Chapter 9

Faced with Ji Qingyuan's question, Zhu Xinyue laughed, deflecting it with a lighthearted tone as she mimicked his manner and retorted, "So concerned about me? Qingyuan, you’re not in love with me, are you?"
Seeing her casual attitude, Ji Qingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, withdrawing his hand from her shoulder. "Don’t joke around. I’ve told you, I only see you as a little sister. But my brother, he’s kind to everyone. I’m just worried you might misunderstand and end up hurt, crying on my shoulder later."
Zhu Xinyue curled her fingers and pretended to wipe tears under her eyes, joking, "Wah wah wah, the tears I’ve shed for you could fill the Yangtze River."
Ji Qingyuan was amused by her antics and reached out to ruffle her hair.
Why hadn’t he noticed before how cute she was? Every time they used to talk about their relationship, she would either get angry or cry, never joking around like this.
"It’s getting late, you should rest soon. Once you sign the contract in a couple of days, you’ll officially be my junior. You’ll be busy enough then. Go to sleep now." Ji Qingyuan gently nudged her forward from behind.
Zhu Xinyue glanced back over her shoulder and asked, "Aren’t you going to sleep?"
Ji Qingyuan replied, "I’m heading downstairs to watch a movie and do some homework. I need to prepare thoroughly for my next project."
Standing at the top of the stairs, Zhu Xinyue looked back in Ji Qingyuan’s direction.
Whether in the novel or in the original host’s memories, Ji Qingyuan was a perfectionist. He had a natural talent for acting and was willing to put in the hard work to perfect his craft.
Someone like that was truly captivating.
"Good luck," Zhu Xinyue said, making a fist to cheer him on.
Ji Qingyuan waved her off, urging her to go back to her room and rest.
Just as Ji Qingyuan had said, after signing with Jin Huan Group, Zhu Xinyue officially became his junior.
As for the contract terms, Zhu Xinyue didn’t push further. She quietly asked Ji Qingyuan and found out her share was similar to his, realizing this was the best Jin Huan Group could offer. Pressing further would be inappropriate.
"These are the resources I can give you right now. Since you don’t have much experience, starting with a lead role might backfire if the performance isn’t strong. My suggestion is to take supporting roles in major productions, get familiar with the audience, and build your career steadily." Brother Hu handed Zhu Xinyue several scripts.
Zhu Xinyue was sitting in the conference room at Jin Huan Group. Through the transparent walls, she could see employees working diligently at their desks outside. However, ever since she arrived, people kept leaving their stations, occasionally passing by the conference room and peeking inside.
Brother Hu walked over to the glass wall, bared his teeth in a grin at a passing employee, and then closed the blinds, blocking their view into the room.
Brother Hu turned around and looked at the girl sitting across the long table, who was intently reading the script.
Her features were perfectly beautiful, any more would be overly glamorous, any less would be too plain. The entertainment industry was never short of beauties, but it lacked uniquely captivating ones. Fortunately, her aura was exceptionally distinctive, completely non-aggressive, gentle, and tolerant. Especially her gaze: when she looked at you, it felt as if you were being healed, as if no matter what mistakes you had made, she would forgive you.
If she had to be labeled with a persona tag, it would likely be like her name, a moonlight-type beauty, because moonlight shines equally on everyone.
While Brother Hu was observing Zhu Xinyue, Zhu Xinyue pretended to be engrossed in reading the script in her hands, but in reality, she was confirming the upcoming plot with the system.
System: "To protect Ji Qingyuan’s career, you can film the same movie 'Peach Blossom Spring' as Ji Qingyuan, staying close to prevent him from getting injured and affecting the shoot."
'Peach Blossom Spring' was Ji Qingyuan’s next film. This movie was where Ji Qingyuan and the novel’s female lead, Jiang Rui, met and fell in love.
During filming, Ji Qingyuan got injured while saving Jiang Rui. Out of guilt, Jiang Rui frequently visited him, often running into the original female lead who was taking care of Ji Qingyuan. The two would frequently argue in front of him.
However, most of the time, the original female lead was aggressive and sarcastic, making Jiang Rui appear like an unassuming, innocent white lotus.
It was a classic trope in melodramatic novels, a timeworn cliche.
"If I save Ji Qingyuan, won’t that affect his relationship with Jiang Rui?" Zhu Xinyue asked.
The system replied in an icy tone, "If the relationship between the novel’s male and female leads could be so easily disrupted by you, how could it be called destined and unbreakable?"
Zhu Xinyue raised an eyebrow in surprise.
This was different from the transmigration novels she had read. Wasn’t the system supposed to help the male and female leads get together?
Zhu Xinyue kept this in mind for now, put away the script in her hand, and looked up to ask Brother Hu, "I heard Qingyuan is filming 'Peach Blossom Spring.' This movie is also produced by Jin Huan Group, with an excellent creative team and cast. Can I go and learn from it?"
Brother Hu was mentally prepared. Ji Qingyuan had told him yesterday that Zhu Xinyue had always followed him in everything since childhood, so it was highly likely she would propose filming the same project.
He chuckled, pulled a script from his bag, and handed it to Zhu Xinyue.
"I can’t take all the credit. Qingyuan arranged this," Brother Hu said, flipping to the page marked with a colored tab. "This role is a minor character with only a few lines, but you’ll be by the side of a senior actor. If you’re lucky, the camera might catch you, and you can get some exposure. Tomorrow at 9 a.m., I’ll have my assistant pick you up for the audition."
In the original storyline, this didn’t happen. At this point, the original female lead was still panicking over the confession video. Ji Qingyuan introducing her to resources in the entertainment industry came much later.
After returning to Li Mountain, Zhu Xinyue carefully read through the entire script.
"Peach Blossom Spring" is set in an ancient fantasy world, telling the story of a group of idealists who live in seclusion, using secret arts to protect the island's inhabitants. Their lives are peaceful and content until the protagonist arrives, shattering the tranquility of Peach Blossom Spring and revealing the truth behind the "secret arts", sacrificing a few to benefit the many.
Zhu Xinyue auditioned for the role of the personal guard to the Second Elder of Peach Blossom Spring. After reading the script, she marked all the character's lines and their corresponding scenes.
There weren't many lines, just four.
"Yes, Second Elder."
"Understood, Second Elder."
"No problem, Second Elder."
And when facing the invaders, right before meeting her demise, she delivers the line: "I haven't reported to the Second Elder yet."
Why does this sound so familiar?
Zhu Xinyue slapped her thigh, wasn't this the classic "worker's triple response" she used most often at her day job?
Workers? She knew all about that!
Originally, Zhu Xinyue hadn't been very confident about this role, but now she felt a bit more assured.
The movie was adapted from a novel, so Zhu Xinyue also read the original book. She noticed significant differences between the novel and the script. After finishing the book, she went through all the reader reviews and reflections she could find online. Comparing them, she realized the movie script was much more straightforward, with many of the novel's metaphors directly translated into the dialogue.
From this perspective, the title "Peach Blossom Spring" seemed deeply ironic.
Zhu Xinyue spent the entire day doing her "homework." After so much mental exertion, she needed to recharge and decided to head downstairs for a late-night snack.
Just then, she ran into Ji Linyu, who was returning home after working overtime.
"Brother Linyu, good evening!" Zhu Xinyue waved from her seat at the high stool in the open kitchen, greeting the man at the entrance.
Ji Linyu caught a strong whiff of food and glanced over, casually asking, "What are you eating?"
Zhu Xinyue replied, "Instant noodles. Want some?"
Ji Linyu was about to refuse when he noticed her sitting alone in the empty kitchen. Only the kitchen light was on, and the living room between the entrance and the kitchen was dimly lit. He changed his mind and said, "Sure, I'll have some."
In the past, when she returned home after overtime work, Zhu Xinyue would often treat herself to a "midnight snack." The rental apartment was too quiet, and eating alone felt dull, so she usually played a TV series on her phone to keep her company.
This time, while eating her instant noodles, she had her tablet propped up in front of her, displaying an analysis of the "Peach Blossom Spring" novel.
Ji Linyu sat on the high stool next to her, accepting the bowl of noodles she handed him. "Thank you."
He looked down and saw a soft-boiled egg and slices of ham in the bowl, more lavish than he had expected.
Zhu Xinyue returned to her seat and swiped the tablet screen, intending to turn the page but accidentally splitting the screen instead.
She wasn't very familiar with this tablet's operating system and fumbled clumsily, even dropping her chopsticks in the process.
Ji Linyu, quick-eyed and deft, caught the chopsticks for her and placed them back on her bowl.
"Ah... thank you. How do I get this tablet back to how it was before?" Zhu Xinyue asked Ji Linyu for help, sliding her tablet between them.
Ji Linyu glanced at it, swiped his finger across the screen, and the webpage switched from split-screen back to full screen.
He noticed the content on it.
"Peach Blossom Spring?" He had signed off on the investment for this film project.
Zhu Xinyue nodded and said, "I have an audition tomorrow for a role. I don’t know if I’ll get it, so I need to do my homework."
"What role?" One that required her to be so meticulous.
Zhu Xinyue rubbed her face, slumped her shoulders, tucked her chin slightly, and looked up at him from under her lashes with a lifeless expression. In a low voice, she said, "A palace guard."
It didn’t sound like a particularly important role.
Ji Linyu, rarely one to joke, teased, "Your performance doesn’t look like a guard, it looks like..."
Zhu Xinyue laughed at first but then couldn’t keep it up.
"Sigh..."
Hearing her sigh, Ji Linyu sensed her worry. "What’s wrong?"
"I’m a bit nervous about tomorrow’s audition." Zhu Xinyue turned to face Ji Linyu, counting on her fingers as she listed her concerns. "I didn’t go to acting school, I have no filming experience, and I get nervous as soon as I face the camera.
"I’m afraid... I won’t be good enough."
Ji Linyu raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond directly. Instead, he said, "Let’s eat the noodles first."
Zhu Xinyue thought he meant she shouldn’t overthink it.
Well, she hadn’t expected much comfort from the big boss anyway.
What she didn’t expect was that after she finished her noodles, Ji Linyu was still there.
He sat on the barstool, waiting for her to finish. Once she set down her chopsticks, he picked up both their bowls and utensils, walked into the kitchen, and started cleaning up.
Zhu Xinyue watched Ji Linyu’s figure as he tidied the kitchen.
He had rolled up his shirt sleeves halfway, revealing strong arms with defined muscles and veins running up from the back of his hands. With his suit jacket off, only his shirt remained, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist, his long legs confined within neatly pressed suit pants.
So there really were people who were flawless in both appearance and character.
Zhu Xinyue thought back to her own father. Every time they ate, it was always her mother and her who did the chores. Sometimes, if they said just one word to him, not even asking him to wash the whole family’s dishes, just his own, he would get upset, toss his bowl into the sink, and throw a tantrum.
Sigh...
Ji Linyu placed the dishes in the dishwasher, washed his hands, and then meticulously dried them. When he turned around, he saw her sitting in her seat, staring at him blankly.
Catching his gaze, she suddenly snapped back to reality, blinked rapidly, averted her eyes, and began studying her tablet, muttering, "This tablet... is so hard to use."
All flustered, using a hundred fake actions to cover up one glance.
Ji Linyu chuckled softly.
Such clumsy acting, so inept it was worrying.