Deliberate Possession [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Persona

Jing Xiaoyan’s assistant looked at her thoughtfully. If she hadn’t heard wrong, her boss had just called out Jiang Yumian’s name, but why was she denying that her last name was Jing?

Could it be that the other person doesn’t know who she is?

They’re about to be on the same reality show. Isn’t it a bit strange to be messing with her like this?

Jing Xiaoyan had no idea what her young assistant was thinking. She was terrified that the person on the other end wouldn’t believe her lie.

She swallowed and continued to speak nonsense. “It’s true that a lot of people say our voices sound similar, but I’m really not her…”

Jiang Yumian suddenly understood. Right. Jing Xiaoyan would have to be out of her mind to come and be my sugar mama. Oh, wait… no, that’s not right. Her rich lady sister’s mind was perfectly fine.

After figuring this out, Jiang Yumian let out a huge sigh of relief. “You scared me to death! I’m so glad it wasn’t you. I’ll just stop talking about people behind their backs. It’s rude and dangerous.”

And kind of terrifying.

Jing Xiaoyan’s tense shoulders relaxed. She wanted to say that Jiang Yumian could praise her behind her back, but not that way. “Cute” and “adorable” were truly not words that suited her.

And she even called her “daughter”…

It’s just too much.

Jing Xiaoyan was still a little bothered by it—no, she was extremely bothered!

She took a breath, pretending to be casual. “But you said she was cute… did you misunderstand her?”

Jiang Yumian rubbed her chin. If her mom hadn’t shown her those photos and videos, she would have also thought the word “cute” didn’t suit Jing Xiaoyan. But now, she was completely in love!

However, her mom had gotten those photos from a private source. They were someone’s personal memories, so it wouldn’t be right for her to randomly send them to someone else. She had principles.

“Sister… you don’t get it. Sigh, I don’t know how to explain it to you. She really is cute, super cute! Just one smile makes my heart melt.” While talking to the other person, Jiang Yumian was looking at the photos. Oh my god! She’s really cute!

Jing Xiaoyan gritted her teeth, covering half her face with her hand. She had never been so embarrassed.

Couldn’t she just say I have a nice smile? Why “cute”…

From now on, I’m definitely not going to smile when I see Jiang Yumian, so she won’t get her motherly love all mixed up.

Hmm… I suddenly don’t really want to see Jiang Yumian anymore. Maybe I shouldn’t go to the variety show after all…

Sigh, forget it. I still really want to see her. It’s a rare chance to get to know each other. When I go, I’ll definitely make Jiang Yumian re-evaluate me and change her perception of me.

Jiang Yumian: “Hello? Sister?”

Hearing Jiang Yumian call out, Jing Xiaoyan hummed softly in response, feigning calm. “I’m here.”

Jiang Yumian blinked. She was quiet for two seconds, thinking the signal was bad.

How was she supposed to respond? This conversation is going to die out!

Hearing the sound of traffic in the background, Jiang Yumian scratched her cheek and decided to make small talk. “Are you still in the car?”

Jing Xiaoyan instinctively looked out the window. “Yeah, but I’ll be there soon.”

Jiang Yumian: “Oh. Are you hungry? Are you tired? You haven’t had lunch yet, right?”

Jing Xiaoyan smiled, knowing she was just trying to fill the silence. She decided to let her off the hook. “A little. I’ll be able to rest once I get there. You go eat first. I’m going to eat too.”

Jiang Yumian nodded gratefully. Remembering that the other person couldn’t see her, she said, “Okay, okay! Then, after you eat, have some fruit. If you can, eat some mango for your cloud-raised girlfriend. I’m allergic, so I can’t eat it, but I love it. If you eat it, it’s like I’m eating it too.”

Jiang Yumian said this gleefully. See? I’m so good at dating. This is called romantic fun! Even though she’d never been in a relationship and had no experience, reading a lot of romance novels came in handy!

She really was allergic to mangoes, but she craved them. Whenever she saw a video about them, she always felt like she needed a bite.

Jing Xiaoyan hadn’t expected her to say something like that. She quickly agreed, her voice gentle and full of affection. “Okay. Tell me anything else you like but can’t eat, and I’ll eat it for you.”

Jiang Yumian squinted her eyes in a smile. My good sister is so nice. Why didn’t I get to know her sooner?

“Hehe, I also want to eat durian!”

Jing Xiaoyan immediately coughed. “Other than that…”

She really couldn’t handle durian. She had tried it before, thinking she could just pinch her nose, but the smell of durian was a direct hit to her head. She couldn’t stand it and almost lost her facial expression control.

“Sorry, I can’t eat that. But you’re probably not allergic to durian, are you? If you want it, I can buy it for you.”

Jing Xiaoyan figured no one could be that unlucky—to be allergic to all the foods they liked.

A stifled laugh came from the other side. Jing Xiaoyan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, a little confused.

Jiang Yumian’s voice was filled with laughter. “I don’t like it either! But my mom loves to eat it. I just remembered it and wanted to tease you.”

Jing Xiaoyan’s eyes softened. She noticed the car was slowing down and had arrived at the hotel entrance. She chuckled softly. “It’s good that you don’t like it. I’m getting out now. Remember to eat lunch. Order whatever you want. If you need to buy anything, just buy it. Tell me if you need more money.”

“Okay, Sister! I’ll definitely try my best to spend it!” Even though the other person couldn’t see, Jiang Yumian’s expression was very determined. My girlfriend is so great!

She was now very, very, very accepting of the fact that she had a girlfriend! Because it was awesome! Her family was so rich, but she had never felt this great!

To let her “experience life” her mom had limited her allowance to the same amount as her classmates when she was in school. She didn’t have a single extra penny to splurge. The only difference was that she had a chauffeur, her clothes were custom-made, and she lived in a high-end apartment.

When she grew up, she was thrown out to fend for herself. She finally earned some money, but before she could enjoy it for a year or two, it was gone. Now she was completely broke. There was no one more miserable than her.

After the call ended, Jing Xiaoyan’s car finally stopped. She turned to her assistant, Dai Fengyan, and asked with an unusually serious expression, “Xiao Feng, has Sister Guan been giving me a persona that doesn’t fit my image?”

Dai Fengyan blinked. “What persona?”

Jing Xiaoyan pursed her lips, speaking with what seemed like great reluctance, her tone stiff. “Cute. Adorable.”

Xiao Feng: “…”

Seeing Jing Xiaoyan’s resistance to those two words, she could now understand why she hadn’t wanted to admit her last name was Jing. Jiang Yumian must have been describing her that way.

Pretending she hadn’t heard anything, Xiao Feng quickly shook her head. “No, absolutely not. We don’t have a specific persona, and we haven’t been marketing anything like that.”

Sister Guan was Jing Xiaoyan’s manager. She had said from the beginning that they shouldn’t deliberately create a persona. If an actor had a fixed and deeply ingrained image, the audience’s ability to get into the role would be greatly reduced.

Jing Xiaoyan rubbed her forehead and let out a long sigh, a headache coming on.

Seeing her look like that, Xiao Feng also felt a headache. Why would Jiang Yumian describe her that way? It’s just… indescribable.

“Sister, don’t be angry, but your image really has nothing to do with ‘cute’…”

Xiao Feng knew exactly what was on her mind. She gave Jing Xiaoyan a very tactful comfort, feeling she was a little defeated.

“You’re absolutely right.”

Jing Xiaoyan nodded her head forcefully, completely agreeing with her. They really had nothing to do with each other. But what bothered her more was Jiang Yumian calling her “daughter”…

How is that any different from a knife to the heart?

“Forget it. Let’s get out of the car first.”

Seeing her so dejected, Xiao Feng silently mourned for her for three seconds. At the same time, she was incredibly curious about Jiang Yumian. She had paid attention to Jiang Yumian before, thinking she was fun and silly, and now she just thought she was hilarious, because it was so funny.

Because the variety show filming location was not far, Jing Xiaoyan decided to stay at a nearby hotel for the next few days instead of traveling back and forth.

But Jiang Yumian, who had been kicked out of her home, had the same idea. It must have been fate because they were at the same hotel. One was staying in the presidential suite, and the other was in a standard king room. If they both didn’t leave their rooms, they would never run into each other.

Jing Xiaoyan ordered a meal and then a plate of fruit. When it arrived, she first took a photo, chose a few good ones, and sent them to Jiang Yumian, and then took a separate photo of the mango.

Blind Spot of Good: “My lunch has arrived. It comes with your favorite mango that you can’t eat.”

Seeing the sudden message pop up, if it weren’t for the profile picture and the chat being pinned, Jiang Yumian would never have known it was her good sister.

She was to blame. She hadn’t added a note for her good sister.

She lowered her head to add a note for the other person, then replied to the message.

Sponge Has a Baby: “Sister, why did you change your username? That lunch looks good. Mine just got here, too.”

Jing Xiaoyan’s mouth twitched. If she didn’t change it, what if Jiang Yumian suddenly saw it, had a flash of inspiration, and got suspicious again?

She ignored Jiang Yumian’s question and sent a message asking what she was eating.

My Good Sister from a Strong Wind: “Did you order takeout? What are you eating?”

Jiang Yumian read the message, casually took a picture of her unopened takeout bag, and sent it over.

Sponge Has a Baby: “I haven’t opened it yet. Let me open it.”

Jing Xiaoyan tapped on the picture she sent, noticing the address on the takeout bag. Her eyes froze. The hotel name and location looked very familiar…

Wasn’t this the hotel she was at?

This is a little too much of a coincidence…

Sponge Has a Baby: “Hehe! Look! I’m eating fried chicken! My mom took my manager and assistant back. It’s their loss for not taking care of me! Now I can eat whatever I want without a care!”

Sponge Has a Baby: “Don’t worry, Sister. Your little digital pet won’t starve herself.”

After sending the messages, Jiang Yumian immediately grabbed a piece of fried chicken, held her phone up, and took a picture of herself. Then she opened Weibo, chose the photo, and sent it out with no caption.

I’m so good at annoying people. Her manager, Sister An, would be furious. Hahaha! But she couldn’t control her!

Indeed, Jiang Yumian’s manager, Sister An, was already gritting her teeth. She used to be able to manage this young lady, but now she couldn’t. She had only temporarily backed off, and she was already letting herself go! She even seemed happy about it!

Meanwhile, Jing Xiaoyan was still zooming in on the picture to confirm the address. She was thinking about whether to try to “casually” run into her, but then she remembered that it would be awkward for both of them to go out. Jiang Yumian might not even leave her room. So she decided to drop the idea.

Besides… she didn’t know how to face Jiang Yumian after she called her “daughter.”

“Sister.” Xiao Feng knocked on Jing Xiaoyan’s hotel room door. They were staying in separate rooms, but right next door.

Jing Xiaoyan put her phone down and went to open the door for her.

“What is it?”

Xiao Feng handed her tablet to Jing Xiaoyan. “Since we’re doing a reality show in a few days, Sister Guan said to pick out a few outfits from the brands you endorse. Once you choose, she’ll get them ready and have someone send them over.”

Jing Xiaoyan thought for a few seconds, then nodded and took the tablet. These were all brands she endorsed, and their reputation was quite good.

The outfits were all pre-matched and sent to her. Jing Xiaoyan pursed her lips and swiped through the screen without a word. Finally, she handed the tablet back to Xiao Feng.

“Tell Sister Guan to avoid skirts as much as possible, but fierce-looking outfits are okay. Whatever you do, don’t get anything cute. Try to go for a cooler style.”

Xiao Feng took the tablet in a daze. Jing Xiaoyan usually never made any demands and wasn’t picky. It seemed this time, she had really been hit where it hurt.

She had to make sure to tell Sister Guan to get her boss a fierce, powerful, and badass style!

“I remember you endorsed a brand of sunglasses, Sister. Should I ask Sister Guan to add them?”

Jing Xiaoyan nodded. “Add them!”

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