The host’s speech sounded to Yan Ji like an old monk chanting scriptures, lulling her into a deep drowsiness. Propping her head up with one hand, she covered her mouth and stifled a soft yawn.
Not long after, a sudden burst of applause erupted throughout the venue. Confused by what was happening, Yan Ji simply followed suit and clapped lazily, her lack of interest completely transparent.
Meng Yiming: “……”
Reaching out, he patted Yan Ji on the shoulder and lowered his voice, “You won an award. Hurry up and go on stage to accept it.”
However, the thunderous applause drowned out his words. Yan Ji frowned slightly and asked, “What did you say?”
Left with no choice, Meng Yiming leaned a little closer to her. As a faint fragrance drifted into his nose, his gaze inadvertently landed on Yan Ji’s fair, delicate earlobe. He paused briefly, hurriedly looked away, and repeated himself, “I said, they want you to go on stage and accept your award.”
“Thank you.” Upon hearing that, Yan Ji stood up, offered Meng Yiming a smile, and walked toward the stage.
When the host saw Yan Ji approach, she smiled warmly and handed over a microphone. “You’re truly radiant tonight, and you seem to be in a wonderful mood. Has something happy happened recently?”
“Is winning an award not something worth being happy about?” Yan Ji countered, raising an eyebrow.
The host reacted quickly, “Ahahaha, it looks like Goddess Yan came prepared! Then congratulations to you for becoming the first winner of tonight’s Golden Osmanthus Awards!”
As the music swelled, a middle-aged man in formal attire stepped forward to present the trophy. Yan Ji accepted it, nodding slightly in gratitude.
“Goddess Yan, do you have any words you’d like to share?”
Yan Ji thought for a moment. A faint, dark glint flashed through her eyes as she gripped the trophy. “I hope that in the near future, everyone will fall in love with me……” She paused briefly before adding, “……the characters I portray.”
Her voice, dipping slightly lower, carried through the speakers and into everyone’s ears. A strange tingling sensation suddenly rippled through the audience’s hearts. It felt as though she were speaking directly to each of them individually, leaving everyone with an indescribably peculiar feeling.
After stepping down from the stage with her trophy, Yan Ji thanked Meng Yiming once more.
“You already thanked me earlier.” Meng Yiming said, pulling out his phone and waving it slightly. “Would it be convenient for us to add each other on WeChat?”
“My honor.” Yan Ji replied, retrieving her own phone from her bag.
Once they exchanged contact information, Meng Yiming added, “I really hope I’ll have the chance to act alongside you someday.”
Hearing that, Yan Ji cast him a half-smiling glance and softly murmured, “There will be a chance……”
While the two chatted amiably, Xue Yang— who kept casting glances in their direction— was far from pleased.
What was the meaning of this?
Had she already found a new target this quickly?
Heh. Women truly are fickle creatures.
Naturally, Qin Yu noticed Xue Yang’s distracted behavior. Biting her lip lightly, she saw that his attention was completely elsewhere. She opened WeChat, pulled up a specific contact, and typed out a message, 【Do it as soon as possible. I don’t want to see that woman ever again.】
────ρя
Once the ceremony concluded, Zhang Tong drove Yan Ji back to her residence. Glancing through the rearview mirror, he watched the passing streetlights cast a soft, shifting glow across her face.
“Has Director Liu lined up any new productions recently?” Yan Ji suddenly inquired.
“Huh?” Zhang Tong hadn’t expected that question. He searched his memory before replying, “There’s a republican-era drama. Are you looking to join? The thing is, the female lead has already been cast.”
Yan Ji raised an eyebrow slightly. “Who said I wanted to be the female lead? Help me secure the role of the second female lead.”
Zhang Tong: “……”
Have you lost your mind?
Seeing the dead-serious expression on Yan Ji’s face, Zhang Tong swallowed the protest rising in his throat. A massive headache was already brewing.
It was over. Ever since the breakup, something had been seriously off with her. Love really was a dangerous thing.
────ρя
By the next day, topics surrounding Yan Ji at the awards ceremony completely dominated Weibo’s trending list. Someone had even turned the exact moment she looked up and smiled at the camera into an animated GIF, which promptly went viral.
Yan Ji’s Weibo follower count skyrocketed from twenty million straight to sixty million, and the numbers were still climbing. Beneath a selfie she had posted two days prior, the comment section was overflowing with praise for her striking looks.
【Wuuwuuwuu, my goddess looks this stunning even bare-faced! Saved and archived!】
【My mom asked me why I’m licking my screen. I told her I’m not licking a screen, I’m worshipping a goddess~】
【After seeing that GIF of her looking up and smiling, I stayed up all night binge-watching all her movies, commercials, and dramas. Her acting is actually incredible too!】
【Remember when anti-fans claimed she relied on sleeping around to climb the ranks? Everyone knows she shot to fame strictly because of Director Lin’s movie.】
【I am hopelessly addicted to this face.】
Yan Ji was happily scrolling through the comments when her phone rang. Zhang Tong’s voice came through the line, “Director Liu agreed to give you the second female lead role. He didn’t even require an audition. Filming starts in two weeks, so get ready. I’ll send you the script in a bit.”
“Alright.” After hanging up, Yan Ji narrowed her eyes slightly.
Qin Yu and Meng Yiming had originally gotten together because of that exact drama. Yan Ji stood up and booted up her computer, a thought crossing her mind. Now that she was throwing herself into the mix, would Qin Yu still be able to successfully seduce Meng Yiming?
True to his word, Zhang Tong soon sent over the file. Yan Ji printed out the script, curled up on the sofa, and began reading. The coffee table beside her was already piled high with snacks and fresh fruit.
The drama, titled 《Twins》, unraveled a tale of love, passion, and betrayal between a wealthy playboy and two courtesan sisters during the republican era.
Meng Yiming was cast as Fu Zheng, a character who appeared on the surface to be nothing more than an idle, privileged young master consumed by pleasure, but who was secretly a key member of the underground resistance. It was during one of his tactical visits to a high-end brothel that he first crossed paths with the sister duo, Lian Chuchun and Lian Dong.
The second female lead, whom Yan Ji would be playing, was Lian Chuchun.
After finishing the script, Yan Ji tossed it aside, her lips curling into a dismissive smirk. In her eyes, mortals truly had nothing but romance clogging up their brains. How utterly tedious.
What was the point of love anyway?
If anyone asked her, it was far better to simply enjoy life while one could. A mere century passed in the blink of an eye. So what if people loved each other to death? Once they drank Meng Po’s soup at the Bridge of Helplessness, erasing every memory of their past life before reincarnation, wouldn’t they just forget everything anyway?
Amused by the thought, Yan Ji picked up the script again, snapped a quick photo with her phone, and sent it over to Meng Yiming.
【Meng Yiming: ? You took this project too?】
【Nine-Tailed: Yep~ Surprised?】
……
Meng Yiming had been lounging cross-legged on the sofa playing 《Honor of Kings》 when the notification pinged. Accidentally clicking into WeChat, he opened the photo Yan Ji sent and stared at it in utter shock.
Wasn’t this the new drama he had just signed onto?
She had joined the cast, too?
Reading her reply, Meng Yiming couldn’t quite pin down the sudden rush of emotion inside him. It was a dizzying mix of excitement and genuine joy. Pressing his lips together, he deliberately played it cool as he typed back.
【Meng Yiming: It’s alright.】
After sending the message, Meng Yiming switched back to his game. But after waiting a long while without hearing another WeChat chime, he grew restless and toggled back to the chat.
Yan Ji hadn’t replied.
Did he come off too cold?
After a moment of anxious deliberation, Meng Yiming fired off a barrage of follow-ups.
【Meng Yiming: Which role are you playing? Lian Dong has already been decided. Lian Chuchun?】
【Meng Yiming: Want to grab coffee sometime and run lines together?】
【Meng Yiming: Where’d you go?】
Not only did his screen remain frustratingly quiet, but because of his distraction, he also completely threw his ranked promotion match. To rub salt in the injury, his teammates reported him afterward, causing his points to tank.
Annoyed, Meng Yiming tossed his phone onto the sofa and stormed off to take a shower. When he returned and checked his screen, Yan Ji still hadn’t messaged him back.
Meng Yiming let out a cold snort and flipped his phone face down.
Hmph!
……
Meanwhile, the woman in question was completely unbothered, scrolling through Weibo with a facial mask pressed to her skin. Even though her WeChat notifications were pinging relentlessly in the background, she didn’t spare them a single glance.
……
Before long, the official cast list for 《Twins》 was finalized. The moment the production’s official account dropped the announcement, the internet was stunned.
Had they read that correctly?
The second female lead was actually going to be played by Yan Ji!
Their goddess was filming a new drama!
Riding high on the massive wave of Yan Ji’s recent viral popularity, 《Twins》 shot straight to the top of the trending searches before filming had even begun, leaving Director Liu grinning from ear to ear.