My Aloof Rival Seems to Like Me - Chapter 2

Taking advantage of the fact that her appearance hadn’t attracted the attention of the staff yet, Song Jin ducked into the restroom.

The studio’s restroom was quite large. She checked the stalls one by one, and only after confirming no one else was there did she dare to surreptitiously make a phone call.

Li Hang answered very quickly, responding almost the second the call went through: “What’s up, Great Lady? Running into trouble on the very first day of work?”

Besides being a well-known director, Li Hang was also Song Jin’s childhood friend. Upon hearing that Song Jin wanted to transition into acting, Li Hang hadn’t said a word—and gave her several audition opportunities.

After all, to work under Li Hang, one still needed real talent, even if they were a close friend.

Song Jin knew Li Hang’s personality well: she was “wicked.”

Yes, Li Hang had been wicked since they were kids, especially after stepping into the entertainment industry—she cared more about the “hype” than the “cure.” Rather than crafting a niche masterpiece, she preferred creating viral hits. Her promotional tactics were so wild they took flight; she’d do them even if it meant getting cursed out. But facts proved her marketing methods were exceptionally effective; many actors who collaborated with her became overnight stars.

At the same time, Li Hang was exceptionally easy to talk to, as long as you could provide what she wanted.

Song Jin deliberated for a moment and said, “Sorry, Hang-zi, I can’t do this play anymore.”

“Huh? What kind of joke are you pulling?” Li Hang froze for a second, the rebuttal slipping out subconsciously.

“You know Wen Yu and I are rivals. Any occasion where we appear together is bound to be a bloodbath. If you put us together, the show will be boycotted by both fandoms before it even airs,” Song Jin said reasonably, attempting to use this to persuade her.

But Li Hang merely chuckled on the other end of the line, somewhat helpless against her excuse. “I’ve considered all of that, of course—but Jin, you’ve signed the contract, and the pre-production preparations are nearly finished. It’s not great to run away now, is it?”

“I’ll pay the liquidated damages according to the contract,” Song Jin swallowed hard, “Double.”

“It’s not a matter of money. I started recruiting actors at the end of last year, going through three rounds from open calls to interviews to finally settle the casting—and here you are, suddenly dropping out right before the cameras roll. The loss caused really isn’t something a few random digits can compensate for.”

“Even if you’re my childhood friend, this is a bit much, okay?”

Song Jin originally had very little confidence, and after hearing this, she felt even guiltier. She said weakly, “Then… then you didn’t tell me the other female lead was Wen Yu either. If I knew she was coming, I wouldn’t have come…”

“I admit, it’s my fault for retreating at the last minute, but setting the facts aside, Hang-zi, don’t you have a tiny bit of responsibility for putting me and my rival in the same show without saying a word?”

“Old Song, you didn’t open the file I sent you at all, did you?”

Song Jin’s mind went blank for a moment. These past few days she had been running between two cities, and even her time to see a psychiatrist was squeezed out. She really didn’t know what that so-called “file” was.

She hurriedly fished her other phone out of her pocket and clicked on the pinned chat with Li Hang. After scrolling back several pages, she finally located the file.

Looking at the familiar title, Song Jin suddenly remembered that Li Hang had been pestering her to read it earlier.

This file was the casting list. When she filmed in the past, people had sent similar things, but Song Jin had never opened them once.

Because Song Jin simply didn’t care who she was acting with. In her view, it didn’t matter who the opposing actor was; she only cared about playing her own part well.

Moreover, she didn’t have any enemies in the industry, nor had she ever “accidentally” liked any anti-material about anyone on Weibo, so she was even less worried about such issues.

But Song Jin forgot: she didn’t have enemies, but she had a rival.

Song Jin blinked. After opening the document, she indeed saw Wen Yu’s name on the second line.

It was over. This time, the responsibility was entirely hers.

“Saw the list?” Seeing that Song Jin remained silent, Li Hang’s tone became teasing. “Oh my, and here I thought this was a mutual agreement. It turns out you didn’t even know Wen Yu existed?”

“I saw it…” Song Jin laughed awkwardly, but still didn’t give up on her idea: “But Hang-zi—”

“Stop with the ‘buts.’ Just tell me, do you want to film it or not?”

Song Jin pursed her lips.

Setting aside the fact that she wanted to rely on this drama to upgrade her status, just the hardships she endured to audition for this role were enough to sustain her through the entire shoot.

But accepting this drama meant she had to become colleagues with her “dream lover.” The thought alone was terrifying.

“I want to, but I really…”

“Shh—if you want to film, then stop talking nonsense. As long as you two ‘business’ well in front of the camera, the heat from being rivals can be utilized.” Having said that, without waiting for Song Jin to speak again, Li Hang hung up the phone.

Looking at the black screen, Song Jin let out a heavy sigh.

In the dressing room, Song Jin was practically surrounded the moment she stepped inside.

The large room didn’t have many people; besides four stylists, there were only her and Wen Yu. But compared to her side, where she was surrounded by three people, Wen Yu’s side looked much more deserted.

Song Jin looked down and met the eyes of the stylist standing next to Wen Yu. The other person’s eyes clearly lit up the moment their gazes met, but then, as if thinking of something, their lips quirked into an awkward smile.

Song Jin tilted her head in confusion.

What was going on?

The other three stylists were very enthusiastic toward her. After Song Jin changed her clothes and sat in the makeup chair, they impatiently began to work.

The shorter one stood behind her doing her hair, the one about the same height as Song Jin leaned over to apply her makeup, and there was one who looked like a fresh legal adult standing nearby, chatting incessantly to keep her company. It was quite lively.

It had to be said that the skill of the stylists under Li Hang was truly excellent. With just a few strokes, they sketched out a prototype, their techniques so clever that Song Jin wanted to poach them at a high price.

Song Jin examined her look through the makeup mirror, becoming more satisfied the more she looked. With an inadvertent glance, she saw Wen Yu sitting diagonally opposite her through the mirror. The stylist who had been standing beside Wen Yu to apply her makeup had vanished at some point, leaving her there alone reading the script.

The distance between the two was a bit far. Although she couldn’t see the details of the makeup, Song Jin could still see some clues from her wig.

That wig looked way too much like a wig.

Song Jin squinted her eyes into two slits, barely managing to catch a glimpse of the makeup in the mirror.

The foundation shade felt a bit dark. Everything else seemed fine at first glance, but the eyebrows looked a bit off.

The whole makeup look could be summarized in two words:

Mediocre.

Song Jin felt a bit schadenfreude: It seemed she had offended the stylist?

She lowered her voice and quietly asked the person doing her hair, “Wen Yu is already done? Is it that fast?”

The stylist didn’t even look, saying matter-of-factly, “Oh, that character doesn’t really need much makeup anyway. Just a casual job will do. Your look is more important.”

Hearing this, Song Jin felt a bit uncomfortable and subconsciously frowned.

After all, they were both going on camera; how could one just slap something together casually?

Song Jin looked at the three people surrounding her, then combined that with the complicated look from the stylist earlier, and suddenly understood what was happening.

Were they… trying to curry favor with her?

Although Wen Yu had great popularity as an idol, when her identity switched to an actor, that advantage wasn’t quite as large.

After all, she hadn’t had a single breakout work since her transition.

Moreover, in the entertainment industry, having popularity alone was far from enough.

Background would become the heaviest weight on the scale, tilting resources and flattery toward those with more power.

Of course, whether one had the matching strength or could withstand the audience’s judgment was a different story.

“Does Director Li know you’re doing this?”

Song Jin’s sudden question immediately froze the other three in their tracks. The three looked at each other, and finally, the girl standing behind Song Jin curling her hair spoke up haltingly, “Director Li didn’t say anything last time…”

A memory suddenly surfaced in her mind. Song Jin remembered that when she worked under Li Hang before, a drama had trended because of a “makeup sabotage” issue.

Back then, the fans of the two female leads tore into each other every day. Before the drama even aired, it stayed on Weibo for many days riding that heat, making things look quite ugly. But when it aired, many people came to watch out of curiosity and were eventually drawn in by the plot. Within a week of broadcasting, the click rate was a landslide number one, making it a huge hit.

At that time, Song Jin was just a minor supporting character and was completely uninterested in the leads’ disputes. Now that it was happening to her, it felt unavoidable and uncomfortable.

“One person is enough for me. The other two, go to Wen Yu’s side.” Song Jin took the brush that was sweeping toward her face and signaled, “I’ll do it myself.”

Seeing the other party looking troubled, Song Jin gave a helpless smile: “Don’t worry, I’ll follow the original design. I won’t change the makeup arbitrarily.”

She wanted to say more, but the shorter girl was already being dragged away by the other.

The room suddenly fell quiet, leaving only the youngest girl standing beside Song Jin like a doused flame. Her previously non-stop mouth seemed to have been taken away by the other two.

Sensing her awkwardness, Song Jin comforted her, “You don’t need to be nervous. Just help me out a bit.”

When Song Jin was a trainee abroad, she did her own makeup.

Back then, everything was new to Song Jin. She put all her effort outside of training into figuring out what makeup could better highlight her features and what stage look suited which style.

She finished the remaining parts in a few moves. Looking at the woman in the mirror, Song Jin was quite satisfied and mentally gave herself a high score. She braced herself on the armrests and stood up, turning around to lock eyes with Wen Yu, who had also finished her makeup and was preparing to leave.

The wig on her head had been changed to a medium-length one with a very layered cut, looking quite smooth.

The corners of her eyes under the thick brows were tilted upward. There was originally a small black mole at the corner of her right eye, but it had been covered with concealer for the character. Beneath the high bridge of her nose were thin lips coated in a nude lip glaze. Song Jin couldn’t help but pause her gaze for a moment, and after realizing it, awkwardly shifted it elsewhere.

Seeing Wen Yu walking toward her, the stylists very tactfully slipped away in an instant. The already empty room was now left with only the two of them. Sensing the other’s approach, Song Jin raised her eyebrows slightly, giving her a “what do you want” look.

She heard Wen Yu clear her throat and say, with a hint of awkwardness but also sincerity: “Thank you.”

Song Jin blinked. Having not yet forgiven Wen Yu for her previous coldness, she retorted, “You’re welcome. I just don’t want people saying I forced you to sabotage your makeup.”

After saying that, she imitated Wen Yu’s previous manner, gave a cold nod, and walked away on her own.

The shooting of the promotional photos started off quite smoothly. After all, both Song Jin and Wen Yu had been idols; posing was a piece of cake. It wasn’t until Li Hang arrived and slapped her forehead, deciding they should take a dual-poster, that the vibe changed abruptly.

Song Jin felt like she and Wen Yu were partners who had hurriedly gotten a marriage certificate on the day of their blind date. Through a series of “get closer,” “more intimate movements,” and “smile,” they stiffly but diligently tried to complete the task.

“No good, Song Jin. Can you still bring out the state you had during the solo shoot? I don’t see your love for her!” Li Hang, sitting in front of the computer selecting proofs, frowned deeply and shook her head from time to time.

There isn’t any love to begin with…

Song Jin rubbed the corners of her mouth, which were stiff from smiling; she really couldn’t hold on. The familiar scent from the other’s hair made it impossible for her to think. Any physical contact reminded her of those bizarre dreams.

It was too close.

Looking at Wen Yu’s face so close at hand, Song Jin couldn’t help but swallow. Her cheeks felt strangely hot.

“Right, right, right. Song Jin, move a bit more to the right, and then Xiao Wen, lean your waist forward a bit… Hiss, no, Song Jin, don’t dodge!”

Like two repelling magnets, as soon as Wen Yu’s breath approached, Song Jin would hold her breath and try to dodge backward; if Wen Yu moved a step closer, Song Jin would back away a bit more.

Seeing that they had been stuck for a long time without a single usable shot, the impatient Li Hang was ignited in an instant, gritting her teeth: “Song! Jin!”

Song Jin, immersed in her own world, was startled by the sudden shout. The foot she was secretly withdrawing slipped, and her body fell backward uncontrollably.

Song Jin instinctively closed her eyes. Just when she thought she would fall clumsily to the ground, a significant force suddenly came from her lower back. The scent of the hair she couldn’t name grew stronger, making her recall today’s dream.

She opened her eyes a crack. The first thing that came into view was Wen Yu’s pointed chin. Looking further up, she met those deep pupils staring intently at her, as well as her own reflection within them.

The string holding Song Jin’s brain together snapped completely.

Support My Aloof Rival Seems to Like Me