After Transmigrating, I Fell in Love with a Top-Tier Movie Queen - Chapter 79

Zheng Lanwen sat at the dining table. Mao Heng and the others had bought many ingredients from the village and prepared a lavish seafood feast.

The guests didn’t dare to make the others wait too long and quickly took their seats.

Zheng Lanwen constantly looked back towards the door. The sunset glow over the sea had painted the white clouds crimson, and the surface of the ocean sparkled with red light.

The lights in the courtyard came on, shining like a bright star by the sea.

Zheng Lanwen’s gaze never saw Lin Xin and Ye Linghua come downstairs. She finally couldn’t help but ask Zhuo Yaxin, “Lin Xin and the others still aren’t down. Should we go up and call them?”

Zhuo Yaxin, also a newcomer actress, was resigned. “They’ll come down on their own. At the very least, their camera crew will remind them.”

Zheng Lanwen had no counterargument and fell silent.

Fortunately, after a short while, voices drifted from outside the door.

Everyone craned their necks to look, and they saw Lin Xin leading Ye Linghua down from the second floor.

Both had changed out of their gowns and into loose, comfortable home wear. They headed straight over after coming downstairs. Ye Linghua seemed not fully awake, yawning halfway to the table.

Lin Xin turned back to say something to her, then pulled her to move quickly.

Upon entering, Lin Xin immediately apologized, “Sorry! We overslept.”

Mao Heng and the others quickly said, “No worries, we just finished preparing everything too.”

After a few polite exchanges, everyone took their seats.

Since they were by the sea, the resident guests’ dinner was a sumptuous seafood feast: salt-baked giant tiger prawns, vermicelli shrimp with garlic, beer-steamed large river crabs, glutinous rice with sea crab, grilled squid on a hot plate, clams stir-fried with rice cakes, and various sea urchins, periwinkles, and more.

As a grand meal for nine people, they had laid out a large variety of the seafood they could find.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and darkness arrived. The courtyard lights became the sole source of illumination. The howling sea breeze came from the ocean, carrying a crisp coolness.

Mao Heng and Tan Wenchang, as resident guests for six seasons, had long become the unseen hosts of the show.

At this moment, the two bantered back and forth, offering words of welcome to the new guests.

Tan Wenchang: “Today, we are very honored that you have traveled long distances from all across the country to our little courtyard. Mao Heng and I offer our sincerest welcome here. Let’s have a drink.”

Qu Hejing, Zhuo Yaxin, and the others all picked up the wine in front of them and lightly sipped.

Since the show focused on slow-paced variety, there was naturally no need to down glass after glass as one might in a work setting. If they did that, even before managers could object, netizens would torch the show.

Qu Hejing took a sip of the wine and found it sweetly palatable, so she took another. Then, she smiled and said, “When I watched your show before, I was so, so envious and always wanted to come. Who knew you guys would never invite me?”

At this, everyone present laughed.

Mao Heng quickly smoothed things over: “How would we dare? You’re a very busy person. We were just afraid that our little variety show might impose on you.”

This wasn’t entirely a joke. In its first season, The Leisurely Courtyard was an unknown small variety show. At that time, besides Mao Heng and Tan Wenchang, they only invited one older artist with a less prominent reputation.

All the flying guests were artists with lesser fame. Fortunately, The Leisurely Courtyard was one of the few slow-paced variety shows at the time. With the surge in ratings during the first season, they slowly began to invite more famous artists.

Qu Hejing covered her mouth and laughed upon hearing this. “Look at you two. With you two seniors here, if you had invited me earlier, I would definitely have come long ago.”

Tan Wenchang laughed and said, “That’s wonderful! I suggested inviting you back then, but Mao Heng scolded me for being presumptuous. So, this is mostly Mao Heng’s fault.”

Mao Heng feigned a glare at Tan Wenchang, causing everyone to burst into laughter again.

After the opening formalities, the new guests were urged to start eating. So, everyone ate while chatting leisurely. Lin Xin and Zheng Lanwen, as the biggest talking point of this season, naturally received focused attention from the hosts.

Mao Heng: “Speaking of which, the crew approached both Zheng Lanwen and Lin Xin at the same time, and I didn’t expect you both to agree. Why were you willing to come together?”

In reality, they had only invited Lin Xin. At the time, they were indeed capitalizing on the fact that the Lin Xin/Ye Linghua CP was skyrocketing in popularity. The information Lin Xin’s side leaked suggested she wasn’t very keen on coming initially.

As for Zheng Lanwen, the crew hadn’t even considered her.

Recently divorced partners appearing on the same show? Zheng Lanwen was only now becoming highly popular; anyone who wasn’t foolish wouldn’t accept the invitation!

However, Zheng Lanwen voluntarily reached out, expressing interest in participating. With such free publicity and hot topics being offered, the crew naturally didn’t refuse. Luckily, the contract signed at the time allowed a lot of room for maneuvering in this regard.

While asking the question to clarify things for the viewers when the episode aired, Mao Heng was genuinely curious himself.

Zheng Lanwen heard the question and smiled placidly, saying, “Xin Xin and I aren’t enemies. What’s wrong with agreeing to come?”

That single sentence seemed to instantly close the distance between them, as if the highly embarrassing and public divorce they had last year was not their doing.

But Zheng Lanwen forgot how far she had pushed things back then, and her affair with Lin Wan was no secret. Now that Lin Wan was in trouble, she turned right back to Lin Xin.

This kind of behavior was quite contemptible. Fortunately, the entertainment industry was full of experts in human relations, and no one showed their true feelings.

Zheng Lanwen’s brazen use of “Xin Xin” not only made Lin Xin shudder but also caused Ye Linghua’s movements to freeze. She lifted her eyelids and looked at Zheng Lanwen with a detached gaze. Zheng Lanwen across the table gave Ye Linghua a subtle, challenging smile, as if victory was already hers.

Lin Xin was initially disgusted, but seeing Ye Linghua’s reaction, she felt a surge of delight, thinking that she had worried for nothing earlier. It’s about time Ye Linghua felt what I felt, hmph.

However, a public statement was still necessary.

Lin Xin’s expression turned cold, her gaze towards Zheng Lanwen was emotionless, and she said in an aloof yet polite tone, “While enemies is unnecessary, I believe our relationship is far from one where you can call me ‘Xin Xin.’ I hope Miss Zheng can politely call me by my name. Thank you.”

Zheng Lanwen choked, and the table fell silent.

Receiving such a ruthless rejection from Lin Xin, Zheng Lanwen stared blankly at her. Lin Xin, having finished speaking, lowered her head to calmly pick up food, as if those icy words had not just come from her mouth.

I’m not used to this! Zheng Lanwen felt terrible.

Even though this wasn’t the first time Lin Xin had adopted such a distant attitude toward her, it still felt jarring!

They used to be the most intimate of partners! Most importantly, I used to be Lin Xin’s world!

Now, she had reached a point where even the use of her nickname was refused.

More than the public humiliation, Zheng Lanwen felt a terror of imminent loss.

But because the cameras were present, no matter how much pain she felt, Zheng Lanwen could only force a smile and say, “I understand, Lin Xin.”

Lin Xin smiled faintly, accepting the apology, then looked down and asked Ye Linghua, “Why aren’t you eating the shrimp?”

Ye Linghua glanced at Zheng Lanwen and suddenly quipped, “Need to be peeled. Too much trouble.”

Lin Xin: “I’ll help you!” She reached out to pick up a shrimp.

Ye Linghua made a sound of surprise, but before she could stop her, Lin Xin had already picked up a salt-baked giant tiger prawn and began peeling it.

Because of the awkward conversation between Lin Xin and Zheng Lanwen, everyone had shifted their attention to others, so no one noticed what Lin Xin was doing.

Besides their own cameraman, only Zheng Lanwen was watching intently. Lin Xin placed the peeled tiger prawn into the bowl in front of Ye Linghua and gave her a brilliant smile, saying, “Eat up!”

That soft sentence drew the attention of those nearby, especially Mao Heng, who was inwardly shocked. Although they knew the two were a CP, a fake CP wouldn’t be able to maintain this kind of atmosphere on camera all the time.

Especially Lin Xin, who needed to constantly mind her image on screen, and who had been labeled a ‘love-brain’ during her relationship with Zheng Lanwen. In this new CP, she was personally peeling a shrimp for Ye Linghua, showing such utter disregard for what others thought!

Ye Linghua did not shy away, saying, “Thank you,” in front of everyone.

Lin Xin smiled, then picked up another unpeeled giant tiger prawn for Ye Linghua.

“I peeled one for you. Now, it’s your turn to peel one for me.”

Ye Linghua: “…”

Zheng Lanwen, who was already infuriated: “…”

Seeing Lin Xin’s expectant gaze, Ye Linghua reached out to peel the shrimp, saying as she worked, “Fine, I’ll peel it. I’ll peel it for you.”

Lin Xin rested her chin on her hand, watching her peel. Although Ye Linghua had stated she didn’t like peeling shrimp, she was still willing to peel it because it was for her.

The feeling of this kind of compromise—willingness to do something even if you dislike it—is this what it feels like?

Mao Heng watched their interaction with a smile in his eyes and asked them, “What’s going on here? Shrimp you peel yourself doesn’t taste good, huh?” Do you need someone else to peel it to be delicious?

Bai Xueyu, acting like the head of the CP fans, chuckled suggestively, “How can shrimp you peel yourself be as delicious as shrimp peeled by someone else? It definitely tastes a little different!”

Mao Heng said, “Ooh,” and guided the topic back to Lin Xin and Ye Linghua. “Speaking of which, Ye Linghua was your former life assistant, right?”

Lin Xin: “That’s right!”

Mao Heng then looked at Ye Linghua and asked, “What’s your job? What made you think of becoming her life assistant?”

Ye Linghua: “I started my own business.”

Everyone: “…”

The entire table fell silent, confused as to why someone who started their own business would apply for a life assistant position.

Mao Heng couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, “So… did your business fail?”

Ye Linghua blinked and counter-questioned strangely, “Why would you think that?”

Tan Wenchang was even more shocked: “Because if you succeeded in business, you wouldn’t need to be a life assistant! Running your own business is very busy!”

Ye Linghua then explained, “The two don’t affect each other. I like to hire people to work for me, so I have time to be her life assistant.”

Everyone: “…” Wait, is that the key issue here?

Zheng Lanwen, on the other side, clearly hadn’t expected her to be an entrepreneur either. But the world is vast, and there are many people who start their own businesses. Even in the entertainment industry, when people earn money, they look for ways to invest and open stores. They can’t cross class boundaries by just filming dramas.

Seeing that Ye Linghua misunderstood, Bai Xueyu chuckled, “What we mean is, if you succeeded in business, why bother being Lin Xin’s assistant? You don’t lack money; whether you lack time isn’t the main point.”

Ye Linghua finally understood, gave a little laugh, and said, “Being her life assistant was mainly a matter of interest.”

Mao Heng gave a knowing grin—the interest was obviously in the person, not the task.

Lin Xin also looked at Ye Linghua curiously. She and Meng Kelin already knew Ye Linghua owned a company, but she still didn’t know what kind of company it was.

She had found her office that day, but later realized the company name wasn’t listed on the directory board. Thinking back now, she was so focused on Ye Linghua that she never properly asked about the company.

Truthfully, she felt she hadn’t found the right status to ask yet.

But at least she knew Ye Linghua’s friends were very successful, and a friend that successful meant Ye Linghua must be successful too.

The more Lin Xin thought about it, the more convinced she became, and her gaze towards Ye Linghua inevitably showed admiration.

Ye Linghua saw this and was amused. She placed the peeled shrimp in Lin Xin’s bowl and said with a smile, “Is it that strange for me to start a company?”

After all, she had spent a few million on Lin Xin overnight. Having a company of her own with that kind of capability was quite normal.

But the others did not know Ye Linghua was Zero (the person who spent millions), and they looked at the two with strange eyes. Mao Heng even joked, “So, even if it was out of interest, what made you decide to come and find Lin Xin?”

“Ah? You mean that?” Ye Linghua smiled, looking suggestively at Zheng Lanwen, and said, “I have to thank Miss Zheng for the opportunity.”

Zheng Lanwen: “…”

Mao Heng: “…” Miscalculation. The tension instantly got heavy!

Zheng Lanwen looked at Ye Linghua with extreme self-control to keep from losing it.

Ye Linghua poured salt into the wound: “The moment I saw the news that day, I thought, ‘There’s such a great opportunity?’ So, I bought a plane ticket and came for the interview that same day. Fortunately, Lin Xin didn’t look down on me, and I was smoothly hired.”

Zheng Lanwen was even angrier. After all that talk, did this girl find Lin Xin on the very day she left? Thinking that Lin Xin had found Ye Linghua to move in right after she left, the suffocating discomfort in her heart intensified.

Fortunately, the program crew didn’t cling to just Ye Linghua and Lin Xin, and since they couldn’t neglect the other guests, and there were many guests, the topic quickly shifted.

This prevented Zheng Lanwen from completely exploding.

The seafood feast soon drew to a close, and everyone helped clean up. Although Ye Linghua couldn’t cook, she was very efficient at tidying up.

Bai Xueyu noticed this and smiled as she spoke to Lin Xin beside her, “Miss Ye must be very good at housework.” Although she started her own business, she was Lin Xin’s former life assistant, so everyone assumed she must be a master of all domestic arts.

Lin Xin, privy to the internal information, said proudly, “She’s terrible at housework.”

Bai Xueyu was surprised. “Is that so? She seems to be cleaning up very well!”

Lin Xin: “That’s because I did all the cooking, and she did the dishes. The more she did, the better she became.”

Bai Xueyu: “…Uh, Lin Xin-jie cooks?” In an instant, Ye Linghua’s image as a master of all domestic arts utterly collapsed.