Acting as the Vicious Second Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 8

The next morning, the first rays of dawn appeared. The sun made its grand entrance, bathing the world in a golden glow. Several beams of light pierced through the window, landing directly on the head of the bed.

Irritated by the brightness, Qin Xiaoxiao’s eyelashes fluttered before she opened her eyes. She let out a yawn, then groggily got out of bed to change out of her pajamas. This was followed by washing her face, brushing her teeth, smoothing her long hair, and applying her makeup. Once ready, she slipped into her high heels, intending to head out for the morning assembly.

As she reached the door, her memories of the previous night came rushing back. Recalling the series of events, her movements faltered, and her expression soured.

When she met up with the director and the rest of the crew, she would likely run into the female lead again… but her heart was truly weary; she had absolutely no desire to see that girl. Although Xiang Liwei had broken into her bedroom with a leather whip in the middle of the night—intending to do heaven-knows-what—thankfully, no “unharmonious” plot points had actually occurred. A certain Top Traffic Star had swooped in halfway through, interrupting the plan and bringing the farce to an end.

Finally, they had returned to their respective rooms. Qin Xiaoxiao had deadbolted her door, and only after confirming it couldn’t be opened from the outside did she turn off the light and lie back down, finally at peace. She had slept straight through until dawn.

“Sigh.” Qin Xiaoxiao lamented.

What a mess. The perfectly good female lead was broken. The pure, innocent plot had turned R-rated.

However, no matter how much her heart resisted, what must be faced had to be faced. With that thought, Qin Xiaoxiao took a deep breath. With a resolute gaze, she opened the door and walked toward the lobby, her retreating figure looking as determined as a soldier marching onto a death-bound battlefield.

She walked down the long corridor and turned through five or six corners. As she headed downstairs, the receptionist ran up past her, complaining into her phone: “What am I supposed to do? The spare key in the drawer was stolen…”

Hearing this, Qin Xiaoxiao’s lip twitched. There was no need to think; the key had definitely been stolen by the female lead. Was the current female lead really this multi-talented? Even moonlighting as a locksmith.

At that thought, she quickened her pace and vanished like a puff of smoke. She had no intention of telling the receptionist the truth. After all, last night’s events were far too embarrassing to speak of. If the female lead were interrogated and blabbed the whole story—including the part where Qin Xiaoxiao hid in the corner of the bed, trembling in fear—her reputation would be ruined.

For the sake of her own face, she had to keep her mouth shut. Furthermore, given the female lead’s “Little White Flower” persona, even if she did tell the truth, no one would believe her. They would probably think that she—the “vicious woman”—was trying to frame the poor girl again. They’d likely hallucinate a scenario where Qin Xiaoxiao was the true culprit, threatening the female lead to harm her just to tarnish the girl’s reputation.

Moments later, Qin Xiaoxiao arrived in the lobby. Currently, only three people were there. The director stood outside the door with his hands in his pockets, gazing up at the sky with the air of a philosopher.

Scanning the room, she saw no sign of Qu Li or Xiang Liwei. It seemed she had woken up early. Qin Xiaoxiao felt relieved. It was better this way… she honestly didn’t know what expression to use when facing them. She needed some time to breathe and think of a counterstrategy.

While watching the director’s back, an idea suddenly struck her. The glamorous woman walked over to the door and shouted, “Director!”

“Ah!” The director was startled nearly out of his skin. He spun around. When he saw it was Qin Xiaoxiao, his already stiff face contorted as if he had seen a ghost.

Seeing this, Qin Xiaoxiao rubbed her nose. Am I really that terrifying? That hurts.

“What… do you want from me?”

“I have something to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

“I want to wrap up my scenes and finish filming early.” Qin Xiaoxiao committed fully to her “spoiled” persona, huffing coldly. “I don’t want to stay in this godforsaken place for another second. And the boxed lunches are disgusting! If you weren’t the director, I’d suspect someone was trying to poison me.”

The director was speechless, but then his mind whirled. “That works.” He raised an eyebrow, sounding a bit mystical. “I observed the celestial portents this morning and predicted a torrential downpour this evening. It’s the perfect time for your character’s final scene.”

Hearing this, Qin Xiaoxiao was overjoyed, though she maintained a look of disdain. “Hmph, it better be.”

The director changed the subject: “However…”

“However?”

“I can film your parts ahead of schedule, but have you memorized your three thousand words of dialogue?”

He had been there during her interview and knew the producer had shown her the script, but other than that, he hadn’t seen her touch it—let alone expect her to stay up all night in the hotel diligently studying. He had subconsciously forgotten that after finishing the first scene yesterday, Yin Ni had taken the script to the back row to read it through.

The director was biased. He figured that if she continued to mess around and treated acting like playing house just so she could pack her bags and leave, then he… he would just have to go along with it.

Who told her family to practically buy out the entire production crew? Bad acting, monotone delivery, a terrible attitude—none of that mattered. Whoever has the money is the boss; that’s just reality. Anyway, they were “society people” who didn’t need a conscience as long as they could count money while lying down. Besides, the role Yin Ni was playing was a mere “cannon fodder” extra; she was entirely insignificant to the plot.

As for the box office, there was no need to worry. With a top-tier actress headlining the show, it was guaranteed to be a hit. The only fear was that the fans would be too enthusiastic and crash the servers. No matter how he looked at it, this was a profitable deal. Plus, he could send this “Little Ancestor” home and stop suffering her tantrums.

The director’s mental abacus was clicking away. His face was flushed with joy, and he nearly laughed out loud.

As if sensing his thoughts, Qin Xiaoxiao paused for a moment before saying earnestly, “Don’t worry, I won’t be acting in your plays ever again.”

Upon hearing this, the director smiled like a withered chrysanthemum, though he still said politely, “Don’t say that! I think very highly of you. I look forward to you joining our next production!”

Qin Xiaoxiao brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and said flatly, “We’ll see.”

“Oh, right.” The woman suddenly smiled. Her confident expression seemed even more radiant than the morning sun, as if there was nothing in this world she couldn’t achieve. The director found himself momentarily dazed, captivated by her sparkling, beautiful eyes—simply drawn in by her beauty.

She continued, “Don’t worry about those three thousand words of dialogue. I’ve memorized them all.”

The director’s expression became intriguing. Translated, it meant: I’ll just sit here and watch you brag.

Seeing the director’s obvious disbelief, Qin Xiaoxiao merely smiled without explaining. She would prove it to him when the time came. She was, after all, bound to a “Villain’s Exclusive Cheat”: Enhanced Memory. She possessed a photographic memory; any dialogue or knowledge she read was stored in her mind like a book, ready to be retrieved at any time.

Though this feature was a total cheat, most people would only assume she was either a genius or had been secretly tutoring behind their backs.

By now, the morning sun had fully risen, casting long shadows of the two people standing before the door. The air had taken on a hint of dry heat. White steam could be seen wafting from the right, mixed with the smell of food—the scent of fresh rice just out of the pot. It smelled wonderful.

Scenting it, Qin Xiaoxiao instinctively turned her gaze to find the source. Next to the hotel, she saw several restaurants. Usually, the foot traffic around schools, hotels, and cinemas is high, so many businesses set up shop nearby to catch the crowd. Currently, there was a long line of office workers at the bun shop, all looking hurried. It added a bustling atmosphere to the morning.

By this time, the actors had begun to gather. Even Xiang Liwei, who was usually late, had arrived. She sat on the sofa, her eyes dull and lifeless as she stared fixedly at the woman outside the door. The girl looked haggard, with dark circles under her eyes that signaled an all-nighter.

Her whole heart, her every cell, was screaming Yin Ni’s name. She missed her so much she was going crazy; her body felt feverish with longing, making sleep impossible. And yet, the object of her obsession was currently chatting and laughing with someone else.

Ahhh… why?

Xiang Liwei’s grip tightened, her sharp nails digging into her palms until a few drops of blood seeped out. She seemed not to notice, her eyes obsessively fixed on the silhouette outside.

The gaze was so direct and resentful that Qin Xiaoxiao felt a chill down her spine. She tilted her head slightly, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the female lead watching her sinisterly. Combined with the heavy dark circles, she looked exactly like Kayako from The Grudge.

Qin Xiaoxiao quickly whipped her head back, her heart racing. As expected, my decision to leave early was the right one! Otherwise, she would either be played to death by the female lead or scared to death.

She couldn’t let things continue like this. Waiting for death was not her style. She had to forge a powerful heart to handle this “M-type” female lead. She had to strive to be an excellent role-player and complete the mission with perfect composure.

Qin Xiaoxiao continued to encourage and comfort herself until her expression gradually became calm.

Seeing that it was getting late, the director turned and waved to the crowd. “Time to eat breakfast!

Afterward, everyone headed to the surrounding restaurants for breakfast according to their preferences. Once finished, they would board the bus to start the new day’s work. Some chose wontons or soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks. The director hurriedly bought three meat buns and squatted in the car with his phone, notifying the crew to bring the equipment to the intersection so they could finish Qin Xiaoxiao’s scenes first.

Meanwhile, whether by some mysterious pull or the arrangement of fate, Qin Xiaoxiao wandered into a restaurant decorated in a traditional Chinese style. Stepping onto the dark wooden floor, she walked forward while observing her surroundings. The tables and chairs were exquisitely crafted with carved patterns, polished until they shone. The arrangement gave off a sense of ancient charm. The walls were a pale beige, partially covered in emerald-green bamboo wallpaper. As she walked, it felt like strolling through a lush bamboo forest, and her mood instinctively relaxed.

Overall, the restaurant gave off a fresh and elegant vibe. After a few steps, Qin Xiaoxiao stopped. Her pupils dilated at the scene before her.

A woman stood with her back to her, ordering at the counter. She wore a simple white dress with a hand-embroidered lace hem and a sheer gauze overlay. It looked exceptionally elegant on her. At that moment, a warm summer breeze blew in, fluttering the curtains and squeezing into the room. Everything seemed hazy. Under the influence of the wind, the woman’s skirt fluttered, and the embroidered flowers danced up and down, as if welcoming this encounter.

Even without seeing her face, the curly, shoulder-length hair allowed Qin Xiaoxiao to recognize her identity instantly.

“Qu Li,” she murmured.

On the other side, Qu Li heard someone call her name and turned around. “Hello. What a coincidence.”

The warmth in her eyes spread, and a shallow smile appeared. A beam of sunlight from the window happened to land on Qu Li, making her already soft and beautiful features look breathtakingly ethereal.

Qin Xiaoxiao was not seduced by her beauty. She spoke with a complicated mood: “Is it really a coincidence?”

Because the other woman’s smile had a hint of craftiness, and she didn’t seem surprised by her arrival at all. Staring at the smiling Top Star, Qin Xiaoxiao felt as though she had met a natural predator. her throat tightened, and she felt instinctively that this woman was a hundred times more dangerous than the female lead.

In a daze, Qin Xiaoxiao felt the other woman was like a big-tailed wolf. Waiting for her, the little sheep, to walk right into its mouth.

“Pfft,” Qu Li saw her expression of suspicion mixed with confusion and couldn’t help but laugh. “Otherwise? Do you think I could lure you over here just to eat you up?