Daily Life of a Villain at Work [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Protagonist’s Third Day of Intense Heart-Fluttering~

Chao Yuxin’s entry into the industry was somewhat similar to Wen Qingyun’s. She was scouted while walking down the street and gained a burst of popularity by playing a role that perfectly matched her personality.

Her mother, a successor of a martial arts lineage, had served as a martial arts director for many crews and possessed some connections in the entertainment circle. Seeing her daughter’s interest, Mother Chao reached out to old friends to secure resources. Director Liu Zhi had collaborated with Mother Chao back when he was just an executive director, and they shared a solid friendship.

Thanks to this connection, Chao Yuxin landed an audition for the female lead of Green Bamboo. With her natural martial arts foundation and decent acting, she successfully won the role. She wasn’t signed to a big agency; her PR and management teams were all assembled by her mother.

Thus, while the male lead’s assistant was secretly throwing dirty water on her through marketing accounts, Chao Yuxin—who had just applied a pain relief patch—was still worrying about how to apologize to Wen Qingyun, oblivious to the storm brewing.

“Is sending desserts a bad idea? Will Teacher Wen think I’m trying to make her gain weight?” Chao Yuxin asked her assistant, looking conflicted.

“Probably not. Filming is physically taxing lately; the calories will burn off quickly,” the assistant suggested. “I’ve observed that Teacher Wen has a bit of a sweet tooth. She drinks milk tea every three days or so and eats small cakes during tea breaks. She shouldn’t refuse.”

Decided, Chao Yuxin took a bag containing six small desserts and headed to the hotel’s top floor. Unlike the rest of the crew, Wen Qingyun didn’t care about budgets; she had booked the entire top floor—one suite for herself and her assistant, and another for her bodyguards.

After a deep breath and a practiced smile, Chao Yuxin knocked.

“Coming! Please wait a moment,” a female voice called out. Wen Qingyun’s assistant opened the door.

“Hi, I’m looking for Teacher Wen,” Chao Yuxin said, holding up the bag. “I bought some desserts I wanted to share.”

The assistant looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Teacher Chao. Qingyun-jie is still bathing; she’ll be there for a while.”

Chao Yuxin felt a flash of disappointment, but also a hidden sense of relief. For some reason, after being scolded earlier, she was a little afraid of Wen Qingyun.

“Then I won’t disturb her. Please relay my message: I’m very sorry for making Teacher Wen work extra this afternoon. I’ll adjust my state tonight and won’t make any more amateur mistakes.”

When Wen Qingyun finally emerged from the bath, her assistant handed over the desserts and repeated the message. Wen Qingyun peeked inside and picked out a flavor she liked. “Give the rest to the others.”

While enjoying the cake, she found Chao Yuxin’s chat and sent a “delicious” sticker.

Chao Yuxin: Teacher Wen, I am so sorry about this afternoon. It was presumptuous of me to let you pay for my mistakes.

Wen Qingyun: It’s fine.

After the brief exchange, Wen Qingyun clicked on the avatar of a certain “upright grassroots official.” The chat had paused three days ago when Chu Ke mentioned the oranges were ripe and asked for an address to send some.

Tsk. Looking at this, I really do look like Chu Ke’s boss, Wen Qingyun. Always receiving reports and gifts. Should I give the little official some ‘sweetness’ in return?

She sent a message:

Wen Qingyun: I’m filming on location. If all goes well, I’ll finish by the middle of the month.

Before she could even swallow her bite of cake, a reply popped up.

Chu Ke: Will Teacher Wen come to the school after filming? Hope Middle School has its Autumn Sports Meet at the end of October; it lasts two days.

Wen Qingyun: I can put it on the schedule, but I’m not certain yet.

Chu Ke: Just follow your own arrangement. If you can’t make the sports meet, the girls’ basketball team selection at the end of October is also good. Chu Ke: The city is organizing a girls’ basketball league. Anshan County is holding trials for all middle schools. The selection is at the end of October, and games are from November to December.

Chu Ke’s messages were still overly polite, but the frequency was lightning-fast, as if she had pre-written them and was just waiting for the chance to send them before Wen Qingyun could change her mind.

A faint smile touched Wen Qingyun’s eyes. She set the cake aside, ruffled her hair, and directly initiated a Video Call.

Wait? A video call?! A completely caught-off-guard Chu Ke stared at her phone for ten seconds before hitting the green button just before it timed out.

“T-Teacher Wen… are you planning to come for the trials?” Chu Ke stammered, too nervous to look at the screen. She had her phone flat on the desk, giving Wen Qingyun a grand view of her white ceiling.

“Comrade Chu Ke, where are you? I can’t see you.” Wen Qingyun put the phone on a stand, hands-free, and picked her cake back up.

Chu Ke licked her lips, grabbed a small mirror to check her tired face, and finally picked up the phone. “Teacher Wen, I’m here.”

The moment her eyes hit the screen, Chu Ke’s attention was snatched away by Wen Qingyun’s collar. Having just bathed, Wen Qingyun was wearing nothing under her silver silk robe, which was loosely tied at the waist. The casual posture caused the neckline to dip low, exposing her exquisite collarbones and a hint of soft curves.

Chu Ke knew she shouldn’t stare, but her eyes refused to obey her brain. She looked like a stunned goose.

Wen Qingyun laughed. “Chu Ke, is the signal bad in the county? Why are you frozen?”

“Cough… the signal is fine.” Chu Ke looked away, but the blush on her neck betrayed her. She desperately tried to change the subject. “Teacher Wen, are you interested in the basketball league?”

“A little. If they do well in the city, can they go to the provincial level?” Wen Qingyun asked, taking a slow, deliberate bite of her dessert.

Watching those full red lips on screen, Chu Ke subconsciously bit her own. “Yes. The Education Bureau is promoting ‘all-around education’ now. If they place well, they can get up to 15 bonus points on their High School Entrance Exam.”

Wen Qingyun nodded and leaned in closer to the camera. Her refined features were magnified, causing Chu Ke to swallow hard again. Her secret love urged her to do something—to at least take a screenshot. But her upright character made her feel it would be impolite to “secretly” keep a photo to look at in the middle of the night.

“That’s great. If I come to Anshan, will I notify you a day in advance?” Wen Qingyun said with a smile.

“Just let me know whenever your schedule is set. Taking time off on weekdays requires approval; the process might take a few days,” Chu Ke said, clutching the hem of her shirt under the table, terrified of a rejection.

“Will that be too much trouble for you?” Wen Qingyun frowned with mock concern. “I plan to stay for a few days to see the scenery.”

Chu Ke didn’t even think before the words tumbled out: “No trouble! I have three days of annual leave and seven days of compensatory leave saved up. I’ll just arrange my work in advance. My workload isn’t that heavy anyway; being away for a few days won’t affect much.”

She wasn’t lying about the leave, but she was lying about the workload. To get those ten days off, she would have to work overtime like crazy to finish her fixed targets.

“Then it’s a deal. Once filming is done, I’ll come to Anshan,” Wen Qingyun said, seeing right through her. “I’ll leave myself in your hands then… Little Comrade Chu Ke~”

The way Wen Qingyun dragged out the last syllable made Chu Ke’s heart tremble. She could only nod like a robot.

After the call ended, Chu Ke stared at the screen. When she realized the call duration was exactly 5:20 (a homophone for “I love you” in Chinese), she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Then, she hid her face in her hands in a fit of self-reflection before finally—guiltily—hitting the screenshot button.

5:20… maybe it’s a good omen?

…

Back on the internet, Wen Qingyun sat against her headboard, scrolling through Douyin.

Ad… skip. Educational video… skip. Marketing account gossip… wait.

She sat up. The blurry video in the post looked familiar. It was the incident at the set this afternoon! The headline read: “Chao Yuxin Cries on Set, Allegedly Bullied by Connected Insider?”

Wen Qingyun laughed from pure irritation. These accounts were bold, considering some of their peers had already been fined or detained for slandering her. She hopped onto Weibo to check the trending topics.

It wasn’t her name trending, but Chao Yuxin’s: #ChaoYuxinPoorActing#.

The narrative was that Chao Yuxin, a “pre-selected” lead, had terrible acting, was delaying the crew, and had been scolded to tears by Director Liu. Some even questioned if her martial arts athlete certificate was fake.

However, some netizens noticed Wen Qingyun in the background of the blurry video, looking displeased with her arms crossed.

[User1]: Even in low-res, my Queen is so beautiful!

[User2]: You sure the director scolded her? Looks more like Wen Qingyun bullying the newcomer.

[User3]: But Wen Qingyun is a known “woman-lover” (feminist). Why would she bully the female lead?

[User4]: You believe that? It’s just a persona. She’s probably “man-loving” (patriarchal) deep down. Maybe she’s suppressing the lead to get the Best Actor’s attention.

“What? I’m ‘man-loving’ deep down? How dare they insult me like that!” Wen Qingyun was furious. She replied directly from her verified account:

Wen Qingyun V: Screenshot taken. You smeared me as a ‘man-lover.’ I’m calling my lawyer. You will be legally responsible for your words.

The comments exploded: “It’s the real one!” “Queen, I love you!”

Wen Qingyun V: I wasn’t scolding Little Chao. I was scolding the Male Lead; he’s the one I can’t stand.

Fan: Queen, what’s the truth then? Did Chao Yuxin get scolded for bad acting?

Wen Qingyun V: It wasn’t bad acting. Little Chao was secretly over-practicing her stunts at night and hurt her back. She messed up the fourth take because she couldn’t hold it anymore, which made me unhappy. I don’t approve of this ‘crunch culture.’ I told her not to be so competitive next time.

After clearing her name, she forwarded the thread to Chao Yuxin.

Wen Qingyun: Someone is smearing you. Based on the angle, it came from the male artist’s rest area. Clarify it quickly so your fans don’t accidentally attack me, or my fans will retaliate against you.

Chao Yuxin replied ten minutes later with a string of apologies. Wen Qingyun went to sleep, leaving the PR mess to Sister Xiao.

…

By the next morning, thanks to Mother Chao’s advice and Director Liu’s help, the narrative flipped. Chao Yuxin posted a heartfelt essay thanking Wen Qingyun for the clarification and apologizing to the crew for her injury-induced mistakes. Director Liu retweeted it, praising all three actors.

With three out of the four people in the video speaking up, the internet turned its gaze to the one person staying silent: Lai Xuan, the male lead.

The fans weren’t stupid. Wen Qingyun had explicitly said she was scolding the male lead.

Within two hours, Lai Xuan was forced to post his own “apology,” pretending to be a generous senior and praising Wen Qingyun and the Director’s professionalism.

Chao Yuxin considered replying to him but hesitated. Her logic told her she was a newcomer and should play nice with a “senior” like Lai Xuan. But her youth made it impossible to smile at someone who had tried to sabotage her. She chose to ignore his post entirely.

The small storm passed. Chao Yuxin, grateful, began sending Wen Qingyun daily desserts, and the two became quite close. Only Lai Xuan suffered; he wanted to regain face but was too terrified of Wen Qingyun’s background to move.

He started messing up his own scenes out of stress and was actually scolded to tears by Director Liu. Wen Qingyun, seeing the irony, took a photo of his miserable face.

“Director Liu, can I post this for promotion? To show how strict your standards are?” she asked with a smile.

Liu Zhi, remembering the previous incident, nodded.

“What do you think?” Wen Qingyun looked at Lai Xuan.

The guilty actor didn’t dare say no. He could only swallow his pride.

Wen Qingyun V: [Photo of a miserable Lai Xuan] This is what someone actually being scolded to tears by Director Liu looks like. Director Liu is as strict as ever. I will work hard! (Jiayou!)

Fans immediately caught the shade. Wen Qingyun held a grudge like a pro—even if she was just a “collateral” victim of a smear campaign, she would get her revenge.

“Director Liu, can I finish my remaining scenes tomorrow?” Wen Qingyun asked.

“If nothing goes wrong, you wrap up tomorrow afternoon. We’ll have a celebratory dinner.”

“No rush. I’ll wait for the full wrap-up for the big dinner. Just give me a big red envelope,” Wen Qingyun laughed.

Thinking about how Chu Ke had been racking her brain every day to find topics to chat with her, Wen Qingyun’s smile became genuine.

“A friend has been waiting for me for a long time. I’m going to see her first~”