After A Secret Marriage Agreement With A Rival Omega - Chapter 78

Chapter 78

◎ Sheng Ruxi leaned in close, and their breaths mingled ambiguously as they spoke. ◎

Sheng Ruxi stared at the woman in front of her, searching her memory several times, confirming that she had never seen this face on screen.

Xie Jinheng?

She was very beautiful. Even though her tone was gentle, her eyes carried a hint of aggressiveness that couldn’t be ignored.

Long time no see?

If she hadn’t found out some things beforehand, Sheng Ruxi wouldn’t have thought too much about it.

Another omega. But Xie Jinheng was quite restrained in public. Sheng Ruxi saw a blocking patch on the back of her neck from her vaguely visible hair.

Sheng Ruxi knew that there were eyes on her from behind.

She curled her lips, met Xie Jinheng’s gaze, and shook her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Jian Jixing’s gaze never left them. She had just put down her wine glass, and Gu Shengci was already sweating nervously. When she saw Xie Jinheng appear with that hot-stamped badge, she already knew what was going on.

“…The new executive,” Gu Shengci said in a low voice with a look of despair on her face, “Do you really not need to go over? These two women… are so ruthless.”

Neither of them even looked at Jian Jixing. If an unknowing person were to see this, they would have thought that these two knew each other from before.

The middle-aged man who was just greeting Xie Jinheng was one of the people in charge of the conversation at this dinner. When he saw Sheng Ruxi, he introduced her, “Miss Sheng, you don’t recognize her, do you? This is the new general manager of our company’s investment department, Xie Jinheng. You must be familiar with her mother. She’s the daughter of Teacher Qin Yue’an.”

Qin Yue’an’s daughter. So she had such a big background. No wonder she could be parachuted in directly.

Qin Yue’an was a well-known national theater actress, an artist who had made great contributions. Her private life was low-key, and she had never publicly revealed her family members after retiring from the stage.

Sheng Ruxi said, “I see. Then I wish Miss Xie all the best in your new job.”

“Speaking of which, Miss Sheng should be considered my senior. I also shot a film before, but it just didn’t get a chance to be released,” Xie Jinheng said with a smile. “This time, I came back specifically for this project, just to make up for my previous regret.”

She patted Yi Yueyang’s shoulder, gently brought Yi Yueyang in front of her, and faced Sheng Ruxi, “Shall we sit down?”

For a moment, Sheng Ruxi couldn’t tell if Xie Jinheng was trying to intimidate her. The regret she mentioned was probably more than just making up for that unreleased film.

She just smiled and didn’t say anything, casually waving her hand.

Since Xie Jinheng had said so, she naturally let Xie Jinheng and her choose their seats first.

Yi Yueyang was completely unaware of the undercurrents between Sheng Ruxi and Xie Jinheng. Before she came, her manager had told her that the female lead role in Director Jian’s new movie was basically hers because her previous audition tape had moved Xie Jinheng.

With Xie Jinheng’s approval, this matter was set in stone. She had also won several major awards, but they weren’t enough in front of Sheng Ruxi. Yi Yueyang didn’t think she could compete with Sheng Ruxi. She just thought that Sheng Ruxi didn’t want to collaborate with Jian Jixing and was only here to go through the motions due to her company’s arrangements.

So she wasn’t embarrassed, but she instinctively felt that she couldn’t choose the seat next to Director Jian.

When Xie Jinheng patted her shoulder, it was to let her choose for herself, and she didn’t decline.

Yi Yueyang didn’t hesitate and sat in the seat farthest from Jian Jixing.

The moment she sat down, the two gazes finally fell on Jian Jixing.

Sheng Ruxi and Xie Jinheng looked over at her and the two seats next to her.

Jian Jixing: “…”

The two of them still took a step at the same time.

Jian Jixing had nothing to be nervous about. She had nothing extra to say to Xie Jinheng, but she could see that Sheng Ruxi was in no hurry. Her steps were always slightly behind Xie Jinheng’s.

Xie Jinheng’s steps, however, paused. She stopped at the seat one seat away from Jian Jixing, her fingers on the back of the chair.

“Director Jian and I are old acquaintances. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up later. Do you want to sit next to Director Jian?” Xie Jinheng turned her head to look at Sheng Ruxi. “I saw online that your relationship has improved a lot recently.”

She finally met Jian Jixing’s gaze, her tone was accusatory: “Jixing, why are you still so mean to actresses? How did you offend our Miss Sheng? Have you apologized?”

Hearing this, Gu Shengci felt like her vision was getting blurry and wanted to shake her legs, but she saw that Jian Jixing didn’t say a word and didn’t even blink. She originally thought this scene was scary enough, but the next second, that little dear Sheng Ruxi sat down one seat away from Jian Jixing.

She sat down next to Yi Yueyang, leaving the seat closest to Jian Jixing empty.

Sheng Ruxi turned her head, glanced at Jian Jixing, and then looked at Xie Jinheng: “Miss Xie, just sit down if you want to. In case you don’t know, Director Jian has been so busy recently that she’s practically glued to the ground. I’m afraid she won’t have time to catch up with you after tonight.”

Xie Jinheng’s smile froze for a moment, but then she saw that Jian Jixing’s gaze had been on Sheng Ruxi the entire time and hadn’t moved.

But it was only for a second. Xie Jinheng’s smile returned to normal: “It seems that what they say online is true. Miss Sheng is very well-informed about Jixing’s schedule.”

Sheng Ruxi’s lips twitched, and she was too lazy to respond to that. However, at the moment Xie Jinheng sat down, she heard Jian Jixing’s clear voice.

“I often report it to her,” Jian Jixing said word by word. “Sheng Ruxi, do you have to be so far away from me?”

Sheng Ruxi: “Naturally, I don’t want to interfere with Director Jian’s rare opportunity to catch up with an old friend.”

“Then you’ve misunderstood,” Jian Jixing said. “Miss Xie and I are not old friends.”

Xie Jinheng wasn’t angry. She picked up her glass: “It doesn’t matter. You can just say we’re new partners.”

Then, she shook her head and smiled: “You’re still as stubborn as you used to be. Don’t the people around you get tired of it?”

Gu Shengci said anxiously, “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, we all get tired! Everyone, let’s eat. Don’t talk so much.”

Sheng Ruxi said lightly, “Am I making you tired?”

Jian Jixing said, “Who would dare to make you tired?”

“Is that so? I’m afraid what I’m about to say will make Miss Sheng a little angry,” Xie Jinheng was stuck between Sheng Ruxi and Jian Jixing. After going back and forth like this, she still maintained her unchanging smile, but her voice became faint.

“Everyone here today is here for the casting of the female lead for Director Jian’s new film. This matter has been dragging on for a long time. Today, I will make the announcement,” Xie Jinheng glanced at Sheng Ruxi. “Miss Sheng is very good, but considering all the factors, she’s not suitable to collaborate with Jixing this time. So the person we’ve decided on is Yi Yueyang.”

The others at the table stopped what they were doing when they heard Xie Jinheng’s words. They thought this should be a joyous occasion, but they saw that Jian Jixing’s face was calm, as if she hadn’t heard anything, as if she hadn’t been informed of this result at all.

Jian Jixing picked up her wine glass again, gently swirling the wine inside: “Who decided that?”

Xie Jinheng: “I did.”

In the silence, Sheng Ruxi suddenly laughed and said faintly, “Someone who doesn’t know would think Miss Xie is the director.”

Xie Jinheng said, “As an investor, I can let Jixing shoot the film she wants to shoot without having to worry about commercial factors. Why can’t that be considered a collaborative work?”

Her tone made Sheng Ruxi very uncomfortable, especially the phrase “collaborative work,” which sounded as if she and Jian Jixing had a child together.

She finally took a good look at Jian Jixing.

Under the lights, she could clearly see that the tips of Jian’s fingers were white as she held the wine glass, but her expression was still lazy, and even a little half-smiling, as if she had put on a mask for a moment, making it impossible to see what was on her mind.

Sheng Ruxi suddenly felt bored and lost interest in everything in front of her.

Jian Jixing’s head buzzed for a few seconds. Some chaotic memories entered her mind, making her feel a little uncontrollably agitated. Xie Jinheng was not only pampered, but also very extreme at times. As for the casting, as long as Sheng Ruxi said a word, she could immediately give up any collaboration with any investor.

Because Sheng Ruxi hadn’t said anything, Jian Jixing also dragged it on. The company was originally waiting for her decision, but she didn’t expect Xie Jinheng to suddenly come back and interfere.

At this moment, Jian Jixing’s mind was not on the casting at all, but on how to explain everything clearly to Sheng Ruxi.

Even though Sheng Ruxi seemed to be indifferent on the surface, it didn’t stop Jian Jixing from feeling that she had to go back tonight and kneel on the washboard.

“Miss Sheng, I’ve watched your films and I know that you don’t really like to shoot emotional scenes, so I think it’s difficult for you to fully understand the script. I don’t know if you’ve read the script? The protagonist that Jixing is shooting this time is a woman who gradually learns to release her desires.”

Xie Jinheng smiled and looked at Sheng Ruxi: “Can Miss Sheng understand that? This probably requires some experience. Ordinary acting is not enough.”

“Xie Jinheng,” Jian Jixing frowned slightly and interrupted Xie Jinheng, “You’ve gone too far.”

Although Xie Jinheng was also an omega, saying something like that to another omega was just short of directly asking Sheng Ruxi how much experience she had with sex.

Xie Jinheng seemed to realize that she had misspoken and immediately apologized to Sheng Ruxi: “I’m sorry. I just wanted the film to look better. If Miss Sheng, you really want to collaborate with Jixing, would you be willing to play the second female lead? I can have Yang Chang add more scenes for you.”

Sheng Ruxi suddenly stood up, lifting the hem of her dress: “It’s a little stuffy in here. I’m going out for some air. Excuse me.”

Jian Jixing didn’t hesitate and followed her out. Xie Jinheng just glanced at them and didn’t chase after them, her face filled with a determined smile.

The hallway was long. The crystal chandeliers cast a bright, fragmented light. Sheng Ruxi’s high heels were silent on the soft carpet.

There was no sound, but she knew that Jian Jixing had followed her.

Sheng Ruxi pursed her lips and walked forward without saying a word.

She could feel that Jian Jixing’s pace had slowed down, becoming calm and unhurried as she followed her.

Her back straightened involuntarily because the gaze behind her was so real that every inch of exposed skin on her back felt hot.

Sheng Ruxi disappeared around a corner.

Jian Jixing then hurried forward, only to find Sheng Ruxi leaning against the wall at ease, her arms crossed, studying her.

Her steps also stopped. Her gaze was fixed on Sheng Ruxi’s face.

Sheng Ruxi slightly raised her chin, her tone still proud: “Was that fun?”

“It was not fun.”

“Was it good to watch?”

There were only two of them here.

When Sheng Ruxi asked those three words, Jian Jixing smelled a familiar pheromone, but this time, it was very sour, like unripe berries… Her gland responded, and it started to beat abruptly.

After two seconds of silence, Jian Jixing said, “You’re good to watch.”

The cold pheromone instantly enveloped Sheng Ruxi. The slightly bitter scent drilled into her nostrils, plundering her rationality.

But this person’s face was as calm as water and seemed to be unmoved.

It made her want to break her.

Sheng Ruxi grabbed Jian Jixing’s collar, pulled her over, and, using her advantage of wearing high heels, pushed Jian Jixing against the wall.

“What are you doing?”

“Director Jian, do you know that I hate being questioned?” Sheng Ruxi leaned in close, and their breaths mingled ambiguously as they spoke. “Then I’ll show you how I release my desires. Let’s see if I’m suitable to be your female lead.”