Chapter 88

Wang Linlin didn’t sit for long before she left with the script she had brought over, returning it untouched.

Half an hour later, Leng Xiang received the script and the director’s contact information from Jiang Sisi.

The director thanked her profusely and nervously. He explained that urban family ethics dramas without romantic subplots could potentially explode in popularity if done well these days, but if they fell short—even just a little—the script would feel like chicken ribs: tasteless to eat but a shame to discard. They were unstable, not guaranteed to break even, and not worth the risk.

As a newly minted A-list actress fresh off a breakout hit, Leng Xiang was the last person the director expected to take on such a down-to-earth project.

Leng Xiang discussed it with the director over the phone and tentatively agreed to take the script. They scheduled a detailed meeting for the following week to iron out the rest.

She still preferred physical script copies, and she had a small printer at home, so she printed it out.

The script was quite thick. She weighed it in her hand before settling onto the sofa to read it slowly.

As evening approached, she whipped up a simple meal for herself. After eating, she returned to the sofa to continue reading.

The script was a major family ethics drama, focusing on the petty, everyday squabbles of married life.

These days, the higher-ups loved grounded topics like this—ideally ones that imparted life lessons, brimming with love, care, and humanistic sentiment.

Leng Xiang grew tired of reading and picked up her phone to check the time.

It was Friday, exactly eight o’clock in the evening.

She had a nagging feeling that she’d forgotten something.

Suddenly, it hit her. Leng Xiang bolted upright from the sofa, stood up, and began frantically searching for the TV remote.

Since moving into this apartment, she had never watched TV and wasn’t even sure if the set worked.

If it didn’t, she could check for a network live stream.

She remembered now: every Friday at eight, prime time on the TV station, it was the live broadcast of Welcome to Star.

She hadn’t watched the show in ages. Back when she was fifteen or sixteen, she adored Jiang Sisi’s hosting. Later, she finally got on the program as a guest, only to get roasted off it. After that, she developed a one-sided grudge against Jiang Sisi—until a few months ago, when they ended up on the same crew. By then, Jiang Sisi had started directing a movie and stopped hosting.

This was supposed to be Jiang Sisi’s first episode back hosting Welcome to Star this year.

Leng Xiang finally dug the remote out from under the coffee table cabinet. She yanked the dust cloth off the TV, turned it on, and tuned to the right channel.

On the screen, Jiang Sisi was already greeting the guests for this episode.

The guest on this installment of Welcome to Star was Luo Pi, an old acquaintance of Jiang Sisi’s.

Leng Xiang sat on the sofa and casually grabbed a bag of chips from nearby, munching away with crisp crunches as she watched Jiang Sisi and Luo Pi chat amiably.

Jiang Sisi smiled and said, “Miss Luo, your starring role in this year’s movie Youth Tour broke the ten-billion-yuan box office mark. It was a real blockbuster opener for domestic films. What are your thoughts on that success?”

Luo Pi smiled serenely and politely replied, “Teacher Jiang, what are your thoughts on directing Youth Tour to a ten-billion box office and raking in the profits?”

The live audience and chat exploded with laughter.

The mutual promotion between these two felt utterly insincere.

Leng Xiang laughed too.

Jiang Sisi sat in the host’s individual armchair, while Luo Pi occupied the guest sofa opposite her. Luo Pi said, “Teacher Jiang, don’t call me Miss Luo anymore—it sounds so awkward. Just call me Luo Pi like you used to.”

Jiang Sisi smiled and called out, “Luo Pi.”

Leng Xiang’s smile froze instantly. Her face twisted into a grimace as she crushed the chip bag in her grip.

As the rumors said, Jiang Sisi truly had a harem of three thousand—men and women alike. It felt like she had something going with everyone in the entertainment industry.

Leng Xiang thought sourly: Youth Tour was inspired by Luo Pi, Luxury Goods by herself. Now that she was Jiang Sisi’s girlfriend, what did that make Luo Pi? Who would inspire Jiang Sisi’s next film? Some other woman? Or maybe a man—she’d shown plenty of interest in Qin Yang. Back during Love Diary, the first time they met him, she’d talked about collaborating someday.

The more she thought, the sourer she got—even the chips tasted tangy. She tossed the bag aside listlessly.

Tch, the more she dwelled on it, the more off it felt.

Welcome to Star used to be a variety show with games for guests, but Jiang Sisi had grown tired, so it shifted to pure interviews. The episodes were short, only half an hour, ending at eight-thirty.

Leng Xiang watched the whole thing. Next up was the recently exploding drama series. She watched the male and female leads confess their love in the rain, embracing and sobbing dramatically, her face expressionless as she snatched the chip bag back and resumed crunching away.

Why had she so foolishly turned down that sixty-eight-episode idol romance?

Just because Jiang Sisi said a few words, she’d jumped to another drama? How dense was she?

Besides, Jiang Sisi could have her harem of three thousand, men and women—why couldn’t she do a romance idol drama?

Leng Xiang huffed in frustration, grabbed a throw pillow, hugged it tight, and buried her face in it.

Why did she like Jiang Sisi this much…

The TV leads finished their tearful embrace, and commercials rolled. Bored, Leng Xiang changed the channel.

Nothing good was on anymore.

She stared blankly at the TV when her phone suddenly rang.

Leng Xiang pulled the phone over and glanced at the screen.

Jiang Sisi calling.

She rolled her eyes at the name.

Slag.

She picked up, snappishly asking, “What?”

Jiang Sisi had apparently just wrapped recording. The other end was noisy at first, but then she covered the phone and stepped out of the live studio, quieting things down.

Jiang Sisi said, “Nothing, just… missing you a bit.”

With a smile in her voice, she added, “What’d you have for dinner?”

Leng Xiang’s heart instantly softened, sweet little bubbles rising in her chest.

Harem of three thousand or not, men and women—it was all fake. The main palace spot was hers alone.

Leng Xiang said, “I boiled some noodles.”

She asked in return, “You?”

Jiang Sisi complained, “I haven’t eaten anything.”

She continued, “With the eight o’clock show, no one even reminded me. I didn’t even know who the guest was—they thought I was editing footage and skipping it. I argued with that fatso and only remembered around six. No time for dinner.”

Leng Xiang vaguely heard someone calling out to Jiang Sisi on the other end: “Teacher Jiang, want to grab some late-night snacks?”

Jiang Sisi covered the phone and replied, then said to Leng Xiang, “They’re asking me to join for night snacks. You coming?”

Leng Xiang listened closely—that voice sounded just like Luo Pi’s.

Alarms blared in her head. She shot up from the sofa—”whoosh”—glanced at her pajamas, and dashed to the bedroom to change, decisively saying, “Coming.”

Jiang Sisi said, “You at home? I’ll pick you up.”

Leng Xiang replied, “No, stay put. I’ll come to you—eat something first.”

As she rummaged through her closet, she added, “Send me the address.”

Jiang Sisi chuckled. “Okay.”

…

The TV station was on South Third Ring Road, not far from Black Pool Bar or Jiang Sisi’s apartment. Nearby was a famous barbecue joint, renowned enough to rent out three full floors—upper, middle, and lower—in this prime real estate area. Their grilled fish and skewers were legendary. Everyone from the station solved their late-night cravings here, and delivery orders constantly streamed into the building.

Fans supposedly staked out the place perfectly—who knew when their idol might show up in baggy shorts, a floral tank top, and flip-flops for a midnight munch.

By nine-something at night, the shop wasn’t too crowded yet, with empty private rooms available.

Jiang Sisi sat with two male editors from her production team, plus today’s guest Luo Pi—four of them at a small table for late-night eats.

Jiang Sisi ordered herself a bowl of porridge and, recalling what Leng Xiang usually ate on set, added a few light snacks for her.

The two editors were skewer fanatics and went wild on the menu. Soon, platters of grilled sticks arrived.

Luo Pi noticed Jiang Sisi ordering snacks she wouldn’t normally touch, like golden cakes. Jiang Sisi had a sensitive stomach and avoided greasy, spicy stuff—especially these deep-fried bites rolled in oil.

Without batting an eye, Luo Pi smiled and asked, “Teacher Jiang, changed your tastes lately?”

Jiang Sisi said, “Someone else is coming soon. Ordered for her—she likes them.”

Luo Pi paused.

Moments later, Jiang Sisi’s phone rang.

She set down her porridge and headed out, saying into the phone, “You here? Where are you? Stay put—I’ll come get you.”

Leng Xiang stood in a corner by the barbecue shop’s entrance, crowds milling about. She tugged her mask higher, leaving only her dark eyes visible.

Jiang Sisi emerged from the shop and spotted her immediately.

She walked over, leaned in, and kissed Leng Xiang’s masked lips.

Taking her hand, Jiang Sisi led her inside. “Cold?”

“Not cold.” Leng Xiang shook her head, mumbling, “How’d you recognize me?”

Jiang Sisi smiled. “Mask or no mask—even if you wrapped up head to toe, I’d know you.”

Leng Xiang said, “That magical?”

Jiang Sisi replied, “Yeah. That night you came to Black Pool Bar in a mask? Spotted you right away.”

She added, “I still remember your first time on my show—five or six years ago? You were young, so cocky. Thought you were adorable.”

Leng Xiang flushed at the black history blast and swatted at her in annoyance.

Jiang Sisi laughed, caught her hand. “Come on.”

Jiang Sisi brought Leng Xiang into the private room. Leng Xiang scanned the group: two men and one woman—the woman had to be Luo Pi.

After Jiang Sisi’s birthday party, her circle pretty much knew Leng Xiang was her girlfriend. Word spread—one to ten, ten to a hundred. Her colleagues at the station had heard the gist. Folks in the TV system tended to keep their mouths shut, so as long as it didn’t leak further, no big deal.

The two editors knew Leng Xiang and greeted her.

Luo Pi hadn’t made it to the birthday and hadn’t met Leng Xiang, but she’d heard mentions. She glanced at her a few extra times.

Leng Xiang looked back.

Their eyes met in the air.

Luo Pi extended her hand first. “Hi, I’m Luo Pi.”

Leng Xiang reached out, smiling. “Leng Xiang, Jiang Sisi’s girlfriend.”

Luo Pi froze.

The atmosphere tensed instantly, a faint whiff of gunpowder in the air.