After Kissing the World-Weary Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 12

“Xīngzi, you didn’t want to join a crew recently, so why are you suddenly so proactive?” Lín Shū appeared suspicious as he typed out the question.

Speaking of this, Lín Shū felt utterly helpless. Song Xingzi was definitely the worst artist he had ever managed! With a top-tier innocent face—like a gardenia in spring or mountain spring water in summer—and the full support of China’s strongest entertainment company, plus himself, the gold-medal manager, even a lump of mud should have been built into a skyscraper by now!

But no matter how powerful the external forces were, they couldn’t overcome Song Xingzi’s lack of ambition! Every time she finished a class, the acting teacher would send a long message complaining about this student. Besides crying, she was virtually useless! She wouldn’t practice what she should, wouldn’t improve what she should, and her basic skills were substandard! If you criticized her, she would get tearfully aggrieved, remorsefully expressing, “I will work hard, Teacher, you’ve worked so hard…” In half a month, she had genuinely driven the old actor to tears three times!

Furthermore, as soon as Lín Shū brought up taking on a role with a similar persona to hers to gain experience, Song Xingzi would repeatedly refuse, self-deprecatingly dismissing his advice, only saying that she needed to study harder and couldn’t afford to embarrass everyone. But her so-called “studying hard” involved racking her brains to cook for Ji Ruyue every day, three meals a day, from morning to night, without fail… Yet, Starlight Entertainment’s President, Ji Ruyue, was blindly confident in her, believing everything she did was right!

Her excellent talent was completely wasted on clinging to a powerful figure! If this were anyone else, they would have been famous across the nation by now! Lín Shū sighed heavily, once again feeling the frustration of trying to manage an unmotivated artist!

The unmotivated Song Xingzi followed Ji Ruyue into the villa, and Zhang Yuán tactfully went to handle the final details.

“Ah? This, well, I think Uncle Lín is right!” Song Xingzi hadn’t been using a smartphone for long, and while her brain was fast, her typing was slow. She typed out the words one by one, head bowed.

Lín Shū waited for Song Xingzi to realize her mistakes, turn over a new leaf, and become a better person! Song Xingzi’s second sentence was also sent: “Jì Jì wants to act, and I think I should act too. We’re both considered newcomers, so I can even teach Jì Jì! Didn’t you say that practice yields true knowledge? How can I realize my dream if I don’t act?”

Who is Jì Jì? Lín Shū scrolled up a record. The news of Song Xingzi wanting to join a crew had just exploded, making him overlook the fact that Young Miss Ji wanted to act. Connecting the two messages, wasn’t the reason for joining the crew clear enough?

“…This damned sickening sweetness. Wife, I was wrong, I want to go back!” Thinking of his wife working hard in Hollywood, Lín Shū took a big bite of a lemon. “That’s good too. Having Young Miss Ji with you will give you company.”

“So, has Xīngzi chosen a script yet?”

Song Xingzi sat down on the sofa, watched Ji Ruyue take off her down coat, and walk toward the second-floor bathroom, then focused on discussing the details with Lín Shū. “I’ve chosen it. It’s The Empress Chef of the Deep Palace, but I haven’t finished reading the script, nor have I finalized a role.”

“This is a good drama. The supporting female role of the Third Consort was the one I originally picked for you. Her personality is very similar to yours, and it will attract a lot of fans. You just need to play yourself.”

That’s similar to the original host’s personality, not mine at all, okay? My current acting skills can only fool people who aren’t familiar with the original host. If I act on TV, I will definitely embarrass Jì Jì, so how can I talk about earning money to support her!

Song Xingzi frowned, feeling Lín Shū’s idea was absolute nonsense. “Uncle Lín, Jì Jì said I should choose the role myself so it’s easier for her to pick one.”

Lín Shū chuckled, feeling a little uncomfortable, but mostly finding Song Xingzi adorable. He could imagine the exact words of the arrogant Young Miss Ji were probably, “Don’t bother about it. Do whatever you want!”

Lín Shū recalled the few important roles in the script. The headstrong and willful Princess Yǒnglè seemed quite suitable for Young Miss Ji—she could wear a stern face and hit whoever she wanted.

“Fine, you read the script thoroughly tonight and tell me tomorrow. I’ll reach out to the production team. The Empress Chef of the Deep Palace is a Starlight in-house drama. Young Miss Ji can communicate directly with the team about anything she likes, so we won’t interfere. Just remember to read the script carefully!” Lín Shū earnestly reiterated, as Song Xingzi’s image as an unmotivated artist was now deeply ingrained in his mind.

Song Xingzi nodded vigorously, responding obediently, “Mhm mhm, I will, thanks for your hard work, Uncle Lín!”

“Oh, right. Since you’re preparing to join a crew, I’ll find you an assistant. Do you have any requirements?”

Song Xingzi didn’t have the original host’s memories and had no feelings for the people around her. The contract termination was swift—Starlight paid the fee, and Huáshèng released her—so everything was fast. The original host’s assistant didn’t have a deep relationship with her and was too embarrassed to jump ship and follow her. So, up until now, the eighteen-line celebrity strongly supported by Starlight still didn’t have an assistant.

“No requirements. Just someone obedient and hardworking is fine. Thank you, Uncle Lín.”

“[Cute emoji.jpg]”

“It’s fine, it’s my job. Xīngzi, go read the script.”

After the extremely slow-typing Song Xingzi finalized the details with her manager, Ji Ruyue also finished showering and slowly walked downstairs, hair still damp and wrapped in a terry bathrobe.

Song Xingzi’s eyes lit up. She couldn’t wait to discuss the joy of acting as extras together. “Jì Jì! I’ve talked to Uncle Lín. He told me to read the script and choose the role myself. You come too!”

Ji Ruyue had eaten a lot for dinner and had just showered. She looked like a dampened cat, listlessly rejecting Song Xingzi’s invitation. “You read it. I’ll choose after you’ve made your selection. I’m going to dry my hair.”

“I’ll help you dry it!” Song Xingzi said, reaching for the hairdryer.

Ji Ruyue frowned, rejecting the offer twice. “No need. You can go shower first.”

Ji Ruyue had no complaints about Song Xingzi. She even thought Song Xingzi had excellent cooking skills and character, but this didn’t mean she was ready to adapt to such intimate acts as “you blow-dry my hair, I’ll give you a massage” with her fated rival. Thus, she very subtly rejected Song Xingzi’s offer and picked up the hairdryer to dry her own hair.

“Okay, then I’ll go shower first. Jì Jì, wait for me, okay? We’ll read the script together after I come out.” Song Xingzi felt a little disappointed that she couldn’t help Jì Jì, but she quickly cheered up and went upstairs to wash up.

Ji Ruyue didn’t reply. She glanced at Song Xingzi’s cheerful retreating figure, then turned, set the heat to the highest setting, and blasted her scalp. She finished the task in three to five minutes, then expressionlessly went upstairs, entered her room, and closed the door, all in one seamless action! She used her actions to send a triple rejection.

Song Xingzi, who took twenty minutes to shower, opened the door only to see the large living room empty. The sofa facing the spiral staircase was unoccupied.

Where’s Jì Jì? Didn’t we agree to read the script together? Song Xingzi turned around in confusion, only to see the door of the south-facing master bedroom closed, with the faint glow of a nightlight showing through the crack.

So, she fell asleep! She must be too tired from being discharged today! Then I’ll read it myself first, and I’ll choose a role for Jì Jì too. That way, Jì Jì won’t have to read the thick, boring script!

Song Xingzi praised her own cleverness. She dried her hair, took her phone into the room, pulled out the thick script from the bedside table, and lay on the bed, beginning to read—looking like she was preparing for an all-nighter.

It was one o’clock in the morning. Ji Ruyue was still sitting by the bed, staring blankly, her eyes vacant and unable to sleep.

Ji Ruyue’s insomnia was a long-standing issue. Initially, after realizing she was like a controlled puppet, she tried many ways to resist, such as anticipating bugs and taking precautions, attempting to escape the plot ahead of time, and even trying to kill the central characters of the plot…

But without exception, all attempts failed: her preparations would become ineffective at the plot point; escaping the plot would lead to the annihilation of her consciousness; and trying to kill the protagonist would directly reboot the world…

Slowly, repeating the tedious yet painful life path over and over, Ji Ruyue gradually became numb. She even started to deduce the direction of the unseen plot and occasionally pondered the views of other ordinary people on the world. At the same time, the experience of being ignored, betrayed, and abandoned repeatedly, until she leaped from a tall building in the cold wind, meant that every time she closed her eyes, she saw the scene of public condemnation and felt the pain of broken bones and splashing blood, making it difficult to sleep peacefully again.

Most of the time, Ji Ruyue would numbly sit in the dark house, watching the moon slowly brighten and then slowly set, with no stars around, just a solitary moon hanging high.

Tonight was the same. She lay on the bed, her mind tumultuous, making sleep impossible. However, the reason for her insomnia tonight seemed slightly different from usual.

Ji Ruyue frowned, leaned back, half-lying on the bed. She closed her eyes, and her vision was filled with Song Xingzi’s clean, pure smiling face reflected on the car window. She thought irritably, How can there be a person like Song Xingzi? She’s not the pure and fragile person I imagined, but clean and transparent, a truly innocent heart, untainted by the dust. If I splash a basin of dirty water on her, will it only wash her pure eyes even cleaner?

Ji Ruyue turned over and sighed, then sat up again. Closing her eyes no longer brought the image of the rapidly descending red light, but Song Xingzi’s face, which made her equally unable to sleep.

When a person is agitated, they want to eat, and sweets that stimulate dopamine secretion in the brain are the best choice.

The outwardly distant, arrogant (i.e., aloof and indifferent) Ji Ruyue had a little secret—she loved sweets, especially sweet but not cloying ones. They were like a quick-acting rescue pill for her world-weary mood.

Ji Ruyue flipped the switch and put on a solid-colored coat in the dazzling light, heading downstairs to the living room.

She remembered Song Xingzi putting the childish pink insulated container on the sofa coffee table when she came in. She also remembered Song Xingzi put the remaining half-plate of candy inside the container, not yet taken out.

Ji Ruyue, accustomed to the dark environment, didn’t turn on the lights. She walked downstairs without obstruction and found her way to the sofa. Song Xingzi’s ridiculously childish pink insulated container even had a glow-in-the-dark pattern! Ji Ruyue shielded her almost-blinded eyes and pressed gently, only then adjusting to the brightest green in the night.

She leaned forward, using one hand to steady the insulated container and the other to forcefully twist the lid.

“Click”

The insulated container didn’t open, but Ji Ruyue almost sprained her hand. She squinted and carefully observed. Song Xingzi, this anti-human heroine, not only made the container pink and glow-in-the-dark, but why does it need two side buckles unlatched before the lid can be twisted off? Was she afraid the chicken soup from half a month ago would spill into her lap? A double safety measure?

Ji Ruyue found the reason, snapped open the buckles with two clicks, and then twisted the lid open easily with one hand. The crystal-clear pine nut candies lay obediently on the first layer of the white porcelain dish. Ji Ruyue felt a rare sense of anticipation. She gently picked up one, just about to put it in her mouth.

“Jì Jì?! Why aren’t you asleep yet!”