After The Forced Marriage, I Ended Up With The Top Celebrity - Chapter 18

Qiao Jinyan finally accepted the third-rate script for “Country Life Journal.”

On Saturday, a small car took them on a winding mountain road to a remote small county.

There were seven guests in total on the show. Besides Tang Fu and Qiao Jinyan, Luo Nianshu had barely seen any of the others in the media.

During the filming, all the guests were to stay in an old-fashioned wooden house. Next to the house was a rapeseed field. When the wind blew, the fragrance of flowers filled the air, and the flowers rippled like waves, creating a unique and charming scene.

Luo Nianshu looked at the sea of flowers and sighed in admiration, “Although the living conditions here aren’t great, it’s quite a romantic place.”

Qiao Jinyan “hmm” in response, bending down to scratch the red welts from mosquito bites on her leg. Her skin was already fair, and the swollen mosquito bites on her leg were quite startling to see.

Luo Nianshu frowned and quickly took a bottle of mosquito repellent from her bag, intending to hand it to Qiao Jinyan. However, Molly suddenly reached out and intercepted it.

Molly stood in front of Luo Nianshu, holding her hand so she couldn’t move. Meanwhile, Tang Fu had already taken out her own mosquito repellent. She crouched down, her face flushed, and gently pressed the spray nozzle against Qiao Jinyan’s leg a few times. The fine mist of the repellent made the air thick and choking. Tang Fu then rubbed the mosquito bites to soothe Qiao Jinyan’s itching.

The cameraman on the side seized the opportunity to capture this intimate moment.

Molly quietly whispered to Luo Nianshu, “Jinyan’s popularity has dropped recently, but Tang Fu is very hot right now. We need to use this fabricated relationship with Tang Fu to boost Jinyan’s fame.”

A flicker of hesitation crossed Luo Nianshu’s eyes. She had rarely shared such intimate moments with Qiao Jinyan, and now an outsider was taking advantage of them all.

Molly saw through Luo Nianshu’s thoughts and pressed her, “Don’t you want Jinyan to do well?”

Luo Nianshu pursed her lips, “Of course I do.”

“Then I need you to do as I say,” Molly’s expression turned cold.

Not far down the concrete road, a middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked quickly toward them. He was short and stout, his belly jiggling with each step.

“Hello, Director Qin,” Qiao Jinyan was the first to recognize the man and waved at Qin Yang.

“Hello, hello,” Qin Yang smiled back at her warmly, then turned to greet Tang Fu, his demeanor particularly enthusiastic.

Tang Fu was a wildly popular female celebrity right now, and the success of his show would depend on her. As for Qiao Jinyan… although she was currently plagued by scandals and controversy, she was still good material to use.

Everyone exchanged pleasantries and then carried their luggage toward the wooden house.

Halfway there, Qin Yang suddenly called out to Luo Nianshu, who was trailing behind the group. “Little girl, you must be Qiao Jinyan’s assistant, Luo Nianshu, right?”

Luo Nianshu was both surprised and happy that the director knew her name. She quickly smiled and replied, “That’s me.”

Qin Yang smiled and nodded, the folds of skin on his neck creasing as he moved his head. He patted Luo Nianshu’s arm, indicating that he thought highly of the little assistant.

When they were close to the house, Qin Yang smiled at Luo Nianshu and told them to go on ahead. “I have a few things to take care of. You all go inside first.”

Luo Nianshu said, “Okay,” waved politely to Qin Yang, and then hurried to catch up with the rest of the group. She stepped over the low wooden threshold and helped Qiao Jinyan carry their bags inside the building, one by one.

Qin Yang smiled as he watched everyone enter the house and disappear up the stairs.

A moment later, he took out his phone and dialed a familiar number. After a few rings, a woman’s voice came through.

Qin Yang’s smile remained friendly. “Hello? Director Zhang Weiyin, I’ve met Luo Nianshu.”

Inside the wooden house, Qiao Jinyan looked around at the old, worn facilities with disgust. The sheets and blankets had a greasy, black sheen and looked dirty. There were a few old paintings on the wall with cobwebs on them.

“Didn’t the production crew clean this place up beforehand?” Qiao Jinyan held one hand over her nose and waved the other in front of her face, trying to clear the musty smell from the room.

Luo Nianshu had grown up with her grandmother and had experienced poverty, so she didn’t find anything in the room unacceptable.

She pulled off the dirty bedding and threw it to the side, then unzipped her suitcase, took out clean sheets, and remade the bed.

Qiao Jinyan came over to help, picking up a pillow and grimacing, then began to pat the dust off it. Dust filled the small room, making both of them cough. Luo Nianshu snatched the pillow from Qiao Jinyan’s hands and gently hugged her, steering her to a bamboo chair next to the wooden table.

“I’ll do these things. You can just sit here and cheer for me.”

What should have been a simple task became much more difficult with Qiao Jinyan’s help.

“No,” Qiao Jinyan insisted, struggling to get up and return to the bed. She whispered softly, “I want to do it with you.”

As she spoke, Qiao Jinyan clumsily pulled off the pillowcase. Her fair fingers paired with the dirty pillowcase created a strange and jarring visual.

Luo Nianshu watched Qiao Jinyan struggle with the pillowcase, not wanting a delicate celebrity like her to do such a thing. She tried to pull the pillowcase out of her hands. Qiao Jinyan looked back at her, narrowing her eyes. “Thirty million.”

Luo Nianshu shook her head, “No deal.”

After a brief standoff, Qiao Jinyan sighed softly, then reached out and rubbed Luo Nianshu’s hair. She said in a gentle voice, “Be a good girl, and I’ll sleep with you tonight.”

Luo Nianshu: “…” This temptation was a bit too great.

Luo Nianshu quietly let go of her hands.

When they were halfway through tidying the room, Molly came upstairs and knocked on the door, telling them that lunch filming was about to begin.

Luo Nianshu took a damp towel and wiped the dust off Qiao Jinyan’s body, then wiped herself down before following her downstairs.

“Little assistant, go make a bowl of dipping sauce,” Molly instructed.

Luo Nianshu nodded and went to the next room. She took a small, shallow bowl and began to scoop out the sauce. The dark sauce was a solid, sticky lump, so hard she could barely dig into it.

Luo Nianshu frowned. How could Qiao Jinyan possibly eat this later?

“Are you the new assistant?” a woman next to her suddenly asked.

Luo Nianshu looked back. It was Tang Fu’s assistant, whose name seemed to be “Xiao Li.”

Xiao Li rolled her eyes at Luo Nianshu. “You’re so clumsy and can’t do anything right. I don’t know how Qiao Jinyan chose you.”

Xiao Li had always wanted to be Qiao Jinyan’s assistant but had failed every time. Now, seeing Luo Nianshu succeed, she was filled with jealousy.

Since they were working, Luo Nianshu didn’t want to argue with anyone for fear of causing a bad impression on Qiao Jinyan. She pursed her lips and said nothing, silently digging at the rock-hard sauce while Xiao Li continued to taunt and ridicule her.

Seeing that Luo Nianshu wasn’t talking, Xiao Li assumed this new assistant didn’t dare to provoke her and became even more arrogant. She walked over and pushed Luo Nianshu aside. “Don’t you know the rules? New people let their seniors go first. Get to the back of the line!”

“You!”

Luo Nianshu was angered and about to retort, but at that moment, Qiao Jinyan pushed the door open.

“Thirty Million Assistant, is the sauce bowl not ready yet?” Qiao Jinyan peeked her head in the door, a sweet smile on her face. She looked at the two women inside with curiosity.

Luo Nianshu swallowed her words and put on a smile. “It’s ready. I’m coming now.”

“That’s good,” Qiao Jinyan nodded, then turned to look at Tang Fu’s assistant. She blinked her eyes. “You’re Xiao Li, right? I remember you.”

Xiao Li was flattered. Qiao Jinyan actually remembered her!

“Let’s work hard together with Tang Da mingxing,” Qiao Jinyan put her hands together in a prayer motion, a look of anticipation on her face. Xiao Li was instantly captivated.

Luo Nianshu said nothing, quietly carrying the sauce bowl out of the room. Qiao Jinyan followed right behind her.

“Did something happen?” Qiao Jinyan suddenly asked.

Luo Nianshu was taken aback, then quickly shook her head. “No.”

She turned back to find Qiao Jinyan standing still, watching her.

Luo Nianshu went up and tugged on Qiao Jinyan’s arm. “Seriously, nothing happened. Let’s go. The crew is waiting.”

Qiao Jinyan was silent for a couple of seconds, then said, “Okay.”

The long wooden table in the hall was already crowded. Seven people sat around a single table with two hotpot pots on it one with red oil and the other with a milky white, gelatinous liquid. The steam rose, obscuring the faces of those at the table.

Qin Yang was happily introducing the meal. “Today is a hotpot feast. Everyone, when you eat, you must act like you’re eating the most delicious food in the world. You’re all skilled actors, so I believe you can do this easily.”

Everyone nodded, but Qiao Jinyan remained silent.

The cameraman clapped his hands, signaling for everyone to focus.

“3, 2, 1—Action!”

The little red light on the camera began to blink.

The celebrities eagerly picked up their chopsticks, their eyes gleaming as they quickly grabbed food. After the food was in the pot, everyone praised its freshness and aroma. A few minutes later, the food floated to the surface. Several pairs of long chopsticks chased after each other, and everyone, with an expression of anticipation, put the delicious food into their mouths

Ugh

The moment their tongues touched the food, everyone’s expressions instantly looked as if they had just eaten sh**.

Qiao Jinyan’s stomach churned. If the camera hadn’t been on, she would have spit the food out already.

At that moment, as if on purpose, Qin Yang waved for the cameraman to point the camera at Qiao Jinyan. The other celebrities sighed in relief and all looked at Qiao Jinyan with sympathy.

Qiao Jinyan’s eyelid twitched. She slowly chewed the iron-like seasoning, the sour taste stinging her jawbone until it felt like it would explode. She swallowed the rock-hard food as if it were a fishbone, and her tear ducts were instantly stimulated, making her eyes red.

“Senior, are you alright?” Tang Fu worriedly offered a tissue. Qiao Jinyan smiled weakly and gracefully took the tissue. As she wiped her mouth, she spat the remaining food into the tissue, quietly bundling it up and throwing it to the side.

“Alright, that’s a wrap on this scene. Everyone, keep eating, we’re shooting the next shot.” Qin Yang clapped his hands and turned the camera to shoot the next scene.

Two hours later, the lunch scene was finally finished. Every celebrity at the table looked pale and sickly. Qiao Jinyan was the worst of all.

The camera had frequently been on her, forcing her to eat and say fake lines against her will.

She also had a strange feeling that the camera sometimes moved past her to film Luo Nianshu behind her. Whenever she felt this, Qiao Jinyan couldn’t help but straighten up, trying her best to block the distant shot.

As everyone began to leave the hall, Qiao Jinyan suddenly called out to Xiao Li. “I have something I’d like to ask you. Could you please come with me?”

Her voice was sweet and gentle.

Xiao Li turned back, surprised. Qiao Jinyan actually wanted to talk to her. Could she be thinking of hiring her as her assistant?

Looking at Qiao Jinyan’s radiant smile, Xiao Li felt as if she had been struck by Cupid’s arrow, her heart fluttering. She quickly nodded and, without a moment’s hesitation, followed Qiao Jinyan to the next room.