After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 2

Ji Youyi maintained a steady rhythm, chatting quite a bit with Xu Pin’an.

After half a cup of hot water, she had gained a general understanding of everything, from the black hearted company and the current state of the entertainment industry to Xu Pin’an personal situation and her daughter with autism.

Seeing that there wasn’t much more information to be squeezed out, she stood up, sat down beside Xu Pin’an, and draped an arm around her shoulder, badmouthing the company to boost her own position. “So, the truth is, the company gave up on me long ago. They think since I can’t make money anyway, they might as well push me out to be a scapegoat for the ‘Prince.’ And you, being warm-hearted and honest, are the only one in the whole company who cares about me, so naturally, they pushed you out to deal with me.”

“But don’t worry, Sister Xu! If there’s a problem, I’ll talk to the company personally. I definitely won’t let you get dragged into this.”

As Ji Youyi spoke, she affectionately took Xu Pin’an’s hand and saw her off politely. “By the way, Sister Xu, isn’t your daughter still sick? I’ve taken up too much of your time, go get busy. Once this blows over, I’ll treat you and your girl to dinner.”

“Treating me to dinner? You’d better think about how to borrow the money for the breach of contract fee first.”

Xu Pin’an walked to the door and looked at Ji Youyi’s paper thin frame. She wanted to say something, but thinking of her own equally messy life, she ultimately said nothing, simply waved, and left.

The moment she saw Xu Pin’an off, Ji Youyi rushed back to the bedside and took a massive gulp of water, forcibly suppressing a strong surge of nausea.

The taste of blood had already reached her throat, but she couldn’t spit it out yet. This was a crucial “prop” for her next scene, if she used it too early or too late, the final “cinematic effect” would be greatly compromised.

Time was tight. Ji Youyi didn’t hesitate, she grabbed a tissue, wiped her face clean and prepared to leave the hospital.

She didn’t forget to take a look at herself.

Surprisingly, her current appearance was almost identical to her previous self, only without the weathering of sun and wind. She looked younger and much more fragile.

Clearly, the world she was currently in did not have the famous director Ji Youyi, nor was the country the China she knew. Instead, it was “Country Z,” which also used Chinese and presented no communication barriers.

It was a place extremely similar yet entirely foreign. Perhaps, as described in many literary works, she had transmigrated into a book to inherit a rather unfortunate life.

But Ji Youyi didn’t think it was terrible. On the contrary, she felt the situation wasn’t bad, and the problems weren’t insurmountable.

Ji Youyi had checked her ID card and knew this body’s original owner was two months younger than her, so she gave her a nickname: “Little Ji.”

Little Ji seemed like a timid young girl.

She didn’t know how long she would stay in Little Ji’s body, but she hoped to solve as many of Little Ji’s problems as possible before she left, that girl was so naive, if she were left to face it alone, the capitalists would likely strip her down to the bone.

The clothes she wore when she was admitted were nowhere to be found. Carrying her only asset, a cellphone and wearing a hospital gown, Ji Youyi walked out the door.

The date in this world was exactly the same as her original world, and the climate was roughly the same.

At 9:00 AM, the bright sun hung high in the sky, but it couldn’t offset the early spring chill. The maximum temperature in March was only about a dozen degrees Celsius. The thin fabric of her gown revealed its vulnerability the moment she stepped outside, and Ji Youyi was covered in goosebumps from the cold.

She struggled to maintain her composure. By the time she finished the discharge paperwork, her jaw was aching from tension.

Xu Pin’an had paid the hospital bill in advance, so Ji Youyi sent a message to express her gratitude.

Xu Pin’an replied quickly: [I’m currently blocked at the main gate. It’s crawling with paparazzi. I’m driving the company business van, so they think you’re inside and have surrounded it. I called President Li, he said they’ve decided to terminate your contract and want you to come over to discuss the penalty. Hurry up and think of a way to save this, otherwise, with your mountain of debt, you really won’t be able to survive.]

Ji Youyi had no intention of “saving” it.

She wasn’t ignorant of the entertainment industry’s market. It was a place where as long as you possessed 1.5 out of the three traits, talent, looks and hard work, you could rake in money.

For “Little Ji” to have a bit of fame but still be drowning in debt, the company had to be the problem. Therefore, not terminating the contract was the real death sentence.

She didn’t share the details of her plan with Xu Pin’an. She just sent a brief reply, asked a nurse for the location of the side exit, and headed that way.

While the paparazzi were distracted at the main gate, she had to make her escape.

Rounding the greenery behind the inpatient building, the crowds thinned out. The path to the side gate was narrow, about two people wide. Without the buildings to block it, the cold wind slashed at Ji Youyi like a knife. Shivering, she opened a ride hailing app.

The operation was very similar to her old world. She effortlessly set the destination and clicked “Order.”

A notification popped up on the screen:

[Account has been frozen]

Ji Youyi switched to another payment method, but the result was the same.

She had no choice but to go back and check each payment app one by one.

According to the records, Little Ji currently owed a total of over 5.3 million yuan. Many of these were high-interest online loans, with daily interest payments averaging over 2,000 yuan.

Because she had been unable to pay the interest for a long time, all accounts under her name had been frozen. Thus, her current disposable assets were: Zero.

Ji Youyi checked the bank statements.

Logically, an artist should receive a fee per appearance. However, Little Ji’s only income was a monthly 5,000 yuan transfer from Wantao, while all her expenses, including business related housing, travel, hair and makeup, and meals, had to be paid out of her own pocket.

In an industry where even minor supporting actors and small influencers drove luxury cars and lived in mansions, five thousand yuan.

No income tax threshold met, no social security paid, five thousand yuan.

Needed for food, clothing, housing, travel, and paying 80,000 yuan in monthly interest, five thousand yuan.

Who wouldn’t be desperate?

While checking the accounts, Ji Youyi discovered that Little Ji’s several massive loans eventually flowed back into her own management company, under unknown pretenses.

She let out a cold sneer and switched to WeChat to find more evidence. Her finger swiped twice, opening a chat box.

The timestamp was from a week ago.

President Zhang: It’s like I said before, a few million isn’t even what I spend in a night. I can help you pay it off easily. Everything is like that, it looks troublesome, but it’s really just a matter of a word from me.

Little Ji: Oh. I’ll think about it.

President Zhang: I can give you time to think, but you should know, you are very beautiful, but the entertainment industry doesn’t lack beauties. If you aren’t willing, there are plenty of people who are.

Little Ji: Okay.

And then she swallowed the pills.

That was her answer.

A surge of blood rushed to Ji Youyi’s head. The screen before her and the scenery ahead blurred into two dark swirls.

Fang Ruohan was deeply regretting her decision.

This hospital wasn’t the private one they usually collaborated with, it was just close to the Meng family home, and with it being the middle of the night, she thought it would be quiet enough for a check-up before deciding on a transfer.

She never expected that a celebrity would be sent here in the early hours for a drug overdose, and now the hospital was surrounded by paparazzi.

If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but this starlet happened to have a connection to Meng Xiao.

“I really wish Meng Xiao would come back to the country right now,” Fang Ruohan thought, feeling increasingly disgusted. “The ‘Real Heiress’ returns, the ‘True White Moonlight’ debuts, let the whole entertainment industry explode for all I care!”

Meng Xingshu’s return to the Meng house last night was a private trip, with only Fang Ruohan following as her assistant. Fang Ruohan shielded Meng Xingshu as they walked toward the parking lot, recounting the gossip she’d just gathered.

“Didn’t Meng Xiao find a ‘Liuliang’ (popular idol) to fake a scandal with? That idol has a girl in the same company who’s madly in love with him, chasing him all over the show. The Meng family released too many press releases and hired too many ‘water soldiers’ (paid commenters), the guy’s fans couldn’t control the comments, so they couldn’t vent their anger on him. Instead, they turned on that poor girl and bullied her horribly.”

“Last night, Meng Xiao dropped another bombshell, buying seven pages of coverage saying she gave the idol a luxury mansion, just like before, using that disgusting ‘Eldest Miss of the Meng Family’ title to mislead everyone. Now the whole internet assumes it was you who sent it. I’m so angry! I don’t even want to go online until she’s back. I hope she debuts quickly and takes back everything that belongs to her!”

“Anyway, that girl was so triggered by the news last night, probably felt her romance was hopeless for life, so she swallowed pills to commit suicide. She was just saved.”

Meng Xingshu wore a hat and a mask. Her calm, steady eyes looked straight ahead, she didn’t seem to be listening.

Fang Ruohan was used to this cold attitude, which did nothing to dampen her passion for gossip. Just as she was about to continue, she heard hurried footsteps behind them.

Turning around, she saw someone in a hospital gown holding a phone, charging toward them in a panic, looking like they were about to collide.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing!” Fang Ruohan’s first instinct was that it was a sasaeng fan, and she reached out to block her.

Ji Youyi was walking fast, her brain was starved of oxygen, and her vision was tunneling. She hadn’t noticed the people in front of her until she heard the voice and slammed on the brakes.

Her weakened body couldn’t fight the inertia. Losing control, she pitched forward and almost fell, but fortunately, a hand reached out and caught her just in time.

The person beside her had an arm that felt soft yet strong, carrying a faint, pleasant floral scent. Ji Youyi instinctively leaned back for support, squinting her eyes to alleviate the throbbing headache and dizziness. “Thank… you.”

She intended to thank her, but the moment she opened her mouth, she could no longer suppress her violently cramping stomach. She suddenly vomited, and the phone in her hand flew out of her grip.

The air fell into a brief silence.

The reddish-black blood spatters on the ground were a shocking sight. Looking at them, Fang Ruohan felt a sense of despair.

This is a shakedown, right? This is definitely a “touch-and-pay” scam!

She had reached out to block her, but she hadn’t actually touched her!

Wait, no! this was bad. When Teacher Meng steadied her, she did touch her.

Fang Ruohan’s eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

She didn’t know if this scene had been caught by paparazzi. There should be security cameras nearby, to prevent the media from writing nonsense later, she had to find someone to check the footage immediately.

As she was flipping through her contacts, she heard a familiar, cool voice say: “Tissues.”

Fang Ruohan paused, then reacted quickly, pulling a pack of pocket tissues from her bag and handing them over.

Ji Youyi’s head was still spinning and her vision was dark, she could only see a hazy image. She took the tissues: “Thank…”

“Don’t, don’t speak anymore,” Fang Ruohan stopped her just in time.

Blessings from Great Grandmother, she was truly afraid the girl would keep vomiting blood.

Ji Youyi nodded obediently and pressed the tissue to her mouth.

A hand reached out from her front-left holding something. Ji Youyi squinted at the blurry object and guessed it was the phone she had just dropped.

The screen was still lit, showing green and white blocks of text, it was the very chat log that had made her so angry she fainted.

Ji Youyi felt another wave of nausea. She clicked the screen off, took the phone back and spoke through the muffled napkin: “Thank you.”

Meng Xingshu’s gaze slid across the phone screen and landed on the person in front of her.

The girl looked extremely thin, wearing a blue and white striped hospital gown, her dark hair slightly messy, framing a face the size of a palm.

Her eyes were large and bright, with slightly upturned corners. The sunlight made her fair skin look almost translucent, making the small mole on the tip of her nose appear particularly vivid.

She was indeed very beautiful.

Even by the standards of the entire entertainment industry, she was exceptionally stunning.

Meng Xingshu looked at Ji Youyi thoughtfully and parted her lips: “You’re welcome.”