She Wants to Divorce Me

Chapter 45

Compared to outdoor adventures and challenges, "Time Traveler's Inn" was clearly a lifestyle-oriented reality show. In this edition, eight guests were sent to an inn called Time, where they would embark on half a month of communal living. Ji Yaoguang wasn't quite clear about the invited guest selection. According to Ji Kaiyang, Executive Director Zhao Beiting was fully responsible for all this, and he didn't concern himself with who was brought in.

The drive to Meng Village took over half an hour. Ji Yaoguang turned her head to look at Chang Yu's profile, feigning nonchalance as she said, "Today, 'The Treacherous Courtier' is being released in cinemas nationwide." She had never felt as nervous as she did now. She had filmed quite a few dramas before, but even when receiving terrible reviews, she had remained unmoved. Everything after the wrap party had nothing to do with her, let alone caring about when it would start airing. Many people online had concluded that with Ji Yaoguang in a film, even with a famous director and award-winning actress, it couldn't avoid being a flop. Ji Yaoguang had expectations in her heart; she hoped the final result would slap these people's faces hard.

Chang Yu, of course, was well aware of the release time. She turned her head to gaze at Ji Yaoguang's feigned calm expression and asked with a light laugh, "Are you very nervous?" The hands folded on her lap were clenched into fists, fingers unconsciously rubbing against each other, likely indicating a storm of emotions within. It seemed the show's timing wasn't ideal; otherwise, they could have gone to the cinema for a real experience.

The words of denial reached her lips but were swallowed back. Ji Yaoguang smiled brightly and admitted honestly, "Yes."

"It shouldn't be too bad," Chang Yu snorted lightly. "You were too terrible before. Perhaps one film isn't enough to shake off fixed labels like 'vase' or 'bad actress', but because of these solidified labels, people might feel you've made great progress."

Ji Yaoguang turned slightly, releasing her hands, and chuckled, "You mean it's all because of the contrast? That's vertical, but what about horizontal? When we appear in the same film, I don't believe they won't take the opportunity to criticize me harshly when mentioning you. You know, some film critics are your true fans, and they particularly despise our relationship."

Chang Yu pondered for a moment, her tone becoming cautious, "When others compare you to me, does it make you very unhappy? Do you feel a lot of pressure?"

Ji Yaoguang burst into laughter, her bright eyes lingering on Chang Yu's face. She placed her hand on Chang Yu's leg, lightly tracing an "X". She asked in return, "In your mind, is my psychological resilience that poor? If it were really like that, I'm afraid the old me wouldn't have been able to bear it long ago." It was well known that their acting skills were worlds apart; she was such a mess that later no one was willing to put her and Chang Yu together. After saying this, Ji Yaoguang fell silent. She suddenly remembered that when arguing with Chang Yu before, she had mentioned this, carelessly slandering in a moment of lost rationality under anger. Chang Yu appeared cold, but sometimes her thoughts were delicate and sensitive; in this respect, they were cut from the same cloth. Sighing inwardly, Ji Yaoguang grasped Chang Yu's hand, about to say a few words when a "screech" sound entered her ears.

The car had stopped. They had arrived at their destination.

Chang Yu squeezed Ji Yaoguang's hand and said with a faint smile, "Come on, let's get out."

Meng Village was a quaint little village. The rapid development of H City had brought resources oriented towards tourism development to this picturesque place nestled between mountains and waters. Almost every household in the village had been renovated into a guesthouse, and Time Inn was just an ordinary one among them. Pushing open the half-closed door revealed a large courtyard with several peach blossom trees on both sides, and in the corner, facing the black tiles, a few sparrows were hopping about chirping. Past the courtyard was an arched flower-hanging gate, with red wooden corridors on both sides leading to various wing rooms. The entire Time Inn was built in an antique style, walking through it felt like traversing a thousand years of time.

The show's staff had already arrived at the inn and set everything up. Perhaps finding the wait for guests a bit boring, they were sitting around a stone table playing cards. "Pair," "Straight," "Bomb again"... Too immersed in their game, they didn't notice Ji Yaoguang and Chang Yu's arrival until a cat's meow caught their attention.

"Teacher Chang, Teacher Ji, you're here? Please, have a seat."

"It's fine, carry on with your game. By the way, where's Director Zhao?" Ji Yaoguang blinked, her gaze falling on the playing cards. Her card skills weren't great, but when watching, she always couldn't resist offering advice. Due to their arrival, the staff felt embarrassed to continue playing and chatted idly, but regarding the names of other guests, they unanimously kept silent, only saying that they would know after a while.

"Hey, Teacher Ji, is this your Siren?" Suddenly, a deep voice rang out. Liu Ran from the camera crew asked curiously. He stood up, and this big, burly man began chasing a black and white cat around the courtyard. Liu Ran was a fan of Ji Yaoguang's looks and also a qualified cat owner. When he saw Ji Yaoguang post photos on Weibo, he wanted to scream frantically in the comments like those young girls. Having Ji Yaoguang among the show's guests had already made him happy for a long time, but he didn't expect Ji Yaoguang to bring Siren along—he had always wanted to know if Siren's black fur on its face was natural or deliberately dyed to look so uniquely stylish.

Relying on its agile form, Siren moved along the spring-awakening wall base, stepping on damp moss like a king inspecting its territory. Its meows were full of disdain for Liu Ran. After making a round, it jumped into Ji Yaoguang's arms with a body full of dirt, even though this owner treated it most harshly. If cats could express their thoughts, perhaps Siren wanted to conquer Ji Yaoguang with its pride.

Ji Yaoguang didn't mind its dirty body, stroked its smooth fur once and let it go. She didn't like cats as animals, but couldn't resist that tactile sensation and temptation. On one hand, she was glad it was an ugly cat, so even if she wanted to cuddle it, she couldn't bring herself to do so. On the other hand, she wondered if it were a beautiful cat, would it feel even better? When Siren jumped out, her arms suddenly felt empty, and she lowered her hands with a sense of loss. The consistently silent Chang Yu took out a wet wipe to clean the dirt off her clothes.

Liu Ran looked away. The rumors online must all be false, right? These two had just arrived at the inn and were already showing affection. What would it be like in the days to come? Did the big boss invest in this show just to let the whole country's audience eat dog food together?

A loud horn sounded, heralding the arrival of other guests. Ji Yaoguang looked up to see a familiar figure enter her vision. She blinked in confusion, about to step forward and inquire, but was suddenly held back by Chang Yu. They had agreed to come by themselves, so why was Su Ci at this inn? Before she could think it through, another woman carrying a food box arrived, smiling charmingly. If before there was only confusion, now a flash of shock and disgust passed through her eyes. She glared vigilantly at that woman, then turned to observe Chang Yu's expression.

Her heart pounded rapidly, her palms breaking out in a cold sweat. She rarely paid attention to the activities of other Sheng Tang Era artists, but vaguely remembered Su Ci saying she had taken on a new talent. Could it be the recently popular food vlogger An Muyu? But how did she gain Zhao Beiting's favor to be sent to the show? Was it Su Ci or Lu Yusheng pushing behind the scenes? Excessive nervousness blurred her vision, a buzzing sound filling her ears until Chang Yu's concerned question reached her. She shook her head, face pale, and said, "It's nothing." This was the demon she had always hidden in her heart. If she couldn't overcome it, she feared the rift between her and Chang Yu might reappear someday.

"Hello, everyone. I've brought some desserts," An Muyu's appearance had a delicate and graceful quality of a Jiangnan woman. Her gentle smile immediately won everyone's favor. Adding to her reputation, which they all knew something about, they thanked her and then unabashedly sampled the exquisite snacks.

"Teacher Chang," After a long pause, An Muyu called out again, "Teacher Ji."

"I've admired you both for a long time. Meeting you here on the show must be fate. I've prepared some special snacks for you two as well. Would you like to try them?" An Muyu's eyes surged with hidden emotions. She had only glanced at Ji Yaoguang initially, then focused all her attention on Chang Yu. This admiration and covetousness was probably only for Chang Yu, right? Ji Yaoguang inwardly sneered coldly. The memories brought back from before made her unable to generate any goodwill towards this woman, even knowing she currently hadn't met Chang Yu. Putting on a polite and appropriate smile, Ji Yaoguang declined graciously, "Thank you, I don't eat sweets."

An Muyu continued, "What about Teacher Chang? I remember you like desserts."

"Remember?" Chang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.

An Muyu covered her mouth and laughed, "I saw it online. I'm your devoted fan. I've watched all your films."

"Thank you for your support," Chang Yu replied coolly. "But like Yaoguang, I don't eat sweets either."

An Muyu's smile froze on her face after Chang Yu's words of refusal, but she quickly recovered. Siren was circling around the feet of the three women. An Muyu lowered her gaze, broke off some cake crumbs and tossed them on the ground, praising against her conscience, "What a beautiful little cat." The praised Siren meowed once, lowered its head to sniff the cake, then turned and ran off haughtily.