My Ex’s White Moonlight Omega Has a Crush on Me - Chapter 18

Fu Xi gave her a few more strange glances, hesitating as if wanting to say something.

But she was forgetful by nature. After comforting Chao Wan a few words, she quickly focused on driving and didn’t ask further.

That night, Chao Wan stayed temporarily at Fu Xi’s place.

Since she had willfully left home, her phone had been flooded with messages, scolding and insults from Jing Shuran, as well as breach-of-contract claims from her former bloodsucking agency.

Chao Wan glanced at them, bit her lip, and uninstalled the apps directly. Out of sight, out of mind.

After all, tonight wasn’t the only rebellious thing she had done.

Before sleeping, she had already closed her eyes, but she fought off her drowsiness and couldn’t resist checking the trending list.

Ji Tanyue’s side didn’t seem to be deliberately suppressing the trending topics. Even past midnight, the post about her accidental like was still hanging in the top ten, with discussions growing increasingly heated.

After thinking for a long time and still failing to understand Ji Tanyue’s intentions, Chao Wan quietly set her phone aside and closed her eyes.

In her sleep, she frowned, barely resting well throughout the night.

…

Late at night, Ji Tanyue received a phone call.

She set down the script in her hand, glanced at the number, and swiped to answer.

“Miss Qin,” she spoke softly, her red lips parting.

The person on the other end said something, their tone gentle and cautious, a stark contrast to the cold harshness they had used when speaking to Chao Wan earlier.

“Chao Wan?” Ji Tanyue repeated.

After a moment, she curled her lips and replied, “Yes, I like her very much.”

The call went silent for a while before Qin Siyu finally responded.

Upon hearing something, Ji Tanyue casually lowered her gaze, picked up the water glass beside her, and took a sip to moisten her throat.

“I don’t mind. So, I hope President Qin won’t interfere,” she said.

Her voice was gentle, like a soothing breeze.

But the person on the other end of the call would never know that a faint chill flickered in the woman’s eyes, and the smile on her face had long faded.

The other side remained silent for a long time, seemingly agreeing.

Their tone was reluctant, tinged with subtle resentment.

After a few polite pleasantries, the call ended.

Ji Tanyue curled her lips into a mocking smile.

Having gained something, yet never knowing how to cherish it, only trying to make amends after the fact.

Thinking everything could easily return to how it was, when in reality, it was already too late to undo the damage.

She glanced again at the photos still trending on the hot search, and the look in her eyes finally softened.

Tucking her long, wavy hair behind her ear, she cleared her mind and continued revising the script for Moon Over West River.

As she marked up a certain crucial scene, a sudden thought crossed her mind, and she pursed her lips.

A hint of mischief flashed in her eyes.

She sent a message to Cheng Lou.

[Add more scenes for the little guard. Something like this, would it work?]

Five minutes later, Cheng Lou replied.

[?]

…

Awakened in the middle of the night by her phone vibrating, Cheng Lou squinted at the script annotations Ji Tanyue had sent.

“Princess Han Yun is frail and sickly, requiring maids and physicians to attend to her at night.”

She feels cold; she could also use a little guard to warm the bed and watch the courtyard.

“The princess has many male consorts in her chambers, but they are all spies planted in the court.”

Actually, having a female consort as a personal guard wouldn’t be bad either.

“The little guard, under orders, infiltrates the princess’s residence at night to carry out an assassination but is discovered by Han Yun and thrown into the water dungeon for punishment.”

No need for punishment; a sincere apology on the bed will suffice.

“…?” Cheng Lou frowned.

Unable to contain her irritation at being woken up, she sent a question mark back to Ji Tanyue and turned off her phone directly.

Agreeing to guest star as the female antagonist, and now making so many demands, trying to fabricate a romance plot out of thin air?

Wishful thinking.

…

The next day, Chao Wan still went to the film studio.

Arriving at a familiar location, she tried her luck by attending several special role auditions one after another and passed them all.

As she was leaving, many eyes gathered on Chao Wan, accompanied by hushed conversations.

Even the director of the web drama who had kicked her out of the crew the day before was there.

When the man met Chao Wan’s gaze, his expression turned noticeably awkward, and he quickly hurried away with a cigarette in his mouth.

Chao Wan pursed her lips, left the venue, and went to prepare for her next scene.

“Wanwan, did you pass all of them?” Xiao Sui was waiting for Chao Wan not far away and had already seen her emerge, congratulating her, “You’re amazing! As expected of someone trained professionally!”

Chao Wan gave her a shy smile.

“But… first, you have to come clean!” Xiao Sui pounced over, clinging to her arm like a koala, “What happened with yesterday’s hot search?”

Chao Wan froze for a moment, guiltily averted her gaze, and answered softly, “It was nothing. Teacher Ji just invited me to have dinner.”

She wasn’t good at lying. Though she had intended to deny it, the real reason slipped out involuntarily.

Xiao Sui let out an “Oh,” her eyes sparkling, “Do you know each other? Are you close? You two are such a good match! I mean, you have such a good relationship!”

Chao Wan widened her eyes, seemingly taken aback by her words.

“Xiao Sui, don’t you think…” she hesitated, struggling to articulate her thoughts, “Don’t you think Ji Tanyue and I might have some other kind of relationship?”

A highly acclaimed triple-crown actress in the industry, condescending to pick up an unknown film school graduate from the extras’ area, then leaving together in a car, such a scene strongly resembled… a sugar daddy arrangement.

Xiao Sui frowned, thinking for a long time, “But… but isn’t Ji Tanyue into BO or OO relationships?”

She patted Chao Wan’s back and laughed cheerfully, “Wanwan, you’re an Alpha, so it’s fine.”

“…” Chao Wan was bewildered.

So that’s how others would interpret it?

For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

…

After changing her clothes, she saw Xiao Sui off to another film set and then hurried to today’s shooting location.

It was a Republican-era drama. The director, an acquaintance of Cheng Lou, greeted Chao Wan warmly when she arrived.

Chao Wan greeted him nervously, silently rehearsing her single line of dialogue in her mind while contemplating how to perform in front of the camera.

But as she thought, the image of Ji Tanyue at the Western restaurant the previous night suddenly surfaced in her mind.

The woman had unreasonably leaned in close and unexpectedly started rehearsing lines with her.

At that moment, Ji Tanyue’s demeanor had shifted almost abruptly, from gentle and reserved in reality to the obsessive, lurking persona of the princess in the script.

Even when Ji Tanyue had stroked her cheek with a fingertip and their eyes met, Chao Wan had felt an illusion.

It was as if she were being watched by a venomous snake hidden within soft cotton.

Every move was theatrical, seamlessly immersing into the role without the slightest hint of awkwardness.

Chao Wan lowered her gaze and touched the side of her face, the spot Ji Tanyue had touched the night before.

She thought, Ji Tanyue is truly remarkable.

…

The final special role scene wrapped up at nine in the evening. When they finished, the crew was buzzing with excitement.

The director was deeply impressed by Chao Wan’s performance and praised her extensively afterward, his admiration evident in every word.

Chao Wan felt a bit embarrassed, blushing as she modestly deflected the compliments before quickly making her exit.

Truthfully, she wasn’t sure why her acting had gone so smoothly today.

Was it because she had recalled the moments when Ji Tanyue rehearsed with her?

Walking to the outskirts of the film and television city, Chao Wan pulled out her phone to book a ride back to Fu Xi’s place.

But before she could secure a car, a familiar voice called out from behind.

“Chao Wan, so you’re here.”

Chao Wan turned around in a fluster.

Although she hadn’t recognized the person clearly due to face blindness, she identified them by the voice she had just heard.

It was her female agent from the company she was currently signed with.

“Your aunt wants you to sign with another agency, so why can’t you come up with the penalty for breach of contract?”” The agent gradually closed in.

After scrutinizing Chao Wan for a moment, her expression turned intrigued, and she suddenly spoke, “But if you can’t come up with it… there is still a way to resolve this.”

“Remember that maid role I introduced you to before? You just walked off the set without a word, and the director wasn’t too pleased.” Her words carried a meaningful tone.

Chao Wan frowned slightly, silently clutching the hem of her clothes.

But it was the director who had kicked her out of the production.

“How about this,” the agent chuckled lightly.

“You come with me to have a meal with Director Zhang, and we’ll consider the matter settled. The maid role will still be yours in the future.”

Chao Wan suddenly looked up, her lips bitten until they turned red, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“No need. I don’t want that role.”

“You don’t want it?” The agent scoffed as if she had heard the biggest joke of all time.

“You’d better behave. That is, unless you want your forged Alpha identity to be exposed tomorrow.”

She opened the car door beside her, slid into the back seat, and gestured with her chin toward Chao Wan outside the car.

“Come on, do you really expect me to wait for you?” The agent turned sideways, her expression growing increasingly impatient.

Chao Wan clenched the strap of her backpack in embarrassment, hesitating for a long time.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

Only after being reborn did she realize that she had been manipulated all along, completely unable to control her own life.

This feeling… was terrible.

She bit her lips until they nearly bled, but she couldn’t think of any way out.

Reluctantly, she walked to the car.

She would remain neither subservient nor arrogant, reject unreasonable requests, and turn this “accompanying” dinner into nothing more than an ordinary meal.

Chao Wan pressed her lips together, ignoring the agent’s hints and admonitions. She simply leaned back in the seat, quietly gazing out the window.

Soon, the car started, its headlights glaring brightly as it drove off into the depths of the night.

Silence enveloped them.

Chao Wan didn’t notice her phone vibrating faintly, nor the message that had just arrived.

[y: It’s late. I’ll come pick you up.]