I Ran Away After Flirting with the Goddess - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“Which role?” Su Jiang paused on the other end of the line. “Wow, Best Actress Shen, are you flexing your acting skills on me right now?”

She sat on her sofa, holding a coffee. “This isn’t fun anymore. I didn’t say I was going to blame you.”

No, no, no—this was getting even more “interesting.”

Shen Lishu didn’t like to back people into a corner. After all, Ji Ning was Su Jiang’s person. Her public Weibo post was already enough of a lesson; there was no need to strip her of resources and drive her to a dead end like she had done with that sleazy man, Jiang Yi.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the torrential rain lashed against the glass, creating a suffocating atmosphere. Shen Lishu tapped the paper cup in her left hand with her index finger, deep in thought. “Who notified you that Ji Ning’s role was pulled?”

“Wait,” Su Jiang turned her head to look at her phone in confusion, her expression blank. “This really had nothing to do with you?”

She put down her coffee cup, her attitude becoming much more serious. “The producer of Sink called personally. She said her production doesn’t use people who love to stir up trouble.”

The timing was right on the heels of Shen Lishu’s Weibo post. The producer’s point was that if Ji Ning was already causing such drama while the movie was still filming, there was no telling how much more trouble she’d cause later.

Girls’ Love (GL) is a niche, cold subject matter, not highly regarded or popular domestically. If Ji Ning generated negative publicity, it could affect the film’s release and distribution. Regardless, the producer spoke very sternly, leaving no room for negotiation.

Su Jiang was a sharp one; she understood the subtext immediately. Not to mention, the other party had spoken so bluntly, without a hint of euphemism.

“Her tone was very serious. She sounded quite angry,” Su Jiang glanced at the call request from Ji Ning on her computer and ignored it. “In this circle, when I think of someone with the connections and resources to convince a producer to swap a role at the last minute, I only think of you, Best Actress Shen.”

Before calling, Su Jiang assumed Ji Ning had truly stepped on Shen Lishu’s toes this time, resulting in the “clarification, face-slapping, and resource-stripping” one-stop service. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all.

If Shen Lishu wasn’t the one who had Ji Ning removed, the problem was much more serious. Last-minute casting changes waste both time and money. Especially since Ji Ning was someone capable of carrying a lead role; her salary, while not comparable to Shen Lishu’s, was certainly much higher than a newcomer like An Rongrong’s.

Yet, the producer swapped her out just like that, showing off her wealth while clearly expressing her dislike for Ji Ning. This circle is both large and small; directors, editors, and producers all have private connections. Sometimes, an actor causes trouble in one production, and every other director knows the details perfectly. Next time they consider using that person, they’ll think long and hard.

The same goes for producers. Since this producer explicitly disliked Ji Ning, then her projects, and her friends’ projects, would likely prioritize others over Ji Ning. Ji Ning’s acting and looks were average; she didn’t have that unique “it” factor, and people who could replace her were a dime a dozen.

“The producer of this show is the great Xu Xinyou,” Su Jiang covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes full of curiosity as she instinctively lowered her voice. “Besides you, could there be someone else in your crew with those kinds of connections?”

Even if there were, they wouldn’t necessarily stand up for Shen Lishu and An Rongrong. Shen Lishu didn’t need others to handle her business. And if An Rongrong had that kind of connection, she wouldn’t have been so easily dragged into a trending search scandal a couple of days ago. A rootless newcomer like her was completely ruled out.

Then who else could it be? It certainly wasn’t Director Mao. He probably hadn’t even looked at the trending searches. Mao Yi was a simple man; he never cared about Weibo drama. As long as you acted well on his set, he was easy to talk to. Moreover, Ji Ning’s scenes were already finished; Director Mao was the last person who would want a reshoot.

As for a rival stealing the resource, there was no need. Though directed by Mao Yi, Ji Ning wasn’t the lead; there was no point in stealing such a small role. If the rival knew Producer Xu, why would they crave “Chen Yu’s” minor screentime? That would be small-minded.

“I think I’ve guessed who it is,” Shen Lishu suddenly spoke up, startling the contemplative Su Jiang.

“Who?” Su Jiang was dying of curiosity, wishing she could climb through the phone to ask in person. Producer Xu had never been known to have any close relatives in the industry. She was distant, indifferent, unmarried, and focused only on work—getting close to her was not easy.

Su Jiang laughed. “I really couldn’t tell. The Sink crew is quite a den of ‘hidden dragons and crouching tigers.'”

“I didn’t expect it either at first.” Shen Lishu looked at her reflection in the window. The woman in the glass had her red lips curved, one arm crossed over her chest, chin slightly raised, tilting her head as she talked on the phone with a meaningful smile.

The little thing was hiding quite a lot.

Shen Lishu was about 80% certain it was the person she suspected. However, hearing Su Jiang ask, she still didn’t give the name. “I’ll tell you after I confirm it later.”

“Don’t wait to confirm, just tell me now,” Su Jiang spoke rapidly. “I won’t tell anyone.”

After she finished, Shen Lishu’s light laughter came through the airwaves, teasing the heart. “Nope.”

Su Jiang: “…”

Shen Lishu hung up directly, leaving Su Jiang sitting dumbfounded on the sofa, screaming in frustration! That annoying Shen Lishu! She was too good at keeping people in suspense.

Su Jiang’s appetite had been thoroughly whetted by Shen Lishu before she ran off. Her mood was volatile, and unfortunately, Ji Ning wouldn’t let it rest. She looked at the video call request Ji Ning kept sending to her computer and answered with a cold face.

Ji Ning’s face appeared on the screen, her first words being a demand: “On what grounds did you pull my resources?”

She clearly already knew about the recasting in Sink, and her tone was aggressive. “I already finished filming. Is this really necessary?”

Ji Ning had turned down a female lead in a web drama to film this GL movie, specifically to show her face in a Mao Yi film and have her acting skills validated. Now, just because she leeched some heat from Shen Lishu, she was being replaced?

Ji Ning’s “Is this necessary” was directed either at Su Jiang or Shen Lishu. She had never seen such a petty person—not even leaving a bit of heat for a junior. What kind of senior Best Actress was that?

Sure enough, the marketing accounts were right. Shen Lishu had a bad temper and couldn’t tolerate promising newcomers; she suppressed others everywhere and wouldn’t allow any other female actress on set to outshine her! Otherwise, why would she cling to such a small matter—first shaming her on Weibo, then contacting the producer to replace her?

Why didn’t Su Jiang, as her manager, try to mediate? Weren’t she and Shen Lishu sisters? They must be “plastic” sisters.

For a manager, only a superstar artist has the leverage to shout and negotiate terms. Clearly, Ji Ning didn’t have that status yet. Su Jiang wasn’t a patient or mild-tempered manager either. She immediately sneered back, “How do you have the face to blame me?”

“If you hadn’t schemed against Shen Lishu, would you have been publicly executed on Weibo first, and then lost the role of Chen Yu?” Su Jiang put down her phone and took a sip of her cold coffee. “I haven’t even settled the score with you for trying to use me to increase your market value.”

Previously she was just busy with PR and hadn’t had time to assign blame. Since things had reached this point, Su Jiang didn’t mind speaking more plainly.

“Your contract expires at the end of the year. Have you already scouted your next home and prepared to terminate? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have posted that Weibo on your own without even a heads-up.”

Ji Ning gave a mocking laugh. “So the Great Manager Su actually remembers my contract expires at the end of the year? I thought you were so busy with your new artist that you forgot all about me.”

She had already offended Su Jiang; flattering her now was useless, so her tone was exceptionally sarcastic.

“Ji Ning, do you have a conscience? If I didn’t care about you, could I have gotten you into Director Mao’s crew? If you keep taking those web dramas with zero acting and no reputation, you’ll only destroy yourself.” Su Jiang’s chest ached with anger.

She slammed the coffee cup onto the table. “I was planning for you to pivot. That’s why I wanted you to show your face in Director Mao’s movie.”

Su Jiang took a deep breath. “Do you know that all of Director Mao’s niche, cold-subject films have won international awards? Not to mention his collaborator this time is Shen Lishu. This film isn’t looking at domestic box office; its target from the start was international awards!”

Otherwise, with so many scripts, would Director Mao be crazy enough to pick a GL film that is highly controversial domestically but reflects social reality? Ji Ning was a pig-head, only thinking about traffic and quick cash, without a shred of long-term vision.

Web dramas are fast food; how can they compare to the “main course” of big-budget TV and film? A few days ago at the wine tasting, Su Jiang only then learned that Shen Lishu was the female lead of Sink, and she felt the awards were a sure thing. Especially after hearing her co-star was a newcomer, she felt Ji Ning’s time to shine had arrived.

Could Ji Ning’s acting really not beat a newcomer from a girl group survival show? Now, it seemed she really might not.

Explaining this was useless now. Ji Ning wasn’t on the same page as her; she had single-handedly destroyed the future Su Jiang had planned for her.

Ji Ning’s face looked a bit pale. She shifted her gaze and looked back at the video. When she spoke again, she was still shifting blame, asking the question that made her angriest: “Since you knew the lead was Shen Lishu, why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

If she had known Shen Lishu was the first lead, would she have reached this point? She acted as if she had caught Su Jiang in a mistake, her tone aggressive. “Were you afraid I’d sign with Shen Lishu’s studio and you wouldn’t be able to count on me for money anymore?”

Su Jiang finally understood the reason for Ji Ning’s antics. She nodded in realization and laughed out of anger. “You? Based on you?”

Su Jiang shot back, “Even if I told you, what could you have done? Rushed to suck up to her?” With Ji Ning’s EQ, she wasn’t even worth Shen Lishu’s time to mock.

“And you think I count on you for money? Did I force you to film those web dramas? Wasn’t it you who wanted fast money? The only script that actually gained traction was one I personally picked for you!”

“Ji Ning, I really didn’t misjudge you, and I’m glad I didn’t tell you,” Su Jiang’s voice turned cold. “You posted that Weibo without warning because you felt signing was hopeless and thought you’d leech what you could while you could, right?”

At that point, Shen Lishu would have found it hard to tear into her, out of respect for Su Jiang. Ji Ning had tried to scheme against both her and Shen Lishu at once, attempting to step on them to increase her own value. After her contract expired at the end of the year, she’d sign with another company at a high price. After all, she would have been “acknowledged” by a Best Actress as a hardworking and talented young actor! A first in the industry.

Thinking this through, Su Jiang felt as disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly. Luckily they were separated by a screen, or Su Jiang’s slap would have landed on Ji Ning’s face. Such an ungrateful wolf—wasting all the plans she made for her!

If she had known, she would have let her fend for herself and just let her leave when the contract expired. Su Jiang wanted to slap herself. How could she have thought Ji Ning was still salvageable and introduced her to Director Mao’s crew?

“If you had just told me directly that you were interested in Shen Lishu’s studio, would I have stopped you from going?” Su Jiang’s eyes were mocking. “If you had done that, I might have actually respected you a little.”

Ji Ning’s gaze flickered under the words, a hint of guilt appearing on her face, losing the “everyone has wronged me” momentum from a moment ago.

“Let me tell you this: your role in Sink really wasn’t pulled by Shen Lishu,” Su Jiang said with a sneer. “Producer Xu called personally to pull it.”

If Ji Ning had even a tiny bit of IQ left, she should be able to understand the gravity of this. “Shen Lishu has been generous enough to you; otherwise, Jiang Yi’s present would be your future.”

With Shen Lishu’s connections, making things difficult for Ji Ning would be far too easy. But… Su Jiang laughed. “It’s all the same for you now. Anyway, you’ve offended both the Best Actress and the Producer.”

Ji Ning was truly panicked now. “What does this have to do with Producer Xu?” She gripped her phone with both hands, staring straight at Su Jiang. “Quick, help me, or give me Producer Xu’s contact info. I’ll apologize and explain in person.”

Now you remember to beg me?

Su Jiang leaned back on the sofa with her legs crossed, watching Ji Ning through the screen. “It’s too late.”

“What do you mean?” Ji Ning had a bad premonition and said tentatively, “If I don’t have resources, I can’t film. What am I supposed to do for the next six months?”

Su Jiang admired Ji Ning’s ugly expression, finally feeling her breathing was much smoother. “Naturally, stay home and rest well.” She said, “How could I possibly force you to make money?”

Su Jiang used Ji Ning’s own words from a moment ago to shut her down.

Ji Ning’s thumb instantly tightened against her phone case, staring straight at the person in the video. She’s not planning to give me any resources?

Ji Ning was currently in talks for one web drama, two variety shows, and had a chance at a luxury brand endorsement. Although today’s events would affect the endorsement, if Su Jiang went to do PR, there might still be hope. At the very least, there would be other endorsements. If she stayed home to “rest,” everything would be gone.

No industry phases people out faster than the entertainment industry. If you don’t appear on screen for a few months, netizens might forget who you are. Her fans wouldn’t have new works to wait for; they might jump ship overnight. By then, even if she signed with a new company, trying to rise again would be harder than it is now.

Ji Ning couldn’t accept it. “On what grounds can you do this? My contract hasn’t expired!”

Su Jiang’s gaze was contemptuous. “On the grounds that I am your manager, and on the grounds that I want to support my new artist.”

Didn’t Ji Ning keep saying she wanted to give resources to the newcomer? Then Su Jiang would show her. Before Ji Ning could go crazy at her, Su Jiang reached out and cut the call.

She leaned back on the sofa, exhausted, looking up at the ceiling decor. How could it be that among artists, the one Su Lin brought up, Shen Lishu, was a Best Actress, while the one she brought up, Ji Ning, was of this quality? Was she inferior to Su Lin?

No, Su Jiang didn’t doubt her own abilities. The only thing to blame was that there was only one real-deal Best Actress like Shen Lishu in the circle. It was a matter of the “Thousand-Mile Horse” and the “Bole” (talent and scout).

Su Jiang was weary. She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling quite sorry toward Shen Lishu, so she grabbed her phone and sent her a message:

The key to my wine cellar is for you. Go pick the wine yourself, just don’t empty it.

Normally, Shen Lishu would have jumped at the chance. Su Jiang had no other hobbies besides wine; she had all kinds of good bottles. But today, Shen Lishu clearly wasn’t in the mood.

She ignored Su Jiang’s message. Her mind was entirely on their conversation and the fact that Ji Ning’s role had been swapped.

In the crew, among those involved in the trending searches besides herself, only An Rongrong was left. The person who seemed the least likely.

In fact, before signing An Rongrong, Su Lin had warned Shen Lishu that she might not be as simple as she appeared that she might not be an “easy target.” First of all, the fact that she debuted in a girl group without signing with any management company was strange enough. Furthermore, how exactly did she get into the crew?

Based on An Rongrong’s currently somewhat green acting, the idea that she could blatantly take the role of Luo Yue under Director Mao’s nose based solely on strength was complete nonsense. Unless Director Mao was blind during casting.

But if An Rongrong knew Xu Xinyou, then it became much more reasonable. Producers stuffing actors into crews is a common occurrence; An Rongrong might have entered this way. Producer Xu likely promised Director Mao some condition to get her into the group. As for what was promised, asking Director Mao was worse than asking An Rongrong.

From today’s events, An Rongrong might not just know Xu Xinyou; their relationship was likely quite good. Otherwise, why was Ji Ning swapped the moment the trending search appeared? Xu Xinyou wasn’t known to have any close relatives; when she left her family for this industry, she broke ties with them, and no reconciliation had been heard of.

Looking at it this way, the relationship between An Rongrong and the Great Producer Xu was interesting.

Shen Lishu looked down and rubbed the paper cup in her hand, then tilted her head back to finish the remaining ginger brown sugar water. She pulled the curtains shut with one hand, walked to the trash can by the table, and tossed the paper cup in cleanly.

Shen Lishu was unwilling to think of people in sordid terms; the point she cared about was something else. An Rongrong fundamentally didn’t trust that she, as the boss, could settle the matter, which is why her first reaction when trouble broke was to go to Xu Xinyou.

Shen Lishu smiled. She wasn’t angry. How could she be angry?

Isn’t it just that her new little artist said she liked her and was a loyal “career fan,” yet turned around to curry favor with Su Lin first, and then hid the matter of Xu Xinyou from her? What was there to be angry about?

As luck would have it, speak of the devil.

Rongrong: Sis, did you finish your brown sugar ginger tea? If your nose feels uncomfortable, I have cold medicine here.

She paused for a few seconds, then asked again.

Rongrong: Should I bring it over to you?

Shen Lishu looked down at the message popping up on her phone. With an exceptionally broad mind, she turned off the screen and threw the phone on the sofa as if she hadn’t seen it.

She then went to wash up, absolutely, not, at, all, angry.

An Rongrong dug out the cold medicine from her suitcase and squatted on the floor waiting for Shen Lishu’s reply. During the wait, she went back to Weibo to read the aftermath of the Ji Ning drama. Satisfied, she switched to her alt account to repost Shen Lishu’s Weibo and wrote a “mini-essay” confession.

Like an underground affair finally seeing the light, An Rongrong felt a bit shy but was mostly excited and happy. It was as if Shen Lishu had publicly given her a status. From a secret little lover to a concubine who would be brought out to meet guests! Although she was still a bit far from being “legalized,” An Rongrong was already very content.

@Shen Lishu is my wife V: Reposting / @Shen Lishu V: I didn’t want to originally…

@Shen Lishu is my wife V: The best goddess in the world! How can there be such an ‘Alpha’ woman? Every word she says and every thing she does hits my buttons perfectly! I hope Sister will give me a chance (as a girl), don’t be so strict about gender! My handiwork is actually pretty good~ QwQ

In summary, the entire content was: A long-winded daily life report—I love Shen Lishu. More long-winded trivia about their interactions asking Sister to take her “head-on.” Finally, a concluding statement on why she likes Shen Lishu.

A sprawling essay of nearly a thousand words. An Rongrong wouldn’t have to worry about writing her graduation thesis in the future. If the topic was an analysis of Best Actress Shen, she could probably produce 30,000 to 50,000 words.

An Rongrong posted it in Shen Lishu’s super-topic and squealed with the other fans for a while. After exiting Weibo, she still hadn’t received a message from Shen Lishu. She turned her head curiously toward the door, wondering if she should knock and deliver the medicine to the Goddess. Usually, Shen Lishu rarely went this long without replying to her WeChat; it had been nearly an hour.

Rongrong: Are you asleep?

Two minutes later, An Rongrong picked at her phone case and bit her lip to send another.

Rongrong: Goodnight, Sister.

Fine, the Goddess might have gone to bed early. An Rongrong shrugged, packed up the messy suitcase, did some simple stretching, and then washed up for bed.

Meanwhile, in the room next door, the “early-sleeping” Best Actress Shen was lying in bed looking at her chat history with An Rongrong. Her thumb hovered over the input box, but she didn’t click to reply for a long time.

Before sleeping, Shen Lishu had a video call with Su Lin. The other woman’s eyes were alert and her voice steady; even though it was nearly 11:00 PM, she didn’t show the slightest exhaustion, a complete contrast to the wilted Su Jiang.

“I told you a long time ago she might not be an easy target, but you insisted on signing her.” Even today, Su Lin didn’t agree with Shen Lishu’s decision. “And you gave such good contract terms too.”

“If it really doesn’t work out, terminate her contract. Since An Rongrong knows Xu Xinyou but didn’t tell you, it counts as deliberate concealment.” Su Lin pulled up An Rongrong’s contract on her computer. The glasses on her nose reflected light, her voice cold and indifferent. “She is in the wrong; we wouldn’t be afraid even if we went through legal procedures.”

They had just signed her, and she already wanted to terminate? Especially without even clarifying the truth first, Su Lin had already found a contract loophole to use for discouraging An Rongrong?

Shen Lishu looked at the ceiling lamp and laughed. “It hasn’t reached that point.”

She felt she still had some judgment when it came to reading people; An Rongrong’s eyes were clean and pure, she wasn’t the type to play tricks with her. There should be another explanation.

Shen Lishu didn’t suspect An Rongrong of anything improper with Producer Xu. She was just unhappy that her artist-plus-fan was closer to others in the circle than to her.

“Even if she isn’t an easy target, it’s fine,” Shen Lishu sighed softly. “Who told us to be a ‘wealthy family’? We have plenty of ‘oil’ to burn.”

Su Lin: “…”

Su Lin expressionlessly closed the computer file. So, why did Shen Lishu call in the middle of the night? Just purely to complain that her little artist’s relationship with others was better than with her?

Was she childish! Just asking, was she childish!

Is she an elementary schooler? Does she have to secretly compare even whose hand An Rongrong holds when going to the restroom?

To this, Empress Shen gloomily stated that her hand smelled better than others’.

Su Lin: “…”

Before hanging up the video, Shen Lishu’s expression was lazy, but her tone was serious. “Have the lawyer go over the contract again. Don’t let any more loopholes appear.” She signed people based on skill and charm, not through contract traps.

Su Lin remained silent for a moment. She frowned as if wanting to ask Shen Lishu something but felt it was unnecessary. She said “Okay” and ended the call.

The next morning, Shen Lishu and An Rongrong arrived earlier than Director Mao. They sat side-by-side on the set eating breakfast.

An Rongrong looked at Shen Lishu with her phone. “Sister, why did you go to sleep so early yesterday?” You didn’t even reply to my message.

An Rongrong took a big bite of her bun, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster, making her eyes look big and round. She looked at her so directly and honestly, never considering that she might have simply not wanted to reply.

Shen Lishu shook the carrot juice in her hand and gave a perfunctory “mhm.”

“Ji Ning’s role has been swapped. When Director Mao comes later, he’ll definitely jump up and start swearing.” Shen Lishu pretended to casually bring up the topic, her peripheral vision carefully observing An Rongrong’s expression.

Sure enough, hearing this, An Rongrong’s gaze flickered. Her soulful big eyes slowly darted left and right, and she no longer looked her in the eye, showing a trace of guilt.

Shen Lishu wanted to laugh. With this kind of acting skill, could one really expect her to do anything bad?

Best Actress Shen naturally transitioned from the topic of Ji Ning’s replacement to current actor salaries, without a hint of intentionality. She spoke as if chatting casually, asking An Rongrong, “By the way, how much is your salary for this movie?”

An Rongrong: “…!”

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