After A Secret Marriage Agreement With A Rival Omega - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

◎ 【When they get married, you have to sit at the main table, Director Jian. @Jian Jixing】 ◎

Sheng Ruxi had just arrived back at her room, exhausted from a full day of non-stop filming. To make matters worse, even the sunset was something she had to watch with Zou Xinjie, all under Jian Jixing’s watchful eye.

She was tired and needed to mess with Jian Jixing to relax.

Normally, she had a makeup artist by her side, so she never had to worry about what was missing from her makeup bag. But it wasn’t so bad now; if she was missing something, she could just ask Jian Jixing for it.

After she sent the message asking for makeup remover, Jian Jixing didn’t reply. From what Sheng Ruxi knew about Jian Jixing, she was probably already on her way with the item.

Then, her phone buzzed.

Zhou Mei sent her a screenshot and a link: [My liege!! My liege!!! Do you need to respond to this? What should we do? Didn’t your brand deal with Zou Xinjie already end?]

Then she added two sincere compliments to avoid making Sheng Ruxi angry.

[Filming must have been hard. I can only see you when I open this video.]

Sheng Ruxi, who hadn’t taken it seriously at first, only frowned slightly when she saw the content of the picture.

What’s this?

Wasn’t Zou Xinjie just blatantly trying to ride her coattails?

It turned out that Zou Xinjie had posted the behind-the-scenes footage of their filming on a social media platform.

There were selfies and shots taken by others. Of course, in Zou Xinjie’s shots, Sheng Ruxi was always the main character.

Whether it was during the official filming or during breaks, Zou Xinjie’s eyes were always glued to Sheng Ruxi.

With these few shots, which were all the “couple” selling points that Xie Ruizhang was particularly satisfied with and excited about, the filming was especially serious. The two actors also cooperated very well, and Sheng Ruxi was exceptionally serious—although, her seriousness was just so she could get off work early.

But the look in her eyes in the footage was enough to make people believe she and Zou Xinjie were a real couple.

Zou Xinjie had posted it herself, which not only had a built-in audience but also had a lot of hungry CP fans waiting. Less than half an hour after it was posted, it became a top trend.

But at the top of the search results, Jian Jixing’s name was leading the way.

The CP fans had even started a hashtag: #ThankYouDirectorJian#, followed closely by #RoseCPWeddingYouMustSitAtTheMainTableDirectorJian#.

Sheng Ruxi: “…”

Who told you to use a random hashtag!!!

[Wuwuwu, do you know what I’ve been through this past year and more, not seeing any official interaction between Zou Xinjie and Ruxi?! Ah! I knew it!]

[If you live long enough, you’ll see everything.]

[Director Jian is probably a CP shipper who wouldn’t break up a couple, right?]

[I’m dying of laughter. Director Jian’s face… [image]]

From here, the tone changed abruptly. This was because a fan had taken a screenshot of Jian Jixing looking at them from afar in the crowd, with a look in her eyes that could kill.

But the fans weren’t scared. Instead, they turned that look into an emoji and used it repeatedly in the comments without any hesitation.

[What are you afraid of!!! I saw Director Cen Jing say that Director Jian came to save the project this time. If she hadn’t come, the project would have been postponed, and we wouldn’t have seen Zou Xinjie and Xixi collaborate!]

[By approximation, isn’t she a matchmaker? @JianJixing]

[Director Jian, when they get married, you have to sit at the main table! @JianJixing]

[It’s a well-known fact that Director Jian doesn’t forbid actors from dating during filming, as long as it doesn’t affect the progress.]

[She totally won’t stop them. Didn’t Tang Hui and Yi Yueyang just announce their breakup a few days ago? Although they broke up, those two met on Director Jian’s set.]

[If Ruxi and Zou Xinjie really get together, the biggest beneficiary will be our Jian Jixing, okay? Of course, she won’t stop them!]

[Hahahahaha, I even feel like Director Jian’s expressions show that she’s shipping them. Didn’t you notice? Jian Jixing appeared in every single video clip and photo.]

[Turns out Director Jian is the number one CP shipper.]

By the time Jian Jixing clicked on Zou Xinjie’s post, it had already been fermenting on the internet for a while.

And Zou Xinjie hadn’t gotten permission from the production team for this promotional post. She just suddenly decided to post it.

So no one expected the post to get so much attention, instantly shooting to the top.

Even more unexpectedly, Jian Jixing was now being called the number one CP shipper on the front lines by netizens.

After all,

In everyone’s eyes, as long as Sheng Ruxi and Zou Xinjie got together, her pursuit of Chu Wu would be more than half won.

As she was on her way to Sheng Ruxi’s room with the makeup remover, another message came from Xie Ruizhang.

It was a new event arrangement from Cen Jing, asking Sheng Ruxi and Zou Xinjie to do two live streams, one this evening and one tomorrow afternoon, to help the villagers sell their local goods.

Tonight would start in half an hour and would just be a chat with everyone.

When Jian Jixing entered Sheng Ruxi’s room, she saw Sheng Ruxi scrolling through her phone, a mixture of anger and speechlessness on her face.

“Who are you arguing with?”

Startled by Jian Jixing’s voice, Sheng Ruxi almost dropped her phone. A voice message from Yan Fuzheng then played through the speaker.

“If you want to know so badly, why don’t you just ask her yourself? Aren’t you tired of all this guessing and getting jealous? She’s your wife, after all, and she has to tell you everything.”

Sheng Ruxi quickly picked up her phone, and Jian Jixing placed the makeup remover on the table. “What did I do wrong this time?”

“Who said I was going to ask you?!” Sheng Ruxi covertly set her phone to silent. She was so mad. Why did she always get caught red-handed whenever she was discussing Jian Jixing with Yan Fuzheng?

She was just curious and had secretly looked at the comments.

When she saw the CP fans saying how sweet they were, she didn’t feel a thing. But when she saw people saying Jian Jixing was a shipper and that her “little scheme” was to support her and Zou Xinjie to reap the benefits herself, Sheng Ruxi couldn’t sit still.

Sheng Ruxi had thought Jian Jixing just couldn’t stand Zou Xinjie. It was only when the netizens pointed it out that she realized she didn’t just tolerate her, she encouraged it! She actually wanted to be the leader of the CP shippers.

No wonder she didn’t have much of a reaction when she talked about Zou Xinjie being her suitor. She had a plan all along.

Jian Jixing wasn’t angry. She just raised an eyebrow: “Is that so? Does that mean you have other wives?” She smiled. “Bigamy is illegal.”

Sheng Ruxi glared at her in annoyance. Jian Jixing said, “You can’t remove your makeup. We’re doing a live stream in half an hour. You know about that, right?”

“I’m still going to remove it. It’s not a formal live stream anyway,” Sheng Ruxi said, grabbing the makeup remover and going into the bathroom. A moment later, she came out with a clean face and a thin face mask on, which made it difficult to talk.

Jian Jixing thought about the fans waving the Rose CP flag and said for some reason, “You’re still very conscious of your image. You even put on a face mask for a live stream with Zou Xinjie.”

Sheng Ruxi “hmphed”: “Then why don’t you get me some boiler soot?”

“That wouldn’t be very nice, would it?” Jian Jixing said. “But I have some black foundation. Do you want it?”

Sheng Ruxi’s lips were hard to move, and she was afraid the mask would get wrinkled, but she still said viciously, “Your mouth is so annoying.”

“I’m leaving right away. I won’t make you angry anymore,” Jian Jixing said, gently curving her eyes. Sheng Ruxi grabbed her arm again. “What’s the hurry? They said you have to sit at the main table when Zou Xinjie and I get married. How can you miss the live stream?”

Sit at the main table? Jian Jixing thought for a moment and said discreetly, “I’m not sure I want to have children like you two.”

Ah—Jian Jixing! Sheng Ruxi knew Jian Jixing wouldn’t say anything nice. The last shred of desire she had to have a decent conversation with Jian Jixing disappeared. She extended two fingers and poked Jian Jixing, pushing her back.

Her mask wrinkled slightly due to her animated expression. Sheng Ruxi’s face was too small, and the standard-sized face mask looked oversized on her. Jian Jixing chuckled to herself and let Sheng Ruxi push her back until they reached the door. She then reached out and smoothed out the teetering face mask, making it stick properly again.

Her fingers traced the contours of Sheng Ruxi’s face, pressing lightly.

“Don’t get worked up, Little Green Bean Princess, and don’t get angry. The mask will really fall off.” After she was done, her fingertips were damp. The last thing she did was lift the mask up to Sheng Ruxi’s chin. She gave the person’s chin a playful poke and left with a laugh.

Why did she do that…

For a moment, Sheng Ruxi forgot that she was supposed to be angry with Jian Jixing.

The dining area had been cleaned up, and they had set up local goods and lighting for the live stream. Zou Xinjie was already sitting there waiting. Her clothes and makeup were the same as they were during the day’s filming, and her eyes held a look of anticipation.

Jian Jixing glanced over and didn’t look again. Just as she was about to go back to her side, Gu Shengci, still clutching an oxygen tank, rushed up to her: “Don’t go! Join the live stream!”

“?” Jian Jixing said. “Has your brain been ruined from a lack of oxygen?”

“Look at you, what a way to talk. Please excuse her,” Gu Shengci said, smiling apologetically at Zou Xinjie. She then pulled Jian Jixing over. “Haven’t you seen the trending topics? The post Xiao Zou made… oh, no, that video, it went viral.”

Gu Shengci smiled apologetically at Zou Xinjie again and said, “I’m sorry, I just feel like you’re posting on there as if it’s your personal feed, so I just blurted it out.”

Zou Xinjie forced a smile, as she could tell Gu Shengci was mocking her.

Jian Jixing said, “What does that have to do with me?”

“You can see what Jingjing said. The officials said this live stream is arranged for you, Ruxi, and Xiao Zou. It’s because everyone is saying… that Zou Xinjie and Sheng Ruxi are connecting, so you have to sit at the main table, right?”

Gu Shengci was on the front lines of the internet and had seen the post early on. She had specifically gotten up to tease Jian Jixing.

Jian Jixing wanted to curse her, but she moved her lips and realized she had said the same thing to Sheng Ruxi. She couldn’t say a thing.

It was already arranged. What could she do? Jian Jixing sat down expressionlessly. When Sheng Ruxi came out and saw Jian Jixing there, she was stunned for a moment.

She wasn’t wearing any makeup, but she was still very beautiful. Even before she got closer, you could almost smell her soft, fragrant scent.

Jian Jixing was a little distracted.

“Quick, quick, come sit! Your live stream time is short, but the studio just sent out a reservation link, and over 100,000 people have already signed up!” Xie Ruizhang was very excited. It was the first time she had witnessed Sheng Ruxi’s influence.

Sheng Ruxi sat down, patted her cheeks, and pouted: “Why are you here, too?”

She said this to Jian Jixing. Xie Ruizhang looked as if she was facing a formidable enemy and immediately explained the reason to Sheng Ruxi, telling her it was because they thought the traffic would be better with all three of them together.

“Alright, come sit down,” Zou Xinjie said, motioning for her to sit next to her once Sheng Ruxi arrived.

Xie Ruizhang also came over and, after instructing the staff to place the local products for display, explained to Sheng Ruxi with Gu Shengci. They were afraid Sheng Ruxi wouldn’t want to be near Jian Jixing.

But as Sheng Ruxi sat down on the chair, Jian Jixing moved her chair back a bit and sat diagonally behind Sheng Ruxi.

From the camera’s perspective during the test, it looked like Jian Jixing was just staring at the two of them, just like in the photos from before.

Jian Jixing smiled: “I won’t be in the shot now. I’ll be your assistant. I can’t get in the way of you two CPs’ popularity.”

Sheng Ruxi’s lips parted slightly, but Jian Jixing added, “This is the best angle. Don’t move.”

Sheng Ruxi hmphed and fell silent.

Yu Miaolan came over with a reflector to light them up and realized that Sheng Ruxi was a person who didn’t need extra lighting. Even without makeup, her skin was so fair it seemed to glow.

Zou Xinjie was wearing full makeup, while Jian Jixing wasn’t wearing any. This made Zou Xinjie look overly polished and out of place.

Yu Miaolan secretly thought that Sheng Ruxi and Zou Xinjie weren’t a great match. The pictures on the internet and the atmosphere on set were good, but there was also an energy between people.

Seeing them in person, that feeling wasn’t there. It was better… Yu Miaolan’s gaze fell on Jian Jixing, who was sitting at the back, looking a bit reserved.

It was better with Director Jian. Although Sheng Ruxi and Director Jian seemed to argue all the time, their relationship never seemed to truly sour. On the contrary, Director Jian always seemed to be making arrangements to take care of Sheng Ruxi.

“Let’s go live.”

As soon as they went live, a large number of excited fans flooded the screen. This live stream was just for them to chat with everyone and showcase the villagers’ local goods. It was a simple start.

Right now, as Sheng Ruxi and Zou Xinjie were greeting everyone, they took up the entire screen. Jian Jixing, being lazy, was sitting loosely in the back and wasn’t even in the shot.

[Ah!!! I’m actually seeing the Rose CP live together. Thank you, Shanmi officials!]

[It feels good to see good-looking people together. Opening the live stream just hit me with a visual shock.]

[What live stream chat? This is a live wedding!]

[Are those medicinal herbs wild saffron and Ganoderma lucidum? I want to buy some.]

[Hey, hey, wait a minute. Since we’ve already said it’s a wedding, how can we not have Director Jian, the officiant? @JianJixing]

[Girl, you are so bold. Asking Jian Jixing to be their officiant, hahaha.]

[I don’t know why, but I feel like Director Jian would be very happy to do it / dog head.]

When Sheng Ruxi saw this comment on the screen, she immediately tilted her head, and Jian Jixing’s face was revealed next to her ear.

The comments even lagged for a moment, and then people started spamming: [The officiant is here!]

[Who understands the impact of an even better-looking face behind a good-looking face?]

Jian Jixing knew what Sheng Ruxi was doing. She reluctantly entered the frame and had to put on a serious face.

Although it seemed the officials wanted to use the CP popularity of Sheng Ruxi and Zou Xinjie, no one expected that when Jian Jixing appeared, the popularity would skyrocket.

After Jian Jixing joined, she didn’t participate in the conversation between Sheng Ruxi and Zou Xinjie. She focused on introducing the medicinal herbs and cashmere from the village to the audience.

In the comments, the audience was already clamoring for the links. Sheng Ruxi continued, “We’ll have another live stream tomorrow afternoon, and you’ll be able to make a purchase then.”

Sheng Ruxi also carefully placed the items in the baskets in the main display area and motioned for Yu Miaolan to adjust the lighting onto the goods.

Jian Jixing couldn’t help but look at Sheng Ruxi again. She didn’t expect this little brat to be so good at this.

She straightened up and lightly poked Sheng Ruxi on the back, twice, to compliment her on a great job.

These small actions couldn’t be seen on camera. Jian Jixing was already sitting closer to Sheng Ruxi, and her hand was completely blocked. Not even Zou Xinjie noticed this small gesture.

At this moment, Zou Xinjie was answering a question from the comments: “Huh? You’re asking me what I was thinking while filming with Ruxi? What else could I be thinking about? Was I happy? Of course, I was happy—”

Suddenly, Sheng Ruxi, who was listening intently, burst out laughing.

It was very abrupt.

Only Jian Jixing let out a soft “hiss” and decided to pretend nothing happened and pulled her hand back.

It seemed she had poked Sheng Ruxi’s ticklish spot.

It wasn’t her fault! It was the first time she had seen someone’s ticklish spot on their back. Wasn’t it usually on the waist?

Sheng Ruxi’s temples twitched. For a moment, she wanted to turn her head but held back. Instead, the hand that was hanging at her side went to grab the culprit.

Jian Jixing had already pulled her hand back, but Sheng Ruxi still held her hand behind her back, clenched into a fist, as if she was angry.

Zou Xinjie’s words stopped for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, Jian Jixing’s slow voice came through: “Xiao Zou is talking seriously. Why are you laughing? That’s so rude.”

Sheng Ruxi slowly turned her head: “If Director Jian is so polite, why don’t you come up and show everyone?”

This was the first time Sheng Ruxi had made such a big move all evening. She turned her body and pulled Jian Jixing to sit in front of her and Zou Xinjie.

Of course, Sheng Ruxi didn’t miss Jian Jixing opening her palm.

How childish can she be? She was making a fist to show she was angry, not to play rock-paper-scissors with you!

Sheng Ruxi couldn’t help but make a scissors shape with her fingers and secretly poked Jian Jixing’s waist, having a blast.

Zou Xinjie’s smile was completely forced. From the moment Jian Jixing sat down, she felt like she was on pins and needles. And she had also seen Sheng Ruxi’s little actions… A disbelieving thought slowly rose in her mind.

Jian Jixing calmly held Sheng Ruxi’s scissors hand, still smiling as she introduced the products in front of them. At this moment, Sheng Ruxi leaned closer to her, almost touching Jian Jixing. Her voice was low: “Look over there.”

There was surprise in her tone. Jian Jixing looked in the direction she was pointing and found a familiar ID.

This is ridiculous. Is this a big reunion for friends? Before, it was always the two of them watching Chu Wu’s live streams, and now Chu Wu was in their live stream with a random number ID.

With so many fans watching, it was better for Chu Wu to just watch quietly and not say anything.

Jian Jixing wasn’t affected and continued her introduction. When she picked up the wild Ganoderma lucidum she was showcasing, fireworks suddenly exploded on the screen.

The comments from that number ID, along with the sound of money, grew larger and were frozen in the middle: [wu00990223: Can the two hosts sit a little closer to show the products? The staff on the side are almost blocking the camera.]

This time, Sheng Ruxi genuinely laughed out loud. It wasn’t because she was tickled.

Jian Jixing considered herself a professional, so she held back her laugh: “This is our other actor… not a staff member.”

She turned to Zou Xinjie, gesturing for her to introduce herself. Zou Xinjie, holding back her anger, said, “Zou Xinjie.”

Sheng Ruxi’s hand once again crept over to Jian Jixing. Jian Jixing realized this person was really not well-behaved. She kept poking her with her fingertips, either on her waist or her leg. Was she going to be so excessive as to poke her butt? Jian Jixing was slightly distracted and grabbed Sheng Ruxi’s two mischievous fingers, pulling them over and holding them between her legs.

She looked up, and another fireworks effect appeared.

[wu00990223: What game are the two hosts playing? I’ve paid money. Can you please play it on the table for everyone to see?]