What Should I Do If the Aloof Movie Queen Is Too in Love With Me? - Chapter 16

The room Ji Youyi rented was very small. Pushing open the door revealed a bed, a chair beside it, a single lamp on the ceiling, and a window on the side with the curtains tightly drawn—this was the entirety of the room’s layout.

Washing up required using the public bathroom at the end of the hallway. The suitcase Ji Youyi brought was placed at the foot of the bed, serving as a desk.

The last time Ji Youyi had been back was before filming that short drama titled “The Ruthless Tyrant’s Palm-Sized Pet.” She had left in a hurry that morning and hadn’t made the bed.

At this moment, the quilt was piled up in a mess. Right in the middle of the bedding, near the pillow, a cashmere coat that had been used as a blanket and was visibly deformed was particularly eye-catching.

Ji Youyi suddenly remembered that the owner of that coat was currently standing right beside her.

She scrambled to the bedside, scooped up the coat, gave it a hard shake, folded it as neatly as possible, and hung it over her arm. She flashed a standard smile at Meng Xingzhu:

“Haha, Teacher Meng, look, I really like this coat you gave me. I even sleep holding it at night.“

Wait. Why did that sound a bit perverted?

Ji Youyi explained, her words flying out fast: “I mean, it smells so fragrant and nice, I like falling asleep to the scent.“

No. That sounded even more perverted.

“Uh, I mean, because it’s very comfortable to hold…“

…Forget it, just let the world end.

Ji Youyi gave up struggling. She deflated, lowered her head, and hung the coat over the back of the chair. “Anyway, I really like the clothes you gave me. Thank you.“

Sincerity is the ultimate killing move. She just liked it, so what! The clothes were hers now; she could hug them however she wanted!

After reinforcing her conviction, Ji Youyi peeked up to observe Meng Xingzhu’s expression.

Meng Xingzhu, however, had no extra reaction to her chaotic words.

She was staring at her without blinking, her gaze somewhat distant, as if she were thinking about something else.

“Wh-what is it?” Ji Youyi asked hesitantly.

“Didn’t you say before,” Meng Xingzhu’s speaking pace slowed slightly as she looked deep into her eyes, “that you were going to take a simple path?“

On the day of the contract termination, Ji Youyi said she didn’t need a lawsuit because she had a simpler path.

Later, she really did miraculously terminate her contract with the company easily and leapt from a small supporting role to a director in a strictly hierarchical crew.

This wasn’t something an ordinary person without a background could easily accomplish. Meng Xingzhu originally thought she was already on the path she wanted, ready to soar.

But why.

Why did she leave the company covered in injuries after talking about the contract? Why did she say “there’s a way to get roles” with a relaxed face, only to run off to a short drama to play cannon fodder who gets kicked down the stairs? Why did she refuse the cash she offered, yet drank herself to gastric bleeding with a set owner just to save a deposit, living in a single room less than 4 square meters?

Meng Xingzhu couldn’t understand.

Just as she couldn’t understand why, on the same day Meng Xiao spent hundreds of thousands on roses she wouldn’t even look at twice, Ji Youyi was standing in front of a moldy counter, counting a few banknotes, anxious about food money and repeatedly calculating whether to spend 10 yuan to rent for one more day?

Ji Youyi blinked, not understanding Meng Xingzhu’s meaning. Directing was a job that required a lot of brain capacity; she never remembered the things she said casually.

She directly ignored the first half of the sentence and answered the second half: “Yeah, I’m taking the simple path right now.“

“Look at this—a simple room, simple belongings in a suitcase.” Ji Youyi began to gesture. “Our simple crew, oh, and this.“

She lifted the lunch box in her right hand, shook it, and laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Simple lunch boxes in the crew. Though simple, it’s enough that they taste good. You thought it tasted good too, didn’t you?“

Meng Xingzhu looked at her fixedly, not replying for a long time.

The atmosphere became quiet to the point of being strange.

But fortunately, Ji Youyi hadn’t forgotten her skill as a master of warming up the atmosphere. She simply put the lunch box on the suitcase, grabbed Meng Xingzhu’s arm, and pushed her toward the head of the bed.

“Teacher Meng shouldn’t look down on my simple room. Sit here, I’ll show you something super beautiful.“

Ji Youyi smoothed out a section of the sheet at the head of the bed and made a “please” gesture to Meng Xingzhu.

The dust at the head of the bed wouldn’t disappear just because of a few pats, but Meng Xingzhu didn’t care; she sat down as told.

“Alright, the protagonist is in position.” Ji Youyi stood by the window and snapped her fingers crisply. “Let’s welcome the lighting technician!“

With a “swish,” the curtains were pulled wide open. A royal blue light instantly leapt in from outside—it was from a roadside billboard.

Mottled tree shadows projected onto Meng Xingzhu, looking like a unique print branded onto her black trench coat. Her exquisite side profile was perfectly filled with the eerie glow, and her shadow cast backward onto the snow-white wall remained a perfect silhouette.

“Click,” the photographer finished the snapshot.

Ji Youyi handed over the phone like she was presenting a treasure: “Teacher Meng, is it beautiful?“

The passage beside the bed was very narrow. As Ji Youyi leaned forward, her smiling cheeks were inches away.

On a late spring night, in a damp and dark room, the air became vigorous and warm because of her.

She clearly had her back to the light, yet Meng Xingzhu felt as if all light and shadow were converging on her face, lightly weaving and jumping.

In the entire world, except for her, only dark corners remained.

“Don’t look at me, look at the screen. Is it beautiful? Is it?“

Meng Xingzhu’s gaze had been glued to her own face; Ji Youyi didn’t understand why. She had been looking at her for a long time—could there be something on her face?

Ji Youyi had no choice but to block her own face with the screen, attempting to force the sale.

But obviously, the sale failed.

Meng Xingzhu lowered her eyelashes and stood up: “It’s late, I won’t disturb your rest further.“

“Oh, oh, is Fangfang already downstairs?” Ji Youyi hurried back to make way for Meng Xingzhu.

“Soon.“

“Alright then.“

Ji Youyi pouted, flipped the screen, and savored the photo she just took.

It was clearly a great shot that perfectly utilized elements of life—such a clever concept. She didn’t understand why Meng Xingzhu didn’t like it.

Could it be a color tone issue?

Or was it that the Great Movie Queen had met too many master photographers and her standards were too high?

Yes, that must be it. She wasn’t a professional photographer after all; it was normal to be far from a master.

Anyway, it was fine as long as she liked it herself.

Ji Youyi laughed to herself while looking at the photo and added it to her favorites.

Meng Xingzhu put on her mask, walked to the window, and looked at the street scene outside.

The window of the room Ji Youyi rented faced out of the alley, where the level of modernization was much higher than inside. Neon lights dotted the road, cars sped by occasionally, and a row of shops was open on the opposite street.

Meng Xingzhu pulled the curtains shut again: “Stay safe. You can contact me if anything happens.“

Ji Youyi patted her chest and guaranteed: “Teacher Meng, just you wait and see, I’ll be fine!“

Meng Xingzhu didn’t let Ji Youyi see her downstairs. After the two said goodbye in the room, Meng Xingzhu sent her location to Fang Ruohan and then edited a message for Lin Shen.

Meng Xingzhu: “Do me a favor. Have Filmily buy Ji Youyi’s drama. Give it the highest rating possible, a good schedule, and a top recommendation.“

Lin Shen: “???“

Lin Shen: “I actually did plan on buying it, and paying a bit more as a favor is fine, but there’s no need to raise the rating, right? For this kind of small investment, giving it a B-rating is already a sky-high price. I really can’t give it more.“

Meng Xingzhu: “I know, that’s why I’m asking for a favor. I’ll cover the price premium.“

Lin Shen: “Uh uh uh, there’s really no need. I can adjust the schedule, but if the rating goes up, the promotional resources have to be given too. That’s too exaggerated! This has never happened before! A revenue-sharing drama with a 3 million budget getting a dedicated column or even a top recommendation?? Isn’t this a guaranteed loss???“

Meng Xingzhu: “If it loses, I’ll compensate.“

Lin Shen: “No [frown][frown] a loss would be tens of millions at least…“

Meng Xingzhu: “Compensate.”

After sending the message, she didn’t look at Lin Shen’s reply again and went straight down to the first floor toward the counter.

“Boss,” she took out a stack of cash and placed it on the counter, “My younger sister lives here alone, and I’m worried. I’d like to trouble you to look after her. If she encounters any trouble, please lend a hand.”

The guesthouse owner was stunned, a smile uncontrollably welling up on his face: “Oh, young lady, you’re too polite. She lives here, it’s my duty to look after her.”

While he was talking, his hand already reached out to count the bills. The boss thought as he counted that these two sisters were strange—digital payments are so convenient nowadays, yet only the two of them were still using cash.

Meng Xingzhu didn’t care much, took a piece of paper, and wrote down a string of numbers: “If possible, please don’t tell her I came to see you. This is my phone number; contact me anytime if anything happens.”

“Got it, you can rest easy!” The boss took the paper, glanced at it, and said enthusiastically, “Wow, young lady, your handwriting is truly beautiful, you look like an educated person. And you’re so pretty, you look a bit like that… Meng Xingzhu, you know? The one who played Jiang Wanyi! Really, the voice is similar too. I see your sister is in the entertainment industry, why don’t you go too?”

“Not interested.”

“Fair enough.” The boss’s face changed like turning a page, “There’s nothing good about the entertainment industry anyway. My tenants are all in that circle, and I haven’t seen any of them make a name for themselves. Many of them stay until they can’t even afford to eat, then they scurry back to their hometowns. You should advise your girl more—don’t live this hard life. Find a proper job so you won’t regret it when you’re old.”

“No need.” Meng Xingzhu’s expression was flat, her eyes slightly lowered, “She can just do what she wants to do. I can support her.”