What Should I Do If the Aloof Movie Queen Is Too in Love With Me? - Chapter 11

Some scenes used for filming are free, while others are not built by the scenic area and must be rented with money. Generally, a deposit is paid first, followed by daily rentals, with the balance settled periodically.

The owner of this film set was very familiar with the previous producer. The set had been rented to the crew without a signed contract or a deposit. Now that the producer had run away, the owner sent someone to demand they pay up.

However, Ji Youyi had looked at the crew’s accounts, which showed that this deposit had already been paid out a month ago.

As for where it went, that was unknown. Ji Youyi sneered in her heart, this is exactly why people say rotten messes are hard to take over.

Ji Youyi was now the director and producer of this drama, so the burden of cost accounting and financial auditing fell on her shoulders. She had no choice but to call Yeye.

Wu Buxing was relatively polite, saying he would contact the old producer, but he wouldn’t pay the set owner until the accounts were cleared. Furthermore, the company’s payment process was slow—nothing would come out today or tomorrow—essentially telling Ji Youyi to front the money herself.

In small-budget film and television, it is common for the crew to advance money.

The problem was, where would Ji Youyi get the money to advance?

From her frozen bank cards? Or the 5-million-plus debt in her account?

Ji Youyi thought for a moment, turned around, and left the set.

The person who had come to find the location manager earlier was the manager of the film set company. Ji Youyi asked for his contact information and looked into the situation.

The set owner’s surname was Hu, known as President Hu. Ji Youyi said she wanted to treat President Hu and Manager Liu to dinner, but received a regretful reply—President Hu was meeting several friends at Zuixian Tavern tonight and had already been eating for a while.

Ji Youyi hung up the phone, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Zuixian Tavern.

Zuixian Tavern had a grand name, but the decor was old-fashioned. Business was good; the square tables in the first-floor lobby were half-full, mostly with average-looking middle-aged men shouting and drinking, creating a chaotic, smoky atmosphere.

It didn’t look expensive; Ji Youyi breathed a sigh of relief for her wallet.

She selected a bottle of white liquor at the front desk costing over four hundred yuan. Before paying, she claimed she was a friend of President Hu coming to drink with him. After confirming the private room number and the number of people inside, she pulled out 100-yuan bills to pay.

When buying alcohol, she naturally didn’t forget to ask for a receipt.

She carefully put the receipt into her trouser pocket, stacking it with the taxi receipt. She asked for a wine glass, then with the glass in one hand and the white liquor in the other, she pushed open the door to the private room.

Ji Youyi had seen President Hu’s photo on Manager Liu’s social media feed. As soon as the door opened, she headed toward her target with a face full of smiles:

“Oh, President Hu, sorry for the intrusion! Isn’t this a coincidence? I was eating next door and heard from Little Liu that you were here too. I thought to myself, I definitely have to drop by.”

Ji Youyi placed the glass on the table and opened the liquor in her hand in front of everyone, pouring a cup for President Hu and filling one for herself.

She held her glass with both hands, her smile fervent. “President Hu, you don’t know me, but I’ve truly admired your name for a long time. I’m from the ‘If Life Were Only Like the First Meeting’ crew. I often heard our producer mention you before, and today I finally get to see the man himself. Since fate has brought us together, I must toast you. Please drink as you wish, President Hu; I’ll bottom mine out.”

Ji Youyi absolutely loathed drinking.

Her first time at a drinking table was at the age of five.

After her first movie finished filming, her adoptive mother carefully styled her hair into a princess head, pinned a bright red bow on top, and carried her into a private room.

To this day, she could still recall that dim room, the ghost-like flickering figures, and the stench mixed from cigarette smoke, alcohol, and body sweat. Every time she thought of it, it made her nauseous.

But over the past ten years, she had drunk countless amounts of alcohol.

From a tiny nobody who was forced to drink cup after cup just to stay by her mentor’s side to film movies, to the famous Director Ji who navigated the vanity fair, she couldn’t avoid drinking a few taels.

How could something as good as money be exchanged for something as bad as alcohol?

Ji Youyi smiled and toasted, draining the cup in one go without even twitching her eyebrows.

“Whoa, bold!” President Hu felt greatly honored by the flattery and led the applause, giving a thumbs up. “Which one are you in the crew?”

“My surname is Ji, just a small director in the crew.”

“Understood, it’s Director Ji! Since Director Ji gives me such face, I’ll have one too!” President Hu had already drunk a lot earlier; now that the atmosphere had been raised by Ji Youyi, he also raised his glass and finished it in one gulp.

Ji Youyi looked flattered: “President Hu, you praise me too much. I don’t deserve that title; just call me Xiao Ji. Oh, no, just for that ‘Director Ji,’ I must toast you again!”

As she spoke, she picked up the bottle again and filled both cups.

Pouring, drinking, pouring, drinking—interspersed with hypocritical smiles and flattery. Ji Youyi spent two hours and finally drank President Hu under the table.

President Hu was wasted. While paying the bill downstairs, he staggered while being supported by friends, yet he didn’t forget to speak to Ji Youyi with a slurred tongue: “That set… no deposit needed. Our Director Ji is filming! Doing me the honor of using my set! And I’m going to collect a deposit?! Am I even human?! You take your time filming! Pay the rent whenever you want! Remember to… find time… to drink together again!”

“Absolutely, for sure!” For sure my foot; after finishing this project, she was retiring. This shitty job of producer—whoever wants it can have it.

Ji Youyi saw them off but wasn’t in a hurry to leave herself. Her head was spinning violently. She pulled out a chair on the first floor and sat down, intending to recover in the shop for a bit before leaving.

She was a good drunk; even if she was intoxicated, she could use her logic to force herself to hold on. Only when she was sure she had reached a safe place would she relax and allow herself to fall into a stupor.

She leaned against the back of the chair and raised her hand to touch her stomach.

From the moment she drank the first glass of alcohol, it had begun to hurt—a searing pain like a blazing fire.

One cup of white liquor after another went down, like oil poured onto a fire, flames erupting and roasting her internal organs. Halfway through, it had hurt so much she almost couldn’t hold her glass.

But later, the pain miraculously vanished, along with the sense of her stomach’s existence.

At this moment, her hand felt around her belly, but after a long time, she couldn’t find where her stomach was. It was as if below that patch of skin, it was empty.

As she was feeling around, her phone suddenly rang loudly.

Ji Youyi looked down, her wooden head turning a circle before she remembered: Oh, the 8:59 alarm, reminding her of the 9:00 phone call appointment.

It was Sister Meng! Pretty non-celebrity! Cheap and useful!

She would surely be able to use her ‘three-inch glib tongue’ to trick her into the crew! Go for it, Xiao Ji!

After a tiring day, Ji Youyi finally felt a bit happy. Her spirits lifted as she clicked on the dialogue box, staring at the clock until it jumped to 9:00, then immediately dialed the voice call.

The phone rang three times before being picked up. A clear, cold voice came from the other side: “Hello?”

Ah, so pleasant to hear.

Ji Youyi propped her face with her left hand, elbow on the table, while her right hand held the phone tightly against her ear: “Sister Meng, hehe, Sister Meng, good evening.”

“…?” There was a pause on the other end. “What’s wrong with you.”

“Nothing is wrong.” Ji Youyi found it strange. “Didn’t we have an appointment? 9:00 tonight, I’ll tell you about the character.”

Ji Youyi’s speaking rhythm was noticeably half a beat slower than usual, her pronunciation soft and coquettish. Meng Xingzhu stood in front of a wide floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the river view reflecting neon lights outside, momentarily lost in thought.

The background noise on that end was chaotic. A piece of information received this afternoon flashed through Meng Xingzhu’s mind—

She has been applying for jobs everywhere in the film base. Yesterday she performed in a short drama, and today she was promoted to director by the investors. I don’t know what kind of drinking party she is attending now.

Meng Xingzhu asked: “Where are you.”

“I’m outside, just finished eating.” Ji Youyi looked around and realized. “You think it’s too noisy, right? This place really isn’t suitable for talking. Sister Meng, wait for me, wait until I get back…”

“Are you alone?” Meng Xingzhu interrupted.

“Yeah.”

“Stay there and don’t move. Send me the address.” Meng Xingzhu walked toward the entrance, reaching out to take her trench coat off the rack.

“Are you coming to pick me up? No need, I’m not drunk.”

“…Send me the address.” This time, the tone was much harder and colder.

Ji Youyi curled her lip: “Oh.”

The magnanimous Director Ji would tolerate every fierce female lead. Director Ji moved her finger and sent the location over.

“How much battery is left on your phone?”

“Let me see… 41, ah, now it’s 40.”

“It should be enough. Stay in the lobby, don’t wander around. Wait for me to get there. Don’t talk to strangers. Hold onto your phone, turn on the speakerphone, and keep the call active. Do you understand?”

Ji Youyi had never been lectured like this before; it made her feel like a child. She felt a bit uncomfortable: “Oh.”

So many demands. Whatever, she was the magnanimous Director Ji; she respected actors with ideas.

Director Ji propped her cheeks with both hands, the phone lying flat on the table, her eyes staring at the call duration timer jumping on the screen.

As she watched, the characters began to blur.

A wave of darkness fell before her eyes, and the stomach she couldn’t find earlier suddenly reappeared.

It was throbbing, beating violently like a heart.

It groaned as if in extreme agony, tightening itself, then tightening more, until it twisted into a knot, finally stopping for a split second.

Then, with a “bang,” it exploded violently.

Ji Youyi covered her mouth and rushed into the restroom.

Bright red blood gushed from her mouth, flowing over her thin left hand and seeping through her fingers.

Ji Youyi was so pained she had no strength, but she remembered to put her phone in her pocket before turning on the faucet. Buying a phone costs money; she couldn’t let it get ruined.

A jet of icy water poured down. Ji Youyi propped herself against the counter with her right hand, slowly washing her left hand.

She could feel herself shaking, waves of dizziness hitting her until she was about to collapse. She vaguely heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind her.

Ji Youyi slowly raised her head and saw a dark figure in the mirror.

Black hat, black mask, black clothes.

It must be Sister Meng. Who else besides her would like this kind of outfit?

Ji Youyi’s brain was still struggling to turn, but the person behind her had already approached. Their breathing was slightly heavy, but their movements were extremely fast. One hand pulled a tissue to wipe the blood from her lips and chin, while the other hand turned off the faucet.

Immediately after, Ji Youyi felt her feet leave the ground; she was picked up horizontally by Meng Xingzhu.

The person who had come through the night wind still carried a chill. Leaning in her arms, Ji Youyi could feel her chest rising and falling noticeably.

Did she… run to find her? …

Ji Youyi thought muddledly as she heard the person holding her say coldly: “To the hospital.”

Fine, it was a very reasonable suggestion. Director Ji approved.

Ji Youyi was in too much pain to speak. Her head rested on Meng Xingzhu’s shoulder, her nose instinctively inhaling the scent on Meng Xingzhu’s clothes a few times before she finally felt slightly more comfortable.

She wanted to just fall asleep like that, but suddenly thought of something very important, so she forced herself to stay conscious and laboriously looked up.

“What is it?” Meng Xingzhu was carrying her out, her expression very cold, but her head obediently lowered, placing her ear near Ji Youyi’s lips.

Ji Youyi struggled immensely to articulate: “Help… help me keep… the receipts… they can be reimbursed…”

Meng Xingzhu: …