After a Contractual Romance with the Scumbag Movie Queen - Chapter 15

“It’s alright, Teacher Qi.”

Jiang Tian smiled back at the woman.

“That’s good.”

Qi Puzhi’s hand then slid down Jiang Tian’s arm, a perfectly normal and natural gesture, but only Jiang Tian could sense the teasing pressure in Qi Puzhi’s touch.

Sometimes light, sometimes heavy, it was utterly maddening.

In front of the camera, Jiang Tian silently endured it.

Qi Puzhi glanced up and caught the restraint and indulgence in Jiang Tian’s eyes, suddenly realizing the pleasure of having the upper hand.

A wolf’s tail wagging off-camera, but forced to behave on-screen, letting her have her way.

She suddenly felt in high spirits, lowering her gaze to hide the amusement in her eyes as she picked up a piece of meat.

“Teacher Qi, do you have a favorite contestant?”

As they ate barbecue, the conversation grew more casual, and one of the contestants suddenly asked.

This was actually a question everyone was curious about, so they all perked up their ears.

For anyone else, such a question might have been awkward and difficult to answer tactfully.

But Qi Puzhi handled it effortlessly, blinking playfully. “You all know that no matter who I answer now, once the episode airs, that person will be stuck trending with me for days.”

The contestants couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Sometimes, charm was the most effective weapon to deflect with ease.

As soon as the barbecue ended, Qi Puzhi had to leave to catch a flight.

Her filming in City A was complete, and the remaining scenes for the movie were all set in City B.

The contestants waved goodbye reluctantly.

After Qi Puzhi left, someone sidled up to He Jing enviously. “I’m so jealous of you signed to Puxing Entertainment, you must see Teacher Qi often at the company.”

He Jing scratched her head, a little embarrassed. “Not really, actually. I rarely see her.”

Moreover, Qi Puzhi hadn’t treated her any differently just because she was Puxing’s only trainee. During the earlier chat, she had been equally warm to all the contestants.

In contrast, Jiang Tian who, despite being a fan, had stood far away, had actually been teased a couple of times when she went up to Qi Puzhi to get some meat.

He Jing couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something odd between the two, yet nothing concrete. After all, they were complete strangers.

She nudged Jiang Tian with her elbow, a bit exasperated. “Girl, sometimes chasing idols is like dating, you’ve got to seize the moment. Teacher Qi isn’t someone you get to see often.”

Jiang Tian paused, then replied softly, “I seized the moment.”

“Huh?” He Jing took a second to process, assuming Jiang Tian meant the few glances she’d stolen from afar.

She was left speechless.

Jiang Tian really was easy to please.

By the time of the second performance, Qi Puzhi was busy filming in City B and couldn’t attend.

Besides, after being spotted in the audience last time, she wasn’t about to take that risk again.

Still, that night, she checked Jiang Tian’s fan page. There were no written recaps, but she did find a fan-taken photo—

Likely from after one of the recordings, Jiang Tian was wearing the pink jacket and short skirt of the A-class uniform, her expression calm and serene, her face as flawless as jade.

The pink on her created a paradoxical blend of youthful vitality and cool detachment.

Qi Puzhi stared at it for a long moment before saving it.

Jiang Tian’s popularity was soaring, and the photo had already been reposted tens of thousands of times.

Lately, Qi Puzhi had been casually browsing Jiang Tian’s fan page from time to time, so after a quick glance, she exited as usual and set her phone aside to focus on the script.

Some time later, the door to the break room was knocked.

Qi Puzhi looked up to see her agent, Zhang Hua, walking in.

“You just made it onto the trending list.”

“Hmm.” Qi Puzhi was used to it and casually asked, “With whom?”

It was probably someone she’d recently interacted with. Was it the award-winning actor from her current project, the rising actress who had confessed to her, or the young starlet who had drunkenly tried to collapse into her arms at a party?

Any of them were possible and none of it mattered.

“With Jiang Tian,” Zhang Hua said. “You accidentally liked something.”

Qi Puzhi: “…”

After years of being a 5G-speed internet surfer, she had never made such a mistake before.

“I see,” Qi Puzhi mused after a moment. “It’s not a big deal anyway.”

Stellar Journey was a show produced by Puxing Entertainment, and Jiang Tian was a popular contestant. It wasn’t unusual for Qi Puzhi to accidentally like something related to her. Issuing a denial would only make it seem deliberate.

Still, this would likely stir up the already simmering rumors about her and Jiang Tian for a while longer.

She opened Weibo and saw her name paired with Jiang Tian’s in a trending hashtag. Strangely enough, she found the sight somewhat pleasing.

Clicking into the hashtag, however, she noticed that the top posts weren’t teasing about their rumored relationship. Instead, they speculated that Qi Puzhi had taken an interest in Jiang Tian as a potential signee after her debut.

The tone was unexpectedly serious, unusual for gossip.

After a brief thought, she realized it was likely Jiang Tian’s father’s doing.

Qi Puzhi rested her chin on her hand, somewhat understanding the man’s desire to shield his well-behaved daughter from being tainted by her own scandalous reputation.

Too bad. It wasn’t just her reputation, Jiang Tian had already been thoroughly “tainted” by her in every way.

Seeing Qi Puzhi lost in thought while scrolling through Weibo, Zhang Hua sprawled on the couch and casually asked, “I knew she looked familiar when I saw her in the parking lot—turns out she’s the Jiang family’s daughter. So, did you two sign an agreement?”

As Qi Puzhi’s childhood friend, Zhang Hua was well aware of the long-standing friction between the Qi and Jiang families.

She also knew that Qi Puzhi had once considered approaching the Jiang family’s daughter for a collaboration, perhaps even a contractual arrangement just to spite her father.

Now everything made sense, including the paparazzi photos of Qi Puzhi and Jiang Tian getting cozy in private.

They must be negotiating a deal.

But then Qi Puzhi let out a soft “Hmm” and replied breezily, “We did sign something.”

Just as Zhang Hua was about to speak, Qi Puzhi added, “A relationship agreement.”

“What?” Zhang Hua stared blankly for a long moment. “What nonsense is that?”

Qi Puzhi smirked at her. “I’ve told you several times that we’re dating. You just didn’t believe me.”

Zhang Hua froze, then narrowed her eyes, her expression demanding an explanation.

Qi Puzhi suddenly recalled the day she had been drugged.

Back then, she had still been considering whether to approach Jiang Tian for a collaboration.

She had been invited to a Jiang family gala in her capacity as the CEO of Puxing Entertainment.

With many industry heavyweights in attendance, Qi Puzhi, ambitious about breaking into international markets, had seized the opportunity to network and discuss potential partnerships.

But then someone had the audacity to forget who she was. While she was in the middle of a conversation with a key contact, the man interrupted, offering to pay for a night with her even adding:

“Surely a hundred million is enough to buy one night with Award-Winning Actress Qi?”

The man had significant influence himself, but he seemed to have some business with the Jiang family, because the moment Jiang Tian appeared, he toned it down slightly.

Jiang Tian, however, did not.

With her usual cool, composed demeanor and impeccable politeness, she had immediately ordered security to escort him out of the gala, humiliating him in front of everyone.

At that time, Qi Puzhi was a bit surprised, she hadn’t expected this young girl to be so righteous, standing up for justice on her behalf to such an extent.

Though she might end up getting beaten by her strict father for it.

Seeing the other woman’s quiet and reserved demeanor after handling the matter, Qi Puzhi couldn’t help but say with some reluctance, “Thank you for standing up for justice. If”

If you get in trouble with your father because of this and face punishment, you can come to me for help.

Before she could finish, the young woman seemed to have already understood what she meant.

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes bright as she said, “Sister, I wasn’t standing up for justice.”

Her voice was soft but firm. “I just like you.”

Jiang Tian’s tone was calm and resolute, her eyes sparkling like stars under the light. In that moment, Qi Puzhi felt as though she had been enveloped right at the center of those stars.

As for the dizzying passion that followed under the influence of the drugs that night, that happened an hour later.

Qi Puzhi skipped over that part of the story.

“How did you know she’d get beaten?” Zhang Hua pointed out the inconsistency. “Her father might be strict, but I’ve never heard of him being violent.”

“That’s another story,” Qi Puzhi replied.

“What? You’d met before that banquet?” Zhang Hua was shocked. “Why have you never mentioned it?”

Qi Puzhi blinked innocently at her.

“Don’t try to charm your way out of this!” Zhang Hua knew exactly how captivating her best friend could be, even as a straight woman, she sometimes couldn’t help but be momentarily swayed by Qi Puzhi’s charm.

But when Qi Puzhi didn’t want to talk, there was no prying anything out of her.

Zhang Hua could only sigh in the end. “Don’t mess around with such a well-behaved kid. And to think you even signed some kind of dating agreement to toy with her.”

The label of Jiang Tian being a “good kid” was practically common knowledge in B City’s elite circles after all, who hadn’t heard her father proudly praising his daughter at every opportunity?

Seeing the look of “innocent young girl unwittingly ensnared by a mature woman” on Zhang Hua’s face, Qi Puzhi rolled her eyes. “Have I ever played around with anyone?”

Zhang Hua countered with solid reasoning, “That agreement of yours, isn’t that playing around?”

Qi Puzhi:

She recalled the scene of that little wolf cub stepping on the agreement before pouncing on her, biting and nipping. There was no way she could admit that out loud, so she could only silently swallow the loss.

She quietly added this debt to Jiang Tian’s tab.

Zhang Hua knew Qi Puzhi’s nature well, she knew exactly what kind of person she was. After teasing her, she adopted a serious expression. “Qi Puzhi, ever since you were little, you’ve always known what you wanted at first glance.”

From favorite toys to lifelong careers, for Qi Puzhi, nothing was ever a choice made after careful deliberation.

It was always decided in an instant, unwavering, never settling for less.

The unspoken implication hung in the air between them.

“Hold onto her,” Zhang Hua said, leaving it at that. “But she’s on the idol path now, you two will probably have to be careful. A long-term secret relationship, then.”

“Mhm,” Qi Puzhi replied absentmindedly.

She thought back to the joy of subtly teasing Jiang Tian in front of the cameras last time and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Secret relationships had their own unique flavor, after all.

But a secret relationship was one thing.

Jiang Tian’s father stepping in to control the media narrative was another.

And netizens being unable to resist shipping them?

That was a whole different matter.

Last time Qi Puzhi accidentally liked a post, although marketing accounts tried hard to spin it as Qi Puzhi recognizing Jiang Tian’s potential and wanting to sign her, the CP fan communities still exploded with posts.

[“Can anyone understand? These two are literally the pinnacle of looks in the entertainment industry. As a devoted fan of beauty, I’m totally shipping them.”]

[“Qi Puzhi is just too obvious wearing fan-made bracelets, browsing Jiang Tian’s fan pages. She’s really… I’m crying over here.”]

[“Jiang Tian is just as into it. To this day, she only follows Qi Puzhi on Weibo. Isn’t that proof enough?”]

Some solo fans wandered in and couldn’t help but comment:

[“No need to scrape the bottom of the barrel for crumbs, sis. It’s painful to watch. Come here, let me recommend some actually good ships.”]

[“Aren’t you guys jumping the gun a bit? They haven’t even been seen together yet.”]

A CP fan immediately clapped back: [“Why so pressed? I never said they’ve slept together.”]

Much later, this post was mysteriously bumped to the top, and someone quietly replied:

[“Actually, they might’ve already done it by now.”]

CP fans: Sorry, we were the ones being too conservative.