She’s provoking me.
Jian You stood silently, interpreting the unfriendly gaze Jiang Yu sent her way, and arrived at this conclusion. Then, quite naturally, she found the source of the provocation.
Yun Chu, who was still standing under her umbrella.
“Waiting for me?” Yun Chu was a bit stunned by Jiang Yu’s directness. Those uncertain feelings were making a comeback. She noticed many fans looking their way, some even setting up their long-lens cameras to take pictures. I can’t let things stay this tense, she thought, so she feigned a relaxed tone. “Didn’t I say we’d meet in the cafeteria at noon?”
Jiang Yu said, “Yes, but I wanted to see you sooner.”
Yun Chu: “?”
“Yun Chu,” Jian You suddenly spoke.
“Yes?” Yun Chu looked over.
Jian You was heading to her studio today, dressed in a sophisticated style. A short black jacket with an arrangement of white buttons, paired with black long boots that made her legs look long and straight.
As she spoke, her profile was cold and calm. “Remember to come get the clothes you changed out of last night.”
Yun Chu: “Oh…”
Before leaving that morning, Jian You had taken her to the walk-in closet and picked out clothes for her to try on, one outfit after another. Eventually, Yun Chu got tired of changing, put on one set, and refused to take it off no matter what. She then sincerely recommended a dress-up mobile game to Jian You.
Jian You snorted lightly. “I don’t play games.”
“Also,” Jian You interrupted Yun Chu’s recollection and continued, “the way you folded the quilt this morning was terrible.”
“Huh?”
The last time she’d learned to fold a quilt was during military training in college. She had folded it into a perfect “tofu block” and was even named a model cadet. But that was four or five years ago. It wasn’t necessary to be so strict in daily life, right?
Yun Chu obediently promised, “I’ll definitely fold it properly next time.”
Jian You hummed in acknowledgment. “I’m leaving.”
Just before leaving, she paused, pushed the umbrella handle into Yun Chu’s palm, and then calmly walked into the rain. Yun Chu stood there blankly, holding the umbrella. Two seconds later, she came to her senses and tried to chase after her, but Jiang Yu grabbed her by the wrist.
“Don’t you dare stage a cheesy scene of ‘you see me off, I see you off’ at the company entrance,” Jiang Yu reminded her. “So many people are watching.”
Yun Chu glanced to the side.
The onlookers were blatant, not even trying to hide their cameras and phones. They were afraid of missing a single analyzable micro-expression that would prevent those not present from having a good gossip session.
Jian You, however, was completely unfazed by the stares and lenses. Living up to her aloof reputation, no one dared to approach her for an autograph. They could only watch as she drove away.
Finally, they reluctantly aimed their lenses back at Yun Chu, who was still watching Jian You leave, and sighed with a click of their tongues. “What kind of magical show is Little Tricks for Love? A thousand-year-old iron tree like Jian You is actually blooming!”
Jiang Yu tugged on Yun Chu’s wrist. “Let’s go in?”
The building’s door was fingerprint-locked, so outsiders couldn’t get in. It was past the start of the workday, so the lobby was quiet, with only the clattering sound of the receptionist typing on a keyboard.
Seeing Jiang Yu enter, the receptionist greeted her, “Good morning, President Jiang.”
Yun Chu slipped the umbrella into a plastic sleeve and walked toward the elevators. Only then did she remember to ask Jiang Yu, “Why are you acting so weird today? Saying you wanted to see me sooner… it’s so cheesy, it’s killing me!”
“What?” Jiang Yu put an arm around her shoulders. “We haven’t seen each other in so long. Am I not allowed to miss you?”
“You can, I guess.” Yun Chu wriggled out of her embrace, shaking off a wave of goosebumps. “But with our sexual orientations being what they are, you acting like this could easily cause a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstand what?”
“That you like me, of course.” Yun Chu’s acting class was on the ninth floor. She pressed the button for nine, then pressed fifteen for Jiang Yu, and continued, “Did the company decide to give me some special treatment because I’m going to be in Jian You’s movie, so they had you come pick me up personally?”
Jiang Yu said helplessly, “I really did miss you.”
Yun Chu: “…I get it.”
Jiang Yu: “Get what?”
Yun Chu: “You must not have a good wingman for picking up girls at the bar, right?”
Jiang Yu rolled her eyes.
Yun Chu: “Stop that. There are security cameras in the elevator. It’ll ruin your noble and aloof image, President Jiang.”
Jiang Yu: “Ninth floor. Get out.”
Yun Chu grinned. “Alrighty! See you in the cafeteria at noon. If there are chicken legs, grab one for me! Thanks, thanks!”
Jiang Yu feigned impatience. “I know.”
The elevator doors slowly closed. Only then did she close her eyes and sigh. I really do miss Yun Chu, she thought. Why doesn’t she believe me?
Mangosteen Entertainment held acting classes every day. Depending on the schedule, some were taught by the company’s own acting coaches, while others were led by famous instructors from acting academies. Whenever Yun Chu had free time, she would book a class on the company’s mini-program.
Including her, there were a total of six people in this class. The other five were trainees, and upon seeing her, they all greeted her with, “Hello, Senior.”
Yun Chu smiled back. “Hello.”
Then, she bowed to the teacher sitting in front of the mirror, who was wearing reading glasses. “Hello, Teacher Qu!”
In the film industry, there were two titans, known as “Zhang of the North and Qu of the South.” Zhang was Zhang Chenyao, Jian You’s mentor from the Bei City Film Academy. Qu was the woman before her now: Professor Qu Yan, who had emerged from the world of stage plays, won the world’s highest film award for a movie she wrote, directed, and starred in, and then returned to the stage.
Professor Qu was past sixty, but because she took good care of herself, she looked to be only in her early forties. Hearing Yun Chu’s voice, she adjusted her reading glasses. “Isn’t this Xiao Chu?”
The trainees, who had been so intimidated by Qu Yan’s presence that they only dared to sit quietly to the side, exchanged glances.
Xiao Chu?
Yun Chu actually knew Professor Qu Yan?
Yun Chu’s mouth twitched. In a tiny voice, she said, “Grandma Qu…”
Qu Yan had met her grandmother, Ding Linping, in a theater troupe when they were eighteen. The two girls hit it off immediately and became best friends. Their bond never faded, not through marriage and childbirth, nor even when they had grandchildren playing at their knees.
Qu Yan asked, puzzled, “Didn’t Pingping say she was going to break your legs?”
Yun Chu: “…”
The eavesdropping trainees: “!!!”
Who’s Pingping! She sounds so brutal! How could she bear to harm Senior Yun Chu’s beautiful, long legs!
Yun Chu’s voice was still very quiet. “You know how she exaggerates…”
“You little rascal!”
Qu Yan had watched Yun Chu grow up and doted on her like her own granddaughter. Yun Chu had a talent for acting, and Qu Yan cherished that talent. She understood why Ding Linping wanted her to return to the stage.
But everyone has their own ambitions. Yun Chu just wanted to make it in the entertainment industry, acting in TV series and films. Qu Yan had tried to persuade Ding Linping but naturally failed, and was even warned not to pull any strings for Yun Chu.
“Aiya, Grandma Qu, I came specifically for your class today. Please don’t scold me.”
Yun Chu was a sweet-talker. In just a few sentences, she made Qu Yan laugh. “Really?”
“Of course!” Yun Chu said. “Your classes at the film academy are impossible to get into. Our company went to great lengths to invite you, so of course I had to come.”
“You, you just know what to say.” Qu Yan poked her forehead, then her expression turned serious. “Alright, let’s begin the class.”
Qu Yan’s class was truly excellent, but the five trainees who had been lucky enough to get a spot couldn’t calm their racing hearts. They ended up getting caught zoning out and were scolded by Qu Yan before the class finally ended.
The moment class was over, the five of them immediately huddled together.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
“Cursing. Points deducted.”
“Fuck off, stop trying to report me. Aren’t you shocked?”
“Holy shit!”
“…”
“That’s Professor Qu! What’s Senior Yun Chu’s background? How is she so familiar with Professor Qu?!”
“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?”
“Speaking of which, before class, I saw a post online saying President Jiang picked up Senior Yun Chu downstairs today. Netizens are all calling Senior Yun Chu a ‘royal’.”
“…With a connection like Professor Qu, why would she even care about being a ‘royal’ at Mangosteen Entertainment?”
“Mm, you have a good point.”
“Don’t say it again.”
Qu Yan had plans to go to Qingyao Alley to admire the plum blossoms that evening, so she didn’t eat at the cafeteria. Before leaving, she repeatedly reminded Yun Chu that even though she was on a dating show, she needed to keep her eyes open and judge people carefully, and not just like anyone. Finally, she added with an “oh,” “Jian You is a good one.”
Yun Chu puffed up with pride as if she were the one being praised. “Right? I think Teacher Jian is great too!”
Qu Yan tapped her on the forehead. “Don’t make your grandma angry anymore.”
Yun Chu said coaxingly, “I know!”
After Qu Yan left, Yun Chu slowly took the stairs up to the tenth-floor cafeteria. It was lunchtime, and the cafeteria was crowded with people coming and going. Jiang Yu was waiting for her in a booth by the window.
The food was already prepared. Two chicken legs lay on the tray. Jiang Yu gestured for her to sit. “Sit.”
This greeting drew sideways glances.
“Damn, is President Jiang waiting for Yun Chu?”
“What’s going on? President Jiang… President Jiang isn’t gay, is she?”
“You’ve been spending too much time on the forums, haven’t you? It’s one thing for the internet to gossip about love triangles and dramatic showdowns, but how could our President Jiang possibly be gay?”
“Isn’t there a rumor that the company is going to heavily promote Yun Chu? Fans of other celebrities are already protesting, frantically @-ing our company’s official account on social media.”
“But Yun Chu’s acting is actually pretty good. She had bad luck the past couple of years, but now she’s finally made it. Her professional skills aren’t trash, so you can’t really call her a ‘royal,’ can you?”
“Damn, President Jiang isn’t even eating, just watching Yun Chu eat.”
…
Yun Chu finished gnawing on a chicken leg, wiped her mouth, and met Jiang Yu’s gaze. “Why aren’t you eating?”
Jiang Yu answered with a non-sequitur: “The bar we usually go to has a new resident singer. She’s super hot, great personality, and has a really nice voice. Want to go check her out?”
Yun Chu shook her head. “Already have a wife. No more messing around.”
Jiang Yu laughed. “Where did this wife come from?”
Yun Chu tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Okay, she’s not yet. But she will be, sooner or later!”
Jiang Yu asked, “Jian You?”
“I know you don’t like her.” Yun Chu started tackling the other chicken leg. “But it’s enough that I like her. I’m the one who’s going to be in a relationship with her, anyway.”
“Is she that great?” Jiang Yu took a bite of rice.
“Of course,” Yun Chu’s eyes sparkled when she mentioned Jian You. “Don’t just see Teacher Jian being all cold and distant and think she’s some unattainable flower on a high peak. She’s actually very gentle.”
“How is she gentle? By sleeping with you and then leaving?”
“Why bring that up?” Yun Chu’s face flushed, and she mumbled quietly, “Besides, I was the one who ran off first back then.”
“But she didn’t look for you, either.” Jiang Yu poked right at her sore spot. “Someone must have seen you when you took her away, right? If she wanted to find you, she could have just asked a few people. But she didn’t.”
Obviously, Jian You had just treated it as a moment of pre-graduation indulgence and didn’t care who her partner was.
Yun Chu put down her chopsticks. “Are you annoying or what?”
Jiang Yu smiled. “Not at all.”
Yun Chu glared at her.
Jiang Yu’s smile faded. “Seriously, it’s my birthday today. Come have a drink with me tonight.”
Yun Chu’s expression softened a little. “It’s your birthday today? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I didn’t even prepare a gift.”
Jiang Yu: “No need. Just coming to the bar with me is enough.”
“Ooh~~” Yun Chu said knowingly. “I get it. You want to go to the bar to see the resident singer, don’t you? You’ve got your eye on her? Fine, I’ll be your wingman one more time!”
“So it’s a deal?”
“Yep!”
Jian You’s Personal Studio.
“Director Jian? Director Jian?” Her assistant’s voice rang in her ear, pulling Jian You back from her daze. She calmly hummed in acknowledgment. “Continue.”
The assistant said, “The auditions for the child version of the female lead are scheduled for this afternoon. Just letting you know.”
Jian You said, “Okay, I know.”
The assistant hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Director Jian, are you alright?”
Jian You retorted, “What could be wrong with me?”
The assistant had been with her for quite some time, so he boldly said, “You’ve been absent-minded ever since you came in today, and you barely ate any lunch. Are you not feeling well?”
“No,” Jian You said. “Make me a cup of coffee.”
The assistant acknowledged and left the office.
Jian You leaned back, rubbing her temples. The scene from the morning replayed in her mind over and over. She recalled every word, every action in detail, and finally came to a conclusion.
Jiang Yu liked Yun Chu.
Of course, Yun Chu herself was very likable; it was normal for her to have suitors. But the matter still stuck in her heart like a thorn. She wondered when Jiang Yu had started liking Yun Chu, and whether she had told her. If she hadn’t, Yun Chu’s guard would be very low.
She was so easy to fool…
“Director, your coffee is here.” It was her personal assistant, Xiao Liu, who came in. “With milk.”
Jian You came back to her senses. “Thanks.”
But Xiao Liu didn’t leave.
Jian You looked up. “Is there something?”
Xiao Liu was much more familiar with her than her work assistant, so he was more direct. “I heard from the others that you’ve been distracted all day. Are you not feeling well?”
Jian You was annoyed by his meddling. “No.”
“Then you’re upset about something?” Xiao Liu pondered. “I saw a post on the forums today. It said you dropped Teacher Yun off at work and ran into President Jiang from Mangosteen Entertainment picking her up.”
“You’ve lost this month’s bonus.”
“Director, are you jealous?”
“…”
After a long silence, Jian You took a sip of coffee and said, “No.”
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