My Nemesis and My Wife - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Big Star She Likes.

“The platform is completely crushed. It’s too late today; Director Yu said we’ll shoot tomorrow.” Jiang Yan looked to be in an excellent mood, a sense of joy drifting from every strand of her hair. Yang Xingji thought to herself that the industry rumors about how dedicated Jiang Yan was were probably nonsense; if she’s this happy to get off work, how much could she really love her job?

“Why is Teacher Qin here?” Jiang Yan asked, her spirits high. “Didn’t Teacher Qin get off work a long time ago?”

Then she noticed Yang Xingji, dressed gently and obediently beside Qin Lan. She immediately stepped forward and intimately grabbed her hand: “Xingji, do you remember me? I’m Jiang Yan from Class 5. We were in the same grade at Beichuan. I remember you always had a dream of being in a girl group; congratulations on finally realizing your dream! I didn’t expect that the Xingji who shines so brightly on stage would be even prettier in person than on the posters!”

Yang Xingji let out an “ah” and looked at her in confusion: “I remember… of course I remember, you’re Jiang Yan from Class 5, the big star…”

“Speaking of big stars, isn’t the captain of Eleven more famous than me?” Jiang Yan gave a shy smile, then turned into a total fangirl: “The young girls in the crew discuss you every day, especially you, Xingji. Everyone says you can be both ‘salty’ and ‘sweet,’ full of vitality, giving them infinite life and energy!”

Jiang Yan praised her for a full ten minutes, nearly coaxing Yang Xingji back into an embryonic state. Dazed and lightheaded from being pulled around and complimented, Yang Xingji could only make sounds like “aba aba.” This person was a cool, dazzling beauty with an overwhelming aura on stage, but in private, her personality was simple—how could she handle a high-level veteran like Jiang Yan?

“Even though someone else took the initiative, Yang Xingji, if you weren’t an egg with a crack in it, how would a fly sting you?” Qin Lan watched coldly from the sidelines, arms crossed and sneering, her red lips like a proud rose in the dark night.

Jiang Yan acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing: “Wow… what brand of lip glaze are you using? This color makes your skin look especially snowy-white and healthy… By the way, are you waiting for someone?”

The simple-minded Yang Xingji could only nod now: “We’re waiting for Best Actress Feng, hehe.”

“I’ve heard for years that Xingji is quite the fangirl. To be honest, I really like Best Actress Feng too. She is a very, very good person, worthy of being liked by an outstanding girl like Xingji.”

As soon as Yang Xingji heard someone praise Feng Manhong, she instantly turned into a mindless fighter jet: “Sister, you have such great taste! You like the Goddess too?! Ahhh, sister—”

“We both have great taste. Come, I’ll take you to see Best Actress Feng.”

With that, Jiang Yan affectionately linked arms with Yang Xingji and walked away. Not only did she not give Qin Lan a single glance, but she also made off with the best friend Qin Lan had invited out.

Qin Lan watched her back and couldn’t help but stomp her foot hard: “Hey! Yang Xingji! You guy who values romance over friendship—Dead Jiang Yan! It’s all your fault! I really—really—”

A smile curled at the corner of Jiang Yan’s lips as she led Yang Xingji inside.

Qin Lan gnashed her teeth in hatred, standing at the door with her hair disheveled, staring blankly. At that moment, another person appeared, walking toward her exhausted and murmuring gloomily: “We’ve both been busy all day for the careers we love. Why is Jiang Yan glowing with health while I have no spirit left?”

Qin Lan nearly jumped out of her skin in fright, swinging a hand toward her: “Where did this female ghost come from?!”

Yu Jintang impatiently grabbed her wrist: “It’s me. Aren’t you off work? Why aren’t you lying down in the hotel? Why are you hanging around here?”

“Yu Guaiguai?” Qin Lan breathed a sigh of relief and smoothed back her hair.

“It’s all because of Yang Xingji, forcing me to see Jiang Yan again.” She glared fiercely at the chatting and laughing Jiang Yan inside: “She insisted on seeing Best Actress Feng… Now look, she’s been whisked away by Jiang Yan. So what the hell am I even doing here?”

Yu Jintang patted her shoulder sympathetically: “Sometimes it’s just fate to have such a mortal enemy… Sigh, I understand. The key is that you can’t really fall out with her right now, after all, the two of you used to… hmm… tsk tsk tsk…”

Yu Jintang made a series of rhythmic, meaningful, and strange noises.

“Mention it again and we’re through!” Qin Lan flew into a rage.

Yu Jintang leisurely raised both hands: “Hey… don’t be angry. How about we go eat? I’m so hungry my stomach is sticking to my spine. Just in time, ‘Sheep’ (Yang) is here too, let’s the three of us go ‘eat grass’…”

Qin Lan sneered: “I bet she only has eyes for Best Actress Feng and Jiang Yan now. Does she even remember her two childhood friends outside?”

“Then forget her, let’s go eat ourselves.” Yu Jintang didn’t hesitate for a second, making plans rapidly: “Let’s go to Sheep’s family place. After eating, we can lie down in the massage parlor next door. This ghostly weather is too hot… My ear piercing seems inflamed, I need someone to look at it.”

“So we just leave her here?” Qin Lan hesitated; the girl was brought here by her, after all.

Yu Jintang pulled out her phone and started typing: “Just leave her a message. Anyway, with Jiang Yan there—a person with such a perfect image—she won’t just abandon Yang Xingji…”

“What? No!” Qin Lan refused flatly: “How can we leave her to that black lotus Jiang Yan? If we do that, the next time we see Yang Xingji, she’ll be Jiang Yan’s number one fan!”

“This won’t do, that won’t do. Then you tell me what will?” Yu Jintang looked at her helplessly: “I say… sigh, tsk tsk tsk, don’t have such a big reaction to Sister Nemesis. After all, the more a person cares about something, the bigger the reaction…”

“Who cares about her? Who cares?! Stop talking out of your ass, I can’t even be bothered to acknowledge her!”

“Look at you getting anxious again.” Yu Jintang looked completely relaxed. Teasing Qin Lan was particularly fun; she was too competitive—you poke her once and she makes a sound like a toy, all aggressive and everything…

“It’s no problem, I can take the initiative to talk to Teacher Qin.” Jiang Yan’s voice chimed in perfectly. Qin Lan was startled and turned her head guiltily to look. She saw Jiang Yan still supporting Yang Xingji, who was leaning into her embrace looking like she was about to faint with happiness, clutching an autograph to her chest.

“I have Best Actress Feng’s autograph.” Yang Xingji looked at them as if sleepwalking: “Do you know what this means?”

“It means you finally have something everyone else got ages ago,” Qin Lan said impatiently. “Alright, let’s go. Your treat.”

“Right, I really should treat Teacher Jiang to a meal,” Yang Xingji said suddenly. “Teacher Jiang, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Just call me Yanyan from now on.” Jiang Yan smiled gently: “Don’t you need to go eat with your friends? Don’t worry, I can go back to the hotel by myself later, it’s fine.”

Qin Lan stared at the now-brainless Yang Xingji with a pained expression. Listen to that! Listen to that! Such a “Green Tea” speech! But why did everyone listening turn into an idiot?

Upon hearing this, Yang Xingji immediately looked anxious and wouldn’t let go of her: “How can that be? Teacher Jiang… Yanyan, you gave me such a precious gift, how could I leave you here alone? What do you want to eat? My family has a few restaurants in Luocheng, I’ll have the chef make whatever you like, okay?”

“But your friends… It’s okay, Xingji, I can be alone.”

She said this while looking at Yu Jintang with a smile.

Qin Lan glared at Yu Jintang.

Yu Jintang sighed and said, “I’m quite willing to thank Teacher Jiang for her hard work.”

Jiang Yan smiled at Qin Lan.

A look like a triumphant puppy.

Qin Lan: “I f*cking mind.”

“Um… it’s okay. I know Teacher Qin has always held a grudge against me.” Jiang Yan lowered her head slightly as if hurt, then gave a generous smile: “It’s okay. Xingji, you’re leaving Luocheng the day after tomorrow. Go eat together tonight. It won’t be too late to eat together after the wrap-up. We can keep in touch often. If Teacher Feng agrees, I’ll send you exclusive behind-the-scenes clips of her!”

Yang Xingji was moved to the point of nearly dying. she couldn’t hear anything else now; Jiang Yan was basically like her second parent: “That won’t do! It’s settled. Sister Qin, you and Tang’er go shopping, I’m taking Yanyan to my family’s restaurant.”

Yu Jintang: “Well, if they’re going to the restaurant, we’ll have to sit in the main hall. There definitely won’t be a private room at this hour. Old Qin, how about you try eating while wearing a mask?”

“No,” Qin Lan refused instantly. “You go eat yourself, I’m going back to the hotel.”

Yu Jintang said helplessly, “In that case, I might as well go with them.”

Qin Lan raised her eyebrows: “No one’s stopping you.”

Jiang Yan didn’t want to truly affect their friendship and decisively took a step back: “Xingji, you guys go. If I affect your relationship, I would feel really guilty. I’ll go back and look at the script. Really, tomorrow’s intimate scene with Teacher Qin… sigh…”

Reminded by her, Qin Lan suddenly remembered what scene was scheduled for tomorrow. Her temper flared up instantly: “Dead Jiang Yan, make yourself clear. What’s wrong with tomorrow’s scene that makes it so difficult for you?”

Compared to Qin Lan’s frantic jumping, Jiang Yan seemed at ease: “It’s nothing. I was just worried whether we could film smoothly, seeing how much Teacher Qin rejects me.”

“There is no such thing as a scene not going smoothly when I’m filming,” Qin Lan said angrily. “Stop with the sarcasm. I’m hungry. Let’s eat!”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going?” Yu Jintang poked her with an elbow.

“I just can’t stand Dead Jiang Yan’s posturing.” Qin Lan knew this was probably exactly what Jiang Yan wanted, but recalling a whole day of anxiety, her stubbornness flared up: “I’ll slap her face with facts. I’m not afraid of her at all!”

“Greetings, Miss!” The passing waiters all bowed their heads.

The woman in the lead wore sunglasses that covered half her face, walking past coldly. Behind her was a trendy person, covered in various pins, nodding and waving with a laugh. Meanwhile, the “Miss” the waiters referred to was leaning into the embrace of another woman with waist-length hair, pressing a piece of paper to her rapidly heaving chest.

Yang Xingji still looked like she needed oxygen even after sitting down in the private room. Thus, Qin Lan and Yu Jintang started ordering dishes for themselves. The latter would ask Jiang Yan what she wanted, while Qin Lan acted as if the person didn’t exist in the room.

Yu Jintang ordered a bottle of red wine as usual, pouring a glass for herself and Jiang Yan, while Yang Xingji had a little bit in her cup too.

Qin Lan nibbled on a fruit salad, the cherry juice making her lips look moist. She noticed Jiang Yan staring at her lips, so she wantonly stuck out the tip of her tongue and gave them a seductive lick.

She successfully saw Jiang Yan turn her head away steadily—a reaction of wanting to look but being too embarrassed to do so.

Qin Lan laughed happily and raised an eyebrow at Yu Jintang. But she couldn’t gloat for long because a regained-consciousness Yang Xingji began to talk incessantly about how beautiful and elegant the real Feng Manhong was, and how her fragrance when she approached almost made her faint. Yang Xingji even said she regretted her choice to join the group for a second; otherwise, she would have definitely competed with Qin Lan for the role of Shangguan Wan’er.

“Is it still possible to add a character? I’d be willing even if I just played a maid holding a fan.” Yang Xingji looked at Yu Jintang pleadingly.

Yu Jintang grinned: “I don’t object, but I remember you have to go back the day after tomorrow to film your variety show ‘The Stage’.”

“Don’t mention that, okay?” Yang Xingji looked resentful, muttering to comfort herself: “Yang Xingji, Yang Xingji, you chose this path yourself, you mustn’t regret it.”

“I really admire Xingji,” Jiang Yan said in a soft voice, her expression serious. “Even after missing the chance to act opposite your favorite star, you tell yourself not to regret decisions you’ve made. Xingji is much braver than many people. A Xingji like this will surely continue to shine and will one day be noticed by her idol.”

“Really?” Yang Xingji looked at her as if encouraged, eyes sparkling.

Qin Lan gave a caustic laugh, mocking her in her head for nearly becoming Jiang Yan’s child. Jiang Yan glanced at her, still smiling: “Yes. To tell you the truth, I have a big star I really like too. Hmm, probably to about the same degree that Xingji likes Best Actress Feng.”

On the surface, Qin Lan was slowly poking at the salad dressing in her plate with the tip of her chopsticks, but her ears perked up involuntarily.

“Wow, really?” Yang Xingji urged her: “Tell us more. Yanyan, you’re a big star yourself now. Have you collaborated with her?”

“Yes, but because of some reasons, I didn’t have that opportunity later…” Jiang Yan was still smiling. “I also regret my past choices. Hmm, does Xingji think I count as a big star now?”

“Of course!” Yang Xingji straightened her back instantly, her hand clenched in a fist: “You are a big star with both traffic and acting skills! Your advertisements and fan supports are everywhere! Several people in our group like you!”

But the big star Jiang Yan is a coward. Jiang Yan smiled faintly and raised her eyes: “Now I choose to be brave like Xingji and never let myself regret again. I also hope the big star I like will be braver than me; after all, she has always been so much more excellent than me.”

“Suddenly I feel like crying,” Yang Xingji said involuntarily, her eyes turning moist. “Why is there suddenly such a sentimental atmosphere?”

Yu Jintang leisurely took another sip of wine and didn’t speak. Qin Lan’s heart stirred, and she stared unnaturally at the opposite wall. In her ears, she heard Yang Xingji chasing after Jiang Yan with questions: “Yanyan, can you say a few more words? You don’t have to say the star’s name, just talk about the deepest impression she left in your heart. I really want to know. It turns out a radiant big star like Yanyan has someone even… even…”

She ran out of words for a moment, stuttering for a long time before only one word popped out: “Sun.”

Jiang Yan lowered her eyes and smiled gently, but the light in her eyes was as hot as fire.

“She likes to wear red dresses.” Her smile grew even more brilliant. “The first time I saw her in a red dress, the eyes of everyone on both sides of the road were on her. It left an indelible scene in my memory. It was a campus in the middle of a grand summer; all the towering green trees were her backdrop, and she was the only red flower on campus.”

the big star she liked was wanton and coldly proud; when she didn’t smile, she always had an expression of disdain for the whole world. That wasn’t the first time she had seen Qin Lan, but it was the first time she had seen the real Qin Lan, un-wrapped by any role or persona. The other woman had a slender waist, long legs, a red dress like fire, and was walking with full aura in eight-centimeter high heels, as if it were her runway and the people on both sides were just insignificant spectators.

“It’s really hot. Hey, Old Qin, let’s go surfing later!” the student-era Yu Jintang had said.

“Let’s go,” the woman said lazily, an world-weary expression on her face. Yet the words she spoke were so full of life, pulling the then-heavy-hearted Jiang Yan—who wanted to crash into the whole world—back to the beautiful world of the living: “Hey, if it weren’t for the sake of beauty, I would never drape a piece of cloth on me in this ghostly weather.”

“Damn, Old Qin, are you going to run naked?”

“What about it?” The woman looked arrogant. “I do whatever the hell I want. Anyone who tries to stop me can go stand to the side.”

Song Man stretched: “Alright, I say let’s skip the surfing. Let’s go back to Genting and soak in the pool. We can all be naked together.”

“Surfing doesn’t stop us from being naked,” Qin Lan laughed wantonly. “Then we’ll clear the place and kick everyone out. This kind of weather is perfect for burning energy in the water. Today, either I die of heat or the sun goes down—let’s see who’s tougher.”

They walked away with their arms around each other’s shoulders. The red dress ignited the whole world in the silent vision of the spectators behind them, making the young Jiang Yan see it as a poem at first sight; from then on, she stubbornly only loved to read this one page of the world. She thought she was truly a fool—instead of chasing this sexy beauty who wanted to surf in the burning summer sun, she was here pondering how to perish with the whole world.

“I fancy this beautiful woman who wantonly threatened to run naked in the streets. She made me feel the thought of breaking through all rules and restraints taking root and growing.”

Jiang Yan spoke with a smile, still gazing at the stunned Qin Lan. After several years, the eyes that had been glowing brilliantly due to the color of fire back then had been tempered by time into a soft and powerful light, but the admiring expression when she looked at Qin Lan hadn’t changed a bit.

Because some people’s unique charm lies not in how their features are arranged, but in the fact that she happened to entice you to open the eyes of your soul for the first time.

The more Yang Xingji listened, the more she felt this plot was familiar. But she had too many messy memories with her friends. It wasn’t until she noticed Yu Jintang turning her head to stare at Qin Lan in silence that she vaguely remembered some scattered fragments.

It seemed there was such a grand summer where she, Qin Lan, Yu Jintang, Song Man, and Yun Chui—the five of them—walked on campus, boredly discussing where to spend the scorching summer days.

She remembered that Yun Chui seemed to be the one who suggested going home to the air conditioning; that person was peaceful by nature, so it was definitely her. Qin Lan was different; this person combined the two contradictory traits of being world-weary and flamboyant. When she was about to be killed by the ghostly weather, she wouldn’t find a comfortable, cool place to lie still; she insisted on burning herself even more intensely, as if to compete with the sun to see who was hotter. Yang Xingji knew this person’s rebellious bone was sticking out again, shouting in her heart to the whole world: “Come on, roast me if you can! The more you roast me, the more I’m going to burn crazily.”

Yang Xingji remembered everything. She looked at Qin Lan and then at Jiang Yan with a face full of horror, then quietly shut her mouth. Qin Lan, on the other hand, was very calm, sitting there eating and drinking as she should. If she hadn’t also drunk the wine in Yu Jintang’s glass, she would have appeared even calmer.

“What are you all looking at me for?” She fluttered her eyelashes, looking indifferent. “Have you had enough? If you’ve had enough, let’s go. We have to film tomorrow morning.”

With that, she downed the wine in her glass in one gulp. However, she didn’t taste it at all, thinking she was drinking water.

Jiang Yan was the first to stand up. Yang Xingji hurried to follow, and Yu Jintang picked up the wine bottle, clicking her tongue repeatedly as she followed. Qin Lan lagged behind at the very end. A sudden wave of drunkenness hit her; she leaned against the table, and her vision blurred for a moment.

“Careful.” She fell into a woman’s arms, enveloped by a pleasant scent.

“Why don’t you advise me not to drink?” Qin Lan muttered, her fingertips sliding into Jiang Yan’s hair, tightening slightly without force.

Jiang Yan trembled all over because of her movement.

“If Teacher Qin can’t do whatever she wants, then the world is truly finished.”

She was forced into eye contact by the woman, revealing her vulnerable neck. Yet she had a smile on her lips, slightly raising her chin in accordance with the other’s movement, giving Qin Lan an urge to grab her throat.

She looked at Jiang Yan in silence for a moment, regretted her terrifying thought in her heart, let go, and walked out.

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