Chapter 60 Butterfly "Let's bet that within three days, you..."
The agent was half right. Ji Jiazhen isn't lacking in ambition; she's too ambitious. Every step she takes matches her ambition, and by now, there's very little room for further improvement.
Even laymen know how prestigious the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress award is, let alone Ji Jiazhen, who is the youngest winner in nearly ten years. With such a prestigious award, mentioning her inevitably brings up the word "international." The Silver Bear Award also helped her secure global endorsements for three high-end luxury brands, making her the talk of the town for a time.
She's never been a humble person. From the moment she received the trophy, she became somewhat arrogant and disdainful of everyone. Commercial photoshoots were postponed, while drinking parties were all put on the agenda. Yet, the wealthy clients were willing to fawn over her, waiting for no matter how long the delay.
*
The first drinking party after returning to China was held at a private villa far from the hustle and bustle of the city. The invitation was sent in Ji Jiazhen's name, but the person who organized the party was Fang Chengmu. This guy is quite funny; you can't see him usually, but when it comes to drinking and parties, he's always the first to show up.
Fang Chengmu also found the private villa. Ji Jiazhen saw the photos and thought it was a good place, so she went there a day early. She was quite tired from attending the film festival. In order to be in the best condition for the red carpet, she fasted for three consecutive days, eating only one cucumber a day. She took the opportunity to rest at the villa for a day to prepare for drinking the next day.
The air in the mountains was humid, and after winter set in, it was shrouded in mist all day long, with temperatures five degrees lower than in the city. The owner of the mountain resort had taken this into consideration and had done a good job with the heating system; even the mountain spring water flowing outside was hot. For the first time, Ji Jiazhen truly understood what it meant to be foolishly rich.
The housekeeper took her to choose her favorite room, and she immediately picked out the best one. Then she was taken to tour the entire resort.
At eight o'clock in the evening, a light rain began to fall in the mountains. Ji Jiazhen had just come out of the bathroom when she received a call from her agent. The agent first urged her to get back to work as soon as possible, and then advised her not to go too wild these days to avoid being photographed. She casually replied to the caller, threw her phone on the bed, put on a bathrobe, loosely tied the belt, and walked towards the hot spring pool on the balcony.
A light rain was falling, and a slight chill drifted into the room. She lowered her head and walked while putting her long hair up in a bun. Just as she finished putting her hair up, she reached the edge of the pool. When she looked up again, her heart suddenly clenched.
It's a ghost story.
There is someone in the hot spring.
The moment Ji Jiazhen remembered that face, she felt it was scarier than a ghost.
Ke Xian had most of his body submerged in the water, his arms draped at his sides, his dark eyes reflecting the water as he stared intently at her, a clear smile on his face.
Ji Jiazhen was still in shock, standing there stunned for a long time before finally raising her hand to pull her bathrobe tighter and asking, "What are you doing here?"
She didn't take their encounter at the airport seriously, assuming it was just a crazy person in heat. Only today did she realize that this crazy person had become her stalker.
He also has a face that looks a lot like Wen Siyu.
This is terrible.
Ke Xian shrugged, finding the question somewhat ridiculous. "My villa, my room," he pointed to himself, "Is it strange that I'm here?"
Ji Jiazhen reacted quickly and immediately understood why Fang Chengmu had chosen this location.
They knew each other well.
And Ke is playing her now.
Once she understood this, she immediately changed her attitude, took back control of the situation, took two steps forward, and sat on the edge of the hot spring. "This is my room now. Please get out of my pool and then get out of my room."
Ke Xian stood up. The hot spring pool was deep, and his head was level with her waist. He moved closer to her and lay down beside her legs. This posture had a slightly ingratiating meaning, allowing Ji Jiazhen to look down at him with an absolute sense of superiority.
"We're both single, there's no need to kick us out. The bed in the room is big, aren't you afraid to sleep alone?"
Ji Jiazhen reached out and pinched his pectoral muscle, leaving a finger mark on his skin, which was slightly red from being soaked in hot water. "I'm picky. I don't sleep with just any cheap woman who comes to me."
Ke Xian grabbed her ankles and put her two calves into the water, then deliberately made her place her right foot on his chest.
"I'm more expensive than all the others you've slept with, you're guaranteed to make a profit."
Ji Jiazhen raised one eyebrow, her eyes fixed on the water. "Come out, I'll inspect the goods."
Ke Xian looked up to meet her gaze, then suddenly pulled her into the water. Ji Jiazhen's bathrobe became incredibly heavy and cumbersome after getting wet, but she was definitely not wearing anything underneath, so she couldn't take it off. To make matters worse, Ke Xian was holding her calves tightly, so she had to cling to him to maintain her balance, her body pressed against his, her temperature and curves clearly visible.
Are you satisfied?
Ke Xian leaned close to her ear and whispered, his voice tinged with a triumphant laugh.
Ji Jiazhen pushed his shoulder and broke free from his arm. The movement was so loud that some water spilled out.
She raised her knee and pressed it heavily against Ke Xian's vulnerable spot. As he retreated, she pressed forward until he had nowhere left to retreat.
Ji Jiazhen was really going all out, and asked him with a cold face, "What's your purpose in getting close to me?"
Ke Xian's expression changed slightly, but he stubbornly refused to suppress his smile and replied with a forced grin, "I like you."
That didn't sound convincing, but Ji Jiazhen persisted, "You don't even dare to tell the truth?"
He tightened his grip on her arm, pulling her forward and bringing his face close. "The truth is, I... have strong feelings for you."
Ji Jiazhen disgustedly shook off his hand and stepped back, splashing water all over his face.
Ke Xian didn't touch her again, but looked into her eyes through the pool water. "What he can do, I can do too, and I can do it better than him. Why not give it a try?"
Both of them knew perfectly well who "he" was.
Ji Jiazhen crossed her arms and sneered, "Why are you bringing him up? How much do you even know about him?"
Ke Xian smiled, a drop of water falling from his chin. "Because I like you, because you loved him, because you can't forget him. Isn't investigating your love rival the most basic thing?"
The water was not yet calm, and the ripples reflected on their faces. The rain was getting heavier, and a chill swept in with the wind. Ji Jiazhen shivered slightly, lowered her head, and chuckled softly.
"If you want me to forget him, at least don't have a face that looks like his."
Ke Xian's reply reached her ears word by word.
"But you can't resist this face, can you?"
Ji Jiazhen narrowed her eyes slightly, "What makes you so sure?"
"Let's make a bet then."
The man walked up to her, put his hand on her waist, and pressed his body against hers again.
"I bet you'll kiss me within three days."
"..."
"I lost the bet, so this villa is yours."
"..."
"You lost the bet. Three nights from now, you're mine."
*
The rain continued until noon. Around three o'clock, the group of people Fang Chengmu had invited arrived one after another. The partygoers met and laughed continuously.
Ji Jiazhen didn't leave the room until dark, and she ran into Ke Xian as soon as she opened the door.
He left after making the bet last night and slept in the room opposite hers.
Ke Xian leaned against the wall, looking at the exposed section of her slender waist, and remarked, "Pretty hot."
Ji Jiazhen walked right past him, took two steps, then turned back to warn him: "Pretend you don't know me when you go downstairs."
Ke Xian swaggered over to her side, lowered his head to smell the fragrance in her hair, and said, "Sister, stop dreaming. So many people are eyeing you like wolves. If I pretend not to know you, am I pushing you into someone else's arms?"
That means there's no room for negotiation.
Ji Jiazhen turned and left, too lazy to waste any more words on him, but this man was even more of a scoundrel than she had imagined. When she reached the corner of the stairs, he suddenly followed her, put his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into his arms without saying a word.
That's how the two appeared in the public eye, causing many people to feel disappointed and sigh.
Fang Chengmu, being the shrewd one he was, immediately shouted, "Isn't this our Berlin Film Festival Best Actress?!"
The awkward atmosphere was instantly warmed up, and the others congratulated him. Ji Jiazhen grabbed Ke Xian's lower back, gritted his teeth and said to him, "You're fucking dead." Then he walked to the center of the crowd. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly met a pair of familiar eyes.
Shi Kuang was still standing there, his eyes darting between her and Ke Xian, looking incredulous.
She hadn't expected to run into him here, but she couldn't worry about him right now, so she could only bite the bullet and say the polite words.
Shi Kuang squeezed next to her, leaned close, and whispered, "Sis, does my brother know you have a new love interest?"
Ji Jiazhen gave a forced smile, covering her lips with her hand, "Just shut your mouth."
"Does my brother know that your new love looks so much like him?"
Ji Jiazhen pointed at him with a warning, and the next second Ke Xian's face appeared in her peripheral vision.
"Tell your brother to behave himself as his ex and not try to pull any 'resurrection' tricks."
After speaking, he turned his head to look at her, forcefully inserted his hand between her fingers, and intertwined their fingers.
"I remember he took you racing once. You like that? I can race with you too."
*
Ji Jiazhen was practically forced into the car. She didn't really enjoy racing; she only agreed because she desperately wanted to escape the environment she'd just been in. She'd only gone with Wen Siyu before because she trusted him, but now Ke Xian was driving, someone she knew absolutely nothing about. Who knew if he was a daredevil?
Ke Xian noticed her nervousness, but didn't know what she was thinking. He handed her a mint and asked, "Were you this scared in his car too?"
Ji Jiazhen tore open the candy wrapper and glanced at him. "You keep talking about him. Do you like me or him?"
Ke Xian leaned closer, his face only two centimeters away from hers. "Asking me like that only makes me think you want to give me a minty kiss."
Ji Jiazhen pulled her head back to create some distance between them. "You want to always be the one to overpower him in my eyes? What, do you two have a grudge?"
Ke Xian chuckled, stepped on the gas, and the car drove onto the highway.
“This is one of the strategies. The way to make you forget him is to erase the memories you shared with him. So I will do all the things you did with him, including…” He narrowed his eyes, seemingly fantasizing about the wonderful experience, “…making love.”
Ji Jiazhen had a sneer on his lips. "He has two tattoos that are related to me."
Ke Xian turned his head and looked at her meaningfully: "How do you know I didn't?"
This piqued Ji Jiazhen's interest, and she glanced in a certain direction. "Where?"
She looked at him 90% of the time in the hot spring last night, but didn't see any trace of the tattoo.
Ke Xian deliberately kept her in suspense, leading her to think in that direction without saying yes or no.
"Let me go back to my room tonight, and I'll show you as much as you want."
Ji Jiazhen sneered, looked out the car window, and coldly uttered four words: "Go to hell."
The people in the villa watched their car until it disappeared at the end of the mountain road before returning home, leaving Shi Kuang alone outside the door making a phone call.
The call connected, but there was no sound on the other end, while his voice sounded urgent.
"Holy crap, wake up, bro! Get back to China, your house's on fire!"
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