Chapter 29: Wild Imaginations
Since the hotel staff wouldn’t help, she could only seek help from her own people. Ji Junxin wanted to ask the crew if they had any spare large cardboard sheets or easily attachable and removable window/door stickers that wouldn’t leave any marks. Ji Junxin habitually wanted to call Lu Gaoshi and ask her to inquire, but she hesitated after taking out her phone. She almost forgot about their earlier unpleasant conversation. Ji Junxin sighed and dialed her assistant, Xiao Shen, instead. Xiao Shen had handled the bedsheet matter quickly and efficiently, and Ji Junxin hoped to train her so that when… Lu Gaoshi retired early, there would be someone to take over.
To make things easier for Xiao Shen, Ji Junxin explained the situation and her idea in detail, which took some time. But after hanging up, she found Mi Hongdou in the living room, carefully examining a bottle of soy sauce by the open kitchen counter.
Ji Junxin glanced at the unopened plastic seal on the soy sauce bottle and felt a sense of helplessness. Sigh, had she noticed the unnatural detail? How should she explain this? It was so troublesome. Ji Junxin walked over, bracing herself.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, Mi Hongdou turned around with the soy sauce bottle in her hand and frowned. “This soy sauce is past its expiration date…”
Eh? Oh… Ji Junxin nodded woodenly.
“I don’t have any scenes to film tonight. How about I go buy a new bottle of soy sauce later?” Mi Hongdou continued.
“Okay…” Ji Junxin continued to nod, then suddenly realized something and added, “I don’t have any scenes tonight either. How about we go together later?” She offered to buy new soy sauce, did that mean she could cook? She wondered what other dishes Mi Hongdou could make. Should she buy some other ingredients later? There were only eggs in the refrigerator. Oh, she suddenly craved braised pork, five-spice chicken, squirrel fish, sweet and sour shrimp, lion’s head meatballs, beef with vermicelli noodles, moo shu pork, pork rib soup, egg yolk tofu, all kinds of fried rice, all kinds of fried noodles, all kinds of noodle soups. Would she make them for her? Would she, would she, would she…
Unfortunately, Mi Hongdou didn’t notice the conflicted and expectant gaze beside her and just said, “Okay.” Then she put down the soy sauce bottle and continued to examine the other seasonings. So, Ji Junxin, without getting any more information, fell into a deep well of imagination…
Some people worried about whether they could eat, and what they could eat. Some worried about whether they could hide, and how much they could hide. And some people argued about who they could win over, and how many people they could win over.
“What did you say! You think you’re incompatible with Ji Junxin, but you get along well with Qiao Rubai?” Lu Gaoshi, who was sipping coffee, almost spat it out all over Jiang Duo, who was sitting opposite her. “Who is Qiao Rubai? Isn’t her reputation in the industry big enough? If she was so easy to approach, when your father contacted me back then, why didn’t he ask me to take you to Qiao Rubai to gain her favor?”
Did this person even understand which was more difficult, gaining Ji Junxin’s favor or Qiao Rubai’s? Lu Gaoshi was a little exasperated. She really didn’t understand how such a smart and elegant man like her father could have such a clueless daughter. The best way to leverage Qiong Yu’s influence was for Jiang Duo to appear more often in front of Ji Junxin and gain her favor. As long as Ji Junxin had a good impression of her and put in a good word for her in front of Qiao Rubai, wouldn’t signing with Qiong Yu from Dajin be a piece of cake? Even those outside Qiong Yu knew that Ji Junxin and Qiao Rubai were childhood friends. Now that Qiao Rubai was the head of Qiong Yu, a word from Ji Junxin in front of Qiao Rubai was worth more than countless words from outsiders. Ji Junxin had such a good personality, such a gentle nature. Most importantly, Lu Gaoshi felt that after being Ji Junxin’s manager for so many years, she understood her very well. She had given Jiang Duo so many pointers and even personally praised her in front of Ji Junxin several times. The path had been paved, yet Ji Junxin didn’t seem to have any interest in Jiang Duo, let alone look at her differently. Lu Gaoshi felt that there was nothing wrong with her plan and tactics. The lack of progress must be Jiang Duo’s fault.
Perhaps because Lu Gaoshi had been rejected by Ji Junxin over the phone earlier, losing face, and then Ji Junxin didn’t even answer her two subsequent calls, she was even more embarrassed and angry. Now, Jiang Duo’s suggestion of not pursuing Ji Junxin’s favor and instead directly targeting Qiao Rubai was like mocking Lu Gaoshi’s incompetence, mocking her earlier confident claim that with her around, winning over Ji Junxin wouldn’t be a problem. The rejection by Ji Junxin was a slap in the face.
Hmph, you can’t even gain Ji Junxin’s favor, and you think you can win over the aloof Qiao Rubai? Wasn’t that wishful thinking! The mockery and disdain on Lu Gaoshi’s face were undisguised.
Jiang Duo wasn’t stupid, she saw Lu Gaoshi’s expression. She was just the manager of a popular actress, and an incompetent one at that. What was there to be arrogant about? Although she also looked down on Lu Gaoshi, for now, she was still useful. Jiang Duo clenched her fists under the table, but maintained a smile on her face and said softly, “Aunt Lu, I also think that approaching Ji Junxin is the most effective method. After all, you’re her manager, it’s convenient for you to arrange things. But I don’t know why, there are always some unexpected incidents that prevent our plans from going smoothly. I think it might be fate. Although we haven’t made much progress with Ji Junxin these days, Qiao Rubai seems to like food too. Almost all the food we prepared for Ji Junxin was eaten by Qiao Rubai.” Jiang Duo paused, glanced at Lu Gaoshi, whose expression had softened slightly but was still tense, and continued, “And every time she comes, she seems to come to my place and ask if I brought any food. You said Ji Junxin likes to eat, and the food I bring each time is enough for four people. Qiao Rubai can basically finish it all. I think… she’s quite approachable.”
Jiang Duo didn’t say everything. After these days of constantly being “encountered” by Qiao Rubai, chatting for a bit, and then having all the food she prepared for Ji Junxin eaten by Qiao Rubai, time and time again, what Jiang Duo actually felt wasn’t that Qiao Rubai was approachable, as she said. Rather, Jiang Duo seemed to sense that Qiao Rubai was very interested in her. Perhaps, not just because of the food…
There were too many things happening in the industry, too much chaos. Unlike Ji Junxin, who had been protected by Qiao Rubai and Qiong Yu since her debut and was oblivious to the dark side of the industry, Jiang Duo had seen too much. Qiao Rubai’s approach, their conversations, her accepting the food, these actions, in Jiang Duo’s eyes, were never coincidental. Just as Lu Gaoshi said, who was Qiao Rubai? At such a young age, she had taken over Qiong Yu Entertainment under the Qiao Corporation. How could such a person have any interaction with a small-time actress from a small entertainment company for no reason? For good food? To make a new friend? Heh, perhaps only the naive Ji Junxin in Lu Gaoshi’s words would think that way. Qiao Rubai… Jiang Duo had inquired about her. She seemed to have never had a boyfriend. Her closest and most cherished friend was Ji Junxin, a woman. Although Qiao Rubai only chatted with Jiang Duo and ate her food, without any other significant interaction, in Jiang Duo’s eyes, this was Qiao Rubai’s special treatment towards her.
If Qiao Rubai really had those feelings for her, what should she do? This was the dilemma Jiang Duo had been facing these past few days. Perhaps, that was the ultimate shortcut. A shortcut that someone might have already taken… The image of Ji Junxin flashed through Jiang Duo’s mind.
Lu Gaoshi didn’t know what Jiang Duo was thinking and felt that her words made some sense. However, Lu Gaoshi, relying on her years by Ji Junxin’s side, thought she understood both Ji Junxin and Qiao Rubai. Now, the usually obedient Ji Junxin was becoming increasingly difficult to control, while the usually aloof Qiao Rubai was actively extending an olive branch to Jiang Duo. This made her suddenly feel that the situation was completely out of her control. She felt that something was wrong, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
However, the matter of Ji Junxin and Qiao Rubai could wait. This Jiang Duo was really opinionated and difficult to control. If she couldn’t control Jiang Duo, then achieving her goal would be even more troublesome. Lu Gaoshi’s gaze towards Jiang Duo darkened: “Even so, it’s possible that Qiao Rubai is only momentarily interested. If you give up on gaining Ji Junxin’s favor for such a vague possibility, you might lose more than you gain. Look, that Mi Hongdou, somehow caught Ji Junxin’s eye, and now she’s even moved into her room. Qiao Rubai even helped arrange it. We won’t talk about those empty words about guiding acting skills and improving together. Just look at Qiao Rubai’s attitude, even personally arranging the room. If Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin become friends, you can imagine Qiong Yu’s attitude towards Mi Hongdou in the future.”
Jiang Duo had been present when Ji Junxin called Lu Gaoshi earlier. Although she couldn’t hear what Ji Junxin said, from Lu Gaoshi’s replies, she knew that in a way, she had lost to Mi Hongdou. However, her focus was no longer on gaining Ji Junxin’s favor. But hearing what Lu Gaoshi said, Jiang Duo suddenly realized that if Ji Junxin had really taken the shortcut, there was no reason for Qiao Rubai to let someone else move in. Could it be that she had misunderstood Qiao Rubai’s sexual orientation? For some reason, Jiang Duo felt a faint sense of disappointment and wasn’t as confident in her previous persistence.
“Then, should we try both sides?” Jiang Duo quickly masked her disappointment and looked at Lu Gaoshi obediently. “I heard that there’s something big happening with that reality show later, and Qiao Rubai seems to be busy with it recently. Do you know anything about this reality show?”
Jiang Duo’s tone and attitude clearly pleased Lu Gaoshi. She took a sip of coffee unhurriedly, wiped her mouth, and then said, “Did you hear this from Qiao Rubai?”
Jiang Duo shook her head: “I just heard about it.”
“Heh.” Lu Gaoshi sneered. “This plan is highly confidential.” She took a small sip of coffee and didn’t say anything more.
Under the table, Jiang Duo clenched her fists. This was a case of “no pay, no gain.” Taking a deep breath, Jiang Duo maintained a flawless smile: “By the way, when my father called me yesterday, he said he wanted to treat you to dinner for all the help you’ve given me. When are you free recently? We can have dinner together? And talk about that plan?”
Lu Gaoshi put down her coffee cup and smiled with satisfaction.
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