NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52
Chapter 52: Sarcasm
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Jiang Se honestly had no idea about that.
Her roommates did not have computers, and her own phone was an old model. Its only functions were to make phone calls and send short messages. She truly did not pay any attention to the virtual world. She only found out that she had become famous through Yu Xiaozhou.
“The forum unanimously agrees that you’ve defeated Zhou Ying from the Arts course in an instant.”
This was the second day of classes. Yu Xiaozhou was a lively person and her major was civil engineering. Since there were not many girls in the program, she got to know many male friends.
“I heard that they’re trying to come up with a goddess ranking in the academy online. It’s all the rage these days.” She sneaked a glance at Jiang Se. “Some of the guys from Software Engineering are helping you build your profile,” Yu Xiaozhou was still speaking frankly with assurance, but Jiang Se was getting bored.
Naturally, this caught the attention of the academy’s management. While there were lecturers who loved to have passionate and eager-to-learn students in their classes, but there were also lecturers who did not like too many visiting students from other programs in theirs.
This was especially when these students were not here because of their overflowing desire to be educated but to take a look at a certain beautiful girl. Some of the lecturers were beginning to give the visiting students some nasty looks.
However, this had nothing to do with Jiang Se. Her program faculty was also having a hard time trying to deal with this issue.
Some of the other students tried to get a glimpse of her from below their dormitory buildings. On some days, Jiang Se stayed in her own rented house. Aside from all this, she discovered that she enjoyed her first semester of college very well.
In mid-October, a crew member from “Pretense to Reality” gave her a call. She was invited to attend the party to celebrate the wrapping up of the filming process.
Gu Jiaer had finished filming his work, so post-production would begin soon. The production team would be organizing a party to celebrate this on Friday night, and all members of the crew and cast were invited. The party would be held at the Ruiji Hotel located in the outer circle of the imperial capital.
Although she did not play a major role in “Pretense to Reality”, since the production team had invited her, she decided to show up and see if she could find any other opportunities for an audition.
She had some money in her bank card, but the landlord of her rented house had called her to remind her to pay the rent. Although the academy required freshmen to stay on-campus, she would still stay in her rented house for a few days each week.
Her rent had to be paid once every three months, and each payment was slightly more than $7,000. Although the recent remuneration payment had raised her account balance by a notch, it was not quite enough for her needs.
She went shopping and bought a floral dress for the party. She paired it with a red knitted cardigan and let her hair down. When she emerged from the toilet, her roommates gaped at her.
“Sese, do you have a boyfriend?”
She had not put on any makeup yet. Her small, palm-sized face was fair and naked. Even so, she rarely wore a dress. That alone was enough to make the other girls awed by her beauty.
Jiang Se shook her head as she applied some lip balm. “There’s a gathering tonight. They called me to notify me about it a few days ago.” She gave it some thought. “I’ll be heading home after that this Friday night, so there’s no need to leave the door unlocked for me.”
The First Academy was a dozen stations away from the outer ring. Jiang Se departed early and avoided peak hours, thus when she boarded the bus, there were not many passengers. It was only half-past five when she arrived at the hotel.
Before she entered the hotel, she took her phone out to check the time. The production team had told her that the party would begin at half-past seven, so it was still early.
Ruiji Hotel was a grand five-star hotel built by a foreign investor in the imperial capital. The first to 12th floors consisted of different dining venues whereas the rooms for guests were located above the 12th floor.
Jiang Se entered the hotel, but she was in no hurry to go up. Instead, she sat down in the hotel lobby.
Aside from the service counter, a space surrounded by pottery could be found in the center of the lobby where guests could rest and enjoy a cup of tea.
There were many people in the hotel that Friday evening. When Jiang Se walked into the hotel lobby, the people seated inside instinctively raised their head to look at her. She swept her gaze across the lobby and wanted to find an empty seat. Suddenly, someone stood up from their seat in the center of the hotel. The person waved at her and shouted, “Over here!”
Jiang Se looked toward the direction of the speaker. She immediately recognized the person whom she had not met for a long time. It was Dai Jia.
When Jiang Se got closer, Dai Jia greeted her with a smile. “Did ‘Pretense to Reality’ invite you over?”
She was dressed sexily as always. She wore a red plunging, form-fitting sweater with a black goatshair skirt. She made no effort to conceal her lithe and well-developed body.
The neckline of her sweater was very low. Her snow-white cleavage constantly drew the eyes of the person at the next table.
When she mentioned the “Pretense to Reality” production team, she did not seem to be upset. It was as if she thought nothing about being switched out.
“Tonight’s the party for the wrap-up.” Jiang Se sat down as the waitress came up to them with a menu. She ordered a pot of tea and asked Dai Jia, “When did you arrive?”
“I just reached.” Dai Jia was sitting with her legs crossed. Her right elbow was rested on the armrest and she supported her chin with her fingers.
“I think I got here five minutes before you arrived. My school is close to this place.”
When the pot of tea was served, Dai Jia did not treat herself as a stranger. She took a cup and poured some tea for herself. “You must’ve heard about me being switched out for another person, haven’t you?”
She sipped some tea, leaving a red imprint of her lips on the cup. She flicked her long hair. “I was still in the cast, but I didn’t see you around anymore.”
“My role was minor, so the filming was over in a day.” Jiang Se poured herself a cup of tea as well. Although the tea was still hot, she sipped it with an air of elegance.
The two beautiful girls with different styles sitting at the same table were bound to attract the attention of the people around them.
However, Dai Jia did not seem to have noticed the looks of the people around her. She wore a slightly sarcastic expression on her face. “Why don’t you guess what character I was given after being switched out?”
She could not suppress her laughter and she chortled so hard that her breasts bounced. Without waiting for a reply from Jiang Se, she answered her own question, “I was f*cking switched out by the crew, and the production team wanted me to be the substitute for Zhao Ruoyun’s nude scene!”
Jiang Se had gone through the script before. She knew that there was a passionate scene between Zhao Ruoyun and Hang Yuyi. However, her company wanted her to maintain her pure goddess image.
When the contracts were signed, her talent management company and the production team had an agreement. She was allowed to be filmed kissing, but they would have to use substitutes for other intimate or nude scenes.
Jiang Se had spoken about this with a crew member back then. She could guess why Dai Jia had been switched out. It certainly had something to do with her outperforming and outshining Zhao Ruoyun on the first day of filming with her outstanding performance. That was why she had been switched out.
If she had lost her original role and was asked to be the nude double for Zhao Ruoyun by the production team, it was understandable that she would wear such an exasperated expression.
“Don’t you think that it’s funny?” Dai Jia looked at Jiang Se and could already tell what she felt from her expression. She could not help but break out into another fit of laughter. She nearly teared up from all the laughing.
“This is f*cking interesting. I’ll have to thank Zhao Ruoyun for giving me another career opportunity.”
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