Chapter 4

Editor: Michi

Heya, everyone. After further clarifications, it seems that FL’s agent, Wei Yizhen, is a female and not a male. Sorry for the inconveniences.

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After putting the thermos and some toiletries, and personally tidying up the room, Lin Yue still hadn’t caught sight of Ji Youyan’s silhouette, so she doubtedly opened the door in search of her.

“Ji-jie?”

Ji Youyan was washing the cups and saucers in the dining room. She gave a response to Lin Yue’s call before carefully putting the washed cups and saucers back in place. She then walked slowly to her bedroom.

“Ji-jie, why do your eyes seem to be a little red?” Lin Yue sized up Ji Youyan and asked with concern.

Ji Youyan stiffened slightly when she closed the door. She paced around the bedroom, looking at her surroundings and calmly answered her, “An eyelash might have gotten into my eye. I rubbed it a few times but couldn’t get it out.”

“Oh.” Lin Yue didn’t think much of it.

She walked back to the bathroom that was separated by a glass door and scrubbed the basin with boiling hot water. She said intimately, “Ji-jie, since we’re going to live here for a longer time, I’ve replaced all the bedding with our own. If you are feeling tired, you can relax and lie down for a while.”

Ji Youyan took off her jacket and leaned on the edge of the bed. She closed her eyes and said with a smile, “It must have been hard on you.”

She was indeed exhausted from her rushed journey and forcing her own smiles. Unfortunately, she could only hide here to take a breather before soon putting on her mask and going out to meet people.

“Ji-jie, did Teacher Jing… use to be like this with you before as well?” Lin Yue wasn’t someone who’d hold back her words, she couldn’t help but ask the question that had been lingering in her heart from the beginning.

“Why do you suddenly ask?” Ji Youyan tilted her head and did not answer the question.

After Lin Yue washed the basin, she started to clean the toilet. She honestly replied, “I think what Assistant Yao said seems to be somewhat false. The first time Teacher Jing opened the door and the second time she did, the clothes she wore were the same. Except for the shoes, everything was neat and tidy. It didn’t look like she had just gotten up from bed.”

She had been following Ji Youyan for more than a year and knew very well that Ji Youyan had suffered a lot of contempt and got no proper respect before she won the Bai Xiang TV Queen. Things like today were not uncommon. Jing Xiu and Yao Xiao echoed one another¹, it seemed like they were deliberately bullying others.

T/N

1-TLN: to echo one another means to follow and agree with whatever the other is saying. Bai Xiang TV Queen.

She had wholeheartedly devoted herself to Ji Youyan, so she naturally felt outraged from the injustice faced by her. She reminded Ji Youyan, “Ji-jie, your relationship with Teacher Jing, don’t you think you’d need to reconsider it?”

The smile Ji Youyan had on her face from beginning till the end gradually disappeared. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she had to face it. Her lies were relentlessly exposed.

She lowered her eyes in silence for a while before she slowly sat up, looked at Lin Yue, and said her words with rare solemnity, “Yueyue, Teacher Jing is different from the others.”

“If she’s ever rude to me in any way, it must all be because there’s something I haven’t done well in the past or even in the present. You have to remember that. I don’t want her to be badly influenced because of me.”

Lin Yue froze. She was frightened by Ji Youyan’s rare seriousness. She pursed her lips, feeling a little aggrieved before glumly agreeing, “I know, Ji-jie, I won’t talk nonsense outside. I never have…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Ji Youyan touching her hair. 

“Of course without a doubt, I know that our Yueyue is the most tight-lipped person I’ve ever known, that’s why I feel comfortable sharing anything to you.”

Ji Youyan crouched down beside her and took the towel in her hand to help dry the water on the toilet seat, and said gently, “Also, as a matter of fact, Teacher Jing is only outwardly cold but inwardly warm, you’ll know that after you’ve been in contact with her for a while.”

As if to make her words sound more convincing, Ji Youyan added, “Look, you’d never expect this, but actually, when you were in the room, Teacher Jing even prepared hot milk tea and cakes for me.” She clasped her hands together with a playful smile and apologized, “Sorry, Yueyue, I ate it all alone.”

So like that, Lin Yue was gently appeased by her. Where could there be any grievousness and unwillingness to let go of it? She pursed her lips and smiled as she went down the steps Ji Youyan laid for her, “What kind of cake was it? Was it delicious?”

“Black Forest cake, not… quite delicious…” As Ji Youyan recalled the bitterness of the cake she ate, she unconsciously raised her eyebrows.

Lin Yue snorted and said straightforwardly, “Doesn’t Teacher Jing know about Ji-jie’s preference?”

Ji Youyan was stunned, and later she had grown some suspicions. Right, even Yao Xiao remembered it, was Jing Xiu really not being intentional?

But before she could contemplate on it, the phone inside her handbag that was placed on the bedhead rang.

Ji Youyan got up and went out to answer the call. After saying a few words, she agreed on something  and opened the closet.

Upon seeing this, Lin Yue tacitly helped her close the curtains of the glass door and retreated outside the bathroom.

Sure enough, after hanging up the phone, Ji Youyan picked out a long skirt and a trench coat that her stylist had already helped her set up. She went into the bathroom. As she changed, she spoke with Lin Yue, “Yueyue, I’m going down to continue my unfinished matter with Wei-jie and the others, and I’ll be having dinner with the director and investors in the evening. When you’re done, treat yourself to a good meal tonight and go out for a while. I have no matter here.”

Lin Yue asked uneasily, “Don’t you need me to pick you up?” She recalled how Ji Youyan had looked like at the previous dinner party she had gone to. Her drunk appearance was as though she was confronting a formidable enemy.

“No need. Wei-jie would be with me so don’t worry.” Ji Youyan trusted her agent, Wei-jie. Her brows grew softer as she said, “Teacher Jing will also be there.”

Lin Yue had no worries and nodded her head, accepting the arrangement. Long after Ji Youyan had left, she remembered that she had forgotten to warn Ji-jie not to drink too eagerly and to eat something to ease her stomach.

She took her mobile phone to send a message to Ji Youyan, and she was suddenly enlightened: Teacher Jing seemed to have already helped her fill her belly, eh?

Was it just a coincidence?

Lin Yue touched her nose and skeptically put her phone down.

Ji Youyan got out of the bedroom and looked at the door that was still closed on the opposite side. She hesitated for a moment before going straight out.

Let A’xiu rest a bit more. Socializing during dinner would be very annoying.

Back in the conference hall again, the other two mentors, Su Lihang and Liang Zhen, had also arrived. Seeing that the situation seemed inconvenient and being afraid that she’d make Jing Xiu’s matter worse, she did not specifically explain to Chen Desheng. Several people moved on to discuss the opening part of the trainer’s script and other related processes².

T/N

2-TLN: A fellow TLer [Jelly] said: I think it should be about a variety show like Produce 101 where they have trainers and such. Thus these trainers would have opening scripts like on what to discuss about or rehearse how the process is going to be like and all. (That’s what I imagine it to be)

Not long after, the sky went completely dark outside the glass window. Chen Desheng answered the phone and greeted ably, “You see, as one gets busy, one would forget the time. Old Zhou had done all the arrangements. Come on, these things aren’t that urgent. It’s more important to welcome the mentors and help wash off the dust³. Let’s all go have dinner first.”

T/N

3-TLN: welcome and help wash off the dust meaning to treat someone to a dinner on arriving/holding a party to welcome someone.

So everyone tacitly said a few polite words and then shifted their place.

The dinner party was set up in a little well-famous private restaurant in the circle, it was about a ten-minute drive from the hotel. It was quite elegantly secluded. When Ji Youyan and her party arrived, there were already a few men in suits. Two young men and women were talking and laughing ambiguously with the men beside them.

Ji Youyan swept a glance and recognized that the two were the second of the six people who had stayed until the end of this show in her previous life. 

No wonder those two could stay until the end despite the mockery. Ji Youyan sneered in her heart.

Having been in the industry for many years, she was no longer the cynical little girl who had just emerged out from the Ivory tower⁴. She had no longer felt surprises and gotten used to the filthiness of the industry.

T/N

4-TLN: Ivory tower is a metaphorical place where people are separated from the facts and partialities from the real world in favour of their own pursuits.

Apparently, all people around them were numb with these kinds of things. Everyone exchanged a few fake pleasantries and took their seats one by one.

Ji Youyan didn’t see Jing Xiu. Thi s was tran slated by Yu ri trans lati ons

Just when Ji Youyan was wondering if Jing Xiu would not come to the party, she finally arrived late with Yao Xiao.

She walked slowly in her long dress and took a seat in the chair a waiter had helped pull out for her, in the empty spot beside Ji Youyan.

“Sorry, I’m late.” Jing Xiu tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the long and thin earrings, looking elegant and calm.

However, when she apologized, her face didn’t seem to appear genuinely apologetic. She clearly wasn’t smiling yet, but she had already caused the sixth palace to lose its radiance⁵. Ji Youyan was inexplicably happy about Jing Xiu’s calmness and arrogance. She couldn’t help but secretly peek a glance, and then another.

T/N

TLN: Ladies in the palace/sixth palace to lose its radiance/face powder and eyebrow liner; cosmetic = [Fig.] Beautiful ladies. So it kinda means that her non-smile/expression has already outshone her surroundings. The bolden text has a backstory 六宫粉黛衬得毫无颜色

“It’s the evening rush hour so traffic jams are common. Xiaoxiu, did you come from the overpass?” While the atmosphere was stagnant, Chen Fei, who was sitting at the main seat and representing the lead investor, XinHu Technology, consciously helped Jing Xiu make up a reason for being late.

Jing Xiu smiled faintly. Yao Xiao, who was sitting next to her, sensibly helped her to flatter, “Mr. Chen has an incredible foresight. We set off early but didn’t expect to be stuck there for a long time.”

She paused and stood up to help pour the wine for each of the people at the table, while smiling, “Blame me for choosing the wrong route and making everyone wait for so long. Our Jing-jie has a bad stomach and is inconvenient to drink. Let me make amends to you all by punishing myself on behalf of Jing-jie.” With that, she gave a toast and drained the glass in one gulp.

There were two younger investors who hadn’t been around in the circle long enough so they only knew that Jing Xiu was a famous young Film Empress who had risen to fame a few years ago. They thought that Jing Xiu’s late arrival was nothing more than the actor putting up a front to raise her worth, but seeing XinHu’s Chen Fei’s attitude towards her, quietly changed their mind——it seems that this woman wasn’t someone that could easily be taken advantage of.

Fortunately, Jing Xiu had given them face⁶ on the surface. They weren’t clear with Jing Xiu’s real situation for being late and didn’t want to make Chen Fei lose face, so they didn’t dare to ask her to apologize. Seeing that Yao Xiao had punished herself with a glass of wine, one of the investors followed her action and yelled “good”. In a slick and sly manner, he made things difficult for Ji Youyan, “This young woman is bold, but would only one glass be enough, everyone?”

T/N

6-TLN: Face here means one’s dignity/honor/prestige/respect/status

“Not enough, why not three more glasses?” Another man with a potbelly next to him chimed in.

“Mr. Pan, you’re bullying the young woman. She hasn’t eaten anything yet, so have some compassion for her and be merciful.” Wei Yizhen personally helped Ji Youyan adjust the tableware while jokingly helping Yao Xiao out.

“Yes, Old Pan, you’re such a bully. How about this, if you want to watch the young lady drink, I’ll have Xiaoliu toast you a few more cups later.” The man near Old Pan patted the young girl next to him, and the girl immediately cooperated by squeezing out a coquettish smile.

Chen Fei raised his chopsticks and said, “Alright, let’s eat as we talk. The dishes are getting cold. Quickly try the craftsmanship of this chef, he doesn’t cook easily so I had to go through a lot of trouble to hire him.”

 “Oh? Then I’ll have to taste it.” Someone catered.

As they joke, ate and drank, the matter of Jing Xiu’s lateness was forgotten.

During the dinner, Chen Fei proposed a toast while Jing Xiu replaced her glass of wine with tea. The others were human beings, seeing that Chen Fei did not force it, no one dared to ask Jing Xiu to drink.

After the dinner party, most of the topics related to or unrelated to the program revolved around Ji Youyan and the other two mentors. Jing Xiu was the most detached from the whole table and ate most comfortably.

Ji Youyan drank the bitter wine in her mouth again, feeling the alcohol get to her head and a little warm.

Although Wei Yizhen helped her block a lot of toasts, Ji Youyan thought about her friendship with Wei Yizhen in her previous life, and was embarrassed to see her working so hard to socialize alone, so she still took a lot of toasts personally.

Feeling some discomfort in her stomach, Ji Youyan found an excuse and went out for some air.

Standing in the bathroom cubicle, she couldn’t help but sigh. Fortunately, Jing Xiu was still outstanding enough and confident enough that she didn’t have to endure the vices she had been fed up with.

In her previous life, why didn’t she know how to think about things from another angle? Or maybe she did change, but afterwards, she’d forgotten about it?

She stayed there in a trance for a moment, then sighed and pushed open the partition.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she looked up after going out, she saw Jing Xiu by the sink, with her back facing her, as she washed her hands in slow motion.

Hearing the sound coming from behind, Jing Xiu paused and raised her eyes slightly. She looked at Ji Youyan indifferently through the mirror. Thi s was tran slated by Yu ri trans lati ons

Ji Youyan couldn’t help show the genuine tenderness she held for her. She stepped forward and stood beside Jing Xiu, and asked softly, “Did you come out to take a breather too?”

In the mirror, Jing Xiu looked away and withdrew her hand from under the faucet. She took a tissue to wipe her hands, then lifted it to the side to dry, without saying a word.

Just when Ji Youyan awkwardly thought that Jing Xiu wouldn’t answer her, Jing Xiu suddenly turned her head to the side and the corners of her lips curved up in mockery.

“I often heard that Teacher Ji has long sleeves that help her dance beautifully⁷ and that she wouldn’t even get drunk with a thousand glasses of alcohol. I see you’re really worthy of your reputation,” Jing Xiu said coldly.

T/N

7-TLN: Long sleeves help one dance beautifully means money and power will help you in any occupation/being resourceful.

Ji Yuyan’s smile immediately froze.

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This is a fan translation presented by Yuri Translations. This novel does not belong to us. Support the author by donating to the site linked on the synopsis page. You can also donate to the translator if you appreciate their hard work.

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The author has something to say: The water that was inside Ji-jie’s mind in her previous life will become the tears that she’d shed in this life to chase her wife.

  Ji Youyan online searching for help: Who will help me translate what A’xiu’s words meant? o(╥﹏╥)o

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TL: Kin here! The most irritating thing while tling this was FL’s agent, Wei Yizhen’s part — the author be so vague… oof. Welp, the school wanted us students to prepare things for boarder that could happen ANYTIME. If there was even ONE new case of COVID-19 at my area, we be living in the school campus, isolated from the outside world till March [exams]. Things aren’t sorted out properly it seems. I asked the teachs and they said we are allowed to bring in electronic gadgets but there are certain rules [that doesn’t seem to be clear]. The laptop that ‘was given to me’ is taken away being used by aunt the giver and now my bro seemed to have deleted the wifi software or sth. The tacky Windows 7 I usually use for tling constantly gives me msgs that the ‘hard disk is going to fail/have problem’ not surprised cause it has been more than 7-10 years… Now, I’m wondering if I should ask my mom if I should get a new hard disk for my other laptop who’s hard disk failed a few months ago and take it to boarder. Pray for me.

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