Chapter 28

Those soft lips had originally been within inches of her, but when a noise came from the doorway, Leng Xiang instinctively lifted her gaze and swiftly got off her.

She then put two meters of distance between them directly.

It felt just like getting caught in an affair.

Leng Xiang kept her composure on the surface, standing to the side with an indifferent expression.

But from Jiang Sisi’s angle, it was easy to see that Leng Xiang’s ears were bright red.

Those small, delicate earlobes had been a pale pink just before the kiss, but now they were a vivid crimson, as if dripping with blood, looking extremely embarrassed and mortified.

Getting caught in the middle of something like that—with Leng Xiang’s thin skin—meant that just her ears turning red was already the result of her utmost efforts to hide it.

Yet Leng Xiang couldn’t just leave. She wanted to escape this awkward situation, but the person who had pushed open the door was already inside. If she left right now, it would only seem even stranger.

She could only pretend as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Sisi sighed inwardly.

Sigh.

But she hadn’t even gotten any benefit out of it.

She had been just a tiny bit away from kissing her…

Jiang Sisi turned her head to look at Leng Xiang’s flushed ears; that bright color lingered without fading.

Jiang Sisi sighed inwardly again.

With skin this thin, how was she going to act in her new film later…

Jiang Sisi looked up at the person who had just entered and suddenly remembered that she had an appointment with someone today.

What a coincidence—why did they have to come in right at this moment…

The person who entered was Pei Shuang, the female lead she had settled on for her new film.

Back when Jiang Sisi had gone to the TV station’s downstairs studio to help Leng Xiang out of a jam, she had watched them audition for quite a while.

Pei Shuang was pretty in that delicate, misty Jiangnan beauty way—like a refined lady from a small household. She had been on variety shows and acted in movies, but strangely, she never quite made it big. Still, she didn’t seem to care much about fame.

When Jiang Sisi selected actors, she didn’t prioritize acting skills first—those could be polished under her guidance. What mattered most was whether their innate image fit the character.

Otherwise, no matter how talented Yu Shan was, she never would have gotten into her previous film’s crew.

She had recommended Lu Rui for the female supporting role that Yu Shan had vacated, and that was partly selfish on her part.

Because Pei Shuang perfectly matched the image for the female supporting role in her new film.

After watching that day’s audition, she had quickly contacted Pei Shuang, asking if she had the schedule and was willing to join her crew. Pei Shuang had been surprised but said she had the availability and was interested.

It was great news.

They had chatted for a while and felt it would work, so they scheduled today for her to come sign the papers and make it official.

So Pei Shuang had come over today.

She had knocked on the door outside just now, but there was no response from inside for a long time, and the door wasn’t fully closed, so she pushed it open to see what was going on.

She never imagined she would walk in on this scene.

Pei Shuang instinctively glanced at Leng Xiang, who was standing two meters away. If she wasn’t mistaken when she first entered…

Leng Xiang had been sitting on Jiang Sisi’s lap.

Had she stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have…

Pei Shuang turned her gaze back, saying nothing about what had just happened, pretending she was blind.

She said to Jiang Sisi, “Teacher Jiang.”

Jiang Sisi nodded. “Miss Pei.”

Jiang Sisi snapped out of the ambiguous mood in a second, switching back to work mode. She stood up from the sofa and sat down in her office chair.

Jiang Sisi rummaged on the desk and found two documents. She said to Leng Xiang, who was still standing two meters away, “Miss Leng, come over here as well.”

Her tone was polite and courteous; the frivolous, teasing Jiang Sisi from moments ago had vanished.

As if nothing had happened at all.

Leng Xiang walked over and stood with Pei Shuang.

Pei Shuang glanced up at her again. Leng Xiang noticed her gaze and nodded at her in greeting.

Pei Shuang hurriedly lowered her head.

At this point, Jiang Sisi spread out the two documents and pushed them in front of them.

She said, “These are your contracts. Take a look, and if they’re fine, just sign.”

What?

Leng Xiang was baffled. She looked up at Jiang Sisi, then lowered her head to flip through the document.

Pei Shuang seemed calm; the contract in her hands was for the female supporting role with Shiyue Studio.

She had come over precisely for this.

Jiang Sisi said, “The pay is clearly marked based on the amount of scenes. All actors under me get the same rates. If you have any issues, feel free to raise them.”

Though Jiang Sisi’s crews were famous for boosting actors’ value, she never set pay based on market worth.

She priced based on scene difficulty and quantity. Take it if you could afford it; no pressure if not, and no extras.

Pei Shuang glanced at the price on the contract and nodded, indicating no issues—she could accept it.

She wasn’t famous, so her worth wasn’t high to begin with. The price Jiang Sisi offered was double what she had expected.

Leng Xiang looked at the contract in her hands.

It was written in black and white, crystal clear: a labor contract between her and Shiyue Studio for the filming of Luxury Goods.

And Luxury Goods was exactly the name of the script Shen Cheng had sent her that morning.

The terms clearly outlined both parties’ responsibilities.

Leng Xiang skimmed the dense clauses and flipped to the last page.

Article 48 of this contract: Party A shall pay Party B RMB 7,653,100 as full remuneration for Party B’s filming period.

Jiang Sisi watched her stare at that number for a long time and explained, “Don’t think it’s too low. It was originally ten million, but after deducting the over two million you owe me, this is what’s left. If you’re not assured, I can give you an itemized list.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Everything was prepared meticulously; even that ridiculous fraction at the end of the amount on the contract seemed like proof of Jiang Sisi’s premeditation.

Leng Xiang said, “Then what you just did…”

So that whole thing earlier was just her toying with her?

What exactly was Jiang Sisi trying to do?

Pei Shuang beside them moved quickly. Sensing the odd tension between the two, she swiftly reviewed all the contract terms. They had discussed this at length over WeChat already and found no problems, so she picked up the pen and signed.

Pei Shuang said, “My agent will handle the rest. I received the script this morning—it’s a good one. I’ll wait for the notice to join the crew.”

Pei Shuang bowed her head. “Teacher Jiang, I’ll be in your care from now on.”

Pei Shuang wisely didn’t linger, taking her contract and leaving after signing.

Leng Xiang looked at her and said, “What exactly do you mean by this?”

Jiang Sisi tapped the contract with her finger. “I said it already—you’re the female lead in my new film, so you are the female lead in my new film. That’s never going to change.”