Daily Life of a Villain at Work [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The First Day of Becoming a Hated Celebrity~

“Little Wen, I’m not making things difficult for you. If you’re willing to film, then film; if not, you can pay the liquidated damages and leave. I’m not forcing you to stay.”

“Just don’t forget one thing: the production team chose people based on the top five vote-getters. I invited you because you received a full fifteen million votes, ranking first in the ‘Who Do You Most Want to See on Deep in the Mountains’ poll.”

“These ten-plus million votes were all cast by your ‘loving’ fans. If you quit halfway, you’ll be confirming the black material that you’re a diva who puts on airs. You need to think carefully.”

After processing the memories inherited from this body, Wen Qingyun looked up to see a balding man with a beer belly venting at her. She could even see flecks of saliva flying under the studio lights.

Ah, she remembered now. This man was Yue Xing, the director of Deep in the Mountains. He was fifty years old and had been in the entertainment industry for over twenty years; he wasn’t particularly talented, but he was incredibly bold.

She was one of the guests on this variety show—a bona fide “black-and-red” (controversial) star with ten million followers on social media, five million of whom were dedicated haters.

Yue Xing mistook Wen Qingyun’s silence for guilt and fear. His expression grew more arrogant, and his tone became condescending.

“Little Wen, it’s not that I’m picking on you, but sometimes people need to learn to follow the rules. Don’t be so proud everywhere you go. If you’re willing to have a nice ‘chat’ with me tonight…”

“Ah—!” Yue Xing let out a shrill scream. He frantically clutched his head, his eyes widening in shock when he saw his palm stained with red blood.

“Wen Qingyun! What are you doing?! You dare hit me?! Do you still want to work in this industry?!” Yue Xing began to wail, pointing a finger at Wen Qingyun, who had just picked up a wooden ornament and given him a swift thwack.

“I hit you, so what? Blacklist me if you have the guts,” Wen Qingyun sneered. Her already bright features became even more vivid and untamed, making her exceptionally eye-catching.

Even the wounded Yue Xing couldn’t help but gulp. His eyes glazed over for a moment, and his head felt dizzy. “Wen Qingyun, I’m giving you one last chance. If you’re willing to talk to me properly, I—”

Before Yue Xing could finish, he saw Wen Qingyun swinging the ornament toward him again. He snapped back to reality instantly.

Unfortunately, the throbbing pain in his forehead made his limbs uncoordinated. He tried to turn and run but slipped, falling heavily to the floor.

“Someone! Help! Wen Qingyun has gone crazy! Help! Save me!” Sitting on the ground, Yue Xing found the approaching Wen Qingyun terrifying. He scrambled backward, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“What happened? What’s going on?”

“Director Yue, why are you on the ground? Your forehead is bleeding! Should we call the first aid team?”

The assistant director and an assistant rushed in, staring at the scene in a daze.

What was happening? Why was the director the one cowering on the floor trying to escape, while Wen Qingyun stood aside with her arms crossed, watching the show? Had the roles been reversed?

“Wen Qingyun is insane! She hit me with that ornament! Drag her out! Post on Weibo! Say the trending actress is dissatisfied with the production’s arrangements and committed an act of violence against an innocent director!” Yue Xing stood up, clutching his head with a distorted expression.

With two of his men in the room, Yue Xing felt his courage return and began barking orders like a big-shot director. “And call the police! Tell them there’s an intentional assault! I want to see how you handle this!”

Wen Qingyun clicked her tongue. Seeing that Yue Xing was all bark and no bite, she pulled her phone from her pocket, unlocked it, and pressed three digits.

“Wen Qingyun, what are you doing?!” The sharp-eyed assistant director saw “110” on the screen and turned pale. He lunged forward to grab the phone.

“Reporting it to the police. Isn’t that what Yue Xing asked for?” Wen Qingyun held the phone high and simultaneously kicked the lunging assistant director away. His face contorted in pain as he collapsed, clutching his stomach.

The assistant director hissed in pain and yelled at the young assistant standing nearby: “What are you standing there for?! Get the phone back! Can’t you handle such a small thing? Do you want to keep your job?!”

The assistant looked to be in his early twenties, with a hint of “clear-eyed stupidity” common in fresh graduates. He was likely a new intern.

Hearing the assistant director’s command, he tried jumping up and down to grab the phone. However, the assistant was only about five centimeters taller than the 1.65-meter assistant director; he couldn’t possibly reach the hand of Wen Qingyun, who stood a tall 1.75 meters.

“Assistant Director, what am I supposed to do?” the intern wailed, not daring to get too close.

“Hello, this is the 110 Emergency Center. How can I help…”

Hearing the call connect, even Yue Xing—who had just regained his bravado—was stunned.

He had only threatened to call the police to scare her. Weren’t these female stars obsessed with their reputations? Usually, as soon as he mentioned the police, they lost their temper and became submissive. Why wasn’t Wen Qingyun following the script?!

Realizing things were going south, Yue Xing shoved the assistant director and the intern aside, lowering his voice to plead: “I beg you, I won’t pursue the fact that you hit me. Let’s not waste police resources, okay?”

Seeing that Wen Qingyun didn’t argue, the director immediately shouted toward the phone: “It’s nothing, nothing! A kid at home pressed the buttons by mistake. So sorry to bother you, officers! Truly sorry! My apologies!”

After Yue Xing apologized loudly several times, the dispatcher finished their lecture and hung up.

As the dial tone hummed, the three men in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief. The assistant director remained on the ground, clutching his stomach and looking half-dead. The uninjured intern lowered his head, trying to minimize his presence.

“Director Yue, I thought you wanted to call the police?” Wen Qingyun raised an eyebrow, looking down at the two directors, both of whom were under 1.7 meters tall.

Yue Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead and suddenly learned how to speak politely. “Little Wen, you’ve misunderstood me. I called you here to tell you that this show is all about ‘reality.’ We aren’t intentionally making things hard for you.”

“You’ve seen our previous seasons, right? Every guest has to integrate into mountain life—chopping wood, farming, watering crops. Everyone does it. We aren’t targeting you.”

Yue Xing wasn’t entirely lying. Deep in the Mountains was essentially a show that used the name of “public welfare” to boost ratings by making life difficult for celebrities.

To keep the hype up, guests were chosen by public vote. The top five people within a week were invited. The fans knew exactly what kind of show it was, so the stars with the most “black material” and negative rumors were usually voted to the top.

Wen Qingyun had the most votes—and the most haters—in this group. To drive up live viewership, Yue Xing had indeed played some dirty tricks, assigning her the most grueling tasks.

“Not targeting me? Then why is the person living next door to me a man who looks absolutely disgusting?”

“Why are the other four guests either picking fruit or beans, while I’m the only one carrying a hoe to dig up potatoes?”

“That’s not targeting? Do you think my prefrontal cortex was removed like yours, and I can’t think for myself?”

“This… well…” Yue Xing started stammering, unable to give an answer or counter Wen Qingyun’s overwhelming presence.

“Little Wen, those were the results of a random draw. Perhaps you’ve just had bad luck these past two days. There are still five days left, maybe…” The assistant director tried to smooth things over from the floor.

“What did you call me?” Wen Qingyun frowned, her face showing clear dissatisfaction.

The assistant director choked. Seeing the wooden ornament still in her hand, he quickly changed his address. “Teacher Wen, if you have an issue with the arrangement, we can let you be the first one to draw a task tomorrow. How does that sound?”

“Yes, yes! From now on, you’ll always draw first,” Yue Xing followed up, also switching his tone. “Teacher Wen, this show is a live broadcast. There’s really no ‘shady’ business. You have to realize that millions of eyes are watching us during the stream.”

Wen Qingyun remained silent, her gaze sweeping over the sweating Yue Xing, the groaning assistant director, and the intern pretending to be invisible.

“You’d better not try anything funny, otherwise…” Wen Qingyun let out a cold laugh, leaving the threat hanging for them to imagine.

…

“System, check mission progress.”

Back in her slightly dilapidated cottage, Wen Qingyun unscrewed a fresh bottle of water and took a couple of gulps.

【Villain Roleplay System at your service. Current mission progress: 3%. Does the Host require the activation of stage-based guidance tasks?】 An electronic voice rang in her mind.

Wen Qingyun and the system had worked together several times, but per the standard procedure, the question had to be asked.

“Not for now. Just alert me when there’s new information.” Wen Qingyun capped the bottle and pulled out her phone to familiarize herself with the apps.

According to the production rules, guests weren’t allowed to use personal electronic devices during filming. But Wen Qingyun was famous for being a maverick. She would give the crew “face” during the live stream, but the moment the cameras were off, her phone, tablet, and laptop were all out. She didn’t listen to a word they said.

Opening the “Big Eye” social media platform (Weibo), she checked her follower count: 11.235 million.

In just two days of broadcasting, she had gained over a million followers. No wonder her manager spent a week convincing her to join this show.

She navigated to the trending topics.

#WenQingyunAngrilyActingTheDiva#

#DeepInTheMountains:WhoWantsToDigTheseDamnPotatoes#

#WenQingyunStunningBeauty#

Three out of the top ten trends were about her. The ones hating on her were at ranks four and five, while the marketing post about her “stunning beauty” was hanging onto the bottom of the list.

Perfect. This was exactly in line with her “black-and-red” celebrity status. No matter where she was, there was never a lack of buzz or discussion.

Wen Qingyun put her phone away, satisfied. She had no intention of clarifying anything. In fact, she planned to continue being “tyrannical.”

Since everyone says I’m a diva and they’re already scolding me, I might as well act the part!