The place was deserted.

The guests, relatives, and friends had all left, and the media and reporters had long since left with their cameras. There were only a few scattered cleaners left in the hotel to clean up the mess. The hotel, along with the resort area, had been booked in advance by the wedding company, and there was no one else around.

According to the wedding process, they should go home now.

The newlywed bedroom was already decorated.

But was Jiang Cha willing to go back with her now?

Ji Fan thought about it and couldn’t ask.

A gust of wind blew, and Ji Fan pulled off her veil and threw it aside.

The veil was black in color, with small diamonds crawling on it, and a silver crown around the outside, which was stuck in her long hair. The red lips and black veil, accompanied by the shiny silver diamonds, made her look exquisite and cold.

Jiang Cha had carefully chosen this wedding dress for a long time, and she had compared herself in the mirror over and over again, until the designer was exasperated before finally deciding on it.

But now Jiang Cha didn’t even glance at it.

This was originally a resort hotel, with a very nice view. The river at the foot of the mountain was icy and clear, and Ji Fan and Jiang Cha walked up the marble riverbed, where there were few people and only occasional passing staff.

Ji Fan sat on a stone pier by the river, took off the silver crown, tidied her long hair, lowered her eyes, and quietly watched the flowing river.

“What are the conditions, you say.”

“First, don’t touch me casually.”

Ji Fan’s long eyelashes drooped, and she squinted at her, “Touch?” She curled her red lips and glanced up and down at Jiang Cha, smiling, “Which kind of touch do you mean?”

“…”

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes, her expression cold, “You know what I mean.”

Yesterday, this person had been made to have red eyes and tremble by her, and now she had such a cold and reserved look. Ji Fan lifted her thin eyelids slightly, her eyes deep and ambiguous as she looked at her.

“You’re my wife. I can touch you however I want.”

Before she could finish, she had already leaned in, her cold, slender fingers pinching her chin, exerting a force that was both coercive and teasing.

It was the familiar cold fragrance again.

A cool blend of ebony and cedar, Jiang Cha had loved that scent so much in the past that she could bury her nose in her clothes and smell it for hours.

“How do you want to touch me?” Jiang Cha said expressionlessly.

Ji Fan’s cool fingertips slid down.

Her fingertips were cold, touching Jiang Cha’s lips, and then probing inward: “Like this?”

Jiang Cha had never expected her to be so shameless. Startled, she took a step back and then slapped her hand away with disgust and ruthlessness.

Ji Fan chuckled.

Then her eyes turned cold.

Jiang Cha hated her.

She lowered her head, trying to calm a dizzying sensation of weightlessness.

“If you don’t agree, then we’ll get a divorce.”

“Why should I agree?” Ji Fan lowered her eyes, saying, “Do you think you have the right to make demands of me?”

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes and said softly, “It’s you who doesn’t want a divorce, not me.”

“…”

Ji Fan fell silent.

It was she who didn’t want a divorce.

Fine.

For a moment, both of them were silent.

Ji Fan lowered her head, her long eyelashes fluttering as she asked softly, “What if it wasn’t me you wanted? What if it was you? Would you do it with me?”

Jiang Cha’s ears turned red from anger, and she exclaimed incredulously, “Me? I would want that?”

Her eyes widened. “It wouldn’t be with you!”

“With who else?” Ji Fan glanced at her indifferently, “With that director?”

Jiang Cha had never seen her so shameless. Her face flushed with anger. How had she not realized Ji Fan was like this before?

“Impossible!”

Ji Fan didn’t speak, but the corners of her lips curled up. Jiang Cha’s tone was more impulsive than usual, but this sentence was surprisingly pleasing to the ear.

She waited for a long time, and finally, Jiang Cha personally denied it.

Ji Fan smiled softly, her voice unexpectedly gentle, “Okay. I agree to the first condition.”

Now it was Jiang Cha’s turn to be surprised.

She agreed?

Jiang Cha looked at her warily, not believing it.

Ji Fan sat quietly, her head lowered. The sunlight illuminated her smooth forehead, making it look white and beautiful, while her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her eye sockets.

“Anything else?” Ji Fan asked.

“Second, although we’re married, I’m completely free. You can’t interfere with my work or my life.”

Ji Fan raised her chin and looked at her quietly. After a moment, she raised an eyebrow.

“Completely free?” she asked rhetorically. “I won’t interfere with your work, that’s fine. But what about other aspects?”

“Other aspects are free as well.”

“…”

Ji Fan narrowed her eyes at her, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, an open marriage.”

Ji Fan said nothing.

Her eyes were pitch black, terrifyingly still as she stared fixedly at Jiang Cha. “I don’t agree to that.”

“…”

“I can not touch you, but you can’t find someone else.”

“Even if I don’t find someone, what about you?” Jiang Cha lowered her eyes. “You’ll have needs. I won’t give them to you.”

“I won’t find someone else,” Ji Fan said confidently.

“…”

“Marriage should at least have basic loyalty, otherwise, what’s the point of having a marriage?”

“Fine. I won’t look for anyone,” Jiang Cha said softly. “Just for a year.”

Ji Fan frowned, about to say something, but Jiang Cha spoke up.

“Third, we’ll get a divorce after a year.”

Ji Fan fell completely silent.

Just the day before, this person had been full of words about loving her, but now, every word that came out of her mouth was crueler than the last.

Ji Fan said indifferently, “Want to leave me so much?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Cha said, “I don’t even want to see you now.”

“I agree.”

Ji Fan looked up, the pale sunlight illuminating her gloomy eyes, “One year. We’ll get a divorce in a year.”

Jiang Cha looked at her quietly, then gently slipped the ring off her left ring finger and handed it to Ji Fan, saying calmly, “I don’t want something that someone else has worn.”

Ji Fan held the ring and lowered her head in silence.

Jiang Cha turned around, “I’ve asked my agent to pick me up. No need to see me out.”

“Jiang Cha.”

The woman in front paused but didn’t turn around.

Ji Fan’s words remained unspoken.

Ji Fan lowered her head. The ring was not cold, and it still had the warmth of her ring finger.

Jiang Cha was quite decisive.

She said she didn’t want it, and she really didn’t want it. She was more ruthless and clearer-headed than Ji Fan.

The hollow ring made of rose gold leaves spun, reflecting the bright sunlight, and a square diamond sparkled with a cold white light.

Ji Fan held it and turned it, examining it for a moment before throwing it into the river.

The current was rapid, and it was soon washed away without a trace.

It was a pair of diamond rings that her parents had bought when they got married.

The box still had the regular script words “Two Hearts as One” printed on it.

And what was the result?

One died in a car accident, and the other had a lover outside long ago.

It was ominous.

••••

After Jiang Cha left, Ji Fan returned alone to her villa on the mountainside.

Although she didn’t live here often in the past, servants were always waiting inside, cleaning the house and preparing everything for her return at any time.

The lawn and plants were neatly trimmed, and food was also prepared.

Originally, Jiang Cha was supposed to live with her.

Ji Fan went upstairs and looked at the tacky main bedroom with its festive window decorations.

The villa was built on a mountain, where the wind was strong and the mountainside was cold. Through the almost 280-degree panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the lush mountains, seas, and forests, with pine and fir trees rustling in the wind.

She stood up, walked a few steps, and pushed open the floor-to-ceiling window.

Directly in front was a viewing platform covered in a thin layer of water, with a black base. The water circulated continuously, so it didn’t freeze. Wooden stepping stones were arranged in a row, extending from the floor-to-ceiling window all the way to a small pavilion in the middle of the water.

This combination of Eastern and Western architectural styles, paired with festive red window decorations and a double bed strewn with rose petals, seemed somewhat strange.

They each lived in their own rooms, separated.

Was such a relationship even considered a marriage?

Even though they hadn’t divorced, what was the difference between this and a divorce?

Jiang Cha no longer liked her.

Ji Fan didn’t believe it.

She thought Jiang Cha wouldn’t stay cold for long. How could that be? After six years of relationship, she couldn’t just give up. She would come to her senses.

But she waited for several days, and there was no news at all.

Ji Fan thought about it and decided to put her pride aside for the time being and go find her herself.

The car stopped beside the villa.

She opened the car door, entered the garden, and pressed her fingerprint on the door.

The doorknob buzzed but didn’t open.

Ji Fan didn’t believe it and tried again, but it still didn’t open.

Had the locks been changed?

She wondered.

After a while, the door opened.

A middle-aged man in slippers appeared at the door, followed by a woman’s voice from behind asking, “Who is it?”

Inside was a couple.

“Who are you?” the man asked warily.

Jasmine and white tea flowers were blooming, which Jiang Cha had planted herself.

She hadn’t gone to the wrong place.

“Where’s the original owner?” Ji Fan asked softly.

“Oh, you’re looking for that female star, are you?”

“This house has already been sold to me. The female star who used to live here has already moved out.”

The house had been sold.

She had moved out.

She was really willing to let it go.

“How much did you pay for this house?” Ji Fan looked at him seriously, “I’ll pay you double, sell it to me.”

The man looked her up and down, as if he were confirming her mental state.

••••

Jiang Cha sold her house at a low price and it was quickly bought by a couple.

She moved.

The new community housed quite a few celebrities and famous people, and the security was very good.

Living alone, she didn’t need a villa, so she only bought a duplex with simple decorations.

It was a model house that had never been sold before.

When she moved in, the formaldehyde smell hadn’t dissipated yet.

Strangely enough, Jiang Cha knew that falling in love with someone could happen in an instant, but she never thought that “falling out of love” could also happen in an instant.

Looking back, she didn’t focus on acting before, and the reason was more or less because her heart was all on Ji Fan.

Every second, she was thinking about her, thinking about her every micro-expression, pondering her every word.

Did she like herself or not?

Things that seemed like huge problems before now seemed ridiculous when she thought about them.

She had overthought everything from the beginning to the end.

A person’s brain capacity is so limited.

If you think too much about love and relationships, where is there so much energy to put into your career?

Jiang Cha was scared.

How unpredictable the human heart is.

The person she had been sleeping with for six years treated her as a substitute and spent a lot of money to snatch her role and give it to someone else. Her one-sided love was simply a self-directed and self-acted joke.

Just thinking about it gave Jiang Cha a severe headache. Since there was no answer and no result, she simply stopped thinking about it.

She found Yang Yan and planned her future development.

The entertainment industry doesn’t need two identical actors.

There was already Luo Yan, so the existence of another actor with an identical appearance was somewhat redundant.

Unless Jiang Cha could develop her own unique style. She needed to find something that would make the audience remember her and never forget her. If she could find a personal style that was completely different from Luo Yan’s and find a suitable path for herself, she might be able to get ahead of others.

“Actually, your temperaments are quite different,” Yang Yan said. “Think about it, Luo Yan is older than you, and although her temperament is also more mature, she lacks a bit of a girlish feel.”

Jiang Cha had fair skin and her features were more delicate than Luo Yan’s. Her thick, evenly spaced eyebrows were like a painter dipping a brush in ink and drawing on Xuan paper, just the right thickness, clean, neat, and the peaks and tails of the eyebrows were sharp enough. Her eyes were jet black and bright, her nose was high and straight, and her lips were a bright red.

The most outstanding thing was her pair of bright eyes.

Her gaze was clear, and when she didn’t smile, her eyes were cold and indifferent; when she smiled, she was soft and beautiful, with a girlish tenderness unique to young girls.

It’s easy to have beautiful features, but it’s difficult to have an outstanding temperament.

As the saying goes, beauty is in the bones, not the skin. Jiang Cha had excellent bone structure, lively eyes, and fair and delicate skin, making her look clean and pure.

Her appearance was more delicate, while Luo Yan’s was slightly softer and more restrained.

Of course, when the media praised Luo Yan, they always added a sentence: Luo Yan’s appearance is more atmospheric than Jiang Cha’s.

After all, as a movie queen, how could she not be atmospheric.

“By the way,” Yang Yan said, “good news, your reputation has improved slightly after coming out.”

Yang Yan showed her.

Second on the hot search.

#JiangChaSameSexWedding#

Jiang Cha and Ji Fan held a public same-sex wedding, and reporters worked overtime to write articles.

This was considered a clear coming out.

Logically speaking, since social tolerance has not yet reached an ideal state, celebrities coming out publicly should have many terrible and unpredictable consequences.

However, unexpectedly, Jiang Cha’s reputation actually turned around slightly, and her number of fans even increased.

A high-definition picture was attached below.

The woman in the black wedding dress gently hugged her slender waist, turned her head, and kissed her.

The picture was beautiful.

Only she knew that her tears had just dried up at that time.

There were some people in the comments section who scolded her, but not all.

There were more people who congratulated and blessed her.

“Happy wedding, may your love last a hundred years!”

“Chacha is so beautiful.”

“Ahhhhh! Am I the only one who thinks the other girl is also very beautiful?”

“They’re both so gorgeous, a perfect match.”

“Who’s the other one? She’s so pretty.”

Someone who knew the inside scoop immediately revealed:

“@Warner Group, that person is their CEO.”

“Oh my god? A female CEO?”

“Does she have a personal account? I want to follow her.”

“@Ji Fan, this is her personal account, but it’s all about movies and commercials, nothing interesting to look at.”

However, this comment was quickly slapped in the face.

Someone noticed that Ji Fan’s personal account had a new post one minute ago.

She reposted the Weibo post, with the caption: Ms. Jiang is so beautiful. [love]

After Ji Fan reposted it, she started waiting.

Waiting for Jiang Cha’s comment, or anything else.

She swiped through the comments section.

“Unexpectedly fed with dog food.”

“You’re beautiful too!”

“I’ve already brainstormed countless sweet romance novels.”

“Hand the pen to your wife.”

••••

There were many comments, most of them were from the hot search, but the one she wanted to see, Jiang Cha’s comment, was missing.

Would she reply?

For the first time, Ji Fan found waiting to be so anxious and helpless.

Ji Fan tried to message Jiang Cha on WeChat, asking where she had gone and why she had sold the house.

Although she didn’t reply to her message, it was a relief that she hadn’t blocked her.

If she wasn’t replying on WeChat, what about Weibo?

Ji Fan thought, maybe she should work first.

But her efficiency wasn’t high, and she couldn’t help but check Weibo to see if Jiang Cha had posted anything.

She had checked dozens of times.

Finally, Jiang Cha’s comment appeared.

Right under her own repost.

[love][love][love].

Just three emojis, nothing else.

Ji Fan’s eyes widened slightly.

Jiang Cha replied to her!

Before she could get too excited, another surprise appeared.

Jiang Cha also reposted that Weibo, with the caption:

Ms. Ji is also very beautiful. [rose]

Ripples appeared in Ji Fan’s usually calm eyes. Her heart beat faster and faster, her fingers curled up, then she exited the interface and immediately checked to see if Jiang Cha had replied to her WeChat message.

+99 message notifications.

They were all from group chats.

For the first time, she was so annoyed by those endless work group messages.

There was no reply.

It was empty, with only her own two lonely messages hanging there.

Then why did she reply to her on Weibo?

Ji Fan didn’t realize that this situation was called “forced business.”

Jiang Cha was forced to take on the persona of a loving partner, and for the time being, she couldn’t collapse the persona, so she could only barely maintain it.

On the other side.

Jiang Cha was still looking at the photo that had just made the hot search.

There were quite a few girls in the comments section praising Ji Fan’s beauty.

“Little sister” to refer to Ji Fan?

Jiang Cha turned her head slightly and closed the screen, no longer looking.

Yang Yan said, “I replied to Ji Fan’s repost for you just now.”

Jiang Cha frowned, “Huh?”

“Huh what, didn’t you see her comment and repost?”

Jiang Cha said indifferently, “Not interested.”

“If you’re not interested, that’s fine.” The agent took the opportunity to teach, “The movie is about to start shooting, focus on yourself, think more about how to develop your future acting career, don’t keep thinking about Ji Fan.”

“…”

Jiang Cha said, “I haven’t been thinking about her for a long time.”

Yang Yan sighed silently as she listened to her tone.

She guessed the cause and effect, and could only say that life is far more dramatic than stories.

After going through this, Jiang Cha probably had changed from longing for love to fearing it.

Jiang Cha’s Weibo account, in addition to being able to be logged in by herself, was also managed by Yang Yan.

Weibo is a troublesome thing. Once the number of followers increases slightly, it becomes difficult to speak casually. One cannot be too casual, and cannot expose their emotional statements.

Every word said must be considered to see if it conforms to her persona and the image created by the agency. Most ordinary people do not have that emotional intelligence and control ability, so many artists’ statements are handled by their agents.

Including Jiang Cha.

But Ji Fan didn’t know that.

She just kept staring at Jiang Cha’s comments and reposts, seriously doing a reading comprehension.

••••

Ding——

The studio phone rang.

The movie was about to start shooting, and Song Baiwei had invited the assistant director and producer to the studio to discuss some miscellaneous matters about the film.

Song Baiwei put down her teacup and answered the phone.

“Hello.”

Who could be calling at this time?

It was Luo Yan.

What she said was rather implicit, but Song Baiwei understood the meaning: she wanted to switch roles with Jiang Cha.

“The younger sister’s role is quite complex,” Luo Yan frowned, “I’m worried that this role might be a bit difficult for Xiao Jiang.”

On the surface, this movie was said to have two female leads, but the more prominent of the two female leads was Jiang Cha, who played the younger sister.

Simply put, playing the younger sister was more popular.

In a pair of sisters, the older sister’s personality was more gentle and mild, while the younger sister was more delicate and lively. In this role, the younger sister was a typical tragic beauty, born into wealth, with a beautiful appearance, but she voluntarily sacrificed herself to save her older sister.

“Hmm, I’ll think about it.”

Song Baiwei didn’t give a direct answer.

The role of the younger sister was indeed very difficult to control.

On the one hand, her emotions were very complex, and sometimes she needed to express multiple emotions on her face at the same time –

This was much more difficult than changing between one emotion and one expression. It’s easiest for an actor to express a single emotion, either pain or happiness; it’s a bit harder to change emotions, such as from extreme pain to ecstatic joy; the most difficult thing is to express two completely contradictory emotions at the same time, such as pain and happiness.

“Spy Sister” is a role that requires many highly challenging expressions.

In some scenes, two emotions appear simultaneously; in others, even three or more complex and completely different emotions must be expressed at the same time.

This level of difficulty is extremely high.

Luo Yan’s worries are not unfounded.

After hanging up the phone, the assistant director furrowed his brow. Song Baiwei said nothing but lowered her eyes and took another sip of tea.

“Can Jiang Cha handle such a difficult role?”

The assistant director is a very experienced filmmaker who has directed many action films. The difficulty of action films lies in the martial arts movements and fight scenes; but the difficulty of this film lies in the fact that, in addition to the fight scenes, the changes in the characters’ facial expressions must also be extremely subtle.

For Jiang Cha, a non-professional actress, to complete these according to the director’s requirements is almost impossible.

Moreover, the assistant director also knows that Jiang Cha’s other scandals are not really anything serious; there is no one in the circle who is cleaner than her. Her reputation was ruined by her acting, which was almost stiff and had been mocked countless times.

“I’ve considered this issue.”

Song Baiwei looked up: “But an actor has resilience and plasticity. You can’t deny her future because of her past.”

“Yes.” The assistant director smiled: “What about time? Is there enough time? For a scene that Luo Yan might pass in one take, how many takes will Jiang Cha need? The crew will also get tired. In this film, besides us, there are also lighting, art, and extras. For the sake of Jiang Cha alone, delaying the entire film’s progress, have you considered the time cost?”

“This film isn’t made for her.”

The producer on the side frowned and said displeasedly: “Isn’t efficiency important?”

“Well,” Song Baiwei took a sip of hot tea and said: “Let both of them come over and rehearse. Let the investors come together and vote. After all, the casting rights are not entirely in my hands.”

“Ha.” The assistant director immediately laughed and waved his hand: “The investor is Ji Fan! What is the relationship between Ji Fan and Jiang Cha? She will definitely vote for Jiang Cha.”

Song Baiwei shook her head with a smile: “But Luo Yan is her sister-in-law. In this kind of relationship, voting is difficult on both sides, and offending whoever you vote for. I guess Ji Fan will directly abstain.”

As soon as she said this, everyone thought it made sense –

They are all family, and harmony is the main thing. One is a wife, and the other is a sister-in-law, neither is an outsider. The normal way of thinking is to not vote for either, and to abstain.

Neither is chosen, and neither is offended. Both parties involved can understand after a little thought.

So then, they would just invite her to observe. Voting is just a formality.

According to Ji Fan’s usual shrewd mind, she would definitely understand this relationship, know the pros and cons, and automatically abstain.

“Okay.” The producer was satisfied and got up to leave.

## English Translation

**Note:** The story is a conversation between a film director and a producer, Song Baiwei, about the casting of an actress named Jiang Cha. It seems there’s a hidden past between Song Baiwei and Jiang Cha that the director is trying to uncover.

Only the assistant director and Song Baiwei remained in the studio.

The assistant director lowered his voice, questioning, “Why do you insist on casting Jiang Cha as the younger sister?”

“Jiang Cha’s temperament is very suitable for the original character.”

Song Baiwei handed him the tablet, swiping through it, revealing many of her old stills one by one.

“…”

The assistant director took a look and thought it was indeed true.

“That’s not right,” his eyes flashed with a hint of light, “Why do I feel like you have ulterior motives?”

The assistant director used to be an action director and was quite familiar with Song Baiwei’s father. He had also collaborated with her on several films, and the two were more than just acquaintances.

“Why insist on arranging the roles this way? What are you trying to hint at?”

He was implying something.

“You’re thinking too much,” Song Baiwei lowered her eyes and smiled, “What could I possibly hint at? She signed a confidentiality agreement back then. The fact that she was a body double is something people in the industry know, but as long as she doesn’t say anything, the audience will never know.”

“Still not right,” the assistant director thought for a moment, then suddenly understood, and laughed, “How come it’s such a coincidence? You wrote the script, right?”

The script was ingeniously crafted, just like the novel:

The elder sister and the younger sister never appeared together during missions.

Either it was the elder sister or the younger sister.

If the audience hadn’t figured out the logical clues in the film, they wouldn’t be able to determine whether the spy who appeared in a certain action scene was the elder sister or the younger sister.

To know who exactly appeared, either figure out the storyline or be able to distinguish the subtle differences in temperament and facial features between two different actors, even with identical makeup and clothing.

“You want the audience to find the differences themselves, and then realize that the scene in ‘Blind Youth’ used a body double?”

Song Baiwei smiled but didn’t say anything.

“Clever.”

“You’re so good to her, what for?”

He lamented, “Xiao Jiang is already married, you have nothing.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

Song Baiwei smiled, “Didn’t you notice that Jiang Cha cried at their wedding?”

She had also attended the wedding, and although she was seated a bit far from the guests, she could see that there were some red marks at the corners of Jiang Cha’s eyes, and when she kissed Ji Fan, she dodged slightly.

Her emotions were clearly wrong that day.

What kind of relationship did she have with Ji Fan?

Was it really as the media described, a loving couple, inseparable?

She chuckled.

It couldn’t be real.

---