After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 32.2

She took Ye Rong’s hand, her tone affectionate. “My mom is a bit naggy and loves to overthink all day long, wondering if my filming is exhausting, if it’s safe, if I’m being bullied, or if I’m unhappy. I tell her I’m fine, I’m fine, really fine, but she refuses to believe it. Only when she truly sees me eating can her heart feel at ease.”

“You’re the sensible one. But that’s not overthinking, how could a mother not worry!”

Ye Rong felt she had found a soulmate. She even wanted to ask Ji Youyi for her mother’s contact details, certain they would get along famously.

“Yinyin worked as a child actor in a crew when she was little. It was exhausting, she was rushed, and she was scolded, only getting a few hours of sleep a day. It broke my heart. Tell me, what’s so good about acting anyway? That’s why when she was choosing her major later on, I thought to myself, she absolutely cannot study performance; it’s too grueling!”

“My mom said the exact same thing, which is why I became a director instead.” Ji Youyi smiled, her peripheral vision catching Meng Xingshu’s approach.

Her eyes lit up, and she stood up to introduce her to Ye Rong. “Auntie, this is our crew’s producer.”

Ye Rong’s emotions today could be described as a series of twists and turns.

Originally, after chatting with Ji Youyi, her mood was as pleasant as walking on clouds, but the moment she saw the newcomer clearly, she felt as though she had boarded a roller coaster.

She slapped her thigh hard, caught between pleasant surprise and shock. “Yes, yes, yes, you’re Meng Xingshu, right?”

Meng Xingshu smiled and nodded. “Hello, Auntie.”

“Hello, hello, ah!” Ye Rong kept her eyes glued to Meng Xingshu’s face, finding her even more stunning than on the big screen.

She pressed her hand to her chest excitedly, sighing with emotion as she stood up. “I finally know why my daughter insisted on joining your crew. She especially likes you! Our family bought so many collector’s edition Blu-ray discs of your movies!”

Ye Rong cast a reproachful look at Ye Ciyin. “And you too. You refused to explain the situation over the phone, playing your mother for a fool. Do you know how expensive a round trip plane ticket is?!”

Ye Ciyin lowered her head, remaining silent.

Ji Youyi discreetly ruffled Ye Ciyin’s hair, smiling at Ye Rong. “Auntie, you can send me your flight receipt later, and the crew will reimburse it for you as a set visit allowance. This trip wasn’t in vain either, only by seeing Yinyin with your own eyes can you know if she’s truly doing well, right?”

The smile on Ye Rong’s face could no longer be suppressed, though she grumbled reluctantly, “What’s there to see? I just sent this living Buddha off a month ago. Seeing her too much makes me sick of her!”

The Ye mother and daughter had been arguing and staying up all night previously, so neither had eaten a proper meal.

Ji Youyi and Meng Xingshu discussed it and booked a private room at a nearby restaurant, calling over a few core crew members and ordering a table full of dishes to welcome the protagonist’s mother.

This title was rather novel. The primary objective was to hold a team-building session before the official filming began, while simultaneously bringing over the heads of various departments to chat with Ye Rong so she could completely set her mind at ease.

Having unexpectedly gained a lavish meal, Ruan Congfei tasted the rich, fragrant old hen soup and let out a satisfied sigh. “In all my years of filming, this is the first time I’ve eaten this kind of meal. Other crews have workplace bullying and intrigue, while our crew only cares about enjoying ourselves and shipping couples. It’s too blissful!”

She had truly chosen the right production crew! Insightful little Feifei!

Han Lei, who had run until she was completely out of breath, appeared to be the sole victim present.

She looked at the muscle lines naturally bulging on Ye Rong’s arms as she raised her hands while laughing across the table, and fell into a brief silence. “You might not believe it, but half an hour ago, I was on the verge of calling the police.”

“I don’t care. In any case, I’m currently at the dining table instead of the police station.”

Ruan Congfei raised her phone to snap a few photos, letting out another happy sigh. “It really is too blissful! I want to shoot dramas with Mom and Mommy for the rest of my life!”

Han Lei was shocked. “? Sister Ruan, you’re already in your thirties. Is it appropriate to call them that?”

Ruan Congfei glared at Han Lei. “It’s entirely appropriate. What’s wrong with being thirty? Can’t a thirty-year-old be a daughter to twenty-year-olds? Are you practicing age discrimination?”

Across the round table, the grand screenwriter also thought of a question regarding family dynamics.

She nudged Ji Youyi. “Xiao Ji, Xiao Ji, speaking of which, how come I’ve never seen your mom?”

Li Zhulan and Ji Youyi had known each other for half a year.

Before and after The Billionaire’s Bone aired, the two frequently kept in touch over the phone. Later, when Anaerobic set up its crew, they had been sharing a room long-term.

But in Li Zhulan’s memory, she had never seen Ji Youyi contact her mother.

Hearing the question, Ji Youyi had just reached out to pick up a piece of food with her chopsticks. She slowly stuffed the food into her mouth, her cheeks puffing up, making it look like she was too busy chewing and swallowing to speak.

Ji Youyi had woven a pile of random lies today, and only now did she realize a somewhat severe problem.

Where was Little Xiao Ji’s mom?

The day she transmigrated over, she had checked all of Little Xiao Ji’s files, but she had never seen any trace of her mother.

Even in the chat logs left behind by Little Xiao Ji, whenever she mentioned her tragic biological family, she would only ever talk about how scummy her father was, as if she didn’t have a mother at all.

Ji Youyi came from an orphaned background and had a terrible relationship with her adoptive mother. Having been accustomed to living alone for so many years, her concept of family was weak, which was why she had overlooked this issue until Li Zhulan brought it up.

Her brain operated at lightning speed, trying to concoct a vague and ambiguous answer on the spot, when a violent bout of coughing suddenly rang out beside her.

Hearing the sound, Ji Youyi looked over to see Meng Xingshu covering her mouth, coughing uncontrollably. Her usually cold, fair face had rapidly flushed a deep crimson.

It was her first time seeing Meng Xingshu lose her composure like this. She quickly poured a glass of warm water and handed it over, using her other hand to gently pat Meng Xingshu’s back, asking anxiously, “What happened?”

Beside them, Ye Rong was laughing. “Blame me for forgetting to warn you. This is the chili sauce from our hometown, it’s incredibly spicy.”

Li Zhulan, the spice king of Jiangnan, was instantly intrigued. She grabbed her spoon, ready to strike. “What’s what? C-City chili sauce?! Where is it? I want to try!”

“This one, try it.” Ye Rong enthusiastically rotated the dish toward Li Zhulan. “Our hometown specialty. Yinyin loves it especially. I bring it for her every time I come to S-City. Teacher Meng probably can’t handle spice very well, right? To think she took such a large bite and ended up choked like this.”

Only after drinking some warm water did Meng Xingshu manage to catch her breath. “It’s fine. It’s delicious.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she began coughing again.

Ji Youyi had originally withdrawn her hand, but seeing this, she hesitated briefly before extending her right hand once more to pat Meng Xingshu’s back.

Beneath the thin, cloud-like silk fabric, the lines of her spine and the muscles of her back vibrated with each cough. Logically, the tactile sensation shouldn’t have been so vivid, but as Ji Youyi kept patting, she actually started to feel a bit hot.

She stared at Meng Xingshu’s flushed face to keep her mind from wandering, but it seemed… the more she looked, the more chaotic her thoughts became.

Ultimately, she could only give up. Her left hand picked up the water cup, downing it in one gulp with an air of natural composure, her tone casually expressing concern, “Feeling better?”

Meng Xingshu nodded. “Much better. Thank you, sorry to trouble you.”

She paused, her beautiful eyes staring straight at Ji Youyi. “However, Director Ji, you just drank from my cup.”

Ji Youyi froze and looked closer.

Earlier, when she poured water for Meng Xingshu, she had picked up Meng Xingshu’s cup. Later, out of habit, she had just… used it herself.

If she remembered correctly, not long before she drank from it, Meng Xingshu had just used that very cup…

Maintaining a straight face, she said calmly, “Oh, sorry. I usually don’t pay much attention to these things, I’m really sorry. Do you want to drink water, Teacher Meng? Then you can drink mine.”

Ji Youyi picked up her own water cup, intending to hand it to Meng Xingshu, but suddenly realizing something was wrong, she withdrew her hand as if she had received an electric shock.

“No. What I meant was…” Calm down, calm down, maintain composure. “Just, I, I’ll ask the waiter to bring you another one!”

Having finally found the correct answer, Ji Youyi breathed a massive sigh of relief. She practically leaped from her seat, rushing to the private room door. With a face full of absolute composure, she pulled open the door and fled out.