Chapter 18: I Pretend to Really Like You (18)

Zhuo Xi didn’t come back until the following afternoon. She’d clearly had a wild night.

When she saw Ji Mingxiao, she smiled as usual. “Sorry, I drank too much last night and ended up sleeping at Xiaoxiao’s place until noon. I made you worry. You’ve eaten, right?”

Her expression was perfectly natural. There wasn’t a trace of resentment in it.

It was almost impressive, really. She’d kept up the act for three years, even though it disgusted her so much.

“I have.” Ji Mingxiao nodded, her expression just as natural. “I’m going on a business trip for the next few days.”

“Huh?” Zhuo Xi paused, frowning. She looked a little unhappy. “How come our schedules are always so badly timed? We finally managed to clear some time.”

“Tell me about it. The timing couldn’t be worse, but I have to handle this one in person.” Ji Mingxiao sighed. “There’s nothing I can do. I’m negotiating for a public service ad, and I’m hoping we can land it.”

“Mm. Go take care of work. It’s fine.” Zhuo Xi sounded perfectly sweet and understanding.

Ji Mingxiao watched her, wondering if she was laughing her head off inside.

She’d already found a pretext to fire the person in her secretary’s office who’d been feeding Zhuo Xi information. The reason was airtight; no one could find fault with it. Her staff was now locked down tight.

If Zhuo Xi wanted to know anything, she’d have to ask Ji Mingxiao herself.

Zhuo Xi had offered Tang Can plenty of perks, but Tang Can had refused them all and sent the screenshots to Ji Mingxiao anyway.

Having class rep Tang Can’s help made things a lot easier.

Ji Mingxiao’s flight was early the next morning. Ever the thoughtful girlfriend, Zhuo Xi got up at five to make her breakfast, playing the perfect homemaker.

She walked Ji Mingxiao to the villa entrance and stood there smiling as she watched her leave.

Ji Mingxiao got into the car, glanced at Zhuo Xi standing in the doorway, then looked away.

The corner of her mouth twitched into a faint, mocking smile.

Honestly, she was curious who had sent her the video. She’d asked Tang Can to look into it, but they’d come up with nothing.

Ji Mingxiao remembered all the people who’d been with Zhuo Xi that night. They were close to her; otherwise, they wouldn’t have spoken so freely. Especially not around someone as cautious as Zhuo Xi.

Had Zhuo Xi ever considered that one of her friends might betray her?

When Ji Mingxiao arrived at the airport, she spotted Xi Ruan at once, pulling a suitcase behind her.

The two of them had first met at an airport.

Ji Mingxiao had decided the airport would be their second place of fate. The first was the elevator.

As luck would have it, they were on the same flight. They were both in first class, but their seats weren’t together.

Still, Ji Mingxiao had the nerve to trade seats with someone so she could sit beside Xi Ruan.

When Xi Ruan saw her, she fell silent for a moment. “What a coincidence.”

“Sure is.” Ji Mingxiao settled back in her seat and glanced at Xi Ruan. “Flying first class now?”

“Thanks to you.”

Ji Mingxiao’s lips curved. Seeing Xi Ruan reminded her of something.

Zhuo Xi found it disgusting when women liked women. Three years later, she still thought it was disgusting—and apparently, she found it more disgusting than ever.

But what about Xi Ruan? She didn’t seem to mind seeing other people together. To her, this was only a virtual world; other people’s lives, the things that happened in a book, had nothing to do with her.

The world Xi Ruan and Ruan Shaojia came from was also one where people were harsh about same-sex relationships.

Ji Mingxiao had liked Ruan Shaojia since middle school. But what about Ruan Shaojia? … She’d forgotten all about Ji Mingxiao.

Ji Mingxiao’s gaze dimmed.

“What’s wrong?” Xi Ruan asked. Ji Mingxiao seemed a little off today.

Ji Mingxiao blinked, then smiled again. “Nothing.”

She wanted to ask outright, but decided against it.

No need to rush. What if Xi Ruan found out how she felt and got scared off? It was hard enough to find her in the first place.

Better to wait until they were back in the System Space and could actually meet face-to-face.

“By the way, are you planning to spend the whole next month traveling for work?” Xi Ruan asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Maybe.” Ji Mingxiao leaned back and took a sip of tea. “Why?”

Xi Ruan’s smile widened. “So when do I get to watch the show?”

“When it starts trending.”

Xi Ruan propped her chin on her hand. “Honestly, I used to be the one watching the drama unfold. Now I’m about to become part of it. I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Just make sure that woman gets what’s coming to her. You have no idea how sick I get of all those holier-than-thou scenes.” Xi Ruan shuddered.

“Don’t worry. I will.”

“Right. You’re no saint yourself.”

Ji Mingxiao…

“How am I not a saint?”

“I’m going to sleep!” Xi Ruan cut her off, pulled out an eye mask, and put it on, making it clear she didn’t want to talk.

She fell asleep soon after. Ji Mingxiao turned to look at her profile. She looked so sweet and cute when she was asleep. Ji Mingxiao wanted to reach out and touch her, but didn’t dare. She yawned, then closed her eyes and drifted off too.

They’d slept together, technically. They were only in the same row of seats, but it still counted.

Three hours later, the plane landed.

Ji Mingxiao followed Xi Ruan off the plane, but the two of them went their separate ways so they wouldn’t cause her any trouble.

After the meme incident, a lot more people recognized Ji Mingxiao.

For the next twenty-odd days, Ji Mingxiao was constantly on the move.

When Ji Chanhan found out, he sent her a string of “hahahas.”

She didn’t feel like replying.

Zhuo Xi started promoting the drama ahead of its release. Ji Mingxiao also returned home and began sorting through the evidence she’d collected, deciding what to expose first and what to save for later.

So far, there were nine men who’d been involved with Zhuo Xi. Two had girlfriends, and four were married. One of those men had a wife who was a notorious tigress in high society.

Ji Mingxiao had surveillance footage proving every one of the nine affairs.

Then there were the twenty-three men Zhuo Xi had tried to seduce and failed to land. Ji Chanhan and Ji Chanyue were prime examples.

She hadn’t bothered counting before. Now that she had, she couldn’t believe there were so many.

A real player, casting a wide net to haul in the big fish.

The surveillance footage was even juicier when paired with the phone calls Ji Mingxiao had recorded.

Finally, there was what Fu Youzheng had left behind, along with evidence that Zhuo Xi had used a stand-in.

Ji Mingxiao looked over the files on her computer and curled her lip.

The Jade Whistle was set to premiere on June 9, with eight episodes released each week. The Gaokao would just have ended, and summer vacation would be right around the corner. They’d chosen the date as an auspicious one.

Ji Mingxiao had already worked it out: around the middle of summer vacation, the green-tea act of the heroine Zhuo Xi played would be in full swing.

She just had to wait out the summer.

Ji Mingxiao had also asked Wu Duo to arrange an interview for Zhuo Xi, with a question about love included.

To be fair, Zhuo Xi had dug herself a hole while trying to curry favor with Ji Mingxiao.

This was what she’d said in the interview:

“I hope the first person I meet in this lifetime will be the one I spend the rest of it with.”

“I like someone who’s gentle and good to me. I’m still a little girlish, so I hope she’ll spoil me.”

“I respect all kinds of love. It’s just love; whether it’s between a man and a woman or two women makes no difference. I hope people won’t look at them differently.”

Ji Mingxiao had nearly laughed out loud when she saw the interview. Paired with the secretly filmed videos from earlier, it made for an even juicier scandal.

If all went as planned, this story would dominate the trending charts all summer.