Chapter 19
Shock seeped from Gu Qi’s face.
The youth raised his eyes at this moment and looked at her quietly.
There wasn't much obvious emotion in his dark eyes, as if he only wanted an answer.
Jiang Lechuan immediately imitated the way Gu Qi just retorted him and seriously uttered: "Elder Sister, don't be so surprised, Mu Yuan isn't a mute."
Gu Qi was of course different from Jiang Lechuan. She wasn't shocked that Mu Yuan would speak, but by the request made by the other party.
Let her go to help with the parent-teacher meeting?
The relationship between them didn't seem to be so close, at least from Mu Yuan's perspective.
But Gu Qi knew very well that Mu Yuan would never speak if it wasn't really necessary.
But it was just a parent-teacher meeting. It can't be that important.
Just when Gu Qi was caught up in a brainstorming without any basis for thinking, Mu Yuan spoke again. He retracted his gaze and said lightly: "It's fine if you don't have time. It's not important, you and Jiang...Elder Brother go to eat."
He lowered his head again. Sitting in the back row, his thin figure was like a lost little animal and the whole air exuded a sense of loneliness and desolation.
Gu Qi thought of Jiang Lechuan's request just now, and suddenly felt a little on the spot.
The two things seemed to coincide in time. Jiang Lechuan had just said that the restaurant closed earlier in the evening. If she went there after the parent-teacher meeting for Mu Yuan, it might be too late.
After Mu Yuan said this, Jiang Lechuan's brain turned so quickly that he realized that the problem seemed to be with him.
If Elder Sister accompanies him for dinner, she can't go to Mu Yuan's parent-teacher meeting. On the contrary, if Elder Sister attends Mu Yuan's parent-teacher meeting, she won't be in time to go to dinner with him.
What was this matter called?
Was this a matter? !
Jiang Lechuan was all smiles and cheerfully said: "The meal can be any day, right? You are already in third year of high school. How many parent-teacher meetings are left? Of course you have priority!"
More importantly! Mu Yuan called him Elder Brother!
Younger Brother only hoped that someone could go to his parent-teacher meeting. It was just a small matter. It wasn’t going to cost him his life. Why couldn't he give way?
Since Jiang Lechuan said so, Gu Qi said: "I'll try my best. Please send me the address and time first. I'll go if I don't have work."
Jiang Lechuan even patted his chest and declared: "Go! If she doesn't have time, I can go!"
Mu Yuan: "..."
Not necessary.
Jiang Lechuan stretched his head to the back and asked Mu Yuan curiously: "What is it like for good students like you to have a parent-teacher meeting in the past? Was it your commendation meeting? Tell me quickly!"
Mu Yuan took in Jiang Lechuan's head that desperately stretched in front of him and leaned back in the back seat with some disdain, wanting to keep the farthest distance from him as possible. But because of befuddlement, he took the initiative to look up at Jiang Lechuan.
He tried to use his keen observation and discerning ability to find some traces of displeasure, inconsistency, and lying from the stupid face in front of him.
However, he didn't succeed.
Jiang Lechuan seemed to be in a very good mood because he called him ‘Elder Brother’. He started to chatter non-stop and even started to plan what kind of ‘battle uniform’ Gu Qi should wear on the day of the parent-teacher meeting to ‘amaze everyone’.
Not a single bit of anger or that he minded.
The imaginary enemy in his mind didn't care about these.
The brighter Jiang Lechuan smiled, the darker and uglier his heart seemed to be. It was like an existence in the dark that couldn't see the light. For a little care and love, he did his utmost. So despicable and shameful.
Mu Yuan couldn't understand where these complicated emotions came from.
But he seemed to understand that he was a little unwilling and jealous.
＊
After sending Mu Yuan home and spending an afternoon with Jiang Lechuan playing the ‘Super Pizza Shop’ given by fans, Gu Qi received a call from her agent Song Cheng in the evening.
The relationship between the two was still very tense. Song Cheng simply told her about the work: "PL is interested in signing a brand ambassador contract with us. The assistant will pick you up on Wednesday morning. Go and take some promotional photos for PL's new release. You will definitely not be able to get the position of spokesperson. There are many twists and turns behind it, but if you perform well, you may have a chance to be in the magazine in the future."
Gu Qi was a little surprised. Even though it was just a PL brand endorser, it was still a very good fashion resource for young artists.
PL only contacted them once about a month ago. She had climbed the mountain in their dress like a savage... She thought there was no chance. Unexpectedly the other party would come knocking.
The agent reluctantly explained: "The photo of you lying on the sofa after coming down the mountain and the contrast with Jiang Lechuan has been widely circulated on the Internet."
And the chosen color of the dress was bright red and the theme it wanted to show was the opposite of decline and demise. By chance, the designer appreciated her ‘ugly picture’.
Gu Qi: "..."
She never thought it would be this reason.
In the original plot, PL didn't send her any olive branches. She remembered that the identity of brand ambassador seemed to be given to Jiāng Zhiyu in the end, but Jiāng Zhiyu didn't enjoy the glory for too long and met with a vicious female support’s tragic ending too.
Because Jiāng Zhiyu looked down on the fallen household Shen family, she originally thought that her elder brother was just playing around with the female lead Shen Anran. It never came to her that he was really moved.
Jiāng Zhiyu naturally thought that a woman like Shen Anran and the Shen family behind her were not worthy of his elder brother. Therefore she wanted to drive Shen Anran out of the Jiāng Family. In the end, her elder brother personally sent her to a mental hospital due to ‘insanity’.
‘Justice’ will inevitably defeat ‘evil’ and the male lead and female lead will live happily together. All the vicious male and female supports who wanted to destroy them wouldn’t have a good end.
At the current time point, there was still one episode before Shen Anran joined the variety show recording.
According to the original plot, Shen Anran will join the variety show recording in the fourth episode. Before that, all of their paths should have no intersection.
In the list of brand ambassadors given by PL, in addition to Jiāng Zhiyu, there was the female lead Shen Anran.
In the original plot, they didn't have any interaction during this period.
Gu Qi thought of what the system said again. As long as all the details of the development deviate from the original plot, the accumulation of small details could change the final ending.
It was perfect. Let’s go and see what kind of person Shen Anran was.
But PL's shooting time was Wednesday afternoon. It may end in the evening or even midnight.
That was to say, she couldn't attend Mu Yuan's parent-teacher meeting, let alone accompany Jiang Lechuan to dinner.
Gu Qi still said: "I know, I will go."
＊
On the other side.
Furious, Jin Zhiyu smashed a lot of dishes when she learned that Gu Qi was among the people who were going to shoot PL's new promotion with her.
She roared: "How do PL do things? Out of all those numerous celebrities in the entertainment industry, why did they find Gu Qi? I don't want to shoot with her! Why!"
It was obvious that PL gave her this opportunity because of the Jiāng Family. Her father had even sent someone to discuss cooperation with them. She was happily preparing to welcome her first high-end luxury brand cooperation, but she didn't expect Gu Qi to be there? She had the same identity as her?
Jiāng Fengzhi looked at the newspaper in front of him, without even raising his head, and just said: "Anyway, the brand ambassador position will be yours sooner or later, so there's no need to care about these things."
Jāng Zhiyu knew that what her elder brother said was right.
PL's choice of endorser this time was a group of young flowers of similar age to her, which invisibly puts her position on the same level as those actors.
As long as she plays in an idol drama next time to accumulate some popularity, PL will give her the spokesperson position.
No new generation of young flowers in the entertainment industry could have this treatment and this level of endorsement. At that time, her resources and status will be upgraded to a higher level.
Now she went on variety shows to make her face familiar to the public. After she finishes the idol drama and gets the endorsement, she can let her family invest in a movie to find some big names to act with her. Then she will have a firm foothold.
It was just star-making. It was possible as long as there was capital willing to support her.
And she was the capital.
Thinking of this, Jiāng Zhiyu felt a little better and went back to the room to continue choosing the script.
＊
Wednesday afternoon.
The driver took Gu Qi to the shooting site of PL.
The dressing room was a public one, very large, and there were already two well-known traffic flowers sitting inside. They were brand endorsers invited by PL.
The two have a good relationship and merrily chat together. When they saw Gu Qi walk in, one of them winked at the other and greeted her together.
Gu Qi waved to them politely: "Hello."
One of them was named He Quanyi, who was famous for her mature and charming bad woman image. She was currently in the limelight with a hit drama. She was nearly 30 years old and ushered in the second spring of her career. She took the initiative to talk to Gu Qi: "I have seen your variety show. I envy you so much. You are actually the elder sister of Wen Renjing and Jiang Lechuan."
This person had some interaction with Gu Qi.
Five years ago, she once auditioned for the second female lead in a movie with Gu Qi, who was still a newcomer, but she lost. After the movie was broadcast, the word-of-mouth and box office were excellent. It was still one of Gu Qi's representative works. He Quanyi had always felt very dissatisfied with this.
The other actress was Xue Xue, who had a small hit idol drama last year. She looked pure and sweet and was the same type as Ning Xiwei. She said: "Yes. Two top star’s elder sister, truly don't lack popularity. Unlike us, we don't have such astounding younger brother and can only rely on our own works to speak."
After saying that, both of them laughed out loud and seemed to be very satisfied with each other's cooperation and tacit understanding. They felt it was very interesting to humiliate Gu Qi with this.
At this moment, a voice rang out from behind: "You two are going too far."
A girl in a white dress and pigtails came out. There were some anger in her eyes, saying: "He Quanyi and Xue Xue, you can't talk like that. It's very rude!"
The two were stunned for a moment.
He Quanyi laughed so hard that her whole body was shaking: "Has the entertainment industry changed now? It’s reasonable for the younger generation to teach the older generation?"
Xue Xue's innocent and lovely face showed a hint of impatience, saying: "Shen Anran, know when to stop. The only hit drama you have was a few years ago. It's not your turn to teach us how to do things now. And aren't we right? Which of us didn't get here because of our work, unlike some people who rely on..."
Shen Anran seemed to be bubbling and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Gu Qi first.
Gu Qi looked at Xue Xue and said, "If I remember correctly, you have only been in the industry for three years. You didn't pay attention to the entertainment industry four years ago? It’s somewhat understandable why you forgot that I won the Best Female Support Award at the Kim Chak Awards that year."
She was once favored by the industry and was considered the successor of Qing Yi.
But later, she took on too many bad dramas to make money for her agent and her past achievements were gradually forgotten.
Xue Xue froze for a moment. She seemed to have forgotten this.
After all, Gu Qi's black material in the entertainment industry over the years was far greater than the fame for those awards.
"So..."
At this moment, Gu Qi turned her head back at the corridor stairs, "Jiāng Zhiyu, she asked who didn't get here because of their work? What do you think?"
Adding fuel to the fire? Who doesn’t know how to?
She was too lazy to argue with the two people in front of her, but Jiāng Zhiyu would definitely come.
Jiāng Zhiyu walked over wearing black stilettos with a complexion as dark on her face. She threw the limited edition branded bag in her hand at Xue Xue and said, "Say it again?"
Xue Xue didn't dare to dodge at all. Everyone knew the capital behind this Miss Jiāng. She could only endure it and said reluctantly, "I didn't mean that."
Jīng Zhiyu looked at her straight and uttered, "Scram."
Shen Anran's pretty face was full of entanglement. In the end she chose to stand up and speak for Xue Xue: "Miss Jiāng, although what she said was wrong, you shouldn't throw your bag at people."
"You scram too." Jiāng Zhiyu didn't even glance at Shen Anran. What she said was even more unpleasant and direct, making the scene from the original chaos to dead silence and awkward.
Gu Qi got up and walked out to avoid blood splashing on herself.
She didn't know whether they wanted to scram. Anyway, she was thirsty and wanted to get a cup of coffee.
Under Jiāng Zhiyu's cold face, Shen Anran wanted to argue with her, but was slightly stunned when she caught sight of Gu Qi's back walking away.
Following this, He Quanyi and Xue Xue stood up and left reluctantly. It seemed that no one was really stupid enough to confront an eldest miss like Jiāng Zhiyu.
PL was famous for its generosity in the industry. The endorsers were given impressive figures. In addition, behind it meant an upgrade of fashion resources. They don't want to take any risks.
Shen Anran felt embarrassed for a moment. Jiāng Zhiyu half leaned on the chair and gazed at her lazily and continued to mock her: "Don't act like a kind-hearted little white flower in front of me. There are no audiences here. I hate people like you who look righteous the most and meddle in other people's business.
People should have their own stance. Being kind to everyone like a fence-sitter is worthless. It's better to feed it to the dog. What do you think?"
Finally, in an environment without real-time monitoring by live cameras, Jiāng Zhiyu could attack everyone indiscriminately. Seeing Shen Anran's embarrassed face and tears about to fall and heading out like fleeing. Though she felt very happy and satisfied, she felt as if something was missing.
After a few seconds of silence.
Jiāng Zhiyu sat up suddenly from the chair and laughed angrily after realizing what she had done.
Wait, where did Gu Qi go?
She clearly came to teach Gu Qi a lesson, but how come Gu Qi used her to scold all these people ?
＊
Gu Qi was sitting in the lobby drinking coffee. Soon a staff member found her to apologize for Jiāng Zhiyu.
Gu Qi wasn't scolded, so she certainly wasn't angry with Jiāng Zhiyu. She cooperated and returned to the shared dressing room.
Jāng Zhiyu wasn't here either. It was likely that she had a dressing room all to herself.
He Quanyi still had a very obvious disgruntled look on her face. But she was hesitant to say anything because of the presence of the staff.
Xue Xue was the same. She could only force a smile.
After all, no one could have quarrels in front of so many staff members. They were not like Jiāng Zhiyu, who had capital to support her. If they made more trouble in someone else's territory, it would be a loss if they lost their brand endorser status.
Gu Qi closed her eyes and let the makeup artist doll up her face.
At this moment.
The door was pushed open again and Shen Anran walked in again.
Her eyes were still slightly red and swollen, obviously she had just cried.
Seeing Shen Anran sitting next to her, Gu Qi handed her the ice pack she had just grabbed when she went to get coffee, "Apply it."
Shen Anran showed a trace of joy on her face, carefully took the ice pack, and said, "Thank you."
Seeing this, another makeup artist waiting on the side hurriedly went to get a hot towel for Shen Anran to use to apply to her eyes alternately to quickly reduce swelling.
Gu Qi closed her eyes again and said in a light voice: "No need."
After all, Shen Anran had spoken for her.
She was overly kind.
But was there really such a person in this world? No matter how coldly she was treated by the ‘wicked people’, she could treat them with her best side?
Gu Qi’s mind was in a knot.
She opened her eyes again and glanced at Shen Anran.
Realizing that Gu Qi was looking at her, Shen Anran immediately showed a gentle smile.
Gu Qi smiled at her and said nothing.
Very soon.
The official shooting began.
Everyone got individual shots first. Because there were many dresses provided and the photographer had to keep trying to choose the most suitable style for each person.
During this period,
All the staff received various snacks, fruits and milk tea sent by Shen Anran. She spoke to everyone in a gentle tone. No matter how many times she changed her clothes, she wouldn't show fatigue or complain like other people. She always had the most perfect smile on her face.
Gu Qi would observe Shen Anran most of the time, but didn't find any suspicious points.
She was gentle, cheerful, considerate, and even cared about whether the staff were tired or not. She never complained.
Even after He Quanyi and Xue Xue criticized Jiāng Zhiyu a bit, Shen Anran stood up to stop them. This made the duo fume.
But all this-
Was inconsistent with the original plot.
She was nice to everyone. Even though she was humiliated by Jiāng Zhiyu, she would stand up to stop others from saying bad things about Jiāng Zhiyu. She seemed to be unable to bear the slightest conflict and bad things happening in front of her.
If Shen Anran was really such a kind person that could be described as ‘Saint’ and when Jiang Lechuan wanted to interfere in the relationship between her and Jiāng Fengzhi because he loves her, she couldn't sit back and watch Jiang Lechuan met with such an end.
Instead of blaming the mistake on ‘Shen Anran not saving Jiang Lechuan’, it was better to think about why Jiang Lechuan liked Shen Anran so much.
Oh, and Wen Renjing.
The original plot briefly mentioned this. Jiang Lechuan was neglected by his parents and no one cared about him. It was Shen Anran who remembered his preferences and cared for him. This made him gradually let down his guard.
Wen Renjing was similar. His family situation was quite complicated. His father died early, while his mother's personality was extremely sensitive due to the pressure of life. She kept putting all her hopes on him, making life tiring for him. Only when he was with Shen Anran could he feel a little relaxed and at ease. But he was an absolutely rational person, so he will not do anything beyond the line for this good feeling.
Gu Qi realized this very early. So she always wanted to change herself, to make up for the lack of love and warmth from Jiang Lechuan in advance. This way, he wouldn't have to be obsessed with Shen Anran's love.
She wanted him to know that there were many kinds of love in this world and there was a lot of love. There was no need to be obsessed with a certain person.
But for Gu Qi, there was still a big gap between being able to understand these and seeing Shen Anran in person.
Did she have to learn from Shen Anran?
Gu Qi observed the smile on Shen Anran's face from a distance before looking at her stinky face in the mirror again.
Ah...
This was too difficult.
＊
In the evening, the school bell rang.
Looking at the parents walking in at the school gate, Mu Yuan kept turning on his mobile phone to check the time and his eyes headed toward the school gate.
Gu Qi promised him that he won’t be alone for the parent-teacher meeting. But why hadn't she shown up yet?
Did she break her promise?
Did she go to dinner with Jiang Lechuan?
When he thought of this, Mu Yuan realized that he was a little anxious. At the sight of Gu Qi's car parked not far away, Mu Yuan didn't know that a smile had appeared on his face for a brief time.
He immediately lowered his head and pretended to be playing with his phone, appearing like he didn't expect anything.
Soon, a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Mu Yuan looked up suddenly, but the joy in his eyes turned into confusion in an instant.
Jiang Lechuan put his arm around his shoulder and said cheerfully, "You've been waiting for Elder Brother for a long time!"
Mu Yuan: "......?"
Why would the person who came be Jiang Lechuan? That was obviously Gu Qi's car.
Holding the idea that Jiang Lechuan must have ‘thickened his skin to follow along’, Mu Yuan asked with difficulty: "Just you alone?"
Jiang Lechuan showed a horrified expression. It was almost as if ‘how did you know’ was written on his face.
Mu Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, he knew that Elder Sister must still be in the car and would come soon.
The next second, the facts proved that Mu Yuan thought too much.
Because Jiang Lechuan suddenly blew a whistle. Then another fast food truck drove over and stopped nearby the school gate.
And that car was very fancy, with a banner on it -
Warmly congratulate my Younger Brother for getting the first place in the grade (for three consecutive years).
The huge window of the car was filled with coffee and milk tea.
Each cup of the drink was covered with a cup sleeve, and each cup sleeve was written with [Mu Yuan NO.1].
Above the window, there was a huge group photo.
They were him, Jiang Lechuan, Gu Qi and Wen Renjing.
Of course, their relationship wasn't enough for them to take a group photo. This was just a screenshot from a variety show. Wen Renjing's face was even blocked by a sticker, which was obviously intentional.
"How can I come alone? Of course I have to give you enough face! This is called cheering, you know? What do you think, Younger Brother? Do you like it?" Jiang Lechuan responded. He patted Mu Yuan's shoulder very proudly, obviously waiting for praise.
Mu Yuan: "..."
Enough. Did it look like he liked it!
The surrounding students and parents were attracted by the food truck and took pictures of the food truck with their mobile phones. Soon someone recognized Mu Yuan, the ‘protagonist’.
"That's the top student in the grade, right? I wish he is my child."
"His name is Mu Yuan, right? I heard his elder brothers and sisters are all big stars! Their family is amazing!"
"Who's the boy next to him? He looks so handsome with a mask on!"
Some classmates recognized Jiang Lechuan under his massive support and screamed.
"Ahhh! Jiang Lechuan! It's Jiang Lechuan!"
"Damn, it's really Jiang Lechuan!"
Jiang Lechuan didn't realize the seriousness of the problem at this moment. He proudly stretched out his hand to greet the classmates. He even cooperatively took photos with them as he uttered, "Please take care of my younger brother in school."
Mu Yuan: "..."
There wasn't even a single classmate from his class here. Soon, seeing more and more people crowding around them and realizing that if it continued like this, they wouldn't be able to attend the parent teacher meeting in time, Jiang Lechuan looked at Mu Yuan in horror, took the paper and pen, and signed frantically while asking: "What should we do? Your classmates are too enthusiastic, we have to go!"
Mu Yuan: "..."
Don't ask him. Whoever caused this trouble will be responsible.
If there was a time machine, Mu Yuan would definitely choose to travel back to that day and would never let himself mention this.
He didn't need anyone to hold a parent-teacher meeting for him.
Absolutely not.
poor kid, is this called death by mortification? haha. the banner alone would embarrass me to death, but the photo, gods
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