CH 33.1

Do You Still Hate Her? 23 – Cross-dressing as a male and playing the female lead’s white moonlight

When Chi Yan said this, not only was Shang Mu surprised, but even Shang Lu showed a hint of confusion on her face.

But now was not the right time to ask this question, so Shang Lu pursed her lips and remained silent.

Shang Mu naturally didn’t believe it. Just as he was about to say something, he saw two moving workers coming out of the nearby room, proving that Chi Yan was telling the truth.

Seeing Shang Lu’s resistance and with Chi Yan present, Shang Mu didn’t want to make a scene in front of strangers. He looked directly at Shang Lu and asked, “What do you want? Just say it, what will it take for you to come back?”

“Since you’ve found me here, you must have seen the hot search. Why bother asking me useless questions? What right do you have to interfere in my matters?” Shang Lu impatiently replied and then added, “Fine, I’ll go back, but only if he’s dead or I’m dead.”

By ‘he,’ she naturally meant Father Shang.

This statement immediately made Shang Mu understand that during his time abroad, something significant had happened between his father and Shang Lu, something he was unaware of, which led to her adamant decision to leave home and even cut ties. He needed to find out the reason first.

After a few seconds of silence, Shang Mu said, “Understood, then you can stay here for now.”

He knew about this place as well. Although it could only be described as average, the security was relatively good for a high-end residential complex. Staying here would be safe.

However…

Shang Mu’s gaze fell on Chi Yan.

But why would Chi Yan also live here? Is there really such a coincidence?

But based on Shang Mu’s understanding of Chi Yan, even if he were to ask, the answer he’d get would undoubtedly be a denial. He can only investigate all of this by himself; it seems there’s quite a lot he needs to understand.

Shang Mu’s arrival was sudden, and his departure was actually quite sudden too.

As she watched Shang Mu’s departing figure, Shang Lu rolled her eyes and then turned to Chi Yan, asking, “Why did you move here?”

“Didn’t you complain on your social media about the neighbor next door practicing drums at home? It’s quite a coincidence; the place I was living in had a kid upstairs who was practicing jumping ability every day, and I wanted to move somewhere else,” Chi Yan replied, glancing at Shang Lu and said, “Since I’m moving anyway, so why not move here? That way, we can both solve our problems.”

Shang Lu : “…?”

It sounds reasonable, but something doesn’t seem quite right.

After thinking for a few seconds, Shang Lu realized, “How did you manage to get someone to give their place to you?”

Chi Yan shrugged and answered, “I just spent a little more money, that’s all. This place is also closer to my company, it’s convenient.”

Shang Lu felt something was off, “But your company is clearly on Wangjiang Road, right?”

“We have several offices, and there’s one around here too,” Chi Yan looked at Shang Lu with a sincere expression, making it impossible to find any faults. Then he lifted Shang Lu’s fish tank and said, “Alright, Young Lady, let’s go home.”

After the fish tank was dismantled and set up, Shang Lu and Chi Yan stared at it together, falling into silence.

The two small goldfish Shang Lu bought were swimming in the enormous tank, looking very lonely and lacking aesthetic appeal.

“Why do you keep just two fish in such a large tank?” Chi Yan asked, then glanced at the huge sofa in Shang Lu’s home, not quite understanding, and questioned, “Do you always prefer oversized things when buying stuff?”

Shang Lu waved her hand and pointed to the sofa, saying, “That was a gift from Lin Yanyan. As for this fish tank, Ye Lu bought it after seeing the goldfish I posted on my social media.”

None of them were bought by her, and they had nothing to do with her.

Hearing this, Chi Yan’s gaze scanned the living room’s furnishings, considering what else could be added.

Meanwhile, Shang Lu asked, “Will you be living on this side from now on?”

“If I’m not too busy, I’ll be here. You can find me anytime if you need anything,” Chi Yan replied, then invited her, “Today could be considered a housewarming for me. How about having dinner together?”

Shang Lu hesitated but declined because she had an audition tomorrow morning, and eating at night could easily cause bloating, affecting her performance at the audition.

Chi Yan understood and then said, “By the way, I’m also one of the investors in Yue Qi’s drama.”

Shang Lu : “?”

Shang Lu looked at Chi Yan with suspicion. Could the entertainment industry really be this small?

“It really was a coincidence,” Chi Yan spread his hands, looking innocent. “I also invested in his last year’s Spring Festival movie that became the box office champion. I made quite a profit, which led to the follow-up collaboration.”

“Master Chi has always had a good eye,” Shang Lu clapped in agreement, playing along, and then put on a troubled expression, saying, “So, I’ve been working for you all this time.”

Chi Yan was amused by her remark and continued, “Then work hard to secure this role. The other roles have been cast long ago; it’s only because we lacked the second female lead that the production hasn’t started yet.”

“Okay,” Shang Lu promised and then said earnestly, “I’ll do my best to help you make more money soon.”

So, after Chi Yan left that evening, Shang Lu started studying the script sent by Yue Qi.

Unlike Yue Qi’s previous directing styles, this was a school-themed film titled <Salvation Plan>, told from the perspective of the male lead, who is a homeroom teacher. It narrates the story of how he tries to save the fate of the entire class of students through numerous time travels.

The movie combines various elements of youth, dreams, friendship, and family. At first glance, it may seem like a typical configuration found in mediocre films from a decade ago. However, as Shang Lu read on, she realized that due to the strong script and some absurdly humorous elements, it was indeed suitable for the Spring Festival season, especially for watching with family.

After reading the entire script, Shang Lu realized that she had been smiling all along. She felt genuinely happy because she found the script to be enjoyable and entertaining.

She is going to play the role of Shangguan Yi, the second female lead. On the surface, she appears to be a gentle and obedient top student, but her hidden identity is the mastermind behind the scenes. She was the one who created the time-traveling events by making the male lead to time-travel and make changes again and again because each time travel results in numerous deaths, yet there are always survivors.

While the male lead wants to save all the students, she desires the opposite : for everyone to die, she didn’t want to see any survivors and wanted for everything to be overturned and start anew.

The girl appeared as a harmless and gentle girl, so she manages to keep everyone off guard until the last round of time loops when the male lead finally realizes that all the problems stem from her. He then saves everyone.

Although she is the second female lead, this movie gives almost equal importance to all characters except the male lead, making it more of an ensemble cast. Moreover, her character leans more towards being a villain.

But Shang Lu really likes this role. She may seem harmless, but she’s the most insane psychopath who wants to destroy everything. However, due to the comedy setting, this kind of villainous role allows for interesting actions, making it more challenging for the actor to perform.

Shang Lu starts seriously researching this character, determined to secure it.