Chapter 24

Recently, Wen Ling hadn’t been stirring up as much trouble and was honestly filming her scenes.
News cycles turned fast online. Neither she nor Yue Ling were famous; a week later, there were hardly any people still camped under Pearl Chronicle’s official account demanding a change of female lead.
Some people still remembered the spat between the two women, but their fanbases clearly weren’t at war, at least, not yet.
Wen Jiu had always been curious about one thing: with the plot having gone off the rails, how had Wen Ling still managed to land the role of Mingzhu?
After they finished for the day, Wen Jiu shelved that question for the moment, tidied up for Young Lady, and got ready to head back.
Shen Xingzhou trailed at the rear, his dark chestnut curls and drooping expression radiating pure grievance.
Whether it was Qin Yao or Yue Ling, neither needed Wen Jiu glued to their side all the time. They both had their own lives and work.
There was no night shoot tonight. After dropping Young Lady off at the hotel, Wen Jiu was officially off the clock.
She had the nagging feeling she’d forgotten something. She paced around the room for a bit before finally remembering.
She really wanted to know how Wen Ling had landed the role of Mingzhu.
The internet was borderline omnipotent sometimes. She flopped down on the sofa with her phone and started digging.
Entertainment Circle Helper: [Let’s dig into how The Pearl Chronicle’s female lead managed to snag the role while still being an eighteenth-tier nobody.
Entertainment Circle Helper: [Rumor has it she has some kind of relationship with Film Emperor JYT, and this role was obtained through him.]
The thing Wen Jiu hated most was initials.
There were so many people in showbiz, trying to match them one by one was a colossal waste of time.
But add the words “Film Emperor,” and the pool shrank a lot.
JYT… don’t tell her that was Ji Yanting?
This “Entertainment Circle Helper” didn’t say where their info came from, but they were throwing out all sorts of “inside scoops” and had plenty of followers.
Truth and lies were all mixed together. Wen Jiu’s instinct said it was impossible, but rumors didn’t appear out of thin air. There was always a reason.
Could it be that Wen Ling had used Ji Yanting’s name to get the role of Mingzhu? And did Ji Yanting know?
The most straightforward solution was to invite Ji Yanting to the set.
She immediately messaged Ji Yujing.
Wen Jiu: Young Master, does your brother have any plans to come visit the set?
In less than half a month, Ji Yujing could sense danger from just two characters: “Young Master.”
And it was all Wen Jiu’s fault. After coming back these past two days, whenever he went out partying with friends, the moment someone called him “Young Master,” he’d suddenly feel tight-fisted, and the money wouldn’t flow so easily. Near ten at night, he’d ditch everyone and go home.
No way was he going to keep staying and burning money for nothing.
And why did he feel that way? …All because of Wen Jiu.
In only two days, he felt like he’d lost four-fifths of his friends.
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool): Wen Jiu, you devil.
Wen Jiujiu: ?
Had Young Master drunk himself stupid?
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool): Do you have any idea how many good friends I’ve lost because I suddenly became stingy and couldn’t bear to spend money on them anymore?
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool) (voice message): Usually I order ten-thousand-yuan bottles of booze, they drink like they’re entitled to it, don’t even bother to say thanks, and egg me on to keep chasing Sister Yue (hic). I just bailed on them, hahaha, Young Master’s so sad, I should’ve punched them all.
His words didn’t really line up, but buried under the boozy rambling, Wen Jiu could piece together the story.
Wen Jiu: Young Master, drink less. Ever since you left, everyone on set really misses you. They all keep asking me where you went.
Well, yeah, they were missing their unpaid labor.
The second Ji Yujing heard that, he clutched his phone and howled.
Thankfully, the voice messages he sent were only two seconds long. Otherwise, Wen Jiu would absolutely have blocked him.
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool) (voice): Wen Jiu, you’re so nice. I curse you out in my head every day, and you still talk sense into me.
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool) (voice): The most important thing is, out of everyone, you’re the one who’s taken the least money from me.
Wen Jiu corrected him: it wasn’t “take,” it was compensation for services rendered. She deserved that money.
There was a long pause on Ji Yujing’s end before he replied with a transfer.
Transfer: 10,000 yuan.
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool) (voice): That’s your tip for talking me through things. Uuugh, I’m never hanging out with those guys again.
After accepting, Wen Jiu probed a little:
Wen Jiu: How much do you usually spend on them?
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool) (voice) (hic): We go out about twice a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. On the high end, over a million; on the low end, just tens of thousands.
Wen Jiu went silent for a long beat, then felt a violent urge to reach through the screen and shake his head around.
No wonder he ranked so high among Beicheng’s playboys. Life had been comfortable.
Ji Yujing was the perfect example of: “I don’t want piles of money; I want piles of love.”
She didn’t reply. On the other side, Young Master seemed to sober up a little and started typing.
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool): I’ve decided, from today on, I’m going to change.
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool): Transfer: 100,000 yuan.
Ji Yujing (Dumb, Rich Fool): If one day I manage to live a life I’m satisfied with, I’ll transfer you ten times that as thanks.
Wen Jiu: …
She suspected his brain was still soaked in alcohol.
She didn’t accept the money, just replied:
Wen Jiu: Ji Yujing, go for it!
In her heart, she secretly added a line to her mental notes about him: If Young Master ever officially hired her and gave her that weekly hundred-plus-thousand as a salary, she would absolutely let him experience the true goodness and beauty of the world.
She already had a plan: use half his “salary” to hire ten people to play his various “friends”, each one in charge of giving him a different kind of love: dad-style, mom-style, big-sister-style, big-brother-style…
Then again, maybe she shouldn’t scam the poor guy.
Wen Jiu opened the door, ready to head downstairs for a snack and figure out how to get in touch with Ji Yanting and invite him to visit the set.
The moment she yanked the door open, she ran straight into a wall of muscle.