After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Became the Female Lead's Stepmother - Chapter 28

[“No thanks.”] Jiang Zhaolie coldly rejected Xu Chun’s ill-intentioned suggestion, then frowned and added, [“And stop trying to butter up my mother so much.”]

Something felt off, as if Xu Chun actually had ulterior motives toward her mother.

Just as Jiang Zhaolie was pondering Xu Chun’s possible reasons, her phone vibrated again, snapping her out of her thoughts. She instinctively glanced down and saw Xu Chun’s brazen reply: [“Then call the police.”]

Jiang Zhaolie’s breath hitched. She quickly took a deep gulp of fresh air when Qin Yao looked over, barely preventing herself from being angered to death by Xu Chun on the spot. Gritting her teeth, she knew it! Xu Chun was definitely up to no good!

Qin Yao’s indifferent gaze swept over Jiang Zhaolie as she relayed the decision she and Xu Chun’s grandfather had discussed. “Once Xu Chun finishes filming, you and I will go have a meal with them.”

Jiang Zhaolie looked up in confusion. “Why?” What was the point of having a meal out of the blue? They weren’t close with Xu Chun’s grandfather and rarely interacted. In Jiang Zhaolie’s memory, they had only met once before when discussing the annulment of the engagement.

“To call off the engagement.” Qin Yao’s tone was calm, devoid of any emotion, yet Jiang Zhaolie’s heart involuntarily skipped a beat. Call off the engagement?

“Really?” she asked eagerly. Under Qin Yao’s impassive stare, Jiang Zhaolie quickly composed herself, her heart lifting. “Does that mean after this meal, Xu Chun and I will have no ties left?”

Qin Yao’s voice remained cool. “Yes.”

Jiang Zhaolie’s heart swelled with joy, and she struggled to suppress the smile threatening to break out. Even the complicated, disheartening emotions caused by Yu Sui’an’s hot-and-cold attitude vanished instantly. She couldn’t wait to share the good news with Yu Sui’an, so she immediately excused herself to make the call, hoping this would bridge the gap between them.

Qin Yao watched her elated departure expressionlessly, her stunningly beautiful face unreadable.

Jiang Zhaolie strode back to her office, carefully locking the door behind her. With trembling excitement, she dialed Yu Sui’an’s number. The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered. Yu Sui’an’s voice, as indifferent as ever, came through the receiver. [“What is it, Zhaolie?”]

It felt like a blow to the head or as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her. All of Jiang Zhaolie’s exhilaration and anticipation evaporated in an instant. The extreme contrast of emotions left her stunned for several seconds.

When no sound came from the other end, Yu Sui’an checked her phone, confirming the call was still connected before frowning imperceptibly. With little patience, she called out again, [“Zhaolie?”]

Jiang Zhaolie snapped back to reality at the sound of her name. After the initial excitement faded, she was forced to regain her composure, her voice eventually mirroring Yu Sui’an’s flat tone. [“Once filming wraps up, Xu Chun and I will officially annul our engagement.”] She paused. [“After that, there’ll be nothing between us.”]

After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Zhaolie couldn’t help but soften her voice as she added, [“Sui’an, then we can be together openly.”]

Upon hearing this, Yu Sui’an’s eyes lit up instantly. Her attention was completely captured by the phrase “Xu Chun will soon sever all ties with Jiang Zhaolie,” completely missing the latter part of Jiang Zhaolie’s sentence. “When do you plan to settle this?” she asked.

“After filming wraps up,” Jiang Zhaolie replied, oblivious to Yu Sui’an’s unusual reaction, mistaking her silence for fading resentment. Her tone carried a hint of relief, “I’ll handle it immediately after we finish shooting.”

Yu Sui’an unconsciously exhaled in relief. “Good.”

Jiang Zhaolie stared at her phone, just a single “good”? The usually decisive woman now felt utterly at a loss. Did this mean she was forgiven?

Torn with uncertainty, she finally asked directly, “Suisui, are you still angry with me?”

She had hoped for a heart-to-heart, but Yu Sui’an’s voice turned cold again. “No.” After a pause, the voice on the phone continued, “Zhaolie, don’t overthink it. I’m exhausted from filming every day…”

“Then you should go rest,” Jiang Zhaolie interrupted abruptly.

A deathly silence fell between them. Jiang Zhaolie’s voice dropped to a whisper, “Go ahead. I have a meeting too. We’ll talk later.” Without waiting for a response, she ended the call.

Yu Sui’an held her phone blankly for a long moment before coming to her senses. She frowned subconsciously this was the first time Jiang Zhaolie had ever cut her off and hung up first. An unpleasant feeling stirred within her, an indescribable discomfort. She stared silently at the darkened screen before unlocking it to send a WeChat message: “Zhaolie, I’m sorry. I’ve just been swamped lately.”

No reply came for a long time, whether intentionally ignored or genuinely unseen due to busyness, she couldn’t tell.

Yu Sui’an bit her lower lip, emotions churning violently in her eyes. She felt irritated was Jiang Zhaolie throwing a tantrum at her now too?

Life had been difficult for Yu Sui’an recently. After the internet scandal, her manager had become utterly reckless, offending numerous people. Several of Yu Sui’an’s endorsements had been snatched by rivals, and even a confirmed leading role had been taken from her.

That incident seemed like a signal, those who had previously eyed her resources but feared her manager’s family influence now felt emboldened. Since the scandal, it seemed everyone could trample over her and brazenly seize what was hers.

Initially dismissive, Yu Sui’an now realized these opponents appeared to have even more powerful backers than her manager, attacking her ruthlessly without any regard. Her resources had been nearly completely divided, leaving only pitiful scraps.

Were it not for her next film’s director being her manager’s uncle, even her last remaining leading role might have been lost.

Yu Sui’an hadn’t experienced such powerless moments of being bullied in a long time, and all of this left her utterly distraught. To make matters worse, her impulsive and unreliable agent meant she now had to juggle networking with industry bigwigs between filming, scrambling to secure resources herself. This was to prevent her true fallen state from being exposed once “Secret Heartbeats” wrapped, leaving her humiliated for all to see.

The more she dwelled on these thoughts, the more agitated she became. Yu Sui’an had considered whether someone might be deliberately sabotaging her behind the scenes. However, having recently offended many people under her agent’s backing, even after privately compiling a list of suspects, she couldn’t pinpoint who was targeting her.

Or perhaps everyone on that list had contributed their share.

Frustrated, she couldn’t resist opening the group chat to review the team’s latest plans. Upon discovering that a key staff member, one who had previously resolved many issues for her had suddenly resigned, she finally lost control of the pent-up anger she’d been suppressing. She violently smashed the nearest objects within reach.

Even someone who’d worked with her for so long was betraying her and leaving?

Xu Chun was startled by the sound of things being smashed nearby. Peering over, she couldn’t help but mutter, “Why is the female lead suddenly losing it?”

The assistant didn’t catch the first two words but heard the latter part clearly. Seizing the opportunity, the assistant eagerly explained, “She’s been having a rough time lately, endorsements snatched away, scripts stolen, and her agent too busy having meltdowns to care for her. Right now, she’s like an unwanted little cabbage.”

Not missing the chance to disparage Yu Sui’an further, the assistant added, “I think she’s just reaping what she sowed, karma’s catching up with her.”

After glancing at Xu Chun, the assistant nearly blurted out, “Sis Xu, you should stay far away from her,” but then remembered how Xu Chun had already been avoiding Yu Sui’an like the plague, as if afraid of any association. Pausing, the assistant’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Sis Xu, did you foresee this outcome for her all along?!”

Xu Chun immediately mirrored Hong Shixian’s iconic confused expression: “?”

“No need to explain, Sis Xu, I understand,” the assistant said knowingly, her imagination running wild. Perhaps this was all the doing of Xu Chun’s mysterious, never-seen “benefactor.” Upon learning how much grief Yu Sui’an had caused Xu Chun, the benefactor grew furious and mobilized all connections to tear off Yu Sui’an’s facade, leaving her in unbearable misery until she became universally despised thus avenging Xu Chun in the most satisfying way.

The assistant couldn’t contain her excitement as she stared at Xu Chun. You secretly landed a powerful benefactor and didn’t even tell us! If not for my sharp intuition, I might never have figured it out.

Noticing the assistant’s unnervingly gleeful eyes, Xu Chun instinctively took a step back. “What are you thinking about? Get back to work.”

Today’s shoot was a dramatic reversal scene. After the clichéd twist of lovers turning out to be siblings, the gentle third female lead stepped forward to expose this farce. But the truth didn’t hold for long, the male lead’s long-cherished love interest, whom he could finally pursue openly, suddenly became his sister-in-law.

Struck by this blow, the second male lead drowned himself in revelry before vowing to reclaim everything that belonged to him, his family fortune and his woman.

The upcoming plot wasn’t just filled with intense scenes like forced seduction, but also all sorts of bizarre family melodrama, making Jiang Banxia’s temples throb in disbelief.

What on earth had Xu Chun been thinking all these years?

Jiang Banxia knew Xu Chun had been working closely with the screenwriter and original author to revise the script, but she hadn’t paid much attention. Now, seeing how things had spiraled, even she, someone just passing through the set, couldn’t help but worry: Would this drama get axed? Or worse, would her own reputation be tainted by association once it aired?

After flipping through her own script, Jiang Banxia couldn’t take it anymore and confronted Xu Chun, urging her not to make the plot so… she hesitated, then settled on the word “ridiculous.”

Unfazed, Xu Chun waved her off. “Relax, it’s no big deal.” Just as Jiang Banxia was about to argue, Xu Chun added, “Our production actively promotes socialist core values, so don’t worry anyone with questionable morals in the show will get their comeuppance.”

“For example, I’ll end up behind bars in the finale, sentenced to ten years in prison.”

Jiang Banxia: “???”

That was even more absurd.

Jiang Banxia studied Xu Chun for a long moment before suddenly smiling. “You’ve become more interesting than before.” And even more unpredictable.

Xu Chun’s heart skipped a beat, but she feigned modesty. “Oh, stop it, you’re too kind.”

After Jiang Banxia shared a few thoughts about her character and left, Xu Chun jotted them down in her notebook to discuss with the screenwriter later. The original author, upon hearing about it, couldn’t resist saying: [Xu Chun, I have several other works maybe you could adapt them one by one? I think you’d be perfect for it.]

Xu Chun: [Politely declining! After this wraps up, I’m joining a variety show first.]

Though disappointed, the author replied: [No worries, I can wait. My other works are still in negotiations anyway, so it’ll take time for the rights to be finalized. Your schedule might align perfectly after the show.]

Curious, Xu Chun skimmed through the author’s other titles only to freeze at the list of names that would’ve been censored on Jinjiang. “…” Maybe such devotion wasn’t necessary.

Lately, Xu Chun’s popularity had been soaring. The moment she signed the contract, Director Guo couldn’t wait to leak the news, then quietly lurked to gauge the public’s reaction.

Xu Chun’s fans were overjoyed. Their idol’s packed schedule proved that the rumors of “Xu Chun being about to be shelved” secretly spread by some were false. Not only did reality contradict the rumors, it was completely the opposite. While some were elated, others had their hopes dashed, Yu Sui’an’s fans fell into the latter category.

Recently, they’d been busy defending Yu Sui’an everywhere. Not only did they have to promote her rankings and boost her data, but they also had to personally debunk rumors for her. They were so exhausted that their sleep schedules were completely disrupted, losing track of time. Many of these fans had only joined after Yu Sui’an signed with her new company and rose to fame. Since becoming her fans, when had they ever suffered like this? Some immediately abandoned their fan status and became casual observers.

However, a significant portion of fans grew even more devoted through adversity, their affection for Yu Sui’an stronger than ever. They vowed to protect her and accompany her as she climbed back to the top.

The group chat was always lively. While discussing how to help their idol overcome her current predicament, Xu Chun, as the ex was frequently dragged into the conversation for criticism.

Xu Wei lurked in the group, not daring to reveal her connection to Xu Chun for fear of being attacked by the others. Whenever Xu Chun was mentioned, she stayed silent, either pretending to be offline or busy anything to avoid participating in those discussions.

Though she harbored some resentment toward Xu Chun, she didn’t dislike her enough to join outsiders in bashing her.

But even though she wanted to stay out of it, someone actively @’ed her, asking: [Weiwei, isn’t your family pretty well-off? Can’t you pull some strings to teach Xu Chun a lesson? Seeing her act so arrogantly makes my blood boil. Why does she get to live carefree while our Sui’an has to suffer like this?]

[What did Sui’an even do wrong?]

[Yeah, yeah, Weiwei, think of something! Sui’an just couldn’t take her cheating and broke up with her first, but now Xu Chun is relentlessly retaliating, dealing such a heavy blow to Sui’an’s career. I’ve never seen such a petty, venomous woman.]

[Sui’an is just too naive. That’s why she was fooled by that wolf in sheep’s clothing, still pining for Xu Chun even after the breakup. And now Xu Chun won’t let go, exacting revenge.]

[Agreed. The only person Sui’an has conflicts with now is Xu Chun. Everything that’s happened to Sui’an is Xu Chun’s fault. Who knows maybe Xu Chun deliberately wants Sui’an to suffer so that when she’s desperate, she’ll have to beg for help. Then Xu Chun can use the chance to demand they get back together.]

The discussion grew heated, with baseless accusations piling onto Xu Chun one after another.

Xu Wei instinctively frowned. Though she didn’t like Xu Chun either, she knew better than anyone what kind of person Xu Chun had been since childhood. She was kind-hearted and straightforward, the last person to bully others or kick them when they were down.

These false accusations from Yu Sui’an’s fans were hard for Xu Wei to accept.

Her fingers twitched slightly as she carefully replied: [I do have connections, but there’s no evidence that Xu Chun did any of this. I…]

She deliberately sent the message before finishing her thought, but instead of seeing the rational reflection she expected from the fans, they all responded with righteous indignation: [“Then we’re counting on you for this, Weiwei! You must teach her a proper lesson and show her that Suisui isn’t someone to be trifled with!”]

Xu Wei’s fingers paused over the keyboard as that familiar wave of irritation rose again. Just because they told her to do something, she was supposed to obey? Wouldn’t that make her lose all dignity?

More importantly, if she dared use her connections to target Xu Chun, her parents would undoubtedly find out immediately. They’d probably rush back overnight to give her a joint scolding complete with metaphorical railroad tracks.

Besides, after being swindled out of money by Xu Chun repeatedly, she’d developed a genuine psychological shadow. She was certain that if Xu Chun discovered she’d secretly teamed up with Yu Sui’an’s fans against her, that money-grubbing sister would immediately demand at least five million in emotional damages.

Frowning deeply, Xu Wei exited the group chat, wanting nothing more to do with this mess.

Only someone with a death wish would provoke that money-obsessed lunatic of an older sister.

Pursing her lips, Xu Wei realized she’d been too busy earning money to repay debts these past two months to even think about celebrity worship. Rather than wasting time fangirling over Yu Sui’an, wouldn’t it be better to earn enough to buy back the sports cars and luxury items she’d sold off?

What kind of Xu family heiress would she be if she couldn’t even show up in a proper sports car?

After some thought, Xu Wei quietly left Yu Sui’an’s fan group chat.

…

Xu Chun hadn’t seen He Qingli in what felt like ages.

When their eyes met, Xu Chun froze for two seconds before quickly setting down her script and standing up. “You’re done with your concert tour?”

“Pretty much.” He Qingli nodded, handing a gift bag of snacks to Xu Chun’s assistant before collapsing into the chair beside her, limbs splayed out like melted wax. Xu Chun raised an eyebrow as she sat back down. “Weren’t you busy with your romance? Why do you look like the world’s ending?”

“Don’t even ask.” He Qingli sighed dramatically. “I haven’t been able to contact her recently.”

“I went to her place only to find it empty. Her neighbor told me several real estate agents had been showing the apartment to different buyers for months. Then last week, right when she went radio silent, the place sold.” He Qingli suddenly sat upright, fists clenched. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Does she think she can just zip up her pants and walk away without taking responsibility?”

Xu Chun immediately perked up. “You two moved that fast?!”

“Of course not!” He Qingli ground her teeth. “I wish we’d gotten to the pants-off wrestling stage, but!” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly before continuing, “From meeting on the show until now, we haven’t even kissed properly, let alone held hands much.”

Xu Chun couldn’t hide her shock. “Then… have you two actually defined the relationship?” Seeing He Qingli’s confused look, she clarified, “I mean, has either of you confessed or officially pursued the other to be girlfriends?”

He Qingli: “…”

“No.”

Xu Chun’s face filled with question marks: “?”

“Don’t tell me you two have been in this ambiguous relationship for half a year.”

He Qingli’s face flushed crimson as she remained silent. Xu Chun couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation. He Qingli shot her a light, sidelong glance. “Then, are you in a relationship?”

Well, no!

He Qingli immediately curled her lips into a strained, humorless smile. “Qin Yao, Jiang Zhaolie, Jiang Banxia, and Yu Sui’an, the four single women around you right now. Any progress with any of them?”

None.

Xu Chun felt thoroughly wounded. She argued her case, only to end up battered and bruised. After the two spent a while poking at each other’s sore spots, He Qingli frowned deeply. “What do you think she actually wants? She won’t answer my calls or reply to my messages. Is she planning to avoid me forever?”

“Have you tried looking into what might be going on in her family?”

He Qingli fell silent for a moment. “I’ve checked. All I know is her entire family moved abroad. As for where exactly… I’m not sure. The person I contacted doesn’t have extensive connections overseas.”

“Let me ask around for you,” Xu Chun offered, thinking Qin Yao might have the resources. He Qingli’s eyes lit up immediately. “Really?!”

“Sweetheart, if you can help me track her down, I’ll give you ten boxes of novels and sexy pin-up magazines.”

Xu Chun: “???” That’s completely unnecessary.

Xu Chun had already messaged Qin Yao but hadn’t received a reply yet, so He Qingli lingered at Xu Chun’s place, making idle chatter. Just as their conversation was running dry, the equally troubled face of Jiang Zhaolie came into view.

After much deliberation, Jiang Zhaolie had decided to visit the set to properly talk with Yu Sui’an. She valued their relationship and wanted to nurture it further. If there were indeed conflicts or misunderstandings between them, she didn’t mind swallowing her pride and being the one to extend the olive branch.

As long as things worked out in the end, she didn’t care about the process.

But no sooner had she stepped out of her car than she noticed Xu Chun eyeing her with keen interest.

Jiang Zhaolie instinctively turned to leave, only to be called back. Xu Chun’s tone was dripping with concern, “Zhaolie, why do you look so downcast and listless?”

Seeming rather worked up, Xu Chun continued, “Have you hit some rough patch lately? Maybe I should find you a stepmother to ward off the bad luck!”

Jiang Zhaolie froze mid-step: “……” Spare me the nonsense!

What ulterior motives.

Support After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Became the Female Lead’s Stepmother