Actresses

Chapter 14 Staking Out

He Yuran said irritably, "Who are you asking? If I wanted to know, would I be here telling you?"

Shi Jiahe smiled and continued in a gentle tone, "Sister, I still have the same question. After you met today, are you sure you want to see Teacher Jiang Fan? Is it someone else entirely?"

He Yuran let out a long sigh.

"Guess why she was the first person I thought of? At first, I thought it was because I felt sorry for her leaving the industry. But now I think it's probably because I have a deep-seated belief that she is the best actress, and it has nothing to do with sympathy. In college, when we were doing a love-themed acting assignment, all the boys wanted to be in a group with Jiang Fan. I especially hated that I wasn't a guy and couldn't play a couple with her. I remember all of that now. And when I saw her this time, I found that she had changed so much. Time has passed through her, but it's also like it hasn't passed through her, you know? She's like she's never been in the entertainment industry, but she has the state that we actors yearn for the most, which is to have a complete life. I envy that state so much."

"I'm quite surprised. It's rare to hear you praise an actress, Ran-jie."

"I'm not that petty, okay? I used to hate those people because we were all the same kind of people, we knew each other too well, but Jiang Fan is really different from us. Now I feel that what role she plays doesn't matter anymore. Because she can handle everything. But the more she does this, the less I understand how I can attract her and get her to join us."

After listening, Shi Jiahe nodded thoughtfully.

"Actually, I've also gained some insights from my trip these past few days. I learned a bit about Ms. Jiang Fan indirectly. She hasn't completely stopped her acting career. She was still performing in plays a couple of years ago, just not many shows and not much promotion. But I heard the tickets sold very well. She has die-hard fans who buy tickets repeatedly to see her shows. This shows that Jiang Fan still wants to continue her activities. Otherwise, she might as well have turned down all her plays. Playing plays is so tiring and doesn't pay much."

As they were talking, Shi Jiahe suddenly clapped her hands. "Ran-jie, how about we do something naughty together? But the condition is that you absolutely can't tell anyone. You have to promise me that."

"What bad thing?" He Yuran blinked, confused. "You're going to set her house on fire?"

"...Then that's not just doing something bad, that's committing a crime. Sis, do you know what it means to be forced into a corner?"

"Do you think I'm incredibly uncultured? It's just 'Water Margin'!"

Shi Jiahe smiled obsequiously, "I was just thinking of imitating a scene from the book. You know, not all 108 heroes joined Liangshan voluntarily. Song Jiang used tricks on some of them. For example, when he wanted to recruit Qin Ming, he forcibly detained Qin Ming while sending someone to impersonate him to attack Qingzhou. Then the prefect killed Qin Ming's entire family, cutting off his escape route. Song Jiang then apologized, and Qin Ming was forced to join. Lu Junyi joined because Song Jiang had Wu Yong write a seditious poem accusing Lu Junyi of treason, causing his family to be destroyed. Lu Junyi was captured but still refused to join the outlaws. He was eventually sentenced to death, but Song Jiang rescued him when he attacked Daming Prefecture, and that's when he joined. It's basically a matter of giving him a slap first and then a treat. Of course, you can keep giving him treats. Anyway, we'll find a way, whether it's coaxing or winning him over, to get Jiang Fan to finally agree to return to the scene and take our role. What do you think?"

"Won't that be too much?" He Yuran asked with concern.

"I can't guarantee that there won't be any overdoing it. But if we do nothing, then there's absolutely no chance."

"Alright! Tell me about it."

Shi Jiahe leaned close to He Yuran's ear and lowered her voice, trying her best not to let the people in the outer room hear a sound.

He Yuran's expression shifted from gloomy to sunny, then back to gloomy again. He kept fiddling with his phone, finally letting out a long sigh. "If she knew, she'd probably want to kill me."

Shi Jiahe smiled. "It's not that serious. If we get things done, it's a good thing for her too. I believe she'll remember your kindness. If there are no other questions, shall I contact someone now?"

He Yuran rubbed his temples, waved his hand, and said, "Go ahead, remember to pay in cash. Don't leave any electronic records."

"Don't worry, sister. Besides, the key to this kind of thing is meticulousness, not the scale. It won't cost that much money."

After saying that, Shi Jiahe opened the door and went out.

He Yuran stayed in the studio a little longer in the afternoon, checking on the work and treating her colleagues to afternoon tea. She only went home when she got sleepy.

Two days later, things began to proceed according to the plan she had discussed with Shi Jiahe. However, He Yuran didn't personally oversee things; Shi Jiahe would arrange everything perfectly.

All she did was check the summary sent by Shi Jiahe on her phone after waking up.

The entertainment-related trending topics surged into the top three.

He Yuran wasn't sure whether the result was good or bad, so she asked Shi Jiahe via WeChat.

Shi Jiahe replied, "How about we make it trend on Weibo again?"

He Yuran replied: "You can do it twice more, as long as you get this going."

"No problem, arrange it."

For the next week, He Yuran continued to read the script every day, or asked her driver, Xiao Zhao, to drive her around shopping.

When He Yuran received Shi Jiahe's summary report again, she was completely certain that the results of this round of execution far exceeded expectations. However, she still couldn't be happy. Because all of this hadn't yet been presented to that person. They could only gamble now on whether the outcome would ultimately benefit them.

After mentally preparing herself, He Yuran sent Jiang Fan another WeChat message. It was nothing more than the usual polite words, expressing her desire to visit him again.

Jiang Fan replied swiftly and decisively, "If it's the same thing as last time, then don't waste time."

He Yuran was naturally unwilling to give up and immediately dialed the number.

Jiang Fan, as usual, was very polite and answered the call normally, but his tone wasn't pleasant. However, after chatting for a few sentences, He Yuran noticed that there seemed to be a child's voice in the background, and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Is your daughter home?"

Jiang Fan said calmly, "Mm."

He Yuran thought for a moment and said, "Then, I won't bother you anymore."

Before hanging up, Jiang Fan said, "Thank you, Ranran."

This time the tone was much more normal.

After putting down her phone, He Yuran paused for a second, then called her driver, Xiao Zhao, without saying a word.

"Come pick me up downstairs right now."

Twenty minutes later, He Yuran was already in the car, heading straight for Jiang Fan's address, which she had visited last time.

Although there was no verbal agreement, she still decided to go downstairs and intercept Jiang Fan. He Yuran hadn't even informed Shi Jiahe about this.

On the way, He Yuran told Xiao Zhao that when they arrived near that address, they should find a place to park the car and wait downstairs, and not go anywhere else.

Xiao Zhao was completely confused and asked cautiously, "Sister Ran, is there an announcement? I didn't see any arrangements in the group chat. Should we notify the others?"

He Yuran firmly said, "No!"

Xiao Zhao shrank back in fright and dared not speak again.

The road near Jiang Fan's home isn't wide, and there's a row of parking spaces marked out, but they're almost all full. He Yuran usually drives a large vehicle, so finding a suitable parking spot was a bit difficult. Fortunately, Xiao Zhao was quick and managed to grab a spot, parking it about ten meters from the building entrance, just as He Yuran had requested. From there, they could clearly see everyone entering and exiting the building.

He Yuran didn't get out of the car; she sat there watching the pedestrians through the window. She searched for a few photos of Jiang Fan on her phone and sent them to Xiao Zhao via WeChat, instructing him, "Keep an eye on this person. If you see him, immediately remind me."

Xiao Zhao didn't ask any more questions, and simply said okay.

This boss is a bit neurotic; he always assigns her random tasks, and she's gotten used to it.

He Yuran remained silent, and Xiao Zhao dared not speak either; the two could only wait in silence.

He Yuran thought to herself, "Jiang Fan, you have to go downstairs to take out the trash, you have to buy groceries, you can't possibly stay home all day, can you?"

That said, despite being staked out by paparazzi so many times, this was the first time He Yuran had ever staked out someone else. A little while later, she needed to use the restroom. After holding it in for a while, her frustration grew, and He Yuran asked Xiao Zhao, "You're a girl too, so how do you usually deal with needing to use the restroom while waiting for me?"

Xiao Zhao frowned. "Sis, do you need to go to the bathroom now?"

He Yuran shook her head and said, "It's okay, it's just that I suddenly feel sorry for you."

Xiao Zhao glanced at the map, then turned to his boss. "Sis, should we drive to a nearby shopping mall...?"

He Yuran frowned, checked himself again, and said, "It's nothing, I don't need to for now."

"Okay, then feel free to ask me anytime."

The two continued staring at each other in the car.

Time ticked by. He Yuran sensed that the situation was getting critical, and she scanned the street carefully again.

This area consists of old buildings, and the only shops on the ground floor are convenience stores and snack shops; it doesn't seem like the kind of restaurant with a restroom. Does this mean we have to find a public restroom?

He Yuran's forehead was already slightly damp with sweat. But his stubbornness was also kicking in.

She thought, "I refuse to believe this nonsense. Damn it, I'll hold it in a little longer."

Fortunately, she hadn't drunk much water before leaving the house and had forgotten to eat. The flaws that Shi Jiahe usually nagged about countless times had become her strengths today.

Persistence pays off. Finally, a familiar middle-aged woman appeared in the building entrance, dressed in casual clothes. A little girl, who looked about seven or eight years old, was skipping and jumping in front of her.

He Yuran and Xiao Zhao craned their necks almost simultaneously.

He Yuran whispered, "Is it her?"

Xiao Zhao glanced at his phone several times, then hesitated and said, "It's hard to say... he doesn't look like a celebrity."

He Yuran said decisively, "It's her. We just met a few days ago. Wow, celebrities really do look better in clothes. A change of clothes completely changes their aura. Take a good look at her again."

Xiao Zhao cleverly replied, "You know what, the more I look at it, the more it looks like it."

He Yuran was about to open the door when she noticed the little girl seemed unhappy and was walking away angrily. Jiang Fan chased after her with a serious expression and tried to grab the child's arm, but the child shook her off without hesitation and continued walking.

He Yuran stopped what she was doing.

Xiao Zhao whispered, "Sis, what do we do now? Should I go stop them?"

He Yuran immediately shook her head. "No, no, no, that's not good. I think she and her daughter seem to be arguing."

Xiao Zhao said "Oh," and added, "He seems a little unhappy, but it's normal for kids to throw tantrums, right?"

He Yuran thought for a moment. "Let's wait a bit longer."

Just then, two figures, one large and one small, turned a corner ahead and suddenly disappeared.

The two people lying in wait became anxious. He Yuran said, "Hey? Where did they go? Did you see them clearly?"

Xiao Zhao turned around abruptly, "Sis, should I get out of the car and ask?"

"OK."

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Zhao slammed open the driver's side door and dashed off like an arrow in the direction where the mother and daughter had disappeared.

Thus, He Yuran was left alone in the huge car.

Suddenly, she felt a pain in her lower abdomen.