After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 27.1

Each person’s closed-beta project was not necessarily the same, and the forms varied. There was no need to bring anything; only personal attendance was required.

Huo Qingzhuo found her examination room. Each candidate had an independent room with an examiner sitting inside. First, the examiner had Huo Qingzhuo sign a non-disclosure agreement before providing the assessment topic.

The assessment time was two hours. Two hours later, Huo Qingzhuo stood at the door of the examination room, waiting for the results.

“Congratulations, you have passed the assessment. Welcome to A University.” The examiner from earlier walked out of the room and handed the admission notice into Huo Qingzhuo’s hands.

“Thank you.” Everything had gone unexpectedly smoothly. When Huo Qingzhuo received the notice, it still felt somewhat surreal.

“You’re welcome. Please report to the school on time according to the date on the notice. I hope you have a pleasant university life.”

Task completed, the examiner still had to prepare for the next round of assessments and left first.

Huo Qingzhuo left the examination area. Walking by the artificial lake of A University, she happened to see another girl who had just finished her exam and was also holding an admission notice.

That girl didn’t seem to notice anyone else was there; she was humming and spinning in a dance, as happy as a child. She took out her phone, dialed a number, and shared the joy with the person on the other end with great excitement.

Huo Qingzhuo’s footsteps stopped involuntarily. She also took out her phone. In her past life, all her honors and awards were known to the world; she didn’t need to share them with anyone, nor did she have anyone special to share them with. In this life, whom could she share this with?

On a sudden whim, Huo Qingzhuo placed the admission notice on the grass and took a photo, sending it to Shu Yueqing. After a gap of over half a year, a new message appeared in the chat box.

Stretching out her limbs, she lay down on the grass. Huo Qingzhuo called the elders at home and quietly listened to the joyful discussion on the other end. Closing her eyes, she almost fell asleep.

“Student, pressing down on the lawn will result in a deduction of credit points.”

Huo Qingzhuo opened her eyes somewhat dazed and looked up, only to see a girl in a white dress standing beside her against the light; she couldn’t see the other’s features clearly at all.

“Sorry, I’ll get up right away.” Huo Qingzhuo shook her head, apologized, and scrambled up. Looking back, she discovered that she was actually still lying on the grass, even smiling and reaching out to pull the girl in the white dress.

“Only trampling the lawn deducts credits. I’m lying down, so it doesn’t count.” The Huo Qingzhuo lying on the ground took the opportunity to pull the girl down to sit on the grass, acting like a rogue while resting her head on the girl’s lap.

Huo Qingzhuo stared with wide eyes in disbelief. Then she saw that the girl wasn’t angry either, pinching “Huo Qingzhuo’s” face and tugging at it. “Then how did you get here? You must have stepped on it when you came over.”

“I never said I walked here. What if I rolled over here instead?”

“Unreasonable. Then roll further away.”

“…”

The sounds of the two people playing gradually faded. Huo Qingzhuo snapped her eyes open, only to realize that she had just had a dream. Looking at the empty surroundings, she suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in her heart, as if something was missing.

Ding!

The phone’s notification sound rang. Only then did Huo Qingzhuo notice that her phone call had been disconnected at some unknown point.

Sitting up and picking up the phone, it was a message from Shu Yueqing, concise as always.

[Shu Yueqing: Congratulations.]

On the other side, Shu Yueqing looked at her slightly stiff reply, frowned in dissatisfaction, and added a bit more.

[Shu Yueqing: I am also a graduate of A University. If you encounter any trouble, you can come to me.]

After sending it, Shu Yueqing remembered the matter of the recommender. She wanted to ask why Huo Qingzhuo hadn’t come to her for help, but then remembered that Huo Qingzhuo might not even know she graduated from A University. Ultimately, she had been a step too slow. Thinking of this, the irritability that had just subsided flared up again.

Huo Qingzhuo stood up with the notice. The discomfort in her chest from that inexplicable dream was diluted significantly upon seeing Shu Yueqing’s message. Reading Shu Yueqing’s message seriously, the corners of Huo Qingzhuo’s mouth curled up slightly.

[Huo Qingzhuo: Okay, I will. Thank you, President Shu.]

Shu Yueqing: …

Looking at the reply from Huo Qingzhuo, Shu Yueqing felt a lump in her throat. That long-lost feeling of awkwardness appeared again. Even the title “President Shu,” which she was usually accustomed to being called, felt wrong in every way.

[Shu Yueqing: Mhmm.]

After replying with a single word, Shu Yueqing didn’t know what she was obsessing over. Looking at the perfectly normal conversation, there was always a strong sense of dissonance.

Huo Qingzhuo didn’t reply to Shu Yueqing’s message again and walked back in a very good mood. She felt that it was time for her to encounter some “trouble.”

After returning to the hotel, Huo Qingzhuo replied to Rong Qing’s email with a special thank you, attaching the A University admission notice. However, the other party might be busy and did not reply immediately.

After returning to H City from A City, Huo Qingzhuo unexpectedly found herself with free time. To some extent, she even missed the days when she was so busy her feet barely touched the ground.

Casually flipping through her future coursework, Huo Qingzhuo sat in the new house. Considering the leg and foot conditions of the elders, Huo Qingzhuo had chosen a smaller villa, which had the advantage of being quiet and having few floors.

However, no matter how small this villa was, in the equally expensive H City, it wasn’t something Huo Qingzhuo could afford. So, it had to be considered bought by Lao Jiu and lent to Huo Qingzhuo as an incidental benefit of their agreement.

Speak of the devil—just as Huo Qingzhuo thought of Lao Jiu, she received a call from her.

“Been quite free lately, haven’t you?” On the other end, there seemed to be several people around Lao Jiu, with faint sounds of talking.

“Is there work?” Closing the textbook, Huo Qingzhuo sat up and glanced at the elders in the living room who had just gathered for a game of Mahjong.

“There’s work. In two days, it’s the launch day of Nine Mysteries. You guys sure are carefree. Hurry to my house to discuss the upcoming promotional activities. By the way, not the house by the sea, but the one in Huxincheng. Don’t go to the wrong one.” Lao Jiu had a good plan; taking advantage of the summer heat, everything had to be arranged perfectly.

“Be there soon.”

Huo Qingzhuo had been waiting for this. She spoke to the elders, called her assistant, and then skillfully went upstairs to pack all her things. Carrying her suitcase, she headed straight for Lao Jiu’s house.

Upon arriving at Lao Jiu’s house, she found that Jing Bai, the director, and the screenwriter were almost all there, sitting together and discussing something.

“Just in time,” Lao Jiu beckoned for Huo Qingzhuo to come over and sit beside her, pointing to the computer screen. “Take a look.”

Huo Qingzhuo indeed hadn’t paid attention to online matters recently. Looking now, she found that the production crew had already started operations.

After all, it was a low-budget web drama, and with both leads being newcomers, there was absolutely no fan base or reputation. Therefore, early promotion would be very difficult.

But Lao Jiu had a way. In this era where fast-paced consumption prevailed, a magnificent facade could always attract the majority of people’s attention.

As it happened, the Nine Mysteries crew had nothing else, but the leads’ visual appeal was top-tier. Even in an entertainment industry filled with beauties, they could be called stunning and highly recognizable.

By utilizing this advantage first and releasing a wave of stills featuring just Huo Qingzhuo and Jing Bai, they immediately attracted a large wave of “visual fans.” Even the topic discussion reached the trending searches—the position wasn’t great, but this made it seem more authentic and the data looked better.

Then, the veteran actors in the crew also began promoting the new drama. Although the veterans didn’t have enough “traffic,” they had a good reputation, which accumulated a wave of fans for the show.

Now, both Huo Qingzhuo and Jing Bai had accumulated some followers on Weibo, and discussions about the drama had some traction, but it was far from enough. However, Lao Jiu didn’t plan to over-market; subsequent promotion would be officially arranged after the drama aired.

“It’s just the beginning of July. By the time summer vacation ends, this drama will be about finished. We’ll need to follow up with another wave then. I’m telling you in advance: remember to clear your schedules.”

Lao Jiu gave instructions to Huo Qingzhuo and Jing Bai.

Huo Qingzhuo nodded. “So, do we still need to push the CP (Couple) angle?”

“Of course. The core of this drama is the CP tension between the male and female leads. Plus, both character designs are extremely fan-attractive. Operating together later will give the audience closure and be good for both of you.”

Lao Jiu didn’t think there was anything wrong with it; this was purely normal in the entertainment industry. Once the drama’s heat passed, the two would naturally have no relationship.

Huo Qingzhuo, thinking of something unknown, agreed readily. As for Jing Bai, he had no opinion whatsoever.

With unified opinions, they waited for Nine Mysteries to go online. Huo Qingzhuo had become accustomed to staying at Lao Jiu’s house while working, especially since there was internet here.

On July 1st, Nine Mysteries officially launched.

Lao Jiu’s connections were decent, and she didn’t put all her eggs in one basket, choosing to release it simultaneously on the three platforms with the highest current popularity.

Huo Qingzhuo and Jing Bai had no interest in watching a drama they acted in, so only Lao Jiu and Song Jue watched with great interest, while Lao Yao worked on multiple devices nearby to tally the data.

Although it was a low-budget web drama, the actual costs spent were not low; they simply saved on most of the actors’ fees and spent it on special effects, costumes, and props. Thus, the entire drama looked exceptionally comfortable and luxurious.

They secured small advertising slots on all three platforms—though small, it was better than nothing.

“The fans are organizing edits for promotion. The popularity is steadily rising.” Lao Yao reported without looking up.

“Good. Everyone go to sleep first. We won’t finish watching tonight. We’ll see the results tomorrow morning.” Everything was developing in a good direction, and Lao Jiu felt relieved. There would be many things to do later; it wouldn’t do to not maintain a good state.

No one disagreed with resting early. Anyway, they had seen this footage countless times; it was better to wait for the results tomorrow.

Shu Yueqing’s mood had been somewhat unstable for the past two days. Arriving at the company early in the morning, she maintained a state of “low atmospheric pressure.” Wherever she went, people were as silent as cicadas in winter.

The assistant had just returned from outside and hadn’t noticed the eerie atmosphere in the company. Entering Shu Yueqing’s office, after reporting the work, she remembered something.

“By the way, President Shu, take a look at today’s trending searches. It’s quite interesting.”

In the past, the assistant would occasionally chat with Shu Yueqing about interesting news, and this time was no exception.

After speaking, the assistant returned to her seat. Shu Yueqing happened to be in no mood to work and tapped on the trending searches on her phone.

Scrolling down the entries, Shu Yueqing didn’t find anything interesting until her movements paused. She went back to the third trending search: #Nine Mysteries Premiere Stills.

The two words “Nine Mysteries” were quite familiar. Huo Qingzhuo’s production crew seemed to be called Nine Mysteries.

Clicking into it, Shu Yueqing scrolled casually. Right at the beginning was a grid of nine photos—who could it be but Huo Qingzhuo?

#Nine Mysteries Premiere Stills# No more nonsense, look at the beauty!

This title was indeed perfectly fine.

Shu Yueqing clicked on the photos. Huo Qingzhuo looked good even in unedited photos taken with a original camera, let alone now with professional photography and makeup.

Nine Mysteries was a fantasy drama, partly ancient and partly modern. Huo Qingzhuo’s natural peach-blossom eyes and willow-leaf brows gave her a very classical feel. In ancient costume, she was especially stunning. Shu Yueqing couldn’t help but save a few photos.

As Shu Yueqing scrolled down and saved images, they were originally all solo photos of Huo Qingzhuo, but unexpectedly, a double photo appeared.