Chapter 39 Part 1

That final Weibo post that had caused all the trouble still wasn’t deleted.

At the evening boot party, all the crew members ate together.

Jiang Sisi’s ability to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk was well-known in the industry. Using high school biology knowledge, it was because her body had two enzymes that could quickly break down alcohol; she drank liquor like it was water. The crew members found it utterly boring to drink with someone who had such a cheat code, so no one tried to pour drinks for her.

She sat off to the side with little enthusiasm, watching the crew members drink with each other.

Jiang Sisi said in exasperation, “You all have to shoot tomorrow. Drinking like this—are you sure you still want to work?”

The deputy director patted her shoulder with a hand like a palm-leaf fan and said, “Old Jiang, it’s been so long since we’ve all seen each other. A few extra cups won’t hurt. No problem—we guarantee it won’t affect tomorrow’s shoot!”

Jiang Sisi couldn’t stop them and said helplessly, “Fine, then. Keep an eye on them; don’t let anything happen. I’m going out for a walk.”

The crew had booked the hotel restaurant for the boot party on the second floor. Jiang Sisi went downstairs on her own and wandered in the hotel garden.

There was a huge fountain pool in the hotel garden. It was too cold in winter, so the fountain wasn’t on. One person sat on the bench by the fountain, perfectly still, like a statue of a beautiful woman.

Jiang Sisi approached and only then saw who it was.

Leng Xiang had drunk a lot that evening. Most of the people in Jiang Sisi’s crew were very familiar with each other right away, and after witnessing the farce on Leng Xiang’s Weibo that day, they found this so-called cold beauty of the industry even more intriguing. So in the evening, they came over with drinks in hand, finding all sorts of excuses to pour her more.

Leng Xiang couldn’t refuse and ended up drinking several cups.

Even more came to ask her questions in a roundabout way.

Originally, one of the main reasons Jiang Sisi had selected the male and female leads was because the actors themselves fit the character personas closely. She didn’t care if they were famous or could bring their own traffic into the group—anyone who joined Jiang Sisi’s crew would gain traffic even if they had none before.

Jiang Sisi’s crew team generally didn’t gossip about how she selected actors, but Leng Xiang was really a bit different.

Her appearance had been too unexpected.

It was as if she’d appeared out of thin air. There had been absolutely no news or reports about her before; she’d been buried for so many years with no works, and suddenly Jiang Sisi had selected her.

And her relationship with Jiang Sisi…

It didn’t seem quite right.

With the alcohol flowing, people spoke without restraint.

Leng Xiang had been asked about it by several half-drunk crew members, and after being stunned for a long time, she hadn’t given a clear answer.

Recalling everything that had happened in these three months, she herself didn’t quite understand why she’d ended up in Jiang Sisi’s crew.

She only remembered that Jiang Sisi had said she was suitable, with no other reasons.

Her alcohol tolerance was limited to begin with. After a few cups, her face felt hot, so she came out to get some air.

She sat down on the bench by the pool and stayed there for who knew how long.

The north wind blew past, bringing a chill.

From the morning when Tan Ya had picked her up to join the crew, to the evening boot party, she hadn’t felt any sense of reality.

Or rather, ever since that accident three months ago, her life had undergone a massive change.

So massive that she started wondering just how all this had happened.

It had started from the moment she met Jiang Sisi.

Jiang Sisi sat down beside Leng Xiang, very close.

Jiang Sisi reached out and felt her forehead.

Only then did Leng Xiang snap out of her statue-like state and move a little.

She merely moved her body, showing no further reaction to Jiang Sisi’s closeness.

She sat there quietly, letting Jiang Sisi check her forehead temperature before withdrawing her hand.

She was already a bit tipsy.

She didn’t know if it was because that night she’d once pinned Jiang Sisi beneath her and nearly kissed her, but she wasn’t as resistant to Jiang Sisi’s touch as before.

Back then, when Jiang Sisi had said she wanted her to sleep over for a night, it had actually been a joke.

When she’d said she wanted her to take the initiative and kiss her, that had been a joke too.

Though she’d been annoyed, she also understood that Jiang Sisi slapping Yu Shan in the studio had been real, casting her as the female lead in the new film had been real, helping her resolve the mess with Yu Shan and Qin Wen at her most difficult time had been real, and getting her out of the bind with Excellence Media to secure a normal work contract had been real.

The money Jiang Sisi had given her—the balance in her account—gave her a glimpse of hope for the future, and that was as real as it got.

Even reposting her Weibo had been, besides joking around, partly to borrow the heat from the recent news to boost her traffic and that of the Luxury Goods crew.

Looking back now, aside from that night when she’d been drugged by accident, Jiang Sisi hadn’t actually done anything to her.

The most intimate physical contact afterward had only been that evening when she’d been provoked by Jiang Sisi and pinned her down.

And that had been her own initiative.

Jiang Sisi was malicious and bored, loving to toy with people, but she was also the only one in the industry besides Shen Cheng who was willing to help her.

But did Jiang Sisi really not want any repayment at all?

Would Jiang Sisi make such a losing deal?

Did free pies really fall from the sky in this world?

Jiang Sisi withdrew her hand from Leng Xiang’s forehead and touched her own. She said, “Blowing cold wind after drinking makes it easy to catch a cold. Your forehead feels a bit hot.”

“Shall I take you back to sleep?”

Leng Xiang’s gaze drifted over the rippling pool water.

She turned to look at Jiang Sisi. “Sleep with you?”

Jiang Sisi burst out laughing with a “pfft.” She said, “What are you thinking? Of course, I’ll send you back to your own room.”

Jiang Sisi sized her up for a moment and then added, “Or are you saying you’re willing to sleep with me now?”

A cow couldn’t graze like a sheep, a dog couldn’t stop eating shit—Jiang Sisi was still the same as ever.

Leng Xiang said coldly, “Not really willing.”

Jiang Sisi curved her lips. “You’re really breaking my heart. It makes me think my charm might be negative.”

She said that, but there wasn’t a trace of hurt on her face.

Another cold wind blew past.

In the deep winter, after drinking, if she stayed any longer, she really would catch a cold tomorrow.

Leng Xiang looked at the pool water, her gaze wandering for a bit before settling on the fountain column in the middle of the pool. She said, “You…”

She was probably really a bit drunk; the words in her heart were hard to voice, and she paused for a long time.

Jiang Sisi waited patiently for her to speak.

Leng Xiang said, “Do you really want to… do that kind of thing with me?”

By the rules of the industry, there was no such thing as a free lunch.

What you got, you paid for proportionally.

Hearing her ask this, Jiang Sisi curved her lips and said, “Yeah, I like pretty ones. You’re so good-looking; it’d be hypocritical to say I have no interest at all.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

She said it so bluntly, without any pretense.

“Afraid?” Jiang Sisi looked at her and suddenly laughed again.

“I’m teasing you. Don’t be nervous. I’m not a Teddy; I won’t really jump any pretty girl I see.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

“I always do things based on my own whims. You don’t owe me anything; no need to overthink it.”

Leng Xiang asked, “Then why did you choose me?”

Jiang Sisi sat on the bench, stretching out her legs, and took out a slim ladies’ cigarette in the night.

With the cigarette between her fingers, Jiang Sisi smiled. “Yeah, why indeed?”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Jiang Sisi’s puzzled look, as if she didn’t know either, really made one want to hit her.

Jiang Sisi changed the subject, her tone turning serious.

“Generally speaking, successful films come in two forms.”

“One follows the textbook: laying groundwork, foreshadowing, arranging small climaxes, big climaxes, and all the details. We can predict from the plot and shot layouts where the audience will laugh, cry, or be moved to tears with snot running—it’s all foreseeable.”

“I could make people watching my film cry from the middle all the way to the end. In theory, that’s achievable.”

“For example, last year’s box-office smash The Lion. The protagonist endured so much frustration, and that moment when the cannon fire rose from the warship was a classic reversal tearjerker.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

The Lion had been last year’s biggest hit, playing on nationalistic patriotism with multiple tear points. It made you want to kneel and kiss the ground afterward.

Leng Xiang had seen it too—not only cried, but right before National Day, she’d secretly bought a small national flag to decorate her home.

But she wasn’t about to admit it, so she stayed silent.

Seeing her expression, Jiang Sisi knew she’d hit the mark and continued, “As long as the film makes people’s emotions fluctuate, most audiences will call it a good movie.”

“That’s the most mainstream form right now. In fact, it’s very successful, but it demands a high-quality script. Pair it with a knowledgeable director who understands a bit of psychology, and it’s basically fine.”

“The other form, bluntly put, is stream of consciousness.”

“In these films, some are emotional stream of consciousness, some plot-based. The difference is the former makes you wonder why the protagonist does what they do; the latter, what they’re even doing.”

“Most arthouse films are stream of consciousness. The Farewell that won you the Golden Deer Award is the latter type. It leaves audiences in a fog until some later point when they suddenly get it—of course, most turn it off or fall asleep before then. So these films are usually niche but easy to win awards with.”

Leng Xiang asked, “What does this have to do with you choosing me?”

Jiang Sisi said, “Of course it does.”

“I originally planned Luxury Goods as the first type: a lighthearted urban comedy. The initial plot outline wasn’t the one you have now—no emotional line between Su Qing and Jiang Chuan. Jiang Chuan was just comic relief; the ending had Su Qing getting married, Jiang Chuan as bridesmaid, one last misunderstanding, and a comedic wrap-up.”