The Person I Love Who Has Been Missing For Three Years - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Chance to See Ming Jin?

Cao Xin was pacing back and forth, making phone calls, which made Song Xiangwan’s eyes hurt: “Sister Cao, if I don’t get the role, then I don’t get it. Just let it go.”

She didn’t care about the script anyway. It was Cao Xin who pushed her to go for it. Not working might be better; she could have some peace and quiet.

“How can you say that?” Cao Xin was quite agitated. “Su Chenxing is buying tons of press releases claiming she overshadowed you. We have to fight back somehow.”

The trending topics included:

#ChangeInCastingForQīngChéng#

#SuChenxingOvershadowsSongXiangwanOnTheRedCarpet#

#SuChenxingApologizesToSongXiangwan#

#SuChenxingIsAVictim#

Su Chenxing herself posted a message: “I sincerely apologize to Teacher Song here. I had no idea Teacher Song was also competing for this role. @SongXiangwan”

The sister didn’t know, the sister just auditioned through the regular process, the sister is also a victim.

She lost the audition and then got defensive. We all know who I’m talking about.

Okay, okay, let’s not cause trouble for Star-Star. Focus on yourself. Look at Star-Star’s red carpet photos today, she’s absolutely a little princess, so beautiful.

I watched the launch live stream. Star-Star tried to talk to her several times, but she ignored her. What kind of person is that? Still acting like a senior artist?

She only has the title of senior artist left. She’s old, has low popularity, and is putting on airs to bully our Star-Star.

Cao Xin’s eyelids twitched violently. Song Xiangwan was only twenty-seven this year, in the prime of her life. How could they say she was old? These people dared to say anything.

Cao Xin was so angry that her words were filled with suppressed rage: “How could she not know? President Wu guaranteed me that it was yours! She just cut in again!”

“And how does she have the nerve to claim she ‘overshadowed’ you?” Cao Xin was incredulous. “Are all these fans blind?”

Leaving everything else aside, Song Xiangwan wins just by showing her face. Although Su Chenxing was elaborately dressed, she was eclipsed by Song Xiangwan.

But Su Chenxing had a large fan base and a loud voice, so they could spin white into black, creating a whole internet narrative that she overshadowed Song Xiangwan.

“Sister Cao, calm down.” Song Xiangwan knew she was upset on her behalf. She patted Cheng Cheng. “Cheng Cheng, pour Sister Cao a glass of water.”

Cao Xin took a sip of water, her anger subsiding a little. She asked Song Xiangwan: “Are you really not angry?”

“Not angry,” Song Xiangwan’s tone was flat, looking at the bubbles in the IV bag. “Maybe I should just retire quietly. It’s boring.”

“Don’t say that, my dear.” Cao Xin was startled. “It would be a total waste for a face like yours not to be in this business.”

“Many people have said that to me before,” Song Xiangwan murmured carelessly, as if she were talking to herself.

A few years ago, everyone she met in the industry said the same thing—that this face was naturally meant for this job. She also felt that Ming Jin preventing her from doing this job was destroying her life, which led to many arguments.

But now, hearing this, she felt strangely peaceful. It didn’t matter whether she did this job or not.

Cao Xin’s phone rang loudly. Cao Xin made a shushing gesture and said quietly, “It’s President Wu.”

Although she was furious, Cao Xin didn’t dare vent her anger on President Wu. She answered the phone with a warm tone: “President Wu, what a surprise to hear from you.”

“The official cast list? I saw it. President Wu, didn’t we agree before to reserve the lead role for our Xiangwan? We were just about to sign the contract. Why the sudden change?”

“Director Wu’s decision? That’s impossible. Xiangwan has worked with Director Wu before, and he praised our Xiangwan many times.”

“The second female lead? Absolutely not. Our Xiangwan is a senior artist. How could she agree to play a supporting role?”

“Please reconsider. Xiangwan is very selective about scripts now. She considered $Qīng Chéng mainly because of the good relationship with Dingsheng.”

“In that case, forget it. I hope we can collaborate with President Wu next time.”

Cao Xin hung up the phone, her face as dark as water: “What nerve! Asking us to take a supporting role! Are they dreaming?”

President Wu of Dingsheng Entertainment and Director Wu Chun are biological brothers. Many of the high-quality films directed by Wu Chun are distributed by Dingsheng Entertainment. In fact, President Wu’s opinion often mirrored Director Wu’s. The female lead chosen by President Wu was usually final, so Cao Xin didn’t know what went wrong this time.

President Wu claimed that Director Wu Chun was unwilling and personally requested Su Chenxing. He offered a compensation plan: the second female lead had not been officially announced yet, and he suggested Song Xiangwan take the role.

Cao Xin was choked with anger and deeply distressed. She was furious but didn’t dare lash out at President Wu. After all, she would inevitably need to work on his projects in the future, and souring the relationship now was pointless.

“Calm down, what did he say?” Song Xiangwan had roughly guessed what happened from Cao Xin’s tone. She just wanted Cao Xin to speak it out and vent, so she wouldn’t bottle up her frustration.

“He said you should go support Su Chenxing! It infuriates me! Who does she think she is, to be worthy of that?”

“And he also said something about meeting the investors for dinner tomorrow. If you agree to take the second female lead role, you can join the dinner.”

“What is he saying? The way he talks makes it sound like we’re begging! Are we supposed to rush over and let people laugh at us?”

“Then forget it, decline the offer. I’m not going,” Song Xiangwan said lazily.

Song Xiangwan was not a soft touch to be pushed around. When Ming Jin indulged her, scripts flew to her like snowflakes, and directors begged her to star.

Song Xiangwan had one hand connected to the IV drip and slowly tapped on her screen with the other.

Cao Xin hadn’t calmed down yet. She was about to tell Cheng Cheng to stay here and watch her while she went out to buy food since it was mealtime. Cao Xin swore that if she had known there would be more trouble, she wouldn’t have gone out to that dinner for anything.

While ordering food and making a payment, Cao Xin’s phone exploded with notifications—messages from her boss, messages from colleagues, and messages from entertainment reporters.

Cao Xin first checked the messages from her boss, and her eyes suddenly widened.

Her boss was cursing up a storm, telling her to control Song Xiangwan and stop causing trouble everywhere.

Then she read the text of the post Song Xiangwan had sent:

How could a finalized script be stolen? That’s unprecedented. Is the reason for this urgent change because I refused your hints for a sexual favor last night?

Stop pretending to be victims. This circle is small; who doesn’t know the truth?

How did the female lead get the role? Did you agree to the sexual favor?

Cao Xin’s mind went blank. This grand-mistress was practically pointing the finger and directly insulting the production company and the new female lead.

She had been completely fooled by Song Xiangwan’s calm demeanor just now. When has Song Xiangwan ever been a pushover?

Cao Xin rushed back, shoved the food she bought into Cheng Cheng’s hands, and looked at Song Xiangwan, who was lying comfortably in bed: “My dear, do you not want to be in the industry anymore?”

“If you offend Dingsheng, you won’t be able to film any of Director Wu’s movies in the future! Are you truly not taking your future seriously?”

“Whatever, I’m not going to bottle up my anger.” Song Xiangwan was calm and composed, acting as if the sky could fall and she wouldn’t care.

Anyway, she wasn’t keen on staying in the industry. She had nothing to lose, so why should she fear anyone?

Ming Jin never let her suffer such insults. Who did these people think they were?

“Delete it,” Cao Xin said concisely. “I’ll handle the public relations. We’ll say your account was hacked, and it wasn’t you who posted that message.”

That claim probably wouldn’t convince anyone, but at least it could salvage the situation a little and prevent a complete breakdown of relations.

Song Xiangwan’s stomach wasn’t hurting anymore, and sleepiness was creeping in. She closed her eyes while leaning on the bed: “I’m not deleting it. I’m tired and want to sleep. You two leave.”

“If the management wants to scold me, tell them to come find me,” Song Xiangwan said lightly.

Cao Xin was so angry her teeth were itching. This grand-mistress cooperated one moment and didn’t the next, giving her a massive headache.

Song Xiangwan’s thoughts were actually quite clear. She wanted to fade out of the industry, and she didn’t want to drag Cao Xin down. If the management got angry, she would simply say she didn’t want Cao Xin to manage her anymore, and they could part ways so she wouldn’t implicate Cao Xin.

Cao Xin looked at Song Xiangwan’s pale, bloodless face and, despite her furious frustration, couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh: “Can you stop treating yourself like this?”

“Letting people insult me without fighting back, that’s treating myself badly. Stomach pain is often emotional. I’m afraid I’ll literally die from the pain if I hold it in.”

Song Xiangwan closed her eyes, adjusted her posture in bed, and settled in: “I’m tired. You two should go.”

“Fine, my dear, I’ll spoil you then,” Cao Xin sighed helplessly. “You sleep. I’ll handle the rest.” She just felt a headache coming on. When she started managing Song Xiangwan, she thought she had gotten a cash cow, but she got a troublemaker instead.

Yet, she was so beautiful. When she mumbled a few soft words, Cao Xin couldn’t bear to say anything harsh to her.

Cao Xin patted Cheng Cheng, gesturing for her to stand up, and muttered quietly, “It’s just a shame about this big production.”

“I thought that after filming this, we could make connections with the Ming family. Now, we’ve completely ruined the relationship.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ve offended the Ming family too.”

“What?” The person who was nearly asleep in bed suddenly opened her eyes. “What Ming family?”

“My dear, don’t move randomly. The needle will come out,” Cao Xin quickly came over to hold down her hand.

But it was too late. Her movement was too sudden, and the needle inserted into the back of her hand was yanked out of place, staining the area with red blood.

Cheng Cheng quickly pressed the call button to summon a nurse to re-insert the needle.

Song Xiangwan seemed not to feel the pain, staring at Cao Xin: “You just said the Ming family. Is this drama related to the Ming family?”

“Yes…” Her reaction confused Cao Xin, but she still explained: “The biggest investor in $Qīng Chéng isn’t Dingsheng; it’s Ming Shi (Ming Group).”

“The Ming Group has been investing in the entertainment industry for several years. I thought you knew.”

Investor, Ming family, Ming Jin… Song Xiangwan suddenly remembered Cao Xin mentioning earlier that Ming Jin would be meeting the investors for dinner tomorrow.

If she went, would she have a chance to see Ming Jin?

She was very unhappy with her performance today—like a spineless stray dog.

Is she truly free now? Is President Ming truly going to stop bothering her?

While the nurse was busy re-inserting the needle, Song Xiangwan picked up her phone, logged into social media, and deleted the post on her homepage.

She looked at Cao Xin: “Sister Cao, I deleted the post. Please ask for me if the second female lead role in $Qīng Chéng is still available. If it is, I’ll take it.”

“You want to take the second female lead role?” Cao Xin looked like she had seen a ghost. “Song Xiangwan, do you have a fever?”

Saying that, she reached out to check the temperature of Song Xiangwan’s forehead. It wasn’t hot; she didn’t seem to have a fever.

“Is it the stomach pain? Did it make you confused?” Cao Xin still couldn’t believe it.

“No, I’m very clear-headed. Just ask for me.” Song Xiangwan blinked, her tone softening slightly. “Sister Cao, you’re the best to me, aren’t you?”

This was madness. It was truly madness. Cao Xin had never imagined that Song Xiangwan, who had a fierce temper, would one day rush to take a supporting role for someone else.