A Pair of Evil Women's Love - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The mini-test recording wrapped up at midnight. Fu Haitang followed the crew to the editing room to watch the rough cut. The editor knew her well; they were old acquaintances, and he wasn’t shy about discussing his editing ideas with her.

The editor’s throat was dry from talking. He suddenly noticed that Fu Haitang hadn’t said more than a few words the whole time. “Are you not feeling well?”

“Why do you say that?” Fu Haitang asked with a smile.

The editor pointed at the computer. “Normally you’d have a lot to say. You’d be giving me a bunch of pointers, your editing techniques are even more malicious than mine. Why are you so quiet today?”

Fu Haitang said, “You’re wrong! I’m a good person!”

The editor clicked his tongue twice. “Still want me to edit it the same way as before?”

“You’ll have to ask President Ren about that,” Fu Haitang said, looking troubled. “I… can only watch now.”

“Sigh,” the editor said with feeling. “It’s okay. The sun will rise again.”

Fu Haitang smiled, then glanced at the time. “It’s getting late. I should…”

“Go on, go on,” the editor waved her off. “You’re already in this position and you’re still working overtime? What’s the point?”

Fu Haitang: “I’m going to check on the practice rooms.”

“Tsk—” The editor shook his head, looking at the direction Fu Haitang disappeared in with a disappointed expression. “No spine!”

However, Fu Haitang didn’t go back to the practice rooms. Sini was working overtime. She and two other colleagues were the on-site planners for the second stage of the show. The general direction was set by Ren Qing, and the details were up to them.

“So late. What time do you get off?” Fu Haitang bought two cups of coffee. She gave one to Sini, who was hunched over her desk. “How’s it going? How much longer will you be busy?”

Sini looked up. When she saw Fu Haitang, she looked like she’d found a long-lost relative. “Why are you here too? I’m exhausted. President Ren changed the plan last minute and told us to create a conflict-driven script.”

Fu Haitang raised an eyebrow.

Sini said, “Is she crazy? I asked what kind of script? She said to dig through all the raw footage, compile the data, and hand it over to the editor! My God…”

It’s a case of creating trouble when there’s none. Fu Haitang pressed the home button on Sini’s tablet, which was on the work log page. It was Sini’s habit to meticulously write a detailed, thousand-word record of every work process and piece of content.

With a light swipe of her finger, Fu Haitang quickly read through the content.

Sini finished her coffee in one gulp, put the cup down, and let out a long breath. “Hey, I—”

“Almost dropped it,” Fu Haitang said, turning to hand the tablet to Sini. “Be careful.”

“My baby!” Sini exclaimed, holding the tablet to her chest. “Baby, say thank you to your godmother!”

Fu Haitang pursed her lips. “I’m going home.”

“Leaving already?” Sini asked.

“I’m leaving!” Fu Haitang pointed a finger. “Also, I’ve decided to take the vacation I’m owed.”

Sini: “You’re taking a vacation? The workhorse is finally wising up?”

…

In the Morning

After turning off who knows how many alarms, Fu Haitang finally lost the desire to sleep.

“…”

She’d been working overtime for so long. This was the first time she was giving herself a long weekend, and she didn’t even have to do errands for Gu Jingjing. It felt a little strange. Fu Haitang tossed and turned. When she closed her eyes, she felt irritated, and when she opened them, she was still restless.

Three days.

What am I going to do for three days?

Fu Haitang got up and opened the curtains. Sunlight streamed in from the 32nd-floor balcony, warm and cozy… She slid open the floor-to-ceiling window, and a gentle breeze blew in…

Wait! Fu Haitang slammed the window shut! The A/C is going to escape!

Air conditioning is so expensive; I can’t be messing around with it!

She showered, washed her hair, and did her skincare. Everything seemed to be in order, but a nagging frustration wouldn’t go away. Fu Haitang decided to put on a full face of makeup.

Then she woke up Ji Xiaotong, who was sprawled out in the living room.

Lunchtime

“I wonder how Mommy is doing,” Ji Xiaotong said. This was her first time at a supermarket, and she was clearly very excited. She swept snacks and drinks off the shelves. “Hey! It’s been so long. Why hasn’t Mommy reached her peak yet?”

Fu Haitang followed behind Ji Xiaotong, putting potato chips and spicy strips back on the shelf, one by one.

“What went wrong? It’s impossible. It’s been two weeks, and she still hasn’t gotten together with Daddy, right? Hey, you—” Ji Xiaotong said, holding up a finger and turning around, instantly losing her temper. “I want to eat this! Why did you put it back?”

Fu Haitang looked at the corn chip in her hand and seriously placed it back on the shelf. “It’s two yuan cheaper online.”

Ji Xiaotong’s analysis was inevitably colored by her personal grievances. Her voice got louder. “This is the difference between you and the female lead! If you let me eat this bag of corn chips, maybe you’d be the star of this world!”

Fu Haitang sighed softly. “Are you going to shop or not?”

“You, you’re threatening me!” Ji Xiaotong said angrily. “Didn’t you say we were going ‘shao ping’ to celebrate the apartment officially becoming public property?”

Fu Haitang held up her phone, showing the text message from the realtor. The apartment was officially transferred today. She then went to a real estate website and said to herself with a self-deprecating laugh, “Today we celebrate the successful transfer, tomorrow we’ll celebrate the successful sale.”

“Wait, ‘shao ping’?” Fu Haitang frowned. “Did you mean ‘shopping’?”

Ji Xiaotong launched a personal attack. “Heh, you don’t even know ‘shao ping.’ How are you supposed to get a kiss from Fu Yilan?”

Fu Haitang: “How old are you?”

Ji Xiaotong: “How should I know? But I know that…”

“Did you go to school?” Fu Haitang asked.

Ji Xiaotong: “Come on, I’m a system. I don’t need to know anything. I just retrieve it from the system database!”

Fu Haitang said, “…Then retrieve ‘shao ping.'”

“I’m malfunctioning, don’t you know that? You’re deliberately pointing out my flaws!” Ji Xiaotong fumed. “You’re attacking me. You have to buy me corn chips.”

Fu Haitang sighed. “Fu Yilan actually thought I’d be into you,” she said, pushing the shopping cart directly past Ji Xiaotong. She mumbled, “I must have been crazy!”

Ji Xiaotong trotted to catch up with Fu Haitang. “…You, you, you! If I hadn’t been bound to the wrong person, would I have to put up with this? I’m so mad, I’m so mad… Ahhhhhh! Stop right there!”

They finished shopping and went home. Fu Haitang washed her hands and started cooking. She chose the first episode of the show as background TV. After watching for ten minutes, she got bored and put on Fu Yilan’s introduction video instead.

It’s a good thing I planned the content and direction. It was aesthetically pleasing, with many twists and turns, and incredibly exciting.

In particular, the expression on Fu Yilan’s face during her defiant confrontation with herself that night was so compelling, Fu Haitang replayed it over and over. This person is really… really…

“Really beautiful,” Fu Haitang murmured softly, not even noticing that the chicken soup in the pot was boiling over.

Ji Xiaotong, who was wandering by the kitchen door, saw it and immediately yelled, “Hey! The soup!”

Fu Haitang snapped back to reality, slammed her phone down, turned off the heat, and wiped the stove.

Ji Xiaotong mumbled, “Why are you acting like you’ve lost your soul? You’re in such a bad state. You might as well go back to the TV station.”

Fu Haitang wanted to curse at her but held back. Feeling frustrated, she intentionally served the chicken butt to Ji Xiaotong.

Ji Xiaotong: “Which part of the chicken is this?”

Fu Haitang glanced at it. “The cartilage from the wing.”

“It’s pretty good,” Ji Xiaotong mumbled, then reached into the pot again. “Aren’t there two wings on a chicken? Where’s the other one?”

Fu Haitang: “…”

Fu Haitang slept soundly from lunch until six. She grabbed her phone. Aside from messages from her TV station colleagues, there were no personal messages.

She felt a knot of restlessness in her chest. It was as uncomfortable as a cat’s scratching.

(I didn’t go to the station today.) She hinted.

The reply came: (Got it.)

It was a little cold. Fu Haitang was unhappy and continued to prod: (I’ll have to give you the check later.)

(Okay.) Distant, like a stranger.

A surge of anger rose up. Fu Haitang sat up and launched her attack. (Fu Yilan, if I’m not mistaken, there’s a clause in our agreement that you have to tell me what you eat for lunch and dinner every day! And you haven’t reported in for two or three days!)

(Are you upset?) Fu Yilan replied with just two words.

Fu Haitang was stunned. She bit her lip and said reluctantly, (Just fulfill the agreement.)

Fu Yilan: (Alright.)

Doing this on purpose. What is it if not teasing?

Fu Yilan immediately sent a few photos. She had taken pictures of every single meal for the past three days—she just deliberately didn’t send them.

Fu Haitang felt like she was punching a pillow. She threw her phone away, tossing and turning, until she finally came up with a way to strike back. (Miss Fu, given your intentional lack of cooperation, I think I’ll have to deduct a proportional amount from the remaining 700,000.)

Fu Yilan replied: (As a fellow Fu, Miss Haitang, have you heard the saying, ‘We grew from the same root, why torture each other so harshly’?)

Fu Haitang: (That’s not right, is it?)

Fu Yilan: (Actually, I’ve always wished I had an older or younger sister.)

Fu Haitang: (Changing the subject won’t work.)

The other person didn’t reply for a long time. Did she go crazy from training? As Fu Haitang wondered, she suddenly remembered Sini’s work log, and a guess formed in her mind.

At the same time, the original book also gave Fu Haitang the answer.

<center>Afternoon filming. The production team suddenly started asking trainees about their family and friends. When it was Fu Yilan’s turn, she put away her phone and walked into the interview room. Towards the end, the staff member interviewing her asked the same question.</center>

<center>Fu Yilan: “I don’t have any.”</center>

<center>”Still no relatives?” Sini was puzzled. “Uh… I hope you don’t mind, Yilan, I’m just curious. Asking this is just to help the fans get to know you.”</center>

<center>Fu Yilan: “I’m sorry, my parents have passed away.”</center>

<center>”…What about brothers and sisters?”</center>

<center>”I don’t have any.”</center>

<center>Sini: “…”</center>

<center>Fu Yilan smiled faintly: “I’ll be going now.”</center>

Fu Haitang still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.

A new message appeared on her phone.

Fu Yilan: (I’m serious.)