Chapter 49
Half an hour later, the official Weibo for Wu Yi made an official announcement, revealing the cast.
Wu Yi Production Team V: Wild grasses and flowers by the Vermilion Bird Bridge, the setting sun slants over the entrance to Wu Yi Alley. Welcome everyone to Wu Yi Town: Xia Linxia, Qiu Xingzhou, Ji Fengxue.
Several veteran actors were also listed, and as soon as the cast was announced, it became the top trending topic of the day and the most anticipated film.
[Holy crap, this cast is explosive!]
[Why are Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou included? Everyone else is a veteran actor with strong acting skills, but they let two popular idols be the leads?]
[No way? Ji Fengxue is actually playing a supporting role?]
[I heard the female second lead has more screen time than the male lead, so Ji Fengxue is still considered the main character!]
[OMG, Xia Linxia and Ji Fengxue’s first movie collaboration, ahhhhh! I’m eating this sugar!]
[Baby Xiaxia has made it, actually starring as Director Chen’s female lead, woo woo woo!]
[Director Chen’s last film won Ji Fengxue a major award. What will happen with this one?]
[This connection is amazing, the combination of Summer CP and Qiu Xingzhou is something I never expected!]
[When does filming start? I’m so excited!]
[Seeing this list of actors, I’m excited, but the male and female leads… let’s not. Have you forgotten how badly Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou’s drama flopped a few years ago?]
[Director Chen’s casting this time is truly baffling. Not to mention why Xia Linxia can be the female lead of this film, it’s hard to understand why Ji Fengxue is playing the female second lead, right?]
[Ji Fengxue doesn’t have as many fans as Xia Linxia, but her status shouldn’t have dropped this low, right?]
[Everyone, don’t speculate casually. There was a notice in the Snowflake fan group that the female second lead role was requested by Fairy Ji herself. Apparently, it’s a very challenging role.]
[The movie hasn’t even been released yet, how do you know Xiaxia won’t act well?]
[Am I the only one excitedly shipping the CP?! Oh my god, Summer CP is going to star in a movie together, there will be so much sugar to ship in the future!]
[Me too, sister! Ahhh, why aren’t these two married yet!]
The internet was flooded with news, and discussions rose and fell. Xiao Yuran sat in her office, looking at these messages, irritably throwing her phone aside, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath.
What was going on?
During the audition, Director Chen had clearly chatted happily with her and even said she was a good fit for the role. Why was it Xia Linxia in the end?
It could have been anyone, but why, of all people, was it Xia Linxia again?
“It must be because of Ji Fengxue,” her agent suddenly said from beside her.
Xiao Yuran paused, looking up at her.
“Didn’t you hear it yourself this afternoon? Ji Fengxue told the director she chose Xia Linxia. The director was probably deliberating and then took her suggestion,” the agent speculated.
Xiao Yuran lowered her eyes, her emotions unreadable.
Her agent sat down beside her, looked at the news online for a while, and then suddenly said, “Ever since Xia Linxia and Ji Fengxue got together, their popularity and buzz have soared. There are CP fans everywhere. Even Ji Fengxue has gained many new fans, and the two fanbases have banded together as if they’re family.”
“What are you trying to say?” Xiao Yuran asked indifferently.
“I’m saying all of this was originally yours,” the agent said slowly. “It’s a pity you didn’t want it. Now it belongs to someone else. The traffic is someone else’s, the resources are someone else’s, and even Ji Fengxue is someone else’s.”
“Why are you saying all this now!” Xiao Yuran stood up exasperatedly, the smile she usually wore finally cracking, revealing a hint of disgust. “Who was it who told me to stay away from Fengxue back then? Saying that a same-sex relationship would ruin me, while also telling me to string her along and insisting on introducing me to sugar daddies?!”
The agent’s expression changed several times. Finally, she stood up and confronted her. “I did say that, it’s true, but same-sex marriage wasn’t legal back then. Who could have predicted such a thing? Besides, was it really all me forcing you? I certainly didn’t teach you any tricks to seduce Ji Fengxue.”
“Don’t say such unpleasant things,” Xiao Yuran said coldly. “What tricks could I use? It was just that she liked me. As for you, are you planning to take on a new artist recently? Didn’t you promise at first that you’d only manage me?”
“If I only managed you, wouldn’t I starve?” the agent said unhappily. “Your resources are clearly not as good as before. I’ve done my best to keep you popular for these few years. Look at those who debuted with you, besides Xia Linxia, who else is as popular as you?”
“Then why couldn’t you make me more popular than Xia Linxia?”
“I took you on because I liked your ambition. From the moment you were just a contestant in a talent show and could get to know Ji Fengxue, I knew you had a future, so I specifically came to manage you,” the agent said frankly. “But you need to know that no flower stays red forever. If you don’t climb higher, you’ll eventually be replaced. You’ve always been overshadowed by Xia Linxia on TV variety shows, and it’s hard for you to get into the big screen on your own. And the path with Ji Fengxue was cut off by yourself. Look, now that Xia Linxia is with Ji Fengxue, she’s gotten such good resources—”
“Stop talking!” Xiao Yuran suddenly raised her voice. “Get out.”
The two parted unhappily. The agent opened the door and froze, looking in surprise at the person standing at the doorway, hand raised as if to knock. She exclaimed, “Teacher Ji? When did you arrive?”
Xiao Yuran was startled and turned to look at the newcomer.
Ji Fengxue smiled, tilting her head to look inside. “I came to see Yuran, about something.”
Seeing her expression, she didn’t seem to have heard anything, so the agent resumed her smile and said, “Alright, I’ll go pour you some water.”
“No need, I’ll leave after I’m done. Chen Nian, wait for me downstairs,” Ji Fengxue instructed.
“Hurry up, I don’t want to spend the night in the car again,” Chen Nian complained.
The door closed, and Xiao Yuran came forward, grabbing her arm and smiling. “Why didn’t you say you were coming? I haven’t even had a chance to congratulate you yet, on working with Director Chen again.”
“Thank you.” Ji Fengxue subtly pulled her arm free, holding up the bag in her hand. “I passed by a fruit store just now and saw these mangoes looked fresh, so I thought I’d bring them for you to try.”
Xiao Yuran secretly breathed a sigh of relief, smiling as she took the bag. “Thank you, I love mangoes the most. I’ll go cut them, let’s eat some together.”
“I don’t eat them, I’m allergic to mangoes,” Ji Fengxue said.
“You’re allergic too?” Xiao Yuran turned her head, looking at her nervously. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Ji Fengxue stared at her steadily, the smile on her face gradually disappearing, saying nothing.
Xiao Yuran suddenly sensed the atmosphere was off and became a little flustered. “Fengxue…”
“Allergic too?” Ji Fengxue looked at her, without a trace of a smile in her eyes. It was a coldness she had never seen before, making her feel uneasy and scared. “Who else is allergic?”
Xiao Yuran’s gaze darted away. She turned to look at the bag, laughing awkwardly. “It seems like Linxia, I remember she’s allergic to mangoes. I thought you might have caught it.”
“Is that so…” Ji Fengxue’s expression softened a little, then she asked, “I thought you didn’t like her, but you actually remember such small details about her.”
“How could that be? I really want to get along well with her,” Xiao Yuran relaxed slightly, forcing a smile. Although she didn’t know why Ji Fengxue was asking this, she still wanted to salvage her image, so she added, “So I specifically inquired about the things she likes and dislikes.”
Ji Fengxue smiled gently. “Oh? You truly are considerate.”
“Not really.” Xiao Yuran smiled. “At the time, we were performing in groups, and as the leader, my priority was to handle relationships well so we could have team spirit.”
After she finished speaking, she received no response. She couldn’t help but look over, only to see the smile on Ji Fengxue’s face completely vanish, returning to her previous expression, making her feel as if her earlier smiles had all been a pretense.
This realization made her heart pound. She instinctively tried to change the subject. “By the way, what do you want to eat tonight—”
“Xiao Yuran,” Ji Fengxue called her name.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Xiao Yuran responded calmly and unhurriedly, but only she knew how nervous she was at that moment.
Ji Fengxue had never called her name so coldly before.
“You knew Xiaxia was allergic to mangoes, so you specifically bought a mango cake for her birthday, didn’t you?” Ji Fengxue asked, word by word.
Xiao Yuran’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged. “What are you talking about? Which year’s birthday? I can’t even remember clearly.”
Ji Fengxue lowered her head and rubbed her temples, not wanting to probe further. She said directly, “We heard everything you just said to your agent.”
Xiao Yuran’s face turned pale, and she frantically tried to explain, “No, it’s not what you think—”
“You don’t need to say more, I have a pretty good idea myself.” Ji Fengxue reached out to stop her from continuing. “Many things, once you step away from them, you can probably see and understand them clearly.”
“Fengxue, listen to me, at first it was just my agent telling me to please you, but I slowly realized you are truly very good—”
“Stop talking. Let’s not bring up the past. Regardless of the truth, whether you seduced me or strung me along, it was my own choice. After all, you declared from the beginning that you were straight.” Ji Fengxue took a deep breath. “I don’t blame you for these things. It was my poor judgment, my wasted sincerity. I can’t blame you.”
Xiao Yuran slowly clenched her palms, tears streaming from her eyes. She looked at Ji Fengxue through blurry vision, opened her mouth, and only tasted a wet, salty flavor.
Ji Fengxue looked at her for a long moment, sighing silently. “Before, I was always afraid when you cried, worried that I had overstepped and made you unhappy. Now I know, tears are actually a weapon you used against me, aren’t they?”
Xiao Yuran shook her head, crying profusely, her tears like falling pear blossoms. She slowly reached out and grabbed Ji Fengxue’s sleeve, choking out, “I’m sorry… can we still be friends?”
Ji Fengxue looked down at that fair wrist, which had once held an umbrella for her, sent her flowers, and wiped away her tears. But now, looking at that hand, her eyes blurred with tears, and she felt as if she could no longer see clearly.
Just then, another hand covered hers. Her lips trembled slightly. Just as she was about to break into a smile, her hand was pushed away.
“Sorry, no.”
The cold words struck her heart, chilling it.
Xiao Yuran looked up at her. “Why? Before, even when I had a boyfriend, you would still be friends with me, right? Why not now?”
“Because that was my own problem, and I said I don’t blame you.” Ji Fengxue took a step back, ignoring her tears. “But you wanted to harm Xiaxia, and I cannot accept that.”
“I never wanted to harm her!” Xiao Yuran roared. “Fu Xiaoxuan made me do it.”
“Xiao Yuran, you find an excuse for everything. Pleasing me was because your agent forced you, harming Xiaxia was because Fu Xiaoxuan instigated you. But in the end, weren’t you the one who acted as the executioner?” Ji Fengxue questioned.
Xiao Yuran was speechless, as if she had been seen through. She slumped down, burying her face in her knees and sobbing bitterly.
After a long while, clear footsteps sounded in her ears. Ji Fengxue was walking away from her, step by step.
The door opened. She heard Ji Fengxue stop, turn back, and say, “From now on, stay away from Xiaxia.”
thud
As soon as the door closed, Xiao Yuran collapsed onto the floor, crying uncontrollably.
Downstairs, Chen Nian was chatting on WeChat with Xiang Huaimeng in the car. Seeing Ji Fengxue emerge, she looked at her in surprise. “That was fast. A few minutes for an old flame, but you can stay with a new flame all night.”
After speaking, seeing that the other person didn’t respond to her joke, she knew Ji Fengxue was in a bad mood. It made sense; anyone would be unhappy to discover that someone they had liked for three or four years had been playing games all along.
She cautiously glanced at Ji Fengxue and said, “We’re going to record the variety show tomorrow. You need to adjust your state.”
Still no reaction.
“You’ll see Xia Linxia tomorrow.”
Tsk, she smiled.
Chen Nian watched the fleeting smile on Ji Fengxue’s face and couldn’t help but marvel at how magical Xia Linxia was.
“Is there any alcohol left at home?” Ji Fengxue suddenly asked.
“No,” Chen Nian said, thinking to herself that the first thing she’d do when they got back was throw out all the alcohol.
Ji Fengxue opened the window, slowly closed her eyes, emptying her mind, letting all her thoughts drift away on the wind.
She was even a little grateful that Xiao Yuran hadn’t, for the sake of a so-called shortcut, reluctantly given herself to her. She could still completely extricate herself and embrace a new love.
A new life had already begun, hadn’t it?
“What’s your next plan?” Chen Nian asked.
Ji Fengxue slowly opened her eyes, a slight curve to her lips. “To make Xia Linxia my lover.”
“I was asking about work!”
“This is my new work.”
“Your shamelessness is really starting to turn into Xia.”
The next day, Ji Fengxue knocked on Xia Linxia’s door.
“Coming!” Xia Linxia opened the door, smiling at her, full of energy. “You’re early. Come help me pack Xia Wudi.”
Ji Fengxue entered the house, familiar with the layout, with a cameraman following behind her.
After putting Xia Wudi into a small water tank, she looked around and finally found Xia Linxia in the bedroom.
Xia Linxia was touching up her makeup. Seeing Ji Fengxue standing at the door, she walked over for a look and was startled. “What’s with your dark circles?!”
Ji Fengxue was still thinking of how to answer when Xia Linxia found an excuse for her. “Insomnia again?”
“Mm.” Ji Fengxue nodded, looking wronged.
“Come, I’ll cover them for you.” Xia Linxia casually dabbed powder under Ji Fengxue’s eyes. “It’s okay, we’ll sleep together tonight, and you won’t have insomnia.”
The warmth in Ji Fengxue’s eyes surged. She suddenly leaned forward and hugged Xia Linxia, resting her head on her shoulder.
Xia Linxia froze. “You…”
“A little sleepy.”
“Then you can catch up on sleep in the car, and you can rest well once we get to the villa.” Xia Linxia stroked Ji Fengxue’s back with one hand, glanced at the camera, and then couldn’t help but whisper into her ear, “Also, your clothes got powder on mine. It’s brand new, you have to compensate me.”
“…”
“Are you going to compensate me or not?” Xia Linxia pressed.
“Compensate, compensate. Anything you want.” Ji Fengxue chuckled softly. “How about I give myself to you?”
“What’s a few pounds of you worth?” Xia Linxia had a flash of inspiration and seized the opportunity. “How about you teach me acting!”
“Okay,” Ji Fengxue said without hesitation.
Now it was Xia Linxia’s turn to be shocked. “You agreed so easily?!”
Ji Fengxue let go, looked into her eyes, and smiled. “It’s a reward for being my sleep aid.”
“Wow, then it looks like I should sleep with you more often, maybe I’ll get more good stuff!”
Ji Fengxue gave her an encouraging look.
[Tsk]
[Tsk tsk]
[Tsk tsk tsk]
[Bold words]
[Sleep with her more often ♂, so when are you two getting married!]
[Shocking: A blooming young woman publicly utters wild words about sleeping together, for what reason?]
[I always feel like Teacher Ji was acting a bit spoiled when she hugged Xiaxia just now?]
[Holy crap, I suddenly feel like Fairy Ji is a bit dark-bellied. She seems soft, cute, and wifely, but in reality, she’s a ruthless person who can make Xia Linxia willingly sleep with her!]
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