Chapter 163 - Contract Wife Morning, My Darling CEO
Third Person POV
Cassidy has been feeling a little upset all day. Unable to focus on anything but work to avoid her troubling thoughts.
Images from the morning when she had seen Chad driving away with that woman and not just any kind of woman but someone who was a stunning beauty, bothered her deeply.
She couldn't help but wonder about their relationship.
“A penny for your thoughts?”
Adrian's soft voice interrupted her thoughts as he sat down beside her, offering her a cup of coffee.
Cassidy didn’t answer as she stared at him with a thousand emotions running through her mind.
Adrian's handsome face darkened.
“Still blaming me for not supporting you on Tweep?”
Her face turned white as loneliness flickered in her eyes.
“I can't control your actions, but I don't understand why you didn't try to deny the rumours,”.
“Do we have to do this?” he sighed.
His expression turned ethereal, like a floating cloud in the sky, hazy and mysterious. It was as if he was struggling with something as Cassidy watched him expectantly. Finally, he says…
“Perhaps I have my reasons,”.
Cassidy's heart skipped a beat, and her beautiful apricot eyes widened in surprise.
“You…” anger sparked in her eyes but she trailed off “What reasons could you have?"
He blinked playfully, his eyes shining like a sly fox.
“Guess what it is?”
His words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples. The atmosphere became stuffy and filled up with something that even Cassidy couldn’t explain. She wiggled her body far away from him, hoping that, whatever it was, she wouldn’t get entangled.
“Can we please just focus on the shoot, Mr Moss,”.
Adrian pushed aside the feelings he had been nurturing for a long time for her and replaced them with a cold, indifferent expression when he stared at her back.
When he finally cares about someone, it seems as though he keeps living short of their expectations every time and again.
The filming was already halfway to its finish. This afternoon, the crew will hold a press conference to announce the drama series and to promote it.
When they were done with their afternoon shoot, Jasmine went in search of Cassidy. She wanted Cassidy to help her choose suitable clothes for the press conference and then she would also choose a dress for Cassidy in return.
But Cassidy dashed her hopes.
“No need for that, I’ll just wear the filming costumes at the press conference with Director Nathan,”.
“Why would you do that?” Jasmine looked aghast.
“We’ll continue shooting after the conference. It’s too much stress for me and everyone. So, it’s best to just go like this,”.
Cassidy, however, crushed her hopes in one sentence. "I'll be wearing costumes directly when discussing the press conference with Tan Dao. After that, we'll continue shooting. No need to pick out clothes."
“Ah!” Jasmine exclaimed, wearing a bitter expression, and sank onto the floor in disappointment.
“It’s boring. I mean, you look better in costumes than me. I can't compete with you even as the female lead. I can already imagine the nasty things the media will write about me,”.
Cassidy shot her a stern look.
“And yet you came to me to help with the outfit selection. I see you love taking risks,”.
Jasmine blushed and leaned towards Cassidy’s direction, offering an apologetic smile.
“Honestly speaking, if I ever act in front of you, I might be able to win you over. Most people can't resist my charms,”.
Cassidy scoffed rolling her eyes.
“A lot goes on in that brain of yours. Don’t try to corrupt my innocence with your immoral views,”.
Jasmine playfully pouted, continuing to tease her. Cassidy, unable to withstand her antics, eventually gave in. Her patience was already wearing off.
“By the way,” Cassidy said after a while, “Aside from the bar we went to last night, where do you usually hang out when you have money?”
Jasmine thought for a moment before responding,
“There are many upscale places where wealthy individuals frequent. It depends on the purpose—business discussions or leisure. Each place caters to different crowds, and the wealthy are categorized even further. The places where the truly affluent go are even more exclusive,”.
“Oh, interesting,” Cassidy nodded, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly before asking casually.
“Where is the most exclusive place in Wellspring?”
“You've asked the right person,” Jasmine replied with a smirk.
“O-okay?” Cassidy arched a brow at her, waiting for an explanation.
“Ordinarily, if you ask certain people, they’d mention Seven Star Hotels to you, but do you know there’s a place that is the most enjoyable, elegant, and has the best exclusivity of all?”
“Really?” Cassidy’s eyes lit up in curiosity. “Where is it?”
Jasmine looked at her with a smile on her face as she tilted her head inquiringly in her direction.
“Why are you suddenly interested in places like this? It’s not a place for good girls like you to go,”.
“Don’t be such a bully,” Cassidy smacked her head “I am just asking. Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Of course, I will,” Jasmine murmured as she covered her forehead -where Cassidy had earlier smacked her and winced in pain. Then she leaned over as if she wanted to let her in on a huge secret.
“Yipinju,” Jasmine’s voice was filled with excitement. “It’s a Chinese-themed place and I’ve been there just once. Oh my God!” she squealed again, fanning herself dramatically. “You should see the scenery inside, it’s so beautiful. Both the men and the women who work there are so beautiful and I’m pretty sure they were handpicked,” she paused for a breather.
“You know there are so many beautiful women in the entertainment industry, but none can be compared to me, still these people who work there. Still have some sort of superior beauty.
The interior is filled with antiques, and the guests who frequent it aren't your average rich people you know. Guests there are super-wealthy and highly cultured and you know the best of the best. But even with all that refinement, let's be frank—it's essentially a high-end brothel,”.
The word “brothel” sent a chill down Cassidy's spine. The image of that beautiful woman she'd glimpsed in the morning with Chad resurfaced in her mind. Considering Chad's character, he would naturally enjoy the best of the best.
“Could that woman have come from Yipinju?” Cassidy wondered in her heart silently.
Her face turned pale, and her heart surged with endless pain. She had poured her heart out the other night, blaming herself for going too far. Was everything they shared fake?
Because from what she saw, Chad already seemed to have moved on with another beautiful woman and he seemed to have left her in his past.
Jasmine noticed her pale, frightened look and stretched out a hand, tugging at her with concern.
“What's wrong with you? What's your connection with Yipinju, or—"
She paused before adding, “You're not thinking of going to look for Chad, are you?”
Cassidy shook her head, her voice trembling.
“I don't know. It's just... Sometimes it's not easy to bear certain emotions, especially when you’ve already fallen in love with someone. I think it’s best if I just know the truth about what is going on. Not knowing is killing me,”.
Her voice choked a little and she trailed off. Jasmine felt distressed seeing her like that and gently held her in her arms.
“Don’t entertain such foolish ideas. You know I care about you so much and I’ve had serious business talks at Yipinju. I have also stayed there for a while,”.
Cassidy looked up from her arms, her eyes were wet with tears.
“Have you been inside it?”
Jasmine looked away with embarrassment as her beautiful face contorted into a wisp of mystery.
“I was 18 years old and couldn’t support myself. I was being bullied everywhere and, by chance, I met someone who worked at Yipinju. She offered to take me there and teach me the ropes. I naturally agreed because the remunerations were big and that person who wanted to introduce me seemed to be doing well for herself, but…” she paused.
“The whole place is like some ancient Chinese times. There were too many scary rules and to work there, you have to be good at various things. I was asked to practice a traditional musical instrument – the guzheng and I had to learn it in less than ten days. After the first exam, my scores were too low and I was driven out,”.
As she spoke, her voice quivered with anger and shame and she was staring at the ground, wringing her hands in the process.
“Anyways,” she sneaked a glance at Cassidy “It’s not a good place. It’s dirty to death and they have this elegant disguise and high reputation which they use in covering what they do there. They wreck the lives of those innocent young women there. It wasn’t suited for someone like me, and I wasn’t thin-skinned enough to stay,”.
Cassidy lowered her head and smiled. She couldn't help but notice that Jasmine, who initially had spoken highly of Yipinju, now scorned it. It seemed she was embarrassed by her earlier praises.
However, didn't Jasmine's words also imply that the women trained at Yipinju were exceptionally skilled and talented?
She made up her mind.
“I want to go there and see it for myself. Will you accompany me?”
Jasmine looked at her in surprise but eventually nodded.
“Cass, you're not planning to go and catch Mr West there, are you?”
Cassidy was startled by the suggestion and shot her a hard stare.
“What nonsense! I just want to know,”.
With a clear intention of facing her romantic rival head-on, Cassidy seemed resolved not to remain in the dark any longer.
Jasmine nodded understandingly, then added with a hint of seriousness,
“Don't worry. I'll stand by your side. When do you want to go?”
Before Cassidy could respond, her phone rang. Jasmine peered over and saw that it was Chad calling.
Sensing the tension in the air, Jasmine wisely left them alone and gestured silently for Cassidy to be strong.
Cassidy glanced at the name on her phone's display, her chest heavy with complicated emotions.