When I Woke Up, I Had Three Romantic Partners - Chapter 49

“And this.”

Along with the envelope, she handed over a lunch box—a three-tiered food container with the dishes completely untouched inside.

Si Jiamo frowned: “She didn’t eat dinner?”

He Ming: “Sister Chi reordered food and said she didn’t need you to do anything extra; she could feed herself.”

Si Jiamo: “Understood.”

She said nothing, took the letter and the food box, opened the door, and walked in.

The food was already cold, but she ate every bite.

He Ming didn’t dare look at Si Jiamo’s expression; after all, she found the situation very difficult herself.

After Si Jiamo finished eating, she said flatly: “You don’t have to feel like I’ll punish you. This isn’t your fault.”

He Ming nodded silently: “…I understand.”

“Then tomorrow… should I still deliver it?”

Si Jiamo: “Deliver it.”

She wiped the grease from her mouth. The cold food didn’t appeal to her, but she stated confidently, “She will accept it.”

Although He Ming didn’t know where Si Jiamo got her confidence, since she said so, she had to comply. The one who pays the salary is the boss.

When the door opened early in the morning, Chi Jinqing, who could now see things clearly, saw He Ming standing awkwardly at the door with the food: “…”

“She sent you to deliver these things again.”

He Ming lowered her head awkwardly: “I’m sorry, I couldn’t refuse.”

Chi Jinqing chuckled softly: “She’s confident that I won’t reject you directly.”

Just as Si Jiamo said, even if they broke up, they would always be familiar strangers to each other, and this would never change.

“Sister Chi…”

He Ming pursed her lips and suggested, “If you really don’t want to accept it, just slap me. That way, when I go back, Sister Si won’t think you’re easily bullied.”

She didn’t want to see Chi Jinqing distressed because of her. Chi Jinqing was already having a hard time, and having to worry about her, potentially implicating her sister, made her feel bad.

Chi Jinqing: “It’s fine.”

She was already used to Si Jiamo’s personality.

Si Jiamo was just that kind of person; as long as she wanted to give something, she wouldn’t care if you needed it or not. Chi Jinqing had learned about this foul temper in college, but she hadn’t expected it to worsen to this extent now.

“This is ultimately between her and me. It’s not good for you two to be caught in the middle. I’ll resolve this myself.”

She reached out and took the breakfast: “Just deliver it, you can go back now.”

She didn’t want Si Jiamo to find an opportunity to punish He Ming; this matter had nothing to do with her.

He Ming said sheepishly: “Sister Chi, I’m leaving then.”

“Okay.”

Perhaps because she accepted Si Jiamo’s food in the morning, Si Jiamo sent He Ming to deliver food again at noon.

Despite feeling slightly disgusted, Chi Jinqing still accepted it.

She handed the items to Xiao He, her expression indifferent: “Eat.”

Xiao He pushed her own ordered meal towards Chi Jinqing. The dishes inside were light and nourishing for the stomach. In comparison, the food Si Jiamo sent was much more tempting.

As Xiao He ate her delicious meal, she looked at the pale-faced Chi Jinqing and hesitated before whispering, “Sister, have you lost weight again recently?”

She looked even more frail.

And the food had almost no oil. Even if she ate that tiny bit of staple food, there wasn’t much sugar content. She was afraid Chi Jinqing’s body couldn’t handle it.

“It’s fine. It will get better later on in the role.”

Chi Jinqing ate while reading the new script.

After the revision of the new script, the character of Duan Rong became more well-rounded. Although they had previously discussed Duan Rong’s life after adulthood, even though it was brief, there were a few scenes. However, after the revision, the post-adulthood storyline was completely gone. Duan Rong dies before reaching adulthood.

So, the later part mainly consisted of a few shots of her grave.

On the third day, Chi Jinqing was able to go filming, and Si Jiamo personally delivered breakfast early in the morning.

When Chi Jinqing opened the door and saw her, her face was no different than usual. Si Jiamo lifted the breakfast in her hand with a slightly ingratiating gesture. It was two bowls of high-broth rice noodles.

“Let’s have breakfast together.”

Chi Jinqing: “No need.”

Si Jiamo seemed unfazed by the rejection and said to herself: “This rice noodle is very similar to what we ate back then. I remember you really liked chili, so I added some. This chili is also very similar to the kind we used to eat together.”

Chi Jinqing took a deep breath: “Si Jiamo, don’t play dumb. I’ve made myself very clear, haven’t I? I don’t want to have anything more to do with you.”

“I just want to film quietly. I don’t want to get involved in any more relationships. Can you please take my words seriously for once?”

Si Jiamo withdrew her hand, feeling a bit awkward for a moment. Her voice was slightly hoarse, a result of waking up too early and a sore throat.

“I know, but I just want to treat you better.”

“I understand that starting over is impossible, and a broken mirror can’t be mended. So, I just want to compensate you.”

Chi Jinqing had a headache. Why couldn’t this person understand?

“It’s only called compensation when someone is willing to accept it. If no one is willing, it’s called harassment.”

“I don’t want to call someone to escort you away, so I hope you can be more discreet. After all, life is tough for everyone.”

In this industry, people often run into each other. Unless absolutely necessary, no one wants to make things awkward with the other person, especially when the other person is your boss. Offending her could mean future issues with resources.

Si Jiamo’s body stiffened. Chi Jinqing walked past her, holding the script, and left the door. Xiao He quickly followed with the belongings. This was Chi Jinqing’s first time going to the set since her injury, and she couldn’t be late.

Si Jiamo stood rooted to the spot, watching Chi Jinqing’s retreating back, unsure of what expression to make.

Being constantly rejected also made her sad, but thinking about the number of times she had hurt Chi Jinqing in the past, she felt she didn’t deserve to be sad.

“Ah, ultimately, it’s the consequences of my own actions.”

If only she hadn’t been so sensitive back then, not so insecure, and had just trusted Chi Jinqing a little more, they wouldn’t have ended up like this.

The current situation was all her fault.

He Ming watched from the side, not daring to offer a reminder.

After a while, Si Jiamo handed the rice noodles to He Ming: “Take this and eat it with your sister.”

He Ming opened her mouth, about to ask how she knew, but Si Jiamo said with a calm expression: “I know her. She won’t waste it.”

So, she would only give it to the people around her to finish.

He Ming closed her mouth.

The four arrived at the set one after another. Chi Jinqing was talking to the director about the script. Yu Zhi was relieved: “Jinqing, thankfully you’re back. These past few days without you, filming has been really difficult for me.”

Yu Zhi lamented his difficulties, then praised Chi Jinqing repeatedly, saying that he couldn’t do without her and that he must add two more scenes for her to express his inner good fortune.

Chi Jinqing’s lips twitched: “No need, Director Yu, that’s too exaggerated.”

Yu Zhi looked distressed: “You don’t understand.”

But now his worries were lessened. Chi Jinqing was back and could share the burden. For the upcoming tasks, he absolutely had to add two major scenes for Chi Jinqing!

Looking at the major scenes assigned to her, Chi Jinqing: “?”

“So… these are the major scenes you were talking about?”

Yu Zhi reassured her: “Yes, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry, Jiamo has good boundaries.”

Si Jiamo looked at the scene and also fell silent.

This…

If they acted this out, it would probably make their relationship even more complicated.

“Come on, have you finished reading the script? Let’s try filming a segment to get a feel for it.”

Yu Zhi clapped his hands. His crew immediately sprang into action. Everything was set up, the cameras were in position, and all that was missing were the two of them.

Chi Jinqing took a deep breath, feeling like she couldn’t escape, and could only brace herself.

This was a scene where Zhu Qi, played by Si Jiamo, and Duan Rong, played by Chi Jinqing, had a heart-to-heart talk in the office. Of course, only Duan Rong was truly opening up; Zhu Qi was just listening as a teacher before beginning her seduction plan.

As a “problem” student, Duan Rong deeply trusted her teacher, especially the teacher who had “rescued” her from the hands of other students, which earned her even more points.

So, when Zhu Qi asked her questions, Duan Rong only struggled for a moment before explaining clearly. Furthermore, under Zhu Qi’s questioning, she subtly revealed her special feelings for Qing Chen.

Chi Jinqing stood in front of Si Jiamo, watching as Si Jiamo entered the role, using that seductive expression, wanting to lure her into a trap. She was instantly reminded of their current relationship, and felt a moment of distraction and disgust.

“Cut!”

Yu Zhi frowned. This was the first time Chi Jinqing hadn’t gotten into character. He thought it might be because of her illness and the previous lack of makeup shots, so the connection hadn’t been made in Chi Jinqing’s mind.

He was quite empathetic and asked Chi Jinqing to step down first to adjust her state. Since this was just a rehearsal and not the official take for this segment, Yu Zhi didn’t say anything harsh. He just told Chi Jinqing to try and capture the previous feeling.

Chi Jinqing was heavy-hearted. She nodded and sat down in her chair to rest. Nearby were Xiao He and He Ming, sitting on small stools and slurring rice noodles.

When Xiao He saw Chi Jinqing come down with a tight frown, she immediately brought her noodles closer and whispered, “Sister, did she bully you just now?”

Although she was eating Si Jiamo’s noodles, she was Chi Jinqing’s person and couldn’t be bought off with a meal or two. Besides, Chi Jinqing was the one who gave it to her, so it wasn’t a special treat from Si Jiamo.

Chi Jinqing shook her head: “No.”

There were too many people here, so she couldn’t say much. She could only say, “You eat first, don’t worry too much. This is a film set, it’s not that dramatic.”

Xiao He glanced at Si Jiamo, who was sitting alone on the other side reading the script, and, confirming that she didn’t have any particular expression, nodded and sat down again to slurp her noodles.

After a few slurps, she took two soft sandwich buns from her backpack and handed them to Chi Jinqing, whispering, “Eat something to line your stomach first. Don’t be nervous later, Sister. Just treat her like a head of cabbage, don’t be scared.”

Chi Jinqing took the bun and chuckled softly: “Cabbage doesn’t move.”

“It’s fine, you eat yours. I can handle it myself.”

But the suggestion of treating her like a head of cabbage was actually quite good.