Substitute Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 88

It was rush hour, and traffic was heavy.

The gray-blue Maybach smoothly traversed a dense, tree-lined road, driving along a long asphalt path. The chauffeur in the front kept the black partition raised properly, gripping the steering wheel without glancing away.

In the back seat.

It was high noon, and the sun was fierce. Ji Fan leaned against the car window, the bright light washing her profile to a dazzling white. She picked up a bottle of water from the center console, took two sips, and glanced at Jiang Cha beside her.

The design of the back seat was quite obstructive. There was a wide small platform in the middle for holding tea and charging electronic devices, separating Jiang Cha and her by some distance.

Jiang Cha was looking down, frowning slightly.

The friend request was still pending. Luo Yan must have found her from a group chat created during filming.

Did she need something?

She didn’t particularly want to contact Luo Yan.

From a certain perspective, Jiang Cha and Luo Yan were not at all close.

They weren’t cut from the same cloth.

Throughout the months they worked together, they never had a proper conversation. For one, their awkward relationship made interactions inherently subtle. For another, their personalities were genuinely too different to connect.

Luo Yan was too calculating.

Jiang Cha was the opposite.

Every time Luo Yan spoke, it took Jiang Cha a long time to understand her intentions.

For example, that night long ago when Luo Yan inexplicably reminded her that the ring Ji Fan gave her had been discontinued for many years.

For example, the casual phone call Luo Yan made in the restroom on their wedding day.

Each time, she pulled her and Ji Fan further apart.

Whether it was unintentional or deliberate, Jiang Cha hadn’t thought deeply about it before. It was only after many days that she started to reconsider.

She is probably up to no good.

The former Jiang Cha would have rejected the invitation.

But she was different now. She had become more nonchalant about many things, and meeting her didn’t frighten her.

Her soft, dark eyelashes fluttered. Jiang Cha stared at the request for a long time, finally accepting it with a slight tremor of her fingertips.

Soon after, Luo Yan sent a message.

—”Don’t misunderstand, I just want to treat you to a meal and apologize.”

—”Don’t tell Ji Fan.”

—”Ji Fan is keeping a secret from you.”

Jiang Cha’s gaze fixated on that last sentence, and her eyes narrowed.

An apology?

A secret?

About what?

It was like a small animal standing before a dark cave, half afraid and half determined to explore. Rationally, she knew she shouldn’t go, but on the other hand, guided by a certain instinct—perhaps curiosity, perhaps a refusal to believe Ji Fan would betray her—she wanted to verify it.

What else could Ji Fan be hiding from her?

Jiang Cha frowned slightly.

She didn’t believe it.

“What are you looking at?”

Ji Fan looked at her, noticing her sudden unusual behavior.

Jiang Cha lowered her head. A lock of soft, dark hair slipped from behind her ear, covering her fair earlobe. She slightly pursed her red lips, and a light ripple passed over her calm eyes, as if she had seen something that troubled her.

Ji Fan’s quick glance only caught a glimpse of a chat box.

She seemed to be chatting with someone.

Could it be Song Baiwei?

Ji Fan’s red lips were slightly pursed, and a barely noticeable emotion flashed in her eyes. She couldn’t say much and simply turned her head, looking out the window seemingly casually. Her dark, bright eyes reflected the flowing light of the sky. As the car passed over a speed bump, causing a slight jolt, the diamond earring by her ear sparkled.

Her fair fingertips curled slightly, feeling uneasy.

An hour ago.

“Why do you think it wasn’t Ji Fan?”

Her manager, Chen Mo, tapped the tile floor with her shoe heel, rocking slowly. “I think it must have been her. Who else would replace you with a newcomer who has no credentials?”

Luo Yan was silent for a moment, and then after a long pause, she said, “For my first movie, Ji Fan was the one who invested money so the director would let me act. The original female lead for that movie was Jiang Cha.”

Luo Yan had never forgotten this matter.

She was convinced that since Ji Fan considered her so important before, she wouldn’t allow Jiang Cha to replace her now.

“Oh?” Chen Mo paused. “No way.”

She frowned slightly.

Luo Yan was still relatively new when she filmed that movie. It was many years ago, and Chen Mo didn’t remember clearly. She only vaguely recalled that the person who kept instructing her to take good care of Luo Yan during that movie was clearly not a woman.

It was Luo Yan’s current husband.

But it was too long ago, and she couldn’t be sure.

Chen Mo only shook her head: “It doesn’t matter whether it was Ji Fan or not. You need to find a way to suppress Jiang Cha. Only one of you can stand out.”

Luo Yan hummed in agreement.

Her new movie was shortlisted for the main competition, and the jury president was someone she knew, who had even publicly and clearly expressed his affirmation and admiration for her in the past.

There were also rumors that she would win Best Actress.

Thinking this, she felt a little reassured.

Jiang Cha?

She was just a popular minor celebrity at best.

Forget it, she wasn’t even qualified to compete with her.

The two agreed to meet at a private lakeside restaurant.

It was a traditional Chinese restaurant, with seating booths separated by screens. The dark base of the screen was embroidered with what looked like intricate Song Dynasty bird-and-flower paintings, but up close, the delicate brushstrokes were embroidery on silk.

When Jiang Cha arrived, Luo Yan was already there.

The glass window was divided by carved wooden lattices. Outside, the setting sun fell on Luo Yan’s profile, illuminating her fair, straight nose and slightly pursed red lips.

The most noticeable difference between her and Jiang Cha was their noses. Jiang Cha’s nasal bone was slightly protruding, with a faint bump, making her fair profile look finely carved, giving her features a more lively, youthful appearance.

Luo Yan’s features had a softer, blunter sensibility, making her look kind and easily likable, with a more mature aura.

She looked up, saw Jiang Cha from a distance, and her eyes held a hint of hostility, but quickly, in an instant, she revealed a deeper smile.

“You’re here?”

Jiang Cha smiled, put down her bag, and took her seat.

“What would you like to eat?” Luo Yan naturally pushed a menu toward her. “Take a look. I was afraid our tastes might be different, so I waited for you to order.”

“Thank you.”

Jiang Cha’s expression was also very natural.

Jiang Cha was genuinely natural, but Luo Yan was not.

Luo Yan quietly scrutinized her, and after a while, spoke again: “I often used to come here with my parents when I was a child. Ji Fan likes a lot of the dishes here too.”

She had two intentions in saying this. First, the restaurant was very expensive, costing several thousand for a casual meal, which was impossible for a child from an ordinary family to “often come” to. She intended to subtly pressure Jiang Cha. Second, by mentioning Ji Fan, she wanted to tell Jiang Cha that she and Ji Fan had known each other for many years, and their relationship was extraordinary.

After saying this, she quietly watched the girl across from her.

Jiang Cha simply said “Mm,” lowered her head to look at the menu, and then told the waiter a few dish names.

Jiang Cha smiled slightly, “I hope you like what I ordered.”

She completely ignored Luo Yan’s subtle pressure.

This was like punching cotton. Luo Yan felt a lump in her throat, stuck and very uncomfortable.

“I want to apologize to you,” Luo Yan looked up, fiddling with her cup, her expression gentle, “I did something very wrong to you in the past.”

“What do you want to say, exactly?” Jiang Cha casually picked up the white porcelain teacup, her red lips pressing against the rim as she took a gentle sip. “Just say it directly.”

Jiang Cha was used to being straightforward.

She was direct by nature and genuinely didn’t want to bother dissecting winding, roundabout conversations. There were so many interesting things in life; who wanted to contemplate a sentence that might hide a thousand intentions?

She took another sip of hot tea.

“That movie, letting you be my body double, and not giving you screen credit.” A waiter brought a plate of vinegar fish. Luo Yan picked up a piece. The fish was succulent, white, and melted in her mouth. She paused, and said apologetically, “I’ve always felt terrible about it.”

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes, her eyelashes curled, and her expression was unexpectedly calm.

“It’s been so long. I’m touched that you still remember.”

“Don’t call me ‘you’ [using the polite form nín],” Luo Yan smiled, “I’m not exactly a senior figure.”

Luo Yan thought Jiang Cha was treating her like a “senior” in the film industry.

Jiang Cha looked at her with surprise.

Luo Yan had misunderstood.

Admittedly, Luo Yan had more seniority in the industry, but Jiang Cha only ever considered those she truly admired as seniors, such as Song Baiwei, or the award-winning actor who had just won an award recently—people she felt were miles beyond her reach. But Luo Yan was different.

“It’s not about being a senior. I treat you as an elder. It’s just… I don’t know why, calling you ‘sister-in-law’ always feels a bit strange.”

Luo Yan’s heart sank.

She felt Jiang Cha was making a demonstration.

Subtly asserting her current marital status with Ji Fan, and at the same time, pointing out Luo Yan’s identity, telling her that she was her sister-in-law and she shouldn’t cross that boundary by doing anything improper.

In reality, Jiang Cha wasn’t thinking that much.

“I’m telling you this for your own good,” Luo Yan said with a sigh. “Ji Fan doesn’t love you at all.”

Jiang Cha’s expression tightened at this.

“Do you know why you became my body double back then?”

“…”

“The director told me that someone didn’t want me to expose too much on camera and asked him to find a body double.”

“…”

“Ji Fan was the biggest investor in that movie; you know that.”

“…”

“She was willing to let you expose yourself in that scene, but wasn’t willing to let me act it out. How can you believe that someone like that is sincere about you?”

Jiang Cha looked at her quietly, a look of utter exasperation flashing in her dark eyes. She pursed her red lips, momentarily unsure whether Luo Yan truly didn’t know or was pretending not to know.

That investor wasn’t Ji Fan.

Definitely not.

Ji Fan would never allow anyone to forge her signature.

She probably had no idea about that incident.

As for the director finding a body double, Jiang Cha had heard a different story. The director had told her that the scene was very important, and even if the pay was tripled, he wanted Jiang Cha to film it.

Jiang Cha wasn’t sure which version was the truth.

Luo Yan looked at Jiang Cha, pity in her eyes.

Jiang Cha, however, just gently looked up, her red lips curving slightly, her expression calm:

“You’re mistaken.”

“The person who got you the lead role back then wasn’t Ji Fan at all.”

These two sentences were spoken softly, in the same gentle tone Jiang Cha usually used, but the moment they were uttered, they pierced Luo Yan’s heart like the sharpest ice blade, cruel and precise.

“It wasn’t her?”

Luo Yan’s face turned white.

She had always believed that Ji Fan got her that role, and that Ji Fan was still obsessed with her. She had even felt a little proud because of it, so much so that she had almost forgotten that she had never truly had Ji Fan.

She was the one who confessed first.

She was the one who fell in love first.

Ji Fan had never explicitly reciprocated or tried to keep her.

Her breakup with Ji Fan wasn’t because she was moved by Ji Fan’s brother. The split wasn’t just because she worried about the future of her career if she dated a woman and came out.

It was mostly because Ji Fan had never clearly stated her feelings.

After getting together with Ji Linyu and seeing Ji Fan with a girl who looked so similar to herself, she even had the illusion that her wish had finally come true.

But now, a single sentence from Jiang Cha effortlessly shattered all her fantasies.

“I think you might be overthinking it.”

“Ji Fan is very good to me.”

“And if she really cared, given her personality, why wouldn’t she stop you from marrying her brother?”

The façade of false superiority on Luo Yan’s face cracked in that instant. She leaned forward slightly and took a deep, forceful breath.

Jiang Cha’s eyes were calm. Having been through a great deal of pain herself, she now looked at Luo Yan as if seeing her former self. Apart from a little sympathy, she felt no other emotion.

She continued:

“You said someone didn’t want you to expose too much, so they made the director find a body double. But did you ever consider why the director was willing to pay triple the price to have me film that scene? It wouldn’t have been impossible to find a cheaper body double with a similar appearance.”

“…”

“The director told me that your aura wasn’t quite right, and that scene was very important. He chose me because he was afraid you would mess it up.”

Jiang Cha’s tone was exceptionally calm, as if stating a simple fact, unhurriedly.

That scene was the one part of her past Luo Yan least wanted to mention, the one she felt the least confidence about. Luo Yan knew very well how many viewers praised that sensual scene and fell in love with the character because of it.

But it wasn’t her who acted it.

It was Jiang Cha.

The truth she had desperately tried to conceal was exposed just like that.

Clatter—

Luo Yan threw her chopsticks down forcefully. She was defiant, completely losing her composure, and blurted out, “The Best Actress award is already set. It’s mine.”

“Is that so?”

Jiang Cha used a snow-white napkin to wipe the corners of her lips and smiled lightly, “Then congratulations.”

“I’m leaving.”

Jiang Cha slung her bag over her shoulder. She glanced at her phone screen, which showed one missed call and several frantic, unread messages.

The last one was from five minutes ago.

—”Waiting for you downstairs.”

How did she know she was here?

Ji Fan was tracking her again.

Tap, tap, tap.

The crisp sound of high heels striking the marble tiles.

Jiang Cha turned her head, looking at the Miss Ji who was trying to “catch a cheat.”

Ji Fan was wearing a white-based, artichoke-green striped shirt with a deep V-neck. The hem of the shirt was tucked into a black A-line mini-skirt, cinched at the waist, emphasizing her long legs and slender waist.

The heavy chiffon fabric at the neckline of the shirt was tied in a knot, hanging over her chest, revealing a patch of skin that was white and clear like jade. There was a small, dark red mark on her collarbone.

It looked like it had been sucked there.

When Ji Fan found her way upstairs, Jiang Cha and Luo Yan were sitting face-to-face.

It wasn’t Song Baiwei who invited her to dinner; it was Luo Yan.

Ji Fan’s red lips pursed slightly, feeling a little awkward. Instead of the anticipated rival, she found herself face-to-face with a “former lover” that Jiang Cha often felt jealous of.

I hope Luo Yan didn’t say anything she shouldn’t have.

She looked at Jiang Cha, slightly uneasy.

Jiang Cha didn’t say anything, her small bag slung over her shoulder. She looked like she was ready to leave.

Her dark, ebony hair was lifted and tucked behind her small ear. She tilted her head, propping up her chin to look at Ji Fan. The moment their eyes met, Ji Fan thought of many possible bad scenarios. But Jiang Cha’s profile was very soft, her red lips slightly curved upwards, and she didn’t look like she had misunderstood anything again.

Under Ji Fan’s gaze, Jiang Cha stood up, holding her bag, and walked gracefully forward.

As she passed Ji Fan, she glanced at her: “Aren’t you leaving? Do you want to reminisce with her?”

Then she walked out on her own.

Ji Fan laughed wryly.

Before she walked out, a sound came from behind her.

The voice was very low and hoarse, as if she was in extreme distress.

It was Luo Yan.

Luo Yan asked her, “Was it you?”

She didn’t specify, but both of them knew she was asking about the sudden replacement of the top luxury brand ambassador.

Ji Fan slightly turned her face. The white diamond in her earlobe flashed a cold halo. She said softly, “It was me.”

Luo Yan’s face was very pale.

She turned her head, looked out the window, and felt a sense of futile helplessness in that instant.

Ji Fan took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped and turned around.

Luo Yan held her breath slightly, staring at her blankly.

The lake shimmered. The last rays of the sunset shone through the glass window, casting the dark shadow of the window frame onto Ji Fan’s fair nose. She turned her face, and her clear, black-and-white eyes were instantly illuminated.

Ji Fan only added one more sentence.

—”She will go further than you.”