Quick Recap:
On the third day of Ji Fanyin's break, she received a call from Ji Xinxin.
Ji Xinxin spoke with her usual cheery voice, "Big sis, a huge coincidence happened earlier on. I met a junior who mistook me for you. He seems to be very close with you, and he shared a lot of your affairs with me. Is he a friend you made recently?"
Ji Fanyin lazily flopped over on her sofa and put her remote control down on the table. Then, she sighed in exasperation.
Haaa, it's this kind of petty trick again.)
---
"Big sis?" Ji Xinxin asked. "What's with that sigh? Did I say something wrong?"
"Nah. Haven't you already heard everything you want to know from him?" Ji Fanyin leisurely went along with Ji Xinxin.
"But there's no guarantee what he said is true," replied Ji Xinxin coyly. "I've always told you to make some friends, but you'd never listen to me. Yet, in the months I was away in Paris, you made yourself a new friend. How could I possibly not be curious about it?"
Ji Fanyin replied nonchalantly, "Then you should have asked him more. Get him to tell you more about me."
"Big sis, you're saying such words again!" Ji Xinxin pouted in dissatisfaction. "You haven't even met me once ever since I came back to the country. Dad and mum said that you haven't come back home for a long time now. Are you avoiding me too?"
"Do you need something from me?"
"Can't I meet you just to catch up?" retorted Ji Xinxin. "Where are you living now? I'll bring some food over to your place. You won't even need to walk out of your apartment. That should do, right?"
"Don't. I'm on my break." Ji Fanyin heartlessly turned down Ji Xinxin's offer. "Besides, don't you have lots of things to do over these two weeks?"
While it was a last-minute choice for Ji Xinxin to return to the country, there were mountains of things for her to do here. Two weeks might not even be enough for her.
Besides, Ji Fanyin had no intention of exposing her address. She had a strong feeling that Ji Xinxin would 'accidentally' expose the address to others, like Father Ji and Mother Ji.
Ji Xinxin sighed softly over the phone and said, "Big sis... It's good that you're breaking out of your shell, but you should be careful with whom you befriend. Chen Yunsheng is too young, and he doesn't look like the type of person who opens up to others easily. If you get too close to him and get hurt once more..."
She suddenly paused at this point, seemingly unable to speak any further.
Ji Fanyin fumbled around the sofa in search of her phone charging wire. "That won't happen. I'll sever my ties with him the moment he tries to pull anything."
Bad women will never get hurt!
"Big sis..."
Ji Xinxin still wanted to say something about the matter, but Ji Fanyin couldn't be bothered to continue talking to her anymore. Having finally found her phone charging wire, she quickly bade Ji Xinxin goodbye, saying, "My phone is running out of charge. See ya."
Her phone was still at 90% when she hung up the phone.
Ji Fanyin had been thinking about Ji Xinxin's motive from the moment the latter chose to keep Song Shiyu on her reel despite learning that her older sister was fond of him. She was able to come up with several deductions from the things Ji Xinxin said and did, but the concluding evidence was still Li Xiaoxing's testimony.
It looks like Ji Xinxin tried to make a move upon learning about Chen Yunsheng.
I really wonder why a pair of twins would end up in such a state. Did they have a huge argument with each other or something in the past?
Ji Fanyin did receive 'Ji Fanyin's' memories upon transmigrating over, but the latter's life was so frustrating and unrelatable to her that she didn't want to look through them. Only in times of absolute need or a familiar scene had triggered a memory would she sieve through them.
It was similar to how a reader who was into strong protagonists wouldn't even bother with a tragic melodrama when browsing for books.
Besides, Ji Xinxin was no longer of importance to her anymore.
Ji Fanyin had already managed to accrue sufficient starting capital. Even if she ended her stand-in business right now, she would still have plenty of other avenues to earn money from.
She also had the screenwriting studio she founded with He Shen and Zhang Ning. With those two powerhouses holding the fort, she didn't need to worry about finding partnerships or getting blacklisted by others in the entertainment industry.
There was no denying that her stand-in job was able to rake in money fast, but over the past few months, its position had already dropped from the 'best option' to a 'better option'.
It would be good if she could sustain it, but otherwise, there were also many other opportunities that she could devote her time to. There was nothing to fear even if she were to fall out with Ji Xinxin right now, so she couldn't be bothered wasting time with her.
While thinking about this complicated sisterly relationship, Ji Fanyin checked on the other messages on her phone.
Chen Yunsheng had sent her a message last night, nervously asking her: [Big sis, I met your younger sister at school earlier... Are you close with her?]
Ji Fanyin replied: [We aren't close. I heard that the two of you chatted for quite a bit?]
Chen Yunsheng immediately sent over a 'struck by a bolt of lightning' emoji, followed by an explanation: [That's a false accusation, big sis! I only said seven sentences to her!]
Ji Fanyin was amused by his response: [You even kept count?]
Chen Yunsheng's reply arrived quickly: [I kept thinking about it after I got home. I was worried that I might have said something wrong. I heard that she was the previous campus belle, but when I saw her in person... She's really quite different from you, big sis.]
Ji Fanyin: [We look alike, don't we? You wouldn't have gotten us wrong otherwise.]
Chen Yunsheng anxiously defended himself.
[At first glance, yeah. But big sis, the way you smile is completely different from hers!]
[Big sis, don't misunderstand. I admit that I got it wrong at the start, but I knew that she wasn't you the moment she smiled!]
Ji Fanyin thought about her usual Ji Xinxin act.
Our personalities are completely different, so there's bound to be a difference in our demeanor.
She thought that it was exhausting to maintain Ji Xinxin's smile during working hours, but it seemed like Ji Xinxin had already gotten used to it.
Chen Yunsheng hesitated for a while before sending the following few messages.
[Besides, she...]
[She seems to be quite interested in your affairs, big sis. She kept trying to ask me, but at the same time...]
Sensing the hesitation from Chen Yunsheng's words, Ji Fanyin decided to send a voice message over, "So, what kind of crucial information did you tell her in those seven sentences?"
Chen Yunsheng nervously responded: [My cousin would always tell me about the fights between women... You know, green tea and white lotus, those sorts of things. She's fond of reading novels, so I grew up listening to those.]
Ji Fanyin understood what he was driving at.
Chen Yunsheng was an unexpected master at bitch detection. Ji Xinxin's tier was so low that she couldn't even last seven sentences with him.
How lamentable.
[She even got a senior to get my contact details afterward. That senior told me all about it.]
[I didn't add her!]
But Ji Fanyin wasn't bothered by this at all: [It doesn't matter even if you added her. It's up to you.]
Chen Yunsheng exclaimed adamantly: [I won't add her!]
He followed that up with a gif: that_is_a_trick_question.jpg
Ji Fanyin sent him a 'good luck' emoji in response. She had a feeling that Ji Xinxin wouldn't give up that easily.
Ji Xinxin was irritated by Chen Yunsheng's cold attitude.
Even after she got one of his seniors in the basketball club to mediate on her behalf, Chen Yunsheng still refused to contact her. He even rejected the friend request she sent to him through WeChat.
It was not like Ji Xinxin had never encountered such a situation before, but those were usually men who were already attached.
It's just a matter of time. There's no man whom I can't bring down.
However, her greatest concern at the moment wasn't Chen Yunsheng but whom she should spend Christmas with. She had far too many invitations on hand.
She had already rejected the not-so-important ones, leaving behind a few prime candidates.
It was impossible for her to divide herself into clones. Even if she split her day into segments, she would only be able to meet two to three of them at best.
After a moment of hesitation, Ji Xinxin came up with the most reasonable schedule she could think of: I'll reserve the night for Li Xiaoxing, morning for Bai Zhou, and the eve for Song Shiyu.
She had her own considerations for setting up the schedule in such a manner.
There was just one more person whom she had to deal with—Cen Xiangyang.
Ever since she returned to the country, the two of them had only talked to each other on the phone once. Cen Xiangyang mysteriously told her that he had important news for her, and that she would regret it if she didn't hear it.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, Ji Xinxin paid a visit to Cen Xiangyang's filming set.
The World Studio was filled with many crews rushing their filming even in the midst of winter. Following the directions Cen Xiangyang had provided to her, Ji Xinxin found herself passing by yet another active filming crew.
Upon seeing her, one of the male actors hesitantly stepped forward and greeted her, "Miss Ji, good morning."
Ji Xinxin had never met this young man before, but she could easily guess that he was an actor from his decent looks and dress-up. She put on a smile and returned the greeting, "Good morning."
"Are you here to visit?" The actor glanced at her empty hands doubtfully. "Aren't you currently on break?"
"I have some business at the neighboring set," replied Ji Xinxin with a smile. She had no intention of clarifying the misunderstanding. "How has it been going over here?"
The actor replied without any reservations, "The screenplay you wrote is incredible. The filming has been proceeding smoothly. Our director said that we're 25% ahead of our intended schedule."
"Is that so? That's great." Ji Xinxin paused for a moment before continuing with a smile, "I have an appointment today, so I'll be heading off first. I'll drop by when I'm free next time. I hope that I'm not disturbing you here."
"Of course not! Your studio invested in our film, so you're more than welcome to visit our crew anytime you want to!" the actor replied courteously. He then added with a hushed voice, "About that WeChat incident back then... I'd like to apologize to you in person. Please don't take it to heart."
However, Ji Xinxin was too caught up with his previous words to hear his apology.
He said that 'your studio has invested in our film'... Ji Fanyin has a studio?
And she's writing the screenplay but not acting in it?
"Mm... it's fine. I've already forgotten about it," replied Ji Xinxin distractedly. She glanced at her watch and hurriedly found an excuse to take her leave. "It looks like I'm running short on time. I'll be heading off first. Good luck with the filming."
She quickly bade the actor goodbye and rushed off. That actor's attitude was so respectful that it made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
She held her discomfort in until a bend by the corner. Only after ensuring that the actor could no longer see her did she lean against the wall and let out a deep breath.
Her mind was filled with the words of that actor. The implied meaning behind what he had said was so huge that it drove her into a fluster.
Ji Fanyin has stepped into the entertainment industry. She's taking on a behind-the-scenes role, but for her script to start filming within a short span of several months... That's definitely not what an outsider of the industry could pull off.
Furthermore, where did she find the money to establish her own studio, let alone to invest in a movie?
This doesn't make sense at all!
Unless... she isn't that big sister of mine from whom I've slowly squeezed the confidence out of. Unless she's someone else.
Ji Xinxin wrapped her arms tightly around her body, and she couldn't stop herself from trembling.
It's another Ji Fanyin... That other Ji Fanyin must have come over! Ji Xinxin thought.
That woman I occasionally met in my dreams when I was younger, that woman who shared an identical name with my older twin sister... Could it really be...?
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Starve's Chinese Terminology Remedial Class
World Studios refer to Hengdian World Studios, which is commonly referred to in Chinese as 'film city' or 'movie city'. It's the place where over 1200 dramas and movies have been filmed, including live-action Mulan. It's basically the go-to place especially for ancient historical dramas, making it the hub of film sets in China. It's rated an AAAAA scenic spot.