Chapter 71
Fan Weiqi and Li Mo entered a Western restaurant and chose a corner table. The restaurant was lavishly decorated, even more opulent than a six-star Michelin restaurant. A waiter approached them with menus.
Fan Weiqi casually ordered a few exquisite-looking dishes, while Li Mo simply ordered a glass of whiskey on the rocks. Fan Weiqi raised her eyebrows, impressed.
“I didn’t expect you to be such a tough girl, Mo Mo. It’s rare to see a young woman like you drinking whiskey straight.”
“I don’t like sweet drinks, so I never order cocktails.”
“Alright, after we’re done here, I’ll take you somewhere you can drink your fill.”
“Sounds good! Sorry, I need to take this call.”
Li Mo’s phone rang. She retrieved it from her bag and saw an unknown number on the screen. She answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Mo Mo? It’s Xu Jie.”
“Oh, Xu Jie, how did you get this number?”
“I couldn’t reach you on your other phone. You mentioned that you left it at the company, so I figured you hadn’t retrieved it yet. I called Yu Wenqian and got your new number from her.”
“Oh, right, my phone is still in Beijing. What’s up?”
“Nothing important. Just wanted to check on you. How was the audition? Did you get the role?”
“I think I did well. I have a good chance.”
“Congratulations! I knew you could do it!”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, when are you coming back from Shanghai?”
“In two days, if everything goes well. Why?”
“No reason. I just have some free time and thought I could fly over to Shanghai and hang out with you. You’re probably just waiting for the results, so you must be bored. I can keep you company.”
“Um, Xu Jie, there’s no need. I’m only staying for two more days, and I’m here for work. I won’t be bored. You don’t have to fly all the way here.”
“It’s fine. I have nothing else to do. And I can scout for locations for my next film while I’m there.”
“But I might have to meet with the director and producers. I might not have time to hang out with you.”
“It’s okay, I can wait until you’re free. Come on, please?”
“Sigh, alright, if you insist.”
“Great! See you tomorrow then! Send me your hotel address so I can see if I can book a room in the same hotel. It will be more convenient.”
“Okay, I’ll send it to you later.”
“Bye.”
Fan Weiqi had been listening to their conversation, noticing Li Mo’s expression change from cheerful to troubled. She guessed that the person on the other end of the line was someone Li Mo wanted to avoid.
“What’s wrong? You look upset. Is something bothering you? Do you need my help?”
“It’s nothing serious. Just a small issue.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. We can talk about something else.”
Li Mo sighed, looking at Fan Weiqi’s concerned expression. She decided it wasn’t a sensitive topic and that Fan Weiqi seemed trustworthy. She confided in her.
“It’s not that I can’t talk about it. I just don’t like speaking ill of others.”
“I understand.”
“Well, you know I worked with Director Xu on my last film, right?”
“Yes.”
“I was a complete novice, so I followed her around all the time, learning from her. We were practically inseparable.”
“That’s normal. So what happened?”
“I guess spending so much time together led her to develop feelings for me. But for me, she’s just a friend and colleague. Nothing more.”
“Did she harass you?”
“It wasn’t that serious. She’s been very kind to me. But she did hint that she wanted to pursue a romantic relationship, and I declined. But she’s been acting strangely ever since, making me feel uncomfortable.”
“I see. So, she’s clinging to you, treating you like her possession.”
“Something like that. I’ve tried to let her down gently, but she doesn’t seem to understand. And I don’t want to hurt her feelings, so it’s a bit awkward.”
“She understands. She’s just playing the waiting game. I’ve seen this type of behavior before. It’s so annoying. Relationships should be mutual. If someone rejects you, you should respect their decision and move on. Clinging to them and disrupting their life is just pathetic.”
“What should I do to make her give up?”
“Do you care about her?”
“Yes, she’s a good person. She taught me a lot and gave me my first opportunity in the industry. She’s like a mentor to me.”
“I see. So you don’t want to hurt her feelings or damage your relationship, but you also want her to stop pursuing you romantically. That’s tricky.”
“Yes, that’s why I haven’t been able to resolve this.”
“If you trust me, I can help you.”
“You have a solution?”
“It’s a classic cliché from TV dramas: pretend to have a girlfriend to make her jealous and back off.”
“Do you think it will work?”
“I don’t know, but any reasonable person would give up if they saw you with someone else, right? Unless she’s planning to kidnap you and force you to love her! Hahaha.”
“Hmm, that makes sense. So, what do we do?”
“It’s simple. We’ll just act like a couple. It will be good practice for our upcoming film.”
“Okay, so I’ll call you when she arrives tomorrow morning?”
“No, don’t make it so obvious. She might suspect something. Hmm, let me think… How about we pretend that you brought her here to have some fun, and I just happened to be here too? Would that work?”
“I think so, but I’m not a member. I can’t get in.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. I’ll get you a membership card.”
“Really? Thank you so much! I appreciate it!”
“Hehe, no problem. Don’t mention it.”
Fan Weiqi went to the club’s office and arranged a membership card for Li Mo. About fifteen minutes later, she returned, a proud grin on her face, waving a gold membership card.
“Here you go.”
“Wow, thank you!”
“Hehe, shouldn’t you thank me properly?”
“Of course, how can I ever repay your kindness?”
“Oh, well, according to the usual script, you should offer yourself to me, but this is an unconventional story, so I’ll just settle for you accompanying me for a night of drinking.”
“Deal!”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go party!”
Fan Weiqi led Li Mo to the club’s bar. They ordered a bottle of twenty-year-old whiskey and spent the night drinking, chatting, and laughing. They clicked instantly, their personalities complementing each other perfectly.
“Mo Mo, I’ve decided!”
“Decided what?”
“I’m going to kiss you senseless!”
Fan Weiqi lunged at Li Mo playfully, her hands outstretched, and Li Mo pretended to be scared, their laughter echoing through the bar. They took silly selfies, their faces flushed with alcohol and mirth.
They drank until the early hours of the morning, then reluctantly left the bar. Since they were both drunk, Li Mo called Ah Zhong to pick them up and take them back to the hotel.
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