Wen Yang watched the two interact intimately, feeling a bit uneasy inside, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong.
He didn’t like Jiang Xingxing, but after spending a lot of time with her, he found her pure-hearted, optimistic, and good-tempered.
Uh, of course, he wouldn’t admit that he saw her as a backup plan, but… a woman with such a good temperament wouldn’t be a bad choice as a future wife, right?
After all, she had failed in several matchmaking attempts and couldn’t easily find a boyfriend.
Of course, these were Wen Yang’s most secret thoughts, hidden deep in his heart, not something he’d share with others.
But what he never expected was that, after a few months of not seeing her, she not only had a boyfriend but was already living with him! That was way too fast…
Wen Yang couldn’t help but feel a knot in his heart.
Shang Jie, with his deep brown eyes, casually glanced at him, as if he had seen through Wen Yang’s hidden thoughts, finding it amusing and looked down on him even more.
There are all kinds of men who are jerks. Shang Jie, being someone who plays with life, didn’t consider himself a romantic or faithful man, but at least he never deceived women.
He had never truly been in a relationship, but if he were to be, he would choose a woman he genuinely admired. Whether they broke up afterward would be a different matter, but while together, he would give his full attention and commitment.
Jiang Xingxing was oblivious to the two men each harboring their own thoughts, looked around and saw the empty office and rehearsal room. She asked Wen Yang, “Where is everyone?”
Wen Yang sighed, “They’re all gone.”
“Gone?” Jiang Xingxing was puzzled. “Why did they leave?”
“Our theater is about to be demolished. And lately, our performances have had very few audience members. The troupe isn’t making enough money to pay the actors much, so most of them have found other paths. Last time we came to talk to you, it was to discuss this. Recently, we’ve been rehearsing a fairy tale play, but we’re short on staff and even actors. We wanted to see if you had time to help.”
So that’s why her friends had come to her house to discuss this matter last time.
They walked into the rehearsal room, where a European-style play was being rehearsed on stage, with only four or five actors performing.
As Jiang Xingxing entered, Ming Jin was the first to notice. She jumped off the stage and ran over.
She was playing the witch from “The Little Mermaid” and was dressed in a ragged purple robe. Her hair was sticky and messy, and she wore mismatched long boots, walking with a lopsided gait.
“Xingxing! Finally, you’re here. Oh my, if I had known this handsome guy was coming too, I would have removed my makeup!”
Ming Jin laughed and said, “You’ve caught me at my ugliest.”
Ming Jin was slim and tall, with a mature air about her. She often played mature women in plays, like Fanyi in “Thunderstorm”. Although she wasn’t that old, her long-time role choices had given her a seductive maturity.
Shang Jie smiled lightly, “It’s fine. Right now, the only woman I see is Jiang Xingxing.”
Jiang Xingxing: ……
Was he really trying to show off their affection in front of her friends? She couldn’t bring herself to believe those little sweet words that came so easily from his mouth!
“Oh, Xingxing, and you still say there’s nothing going on between you two. Look at this handsome guy—all he sees is you,” teased her friend.
Jiang Xingxing replied, “I have no idea what’s gotten into him today.”
The friends from the theater troupe all jumped off the stage, their curious eyes growing wide as they carefully sized up Shang Jie.
“Xingxing’s handsome guy, why don’t you take off your mask?”
“His nose is feeling a bit uncomfortable, so he won’t be taking it off,” Jiang Xingxing explained. “Let’s focus on the important stuff.”
“Alright, let’s head to the office.”
Now, there were only a handful of actors left in the theater troupe—Wen Yang and Ming Jin, of course, and Ming Jin’s drama-obsessed younger sister, the eccentric Ming Jue, along with Lu Wuque and a few younger actors.
Jiang Xingxing quietly introduced her friends in the troupe to Shang Jie. When Shang Jie heard the name Jiang Zhi, he couldn’t help but ask, “He has the same surname as you? What’s your relationship?”
Jiang Xingxing explained, “The head of the theater troupe is Grandma Jiang. She adopted me. Jiang Zhi is her grandson, so he’s like an older brother to me. Even though I’m not her biological granddaughter, Grandma treats me better than if I were. Because of her age, she’s gradually stepping back from the theater, so Jiang Zhi is now the troupe’s leader.”
Shang Jie looked up and met Jiang Zhi’s gaze. Jiang Zhi was handsome, with delicate and refined features. Being older, he seemed like a parent when hanging around the younger actors, exuding a calm and mature aura.
He remained expressionless, yet there was a faint hint of hostility toward Shang Jie.
In a low voice, Shang Jie asked Jiang Xingxing, “Is your ‘big brother’ always this cold?”
Jiang Xingxing shook her head. “No, he’s just not fond of you.”
Shang Jie: “…”
He shouldn’t have asked.
“Xingxing, are you still filming?” Jiang Zhi asked.
“There are only a few scenes left to wrap up. Once I’m done, I’ll come back to help the troupe,” she replied.
“Perfect, we urgently need help right now. We don’t even have enough actors,” Jiang Zhi said. “Once you’re back, you can assist backstage.”
Jiang Xingxing glanced around at everyone, her eyes settling on Ming Jue, the blonde girl. It seemed that Ming Jue was indeed playing the role of the Little Mermaid.
In terms of pure acting talent, Jiang Xingxing and Ming Jue were the top two in the troupe. However, who ranked first had always been up for debate. Both had honed their stagecraft since childhood and were passionate about acting.
But Ming Jue was luckier than Jiang Xingxing. Despite her young age, she had a cute, charming appearance, and many roles—both leads and supporting—were offered to her. If she ever chose to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, she could definitely become a popular star.
However, Ming Jue turned them all down. She was fully invested in her two main passions: theater and cosplay. These were her true loves.
Her older sister, Ming Jin, was always frustrated with her, often pulling her by the ear and scolding her, saying she was wasting her talent by not pursuing a proper career. But no matter how much she lectured her, Ming Jue remained unmoved—she simply loved what she loved.
After chatting for a bit, everyone returned to their rehearsals.
Jiang Zhi pulled Jiang Xingxing aside into the hallway and, in an older brotherly tone, questioned her, “Xingxing, what’s going on between you and that man?”
Jiang Xingxing’s mind was entirely focused on the stage. Ming Jin and the others were insistent on dragging Shang Jie onto the stage to teach him how to act, which made her extremely anxious, worried that someone might recognize him.
“Jiang Xingxing,” Jiang Zhi’s voice dropped to a serious tone, “Is he your boyfriend?”
“Huh?” Jiang Xingxing finally snapped back to reality and quickly waved her hands, “No, no.”
“If he’s not your boyfriend, then why is he living in your house?”
“He…” Jiang Xingxing didn’t know how to explain it to her older brother and simply said, “He ran into some trouble, and I was just being kind and helping out. Don’t worry about it, I’m an adult, and I know what I’m doing.”
Jiang Zhi’s face darkened. “Xingxing, you’ve always been so kind and pure-hearted. I’m worried that you might get taken advantage of. That guy doesn’t seem like a good person at all. Even your sister Ming Jin couldn’t take her eyes off him the moment she saw him. Men like that are the ones who toy with women.”
Jiang Xingxing chuckled, “Are you indirectly complimenting him for being handsome?”
He couldn’t be that bad if he caught Ming Jin’s interest—she has high standards, after all.
“I just think he’s not trustworthy,” Jiang Zhi said awkwardly. “I hope you find an honest man who will take care of you. It doesn’t matter if he’s a bit ugly.”
Jiang Xingxing retorted, a bit annoyed, “Some people are ugly and still not honest.”
Like Wen Yang, for instance. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“I’d rather be with a handsome guy. Even if he tricks me, at least I’ll be happy.”
Jiang Zhi shook his head in frustration, “You’re hopeless!”
“Oh, come on, you’re overthinking it,” Jiang Xingxing said, patting him on the shoulder. “A guy like Shang Jie could never be interested in me. He’s just messing around.”
“What’s his name again?” Jiang Zhi asked.
Jiang Xingxing froze. Crap, how did she let his real name slip?
“Uh… His name is Shang Shen,” she quickly corrected herself. “Shen, like in ‘caution’ and ‘prudence.'”
Jiang Zhi just replied with an “Oh,” not seeming to think much of it. Jiang Xingxing sighed in relief, knowing he was too focused on the theater to follow online news or anything like that.
“You should have him move out as soon as possible. You’re an unmarried woman—it’s not proper to have a man living in your home.”
“Ah, come on, don’t worry about it. I know what I’m doing.”
“You say that, but really, you’re just smitten by how good he looks. I heard from Ming Jin that guy’s muscles are like chocolate bars.”
Jiang Xingxing: …
It’s like he saw it himself.
“By the way, I heard from Wen Yang that our Red House Theater is getting torn down?” Jiang Xingxing asked, changing the subject.
Jiang Zhi’s face grew somber. “Yeah, we’re in an old district, prime location, and I’ve heard the government is planning to build a new city here. They’re attracting investments and planning to build a high-end entertainment complex, so our building has to be demolished.”
“That must come with a big compensation fee, right?” Jiang Xingxing said. “This theater is huge and old. It’s gotta be at least an eight-figure sum.”
“You wish. This place was built by the government in the 1980s as a public theater. It’s always been state property. As long as they didn’t tear it down, we could keep using it. But now they want it gone, so we have to move out without any say.”
“We can’t move, bro! If we move, the Candlelight Theater Troupe will be finished!” Jiang Xingxing realized how serious the situation was.
“Do you think it’s not already finished?” Jiang Zhi said, dejected. “Most people have already left, and the ones who stayed only did so out of sentiment. As long as the Shang Corporation keeps targeting our theater, it’s only a matter of time before we’re disbanded.”
Just as Jiang Xingxing was about to sigh, something hit her, and she grabbed Jiang Zhi’s wrist. “Wait, what did you say? Shang Corporation?”
Jiang Zhi, puzzled by her reaction, said, “Yeah, a subsidiary of Shang Corporation won the bid. Yesterday, they even sent someone over to pressure us to move out sooner.”
“They… their boss hasn’t gone missing or something?” Jiang Xingxing stammered, nearly tripping over her own words.
“The boss is missing, so no one’s making the big decisions. But our small-time issues aren’t enough to cause a delay.”
Jiang Xingxing thought to herself, “The big boss who runs the Shang Corporation is living in my house right now, eating my food, and using my stuff.”
Sansukini: Please check out my new translation coming next week, with schedule Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The title is “Please Bear With Me For Now,” the first book before “Getting on the Wrong Sedan and Marrying the Right Man,” https://secondlifetranslations.com/novel/sedan/ which was completely translated by Mily. I just felt my OCD acting up knowing that there’s a first book so I asked Mily for permission to translate this one.
Here’s the summary:
In the city of Yangzhou, there are two renowned beauties: one is the stunning yet thorny rose, Li Yuhu, who is breathtakingly beautiful but sharp-tempered; the other is the pure and elegant lotus, Du Bingyan. Both women were married on the same day, and while seeking shelter from the rain in the same temple, a mix-up occurred. Du Bingyan ended up mistakenly taking Li Yuhu’s wedding sedan and marrying General Dingyuan, Yuan Buqu.
She was exposed!
Wanting to explain what happened, Du Bingyan disguised as a man and travelled to find her “husband”, only for him to discover her identity as a woman while she was bathing in the river. Amidst a series of misunderstandings, the sparks of love begin to fly between them…
Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)