After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety
Chapter 181: The Fish Took the Bait

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: The Fish Took the Bait

The three people turned the dressing room and the attached changing room upside down again, but naturally, they still didn’t find it.

Wei Minmin wiped the sweat off her forehead, "Since it’s not in the dressing room and changing room, could it have been left in the hotel room?"

Of course, there’s another possibility, which is that someone quietly took it away.

Afraid that this guess would upset Jiang Lingxi more, she hesitated a bit and didn’t voice it.

As soon as Lu Zhengzheng heard this, she rushed outside, "I’ll go back to the hotel room to look for it right away!"

Jiang Lingxi hadn’t even had time to speak and call her back when she was already gone, so she had to swallow her words.

Leaving the dressing room, Jiang Lingxi casually took off the wireless earphones she was wearing.

When she returned to her seat, she glanced inconspicuously in Jiang Xiyu’s direction.

Almost there!

Now the fish had taken the bait, and she aimed to act as realistically as possible to bring the fish behind Jiang Xiyu to the surface quickly.

For now, the only one who had to endure was that girl Zhengzheng.

Given that Jiang Lingxi exerted the most effort and had the most scenes yesterday, Wei Xiao didn’t schedule too many scenes involving Emperor Yuan Zhao for today.

After finishing her scenes in the morning, Jiang Lingxi didn’t stay to watch the other actors’ performances but took leave from Director Wei and left the set directly after removing her makeup.

This effectively confirmed in Jiang Xiyu’s eyes that the disappearance of something important had made her uneasy.

Back at the hotel, she opened the door and met a pair of tearful eyes.

Jiang Lingxi: "..."

It seemed this time she really scared the girl.

"Have you been crying all morning? Your eyes are swollen!"

"Sister Xixi, sob, sob, the pendant is still missing!"

Jiang Lingxi handed over a tissue, "Your Sister Xixi should apologize to Zhengzheng."

Lu Zhengzheng was about to blow her nose but paused at the words, nose bubbles forming, and quickly turned her head to tidy up before facing her again, "I should apologize to Sister Xixi, I didn’t keep an eye on it..."

Jiang Lingxi interrupted her, "I lost the pendant on purpose."

Lu Zhengzheng’s eyes widened in confusion, her mouth agape, uttering only, "Ah?"

"Someone deliberately wants to take something from me, so think of me using the pendant as bait. Now that the fish has quietly taken the pendant, we can’t let the fish know that we know she took it, so we need to put on a show."

It took Lu Zhengzheng almost five full minutes to somewhat digest those words, and she spoke with concern, "Why would that fish want to steal something personal from you, Sister Xixi? Does she plan to do something with it?"

Jiang Lingxi smiled and patted Lu Zhengzheng’s head, "I’m using you to lower the fish’s suspicions and guard, and you’re not angry, you silly girl?"

Lu Zhengzheng shook her head without thinking, "I’m too dumb. I know Sister Xixi didn’t mean to hide it from me, and besides, didn’t you come back quickly to explain it to me?"

"Silly girl!" Jiang Lingxi withdrew her hand from Lu Zhengzheng’s head, and said seriously, "You don’t have to worry about what happens next. Since I used that thing as bait, of course, I have a backup plan."

Lu Zhengzheng figured that was true; no one would send out their own handle deliberately, and her Sister Xixi isn’t foolish.

So she nodded decisively, "Do I still need to continue acting?"

Thinking about the conversation she overheard through the Bluetooth earphone earlier, Jiang Lingxi shook her head, "Tomorrow when I go to the set, you stay in the room. If anyone asks, I’ll say I assigned you other tasks."

"What about the day after tomorrow?"

As an assistant, she couldn’t possibly have the artist working outside every day while she stayed in the room doing nothing.

"Barring any surprises," Jiang Lingxi thought about the schedule for the next day, "this matter should be resolved by tomorrow, or at the very latest, in no more than three days."

"Three days," Lu Zhengzheng counted on her fingers, "Maybe we should ask Sister Tong to send another assistant."

She was already unable to make an appearance; there had to be someone to help Sister Xixi, which was the drawback of only having one assistant. When you needed someone, there wasn’t even a substitute.

Before Jiang Lingxi could speak, she picked up her vibrating phone on the table, glanced at the caller ID, and answered.

Jiang Lingxu’s face suddenly filled the entire screen, "Sis."

Jiang Lingxi listened to the background voices calling him on the other side, "What are you doing out there?"

"Outside with some friends who just called me," Jiang Lingxu said, then looked a bit embarrassed, "Sis, can you lend me some money?"

Jiang Lingxi leaned back on the sofa, "What do you need the money for?"

Jiang Lingxu plucked up the courage, "I, I ran away from home!"

Jiang Lingxi closed her eyes for a moment, "Why did you run away from home?"

"Well, with the college entrance exam coming up and all the tutoring classes closed, I found a temporary job at a bar and joined a band that performs there. But Dad disagreed, so he kicked me out."

Listening in, Lu Zhengzheng couldn’t resist giving a thumbs up to Sister Xixi’s younger brother for his courage!

Jiang Lingxi rubbed her temples, "So you’re now so broke you can’t even afford food?"

"Who knows me better than my own sister? I’m asking for support!"

"Stop trying to butter me up, getting a bit of support is not impossible."

Seeing the glow in his eyes, Jiang Lingxi suppressed a smile, "But it comes with conditions."

"Ah?"

Jiang Lingxi glanced at Lu Zhengzheng who was sitting nearby, "Tomorrow morning, eight o’clock sharp, report at the entrance of Yinhe Palace Hotel in the Imperial City’s film set."

"Is that where you’re shooting?"

"Come be my temporary assistant for a few days. Do well, and there’s a reward bonus."

This time, Lu Zhengzheng gave a thumbs up to Sister Xixi.

Exchanging work for pay, while also filling in her absence, it was truly a win-win situation.

Sister Xixi’s brother’s video call was perfect timing!

Looking down at his shirt that hadn’t been changed for several days and was starting to smell, and catching a whiff of the ramen he’d grown tired of eating for so many days wafting nearby, Jiang Lingxu gritted his teeth and nodded, "Okay."

It’s just an assistant job; surely, surely he could handle it!

However, his confidence was cut in half when he woke up early, took the earliest bus, and arrived sleepily at his destination.

The other half was lost in a whirling ten-plus-minute instruction session from his sister’s assistant.

He thought an assistant just handed over water and held umbrellas, because that’s what TV showed, but he never imagined an assistant’s work would be so tedious and involve so much.

Jiang Lingxi noticed his expression and tossed him a bottle of water just taken from the fridge, "What, thinking of backing out?"

Even though that’s what he was thinking, now that it was pointed out, he couldn’t possibly leave for real.

"Of course not, not at all."

How could he be the kind of person who backs out easily?

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