Pregnant with the Alpha Best Actress's Child - Chapter 23

After obtaining Fan Wu’s consent, Sang Zhijiu breathed a massive sigh of relief.

From other staff members, she knew that Fan Wu had been extremely busy lately. Even when most of the crew was on vacation, she had to stay with the production to coordinate everything, having to squeeze out any bit of rest time.

When she sent the invitation earlier, she did so with a “give it a try” mindset and was actually prepared to be rejected. She didn’t expect that Fan Wu would actually agree.

“Mm, I guess this is normal. After all, Fan Wu is the project leader; she definitely wants the movie to be filmed well more than anyone else. So, sacrificing her vacation time to practice scenes with me shouldn’t be too much trouble for her, right?”

Sang Zhijiu muttered to herself in her heart, gradually dazing off.

Lately, spending time with Fan Wu at a close distance had eased their previously hostile relationship. She began to realize that Fan Wu wasn’t actually as annoying as she had imagined. She was beautiful, her acting skills were exquisite, and most importantly, she was very willing to help her. Of course, the most significant thing was that, for some reason, she no longer treated her with the same constant opposition as before.

Thinking of this, Sang Zhijiu suddenly recalled the books Fan Wu had given her when she went to visit her while she was sick. Her face suddenly turned red.

“So, she realized herself that bullying people isn’t the right way to pursue someone, so she changed her posture to please me?”

Coming to this conclusion, the corners of Sang Zhijiu’s mouth curled up involuntarily, and she even rolled around twice on the carpet. Realizing what she was doing, she sat up abruptly with a “thump” like a leaping carp, patting her face as a self-warning: “Sang Zhijiu, what are you so happy about? No matter what means Fan Wu uses to pursue you, you, the two of you are not a match! You cannot be seduced by that bastard!”

She grabbed the phone lying next to her, wanting to watch something to distract herself. However, as if possessed, after picking up the phone, she felt a strong urge to find someone to share her current mood with.

After scrolling through her messaging apps for a long time, she silently exited and opened the SMS interface.

[Senior, are you busy?]

Fan Wu had just finished her shower. When she came out, she saw the message sent by the little one. She couldn’t help but chuckle. They had just agreed to meet at the company tomorrow to practice scenes; was she already unable to wait and reaching out now?

[Senior W: Not busy.] [Senior W: What’s wrong?]

Sang Zhijiu didn’t go straight to the point but chose to exchange a few pleasantries first.

[Regarding the previous matters, thank you so much for your guidance. I’ve been filming lately, so I didn’t have time to contact you. I wanted to ask when you are free. If you are also in City Y, I’d like to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude in person.]

The two had remained in intermittent contact. Besides the previous movie matters, Fan Wu had used this identity to pass on a lot of experience to her. In Sang Zhijiu’s eyes, Senior W was a highly capable and experienced industry senior. She respected the other party immensely and had always wanted to befriend them in real life.

On this end, seeing this paragraph, Fan Wu smiled helplessly. If she let the little one know that the so-called “Senior W” was actually her, Fan Wu fell into deep thought.

She could feel that the relationship between the two of them had eased slightly now. So, if Sang Zhijiu knew that she had previously disguised herself as “Senior W” to get close to her, would she be more grateful, or would she feel angry because she had been deceived?

Connecting this to Sang Zhijiu’s own personality, Fan Wu couldn’t help but shrink her neck. She could already imagine the scene of Sang Zhijiu gritting her teeth and wanting to swallow her alive after learning the truth. Therefore, at least for the time being, this “vest” could not be exposed.

[Senior W: No need to thank me, I didn’t really do much. I’ve been a bit busy lately too. About the meal, let’s talk about it when there’s an opportunity in the future.]

Although it was a bit regrettable, Sang Zhijiu still showed the utmost understanding.

[Mhm, okay then. Then whenever you have time, just let me know!]

Fan Wu smiled. She didn’t want to end the chat with the little one yet, so she brought up a new topic.

[Senior W: How have you been lately? Is filming going smoothly?]

Sang Zhijiu originally wanted to share a little secret with her. Seeing her take the initiative to care about her, she suddenly felt energized.

[I’m doing alright. The project is progressing very smoothly, it’s just…] [Senior W: Hmm? Encountered some troubling matters? Don’t be anxious about filming. If you encounter difficulties, boldly ask the crew for help. There is no hurdle that can’t be crossed; no need to worry unnecessarily.]

Sang Zhijiu: [There is indeed something bothering me, but it doesn’t have much to do with the crew.]

Fan Wu raised an eyebrow. Currently, Sang Zhijiu, like herself, was putting almost all her focus on the production. Could it be that during these few days of vacation, she encountered another problem?

[Senior W: Perhaps you can tell me about it, and I can give you some advice.]

Sang Zhijiu laughed.

[It’s like this. There is a person pursuing me, but I don’t like him, and I can’t directly reject him.]

Here, Sang Zhijiu was being a bit cautious. If the matter of Fan Wu having a secret crush on her got out, the entertainment industry would probably shake several times. Therefore, to blur the other party’s identity, she deliberately changed the pronoun “she” to the male “he” when editing the text message.

Sure enough, when Fan Wu saw it, she subconsciously assumed the pursuer was male. In a place she hadn’t even noticed herself, her brow had already furrowed.

Doesn’t like him, but can’t directly reject him?

[Senior W: Why can’t you directly reject him? Is the other party’s status very high?]

Sang Zhijiu: [Yes, his status is indeed quite high. This person is very cunning. In the early stages, he just used some small tricks to frequently get my attention. After showing his feelings, he changed his tactics and started trying to please me. And also, he hasn’t made any obvious confession gestures, so I don’t have an opportunity to tell him clearly.]

Fan Wu narrowed her eyes slightly. In her mind, she began to eliminate the male senior executives of Nanlu Entertainment one by one. According to Sang Zhijiu’s temper, it was impossible for the other party to be in a relationship or married, because if such a person dared to pursue Sang Zhijiu, Sang Zhijiu would definitely have lashed out already.

So, among the male executives who are currently single and can get in touch with Sang Zhijiu, after thinking back and forth, she could actually only think of one: Fan Zhengzhi.

Fan Wu couldn’t help but rub the bridge of her nose. Why does everyone in her family like to get involved with Sang Zhijiu? Her own younger sister is like this, and now even Fan Zhengzhi, that cheap cousin, is interested in Sang Zhijiu?

Of course, she couldn’t be 100% sure the person Sang Zhijiu mentioned was Fan Zhengzhi, as she had only considered internal company personnel for now. However, recalling Fan Zhengzhi’s protection and support for Sang Zhijiu during the previous casting, it was hard for her not to suspect him.

After thinking about it, Fan Wu raised her hand and replied.

[Senior W: If that’s the case, you should reduce your contact with him. Even if you can’t proactively reject him, you can euphemistically express your thoughts through words and actions to make the other party back off.]

In the end, relying on SMS contact, there was only so much “Senior W” could do to help Sang Zhijiu. If Sang Zhijiu could ask the real-life Fan Wu for help, wouldn’t things be much simpler?

[Senior W: When necessary, you might as well look for reliable people around you to help.]

Sang Zhijiu looked at this message and fell into deep thought. A reliable person? To stop Fan Wu’s pursuit of her, should she ask Jiang Mengzhi for help?

Sang Zhijiu: [From the current situation, I temporarily have no way to keep my distance from him, and I might even need to take the initiative to maintain interactions with him. But, Senior, your words have given me great inspiration. If it really comes to a critical moment, I will definitely find a way to reject him!]

Looking at this message, Fan Wu felt a somewhat mixed bag of emotions for some reason.

[Senior W: Mm.]

Sang Zhijiu finally laid down the burden on her heart: [Thank you so much, I won’t disturb you any further. When you have time to come to City Y, I will definitely host you well!]

After saying goodbye to the other party via text, she happily returned to her room, picked up the script she had flipped through hundreds of times, and began to study it seriously again.

The next day, the assistant A-Kang drove Sang Zhijiu to the company. In the car, Sang Zhijiu saw Lin Jiahe.

Lin Jiahe looked at her: “I was originally thinking of taking you to the hospital to have a look today, but I didn’t expect you to have already made an appointment with Sister Fan Wu.”

Sang Zhijiu was confused: “Why go to the hospital?”

Lin Jiahe said: “Didn’t you keep saying your stomach was uncomfortable before? I had things to do the past two days and almost forgot about this.”

Sang Zhijiu didn’t take it seriously: “It’s fine. It’s just because the weather is too hot and I’m suffering a bit from the summer heat. And,” she touched her stomach, “it’s not that uncomfortable. It’s just that occasionally my appetite is bad and I can’t eat anything, which is a bit bothersome.”

Lin Jiahe almost rolled her eyes at her: “Is that not enough?” Her tongue slipped for a moment, and she spoke without inhibition: “If you keep going like this, I’m going to suspect you’re pregnant.”

Sang Zhijiu froze. After coming back to her senses, the corners of her mouth were a bit stiff: “How, how is that possible?”

Lin Jiahe also realized and apologized: “Sorry, I was just making a joke.” After all, in her current understanding, let alone being pregnant, Sang Zhijiu was a single dog who didn’t even have a dating partner!

Sang Zhijiu held her stomach and leaned against the back of the seat without speaking. Lin Jiahe’s words just now had given her a startle. But on second thought, such a thing was fundamentally impossible. Although she and Fan Wu had indeed had a physical relationship, she had taken preventive measures very early on! Currently, the success rate of contraceptives is so high; how could she question great medical science!

Thinking of this, Sang Zhijiu took a long breath and let her heart settle again. Yes, she was clearly just suffering from the summer heat.

Despite this, when she arrived at the company’s rehearsal room and saw Fan Wu discussing the script with Teacher Yu Ping, her expression couldn’t help but be a bit awkward. She had suffered so much because of the accident that night, so why did Fan Wu seem completely unaffected?

Fan Wu noticed her arrival immediately and looked over with a smile: “You’re here? Is it hot outside? Do you need to rest for a bit?”

Sang Zhijiu felt a surge of resentment from somewhere. It was also at this time that she suddenly realized that since the two of them had unexpectedly slept together for a night, Fan Wu had never proactively mentioned this matter in front of her, and had not even confirmed some important after-care with her. She was clearly such an irresponsible person, so why was she acting all hypocritical and caring here?

Sang Zhijiu rubbed her nose and replied perfunctorily: “No need.” She walked up to the two of them: “Let’s start. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish.”

How could Fan Wu not see that she was unhappy? She suppressed the confusion in her heart: “What? Are there other arrangements later?”

Sang Zhijiu shook her head: “No. After, after finishing the lesson, I need to go home and digest it myself.”

Yu Ping, standing nearby, smoothed things over with praise: “Zhijiu has been really diligent lately.”

Since both of them said so, Fan Wu couldn’t raise any more objections. They followed the original plan and began rehearsing the upcoming plot. In the latter part of the film, after Chen Yue and Mu Yining have spoken their feelings to each other, there is a happy period similar to a honeymoon phase. At this time, both of them have thrown the future to the back of their minds, and their hearts and eyes are full only of each other.

Halfway through the practice, Fan Wu couldn’t help but shake her head helplessly. She suggested: “With your current state, we are better suited to rehearse the final big conflict. The resentment in your eyes when you look at me simply cannot be suppressed.”

Sang Zhijiu was stunned upon hearing this and rubbed her face: “So, sorry, I didn’t adjust well.”

Yu Ping consciously acted as an invisible person on the side. Fan Wu finally couldn’t help herself and lowered her voice to ask her: “How exactly have I offended you? You’ve been losing your temper at me since you arrived today.”

Sang Zhijiu secretly gritted her teeth: “Heh, aren’t you clear about the things you’ve done yourself?”

Fan Wu was rendered speechless by the rebuttal. The more she spent time with Sang Zhijiu, the more she could discover the other’s cuteness, and because of this, she began to feel more and more that the things she had done to Sang Zhijiu in the past were indeed excessive.

At this moment, facing the other party’s accusation, she really found it hard to argue. Fan Wu could only say: “Don’t be angry. After the project is completed, I will give you a formal apology.”

Sang Zhijiu wrinkled her small nose. Apologize? Then she indeed should apologize. But, does Fan Wu only have the emotion of “regret” regarding the matter between the two of them? She turned her head away and gave a perfunctory “Mhm.”

With a bad start, the rehearsal effect for the rest of the day was very limited. Finally, Yu Ping suggested: “Is it because I’m here that both of you are a bit unable to let go? How about I leave first, and the two of you try it alone?”

Fan Wu thought for a moment: “We do indeed need a private and quiet environment, but the rehearsal room here isn’t suitable.” She looked at Sang Zhijiu: “How about going to my place? I have a dedicated photography room at home. We can record your performance then, and you’ll better know where your mistakes are.”

Sang Zhijiu was already anxious because she couldn’t enter the “state” for a long time. Hearing this, she didn’t care to consider too much and immediately nodded in agreement: “Okay!”

The two of them then left the company and moved to the villa where Fan Wu was currently living. Previously, because she couldn’t personally accompany Fan Yu to the amusement park, Fan Wu had entrusted Jiang Mengzhi to take her there, so she confirmed that no one was home.

After entering, Fan Wu went toward the kitchen while saying to Sang Zhijiu: “Go sit by the sofa, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

As a guest, Sang Zhijiu walked lightly to the side of the sofa. Arriving at Fan Wu’s home, she suddenly had the feeling of intruding into someone else’s private residence and began to regret whether her agreement just now had been a bit too casual.

But soon, a book on the sofa caught her attention. Although she knew it was wrong to flip through other people’s things casually, looking at the large words “Being Single is a Blessing” on the cover, Sang Zhijiu’s mind couldn’t help but become blurred.

Wasn’t this the book she had once signed for Senior W? Of course, looking at the cover alone couldn’t confirm anything. She slowly stepped forward, reached out a slightly trembling hand, flipped over the cover, and came to the title page.

On the title page, several characters clearly entered her sight. It was exactly Sang Zhijiu’s own handwriting, which she was more than familiar with. At this moment, Sang Zhijiu even forgot to breathe.

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded behind her.

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