Chapter 17
The next morning, without the undercurrents stirred up in the dark of night, all the impulsive emotions were naturally suppressed by the rising sunlight, returning her mind to calm rationality. Jiang Shangwan opened her phone screen, and those absurd memories began flooding back into her mind.
She looked at the black avatar chat window, ending on the last page of their conversation.
【Get some rest early. I’m afraid if you stay up late, your stomach will hurt and acid will reflux—you don’t have a good stomach to begin with.】
Those ridiculous, irrational, and even somewhat crazy struggles surprisingly ended with a single message of concern, closing the whole absurd topic of the night.
Jiang Shangwan recalled what she had done and said last night, feeling she might have been a little crazy.
Hormones made her unlike herself.
After calming down, she first went to her photo album and deleted that photo she had taken in a moment of madness last night, then completely erased it from the recently deleted folder. Fortunately, she had retracted it in time when she sent it, her craziness only lasted for a very brief moment.
Then she cleared all the messages in that black chat window and swiped left to delete the now empty conversation.
Jiang Shangwan thought to herself it was okay, everyone has moments of emotional breakdown. After last night, they were still just ordinary strangers.
She could have fun with many people, but it could never be with a student she had once supported.
Shi Yu was off-limits.
On the moral level, anyone with even a slight taboo would be easily abandoned by her.
This was who she was.
After completing these actions, Jiang Shangwan felt a sigh of relief deep inside. The tangled, conflicting feelings of wanting to get close yet wanting to escape had made it hard to breathe. She disliked relationships that exhausted her so much. She needed to be the absolute dominant one in any relationship, and she didn’t want any burdens because of it.
Feelings can only be a light seasoning in life—nothing more.
But just then, the conversation she had just deleted popped up again, untimely, with a bright red notification dot.
【Good thing you haven’t blocked me yet.】
Jiang Shangwan frowned slightly.
She had always kept her dignity. Even with exes, she would quietly delete them, never going as far as blocking them completely. For adults, keeping a distance was the best solution.
So she didn’t reply, and ruthlessly deleted the message again.
—
Qiao Yuqing was preparing to have the company’s new trainee audition, but not sure how Wang Jie would react, she asked Jiang Shangwan to accompany her instead.
Inside the black business car sat several fresh-faced young stars. Jiang Shangwan leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes to rest. Since the last investor meeting, she had gone through a few scripts, all of which received poor feedback—she was understandably a bit tired.
“Sis.”
A young man with lightly curled hair dyed pale gold and smiling, with gentle eyes, stood up and pressed the door-open button for Jiang Shangwan. His profile was clean and handsome, his shirt sleeves loosely rolled up, revealing a small wrist adorned with a Chrome Hearts bracelet.
His vibe was more like an idol than an actor.
“The two teardrop diamonds on your necklace are really beautiful. They look like they were cut from large carat stones. Isn’t this a recent showpiece from
[efn_note]Chaumet (尚美) is a well-known French luxury jeweler famous for its fine jewelry and watches. In this context, the character is referring to a necklace with teardrop diamonds, likely from a recent Chaumet collection or showpiece.[/efn_note]
Chaumet?”
Jiang Shangwan lazily lifted her eyelids, thinking he had quite the eye for detail.
“Work hard on Director Wang’s scenes. If you film well, one day you won’t need to buy Chaumet—you could get the endorsement directly.”
“Ah, sis, then I’ll take that as a blessing from you.”
The young man’s eyes lit up when he smiled, clearly showing his friendly attitude. He pulled out two VIP tickets, rubbed his hands together, and handed them to her.
“I have a concert in the northern city next month. If you’re free, sis, you can come with your friends and have some fun~”
Jiang Shangwan’s fingertips moved slightly as she gently took the two tickets.
She knew very well his attempt to flatter her and naturally recalled that Qiao Yuqing had mentioned this person.
Ji Zhao, once the face of a young man band that debuted in Korea years ago, had returned to develop his career domestically in recent years. Because there were too few stages in China, he switched to acting. Not long ago, he starred as the passionate male second lead in an idol drama, which actually gained some attention. Fans clipped some classic scenes of him, and he appeared several times on trending search lists—he had a bit of a breakout.
Jiang Shangwan didn’t know how good his acting was, but she was sure from social interactions that he was quite smooth and tactful. The other young stars either kept their heads down playing with their phones or smiled awkwardly without saying much.
He was the first and only one who approached her so naturally.
The boys and girls waiting to audition had already lined up. Wang Jie was frowning, gripping the script tightly, angrily scolding the people in front of him.
“Have you read the script? Do you not recognize Chinese characters, or is your comprehension that bad? This scene is about the character returning to their hometown after a setback, feeling nostalgic about the past but hating their own helplessness now. What are you acting? Pain? Sadness? Inner struggle? Your big teeth are almost in my face.”
“Step aside. It’s fine if you disgust me, but if you disgust the audience, that’s a problem. Go home and study Chinese. Next.”
Jiang Shangwan listened quietly for a while. Wang Jie’s reputation was well-deserved—he had a terrible temper just as rumored, and a bad personality. If anything displeased him, he exploded like a firecracker. But he was also very strict and demanding with the script, personally selecting all actors regardless of role size.
The batch of newcomers Qiao Yuqing brought were all aiming for small supporting roles. Just getting screen time in a famous director’s work was considered a decent performance, but whether they could get in at all was clearly a question.
Ji Zhao somehow moved beside Jiang Shangwan and whispered into her ear.
“Sis, this director is really fierce. Sister Qing asked me to audition as a well-behaved, diligent student. I’m a little scared I won’t perform well.”
“What are you afraid of?”
Jiang Shangwan didn’t even raise her eyes. She turned aside to avoid his closeness and instructed the others to come over with her.
“Opportunities have always been in your own hands. Do you see how many people are here? You all have the same chance to be chosen. The difference is, you have the financial backing of President Qiao behind you.”
“So there’s nothing to be afraid of. If you were selected to come here, I believe each of you has your own strengths. Focus on the roles you are auditioning for. You only need to do one thing—immerse yourselves as much as possible in the character and forget who you are.”
Ji Zhao raised his hand: “Got it, sis!”
The young mans and girls auditioning all looked delicate and beautiful, with outstanding figures. A little makeup easily caught people’s attention.
Jiang Shangwan glanced around and saw countless youthful, attractive bodies moving about, but no one sparked her interest.
She recalled the strange feelings she’d had recently and suppressed the irritation in her heart.
Why do so many people look outstanding everywhere, but only Shi Yu gave her that strange feeling?
The batch Qiao Yuqing sent seemed to have had private training. Many passed the audition. Although Wang Jie frowned, he seemed fairly satisfied. After all, having acting skills plus investment was a bonus.
That young man from the young man band named Ji Zhao passed smoothly as well, though Wang Jie asked him a few more questions while stroking his chin.
“Your posture and movements while doing the questions are fairly standard, like a student. But why does your gaze always seem scattered, like you’re daydreaming?”
“Ah, director, because I don’t understand the questions…”
Wang Jie’s face darkened, telling him to go back and seriously brush up on the high school content for this role.
“Good looks, but an empty brain.”
Jiang Shangwan sneered quietly to herself. She might understand why these boys weren’t very attractive—Shi Yu’s performance in the entertainment industry was overwhelmingly superior. If he barely understood high school questions, forget about anything else.
Ji Zhao had very delicate facial features, even somewhat feminine eyebrows and eyes. He strode over to Jiang Shangwan, speaking eagerly.
“Sis, how do you think I did just now? Was it good? Director Wang Jie didn’t scold me, I was so scared! I really feared he’d stop me halfway through and give me a harsh scolding, hahaha…”
“Not bad,” Jiang Shangwan replied perfunctorily, nodding slightly. Her gaze swept across the crowd and caught sight of a figure in a corner.
The person was holding a light gray suit jacket over his arm. Even among the crowd full of handsome men and beautiful women, he stood out distinctly. His posture was exceptionally upright, with a pair of long legs tightly wrapped in smooth dress pants, taut, slender, and straight. Under his prominent brow bones was a small shadow, making his eyes look even deeper and more striking.
Shi Yu was surrounded by several people, packed tightly around him. But he was so tall that even when surrounded, his face was easily visible. He looked somewhat awkward, lowering his gaze toward the group clustered around him.
“Have you signed with a company? Want to consider coming to our XX Entertainment? The contract is negotiable.”
“How about acting with us? You know Tianwang XX, our company’s top star. I guarantee if you join us, you’ll get all the best resources.”
“Think about us, our company is especially good with films and TV. We’ve already launched several new top-tier stars…”
The group chattered nonstop, not even giving Shi Yu a chance to explain or refuse, fearing that if they hesitated, this rare and stunning new talent would be signed away by their rivals.
“Handsome guy, you look unfamiliar around here—so you probably haven’t signed with any company yet. It’s tough going solo, there aren’t any good resources out there. Come to us, and I guarantee you’ll become famous within a few years.”
“Sorry,”
Shi Yu finally managed to speak through their slowed-down barrage, “I’m not here to audition, I’m here to invest.”
Soon the crowd reluctantly dispersed, and Jiang Shangwan also looked away, not planning to watch any longer.
These people had an eye for talent, though—she had known from the start that with his appearance, even if his brain was messed up, he would still have a bright future if he went to the neighboring film academy.
Shi Yu’s facial features weren’t the most delicate, but what made him stand out was his clean and pure aura, combined with his superior height and bone structure.
He had a face full of stories that made people want to explore him, along with an innate, clear, and solemn temperament. When he didn’t smile and looked down, he appeared somewhat cold, but when he smiled, it was as moving as melting ice and snow.
Even in the entertainment industry full of handsome faces, he was unique.
Jiang Shangwan also clearly remembered how his ears would flush slightly when he was emotional, how his lowered brows would take on a subtle hint of desire, and the slightly hurried, enticing sound of his breathing.
That made him all the more special.