Mad Dog

Chapter 25: He Is So Jealous

Zhi Qi’s second visit to the set to see Jiang Qi was a week later. She had given advance notice, and when she arrived at Hengdian, it was Qiu Mi who came down to pick her up personally. The young assistant still had a joyful smile on his face. He apologized to Zhi Qi for deceiving her last time.

“It’s okay,” Zhi Qi replied with a good temper, then asked him, “Is Jiang Qi filming now?”

“Not yet. Right now, he’s in the stage of studying the script,” Qiu Mi obediently answered. He noticed the box in Zhi Qi’s arms and took the initiative to offer help, saying, “Miss Zhi Qi, let me hold it for you.”

Now that Jiang Qi had signed a contract with Chen Ding, Qiu Mi had also become an official assistant from being a temporary one. He knew that this girl in front of him was Jiang Qi’s sweetheart, so he had to please her. After all, he would be spending time with Jiang Qi in the future.

It was common for boys to help girls carry things. Since Zhi Qi had been treated with “others rushing to help carry her luggage” since her first day of college, she didn’t refuse Qiu Mi’s help when he insisted.

The box wasn’t heavy, and after Qiu Mi weighed it for a moment, he tried to break the silence in the elevator by asking, “Miss Zhi Qi, what are you carrying?”

“Just call me Zhi Qi,” the address of ‘Miss Zhi Qi’ felt too formal for Zhi Qi’s liking, so she explained with a light smile, “These are things for Jiang Qi.”

“For Brother Qi?” Qiu Mi was genuinely curious now, unable to help but laugh. “What are they?”

“Just some electronic products and such, which I don’t usually use much,” Zhi Qi pursed her lips, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Maybe Jiang Qi will have a use for them.”

After all, they were just gathering dust at her place. Zhi Qi silently found excuses for herself. But upon hearing this, Qiu Mi couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Jiang Qi… using electronic products?

“Miss Zhi Qi, you might be mistaken,” Qiu Mi still addressed her as Miss Zhi Qi, laughing as he spoke. “Brother Qi doesn’t use electronic products at all. He hardly even uses his phone. He just got Weibo and WeChat a few days ago, and his phone is almost like an old-fashioned one.”

Zhi Qi was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly asked, “Why doesn’t Jiang Qi use them?”

“I don’t know,” Qiu Mi shrugged. “Maybe Brother Qi just doesn’t like them. He usually spends his time sleeping and doesn’t look at his phone much. But recently, maybe because of you, he’s been using it more often.”

In reality, Jiang Qi had recently become like a teenager addicted to the internet. Qiu Mi was astute enough to know what to say to flatter her.

As they talked, the elevator reached the eighth floor of Hengdian and stopped.

Unlike the noisy and chaotic environment on the lower floors, the eighth floor was a reading room. It was more like a large office space, and luckily, everyone was out for lunch, making it quieter here. Zhi Qi’s emotions were fluctuating after hearing Qiu Mi’s words, but she was led by him through a side door to the reading room of the “Jiao Si” crew.

Gently pushing the door open, she saw Jiang Qi leaning on the sofa, eyes closed as if resting. It was hard to tell if the boy was asleep or not, but he looked quiet and obedient. Zhi Qi was surprised to find that compared to the last time they met, Jiang Qi seemed to have lost a lot of weight in just one week.

Dressed in a black shirt and khaki pants, the boy leaned on the sofa, looking almost skeletal — Jiang Qi was naturally thin, but now it seemed like he had reached a state of malnutrition, with a very pale complexion.

“Jiang Qi,” Zhi Qi was suddenly anxious, walking over and standing in front of him, furrowing her brows as she asked, “Why did you lose so much weight?”

Jiang Qi opened his eyes and saw the girl’s face, clearly displaying her worry.

As the weather cooled down, Zhi Qi was wearing a pure white hoodie, paired with white jeans. However, her ivory-like face, with only a pair of sparkling black pupils, contrasted with the white outfit. Jiang Qi’s vision blurred with hunger, but he managed a weak smile upon seeing her.

Qiu Mi, who hadn’t left yet, hurriedly explained, “Miss Zhi Qi, don’t misunderstand. Brother Qi is just on a diet.”

“On a diet for what?” Zhi Qi became even angrier upon hearing this, looking at Jiang Qi indignantly. “You’re already thin enough as it is!”

What was happening in this world? Were guys more aggressive in dieting than girls now?

Was it because of the entertainment industry? What was attractive about looking like a ghost? Zhi Qi glared at Jiang Qi and said stubbornly, “No more dieting!”

“It’s required by the script,” Jiang Qi shook his head, indicating that it wasn’t his own deliberate choice to ‘beautify’ himself by dieting, and smiled helplessly. “I have to lose ten kilograms by the end of the month.”

So apart from starving himself, it seemed there was no other way.

Actually, Jiang Qi was already quite thin, but unfortunately, the character Chen Si in the script was depicted as someone who almost obsessively controlled his weight, with a willow-like figure, even bordering on a sickly appearance.

After evaluating, Qiu Heng requested Jiang Qi to lose another ten kilograms. Jiang Qi was the kind of person who either wouldn’t take on a role or would be very dedicated once he did. So he had no objections to Qiu Heng’s request and quietly went on a diet.

After hearing the whole story, Zhi Qi felt both heartache and a sense of helplessness.

“So you’re just going to starve yourself…” Zhi Qi murmured, her previously cheerful demeanor suddenly wilted, like a frostbitten eggplant.

“It’s okay,” Jiang Qi couldn’t bear to see her worry about him, so he straightened up a bit and pretended everything was fine. “Actually, I’m not that hungry.”

“Now it seems being an actor isn’t easy for you guys either,” Zhi Qi sighed, realizing that behind the glamorous facade of the stars seen on TV and the internet, there was a lot of hard work and suffering — starting with starving oneself for weight loss, which she could never do.

The girl leaned to the side and took out a piece of compressed biscuit from her bag, handing it to Jiang Qi.

“Here, I always carry this with me,” Zhi Qi smiled. “Having a piece of compressed biscuit shouldn’t hurt, right?”

During her sophomore year, Zhi Qi often went on trips with the school’s research team to various mountains in different cities to observe animals. Sometimes, they wouldn’t find a place to eat all day, and she couldn’t carry too much bulky food in her bag. Over time, Zhi Qi developed the habit of always carrying a few pieces of compressed biscuits in her bag.

Jiang Qi took them and ate, gradually feeling a sense of fullness in his stomach. His eyes became much clearer as he quietly watched Zhi Qi continuously stuffing snacks, compressed biscuits, and small breads that could stave off hunger into his hands, like a little animal ferrying food.

But suddenly, Jiang Qi asked, “Zhi Qi, do you often skip meals?”

Normally, someone with a very regular meal schedule wouldn’t carry these things in their bag. Zhi Qi didn’t expect Jiang Qi to be so observant, and her fingers paused for a moment.

After a moment, she smiled and shook her head. “No, not at all. I’m not like you, very disciplined.”

She only didn’t eat properly when she went on trips with her supervisor, but usually, she was quite regular with her meals. There was no need to mention it and worry Jiang Qi.

—The boy tended to worry excessively when it came to her affairs. Zhi Qi didn’t want to continue this topic, so she simply opened the box she brought and took out an Apple Watch to put on Jiang Qi. With her slender fingertips, the girl earnestly helped him fasten it, then patted his wrist as she looked into his surprised eyes. “From now on, when I call you or send messages, you can receive them with this.”

However, the young man, who had lagged behind society for several years, didn’t know the functions of these gadgets. He blinked in confusion and said, “Isn’t this a watch?”

“It is a watch, but with more functions,” Zhi Qi smiled and then handed Jiang Qi a pair of wireless earphones. “You don’t need to connect it to your phone. Just wear it and listen to scripts.”

With that, Zhi Qi took out a Kindle and taught Jiang Qi how to use it, explaining confidently,

“You can also read scripts on this. Have your assistant upload them for you. It’s easier on the eyes.”

Jiang Qi inexplicably felt like his entire outfit had been “taken over” by Zhi Qi.

He pursed his lips and said awkwardly, “Zhi Qi, you don’t have to buy me these.”

In theory, he should be the one buying things for Zhi Qi. How did the situation reverse? He felt more useless the more he thought about it.

“I didn’t buy them for you; someone else gave them to me. I don’t need them,” Zhi Qi said casually, fearing Jiang Qi’s refusal. “They’re just lying around at my place.”

However, Jiang Qi’s focus was different from Zhi Qi’s.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and after a weird silence, he asked slowly, “Who gave these to you?”

Zhi Qi didn’t catch his muffled question. “Hm?”

Jiang Qi took a deep breath. “Were they given by guys or girls?”

Zhi Qi couldn’t help but laugh, finally understanding his meaning.

He could even feel jealous about this? Jiang Qi was truly something.

“Girls,” Zhi Qi suppressed her laughter and reassured him, “Girls, alright? Don’t worry, no guys have given me anything.”

Actually, Zhi Qi was kind of lying—people did give her things, she just didn’t accept them. But she had to lie; otherwise, she guessed Jiang Qi would feel uncomfortable with jealousy.

However, even so, Jiang Qi was somewhat unwilling.

He muttered to himself, “I also want to give you some things.”

He had never given Zhi Qi anything decent before. In the past, he didn’t have the means. Even fifty yuan would take him a long time to save up before he could return it to Zhi Qi.

But now it was different. Jiang Qi wanted to give the girl a “unique” gift that only he could give. In the blink of an eye, he suddenly thought of something very special.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Qi looked at the girl and asked, “Zhi Qi, would you accompany me to… um, I forgot what award ceremony it was.”

Shen Lei mentioned it to him yesterday, rambling on about how many whatnots he might win and how he should prepare to attend a film festival. Unfortunately, Jiang Qi didn’t remember the name of the ceremony.

Zhi Qi asked curiously, “Why do you want to go?”

“Maybe I’ll win some award,” Jiang Qi didn’t really care about what award he might receive. His focus was on what he would do after winning. He said earnestly, “I’ll give you the trophy then.”

After all, that was something only he could give, something others couldn’t give to Zhi Qi.

And it seemed quite precious.

Zhi Qi was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile.

“Jiang Qi, why are you so childish?” Her dark pupils curved as she smiled softly, looking at him with tender emotions. “Alright, I’ll accompany you.”

Zhi Qi didn’t want Jiang Qi’s trophy; she just knew he would definitely win. And she wanted to be by his side, witnessing the moment when he received the award with her own eyes.