They ate lunch in the cafeteria. After Jiang Jiang finished eating, she received a message from He Jingjing informing her that the interview would be at nine o'clock in the evening in Teaching Building A2, telling her not to forget.
S University still maintained evening self-study sessions, but because Jiang Jiang had applied for off-campus accommodation, she did not have to participate. However, she still had to wait until nine o'clock for the interview to begin.
Jiang Jiang had no classes in the afternoon, but Ji Heyuan still had two periods. After much coaxing and persuading, she finally lured Jiang Jiang into her dormitory.
Everyone was busy with their own things. Jiang Jiang lay on Ji Heyuan's desk writing her novel.
Ji Heyuan's hands itched again. Out of habit, she took out her phone and snapped a few photos of Jiang Jiang, then sent them all to Ji Xu'an in one go.
[Ji Heyuan: A working woman is the most beautiful.]
Ji Xu'an did not reply to her, but Ji Heyuan knew that her sister had most likely seen it; she just did not want to respond to her.
Yesterday she had accidentally glimpsed that her sister's WeChat chat background seemed to be a photo of Xie Jiang Jiang.
It was the one Ji Heyuan had taken of Jiang Jiang on the balcony.
Ji Xu'an, this big closet romantic, said on the surface that she did not like it, yet in reality she had secretly saved it.
After sending Jiang Jiang's photos, Ji Heyuan estimated that her sister's mood at the moment should not be too bad, so she took the opportunity to ask about the movie.
She was not stupid. She did not say that Zheng Zhouzhou was unhappy, but instead approached it from the angle of the other actress.
[Ji Heyuan: You let the originally appointed female lead play the second female lead. Can she accept that?]
This time Ji Xu'an replied very quickly, which further convinced Ji Heyuan that her sister simply had not wanted to reply earlier.
[Ji Xu'an: Why wouldn't she accept it?]
[Ji Xu'an: If she were unwilling, she wouldn't have agreed.]
That made sense. Ji Heyuan had also looked into it. That actress was even less popular than Zheng Zhouzhou. Since her debut, she had only acted in a few short dramas, the kind where each episode was only two or three minutes long.
This film was probably one of the better resources she could access. Even as the second female lead, it was better than the short dramas she had acted in before.
Moreover, if she knew that Ji Xu'an had personally named her to play the second female lead, she would probably be overjoyed. How could she be unwilling?
It was no wonder Zheng Zhouzhou was anxious. After all, that was Ji Xu'an.
But Ji Heyuan was still very unhappy, because the information revealed behind Zheng Zhouzhou's anxiety was that she did not trust her very much.
Did Zheng Zhouzhou not believe she had the ability to persuade Ji Xu'an, or did she not believe she would confront her own sister for her sake?
Recalling yesterday's argument, Ji Heyuan's mood sank again. She leaned against the bed and slowly typed.
[Ji Heyuan: Have you read the script? What do you think? Is there anywhere that needs modification?]
She asked very tactfully. In comparison, Ji Xu'an's reply was much more direct.
[Ji Xu'an: The second female lead's scenes will not be changed again. Tell Zheng Zhouzhou not to worry.]
Ji Heyuan's face flushed red, a sense of embarrassment from being exposed and seen through rising within her. Clearly this was not even her own request. Why did she feel ashamed on Zheng Zhouzhou's behalf?
Ji Heyuan gritted her teeth and decided to go all in, directly taking a screenshot of that sentence and sending it to Zheng Zhouzhou.
[Ji Heyuan: My sister said the second female lead won't get extra scenes. You can rest assured now, right?]
Zheng Zhouzhou did not reply to her for a long time. It was unknown whether it was because she felt embarrassed or simply had not seen it.
Ji Heyuan did not care. She was still angry at Zheng Zhouzhou and did not want to lower herself to coax her like before.
Of course, in front of Ji Xu'an, Ji Heyuan still put in a good word for Zheng Zhouzhou.
[Ji Heyuan: Zhouzhou was just a bit surprised. She didn't mean she wouldn't accept it. Who is our President Ji? You definitely wouldn't play these fake tricks. Zhouzhou trusts you very much too.]
Even Ji Heyuan herself felt somewhat guilty saying this. She thought that fortunately her sister had not heard what Zheng Zhouzhou had said yesterday. Otherwise, Zheng Zhouzhou would truly have been asking for trouble and would really have had to pack up and leave the production team immediately.
[Ji Xu'an: Heh.]
Even through the screen, Ji Heyuan seemed to hear the mockery contained in that cold laugh.
She silently changed the subject.
[Ji Heyuan: By the way, Xie Jiang Jiang has to go for the Hanfu Association interview tonight. Did she tell you?]
After quite a while, Ji Heyuan received Ji Xu'an's reply again.
[Ji Xu'an: What time?]
It seemed she had not.
Ji Heyuan could not help but poke her head out in surprise to look at Jiang Jiang. "Xie Jiang Jiang, you didn't tell my sister about the interview?"
Jiang Jiang lifted her head from the computer screen. Her thoughts had not fully withdrawn and were still continuing to outline the novel's plot in her mind, but her face already showed just the right amount of annoyance. "I forgot."
Ji Heyuan found it unbelievable. After all, Jiang Jiang used to report her schedule to Ji Xu'an every time. She actually had a moment when she forgot.
"My sister was just asking about it," Ji Heyuan handed over her phone screen to show that she was not lying.
Jiang Jiang glanced at it twice. "That's perfect. Help me reply to her then."
Ji Heyuan did not think much of it. "Okay."
She immediately typed to Ji Xu'an:
[Ji Heyuan: Xie Jiang Jiang is busy. She asked me to tell you that she forgot to mention it earlier. The interview starts at nine tonight and should end before eleven.]
Ji Heyuan said it lightly. She did not know how complicated Ji Xu'an's mood was when she saw this message.
Ji Xu'an did not reply to Ji Heyuan. Instead, she exited the chat interface and tapped on Jiang Jiang's profile picture. The last time she and Jiang Jiang had exchanged messages was two days ago.
The last sentence had been Jiang Jiang asking her if she had something on her mind. Since then, they had not sent each other any messages.
Ji Xu'an lowered her eyes and looked at the phone screen, trying hard to suppress the subtle sense of loss in her heart.
Jiang Jiang chatted with Ji Heyuan every day, but with her, it seemed as though there was nothing to say. Now she did not even send her messages directly about her own affairs, instead asking Ji Heyuan to relay them.
Was it because her personality was too boring?
Ji Xu'an wanted to say something to Jiang Jiang, but when she thought of Ji Heyuan saying that Jiang Jiang was busy, she gave up the idea. She also deleted the unsent sentence in the chat box, "I'll pick you up tonight."
At that moment, Zhao Zitang came in to report on work. Ji Xu'an listened as usual. When Zhao Zitang was about to leave, she asked as if casually,
"Secretary Zhao, I have a question I'd like to consult you about."
Zhao Zitang felt flattered. "Please go ahead. I will tell you everything I know!"
"It's just that I have a friend…"
Ji Xu'an was still considering her wording and did not notice that Zhao Zitang's eyes had already lit up.
"Has your friend encountered some difficulty?" Secretary Zhao tried his best not to sound too gossipy.
Ji Xu'an said, "Yes. This friend of mine has a good friend. Their relationship is harmonious, but that good friend never sends her messages. Why is that?"
Zhao Zitang silently calculated in his heart. Oh, so it was Miss Xie not liking to message President Ji?
"Maybe your friend's good friend just doesn't like chatting with people."
After all, Miss Xie looked rather shy and introverted, and she did not talk much normally. Not replying to messages seemed quite normal.
Ji Xu'an stared at him fixedly, her lips almost pressed into a straight line.
"But she chats with another person every day, and if there's anything, she asks that other person to relay it to my friend."
Cold sweat almost broke out on Zhao Zitang's face. So Miss Xie just did not reply to President Ji, yet chatted very enthusiastically with someone else?
Zhao Zitang's thoughts wandered slightly for a second. He wanted to know who that other person was.
But he definitely did not dare to ask Ji Xu'an. Not only that, he also had to pretend not to know that Ji Xu'an's "friend" was Ji Xu'an herself.
"Maybe she's just busy for the moment. How about you let your friend directly ask her good friend?"
Zhao Zitang gave an example. "Look at modern literary works. Eight out of ten tragic love stories happen because people don't speak up."
"I love you but I don't say it. You misunderstand me, and I don't explain. Over time, won't it fall apart?"
Ji Xu'an fell into thought. Should she ask directly?
But if Jiang Jiang truly found her boring, and she insisted on an answer, would that not make things awkward for both of them?
After pondering for a moment, Ji Xu'an asked Zhao Zitang, "Is there another way?"
Very good.
The boss had not listened to him at all.
Zhao Zitang smiled politely. "Or perhaps your friend could take more initiative?"
Ji Xu'an felt that he might as well have said nothing. The confusion in her heart still had not been resolved.
What she wanted to know was why, not what to do.
Secretary Zhao vaguely guessed something, but he did not dare to say it. He could not possibly tell his boss that maybe it was because your girlfriend does not love you that much.
Wouldn't he be fired in minutes?
Ji Xu'an waved her hand. "You may leave first."
Zhao Zitang was dying of curiosity but did not dare to ask. He pondered whether he could secretly inquire with the second young lady.
After Secretary Zhao left, Ji Xu'an sat in her office chair and thought for a while longer. In the end, she decided to seek help from the vast number of netizens.
Soon, a new post appeared in the relationship section.
"Why Is My Girlfriend Ignoring Me?"
After posting it, Ji Xu'an could not help glancing at her phone again and again. But even after twenty minutes, no one had replied to her post.
Ji Xu'an puzzledly opened the forum homepage. Clearly other people's posts had many replies. Why did hers not have even one?
She looked through other people's posts and found that everyone's titles were quite distinctive. In comparison, hers indeed was not very eye-catching.
Ji Xu'an hesitated for quite a while before changing her title again.
"My Girlfriend Often Chats With Others But Keeps Ignoring Me. Why?"
This time it was no longer that no one looked at it. It was just that such posts appeared dozens if not hundreds of times a day. Netizens who clicked in replied without much thought:
[NPC No.1: You know we always advise breaking up.]
[NPC No.2: She doesn't love you anymore. What else could it be?]
[NPC No.3: It's all green. A little green is good.]
Ji Xu'an frowned. The netizens seemed to have misunderstood her meaning. How could Jiang Jiang and Xiaoyuan possibly develop feelings beyond family affection?
But this was also her own problem. Because she was worried that her identity might be dug up, Ji Xu'an had not introduced the situation in detail. It was normal for people to misunderstand.
She frowned and continued reading.
[NPC No.4: Love definitely creates a desire to share. She doesn't even want to talk to you. Isn't that already obvious?]
[NPC No.5: Sister, listen to me. Sometimes there's no need to think too clearly. Taking a step back, at least the official girlfriend title still belongs to you. Be content.]
Seeing these comments, Ji Xu'an seemed to think of something. Her expression suddenly stiffened. She stared at the screen full of comments for a long time, unable to come back to herself.
So if Jiang Jiang did not chat with her, did it mean that she did not like her that much after all?
—
Jiang Jiang did not know that Ji Xu'an had already started asking netizens for help. She had a very fulfilling day.
Because Ji Heyuan and the others had classes during the third and fourth periods, Jiang Jiang did not want to stay alone in their dormitory. Although the others did not mind, she still politely declined.
Ji Heyuan simply took her along to class. Coincidentally, it was Wen Xueyun's class again. The content was exactly the same as in the morning, so Jiang Jiang took out her notes and reviewed them again.
When Wen Xueyun saw her, her expression was clearly somewhat stunned. During the break, she even came over to chat with Jiang Jiang and Ji Heyuan for a while.
At the end, Wen Xueyun said to Jiang Jiang, "If there's anything from the previous content you don't understand, you can come ask me anytime. You can also send me a WeChat message."
Jiang Jiang smiled and agreed.
Wen Xueyun looked at her as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself in the end.
Jiang Jiang guessed that she probably wanted to ask about Ji Xu'an, but since Wen Xueyun did not say it, she pretended not to notice.
In fact, Wen Xueyun had no other intention. She only wanted to know how Jiang Jiang and Ji Xu'an's relationship had been progressing recently.
Because she had never seen them post any displays of affection on Moments. They had never even mentioned each other in their own Moments. They really did not look like a couple in passionate love.
If it was someone you liked, could you really resist not sharing?
After class, Jiang Jiang went to the cafeteria with Ji Heyuan for dinner, then returned to her own class for evening self-study.
Ji Heyuan escorted Jiang Jiang to the classroom door. She poked her head inside and glanced around, asking in a low voice, "Is that classmate who seems to be targeting you here? Point her out to me."
Jiang Jiang had actually already seen He Xinyao, but she still shook her head. "I didn't see her."
Ji Heyuan sighed regretfully. "Alright. Next time she's here, you must tell me."
Jiang Jiang nodded. "Alright, little Yuan. I can go in by myself. You go ahead. Didn't Yan Ke have something to discuss with you just now?"
Ji Heyuan thought that it was only a few steps and nothing should happen, so she left with peace of mind.
Jiang Jiang slowly walked inside alone. As she passed by He Xinyao, she heard her give a very soft snort.
She stopped and lowered her eyes to look at He Xinyao. "Classmate He, did you call me? Do you need something?"
He Xinyao choked. "When did I call you?"
Jiang Jiang raised her lips slightly. "I heard you snort and thought it was some special way of greeting."
"Stop flattering yourself!" He Xinyao noticed someone looking over and, embarrassed and angry, glared at Jiang Jiang like knives.
"My throat is uncomfortable. Can't I cough twice? Who called you?"
Jiang Jiang showed an enlightened expression. "So that's how it is. Classmate He, then cough slowly. I won't disturb you."
After saying that, she continued walking forward and found an empty seat in the front row to sit down.
He Xinyao stared at Jiang Jiang's back fiercely, cursing her repeatedly in her heart, wishing she could immediately tear apart Jiang Jiang's little white-lotus face.
She had to do something to make Xie Xiao pay for her arrogance!
Coincidentally, Jiang Jiang was thinking the same thing.
—
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