead, resting her forehead on one hand, frowning in restraint, and didn’t speak for a long time.

Jiang Cha remembered Ji Fan’s cough that night, it was so severe that it didn’t seem fake.

But she still didn’t quite believe it.

How could someone get so sick from just a common cold?

“It’s just a small cold, is it that uncomfortable?”

Jiang Cha couldn’t help but ask.

Ji Fan was not afraid that she wouldn’t believe her, and explained softly, “I have a congenital disease. SCN9A gene mutation, my sense of pain is many times stronger than other people’s, and a headache is simply excruciating.”

Jiang Cha was slightly startled.

So that’s how it was?

What does it feel like to have pain magnified many times?

Sitting in the back seat, her red lips trembled, and for a moment she couldn’t say anything.

••••

Ji Fan ended up spending another night at Jiang Cha’s place, somewhat inexplicably.

On the way back, she even took a detour and, from Jiang Cha’s villa, took the rabbit along with its cage and put it in the car. It seemed like she planned to stay with Jiang Cha long-term, baggage and all.

Jiang Cha was internally conflicted.

One voice told her not to be soft-hearted. Even if Ji Fan had a cold and a headache, she should go back to her own place. Her home wasn’t a hospital; she could just come over for a nap and be fine.

Another voice said, “Someone is sick, at least be tolerant. Go along with her, and the patient’s mood will be better.”

After such a long and conflicted journey, she had already missed the best opportunity to refuse.

The bedroom light was off, and Jiang Cha’s nightgown, buttoned from neck to hem, was still drying on the balcony. It hadn’t dried yet, so she had to rummage through her closet. Fortunately, she found another nightgown in no time.

It was grass green, with a tie, and the fabric was thin.

Jiang Cha held up the nightgown and was slightly startled. Her heart tightened. Before she could react, the bedroom door was twisted open from the outside.

“Goodnight…”

Ji Fan paused.

She saw the nightgown in Jiang Cha’s hand.

The grass-green nightgown, made of mulberry silk, was soft and thin, and shimmered with a silky luster under the dim light.

The design of the chest was a translucent gauze.

In the past, Jiang Cha had worn it, obediently prostrating herself, and had been wantonly caressed by her.

Ji Fan was stunned.

But then Jiang Cha stuffed the nightgown back into the closet and casually took out a white round-neck T-shirt.

“You still have that.”

She asked softly.

“Which one?”

Jiang Cha pretended not to know.

“The green one. I gave it to you, I told you to wear it…” Before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Cha suddenly stood up and slammed the closet door shut with a loud bang.

Ji Fan’s figure, leaning against the door frame, stiffened.

She had very beautiful features, especially her pair of eyes, which made her whole person look clean and sharp. Her lips were delicate and elegant, and standing there without saying a word, just relying on her eyes, her sense of aggression and attack was evident.

But at this moment, she lowered her eyes, and her long eyelashes covered that momentum, making her seem inexplicably pitiful and innocent.

“You’re angry.”

Ji Fan said.

Jiang Cha’s chest heaved for a moment, ignoring her, and turned away coldly.

Ji Fan lowered her head and sat on the bed with a soft sigh, her long curly hair covering half of her side face, revealing only her high nose bridge and elegantly shaped red lips.

She asked softly, “Are you not willing to participate in that show because of me?”

“There’s no need, right?” Ji Fan looked a little haggard. She said helplessly, “There’s no need to change your original plan for anyone. Think about it, if I don’t go, will you go?”

Jiang Cha was bending over, tidying her nightgown and towel, and when she heard this, her movements paused. Her soft long hair hung down to her waist, covering her white side face, her eyelashes drooped, and her expression was unclear.

“You will go.”

“……”

“Why, if I go, you won’t dare to go?” Ji Fan carefully raised her eyes and asked tentatively, “Because you’re afraid you’ll fall for me again?”

Jiang Cha replied coldly, “Is that possible?”

Ji Fan’s posture stiffened.

Jiang Cha turned to look at her, her long eyelashes trembled, and she said softly, “I’ve already told you, I don’t have feelings for you anymore.”

Ji Fan pursed her lips and said softly, “You’re lying.”

Jiang Cha turned to look at her.

Her snow-white cheeks were slightly red, and her soft lips were pursed, pretending to be indifferent, with an air of being aloof and untouchable.

“You called my name in your dream last night, many times.”

Jiang Cha trembled all over.

She still remembered the erotic dream from last night, and she was dazed for a long time after waking up.

Seeing Jiang Cha’s struck-by-lightning expression, Ji Fan was silent for a moment, then said softly, “I’m kidding. It rained last night, and I slept very well. Even if you really called me, I couldn’t have heard you.”

In the silence, her phone rang.

Glancing at the screen, she realized it was Yang Yan.

Ji Fan’s gaze passed through the scattered curls at her temples and fixed on Jiang Cha.

She couldn’t hear what the person on the other end of the phone was saying, only a buzzing sound.

She heard Jiang Cha reply with two sentences.

“You want an answer now?” Jiang Cha lowered her head and was silent for a moment before saying softly, “Okay, I agree.”

••••

#[Honeymoon Trip] Season 3 Officially Announced!

[The cast of the [Honeymoon Trip] program is tentatively set, let’s see if you’re satisfied↓↓↓]

Below the title is a long picture. When you click on it, the first row of guest names, Ji Fan and Jiang Cha, are side by side, very eye-catching.

In addition, there is also Song Baiwei.

The comment section exploded instantly.

——”Ahhhhhhhh!”

——”Rubbing my hands in anticipation!”

——”Director Song is also there!”

——”Is this a three-person love triangle??”

——”I noticed, this season is different from the previous ones! They used to label the CPs one by one, but now they don’t anymore?”

——”I understand, the relationships between the characters in this season are complicated, so it’s not easy to group them in pairs [laugh cry] [laugh cry]”

There are a total of eight guests in the program. In addition to Jiang Cha, Song Baiwei, and Ji Fan, there are others who are entangled in rumors and have constant romantic entanglements. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to describe the relationships between the characters as “complicated”.

Someone in the comments even made a relationship chart with arrows, sorting out the relationships between the guests in this season.

Song Baiwei and Ji Fan are labeled as rivals, Ji Fan and Jiang Cha are labeled as original partners, and Song Baiwei and Jiang Cha are labeled as ambiguous.

Jiang Cha saw the picture and her expression froze for a moment.

Original partner?

Ambiguous?

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she felt a little embarrassed.

Jiang Cha signed the reality show contract in early March.

She didn’t know why, but the moment Yang Yan asked her, she suddenly agreed.

Perhaps it was out of spite towards Ji Fan.

Because she had hesitated for a while, there wasn’t much time left for her to prepare, as the filming for the reality show “Honeymoon Trip” was scheduled to start in mid-March.

There were only two weeks left.

During these two weeks, apart from taking time out to record the theme song for this season, the rest of her time was spent preparing according to the script provided by the production team.

Besides the fact that each season’s guests were the hottest celebrity couples at the moment, “Honeymoon Trip” had another feature:

There were only scripts, not screenplays.

If you compare the program to an essay, the script is like an outline, knowing roughly what the reality show will do; the screenplay is like the specific content that fills it in.

Without a screenplay, it means that there is only a rough framework, and the details are up to the guests to improvise.

All the links and arrangements were in the hands of the production staff. The director and staff knew the specific details, but the stars did not. This variety show has always had a good reputation because it shows the real reactions of stars in various situations, and its selling point is its true nature.

Unlike “Honeymoon Trip,” most reality shows have scripts.

The script would even be given to the stars, arranging what reaction a star should have in a certain situation, what actions they should take, what they should say, and what expression they should make. In many cases, this is a deliberate attempt to create a persona, or even to promote a certain star by using others as foils.

But having only a script is different.

The stars only know the process, location, and time of recording the program, as well as the theme of a certain season of the program, such as slogans like “struggle” or “challenge.” At most, they would specify the effect to be achieved in a certain scene, such as competition, mutual assistance, or humor.

The point is to be real.

If there is a script and everything is arranged, it would be boring.

“Honeymoon Trip” is real enough, without a script.

This “realness” is clearly told to the audience and has already gained the public’s trust – judging from the reactions of the actors in the previous seasons, they were all natural and real, and the audience did not find any traces of a “script”.

This type of reality show goes to two extremes: those with good personalities are easy to attract fans and stand out; those with bad personalities are also exposed completely, and they are easily criticized. However, most of the guests who come to participate have the courage to show their true side.

••••

The program had already booked the hotel.

According to the requirements, the guests needed to check into the hotel one day in advance to facilitate the following day’s filming.

At 6 o’clock in the evening, Jiang Cha was still filming on set when Ji Fan arrived at the hotel with a black travel bag.

As she turned a corner in the corridor, her footsteps paused slightly.

In the corridor, two men were carrying a round disc-like object out of the elevator and walking towards a room. The light was dim, and there were no windows open. The only light source was the retro wall lamps, which made the shadows of people blurred and indistinct.

Ji Fan glanced at them casually.

On the round disc that the two men were carrying, there was a red velvet curtain. Perhaps it had slipped during the carrying process, and a corner of the cloth was lifted, revealing a big character.

It turned out that what they were carrying was a game turntable, like the kind used for prize draws in shopping mall promotions.

The revealed character was “kiss”.