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“I want the adaptation rights.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Yang Huayi’s eyes.

“You’re ambitious.”

Li Lan didn’t answer, only repeated, “Or does Director Yang want to sell me the copyright?”

“You want the adaptation rights, and you want to buy the copyright too so you can make it yourself.” Yang Huayi seemed amused. “Should I praise your fearless youth? But you’re already thirty, Li Lan. Don’t keep testing my bottom line.”

Li Lan narrowed her eyes. “Director Yang is too flattering. I’m already thirty, and I don’t want every step I take controlled by someone else.”

Yang Huayi was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. “Are you taking a dig at me?”

Li Lan didn’t answer, but her expression clearly said two words: yes.

“Very few people dare talk to me like this,” Yang Huayi said again in that unreadable tone of hers. “You really are getting more and more insolent.”

Zhu Qing had been eavesdropping the whole time. Watching them go from trading barbs to seeming to calm down, only to start arguing again, and then seeing Yang Huayi circle back to Li Lan’s attitude, she couldn’t help saying, “Director Yang, I’ve always had a question I wanted to ask you. I wonder if you’d be willing to answer it.”

“No.” Yang Huayi’s tone was flat. “Then don’t ask.”

Zhu Qing laughed awkwardly. “Haha, then I’ll ask anyway.”

Yang Huayi rolled her eyes almost imperceptibly.

“Why exactly do you treat Li Lan so... how should I put it,” Zhu Qing hesitated for a long time before forcing out a few words, “differently?”

Yang Huayi’s eyelid twitched. Her instincts told her Zhu Qing wasn’t about to say anything pleasant.

But once Zhu Qing had thrown out the core question, she suddenly became fluent: “Look, you insisted that Li Lan join the variety show. Although in the end her agreeing had a lot to do with me, you definitely didn’t make things harder.”

Yang Huayi: ...

“And on the show, there were always people around us, bodyguards and other staff, and especially after something happened to Li Lan, you flew to Africa in less than a day. Even if it wasn’t entirely for our Teacher Li, you’re sitting here now because you definitely want to talk things through with Li Lan.” Zhu Qing took a deep breath after that long stretch. “So what exactly do you want?”

Listening to her gave Yang Huayi a headache. With her status, Zhu Qing wasn’t even qualified to speak to her; she had no intention of answering, but Li Lan gave the final verdict for her: “What Xiaoqing said is right.”

Yang Huayi: ............

“You want the answer?” Yang Huayi suppressed her displeasure.

Li Lan nodded seriously. “Mm.”

Yang Huayi frowned. “Fine. But I have a question for you first.”

Li Lan was generous. “Ask.”

Yang Huayi said at once, “What exactly happened between you and Yu Ling?”

Yu Ling was an outstanding product she had painstakingly cultivated over the past two years; in terms of both appearance and talent, she fit Yang Huayi’s aesthetic perfectly. Her personality was a little gloomy and lopsided, but Yang Huayi had the least patience for prying into other people’s hearts. She didn’t care what Yu Ling was thinking; as long as Yu Ling listened, that was enough.

For Li Lan to have crushed that excellent product the moment she made a move, Yang Huayi was both angry and curious.

“I really didn’t do anything,” Li Lan said, knowing full well she couldn’t lay everything out. “You should ask Yu Ling why she did that.”

“She won’t say,” Yang Huayi replied coolly. “I can’t be bothered to keep asking.”

Li Lan said, speechless, “Then you can’t be bothered to keep asking me either?”

Yang Huayi looked at Li Lan coldly, her gaze a warning.

Li Lan swallowed the urge to complain, then glanced at Zhu Qing, who was even more curious than Yang Huayi; it was written all over her face.

Helplessly, Li Lan said, “Xiaoqing told me. She found out Yu Ling was jealous of me, so I started investigating along that line.”

Yang Huayi frowned. “Jealous? Jealous of what? Jealous that you’re old? Jealous that you married young? Jealous that you debuted ten years ago and are still only a third-tier actress?”

Li Lan: ...

Zhu Qing reminded her in a small voice, “She’s already second-tier.”

Yang Huayi snorted. “Any difference?”

Li Lan took a deep breath. She really wanted to curse.

Yang Huayi hadn’t seen through Yu Ling’s thoughts at all. Either Yu Ling had hidden it too well, or Yang Huayi simply hadn’t cared.

Li Lan said with a fake smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Who knows. Does Director Yang remember when we once came to Africa?”

Yang Huayi froze. Her gaze drifted into the distance as long-buried memories surfaced.

“I came to Africa with her and Director Yang to gather inspiration. At the time, you wanted to film an MV for us against a savanna backdrop, taking a different route for our debut.” Li Lan’s tone was unhurried. “We stayed in Africa for more than a month.”

Yang Huayi seemed to think of something and fell silent for a long time.

Only after Li Lan called her several times did she come back to herself and say hastily, “Go on.”

Li Lan could only repeat herself: “I said, Yu Ling also came to Africa.”

“What did she come to Africa for?” Yang Huayi said impatiently. “Her work has nothing to do with Africa.”

“Not just Africa,” Li Lan said. “She also went to Kowloon in Hong Kong, Kashi, Jiuzhaigou, Caiyun Town... Everywhere we once went to gather inspiration, she went too.”

Yang Huayi said nothing.

“The first day I came to Africa, I was suspicious already. The mosquito repellent Yu Ling gave me was made in a style only local tribes would have; outsiders would rarely know about it, but she found it as soon as she arrived,” Li Lan said. “Yu Ling followed in our footsteps. She was copying me and her from back then.”

Yang Huayi’s expression darkened with every second. “Copying you, and her, she...”

Li Lan said, “Yu Ling already looks a lot like both me and her. Director Yang’s taste really hasn’t changed these years. Yu Ling probably found us through the company archives, which is why she kept digging.”

Yang Huayi looked as if her mind had stopped turning altogether. Veins showed faintly at her temples. “Say it clearly. I don’t understand.”

Li Lan found that hard to believe.

Someone as smart as Yang Huayi still didn’t understand?

Something Li Lan could figure out on her own—if Yang Huayi had cared, she would have known all of it long ago. But Yang Huayi’s reaction made it obvious she truly hadn’t known, or rather, had been shocked.

“Director Yang wanted to promote Yu Ling. Wasn’t it because of her looks?”

Yang Huayi said dryly, “Yes. But what does that have to do with you, with her... You already said it; that’s my aesthetic preference. I like those looks, so I chose you two.”

“Maybe because of seniority, and because Yu Ling admires Director Yang very much,” Li Lan said with a false smile. “She probably thought of herself as a substitute?”

“A substitute for what?!”

Yang Huayi suddenly exploded.

Her voice was like thunder, blasting through the car.

Zhu Qing was startled, shivering all over. Li Lan, too, grew wary and stared fixedly at Yang Huayi.

Yang Huayi looked like a beast barely holding back both rage and confusion; the calm surface she wore was almost unable to conceal the explosive emotions underneath. Her eyes were red as she glared at Li Lan. “What do you mean, substitute?”

Zhu Qing leaned forward from the passenger seat, her expression extremely careful; she was alert with fear, and angry with fear. Her small body blocked part of Li Lan as she stared back hard.

“Doesn’t Director Yang still understand?” Zhu Qing raised her voice to steady her nerves. “Yu Ling was jealous because she likes you. She thought she was the substitute for Li Lan and Li Lan’s friend. Whether she befriended Li Lan or framed Li Lan, it was all to get close to her love rival and then get closer to you!”

Yang Huayi’s throat worked stiffly. “...I don’t think I like Li Lan.”

“Who you like doesn’t matter!” Zhu Qing snapped. “The important thing is that Yu Ling misunderstood!”

Li Lan held Zhu Qing’s arm and slowly lowered it. Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper; a ridiculous guess suddenly rose in her mind, but the thought flashed by too quickly for her to catch.

Li Lan suddenly said, “Then can Director Yang answer my question from just now? Since you don’t like me, why do you treat me differently?”

A trace of confusion flashed in Yang Huayi’s eyes, but it disappeared so quickly no one could catch it, turning instead into something even more inscrutable.

“I’m nostalgic, is that not allowed?” Yang Huayi clearly had no intention of answering properly. She glanced at Li Lan, her eyes full of disdain. “Just because of you, you think you’re qualified to question me? You’re not even close, even if you make it to first-tier status.”

Li Lan let out a cold laugh too. “Director Yang is so nostalgic. No wonder Yu Ling would misunderstand and think you still had lingering feelings.”

Zhu Qing reacted sharply. “What lingering feelings? Who has feelings for whom? Didn’t you say you don’t like each other?”

“Right,” Li Lan thought. She and Director Yang had once been able to be described as mutually appreciative; later it was just mutual disgust. Still, Li Lan’s disgust had clearly been more one-sided. “Director Yang’s nostalgia nearly ruined me.”

But Yang Huayi fell silent.

Her thoughts drifted far away. She looked as if her soul had left her body, paying no attention at all to the two people in the car, let alone to what Li Lan had said.

So Li Lan told the driver to take them to the entrance of a restaurant and got out directly.

When she got out, Yang Huayi was still leaning back in the rear seat, eyes half-lowered and distant. No one knew what she was thinking.

Zhu Qing glanced back. In the spacious, luxurious back seat, Yang Huayi’s carefully maintained profile was cold and aloof, like an exceptionally beautiful swan; as the years passed, her authority only grew heavier, and so did her loneliness.

Li Lan took Zhu Qing’s hand. “Come on. Let’s eat.”

Zhu Qing came back to herself and broke into a bright smile.

“Xiaobao asked me to send more photos last night,” Zhu Qing said as she walked forward hand in hand with Li Lan, chatting lightly about family matters. “She said Zhao Yun dumped a bunch of homework on her again and ordered her not to eat candy for two days.”

Li Lan’s expression didn’t change much, but her features softened. “Don’t listen to her complaints. She must have been causing trouble first.”

“You can’t just say that to a kid’s face,” Zhu Qing laughed. “I asked Zhao Yun about it. She said it was imported candy that Qian Cancan had secretly stuffed into her bag. Zhao Yun secretly tried one piece; it was so sweet it nearly knocked her teeth out. When she asked Xiaobao, it turned out Xiaobao had eaten an entire bottle, so she wasn’t allowed to have any more.”

“Candy that sweet?” Li Lan thought about it for a moment. “Was it blue candy in a jar with an old lady on it?”

Zhu Qing thought of the photos Zhao Yun had sent. “Probably. And there was a red bottle too.”

“That’s the candy Qian Chu likes,” Li Lan said, likely remembering the taste as well, her expression faintly disgusted. “It’s not sweet enough to knock out your teeth; it’s nauseating.”

“Qian Chu?” Zhu Qing was stunned. The assistant who always seemed to wear business attire, speaking and acting with such cold rigidity, actually liked that kind of cloying candy?

“She also likes putting little ducks in the bath,” Li Lan said, seeing what Zhu Qing was thinking and selling out her friend without mercy. “Oh, and she has a separate room at home just for stuffed toys. There are several times more plushies than Yan Xiaobao has.”

Zhu Qing was left in shock for a long time.

But then she caught the key point and shot Li Lan a sidelong look. “How do you know she likes putting little ducks in the bath? Spill it honestly!”

Li Lan: ...

“The bath duck she bought was accidentally sent to the company,” Li Lan said, trying hard to suppress the corners of her mouth and keep a straight face. “It wasn’t just me; the whole company knew.”

Zhu Qing: “Pfft. Hahahaha—”

Li Lan couldn’t help laughing too. The sound filled the air around them. They looked at each other and smiled, utterly close.

-

The driver carried Yang Huayi through Nairobi’s streets. It took a full two hours before she finally spoke again.

Her voice was rough, as if smoke had burned through it: “Go find Yu Ling.”

The driver felt as if he had been granted amnesty at once and immediately turned the wheel to change direction.

In the hotel room, Yu Ling was wearing several layers of clothes; she hadn’t turned on the air conditioner. The hot, damp air carried a thick, stale smell.

She had already sweated herself out thoroughly, yet she still felt cold, and couldn’t help burrowing deeper into the blanket.

At that moment, the door was suddenly kicked open.

“Who is it!” Yu Ling sat up in fright like a startled bird. When she saw who it was, her face instantly filled with both delight and grievance. “Director Yang...”

She had known it. Director Yang wouldn’t abandon her!

Director Yang had come for her!

Yang Huayi stood against the light, so Yu Ling couldn’t make out her expression. She only asked foolishly, “Director Yang, are you here to take me away?”

Yang Huayi’s voice was low and hoarse as she cut straight to the point. “You were jealous of Li Lan. Why?”

Yu Ling froze, instinctively evading the question. “I wasn’t.”

“I’ll ask you one last time. Why were you jealous of Li Lan?”

Yang Huayi’s voice held no emotion, but that detached attitude made the panic in Yu Ling’s heart unbearable. She bit down hard on her lower lip until it almost bled.

Yang Huayi didn’t give her much time. Three seconds, or five. Seeing that she still wouldn’t speak, she turned to leave.

Yu Ling screamed, “Because it was different!”

Yang Huayi stopped at the doorway.

Yu Ling roared, “The way you looked at her was different from the way you looked at me!”

“I’ve seen the old materials on Li Lan and Yan Jin; there were over a thousand photos, and on more than half of the backs, your name was written there! So-and-so year, so-and-so day, photographed by Yang Huayi at the welfare institute. So-and-so year, so-and-so day, photographed by Yang Huayi in Caiyun Town... You photographed them from the time they were fourteen until they were eighteen. You took them all over the country, gathering inspiration everywhere; you found them the best teachers and customized courses for them. Li Lan and Yan Jin were just nobody wild girls, one rougher than the other, and in the end you raised them into phoenixes with your own hands!”

“You treated them so well, so well—”

Yu Ling’s throat had gone hoarse from shouting, her madness mixed with a longing she could never reach: “The way you looked at them was always so appreciative, always so gentle, but me? I was only a little like them; from the front I looked like Li Lan, from the side like Yan Jin. I thought if I worked hard enough to behave and worked hard enough to learn skills, you’d spare me just a little attention. I thought I could move you, but what happened in the end!!!”

Yu Ling climbed out of bed and staggered toward Yang Huayi.

The bodyguards behind her surged forward and pinned her to the ground.

Her hair came loose; sweat soaked her forehead, and her gaze was utterly desperate.

“You treated me like a substitute. You never liked me at all.”

Yang Huayi looked like a dry, grinding machine. After a long while, she finally moved, but her question was about something else.

“Since it was Li Lan and Yan Jin together, why did you target Li Lan and not Yan Jin?”

Yu Ling wept blood as she laughed bitterly. “Li Lan is much prettier than Yan Jin. One has a cool, high-end face; the other has a doll face that’s cute, sure, but there are plenty like that in the entertainment industry. How can a bright pearl compete with the moon? Anyone would like Li Lan.”

“Isn’t a doll face pretty?” Yang Huayi murmured. “She’s obviously very pretty too.”

Yu Ling glared at her in hatred. “The only thing to blame is Li Lan for showing up again. Was it not enough for her to stay abroad? She had to come back with all her heart and soul. And you—you’re my boss. Why do you give Li Lan preferential treatment at every turn? When Qi Yao bullied Zhu Qing and pushed her, couldn’t you just have suppressed it? But you actually fought for an endorsement for her, while mine was dropped the moment it was dropped!”

“You treated her so well. How could I possibly tolerate her standing up there?” Yu Ling shrieked as if she had gone mad. “I hate her. I hate you—”

Yang Huayi paid no attention to the curses that followed. Or rather, from the moment she heard Yan Jin’s name, she had fallen into a state that was sometimes dazed and sometimes blank.

Anyone would like Li Lan.

Li Lan was much prettier than Yan Jin.

Was that so?

Yang Huayi asked herself: was that so?

————————

This chapter really just lays everything out, ah.

(PS: The author thinks it was written very obviously; Yan Jin first appeared with that exclusive ringtone. Doesn’t everyone remember that the ringtone had two female voices? [pitiful][pitiful][pitiful]