Deliberate Possession [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Mindful

The rain was too heavy on the last stretch of the path, and even with the good quality raincoats, everyone came out completely drenched.

The staff quickly handed them towels and poured each of them a cup of hot water.

“Teachers, please go take a shower first. There are interviews afterward. It’s already dark, so please stay here for the night after dinner.”

Jiang Yumian cupped the water mug and took a sip, her face expressing rejection. “No, no, no. I won’t stay here. I’m afraid of that masked person.”

The others nodded in agreement. They checked the time; it was only six o’clock. They still had time to shower, eat, and leave.

Just then, Xiao Gu, who had collected their phones, walked over. She was also damp, holding the mask in her hand, and deliberately held it up to her face in front of them.

She asked with a giggle, “Are you talking about me?”

Jiang Yumian blinked. “You were the one knocking on the door!”

Xiao Gu wore the mask and said honestly, “That’s right.”

Everyone was naturally surprised. Lin Xi covered her eyes and quickly said, “It’s you, it’s you, it’s you. Take it off quickly. It’s creepy!”

Xiao Gu quickly took off the mask, a smile on her face.

She was just coming to say hello; she also needed to change and shower.

Su Mumu was a little surprised. “Xiao Gu, are your skills that broad? Were you the one performing too?”

Xiao Gu quickly waved her hands. “Not me. That was a professional acting teacher, and the NPCs you met are also acting majors.”

Their acting skills were excellent, but they hadn’t had the opportunity, so Lu Zhi gave them a chance to be seen.

Jing Xiaoyan nodded. “They were all great.”

Jiang Yumian paused while wiping her hair, blinking slightly. Just as she was about to walk toward Jing Xiaoyan, Su Mumu called out to her from behind.

“Mianmian, do you want to do your interview first? It’ll save them from queuing later.”

Jiang Yumian was stunned for a moment. “Oh, okay.”

She wasn’t very wet, so showering later was fine.

By the time Jiang Yumian finished her interview and went to shower, Jing Xiaoyan had already finished. She happened to run into her coming out of the room when she went upstairs.

Jiang Yumian stood at the top of the stairs, her red lips slightly parted. “Jing Xiaoyan.”

Being called by her full name so seriously caught her off guard. Jing Xiaoyan was momentarily stunned, then nodded. “Did you finish your interview?”

“Mhm. They didn’t ask many questions.”

Jiang Yumian watched her about to go downstairs, standing hesitantly at the top of the stairs. She had questions and things she hadn’t said to her, but this wasn’t a good time to speak.

Blocked at the stairwell,

Jing Xiaoyan couldn’t go down. Seeing her hesitating look, her thoughts paused. Something came to mind, her eyes flashed slightly, and she lowered her eyelids, her tone a little helpless. “I’m a bit tired and need to go for the interview. You don’t have to worry about me overthinking what you said before.”

She patted Jiang Yumian’s arm, then continued with a touch of self-mockery. “You said it was a misunderstanding, so how could I dare to think otherwise? Don’t worry.”

Jiang Yumian opened her mouth. Before she could explain, Lin Xi suddenly appeared.

“Why are you two blocking the stairs?”

Lin Xi had a smile on her face. She felt she came out at the perfect time. She wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping; she just happened to hear everything when she came out.

She felt like if the two of them continued talking, it would become awkward, so she had to bail out her good friend.

Meeting Jing Xiaoyan’s somewhat dimmed gaze, Jiang Yumian’s long lashes fluttered slightly. She shook her head and stepped aside to let them pass. “It’s nothing. You two hurry up. Ling Yisong should be almost done with his interview too.”

Jing Xiaoyan did misunderstand her, but let her misunderstand for now. It was better than misunderstanding that she was “cheating.”

She decided she had to sort things out and clarify with the rich sister and Ms. Jiang first.

After all, she genuinely couldn’t bring herself to two-time them. If her moral standards were truly that low, she probably would have been canceled long ago…

Jing Xiaoyan finished her interview and came out, but she didn’t see Jiang Yumian until dinner. Su Mumu was also gone.

“Where are Mianmian and Mumu?” She asked, looking puzzledly at Chu Qianyuan, who was calmly eating.

Chu Qianyuan blinked, looking up. She had actually forgotten until now. “Oh… I forgot to mention. They went back. Mumu said she needed to go home for a bit, and Mianmian hitched a ride with her. Their houses are quite close.”

The main thing was that her Mumu just needed to tell her that she was leaving. She didn’t think anyone else besides herself would be too concerned about her leaving or not. But in the back and forth, she had forgotten about the Jiang Yumian that Jing Xiaoyan was thinking about.

Their agents knew about them finishing filming early. Cars had come to pick them up, except for Jiang Yumian; literally no one came for her. She truly had no one looking out for her.

So, she left by hitching a ride with Su Mumu.

Jing Xiaoyan’s eyes fluttered. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but then pursed her lips, leaving only silence.

Chu Qianyuan saw her not speaking, cleared her throat, and changed the subject. “Um, aren’t you starting a movie soon? You won’t have time for the next episode, right?”

She remembered that Jing Xiaoyan’s schedule was packed, and she had told Lu Zhi about the dates she couldn’t squeeze out.

Jing Xiaoyan nodded slightly. “I can’t make the next episode. The movie starts filming on the day of the live broadcast. There shouldn’t be any issues afterward. I should still be able to squeeze out a day or two.”

The opening day was pre-arranged and couldn’t be changed just for her. Plus, her scenes on the first day were quite important, so she had to be there.

Jing Xiaoyan sat in the car on the way back, looking at the messages on her phone. She didn’t linger after dinner and left straight away with Xiao Feng.

Sea Cotton has Baby: Sister, why haven’t you messaged me? We finished filming early. I’m going home now.

Sea Cotton has Baby: I have something to tell you, Sister.

Sea Cotton has Baby: Sister, why aren’t you replying? Are you angry?

This Jiang Yumian, why does she always ask if I’m angry?

Jing Xiaoyan thought carefully for a moment, her eyes flashing. She didn’t rush to reply. She exited WeChat, then opened Weibo and checked the trending topics.

A few minutes later.

Jing Xiaoyan read through the content under those trending terms and couldn’t help but hold her forehead. It was impossible not to have a fan-shipped pairing now. There were tons of CP fans begging her and Jiang Yumian to give them content.

“Xiao Feng.” She turned to look at the assistant next to her.

Xiao Feng blinked. She probably guessed what her boss was going to ask. Her boss was trending on the top of several hot searches. She must have seen everything when she looked at her phone.

She played dumb. “Sister, what is it?”

“Did the company buy these trending topics?” Jing Xiaoyan asked casually.

Xiao Feng waved her hands. “No. Not a penny spent. Sister, that scene of you in the car was screenshotted and put on the hot search. Just one screenshot gained you over 200,000 followers. The company wouldn’t bother spending money on hot searches.”

She praised and explained at the same time, but she avoided mentioning her and Jiang Yumian’s CP fans.

Why mention them? She wouldn’t dare. Manager Guan wanted to take them down, but she guessed her boss didn’t want to, so she’d better wait for Guan Jie to talk to her herself. She didn’t want to be the scapegoat!

Jing Xiaoyan nodded. “It’s fine as long as the company didn’t buy it.”

She was silent for a short while, then opened her other WeChat account and messaged Jiang Yumian.

Jing Xiaoyan: I just saw the trending topics. Sorry, I didn’t expect it to cause such a huge impact.

Jiang Yumian replied quickly.

Mianmian: It’s okay. After all, it’s for the plot. Look at Mumu and Sister Yunyun; they’re all over each other and trending too. Netizens are just having fun. Just ignore it.

Jing Xiaoyan had just typed a message in the input box saying she would ask the company to remove the hot search. Seeing this message, she instantly deleted it all.

If she says to ignore it, I’ll ignore it. Mianmian told her not to worry about it.

Meanwhile, with Jiang Yumian.

She was discussing the trending topics with Su Mumu.

“Mumu, you and Sister Yunyun are practically glued together. Can you two be more mindful?” Jiang Yumian flipped through them one by one. This blatant public display of affection was almost force-feeding her.

Su Mumu looked at the trending topics nonchalantly. The first term was marked with a deep red “HOT,” which was the post they all made.

The next few were about the CP fans enjoying the pairings.

“It’s nothing for me. I’m being shipped with my own girlfriend by netizens. You’re different; you’re with Jing Xiaoyan.” Su Mumu squinted at her, examining her for a while. “Has your online girlfriend still not replied to you?”

Jiang Yumian quietly switched her phone back to WeChat, clicked into the chat again, and just as she did, a message popped up. “She replied!”

First Love Sister: Of course I’m not angry. I just didn’t look for you when you weren’t around. If you look for me, I’ll show up.

First Love Sister: I watched the live broadcast. It was very good.

Sea Cotton has Baby: It’s good that Sister isn’t angry. You’re the best.

Jiang Yumian chuckled aloud. Her rich sister was really easy to talk to, and her emotions were super, super stable.

And Jing Xiaoyan was like a little puppy. Although she wouldn’t truly get angry at her, she would immediately feel wronged and be difficult to console after a misunderstanding.

First Love Sister: Hmm? What do you mean by ‘I’m the best’? Did someone bully you?

Jiang Yumian pouted, rapidly pressing the screen with her fingers. No one bullied me. It’s just that one person is difficult to console. I said the wrong thing and made her unhappy, but I can’t console her right now.

First Love Sister: Who are you consoling?

Jiang Yumian tilted her head, confused. Was this curiosity or anger? Why did it feel so cold?

Text really isn’t as accurate as voice.

Jiang Yumian couldn’t tell, so she replied with an ambiguous message that could end the conversation. It’s just a little misunderstanding. No big deal. Sister, you don’t have to worry.

Jing Xiaoyan’s eyes brightened. Misunderstanding?

The misunderstandings Jiang Yumian mentioned today were all directed at herself.

So, this person is me?

Then why did she run off before even consoling me?

What does ‘can’t console her right now’ mean?

Jing Xiaoyan fell silent, but her mood improved significantly. God knows her heart almost died when she saw Jiang Yumian say she was going to console someone else.

First Love Sister: Okay. Mianmian, do you like anyone?

Jiang Yumian blinked, smoothly sucking up to her. Of course I like Sister.

She was actually panicking inside, unsure of what she meant.

First Love Sister: You think I’m stupid.

Jiang Yumian’s throat tightened. She sent a conversation-ending reply. You’re not stupid.

First Love Sister: I don’t mean anything by it. I just get very possessive sometimes. Mianmian is my digital girlfriend now. If you like someone, you have to tell me.

Jiang Yumian rubbed her face. What does this mean? What is the meaning of this?

She felt a little overwhelmed. It sounded both possessive and understanding.

Is she reminding me that I’m her girlfriend and can’t get involved with others, or is she telling me I can go like someone else?

What does she mean?

Sea Cotton has Baby: Huh?

Sea Cotton has Baby: You wouldn’t mind if I liked someone else? You wouldn’t be jealous, Sister?

Jiang Yumian subscribed to the principle of “ask when you don’t know.”

Jing Xiaoyan looked troubled. Her words were indeed contradictory.

She pondered for a long time, finally composing a very domineering message and sending it. [I’m a little mindful, but I’m not stupid. You won’t fall for me. Sister just wants someone to chat and talk with. If Mianmian likes someone, remember to tell me. I’ll vet them for you. If I think they’re okay, I’ll let my virtually raised little girlfriend go. But if I don’t think they’re okay, you have to listen to me.]

Jiang Yumian blinked.

Huh?

She was a little lost.

She was planning to have a good talk with the rich sister after filming ended, and she was still agonizing over how to say it. But the other party just put the ladder right at her feet?

Sea Cotton has Baby: Sister will vet them for me? Will you eliminate them one by one?

First Love Sister: Very likely.

Jiang Yumian: “…”

Sea Cotton has Baby: Will I be single forever?

First Love Sister: It’s okay. At least you have me.

Jiang Yumian twitched her lips. She understood. It seems she is very mindful.

First Love Sister: I’m just kidding. I just have high standards.

Sea Cotton has Baby: The lowest standard is you, right.

Jiang Yumian felt she had figured out the truth. Sigh…

First Love Sister: Mianmian is so smart. But the person has to meet Jing Xiaoyan’s standards at the very least. Otherwise, I won’t approve.

Huh?

Jiang Yumian blinked. Isn’t that just a perfect setup for me?

Support