After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Smoke

◎ I am the one pursuing Teacher Wen ◎

Wen Fengyue was in a very bad mood—granted, she almost never was in a good mood, but today was exceptionally terrible.

On one hand, it was because she had been forced to take on a TV drama she had no desire to act in and was further compelled to attend this promotional event. On the other hand, it was because of this black-haired, black-eyed little starlet in front of her.

Jiao Qingyin.

The female lead of the upcoming “double-female-lead” drama she was starring in, and also the person the company had arranged to be her “scandal partner.“

Remembering how her manager had emphasized just a while ago that she should interact more with Jiao Qingyin under the cameras—and that the company had already bought trending topics, just waiting for their photos to leak so the marketing could follow—the irritability in Wen Fengyue’s heart flared up even more.

This was her first time meeting the real Jiao Qingyin, but she had already formed a prejudiced, negative impression of the person. Seeing that the other wouldn’t leave even after being met with verbal hostility—and didn’t even look the least bit angry—Wen Fengyue felt even more certain that Jiao Qingyin was hiding some malicious intent.

Perhaps there were cameras filming them right now.

Wen Fengyue knew the tricks of the entertainment industry all too well. Seeing Jiao Qingyin staring at her, she stopped walking and stood firm right in front of her.

The cigarette she was halfway through was still glowing. The white smoke carried a hint of mint; it wasn’t particularly unpleasant, but Jiao Qingyin, who disliked the smell of smoke, instinctively furrowed her brows.

The change in her expression was subtle, but Wen Fengyue caught it.

“Hate the smell of smoke?” Wen Fengyue curled her lips into a smirk and took a step closer to Jiao Qingyin.

“Not exactly,” Jiao Qingyin said, holding her breath slightly as the smoke grew thicker. “I just don’t really like it.“

Her answer prompted Wen Fengyue to step even closer, until the distance between them was only a few dozen centimeters. Jiao Qingyin was wondering what she intended to do when she saw Wen Fengyue take a drag, turn toward her, and flash a playful, wicked grin.

By the time Jiao Qingyin realized Wen Fengyue’s intent and tried to back away, a cloud of minty, cool smoke blew directly into her face.

“…Cough, cough!“

Jiao Qingyin let out a string of coughs. While she had her head down, waving the smoke away, Wen Fengyue let out a light chuckle and brushed right past her.

On the star-dusted deck, Jiao Qingyin was left alone.

Since the System started working for Jiao Qingyin, it had turned off the mind-reading function. At this moment, it couldn’t gauge its host’s mood, so it cautiously tried to offer comfort from a different angle:

“Host, detection shows the smoke does not contain harmful substances like nicotine. The other party is smoking “Particle Cigarettes,” a specialty of this world…”

“Sooner or later… her.”

“Please rest ass—huh?”

The System detected a word in Jiao Qingyin’s statement that couldn’t pass censorship. It dazed for a few seconds before snapping back to reality at Jiao Qingyin’s next sentence.

“System, transmit the rest of the mission details to me—and check Al’s… I mean, Wen Fengyue’s current status.”

The System hadn’t predicted the Host would reunite with her target so quickly. As it transmitted new memories to Jiao Qingyin, its computing center analyzed the current situation.

“…According to System detection, that person likely underwent a “womb-transmigration” into this world, and her memories are sealed by the World Consciousness. That is why she doesn’t recognize the Host.”

Jiao Qingyin leaned against the door, enduring a headache to talk to the System: “So… Wen Fengyue has lived in this world for over twenty years?”

“Yes. Moreover, the System has discovered… the protagonist of this world was originally someone else, but because her soul power was too strong, the world line was attracted to her and shifted onto her.”

By now, Jiao Qingyin had finished receiving the world summary. As she looked through Wen Fengyue’s past experiences, her eyes turned terrifyingly dark.

Wen Fengyue was abandoned on a low-level planet right after birth. Fortunately, a newlywed couple adopted her, preventing her from dying young. Initially, her relationship with her adoptive parents was good, but when the couple’s biological child was born, she became a burden.

The parents poured all their energy into their biological daughter. Not only did they stop supporting Wen Fengyue’s life, but when she was spotted by a scout, they demanded that the ten-year-old go to work to subsidize the family.

Thus, Wen Fengyue was taken alone to Blue Planet and debuted as a child star. She became famous young, accompanied by starlight all the way, becoming one of Blue Planet’s most well-known actors in her early twenties. However, overwork caused immense damage to her physical and mental health.

This year was the turning point of her life. Her parents and her agency both treated her as a cash cow. The former only reached out for money; the latter, seeing her contract nearing its end and knowing Wen Fengyue didn’t intend to renew, booked her for countless jobs of varying quality but high pay in this final year, seeking to squeeze every last drop of value out of her.

According to the original plot, Wen Fengyue, already burdened with chronic illness, would see her reputation plummet this year. She would fall from the admired Film Queen to a scandal-ridden pariah. Eventually, under the pressure of public opinion and her failing health, she would choose to quit the industry.

Jiao Qingyin had been waiting for a twist, but at the end, she only found the conclusion where Wen Fengyue leapt from a starship during a solo trip, turning into a speck of cosmic dust.

“Host, the original work was a “depressing-style” story, so the derivative world is also…”

Jiao Qingyin took a deep breath.

Wen Fengyue’s life was full of tragedy; she seemed to have never been happy. And Jiao Qingyin’s role was that of a villain who pushed her over the edge.

In the original story, when Wen Fengyue began to decline, the original host started pursuing her, disguising herself with flowers and gifts. She acted with such fanfare that even though Wen Fengyue hadn’t agreed, their “CP” became famous across Blue Planet. Just as their popularity peaked and Wen Fengyue thought she had found someone sincere, the original host tore off her mask.

During her own live-streamed variety show, she showed bruises on her arms and tearfully accused Wen Fengyue of domestic violence, throwing the latter into a storm of criticism. Even though Wen Fengyue had done nothing, no one listened to her defense; no one stood by her side. The forged evidence, bribed lawyers, and judges trapped her in a quagmire from which she couldn’t prove her innocence.

In truth, Wen Fengyue wasn’t incapable of climbing out of the mud, but she was simply too tired. She had long grown weary of living. On the night the hashtag #WenFengyueGetOutOfBluePlanet reached number one on the Star-Net trending topics, she chose to end her life.

She had no home, no belonging. Blue Planet wasn’t her home, and her parents’ house didn’t belong to her either. So, where she died didn’t seem to matter much.

[Main Mission 1: Confess to the Protagonist (Wen Fengyue) and express your pursuit of her.]

Jiao Qingyin wasn’t a particularly kind person; she could remain indifferent to anyone’s tragic fate. But not Wen Fengyue. Wen Fengyue was her Al. Jiao Qingyin had recognized her the very first moment she saw her.

How could her Al die in a place no one knew? How could she spend her life burning herself out like this? Wen Fengyue deserved to be an eternal, unquenchable star, not a speck of dust.

Jiao Qingyin clutched her head and propped up her body, which had slumped to the floor from exhaustion. It took a long while before she had the strength to move.

Today’s event was a large gala hosted by a certain Blue Planet television station. Half of the entertainment industry was here. The original host wasn’t particularly prominent among them, but she couldn’t remain absent forever.

Drenched in cold sweat, Jiao Qingyin pushed open the door, intending to find a restroom to fix her makeup, but she ran straight into a pair of eyes.

“Thought you died in there.” Wen Fengyue was leaning against the corridor wall, giving Jiao Qingyin a mocking smile.

Between the index and middle fingers of her right hand, she held a newly lit cigarette. The rising white mist veiled her face, making it look hazy.

“…Give me one.”

Wen Fengyue raised an eyebrow.

“Can you give me a cigarette? I want to smoke too, thanks.”

The black-haired starlet had looked like she was having a sudden medical crisis just a moment ago, but now she not only had energy, she had the mind to strike up a conversation for a smoke.

Wen Fengyue flicked the nonexistent ash of the particle cigarette, her gaze shifting to Jiao Qingyin’s eyes. They were deep as ink, looking exactly as if they had just been washed by tears.

For some reason she couldn’t explain, she took a cigarette out of her clutch and tossed it over. Jiao Qingyin caught it nimbly. Looking at it in her palm, the word “Strawberry” was written on the filter.

“What is a strawberry?” Jiao Qingyin asked.

Wen Fengyue: “…”

She turned her head, not wanting to deal with her.

Hearing the sound of her acting value dropping by 1, Jiao Qingyin realized she had likely asked a stupid question. She typed “strawberry” into the System’s search bar and saw a picture of a bright red fruit.

Mmh, can’t guess the taste just by looking. Moreover, the black seeds on the strawberry gave Jiao Qingyin some unpleasant associations; after all, in the apocalypse, black substances on the surface of biological matter were usually viruses.

Wen Fengyue waited for a long time without smelling smoke. She tilted her head and saw Jiao Qingyin observing the cigarette with an expression as if she were facing a great enemy. This made her mock out loud: “Thought you wanted to smoke? Scared I’ve poisoned you now?”

Jiao Qingyin looked up. “I don’t know how to light it.”

Her matter-of-fact tone piqued Wen Fengyue’s interest. She had thought Jiao Qingyin only asked for one to get close to her. When she gave her the cigarette, Wen Fengyue had more or less been waiting for a show. She didn’t expect the other actually wanted to try.

Particle cigarettes only simulated the appearance and taste of cigarettes without any of the actual effects. People on Blue Planet looked down on such superficial things; they promoted “natural” and “retro” traditional products of Old Earth.

Many people had seen Wen Fengyue smoking particle cigarettes, and they all, without exception, expressed confusion and disdain—”Teacher Wen, you shouldn’t use things from those low-level planets.” Wen Fengyue never cared what they said; she continued to do as she pleased, smoking particle cigarettes like they were candy.

Now, someone wanted to share this low-quality candy with her. Although Wen Fengyue didn’t have a good impression of her, she wanted to see the other’s reaction after “eating” the candy.

“Come here,” Wen Fengyue beckoned to Jiao Qingyin. “I’ll light it for you.”

Jiao Qingyin blinked and leaned in. She thought Wen Fengyue would pull out a lighter or offer her own cigarette to borrow a flame, but instead, the other lowered her head with the cigarette still in her mouth.

Jiao Qingyin’s hand holding the cigarette was steady—until Wen Fengyue brushed back a lock of long hair hanging by her temple and aimed the flickering ember at her cigarette tip. Then, Jiao Qingyin trembled imperceptibly.

At this distance, Jiao Qingyin could clearly see the other’s distinct, frosty-silver curled eyelashes. In the past, Jiao Qingyin often spent post-coital mornings counting Al’s eyelashes for fun, but she was always interrupted halfway by a restless Al, so much so that she had never finished a full count.

“Done.” Wen Fengyue’s voice rang close to her. Jiao Qingyin snapped back to reality and smelled a faint, sweet fragrance. Following Wen Fengyue’s movements, she brought the cigarette to her lips and tried to take a drag.

“Cough, cough, cough—”

The sweet and sour aroma mixed with the smoky taste made Jiao Qingyin choke until tears came to her eyes. She moved the cigarette away while coughing, unable to believe Wen Fengyue enjoyed smoking such a thing.

Seeing Jiao Qingyin like this, Wen Fengyue burst out laughing. She laughed uninhibitedly, her voice echoing in the empty corridor. It wasn’t until Jiao Qingyin finally stopped coughing and wiped the tears from her eyes that she stopped laughing and took the cigarette from the former’s hand.

“You…”

Wen Fengyue pressed the cigarette out directly against her own palm. Jiao Qingyin’s pupils shrunk, and she almost lunged to stop her, but looking closer, she realized there wasn’t a single mark left on the other’s skin. The fire of the particle cigarette was just a simulated electronic signal that could pass between cigarettes but didn’t have the properties of actual fire.

After extinguishing it, Wen Fengyue casually tossed it at the feet of a nearby robot. After the robot “ate” the cigarette butt, she spoke to Jiao Qingyin: “I don’t care why you came looking for me, but…”

Flashlights and shutter sounds interrupted Wen Fengyue’s words.

“It’s them!”

“Looks like they’re arguing, did you get the shot?!”

“Film Queen Wen, Teacher Xiao Jiao, look at the camera!”

Both their faces changed slightly as they looked toward the commotion. A group of media members with cameras and microphones were being held back by a few security guards. If not for the guards, these people would have rushed right in front of them.

Jiao Qingyin’s reaction was a step faster than Wen Fengyue’s. She remembered there might still be tear stains on her face, and Wen Fengyue’s hair, which had been splashed with water by someone earlier, wasn’t dry yet. Hiding in a starship corridor away from the crowds made it look very much like they had just had a dispute.

Seeing them look at the camera, the frequency of photos increased. Wen Fengyue frowned, instinctively thinking this was a drama arranged by Jiao Qingyin. But she had been hit by too many “scandals” recently; one more piece of news didn’t matter.

“Don’t daze out.”

A clear, crisp voice interrupted her thoughts. Before Wen Fengyue could turn her head, her hand was taken by Jiao Qingyin. Her instinct was to shake her off, but perhaps because Jiao Qingyin’s hand was so warm, her reaction was a beat slow, and she was pulled directly into a nearby restroom.

“Ah—! They went into the restroom!” “They’re in, they’re in—did you get it?!” “Are they going to keep arguing or start fighting? Let us in—”

The security guards barely managed to hold back the near-rioting media. They were appealing and threatening until the agents for the two artists finally arrived.

The two agents worked for the same company. Although they managed different artists, they had been meeting frequently lately because the company was planning to hype the scandal between Jiao Qingyin and Wen Fengyue, and they had developed some rapport.

Wen Fengyue’s agent took charge of blocking the media, explaining that the two artists had a good relationship and that’s why they went into the restroom hand-in-hand. Jiao Qingyin’s agent, Sister Ji, rushed into the restroom in a panic.

The media didn’t know, but they knew all too well: Wen Fengyue was extremely resistant to fake scandals and had a volatile personality. Being alone with Jiao Qingyin in a place like this meant there must be a conflict. Maybe Wen Fengyue was beating Jiao Qingyin up in the stalls right now—

At that thought, Sister Ji’s vision went dark. She rushed into the restroom shouting:

“Xiao Jiao! Teacher Wen! Stop fighting—!”

Jiao Qingyin had pulled Wen Fengyue away from the cameras out of pure instinct. She knew that even though the other was an actress, she actually didn’t like being filmed, and since the media clearly didn’t have good intentions, Jiao Qingyin pulled her to a place without flashlights without a second thought.

Being a luxury starship, the restroom was as large as a living room, bright and clean. The floor-to-ceiling mirror reflected their figures.

“Let’s hide here for a bit,” Jiao Qingyin said, releasing Wen Fengyue’s hand before the other could shake her off.

As the warm, soft sensation vanished from her palm, Wen Fengyue fell into a strange silence for two seconds before letting out a “mm.” She didn’t want to finish the half-smoked cigarette in her right hand either, so she tossed it in the trash and surveyed the restroom.

Jiao Qingyin followed suit and looked around. Wen Fengyue was looking for hidden cameras, whereas Jiao Qingyin’s eyes were full of curiosity—completely the expression of someone observing something new. When she used to perform missions, she wouldn’t show her emotions like this, but knowing the person beside her was Al, she unconsciously relaxed a lot.

The System was worried about her acting value and saw the remaining 8 points wobble dangerously, but fortunately, it didn’t drop.

Once Wen Fengyue confirmed there was no danger, she turned her gaze to Jiao Qingyin. As she silently observed her, she made an assessment in her mind. Just then, Jiao Qingyin finished looking around and met her gaze. They stood face-to-face in front of the full-length mirror, their outfits and hair colors complementing each other like characters in the same frame. Neither realized they were standing a bit too close—close enough that if they each took one step forward, they would be kissing.

This was the scene Sister Ji saw when she rushed in. She looked at the two standing opposite each other, her mouth hanging open as if she had turned stupid.

Jiao Qingyin looked at her first. Facing anyone other than Wen Fengyue, she picked up the original host’s cheerful “green tea” persona. With a bright smile, she said: “Sister Ji, were you looking for me?”

Sister Ji snapped out of it and strode forward, her face full of urgency. “Where did you go? It was time for the official announcement of The Satellite, but neither you nor Wen Feng… Teacher Wen were there. Star-Net is in an uproar.”

Then a group of reporters, under the guise of filming the deck, came backstage and happened to catch the two leads of The Satellite appearing to have a dispute and entering the restroom together… Though this made The Satellite famous before it even aired, Jiao Qingyin came from a wealthy family, the company treated her extremely well, and they hadn’t planned a “black-and-red” (fame through controversy) route for her. These negative rumors had to be suppressed.

“Follow me out in a bit and clarify that your relationship is actually very good. It’s best if you smile at each other under the cameras…”

“I’m not going.”

Wen Fengyue’s cold voice interrupted Sister Ji. The latter choked but didn’t take her refusal seriously. All the company executives knew Wen Fengyue would terminate her contract next spring; what she thought didn’t matter to the company’s grand plan at all. Right now, the most important thing was to step on Wen Fengyue to create a new god of the entertainment industry. They had chosen Jiao Qingyin, who had the most outstanding looks and whose mother was a shareholder.

So Sister Ji ignored Wen Fengyue and continued: “Xiao Jiao, no matter what happened just now, you must act like you have a great relationship with Teacher Wen later. If anyone makes things difficult, you…” She looked at Jiao Qingyin and gave a subtle wink toward Wen Fengyue.

The meaning was to let Jiao Qingyin push all the blame onto Wen Fengyue.

This plot wasn’t in the original work, because the original host hadn’t left her seat to go to the deck and thus hadn’t run into Wen Fengyue smoking alone. From the manager’s words, Jiao Qingyin realized that the slander and framing of Wen Fengyue that happened in the later stages of the original novel might have already begun for some time.

Noticing Sister Ji’s attitude, Wen Fengyue turned her head coldly, looking into the mirror as if thinking about something. She seemed accustomed to being treated this way.

The smile on Jiao Qingyin’s face faded. Although her lips maintained a perfect curve, there was no emotion in her eyes. Faced with her, Sister Ji’s voice grew smaller and smaller until eventually, she stopped talking altogether. A chill down her spine made her uncomfortable, though she couldn’t find the reason.

“Then we’re going out,” Jiao Qingyin said, pulling her out of that mysterious state of fear.

“Oh, oh… okay. Those things I said…”

Jiao Qingyin reached out her hand to Wen Fengyue. “Since we came in holding hands, let’s go out holding hands too.” She issued the invitation with a smile.

“…” Wen Fengyue turned her head.

Jiao Qingyin wasn’t discouraged, but just as she was about to retract her hand, Sister Ji couldn’t help but interject: “It’s better not to hold hands. You two didn’t look like there was a misunderstanding just now. Going out holding hands… it’s easy for the media to say you’re acting.” Her hidden meaning was that holding hands made it inconvenient for Jiao Qingyin to push the blame.

Wen Fengyue sneered, “Acting?”

Sister Ji was a bit annoyed by her laugh, but before she could question her, she saw Wen Fengyue take Jiao Qingyin’s hand. Their hands overlapped, and their respective warmth began to pass between them, starting from their fingers.

Jiao Qingyin’s smile became genuine. Wen Fengyue met her eyes for a second and then hurriedly looked away.

“Let’s go.” She used the shortest word to express her thought.

And so, Jiao Qingyin led her out the door. They were met with even more cameras than before. The black lenses were aimed at their hair, clothes, expressions, and most importantly—their joined hands.

Wen Fengyue regretted it instantly. Her hand joined with Jiao Qingyin’s felt more and more awkward, and every patch of skin touched by the other felt like it was burning. Wen Fengyue felt a rush of blood to her head; she felt like she wanted to vomit, but in reality, she didn’t loosen Jiao Qingyin’s light grip on her hand at all.

“Excuse me, what was the dispute just now? Can you share it with the fans behind the camera?”

Amidst the chaotic questions, a loud voice reached Jiao Qingyin’s ears. She tilted her head to look at the person beside her. Just then, Wen Fengyue also heard the question and looked at her. Their gazes met in mid-air, and then, Jiao Qingyin slowly curved her eyes.

Her lips turned up, and she responded to the media with a gentle attitude, “Our relationship is very good; there was no dispute.”

Seeing her willing to answer, the media turned all their lenses and microphones toward her. Questions came in an endless stream, and Jiao Qingyin answered them one by one without leaving any flaws. Wen Fengyue frowned slightly; this was different from the scene she had envisioned. She used her peripheral vision to look at Jiao Qingyin’s face and noticed a tiny dimple on her cheek when she smiled.

“Then may I ask Jiao Qingyin, we just filmed you talking to the Film Queen while crying. What was that about? Are you lying when you say there was no dispute?”

Jiao Qingyin looked at the person who asked the question and accused her. The person’s expression was heated, carrying an uncomfortable vibe. Hearing this, Wen Fengyue took a step forward. Even if she didn’t like Jiao Qingyin, she couldn’t let her face this pressure alone.

“No.”

“No.”

They spoke at the same time and were both stunned for a moment. The cameras were aimed dead at them. After a brief wait, both thought the other didn’t plan to continue, so they spoke simultaneously once more:

“I was practicing a scene with Teacher Xiao Jiao.”

“I am the one pursuing Teacher Wen.”