My Ex’s White Moonlight Omega Has a Crush on Me - Chapter 16

A few extras had gathered around, but they now retreated to a far distance, covering their mouths in astonishment as they talked in hushed voices.

Camera flashes were blinding, and even more people were filming with their phones.

No wonder it had been so quiet just now, and no wonder… Qin Siyu had looked her way with that kind of expression.

Chao Wan didn’t dare to meet Ji Tanyue’s gaze and could only answer softly, “Okay.”

She had thought Ji Tanyue would arrange to meet her somewhere, but she never expected the woman to come find her in person.

After getting into the car and driving away from the film studio, the heat on her cheeks still hadn’t faded.

Chao Wan kept her eyes downcast, clutching the strap of her handbag, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Ji Tanyue was truly unreasonable, she thought, both in the timing of her appearance and her method of rescuing her.

Photos were probably already circulating online. People would definitely be speculating about their relationship.

Stealing a glance at the woman beside her, Chao Wan bit her lip.

She was also… incredibly bold. Nothing like the “prim and proper beauty” described by the gossip accounts.

Ji Tanyue took off her mask, folded it neatly, and asked casually, as if it were an afterthought, “Was there someone you knew back there?”

Chao Wan lowered her eyes and replied, “No.”

There used to be, but not anymore.

The corners of Ji Tanyue’s lips curved up slightly, and she didn’t press the matter further.

The car drove to a remote part of the city.

The location for dinner was a quiet, sparsely occupied private Western restaurant. An elegant, mellow piano melody flowed gently through the room.

The owner was an acquaintance of Ji Tanyue’s and led them to an outdoor terrace area.

The view here was excellent. With the ceaseless flow of Lin’nan’s main urban district at its back, one could see the shimmering neon lights dancing on the river’s surface.

Chao Wan sat primly as she listened to the recommendations and placed her order.

A waiter moved with elegant grace, folding their napkins for them and pouring red wine before quietly departing.

“Did everything go smoothly today?” Ji Tanyue asked.

“Yes,” Chao Wan nodded lightly. After a moment’s thought, she uttered a white lie. “Director Cheng took good care of me.”

Having accepted the business card, it felt wrong to speak ill of him.

The woman across from her smiled, the corners of her lips lifting, but didn’t expose the lie.

The dishes arrived one by one. The atmosphere between them was quiet as they each began to eat.

The food was all to Chao Wan’s taste. She kept her head down, taking small bites, not quite daring to look at the woman opposite her.

She was terrified of being alone with Ji Tanyue.

Because she never knew when the woman would bring up the one thing she hadn’t given an answer to.

The matter of… being sponsored.

And Chao Wan had already accepted too much kindness and help from Ji Tanyue. This time, she had no way of refusing.

Unexpectedly, she remained on high alert for a long time, but Ji Tanyue never brought it up, not even by the end of dinner.

“It’s getting late. Where are you staying?” The woman dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin, her voice gentle.

“The driver will take you back.”

Chao Wan shook her head in a bit of a fluster, replying in a small voice, “N-No, you don’t have to…”

There was probably no point in telling her anyway. After all, wasn’t the reason Ji Tanyue had invited her to dinner for what would happen tonight…?

That cold, suffocating villa once again surfaced in her mind.

As Chao Wan’s thoughts ran wild, she didn’t notice she had bitten her lower lip until it was red, or that a faint mist had gathered in her eyes.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her.

An elegant, pleasant perfume, mingled with the faintest, suppressed hint of tuberose, slowly diffused around her.

“Are you afraid of me?” the woman asked, a slight curve to her lips.

Not expecting Ji Tanyue to approach so suddenly, Chao Wan’s eyes widened slightly, and she instinctively flinched, shrinking her shoulders.

She bit her lip, unsure how to answer, and could only try to cover it up. “N-No, I’m not.”

But the immediate distance she put between them and her uncontrollably trembling eyelashes had already revealed her true feelings.

“If you’re not afraid,” Ji Tanyue seemed to chuckle, looking down at her as her fingertips brushed against her cheek, “why are you hiding?”

Although she was smiling and her tone was gentle, the emotion in her phoenix eyes was utterly dark.

A silent sense of pressure surged forth.

The corners of Chao Wan’s eyes reddened. This time, she didn’t dare to shy away and could only avert her gaze in extreme embarrassment.

She shouldn’t have come. The dinner was just an exchange for the business card, yet she had been foolishly imagining how she might escape afterward.

Ji Tanyue was so meticulous and her actions so flawless. How could she possibly let her leave?

Could it be… she was going to… right here?

Chao Wan could no longer suppress the panic in her heart. Wiping her eyes, she wrapped her arms around herself, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “Not here. C-Can we go back…?”

Silence instantly fell around her.

Then, a soft chuckle brushed past her ear.

The oppressive feeling that had enveloped her dissipated. Ji Tanyue sat back down in her original seat, propping up her chin. The emotion in her phoenix eyes was soft, mixed with a hint of amusement.

She turned her lit-up phone around and pushed it toward Chao Wan.

The format was familiar. It was a script. The lines in it, aside from the nonsensical one Chao Wan had just blurted out, matched up perfectly with the rest.

It was a dialogue from a drama between the Eldest Princess, Han Yun, and a young guard.

Chao Wan stared at it for a moment, her face growing hot and flushed.

Ji Tanyue… was running lines with her?

“What were you thinking about just now, hmm?” Ji Tanyue retrieved her phone, her voice gentle.

Chao Wan shook her head in embarrassment, unwilling to say.

Ji Tanyue glanced at the person before her, the smile never leaving her lips.

“Cheng Lou asked me to test you. She thinks your image is a great fit for a certain character in her new film,” she explained patiently.

Chao Wan’s lips parted slightly. She looked up and glanced cautiously at Ji Tanyue. Only after confirming that the woman’s expression didn’t seem fake did she relax.

But immediately after, her heart began to pound with mortification.

Ji Tanyue’s phone buzzed twice. It was a message from Cheng Lou.

She looked down at it for a moment, then smiled helplessly. Her red lips parted as she read it aloud for Chao Wan:

“Giving a sinister villain like you a loyal little puppy of a guard to design is truly a waste of God’s gifts.”

“But, Chao Wan isn’t bad. A diamond in the rough. Have her play a few hundred more featured extra roles first.”

Chao Wan listened in a daze, the tips of her ears turning red.

Ji Tanyue turned off her phone, not forgetting to ask with a smile, “So this is what you meant by ‘Director Cheng took good care of me’?”

So, Ji Tanyue knew everything.

Chao Wan felt like steam was rising from the top of her head. Face burning with shame, she said nothing.

Why didn’t she say so beforehand? Was it fun to watch her make a fool of herself…?

Ji Tanyue’s lips curved, her smile widening.

As if seeing right through her thoughts, the woman took a coat and draped it over Chao Wan’s shoulders. Her fingers were cool as they casually lifted her loose hair.

“Then… how about we let this dinner make up for it?”

Chao Wan lowered her head, burying her slightly feverish cheeks in the soft, furry collar of the coat.

…

As it happened to be on the way, Ji Tanyue’s driver took Chao Wan home.

Chao Wan pushed open the car door, folded the coat neatly, and carefully placed it on the back seat, right next to Ji Tanyue.

As she stood up, a voice brushed past her ear.

“…I hope you’ll consider it carefully. An opportunity in Cheng Lou’s new film is hard to come by.”

Ji Tanyue looked up and watched Chao Wan quietly for a moment before giving a slight nod and rolling up the window.

The car started and drove off into the distance.

The faint scent of the woman’s perfume still lingered on her shoulders from the coat.

Chao Wan stood there thinking for a long time as the cold wind cooled the heat on her face.

It seemed all her earlier struggles had been for nothing.

The business card, the dinner, and the script… she was walking step by step into Ji Tanyue’s lukewarm trap.

Perhaps it had started even earlier. From the moment she stumbled into that unlocked room, escape had already become difficult.

The more she accepted, the deeper she sank, until… she became the canary in the woman’s cage.

Even though Chao Wan didn’t want to.

Ji Tanyue held all the leverage against her, yet she was always helping her in subtle ways. The threats were wrapped in gentleness, and by now, Chao Wan was no longer in a position to refuse.

Her declaration from her past life, “I don’t want to be someone’s canary again,” now seemed like a joke.

Chao Wan pressed her lips together, her long lashes hiding the gloom in her eyes as she went to knock on her uncle’s door.

Soon, someone answered.

Zhao Yan seemed a bit hesitant, forcing a smile at her. “Xiao Wan, you’re back?”

There seemed to be other people in the house.

Chao Wan nodded at her uncle and looked past him.

Instantly, her expression stiffened.

Jing Shuran was talking to a secretary in a suit and tie. Two copies of a document were laid out on the table, looking as if they were about to sign a contract.

And that secretary, Chao Wan was all too familiar with him. He was Qin Siyu’s assistant, and also her agent from her past life.

The agent who had let her sink in a mire of scandals and curses, who had turned off his phone and watched coldly from the sidelines.

Perhaps it had even been at Qin Siyu’s instruction.

Chao Wan thought quietly, a chill spreading through her heart, along with the faintest trace of self-mockery.

“Oh, look who’s back!” Jing Shuran spotted Chao Wan at the door and greeted her with delight.

“Xiao Wan, come here, quickly! President Qin’s company wants to sign you.”

The secretary nodded at her politely, but the disdain in his expression was exceptionally obvious. “Miss Chao.”

He took out his phone to inform Qin Siyu.

But Chao Wan kept her head down, not responding.

Why had they come looking for her again?

The silent stalemate continued. Before long, the secretary’s phone rang.

“Miss Chao, President Qin would like to speak with you.” He walked over and handed the already-connected phone to Chao Wan.

Chao Wan froze.

She hadn’t even had time to press the receiver to her ear when a faint voice came through.

“Chao Wan,” Qin Siyu began, his voice frigid.

“What, exactly, is your relationship with Ji Tanyue?”