Deliberate Possession [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Enough

Only three live broadcast rooms were open temporarily. The one following Jing Xiaoyan and Jiang Yumian had crashed, and the other two were with Chu Qianyuan’s group. Those two were temporarily unaffected.

But the viewers were smart. Knowing those two weren’t blocked, they immediately switched over.

Lu Zhi’s eyelids twitched, seeing a large wave of viewers flood into the other two live streams. She was numb. Soon, as she expected, the other two live streams also lagged, and finally, they crashed too.

Now all three had crashed.

Lu Zhi: “…”

She truly underestimated the popularity of these few people.

To prevent the progress from stalling, Lu Zhi posted an apology on the official account on Weibo, then opened four temporary live streams, asking the backend technicians for emergency repairs.

No wonder there were few live variety shows in the past; it was all difficult because of this, especially since the artists participating this time all had high popularity.

In the new live streams, viewers came back in and complained about the production crew.

Meanwhile, the oblivious Jing Xiaoyan and Jiang Yumian had returned to the group.

The mission was finally over. Now that all the identities were revealed, Jiang Yumian’s shoulders relaxed.

She waved to the staff member who took her phone, looking excited. “Xiao Gu, I completed my mission!”

Her mission was that simple, and with the cooperation of others, it was impossible not to complete it.

Jiang Yumian actually had a rough idea of the others’ missions. They were complementary to hers. She just didn’t know why no one was saying they could leave.

Xiao Gu acted like he didn’t hear her, looking up at the sky and completely ignoring her. Jiang Yumian frowned. What did that mean? Didn’t they say she could leave directly if she completed it? Were they lying to her!

Luo Cheng was slightly surprised. It had only been a few minutes. She had already guessed it? She really wanted to know what Jing Xiaoyan had done just now.

The others were curious too. Lin Xi was the one who couldn’t hold back the most. She tugged at Jiang Yumian. “Good kid, tell Mom, what did she… uh, what did she do to you just now?”

Jiang Yumian’s small face wrinkled up as she dodged Lin Xi’s hand reaching for her head. By retreating, she backed right into Jing Xiaoyan, then was startled and dodged to the side, only to have another hand pat her head.

Jiang Yumian: “…”

Su Mumu looked at her with a smile. “Good child, tell Auntie, did she bully you?”

Jiang Yumian took a deep breath. They were all taking advantage of her!

“Why don’t you ask me?” Jing Xiaoyan suddenly reached out, wrapped her arm around Jiang Yumian’s waist, and pulled her close. The two were pressed together.

Jiang Yumian’s body froze in place, motionless. Thinking about who was hugging her, her face quickly fell. Was this ever going to end! She was indulging her for one day of acting, but not like this!

Her voice was flat. She reached out and batted away Su Mumu’s hand, her tone sounding very helpless. “You’ve all had enough.”

Jing Xiaoyan paused, quickly released her hand, and took a step back. She didn’t know if others could hear it, but she clearly heard the coldness and warning in Jiang Yumian’s tone.

She had lost control just now and went too far again…

Chu Qianyuan’s eyes darkened. She stared blankly at Jing Xiaoyan, trying to keep her tone calm. “Ask you what? We’re asking Mianmian how she feels. Who doesn’t know about your acting?”

The gnashing of teeth in her voice was well concealed. By saying this, she wanted to imply that everyone should subconsciously treat Jing Xiaoyan’s action just now as being in character.

Lin Xi pursed her lips and pulled Jiang Yumian away. “Don’t play with her. Study hard. Let’s talk about your grades.”

She understood what Chu Qianyuan meant by those words.

But this matter was perfectly clear to Jiang Yumian as well as to her. It couldn’t be explained away. It was better to find a way to move past it directly.

Lin Xi sighed internally. She had overthought it. Jing Xiaoyan was formidable at pursuing people, but she was indeed a handful.

It was her first time pursuing someone, and it was inevitable to make a mistake when acting on impulse.

“Why is everyone crowding here!”

A loud shout came from the door of the office next door, startling everyone, who turned to look.

Luo Cheng frowned and covered her ears. She was standing the closest; her ears were going to be deaf.

Seriously, big brother, would it kill you to speak softly!

That single shout immediately dispersed the subtle atmosphere.

They were all still standing by the office door. Even ignoring the staff, the eight of them squeezed there was indeed very cramped.

A stern-looking man came out of the office. He looked difficult to mess with. His chest badge, provided by the production crew, indicated he was the Physics teacher, Teacher Zhong.

It seemed like another NPC.

No one dared to speak. Teacher Zhong frowned tightly, his face sullen, and his eyes sharp. He first stared at Jiang Xiaomian for two seconds, then looked at her deskmate and the two students behind her.

He suddenly shouted, “Still blocking the way when class is about to start! Hurry back!”

Xie Yunhuan quickly answered, shaking the rag in his hand. “Yes! Alright, Teacher. We were on clean-up duty. We just finished. We’re going back now!”

Teacher Zhong’s voice softened a bit. “Go back. Whatever you need to do, do it after class.”

Ling Yisong quickly pulled Luo Cheng and Jiang Yumian. “Then, Teacher, we’ll head back first!”

Jiang Yumian followed them towards the classroom. It seemed this matter wasn’t over yet, and she couldn’t leave yet.

The others all knew well that they hadn’t finished acting yet. There was still the performance score, and the scene had to continue. So, Jiang Yumian couldn’t leave.

Moreover, the director only gave them their characters and a general background. The plot progression still relied on the NPCs.

The others watched them leave and planned to follow, but after only two steps, Chu Qianyuan was called back.

Teacher Zhong: “Teacher Chu, you’re here. I’d like to talk to you about Jiang Xiaomian from your class.”

He then looked at the others, confusion evident. “Who are these people?”

Chu Qianyuan chuckled, introducing them skillfully. “These are Xiaomian’s mother and aunt. They came because they’re concerned about the child. Since Teacher Zhong wants to discuss Xiaomian’s matter, we can sit down and talk together.”

Jing Xiaoyan moved her lips, casually leaning against the corridor wall, her gaze following the retreating figures. She wanted to follow but ultimately held back.

She finally followed Lin Xi and Su Mumu into the office.

Chu Qianyuan looked back at Jing Xiaoyan. Seeing her follow in and noting that the strict Teacher Zhong didn’t say anything, she was a bit confused. From the beginning, all of Jing Xiaoyan’s scenes were centered around Jiang Yumian, and they were forced by herself. It seemed no NPC paid any attention to her.

Teacher Zhong walked to his desk and sat down, pulling out a physics test paper and tapping on it. “I originally only wanted to talk to the homeroom teacher, but since the parents are here, that’s fine too. Look at her test paper. Only thirty points.”

The few people in the office exchanged glances. The test paper was full of conspicuous red crosses, which made one’s scalp tingle.

Teacher Zhong frowned. “As parents, you must know that she has never scored this poorly before. The last two times she scored seventy-something, I thought she was just not in a good state. But what about this time! She only scored thirty points!”

Lin Xi took a deep breath. This kid was probably doing it on purpose.

“She was capable of getting a perfect score on this test. She circled all the correct options in the multiple-choice section but filled in all the wrong answers. She wrote the correct answers under the fill-in-the-blanks but filled in all the wrong ones. For the long-answer questions at the back, she wrote out the answers for every question, but the process and final answers were all filled in incorrectly!” Teacher Zhong said, forcefully slapping the test paper, his face showing anger as he looked at Lin Xi and Su Mumu. “Don’t you think this is infuriating?”

Su Mumu looked embarrassed. “Teacher, I apologize. Our child has been a bit rebellious lately. We will have a good talk with her when we get home.”

Teacher Zhong shook his head and sighed again, as if he hadn’t said enough. He picked up where he left off. “She’s not unable to write; she deliberately wrote the wrong answers. All multiple-choice were wrong, all fill-in-the-blanks were wrong. These thirty points were from the last question. She managed to solve the most difficult Olympiad problem.”

Chu Qianyuan took a slight breath. This Jiang Xiaomian was intentionally trying to be annoying! How outrageous!

She forced a smile, maintaining her character, and said with a chuckle, “Teacher Zhong, don’t worry. Xiaomian is a good child. I’ll have a good talk with her.”

Teacher Zhong’s frown deepened when he heard this, and his words became more aggressive. “You better not talk to her. Didn’t you call her into the office for a lecture just before the exam? Your group’s math scores just came out. Her math score is zero. The situation is exactly the same as mine. She knows almost all the correct answers but deliberately scored zero. That’s why I called you over. I wanted to ask you what you said to the child before the exam. How did it come to this?”

Lin Xi blinked. She had seen the score sheet earlier. Math was over a hundred before, but today’s score was zero?

Su Mumu nudged Chu Qianyuan. “What did you talk to her about?”

Chu Qianyuan choked up. She didn’t know either!

Teacher Zhong sighed, his tone carrying a hint of blame. “Jiang Xiaomian’s grades have always been the best in your class. For it to become like this, something must have happened. As parents, haven’t you noticed anything wrong with the child recently?”

After speaking, he shook his head, took out his textbook, and began preparing lessons, completely ignoring them.

Chu Qianyuan took a deep breath. Seeing that Teacher Zhong had nothing more to say, there was probably no more information. She bid farewell and led them out.

Jing Xiaoyan, who hadn’t spoken since leaving the office, finally spoke, pointing across the hall. “Let’s go check on the four of them first. I saw them go into that classroom.”

Chu Qianyuan was still pondering the previous questions. Seeing her speak, she asked directly, “So what exactly is your identity?”

Walking through the school, everyone had a reason for their existence, but Jing Xiaoyan seemed to be irrelevant whether she was there or not.

She only had a presence in their eyes when Jiang Xiaomian was around.

The “lover” identity made it seem like she could disappear once Jiang Xiaomian was gone, with no origin and no destination.

Jing Xiaoyan squinted and smiled. “The person who loves Mianmian the most in this world.”

Lin Xi shivered. How sappy.

She glanced at the camera and quickly interrupted. “Nonsense. I am.”

Su Mumu blinked. Based on her assigned role, her character as the aunt should also chime in. “You’re both wrong. It should be me.”

Chu Qianyuan: “…”

Jiang Yumian’s side wasn’t any better.

As soon as they sat down in the classroom, the class monitor, Xiao Tan, came over and reached for Luo Cheng.

Xiao Tan: “Chengcheng, didn’t you say yesterday you wanted to switch seats with me?”

Luo Cheng was stunned but quickly reacted and nodded. “How about a little later? Class is about to start.”

Xiao Tan nodded and said nothing more. She then looked behind them, her tone unpleasant. “You two better behave in class. Don’t kick Xiaomian and Chengcheng’s chairs anymore. If you don’t want to study, don’t disturb others.”

“Yes, Class Monitor,” Ling Yisong replied sarcastically, but his foot kicked his own desk, as if he couldn’t be comfortable without making some noise.

Xie Yunhuan sighed in admiration. Although he was an idol, he always thought his acting was quite good and planned to transition. But Jing Xiaoyan and Ling Yisong’s performance today, along with the professionalism of the other older sisters, truly showed him the gap between himself and real actors.

He casually picked up a book, covered his face with it, folded his arms, and pretended to sleep.

Jiang Yumian looked outside the door. Jing Xiaoyan and the others had arrived but probably wouldn’t come in. There was likely still a lot of information here.

She looked at Xiao Tan, who was about to leave, and reached out to grab her. “Class Monitor.”

Xiao Tan turned back to her. “What is it?”

Jiang Yumian leaned in and whispered tentatively, “Do you dislike Teacher Chu?”

Xiao Tan suddenly turned her head, her gaze fixed on her intently.

Jiang Yumian swallowed. That look was quite scary.

Xiao Tan suddenly frowned. “Didn’t I tell you before the exam? Why are you concerned about her now?”

Jiang Yumian was stunned for a moment, shook her head, and said it was nothing, feeling a little lost. Judging by her attitude, she definitely disliked her.

Xie Yunhuan, who was still pretending to sleep behind her, was suddenly pushed. The book on his face fell to the floor with a slap.

“What are you two still doing here? Let’s go play ball.” Several boys entered the classroom, holding basketballs.

Xie Yunhuan was still dazed.

Ling Yisong propped his head up, lazily saying, “Suddenly feel like attending class. You guys go play. We’re not going.”

Jiang Yumian was watching the show when her desk was suddenly kicked, and someone pointed at her head and spoke. “Attending class? Didn’t you say she was sick and you didn’t want to stay with her?”

Xie Yunhuan realized. He cried out “Aiyo,” turned and punched Ling Yisong, feigning a joke. “You said that? How did she offend you?”

“Tsk! Old Xie, why are you pretending to be a good guy? Didn’t you yourself say she was hooking up with that older student from the previous batch and it was bad luck?”

The people outside the classroom all turned to look at Jing Xiaoyan. So, that older student was Jing Xiaoyan?

Jing Xiaoyan shrugged, mysteriously saying, “Keep watching.”

Older student! Holy moly! It’s the older student, right!

So it’s really what I thought!

Director Lu, you! You! You’re amazing!

Director Lu is amazing! I won’t scold you anymore. I apologize for my previous rashness!

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah! You guys really dare to film this!

Hurry! Hurry! Act it out for me!

The lesbian love is truly blooming!

Playing this big in the first episode, what about later…

Xie Yunhuan genuinely didn’t know how to respond now. He looked up at Jiang Yumian. His mission card only had one sentence at the end: his deskmate, Jiang Xiaomian, and Jing Xiaoyan were lovers. There was no mention of Jing Xiaoyan’s identity, and presumably, it was the same for the others.

Xiao Tan, who hadn’t said a word, glared at the intruders and shouted, “Who told you to spread nonsense here! Get back to your class!”

“Class hasn’t started yet! It’s none of your business!”

“Exactly! I can say what I want. It’s the truth anyway. Jiang Xiaomian, you tell us, are you and that older student together? Is that why your family found out and made you repeat the year?”

Jiang Yumian’s shoulder was pushed. She couldn’t respond to this scene. She didn’t know! She was just a little girl who was “loved.” Why did she have to bear so much? Wuwuwu.

Luo Cheng frowned. “This is Xiaomian’s privacy. It’s not right for you to bring it up.”

Hearing the class bell ring, and with Jiang Xiaomian not speaking, those people also felt awkward and left after greeting Xie Yunhuan.

Xiao Tan frowned, gently patted Jiang Yumian’s shoulder, comforting her. “It’s okay. Let’s go to class first.”

She then turned and warned Xie Yunhuan and Ling Yisong. “The older student is no longer here. Mind your mouths and be decent.”

Jiang Yumian suddenly looked up at Jing Xiaoyan outside the classroom. If she understood correctly, she was that older student. But according to Xiao Tan, the older student was now dead.

Then…

Luo Cheng’s mouth hung open. Her brain was about to fry.

Chu Qianyuan moved away, shivering and hugging Su Mumu, her expression exaggerated. “Goodness! You’re a ghost now!”

No wonder the other NPCs ignored her. The situation was very clear now. Most likely, only the people in their group could see Jing Xiaoyan.

Su Mumu was also dumbfounded. She subconsciously reached out to hug Chu Qianyuan but quickly reacted and let go. If it wasn’t broad daylight, she would truly think Chu Qianyuan was scared.

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow. Oops, she spoke too soon. Some people weren’t too much of a blockhead after falling in love.

Jing Xiaoyan snorted, put on her sunglasses, and didn’t want to see them hugging.

She decided to be a high-and-mighty ghost.

All the information they could extract was extracted.

After they left the classroom, they went to the school cafeteria for lunch. They then compared all the information they had gathered from both sides, leaving a few unclear questions for them to investigate.

Finally, they boarded the car arranged by the production crew. The story visible to the audience in the live broadcast also paused here.

Their scores would definitely reach eighty points. If the acting was poor, Lu Zhi wouldn’t mind having the staff go easy on them. The show had to continue smoothly.

Fortunately, their performance was excellent. Even the three non-actors were quick to adapt. In short, the viewers certainly wouldn’t say anything about favoritism.

Lu Zhi checked. There were now a lot of compliments about their acting. She didn’t know if the artists’ agencies had hired trolls, but it seemed quite genuine.

The only thing was the considerable controversy online about her filming this subject matter. There were both good and bad comments…

In the departing car, the seating arrangements were different now. Jing Xiaoyan pulled Lin Xi to sit with her, actively maintaining distance from Jiang Yumian.

Jiang Yumian sat diagonally behind them, her gaze briefly sweeping over Jing Xiaoyan. Recalling everything she did today, she gently sighed.

She turned her head to look out the window, her fingers occasionally picking at the hem of her clothes. It was the first time she had encountered a situation like this on a show, and she felt somewhat at a loss.

The car drove for an hour and a half. Jiang Yumian didn’t care if the car was still live streaming; she just fell asleep and was only woken up by Luo Cheng when they reached the mountainside villa.

The live stream, which had been silent for over an hour, finally quieted down. The viewers who were initially unhappy about Jing Xiaoyan and Jiang Yumian not sitting together finally calmed down. After all, they were really just acting.

Walking into the villa, everyone looked around the environment. The interior decor was quite modern, and it looked nice, but since they would be recording here for the next two days, it certainly wouldn’t be as simple as what they were seeing now.

There were six rooms here. Su Mumu and Chu Qianyuan would definitely stay together. Jing Xiaoyan’s gaze fell on the two boys who consciously said they would stay together, leaving the other four rooms for the others.

She hesitated for a few seconds and spoke. “You all can have one room each. Lin Xi and I will share.”

Jiang Yumian looked at her, her expression puzzled.

Lin Xi blinked. When did she say she would share with Jing Xiaoyan?

Xie Yunhuan waved his hand. “No, no, no. The two of us will stay together. I’m timid. I feel like this place is creepy. I’m scared.”

He was genuinely timid, especially after learning Jing Xiaoyan’s identity. Thinking about it in detail, it felt a bit eerie.

Lin Xi didn’t know what Jing Xiaoyan was up to, so she looked directly at Xie Yunhuan and nodded. “Then it’s settled. You two share. Sis is brave and not afraid.”

Jiang Yumian tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t understand. She retracted her gaze before Jing Xiaoyan looked over.

From the moment they got in the car until now, Jing Xiaoyan had consciously kept her distance from her. She didn’t think Jing Xiaoyan’s action just now had any special motive towards her.

Her confusion stemmed from the fact that she had been replaying today’s events. She always felt that Jing Xiaoyan was not simple, so she subconsciously thought Jing Xiaoyan was trying to do something by stopping the two boys from sharing a room. After all, she was serious about playing the game.

The live stream was shut down after they each returned to their rooms. Lu Zhi was exhausted from the two crashes today. Her nerves were constantly tense, fearing that Jing Xiaoyan would do something outrageous again and ruin her live stream.

Each room had a different style. The one Jiang Yumian chose had warm tones cream color and a few dolls on the pillow. The production crew provided new clothes for them, and they didn’t need to prepare pajamas. Overall, it was very thoughtful.

She walked around the room twice. Just as she was about to go out and look at the layout of the other rooms, her door was knocked.

It was Luo Cheng. She lived next door and came over to visit.

Opposite them were Lin Xi and Jing Xiaoyan. The other four lived downstairs.

The two of them stood at the door chatting. Luo Cheng glanced into her room and said casually, “Mine is pink. The production crew put a lot of effort into the decor. It looks like they prepared for this a long time ago. I thought the adventure would be outdoors. That’s so boring.”

Jiang Yumian could only agree. “We haven’t spent the money in our pockets yet. I wonder what it’s for.”

Since the live broadcast was off, and although there were cameras in every corner, the recording hadn’t started yet, so they spoke more casually.

However, after only a few sentences, the door across the hall made a sound. The two looked over, only to see Lin Xi forcefully push Jing Xiaoyan out, very roughly and impolitely.

Lin Xi put her hands on her hips, looked at Jing Xiaoyan with disgust, and immediately said, “Are you crazy!”

When she looked up again, she noticed two people watching them.

Jing Xiaoyan also saw the other two. Remembering how awkwardly she was pushed out, she coughed awkwardly.

Luo Cheng looked at the two of them, bewildered. “What are you two doing?”

Jing Xiaoyan’s expression quickly returned to normal. She spoke before Lin Xi. “Nothing, just playing a joke on her.”

What do you mean, nothing?

Lin Xi turned her head to look at her. “Are you sick?”

Wouldn’t it be better to sleep in a room alone? Why did you run over and say you wanted to share with her? If that’s not crazy, what is?

Jing Xiaoyan forced a smile and played dumb. “I was just playing a joke on you. Why are you getting angry?”

Lin Xi scoffed, almost laughing out of exasperation.

She glanced at Jiang Yumian, who was watching them curiously, and her eyes flashed. “What kind of joke is that? You’re crazy. Why would you want to sleep with me for no reason? Don’t you have your own room?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding atmosphere instantly quieted down.

Luo Cheng’s mouth slightly dropped. She looked at Jing Xiaoyan in shock, perhaps thinking of something.

Jiang Yumian’s mind was also confused at the moment. Jing Xiaoyan liked her, so what did it mean to suddenly run off to sleep with Lin Xi?

Jing Xiaoyan’s expression was frozen. Who knew Lin Xi would expose her without a second thought? She was frustrated!

If she hadn’t gone too far with Jiang Yumian today, she wouldn’t be in this predicament.

Afraid of Jiang Yumian’s resentment, she didn’t dare to get too close to her now, let alone share a room or a bed with her. So, she could only come to Lin Xi.

Jing Xiaoyan stared at Lin Xi for a long time, only managing to utter four words: “How did it come to this…”

Lin Xi was utterly confused. Why wasn’t Jing Xiaoyan explaining herself? If she didn’t explain soon, judging by Luo Cheng’s expression, they were going to be misunderstood.

And Jiang Yumian was right there. If she wanted to sleep with her, wasn’t she afraid her sweetheart would misunderstand?

Seeing Jing Xiaoyan completely avoid looking at her, Jiang Yumian pursed her lips. Lin Xi’s words almost misled her just now. She thought about it carefully. It was true that Jing Xiaoyan liked her; a person’s eyes wouldn’t lie.

But if she insisted on sleeping with Lin Xi now, she probably guessed the reason.

She had mentioned that she was afraid of being alone back at the hotel. Now it seemed it was true. No wonder she said she wanted to share with Lin Xi downstairs.

There was a ninety percent chance the production crew would cause trouble, especially since Jing Xiaoyan’s identity was strange, and she probably knew more.

So…

Jing Xiaoyan was afraid. She didn’t dare to sleep alone.