Chapter 65
Sheng Wenyue and Wang Jiani were the last to arrive. As they entered, everyone greeted them warmly, introducing themselves before returning to their original positions to continue with their styling.
The director and producer approached Sheng Wenyue and Wang Jiani to brief them.
Meanwhile, the others couldn't resist quietly gossiping about the couple's ambiguous relationship in their own little areas. Occasionally catching sight of the two exchanging knowing smiles, they truly felt that good news was on the horizon.
Even some of the staff members who might have participated in the nationwide shipping craze in their younger days couldn't help but smile fondly at seeing the two sitting together.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming harmonious, the door of the nearby changing room suddenly opened.
Earlier, when meeting the other artists, only Qin Zhao's group was missing one person, Ji Fei, who hadn't greeted Sheng Wenyue and Wang Jiani.
The identity of the person emerging from the changing room was obvious.
As she made her dazzling entrance in a deep blue mermaid dress that hugged her graceful figure, all eyes were drawn to her.
Although her makeup and styling weren't complete, her tall stature, curvaceous silhouette, naturally fair skin, square shoulders, tiny waist, and long, straight legs showcased the mermaid dress to perfection.
Everyone had only one thought: as expected of someone with a modeling background. Even without acting skills, her mere presence in the frame would capture all attention.
Of course, this was the sentiment of most people.
Except for three individuals.
Namely, the nervous Qin Zhao, the frowning Sheng Wenyue, and the shocked Wang Jiani.
Before Wang Jiani could react, Sheng Wenyue, who was closest, furrowed his brows and spoke up directly.
"Isn't this dress prepared for Jiani? Miss, have you perhaps put on someone else's clothes by mistake?"
Everyone's outfits were sent directly to the changing room for the assistants to handle upon arrival, and people would go in to change when it was time. So all the clothes were together.
He had seen that dress before; it was the one Wang Jiani had bought for the shoot. How could it be on someone else?
Unless someone did it deliberately.
Sheng Wenyue's face darkened. Even if a newcomer had connections with Qin Corporation, they couldn't throw their weight around and bully someone under his protection.
Usually, Sheng Wenyue wouldn't fire off so directly, but Wang Jiani had played the victim in front of him too many times, making him extremely sensitive. The slightest provocation would set him off, constantly worried that Wang Jiani might suffer under his protection.
This made him feel even more guilty towards Wang Jiani, always thinking that if she hadn't been driven away because of him back then, she would have held a prestigious position in the industry by now, and who would dare bully her?
But when Sheng Wenyue finished speaking, the staff members in their group looked bewildered, and even the manager looked at him in confusion.
The others were even more perplexed. They had expected conflicts during the show's filming, given that everyone had some status and their own temperaments.
But they never imagined the first clash would be between an A-list actor and a newcomer to the industry.
Moreover, wasn't that dress brought by Ji Fei herself? She had been showing it off for half the day. How could it be Wang Jiani's?
Gao Hao reacted the quickest, being the first to speak up: "Um, Mr. Sheng, I think there might be some misunderstanding. This is the outfit our artist bought herself. Could it be that she and Ms. Wang coincidentally chose the same style? Haha, that would be quite a fateful coincidence!"
Only then did Wang Jiani snap out of her shock at the coincidence, realizing that the person she had encountered that day was actually Ji Fei, the newcomer filming the show with them.
Recalling the incident, Wang Jiani's face changed.
Just as she was feeling at a loss, she saw Ji Fei suddenly point at her with an expression of disbelief, exclaiming, "It's you!"
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she added, "You're Wang Jiani!"
Her face immediately wrote: Oh my, how embarrassing, I've run into the person involved.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Everyone looked back and forth between them. What was going on? It seemed there was some conflict between the two, and hadn't the A-list actor just mentioned the dress?
Wait a minute...
Something didn't seem quite right.
At this moment, Wang Jiani gave Ji Fei a once-over, noticing her standing there nervously, which instantly boosted her confidence.
Ji Fei didn't even recognize her, so she probably didn't know the exact situation from that day. Her current awkwardness was likely due to feeling she had offended someone.
"I'm sorry, there's been a misunderstanding. I did indeed have my eye on this dress before and sent a picture to my Senior Brother. I was about to pay for it when... I guess Ms. Ji must have some connections. She had the store cancel my order, and the dress ended up with her instead."
Wang Jiani wore a forced smile, as if she had been bullied but had no choice in the matter.
[Pfft... I'm holding it in.]
Everyone else: ???!!!!
At this moment, regardless of their mental capacity, everyone's minds began to race, almost to the point of overheating.
Gradually... gradually... everyone's mouths fell open, their pupils dilating in shock.
Their emotions were in turmoil, yet they didn't want to miss a second of this riveting drama unfolding before them, their eyes fixed on the two people who were still oblivious to the situation.
After finishing her explanation, Wang Jiani turned to Sheng Wenyue with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Senior Brother, I didn't have a chance to tell you."
Sheng Wenyue frowned. Although he had misunderstood the situation, the dress had indeed been snatched from Wang Jiani in another context, which was certainly arrogant and overbearing behavior.
Sheng Wenyue looked at Ji Fei.
Ji Fei wore an uncomfortable expression, as if she was genuinely embarrassed about taking someone else's clothes.
However, both Sheng Wenyue and Wang Jiani felt that if Ji Fei knew how to behave properly, she should be apologizing by now. But she wasn't. Was she really relying on Qin Zhao as her backing?
Both of their expressions darkened, especially Sheng Wenyue's.
He spoke in an ambiguous tone: "When Jiani sent me the photo at the time, I thought the dress was quite nice. Ms. Ji certainly has good taste, choosing the same style as Jiani. It's a pity there's only one."
Everyone else: ... So it's true!!!! Sheng Wenyue, you really did get married in secret!!! And Wang Jiani is the mistress.
The mistress stole the wife's dress, sent a photo of it in front of the wife, and you only replied to the mistress, not even answering your wife's calls?!
You even froze your wife's card and gave your supplementary card to the mistress...
Meanwhile, Sheng Wenyue still hadn't sensed the increasingly tense atmosphere. His words clearly hinted that he hoped Ji Fei would be sensible and apologize.
But not only did Ji Fei not react, even the usually astute Gao Hao seemed lost in thought.
Sheng Wenyue frowned in confusion. Could their emotional intelligence be that low?
Although Wang Jiani felt extremely uncomfortable seeing Ji Fei wearing the dress, as it constantly reminded her of how she had been humiliated and driven away that day, she still maintained a gracious and proper facade, not wanting Sheng Wenyue to make things difficult for her sake.
"It's alright, I can see that Ms. Ji really likes this dress, and it looks better on her. Let's just say it was a case of 'a flood washing away the Dragon King's temple'."
[Pfft, don't let yourself get drowned later.]
This schadenfreude-filled voice could only be heard by Qin Zhao, who nearly burst out laughing.
The others: Oh no, my toes are itching! I'm getting second-hand embarrassment.
"I should be the one apologizing. I jumped to conclusions earlier, thinking you had mistakenly put on Jiani's clothes," Sheng Wenyue continued sarcastically, unable to see the expressions of the other groups behind him.
[No, bro, you still haven't figured it out.]
Everyone else: ... What should we do? We want to laugh so badly, it's making our chests hurt from holding it in.
Seeing that Ji Fei still seemed embarrassed to the point of being at a loss, not understanding why she could be embarrassed for so long and thinking she really didn't know how to behave, Sheng Wenyue could only force a smile and say, "Let's all look out for each other in the future."
Everyone else: Ahhhhh! Should we tell him or not?!
But it seemed that even the people in their team hadn't come to their senses yet.
After all, they had been happily enjoying the drama earlier too. Who could have imagined that the drama they were consuming was actually from their own backyard?