“Don’t sound so cold,” Huang Huijun said. “Don’t tell me you actually want to act opposite Song Qin Ning?”
“What does it matter if I want to or not? She and I are already confirmed as the leads. That’s a fact.”
Huang Huijun placed one hand casually in her pocket, her tone confident. “I have a way to get her out of the cast.”
Get Song Qin Ning out of the production?
Did Huang Huijun really think she would be interested in that?
It was clearly self-serving. And now she was using a childish excuse to try and manipulate her. How ridiculous.
Jiang Qing gave a faint, amused laugh and replied calmly, “What does that have to do with me? Her role has nothing to do with mine. The one racking her brain to push her out is probably you.”
Jiang Qing was much more composed than before.
But Huang Huijun did not seem worried.
She was confident that once she shared the plan, Jiang Qing would be tempted.
She stepped closer, glanced around cautiously to make sure no one was watching, then lowered her voice and explained her plan.
“What do you think? It’s completely flawless.”
“It’s not bad,” Jiang Qing replied lightly, “but this plan doesn’t sound like something you came up with on your own.”
Huang Huijun narrowed her eyes.
“You don’t believe me? Every step of it came from me. I swear, no one else knows about this except you and me.”
Jiang Qing tilted her head slightly.
“I remember…” she began softly, leaning in closer.
Even though Jiang Qing’s expression was calm, Huang Huijun felt a strange wave of unease. Her body stiffened instinctively, as if she were reacting to a more dominant Alpha nearby.
She froze in place, cold sweat forming on her back.
Jiang Qing’s eyes were shadowed by her long lashes as she said, “The plan you just described sounds like something I’ve seen in the criminal code.”
The next moment, she raised her hand.
In it was a phone. The glowing screen displayed a recording in progress, and the timer was still ticking upward.
Huang Huijun’s eyes widened. Her hand clenched inside her pocket, but all she felt was the sweat pooling in her palm.
Jiang Qing glanced at the screen, then looked back at her with a surprised expression.
“Sister Huijun, why were you recording this? Were you planning to collect your own evidence of guilt?”
Huang Huijun forced a smile, grinding her teeth slightly.
“Of course not. I just wanted a backup in case anything went wrong with the plan.”
Jiang Qing gently swiped her finger and deleted the recording.
“Well then, since you don’t trust me, maybe you should find someone else.”
She smiled sweetly and added, “But I’ll kindly remind you. Even if Song Qin Ning does quit, the director is still going to cast someone with similar skills. Someone with poor acting won’t even be in line for consideration.”
Huang Huijun was just about to snap back and throw that line at the so-called pretty-faced, no-talent Miss Jiang when she saw someone from the crew walking toward them.
“Sister Huijun, you’re still here? I thought you had another engagement to get to?” the staff member said politely, then turned to Jiang Qing with a smile. “Miss Jiang, lunch is about to be served. The director asked me to come find you.”
.
The staff led Jiang Qing to the banquet hall.
Since the crew had several hundred people, one banquet hall wasn’t enough, so they had rented two.
The main creative team and actors were all seated in the larger hall called the Yiya Hall.
Jiang Qing walked toward the table number the staff had mentioned.
Around the round table, the director, the producer, and several others were already seated.
“There you are, Jiang. Come sit. If you were any later, we would have finished without you,” the producer said warmly.
“Alright,” Jiang Qing replied, though she didn’t sit down right away.
She pulled out a chair and leaned slightly against the back of it. Glancing to the side, she asked softly, “Miss Song, do you mind if I sit here?”
The producer blinked in surprise.
The director, sipping tea beside him, was also puzzled. Why was she asking for Song Qin Ning’s opinion?
Song Qin Ning took a bite of the crystal shrimp in front of her and quietly moved her chair slightly to the side. Her lips moved gently.
“Go ahead.”
In the center of the banquet hall, a large LED screen was mounted on the wall. One of the crew members, feeling curious, went up to check the attached touchscreen and discovered that it functioned like a karaoke machine.
Soon enough, someone picked up the mic and started singing.
The mood in the room quickly warmed up. The lights dimmed, and a spotlight focused on the front performance area.
Everyone got into the spirit, taking turns on stage to sing their favorite songs, many of which had been sung countless times before.
Once nearly everyone had taken a turn, someone called out.
“Anyone else who hasn’t gone yet?”
“Hurry up and sing something. If I have to call you out, you’ll have to sing two songs.”
“Hey, hey, there are two big names at our table who haven’t sung yet.”
Following the producer’s subtle nod, everyone turned their attention.
Two stunning women, known for their beauty alone, had yet to perform.
Jiang Qing gave Song Qin Ning a quick glance. Then she stood up without hesitation.
“I sing off-key, so don’t laugh at me.”
“No worries. It’s just for fun. We’re all amateurs here,” the director said, smiling.
“Alright then, I’ll go first.”
Jiang Qing walked toward the stage as chatter continued behind her.
“It would be so great if both Jiang and Song went up together.”
“I agree. That would be a visual explosion.”
“Miss Song, can you grant our humble request?”
Jiang Qing reached the stage and turned around, only to see Song Qin Ning walking up behind her.
It looked like she had given in to everyone’s begging.
Jiang Qing shifted over slightly to make room so that both of them could see and use the touchscreen.
She turned and asked, “Miss Song, what would you like to sing?”
“I’m fine with anything,” Song Qin Ning replied softly.
Jiang Qing thought seriously for a moment, running through songs in her mind. Then she selected one on the touchscreen.
“How about this one?” she asked, gently resting the microphone against her cheek.
Song Qin Ning paused, slightly surprised, then said modestly, “This song is a little hard to sing.”
Jiang Qing hit the play button and smiled.
“Well, I’m off-key no matter what I sing, so I might as well sing something I actually like.”
The music began to play, and someone in the room reacted.
“Oh, it’s this one.”
“What is it?” someone nearby asked, curious.
“It’s that really popular song lately. It’s called Virtual.”
Although Jiang Qing often sang off-key, she was not shy. She had strong stage presence and naturally swayed to the rhythm as she sang.
When the song reached the chorus, she turned toward her duet partner like a seasoned performer.
Feeling the intensity of her gaze, Song Qin Ning turned her head slightly.
Earlier at dinner, Jiang Qing had tied her curly hair into a fluffy bun, leaving her radiant face fully exposed.
The lighting in the room was dim, but her eyes sparkled brightly, full of light like scattered moonbeams, soft and flowing. She was so beautiful, it was hard to look away.
But beauty like that could burn. After only one glance, Song Qin Ning quickly looked away, as if she had been singed.
Jiang Qing didn’t understand what had happened. But she did notice something odd. A visible blush had crept up the skin behind Song Qin Ning’s ear, and it didn’t fade.
Jiang Qing tilted her head slightly.
Was it the lyrics that made her shy?
When the song ended, the room burst into applause and playful cheers.
The two of them walked down the stage steps side by side.
Jiang Qing casually hummed part of the chorus under her breath.
“You are the closeness I never had and could never capture, yet I hold your kiss, your soul, your heart.”
The person in front of her didn’t look back.
But the tips of Song Qin Ning’s ears turned an even deeper shade of red.
Her heart was pounding.
What should she do now? It felt like she could not even look Jiang Qing in the eyes anymore.