Cheng Ying pushed open the door to the lounge, a bottle of anti-swelling medicine in hand. At a glance, she saw Miss Jiang still sitting in the same posture as when she had left, prim and proper, like a beautiful, life-sized figurine.
The film crew’s lounge was decorated quite warmly, resembling a small family living room. Cold drinks, fruit platters, and all sorts of board and card games were available. Jiang Hanguang sat on a lounge chair that looked exceptionally soft, yet her slender back remained perfectly straight.
Doesn’t she get tired being so tense all day?
Cheng Ying sighed inwardly and placed the medicine in front of Jiang Hanguang. “Here, for external injuries~”
Jiang Hanguang picked up the bottle, looking at her with some confusion, as if she didn’t understand where she needed to apply it.
Cheng Ying didn’t know whether to praise her for her endurance or for being foolish. She pointed to the fabric over Jiang Hanguang’s knees, which had been knelt on until it was exceptionally flat. “Miss Jiang, what skill. Your knees don’t hurt after kneeling for so long?”
Although the filming set was fictional, the platform underneath was a real, hard stage. For someone with skin as delicate as Jiang Hanguang’s, kneeling five times without any protective gear, it would be a miracle if she wasn’t bruised.
“Yes, thank you, Boss Cheng.” Jiang Hanguang probably hadn’t expected her to bring medicine, but she thanked her immediately nonetheless.
Those beautiful and alluringly narrow eyes widened slightly, making her appear somewhat naive.
Miss Jiang Hanguang, who ranged from being unperturbed in chaos to passively accepting adversity, was now showing a different expression all because of a bottle of medicine.
Cheng Ying’s heart suddenly tingled; she felt an urge to tease her.
The moment she decided to make Jiang Hanguang her artist, this person was no longer an insignificant, tragic NPC.
She was not a part of this boring and tiresome world.
Instead, she was a flower she was cultivating, an outlet for her unplaceable need for compensation.
But Jiang Hanguang was a little different from any of the previous ones.
Bai Ruo and Xu Ning had both approached her on their own initiative. Jiang Hanguang, on the other hand, had been snatched away from that wasteful, garbage gardener.
She didn’t actually need her, or rather, she hadn’t placed her hopes in her.
She hadn’t placed her hopes in anyone. Otherwise, with her looks, if she were willing, Hua Ran would be nothing.
This won’t do, Miss Jiang Hanguang.
I want to borrow your warmth to touch the human world, so how can you continue to turn a blind eye to me?
You are already my flower. You must get used to my existence soon.
Cheng Ying propped one hand on the table, leaned closer to the properly seated Jiang Hanguang, and flashed a flirtatious smile. “Shall I apply it for you?”
She deliberately used a phrasing that was hard to refuse, waiting for Jiang Hanguang’s answer.
Jiang Hanguang gripped the fabric on her knees, her lips pressed tightly together.
She had thought Boss Cheng would blame her for causing trouble, but the Alpha not only didn’t blame her but had also brought her medicine.
But, applying medicine… was it necessary for an artist and an agent to be so intimate?
Jiang Hanguang looked at Cheng Ying again.
Miss Cheng Ying blinked her watery blue eyes, smilingly waiting for her reply.
Although her smile was quite mischievous, Jiang Hanguang still couldn’t sense any danger.
If it were Fan Jie, she would never have agreed, no matter what.
Cheng Ying seemed… a little different. But Jiang Hanguang then recalled the sense of pressure when Cheng Ying had pressed on her shoulder just now.
Was that difference Cheng Ying’s true nature, or was she just too good at pretending, and her own perception was off?
The reason she could refuse her so decisively before was simply that she felt Cheng Ying was acting on a whim, and she couldn’t just drag someone into a pit of fire over a fleeting interest.
More than being disliked, she was afraid of implicating others.
But now, Cheng Ying had already jumped in, shown her goodwill, and the medicine she bought for her was right in front of her.
Jiang Hanguang, on the contrary, felt too embarrassed to refuse her again just because of her own guardedness.
Besides, it seemed she had already provoked her once today. It was better to avoid any more friction.
Jiang Hanguang revealed a standard smile, one that could be used for an ID photo, and pushed the medicine bottle over.
“Then I’ll have to trouble Boss Cheng.”
Cheng Ying chuckled lightly, picked up the medicine bottle, and looked at Jiang Hanguang’s lightly trembling eyelashes. She had the distinct illusion that she was teasing a virtuous woman.
But she didn’t care. She was shameless, after all.
Jiang Hanguang bent down and rolled up her spotless, thin pant legs.
The folded fabric piled up at her knee. The woman’s straight calves were whiter than her snow-white clothes, which made the two purplish-blue bruises on her knees look all the more frightening.
Jiang Hanguang rolled them up precisely to her knee and stopped, looking up in confusion at Cheng Ying, who was still frozen in place.
Startled for a moment by those pale calves, Boss Cheng sat down with an unchanged expression.
Cheng Mantou screamed in her head.
“Such beautiful legs! Ying, are you going to apply the medicine or not? If you’re not, can you make me a body next time? I can give Sister a back massage, I can rub her legs, I can do anything!”
Cheng Ying first muted Cheng Mantou, then pulled a chair to sit opposite Jiang Hanguang. She squeezed a little ointment onto her hand, gently pressed it onto Jiang Hanguang’s knee, and slowly rubbed it in.
The first touch was cool and smooth. The joint, so delicate it could be perfectly cupped in her palm, instinctively flinched for a moment before being suppressed by its owner and becoming still.
Cheng Ying felt as if she wasn’t kneading someone’s knee, but a piece of fine jade.
While rubbing, she inevitably touched the skin next to the knee. Cheng Ying could clearly feel that wherever her fingers brushed, the skin subtly tensed up.
It was a clear indication of Jiang Hanguang’s sensitivity and her distrust.
Cheng Ying sighed, released her hand, and looked up to see Miss Jiang’s still-proper smile.
Only, there was a hint of stiffness in her eyes.
Seeing her look over, a flicker of helplessness also crossed her face.
That one glance caused Cheng Ying’s practically non-existent sense of morality to pop out from nowhere and point its finger at her.
She was clearly bullying her, bullying Jiang Hanguang because she wouldn’t refuse.
Yet this person didn’t even know how to cry; she would only look at her silently.
It was as if she, the villain, wasn’t in the wrong, but that Jiang Hanguang herself was the one at fault.
Cheng Ying had originally planned to shamelessly finish applying the medicine and then lecture her, but now she really couldn’t bring herself to continue.
“You’re too easy to bully, Miss Jiang.” She looked into Jiang Hanguang’s confused eyes and helplessly helped her pull her pant leg down, covering her knee and calf. “No matter how close an artist and agent are, your legs are your legs. Regardless of the considerations, you can refuse me.”
Of course, Jiang Hanguang knew this principle. She just didn’t want to have another conflict with Cheng Ying.
Hua Ran and Lang Wenxing already left her with no energy to worry about anything else; she didn’t want to annoy her agent as well.
Pushing her own bottom line to the lowest point, trying her best not to inconvenience others—this creed had been ground into Jiang Hanguang’s very bones by life.
So much so that now, hearing Cheng Ying spout these high-sounding principles, she was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
In the end, she could only nod. “Yes, I understand. Thank you, Boss Cheng.”
“What are you thanking me for…” For bullying you?
Cheng Ying facepalmed internally. Through this test, she discovered that Jiang Hanguang was indeed in a state of passive resistance towards everyone.
She had her own bottom line, like not selling fake goods, but the line was very low. Hua Ran bullied her so much that the entire crew could barely watch, yet she, the victim, showed no reaction.
To put it another way, this habit was probably a noble and aloof version of a people-pleasing personality.
Such non-aggressive thorns, Miss Rose.
It’s better to gain her trust first, Cheng Ying thought. If Jiang Hanguang continues to be as guarded against me as she is against Fan Jie, I’ll be the one to lose my composure first.
What motivated her to continue “raising flowers” was the dependence of the one being tamed on her. A flower that treated her no differently from an outsider was not worth raising.
To be blunt, if she were to turn bad, ruling the world might be a bit of a stretch, but she could certainly set human civilization back a few decades. Being compared to someone like Fan Jie was just too demeaning.
How to make someone trust you?
Cheng Ying wasn’t actually very skilled at this. Her carefree, rich-kid persona definitely wouldn’t work. Xu Ning and Bai Ruo were not good references either; for a long time at the beginning, they had basically treated her as a sugar mommy. Trust wasn’t the issue; fear compelled them to be sufficiently honest and open with her.
Until they discovered she was a paper tiger who only talked but didn’t sleep with them. One went to sleep with someone else, and the other actually tried to force herself on her.
The past was too painful to look back on.
Jiang Hanguang was probably still worried that she wanted to use the casting couch on her. It was probably better to talk about work first to let her relax.
Cheng Ying organized her thoughts and started the conversation, “Do you know why I wanted to sign you?”
She wanted to let Jiang Hanguang state a couple of her strengths first, so she could use them to shower her with praise and establish her image as a reliable agent who was only after money, not her body.
Jiang Hanguang thought for a moment but still didn’t feel she had any advantages. She was decent-looking and her acting was okay, but this industry wasn’t just about those two things. One could even say that with certain machinations, those two things weren’t that important.
She wasn’t young anymore. The minor achievements she once had had long since vanished into thin air. It was basically like starting over from scratch, and on top of that, Feng Nan was eyeing her covetously.
She honestly shook her head.
If only you had one percent of that Miss Hua’s ego, you’d be perfect, Miss Jiang.
Cheng Ying had to change the subject. “A few days ago, due to some disagreements, I terminated my contract with Miss Xu Ning. Now I don’t have a single artist under me, which looks very bad for an agent. So I started looking for a new artist then.”
Although these two matters weren’t necessarily related, Cheng Ying decided to link them for the time being.
Otherwise, if she told Miss Jiang, “You remind me of my mom, so I want to help you.”
No matter how low Miss Jiang Hanguang’s bottom line was, she’d probably call the police to catch a pervert and rid the world of a menace first.
“Yes, so you chose me because…” You were hurt by love and decided to give up on yourself?
Jiang Hanguang’s brow furrowed slightly. She hadn’t expected Cheng Ying and Xu Ning to have terminated their contract; just the other day, she saw them being very close.
“Did you break up and are afraid it would be awkward to work together?” Jiang Hanguang rephrased it more tactfully.
“…”
Cheng Ying looked at Jiang Hanguang’s confused and sympathetic gaze, speechless at her logical and smooth train of thought. She decisively forced a change of topic. “Don’t overthink it. I chose you purely because I think you’ll become famous. Like, a huge star.”
Jiang Hanguang was stunned for a moment. This time, she looked at her with genuine surprise. Her eyes held confusion and bewilderment, but also a fleeting glimmer of light.
Cheng Ying seized the opportunity and said with a face full of deep emotion, “Believe it or not, I signed you for the money. I’ve recently set my sights on a detached villa in the center of Fengyuan City, and funds are a bit tight. My year-end bonus is all riding on you, Miss Jiang!”
Jiang Hanguang was so shocked by this sudden, shameless, capitalist confession of deep affection that her pupils quaked. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be happy or confused.
Cheng Ying’s smile became even more delighted. She suddenly realized that teasing out different expressions from Jiang Hanguang was a very interesting thing. With Miss Jiang’s unparalleled face, even making a funny face would probably have its own charm. Seeing her look at her blankly right now was so cute it made one want to pinch those cheeks that looked so good to the touch.
That would be too much of a slap in the face to her own words. A reliable agent couldn’t just casually touch their artist. She managed to hold back and continued her impassioned speech.
“So, puff out your chest, future superstar. You are very expensive. Every inch of your skin is worth a lot of money. From now on, whether you’re on or off work, you must report to me. A situation like today’s must not happen again.” She pointed to herself with a smile. “Although I’m indeed quite useless, I will help you. After all, I’m counting on you to make money.”
The Omega across from her lowered her head slightly, pondered for a moment, then looked up with a beautiful and standard smile.
“I understand. Thank you, Boss Cheng.”
There was a little more light in the woman’s dark eyes, but she remained cautious and reserved.
Like a small deer that has escaped from a hunter’s hands several times, even if someone offered her a fresh deer biscuit with a reverent posture, she still maintained a certain level of vigilance.
Of course, Cheng Ying didn’t expect a few sentences to make Jiang Hanguang shed tears of gratitude and bow in submission. If she were that easy to fool, how could she have escaped from someone like Feng Nan completely unscathed?
But having cleared the air was a good result, all in all. Next, she would prove with her actions that she was quite useful, so Miss Jiang could feel at ease using her.
Cheng Ying smiled and extended her hand. “To a pleasant cooperation.”
“Yes, to a pleasant cooperation.” This time, Jiang Hanguang didn’t hesitate. Her hand, two shades paler and a size smaller, slid gently into her palm.
Soft and cool, fair and smooth.
