Substitute Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 69

——“Let’s talk about the divorce agreement.”

Ji Fan’s second message came quickly, accompanied by the vibration of her phone. When Jiang Cha glanced at it, her heart trembled.

Talk about a divorce agreement.

She had agreed.

Jiang Cha’s fingers trembled as she replied, “Okay.”

The phone screen dimmed, then went dark. Jiang Cha looked at it for a while, only seeing her own face reflected on the screen, a slightly translucent shadow, with a cold expression. There was a large tree nearby, and the scent was familiar.

Jiang Cha looked up and saw many white flowers blooming on the tree. They were apple blossoms, soft and dense.

A flower was blown from the branch by the wind and landed on her shoulder.

She was momentarily dazed.

She put her phone back into the inner compartment of her small bag.

She didn’t know why, perhaps because the sky was a bit overcast, which made people feel a bit listless and unable to concentrate. Jiang Cha’s training that day was full of distractions, and she didn’t hit the target once in her shooting practice. Several bullets even flew out of the range. The martial arts director sighed repeatedly, feeling tired, so he ended early and asked her to go back and rest, and come back the next day.

Why was she like this?

Shouldn’t she be happy?

As night fell.

They made an appointment at Nobu, a Japanese restaurant.

It was very close to home.

A small, dark brown round table, seating four.

As soon as Jiang Cha entered, she saw the side profile of a woman. She was wearing a white shirt and olive green wide-leg pants, with a long black tassel hanging from the collar of her shirt. Her neck was quietly lowered, her lips were slightly pursed, and she was slowly sipping a drink.

The restaurant’s color scheme was very simple, with dim lighting. Dark brown mixed with gold intertwined, and the four walls were covered with dense, dim lights. There were no windows to be seen.

Sitting alone amidst the bustling crowd, she felt inexplicably lonely and desolate.

A small, round gray pot with a narrow mouth, along with two thin cups, sat quietly on the wooden table.

“Would you like a drink?” Ji Fan pushed the other gray cup towards her.

Jiang Cha looked at her warily, “What kind of alcohol is it?”

Ji Fan glanced at her, “Hokusetsu, a Japanese sake.”

“Is it strong?”

Jiang Cha took the cup and poured some from the small pottery jar.

“Not very strong. It’s Japanese sake, similar to yellow wine.”

Jiang Cha took a sip and then stopped drinking.

Ji Fan looked at her, “Scared to drink now? Scared by what happened last night?”

Jiang Cha clutched the cup, her fingertips turning white. She hadn’t expected Ji Fan to bring it up first.

“It was me who couldn’t control myself.”

Ji Fan lowered her head, a strand of long hair covering her slightly pale side profile. She said softly, “But I won’t do it again. Jiang Cha, let’s not get a divorce. I promise I won’t touch you again, okay?”

She raised her eyes, her gaze clear and earnest.

Jiang Cha suddenly noticed her exceptionally thick and long eyelashes. It was as if she had noticed this feature for the first time, and it felt strangely peculiar.

“Later?” Jiang Cha was stunned, “There’s no later. You promised me we’d divorce after a year.”

Ji Fan picked up the gray wine glass with her slender fingers and gently pursed her lips, “It hasn’t been a full year yet.”

Jiang Cha continued, “But you promised you wouldn’t touch me casually.”

“I didn’t ‘touch’ you casually,” Ji Fan looked at her, showing no shame, “I was serious.”

Jiang Cha ignored her and got straight to the point, “You didn’t ask me to meet just to talk about the divorce agreement, did you?”

“……”

Ji Fan lowered her head and sighed softly. She took out a draft of the divorce agreement and handed it to her.

A waiter brought over a plate of silver cod and a plate of scallop sashimi.

A small piece of bamboo leaf adorned the clean white plate, and the cod was grilled to a slight crisp, placed on the bamboo leaf.

“Would you like anything else?”

Ji Fan asked her.

“No,” Jiang Cha turned to ask the waiter for a pen, hooked a strand of her long hair behind her ear with her little finger. She barely glanced at the previous terms and flipped to the back page, stopping at the last page.

Her gaze fell on the place where she needed to sign at the end.

Jiang Cha unscrewed the pen cap, lowered her head and quickly signed, handing it to Ji Fan, “It’s done.”

Ji Fan propped her chin up, her expression calm.

“Your turn.”

Jiang Cha took another sip of wine and handed her the pen, her gaze calm, “I’m not very familiar with divorce procedures. Do we need to go back to the civil affairs bureau?”

She continued, “When should we go, after the last scene is filmed?”

Ji Fan didn’t answer.

She held the pen, lowered her head and looked at the agreement.

“…..The two parties have been incompatible for a long time and their relationship has broken down, with no possibility of reconciliation. Now, both parties have voluntarily reached a consensus and signed this divorce agreement as follows:

1. Both parties voluntarily agree to terminate the marriage relationship and voluntarily sign this divorce agreement.

••••

She flipped to the last page, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably.”

“What’s wrong?”

Ji Fan still lowered her head.

Her thick, curly hair covered her profile, and the diamond on the silver earring trembled slightly.

She had intended to test her.

She didn’t believe that Jiang Cha was so heartless, that she would really leave if she said so. She thought Jiang Cha was joking. Deep down, she didn’t believe that Jiang Cha no longer loved her. Divorce? Impossible. The moment she proposed marriage to Jiang Cha, she had wanted it to last a lifetime and had never imagined that one day they would get divorced.

With this divorce agreement in front of her, shouldn’t Jiang Cha be panicked?

But why was she so decisive and without any hesitation?

She still couldn’t believe it.

How could Jiang Cha have stopped loving her?

She was playing hard to get.

But she was wrong.

It wasn’t Jiang Cha who was playing hard to get.

It was herself.

It took Ji Fan a long time to conceal her momentary loss of composure. When she looked up, her expression was perfectly calm, revealing no sign of abnormality.

“There’s no rush to sign it.”

There were two copies of the divorce agreement. Ji Fan tidied up her copy and put it in her purse, then handed the other copy to Jiang Cha and said calmly, “Let’s eat first.”

“…….”

Jiang Cha didn’t have much of an appetite. The reason they had come here wasn’t a happy one.

A little food would be enough to fill her stomach.

Just as Jiang Cha picked up her chopsticks, she saw Ji Fan call the waiter again and order more food.

She seemed a little bored, so she unbuttoned the top button of her shirt and loosened the knot of the decorative tie at her collar. She lowered her neck, her eyelashes fluttered quietly as she focused intently on flipping through the menu, ordering as she read: “Lobster Wasabi Sour Cream, Chicken antichucho Tacos, Lobster Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing…”

Ji Fan usually spoke with a sharp, aggressive tone, but her English was quite different. It was fluent, with a pure London accent, polite and gentle.

This discovery surprised Jiang Cha slightly.

She even felt a sense of strangeness.

The food was served quickly.

Jiang Cha hadn’t been listening carefully when ordering, too engrossed in listening to Ji Fan’s English. It wasn’t until the round table was filled with dishes that she realized almost all the food on the table was her favorite. Compared to the raw salmon that Ji Fan had kept putting on her plate the last time they ate at the buffet, this looked much more appetizing and delicious.

“Do you like it?”

Ji Fan carefully observed her expression.

“Thank you.”

Jiang Cha took a small bite and it did taste good.

Ji Fan looked at her quietly, her expression softening for a moment.

A chandelier above cast a soft orange glow.

The figures in this light were particularly beautiful and moving.

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes, her eyebrows long and gentle, her lips as red as cinnabar, her features soft and quiet, like a finely drawn ink painting, with a delicate color faintly painted on a plain silk.

Perhaps her gaze was too obvious, because the person in the painting suddenly looked up and looked at Ji Fan, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Fan turned her eyes to the side, and with a slight cough, she took a gift box out of her bag.

The box was square, a plain white, with a faint rose pattern on the packaging, very delicate.

“What’s this?”

Jiang Cha held the box. It didn’t look big, but it was quite heavy when she picked it up. “A breakup gift?”

Ji Fan was slightly startled.

She looked up and stared quietly at Jiang Cha, her beautiful, clear black eyes fixed on her, filled with just a hint of bitterness. But when Jiang Cha looked again, that bitterness seemed like an illusion, disappearing in an instant, leaving only a calm and indifferent expression.

The two of them just stared at each other quietly for a while, the atmosphere strangely subtle.

Just then, her phone rang. The vibration accompanied by the continuous ringing was quite sudden.

The phone was right on the table, out in the open. As soon as the ringtone sounded, the screen lit up. When she saw the name, Jiang Cha immediately picked up the phone, turning her back to Ji Fan, afraid that she would misunderstand something.

After all, it was Bai Yihan who called.

She swiped the screen lightly and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end was very weak, as if she had been crying heavily, her voice trembling slightly: “I had a car accident…”

A car accident?!

Jiang Cha had a deep shadow about car accidents. When she heard the word “accident,” her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately thought of many bad things. She was a little flustered, “Sorry,” she stood up immediately, not caring about Ji Fan, and explained while grabbing her bag and walking out, “Something happened to my friend.”

••••

A row of streetlights lit up outside, pedestrians were sparse, and vehicles roared past.

Jiang Cha finally managed to hail a taxi. After getting in, the driver turned around from the driver’s seat: “Where to?” Jiang Cha was startled. She had left in such a hurry that she only realized belatedly that she hadn’t asked Bai Yihan where the accident happened.

“Where are you? Did you call an ambulance?”

“Ambulance?” Bai Yihan seemed a little surprised, “It’s not that serious. I’m at your door.”

“…….” Jiang Cha was speechless for a moment, her mood complex.

“I came to find you, and I was hit by a car on the way. It braked, it’s not serious, but my knee is scraped.”

“…….”

“Do you have any antiseptic?” Bai Yihan seemed unaware, “Help me clean it. My knee is bleeding a lot, it hurts so much.”

Since she was already in the taxi, she couldn’t get out halfway. Besides, Bai Yihan wasn’t lying, she had indeed had a minor accident, and it happened on her way to Jiang Cha’s house.

Jiang Cha felt somewhat responsible.

She felt a strange sense of annoyance, and for a while she didn’t know how to refuse, so she could only continue to take the taxi home.

Bai Yihan was indeed waiting at the door.

She rolled up her pants leg, her knee was scraped, and the flesh was exposed, bleeding continuously. The winding bloodstain was like a scarlet earthworm, dripping down her white calf.

It was shocking.

“This…” Jiang Cha couldn’t bear to see others injured, “Does it hurt?”

“It hurts.”

Bai Yihan looked at her, “Where did you go? I waited for you for a long time.”

While opening the door, Jiang Cha led her in to apply medicine, saying, “Something came up.”

“What happened?” Bai Yihan continued to ask.

Jiang Cha was about to say she went to eat, but then remembered that she had rejected the other party’s invitation to dinner that morning. At that time, she refused her because she said she didn’t have time. If she told her now that she went to eat with Ji Fan, it wouldn’t be very good.

“It’s very important.”

Jiang Cha found a bottle of antiseptic from the medicine cabinet and took a piece of medical gauze, applying the medicine to the wound.

Bai Yihan didn’t say anything, and Jiang Cha didn’t know if she was in pain or not.

“Oh,” Bai Yihan just stared at her quietly and asked softly, “You wouldn’t have gone to get a divorce, would you?”

Jiang Cha’s heart tightened, and her hands stopped moving.

“I accidentally saw the cover of your bag.”

Jiang Cha glanced at it.

Her bag was next to the sofa, and her copy of the divorce agreement was rolled up inside. She had left in a hurry, and the zipper of her bag was not closed.

The few words that were exposed were quite obvious.

“I’m sorry,” Bai Yihan apologized, “Did I accidentally see your secret?”

Jiang Cha stood up and felt inexplicably uncomfortable, “…. You should still go to the doctor, I’m not very professional, what if it gets infected?”

Bai Yihan looked at her.

After watching for a while, she clearly felt Jiang Cha’s cold attitude – she was angry.

If she didn’t leave now, it wouldn’t be appropriate.

“Okay.” She stood up, then frowned suddenly, and couldn’t help but gasp, “Is the nearest hospital far away?”

“Not far.” Seeing that she was still in pain and seemed very uncomfortable, Jiang Cha couldn’t help but say, “Are you going there alone?”

“Yeah.” Bai Yihan smiled lightly, “It’s okay, don’t worry, I’ve been doing a lot of things alone for the past few years, and I’m used to it.”

“…….”

Bai Yihan rolled up her pants leg, her white calf was covered in red, looking a little scary.

Jiang Cha just watched her quietly.

After she left, she slightly relaxed her tense back and rested on the sofa for a while. She checked the time, it was already past 10 o’clock at night.

Hadn’t Ji Fan come back yet? It was so late now, the restaurant should have closed. A lot of time had passed since she left the restaurant, and Jiang Cha checked her call log and message history, but Ji Fan hadn’t contacted her in the middle.

Maybe the other party was already on their way home.

Jiang Cha poured herself a cup of hot water and sat on the sofa, waiting for a while.

She changed her posture every now and then, waiting and waiting until the water had cooled.

Why was there no movement from Ji Fan for so long?

She had just met someone who had a car accident, and what if Ji Fan had…

Jiang Cha was a little worried, but she also felt that she was being unreasonable. After thinking about it for a long time, there was still no movement from Ji Fan, so she couldn’t help but make a call. Fortunately, after a few rings, the phone was connected:

“Where are you?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and Ji Fan said softly, “Is your friend okay?”

“She’s fine.”

Ji Fan paused and said, “I’m still at the restaurant.”

Jiang Cha was slightly startled.

She heard the waiter remind and urge on the other end of the phone, meaning that they were about to close, and asked the customer to leave as soon as possible.

Ji Fan was waiting for her.

She thought she would come back, so she just waited.

“Wait for me, I’ll be there right away.”

It was very late at night, and there were almost no taxis that could be easily hailed along the way, so Jiang Cha had to open a ride-hailing app and take a fast car. The driver was a novice, and it took him a long time to find the right place.

Jiang Cha was inexplicably anxious, so she urged the driver to drive faster, and the driver was a little dissatisfied and looked at her several times from the rearview mirror.

Except for two or three waiters, there was only Ji Fan left in the restaurant, and it was terribly empty. The unfinished leftovers were still on her table, and her back looked rather pathetic.

A few waiters looked at her curiously.

Ji Fan sat quietly in place, not knowing how long she had been sitting like this, like a statue.

“Have you been waiting long?” Jiang Cha asked softly.

Ji Fan looked at her, “Not for long.”

Jiang Cha didn’t know what to say. Looking into Ji Fan’s black eyes, she suddenly felt sorry, as if no matter what she said, it would make her sad.

So she mumbled, “Then let’s go home.”

The night was lonely, and there was a slight chill in the wind. The driver hadn’t arrived yet, and the two stood on the roadside, maintaining a slightly distant distance.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Cha still felt a little guilty.

“It’s okay,” Ji Fan smiled, “Sometimes you’re just too gentle.”

“…….”

“Sometimes it’s easy for people to get carried away.”

“…….”

“You know, I always thought that as long as you still cared about me, it meant you still cared.”

“…….”

“Just now I realized that even if that person wasn’t me, you would still care about them.”

---

T/N: Sigh… I felt uncomfortable.