Chapter 25: Moving In
Alright, as expected, a bowl of egg fried rice wasn’t enough to max out the favorability, Qiao Rubai sighed inwardly.
“Although it’s a suite, the living room is still too simple. Firstly, the curtains aren’t right. The bedroom has blackout curtains, but the living room doesn’t, so the light blocking is poor. Secondly, the hallway and the living room are only separated by a door. You can enter the living room directly with a key card, there’s definitely no sense of security. Even if we ask the hotel staff to set it up, it would seem like we’re not taking the little empress seriously.” Ji Junxin’s supplementary explanation was reasonable and completely dispelled Qiao Rubai’s idea of having the die-hard fan temporarily watch over the foodie for her.
“If it doesn’t work, then forget it.” Qiao Rubai pondered how effective it would be to just have Mi Hongdou stay in the same hotel as the crew, but not in the same room as Ji Junxin.
“It’s not that it won’t work…” Ji Junxin wasn’t very familiar with the “Divorce, So Be It” crew next door, but judging by the title, it was a family ethics drama. She had happened to glance at the set earlier, and it seemed like the people there weren’t particularly fond of the little empress. The unfriendly Zhang Weiguo had left a deep impression on her. Thinking about it now, it seemed that the atmosphere in her own crew was indeed better. At least, there was herself, and Director Pan. Ji Junxin automatically ignored the fact that the drama next door was Mengguan’s own production, and Mi Hongdou was actually from Mengguan.
“Hmm?” Qiao Rubai was still considering whether to have a crew member give up their room for Mi Hongdou. She was pondering the profound question of whether Mi Hongdou could prevent the foodie from being led astray if they weren’t roommates, when Ji Junxin’s sudden change of tone almost made her miss it.
Ji Junxin carefully considered the layout of her room. The living room had been ruled out. The small study was too small. After all, it was a hotel. Even if it was a suite, the most suitable place to live was still the bedroom… Ji Junxin had lived there for many days. The suite was on a high floor, the bedroom faced south, it was spacious, and the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the fields, offering a nice view. Most importantly, the soundproofing and light blocking in the bedroom were excellent, ensuring a good rest no matter when she slept. “How about asking the hotel if they can replace the double bed in the bedroom with two single beds? The bedroom is big enough, it won’t be too crowded for two people.” Ji Junxin thought aloud, then added, “I remember the bed is modular, it should be able to be taken apart, right?”
Really… so a bowl of egg fried rice could increase favorability this much! Qiao Rubai couldn’t believe it. So, in her previous life, Ji Junxin was really tricked by Jiang Duo’s food? Angrily pinching the extra flesh around her waist, Qiao Rubai decided that even if she became a fat person after her rebirth, she wouldn’t let Ji Junxin eat anything made by Jiang Duo! It was too foolish to bear.
Seeing Qiao Rubai’s displeased expression, Ji Junxin asked, “What’s wrong? Is my suggestion bad?”
“Good… let’s do that. I’ll talk to Mi Hongdou later.” Qiao Rubai’s face darkened, and she finally couldn’t hold back. “Do you remember what happened on Little New Year’s Eve last year?”
“Um… we made and ate tangyuan at my place?”
“And?” Qiao Rubai’s face darkened even more.
Ji Junxin looked back innocently.
What a heartless foodie! “That night, it was snowing heavily, and we had a little wine. I couldn’t drive. You booked a hotel room for me. Do you remember?” Qiao Rubai gritted her teeth.
“Oh, I think so, what about it?” She continued to look back innocently.
“It was snowing, and you didn’t let me stay, you made me go to a hotel!” Qiao Rubai, defeated by the egg fried rice, went into complaint mode.
“But my apartment only has one bed. It would be too pitiful to let you sleep on the sofa. The hotel is right in front of the apartment building, connected by a corridor. You wouldn’t even get snowed on walking over. Was that hotel uncomfortable? Sister Lu has stayed there a few times and said it was quite good.” Ji Junxin, missing the point, didn’t understand why Qiao Rubai suddenly brought this up.
The mention of Lu Gaoshi made Qiao Rubai snap out of her complaint mode. Anyway, getting Mi Hongdou to move in was the priority. The person she wanted to pursue wasn’t Ji Junxin, so there was no point in being angry.
The matter was unilaterally decided. After several days of observation, Qiao Rubai felt that Mi Hongdou at this time should already be a fan of Ji Junxin and wouldn’t object to this arrangement. Perhaps Mi Hongdou’s fandom wasn’t as fervent and devoted as in her previous life. But it didn’t matter, as long as she was a fan. Qiao Rubai had some confidence in Ji Junxin’s charm.
While Ji Junxin was removing her makeup and changing clothes, Qiao Rubai called Yang Lianyi. As she expected, Yang Lianyi, who was currently interested in her, was very accommodating. Without even asking Mi Hongdou’s opinion, she agreed to pack her up and send her, along with her luggage, to the hotel where the crew was staying that afternoon. Qiao Rubai hung up the phone, watching the three words on the screen gradually disappear, a smile appearing on her face.
As Ji Junxin had said, the double bed in the suite was modular and easy to disassemble. The troublesome part was bringing in two single beds. The hotel was fully booked, where would they find extra beds? Considering that they still had a long time to film, and the lead actors’ rest would affect the filming, Qiao Rubai asked the hotel manager to buy two new beds and have them delivered that afternoon. After arranging the beds, Qiao Rubai came out of the bedroom and saw Ji Junxin rummaging through something on the counter by the entrance.
“Don’t tell me you’re letting her move in so she can make you fried rice every day?” Qiao Rubai walked closer, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
When she entered earlier, Qiao Rubai hadn’t paid much attention, only vaguely seeing a sink on the counter by the entrance. Now, looking closer, she realized that it was actually a simple kitchenette. It was just that because the range hood was built into the cabinet above and the induction cooktop was embedded in the counter below, she hadn’t noticed that it was actually an open kitchen.
“Of course not.” Ji Junxin, who was wiping the induction cooktop with a tissue, didn’t even look up. “Besides fried rice, there are other things to eat.”
Fortunately, she didn’t respond to the first half of her sentence! Qiao Rubai snorted and let her be. One look and she knew that this simple kitchenette wasn’t even equipped with a spatula. It was just there for the guests to look at, to add a bit of ambiance. Ji Junxin actually thought she could cook there. She would be in for a surprise later.
Qiao Rubai didn’t burst Ji Junxin’s bubble. The priority was to get Mi Hongdou to move in.
The project was at a critical stage. If it weren’t for those investors, Qiao Rubai wouldn’t have time to come to the set. After dealing with them, Qiao Rubai probably wouldn’t have time to come and supervise for a long time. She hoped that Mi Hongdou would be competent and keep Jiang Duo far away.
Ultimately, she still couldn’t find a legitimate reason to keep Ji Junxin away from Jiang Duo. Although she had hinted at it, that person who was busy wiping the stove probably didn’t understand.
“What do you think about what I said last time, about letting Lu Gaoshi retire early?” She couldn’t touch the one backed by Dajin Entertainment for now, but she could get rid of the other one first.
The diligent little bee wiping the stove stopped, crumpled the tissue in her hand, and mumbled: “Sister Lu has been with me for so long…”
“…She’s very close to Jiang Duo from Dajin now.” Qiao Rubai knew that getting Ji Junxin to let go of Lu Gaoshi wouldn’t be easy. She couldn’t directly tell her to stay away from Jiang Duo for her own good, so she could only hint at it, hoping that Ji Junxin would discover those people’s malicious intentions herself, to prevent future trouble.
“Hmm.” Ji Junxin responded softly. This wasn’t the first time Qiao Rubai had brought this up. From Lu Gaoshi repeatedly mentioning Jiang Duo in front of her and giving her food made by Jiang Duo, Ji Junxin could already confirm Qiao Rubai’s words. But… she still had some… lingering hope…
Qiao Rubai wanted to say a few more words to enlighten this fool, but looking at the increasingly unhappy Ji Junxin, she finally sighed and didn’t continue. She had known Ji Junxin for so many years. Although she shouldn’t criticize elders, Qiao Rubai really disliked Ji Junxin’s parents. She even felt that if Ji Junxin hadn’t grown up in such an environment, she wouldn’t have been so easily deceived by Jiang Duo.
Lu Gaoshi was also a problem… Lu Gaoshi had been assigned to Ji Junxin since her debut. She was incompetent, doing an assistant’s job with a manager’s salary. Precisely because she was incompetent, to secure her position, she did even better than the average assistant, taking meticulous care of Ji Junxin. Qiao Rubai had once wanted to remind Ji Junxin that Lu Gaoshi only looked like an elder, she wasn’t her real elder. But seeing that Ji Junxin was happy, and Lu Gaoshi hadn’t caused any trouble, Qiao Rubai had temporarily put the matter aside in her previous life. Who knew… Qiao Rubai rubbed her temples, hoping that now that she had spoken up, Ji Junxin would be more wary of those two.
Distinguishing between sincerity and hypocrisy wasn’t that difficult, especially for someone like Ji Junxin, who was constantly acting and analyzing characters. But the difficulty lay in whether Ji Junxin was willing to distinguish… She was just a childhood friend, not her parent. Qiao Rubai was worried sick, but she couldn’t force Ji Junxin to wake up. It seemed that she could only continue down the path of becoming a fat person. Qiao Rubai smiled wryly. Just a Lu Gaoshi made her so hesitant, she absolutely couldn’t let her develop any favorable impression of Jiang Duo.
When Mi Hongdou received Yang Lianyi’s call, she was completely stunned. This kind of arrangement to help her get closer to Ji Junxin, no need to ask, was definitely Qiao Rubai’s doing. But, wasn’t this move a bit too much? Mi Hongdou’s first reaction was to shrink back.
In her previous life, Mi Hongdou had silently admired Ji Junxin for six years, six years of only seeing her in person from afar at award ceremonies and public events. Mi Hongdou didn’t want Ji Junxin to think that she was trying to climb the social ladder, so she worked hard, waiting for the opportunity to legitimately approach Ji Junxin by being signed to Qiong Yu by Qiao Rubai. She needed to become good enough to stand before her idol. This had always been Mi Hongdou’s thought.
After being reborn, when she signed with Mengguan, Mi Hongdou knew that the time she needed this time would be shorter. But she didn’t expect it to be this short! It was too short, she wasn’t prepared at all! Mi Hongdou’s resistance was strongly suppressed by Yang Lianyi. This kind of opportunity to infiltrate the enemy camp was too rare, Yang Lianyi wouldn’t allow Mi Hongdou to back down.
Unable to resist, Mi Hongdou went to a deserted corner, took out her phone, dialed a number, and said with a tearful voice: “Mom… it’s me. I want to ask something… do I… snore when I sleep?”
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