Chapter 100: Fried Yellow Croaker p1
The pickled radish and old duck soup, while the duck meat was indeed tender, still had some hard bones. Pan Xiang spat out a bone, grateful it was a small one from the back. If it had been a leg bone, she might have chipped a tooth.
While Pan Xiang was still staring at the broken bone, Jiang Lingling nudged her. “So, why do you think it is?”
Why would someone always want to be the first to see another person?
Because you’re an idiot, of course! Although that was her thought, Pan Xiang put on a friendly expression. “Who do you want to see first thing in the morning?”
Pan Xiang felt that suppressing her urge to retort was already a sign of goodwill. To have a heart-to-heart with Jiang Lingling, she even softened her voice, imitating Mi Hongdou. She had expected Jiang Lingling to elaborate, but her question had the opposite effect, Jiang Lingling bristling like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Me? No! I’m just saying, hypothetically. Why would you think it’s me? It’s not me…” Jiang Lingling just wanted to chat, to distract herself from Mi Hongdou’s earlier words, not to have a deep conversation with this little girl. Pan Xiang’s question had hit too close to home, and she instinctively denied it.
But Jiang Lingling hadn’t expected that her denial, intended to prevent Pan Xiang from making assumptions, would have the opposite effect. Her evasiveness only confirmed Pan Xiang’s suspicions. Heh.
Both Mi Hongdou and Jiang Lingling had asked her the same question. Recalling their earlier observations, Pan Xiang couldn’t help but speculate. Jiang Lingling seemed to get along well with both Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin, she wouldn’t do anything… strange, right? …
“Fine, it’s not you.” Knowing that a direct approach wouldn’t work, Pan Xiang decided to play along. “If someone always wants to be the first to see another person, it’s because they’re bored. There’s so much delicious food and beautiful scenery in the world, they should go out and explore, not fixate on one person. Once they’ve experienced enough, they’ll realize how childish it is. As for the other person, they have their own life, they might not even notice.”
This answer was different from the one she gave Mi Hongdou. This time, she was clearly referring to Jiang Lingling and Mi Hongdou, her words a subtle warning.
But Jiang Lingling wasn’t swayed. Thanks to Dong Yuannan’s generosity, she had already experienced countless delicacies and seen countless sights, even finding reality boring and escaping into the 2D world. So, according to Pan Xiang, she had already experienced enough, yet she still wanted to get the first comment, not finding it childish at all. Did that mean… what Mi Hongdou said was true?
Jiang Lingling wasn’t opposed to this possibility, just surprised.
She was obsessed with the 2D world, but did she have to find her CP there too?
Seeing Jiang Lingling lost in thought, Pan Xiang, pleased with herself, thought that her words had been effective.
But to Jiang Lingling, Pan Xiang was just a little girl. She had heard Pan Xiang’s words, but her interpretation was vastly different.
Sometimes, even a slight deviation could lead you far from the right path.
This was also true for Mi Hongdou today.
Seeing that Jiang Lingling was still confused, Mi Hongdou gave up on asking her and decided to ask Ji Junxin directly. But the film set wasn’t that large, and after searching twice, she couldn’t find Ji Junxin, which worried her.
She had wanted to talk face-to-face, to see Ji Junxin’s expression. But since she couldn’t find her, she had to resort to other methods. She had seen both Jiang Lingling’s assistant and Bai Tang backstage earlier, which meant Ji Junxin was alone somewhere. Mi Hongdou’s worry intensified, and she went to Bai Tang to get her phone and call Ji Junxin.
As soon as the call connected, a familiar ringtone came from Bai Tang’s bag.
Bai Tang took out Ji Junxin’s phone, glanced at the caller ID, and awkwardly showed the screen to Mi Hongdou.
Mi Hongdou silently hung up. Right, they couldn’t carry their phones while in costume, so they left them with Bai Tang.
“Why didn’t she take her phone at lunch?” Mi Hongdou asked, her face clouded with worry.
You just came to get yours too… Bai Tang thought, but couldn’t say it out loud. “She probably… forgot?”
What a good answer…
Mi Hongdou frowned, turned, and walked away, preparing to search for Ji Junxin again.
Bai Tang softly said, “Miss Ji went out with Director Pan.”
“Didn’t Director Pan just finish lunch? Where did they go?” Mi Hongdou turned back, frowning.
“It sounds like they went for barbeque,” Jiang Lingling’s assistant said, seeing Mi Hongdou’s intense aura and helping Bai Tang out.
They just had lunch, what barbeque! She must be avoiding her! Why was she so angry! Mi Hongdou was annoyed but didn’t ask further and just turned and left, fuming.
Bai Tang breathed a sigh of relief after Mi Hongdou left. Both Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin were usually easygoing, but today, they seemed to be radiating a chilling aura. Although they hadn’t said anything harsh, just being near them was oppressive. She hoped they would return to normal soon.
Mi Hongdou also hoped so, but the other party wasn’t cooperating.
Mi Hongdou waited and waited, finally seeing Ji Junxin return. But it was almost time for the afternoon scenes. Fixing their hair and makeup, surrounded by crew members, Mi Hongdou couldn’t find a moment alone with Ji Junxin, and no matter how often she glanced at her, she received no response…
Everything had been fine until the first scene this morning. After a few NGs, Ji Junxin’s mood seemed to sour, but then Pan Xiang came to discuss script revisions, they had found common ground, and after some tea and snacks, Ji Junxin seemed to have cheered up. But then, after nailing the next take in one go, she had become unhappy again, officially sulking. It must have been during the playback… Mi Hongdou thought about it carefully. The only possible reasons for Ji Junxin’s anger were: she hadn’t praised her acting enough, or she hadn’t accompanied her to the restroom.
Both seemed childish, but Mi Hongdou couldn’t think of any other reasons.
Ji Junxin’s sudden cold shoulder made Mi Hongdou anxious.
In any relationship, there was always one who cared more. And when problems arose, the one who cared more was naturally the more anxious one.
In her previous life, it had taken years of admiration before Mi Hongdou had the chance to become Ji Junxin’s friend. And in this life, having gotten closer and realized her own feelings, she was now deeply in love. With their current conflict, and Ji Junxin’s cold shoulder, Mi Hongdou felt incredibly insecure.
Her courage dwindled with each passing moment. She had initially wanted to ask Ji Junxin directly, but now she hesitated, even wanting to avoid the truth.
Sometimes, seeking the truth required courage. And when courage failed, avoidance became the default.
The afternoon scenes were all about taking care of the baby, with both the young empress and Miao Qianye involved. Both Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou performed well, their inner turmoil hidden from the camera.
Although they were in the same scenes, there were other actors present, not just the two of them like in the birthing scene. So, Mi Hongdou’s plan to use the scenes to subtly probe Ji Junxin’s feelings was thwarted.
Scene after scene, Mi Hongdou’s courage dwindled. Although Ji Junxin no longer disappeared immediately after filming, Mi Hongdou didn’t dare to pull her aside for a private conversation.
If she approached, and Ji Junxin walked away, she wouldn’t be able to continue filming.
A private conversation was out of the question. But she could still try to talk to her during group conversations.
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