Chapter 56 Butterfly "Wen Siyu, why are you crying..."
Ji Jiazhen and Wen Siyu have been quite high-profile these past few days, making no attempt to avoid suspicion. They have been spotted by many people in various places, and a whole bunch of photos of them have been taken from all angles.
In the noodle shop early in the morning, she sat listlessly at the wooden table, her face bare and her eyes full of sleepiness. Wen Siyu sat next to her, carefully mixing crab roe noodles for her.
At the university gate, Wen Siyu held her hand and walked ahead. She held up her phone to take a picture of his back, her attention completely focused on the screen, smiling happily, but Wen Siyu didn't look very happy.
The two were also photographed going out late at night, their destination being a bar. The paparazzi had been staking out the place all night and finally managed to capture them coming out at 4 a.m. They shared a brief kiss just a minute before the streetlights went out.
The photos sparked heated discussions as soon as they were released. CP fans said they were a great couple, while casual viewers said they were pleasing to the eye. Many people followed the drama from the start, saying that this messy love triangle in a wealthy family had finally come to an end.
The most unhappy ones were Ji Jiazhen's die-hard fans, who felt that Wen Siyu was not good enough for her in any way. But after digging and digging, they couldn't find a specific reason why he wasn't good enough for her. In the end, they could only bring up his age, saying that he was too young and wouldn't know how to take care of people, and suggested that Ji Jiazhen find someone three years older than her to maintain balance.
Ji Jiazhen took these comments as amusement, but she did seriously consider the last one. While she was thinking about suitable candidates, Wen Siyu was sitting on the ground at her feet, helping her through a puzzle game that she hadn't been able to figure out in two days. Just as she looked over, the words "Escape Successful" appeared on the screen.
She was chewing on blueberries when a thought struck her, and she kicked his shoulder lightly. Wen Siyu didn't even look up and continued playing the next level. He used one hand to hold her foot, thinking she was cold, and pressed the sole of her foot against his neck.
Ji Jiazhen didn't move away, and watched him solve the mystery from that position. When the background music started to slow down, he suddenly spoke up.
"My little boyfriend."
Wen Siyu turned around at the sound, but didn't speak, just quietly looked at her. Ji Jiazhen didn't meet his gaze at all, continuing to look at her phone and eat blueberries. He wondered if he was hallucinating, or if she wasn't talking to him at all, and asked her uncertainly, "What?"
Ji Jiazhen glanced at him: "Fine, if you didn't hear me, go do your thing."
Wen Siyu nodded and continued playing after hearing this, but he couldn't concentrate on the words on the screen. His mind was filled with Ji Jiazhen's seemingly calling him "boyfriend" earlier. His heart was beating faster and faster, feeling sore and swollen. Just as that overwhelming feeling was about to reach its peak, his phone slipped from his hand. He got up and picked up Ji Jiazhen. The movement was so sudden that the blueberries in her hand were knocked over and fell into the quilt. She was then placed on his lap, facing him.
This position made her much taller than Wen Siyu. His forehead was against her shoulder, his face was buried in her collarbone, and his arms were holding her tightly. She could feel an extreme sense of being needed by him. Unlike love, this feeling was more like being melted into her flesh and blood. Separating from him was no less than tearing her apart.
There was a warm, flowing sensation on her collarbone. Ji Jiazhen reached out and touched it, her fingertips were damp.
"Wen Siyu, why are you crying?"
*
The more leisurely and carefree the days became, the more uneasy Ji Jiazhen felt. Everyone had been too quiet lately. Xia Xun had disappeared after the incident on set; Fang Wei said he had gone abroad to avoid the storm. Duan Qiyin hadn't contacted her, and she had checked his phone while Wen Siyu was asleep—their chat history was blank. Duan Lan had also suddenly become quiet, leaving everything to her lawyer and no longer showing her face. And Li Zhuorong…
Li Zhuorong.
Ji Jiazhen couldn't help but frown when he thought of that name.
Fang Wei wanted to take revenge on Li Zhuorong and extract crucial information from her to bring down Wen Qinsheng. She had promised to be the sharpest blade on her path to revenge in order to persuade Fang Wei to come out of retirement, but that promise has yet to be made.
Li Zhuorong, on the other hand, was too arrogant and fearless. She wanted to get ahead of her before she had even settled down. Her ambition was evident in her rush to compete in the Berlin Film Festival with a film that was rushed to completion. It also proved that she had powerful backers. Otherwise, she would not have dared to take such a risk.
If that's the case, then the Best Actress award will be questionable.
Wen Siyu noticed that she had been absent-minded these past few days, and when she was feeling down, he brought her some important news.
He was driving at the time, and Ji Jiazhen was in the passenger seat. It was sunset, and she was gazing thoughtfully at the orange-red color of the sky.
They only spoke to each other when they first got in the car, when Ji Jiazhen asked him what he had done that morning, and he said he had gone back to school.
She realized it was a lie, so she ignored him the whole way.
The car was quiet, even the music was paused. After passing another car, Wen Siyu suddenly spoke up: "Li Zhuorong is about to become a pawn."
Ji Jiazhen snapped out of her daze upon hearing his voice, turned her head to look at his profile, and asked blankly, "What do you mean?"
He glanced at the rearview mirror, turned the steering wheel, and overtook another car. "Wen Qinsheng doesn't want to invest too much unnecessary resources in her anymore. She's been asking around for help for the film lately, but she's been repeatedly turned down. The finished film won't be available before the film festival, so she has no chance of competing with you for the Best Actress award."
How do you know all this?
She had never mentioned this to him, nor did she know that he had inquired about Li Zhuorong's whereabouts behind her back.
Wen Siyu glanced at her, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said as if to claim credit, "I told you, I'll take care of everything you do. No one can take anything from you right under my nose."
His words sounded nice, but Ji Jiazhen scoffed and then asked, "She's been by Wen Qinsheng's side for so long, how could she be so easily abandoned?"
"Wen Qinsheng has found someone who can replace her."
Upon hearing this, Ji Jiazhen immediately searched her mind for possible candidates, but none of the people she could think of resembled the person.
Seeing that she hadn't come to a conclusion after thinking for a long time, Wen Siyu directly announced the answer: "Jian Yi".
With a sudden stop, the wheels screeched against the pavement, and Ji Jiazhen lurched forward before slamming back into her seat. The sharp sound was ear-piercing, but she ignored it, turning half her body to Wen Siyu and exclaiming in surprise, "Jian Yi?"
She hadn't heard this name in so long that she had almost forgotten her face. The last time she saw her was on the trending topics list, near the bottom, saying that she had terminated her contract with her agency and was now in debt for seven million.
Ji Jiazhen knew that Duan Qiyin had forced her to leave because he saw that she had no commercial value.
Wen Siyu unlocked the door. "Get out of the car."
She then noticed that the car was parked in a private club, a place frequented by important figures in the industry.
"Whom have you come to see?"
He didn't answer, but leaned against the car roof to look at her, who was still sitting in the car. She was backlit, and her face was blurry. "Just pretend you didn't hear what my aunt said to you. This is our feud with Wen Qinsheng. You don't need to pay anything for this. I'll take care of Li Zhuorong. You just need to win the award in style and don't have to think about anything else."
Ji Jiazhen said there was no room for discussion, then got out of the car, closing the door with a bit of a huff, and looked at him through the roof: "This is also a matter between me and your aunt. Although I'm not a very good person, I can still keep my promises. Think carefully before you try to protect me like a hothouse flower. I've experienced three more years of ups and downs than you."
It was all for nothing.
He walked towards her, took her hand, and softened his tone: "I have no worries about what I do. You're about to win an award, so many people are watching you, you're a big star."
He used his status to pressure her, and this tactic worked; Ji Jiazhen didn't argue back.
She knows very well that she can't afford to make a single mistake in getting to where she is today, and that no one and nothing is more important than her career.
*
The club has three floors. The first two floors are bright and magnificent, but on the third floor, the lights suddenly dim. The interior design is completely different from the downstairs. The doors to each private room are invisible, embedded in the wall. If you don't look closely, you can't tell which is the door and which is the wall. When the waiters pass by them, they even consciously lower their heads and avoid looking directly at their faces.
Suddenly, a door on the right was pushed open, and the person who came out was swaying and clearly drunk. Her head was drooping, her long hair completely covering her face. She moved step by step, holding onto the wall, her heels sinking into the carpet. She was about to fall when Ji Jiazhen leaned over and supported her arm.
The girl brushed her hair back, looked up, and made a half-hearted "thank you" gesture. But after seeing who had helped her, she swallowed her words and withdrew her arm rather unfriendly.
Jian Yi.
Ji Jiazhen looked at her, slowly straightened up, her expression complicated, not sympathy, but more like bewilderment.
Jian Yi never expected to run into an acquaintance here, especially in such an embarrassing way. She could only remain silent, grit her teeth and get up, glance back to make sure the door was closed and no one was following her out before daring to stand up straight and walk towards the bathroom.
He was faking being drunk.
Ji Jiazhen followed her to the bathroom. As soon as she reached the door, she heard her vomiting. She didn't go any further and stood patiently at the door with her arms crossed.
Jian Yi came out after gagging for a while. Vomiting had exhausted half of her strength, and her steps were even more unsteady than before. She barely managed to steady herself by supporting herself on the washbasin. After a few seconds, she rinsed her mouth with water, and the ends of her hair were all wet.
Ji Jiazhen only moved after she took out a tissue to wipe the water off her cheeks.
Go inside and close the door behind you.
Jian Yi threw the used paper into the sink, her shoulders trembling slightly, her voice hoarse: "Are you here to laugh at me?"
Ji Jiazhen leaned against the wall. "Making people laugh is a skill in itself." She put the hand that had just helped Jian Yi under the sensor faucet, the water wetting her fingertips. "Unfortunately, you don't have that skill."
Jian Yi bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes, and said coldly, "Ji Jiazhen, I really wish you could disappear."
Ji Jiazhen scoffed, and that short laugh sounded particularly grating to Jian Yi's ears.
"You might as well just say you wish me dead."
Jian Yi raised her head, her neck stiff and her back of the neck very tense. She looked at herself in the mirror for a while before turning her head to look at Ji Jiazhen.
"I wish you were dead."
Ji Jiazhen wanted to slap her across the face to make her realize the truth, but when she saw the tears in her eyes, she softened. She raised her hand and flicked the water droplets onto her face to make her wake up.
"I will live beautifully for many more decades."
I wish you were dead!
Jian Yi's emotions erupted without warning, even to the point of breaking her voice, and tears streamed down her face.
"Why did you come back after you retired from the entertainment industry?!"
“I gave you three years. If you can’t seize the opportunity, don’t blame others or fate.”
Ji Jiazhen's face gradually turned cold. If Jian Yi had any sense, she would have seen that this was a sign that Ji Jiazhen was about to lose her temper, but at this moment she couldn't see or hear anything. Once her resentment was released, it was impossible to take it back.
"Why should you be able to come and go as you please! Retire from the industry whenever you want, make a comeback whenever you want, without considering the consequences, without caring about anything. I just want to terminate my contract. I've been blacklisted enough. I don't want to waste my youth anymore. What did I do wrong? Why should I have to pay so much? I just wanted to earn more money, and I was brought here. The people at the door won't let me leave. I even have to pretend to be drunk and pretend I'm about to throw up on the floor before they'll let me go!"
Ji Jiazhen took a deep breath and asked her, "Did I cause your pain?"
no.
"Was it you I kept hidden away?"
no.
"Am I asking you to pay me back?"
no.
Did I force you to go into that private room and drink with those people?
no.
Jian Yi's arrogance was gradually shattered by these questions, and her body slumped down until she collapsed to the ground.
Ji Jiazhen squatted down to look her in the eye, her voice still cold: "Too many people hate me. I'm too lazy to listen to your complaints. Your current situation has nothing to do with me, and I have no obligation to be your outlet for your emotions."
Jian Yi understood the reasoning, but she was unwilling to accept it. At this moment, she seemed to have lost her soul and silently shed tears.
"I'll only ask you one question. If you tell me the truth, I'll take you out of this club."
"..."
"What did you promise Wen Qinsheng?"
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