Chapter 35 Violent: A Sweet Scar Bearing a Blaze of Ambition...
At 8:50 a.m., the plane from City A to Paris landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The cabin door opened, and the third person disembarked was fully equipped. A mask covered most of her face, and her eyes were hidden under the brim of her hat. Her outfit, taken individually, could be described as casual, but she had her own unique style. She wore a basic black shirt with flair. Two buttons were deliberately fastened incorrectly, the collar was folded up, and it tilted to the right, revealing half of her shoulder. Her rings and necklace complemented each other perfectly, giving her an understated yet fashionable look.
Ji Jiazhen put on sunglasses as she walked. With her long legs, she took big strides. After putting on the sunglasses, she put her hands in her pockets and swung the bag hanging on her shoulder backward, making a crisp sound as the chain rattled.
Coming to Paris was both a spur-of-the-moment decision and a long-planned endeavor. Fang Wei's phone number had been saved in her phone for three days. She patiently considered various scenarios and ultimately chose to buy a plane ticket over making a phone call.
Fang Wei is a ruthless character, and such ruthless characters often have some eccentricities. She inquired about Fang Wei's preferences with Wen Siyu but came up empty-handed; after all, this kind of person treats outsiders and family with two different faces. She had to come to Paris in person, at least to show her sincerity and for the sake of timeliness, so that if Fang Wei ruthlessly hung up on her, she could confront her offline.
She kept this trip a secret from everyone, even choosing a red-eye flight in the early morning to avoid being noticed.
The woman who came to pick me up at the airport was a beautiful, wealthy, and popular girl, who was also the one I got along best with among my group of girlfriends in the US. She was beautiful but not pretentious, with a large tattoo on her arm and a rock-punk style, but she had a name that contrasted sharply with her appearance. She was cool inside and out, and her name was Jiang Zhimeng.
They were of the same mind when it came to playing around with men, and most importantly, Jiang Zhimeng's family lived in District 16, which was very close to the area where Fang Wei lived.
When two people with strong personalities meet, their way of greeting each other is also quite unique.
Jiang Zhimeng, sporting her signature blonde hair and unchanging smoky eye makeup, leaned against the car. When she saw Ji Jiazhen, she tossed her a pack of cigarettes. Ji Jiazhen pushed her suitcase toward her, which Jiang Zhimeng caught steadily before adjusting her position and sitting on the suitcase.
"You're really too plain."
Ji Jiazhen took off his mask, revealing his face, leaving the other side hanging over his ear. He put a cigarette in his mouth, crunched the menthol capsule with a "crunch," raised his hand, lit it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and then tilted his head and frowned. "Your taste is still so bizarre."
This cigarette tastes like chewing cheap bubble gum, and the smoke you exhale smells like a zoo. It's utterly disgusting.
Ji Jiazhen stubbed out her cigarette and threw it into the trash can. During the process, Jiang Zhimeng easily put her luggage in the trunk, and then pushed her into the car.
"Go back and rest for a bit, change your clothes, and I'll treat you tonight so you can have a great time before you go back home."
When Jiang Zhimeng says something like this, it usually means only one thing: You're conserving your energy, but I have the best troops on my side.
In other words, a high-quality man.
Therefore, the emphasis of the phrase "had a blast" is not on "playing" but on "having a blast".
Ji Jiazhen took off her hat and swept her hair back. "Tonight won't work. I have something to do later. Let's do it tomorrow."
Jiang Zhimeng shrugged and said it was up to her.
Ji Jiazhen glanced at the time; there were still four minutes to go until ten. She rested her elbow on the windowsill, staring at her phone screen, watching the time tick by, waiting for the hour to arrive.
Wen Siyu said that Fang Wei's control over time was almost obsessive. Her daily routine was very regular and fixed. Eight to nine in the morning was her exercise time. At ten o'clock, she would water the flowers and plants, which was a suitable time to make a phone call.
At 9:59, Ji Jiazhen hovered his thumb over Fang Wei's number and made a "shh" gesture to Jiang Zhimeng.
The numbers changed, so she made a phone call.
The parking lot was barely quiet, with only a couple of occasional horn honks that had little impact.
A faint static came through the receiver. Ji Jiazhen rested her hand on her forehead and waited quietly for Fang Wei to answer.
"Beep—beep—"
"Beep—beep—"
"Hello, who is this?"
The woman's tone was indifferent, and her voice was sharp.
Ji Jiazhen sat up straight and breathed softly. She admitted that she was a little nervous in front of Fang Wei.
"Good morning, Mr. Fang Wei. I am Ji Jiazhen, an artist under Huanpai. First of all, I apologize for disturbing you. I am calling to make a request. I would like to ask you to come out of retirement and become my manager. You can name your terms, as long as you are willing to take me under your wing."
Fang Wei refused decisively, not even bothering to find a reason to refuse: "I don't want to set foot in the entertainment industry again. Please find someone else."
The call was just hung up.
Hearing the busy tone coming from Ji Jiazhen's receiver, Jiang Zhimeng scoffed, "So you've got your day too."
Ji Jiazhen glanced at her and said, "Drive your car."
"You said you had something to do, so you made this call? After you made the call, if everything's fine, can we continue tonight?"
"This is just the beginning."
She hadn't expected Fang Wei to agree to this over the phone. The call was just a way of letting Fang Wei know who she was, giving him a basic impression, and also reminding him: I'm about to bother you.
She knows when to stop, but her attitude towards life is to never give up until she achieves her goal. As long as Fang Wei doesn't tell her to get lost, she will keep pestering her until she agrees.
*
Two o'clock in the afternoon is Fang Wei's afternoon tea time. She usually goes to a century-old coffee shop, orders a pot of mate tea and a cup of Fontainebleau, and spends two hours there.
Ji Jiazhen timed it perfectly, choosing a seat near the door. She ordered everything before Fang Wei arrived, ensuring the food was served right at 2 PM so that the tea would be hot and the desserts would be at their best when she got there.
The aroma of coffee filled the air. Two ladies chatted and laughed as they went out. The glass doors opened and closed, bringing in a breath of cool air. At the same time, someone slipped in.
She sports an elegant and sophisticated short hairstyle, a dignified demeanor, and wears a light brown suit with a bright-colored scarf. Her lipstick shade is a warm tone that complements the overall color scheme of her outfit.
“Professor Fang Wei,” Ji Jiazhen said.
The woman turned her head and glanced at him, allowing Ji Jiazhen to see her face clearly.
Fang Wei and Meng Xu are sisters who are only two years apart in age, but they look completely different; one is gentle and the other is sharp.
Ji Jiazhen stood up and pointed to the empty seat opposite him. "Please sit down. I am Ji Jiazhen, the one who called you this morning."
Fang Wei remained expressionless, his gaze upon her devoid of warmth, as if he were looking at a complete stranger.
Ji Jiazhen then pointed to the tea and desserts on the table, smiling and tilting her head, as if she were asking for praise or a smug fox, "Your favorite mate tea, and your favorite Fontainebleau."
"You seem to know my preferences perfectly."
Fang Wei's voice in person was slightly less deep than it was on the phone, but it was still the kind of person whose strong personality you could tell just by listening to it.
"When you need something from someone, you should cater to their preferences."
"But I want to try something different today."
That's what she said, but she still sat down and ordered a new Americano and vanilla rice pudding.
Ji Jiazhen smiled, knowing that getting Fang Wei to sit down meant she had already succeeded in her first step.
“I made myself very clear on the phone that I don’t want to step into the entertainment industry again. I suggest you change the subject.”
Fang Wei took out her laptop from her bag, looking like she had something to deal with. She glanced at it again while it was booting up, and Ji Jiazhen knew that this meant she should speak quickly.
"I have a question that I hope you can answer for me."
Desserts and coffee were served at this time, and Ji Jiazhen pushed the plates to Fang Wei's side.
"I like Meng Xu. I wouldn't call myself her fan, more like a movie enthusiast, but more than that, I like her as a person. I was only fifteen when I started liking her. At that time, she had already retired from acting for more than ten years. I really wanted to know why she chose to leave the screen when she was enjoying both fame and fortune?"
Ji Jiazhen observed Fang Wei's expression, but as someone who had experienced many trials and tribulations, her expression remained impeccable in the face of this question.
Fang Wei took a sip of coffee and uttered four words indifferently: "No comment."
Ji Jiazhen lowered her eyes and smiled. "Then let me tell you about myself. My parents divorced when I was young. My mother cheated on me, and my father went abroad. I never saw this man who had zero presence in the family again. Later, my mother remarried and married a man who tried to assault her daughter but failed. I was seventeen years old that year, and I successfully broke up with this woman who had zero morals in the family."
Fang Wei looked up when she heard her say that the assault was an attempted assault.
"Seventeen years old, such a young and beautiful age. I didn't care about much at the time. All I wanted was to leave that home. Once I left that home, I lost all my sources of income. I needed money to survive. As you can see, I still have a pretty face, so I also had to protect myself from the malicious dogs around me while trying to survive."
Ji Jiazhen scooped up a spoonful of cream, the sweet taste filling her mouth, and she recounted her past with a slight smile.
"By chance, I made my debut. I wasn't as lucky as Meng Xu. After my debut, I was completely unknown, but I had already stepped into this industry. Turning back would mean paying three million in breach of contract fees. I couldn't afford to pay that, so I had to bite the bullet and keep going. That was the first time I searched for you online and learned about you."
She looked into Fang Wei's eyes and said, "At fifteen, I longed to meet Meng Xu Zhenren. At seventeen, I yearned for a chance to meet you. I thought back then, if only I could have an agent like that, or even just someone to tell me what I should do."
"I'll be shameless and say to you that I've been very popular over the years. I'm 25 years old this year, and I even took a three-year hiatus from the industry. If you've been following the industry news these past few years, you must know about my story. I'll just pick out the key points. In eight years, I went from a marginal, unknown figure to the female artist with the highest commercial value. I think you know very well how much hardship I had to endure."
She asked, "I've come this far, and I could easily be content with the status quo and stay in my comfort zone, but I'm not satisfied. In the winter when I was seventeen, while waiting in the cold wind on set for a minor role, I said, I want to be the best. It's not enough now, it's far from enough. I'm helping a disheartened little girl realize her dream. You only need to put in a little effort to make her dream come true."
This is playing the emotional card; the bettor isn't as tough as she appears.
Finally, Ji Jiazhen said, "I remember Meng Xu saying that in acting, awards are secondary, and acting comfortably is the main thing. I don't agree with that statement, and I guess you don't either. I think that only by aiming for awards can I act with full commitment and comfort. Now I'm completely laid bare in front of you. I'll tell you everything about my past scars and my future ambitions. This is my greatest sincerity."
Fang Wei stopped typing, closed the laptop, and said in a calm tone, "You guessed wrong. I agree with everything she said."
She continued, "The story is touching, but I've heard too many stories and seen too much sincerity in this industry. Your story isn't enough to move me."
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Author's note: Sorry everyone, it's late!
I wasn't satisfied with the original 2,000-word chapter, so I deleted it. I was busy at the hospital all day, and only after taking care of my grandma did I have time to rewrite it.
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