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Going Crazy
Zhang Jingyao was wearing high heels and felt her legs go numb from squatting for too long. Yet she was too embarrassed to stand up. She lifted her eyes and observed Jiang Xiao’s expression, tentatively asking, “Xiaoxiao, what did I do wrong? Why did you suddenly need my phone that day?”
Jiang Xiao tidied up the stray hair around her ears in front of the mirror, speaking vaguely, “Don’t you know?”
“I really don’t, that’s why I’m asking.”
“Your phone password is ******, right?”
“How did you know?” Zhang Jingyao was surprised and suddenly remembered a time when Jiang Xiao used her phone to call a designated driver when they were both drunk.
Jiang Xiao stared at her and said, “Now do you understand why I needed your phone?”
Zhang Jingyao recalled everything inappropriate in her phone. She had a habit of deleting chat records. Apart from the video she took that night, there didn’t seem to be any other evidence.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her lips into a pretense of calmness. “I took that video to threaten Lin Qianyu. I was trying to help you, Xiaoxiao. What’s wrong with that? Besides, Xiaoxiao, how can you casually look through someone else’s phone?”
Listening to this reversed argument, Jiang Xiao chuckled.
She didn’t have a habit of prying into others’ privacy. Even though she knew the password, she didn’t open Zhang Jingyao’s phone. She only said that to make Zhang Jingyao confess on her own initiative. But Zhang Jingyao was even more stubborn than she had anticipated.
As for the phone, she wouldn’t look through it and had no intention of returning it to Zhang Jingyao. Regardless of how much incriminating content might be inside, she had no plans to pursue it because from today on, her relationship with Zhang Jingyao had come to an end.
“Alright, I’ll assume you took the video for my sake.” Jiang Xiao’s eyes darkened with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Then when you pushed me from behind, was that also for my own good?”
“What?” Zhang Jingyao was shocked.
“Don’t understand? Maybe after watching this video, you’ll remember something?”
Jiang Xiao opened her phone, found the surveillance footage Liang Cheng had sent her in the folder, and played it for Zhang Jingyao.
The footage was from a secluded staircase at the banquet that day. Despite some enhancement and enlargement, the quality was slightly blurry. But based on the attire, it was clear enough to recognize Jiang Xiao, Lin Qianyu, and Zhang Jingyao.
“No, it wasn’t me, I didn’t.” Zhang Jingyao hurried to deny it before the video finished playing.
“The evidence is right here. Why won’t you admit it?” It was because of Zhang Jingyao’s push from behind that Jiang Xiao lost her balance and nearly pushed Lin Qianyu down the stairs, almost repeating a storyline from a novel.
“It really wasn’t me, Xiaoxiao, how could I push you?”
“Really? How strange. Clearly, you were the only one standing behind me at that moment. Who else could it be?”
Jiang Xiao raised her eyebrows, sighed lightly, and hesitated as if she had already believed Zhang Jingyao’s words. However, the next moment, what seemed like goodwill turned into a threat slipped out: “So, do you want me to help you report to the police? I can’t let you be wronged.”
Upon hearing Jiang Xiao threaten to call the police, Zhang Jingyao couldn’t keep pretending. She couldn’t stand steady and accidentally knelt on the ground. But she couldn’t care about standing up. She kneeled and explained incoherently, “Xiaoxiao, I didn’t mean to. I… I wanted to push that bitch Lin Qianyu.”
As if finding a suitable excuse, Zhang Jingyao continued to argue, “Xiaoxiao, I know you hate her. That bitch should see what kind of person she is, daring to seduce your boyfriend. I did this to vent your anger.”
“Enough! Shut up!” Jiang Xiao’s face suddenly turned dark.
Zhang Jingyao stood dumbstruck.
“A slap” echoed in the dressing room, stunned Zhang Jingyao and hurt Jiang Xiao’s hand.
“Zhou Wenting, Lin Qianyu, and you, all are bastards.”
After that, Jiang Xiao rubbed her reddened palm, inevitably feeling sorry for herself who had been fooled around.
“Jiang Xiao!” Zhang Jingyao tilted her head, feeling a faint pain in her left face and couldn’t believe she widened her eyes. “How can you hit me?”
Jiang Xiao’s lips smiled slightly, asking back, “How can’t I hit you?”
Zhang Jingyao had to raise her voice a little: “I know you best, what’s the benefit of falling out with me?”
“There are no benefits, but there are no disadvantages either.” Jiang Xiao doesn’t care, even thinks it’s funny, “What? Do you want to retaliate against me?”
Listening to her contemptuous tone, Zhang Jingyao’s eyes revealed a bit of resentment and anger. “Jiang Xiao! Don’t really think I have no black material in your hands!”
Jiang Xiao smiled lightly, teasing back, “Then you can say, what black material do I have?”
“…” Zhang Jingyao was speechless for a while.
Jiang Xiao, although her character is a bit worse, she really doesn’t have any black material. Dating and acting like a big shot are just child’s play, which are at most gossip and scandal in the circle, and are far from the level of black material.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiao turned to smile: “Speaking of black material? The fact that you slept with sponsors everywhere counts as black material.”
Hearing this, Zhang Jingyao nervously held her hand and murmured, “How do you know?”
Jiang Xiao’s mouth hooked with a little interest in her smile: “How do I know? What do you think?”
In the entertainment industry, there are no absolute secrets. Zhang Jingyao dared to do so, and was not afraid that others would know.
Jiang Xiao recalled the gossip when she heard the news at a gathering. She didn’t believe it until the other person showed her a lot of photos. She frowned and asked someone to hide the news. The reason for not clarifying in front of Zhang Jingyao was that she considered Zhang Jingyao’s face and secondly, as a friend, she thought she had no right to interfere in others’ private lives.
But now, they are no longer friends, and can even be considered enemies, so there is no need to hide it. If Zhang Jingyao has the courage to stab her in the back, then she must be prepared to break off relations with her.
When it comes to quarreling, the more you poke at the other person’s pain point, the more pleasure you feel.
Zhang Jingyao’s eyes flashed with tension, and in her mind she thought about everyone who had grievances against her, but what was the use of that? JIf Jiang Xiao knew, it meant that most people in this circle must know. How would they see her? How would they talk about her?
This matter becoming public is only a matter of time. The only one who can help her is…
Zhang Jingyao immediately looked towards her only lifeline, knowing that only Jiang Xiao could help her. But how could Jiang Xiao possibly help her?
Jiang Xiao leisurely remarked, “Seriously, those patrons of yours, all fat and rich. How can you stoop so low? Looks like you’re really desperate.”
Zhang Jingyao was stung by the implied criticism in Jiang Xiao’s words, unable to contain her shame and anger, she yelled uncontrollably, “Jiang Xiao, shut up! Do you think I enjoy this? Do you think I want to sleep with those disgusting old men?”
Jiang Xiao replied indifferently, “Who you sleep with is your business, it’s none of my concern. I’ve given you money and resources for free, even bringing you onto shows to ride on the publicity. What more do you want?”
“I hate your patronizing tone!” Zhang Jingyao recalled the years of grievances she endured, her eyes filled with resentment and hostility. “Just because you have money, you don’t bother treating people with respect.”
Three years ago, when someone was fawning over her for a few bucks, they didn’t have this attitude. Now, benefiting so much from her, they dare talk about dignity?
Heh, what an ungrateful person.
Feeling a faint irritation creeping up, Jiang Xiao didn’t want to argue further. She lazily raised her lips and said, “Since you dislike my charity so much, I’ll take it all back.”
“Good, with the money saved, I can buy a couple more bags of dog food for my family’s Wangcai.”
Jiang Xiao said this purely to disgust Zhang Jingyao, and as expected, it had a significant effect. Zhang Jingyao completely lost control, waving her hands as if to pounce.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xiao had anticipated this and easily dodged.
“Stop it! Are you crazy?” Liang Cheng rushed over upon hearing the commotion, pushed the door open, and upon seeing this scene, quickly stepped forward to pull Zhang Jingyao away, while also looking at Jiang Xiao with concern, “Xiaoxiao, are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
Jiang Xiao shook her head, “I’m fine.”
“Am I crazy? She attacked me first!” Liang Cheng’s surprising strength made it impossible for Zhang Jingyao to break free, she could only glare angrily at Jiang Xiao, venting her dissatisfaction in a low voice.
Liang Cheng glanced at the palm print on Zhang Jingyao’s face, recalling the surveillance video Jiang Xiao had requested from her, and roughly guessed what had happened. “You brought this upon yourself, so you better behave. If you don’t calm down, do you want the whole crew to know about your scandal?”
Perhaps Liang Cheng’s warning had an effect, Zhang Jingyao surprisingly didn’t lose her temper. When she was escorted away by security later, she even cooperated reasonably well.
After this incident, it quickly came time to shoot Jiang Xiao’s scenes.
The assistant director came over specifically to run through the scenes with her.
Because of Jiang Xiao’s previous high-profile behavior, the assistant director vaguely guessed her relationship with Zhou Wenting, so he deliberately called Zhou Wenting over too.
The three sat face-to-face in chairs, the assistant director talking while sneaking glances at them. Jiang Xiao listened attentively, abandoning her usual carefree demeanor and fidgeting. Not only did she not move closer to Zhou Wenting, she sat as far away from him as possible.
On the other hand, Zhou Wenting, who usually didn’t bother with Jiang Xiao, seemed distracted at the moment, his eyes continually flicking toward the other person’s body.
Could it be that the two of them quarreled? Or did they agree in advance to keep their distance to avoid suspicion? The assistant director couldn’t figure it out, but he didn’t dare to ask more questions. After finishing the play, he smiled and said, “That’s it for now, I’m sure you’ll both do fine.”
“Thank you, director.” Jiang Xiao and Zhou Wenting stood up at the same time to see him off.
The filming was about to start, and Jiang Xiao planned to familiarize herself with the script again. As she was about to leave, the person next to her suddenly stopped her: “Jiang Xiao, wait, I have something to tell you.”
Jiang Xiao instinctively turned her head and saw Zhou Wenting standing there with his hands in his pockets.
He was wearing a basic white shirt and black pants, a simple outfit that highlighted his tall and slender figure, broad shoulders and narrow waist, showcasing his good physique effortlessly, dignified yet youthful.
Jiang Xiao remembered that after this drama aired, the response was very enthusiastic. The male lead played by Zhou Wenting became extremely popular, gaining millions of fans and dominating the popularity charts. Products related to the drama sold out instantly, and investors and advertisers made a fortune.
As a temporary investor inserted into the mix, Jiang Xiao naturally made quite a bit of money too.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiao refocused her thoughts. Despite his perfect appearance easily ensnaring countless fans, she softened her tone a bit for the sake of money: “Go ahead, what’s the matter?”
***
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Ayalee[Translator]
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