Achieving A Happy Ending With The Tragic Female Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 69

On the set, the director sitting behind the monitors clapped his hands. “This scene is a wrap! Hard work, everyone.”

Su Mi walked out from the crowd of actors and took her phone from Xiao Xin.

The two headed toward the dressing room together. For the next scene, Su Mi needed to change her makeup, hair, and costume, as it was a scene featuring her and Guan Yue.

Su Mi glanced at the time, it was already around two in the afternoon.

Xiao Xin was quick-witted. Seeing Su Mi check the time, she proactively said, “Teacher Su, while you were filming just now, I saw that Teacher Guan had already arrived.”

“How did she look?” Su Mi asked casually.

Xiao Xin recalled for a moment. “She seemed… normal, I think.”

The hesitation in her voice was because when she saw Guan Yue pass by, the woman had seemingly glanced at Su Mi during her performance with an expression that was somewhat hard to describe.

But it lasted only a second and vanished immediately, so Xiao Xin wasn’t sure if she had just imagined it.

Listening to Xiao Xin, Su Mi felt a slight twinge of curiosity but didn’t dwell on it.

Just as she reached the dressing room door and was about to enter, someone happened to be coming out. The two nearly collided, it was only because Su Mi reached out to grip the other person’s arm that they avoided a crash.

It was Guan Yue, her hair and makeup already finished. Her look today was different from before, she wore a simple floral cross-collar top paired with a blue velvet tassel long skirt.

Her thick, smooth long hair was pinned into a single bun at the back of her head, adorned with a pearl hairnet. Exquisitely crafted emerald jade ornaments dangled from her earlobes, yet even the luster of the pearls couldn’t match half the brilliance of her eyes.

Once Guan Yue realized who was in front of her, her pupils suddenly dilated. She retreated slightly as if trying to avoid Su Mi, her gaze flickering away.

Su Mi stood still, taking in all these small movements.

“Are you still feeling unwell?”

Guan Yue opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it with a complex expression, simply shaking her head.

Just then, the director’s female assistant walked over. “Teacher Guan, is your makeup finished? The director would like you to come over to discuss some script details.”

“Okay, I’m coming,” Guan Yue replied before looking back at Su Mi, who was ‘blocking’ the doorway. The dressing room door was narrow, usually only allowing one person to pass at a time.

As if only just realizing she was in the way, Su Mi stepped aside to make room.

Guan Yue felt this person was doing it on purpose. Whether Su Mi moved forward or backward, she could have cleared the space entirely. Instead, she merely turned sideways and didn’t even lean against the doorframe.

She left just enough space that Guan Yue had to turn sideways herself to squeeze through.

In the past, she definitely would have tossed out a few biting remarks, but now… Guan Yue grit her teeth and endured it.

Su Mi watched with interest as the person brushed past her. Despite Guan Yue’s caution, physical contact was inevitable.

As she watched Guan Yue’s departing back, which looked as though a heavy burden had been lifted. Su Mi’s mind was busy calculating something unknown.

“Teacher Su, can we start on this side?” the stylist, holding a costume, poked her head out to ask.

Su Mi withdrew her gaze and walked inside. “Sorry for the wait.”

Once Su Mi finished her makeup and stepped out, someone led her to the next filming location.

This scene primarily took place in Qi Youwei’s room. The indoor lighting and set were being meticulously prepared.

Not far away, the director held a script while talking to Guan Yue. Standing beside them was a young male actor who played Duan Yuebai’s third younger brother, Duan Qibai.

Guan Yue listened with her head tilted, nodding occasionally, a rare display of docility that Su Mi seldom saw.

After finishing a section, the director looked up and spotted Su Mi approaching. She smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

Guan Yue naturally looked over as well, but upon seeing Su Mi, her previously obedient demeanor soured. She took one look and jerked her face away.

Su Mi noted that she seemed to be nursing some sort of grievance.

“Perfect, Teacher Su is here. You three can discuss the rest of this scene. I’m going to check on the prop team’s progress,” the director said.

Due to the previous shoot, the director’s confidence in Su Mi had soared, and she hurried off after speaking.

Guan Yue held a circular fan embroidered with flowers and birds, fiddling with it listlessly, unwilling to even glance in Su Mi’s direction.

The actor playing Duan Qibai, however, was quite excited to see Su Mi. He seemed a bit at a loss for words; they had a brief confrontation in this scene.

“Hello, Teacher Su. I’ve admired you for a long time,” the actor said with a smile.

“Hello,” Su Mi greeted him politely, but her attention remained on Guan Yue, who was acting as if none of this concerned her.

Just as Su Mi was about to speak to Guan Yue, the latter suddenly called out to a passing actor and walked toward her with a smile.

That actor played the Third Concubine, a woman in her forties who had worked with Guan Yue before. They weren’t strangers, but they weren’t particularly close either.

The actress playing the Third Concubine was just about to leave the set when she was suddenly pulled into a conversation by Guan Yue, who draped an arm over her shoulder. Throughout the chat, the older actress felt as if someone’s eyes were boring into her.

Su Mi initially thought about following them but ultimately stayed put. She reflected on Guan Yue’s behavior and concluded the reason was likely herself.

The male actor left behind couldn’t hide his excitement. “Teacher Su, regarding some parts of the script, could I discuss them with you?”

Su Mi withdrew her gaze. “You may.”

On the other side, while Guan Yue was rambling to the other actress, she felt uneasy that no movement was coming from behind her.

Especially when she stole a glance back and saw Su Mi perfectly composed, chatting away with that male actor.

Su Mi was looking down at the script, her finger tracing the lines as she spoke. Her focused expression made the male actor opposite her look as if he were entranced.

Hmph, how vulgar, Guan Yue thought.

“Xiao Guan?” the actress playing the Third Concubine called out.

Guan Yue snapped back to reality. “Oh, aren’t you leaving? I won’t disturb you then. Let’s chat again when there’s time. Bye-bye!”

She said her goodbyes and walked back, but before she reached the duo, the director sent someone over to tell everyone to get ready for filming.

Su Mi looked at Guan Yue nearby and walked over, intending to ask if she wanted to head over together, but she had barely started the sentence.

“I’m not listening,” Guan Yue preempted her. “Whatever you’re going to say, I’m not listening!”

She looked exactly like a proud little peacock.

Su Mi simply nodded, accepting her words, though the other girl still seemed rather unhappy.

However, once they reached the filming site, Guan Yue seemed to regain her professional state.

The beginning of the scene didn’t involve Su Mi. This scene followed Su Mi’s previous one, the arrogant sons of the Duan family, having failed to get the better of Duan Yuebai during the day, gathered at night to drink and curse the unfairness of the world. Eventually, they became dead drunk.

The only one somewhat sober was Duan Qibai. He hadn’t drunk much and, unwilling to stay in the reeking room, decided to leave. On his way back, he accidentally ran into Qi Youwei, who had come out for fresh air.

The moment he saw Qi Youwei, he was captivated by her beauty. At that moment, “liquor gave courage to the coward,” and a foul thought took root. He developed a filthy intent toward his father’s newly wedded concubine.

Duan Yuebai happened to stumble upon this dangerous scene and saved Qi Youwei.

With the clap of the slate, filming officially began.

The moon was bright and the stars sparse, a gentle breeze blew as Duan Yuebai walked aimlessly through the manor.

After dealing with those scheming people during the day and being lectured by her mother just now, she only wanted a quiet place to be alone for a while.

When she snapped out of her thoughts, she realized she had walked back to that secluded courtyard. This time, the door was closed.

She stood at the door for a moment. Just as she was about to move on, a servant suddenly ran out from inside, looking panicked. Upon bumping into Duan Yuebai, the servant immediately knelt, too afraid to speak.

Duan Yuebai grew suspicious. “Why such a fluster? What has happened?”

The servant pressed her face to the ground. “R-replying to Eldest Miss… it’s… it’s nothing.”

With the girl in this state, Duan Yuebai would have to be a fool to believe her. She simply pushed open the other half of the gate and walked in.

Though lights were on in the distant room, the curtains were drawn. The light was dim, making it impossible to see the situation inside clearly.

Duan Yuebai took two more steps forward. Under the moonlight, she saw an object lying on the ground.

She picked it up and saw it was an exquisite circular fan. A faint sense of unease rose in her heart.

She quickened her pace toward the house. As she pushed the door, she heard a woman’s muffled crying and a man’s revolting voice.

The partially closed door was shoved wide open. The floor was covered in porcelain shards and overturned candle stands, even the chairs were strewn about.

It was clear how violent the struggle had been.

Duan Yuebai’s face went cold as she strode into the inner room.

Seeing the man by the bed preparing to undress, she grabbed him by the collar and yanked him backward with great force.

Duan Qibai, who was about to explode in rage at whoever ruined his fun, turned pale the moment he saw who it was. Cold sweat drenched his back.

“S-Sister… I… I drank too much,” Duan Qibai looked at the person huddled on the bed. “It was her! She seduced me!”

Duan Yuebai gripped the fan in her hand; the sturdy handle slammed heavily against Duan Qibai’s cheek, snapping the handle in two.

“Ah!” Duan Qibai wailed, clutching his face and turning away.

“Drank too much?” Duan Yuebai looked down at him coldly. “Are you sober now?”

“Cut!”

The director called for a stop, and the makeup artist rushed forward to apply injury effects to the male actor.

“Xiao Cheng, that look of terror was excellent.” The director watched the playback of Su Mi grabbing the actor’s collar from behind, the fear on his face was almost tangible.

The praised actor gave a strained smile. No joke, that fear wasn’t acting. For a split second, he genuinely felt like he was about to be torn into pieces.

The makeup artist was skilled and finished quickly. The director signaled everyone to take their positions to continue.

Duan Qibai’s drunkenness had mostly vanished from the scare, and after that strike, he was completely sober.

He knelt on the floor trembling, begging Duan Yuebai not to speak of this. To touch his father’s woman, if discovered, he would be dealt with according to family law. Duan Qibai knew very well that his own mother couldn’t protect him.

“Get out!” Duan Yuebai barked.

Hearing this, Duan Qibai scrambled out on all fours. He accidentally stepped on porcelain shards at the door but didn’t dare stop, enduring the pain to flee.

The room finally went quiet.

Only then did Duan Yuebai look at the person hiding in the corner of the bed. Qi Youwei kept her head down, so her expression was hidden.

She walked over and stood by the bedside.

“You…” The well-read Duan Yuebai found herself at a loss for words. She held the broken half of the fan. “Sorry, I broke your fan.”

Qi Youwei seemed frightened out of her wits, still making no sound, only hugging her knees tightly.

Duan Yuebai thought that perhaps lighting a few more lamps to make the room brighter would make her less afraid. But just as she turned to leave, she felt her clothes being grabbed from behind.

She turned back to see Qi Youwei, her face as pale as paper, her hand gripping Duan Yuebai’s clothes trembling slightly. She looked pitiable and fragile.

“Where are you going…?”

That night, Duan Yuebai did not alert her mother, but she dealt with many people privately.

She knew how strict the family rules were. If Duan Qibai were caught, he’d suffer some physical punishment at most because he was a son of the Duan family. But Qi Youwei was different.

To protect Qi Youwei’s reputation and life, she didn’t let the matter spread and ordered the servant who knew to keep quiet.

Duan Yuebai also replaced everyone around Qi Youwei to ensure that if something like this happened again, there would be someone to protect her.

Before falling asleep that night, every time she closed her eyes, she thought of that single glance the woman had given her.

She pressed a hand to her chest, only to find her heartbeat had lost its rhythm.

She whispered the name in her heart.

Qi… You… Wei…

The scene went exceptionally smoothly. The director couldn’t find much to be dissatisfied with, only doing a few retakes for perfection before finishing with some close-up shots.

Su Mi had no more scenes for the day and could have left early. However, after changing her clothes, she returned to the set. Without disturbing anyone, she found a corner to sit down.

Then, she unreservedly watched Guan Yue in the center of the set. Others simply thought she was being a dedicated professional.

Just as Xiao Xin was about to warn her boss to rein in that “unclean” gaze, her phone vibrated. Seeing it was a call from Sister Yu, she hurried away from the set to answer.

Sister Yu on the other end asked about Su Mi’s situation, and Xiao Xin answered truthfully.

“Then everything on set should be fine.”

“Yes, Sister Yu, don’t worry.”

Sister Yu sighed. “It’s good to hear some good news. I’ve been too busy to check in. Dealing with these actors’ secret relationships lately is driving me to a mental breakdown. If they want to date, they should either be careful or just be open about it…”

Once Sister Yu started talking about work, she was hard to stop. She paused and remarked, “Luckily, Su Mi is the artist who gives me the most peace of mind. She stays away from both men and women.”

Xiao Xin looked over at her boss, whose gaze toward a certain someone was anything but innocent. She looked at the sky awkwardly and replied with difficulty: “…Um, you’re right.”