Chapter 4: If you're so capable, then don't contact me at all. If I don't contact you, then don't take the initiative either.
Gu Lai never imagined that the night she missed the phone call would result in two weeks of no contact.
The day after Jiang Yi left, Gu Lai received an apology call, a long apology letter, and an invitation to an apology dinner from Fan Zi and her agent. She left all of these to Zhou Shanshan to handle, met with her head agent Tan Junming, and went home very late to sleep.
A week after Jiang Yi left, Gu Lai was invited to an event at a winery wholly owned by the Fenglu Group. After dealing with a group of loyal clients as the wife of a big star, she remembered Jiang Yi's once-sharp comments on this top-tier Sauternes winery. As she habitually reached for her phone to share, she paused for a moment and then put it back.
Half a month after Jiang Yi left, the health manager sent her Jiang Yi's report. When she received it, she was holding a tablet, and the stylist was doing her hair behind her. When she opened it, she saw that the health manager was complaining about the CEO's packed schedule and severe lack of sleep, as if saying, "We have tried our best, but His Majesty refuses to listen to our advice, and we hope that the Empress can speak up."
Gu Lai opened Jiang Yi's WeChat. The date was still half a month ago, and the last message was from Jiang Yi: "These pictures are clearer."
Gu Lai's first reaction was that she was still half asleep.
Half a month? Half a month without contact?
She unconsciously looked up, a little dazed, at the opposite side, her gaze meeting that of the stylist looking back in the mirror.
The stylist still had that standard, friendly smile: "Sister Lai?"
Gu Lai smiled and said calmly, "It's alright, you can continue."
These were the words Gu Lai said while looking at herself in the mirror, and she said them with a touch of emotion.
Gu Lai suddenly felt that she was becoming more and more like Jiang Yi.
Back when they first met, she would have been restless if she didn't hear from Jiang Yi for even a day, let alone half a month.
At that time, she didn't dare to contact anyone casually, and she was also going through a low point in her career. Whenever Jiang Yi went on a business trip, she would be glued to her phone every day. When a message came in, she would drink some water, carefully read and ponder the wording, and then reply with meticulous care half an hour later.
She knew that not replying too promptly in interactions made one seem cheap. However, Jiang Yi saw through this trick after only a few days and gave her his assistant's contact information, telling her to contact him if needed.
My closest assistant back then is now a senior executive.
Later, when Gu Lai could casually recount those chaotic experiences from back then, Jiang Yi wagged his finger and said that she was controlling, and still was, wishing he could install a surveillance camera on her phone so that Gu Lai could contact her and check up on her at any time.
After saying that, Jiang Yi suddenly looked up, pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses, and asked her if she was pretending or not. Gu Lai couldn't tell if Jiang Yi was serious, but she immediately shook her head. Yandere characters are fine to read in literature; she didn't want to be a pervert.
...and also very humble.
Is she controlling? Perhaps, but it's probably more fear and anxiety.
She understood, and Jiang Yi certainly understood as well.
Jiang Yi simply placed himself in a lower position within the context.
Gu Lai looked at herself in the mirror. Her expensive skincare routine had definitely worked. Her face was no different from seven years ago, and even looked younger, but there was still something different.
It's an extra sense of confidence, self-assurance, or something else, just like Jiang Yi.
So now, the love that once filled my heart and soul can be freely set aside.
Of course, the most confident and at ease is always Jiang Yi.
Gu Lai scrolled up the records again, almost to the end. Greetings, casual chats, sharing, arguments, voice messages of varying lengths, all sorts of pictures, and similar emojis.
She started the sharing section more often, while Jiang Yi started the complaining section more often. But if you look closely, she still started more of the content.
Gu Lai exited the chat, scrolled through the health manager's information box, then clicked on Jiang Yi's profile picture, staring at the incredibly familiar couple profile picture for a while. After staring for a long time, she suddenly felt a nameless anger rise up and angrily slammed the phone screen shut.
If you're so capable, then don't contact me at all. If I don't contact you, then don't take the initiative either.
After getting her hair and makeup done, Gu Lai put on sunglasses and a black leather jacket, and got into the car accompanied by Zhou Shanshan and a few others. Her executive agent was already waiting in the car and quickly started talking to her about work. At the end, they mentioned the sales figures for *ELEGANCE*, explaining that it had broken some record and needed to be shared on social media.
Gu Lai readily opened her phone, typed out the executive broker's text, and forwarded it. Seeing the little red dot that popped up in the background, she remembered what the executive broker had just said.
She looked up, a little puzzled, and asked, "Why are the sales so high this time?"
Gu Lai now boasts numerous classic roles on both the big and small screens, and has already achieved numerous chart-topping hits and albums. She can be considered a true icon, having long since skipped the stage where artists still striving for top popularity rely on sales figures to prove themselves to the market. Logically, artists at her stage should have more peaceful and normal fans, unlike when she first debuted as an idol and her fans were incredibly aggressive in their voting and promotion efforts.
Furthermore, her team wouldn't do such low-level money-grabbing things. The monthly reports submitted by the studio now focus on building a closed-loop fan ecosystem and empowering the sustainable development of the fan economy.
The executive agent turned and exchanged a glance with Zhou Shanshan before saying, "The fans know that it's their wedding anniversary soon, and many longtime fans want to celebrate."
Gu Lai paused for a moment before realizing what was happening.
When she and Jiang Yi officially established their relationship, same-sex marriage had not yet been legalized. Even so, Jiang Yi held a very formal banquet at the old house to introduce her to his relatives and friends. However, Gu Lai's parents did not attend, and Gu Lai did not invite them; only Jiang's relatives and friends, as well as their close friends, were present.
After the marriage law was passed, Jiang Yi asked her if she wanted to go public with her marriage, and Gu Lai naturally wanted to. They didn't deliberately hide it back then, but they couldn't be high-profile either. She was estranged from her parents, and the only people she cared about besides Jiang Yi were her fans who had always wished her well.
The result was even better than expected.
Gu Lai became the first celebrity to respond to the new law. Public opinion introduced Jiang Yi as the actress's same-sex partner, and fan comments were almost all gentle blessings. The public was more concerned with the lavish and romantic wedding scene. At least in the internet that Gu Lai browsed, there seemed to be no fans calling her a pervert or making comments speculating that she was a kept woman offering herself to a wealthy family.
The first wedding anniversary they celebrated privately was the one they celebrated together, while the one known to the public was the second, a month apart.
Gu Lai calculated the time: "Isn't this the fourth anniversary? What's there to celebrate on the seventh anniversary?"
"It's a magazine interview. In the ELEGANCE interview, you mentioned that you've been married for seven years. What the fans mean is..." The executive agent glanced down at the tablet, unsure whether he genuinely didn't remember or was implying that it was the fans' exact words, "to bring good luck and overcome tribulations."
Gu Lai assumed she genuinely didn't remember and only said, "Remind me to record a video or take a photo and upload it the day before."
The executive broker nodded, then turned to look at Zhou Shanshan again and asked, "Should we contact General Manager Jiang?"
"Why should I ask her? I'm filming for my fans, she's not a celebrity." Gu Lai scrolled through the comments and found it a bit funny. "I thought my fans were all quite old, but they're still so enthusiastic."
The executive agent and several staff members laughed and echoed for a while, then pushed the tablet over: "Director He Xiaoqing, her agent sent over a script. Sister Tan and the film and television agent have both read it. It's for the female lead. Director He mainly invests in and directs projects that have already been registered. The conditions they sent are not bad, it's just a matter of the subject matter."
When Gu Lai took it, the executive agent added the last sentence: "It's a gay-themed story."
The tablet displayed a script synopsis and casting conditions summarized by the film and television agent, with a very generous profit-sharing arrangement.
This is natural; He Xiaoqing is Jiang Yi's childhood friend, and her family owns an internet giant that started with social media platforms, so she's always been more free-spirited. He Xiaoqing directed Gu Lai's first film. He Xiaoqing is also quite familiar with both of them.
"This subject matter... well, it's true, it hasn't been filmed before." Gu Lai looked up after a while and asked, "Isn't this alright? There have been quite a few films with LGBTQ+ themes in the last two years, so there shouldn't be any taboos, right?"
Perhaps it was the presence of Zhou Shanshan, who played the role of an inner court official, that gave the young executive agent confidence, as he frankly said, "It mainly depends on whether you have any taboos."
She's already married to her same-sex partner, so what's there to be ashamed of?
The obvious meaning is to see if Jiang Yi is wary of it.
People seem to like this: when there's a huge gap between a couple, they always assume that the stronger partner will treat the weaker partner as their own.
Gu Lai knew that the executive broker had not been in office for long, but she was still a little angry.
Zhou Shanshan realized something was wrong, but it was too late to secretly contact the executive broker.
Gu Lai, who always had a gentle smile, pursed her lips into a straight line and stared at the executive agent for a few seconds. Her eyes even resembled Jiang Yi's cold and stern gaze.
The executive broker, who had never met Jiang Yi before, was somewhat startled when he realized that Ragdoll was also a feline.
Gu Lai said in a somewhat indifferent tone, "What taboo? Jiang Yi? She didn't interfere, did she?"
“Mainly…” the executive agent choked, organizing his thoughts, “mainly because all the romantic roles I’ve played in the past have been heterosexual, so I’m a little hesitant.”
Gu Lai hesitated because her previous experience of getting into a role was fake, and she was afraid that the same-sex theme would make her feel uncomfortable about turning a fake relationship into a real one, and it's not uncommon for married couples to appear in dramas.
Seeing the executive agent's sudden embarrassment, Gu Lai refrained from making any blunt or sarcastic remarks: "It's okay, there was a date they said when filming would start?"
The executive agent breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's not decided yet. It's expected to be at the end of this year or early next spring. The role for you is the first one we've decided on. The other role will be chosen later. You'll be the second female lead."
"Okay, I'll get back to you after I read it," Gu Lai said. "If there are no problems, it's fine as long as it doesn't conflict with the release schedule of 'Gansui'."
"Gansui" is the project directed by Kong Kang'an that Jiang Yi mentioned that day. Gu Lai really likes the original work, but she has never worked with Kong Kang'an before.
I arranged to meet her today at a Huaiyang cuisine restaurant to discuss things.
Over the years, Gu Lai had tasted the culinary skills of many renowned chefs from various cuisines. This Huaiyang restaurant was one that Jiang Yi had brought her to before, so she was quite familiar with it. The car drove directly into the secluded Suzhou-style courtyard. Gu Lai got out of the car, and from the professional waiter's guidance to inquiring about the priceless dishes, her expression remained unchanged, always polite, gentle, and smiling.
Kong Kang'an was tall with short hair and a large frame. He was rugged yet had a scholarly air about him, and his mannerisms were those of a northern literati. After a few polite words and a few rounds of tea and wine, the conversation got going and he was quite direct.
"To be honest, I was really happy when I received a call from President Tan. Tang Tang, oh, you know, is the author of 'Gansui'," Gu Lai nodded, and Kong Kang'an smiled and continued, "When I was talking to her, I was saying that 'Gansui' might be a bit sensitive, and it would be really hard to get investment. But now that news of what Teacher Gu is interested in has spread, the most difficult investment problem has been solved, so both Teacher Tang and I are really happy."
Gu Lai has now learned to read between the lines, and nodded, waiting for her "but".
“However,” Kong Kang’an said, “I think it might not be suitable for Teacher Gu.”
Gu Lai wasn't angry at being directly rejected; she didn't even blink. Instead, she showed genuine curiosity: "How so?"
Kong Kang'an spoke with an air of magnanimity: "Professor Gu must have read the original work and the first draft of the adaptation. Actually, this subject matter itself is a bit risky, a bit, how should I put it, sensitive. However, this story was written by Professor Tang Tang many years ago, and it was shelved in my hands for a long time, so it doesn't have the same strong direction as it did at the beginning. Professor Tang Tang and I also had some other opinions. So after discussing it, we decided to go a bit deeper. This version of the adaptation is quite significant, but fortunately, it's basically finished. The second version is more concise and succinct, but also more in-depth."
She instinctively reached into her pocket, then quickly withdrew her hand, rubbing her fingers. Gu Lai, who had been listening and observing attentively, noticed that Kong Kang'an's fingers were somewhat yellow.
The fingers of a typical smoker.
It seems that even though Kong Kang'an is a big director, producer, and investor in the film industry, he doesn't live a life as meticulous as Jiang Yi in maintaining his fingers.
Gu Lai naturally chimed in, "It's alright, I don't mind. What brand do you smoke?"
"Hmph, just some no-name brand." Kong Kang'an chuckled, taking out a box of elegantly packaged women's cigarettes that looked quite high-end, but Gu Lai really didn't recognize it.
Not only was Gu Lai paying attention to the director's actions and expressions, but Kong Kang'an had also been observing her. When he saw Gu Lai's unfamiliar expression as she looked at the cigarette box, Kong Kang'an abruptly changed the subject: "That moment just now was actually very similar to a scene in the script."
"What?"
“When the female lead is talking to someone, the other person takes out a cigarette that she has never seen before, because she only knows the brand that her lover uses.” Kong Kang’an held the cigarette but did not light it, his eyes fixed on Gu Lai. “Of course, I’m considering changing this plot. If we can get investment, we can openly promote it.”
Gu Lai remembered this scene from the book, and she wanted to play the female lead, so it left a deep impression on her. She nodded to indicate that she understood, but Kong Kang'an did not continue speaking immediately.
She watched as Kong Kang'an hesitated to light his cigarette, instead holding it, rubbing and kneading it until the long, flat cigarette began to look old; the cork paper would wrinkle if it got old.
Gu Lai's relaxed mood suddenly sank, sensing that Kong Kang'an's next words would probably not make her feel comfortable.
Kong Kang'an rubbed for a while, and after a long pause, he asked, "Teacher Gu, has President Jiang read 'Gansui'?"
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