Chapter 37: I Like Someone

“Do you have scenes tonight too? Are you also heading to the set?” Ji Xueli turned to the man beside her and asked.

“Yeah, they added a night scene for me too,” Fu Yunfan replied.

“I see.” Ji Xueli nodded, then pulled out her phone to send a message to Duan Qingyu.

Fu Yunfan glanced at her screen and saw the contact name “Duan Qingyu.” He pursed his lips and couldn’t help but ask, “Was that the president of START Entertainment earlier?”

“Mm.” Ji Xueli responded briefly while continuing to message and ask if Duan Qingyu had gotten in the car yet.

Given Duan Qingyu’s reputation—especially in elite circles—she likely already knew about him. There was no need for him to bring it up and stir unnecessary trouble.

But still…

“Didn’t you say you were starting your own studio? Planning to open a company?” Fu Yunfan voiced his doubt.

Ji’s mother had also offered to buy a company for her, but with work and her other tasks, Ji Xueli didn’t want to burden herself with more stress. Signing under Duan Qingyu’s company gave her more chances to interact with him, after all.

“START is a top-tier entertainment company nationwide. Running a company from the ground up takes too much time, and I just don’t have it,” Ji Xueli said.

Fu Yunfan understood that her ambitions went far beyond the present—she aspired to a bigger stage. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have paused her career to study abroad.

No matter what she chose to do, he would always support her to the end.

---

After pulling an all-nighter, she was back on set the next afternoon. The drama had a massive budget and was an S+ level production, so both the crew and the director had extremely high standards.

For several consecutive days, Ji Xueli stayed in Hengdian without leaving, so busy that she barely had the energy to look at her phone, let alone message Duan Qingyu.

“Mom, can you stop? There’s no way I’m going to find Ji Yanzhou again. There’s nothing important going on, so why should I reach out to him? I’m drowning in work,” Ji Xueli said while biting into an apple, sounding exasperated.

“Then let Yanzhou come to you. You two should spend more time together. Oh, and make sure you’re free around Dragon Boat Festival—I’ve planned a trip abroad with Aunt Ji. Our families are going together,” her mother reminded.

Here we go again…

Ji Xueli rubbed her temples. “I really don’t have time. I haven’t even wrapped filming yet. When would I possibly have time to travel?”

“What do you mean you don’t have time? I got your dad to invest so much in this drama—can’t they just give you a few days off?” her mom huffed.

Ji Xueli knew her mother would bring up the investment. If she didn’t say it directly, her mom would keep finding ways to get her to meet with Ji Yanzhou.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Xueli finally said, “Mom, I like someone else. It’s not Ji Yanzhou.”

And with that, she immediately hung up and tossed her phone to Han Chen, instructing him, “Don’t answer any calls from my parents for the next few days.”

Across town, her mom was sipping peach gum soup. The moment she heard those words from the phone, she froze…

The spoon slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, alarming the butler and Ji’s father, who quickly rushed over.

“What happened?!” her dad, still adjusting his tie, ran over in a panic.

Ji’s mom stared blankly, the disconnected tone still buzzing in her ears. “Lili said she likes someone…”

“So what?” Ji’s father was unconcerned, assuming she meant Ji Yanzhou.

“She said… it’s not Yanzhou…” Ji’s mom murmured in disbelief.

Ji’s father froze, his voice rising: “Then who is it? Someone she met abroad?!”

“No way, I have to go find Lili and ask her myself,” her mother said urgently, already getting to her feet.

“She’s so busy, her feet barely touch the ground. Don’t go causing more trouble,” her father tried to stop her.

“How is this causing trouble? Lili and Yanzhou were so good together, and now she’s saying she likes someone else? I have to find out who it is!”

“I told you already, they broke up years ago—she broke up with him. Their feelings might’ve faded,” he said calmly.

“Oh really? Then why did she call me before asking all those indirect questions about Yanzhou?” she snapped.

“Just let it go. I’ll call Han Chen myself and find out what’s going on.”

---