After Kissing the World-Weary Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 14

Torn between the disliked household chores and Ji Ruyue’s request on one side, and the constraint of the original character setting on the other, Song Xingzi hesitated for three seconds before decisively putting down the dishes and returning to her room to change clothes.

What is there to fear? Jì Jì doesn’t know what the original host did to the male lead later.

Because of the original host’s soft and innocent persona, Song Xingzi put on a long-sleeved white dress, bundled up in a thick down coat, and her face, fresh as a hibiscus flower in clear water, only needed lip balm to complete her going-out ensemble. Oh, and she had to tuck her soft black hair behind her ears—that was the standard look for a tragic novel heroine!

Ji Ruyue looked at Song Xingzi’s familiar attire, a subtle, indescribable feeling arising in her heart. She didn’t say much and messaged Lǐ Biāo, informing him that it was time to start work.

Lǐ Biāo, as Ji Ruyue’s personal bodyguard and chauffeur, arrived early and left late every day and had been waiting downstairs since the morning. However, for some unknown reason, the President was particularly slow today. He wasn’t overly curious. He drove in silence, taking the two of them to the Starlight Entertainment headquarters.

Ji Ruyue was going to the office, to arrange her joining the production crew; Song Xingzi was finally going to act and had been called to the company by Lín Shū.

Taking advantage of their shared back seat, Song Xingzi picked up the thread from yesterday’s conversation, telling Ji Ruyue about the plot and main characters of The Empress Chef of the Deep Palace.

“Jì Jì, didn’t you say yesterday that you didn’t know the plot, so you weren’t sure if the noble consort was suitable for you? Should I tell you about it?”

The plot of the drama The Empress Chef of the Deep Palace was already deeply etched in Ji Ruyue’s mind. In fact, she knew every person in the crew, from the director and scriptwriter down to the extras playing corpses. But since the heroine was kindly offering to tell her, she would let her talk.

Ji Ruyue rested her head on one hand, her red lips curving. “Go on.”

Song Xingzi paused, shaking her head. Today’s Jì Jì is really beautiful.

“The drama is about a female chef, Fáng Miáomiáo, who accidentally transmigrates to ancient times and becomes the daughter of a Prime Minister’s concubine. It happens to be the triennial selection of imperial consorts. Her elder sister, Fáng Méi, who is going to the selection, takes her along to secure a better chance for the Fáng family…”

Song Xingzi’s voice was soft and slow, very gentle. The story she was narrating was a plot Ji Ruyue knew by heart. Ji Ruyue could listen attentively at first, but slowly, the long-dormant sleepiness, as if awakened by a spring breeze, rushed forth from her nerves. She nodded vaguely, slumped onto Song Xingzi’s shoulder, and slid down with the movement.

Feeling the sudden weight on her shoulder, Song Xingzi, who was narrating the part where the noble consort Mù Yú saved Fáng Miáo from the Empress, paused. She looked down at the drowsy Ji Ruyue, carefully helped her onto her lap, and, worried that the air conditioning wasn’t warm enough, took off her down coat and covered Ji Ruyue with it.

Jì Jì went to bed late yesterday and woke up early today. She must be exhausted. Song Xingzi felt a surge of tenderness for the sleeping Second Female Lead in her arms. To prevent her from suddenly waking up Ji Ruyue with a sudden silence, Song Xingzi continued narrating the plot for a while, her voice even smoother and softer than before.

Director Zhào Yú’s Starlight in-house drama, The Empress Chef of the Deep Palace, was a lighthearted transmigration and food drama. It was one of the first transmigration dramas in China, focusing on food and handsome men, and it was adapted from a major IP. The entire drama was packed with jokes, had distinct characters, high-quality costumes and props, and a fast pace. In the novel, it was a hit drama, successfully launching the careers of many young actors and actresses.

The chef Song Xingzi had her eye on was the female protagonist of this drama, Fáng Miáo. Her personality was lively and cute, full of energy, friendly, and her cooking skills were superb. She was both a top chef and a gourmet, practically a carbon copy of Song Xingzi, the little squirrel demon. Fáng Miáo died unexpectedly in a car accident but transmigrated into the body of the Prime Minister’s illegitimate daughter in a fictional dynasty. Upon arrival, she faced the fate of entering the palace to serve the Emperor and competing with a group of women for one shared cucumber.

Fáng Miáo, who was determined to cook flavors from all over the world, taste dishes from every corner of the earth, and become China’s top chef, was naturally unwilling to be captured. So, on the second day after transmigrating, she scaled the wall to escape, found an inn in a small city near the capital, and disguised herself as a man to work as a chef. One day, while looking for ingredients in the suburbs, Fáng Miáo rescued an injured man and, out of kindness, took care of him for half a month. She never expected that man to be the Emperor she was desperately trying to avoid. When the hidden guards found the Emperor, the Emperor asked Fáng Miáo if she was willing to enter the imperial kitchen as a chef. Fáng Miáo, her head spinning from the Emperor’s description of the imperial kitchen, immediately agreed and followed the Emperor (the male lead) into the palace, thus starting her path of upgrading from a kitchen maid to an Empress.

The entire drama revolved around Fáng Miáo’s ascent. The plot was lighthearted and pleasant, but also full of twists and turns, especially the competition among the imperial concubines, which was particularly captivating. Song Xingzi got hooked, treated it like a novel, and finished it in one all-night sitting.

Bodyguard Lǐ was composed in his actions, and his driving was no different. He drove strictly on the main roads, delaying them for an extra half hour before they arrived at the company.

Although Starlight Entertainment was part of the Jì Group, it was founded by Ji Ruyue herself. Therefore, its headquarters was not in the Jì Group building, but was crammed into the Jùqiáo District with a host of other entertainment businesses.

Bodyguard Lǐ parked the car at the company entrance and got out to open the door. Ji Ruyue happened to be roused from her nap. She rose and whispered a thank you to Song Xingzi.

Song Xingzi gently said Jì Jì was welcome and followed her out of the car. However, she had forgotten that her thigh, used as a pillow by Ji Ruyue for over forty minutes, was aching badly. As her left leg crossed the car door, her entire body involuntarily lurched forward, and she collapsed onto Ji Ruyue’s back.

“Jì Jì, I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Sensing the stiffness of the person beneath her, Song Xingzi apologized awkwardly, braced her hand against Ji Ruyue’s back, took a half-step back, and stood steady.

Ji Ruyue knew Song Xingzi’s leg was asleep from being used as a pillow. “It’s fine. Are you steady now?”

Song Xingzi leaned against the car door. “I’m steady. Jì Jì, wait for me.”

“Mhm, no rush.” Having used the person as a pillow for so long and, for the first time in a long time, had a good sleep—dreaming not of bloody battles, but of spring and summer rain—Ji Ruyue, even if she maintained the persona of a wicked second female lead, couldn’t utter vicious words. Moreover, the main performance was currently on hiatus; why should an actor go on stage?

Ji Ruyue shifted forward, waiting for Song Xingzi to catch up. Song Xingzi stood for a moment, felt her leg was no longer numb, and told her, “Jì Jì, I’m ready. Let’s go up.”

The moment her words fell, her left foot stepped out, and her whole body was pushed by something, uncontrollably falling to the left. Ji Ruyue quickly caught her in her arms.

It was supposed to be an insignificant brief episode, but to the eyes of someone with ulterior motives, it was a scene of a gardenia-like girl in a thin white dress, carving a smooth curve in the air in the dead of winter, her fragile body falling steadily into the embrace of the dominant woman. The leaning posture exposed her almost-transparent pale calves to the air, exuding an alluring invitation.

She trembled, her voice aggrieved and fragile: “Young Miss Ji, I—I didn’t mean to.”

And the woman called Young Miss Ji, dressed in a sharp suit, with a cold demeanor, held the young girl with a strong sense of possession. Although desire was burning in her eyes, she forcefully restrained herself and said coldly, “It’s fine. It’s normal for your legs to be asleep.”

Seeing his fiancée and his mobile backup heart source getting intimate, Lì Yèběi immediately felt that the action film series Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf was being staged right on his head. He rushed over in a fury, but even in his rage, he remembered to flash a 45-degree sneer. “Ji Ruyue, what is the meaning of this?”