Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 22

“What?” Li Yue said, her hand resting on Luo Mingzi’s waist, her expression full of surprise. “What happened?”

She was genuinely shocked. Her brows furrowed as she stared at Luo Mingzi, her clear eyes instantly filling with worry. But seeing the bright, beaming smile on Luo Mingzi’s face, her worry dissolved into helplessness. “Aren’t you sad about losing your job?”

“It’s a bit complicated,” Luo Mingzi said, swaying her head playfully. She had both arms draped around Li Yue’s neck, swinging back and forth. Li Yue swayed along with her.

With her eyes curved into crescents, Luo Mingzi said softly, “Anyway, aside from my endorsements, I only have the variety show Late Village. I’ve already told Sister Su that I’m temporarily not taking on any new dramas.”

Li Yue asked, “Will Sister Su and the company even agree to that?”

Luo Mingzi couldn’t exactly be described as being in a “rising phase.” She had become an overnight sensation shortly after entering the industry and was hailed as a “phenomenon” artist. Even now, she maintained her status as a top-tier star. Since she was the cash cow for Huaguan Entertainment, how could the company possibly let her stop shaking the money tree?

“Well, I’ve already said my piece, and they can’t exactly force me. I want to learn acting from Sister Xuezhen and Uncle Dajun first… Oh, never mind all that!” Luo Mingzi stood on her tiptoes.

Li Yue lowered her head, the hand on Luo Mingzi’s waist tightening as the two pressed close together, sharing a forceful, deep kiss.

It was hard to tell who started it, but shirts were pulled open, long threads trailing buttons as they fell to the hem, long skirts were lifted, bunching up at the elbows. Slender palms moved across a snow white back, easily unhooking the bra strap.

Their legs became entangled as they tumbled onto the sofa. Li Yue opened her eyes slightly, watching Luo Mingzi’s passion filled face.

They hadn’t been this close for far too long. The heat hidden beneath their calm exteriors erupted, making their heads spin. Li Yue couldn’t help but reach out to clasp Luo Mingzi’s neck, tilting her head back to kiss her throat. Just as her kiss slid lower, an annoying ringtone erupted from the canvas bag Li Yue had tossed onto the floor.

“Mmm… ignore it,” Luo Mingzi murmured, her eyes misty as she pulled Li Yue back down to kiss the corner of her mouth. Li Yue’s gaze darkened, and just as she opened her lips, vibrate, vibrate, vibrate.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of knocking at the door caused both women on the sofa to fall silent. Li Yue sighed, running her fingers through her hair, her voice slightly raspy. “I’ll go change.”

The mood was completely ruined. With a face like ice, Luo Mingzi hooked her shoulder straps back up, thinking indignantly: She had specifically put on this little dress for this!

Luo Mingzi scrambled off the sofa, picked up Li Yue’s canvas bag, slung it over her arm, and stomped toward the door. She thought to herself: No matter who is outside, kill them! Kill them immediately!

She marched over aggressively.

Click.

The door opened to reveal Yu Bilan’s anxious face.

In a split second, Luo Mingzi flashed a sweet smile and said in a sugary voice, “Hello! You’re my baby’s manager, Little Sister Lan….Yu Bilan, right?”

Yu Bilan was momentarily dazed.

The cash cow of Huaguan, the top-tier Chinese idol, the incomparably beautiful superstar Luo Mingzi was standing in Li Yue’s dormitory, calling her “Little Sister Lan” with a face full of smiles!

Little Sister Lan!

Yu Bilan: “Heh.”

“She’s cursing you in her heart,” a cold voice sounded from beside her. Su Pei, holding a laptop, squeezed past Luo Mingzi’s blatant look of rejection and walked into the room. She said, “If you had answered your phone earlier, I wouldn’t have had to make this trip.”

Luo Mingzi huffed, but when she turned back to Yu Bilan, she smiled again and said, “Please, come in, come in.”

Yu Bilan thought: She said ‘please’ to me!

Feeling shy and coy, she covered her mouth and drifted into the room in a daze.

Li Yue emerged wearing a pink T-shirt. She glanced toward the living room and said, “I’ll go get some water.”

“No need, I’ll do it!” Yu Bilan said eagerly. Watering the money tree was her duty! She desperately wanted to soak up some of that good fortune. To her surprise, Li Yue rejected her mercilessly. “I’d better do it. I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it.”

Yu Bilan: “?”

She looked at Su Pei, who had unceremoniously found a seat, and then at the superstar standing to the side radiating a cold aura. She hissed under her breath and decided to follow Li Yue.

Li Yue pushed open the kitchen door, and a scorched, burnt smell wafted out, accompanied by a tragic scene.

Bags and storage containers were scattered on the floor, piled with various vegetables. In the sink above, vegetable roots and leaves floated in mud-colored water. That was the “neat” part. On the stove, the pots and pans looked like they had survived an earthquake; seasonings were everywhere, spilled all over the place.

But what truly horrified Yu Bilan was what was in the pot.

On the two gas burners, the pot on the left was filled with a massive amount of boiled noodles. The frying pan on the right was “spectacular” long and short vegetable leaves lay charred black at the bottom, with many stuck to the sides of the pan.

Yu Bilan: “…Poisoning!”

Someone was trying to murder Huaguan’s Star of Music! How terrifying!

Li Yue took down the apron which she had hurriedly ripped off and tossed onto the fridge after hearing the doorbell, put it on and began skillfully cleaning the kitchen. Her lips curled into a smile, and in the midst of such a horrific scene, she said gently, “Looks like she learned how to boil noodles.”

And then her confidence surged, and she wanted to stir-fry a dish for her.

How thoughtful.

Yu Bilan watched in horror as Li Yue actually took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a charred black leaf from the frying pan, and tasted it.

“Mm,” Li Yue chewed slowly.

Gulp. Yu Bilan swallowed hard and asked fearfully, “How is it?”

Li Yue gave a light chuckle, went to wash the chopsticks, and said warmly, “It’s quite good, it’s just not edible.”

“…”

Do the words “quite good” and the second half of that sentence even belong together?

Yu Bilan didn’t know if those two sentences were a match, but she knew these two people were quite a match. She scratched her head, took the washed water glass from Li Yue, and went out. Li Yue tidied the kitchen, scooped a bowl of noodles out of the “one pot” mess, and was pleasantly surprised to find two poached eggs at the bottom.

Truly impressive!

Li Yue walked out carrying the noodles. Su Pei hung up the phone and asked Li Yue, “Is there any more food?”

Li Yue and Luo Mingzi said in unison: “No.”

“Heh,” Su Pei sneered, tossing her phone aside. She asked Luo Mingzi, “I’ve been busy until now because of the mess you caused, and I can’t even get a bite to eat?”

Luo Mingzi thought: Do you have any idea what you interrupted! And you still want to eat!

“I made this ‘Love Dinner’ for my baby. Not a single bite for you!”

Oh, so you made it.

“I’ve realized I’m not that hungry,” Su Pei said, picking up a glass of water and taking a few gulps.

Li Yue sat cross-legged on the floor and asked, “What happened?”

Su Pei was concise: “Check the trending searches.”

Li Yue and Yu Bilan, who had both been busy with new work all day, pulled out their phones at the same time.

On the entertainment section of social media, a bombshell headline: Great News! Top-tier star fired from ‘A Dream of Southern Heaven.’ Director claims Luo’s acting was an eyesore? Ran out of patience?

#Luo Mingzi Female Lead Replaced

#Luo Mingzi A Dream of Southern Heaven

#Blue Changes Female Lead

#Luo Mingzi A Dream of Southern Heaven Zhong Jiaquan

Was everyone crazy? They were halfway through filming, and they replaced Luo Mingzi? Yu Bilan looked at the news in shock. The official A Dream of Southern Heaven account had personally released a statement saying that due to “creative differences,” they and the actress Ms. Luo Mingzi had amicably terminated their contract, with neither party paying liquidated damages.

The artist replacing Luo Mingzi as the female lead was Zhong Jiaquan.

“Isn’t Zhong Jiaquan a good friend of Teacher Luo?” Yu Bilan was surprised as she scanned the news over and over. She couldn’t see how this Zhong Jiaquan could possibly outshine Luo Mingzi. Could it really be an issue with the acting?

Impossible!

Everyone was aware of Luo Mingzi’s acting limitations. The roles Su Pei chose for her were always fast-paced dramas that suited her personality, she never pushed her into worlds she couldn’t yet handle just for awards. A Dream of Southern Heaven wasn’t exactly a high-brow script, it was just a standard Xianxia romantic comedy.

Luo Mingzi found a cushion and sat down next to Li Yue, muttering, “Who’s her ‘good friend’? My baby and I are the best in the world!”

Li Yue gave an “mm” in response and patted her head. “Go on, tell us.”

Give your baby an explanation.

Luo Mingzi puffed out her cheeks and said, “The second female lead in my drama that aired earlier this year was Zhong Jiaquan. We originally lost touch after filming, but we ran into each other again during promotions. After chatting back and forth, we became familiar. I really thought she wanted to be friends with me, she even came to the set to visit me.”

Su Pei, who was typing away on her keyboard, said casually, “Is that so? I thought half of her visits were for marketing purposes.”

“I didn’t expect the other half to be fake, too.” She pushed up her glasses.

Zhong Jiaquan could only be considered a third-tier artist. Being ‘best friends’ with Luo Mingzi was all benefit and no harm from a profit perspective, filming a ‘bestie’ video or posting a few photos was a guaranteed way to gain followers thanks to Luo Mingzi’s fame.

Luo Mingzi shrugged. She had encountered this many times, it had made her sad at first, but now she felt nothing but amusement. She said, “Anyway, she visited me several times. During filming last week, the director came to me and said a big investor had approached him wanting to change the script to secure Zhong Jiaquan as the second lead. I originally thought the production team wanted us to play off our chemistry from earlier in the year, but then this week they told me the script had to be changed again, they asked if I could do a ‘dual female lead’ story with her.”

Luo Mingzi found the whole thing hilarious, it was no wonder she had walked off the set.

But Luo Mingzi hadn’t quit because of that. She burst into a giggle, reached out to hug Li Yue, and whined, “I thought Zhong Jiaquan had found some incredibly powerful backer. Baby, do you know whose money she’s bringing into the production?”

Li Yue, who had been quietly eating while listening, paused for a moment and said, “Mu Lin Sen?”

Luo Mingzi happily planted a kiss on her cheek. “You’re so smart!”

Su Pei closed her eyes and took off her glasses to rub her temples, while Yu Bilan let out a squeal at the beautiful sight before her.

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Yu Bilan.

“You should go head to head with Zhong Jiaquan,” Su Pei couldn’t help but say. “You’re better at stealing scenes than she is.” It was truly Huaguan’s loss that Yu Bilan hadn’t become an actress. Su Pei almost felt like signing her.

Li Yue joked, “In that case, I think we could just pack up the entire music department and join the cast.”

“Oh, stop, I’m blushing,” Yu Bilan said bashfully as she sat back down.

However “Mu Lin Sen? Isn’t Mu Lin Sen that incredibly wealthy elite family? Is Zhong Jiaquan marrying into money, or is she…” Yu Bilan didn’t finish the sentence.

Su Pei sighed and said, “It’s not Zhong Jiaquan they’re after, it’s Mingzi.”

Yu Bilan looked at Luo Mingzi in surprise. Luo Mingzi said sorrowfully, “I have a history with the Mu Lin Sen family. You have no idea how miserable my life used to be or how hard I struggled to get to this position. I don’t know what’s wrong with that family. I’m already this successful, and they still want to suppress me!”

Yu Bilan really didn’t know about this and couldn’t help but say, “I thought Teacher Luo was an instant hit from her debut.”

Three years ago, her rise was truly a bolt from the blue, an unrepeatable, unexpected explosion of fame. By the time other agencies reacted, Luo Mingzi’s status was unshakable.

“Actually, that’s how it was,” Luo Mingzi said, taking a sip of water and venting to Yu Bilan. “If I hadn’t been decisive back then, there would be no ‘me’ today.”