Acting as the Vicious Second Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 27

After sending away the starlet at noon, time flickered by, and night arrived in the blink of an eye.

Because her head was throbbing painfully, Qin Xiaoxiao spent the entire afternoon slumped on her bed catching up on sleep, having no energy for anything else. However, Qu Li’s words—”I like you”—kept echoing in her mind, lingering like a ghost.

How had she responded at the time? Oh, right.

—”Well, that’s unfortunate.”

The falling flowers have intent, but the flowing water has no feelings.

Completely failing to register the actual affection in the other woman’s words, Qin Xiaoxiao thought narcissistically: It’s all because my charm is too irresistible; even the “Black Lotuses” and “White Lotuses” of the world are bowing before me.

Although she was a bit afraid of Qu Li’s insight, she had to admit that the woman’s meticulousness made her very good at taking care of people. She was like a cozy little cotton jacket—her pampering hit right home, and she was exceptionally good at coaxing people.

If they weren’t in a mission world and hadn’t met this way, Qin Xiaoxiao might have thought she was a decent person and chosen to be friends with her.

But there were no “ifs.”

She would leave one day. The very first rule in the “Host Manual” distributed to everyone by the Transmigration Department was: Be an emotionless actor. Play with hearts, don’t give yours away. Talk about the mission, not feelings.

The gist was not to get too emotionally invested in book characters, otherwise, it was easy to lose one’s original self. Transmigration was a long journey, and emotions couldn’t survive that kind of wear and tear. Everything would become a thing of the past the moment the mission ended. Even the most brilliant “likes” were like bubbles—popping at a touch, leaving no trace.

So, for the good of both parties, it was best to draw a clear line before any deep feelings developed.

While thinking this way, perhaps even Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t realize that this time, her resolve wasn’t quite as firm as before.

In her dream.

Light and shadow interlaced, the room filled with the scent of spring.

She dreamed she had pushed Qu Li down, pinning her hard against the floor. With a heart full of yearning, she kept fumbling over her body before finally lowering her head and capturing those sandalwood-scented lips.

Qin Xiaoxiao licked and sucked greedily. During the kiss, she accidentally brushed against the tip of the other’s tongue. She felt an incredible softness and Qu Li’s warm, shallow breaths. Deepening the kiss even more frantically, Qin Xiaoxiao swallowed the other woman’s cute whimpers into her mouth.

Her body temperature rose. Her teeth were filled with the other’s sweet fragrance. Seemingly unsatisfied with stopping there, Qin Xiaoxiao parted her lips and bit down hard.

“Aaah—”

The next moment, she woke up.

Qin Xiaoxiao bolted upright in bed like a dying patient suddenly revived. She panted heavily, patting her chest in lingering fear.

Thank god that was just a dream…

Like hell it was “good”!

Hunched over, her hair sliding down her shoulders and draping over her chest, Qin Xiaoxiao covered her face to hide the sudden, burning flush. Her fingers threaded through a few strands of hair.

Is my body… actually this thirsty?

Having a sex dream was one thing, but what was with the object of desire being the starlet? Was it a case of “thinking by day, dreaming by night”? Had she been so spaced out thinking about Qu Li during the day that she brought her into her dreams at night?

But why a sex dream…

No matter how she thought about it, she didn’t understand, and she didn’t dare think about it anymore.

She grabbed her phone from the pillow; it was already 8:00 AM. Without realizing it, she had slept for a whole day. Qin Xiaoxiao let out a yawn. She got up to brush her teeth and wash her face, followed by makeup and changing clothes. By the time the process was done, it was 10:00 AM. Usually, she could finish in an hour and a half, but today she was a bit distracted.

Before leaving, she checked her phone and realized lunch was only an hour away. The manager should be at the company, she thought, deciding to head there to scrounge for a meal.

A short while later, Qin Xiaoxiao arrived at the company entrance by taxi. As she got out, she found her manager squatting by the door. Sitting on steps covered with newspaper, the manager was glancing back and forth at passersby, looking quite suspicious.

Seeing her finally arrive, Lin Yu scrambled up, her eyes shining. “Are you okay?”

As she spoke, her eyes darted around, inspecting the woman as if afraid she might be missing a piece of flesh.

Walking inside, Qin Xiaoxiao said, “What could possibly be wrong with me?”

“Qu Li didn’t… do anything to you?” Lin Yu followed her back into the office, her expression worried as she picked up the newspapers from the steps and tossed them into the trash.

“…” Qin Xiaoxiao chose silence.

In fact, it wasn’t that Qu Li had “done something” to her, but that she had done something beastly to Qu Li—waking up to find herself using her breast as a pillow was something she absolutely could not bring herself to mention.

Thinking of this, Qin Xiaoxiao averted her gaze and changed the subject. “I’m fine. I’m hungry. What’s for lunch?”

“The ramen from last time was good.”

Seeing her artist’s refusal to talk, Lin Yu didn’t pry. “Okay, I’ll order it in a bit.”

The room fell silent. Leaning back on the sofa, Qin Xiaoxiao closed her eyes, and the sex dream from the night before immediately resurfaced. The sticky sensation on her lips felt lingeringly real.

That dream had been far too vivid. She clearly remembered the room layout, the phone on the floor, the clock on the wall pointing to 11:00, and her own feelings of pleasure and high spirits. The more she cared, the more she didn’t want to remember, and the more she uncontrollably thought about it. Every scene replayed in her head like a documentary.

For the first time, Qin Xiaoxiao regretted being bound to a “Black Finger” (debuff/cursed power) that boosted her memory.

“Yin Ni, you and Qu Li followed each other back on Weibo!” Lin Yu exclaimed at that moment. “She’s so good to you. Look, she secured the lead roles for us in the historical drama Feng Qiu Huang (The Phoenix Seeks His Mate). You have to cherish this opportunity and not let her down.”

The manager showed her phone to Qin Xiaoxiao. Qin Xiaoxiao took it, looking completely dazed. In the shock of being handed a new script, she forgot to ask about the mutual follow.

The screen displayed the cast list. The text was dense and blindingly bright. Qin Xiaoxiao frowned, suppressing her irritability. She saw Qu Li’s name in the “Female Lead” column. Then, she shifted her gaze down, scanning the list, but she couldn’t find her own name anywhere.

She said mockingly, “The lead is Qu Li. You were tricked by her.”

“No, look closer,” Lin Yu insisted.

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t be bothered to look carefully. She raised her head and curled her lips. “Then tell me, what role am I playing? The second female lead? A supporting role? A passerby? An extra… or is it a villain again?” She leaned forward, holding the phone to the side of her face with a mocking expression.

The manager replied: “None of those.”

“You’re the Male Lead!”

The manager smiled broadly. “Do your best. It’s just a cross-dressing role, playing a romantic, dashing young master. You can do it.”

As the words left her mouth…

Clatter.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s hand went stiff, and the phone dropped to the floor.

Seeing this, the manager rushed to pick it up, looking heartbroken. She lamented that her poor phone truly had a hard life—it had fallen once yesterday and again today.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s lip twitched. I’m sorry, I cannot.

The script for Feng Qiu Huang had a synopsis in the original novel; it was one of Qu Li’s later classic works that received rave reviews from the audience. Qin Xiaoxiao had a vague memory of it. As the name implied, the drama followed a dashing young master pursuing a beauty, constantly flirting and using various “lady-killing” moves until he finally won her over.

So… she was supposed to go in front of everyone and flirt with Qu Li like crazy?

Qin Xiaoxiao felt like a tragedy in the making. She couldn’t do it! Putting aside the fact that she didn’t want any more entanglements with Qu Li, the key issue was that she had no idea how to flirt with girls, and she had never done it before!

—Given her “job description,” she was much better at breaking couples apart.