My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 42.2

A subtle scent of gunpowder spread through the dressing room. As a perceptive person, Xu Juan immediately recognized the provocation in Zuo Xian’s words.

Her first thought was, Why is Zuo Xian inexplicably butting heads with CEO Tao?

Her second thought was to rescue the situation no matter what. She absolutely could not let Tao Ran, the moneybags, get angry.

But just as she opened her mouth, she saw Tao Ran look away first, which was equivalent to Tao Ran actively showing weakness in the confrontation with Zuo Xian.

Then she added, “If that’s the case, please proceed, Teacher Zuo.”

It’s getting even stranger.

Xu Juan’s eyes subtly darted between the two of them. She closed her mouth, deciding to observe for a while.

Inside the dressing room, the four people were divided. Tao Ran and Director Xu sat on the sofa conversing. It was mostly Director Xu explaining while Tao Ran listened, occasionally asking one or two questions.

On the other side, Zuo Xian was putting the final touches on Guan Wen’s styling.

Perhaps because of the presence of the producer and director, Guan Wen was incredibly nervous. Her small face was tightly strained, and she wasn’t talking, her gaze fixed rigidly in the mirror.

Zuo Xian, having just finished her hairstyle, looked up and saw Guan Wen’s stunned expression. Her previously stiff emotions were instantly broken.

This kid is too funny.

Zuo Xian held back a laugh. Since Guan Wen had makeup on, she couldn’t directly pinch her face. She could only settle for a compromise, standing behind her and using her delicate fingers to tap her chin.

“What is that expression? You’re so cute, it’s breaking character.”

“Regarding the shooting schedule…” Tao Ran stopped mid-sentence, her eyes uncontrollably glancing towards Zuo Xian’s direction, but she quickly retracted her gaze.

Yet, no matter how composed Tao Ran pretended to be, she couldn’t hide it from a professional director who specialized in directing actors. Xu Juan suddenly felt like she had figured something out.

Outwardly, she was still listening to Tao Ran’s requests, but her peripheral vision was already watching Zuo Xian, who was talking and laughing with Guan Wen on the other side.

Soon, the makeup and styling were complete. Guan Wen stood up and walked over to Tao Ran and Xu Juan.

She was wearing simple casual clothes, a black jacket paired with jeans. Her pale face showed a slight fatigue, but her eyes held a resolute determination.

Her long hair was tied low at the back of her head. The contrast between her dark hair and pale cheeks gave her a cold indifference, like a surgical knife reflecting an eerie glow under the harsh white lights.

Guan Wen’s refined, beautiful features were no longer the first thing to draw attention. The audience’s gaze couldn’t help but be drawn to her weary yet determined eyes.

The forensic doctor from the script seemed to tear through the dimensional wall, standing vividly before the two women.

A look of amazement flashed in Xu Juan’s eyes. She immediately looked at Zuo Xian, who was tidying up her makeup tools in the corner.

She couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: expensive means good for a reason. This result really isn’t something an ordinary makeup artist could achieve.

“CEO Tao, what do you think? Shall we proceed with this look?” Xu Juan asked.

Tao Ran’s gaze lingered on Guan Wen for a moment, and she lightly hummed in approval.

Then her eyes landed on Zuo Xian in the corner, “Thanks to Teacher Zuo, it was indeed the right decision to invite you.”

Not far away, Zuo Xian stopped tidying up her things. She took a deep breath, and an unnameable anger gradually flared up in her heart.

She was already annoyed, and Tao Ran just had to bring up the sore point.

She breathed deeply for a moment, glanced at Tao Ran, and did not reply.

Seeing this, Tao Ran didn’t push her uninterestingly. The topic shifted back to the lead actor of the series, and she asked Guan Wen a few questions.

After a short chat, since the costume photos were about to be taken, the three people, excluding Zuo Xian, left the dressing room together.

The space suddenly fell silent. Left alone, the voice in Zuo Xian’s heart grew louder.

Her scattered, chaotic thoughts ultimately converged into one sentence: She must talk things out clearly with Tao Ran.

It seemed her previous attitude was too gentle, which led Tao Ran to mistakenly believe she was still the fool she once was, allowing Tao Ran to walk all over her.

Zuo Xian didn’t like to make threats, but if a threat was what it took to make Tao Ran give up, she would be more than happy to do so.

The costume photo shoot took a considerable amount of time. Since there were many small details that needed modification during the process, Zuo Xian did not leave but stayed on site for the entire duration.

It wasn’t until all the work was finished that she packed up her things and prepared to return to the hotel.

She had already prepared to hail a few cars back to the hotel with her makeup artists, but unexpectedly, the extended Lincoln was not waiting outside this time.

In its place was another bus.

It was twilight. Xiao Yu looked at the bus in front of them and sighed in relief, saying to Zuo Xian, “Boss, you are so efficient! I thought it would take until tomorrow at the earliest to switch back to the normal bus service.”

Another makeup artist fawned, “Of course! You know our boss’s execution power. She’s incredibly fast.”

Zuo Xian tugged at the corner of her lips, “Yes, very fast indeed.”

Zuo Xian not only felt no joy but her expression grew increasingly solemn. After a long absence, Tao Ran’s ability to gauge people’s minds had only increased.

That also meant Tao Ran would probably guess that she would go find her the moment she got back.

Although being predicted made Zuo Xian slightly irritated, she had no intention of changing her plan.

After returning to the hotel, Zuo Xian dropped off her things and then found Xu Juan to ask for Tao Ran’s room number.

The moment she saw the room number, Zuo Xian let out a sneer.

—Tao Ran lived right across the hall from her.

No wonder my employees and I were separated.

Zuo Xian stood with a darkened expression in front of Tao Ran’s door. She raised her hand to knock. The door opened quickly, and Tao Ran looked at her with the same expected indifferent expression.

She can really put on an act. Just a few days ago, she was wearing a face of remorse, pretending to have completely changed her ways, and now she acts like she has moved on from everything.

“CEO Tao, aren’t you going to welcome me?” The more Zuo Xian thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt, and she said sarcastically.

Tao Ran looked at her, her eyes gentle and serene, “No, I welcome you very much. Teacher Zuo, please come in.”

Zuo Xian stepped into the room, bypassing Tao Ran next to her, completely disregarding her presence.

She walked in, sat down on the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and her tone remained caustic, “CEO Tao, what is the meaning of all this?”

Tao Ran went into the kitchen, took a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator, and bent down to place it on the coffee table in front of Zuo Xian.

She glanced at Zuo Xian and curved her lips, “Which matter is Teacher Zuo referring to?”

“All of it. Inviting me to the crew, sending a luxury car to pick me up, and having me stay in the room across from yours.”

Zuo Xian unceremoniously listed every single instance. Her eyes were like swords pointed directly at Tao Ran, ignoring the orange juice on the coffee table.

She said coldly, “CEO Tao, you don’t actually think these tricks can win me over, do you?”

Tao Ran lowered her eyes in silence for a moment, gently stroking the watch face on her left wrist. After a while, she looked up at Zuo Xian.

Her eyes curved, “Oh, it doesn’t work?”

Zuo Xian couldn’t help but sneer, “CEO Tao, your methods are too old-fashioned. They might fool a young girl who hasn’t experienced romance, but that’s about it.”

She looked at Tao Ran’s still-calm face and added, “Your tactics aren’t even as clever as my ex-girlfriend’s.”

The calm, self-possessed woman’s face suddenly stiffened. Her eyes narrowed, and she said, seemingly unintentionally, “Your ex-girlfriend…”

“She was very good at making women happy,” Zuo Xian added fuel to the fire, malice filling her tone, “Her methods for pursuing women were a hundred times more sophisticated than yours, CEO Tao. Otherwise… I wouldn’t have agreed to be with her back then.”

“Oh, really?” Tao Ran lowered her eyes, seeming to ask only casually.

“Yes. She was beautiful and passionate. Who could refuse to be in a relationship with someone like that?”

“But you still broke up,” Tao Ran looked up, meeting her gaze.

“Yes, an amicable breakup.” Zuo Xian also looked at her, implying a deeper meaning, “The feelings faded, so we broke up. But at least we were openly and clearly together.”

The atmosphere fell into silence. Zuo Xian and Tao Ran stared at each other, with Zuo Xian’s presence completely overwhelming Tao Ran’s.

She lightly tapped her fingers on the sofa armrest, counting the seconds, a little curious about how long Tao Ran could last.

It was shorter than expected, not even lasting ten seconds.

Zuo Xian rested one hand on her chin, gazing lightly at Tao Ran, with a hint of incomprehension in her eyes.

“Since you left back then, why come back? Tao Ran, we really don’t have to be at loggerheads like this.”

Tao Ran lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, “I didn’t want to be at loggerheads with you.”

“But you are forcing me to,” Zuo Xian said. “We haven’t belonged to the same world for a long time. Why are you coming back to pester me?”

Zuo Xian felt that Tao Ran was crazy, truly crazy.

There were probably only a few people like Tao Ran in all of China—a straight woman, yet repeatedly giving her subtle hints or directly confessing.

Seeing Tao Ran keep her lips tightly sealed, refusing to answer, Zuo Xian also felt utterly bored. She picked up the orange juice from the table, unscrewed the cap, and took a drink.

“Tao Ran, I really can’t figure out what you want. Even if you’re bored and looking for someone to play games of emotion with, why come after me? Do you genuinely think I’m stupid, or that I’m easy to bully?”

Tao Ran’s throat was dry. She closed her eyes and sighed softly, feeling extremely powerless.

“I admit, I hate you very much.” Zuo Xian’s calm voice sounded in her ear.

Hate was such a word with profound emotion, yet when Zuo Xian spoke it, it sounded as fleeting as passing clouds.

It was as if she had savored the word a million times in a place unknown to others, tasting its full flavor, allowing her to speak it now with the normalcy of eating or drinking water.

Tao Ran’s eyes darkened, “I’m sorry…”

“There’s no need to apologize to me.” Zuo Xian glanced at her and continued, “Although you arranged this job for me, I don’t want to give it up. Breaking the contract for your sake is not worth it, and as a producer, you will always have to be on set.”

Zuo Xian furrowed her brow, a little troubled. After a long pause, she said,

“Here’s what we’ll do. We don’t need to deliberately avoid each other in the crew afterward. That would be too unnatural and draw attention.”

The sudden turn that almost amounted to a complete reversal immediately brightened Tao Ran’s eyes. The corners of her lips unconsciously lifted, and her gaze towards Zuo Xian held shock and undisguised delight.

However, the second half of Zuo Xian’s sentence completely shattered the hope that had just sprung up, plunging her entire heart to the bottom, crashing like a bitter stone into a dead sea.

“I’ve resented you for so long, and I’m tired of it. I don’t want to carry such a heavy emotion for the rest of my life. After the crew wraps up, let’s go our separate ways, as if we never knew each other.”

Tao Ran’s eyes contained a stubborn glimmer of hope, and her voice was slightly hoarse, “Can’t we… go back to being friends?”

“No.” Zuo Xian smiled lightly, her tone relaxed. She said softly, “Although I’m not some mind-reading detective, I know very well what you want.”

“Tao Ran, don’t rely on your intelligence to try and fool me. A person won’t fall into the same trap twice.”