The Secret of Second Marriage

To my surprise, Mr. Jiang took me to a semi-new, semi-old residential area.

This apartment is in a good school district. Just turn left after leaving the gate, cross a farmers' market, and you'll find the elementary school my daughter attends.

Mr. Jiang and I carried all the suitcases upstairs; it was almost 9 a.m.

I glanced at the time; it was almost time for my meeting with my agent, Sister Qiong.

I handed my suitcases to the nanny, quickly said goodbye to President Jiang, hailed a taxi downstairs, and went to a famous coffee shop in Sanlitun, Beijing, without any makeup, wearing only a black down jacket, to meet Sister Qiong.

Sister Qiong has short hair, a white shirt, a black vest, and a short skirt. She looks like a successful career woman in her 40s.

I heard that when Sister Qiong first entered the entertainment industry, it was in the first beauty pageant in China. She even made it to the top 16. Later, she didn't have much success acting, so she moved behind the scenes and became an agent.

She has a keen eye for talent in the industry, and almost all the artists she sets her sights on become wildly popular in the Chinese entertainment circle.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the godmother of the entertainment industry.

She paused for a moment when she saw me come in, then nodded and waved to me, saying, "Miss Jiang, please have a seat."

I walked over and sat by the window in the coffee shop.

On the table next to Sister Qiong was a file folder containing all my personal information, as well as stills from the movies and TV series I had acted in.

She seems to pay a lot of attention to me.

"Sister Qiong, I'm sorry, I just got back from recording a show out of town. I finished recording around 2 a.m. last night and came straight to see you as soon as I got off the plane. Please excuse me for not wearing any makeup."

I said it with embarrassment.

Sister Qiong probably thought I was quite interesting. The actresses she had interviewed before all made themselves look incredibly beautiful, like fairies, vying for attention. I, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air.

She said, "It's okay. I really admire your personality. You're natural and genuine. Sometimes in the entertainment industry, everyone is vain and chasing fame and fortune, and few people remember their original intentions."

Celebrities don't have anything to be proud of. Every famous artist started out as an ordinary person.

Stripped of the glamour of being a celebrity, in real life we ​​are just ordinary people.

Perhaps because she had been in this industry for many years and seen through the ups and downs of life, she had cultivated a calm and detached mindset.

This surprised me a little. I thought that the Sister Qiong I was facing would be a very strong and decisive woman, like the female CEO in "The Devil Wears Prada," who was extremely harsh and strict with her subordinates.

I didn't expect him to be so easygoing.

I said, "Sister Qiong, although this is the first time I've met you, I think you are an exceptionally wise woman."

Sister Qiong smiled, asked the waiter to bring coffee, sat down and drank a few cups with me, and even ate a small piece of dessert. She said to me, "The coffee and desserts at this shop are quite good, you should try them!"

"Thanks"

I say.

I slowly picked up my fork and finished the cake in front of me.

A small piece selling for over 600 yuan is really expensive.

Sister Qiong said: "I watched your acting clips, and today I saw your bare face. They say that true beauty lies in the bone structure, not just the skin. I think your features are quite suitable for the big screen."

Congratulations, Ms. Jiang, you have passed the interview.

"Our company can sign you, but I have one condition: from now on, you cannot see Shen Xing. Not even once. If you breach this contract, I will take away all your resources and blacklist you!"

I was stunned for a moment. It turned out that the reason why Sister Qiong, a well-known agent under Beijing's top-tier, long-established entertainment company, wanted to sign me was because of Shen Xing.

"So you didn't really appreciate my talent; you were just making a deal with me..."

I gasped. Looking back, I realize how naive I was. I'm over 30; how could I possibly believe that there are things in society that are purely for personal gain and have no ulterior motives?

There is no free lunch in the world.

It turns out that Sister Qiong made demands of me because of Shen Xing. I was a little angry. I hate the feeling of being threatened and played.

As expected, Sister Qiong calmly said, "You can consider it. On the contrary, if you join my agency, you will be a new artist that I have signed again after 6 years. As your agent, I would not ruin my own reputation."

I will definitely give you the highest-level film and television resources, business resources, connections, and social circles in the entire city of Beijing and even the whole of China.

You should have seen my resume. The actresses I promoted before were all of average background and origin, but I still made them famous. They became incredibly famous and rightfully earned the title of Best Actress in the film industry.

For example, Sister Xun.

I'm confident that I can make you a Best Actress within three years, and you'll win the Golden Rooster Award, the Hundred Flowers Award, the Magnolia Award, and the Huabiao Award.

Are you willing?

The other party looked me in the eye with confidence, as if she had me figured out and was sure I would sign a contract with her.

I thought about it, and the conditions she offered were particularly tempting. There was only one condition: that she would no longer see Shen Xing.

I was thinking, if I were truly a woman who only cared about practical benefits and was ruthless towards family, then I definitely wouldn't give up this opportunity at this time. Even if I had to abandon Shen Xing, I would still climb up the ladder!

Unfortunately, regardless of whether I am a celebrity or a housewife, one quality of mine has never changed: I am still kind and principled at heart.

I don't want to sell my soul for so-called benefits.

I thought about it for a full 30 minutes, and Sister Qiong was getting a little impatient. During that time, she stood up and answered several work calls.

Half an hour later, she walked over confidently, pulled out a contract, and said to me, "Sign it... This is a contract that every female celebrity in the industry dreams of, one they'd fight tooth and nail to get!"

I picked up the thick, dozen-page brokerage contract, tore it to shreds without even glancing at it, threw it in the trash, and then stood up and said to Sister Qiong, "I'm sorry, I'm not that kind of person!"

Shen Xing has helped me on many occasions. Relatively speaking, he is my friend and someone I care about a lot!

I cannot abandon him, nor can I sign such a treaty for the sake of so-called money and interests.

Moreover, you all look down on me. The only reason you're here today to sign a contract is because of Shen Xing.

"You're quite different from those ambitious female celebrities I've met in the entertainment industry. Jiang Man, to tell you the truth, I'm Shen Xing's stepmother, and this matter was entrusted to me by his father."

I heard he likes a woman who is 10 years older than him, and I've always been very curious about you!

I've always thought, how could Shen Xing, a fresh-faced and handsome young man in his early twenties, possibly fall for a woman in her thirties like you?

Shen Xing's father cares a lot about his son. He has been paying close attention to his love life and has introduced him to many daughters of famous directors or business owners, but he doesn't meet them. The only girl he likes in his diary is you!

So I've been wanting to meet you for a while, but I never expected you to be so different from what I imagined!

Sister Qiong lit a cigarette and said.

She was used to the ways of the world in the entertainment industry. Some female celebrities would do anything to climb the ladder, including sleeping with directors, engaging in unspoken rules, and attending dinners with wealthy patrons.

She's seen it all before and become numb to it.

But I never expected that such a great opportunity would be placed in front of me, and I would choose to give it up.

I suddenly laughed, thinking about how I had discovered my ex-husband's affair with his mistress. After I found out, my ex-husband begged me to accept a threesome.

If I'm willing, I can turn a blind eye and let my ex-husband have affairs, then I can still live the life of a wealthy wife living in a mansion.

But I don't want to.

I, Jiang Man, have never changed. I will always be proud and unyielding.

I said, "Then please tell Shen Xing's father, who is also your husband, to put your mind at ease. Shen Xing and I have never been together. We are just friends, and I already have a boyfriend now."

I have to go now, goodbye!

When I left the coffee shop, I paid the bill directly.

I came here in high spirits, thinking I'd been hit by a windfall. Such a powerful female agent in the industry admired my acting skills and wanted to sign me as an artist to their company.

But to my surprise, this so-called Sister Qiong was arrogant and didn't come to sign me at all; she just wanted me to break off my relationship with Shen Xing.

Forget it, I, Jiang Man, don't care for agencies that rely on threats and exploitation to get signed.

After I stepped out of the coffee shop, the winter sun shone warmly. Before I knew it, it was already the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The tree branches on the streets of Beijing were bare, and the air was filled with a chilly and desolate early winter air.

Nearby shops have already started planning Christmas events.

I took a taxi home and felt quite dizzy. It's probably because I've been recording shows until midnight every night lately, and I took a plane early this morning. I was exhausted from the long journey and didn't get a proper rest.

When I went upstairs, Mr. Jiang had already instructed his assistant to move his personal belongings, including toothpaste, toothbrush, underwear, suit, shirt, leather shoes, and so on, to my rented apartment.

The nanny quickly asked me, "Madam, has the master of our house returned?"

"Um"

I say.

"Our husband is so handsome! Madam, you have such good taste in men! And he came back in a luxury car, he must be the boss of the company."

So, the lady is the boss's wife! She's really keeping it a secret... I thought you were just a poor single mother, abandoned by your husband and wandering the world with your child.

The nanny is a straightforward woman who can't keep things to herself and will say whatever comes to mind.

Sometimes I think the nanny is too blunt, but when I think about it carefully, I still like this kind of person who says whatever comes to mind and doesn't keep things bottled up inside.

I told the nanny, "I won't eat lunch. I'll rest for a while. You can go ahead and do your work. Remember to pick up the child around 6 pm."

After I finished speaking, I went to my room to rest. I was so sleepy that my eyelids were drooping. I slept until after 5 p.m.

My daughter, Tangtang, came home from school.

I was too lazy to cook at home that night, so I took the nanny and Tangtang to eat at Haidilao.

What I didn't expect was that I actually saw my ex-husband on the commercial street where Haidilao is located. He is a man who will never give up, even though he was cheated on and dumped by Yang Yufei.

But he still had a house, which he sold with great determination. He started from scratch and opened a barbecue skewer shop on this food street, doing takeout business. It seems to be doing quite well.