Substitute Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 51

“Welcome. We’ve carefully prepared some fruit for you. Besides the fruit, we also have free afternoon tea and cocktails for you. If you need it, there are yoga and meditation classes on the second floor of the hotel in the evening to help you relax.”

Room 1104, 11th floor of the hotel.

Ji Fan opened the door, and a waiter on the side showed a standard eight-tooth smile and gave a brief introduction.

She nodded lightly and said, “Thank you.”

The waiter bowed slightly and left.

The room was very large, with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides. The setting sun outside shone through the half-closed gauze, casting a warm color on the interior. A brown velvet carpet covered the entire space, and a clean large bed was against the wall. In the corner was a small wooden round table with a vase of flowers, pure white hydrangeas in shape, which was actually a diffuser.

A faint scent of mint and rose, fresh and long-lasting.

Ji Fan put her luggage on the table and put her clothes in the wardrobe, organizing them one by one.

On the side of her black travel bag were her medicines.

The medicine box had been opened, and she had divided it into small ziplock bags. From the outside, it could easily be mistaken for ordinary cold medicine.

This way, if someone saw it, it would be reasonable to say that she had a cold.

While tidying up the room, she was pondering.

She wondered what that round disc was for.

Why would there be a word “kiss”?

Was it related to their program?

After tidying up her belongings, Ji Fan took a glass from the cabinet by the window.

Then she was slightly startled.

In a not-so-obvious corner, there were two very familiar boxes.

One of them was pink and had a few small words printed on it in a discreet way.

Finger cots.

Ji Fan’s gaze focused on it for a moment, then she picked up the box and examined it.

They were still the beaded kind.

In the past, she had only used these to deal with emergencies, such as when she was out and hadn’t had time to wash her hands, or when her nails were too long and she was afraid of scratching someone. Most of the time, she didn’t like using them.

Ji Fan’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her thoughts drifted a little far.

Fortunately, she quickly brought them back.

She lowered her eyes, gave them a helpless glance, and casually placed them on the bedside table.

The gray wall clock pointed to 6:30.

Ji Fan went out and headed to the restaurant.

The center of the corridor was very empty. The elevator was a smooth mirror, and there were two brown leather sofas against the wall, with a large oil painting hanging behind the sofas. While waiting for the elevator, Ji Fan glanced at it boredly. It was Van Gogh’s Starry Night, a replica, but it was very realistic, and you could see the brushstrokes on the canvas.

She took out her phone from her bag and hesitated for a moment before deciding to call Jiang Cha to ask if she had arrived.

Ding dong.

The elevator door slowly opened.

Song Baiwei had just arrived on the 11th floor and met the woman in front of her face to face.

In the elevator, besides Song Baiwei, there was her niece, Song Yuan, and several idle residents of the hotel.

The two of them followed the crowd out and looked at Ji Fan, standing face to face with her in an awkward manner.

Song Yuan and another popular young male star were a couple, of course, it was the kind of rumor that was half-true and half-false, just a casual fling. She had also come to participate in the program this time, simply because she had not been exposed much before, and by taking advantage of “Honeymoon Trip,” she could first build up her presence among the audience, making it easier to transition from behind-the-scenes work to the screen in the future.

“Hello, Ms. Ji.” Before anyone else could speak, Song Yuan was the first to speak up, her eyes curved, and she said with a smile, “You’re here early.”

Ji Fan stood opposite them.

Quietly.

She was wearing a deep V-black dress, with a waistline, and a silver chain draped over her collarbone. The silver base highlighted the rhombus-shaped Tanzanite, which refracted a blue glow as the light changed, beautiful and gorgeous.

The gem was placed on her chest, and it looked a little cold in the cool weather.

She was carrying a white bag casually on her shoulder, clamped with her slender arm, and the other hand was holding her phone to make a call.

Her eyes were fixed on Song Baiwei.

Examining her quietly.

At the end of the corridor, the cheerful ringtone of a mobile phone rang.

It was Jiang Cha’s phone.

Before Jiang Cha answered the phone, Ji Fan turned her head and unexpectedly saw her, and hung up.

She turned back and smiled slightly, “Director Song, it’s been a long time.”

Song Baiwei smiled lightly and was very easygoing, “Ms. Ji is too polite.”

The two of them had always had a conflicting aura, and there was nothing good to say about staring at each other, but they had to put on a good show and exchanged a few perfunctory greetings.

Jiang Cha waved, her red lips curved, and she ran over.

Ji Fan hadn’t seen her smile so childishly for a long time, it was a bit childish, but it was also bright and cheerful. She was slightly distracted and also curved her lips.

Jiang Cha’s gaze passed over her and fell on Song Baiwei, and the two exchanged a glance.

Ji Fan’s smile froze on her face, awkwardly unsure how to retract it. She realized belatedly that Jiang Cha wasn’t smiling at her, but at Song Baiwei.

Jiang Cha had her long hair loosely tied up, with a circle of fine fuzz around her hairline, making her look quite childish. Her exposed forehead was white and delicate, her eyes were pure and bright, and they held a smile as she glanced between Ji Fan and Song Baiwei.

However, she only gave Ji Fan a glance that lasted less than two seconds before turning to Song Baiwei who had just stepped out of the elevator.

“Have you just arrived?”

Her eyes were full of joy.

“Yeah.” Song Baiwei pulled her suitcase, somewhat inconveniently, “I’ll go and tidy up first, what about you?”

“I’m going downstairs to eat.”

Jiang Cha lowered her head and stuffed the room card into her wallet, then politely asked, “Shall I wait for you?”

“It’s okay,” Song Baiwei waved her hand, “I’ll go downstairs with Song Yuan later.”

“I’ll wait for you,” Jiang Cha smiled lightly, “There’s no hurry.”

Ji Fan stood quietly on the side, quietly looking at her, as if she wanted to say something.

She wanted to speak several times, but the words got stuck in her throat.

Ji Fan was being ignored.

Before Jiang Cha and Song Baiwei had finished their endless conversation, Ji Fan pressed a button. The elevator door opened, and she walked in on her own.

“Where is Ms. Ji going?” Song Yuan blinked.

Ji Fan straightened her white handbag and her red lips twitched, “To eat.”

The restaurant was on the 2nd floor.

After a while, the remaining three finally arrived. Since they all knew each other, there was no need to sit separately, as it would be too distant. So the four of them shared a table.

During this time, Jiang Cha and Song Baiwei talked non-stop about movie-related matters, from the script to the lines, from the lines to the progress of these few days, and then they analyzed several of the main actors and their acting skills.

Jiang Cha’s eyes were always fixed on Song Baiwei, shining brightly, as if there were stars in them.

Ji Fan silently ate a piece of medium-rare steak, with little appetite.

As an outsider, she felt a bit awkward sitting there, and after hesitating for a long time, she couldn’t insert a single word.

She ate a few more bites, her face turning slightly pale.

Halfway through the meal, she suddenly put down her knife and fork, pushed the table away, and said lightly, “You continue.”

Jiang Cha had been glancing at her, but this time she still lowered her head and didn’t respond.

Ji Fan really left.

Jiang Cha didn’t know why, but she also lost her appetite, and even felt a bit of indigestion. She didn’t look very well just now, did she have a headache again? She had heard Ji Fan say before that she was born different from others, she was afraid of pain, and a headache was simply excruciating.

“Director Song, you continue.” Jiang Cha wiped her lips with a napkin and smiled, “I’m done.”

Then she ignored the two of them and hurried upstairs.

Jiang Cha pressed the doorbell.

The door creaked open a crack, and someone inside revealed half their face, quietly looking at Jiang Cha. She seemed startled that she would come, but then they stubbornly pursed their lips and said, “Are you done chatting with Song Baiwei?”

Jiang Cha, who seemed to have rushed over, had her hair tie a little loose, and her soft long hair slipped down, with a few strands of hair scattered around her ears, making her cheeks look white and soft. Her face was slightly red, and she lowered her eyes, saying coldly, “Did you forget to take your medicine?”

This time, Ji Fan was really stunned.

“What did you say?”

Jiang Cha sighed softly and pushed the door open without any sense of restraint, walking in on her own. Her gaze searched around and she asked, “Aren’t you sick with a cold? Have you been taking your medicine these days? Did you bring the medicine to the hotel? If you didn’t bring it, I’ll bring you a box later…”

Ji Fan raised her eyes abruptly, looking at her with a mixture of bewilderment and slight surprise.

Jiang Cha’s gaze focused on the small box on her bedside table.

From a distance, she couldn’t see clearly. She pointed at the small box and asked, “That’s cold medicine, right? Did you bring it yourself?”

“No,” Before Ji Fan could finish her sentence, Jiang Cha had already walked over, picked up the box, and examined it.

“Lesbian-specific…”

Halfway through reading, she dropped the small box aside as if she had been burned.

Her earlobes were slightly red.

Ji Fan: “…”