After Redeeming the Female Lead, I Faked My Death and Escaped - Chapter 52

Azure merges sky and sea.

As the camera steadily advanced, a woman in a flowing white chiffon dress walked deeper into the ocean, grains of sand slipping through her fingers with each step.

Waves surged and crashed against the shore. Just as the figure was about to be swallowed by the tide, the sharp clap of a slate board cut through the air. A moment later, a slightly distorted voice crackled through the loudspeaker: “Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Ying”

Immediately, someone rushed forward with a towel and a coat, their concern palpable. Even Yi Ning was a step too late, clicking her tongue as she waited on the sidelines.

Ying Xu, noticing her slight displeasure, smiled and took only the coat from her hands. “Let’s go. It’s just a piece of clothing.”

Not long ago, The Descent had officially set its release date. To align with the promotional efforts, Ying Xu needed to film some additional behind-the-scenes footage.

But with her rising popularity, the attitudes of the crew had inevitably shifted. Initially, they had kept their distance; now, they were eager for any interaction.

Even now, Ying Xu remained unaccustomed to such excessive courtesy and politeness though she never let it show.

Inside the spacious van, the scent of violets still lingered in the air. But after so long, Ying Xu had grown weary of it and decided to switch to a new fragrance once this bottle was finished.

As soon as she sat down, Yi Ning handed her a new script. “Tomorrow’s interview has been moved up to this evening.”

Ying Xu nodded, gesturing for her to set it aside to read later, and instead unlocked her device.

In just a few short hours, the app had accumulated over twenty unread messages all from Gu Qingzhu.

Some time ago, Gu Qingzhu had joined a new production, temporarily separating the two. Since then, the omega had made a habit of sharing snippets of her daily life with Ying Xu, whether it was a scenic snapshot or passages from the books she was reading.

This time, she had truly welcomed Ying Xu into her world.

Most of the messages were about the film set, but the last one was a photo.

A white bird perched on a slender wrist, its feathers soft and fluffy as it nuzzled against its owner’s fingertips, its beady eyes bright with affection.

Yet even more striking than its endearing expression was the tiny longevity lock nestled in its plumage. Ying Xu zoomed in and saw the engraved characters: Xiao Zhu

Perhaps because of Xiao Zhu’s previous owner, Gu Qingzhu had developed a competitive streak when it came to the bird, spoiling it relentlessly. In the beginning, it was just basic necessities for avian care being delivered to the Gu residence. But soon after Gu Qingzhu joined the production, Xiao Zhu became her constant companion and things escalated from there.

Their chat had practically turned into a pet photo album. Gu Qingzhu dressed Xiao Zhu in costumes, staged photoshoots, and even secured the bird a cameo as the female lead’s beloved pet in the drama. At times, Ying Xu found herself grateful that Xiao Zhu wasn’t human.

Who knew what kind of person would emerge from such indulgence?

[Adorable.]

She offered her assessment, then replied to each of the earlier messages one by one. Gu Qingzhu seemed busy and didn’t respond immediately, so after waiting a while, Ying Xu turned her attention to the script.

Gu Qingzhu had been actively promoting The Descent, and Ying Xu had lost count of how many similar interviews she’d attended by now. She could recite polished answers in her sleep.

Past interviews had mostly revolved around the film’s plot, sticking to professional topics. But this time, personal questions were peppered throughout, asking about her ideal type, her expectations for a partner… It felt less like a promotional interview and more like an invasive dissection of her private life.

More importantly, every answer seemed to be carved in the likeness of Gu Qingzhu.

No production team had ever been this bold before. Xu Ying paused, then asked Gu Qingzhu, “Did you arrange the interview questions?”

“Don’t like them?” This time, Gu Qingzhu replied quickly. “I can have them changed right now.”

Xu Ying sighed helplessly, “It’s not that I don’t like them.”

She just felt it was unnecessary, unnecessary to overly display their intimacy in front of outsiders.

Wasn’t it enough for just the two of them to know?

But Gu Qingzhu clearly didn’t think the same way. Not long after they got together, she had already wanted to make their relationship public. Though Xu Ying had quickly stopped her, it seemed Gu Qingzhu hadn’t given up on the idea.

“If you don’t dislike it, then what? Are you angry?”

After they got together, Gu Qingzhu’s attitude toward Xu Ying had also changed. No longer indifferent as before, she now paid extra attention to Xu Ying’s feelings.

This fervor made it hard for Xu Ying to resist drowning in it. Yet, when she occasionally snapped out of it, a chill would run down her spine.

“I’m not angry,” Xu Ying replied carefully. “I like it.”

Almost as soon as she sent those last two words, Xu Ying wanted to take them back. But the woman’s instant reply had already appeared on the screen, brimming with unconcealed delight.

“I like you too.”

The car sped down the street. Yi Ning was organizing the script when she heard the soft sound of a bottle cap being twisted open.

Glancing sideways, she saw that Xu Ying had already drunk half the water in just a short while. Noticing her gaze, Xu Ying instinctively curved her lips. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Yi Ning shook her head, hesitating for a moment before suddenly saying, “Sister Ying, don’t you think you’ve been a bit different lately?”

Xu Ying: ” Different?”

Different how? Xu Ying was a little confused. Aside from being busier with her schedule compared to before, she shouldn’t have changed at all.

“More beautiful,” Yi Ning said with a straight face.

Xu Ying chuckled and shook her head, taking it as a lighthearted remark.

Before the evening interview, Xu Ying had a commercial to shoot with a partner an omega named Chi Nian.

The woman was a regular on variety shows, quite well-known and reputed for being easy to work with.

Xu Ying didn’t know much about celebrities in the industry, usually learning about them from Yi Ning. But today, when talking about Chi Nian, Yi Ning’s expression was somewhat complicated.

Xu Ying initially thought this meant “Chi Nian isn’t as easygoing as rumored.” She smiled politely and didn’t press further, until they walked onto the set and happened to see Chi Nian and her assistant distributing drinks.

The woman wore a fitted short dress and was chatting brightly with the director, her smile radiant.

“Teacher Xu Ying,” the director greeted warmly upon seeing her. Only then did Chi Nian pause and turn to look.

The moment their eyes met, the smile on Chi Nian’s face vanished, replaced by a flash of unmistakable disdain.

Xu Ying was certain she hadn’t misread it. Frowning, she was still pondering the reason when Chi Nian seemed to forcibly swallow her anger, forcing a stiff smile onto her lips. “Teacher Xu Ying, I’ve long admired your reputation.”

One doesn’t strike a smiling face and cold expressions were nothing new to Xu Ying. Though Chi Nian’s attitude was odd, she didn’t dwell on it.

Just as she was about to respond, the director cut in, “Teacher Xu Ying, since you’re here, let’s go over the script. We’ll start shooting soon.”

Perhaps it was Xu Ying’s imagination, but the director spoke with unusual urgency, as if afraid the two might make any contact.

On the way here, Xu Ying had already reviewed the script. The difficulty wasn’t high, it only required the two characters to convey a subtly flirtatious everyday atmosphere. If things went smoothly, they could wrap it up in half an hour.

Because of this, Luo Zhu had only allotted two hours for this shoot in the schedule.

Xu Ying had initially thought that even if Chi Nian was unwilling to cooperate, she wouldn’t drag things out too long. But once filming began, Chi Nian made no effort to hide her reluctance. Whether it was deliberately knocking Xu Ying’s hand away during a scene where they were supposed to hold hands or spacing out in front of the camera, forcing the shoot to halt every time, she made sure to disrupt the process.

Yet, after each interruption, she would be the first to promise earnestly that she’d do better next time, only to repeat the cycle all over again.

When the director called for another break, the atmosphere on set had already plummeted to freezing point. The woman sighed, exasperated. “Let’s all take a break and adjust our moods.”

Everyone knew exactly who needed to adjust, and their eyes turned to Chi Nian, only for the latter’s gaze to remain fixed on Xu Ying.

When their eyes met, Xu Ying saw the faint smirk curling at the corner of Chi Nian’s lips. The omega’s earlier soft-spoken demeanor seemed entirely feigned as she drawled, “Teacher Xu, you wouldn’t blame me, would you?”

Xu Ying smiled faintly but didn’t respond. Yi Ning, however, was already furious. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

The interview was live-streamed. If Xu Ying were late, the public would find any excuse to criticize her.

Perhaps that was Chi Nian’s goal. Even if she ended up suffering the consequences once the truth came out, as long as she could make Xu Ying uncomfortable in the process, it would be worth it.

Xu Ying didn’t understand what she had done to deserve such self-destructive spite. She held Yi Ning back and replied calmly, “If Teacher Chi says so, then it must be true.”

Seeing that Xu Ying didn’t take the bait as expected, Chi Nian pursed her lips. “Then let’s continue filming later. We’ve got plenty of time, anyway.”

Xu Ying nodded, watching her walk away. Yi Ning seemed confused and was about to ask more when Xu Ying countered, “Is she the only one allowed to stall?”

Yi Ning froze, then immediately realized exactly. Just as Chi Nian could throw a tantrum and single-handedly delay the entire crew’s progress, Xu Ying could just as well attend the interview first and return to filming afterward.

Even if word got out, Chi Nian would be the one at fault.

Though such behavior was borderline insane, anyone who pulled it even once would likely be blacklisted by investors, Xu Ying had Gu Qingzhu backing her. Why would she care about that?

Sure enough, when the shoot remained stalled until five o’clock, Xu Ying finally stood up.

The crew members glanced over, expecting her to retaliate. But under everyone’s watchful eyes, the first words out of the alpha’s mouth were that she was leaving for the interview and would resume filming in the evening.

Her tone was light, less a request for permission and more a simple announcement.

For a moment, silence fell over the set. Chi Yuan, in particular, looked stunned. “There’s no precedent for this, is there?”

Xu Ying thought for a moment, then smiled and asked in return, “Having it happen once in a while isn’t so bad, right? I’m sure Teacher Chi wouldn’t blame me. Isn’t that so?”

Hearing the same words thrown back at her, Chi Yuan’s mind went blank.

By the time they got into the car, Yi Ning was still laughing at Chi Yuan’s expression. “If she’d acted with that face earlier, we’d have wrapped up hours ago.”

The car sped down the road, heading straight for the interview building.

Ying Xu smiled and shook her head, choosing not to engage in the topic as she lowered her eyes to flip through the script.

Most of these were recent resources sent to Feiyun Entertainment. Ying Xu would make her selections first before they were distributed to other artists.

As she browsed, a notification chimed. Casually marking a project that piqued her interest with a pen, she unlocked her device.

It was an invitation from Cheng Yuedu.

The last time the two had been in contact was when the alpha had invited Ying Xu to attend an upcoming charity gala hosted by the Cheng family.

Initially, Ying Xu had intended to decline, but she had since changed her mind. Among the tasks assigned by the system, aside from those related to Gu Qingzhu, was uncovering the truth behind the car accident.

This matter had been difficult for Ying Xu to approach. For one, the incident was too far in the past, leaving few avenues to obtain information, and she had few people she trusted. Secondly, even the Xu family had managed to keep it hidden from Gu Qingzhu. If Ying Xu tried to investigate through conventional means, the information she obtained would likely be no different.

But Cheng Yuedu was different. Even if she wasn’t particularly close to Xu Ying, given the interactions between their families, she would have at least some understanding of Xu Ying.

Regardless, Ying Xu didn’t hold much hope for this matter. The word “truth” itself felt like a smokescreen. There had only been three people in that car the original owner, Xu Ying, and the driver. If the driver’s drunk driving wasn’t the truth, did that mean one of the other two had tampered with something?

Xu Ying couldn’t have harmed herself, so the truth could only be that there was another perpetrator behind the scenes or that the original owner, who had survived, was the culprit.

If that were truly the case, Ying Xu thought, then Gu Qingzhu’s past actions might have been somewhat justified.

She hadn’t done anything wrong.

Lost in thought, Cheng Yuedu sent a few more notes about the event. Ying Xu snapped back to attention and replied, only for the next message to make her raise an eyebrow.

[I heard there was some conflict between Chi Nian and Miss Ying on set.]

Ying Xu hadn’t expected the news to reach Cheng Yuedu so quickly. She explained, [There was no conflict, just a misunderstanding.]

The entertainment company Chi Nian belonged to had once signed Cheng Jun. After her father’s passing, the controlling shareholder behind that company had also become a member of the Cheng family. In other words, Chi Nian was Cheng Yuedu’s subordinate.

Was Cheng Yuedu implying that Ying Xu had been too harsh on Chi Nian and wanted to stand up for her?

Ying Xu didn’t want to speculate about Cheng Yuedu’s intentions. Just as she was about to ask directly, a notification interrupted her typing.

[Alleged former employee of Xia Qing’s studio exposes: bullying Ying Xu on set, nearly drowning her, sexually harassing fans, and immediately moving on after cheating.]

After parting ways on set, Ying Xu hadn’t seen Xia Qing’s name again. She tapped on the notification, but upon reading the content, she froze in place.

The post matched the headline exactly. The comment section had already surpassed ten thousand, with some expressing shock at Xia Qing’s fall from grace and others sympathizing with Ying Xu.

It took her a while to find a timeline compiled by fans

The whole story, from beginning to end, traced back to Sunken.

Ying Xu’s hatred for Xia Qing wasn’t particularly intense, so she hadn’t pursued the various instances of bullying and scene-stealing on set. And precisely because of her momentary mercy, Xia Qing, who hadn’t been completely disgraced—was still credited as the sole female lead in Sunken.

Naturally, her fans eagerly anticipated the release and spread the word.

Until Sunken released its trailer. In the one-and-a-half-minute video, Xia Qing appeared for only three seconds, while the “supporting actress” Ying Xu took up a full minute. Coupled with the fact that she had recently appeared on a variety show with Gu Qingzhu, their close relationship became the talk of the town.

For a moment, Xia Qing’s fans suspected that Ying Xu had snatched away her rightful screen time, and a fierce battle was on the verge of breaking out.

No one knew which side first dug up the explosive revelation that Xia Qing was allegedly involved in under-the-table dealings with the crew. After that, like a row of falling dominoes, long-buried scandals resurfaced one after another, leaving Xia Qing’s fans, who had initially wanted to defend her struggling to breathe under the mounting pressure.

The most critical point was that Xia Qing’s personal misconduct was actually the least damning of her scandals.

When news broke that she had forced Ying Xu to repeatedly film drowning scenes on set, it sent shockwaves through the public. Many were stunned, wondering if Xia Qing had lost her mind and questioning where she got the audacity to treat Ying Xu like that.

Soon, someone uncovered that Xia Qing had collaborated multiple times with Song Fei. Just as more scandals were about to be exposed, Xia Qing could no longer sit still. She proactively posted an apology online, announcing her withdrawal from the industry.

Partners terminated contracts one after another, and the comment section was flooded with criticism.

The matter should have ended there.

But just a few minutes ago, an alpha started a livestream.

Ying Xu clicked into the stream. On the screen, Xia Qing looked haggard, a far cry from her former arrogance. She seemed so unfamiliar that Ying Xu even had a fleeting moment of doubt, had she ever truly interacted with this person before?

But the next second, the woman’s anxious voice pulled her back to reality: “It’s all my fault. I hope everyone will stop bothering those who shouldn’t be bothered.”

The phrase “those who shouldn’t be bothered” could be interpreted differently by anyone who heard it whether it referred to the civilians Xia Qing had harassed or the crew members.

And when Ying Xu heard it, she naturally assumed it was directed at her.

A flood of onlookers poured into the livestream, and the barrage of comments scrolling across the screen was no different from what Ying Xu had received months ago.

Only this time, Ying Xu had become the perfect victim.

The tactic was all too familiar. The mastermind behind it didn’t even bother to change their approach, as if forgetting that the last person they had schemed against in the same way was Ying Xu, the very person Xia Qing had openly claimed to “like” just hours earlier.

At some point, the screen lit up again, the glow illuminating Ying Xu’s eyes and brows. She lowered her gaze and saw only one sentence:

Do you like it?

Life has been quite hectic recently, but things are settling down now. Updates will resume, and if there are any delays, a notice will be posted.

As an apology, I’ll be giving out fifty red envelopes in the comments. Thank you all for your patience, and I’m truly sorry, orz.

Also, recommending a friend’s new book, “Exclusively Possessing the Delicate Princess” by Yun Luo Qingshan (ID: 8445501).

Synopsis:

Lu Yunsheng dreamed that she was the tragic, love-struck antagonist in a story. As the spoiled young master of a general’s household, she was infatuated with the female lead but was framed into a compromising situation with the male lead’s younger sister, the Fifth Princess Ji Qingyuan, and forced to marry her.

After marriage, Lu Yunsheng treated Ji Qingyuan coldly, visiting her courtyard only once a month. As a result, Ji Qingyuan faced ridicule both inside and outside the Lu household, mocked for being neglected by her husband.

In the end, the male lead used the Lu family’s influence to ascend the throne, only to turn around and accuse them of treason, leading to the execution of their entire clan.

Only Ji Qingyuan, her neglected wife, rushed into the palace and knelt in the cold autumn rain, begging her brother to revoke the decree.

After witnessing Lu Yunsheng’s execution, Ji Qingyuan sought revenge by poisoning the male lead’s wine and drinking it herself. The male lead was saved by imperial physicians, but Ji Qingyuan died in that bleak autumn.

Lu Yushuang and Ji Qingyuan became the despised villains in the storybook.

Upon waking from her dream, Lu Yushuang dismissed it as utter nonsense. She was a woman, how could she harbor romantic feelings, let alone have a marital relationship with the Fifth Princess?

But the moment she opened her eyes, Lu Yushuang saw the ethereally beautiful Fifth Princess lying disheveled in her arms, her long lashes still damp with tears, as if she had been wronged and left weeping.

Unfortunately, this was precisely the scene from the storybook where they were about to be caught in a compromising situation.

Lu Yushuang:

Fortunately, she woke up early enough to prevent anyone from witnessing this.

Because of this absurd incident and the storybook’s plot, Lu Yushuang began to take notice of Ji Qingyuan.

She noticed that Ji Qingyuan would often steal glances at her, only to hurriedly avert her gaze when caught. Despite being a princess, Ji Qingyuan’s life was far from easy.

Gradually, Lu Yushuang felt a growing sense of protectiveness toward her. She took Ji Qingyuan under her wing, married her, and planned to arrange for her to leave and live a carefree life once the right opportunity arose.

But as time passed, she realized she no longer wanted to let her go.

[Mini Theater]

At some point, rumors began circulating in the capital that Lu Yushuang and the Fifth Princess were planning to divorce.

One day, someone even claimed to have heard commotion from Lu Yushuang’s carriage, as if she and Ji Qingyuan were arguing.

Coincidentally, a sudden gust of wind lifted the tightly drawn curtain.

Ji Qingyuan, flustered, pulled away from their intimate kiss, her blushing face burying itself helplessly in Lu Yushuang’s embrace as she softly complained, “You’re so mean.”

Lu Yushuang flicked the curtain back down and playfully nipped her earlobe, chuckling, “Wasn’t it you who wrote in your little notebook that you wanted to try this? How is it my fault now?”

No one knew that Ji Qingyuan kept a small notebook, filled with all the unspoken emotions she harbored for Lu Yushuang.

Until one day, when Lu Yushuang accidentally stumbled upon this long-hidden notebook…

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