My Wealthy Ex-Girlfriend Knelt and Begged Me to Come Back [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 56

The phone screen lit up instantly.

At that moment, Ji Jiayu happened to pick up her phone, just about to end the video call.

The camera was pointed directly at her.

Ji Jiayu seemed to have just finished showering, wearing a light apricot-pink cotton nightdress. It was a camisole style, with thin straps revealing her smooth, rounded shoulders and a graceful neckline.

At this moment, completely exposed to the air, the collarbone’s contours were visible, glistening lightly.

Her skin was very fair, freshly washed, glowing with a translucent, pale pink tone, as if steamed by warm water. Her small face had a rosy tint, delicate enough to almost squeeze water from.

Ji Jiayu’s pink lips were slightly parted, with a bit of moisture lingering on them. On the phone screen, her soft, tempting lips slowly moved closer, looking inviting and kissable.

Her pure appearance made hearts stir…

She leaned closer, intending to end the video call.

But her fingertip got wet and she couldn’t turn it off.

The person on the other end, clearly in a dark hospital room, could only see the areas illuminated by the phone screen. The facial features were somewhat blurred, though the jawline was sharp, and part of a slender neck was visible.

The woman lightly bit her lower lip, her low, slightly hoarse voice speaking: “Hmm? Miss Jiayu, you look so pretty in that nightdress… Is this a reward for me?”

“You’re insane!” Ji Jiayu snapped, drying her hands and quickly ending the video.

She turned off the screen and flipped the phone over onto the table.

Her heartbeat was a little fast—not from attraction, but from shock, a startled rapid pulse.

Sure enough, someone’s WeChat is best left in the contacts list, untouched. Qiu Miaoran is trash—non-recyclable trash that can never be salvaged.

Never responding to Qiu Miaoran’s messages again in this lifetime!

Ji Jiayu gritted her teeth and reached into her bag for lip balm. She came across a dirty memory card, still stained with Qiu Miaoran’s blood.

She wiped it clean with a tissue, a hint of curiosity sparking.

From across the street to the Cantonese restaurant with Ji Chen, they hadn’t been overly intimate. How could someone have taken pictures?

Ji Jiayu took out her laptop, rummaged through to find a card reader, and inserted the memory card.

The newest photo in the folder showed the moment they had crossed the street together.

Ji Jiayu pretended to adjust Ji Chen’s suit collar, and he bent slightly to look at her, his lowered gaze gentle…

They were so close, from this angle almost about to kiss.

Ji Jiayu’s long, elegant fingers tightened on the mouse. “Tsk,” she clicked. The paparazzi was surprisingly good at using perspective…

She deleted the few photos that had been taken surreptitiously, scrolling further to see what else this curly-haired paparazzo had captured.

This paparazzo had previously followed many social elites.

There were photos of minor celebrities, some of whom had tried to gain fame but failed, caught in compromising or intimate situations—mostly gossip.

Scrolling further, she suddenly saw a familiar face.

Song Tingyu??!!

Song Tingyu wasn’t a celebrity or part of the entertainment industry. Who would send a paparazzo to follow her?

One photo was from college, showing Song Tingyu holding her hand, walking together along a hidden campus path—just a hug.

Another showed them dining at a casual restaurant near the west gate of the film school during graduation. At the far edge of the photo, someone familiar seemed to sit in the corner, looking a lot like Ji Chen…

But Ji Chen had already disappeared by then…

Ji Jiayu zoomed in on the photo—

The person sat alone across the table, partially in frame, a bouquet of red roses placed nearby, only a few beers ordered, no dishes. She rested her face on her hand, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, her brows calm and distant, her long fingers lightly tracing the glass.

Leisurely yet noble, entirely out of place in an ordinary casual restaurant.

Qiu Miaoran… how was she there?

Ji Jiayu was filled with countless questions. She had just sworn never to chat with Qiu Miaoran again…

Yet, she quickly found herself contradicting that.

Logging into WeChat, she opened the chat with Qiu Miaoran.

[Qiu Miaoran]: Sorry, I was just joking earlier.
[Qiu Miaoran]: Good night.

The messages were sent twenty minutes ago.

Moving the mouse, Ji Jiayu sent the photo she had just seen—

[Ji Jiayu]: [/photo]
[Ji Jiayu]: Why were you there?

Almost immediately, the chat box flickered—“typing…”

Qiu Miaoran hadn’t gone to sleep yet?

The typing indicator blinked on and off for several minutes, clearly showing many deleted and rewritten messages.

Finally, a reply came:

[Qiu Miaoran]: Maybe just a coincidence…

Ji Jiayu pressed further.

[Ji Jiayu]: Just a coincidence that it was at the west gate of the film school, the same restaurant, and on my graduation day?

[Qiu Miaoran]: The beer there is hand-brewed by the owner, it’s fragrant, I like it, that’s all…
[Qiu Miaoran]: How did you get this photo?

Qiu Miaoran evaded the question.

[Ji Jiayu]: It’s from this memory card. The paparazzo following me seems complicated. There are other photos inside; maybe you should check.

[Qiu Miaoran]: I’ll get it from you tomorrow.

[Ji Jiayu]: I’m busy tomorrow. Also, by the way, you haven’t removed your stitches…

[Qiu Miaoran]: I’ll come after discharge.

[Ji Jiayu]: Mm.

[Qiu Miaoran]: [voice message]

Ji Jiayu frowned slightly, curiosity compelling her to play the voice message—

“The best actress position will always be yours in the future because you deserve it, and likewise… I will always stand by your side until the day you need me. You deserve my waiting…
Good night… my friend.
And… I miss you…”

Qiu Miaoran rarely wrote that much. Listening through the earpiece, the low, slightly hoarse female voice carried a sensuality, somewhat like a late-night streamer’s commanding tone, slightly alluring, quite pleasant…

But who wants to be “friends” with her?

Ji Jiayu closed the chat window, kicked off her slippers, climbed back into bed, tugging a corner of the thin blanket over herself.

This summer felt especially hot.

She tossed and turned but couldn’t sleep. Her silk nightdress had ridden up, revealing slender, fair legs; her toes curled slightly, the arches brushing the thin blanket—there was a faint… sensation.

The woman’s voice lingered in her mind, persistent.

Qiu Miaoran was weird…

And she herself was strange for staying awake, thinking about these things.

She had previously met Ji Chen at “Cha Se,” deliberately keeping Qiu Miaoran away—yet she hadn’t followed. She had changed a lot, no longer as disrespectful as before.

She hadn’t slept with Qiu Miaoran for about a year, and her attitude remained cold.

Yet Qiu Miaoran persisted, even able to say those words, genuinely wanting friendship.

They had done so many things together—things they shouldn’t have, things they should have, almost everything. Could they really be friends after that?

Couldn’t she satisfy herself without Qiu Miaoran?

But honestly, Qiu Miaoran’s daytime and nighttime personas were completely different. During the day, cold and indifferent to others, sleeves and collars buttoned neatly. Occasionally wearing gold-rimmed glasses, her pitch-black eyes cold as frost.

At night, shedding clothes and the pretense of civility, she became almost manic, enjoying using her lips and tongue as if savoring a delicacy… insane.

Wild…

And she remembered it clearly. During their two years together, Qiu Miaoran had gradually learned to make her happy, not just herself…

From this perspective, she was indeed a good bedmate, roughly worth one and a half “vibrating toys.” But she was terrible as a person—lying to her, treating her as a test subject…

Now still deceiving Ji Jiayu, evading why she had been at Ji Jiayu’s graduation just to drink beer?

—No one would believe Qiu Miaoran’s nonsense!!

Qiu Miaoran was the same as ever, with an irritating compulsion, always hiding things, pretending to care, giving strangely, deceiving inexplicably…

That unpredictable feeling was the most dangerous.

Because behind those gold-rimmed glasses, nobody knew what cold, rigid thoughts she harbored.

Truly detestable.

Detestable, Qiu Miaoran…

Ji Jiayu grabbed a tissue from the bedside table, rubbed her fingers, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the trash with a “thud.”

Her breathing grew heavier, and she finally relaxed.

Not enough… Though normal for someone in their twenties… ahem… thinking about past encounters with Qiu Miaoran, such thoughts became… well, physically stimulating.

Shame enveloped her, her ears warming.

She sighed, raised her arm, formed a small fist, and slammed it on the soft blanket.

Sigh… Qiu Miaoran really is a bad person.

Better than Ji Chen… QAQ

Forever watching over Ji Chen,

Or completely letting go of attachment to her and finding a new girlfriend…

In any case, she and Qiu Miaoran could never be together!

Never let her guard down around Qiu Miaoran!

Moreover, it was time to focus on her career.

Shouldn’t be thinking about this…

Her fair, jade-like long legs curled slowly, arms and knees tucked in.

Eventually, Ji Jiayu, in a fetal position, turned over and drifted into a deep sleep.

……

A week later, at Qiushui Entertainment, Ji Jiayu stopped outside an office, hands clasped behind her back, fingers lightly tapping the doorframe.

“The results from the audition are out. The new project by Producer Cheng and Director Zhang—congratulations, you passed, Xiao Yu,” Sister Rong patted her hand.

Assistant Xiao Yao chimed in, “Haha, I knew you could do it, Xiao Yu.”

“Xiao Yao, don’t celebrate too early. There’s been a contract change. Cheng and Zhang can’t decide yet, the investor may change roles… You’ll attend a dinner tonight to negotiate,” Sister Rong sighed, continuing.

Ji Jiayu froze slightly.

Another dinner with investors? Her former manager, Ms. Sun, often used such events to coerce artists into compromising for benefits… giving her a bit of PTSD.

Xiao Yao, realizing late, pouted, “Ah? They won’t change the role, right?”

Picking up the revised notice on the desk, she huffed, outraged, “Why change the role just like that? Treating people like monkeys? It was a dual female lead, and you passed the audition. Why reduce Xiao Yu to the third female lead?!”

Some people with capital invested in the cast to snatch roles—unfair situations, not the first time. Why, after passing the female lead audition, did she receive a third lead’s notice?

Ji Jiayu recalled—

On the audition day, Feng Yalan smiled, “I didn’t expect we’d have a chance to collaborate again. Xiao Yu, are you here for ‘Cui Ying’? I think… you suit the role, very cute…”

Feng Yalan not only wanted to steal the lead but deliberately asked Ji Jiayu to make her a side character. She was jealous, feeling entitled due to capital backing, looking down on Ji Jiayu, a poor woman from an orphanage who had once been discarded by Qiu—daring to compete with her for a role?!

Sister Rong, experienced in the industry, had never seen someone as difficult as Feng Yalan… outright bullying.

“Bang!” Sister Rong slammed the desk. “Every time! Do they think Qiushui artists are pushovers?”

“If you attend the dinner and still can’t secure the role… we won’t sign. Resources are plenty, don’t need them!”

Ji Jiayu hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll go to the dinner.”

Assistant Xiao Yao comforted, “Don’t worry, Sister Rong will go with you, nothing will happen.”

“Knock-knock-knock”—suddenly a knock at the door.

A fourth person entered.

The office’s earlier tension vanished; the atmosphere and pressure seemed to drop instantly.

Xiao Yao fell silent.

“President Qiu…” Sister Rong quickly gathered the scattered papers.

“What brings you here?”

Qiu Miaoran’s voice was cool, head slightly turned, glancing at Ji Jiayu. “Here for Miss Jiayu.”

“Your things,” Ji Jiayu said coldly, treating her like any other employee, polite but distant.

“Your things,” Ji Jiayu took out the memory card from her bag.

Qiu Miaoran took it and walked toward the door.

Today, Qiu Miaoran wore fine gold-rimmed glasses, her suit skirt perfectly pressed, exuding efficiency and aloofness, no longer lingering or entangling as before.

Ji Jiayu felt slightly uneasy.

The stitches on Qiu Miaoran’s head had been removed.

No wonder Qiu Miaoran wasn’t in a good mood today—it had been a week since she last visited.

Ji Jiayu smirked internally. Fine, Qiu Miaoran should feel a chill too.

They used and hurt each other… no one owed the other.

Assistant Xiao Yao wondered—why did Qiu Miaoran seem so attached to Xiao Yu?

She bit her lip, shouting courageously, “President Qiu… interested in investing in a film?”

“No… Xiao Yao, don’t,” Ji Jiayu widened her almond eyes, brows arched. She didn’t want Qiu Miaoran interfering in her life.

Qiu Miaoran stopped, body still. From her profile, the high-waisted suit skirt accentuated a slim waist and long legs.

She slightly turned her head, revealing a clear jawline and sharp nose, glancing at Ji Jiayu and Xiao Yao. “Investing in a film?”

“No interest…”

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