The Reconciliation Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Chatting

Yu Xi’s audition was canceled.

As she carried her takeout into her apartment, Bai Yutang sent her a message, telling her that Director Mei just notified them that the female lead was already appointed. It was Liu Yuyao.

Actually, despite these types of lead roles having auditions, most selection processes are actually internal appointments before the roles get finalized. It was only that the previously determined person was her but now changed to Liu Yuyao.

Yu Xi pursed her lips, “Director Mei agreed to this? Didn’t she say that she’ll never look for Liu Yuyao to film anything in this lifetime?” 　　

Bai Yutang sighed, “Who can say no to money? Do you know who Liu Yuyao’s new boyfriend is? Xingyao’s young master, and he’s willing to use money to support Liu Yuyao. Director Mei’s studio is affiliated under Xingyao, of course she wouldn’t be able to reject them.  

“Moreover-“

Even though Bai Yutang did not finish her words, Yu Xi knew what she wanted to say.

Moreover, now she’s stuck with the label of being a lesbian. Even though in recent years many big and small celebrities have started to come out to the public with some even leaving the country to get married, those celebrities have all prepared themselves to the possibility of not being able to stay in the industry, much less care about their box office ratings and job offers.

In the end, she and those people are ultimately different.  

Bai Yutang cut to the chase with her next few words, saying, “I’ll help you look for opportunities. Did you look at the script I gave you last time?”

Yu Xi looked over at the thick pile of papers set on top of the coffee table, “I brought it back with me.”

Bai Yutang’s voice was slightly deep, “Look at it first.”

Yu Xi understood her meaning and replied after a few seconds of silence, “Okay.”

By the end of the phone call, the takeout was completely cold. Yu Xi was originally hungry enough that her stomach felt hollow, but now she lost all her appetite, that even smelling it made her uncomfortable. After thinking about it, she got ready to throw away the takeout with her full-body outfit left on.  

Her apartment floor didn’t have a designated trash bin, so if she wanted to throw away her trash, she’ll have to go downstairs. Yu Xi put on a mask and carried the takeout over to the elevator. As she stood there, her eyes couldn’t help but glance over at the other door. With a ding, the elevator door opened and she walked in.

After throwing the trash away, Yu Xi did not immediately go back up but slowly walked along the flower beds in the complex instead. The bright yellow streetlights shone on the blooming flowers and bursts of floral scents wafted through the air. All of this improved Yu Xi’s mood a little.

Unfortunately, good things don’t last forever. 　　

After noticing a figure jogging from not far away, she was in a bad mood again.

Jiang Jingbai changed out of her formal dress and was now wearing workout clothing with her hair was tied up into a bun and jogging. Seeing her figure, Yu Xi immediately prepared to turn around but was stopped. “Yu Xi.”

Two small figures in Yu Xi’s heart started to argue.

One told her, ‘hurry up and leave, pretend you didn’t hear anything, it’s isn’t as if she’ll grab you or anything if you leave!’.

The other asked, ‘what are you afraid of, it was originally her in the wrong, you didn’t do anything, so why leave!’.

Before the two small figures could declare a winner, Jiang Jingbai was already standing next to Yu Xi, saying, “Did you come out for a walk?”

Behind the mask, Yu Xi’s lips opened slightly, “President Jiang’s eyesight is indeed good. You can still recognize me even after I bundled myself up like this.”

Jiang Jingbai paused, “You didn’t change your clothing.”

Yu Xi, “……”

How did she forget that Jiang Jingbai was the one who gave her takeout to her?

She rolled her eyes at herself mentally.

Watching her remain silent, Jiang Jingbai took initiative and asked, “Do you want to walk together?”

Yu Xi was stunned. Having separated for a few years, she’s actually different from before now. If it was Jiang Jingbai from the past, she would not have taken initiative to send out an invitation to do anything. Her schedule was always full, so whenever they went on dates, they would be in a hurry. Back then, Yu Xi even dragged her out of the library a couple of times.  

Thinking about this, Yu Xi looked towards Jiang Jingbai and by chance, made eye contact with her.

When they first started to date, she would always pull on Han Yisi and lament about how pretty Jiang Jingbai’s eyes were, how they could talk, how they were bright and moving, and how if she looked at Yu Xi with those eyes, Yu Xi would be willing to do anything for her.  

Every time, Han Yisi would listen to her in silence until she couldn’t stand it and explode in anger, shouting that if she mentioned Jiang Jingbai’s name again, she would pinch her to death!

Afterwards—she really did not mention Jing Jingbai’s name anymore.

Instead, it was Han Yisi who regularly mentioned her name.

Yu Xi’s expression was cold. Jiang Jingbai saw that she was silent for quite a long time and spoke up again, “Yu Xi, let’s walk together if it’s convenient for you.”

After she said that, Yu Xi had a look of apprehension, fulling understanding now. No wonder Jiang Jingbai would take initiative to ask her to walk together, it turns out she has other reasons to do so.

Since her boss has already asked her, what reason would there be to refuse her?

Yu Xi took a deep breath, “It’s convenient, let’s go then.”

She took the lead and turned around with Jiang Jingbai following her behind.

Yu Xi did not have enough time to look at the plotline of the new script. Listening to Jiang Jingbai speak, she was somewhat dazed, causing the atmosphere to be awkward. She only occasionally hummed in agreement.

“What do you think about it?” Jiang Jingbai turned her head and looked towards Yu Xi. She was wearing a mask with only her two eyes and clear forehead exposed. Looking at her side profile, her long eyelashes were flickering, as if she was in deep thought.

Yu Xi thought about it for a few seconds, “It’s pretty good.”

Jiang Jingbai chuckled and shook her head.  

The two unknowingly walked until they reached the complex entrance. Yu Xi hesitated for a bit and watched Jiang Jingbai’s figure walk out. She bit her lip before finally deciding to follow her.

The outside of the complex wasn’t as quiet as the inside.

Outside of the complex, there was a pretty big in-ground water fountain that didn’t seem to be turned on. There were people sitting in twos and threes beside the pool, most of them young people. Yu Xi followed Jiang Jingbai from behind, stepping on the lights within the fountain holes. Flickering from light to dark, it was pretty interesting.

She consecutively stepped on several lights, the tense expression she’s had on the entire night finally loosening, with even a faint expression of delight starting to show.

Jiang Jingbai looked behind her, preparing to say something, but after seeing what the other was doing, she pursed her lips and swallowed the words she was about to say back down.

The two passed through the fountain and continued to walk for a short distance, neither of them talking. The awkwardness in the atmosphere gradually condensed until finally Yu Xi wasn’t able to hold back anymore and said, “President Jiang, let’s go back.”

Jiang Jingbai lowered her eyes, “Okay.”

The two figures that have not walked that far yet turned around to head back. The fountain that originally did not have that many people suddenly stood quite a few people nearby. Yu Xi looked over to the side habitually and made eye contact with Jiang Jingbai who was looking over. Facing each other, the air seemed to contain some invisible sparks.

Yu Xi’s lip corners twitched, and as if nothing happened, withdrew her gaze and looked towards the place not far away, “It seems like something happened?”

Jiang Jingbai followed her line of sight and looked over. There was someone sitting on the floor with a motor bike parked nearby. The person probably fell on accident.  

They didn’t look like they were hurt badly.

However, more and more people have started to gather to look at the situation.

Yu Xi shifted her position over to the side and pulled her mask up and high enough that it almost covered her eyes. As she walked two steps forward, she felt uncomfortable so she reached out to pull on her mask. Distracted, she failed to notice someone heading towards her. When Jiang Jingbai watched the figure run over, she wanted to reach out to pull Yu Xi back, but by that time, it was already too late and Yu Xi was knocked into.

The two people that collided quickly separated. Yu Xi took a few steps back with her hands covering her chest. Jiang Jingbai tilted her head over to look at her. Her complexion was slightly changed. Yu Xi was just fiddling with her mask so once she was knocked into, the mask hung upon her ear, looking like it was about to fall.

Seeing the girl who bumped into Yu Xi scratch her head in preparation to walk over, Jiang Jingbai quickly got in front of Yu Xi to block her. Yu Xi lowered her head and the tip of her nose rubbed slightly against the other’s chest.

She was suddenly encircled by a burst of fragrance.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t do that on purpose.”

The girl who bumped into Yu Xi stood next to the two and apologized. Yu Xi lowered her head and put on her mask again. With a stuffy voice, she said, “It’s okay.”

After seeing her put on her mask, Jiang Jingbai slightly gave a little distance. The little girl smiled very sincerely, “That’s good, I’m really sorry about earlier.”

After speaking, she bowed down very politely. Yu Xi nodded at her.

After what just happened, the two didn’t dare stroll around outside anymore and immediately returned home. Only after entering the complex, Yu Xi was relieved. She took off her mask and said, “Thank you about earlier, President Jiang.”

If it wasn’t for Jiang Jingbai, she would probably have been recognized.

Jiang Jingbai’s expression remained the same as before, “You’re welcome.”  

The two got on the elevator one after the other and stood side by side. Yu Xi didn’t bring her phone down with her so she was currently stroking her card key. Her eyes stared at the numbers that was rising one level at a time. For the first time, it felt like the elevator was rising way too slow.

Standing next to her, Jiang Jingbai’s arms were hanging at her side as the elevator slowly ascended. All of a sudden, the small space was filled with the sound of a cell phone ringing. Yu Xi glanced over to the side and watched Jiang Jingbai take out her phone with the screen showing Tao Yitong’s name.

Jiang Jingbai took a step to the side and picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“No need, we’re good here.”

“Okay, good, got it.”

Although Yu Xi did not deliberately try to listen in on her conversation, the space in the elevator was too small, so she could easily hear Jiang Jingbai’s replies.

“I’ll call after I get back home.”

The elevator door opened in the middle of her call. Yu Xi took a step with her slippers, giving off the manner of wearing high heels. Head high and chest out, holding the loftiness of a queen, she walked out of the elevator. Separating from Jiang Jingbai, she looked over with her lip corners hooking up. Raising her voice, she said, “Good night, President Jiang.”

Jiang Jingbai saw her sudden change and was stunned for a few seconds. Before she could react, Yu Xi already opened her apartment door and walked in.

A probing inquiry sounded from the other end of the phone, “Jingbai, is there someone next to you?”

Jiang Jingbai pursed her lips and skipped over the topic.

Yu Xi leaned against her door. It was only after she heard the door to the other apartment close did she take off her mask and walk over to the sofa to lay down. The phone that was placed on top of the coffee table lit up. She grabbed it and saw that Bai Yutang sent her a message.

——Xixi, remember to look over the script these two days, especially the parts with the supporting female lead. We’ll be auditioning a week later.

Yu Xi resisted the urge to throw her phone down. She took several deep breaths before calling Han Yisi.

The person on the other end of the phone was just sleeping. Having been awaken, she grumbled unhappily, “What’s the matter?”

Yu Xi asked furiously, “How did you scold Jiang Jingbai before?”

Not yet fully awake, Han Yisi’s brain crashed, but her mouth self-consciously muttered, “Jiang Jingbai? Why are you mentioning her again?”　

Yu Xi thought about it, “She came back to look for me.”

“What?” Han Yisi’s drowsiness flew away in an instant and immediately started to ask with saliva flying, “Let me tell you, Yu Xi, you better get it straight. This type of scum, after she eats you, she’ll run away. Her conscience was eaten by dogs, she doesn’t deserve to be a person, she…”

After ten minutes of angry scolding, Jiang Jingbai was cursed into a bloody mess and Yu Xi felt more at ease.

She said to the high-spirited Han Yisi on the other end of the phone, “That’s enough Sisi, thank you.”

Han Yisi’s voice stopped suddenly. She sat crossed legged on top of the bed, and couldn’t resist to give her a sincere advice, “You have to remember, don’t get in contact with her again.”

Yu Xi frowned, “I reckon I won’t be able to do that.”

Han Yisi slowly raised her voice into that of a whirlwind again, “So was I talking nonsense just now? Were you actually listening to me?”

Yu Xi replied smartly, “I was listening. I understand everything you said, but I won’t be able to not get in contact with her.”

“She’s my new boss.”

Han Yisi choked on her saliva, “What?”

She blinked quickly, “You just said she came looking for you. Why was she looking for you?”

Yu Xi laughed, “To talk about the script.”

Han Yisi grinded her teeth, “……”

Down with your uncle¹!

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1 The direct translation was knocking your uncle, which equally sounds just as weird so I didn’t really know how to translate it. But in China, when people curse, they’re literally usually something that has to do with family. Like your mom, your sister, your uncle, they can all be considered light swear words.

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