After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry] 36

Chapter 36

As spring turned to summer, in the early days of the new season, being outdoors in the southern region of Jing’an during the day felt like being roasted by the scorching sun, unbearably hot.

Seeing the dry weather, Jiang Nuo also brewed some chrysanthemum tea. It was cooling and soothing, with a faint sweetness. Most importantly, it was Shi Qin’s favorite.

In the office, Shi Qin sat with her legs crossed, looking at her phone with one hand and gently holding the top of her teacup with the other, sipping her tea. The cool air from the air conditioner made her feel refreshed and quite at ease.

More than a week had passed since the end of the show’s recording.

After finally having a heart-to-heart on a rainy night and mending their relationship, the two of them had both thrown themselves into their work.

Zhou Jinsi was doing fine, still living her day-to-day life as a teacher. It was just that a rumor had started somewhere, saying that a famous director had come to find her, and that the week-long leave she had taken was to film a movie.

This rumor spread like wildfire, becoming more and more outrageous, to the point where colleagues or students who knew Zhou Jinsi would come and ask her about it.

The two of them had kept in touch during this time, so when Shi Qin learned that Zhou Jinsi was caught in such a whirlwind, she couldn’t help but laugh.

According to the director, the first episode of the show was scheduled to air in about a week. She didn’t know how everyone would react when they saw their Teacher Zhou, such a wooden and serious person, on a variety show.

In contrast, Shi Qin, as an artist, had a much fuller daily life, constantly working around the clock. She had just flown to another city yesterday to record a guest appearance on a variety show, and in two days, she would be joining the cast of a new drama.

Jiang Nuo had just finished a call. When she turned around, she saw Shi Qin half-slumped on the sofa, looking listless and lazy. She couldn’t help but think of some of the online comments about her from the last time she walked the red carpet.

They were all about her being bright and confident, elegant and generous. But compared to the scene now… Jiang Nuo laughed to herself. In her eyes, Shi Qin was just like a half-grown child, although this child’s defenses were sometimes so heavy that even she couldn’t see through them.

Jiang Nuo walked over and sat down opposite her, about to discuss the new drama with her, when Shi Qin spoke first, looking at her phone and saying to herself, “Hey, although it’s a new variety show, I see the anticipation online is quite high. But its format is indeed quite novel.”

Speaking of the variety show, Shi Qin thought of the lingering kiss on that rainy night, and a sweet smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

Speaking of which, Jiang Nuo also wanted to ask, “I heard your partner on that variety show is a non-celebrity?”

“That’s right. Isn’t that how the show is arranged?”

Seeing her serious expression, Jiang Nuo took a sip of her tea and said faintly, “So you went and got Xiao Si to participate?”

Shi Qin didn’t speak, just stared at Jiang Nuo with a “how did you know” expression.

Jiang Nuo sighed and chuckled lightly. “What can you hide from your auntie?”

Hearing this, the image of that kiss flashed in Shi Qin’s mind again. She thought, Well, maybe there is something…

“This variety show is essentially a dating show. When I first recommended it to you, I thought you would probably just skim it, especially since you just uncoupled from Yin Chenxuan. But then you confirmed you were going to participate, so I went and asked the director about the situation.”

At this point, Jiang Nuo raised her hand to adjust her glasses and said with a hint of deeper meaning, “The director told me that your condition for participating was that your partner had to be Xiao Si. For that, she even made a special trip to Xiao Si’s school.”

“You two, when did you get so close?”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen them interact before. Shi Qin was relatively proactive, while Zhou Jinsi looked like she didn’t want to say much. It was reasonable to say they were old schoolmates, but they didn’t look like good friends at all.

Moreover, the atmosphere when the two of them were together was always strangely odd. As someone with experience, her intuition told her that the relationship between these two kids was not as simple as it seemed on the surface, or that they were hiding something from her.

Although this was the case, she couldn’t probe too much into their private affairs. But now, since the two of them had participated in the show, there would naturally be exposure, and with exposure comes public discussion. From a manager’s perspective, she couldn’t help but become more curious.

Shi Qin cleared her throat twice and answered evasively, “I told you, we were classmates before.”

“Mhm?” Jiang Nuo didn’t believe her.

“It’s just that I thought this variety show was quite interesting, so I thought of bringing her along.” Shi Qin silently fiddled with her slender, white knuckles, lying without a blush or a flutter of her heart.

What kind of classmate would make her specifically request them to participate in a show? Besides, she knew very well that this child, Shi Qin, seemed gentle and approachable, but in reality, her inner defenses were very strong.

Jiang Nuo simply couldn’t imagine how she could have become such close friends with Zhou Jinsi, whose personality was completely opposite.

Her gaze lingered on Shi Qin for several seconds. In the end, she decided not to expose her flimsy lie and casually changed the subject.

Jiang Nuo: “The new drama you’re joining in two days, you went to the script reading last week, right? How did it feel?”

Shi Qin recalled that this drama was a rare one in the current market that was told from a female perspective.

The drama’s name was “Us in the New Era.” It was an original script by the screenwriter. The director was a well-known female director in the country, Zhang Mei. Although she didn’t have many representative works, each one could be considered a masterpiece.

The story was about three women, following them from college to the workplace, and the stories of love, friendship, and family they experienced.

The first lead role was played by a well-known and talented actress, Ji Chen. Shi Qin was naturally the second lead, but what she hadn’t expected was that the other second lead actress was actually Qin Zhen.

Talk about a small world for enemies.

In these few months, they had run into each other at various major events quite a few times. Shi Qin didn’t care; out of sight, out of mind. But Qin Zhen still remembered the audition and would intentionally or unintentionally come over to “greet” her. To this, Shi Qin was also quite helpless.

But Shi Qin was unwilling to waste her mood worrying about this person.

“Director Zhang’s drama, the quality is naturally impeccable. And some of the entry points in this drama are quite sharp. It might even spark some social reflection after it airs.”

The core of this drama revolved around three women, so all the unequal treatment or stories that could happen to women would be presented through this drama.

Jiang Nuo nodded in agreement and added, “Is Qin Zhen also in it?”

Shi Qin: “Mhm, it’s fine. I’ll just focus on the drama. I won’t pay attention to anything else.”

Hearing her say this, Jiang Nuo was also relieved.

But what she hadn’t expected was that this person, born into a rich family and used to being arrogant and domineering, had an endless supply of ways to find trouble.

The first day of filming was on a weekend.

Jiang Nuo went with her, and accompanying her was also Zhou Jinsi.

Originally, Zhou Jinsi made a weekly trip to the company. After all, Zhou Lin still hoped she would learn more about the company’s inner workings, thinking that one day she could take over, and would have some understanding of the business.

Although Zhou Jinsi’s heart really wasn’t in it, she didn’t want to disappoint her father. Besides, she had no other plans for the weekend, and it was also a chance to see Jiang Nuo.

But today, just as she met Jiang Nuo, she heard that she had something to do and had to go out. The two of them chatted for a while and were about to say goodbye, but Jiang Nuo suddenly turned back and asked her:

“I’m going to the set to see Shi Qin. Do you want to come along?”

Zhou Jinsi froze for a moment. Although she could guess that perhaps Jiang Nuo thought they were good friends and was just being kind, she still felt that something was strange.

But she didn’t think too much about it. After pretending to think for a while, she agreed to Jiang Nuo’s invitation to go with her.

After all, the two of them hadn’t seen each other for a while since the end of the show…

That little bit of longing was fine when she was busy with work, but once she was free, that little seedling began to grow at an astonishing speed. But she was unwilling to say it, so she could only keep it silently in her heart.

The two of them arrived at the location. They had originally planned to go to the dressing room, but they heard from a staff member that Shi Qin was filming, so they followed to the crowd of onlookers.

The moment their footsteps stopped, a loud “slap” echoed through the set. Both of them were startled.

They saw Qin Zhen and Shi Qin face to face. Shi Qin was covering her face with her hand, her head turned to the side, while Qin Zhen had a fierce expression.

It didn’t take a genius to know what kind of scene had just taken place.

A fiery pain spread across her face. The force of it made half of Shi Qin’s face go numb.

After a long while to recover, she saw Qin Zhen quickly grab her hand, asking if she was hurt, a completely insincere look on her face.

This scene had already been filmed twice.

The director could have given the green light after the first take, but Qin Zhen insisted that her performance was not good enough and requested another take.

She was so proactive that the director naturally agreed, and Shi Qin couldn’t say anything. But she wasn’t a fool; even a blind person could see that this was a public act of private revenge.

She had thought that she would stop after this take, but after her fake concern, Qin Zhen went and requested another take from the director, saying it was the last time.

Hearing her words, Shi Qin was furious. Even Zhang Mei frowned, her expression complicated.

But this scene was indeed about the explosive climax of an argument between the two characters. A slap was inevitable. Especially with Qin Zhen’s background—her father’s company was one of the investors this time—Zhang Mei also had to be mindful.

With this in mind, Zhang Mei still nodded. Her gaze toward Shi Qin held a bit more pity. She didn’t know how this child had offended this young miss.

And so, under the varied gazes of the crowd, Shi Qin was slapped hard by Qin Zhen again.

Three times in a row. Shi Qin’s originally fair face was already red and swollen. Seeing this, some of the staff couldn’t help but sigh.

And when she turned her gaze and saw the faint, almost-there smile on Qin Zhen’s lips, a surge of anger and humiliation rose in her heart. A sourness constantly welled up, and for a moment, it even brought tears to her eyes.

And on the side, Jiang Nuo’s and Zhou Jinsi’s expressions were naturally not much better.

Jiang Nuo’s brows were deeply furrowed, her gaze holding a depth never seen before, while Zhou Jinsi’s fists were clenched, her breathing a little unsteady due to her anger.

Seeing Shi Qin walk to a corner, Zhou Jinsi was about to go over to show her concern when she suddenly saw an extremely beautiful woman walk up to her.

Her figure was also slender and tall, her presence outstanding, like a lotus that could only be admired from a distance, with a cold and glamorous feel.

But when she looked at Shi Qin, her face was full of gentleness.

And Shi Qin, looking at the woman before her, was a little dazed. After reacting, she said politely, “Teacher Ji…”

Ji Chen’s gaze was warm, fixed on the red and swollen part of her face. Her rosy, thin lips parted lightly. “Are you okay? It must hurt a lot, right?”

“Huh?” Faced with Ji Chen’s sudden concern, Shi Qin was a little stunned.

Before she could answer, her wrist was encircled by a cool palm, and then held tight.

“Let’s go. To the dressing room. I’ll have my assistant go buy some ice to help you apply it. It’ll be quick.”