Chapter 43: Stomach Ache
When people want to share secrets, they often choose narrow, secluded places with obstacles, even places that are difficult to reach. Such environments seem to provide a sense of security. However, whether in movies, TV shows, or novels, conversations in such locations are often overheard by someone hiding behind a tree, on the other side of a wall, or concealed by surrounding clutter.
So, Jiang Lingling, who had just eavesdropped on Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin’s whispered conversation behind the wall, wouldn’t make the same mistake. Confidently, she led Mi Hongdou out of the backstage area, walking quite a distance until they reached a wide, open, almost desolate area. Jiang Lingling looked around. The surrounding buildings and trees were some distance away, and there was no clutter nearby.
“Look…” Jiang Lingling gestured at the surroundings. “See, this kind of open, unobstructed environment is perfect for chatting. The place where you and Ji Junxin were talking earlier was too easy to be overheard.” She mentally praised her own intelligence.
Mi Hongdou glanced at Jiang Lingling, whose slightly upturned lips betrayed her smugness. Recalling Ji Junxin mentioning that she had overheard Jiang Lingling and her assistant talking about sending her four KFC meals a day, she really didn’t understand where Jiang Lingling’s strange sense of pride came from…
Having not experienced much yet, her growth was limited. Looking at the arrogant yet still somewhat naive Jiang Lingling, Mi Hongdou secretly clenched her fists to suppress her laughter.
“I investigated Lu Gaoshi and found that someone else had also investigated her. Was it you?” Jiang Lingling, quite satisfied with the chatting environment, got straight to the point.
Mi Hongdou was stunned for a moment and shook her head. But someone else… could it be Qiao Rubai?
Although Mi Hongdou denied it, her thoughtful expression didn’t escape Jiang Lingling’s notice. Even if it wasn’t Mi Hongdou, it was probably someone she knew. But it didn’t matter. Jiang Lingling wanted to build a friendly relationship with Mi Hongdou, not create conflict. She wasn’t interested in how complicated the situation was or how many people were involved. The key was to share the news she had just received with Mi Hongdou first, so she wouldn’t be a step behind and waste her efforts for nothing.
Jiang Lingling summarized the information she found in the file and shared it with Mi Hongdou. Then she took out her phone, checked something, and added, “The latest news is that Lu Gaoshi was embarrassed by Ji Junxin this morning and is now angrily on her way back to Jiang City. She has a dinner appointment with Jiang Dingyi tonight.”
Mi Hongdou was still frowning, amused by the possible affair between Lu Gaoshi and a married man, when Jiang Lingling’s next sentence stunned her. Jiang Lingling narrowed her eyes, “How about we catch them in the act tonight?”
“Catch them in the act? Wait… why should we catch them in the act? … And how do you know we can catch them just because they’re having dinner tonight? They’re just eating, not going to a hotel.” Jiang Lingling’s train of thought was too fast, and Mi Hongdou felt a little lost, unable to keep up. And even if they went to a hotel, what business was it of theirs to catch them?
Jiang Lingling looked at Mi Hongdou, whose face was starting to turn red, and deeply understood the feeling of being speechless. “What are you even thinking!” Jiang Lingling took a deep breath. “Jiang Dingyi is married. Lu Gaoshi hasn’t met him often before, and Jiang Duo was always present, but not this time. So they will definitely discuss some deeper topics, whether it’s about their feelings or about Ji Junxin. As long as we record it and play it in front of Ji Junxin, hehe, we won’t have to see Lu Gaoshi on set anymore. Even if Ji Junxin softens, it’s okay, I’ve already thought about it. We’ll find someone to edit the recording and post it online, then hire some internet trolls, hehe, even if Ji Junxin softens, Qiong Yu will still deal with Lu Gaoshi.”
Why “we”? Something seemed off… Mi Hongdou rubbed her face, which was stiff from the repeated surprises. “Didn’t you say the audio in the videos you found earlier was unclear?”
“It’s clear now. They installed listening devices.” Jiang Lingling casually rolled her eyes at Mi Hongdou. “Otherwise, how do you think I found out the time and place of their meeting tonight so quickly?”
“Then why do we still need to catch them in the act? … I mean, since we can record it, there’s no need for us to be there. And, although Jiang Duo is on set now, what if she goes back to Jiang City later? She only has one scene this afternoon, right?” She should have known that this kind of tactic was nothing to Jiang Lingling. Mi Hongdou fiddled with the hem of her costume, suddenly feeling a sense of incongruity, two women in ancient costumes talking about listening devices.
“No.” Jiang Lingling took out the script from her bag, pulled out a pen from somewhere, and started circling things as she spoke. “Do you know Huang Ji’s Braised Pork Ribs in Jiang City?”
“That restaurant that only sells braised pork ribs and has a daily limit? Is that where they’re meeting tonight?” Mi Hongdou adjusted the hairpin that was slipping from her hair. “Although the food there is delicious, the portions are limited, and the restaurant is small, just a main hall with three or four tables. It doesn’t seem like a suitable place for a secret rendezvous.”
“They’re meeting at Nan Tian. It seems you know quite a bit about Huang Ji. Then you should know that they sell fifty pounds each of regular pork bones, fan bones, chicken wings, and pig’s feet every day, and they usually sell out within one or two hours. Then there’s the secret recipe braised pork ribs made by their oldest chef, which is only available once a month, twenty pounds each time, just one variety, and the specific type each month is random, depending on his mood.” Jiang Lingling continued circling the script without looking up.
Mi Hongdou interrupted her, “So you’re going back to catch them in the act just to eat the braised pork ribs?” Based on Jiang Lingling’s disjointed explanation, Mi Hongdou could only come to this conclusion.
The pen circling the script stopped, and Jiang Lingling looked up, stunned: “Because I’ve been asking you to make me egg fried rice, did you misunderstand something… No! I’m not a foodie like Ji Junxin!”
“…Why are you criticizing Ji Junxin?”
“Hehe, okay, I won’t criticize her anymore.”
“…” Mi Hongdou was speechless. “Then why did you suddenly mention Huang Ji?”
Jiang Lingling finished circling the last two items on the script and slapped it into Mi Hongdou’s hand: “We can record tonight’s meeting, but I want to see it live. They say reality is more exciting than drama, and I haven’t seen a real-life affair, scheming, and conspiracy yet. And Huang Ji’s secret recipe braised pork ribs is only available once a month, twenty pounds each time. I heard that their old chef hasn’t been well this past year, so the ten pounds they offer each month are mostly easy-to-prepare pork bones, like regular bones, fan bones, and short ribs. They haven’t made more complicated dishes like pig’s feet or chicken wings. Director Pan’s wife loves their secret recipe braised pig’s feet, but even when the old chef was healthy, Director Pan could barely get his hands on it once a year, let alone in the past year. It’s almost time for the monthly special again, and if I can get the pig’s feet, Jiang Duo won’t be able to leave the set today.”
The information about Director Pan, his wife, and the braised pig’s feet was all investigated by Dong Yuannan and shared with Jiang Lingling. He had also investigated the preferences of many other people, just so Jiang Lingling could use the information when needed. Later, Jiang Lingling did use it, but mostly for revenge.
Jiang Lingling had explained everything, waiting for Mi Hongdou to ask her how she knew so much, giving her a chance to show off her godfather’s thoughtfulness and power. But Mi Hongdou didn’t ask anything and just quietly looked at the script.
Jiang Lingling had circled the scenes that involved only Jiang Duo, not the two of them. It seemed that she was determined to use the pig’s feet to keep Jiang Duo on set. Having seen Jiang Lingling in her later years in her previous life, Mi Hongdou was quite accepting of her current actions and naturally didn’t ask any questions, leaving Jiang Lingling speechless.
“We still have a few scenes today, all scheduled. Even if the pig’s feet can keep Jiang Duo here, they might not let us go.” Mi Hongdou was thinking more deeply. And there was also Ji Junxin waiting for her backstage, how should she explain this?
As soon as Mi Hongdou finished speaking, Jiang Lingling clutched her stomach and bent over: “Ahh… my stomach hurts… ahhh! Ahhh! … ahhh!”
“…”
“…Why aren’t you even showing any concern!” Jiang Lingling shouted a few times, but Mi Hongdou didn’t respond. She looked up and saw the helpless expression on her face.
“Does your godfather know how fake your acting is?” Mi Hongdou really couldn’t help but comment. No matter how she got into the crew, as an actress, her acting was incredibly bad.
Jiang Lingling straightened up, flung her hand, and said angrily, “Fine, you do it then!”
“No, I don’t want to be sent to the hospital in an ambulance.” Mi Hongdou’s helplessness was evident. “Don’t you think, even if I had a stomachache, wouldn’t there be hospitals near Shudian? Don’t I have an assistant? Would I need you to drive five hours to take me back to Jiang City for a stomachache? If my stomach really hurt that much, I would have died on the way, okay?”
“Then what should we do?” Wasn’t it better to be straightforward? Why think so much? … Jiang Lingling scratched her head, messing up her hair ornaments and ruining her concubine image.
Mi Hongdou sighed and flipped through the script. “You still have one scene without me today, and the rest of our scenes are together. Use the pig’s feet to have Director Pan film all our scenes together now. If the takes go smoothly, we should be finished a little after noon. The reason, just say your stomach hurts, and you left the medicine prescribed by your doctor in Jiang City. You need to finish filming quickly so you can go back to Jiang City and take your medicine. As for me, I’ll tag along with your scenes and finish filming my parts, then I’ll go back to Jiang City for something and hitch a ride with you.”
“Why does it always end up with a stomachache, and it’s always me who’s in pain…” Jiang Lingling didn’t understand Mi Hongdou’s contradictory logic.
“Heh.” Mi Hongdou smiled faintly. “Because your aunt Flo is visiting you today.”
“No! Are you really going to tell Director Pan that?” Jiang Lingling was shocked.
“Then do you still want to catch them in the act? I’m fine with just the recording.”
“Why can’t it be you who has a stomachache!” Jiang Lingling’s face turned pale with anger.
“Because I’m living with Ji Junxin. As soon as I give a reason, she’ll know I’m lying.” Mi Hongdou smiled happily. “Your expression right now is perfect, your face is pale, keep it up, let’s go back.”
Mi Hongdou pulled Jiang Lingling along.
Jiang Lingling hesitantly followed Mi Hongdou, torn between catching the adulterers and staying to film and not embarrass herself. However, she didn’t have to struggle for long.
When they returned to the backstage area, they saw Ji Junxin anxiously pacing outside.
“Should I start acting now?” Jiang Lingling instantly overcame her indecision. She didn’t really care about embarrassing herself, watching the show was more interesting.
“Whatever.” Anyway, her acting was mediocre. It was just an excuse to leave in front of Director Pan. The main event was the pig’s feet. Mi Hongdou knew this clearly, so her attention wasn’t on Jiang Lingling, who was trying to act as if she had a stomachache. It was the anxiety on Ji Junxin’s face that concerned her. She quickly released Jiang Lingling’s hand.
Jiang Lingling, pretending to have a stomachache and deliberately walking slowly, was decisively abandoned by Mi Hongdou, who was quickly walking towards Ji Junxin. Watching Mi Hongdou, despite her cumbersome costume, practically running towards Ji Junxin, Jiang Lingling suddenly felt a pang of loneliness as a single dog.
Mi Hongdou reached Ji Junxin’s side. Before she could ask what was wrong, Ji Junxin grabbed her arm.
“I… my stomach hurts…” As soon as Ji Junxin grabbed Mi Hongdou, it was as if she had found her support. Her lips trembled, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, her beautiful eyes filled with tears, and she clutched her stomach, slightly trembling. Her pitiful appearance melted Mi Hongdou’s heart.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, we’ll go to the hospital, right now. It’s okay, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…” Mi Hongdou’s heart ached, and she quickly reached out to support Ji Junxin, carefully as if holding a piece of tofu, not daring to use too much force.
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