CH 60.1

“Isn’t your house quite far away from here?” asked Zhang Ning curiously as she stepped on the accelerator. “Did you move?”

“Not yet. I’m planning on checking out a few places first,” replied Ji Fanyin as she fastened her seatbelt. “My parents camped at my place yesterday night, insisting on dragging me back so that they could marry me off.”

“There are still people doing that in this era? You don’t look like the kind who would allow others to dictate your marriage,” remarked Zhang Ning. “To be honest, I thought that your parents only had a single daughter before I met you.”

Ji Fanyin chuckled softly. She rested her arm on the car window and used it to prop up her forehead. “Of course not. I have no plans of marrying anyone yet, let alone get caught up in an arranged marriage.”

“True. You could easily score any guy you want anyway,” teased Zhang Ning. “Even if you aren’t willing to commit, there are still plenty of hunks who are lining up to self-recommend themselves to you.”

Ji Fanyin knew that Zhang Ning was talking about the incident where the young actor tried to approach her a while back and responded with a helpless smile. She changed the topic and asked, “I haven’t been to the set for a while now. Is everything going well?”

“Everything is going perfectly fine.” Zhang Ning raised a big thumbs up. “You know, I’m confident that we’ll be able to raise all the funds we need with this single movie.”

“We’re looking to invest in six movies this year, remember? There's a lot more to go before we achieve our goal,” reminded Ji Fanyin.

“If only you would just act in even one of them, babe.” Zhang Ning heaved a deep sigh. “You were so professional when you whipped those younger actors into shape. I’ve no doubt that you’ll definitely make it on the silver screen. I mean, look at your face! It’s such a pity that you chose to restrict yourself backstage.”

“Darling, that’ll be too tiring. I’m content with sitting behind the cash register and waiting for money to roll in,” replied Ji Fanyin.

Darling, babe, honey… That was how the two of them usually addressed each other.

“I guess there’s no choice then…” Zhang Ning shook her head. “We can only drag He Shen over to our set at a discounted price.”

“He should be doing it for free,” replied Ji Fanyin coldly. “He has a share in our studio too. Why should we pay him for acting in our movie? That’s just a waste of money.”

“… Honey, you’re much more miserly than I thought,” said Zhang Ning.

Ji Fanyin’s lips inched upward as she replied, “That’s my persona.”

I’m an emotionless money-making machine, after all. If I had even a sliver of sympathy in me, I wouldn’t have been able to earn a dime off those fishes.

The movie was only two hours long. Even factoring in the drive and waiting time, Ji Fanyin should be able to make it back within two hours. 

In truth, Zhang Ning had a business dinner whereas Ji Fanyin needed to return to Bai Zhou’s place afterward. The two of them had squeezed out time to catch this movie together. 

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m the one holding up our studio. He Shen just dumps money in while you only keep an eye on the production quality. I’m the one who has to do all of the socializing and the dirty work. But of course, I’m probably the only one who can deal with those conniving rascals!” Zhang Ning proudly tousled her long hair. 

“He Shen isn’t helping out not because he doesn’t want to but he can’t,” Ji Fanyin remarked.

“Oh?” Zhang Ning looked at Ji Fanyin.

“I coincidentally met him on the street.” Ji Fanyin lowered her head and spoke in a softer tone. “He doesn’t seem very comfortable at socializing. He’s probably the type who worries a week ahead if he knows that he has a party to attend.”

Zhang Ning was stunned for two seconds before bursting into laughter. “Aren’t you way too fast at noticing that? You didn’t ask him about it in person, did you?”

“Do I look like a demon to you?” asked Ji Fanyin. She withdrew her hands from her coat and placed them on Zhang Ning’s cheeks, which had heated up from all of the laughing. “… Really. Is it that funny to you?”

“It is!” Zhang Ning wiped off her tears of laughter. “You don’t know how proud he was when he thought that he had perfectly hidden his social awkwardness from the rest of the world. Even I have to admit that he’s pretty good at it. I don’t think that anyone has really seen through him thus far.”

“… I guess it's ‘cause we’re from the same industry. It’s easier for me to tell when someone is putting on an act,” replied Ji Fanyin.

Zhang Ning was still laughing her head off. She had to hold Ji Fanyin’s shoulder just to keep balance. It took her a while before she finally calmed down and straightened her back. “Alright, I need to head to work now.”

“Good girl.” Ji Fanyin patted her head as a compliment. “I also have some matters to attend to.”

“Shall I drive you?” Zhang Ning shot her a seductive wink. 

Ji Fanyin shook her head. “Nah, I’ll just catch a cab. All the best for your business dinner.”