Hearing this, Jiang Cheng rubbed his nose, but soon regained his usual air of nonchalance. His fingertips slid along the curve of her back to her waist, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Aren't I busy being your 'backstage supporter'?"
"Backstage supporter? You have the nerve to say that when it's only once every three months..." Big Secret huffed.
Turning to look out the window at the gray sky, she said helplessly, "...Right now, the only 'backstage supporter' who can save me is one with 'mountains of gold and silver'."
"Short of money?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"...The betting agreement I signed last year—this year is the crucial one. The performance pressure is like a mountain. The success of legend of fuyao is vital... Success or failure might depend on this one move. Sigh, you have no idea how hard it is for me. You have such a large investment company; why haven't I seen you sponsor this project of mine even a little?"
Hearing her mention this, Jiang Cheng finally remembered how difficult things were for Big Secret this year.
Divorce rumors combined with frantically taking on all sorts of bad films for the sake of the betting agreement had caused her reputation and controversy to skyrocket.
Jiang Cheng yawned and replied, "How have I not helped you? Didn't I introduce a lot of work to Baba? Isn't she one of your company's people?"
Hearing this, Big Secret was momentarily left speechless by Jiang Cheng.
"She is her, and I am me. Aren't we different?"
The warmth from last night gone, Jiang Cheng stood up and said casually, "What's the difference?"
Big Secret felt an unbidden pang of bitterness in her heart at those words.
She immediately cursed herself inwardly, wondering why she had to come looking for him for no reason...
As soon as this bitterness surfaced, her brow furrowed.
After going through a divorce, her 'love brain' had long since been cured.
With her clear head, she naturally knew exactly what she was doing and had willingly engaged in a one-night stand with Jiang Cheng.
In a situation of mutual consent, there should logically be no reason for heartache.
They say the rich are the most heartless.
Seeing how well Jiang Cheng treated Baba and Su Wan before, she had thought he was different.
But this heartless attitude after the act instantly...
Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, Big Secret stubbornly replied to save face, "I thought Baba was a bit different compared to me."
Seeing that Big Secret had somewhat misunderstood his meaning.
Jiang Cheng turned to look her in the eye, his gaze calm to the point of cruelty. "That's true. She and you are indeed a bit different."
These words made Big Secret's whole body stiffen, and a sense of humiliation instantly overwhelmed her reason.
She blurted out a follow-up question: "How is it different? Because she's a virgin and I'm not? So you think she's cleaner and more worth cherishing, is that it?"
Jiang Cheng hadn't expected her to be so direct. He was stunned for a moment but didn't avoid the question.
Regarding Big Secret, Jiang Cheng hadn't intended to 'employ' her long-term from the start.
It was a matter of mutual consent, wasn't it?
Although they were physically compatible and Jiang Cheng quite admired Big Secret's personality.
But admiration was one thing; one still had to start from reality.
Jiang Cheng had no interest in becoming a stepfather for the time being.
After all, she wasn't An Xin. That's right, Jiang Cheng was just that double-standard.
Jiang Cheng looked at her honestly, his tone carrying a cold-blooded seriousness. "If you want to understand it that way, that's roughly what I mean. Good girls will always be held in higher regard in my heart, no matter what—"
These words were like a slap, making Big Secret's ears ring.
Her face turned pale, and her fingernails dug deep into her palms.
But after all, she had been through the mill in this industry for so long.
After learning Jiang Cheng's true opinion of her, she no longer had any sentimental fantasies.
Instead, she thought of her immediate interests.
After all, there was a powerful person right in front of her to cling to.
She couldn't just stop clinging to him because he looked down on her.
She wasn't some pure-hearted Little Girl; she wouldn't just throw a tantrum and leave because of a few words.
After a brief, dead silence, she suppressed her surging emotions, took a deep breath, and tried to pull the conversation back to the track of interests.
"Fine, let's not talk about the virginity issue for now. I'll just ask you, in your eyes, am I really that worthless? In terms of commercial value, I'm surely higher than Baba and Su Wan, right? I heard you've given Su Wan a lot of resources and favoritism lately."
Seeing her bring this up, Jiang Cheng also adopted a business-like manner.
"If it's legend of fuyao, I could consider investing a bit. But your next movie and that workplace drama?" He shook his head, his tone certain. "Forget it. They're bound to flop."
Hearing the word 'flop', Big Secret's brow furrowed. "The dramas haven't even been filmed yet, and you're saying they'll flop?"
Jiang Cheng wasn't wrong. In his memory, although the reputation of Big Secret's legend of fuyao was mixed, its popularity was quite good.
However, her subsequent dramas really did flop one after another.
Especially the movies; they were to the extent that Jiang Cheng wanted a refund after watching.
But Jiang Cheng didn't say that explicitly.
"You said it yourself, your fame is right there. You shouldn't be lacking investment from our Xingchen Investment, right?"
She didn't lack investment from Xingchen Investment, that was true.
But today, Xingchen Investment's momentum was incredibly strong. If she had Xingchen's backing, the funding and filming would definitely be more secure.
"I do need it, of course I do!" She pulled back her hand, her tone carrying a trace of imperceptible grievance and anxiety. "You have no idea how much performance pressure I have. The 'agreement' the company signed with that side last year requires a net profit of over 300 million in three years. We barely met the target in the first two years. If we fall short this year, most of the shares I hold will probably be lost. Right now, I really wish I could split every penny in two; all resources have to be pushed to the limit."
She deliberately called the "betting agreement" an "agreement," and her tone was somewhat jokingly nonchalant, as if she were talking about someone else's business.
But her hand hanging at her side quietly gripped the hem of her clothes.
Last year, to boost performance, she hadn't slept properly for five consecutive months, filmed commercials until her voice was hoarse, and rushed between film sets until she fainted at the airport. She had never mentioned these things to anyone.
Jiang Cheng looked at her. At this moment, she was no longer the charming and enchanting wild rose of last night, but more like a general with taut nerves, staking everything on the battlefield.
His nonchalance faded slightly as he pondered for a moment. "Weren't you just boasting about your commercial value?"
Big Secret's face flushed at those words. "Oh, are you going to help me or not?"
"I've made it very clear. If you miss legend of fuyao, forget about your other dramas..."
Being repeatedly rejected, Big Secret's composure began to crumble again.
With her current fame and commercial value, how many people were holding out money begging her to use her name or join a project with investment? And he just lightly said "forget it"?
"Even if Mi flops now, it wouldn't be to the point where people say 'forget it', right? So many people are begging to invest in me!" She glared at him huffily, her cheeks flushed with anger.
"On what basis can you be so certain?!"
"On what basis?" Jiang Cheng sat up straighter, his gaze sharp. "Let me ask you, in terms of fame, who is bigger, you or Su Wan?"
"Is that even a question? Of course it's me!" Big Secret didn't hesitate; this was her confidence.
"Then what about potential?" Jiang Cheng followed up.
"Potential?" Big Secret frowned, sensing there was more to his words. "You think Su Wan has more potential than me?"
Although he knew Big Secret was in a difficult situation.
Jiang Cheng had no intention of saying things against his conscience just because of her hardship.
She wasn't a child; sweet words were useless to her right now.
"In terms of fame, you are big. But what about potential? Su Wan can settle down and polish her acting; she has no idol baggage and is willing to sacrifice her image for a role. What about you? Besides staring and having a cold face, what else can you do in your acting? Is what you deliver worthy of the audience?"
"So you think because you're famous, whatever you film will make money? That just because you're famous, you can just muddle through and be perfunctory, and people will always pay for you? That's just your view. To me, no matter how famous you are, if the acting isn't good, I won't invest a single cent..."
Question after question stabbed her heart like knives. She wanted to refute him, but found herself somewhat powerless in the face of the facts he listed.
"You..." She trembled with anger, but couldn't refute him as confidently as before.
"The truth is always unpleasant. With your fame, completing the betting agreement isn't hard. But if you want to preserve the reputation you've built up over the years, I advise you to either turn down those two projects or settle down and polish them well. Don't narrow your own path."
Big Secret fell silent. She had to admit that although Jiang Cheng's words were harsh, every single one hit the mark.
She was powerless to refute and didn't want to show any more of her wretched state in front of him.
Looking at her defeated expression, Jiang Cheng finally sighed. His tone softened a bit as he patted her shoulder.
"To be honest, if it weren't for our 'hard' relationship, I wouldn't tell you these things. Think about it yourself. If you can change, we can talk more later..."
Seeing Jiang Cheng suddenly turn improper, Big Secret glanced at him.
If she hadn't been hurt by Jiang Cheng's question about her virginity earlier.
She would have pounced on him to experience it for herself by now.
But now, the invisible pressure left her with no such inclination.
She lowered her eyelashes to hide all emotion, her voice returning to a calm state but with a deep sense of distance. "I understand. I'll be going now."
Big Secret was stunned, completely not expecting him to give such a "prophecy" so directly and with such certainty. She instinctively retorted: "On what basis do you say that?"