The Host Has Fallen for the Second Female Lead Again - Chapter 7

Ji Mingxiao returned to her office and immediately turned on the surveillance, glancing at the lobby.

Xi Ruan was still sitting there, head down, looking quite docile, lost in her own thoughts.

The person from her memories was never this docile, but Ji Mingxiao still felt that Xi Ruan was Ruan Shaojia.

Wu Duo appeared in the frame and said something to Xi Ruan. Xi Ruan stood up, and they went upstairs together.

Ji Mingxiao frowned. She had thought there was a slight resemblance between Zhuo Xi and Xi Ruan before, but she never expected that Xi Ruan was Zhuo Xi’s stand-in.

She tapped the desk.

She felt an inexplicable sense of frustration.

Leaning back in her chair, Ji Mingxiao picked up a pen and twirled it between her fingers.

Originally, she hadn’t planned to visit Zhuo Xi on set, but now it seemed she had to, and she needed to go multiple times to get Xi Ruan’s contact information through legitimate means.

Assistant Tang was efficient, clarifying Xi Ruan’s background in just two days.

Xi Ruan was twenty-five this year, one year younger than Zhuo Xi. She had been Zhuo Xi’s stand-in for three years. During this time, directors had offered her roles, but she hadn’t taken any, all for various reasons.

Ji Mingxiao felt there was an 80% chance that Zhuo Xi had interfered.

Tang Can’s file included many photos of Xi Ruan, from childhood to the present. Ruan Shaojia had disappeared a month before her eighteenth birthday. Ji Mingxiao had only known her up to that point. Every photo of Xi Ruan before she turned eighteen was identical to the Ruan Shaojia that Ji Mingxiao remembered.

As for the photos after she turned eighteen…

Ji Mingxiao felt that Ruan Shaojia would have probably looked the same at twenty-five—the face hadn’t changed much, just a little more mature.

Xi Ruan loved spicy food and hot pot; Ruan Shaojia also loved spicy food and hot pot.

Xi Ruan’s favorite fruit was oranges; Ruan Shaojia’s favorite fruit was also oranges.

Xi Ruan’s most disliked fruit was bananas; Ruan Shaojia’s most disliked fruit was also bananas.

…

There were many other similarities, all of which matched perfectly.

Ji Mingxiao clenched the paper in her hand, rubbed her temples, and put the file into her safe.

She took a deep breath.

It must be her.

So, when did Ruan Shaojia die? No wonder she couldn’t be reached.

Ji Mingxiao took a pack of cigarettes from her drawer and left the office.

“President?”

“Nothing,” Ji Mingxiao waved her hand.

Tang Can was a little puzzled.

Was it just her imagination, or were the president’s eyes a little red?

Ji Mingxiao went to the rooftop. The pack of cigarettes she had bought before was half-full. It wasn’t break time, so there was no one else on the rooftop.

She found a corner, leaned against the railing, and lit a cigarette.

“Honey, smoking is bad for your health. I suggest you smoke less.”

“Okay,” Ji Mingxiao replied, taking a puff. She looked into the distance, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

“Honey, why are you crying?”

Ji Mingxiao ignored it.

She just smoked one cigarette after another.

Ruan Shaojia was such a timid person. She wondered if she was scared then, or if she was scared after being bound by the system.

“Can you clear the host’s memories?”

“Yes,” System A said. “But it’s not mandatory. The host chooses to do it themselves because as more missions are completed, memories can get jumbled. So, some hosts choose to clear their memories. We’ll give you a full introduction to the entire system once you complete the beginner’s mission, honey.”

“Mm,” Ji Mingxiao pursed her lips. “Will they even forget their own name?”

“That won’t happen…” System A hesitated. “Host, the whole mission system is more complex than you think. It’s best not to reveal your name during a mission. First, the system prohibits it. Second, it’s for your own safety. You can look for whoever you want after you return to the main system space.”

Ji Mingxiao touched the cigarette box in her hand. The cigarettes were gone. She pursed her lips, threw the box into the trash, and returned to her office to start working.

She figured she should bury herself in work to keep from overthinking.

It was soon time for Zhuo Xi to join the crew. Zhuo Xi came back from work twice, but both times Ji Mingxiao was away on a business trip, so they missed each other perfectly.

“I’ll come visit you on set then,” Ji Mingxiao said, her voice soft as she leaned against her desk.

On the other end, Zhuo Xi kept chattering, so much so that Ji Mingxiao wanted to hang up.

“Try to avoid conflicts with Sheng Xin over there.”

“Okay,” Zhuo Xi sounded a little unhappy.

Ji Mingxiao smiled. “It’s not that I’m not protecting you. Sheng Yu’s favorite thing to do is create hype. If you get into a conflict with her and something gets filmed, even if you were framed and it’s eventually proven, people who only caught the beginning of the story will still have that initial impression of you. Later, if you do anything, someone will bring it up again.”

“There’s no need to take that risk, is there? Sheng Xin has a fortune to inherit. You don’t. Or are you willing to quit the entertainment industry and stay at home?”

Zhuo Xi was shocked by Ji Mingxiao’s words. Honestly, she wasn’t afraid of Sheng Xin; she was only afraid of Ji Mingxiao making her quit the entertainment industry. “Alright, I get it. I’ll just avoid her. Is that good enough?”

“Mm.”

Sometimes, Ji Mingxiao just wanted to blacklist her, but she couldn’t. She had to stand on the moral high ground, catch her mistakes, and then knock her down so she could never recover.

Otherwise, this person would never know what regret was.

She was very curious about when Zhuo Xi had met that wealthy man.

His name was Ji Chanhan, and he had the same surname as her. He was twenty-nine years old. Tang Can didn’t even need to look up his information; a simple search online would show everything.

Ji Chanhan was handsome and was the current head of the Ji family and the CEO of Ji Group. The Ji family was a top-tier wealthy family in City A. Compared to them, the Fu family was nothing. He was a real-life wealthy and handsome bachelor, a hot commodity.

In his five years as CEO, any random thing he had done could be put into a textbook.

Just like Fu Youzheng, getting involved with Zhuo Xi would be the most “low-brow” thing he’d ever do.

So, why would a sharp person like him be interested in Zhuo Xi?

If she could, Ji Mingxiao would really like to interview Zhuo Xi to see how she pulled it off.

Fu Youzheng and Ji Chanhan had met twice, but she couldn’t find anything particularly useful in her memories.

Ji Mingxiao hadn’t met him yet, but there would definitely be an opportunity. Their two companies had always had business collaborations, so the Ji Group’s annual meeting would probably invite her.

However, Ji Mingxiao met Ji Chanhan before the annual meeting.

At a private club, Ji Mingxiao was there for drinks. When the elevator doors opened, she saw Ji Chanhan standing inside alone.

Their eyes met.

“President Fu, aren’t you coming in?” Ji Chanhan raised an eyebrow.

“I am,” Ji Mingxiao walked in, taking several glances at Ji Chanhan.

“Is something wrong, President Fu?”

Ji Mingxiao smiled. “Nothing. I was just curious what kind of woman President Ji likes, since you’ve been single for so long.”

“Since when did President Fu start caring about this?” Ji Chanhan looked at Ji Mingxiao, his eyes showing a hint of curiosity.

“People are curious. It’s normal.”

Ji Chanhan stared at Ji Mingxiao for a moment. “There are a lot of curious people, but President Fu is the first one who dared to ask. Don’t worry, I’m not interested in the type you like.”

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