Falling in Love with a Stand-in [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Movie Queen’s Little Butterfly (08)

Lin Qinglu didn’t know why she suddenly decided to fake sleep.

By the time she realized what she was doing, she was already carefully maintaining a steady, slow rhythm of breathing. Thinking back to the cause, it seemed to be because she and Song Pianqian were sitting in the backseat together, with only an arm’s length between them.

No one spoke. Something was quietly brewing in the silence.

Under the influence of this atmosphere, when Song Pianqian tilted her swan-like neck slightly to look over, Lin Qinglu closed her eyes on a strange impulse. She tried very hard to keep her breathing level, but she was still a bit worried.

Her heart didn’t seem particularly calm. Luckily, Song Pianqian couldn’t hear it.

However, Lin Qinglu couldn’t hear what the others were doing either. After waiting for a long time without any movement in the car, her curiosity flared. She pretended to turn in her sleep toward Song Pianqian and peeked through narrowed eyes.

Song Pianqian was wearing headphones, looking out the window. It was dusk, and a sliver of light escaped into the car, hitting Song Pianqian’s long hair and coating the strands in a warm yellow glow.

Suddenly, Song Pianqian turned around.

Lin Qinglu instinctively shut her eyes, continuing her act as a sound sleeper. She felt the blanket on her body move. It turned out Song Pianqian had turned around just to tuck her in.

The car drove smoothly, and the air conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature. Wrapped in the warm little blanket, the Movie Queen didn’t realize she had actually fallen asleep until she was woken up. Opening her eyes through the lingering haze of sleep, she saw a smiling Song Pianqian.

“Teacher Lin, we’ve arrived.”

Lin Qinglu remained calm and responded with her usual coldness: “Mhm.”

She sat up, reached out to brush her hair back, and looked out the window. Outside was a bright, glamorous high-rise with a red carpet at the entrance and people dressed in elegant attire moving to and fro. It didn’t look like an “old-brand” restaurant at all.

“The place Lele mentioned has too many people. Teacher Lin is famous and has many fans, so it’s better if we sit here and let the driver go buy the food for us,” Jian Yixin said softly.

Lele? Calling her so intimately?

Lin Qinglu pursed her lips and noticed a more important point. She said with a half-smile, “Is it alright to trouble that gentleman’s driver like this?”

Her eyes drifted toward Assistant Dong. Why did Song Pianqian order him around so naturally? Just how close was she with the owner of this driver?

“I’ll just take a taxi with Liu Lele and go ourselves.” A surge of inexplicable displeasure rose in Lin Qinglu’s heart. She put her hand on the door handle as if to leave.

“Eh?”

The door handle made a faint clicking sound in Lin Qinglu’s hand. In her urgency, Jian Yixin leaned over, stretching her arm to press down on Lin Qinglu’s hand.

She carried a gentle, warm fragrance, lunging lightly toward Lin Qinglu as her stray hairs brushed against Lin Qinglu’s nose. Lin Qinglu’s throat tightened. She held her breath, staring at Song Pianqian’s profile.

The girl’s eyelashes were soft and curled, her nose bridge straight, and her lips were exquisitely painted. Lin Qinglu could even smell the scent of the lip balm moisturizing Song Pianqian’s lips. Meanwhile, Song Pianqian’s hand was pressed against the back of her own—the palm was warm, soft, and delicate.

“Teacher Lin, are you trying to cause a riot in the city center?” Song Pianqian sighed softly.

The words were like a feather, landing lightly in Lin Qinglu’s ear. It made her heart itch. Usually, she could remain perfectly relaxed while being lectured for half an hour by Luo Chun or Yu Bo, but facing this sentence filled with helpless indulgence, her confidence and her “thorns” vanished instantly.

“No,” she whispered. Her tone was a bit muffled, but her heart felt sweet. She hadn’t really intended to leave; even if she had, she would have had to bring Song Pianqian back to the set later anyway.

“It’s no problem to let the driver go,” Jian Yixin didn’t think too much of it. She simply felt that the Movie Queen wasn’t used to ordering around other people’s subordinates, which was polite but also very distant.

Assistant Dong was sharp and immediately stated, “Yes, just tell me what you want to eat.”

Ultimately, the attempt to “escape” with Liu Lele failed. The Movie Queen had no choice but to put on her mask and obediently follow the little dance double into the club.

As soon as Assistant Dong appeared, a senior receptionist in a suit bowed respectfully. Assistant Dong had the receptionist lead them up while he took the “takeout list” from Liu Lele to run the errand.

“How could we let Mr. Dong go personally?” The receptionist immediately looked around and called over a waiter. “Look, this lad is quick and knows the roads; he’ll definitely buy everything and bring it back smoothly.”

“Mhm, as fast as possible,” Assistant Dong said succinctly.

Watching from the side, Lin Qinglu noted that in this club built of wealth and power, the waiter actually remembered a driver’s name. They were incredibly respectful—even fawning—toward the driver.

How high does that man who visited the set actually stand?

Once Lin Qinglu was introduced to Song Zhe, learned his name, and used the time while touching up her makeup to ask an acquaintance about his identity, her confusion was finally resolved.

“Song Zhe? You met Song Zhe?!”

“Let’s put it this way: if the Song family wasn’t so low-profile, the current richest people in China—no, the top ten combined—couldn’t compare to one Song family. The most incredible part is that this generation of the Song family only has a brother and sister. The family is incredibly ‘clean,’ no messy drama.”

“Sister, if you marry into that family—never mind, don’t forget me when you’re rich!”

Psh, marry what?

Lin Qinglu faced the mirror, carefully reapplying her lip glaze. The cherry color was rich and deep, exuding the heavy fragrance of overripe fruit. She inspected herself in the mirror with satisfaction and put the lipstick back in her bag.

What was so good about a wealthy family? They were already fawning over her dance double.

The meal was nearly finished. Lin Qinglu had gone to touch up her makeup, and Liu Lele had followed. The delicacies on the table were half-prepared by the club and half-bought from the old-brand restaurant, replated by the club before being served.

Song Zhe remembered to help his sister maintain her cover, claiming only that Song Pianqian had performed at a company annual meeting and they knew each other because they shared the same surname. Of course, adults don’t believe such “fate” nonsense, and combined with his undisguised care for his sister, Song Zhe was certain Lin Qinglu could see through it.

This was his selfish intent. Since his sister was acting as Lin Qinglu’s double in the same crew, letting Lin Qinglu understand that there was a “Buddha” standing behind his sister would ensure she took care of her.

—And since his sister wanted to be friends with her, he had to raise her perceived status. Lin Qinglu was a Movie Queen, after all; she wouldn’t become a “soul friend” with just anyone so easily.

Song Zhe went to great lengths for his sister. Now, with only his own people present, he set down his napkin and said:

“Pianqian, I asked about that endorsement you mentioned.”

“So fast?” Jian Yixin was surprised. Song Zhe really took his sister’s matters to heart.

“Mhm. I had Li Hua contact HY.” Song Zhe gestured, and his special assistant Li Hua pushed up his glasses to report:

“Miss, I contacted HY headquarters this afternoon. Their feedback is that HY began scouting for a spokesperson this month. Among Chinese actresses, Lin Qinglu was already on the evaluation list.”

“Besides Miss Lin, there are four other actresses on the list. One of the more unique candidates is Ye Zixuan.”

Jian Yixin wasn’t surprised at all. On the surface, however, she set down her silver fruit fork and feigned confusion: “Ye Zixuan? Is her status high enough?”

Li Hua looked at Song Zhe and said in a low voice, “President, in the project signed last month, Ji Jing of the Ji Group took a step back specifically to ask for this nomination slot.”

Song Zhe recalled that this was indeed the case. A company under the Song family was transitioning into an entertainment platform, and the most prominent entity in the Ji Group was Xingyao Entertainment, leading to the collaboration. Although this was only a medium-sized project for the Song family, Song Zhe was generous in exchange for a meaningless nomination slot. As for who the other party was spending a fortune for, he didn’t care.

HY was one of the world’s six “Blue Blood” brands, taken over by the Song family a century ago to be revitalized. Ordinarily, it was a top-tier luxury brand unreachable for a second-tier actress. But as a novel’s female lead, breaking the rules was her normal state. Ji Jing, the male lead, was gradually becoming “love-brained,” using company profits to pave the way for Ye Zixuan. In the original text, Ye Zixuan would get the nomination, win the competition, and become the spokesperson for the Asia-Pacific region. With only six Blue Blood brands in existence, this achievement allowed her to successfully break into the first tier.

The idea of Ye Zixuan snatching an endorsement from Lin Qinglu sounded like a fairy tale. However, HY belonged to the Song family. In the original text, the Song family suppressed Lin Qinglu; even if HY liked her, they wouldn’t dare use her. It had to be said that Ye Zixuan was truly lucky—the whole world was paving her way.

Unfortunately, this time, Jian Yixin was paving the way for Lin Qinglu.

Jian Yixin’s moist eyes looked at Song Zhe, revealing the pathetic vibe of a small animal. She asked, “Is Ye Zixuan competing, or is it already decided internally?”

Song Zhe couldn’t stand his sister’s gaze. He immediately took a stand, saying righteously, “She’s competing. Internal decisions are too dirty.”

Beside him, Li Hua didn’t dare speak. He had inquired carefully; among HY’s senior management, there was a disagreement over which Chinese actress to sign. The conservatives felt they should just give it to the big boss’s “connection,” Ye Zixuan—it was only a five-year endorsement, they could change her later. Others insisted on Lin Qinglu. The executive Li Hua spoke with was from the “Lin faction,” shouting: “Lin Qinglu is right there. To skip her and sign a second-tier actress? Are you crazy?”

Now, with one word from Song Zhe, the matter was settled. Once the “connection” label was removed from Ye Zixuan, the disagreement among the executives would likely vanish instantly.

Jian Yixin offered a small smile, as if relieved: “That’s good then. Brother is busy with business but still remembers my affairs.” She picked out a bowl of post-meal fruit and handed it to Song Zhe, her eyes bright and her voice sweet. “Brother has worked hard.”

“Why are you being so polite with your brother?” Song Zhe took the fruit, unable to stop smiling. Beside him, Li Hua shook his head inwardly. The President could sign a hundred-million-dollar project without showing emotion, but in front of the young mistress, the noble CEO instantly turned into a cheerful big brother.

Lin Qinglu pushed the door open and returned, only to see Song Zhe smiling at Song Pianqian. She gripped the door handle and paused.

“Teacher Lin,” Jian Yixin called out when she saw her.

“Teacher Lin is back,” Song Zhe followed his sister’s lead and showed a certain friendliness toward the friend his sister wanted to make. “It’s getting late. I heard from Pianqian that you plan to rush back to the set tonight, but there’s no need to hurry. I’ve already booked rooms for you at the club. You can rest and have the club arrange a car to send you back tomorrow morning.”

Lin Qinglu stood straight and nodded. “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. The filming schedule is tight.”

“If you wake up early, you’ll make it,” Song Zhe smiled. “I should have had Assistant Dong drive you back, but I have to leave for M City tonight, and he’s coming with me. Fortunately, the club’s confidentiality is good; otherwise, I really wouldn’t dare keep a Movie Queen for a stay.”

In all fairness, though Lin Qinglu couldn’t say why she found Song Zhe an eyesore, she couldn’t deny he was a very charming man with excellent grace and insight. Under his earnest invitation, it would be over the top to keep refusing.

—Of course, the biggest reason was that Song Zhe was leaving tonight.

Lin Qinglu felt much better. It seemed she and Song Zhe simply didn’t share the same “aura.”

Lin Qinglu insisted on paying for the three rooms herself. The club tried to refuse, but ultimately had to accept. Liu Lele was very good at saving money for her artist. Looking at the heart-stopping price list, she whispered, “Sister, take a room for yourself, but book a standard room for Pianqian and me.”

Lin Qinglu flatly refused: “One room for each person.”

Liu Lele was deeply moved: “Sister, you’re such a good person.”

Lin Qinglu brushed it off, turned around, and handed a room card to Song Pianqian.

“Here.”

“Thank you, Teacher Lin,” Jian Yixin smiled as she took it, only to find that Lin Qinglu hadn’t let go.

She looked over in confusion. The room card was black and gold. The slender, fair fingers of the little double were on one end of the card, and the other end was in her own hand. Looking at this scene, for some reason, Lin Qinglu’s heart skipped a beat.

She snapped out of it and met Song Pianqian’s gaze. As if her hand had been burned, Lin Qinglu immediately let go of the room card.

What was going on?