Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 84

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Manager 21

Queen

When throwing divination blocks, one could only throw three times. Xin Lan felt the probability was simply unscientific as she stood up in a daze, though secretly feeling happy inside.

If this deity was truly as efficacious as they said, she would find someone to walk through life with.

Who would it be?

She unconsciously glanced at Qin Yuyan beside her. Qin Yuyan wasn’t in the same queue as her but rather in the adjacent line. Her side was moving faster and had already finished, while Qin Yuyan’s side was just starting to throw the divination blocks.

As she watched, she felt something peculiar. She didn’t know what Qin Yuyan was asking, but the result came out completely opposite to hers – it was a nujiao [angry block].

Could she be asking about their potential relationship?

In fact, Xin Lan’s guess wasn’t wrong at all. After paying her respects devoutly, Qin Yuyan had asked precisely such a question, though specifically whether her confession to Xin Lan would be successful.

After receiving the nujiao result, Qin Yuyan refused to accept it.

So with hands clasped together, she asked again, changing her approach to ask if she could pursue Xin Lan.

The result was a shengjiao [sacred block].

Delighted, Qin Yuyan asked once more to be sure if she could pursue Xin Lan.

Shengjiao again.

When Qin Yuyan stood up, she couldn’t hide the joy on her face. She didn’t care – this deity must be accurate!

But why did she receive a nujiao for her first question? Did the deity think her confession to Xin Lan wouldn’t succeed? Yet why was it so certain she could pursue Xin Lan?

How strange – could it mean she shouldn’t confess but just pursue Xin Lan?

That didn’t seem right.

Qin Yuyan left the temple gates with Xin Lan, feeling conflicted. Seeing Xin Lan’s three shengjiaos, she desperately wanted to ask what questions Xin Lan had asked, but feared it might be too private to inquire about.

Though Xin Lan wasn’t typically a curious person, seeing Qin Yuyan receive first a nujiao then shengjiaos made her want to ask as well. However, she worried the answer might confirm her suspicions, which would be too awkward.

After leaving the temple, they went to a nearby street food alley.

The entire street was filled with food aromas. At a glance, one could see grilled gluten [烤面筋 | kǎo miàn jīn], grilled chicken legs, rice-wrapped chicken wings, braised brain in foil [錫紙腦花 | xī zhǐ nǎo huā], rice noodle rolls [腸粉 | cháng fěn], pan-fried oysters, and mango pomelo sago dessert [楊枝甘露 | yáng zhī gān lù]. This was Qin Yuyan’s first time at such a food street – everything looked novel and appetizing to her.

Seeing the braised brain dish, Qin Yuyan’s face showed eager interest, but she hesitated and didn’t order it.

Xin Lan was rather averse to it – not to the brain itself, which she found neither good nor bad, but to the garlic sauce.

After thinking about the taste of garlic sauce, Qin Yuyan gave up on the idea.

By the time they finished their leisurely stroll and returned to the hotel, it was already around one or two in the afternoon.

Tuzi had booked a room for Xin Lan next to Qin Yuyan’s, and they each returned to their respective rooms to rest.

Qin Yuyan wanted to go rest in Xin Lan’s room next door, but while she had the desire, she lacked the courage.

She happily posted on her Moments [朋友圈 | péng yǒu quān | WeChat’s social feed feature], then put down her phone to take a shower.

Qin Yuyan’s Moments post was visible only to friends, so naturally, Xin Lan could see it.

“Is that the deity’s will?”

Xin Lan read aloud. The post had a little heart emoji at the end, revealing its author’s joyful mood.

Xin Lan raised an eyebrow, once again doubting the deity’s authenticity.

When Zhang Haishan and his team departed, Xin Lan followed along with Qin Yuyan and Tuzi.

The place they arrived at wasn’t prosperous – people bustled through the streets, garbage piled up at corners, everything had a worn-down atmosphere. It had the typical appearance of an ordinary small county town, perfect for filming a scene where an undercover manager meets their first love.

After the production team arranged the accommodation, Xin Lan checked both the lodging and filming locations, said goodbye to Zhang Haishan and Qin Yuyan, and prepared to leave.

Qin Yuyan wanted Xin Lan to stay longer, but she knew such a request would be immature and waste Xin Lan’s time, so she just waved goodbye and wished her a safe journey.

“Remember to message me when you arrive,” Qin Yuyan fidgeted with her fingers, looking unhappy, but quickly switched to an expectant expression, “And if you have time, remember to visit the set, okay?”

“Okay.”

Xin Lan left decisively, leaving Qin Yuyan standing alone, watching her silhouette with a pitiful expression.

Tuzi internally criticized how clingy her new boss was, looking so miserable without her manager. Just as she was about to offer comfort, she noticed the manager’s car had driven far away, and her boss’s wistful expression had vanished, replaced by a cold, detached look when her eyes swept over Tuzi.

In her later career, Tuzi finally concluded that Qin Yuyan was two-faced: polite yet distant and aloof with others, but transforming into a devoted wife-like bunny in front of her manager. All one could do was click their tongue in amazement, unable to say anything else.

Xin Lan returned to the company without stopping, and after a brief rest, continued busying herself with work and various social obligations.

In her spare time, she visited Cheng Zhi’s set. His web drama was currently filming, and the on-set results looked good. Though his acting still had flaws, it was much better than his co-star’s.

When Cheng Zhi saw Xin Lan come to visit the set, he invited her to eat after finishing his scenes.

In a private room at the barbecue restaurant, the table was loaded with numerous grilled dishes, with ice-cold orange juice on the side.

“Did you start acting recklessly because you think you’ve lost weight recently?”

Xin Lan had often instructed Cheng Zhi’s assistant to watch him and prevent him from overeating. Assistant Chuchu always reported everything was normal, even saying Cheng Zhi had lost two jin [2kg or 2.205 pounds] recently. Yet the moment she visited, this rabbit kid [兔崽子 | tù zǎi zi | used affectionately for troublesome youngsters] ordered so much barbecue – was he asking to be scolded?

Cheng Zhi pouted at Xin Lan’s words, looking wronged.

“Jie, I think I’m experiencing heartbreak.”

Feeling miserable, Cheng Zhi took a big gulp of orange juice. He had wanted to order beer and drink until drunk, but considering he was currently filming, he knew his Lan-jie would kill him, so he timidly ordered orange juice instead.

“Heartbreak?”

Xin Lan raised her eyebrows. From the company’s perspective, she should be congratulating him, but she wasn’t that heartless, so she showed concern for her artist.

She remembered Cheng Zhi’s girlfriend, Yuan Xiaoyuan, a slender opera singer. It was Yuan Xiaoyuan who had brought her into the gathering where she met Qin Yuyan for the second time.

“Xiaoyuan hasn’t sent me messages for several days. When she does reply, I get worried. I contacted her close friend, who said nothing particular had happened with Xiaoyuan, but then mentioned there’s been a guy pursuing her quite persistently.”

When Cheng Zhi learned this news, he almost wanted to run to his girlfriend’s side and beat that guy down.

“Do you know why she’s not responding to your messages?”

“A few days ago was her birthday, and I was so busy I forgot.”

Cheng Zhi looked dejected.

“Then you deserve to be ignored. Who told you to forget such an important event?”

“Because the night before, we were filming night scenes that didn’t go smoothly and ran until two in the morning. I was completely passed out and had to be shaken awake by Chuchu. My mind wasn’t clear at all, but I had to continue filming. Then a water scene took up the entire afternoon. I didn’t even have time for dinner and slept until the next morning. That’s how I forgot.”

Cheng Zhi gave a bitter smile, looking gloomy.

Xin Lan knocked his head, telling him not to be so depressed.

“Did you explain?”

“I did, but she won’t respond to me.”

“The company doesn’t allow artists to date for two reasons: one is fear of disappointing fans, and another is concern about affecting the actor’s performance. After all, dating a celebrity isn’t easy. Celebrities are incredibly busy every day, sometimes having to create gossip and CP [CP | cǎo pī | character pairing, romantic shipping] for drama promotion or variety shows. Their partners naturally get upset – who would like their romantic interest having no time for dates, meeting secretly like an underground affair, and constantly having romantic rumors with other women?”

“I know you understand all this. I didn’t force you to break up like other managers would because I believed you could handle it well.”

Cheng Zhi responded listlessly, eating barbecue with a troubled expression.

Watching his dejected state, Xin Lan felt conflicted. Love could change a person – while she hoped to find someone to walk through life with, she didn’t want to become this kind of dejected, disappointed figure.

In that moment, she thought of Qin Yuyan – if it were this person, surely they wouldn’t make her unhappy.

When this thought appeared, even Xin Lan felt surprised at herself.

Perhaps it was time to calm down and focus on her tasks – thinking about these things wasn’t like her at all.

Xin Lan’s gaze turned slightly cold, but Cheng Zhi didn’t notice, instead channeling his sorrow into appetite, eagerly eating barbecue, since he didn’t know when he’d get to eat it again.

To care for her artist, Xin Lan contacted Yuan Xiaoyuan.

She didn’t play the emotional card, simply stating facts.

Cheng Zhi wasn’t too busy now, but once his career took off, he would be busier. She would have to endure longer periods of separation. Perhaps when she fell ill, he wouldn’t be able to stay by her side. Perhaps he would have to follow the company’s arrangements for publicity relationships…

Xin Lan wasn’t encouraging them to break up; she just hoped they could face these issues realistically.

Cheng Zhi was only twenty-one, and Yuan Xiaoyuan was half a year older. To Xin Lan, they were still too young to weather these emotional storms.

After saying all this, Xin Lan said no more. Cheng Zhi didn’t tell her what happened afterward, and she didn’t probe further. As she had said, she trusted him to handle it well.

As time passed, Shen Yun arrived for her audition for 《Xiaoman》.

Naturally, Xin Lan accompanied her, and that day she gave Shen Yun a smile, explaining how her career would progress if the drama was successful.

Shen Yun appeared extremely happy, in excellent spirits.

Seeing her confident demeanor, the smile in Xin Lan’s eyes deepened.

During this time, Zhou Qinqin and Miaomiao had been deliberately yet subtly flattering Shen Yun. Xin Lan specifically had them mention Lan Rui, and sent red packets as encouragement.

Receiving the bonus, the two girls more diligently praised Shen Yun, intentionally disparaging Lan Rui in front of her. This made Shen Yun laugh endlessly, almost floating with pride during that period.

Today, Xin Lan offered more praise, feeling victory was assured.

Coming out of the audition, her face wore a smile of certain triumph.

When Xin Lan called to inform her of the results, that smile froze completely on her face.

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LP: Re-translated on March 04, 2025

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