Substitute Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 70

Jiang Cha was quiet for a while before saying, “It’s not strange to care about others, is it?”

Ji Fan didn’t speak, she just hummed softly.

Under the night sky, a gray-blue Phantom sped through the long asphalt road and stopped beside the marble columns.

The driver got out and opened the back door.

The two got into the car, but Ji Fan sat in the passenger seat, propping her chin with one hand and looking out the window sideways.

In the past, she would always sit in the back seat with Jiang Cha, very close, a distance suitable for occasional rubbing or sudden kisses. But that was a long time ago.

In the past, as long as Ji Fan wanted to, she could raise the partition in the car and then press against her, enjoying a soft kiss or something else.

The white light poured into the car.

Her long, white fingers tapped a rhythm, and she leaned her forearm lightly against the door, turning her head, her long eyelashes fluttering quietly, and her black and white eyes reflecting the scenery outside the city.

There was some silence in the car.

This silence was not very long, but it made Jiang Cha feel very uneasy.

“Did something happen to your friend?” Ji Fan asked softly.

“She… she just hurt her knee a little.”

“I see,” Ji Fan casually picked up a CD box placed on the side and asked, “Is it serious?”

“It’s okay.”

After another moment of silence, Ji Fan asked softly, “Which friend is it?”

“…”

Jiang Cha didn’t answer.

Ji Fan’s long eyelashes suddenly lifted and she glanced in the rearview mirror.

Jiang Cha’s eyes were reflected inside.

After this question, neither of them spoke again.

Jiang Cha took Ji Fan upstairs, and the elevator door opened, and the sensor lights came on.

At Jiang Cha’s door stood a tall and thin figure, Bai Yihan.

Ji Fan looked at her calmly.

Jiang Cha suddenly had a bad feeling, and she hurriedly said, “What are you doing here?”

Bai Yihan smiled lightly, “If she can come, why can’t I?”

“The friend you mentioned, is it her?” Ji Fan asked.

She was expressionless, her face was calm, and it was impossible to tell what mood she was in.

Jiang Cha was speechless for a moment.

“I left my keys at your place,” Bai Yihan didn’t seem to see Ji Fan, her attitude was natural, and she smiled lightly, “I’ve been with you for so long, I’ve become a little forgetful too.”

“Where did you leave your keys?”

“Um, I think it’s on the sofa.”

Jiang Cha had no choice but to open the door and searched the sofa with her eyes, and sure enough, she found it.

Bai Yihan took the key and was about to go out.

As she was leaving, she stopped and looked at Ji Fan in confusion, “Why are you two still living together?”

“What do you mean?” Ji Fan said indifferently, “Is there a problem with me living with my wife?”

“Wife?” Bai Yihan seemed a little confused. She asked, “Didn’t you get divorced?”

“…”

Bai Yihan said leisurely, “I thought we were competing fairly now.”

Jiang Cha’s mind went blank.

Ji Fan stood stiffly for a long time.

Before Jiang Cha could speak, Ji Fan had turned around and walked into the elevator without saying a word.

Jiang Cha reflexively chased after her, “Ji Fan!”

She finally caught up with Ji Fan and, panting slightly, grabbed Ji Fan’s hand, wanting to explain, but she found that Ji Fan’s eyes had a strange look she had never seen before.

Ji Fan pulled her hand away inch by inch, lowered her head, and took a pen out of her bag.

“What are you explaining to me?” Ji Fan looked up and glanced at her calmly, “We’re divorced, there’s no need.”

She lowered her head and quickly signed her name on the divorce agreement, handing it to Jiang Cha, “Here’s the divorce you want.”

Jiang Cha held the agreement, her eyes slightly dazed.

Ji Fan had a splitting headache.

She returned to the villa on the mountain and lay alone in the darkness.

The bedroom was dark.

Jiang Cha didn’t know that she signed the divorce agreement not because she had misunderstood anything, but because she knew very well that she wasn’t doing well.

The patient, not the doctor, had the best understanding of how the body felt.

Just now in the corridor, she went blind again.

It was the changing seasons, and it rained a lot.

Jiang Cha hadn’t seen Ji Fan for many days.

When filming, there was no longer someone to bring her a pot of warm soup, no one would sit on a small stool on the set, staring at her intently, and no one would stubbornly refuse to leave no matter how harsh her words were.

She also treated it with indifference.

Ji Fan had been busy all year round, and recently she had spent a lot of effort on the divorce, so she was always so clingy to her. But she was always decisive in many things, and once she decided to end something, she would really end it and would not waste any more time and energy.

…including their relationship.

In the past, it was unclear what Ji Fan was thinking, and she wasn’t willing to get a divorce. But now that she had changed her mind and signed the papers, they would truly go their separate ways.

It was just that she didn’t know why, but when she was filming, she would often glance at a certain spot, as if someone was watching her there.

But there was clearly nothing there.

The day before the surgery, Ji Fan went to the film set to see Jiang Cha.

She hadn’t wanted to go a few days ago, but her blindness had become more and more frequent recently. What used to improve after a while was not so easy now. The doctor said it was a cerebral hemorrhage pressing on the optic nerve, and if she didn’t have surgery, she might be permanently blind.

She was alone at home and had accidentally broken several cups due to sudden blindness, with glass shards scattered all over the floor. It was bearable to be a mess at home, but not on the set.

How could she let Jiang Cha see her like this?

In Jiang Cha’s eyes, she had to be good at everything and always be fine.

It was a rainy day. Ji Fan had taken her medicine earlier and brought the gift she hadn’t had time to give when she went out.

As she got out of the car, a drizzle began to fall, and the icy raindrops splashed on her face, only then did Ji Fan remember to hold up an umbrella.

Rainy days were really uncomfortable. Ji Fan held the plain white box woodenly and walked through the noisy crew to Jiang Cha.

“For you.”

Inside the box was a transparent glass ball with an eternal white rose. Under the glass cover, there was a light-colored wooden pad, and the rose inside was very delicate, with white pearls and scented paper scraps, and a small rolled paper in a less conspicuous place.

The meaning of the white rose: You are mine.

One white rose represents wholehearted devotion.

Jiang Cha looked at it, “A breakup gift?”

“Think of it however you want.” Ji Fan put it in Jiang Cha’s bag.

The matter of their divorce was kept secret for the time being. To the people on the set, it was very normal for Ji Fan to visit the set.

“Ms. Ji, you’re finally here!” The assistant director joked with a smile, “Xiao Jiang has been daydreaming while filming these days, staring at the seat you used to sit in all day long, looking forward to your arrival.”

Ji Fan just smiled lightly.

The smile was very shallow and disappeared in an instant.

“Come on, the last scene. Everyone get ready.”

“Explosive scene, be careful, it’s a bit dangerous.”

Boom——

The three-story villa exploded in the flames, and Jiang Cha’s face was covered in black ash. Her clothes were gray and tattered, full of holes. Jiang Cha stood straight, the flames were bright and hot in the cold rain, and waves of heat rushed straight towards her, scorching her back.

Hot.

So hot.

But she seemed to be rooted to the spot, motionless.

Her eyes were full of tears, and she stared fixedly at the building without blinking. Her comrades-in-arms were blown to pieces in the artillery fire, and her family had nowhere to escape from the shelling… Countless emotions surged up in a chaotic manner, Jiang Cha’s eyes were filled with tears, and tears poured down, in the fine cold rain, all the pain had nowhere to hide.

She had gotten into character.

This take was very successful. It could probably be passed.

Just then, there was another roar from the ruined villa, and a scorching heat wave kicked up a cloud of dust.

What happened?

Jiang Cha froze.

According to the script, there should only be one explosion!

Amidst the airwaves, countless dust particles rushed over, and Jiang Cha was shaken back and forth, almost having nowhere to escape. Just then, a figure suddenly pounced on her, hugged her tightly, and held her head against her chest.

In the sound of the bombing, countless gravel flew up, and Jiang Cha shivered in the rain, closing her eyes tightly, but felt a warm touch on her forehead.

Opening her eyes, a shocking sight of red.

Blood.

Drop by drop of blood fell, and looking up, the woman holding her had disheveled hair, slightly wet from the rain, and a bloody hole in her forehead, with blood meandering down, dripping one drop at a time onto the mud.

The broken bricks were about to hit Jiang Cha, but Ji Fan blocked them.

The woman’s eyes were open, but her gaze was dead at that moment. She was staring blankly. Jiang Cha called her name urgently several times next to her ear before she regained her senses.

“What happened?” The bombing had stopped, and Jiang Cha looked towards the staff, shouting loudly, “Help! She’s bleeding from her forehead!”

Ji Fan was sent to the hospital.

Jiang Cha’s scene was not finished, and there was one last scene left, so she had to continue acting in the ongoing drizzle.

When Ji Fan came out of the hospital, the technician from the crew was standing at the hospital door, his legs trembling with fright.

At that time, he had taken two assistants to the scene to adjust the detonation point and accidentally detonated the bomb, which caused the second explosion.

Why did he have to offend Ji Fan of all people?

“Ji, Ms. Ji,” he almost knelt down, stammering, “Are you okay?”

Ji Fan had a bandage wrapped around her forehead, her face was pale, she waved her hand and didn’t speak.

Jiang Cha didn’t know what happened later.

She heard that Ji Fan had only been scratched on the forehead by a piece of broken stone, and it wasn’t a big deal. She was bandaged up and discharged from the hospital.

Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong.

Jiang Cha felt slightly relieved.

However, after a long time, Jiang Cha never saw Ji Fan again.

It was as if this person had disappeared into thin air. She had completely disappeared from her life, leaving not even a shadow.

The breakup gift that Ji Fan had sent, the white rose under the glass cover, was placed on Jiang Cha’s desk. The petals were curled up, elegant and beautiful.

She could see it at a glance.

After the last scene was finished, Jiang Cha thought about it and decided to go find Ji Fan.

She remembered they had a date.

What was the date? As she walked, she remembered that the date was to go to the civil affairs bureau today. Jiang Cha had nothing in her hands, so she had to turn around and go home, and brought the paper divorce agreement, the original household registration book, ID card, and marriage certificate.

Ji Fan’s residence was located on a mountain, a European-style building surrounded by lush green grass. A large lawn was neatly trimmed, and sprinklers were still on, constantly spraying mist.

Everything seemed fine.

It was just too empty.

Jiang Cha stood at the bronze iron gate and pressed the doorbell. The surveillance camera turned, and then a person walked along the stone path.

“Ms. Jiang?”

It was the butler who opened the door.

“I’m looking for Ji Fan.”

“Oh,” the butler scratched his head and said apologetically, “Ms. Ji isn’t home.”

“She’s not home?”

Jiang Cha paused and mumbled, “Okay. I’ll come back another day.”

Jiang Cha called Ji Fan, but her phone was turned off. She hesitated, opened the WeChat interface, tapped her fingers, and typed a line, then deleted it after a moment.

After a long time, she finally sent the message completely.

——Where are you?

——We should go through the divorce procedures.

Jiang Cha waited for a long time, and even lost sleep that night, but she didn’t receive a reply from Ji Fan.

At the wrap party, Ji Fan’s seat was empty.

Everyone around raised their glasses to celebrate, chatting happily, from the perfect ending of the film to the later publicity, they talked endlessly.

Jiang Cha didn’t hear anything, and couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Ji Fan?”

Everyone around was instantly quiet, looking at her in surprise, “Ms. Jiang doesn’t know, and we definitely don’t know either.”

Ji Fan seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

She thought the other party was avoiding her.

How long was she going to hide?

Jiang Cha called Xu Qingzhu.

She rested her forehead against the glass window, looking at the street scene that was becoming increasingly hazy in the cold rain, and exhaled.

The window fogged up and quickly dissipated.

The phone connected.

It was raining, and she and Ji Fan had been together for six or seven years.

“Hello? Ms. Jiang.”

“Do you know where Ji Fan is?” Jiang Cha gently stroked the glass covering the white rose with her fingers, over and over again.

“……”

Xu Qingzhu asked, “What do you want to find her for?”

Jiang Cha said softly, “To go through the divorce procedures.”

Xu Qingzhu said, “Where do you live? I have something to give you.”

“…….”

Jiang Cha gave her address, hung up the phone, and there was a busy tone on the other end.

When Xu Qingzhu arrived, it was evening. The sensor lights in the corridor were broken, and it was gloomy. When Xu Qingzhu saw her, she handed her something and sighed lightly, “You may not know, Ji Fan has a very serious Intracerebral hemorrhage, and blocking that blow for you was basically a death sentence.”

After handing her the rolled-up two sheets of paper, Xu Qingzhu turned and left.

Jiang Cha slowly unfolded the rolled-up paper.

Ji Fan’s will.

Testator: Ji Fan; Gender: Female

Jiang Cha slammed the will against the wall, and it crumbled piece by piece. Tears streamed down her face.

A will?

You’re so cruel.

Jiang Cha swayed to her feet and picked up the glass ball, smashing it hard on the floor.

The white rose lay quietly on the ground, and a small rolled-up piece of paper was revealed among the shards of glass.

It was a very narrow, rolled-up piece of paper, a light apricot color. Like the kind you’d put in a message in a bottle when you were a kid, it was tied up very privately with a thin string.

Jiang Cha picked up the rolled-up paper.

Her fingertips gently unfolded it, smoothing out the creases and corners.

It was Ji Fan’s handwriting.

Slender and elegant, the strokes were sharp, but the lines were warm and soft.

“I have always been a staunch materialist all my life, but I hope there is an afterlife for you.”

---

T/N: 😭😭😭