My Ex-Wife Seems to Have Ulterior Motives Toward Me - Chapter 1

“Qi Jianyi, do you have any idea what time it is?”

The moment Zou Yuran stepped out of the elevator, the first thing she saw was this second-generation playboy sitting on the lobby sofa, her shirt and pants wrinkled and messy, her face pale.

A surge of anger rushed straight to her scalp. If there hadn’t been people standing next to her, Zou Yuran would have really wanted to stab Qi Jianyi to death with the pen in her pocket.

Approaching her, she could still smell the alcohol. Zou Yuran restrained herself, turned, and said gently to the person who followed her down: “Help me buy something for a hangover and deliver it to the twenty-fifth floor in a bit.”

The moment the others left, her expression turned cold.

Qi Jianyi’s business socializing last night had ended at two in the morning, but since it was only twelve noon now, she didn’t think she arrived particularly late.

“Doesn’t the script reading start at two in the afternoon?”

Zou Yuran crooked her finger, signaling her to follow upstairs: “Do you even remember why you came to such a remote place and are here in this scorching heat to film?”

“Because I lost a bet to you.”

Zou Yuran pressed the floor button with force: “A month ago, you were set up by those people from the Chen family. You lost money and cars. If I hadn’t found out in time and used ‘promising anything’ as a stake to stop you from losing more, you would have handed over your company, and you yourself would be stuck in some overseas industrial park! After such a massive Waterloo, you’re actually still going out to drinking parties.”

“It wasn’t for fun, Yuran. It was business work.” Qi Jianyi was very grateful to Zou Yuran. She had suppressed her nature and was acting humble. “But are you sure you won’t lose everything by deciding to make me the lead in the drama you’re directing?”

Qi Jianyi had never acted in her life. She had nothing but a face.

Zou Yuran gave a cold laugh: “Didn’t I hire a teacher to train you? I’ve seen the feedback; it’s acceptable.”

Mainly, Zou Yuran held the three-in-one identity of Director + Investor + Producer. This caused her to invest all her funds into the production and kept her extremely busy—she had no extra money to find a lead actress, nor the time to hold auditions.

“Who exactly is the other female lead? Can’t I know now?”

When she was abroad, Zou Yuran loved filming dramas with distinct regional characteristics. Her first project upon returning to the country was “The Sound of the Wind and Horse,” set in the Tibetan regions. The core story followed a woman who resigned from a big tech firm to clear her head, accidentally intruding into the life of a Tibetan shepherdess, leading to a clash of identity and perception.

It was a Girls’ Love (GL) drama with two female leads. Preparations had begun six months ago. Qi Jianyi knew the other lead must have been decided even earlier than she was, but Zou Yuran always brushed it off by saying it wasn’t finalized.

However, Qi Jianyi knew Zou Yuran couldn’t afford high salaries. She estimated the other actress would be third or fourth-tier, or perhaps someone scouted from a school.

Zou Yuran ignored her, swiped her card to open the room door: “Pack your things. The hangover medicine will be brought up shortly. I want to see you in the second-floor banquet hall at two o’clock. Also, where is your assistant?”

“Aren’t you going to assign one? My assistant is definitely back home watching the company.”

“You’re a complete amateur and you want me to provide you with an assistant?”

Zou Yuran left with a look of disappointment. Qi Jianyi shrugged indifferently.

She blamed herself for being stupid a month ago. Now, in the heat of summer, she was out in the grasslands of the Northwest, and she wasn’t even in Zou Yuran’s good graces.

For the two o’clock script reading, Qi Jianyi was one of the first to arrive.

Zou Yuran, as the director, sat at the very front. Qi Jianyi walked over and sat next to her.

Following Zou Yuran, Qi Jianyi met the assistant director, the screenwriter, and some of the actors.

After finishing the introductions, Qi Jianyi continued reading the script.

In her heart, she couldn’t stop wondering when the other lead would arrive. The more it was kept secret, the more curious she became.

Just as she was thinking this, a series of greetings suddenly broke out near the door, moving closer and closer to Qi Jianyi.

Qi Jianyi turned her head and froze for three seconds. Then, she stood up and put on a polite smile, as if it were their first meeting: “Hello, Teacher Qi. I am Qi Jianyi.”

Qi Nianwei’s gaze lingered on Qi Jianyi for a moment, and then she sat down opposite her.

Qi Jianyi felt a bit awkward and pulled at her sleeve under the table. The last time she had seen Qi Nianwei was five years ago at the Civil Affairs Bureau to finalize their divorce.

What was Zou Yuran trying to do!

Why was Qi Nianwei brought into this?

Would a star of Qi Nianwei’s caliber participate in a web drama?

Qi Jianyi followed along with everyone through the script in a daze. She could hardly believe that the person sitting across from her was Qi Nianwei.

During the breaks where she had no lines, Qi Jianyi threw several looks at Zou Yuran—all of which were ignored.

Zou Yuran did this on purpose!

Qi Jianyi thought that both she and this ex-wife, from whom she had a messy separation, had been tricked by Zou Yuran.

The script reading ended after Zou Yuran announced a dinner gathering for that evening.

Once the people in the banquet hall had gradually dispersed, Qi Jianyi poked Zou Yuran.

Because she hadn’t rested well and had been talking too much, Qi Jianyi’s voice was a bit raspy: “You’re crazy. You’re making me and Qi Nianwei your two female leads.”

No wonder she kept it a secret!

“Drink more water, drink less alcohol, and smoke less.” Zou Yuran lifted her eyelids, her hand still writing notes. “Qi Nianwei is currently entangled in a scandal about ‘giving birth to a baby boy for a tycoon.’ No one believes her even when she declares her sexual orientation. Plus, she wants to broaden her acting range, so she was willing to join for a low salary.”

“But you still couldn’t have picked me!”

“Because you don’t require a salary. All my money has been invested, I couldn’t afford to hire anyone else.”

Qi Jianyi took a deep breath: “I’ll invest in you. I don’t want any profits, and I’ll cover the losses myself.”

“If I really needed investment, would I have to come to you? Just act well. if I lose money because of you, I’ll make you pay with your life.” Zou Yuran added as a precaution, “You aren’t allowed to go to the gathering tonight. Don’t go getting drunk on me again.”

As if struck by a heavy blow, Qi Jianyi left the banquet hall like a wilted eggplant.

There were quite a few people in front of the elevator. Qi Jianyi thought everyone was just waiting, but as she got closer, she realized they were surrounding Qi Nianwei for autographs.

The elevator was out of the question. Qi Jianyi turned into the stairwell. She didn’t go upstairs, but instead went to sit by the children’s playground outside the building.

The vast, desolate area prompted memories of the past. Before she divorced Qi Nianwei, Qi Jianyi had said a lot of hurtful things.

Their relationship was terrible. How could they harmoniously film a drama together now—especially as a couple?

Qi Jianyi suddenly remembered that two months ago, Zou Yuran had asked her if she regretted missing the opportunity, and if she regretted the divorce.

But she had definitely said she didn’t regret it at the time, right?

Qi Jianyi was very certain that her choice was the best for both herself and Qi Nianwei.

She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there when several people came out of the building. Seeing no outsiders around, they began to judge freely.

“Even though she’s become a ‘tainted artist,’ I bet plenty of brainless fans are willing to buy this autograph.”

“If I’d known it was her, I should have brought more notebooks for her to sign. I really didn’t expect her to fall from traditional TV dramas to filming this kind of web drama.”

“Probably got dumped by her tycoon sugar daddy~”

“The fact that the news got out definitely means he didn’t want her anymore. And she’s still pretending to be a sexual minority.”

Qi Jianyi couldn’t help but stand up to see who was crowding for autographs in person but slandering her behind her back.

Two men and one woman—three minor characters with so few lines she couldn’t remember their names.

“Are you trying to leave the crew and enter a police station with those kinds of rumors?”

“What rumors? And who are you anyway?” said the man in the checkered shirt.

The person in the black T-shirt next to him held back his arrogance: “That’s the rich second-generation lead who joined with her own funding. Don’t mess with her.”

Qi Jianyi raised an eyebrow. So that was her image.

The woman with short hair saw things weren’t looking good and immediately bowed deeply to Qi Jianyi: “Sorry, Sister Qi. We didn’t mean to disturb you. We weren’t talking about anyone in the crew.”

Black T-shirt: “Right, right. We were talking about recent news leaks.”

The three of them slunk back into the building. The person at the front stopped with an “Ah,” and the other two stopped in their tracks.

After several shouts of “Sister Qi” and “Teacher Qi,” there was the sound of fast footsteps crushing the scattered gravel on the ground.

Shit. Qi Jianyi thought she shouldn’t have stood up.

Qi Nianwei walked out from behind an euonymus shrub that had been trimmed into a perfect circle, the breeze lightly swaying the irregular hem of her skirt. She was more perfect than any decorative tree.

Qi Nianwei folded her arms and looked with a half-smile at Qi Jianyi, who was acting like a total stranger to her.

Qi Jianyi’s brain worked at high speed, wondering if she could run through the restaurant to the elevator and back to the twenty-fifth floor to escape this face-to-face encounter with Qi Nianwei.

“Since it’s our first meeting, why bother speaking up for me?” Qi Nianwei spoke first.

“I’m sorry,” Qi Jianyi explained. “I thought you wouldn’t want others to know we knew each other… um… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come to this crew. A while ago I lost a bet and had to promise Zou Yuran I’d join the drama. I didn’t know you were in it until today.”

At the time, Qi Jianyi had been very grateful to Zou Yuran for saving her and getting her out of that mess. Now, that saving was debatable.

After finishing her apology, Qi Jianyi looked at the straps on Qi Nianwei’s shoulder, only daring to notice her expression with her peripheral vision.

Qi Nianwei tilted her head: “Why apologize? It doesn’t matter to someone like me.”

The boomerang from five years ago had now struck her right between the eyes. Those were the words Qi Jianyi had said in a moment of hot-headedness back then.

Having been married to Qi Nianwei for ten months, Qi Jianyi knew she wasn’t as magnanimous as she appeared on the surface.

I’m afraid for the upcoming filming, all sorts of boomerangs will likely stab Qi Jianyi every day without repetition.

Qi Nianwei left without giving Qi Jianyi a chance to reply.

Watching her leave, Qi Jianyi felt drained and slumped down powerlessly.

She was wrong, completely wrong.

And one more thing.

Don’t let her catch Zou Yuran slipping up!

The second day of the script reading started with the opening ceremony, followed by the formal start of filming.

The urban portions of the shoot were scheduled for the very end; the filming started with the grassland sections.

Zou Yuran wanted the scenes of “Meeting,” “Rising Emotions,” and “First Parting” to be as beautiful as possible. So, she visited every spot in the local area and finally negotiated filming rights with a wetland scenic area.

The time for renting the venue was tight; these scenes had to be completed before the weekend.

Qi Jianyi had known the filming content long ago. She had memorized the shepherdess’s lines and walked through the marks in advance, but the moment she saw Qi Nianwei, her behavior went out of control.

To make matters worse, Zou Yuran patted Qi Jianyi on the shoulder before they started.

“I specifically commissioned someone to train you for a week. Show me your results.”

Zou Yuran felt Qi Jianyi was tensed up and comforted her: “Don’t worry. Qi Nianwei has been acting for over ten years. Just follow her lead; she will pull you into the character. If you’re nervous, you can treat today as a rehearsal.”

“A rehearsal? If we don’t get a single shot today, will you hit me?”

“No.”

Qi Jianyi felt a bit more relieved. In fact, Zou Yuran really wouldn’t hit her—she only scolded.

“Cut! Qi Jianyi, where are your eyes looking?”

“Cut! Qi Jianyi, you’re out of the frame.”

“Cut! Qi Jianyi, are you sick? Looking at the sheep makes you happier than looking at the person, doesn’t it?”

“Cut! You with the surname Qi, is that the line?”

“Cut! Is your brain full of mush? Get over here! Everyone else, take a break.”

Qi Jianyi was despondent. She bowed apologetically to Qi Nianwei, who had to repeat the scenes multiple times because of her mistakes.

Facing Zou Yuran, she apologized in a low voice: “Director Zou, I’m sorry.”

Zou Yuran let a logistics staff member, who was acting as a temporary assistant for Qi Jianyi, wipe her sweat. Her tone was still harsh: “Are you making the whole crew stay out in the sun for nothing with you?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry to me! Use your brain, discard all distracting thoughts!” Zou Yuran rolled up her sliding sleeves. “It shouldn’t be like this, Qi Jianyi. The feedback from the teacher who trained you wasn’t like this.”

Qi Jianyi knew her heart was unsettled. She lowered her head and endured Zou Yuran’s fury.

It was rare for Zou Yuran to see Qi Jianyi so submissive. Her tone softened slightly: “Call the script supervisor. We’ll film some solo scenes in a bit. You stay on the side and reflect.”

It was too hot to film before three in the afternoon, so they didn’t start today until four. After Qi Jianyi’s multiple mistakes, the sun was almost setting.

She watched the script supervisor take the script to find Qi Nianwei. Qi Nianwei looked up at her. The moment their eyes met, Qi Jianyi immediately lowered her head as if she had done something wrong.

The planned solo scenes were completed before sunset.

Zou Yuran couldn’t help but say: “Look at her. Basically every shot was done in one take.”

Qi Jianyi, cooling down by drinking cold water, nodded. Her ability was too low—far lower than Qi Nianwei’s. She admitted it.

Qi Nianwei walked over, her assistant following closely behind with a chair.

“Director Zou.”

Zou Yuran immediately put on a smile and spoke in a particularly polite tone: “Today’s filming was very good. However, I’d like to try these shots again when there’s time during the day later. Is that okay with you?”

“No problem.” Qi Nianwei said. “Are there changes for tonight?”

Zou Yuran glanced at Qi Jianyi: “Let’s stick to the original plan for now. Go have dinner, thanks for your hard work.”

“I’ll go back to the motorhome to rest for a bit. I won’t eat here.”

“Not to your taste?”

Thinking about the trouble she had caused Qi Nianwei during the day, Qi Jianyi quickly stood up: “What would Teacher Qi like to eat? I’ll go to the city to buy it.”

“You’ll buy it?” Qi Nianwei smiled faintly, the meaning in her eyes deep and inscrutable.