The Film Empress is My Old Lover - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Present

Suddenly.

The makeup artist let out a small gasp.

The bottle tilted, and water spilled onto the front of her clothes. Mei Shi glanced around, instinctively grabbing a tissue that was handed to her and pressing it against her damp collar.

The temperature of their fingertips touched, but there wasn’t even time to think about it before they separated. A distance of an arm’s length, a few seconds of silence, a wordless atmosphere that only the two of them could feel.

Mei Shi lowered her eyelashes. The tissue in her hand went from dry to wet. She let herself clench and crumple it, rubbing it back and forth on the cotton fabric.

Like she was rubbing a wrinkled heart.

Mei Shi: “Thank you.”

Jiang Yi’s gaze lingered on Mei Shi’s chest. She hummed in response. “You’re welcome. What do you like to watch?”

A jumble of thoughts raced through her mind. Mei Shi couldn’t grasp a single thread. Her expression was blank for a moment. She replied, “Huh?”

Jiang Yu Cheng entered, followed by a makeup artist ready to do Jiang Yi’s makeup.

Jiang Yi smiled. “Domestic dramas. What kind do you usually watch?”

“I…” Mei Shi was embarrassed. “I just watch whatever.”

Jiang Yu Cheng stood behind Jiang Yi, editing a Weibo post about the start of filming. She glanced sensitively at Mei Shi. “Do you two know each other?”

Mei Shi looked up at the mirror. Jiang Yi was toying with a red string on her wrist. Mei Shi said, “No, we don’t.”

No one doubted her. After all, how could a returning film empress know an amateur?

They were both the same age, but their circumstances were worlds apart. To say they knew each other would inevitably lead to speculation that Mei Shi was trying to cling to a past connection.

A makeup brush swept across her eyelid. Mei Shi took the opportunity to close her eyes and hide all her complex emotions.

Jiang Yu Cheng put away her phone and said to Jiang Yi, “Congratulations. Your fans will soon find out that your first drama since returning to the country, at this crucial time, is a web series.”

Mei Shi’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

The makeup artist cautiously reminded her, “Just bear with it.”

Jiang Yi’s expression was almost indifferent. “Please call the writer for me. I want to see how the script revisions are coming along.”

Jiang Yu Cheng sighed, turned around, and left, leaving Jiang Yi behind with her eyes closed in rest.

After her makeup was done, Mei Shi received the news that the production team had canceled all filming plans for the day. In the morning, the actors would get their makeup done, have a ceremony for the start of filming, and shoot the promotional photos.

In the afternoon, they would have a script reading session.

Mei Shi was told this news while she was struggling to pose for the photographer.

“I heard the script was heavily revised. The film empress provided real-life material as a basis for the adaptation. I heard it starts with something like, ‘I have a friend…’ ”

The photographer adjusted the lens and made a gesture of cupping his face. “Let’s do another one, copy this pose… If it weren’t Jiang, the film empress, everyone would think she was writing about herself, haha.”

Mei Shi cupped her chin. Dressed in a school uniform with her hair in a high ponytail, she sat at a desk in the center of the frame, thinking about the script.

“Yes!” the photographer said. “That’s the feeling!”

Mei Shi: “…”

After the promotional photos were taken, Mei Shi got her lunchbox and ate alone under the shade of a tree. The chirping of cicadas was constant. Her neck was sweaty and greasy, and her omega pheromones were slightly leaking, a pleasant, fresh grape scent like perfume.

Actors and staff gathered in small groups, looking at Mei Shi and whispering.

“And she gets to play a couple with Jiang Yi? I feel like I could do it too…”

“Quiet down. She’s the one the investors wanted. What are you talking about?”

“Investors? Didn’t Film Empress Jiang also invest? Could it be…”

“Are you sick? Why would you do an O/O romance? Two omegas together, they can’t suppress their estrus periods. It’s like taking an aphrodisiac with no antidote. You think that’s good?”

“I know couples like that! Without exception! They all cheated on each other!”

The sound of cicadas suddenly grew louder, drowning out the rest of the conversation. Mei Shi shoveled rice into her mouth, pulled out her phone to find a moment to breathe, only to find that the internet was far more exciting than reality.

Jiang Yi’s studio cooperated with the Double Estrus production team’s low-key promotion, yet it was met with one-sided criticism.

Jiang Yi’s personal studio was the first to be attacked. Fans condemned their inaction for giving Jiang Yi a bad web drama. They said if the studio couldn’t do its job, it should go back to farming. They said everyone in the studio except Jiang Yi was an idiot and should commit hara-kiri.

What kind of film empress, who had just won an award abroad, would come back to the country and take on a web series in less than a month? This wasn’t a drop in resources; it was a cliff dive!

#Inner_Entertainment_Doesn’t_Deserve_Jiang_Yi

#Jiang_Yi_Stars_In_A_Web_Series

#A_Look_At_Jiang_Yi’s_Past_Resources_Studio_Takes_On_Web_Series_Did_Their_Brains_Turn_To_Shit?

Mei Shi’s chewing slowed. She slid her finger down, and saw that the seventh trending topic was about her.

Someone was speculating about her identity, wondering who she was to be able to be a couple with Jiang Yi in a drama.

They dug through the entire internet, including politicians, businessmen, gangsters, and white-collar workers. They even investigated several entertainment companies, suspecting that she was someone a big shot was trying to promote…

Otherwise, how could a person named Mei suddenly appear and get on the convenient train with the film empress?

Mei Shi: “…”

The fans’ insults were unbearable. They questioned Mei Shi’s acting and resume, as she didn’t even have a single representative work, not even a bad one.

She was an amateur of the amateur sort. Boiled cabbage was more substantial than her. Moreover, the photos from the start of filming were blurry and unedited, making her features unclear.

This seemed to prove that the production team’s camera skills were third-rate.

The fans’ cursing got even worse.

Her phone was hot. Mei Shi turned it off, threw the lunchbox packaging into the trash can, and followed the instructions from the group chat to go to the writer’s room.

She happened to see the writer, Guo Xiaojie, on the way.

Guo Xiaojie wore half-rimmed glasses, and the heavy lenses on her nose looked like they were about to fall off. The dark circles under her eyes were deep and heavy.

In less than a month, Guo Xiaojie had become much more haggard.

Mei Shi hesitated. “Uh…”

Guo Xiaojie: “It’s you. Are you going to the script reading? Come on, I’ll take you.”

On the way, Mei Shi asked, “Guo-laoshi didn’t get enough rest?”

Guo Xiaojie yawned. “I’m revising the script. At most, I sleep four or five hours a day. Do I look ten years older?”

They went down the stairs, walked through a long corridor, and turned a corner to the large conference room in the office building.

Mei Shi didn’t know anything about the behind-the-scenes stuff. She asked, “How much needs to be revised?”

Guo Xiaojie pushed the door open and sneered. “Enough to land me in the hospital.”

Mei Shi: “…”

The conference room had heavy curtains drawn. It was pitch black, like an uninhabited void. The moment the door opened, a gust of cold air blew out.

The air conditioning was on full blast, and the curtains were closed. At first glance, no one was inside. Guo Xiaojie was puzzled and reached out to turn on the light.

The light suddenly came on, illuminating the corner at the end of the long table where someone was napping.

The person was lying face down, with a Second City High School uniform jacket from the production team draped over their shoulders, covering their entire head, leaving only a small gap for them to breathe.

Jiang Yi’s promotional photos had been taken first. After they were done, the unedited photos were shared in a small group among the staff. Guo Xiaojie had secretly looked at them many times and drooled over them, so she naturally recognized the person sleeping there.

Guo Xiaojie’s hand trembled as she tried to turn off the overhead lights.

Mei Shi: “…”

The person was already awake. She propped herself up, rested her chin on her arm, and yawned. “Is it time?”

Guo Xiaojie: “…”

“Not yet.” Mei Shi walked into the conference room and sat down in a random seat. “Why were you sleeping here?”

Guo Xiaojie: “…”

Jiang Yi: “I didn’t want to make another trip, so I came early.”

There was a familiarity in their conversation. Guo Xiaojie was puzzled. She greeted Jiang Yi, calling her “Teacher Jiang,” and her posture and tone were filled with respect.

Mei Shi, belatedly, added a title. “Teacher Jiang,” she paused, then added, “Didn’t you go to lunch?”

Jiang Yi smiled. She didn’t know if she was laughing at Mei Shi’s cover-up or at herself for playing along. She replied, “I don’t have a big appetite. I’m not hungry.”

Mei Shi and Jiang Yi sat on opposite ends of the diagonal, looking very far apart in the empty conference room. It almost made you think they were old friends.

Guo Xiaojie was fiddling with the printer. The printer spat out the first three chapters of the new script. Guo Xiaojie printed two copies first and handed them to Jiang Yi and Mei Shi. “Teacher Jiang, Xiao Shi, you can read these first.”

Mei Shi flipped through the script. The new script was very different from the first version she had read over half a month ago.

The original first episode was supposed to be about the main character, Ye Ning, transferring to the school in September and meeting the late Gu Huan.

Now, the time was set in the middle of a hot July. School was out, and Gu Huan and Ye Ning first met at Gu’s family fruit stand.

Mei Shi’s eyes gradually widened. The content of three episodes was about forty to fifty thousand words in text, over two hundred scenes, and nearly a thousand lines of dialogue…

One scene after another, they were like a moving picture pieced together frame by frame.

Her hand flipped the pages faster and faster. The rustling sound filled the room.

Many people had already entered the conference room. Guo Xiaojie was distributing the scripts one by one. Except for the main characters, everyone else only received a few thin pages and was focused on their own parts.

Suddenly, Mei Shi slammed the script onto the table.

Everyone looked at Mei Shi in surprise.

Jiang Yi sat upright, holding her script. Like the character Ye Ning, she scrutinized Mei Shi with a calm and natural gaze.

“Who revised the script?”

Mei Shi asked.

Guo Xiaojie was puzzled. “I did.”

“Mm, it was me,” Jiang Yi said.

Mei Shi pursed her lips. She clutched the edge of the script. She knew she shouldn’t be surprised. She should have known that of course, only Jiang Yi could have revised the script to this extent.

“I think…” Mei Shi’s throat felt dry. “I think the first version was better.”

Guo Xiaojie: “…”

Everyone else: “…”

Jiang Yi snorted, lightly tapping the table with her script. She pushed the script away and watched Mei Shi with a composed expression.

There were over twenty people around the conference table, all holding their breath and looking at Mei Shi. How bold of her…

Guo Xiaojie tried to smooth things over. “Of course, this version is better. What do you know?”

Du Lingfeng pushed the door open. The young director, in his early thirties, was usually very serious. His gaze swept over the conference room with full authority. “Is everyone here? There’s no need for introductions. Let’s start.”

…

The script reading ended. Mei Shi couldn’t help but glance at the person in the corner.

Jiang Yi was drinking water. Compared to six years ago, even if her appearance hadn’t changed, her aura had slightly.

The script reading concluded. Jiang Yi got up, screwed the cap on her empty water bottle. She had the most lines and had finished three bottles of water.

The group of people gradually left the conference room. Mei Shi lagged a few steps behind. She held the script in one hand and crushed her water bottle in the other, walking toward an empty trash can a few meters away.

After throwing away the bottle, Mei Shi turned around and stopped.

Jiang Yi raised her hand and gestured to the bottle in her own hand. “I came to throw this away too.”

Mei Shi stepped aside to let her pass, then took a step to leave.

“Fate is so strange,” Jiang Yi said with a smile. “Who would have thought that a few years after coming back to the country, I’d run into you so coincidentally and even be in a drama with you? It feels like we met just yesterday. Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

Mei Shi’s steps faltered. “Is six years considered ‘flying’?”

Mei Shi clenched her fists, her fingertips almost digging into her skin. She thought she would feel angry or furious, but from beginning to end, there was only resentment in her heart.

Jiang Yi took out her phone and motioned to Mei Shi. “I want to add you on WeChat for work purposes. There’s no other meaning.”

Mei Shi didn’t move, and her face showed her resistance.

Jiang Yi then said, “You don’t have an assistant. If there’s a problem with work, who should I contact?”

When the sound of the QR code scanning was heard, Mei Shi could clearly feel her heart… trembling for a moment as if it had been startled.

“You’d better not write the rest of the story into the script,” Mei Shi said hesitantly, lowering her head to accept Jiang Yi’s WeChat request.

Jiang Yi’s WeChat profile picture was a bunch of grapes.

Mei Shi turned off her phone screen.

Jiang Yi’s smile widened. “What parts are you talking about?”

Mei Shi: “…”

“Don’t go too far, Jiang Yi.” Mei Shi frowned. “Those parts can’t be filmed.”

Jiang Yi shook her phone, then put it in her school uniform jacket pocket. Her smile was triumphant as she took a step closer to Mei Shi. “What parts can’t be filmed, and what’s ‘too far’?”

The hot wind in the corridor carried the scent of an omega’s pheromones into Mei Shi’s nose. Mei Shi stepped back until her back hit the wall. She had nowhere to retreat and looked at Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi lowered her eyes. Her breathing suddenly quickened. She reached out, wanting to pinch Mei Shi’s chin, but Mei Shi gently avoided her. “Xiao Shi, didn’t you take your suppressants? You smell like grapes.”

Mei Shi: “It’s your grape scent, isn’t it? Control yourself, Film Empress Jiang. If this gets out, your fans will tear me apart.”

Jiang Yi froze, stepped back, and looked at Mei Shi with a complicated expression. The smile in her eyes was gone. She asked, “Mei Shi, do you think I still haven’t forgotten you?”

Mei Shi: “…”

“Doesn’t matter. That’s your business.” Mei Shi took Jiang Yi’s arm away and walked away.

The hot wind blew on her face. Mei Shi lowered her head, her thumb lightly scrolling through Jiang Yi’s朋友圈 (Moments). It was completely empty—a signal that she had been blocked from viewing.

Mei Shi raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath. She clutched her phone. A line of text was already composed. If she sent it, she might be able to quit the drama.

“A latte, please.” Mei Shi entered the coffee shop. She lowered her gaze, and while waiting for her order,

A man with a carrying pole passed by outside, asking a passerby if they wanted some fruit. “Grapes, so sweet!”

Mei Shi froze, unable to stop herself from sinking into her memories—if she had known the other lead was Jiang Yi, she would never have come.