My Ex-Wife Seems to Have Ulterior Motives Toward Me - Chapter 2

“What do you want to eat?”

Qi Nianwei leaned against the back of her chair, speaking rapidly as if she had long ago prepared a script: “First, go to the dry cleaner on Bayuan Road and pick up a set of Tibetan costumes. There seems to be a rice noodle shop near there. Buy me a regular portion, light salt, no cilantro, and no bean curd skin. Also, buy a serving of purple potato porridge, but no chunks of purple potato in the porridge. Xiaotian, what are you eating? It’s a whole hour’s round trip to the city, it’s rare for someone to go.”

Qi Nianwei’s assistant, Xiaotian, looked at her artist and then at Qi Jianyi: “I… I’ll have a portion of rice noodles too. No dietary restrictions. Thanks a lot, Teacher Qi.”

Because Qi Nianwei had spoken so quickly, Qi Jianyi barely remembered the gist of it. She repeated the order back to her to confirm.

“No problem.”

Zou Yuran, never one to miss a chance to stir the pot, added: “I want a portion of rice noodles too. Extra sauce. Pack the noodles and the soup base separately for all three of us.”

“Fine.” Qi Jianyi turned around and took out her phone, writing down everyone’s requirements.

She suddenly remembered she didn’t have a car and turned back to ask Zou Yuran for her keys.

Opening the navigation, Qi Jianyi recalled Qi Nianwei’s requests and felt a sense of wrongness she couldn’t quite put into words.

Since she couldn’t escape the crew, for the sake of making it easier for Qi Nianwei to boss her around in the future, Qi Jianyi asked her family to send over a car with a large fuel tank that was resistant to dirt.

She didn’t say a word about losing her car. Even though no one in the Qi family actually cared if she played high stakes and lost a car, she didn’t want to deepen their impression of her being unruly.

Arriving at the dry cleaner on Bayuan Road, Qi Jianyi gave the crew’s name.

“Wind Horse crew? It was sent out the day before yesterday.”

“Sent out? Let me check again.”

Qi Jianyi tried calling Qi Nianwei’s mobile number.

Five years ago, all her contact methods had been blacklisted by Qi Nianwei.

“The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable.”

Still blacklisted.

Qi Jianyi navigated to the rice noodle shop, planning to order the food first.

Looking at the shop’s side dishes, Qi Jianyi seemed to realize what was wrong with Qi Nianwei’s requests.

Qi Nianwei didn’t eat seaweed either. But she hadn’t mentioned it. Qi Jianyi guessed that even if she bought it, Nianwei probably wouldn’t eat it. But she still had to buy it.

“What is it, Eldest Miss Qi?”

“Push Xiaotian’s contact info to me.”

Qi Jianyi called the number Zou Yuran gave her and asked about the costumes.

The answer she got: It was the dry cleaner on Xuanwu Road.

On the navigation map, Bayuan Road and Xuanwu Road were twenty kilometers apart.

The rice noodles were ready. Qi Jianyi looked at the takeout boxes and the new address, she felt like she was being played.

Was it because of the pretense of not knowing each other yesterday? Today’s multiple NGs? Or the resentment from five years ago?

Qi Jianyi thought it might be all of the above. However, for now, she had to order a purple potato porridge for delivery to the dry cleaner on Xuanwu Road.

She couldn’t get back to the crew within the ninety-minute break, which meant she would delay the crew’s progress again.

The pressure of time and the frustration in her heart made Qi Jianyi feel a bit feverish; she had to turn the air conditioning down a few notches.

At the dry cleaner on Xuanwu Road, Qi Jianyi specifically confirmed the costumes with Xiaotian. Only after getting a definite answer did she rush back with the porridge delivery.

Leaving the city area, she practically floored the accelerator.

Makeup was scheduled to start at seven. It was now 6:58. Qi Jianyi arrived right on the dot, panting for breath.

The lights at the filming location were being set up one after another, with busy logistics staff weaving through them.

Qi Jianyi’s temporary assistant, Xiaoyuan, saw her and immediately jogged over, wanting to take the things.

“Give this portion to Director Zou.”

Qi Jianyi took the rest to Qi Nianwei’s motorhome. After a few steps, she saw Qi Nianwei and Xiaotian coming toward her.

“This is all for you guys.”

Xiaotian took them, confirming the clothes weren’t damaged while pulling out a slip of paper: “Oh! It’s this outfit. It was one chosen during the look-test but later rejected. The company was supposed to take it back.”

Qi Jianyi had been played thoroughly. What was the point of her specifically taking photos to check? She had thought she was well-prepared.

Hiding her emotions deep down, Qi Jianyi good-naturedly told the two of them to eat something.

Qi Nianwei looked slightly apologetic: “I’m sorry. There were too many dry-cleaned clothes, and several Tibetan outfits are very similar. I made you make a trip for nothing.”

“It’s fine.”

Qi Nianwei just took one look through the plastic container: “There’s seaweed… I’m allergic and can’t eat it. Teacher Qi, go ask someone else.”

What ‘allergy’! She just purely hated the taste of seaweed, yet she used a legitimate reason like an allergy to cover up her malice and picky eating.

Qi Jianyi caught a trace of smugness in the depths of Qi Nianwei’s eyes. She lowered her head and bit the tip of her tongue slightly to stay calm: “Fine, I’ll give it to someone else.”

“I won’t drink the porridge either, it’s fattening.” Qi Nianwei faced Xiaotian, treating the nearby Qi Jianyi like thin air. “Look at my solo scenes from this afternoon. Is it obvious that I’m fatter than in my last drama?”

Qi Jianyi wanted to leave quickly, feeling exhausted. The person who was the root cause of her running back and forth had just discarded everything with such nonchalance.

Noticing Qi Jianyi was about to leave, Qi Nianwei turned around and apologized again with a smirk: “I’m sorry, Teacher Qi. I’ve taken up so much of your time.”

Facing such blatant intentionality, Qi Jianyi couldn’t bring herself to say “it’s fine.”

Passing behind the director’s tent, Qi Jianyi threw the items onto an empty table. Her anger was so great that it made Zou Yuran turn around.

“Who made you angry?”

There were five people in the tent. Qi Jianyi’s breathing was heavy; she no longer cared to maintain the facade of harmony with the other lead: “Who else could it be? Qi Nianwei!”

They were supposed to be people who would never cross paths again until death, yet Zou Yuran had huddled them together.

Zou Yuran pursed her lips: “You two might have some misunderstanding. Someone come and fan Qi Jianyi.”

Sensing it was inappropriate to vent here, Qi Jianyi suppressed her fire: “No need. I’ll just wash my face and go to makeup.”

Watching Qi Jianyi leave, Zou Yuran said to the surrounding circle: “No one is allowed to talk about what just happened.”

“Understood, understood.”

At night, the wetland was filled with the faint sound of river water splashing and the rustle of wind blowing through the grass. The streetlights and floodlights made the place no less bright than during the day, while adding a sense of leisurely tranquility.

In the scene, Qi Jianyi, finished with makeup, stood on the wooden platform by the river. Her mood hadn’t calmed, but she wouldn’t lose her temper at anyone again. Her mind was very sharp now.

Compared to her awkwardness during the day, she was now driven entirely by a competitive spirit for acting.

The shepherdess had several lines with strong emotions.

— “Why won’t you tell me about your city? Are you really that unwilling to let me enter your world!”

— “I thought we were friends.”

—”You’re giving me a gift? My lambs were sold for a pittance, is my heart to be sold for a pittance too?”

Dozens of lines, the emotion rising layer by layer, until the final lamb needed to drop.

The wind by the lake at night was very chilly. Qi Jianyi was wearing many layers and didn’t feel cold, but Qi Nianwei’s thin knit sweater offered no protection against the wind.

Qi Nianwei’s hands were icy. Qi Jianyi touched Qi Nianwei’s hand while delivering her lines, feeling her coldness.

“You’re giving me a gift? My lambs were sold… my heart…”

As if stimulated by the emotion, Qi Nianwei’s face turned away slightly.

“Cut, let’s do it again.”

The emotional flow of the shot was disrupted by Qi Nianwei, leading to a retake. Qi Jianyi had scored a small win against the other’s professionalism.

“You’re giving me a gift? My lambs…”

“Cough, cough.”

Qi Nianwei’s coughing interrupted the second time.

“Cut.” Zou Yuran put down her megaphone. “Bring Teacher Qi some hot water.”

Qi Jianyi saw Qi Nianwei only take a tiny sip from the top of the cup, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit of heartache.

But this segment needed to show her wearing little and being cold to compare the difference between the shepherdess and the urban white-collar worker.

“The crew should have heat packs, do you need one?”

Qi Nianwei returned the cup: “No need. The parts covered by clothes aren’t cold, just the hands and face exposed outside.”

“Suit yourself. I was just asking out of politeness, you don’t need to explain so much to me.”

The sarcastic remark grated on Qi Nianwei. She lowered her eyelashes to hide her dissatisfied gaze.

Zou Yuran raised the megaphone: “Start the whole segment over. Teacher Qi, please go back to the tree.”

She found it a bit strange. Qi Jianyi was much stronger tonight than during the day, and now it was actually Qi Nianwei’s performance that was lackluster. It took many takes before they got a brilliant one.

“Passed!”

“Scene 31, Shot 1, Take 1!”

“Scene 32, Shot 1, Take 2! Qi Jianyi, take Teacher Qi’s hand.”

As required, Qi Jianyi grasped the other’s hand. Now, Qi Nianwei’s fingertips were icy, but her palm was slightly warm.

With mischievous intent, Qi Jianyi used the pad of her index finger to playfully slide twice against Qi Nianwei’s palm.

She withdrew her hand as if she had received an electric shock. The corners of Qi Jianyi’s mouth curled up uncontrollably.

Reshooting a new take, Qi Jianyi repeated the trick. This time, Qi Nianwei endured it.

During Qi Nianwei’s subsequent lines, Qi Jianyi looked innocent on the surface, but secretly, the pad of her finger was tracing along the other’s palm lines.

Qi Nianwei’s trembling was somewhat obvious on the screen.

“Cut. Is Teacher Qi still cold?”

Qi Nianwei pulled her hand away and signaled that she was fine, but the look she gave Qi Jianyi carried a warning.

Again.

Qi Jianyi was prepared to let her go, but Qi Nianwei thought of a way to restrain her.

The moment her hand was held, Qi Nianwei’s smooth thumbnail dug sideways into Qi Jianyi’s palm.

This time, the one who jerked their hand away was Qi Jianyi.

“Cut! Qi Jianyi!”

Qi Jianyi raised an eyebrow and mouthed the word: “Act.”

This time, the two of them successfully finished this part.

In the next shot, neither of them made any secret moves, as if the playfulness had ended.

At eleven o’clock at night, the first day of filming concluded.

Qi Jianyi continued to receive guidance from Zou Yuran on the platform.

“Even though your emotions are fine, your movements are a bit uncoordinated. You need to pay attention to everything from start to finish…”

Ten minutes later, Qi Jianyi finally left the platform.

She saw Qi Nianwei in the tent, who hadn’t left yet. A shawl was draped over her shoulders, and she was holding hot water in her hands, coughing several times in a row.

“Why haven’t you gone back yet?” Zou Yuran asked.

“I’m feeling a bit unwell. I’ll sit here for a while.”

“Did you bring medicine to prevent a cold?”

Qi Nianwei nodded: “Cough… it’s not the coughing. My eyes hurt a bit. I’ve already had Xiaotian go back to the hotel to buy eye drops.”

“They’re probably all closed at this hour.”

The second after Zou Yuran finished speaking, Xiaotian’s call came in.

The pharmacy at the hotel entrance was indeed closed.

Qi Jianyi listened quietly to their conversation. She slowly helped the logistics staff pack things up, and when Zou Yuran finished saying she would drive her back to the hotel, she made no extra movements.

Zou Yuran commanded: “Jianyi, you drive and go to the city again. There’s no delivery here at night.”

Qi Jianyi thought to herself that she should have just taken the van back with the others.

The thought of refusal was nipped in the bud after seeing Qi Nianwei’s unwell complexion: “Which kind of eye drops?”

Qi Nianwei stood up with a faint smile: “Thank you, Teacher Qi. Let me add your WeChat.”

They added each other, putting on an act. Beside them, Zou Yuran scratched the back of her head. Ever since Qi Nianwei suddenly pulled her hand away on the platform, she felt an undercurrent flowing between the two of them.

Qi Jianyi still took Zou Yuran’s car keys.

She drove from the scenic area in the opposite direction of the hotel. There were very few streetlights in the desert, and it was quite dark.

She had been too successful in teasing Qi Nianwei during the filming; the playfulness hadn’t ended at all. Qi Jianyi felt that her fate tonight would be even darker than this road.