Chapter 2: I Can’t Film Your Scenes (2)

Yao Lan went to the door and opened it. Ji Ruanqing was leaning against the wall outside. Yao Lan put on her usual smile. “What is it?”

“Want to get something to eat? I’m craving crab pot.” Ji Ruanqing’s eyes lit up, and she swallowed without thinking.

“It’s only three.” Yao Lan thought she must have misread the time and checked again.

“I didn’t get up until one.” Ji Ruanqing blinked at her. “I’m already hungry.”

She even rubbed her stomach a couple of times.

“Honestly, Ji Ruanqing is… full of surprises.” Koukou sighed. Nothing about her looked like someone who’d nearly made another person unable to have kids on the spot.

Yao Lan wanted to refuse, but she remembered her Quest and nodded. She had to keep on good terms with her target.

“Your smile has no warmth today. Has your love for me finally disappeared?” Ji Ruanqing clutched her chest and looked at Yao Lan.

Yao Lan studied Ji Ruanqing. She’d met her before, at the annual meeting in System Space, and the woman she’d seen there had been completely different. Was it because she was only a Soul Fragment now?

They headed out together, and Yao Lan brought her umbrella along.

“When did you buy this? I’ve never seen it before.” Ji Ruanqing eyed the umbrella curiously.

“Online.”

“It’s pretty nice. But… does it actually block the sun?”

Yao Lan opened it, shading Ji Ruanqing beneath its canopy. Ji Ruanqing froze, then stared up at the umbrella in surprise. “Where did you get it? Can you send me the link? I want one too.”

“It’s a globally limited edition. There’s only one.”

Yao Lan had hoped the remark might jog Ji Ruanqing’s memory. But the woman clearly couldn’t remember a thing. Yao Lan was afraid that explaining why she was here outright might do her harm, given how unstable her mind was.

Ji Ruanqing was already fragile enough to have become a Soul Fragment.

Ji Ruanqing: “…”

“Are you saying you don’t want us to have matching umbrellas?”

“Which restaurant should we go to?” Yao Lan asked, promptly changing the subject when Ji Ruanqing pouted.

Ji Ruanqing stared at Yao Lan’s profile but didn’t answer.

Yao Lan didn’t look at her. When the other woman remained silent, she went on, “Then let’s try the closest one. It has a 4.8 rating, so it should be decent.”

“Sure.” Ji Ruanqing narrowed her eyes at Yao Lan. “You really are a lot colder to me today. It’s weird.”

This time, Yao Lan glanced at her.

The Main God had directly altered the data. An ordinary AI wouldn’t notice when a person had changed. Ji Ruanqing’s data had been altered too, and she was only a Soul Fragment living inside it. She was still affected by the AI hosting her. Yao Lan hadn’t expected her to be so perceptive.

Yao Lan didn’t deny it. They took the subway to the mall. She was still wearing the sunglasses that made her look like she hated everyone. She didn’t actually like wearing them; she just couldn’t be bothered to act with her eyes. It was easier to fake a smile with only her mouth, and the glasses kept people from reading her thoughts.

She’d bought them from the System Mall. They were plain, ridiculously expensive fashion glasses that could switch between clear lenses, sunglasses, and even no lenses at all, perfect for eating hotpot. They came in all sorts of styles, which made them very convenient for someone like her.

When she’d bought them, the sales count had been zero. Afterward, it was one. The number hadn’t changed since. Yao Lan couldn’t remember how many years it had been.

Ji Ruanqing seemed to be about three years old. She couldn’t sit still for a second, touching this and looking at that, then turning to pull Yao Lan into conversation.

No, she couldn’t be three. The actual three-year-old sitting across from them was perfectly well-behaved, quiet and calm.

Yao Lan glanced at Ji Ruanqing. “Let’s play a game. If you can sit here quietly until we get off, I’ll buy you some candy.”

Ji Ruanqing: “??”

“You think I’m three? I get it. You think I’m annoying.” Ji Ruanqing sighed. “It’s fine. I’ll stop bothering you.”

She lowered her head and put on a wounded expression.

Yao Lan adjusted her glasses. “I get the feeling you studied acting.”

“I’m genuinely upset, and you think I’m putting on a show?”

Yao Lan was silent for two seconds. Her emotions really are all over the place.

“I’m just tired. We’re here. Let’s go.” When the subway doors opened, Yao Lan breathed a sigh of relief.

Ji Ruanqing followed behind her. “Should we get the chicken feet pot or the chicken wings pot? Last time we got mild, and it wasn’t spicy at all. How about extra spicy this time?”

“Either’s fine. Whatever you want.” Yao Lan gave her standard smile again, though she couldn’t see why they’d jump straight from mild to extra spicy.

Ji Ruanqing narrowed her eyes. “All right.”

Once they were inside, Ji Ruanqing spent five minutes deciding, then ordered a large extra-spicy chicken feet pot, two bottles of iced cola, and a serving of crispy pork.

Yao Lan glanced over the menu and got a rough idea of how much Ji Ruanqing could eat.

“All the applications I sent out this month got rejected again. And some people want my entire screenplay. As if I’m an idiot who’d just hand it over to anyone.” Ji Ruanqing propped her chin on her hand.

Over the past two years, the two of them had managed to save quite a bit, more than a hundred thousand yuan. It would’ve been enough to shoot a low-budget film. The problem was that even if they got it past the censors, no theater would show it. As for online movies, the platforms wouldn’t dare take one.

They’d even considered starting their own account, since they were both beautiful and distinctive-looking.

But almost every account they opened was shut down within days. After the third time, they’d understood. Someone didn’t want their names or faces appearing on public platforms.

“Go abroad,” Yao Lan said. “I doubt the Lin Family can reach that far.”

She pushed up her clear glasses and took a sip of cola.

“But, Sister, we don’t have any money.”

Yao Lan checked her Points balance. There wasn’t much left. Right before coming here, she’d bought the System’s latest massage chair, which had emptied her account. Otherwise, she could’ve exchanged some Points for local currency.

Koukou said, “I told you to save some.”

Yao Lan remained calm. “We can get by without Points.”

The food arrived, a huge pot piled high. Yao Lan picked up a chicken foot. It tasted pretty good, deeply flavorful, with soft, tender meat. She glanced at Ji Ruanqing and caught a glimpse of her rather twisted expression.

“This is way too spicy!” Ji Ruanqing’s mouth fell open. She frantically fanned it with her hand, then took a huge gulp of cola.

Yao Lan had guessed as much. She picked up another chicken foot.

“Doesn’t it taste spicy to you?”

“Not really. It’s pretty mild.” Yao Lan said, “If it’s too spicy for you, we can order another pot.”

Ji Ruanqing: “…”

“Forget it. I can eat it. We’re not exactly rolling in money. Sob.” Ji Ruanqing looked at Yao Lan again. “You could’ve warned me.”

Yao Lan paused, her expression serious. “I thought you wanted to challenge yourself.”

Ji Ruanqing: “??”

In the end, Ji Ruanqing ordered a pot of plain hot water and rinsed each bite in it before eating. Yao Lan had only managed a few pieces before stopping.

“The rest of the pot is all yours.”

“Okay.” Ji Ruanqing’s face was bright red from the spice.

Yao Lan watched her for a moment, then leaned back in her chair and started scrolling through her phone.

“Does the Lin Family have any enemies?”

“No. As long as there’s money to be made, everyone’s friends,” Koukou replied.

“Tch.” Yao Lan glanced at Ji Ruanqing. “What are the odds that a big-name director would take an interest in her screenplay?”

“Her screenplay is good, but you’d be better off helping her revise it. You should’ve taken that skill earlier. My advice is to make some changes, then look for a chance to meet Yuan Chan.”

“Yuan Chan?” Yao Lan searched through the original host’s memories.

“That’s right. She was a director when she was young and won quite a few international awards. After she turned forty, she went back to inherit the family business.

“Her family strongly opposed her becoming a director, so she left under an assumed name and started out as an assistant director. She went through a lot.

“She said that if she’d pursued a normal career in entertainment, she could’ve become famous ten years earlier. That’s why she hates the way the industry exploits people. She’s helped quite a few, too.”

Yao Lan considered that. “If she won’t let me see it, can I write a screenplay myself?”

“We’re here to complete the Quest, not build your own career. She comes first.” Koukou sounded helpless. “She’s the one who writes screenplays. If you write one, where does that leave her?”

Yao Lan put her phone away, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at Ji Ruanqing. To make Ji Ruanqing’s memory fragment willing to leave this world, Yao Lan had thought it over in her room. Either Ji Ruanqing had to become disillusioned with this world, or she had to believe in herself enough to want to follow Yao Lan out of it.

Honestly, Yao Lan thought the first option would be easier.

She was very good at making people despair.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ji Ruanqing asked as she took the rest of Yao Lan’s cola and poured it into her own cup. “I’m done eating.”

“Oh. Can I take a look at that screenplay of yours?”

“I’ve written a lot of screenplays. Which one?” Ji Ruanqing gulped down some cola, then drew a deep breath. “God, that’s spicy.”

“The one you want to make into a movie,” Yao Lan said. “We can talk it over and see if we can get in touch with Yuan Chan.”

The smile faded from Ji Ruanqing’s face.

Yao Lan furrowed her brow. “What is it?”

“I went to see her.” Ji Ruanqing turned her cup in her hands. “They stopped me at the gate. The guard said Yuan Chan had helped a lot of people before, so all kinds of people kept coming to see her. Plenty of them didn’t even need help, so…”

“Yuan Chan has a daughter.”

Ji Ruanqing looked around, leaned closer, and lowered her voice. “You’re not thinking of kidnapping her, are you?”

Yao Lan: “??”

“What are you thinking?” Yao Lan felt that Ji Ruanqing’s mind was seriously messed up.

“Oh, you scared me.” Ji Ruanqing leaned back again. “Then what do you want to do?”

Yao Lan traced the edge of the plastic tablecloth. “Koukou, can I take out a Points Loan?”

“Why not sell some of your useless stuff instead?”

“Nonsense. What do I have that’s useless?”

“Hmm…” Koukou thought it over. “For example, that gym you haven’t set foot in for a hundred years. Last time you went, it wasn’t to work out. The System Mall had new equipment, so you bought that.”

Yao Lan: “…”