My Wealthy Ex-Girlfriend Knelt and Begged Me to Come Back [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 9

“Thank you…” Ji Jiayu’s smile curved at the corners of her eyes; her gaze was bright. “If you hadn’t saved me, I probably would have died here today.”

She pressed her lips together, her lashes drooped then lifted again, uncertainty flickering in her eyes as she tested, “Why have you been staring at me this whole time — do you… like me?”

There was a half-second pause, as if she had heard the other person’s reply.

Ji Jiayu lowered her eyes; her lashes trembled slightly. Slowly she raised her hand, fingers shaking, and unbuttoned one button. Her voice was coquettish, then shy. “You can guess — I want to give it to you.”

She opened her collar, her reddened lips parted a little, her expression gradually going blank. Her chest rose and fell; it was as though an invisible hand were tightening around her neck. “You can’t guess? But I can guess — the person you love isn’t me, right?”

Her voice, at first sweet and soft, turned hoarse and broke apart.

“I can do anything, because… I love you.”

She smiled while sorrow filled the bottom of her eyes; tears naturally slid down from the corners.

When she lifted her head again, her cheeks were already wet with tear tracks.

The audition was over.

Ji Jiayu raised her hand and wiped the tear stains with the back of it.

“Use this to wipe,” the female casting director sitting in the center handed over some tissues, cleared her throat, and continued, “To bring this role to life you should be a little meaner. Your emotion earlier was on point, but the tension was a bit lacking. We look forward to your future performances.”

Ji Jiayu accepted the tissues and smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

After leaving the office building she spotted her agent, Rong, not far away; Rong waved and called, “Jiayu, over here~”

“How did the audition feel?”

Ji Jiayu closed her eyes to recall for a moment, then opened them; her lashes were dark and she blinked slowly. “Not bad. It was my first time at an audition like that…”

“Huh? Didn’t you already sign with a company before?”

“Yes, I did sign before,” Ji Jiayu nodded, “but the resources weren’t as good as our company’s. I’ve never tried acting in film or TV.”

“Ours is pretty good — great staff, a good boss,” Agent Rong explained. “After all, we’re a subsidiary of a big group; it’s good to be under a big tree. When you get the right script I’ll go to the company and apply for an assistant for you…”

Her phone screen lit up; Ji Jiayu glanced down —

[Qiu]: Come with me to a banquet tomorrow evening. Come home early today.

Before Ji Jiayu could reply — whether she was free or not — the decision had already been made by the other party.

[Qiu]: I’ll pick you up this afternoon.

……

“I’ll take you back to the company this afternoon. Company-paid afternoon tea — let’s celebrate your first audition?” Rong said.

Ji Jiayu shook her head. “I might be busy this afternoon. Someone is coming to see me.”

“What’s going on?” Agent Rong suddenly leaned in, speaking softly.

“Is your boyfriend picking you up? You have to report romances, you know.”

“No, no, not a boyfriend.” Ji Jiayu paused, then said slowly, “Actually, I like women…”

“That’s not really a romance. Maybe just some ambiguity…”

In truth, it didn’t even qualify as ambiguity.

It was the relationship between a CEO and a lover — being maintained and being maintained by. Being supported and being supported.

“Do you like her?” Rong asked.

“No…” Ji Jiayu instinctively pressed her lips together and swallowed the “I don’t like” down. Her lashes shivered. “If I were with her, it would be more… suitable. Being together would be mutually beneficial.”

“Beneficial? Dating isn’t a business transaction,” Rong watched Ji Jiayu, leaning a little closer. “You should find someone you like who likes you back. But if you start dating, you must report it, okay?”

“Rong, you’re really experienced. You must have been very charming before you got married.”

Rong laughed at the compliment. “Among the new girls, I like Jiayu the most. She’s not only pretty, but so sweet-mouthed…”

Ji Jiayu pursed her lips; a half-smile curved at the corner of her mouth, like a self-mock.

She knew how to read the moment, who to meet and what to say — someone who’d crawled and fought through the dirty corners of an orphanage wouldn’t not know.

“If the person you like can’t be with you?” Ji Jiayu smiled faintly, her tone teasing, “That’s a philosophical question.”

Agent Rong sighed and shook her head; the large round earring at her ear swung. “You haven’t tried, how do you know it’s impossible? As long as they’re alive, nothing’s impossible.”

—As long as they’re alive, nothing’s impossible.

Ji Jiayu’s eyes narrowed slightly. The pale irises reflected the light like clear amber; the corners of her eyes curved into a smile. “Yeah… you’re right.”

After saying goodbye to Agent Rong, Ji Jiayu didn’t go back to the company. She went to a nearby light-dining bar.

She picked a window seat, ordered a drink with her phone. While waiting she turned slightly, holding her face in her left hand and took a selfie.

Ji Jiayu opened her Moments (social circle).

Since the last time she’d been in the hospital, the doctor had said there was an unknown shadow on her cranial CT — maybe from a car accident — and recommended further tests, suspecting possible damage to intracranial nerves and the hippocampus.

In severe cases, it could lead to memory loss…

She feared it — afraid that in the end she might forget everything.

So Ji Jiayu started recording her life, and venting about someone, of course marked “for me only”.

Ji Jiayu’s Moments (Bubbling in My Pond) —

[Her control issues are crazy… I feel so suffocated, like I’m being kept in a fish tank and can’t get out.]

[Have you considered other people’s feelings? Is this the refinement that comes with being from a wealthy family? You’re just a tool. Truly garbage in human form. Self-sustaining life elixir! (→_→)]

[The saint’s little sister sure is plentiful. Met one at the company today too. The saint is so charitable… hehe.]

[The saint got drunk today — smelled of alcohol, smoke, and perfume. Didn’t know where she went to “hug her sister”, came back smelling, tried to sleep with me, using her drunkenness to grope me. A refined degenerate! So awful :(]

[Too bad, that face looks so much like hers, but she’s trash.]

[Sis, I miss you so much.]

(All of the above are visible to me only.)

Ji Jiayu posted the selfie, but this post’s visibility was set to “Only One Person Can See”.

In the camera app, Ji Jiayu turned to look out the window. A vase sat nearby holding sunflowers; the petal and leaves of the stalk closest to her were wilted and lacked vitality.

Her eyes were rimmed with faint red, her gaze bright with tears; the tip of her nose was slightly pink — she looked fragile, like a porcelain doll that needed careful tending.

She had just cried in the audition, which added to the sense of fragility.

A look that could stir protective instincts — or perhaps the urge to destroy.

She captioned the photo.

[Waiting for the wind. Little crying face ╮(︶﹏︶)╭]

(Only one person can see.)

Within a few minutes, the Moments received a like.

[Qiu]: Why are you crying?

Ji Jiayu’s lip twitched; she lowered her eyes to glance at the phone screen but didn’t reply.

Ten minutes later the phone lit up again.

[Qiu]: Where are you? Should I come pick you up?

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