After Redeeming the Female Lead, I Faked My Death and Escaped - Chapter 12.2

Sheng Qiuyu replied quickly, this time without the exclamation marks, seeming much more approachable.

Ying Xu hesitated, still wanting to refuse, but Sheng Qiuyu had already urged her to open the package, saying she had something important to discuss.

According to Sheng Qiuyu, the most useful feature of these headphones was that they allowed two users to add each other as friends and communicate anytime.

Following Sheng Qiuyu’s instructions, Ying Xu fumbled through adding her.

Soon, an incoming call from [Miss Sheng (Alphas stay away, don’t bother)] appeared on the screen.

Below it were three options:

[Answer], [Decline], [Answer Only (The other party won’t hear any of your sounds)]

Just as Ying Xu hesitated and was about to press [Answer]

The door by the entrance was abruptly pushed open.

“Qingzhu.”

“Qingzhu?”

“Qingzhu”

Amid the escalating volume, Gu Qingzhu opened her eyes.

Her back was drenched in cold sweat, as if she had just escaped a horrifying nightmare.

Beside her, a woman in a white suit frowned her manager, Shan Qiaoyun.

The woman’s voice was concerned. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“No.” Gu Qingzhu shook her head, taking a deep breath. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pressed the button to lower the car window.

The scent of disinfectant filled the car something she had once despised the most, until an even stronger odor had replaced it.

The cold wind brushed past her, finally easing some of the tension that had built up inside her.

“You and Ying Xu.”

“Don’t mention her to me.” Gu Qingzhu said coldly. “I’ll only say this once, don’t even think about targeting her. As long as I’m around, she will never sign with Qinghong”

In the front seat, the assistant looked stunned.

She had always known the two would argue over Ying Xu, assuming it was because Shan Qiaoyun wanted Gu Qingzhu to break up with her and part ways amicably, but the latter refused.

Who would’ve thought the real reason was that Shan Qiaoyun wanted Ying Xu to join Qinghong, but Gu Qingzhu wouldn’t allow it.

What kind of logic was that?

A talent agent, captivated by the potential of her artist lover?

Dan Qiaoyun tapped twice on the car window, and the assistant and driver promptly stepped out.

With the car now quiet, the beta finally spoke.

“I didn’t bring this up,” Dan Qiaoyun said. Her face bore an exceptionally compassionate and kind expression, one that naturally endeared her to others. Thus, her most habitual tactic was to retreat in order to advance. “I’m just worried about your health.”

“As long as your rut isn’t over, you’ll need her pheromones for another day.” Dan Qiaoyun sighed. “You can say today was an accident. But once is enough your body and status can’t afford any mistakes.”

“Don’t be so extreme about everything, Qingzhu. We’re all looking out for you.”

Gu Qingzhu remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. “So? What do you want to do?”

Dan Qiaoyun smiled gently, retrieving a contract from her bag and placing it softly into Gu Qingzhu’s palm.

“The script for Liang Ruoyun’s role.”

The moment she heard the name, Gu Qingzhu’s eyes flickered, ready to argue.

The beta cut in immediately. “The role does have quite a few scenes, but they can be edited out in post-production or even face-swapped. No matter what, during filming, Ying Xu must remain on set.”

Wrapped in her coat, as Gu Qingzhu stepped into the mansion, the woman’s earnest advice still lingered in her ears.

Dan Qiaoyun’s relationship with her was part mentor, part friend. When she had first entered the industry, it was Dan Qiaoyun who had supported her every step of the way.

Gu Qingzhu was deeply grateful to her, so within tolerable limits, she never contradicted her.

In the past few years, the two had rarely clashed until Ying Xu appeared. The invisible rift between them suddenly surfaced, leaving Gu Qingzhu irritated.

The hospital lights were glaringly bright, but she still preferred the mansion’s perpetual dimness.

Yet, unexpectedly, tonight the mansion

Seemed even brighter than the hospital.

Everyone wore smiles, some more, some less. With all the lights on, every corner appeared more illuminated than she remembered, almost to the point of being blinding.

She noticed a patch of peeling paint on the cabinet, the marks of time suddenly evident, making the place feel more like a home.

Rather than just a temporary stopover.

For a moment, Gu Qingzhu was lost in thought until her gaze met that of a stranger.

Visibly, the smile on the other’s lips vanished. She abruptly lowered her head, the faint breeze from her movement seeming to dim the lights around her.

Gu Qingzhu averted her eyes.

Pastries sat on the table, steaming, their excessive sweetness almost palpable, cloying enough to make one nauseous.

“Where’s Ying Xu?”

At this hour, she should have arrived.

Recalling Dan Qiaoyun’s earlier words, a trace of disgust flickered in Gu Qingzhu’s lashes.

The servant under her gaze stammered, about to speak, when the kitchen door suddenly swung open.

An alpha stepped out, dressed in casual clothes, one side of her hair loosely draped over her ear, looking utterly at ease.

Between her slender fingers was a half-eaten cookie, one cheek slightly puffed out.

The moment their eyes met, Ying Xu instinctively hid the cookie behind her back.

She seemed to realize how foolish the gesture was and hesitantly lowered her hand the next second.

Ying Xu swallowed the cookie with difficulty. “Qingzhu”

Gu Qingzhu’s gaze fell on the chocolate crumbs at the corner of her lips, and her mind instantly formed a judgment.

What an idiot.

On the surface, she averted her gaze. “Stay away from me.”

“A smell of saccharin.” Gu Qingzhu frowned as she walked upstairs, the silk scarf around her neck now transformed into a winter muffler. Her fingers slowly loosened it, as if even this small motion wearied her.

With every step she took, the lingering scent of disinfectant wafted faintly around her.

Ying Xu thought to herself, she hadn’t even said Gu Qingzhu smelled like a biochemical weapon, so what was the big deal about her eating a little chocolate?

Utterly unreasonable.

But even more unreasonable.

Was Sheng Qiuyu in her earbuds.

The moment she heard the door open, Ying Xu immediately kicked the chocolate wrapper under the table. Her fingers slipped in haste, switching the call from “answer” to the third option listen-only mode.

Sheng Qiuyu initially expressed some confusion upon connecting, but soon decided this arrangement suited her just fine. She effortlessly launched into a detailed account of her day, her desire to share overwhelming.

Listening as Sheng Qiuyu meandered through tangents without ever touching on the “important matter,” Ying Xu felt on the verge of collapse.

She was risking Gu Qingzhu’s discovery just to take this call couldn’t Sheng Qiuyu say something useful for once?!

Finally, as Ying Xu stared at Gu Qingzhu’s retreating back, praying she wouldn’t turn around and just keep walking upstairs.

Sheng Qiuyu, at long last, concluded her monologue about dinner and exclaimed excitedly, “Oh, right! Ying Xu, guess what? I went to ask the director for Liang Ruoyan’s role for you! But do you know what the director told me?!”

At the same time, on the staircase, Gu Qingzhu’s footsteps halted.

She turned her head, casting a cold glance at Ying Xu.

Even from this distance, that piercing gaze felt inescapable.

Intense. Disgusting.

After staring at that face for several seconds, the chocolate smudge at the corner of the woman’s lips had long since disappeared.

Her expression had returned to its usual indifference, yet Gu Qingzhu found herself preferring the way Ying Xu had looked moments ago.

The contract was inside the bag in her hand.

After a brief silence, Gu Qingzhu flung the bag down the stairs without hesitation.

With a loud thud, Ying Xu stared at the bag now lying at her feet:

Was Gu Qingzhu trying to assassinate her?! First snow, now a bag, what next?!

And what had the director said? Couldn’t Sheng Qiuyu just spit it out already

“He actually told me that Liang Ruoyan’s role was already claimed by Gu Qingzhu this afternoon!”

“Tell me, is she planning to give it to some other lover of hers outside? Let that person buy their way into the production and get famous?!”

Before her, Gu Qingzhu’s voice was icy. “The contract for Liang Ruoyan’s role is inside. Sign it and leave it on the table. Report to the set again tomorrow.”

In her earbuds, Sheng Qiuyu’s voice was delicate yet indignant, painting a vivid image of her adorable face.

“Oh, and I also heard she has a private engagement tonight probably a date with that lover.”

“Are you even listening to me ”

Ying Xu’s gaze toward the bag shifted.

Her look at Gu Qingzhu also carried a hint of suspicion.

“Um,” Ying Xu ventured cautiously, “Qingzhu, are you going out later?”

Gu Qingzhu frowned. “What’s it to you?”

Watching the Alpha open her mouth, seemingly at a loss for words, Gu Qingzhu finally felt a flicker of satisfaction. With a cold smirk, she finally had the leisure to look away to glance elsewhere.

Thus, she also noticed the bouquet of rosé wine-colored flowers lying on the long wooden table behind Xu Ying, exceptionally vibrant and full of life.

“What’s that?” she asked, her voice cold.

Xu Ying parted her lips to respond, but before she could, an eager servant answered in her stead: “It’s the flowers Miss Xu prepared for you, miss”

In an instant, right before Xu Ying’s eyes, a flicker of surprise crossed that icy face.

“Have the flowers sent to my room later,” Gu Qingzhu said, staring at Xu Ying, deliberately emphasizing as she added two more words, “You deliver them.”

Xu Ying: …