Against the Light - Chapter 47
Chapter 47: It’s Really Not My Fault
Early in the morning, Gu Xinran was woken by clattering sounds coming from the living room.
She rubbed her eyes and listened closely. She could hear not only the sound of things being moved but also Qu Qi’s voice.
Getting up, she walked to the door. The moment she opened it, she was completely dumbfounded.
Seven or eight movers in uniform were carrying all sorts of furniture into her home.
“You…” The moment she spoke, Fang Jinghai quickly pulled her back into the room.
“Shh! Sister Ran, don’t show your face yet. Wait until the workers have left.”
“?? What are you guys doing?”
“Buying you furniture!”
“Huh?”
“Sigh, after that video of you playing the piano aired yesterday, Sister Qi’s Weibo was blown up. Your fans were all accusing her of withholding your pay, which is why you couldn’t even afford a set of furniture. So, Sister Qi bought you a set overnight to stop the complaints.”
“???” Gu Xinran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Gu Xinran went back to the bathroom to wash up and change. She waited obediently for a while, only coming out when she heard that it was quiet outside.
When she opened the bedroom door, she was startled. Seeing the living room packed to the brim with all kinds of furniture, she found it a little hard to accept.
The piano had been moved to a corner, and a sofa set and coffee table now occupied the center of the living room.
A large television was mounted on the wall, and the sound system was top-notch.
A new wine cabinet had been added to the kitchen, filled with several bottles of aged red wine.
Even the refrigerator had been thoughtfully stocked with fruits, vegetables, milk, and juice.
Gu Xinran was speechless. This whole setup must have cost a fortune. It was far too extravagant.
“How is it? Are you satisfied?”
“This is too much.”
“Sister Ran, for you, this is nothing. Go look on Weibo. Your followers have surpassed twenty million. You’re about to become a top-tier celebrity. To Sister Qi, you’re a cash cow. Of course she has to treat you well!” Fang Jinghai spoke the blunt truth.
Qu Qi felt that wasn’t quite right. “Wasn’t I good to her when she was down and out? I didn’t give up on her even when she was at her lowest. Now it’s time for her to repay me!”
Gu Xinran smiled helplessly. “Yes, yes, it’s time to repay you properly.”
Qu Qi and Fang Jinghai both observed Gu Xinran’s expression. After such a huge blow yesterday, she was acting as if nothing had happened today. It seemed she had moved on. The two exchanged a secret glance, finally feeling relieved.
However, Qu Qi immediately turned around and pulled a stack of receipts and several documents from her bag.
“The cost of the furniture will be deducted from your future earnings. Here are the receipts.”
“Here are a few endorsement deals and cover shoots. I’ll give you a chance to call the shots. Pick a few yourself so we can arrange the schedule.”
“…”
“Huh? Isn’t this the Ming family’s fashion magazine? They invited Sister Ran?”
“Not yet, but with Xinran’s current popularity, we have some capital to negotiate a collaboration with the Ming family.”
“This magazine is the top of the line in the fashion world. Getting on its cover is a form of recognition. Both Luo Bing and Yang Xue have been on it before.”
“And then they both tanked,” Fang Jinghai added under her breath.
“…” Qu Qi shot her a death glare. Fang Jinghai immediately plastered a smile on her face and manually sealed her lips.
Although the little assistant’s words were blunt, they were true. Xinran’s fame was growing by the day, while the reputations of her former rivals were plummeting. Luo Bing’s was declining, and as for Yang Xue, she was completely finished.
These past two days, Su Cen had been running herself ragged trying to find resources for Luo Bing, which delighted Qu Qi to no end.
Gu Xinran looked through the offers but didn’t choose any. She folded them neatly and handed them back to Qu Qi.
“Director Yu’s new film starts shooting today. I want to focus on acting first.”
“But…”
“I also think Sister Ran should focus on acting first. She lacks a representative work right now and can’t just rely on her looks for popularity. Otherwise, she’ll become a shooting star sooner or later,” Fang Jinghai interjected.
“? What do you mean?”
“A celebrity who flashes by like a shooting star. Hey? It’s a really popular meme online, you don’t know it?”
“…Of course I know!” Qu Qi glared at her, then thought about it. She had a point. After all, so many people would kill to get into Director Yu’s crew. If she made Gu Xinran take on commercials and it delayed filming, leaving a bad impression on the senior director, the loss would outweigh the gain.
“Fine, you’ve convinced me.” Qu Qi shook her head helplessly. On second thought, why did it feel like she’d said that phrase many times before?
After breakfast, Qu Qi drove the two of them to the film set. In the car, Qu Qi gave them all sorts of worried instructions. This time, she intended to train Fang Jinghai, so any problems that arose during Xinran’s shoot would be Fang Jinghai’s full responsibility. She wouldn’t interfere.
“Xinran, please don’t cause any trouble. This is a huge opportunity. If you finish this film smoothly, with your acting skills, you’ll definitely make a name for yourself. If you can win an award, then you’ll have truly established a firm foothold in this industry.”
Hearing Qu Qi say this, Gu Xinran became thoughtful.
“Hey, hey, what’s with that expression!?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve never been one to cause trouble.”
“Me neither. I don’t bother anyone unless they bother me. If someone messes with me, I’ll…!” Fang Jinghai said halfway, but Qu Qi’s stare made her stop.
Qu Qi raised an eyebrow. “You’ll what?”
“I’ll… tuck my tail between my legs and behave!”
…
When they arrived at the set, Qu Qi saw Gu Xinran in, greeted the assistant director and others, and then left.
Gu Xinran had arrived early, and the crew was still setting up the scene. She watched from the side for a while, then suddenly let out a laugh for no reason and walked toward a girl who was struggling to carry a camera.
Xinran helped her steady the camera. The girl said thanks, but when she turned and saw who it was, her expression became a little strange. She subconsciously glanced behind Gu Xinran, a little disappointed not to see her little goddess.
“Your name is Su Yu, right?” Gu Xinran asked with a smile.
“Huh? You… how do you know?”
Gu Xinran ignored the surprise in her eyes and studied her carefully. She looked a bit green, clearly young. She’d heard from Jin Shuang that Su Yu’s family favored sons over daughters and had a younger brother to raise, so they didn’t care much about her. That’s why she had struck out on her own so early. But because she had so little experience, even after joining a film crew, she could only do manual labor.
“I can tell fortunes.” The Su Yu from her past life was quirky and mischievous, always loving to play pranks. Thinking of that, Gu Xinran couldn’t resist teasing her.
“???” Su Yu’s brows furrowed into a knot. Had she run into a lunatic? Still, this completely unconventional way of greeting her piqued her interest.
“Then read my fortune?” Su Yu set the camera down and looked at her curiously.
“Sure, what do you want to know?” Gu Xinran was full of confidence. Ever since she saw Su Yu here during the audition, she had kept it in mind.
Last night after Yilan left, Jin Shuang had called to comfort her, telling her to look on the bright side and that the director would be back eventually, which made her feel much better. Then they changed the topic to work. She was quite happy to learn that Yilan had entrusted the crew to Yu Hua before leaving, since she would be working with familiar people. They had talked about Su Yu, and since Jin Shuang was fairly familiar with the crew, she told Gu Xinran everything, including the fact that this girl was obsessed with a certain young lady who was a master at photo editing.
“Read my love life,” Su Yu said.
Gu Xinran couldn’t help but purse her lips to hide a smile. She cleared her throat, propped up her chin, and looked carefully into Su Yu’s eyes. After a moment, she looked at her hands, which were covered in a layer of calluses. The sight made Gu Xinran feel a bit emotional.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Su Yu was getting impatient from being stared at.
“Mhm.” Gu Xinran nodded. “I have.”
“Your other half… is a girl, in her early twenties. Her looks and character are both top-notch.” Gu Xinran narrowed her eyes, feigning an air of mystery. “And she’s someone close to me.”
“Do you believe me?”
Su Yu was slightly taken aback. She could even guess that???
“Like hell I’d believe that. Then tell me her name,” Su Yu pressed on, unwilling to concede. In truth, she didn’t know the photo-editing master’s name, but she had to pretend she knew everything. Besides, Gu Xinran’s claim that the little goddess was someone close to her was actually pretty accurate!
“Her surname is… Fang,” Gu Xinran said after a pause.
“Fang?” Su Yu froze.
“And her name is…”
“…Fang??” Another voice came from behind them.
Gu Xinran glanced back and saw Fang Jinghai looking at her with utter confusion.
Gu Xinran didn’t notice the increasingly strange look on her assistant’s face. She turned back to Su Yu, only to see the girl’s face flush red. Aah, so the little goddess’s surname is Fang!! Doesn’t that name just sound so classy!
“Hey.” Gu Xinran waved a hand in front of her eyes. Su Yu snapped back to reality, suddenly feeling shy. “Stop bluffing. I would never like someone close to you.” After saying this with a huff, she turned and ran off.
Gu Xinran laughed. The way she denied it was so cute!
She turned around and saw her assistant still frozen in place.
“Fang Jinghai?”
“Ah…” Fang Jinghai slowly looked at her and swallowed hard.
A girl, in her early twenties, top-notch looks and character, someone close to Sister Ran, and most importantly, her surname is Fang…
Isn’t that me!!!
Hiss!
“What are you spacing out for?”
“B-Boss, that girl…”
“Oh, right. If you have time, look out for her. It’s not easy for someone so young to be out in the world on her own.” After giving the instruction, Gu Xinran winked at her, waved her hand, and walked away coolly.
However, there was one thing she didn’t say.
—That girl might be your future niece-in-law.
But Fang Jinghai’s mind was a mess.
Hiss…
My boss told me to look after a girl, gave me a huge wink as a hint, and before that, she secretly told that girl that her destined love is me…
So… what am I supposed to do?
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