The Infatuated Cannon Fodder Has Completely Moved On - Chapter 16

Jin Yuzhen became mostly awake and replied to Nie Feiyin’s message.

Qiu Tang remained silent.

In their circle, kicking someone while they are down never means a face-to-face confrontation with harsh words. Instead, it means striking when you are at your weakest to finish you off.

News travels fast. The word that Jin Yuzhen and Cen Shu had broken up had already spread everywhere. Cen Shu had been elevated to her current position largely through Jin Yuzhen’s support; compared to other actresses of the same caliber, her foundation was not very stable.

Internet traffic and fame eventually get used up. Consequently, many people were hatching bad schemes behind her back. They wanted to trick her into joining their film crews just to exploit her fame one last time, paving the way for their own favorites while eliminating a competitor.

The more critical the moment, the more one must remain calm. In this industry, you never know if the person standing behind you is a human or a ghost.

Although Qiu Tang was the manager, she had been warned by high-level executives from the beginning. Out of respect for the second Miss Jin, the artist must be given the final say. Therefore, Qiu Tang did not make the decisions regarding Cen Shu’s roles or endorsements; most of the time, Cen Shu had to review them herself.

The dramas Cen Shu had filmed previously had all finished airing. She had no stock left and, worse, no good scripts or production teams on the horizon. Maintaining her current popularity was becoming difficult. Qiu Tang was terrified that Cen Shu would get desperate and accept any mediocre role just to stay relevant.

Fortunately, Cen Shu still had some sense.

“I will go talk to the leadership again. If it really does not work out, we will film an in-house production,” Cen Shu sighed. For an actress in the rising stage of her career, maintaining quality and quantity is essential. If she wasted this year, she would have no works to show next year, and the audience would quickly forget her.

“That is all we can do,” Cen Shu added. “Since I have nothing to do lately anyway, I will go to a performing arts class.”

Qiu Tang certainly had no objection to this. Artists willing to keep learning are rare. “It is settled then. I will assign a lifestyle assistant to you when the time comes.”

Cen Shu hummed in agreement, then frowned deeply. “How did this kind of script even reach me?”

“It was transferred over from Gaoyi,” Qiu Tang said, having already investigated the matter thoroughly. “Gaoyi is using a lot of newcomers this year, but most of them are flops. The only one who actually became popular, well, you know how he did it.”

Cen Shu suppressed her anger. Of course she knew. She would never forget it as long as she lived.

It happened two years ago. She had filmed a historical business drama with a male actor from Gaoyi. From the moment the project was established to the start of filming, that man had obsessively released press releases. According to the marketing accounts, she had already confessed her love to him countless times.

The hateful part was that after the drama aired, he actually gained fans and rose in status. Gaoyi even paid to film extra episodes just to help him retain those fans. It was clearly her show, but in the end, that person reaped all the benefits. Because of that, she had cut off all cooperation with Gaoyi and told her company never to let Gaoyi near her again.

Perhaps because her current situation was not good, the company was treating her as a sacrificial lamb. It was easy to guess that the lead actor for this new script would be that same person.

What a joke. In that previous drama, that man barely showed his face in the first three episodes, and people had almost forgotten him by the end. Now, they were sending this disgusting script over, hoping she would act as a stepping stone for him once more.

Angry as she was, Cen Shu thought about it seriously. She had no time to tear into Gaoyi over these messy affairs, but the company had clearly treated her as a discarded pawn. She could not allow herself to be slaughtered at will.

Should she change companies or start her own studio? She needed to plan carefully.

The pure white Urus drove toward an orchard in the New District.

The setting sun blanketed the road as the street scenes receded. Jin Yuzhen looked out at the scenery blankly. In the damp woods, the maple leaves were as red as velvet, covering the ground like a plush carpet. This sight of withering was enough to make one feel instinctively drowsy.

There were many cars on this road. Most were going to the orchard to pick fruit, while others were headed to the market next to the orchard to buy supplies. Accompanied by the sound of passing cars, Jin Yuzhen closed her eyes and rested for a while.

About ten minutes later, her phone vibrated. There were several WeChat messages from a new friend. Jin Yuzhen looked at them, unintentionally imagining how the other person must have typed and deleted, typed and deleted, to send these few paragraphs.

Nie Feiyin’s face appeared clearly in her mind. The messages said that her family had sent a lot of medicinal herbs and ingredients for health purposes; to thank her, she wanted to share some. If it was inconvenient, she could mail them via local courier.

It was very formal. Jin Yuzhen reflected on her few interactions with Nie Feiyin and realized that the girl was always very formal, as if treating every meeting as their last. Yet, it never felt like a burden.

The humid stuffiness in the car suddenly dissipated quite a bit. Jin Yuzhen became mostly awake and replied to Nie Feiyin’s message.

Fu Jiao had warned her that Gaoyi was targeting not only the Jin family but also Nie Feiyin. Jin Yuzhen did not know much about her or her social circle, so it was a good idea to ask and prevent any trouble before it happened. Since the girl was currently filming, she would find an opportunity to visit the set. On the way, she could bring some food and drinks for Lu Wenqi as well.

The moment the message was sent, Nie Feiyin replied instantly. Reserved yet polite: “Okay, okay.”

Seeing this, Jin Yuzhen’s lips curled into a smile. Halfway through the smile, she noticed a surge of pleasure spreading through her heart, and she found it completely baffling. She still had not figured it out by the time she got out of the car and entered the garden.

The sky was heavy with layers of low-hanging dark clouds; the sunset glow had long since faded. Tomorrow would not be good weather. The staff were all setting up protections. She walked toward the holiday house across the small path, and a string of dogs of various breeds immediately came running out, excitedly raising their front paws around her.

Fu Jiao came out from inside grumbling, her flannel shirt stained with mud and two neat paw prints on her face, one on each cheek. Seeing the dogs circling Jin Yuzhen without jumping wildly, she felt an inevitable sense of injustice. “I come here more often than you do, but they only recognize you. Am I really not suited to having pets?”

Jin Yuzhen bent over to pat the head of a local dog. “That depends on what you raise.”

Fu Jiao did not want to live in a large villa alone, but she did not like cats and could never seem to bond with the dogs she raised. She asked for advice: “For example?”

Jin Yuzhen looked up at her earnestly. “Raise a rock. It saves a lot of trouble.”

Fu Jiao replied, “Good idea.” With just that one sentence, she knew she would not get any useful suggestions from Jin Yuzhen. She gave up and pointed at the local dog wagging its tail. “This one has smelly feet. I will call a vet to look at it tomorrow.”

Jin Yuzhen’s outstretched hand paused, and she silently withdrew it. The puppy did not know what it had done wrong and stuck out its tongue dejectedly.

Jin Yuzhen pointed outside. “Go play for a bit. It will rain tomorrow, so you cannot go out.” The dog understood her words and sprinted out.

Jin Yuzhen asked, “Is there no update on Baibai’s adoption?”

Fu Jiao used a wet wipe to clean her face, mourning her new clothes. Hearing this, she felt a bit of sympathy for the dogs again. “It refuses to go. That younger sister who came to see it was so kind; I am sure she would have raised it well. But Baibai is probably used to this place. It bit my clothes and would not let go.”

Baibai was the local dog from just now, all white, with two tufts of yellow near its eyebrows and ears that often drooped softly. Jin Yuzhen had encountered it while doing rural assistance work with a public welfare team. It was likely abandoned in the fields when it was very small, yet it had an optimistic personality.

During her first assistance project, Jin Yuzhen was not very familiar with the local area. While listening to the guide, she saw a puppy leap out from a thicket of thistles by the roadside, happily chasing butterflies. She brought the dog back. Seeing its fur was very white, she named it Baibai.

Fu Jiao was naturally not very compatible with animals. When she was a child in the countryside, she could even get into a fight with the family’s chickens. Consequently, she did not approve of raising dogs in the orchard house. She tried to persuade Jin Yuzhen that there were too many stray dogs to save them all. Jin Yuzhen replied that if she encountered one, she would save it; she could not just send it back.

So Baibai stayed. Later, more than ten other dogs were picked up one after another and raised here. The orchard was an industry that landed along with the New District, participating in agricultural assistance projects. A trade market was also built nearby, providing a new approach to poverty alleviation. As the person in charge, Fu Jiao had been awarded a banner.

Of course, she was not so narrow-minded as to drive away Baibai and its companions. At first, she did not know how to interact with dogs at all; it was only after the lady who sprayed pesticides taught her step by step that she could barely manage to intimidate these four-legged creatures.

However, a new recreation area had been developed here, and raising dogs was not a long-term plan. Fu Jiao discussed with Jin Yuzhen to find adopters. It was a good plan; as of today, five dogs had found new owners.

But when it came to Baibai, things were not going smoothly. It did not want to leave. It was the leader, and the other dogs followed its lead and would not go either. Fu Jiao discussed it with the operations director and decided to build a house for the dogs.

Jin Yuzhen looked at the house; there were three bedrooms, and the living room was exceptionally large, with many toys placed inside. Fu Jiao had clearly put effort into it.

“It is fine,” she said. “Staying here is okay too. Baibai is already familiar with us; it would not be comfortable in a new home.”

Fu Jiao said, “I have been tied down by it.”

Jin Yuzhen smiled. “Are you finished with your work? Shall we go back together?”

Fu Jiao held out her hands. “Let me change my clothes first.”

Jin Yuzhen nodded and sat outside to wait for her. As thunder began to roll in the distance, Li Xiang, who was finishing work, saw her from afar and drove over on an electric tricycle. She took a large bag of pomegranates out of the back and gave them to her. “Boss, I have not seen you for a while! Boss Fu said yesterday that you were coming, so I picked the best pomegranates for you overnight. Here, take them back to the city to eat.”

Jin Yuzhen stood up, took them with a smile, and thanked her. Li Xiang said, “Then I will head back. Oh, by the way, Boss, it seems someone is waiting for you outside.”

Jin Yuzhen was confused. Who would be waiting for her at this time?

She bid farewell to Li Xiang and brought the pomegranates into the house just as Fu Jiao came out after changing her clothes. “Xiangxiang gave these?”

“Yes.”

Fu Jiao said, “I tasted them this afternoon; they are delicious.”

The two of them came out the door. Baibai, knowing they were leaving, led its companions to surround them. Jin Yuzhen wanted to pet it, but remembering what Fu Jiao had said about its feet, she found it hard to reach out. She simply said, “Go back inside. We are leaving.”

Baibai was reluctant to part, following them all the way to the exit. Seeing an unfamiliar car, Fu Jiao asked curiously, “Who is that?”

Jin Yuzhen said, “Sister Xiang said someone was waiting for me. I do not know who it is.”

As Fu Jiao was putting the things in the car, the door of the car behind them opened. The person who stepped out was Cen Shu.

She instinctively called out, “Zhenzhen?”

Jin Yuzhen was also surprised, but she did not stay. She got into the car with Fu Jiao. Cen Shu chased after them. She had not had time to put on a coat, and as the wind blew, a chill rose from her body. She called out, “Zhenzhen.”

Then she added, “I was waiting for you.”

Jin Yuzhen acted as if she had not heard and said to the driver, “Let us drive.”

It was about to rain.