Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 55

Si Xiaoxiao was initially immersed in the visual shock, her mouth slightly ajar, her bright eyes chasing the changing light and shadow on the dome. However, this almost reverent silence didn’t last long.

When the smart seat beneath her began to silently and slowly adjust its angle as the film progressed, Si Xiaoxiao’s body also restlessly shifted.

It was during this subtle movement that the bare skin of her forearm, separated by a thin layer of summer clothing, unexpectedly brushed against Li Ting’s arm next to her.

In the darkness, that hint of cool touch was like a sudden, weak electric current, instantly breaking through Si Xiaoxiao’s immersive fantasy, making her suddenly snap back to reality.

“Tsk.” An almost inaudible clicking of the tongue escaped her lips, mixed with the awkwardness of being caught and a deliberate air of protesting too much.

She jerked her arm back as if scalded, pressing it tightly against her side, as if Li Ting’s skin were some kind of hot, burning metal.

Li Ting seemed to have seen through the arrogant golden retriever’s awkwardness and let out a light chuckle. The sound was very soft, almost drowned out by the sound effects of a cosmic explosion, but it precisely drilled into Si Xiaoxiao’s ears.

The laugh was like an invisible feather, gently tickling Si Xiaoxiao’s tense nerves.

She immediately turned her head, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and a pair of eyes that were astonishingly bright even in the darkness glared fiercely at the source of the laughter, though she could only see a blurry silhouette outlined by the light and shadow of the nebula.

“What are you laughing at?” she demanded in a low voice, her tone full of the vigilance of “are you mocking me again?”

“Nothing.” Li Ting’s voice remained steady, with the unique tranquility of someone watching a film, her gaze still focused on the dome, as if the light chuckle was merely Si Xiaoxiao’s misconception: “I just thought it was a pity, the hundred dollars you were about to get flew away.”

“Who, who took advantage of you!” Si Xiaoxiao’s voice instantly rose, as if she had been touched on a sore spot. She then abruptly lowered it, filled with flustered shame and anger: “Don’t even think about asking me for money, not a single cent!”

“Oh?” Li Ting finally turned her head slightly. The flowing light of the nebula flickered in her deep eyes, making her specific emotions unclear, but the slightly raised tail of her voice was full of playfulness: “I meant the hundred you were about to get flew away.”

The hundred I was about to get?

Si Xiaoxiao straightened up abruptly, stuck out her neck, and reached out to Li Ting: “Give me the money, give me the money, give me the money! Cash! I only accept cash.”

The person who had been avoiding her just now immediately changed her demeanor at the mention of money, truly single-mindedly focused on profit.

Li Ting was not annoyed. Instead, she gently adjusted her reclined posture, her stretched limbs exuding a composed laziness in the dark.

She asked very abruptly, “Teacher Si, do you want to be famous?”

Why is it “Teacher Si” again?

“One hundred dollars for one question.” Si Xiaoxiao, like someone obsessed with money, extended her five fingers forward again, relentlessly demanding money from Li Ting.

“…” Li Ting looked at the hand reaching out, which looked like a work of art under the light and shadow. She couldn’t resist, raising her hand to swat it.

Unexpectedly, Si Xiaoxiao seemed to have anticipated this and dodged very nimbly.

Separated by a short “Milky Way,” Si Xiaoxiao was beaming with delight, proudly raising her chin at Li Ting, her eyes full of cunning radiance.

“Childish.” Li Ting glanced at her, then took out her phone and initiated a one thousand dollar transfer: “Ten questions.”

“Boss is generous.” Si Xiaoxiao quickly clicked to receive the money. With the cash safely in her pocket, she contentedly lay back down in her “grid,” and gave her answer: “I have a bit of an obsession, I want to bring credit to my teacher.”

“By acting?” Li Ting interjected, her tone somewhat teasing.

However, this unexpectedly hit Si Xiaoxiao’s raw nerve.

Si Xiaoxiao’s gaze swept over Li Ting’s blurry profile almost imperceptibly, and her voice carried a trace of hard-to-detect sharpness: “I want to fiercely slap a certain good-for-nothing’s face.”

This “good-for-nothing” of course referred to Li Ting, who had transitioned from an actress to a singer.

Li Ting didn’t expect to be cursed even after paying to be the boss. She couldn’t help but laugh lightly, then hesitated: “You…”

But Si Xiaoxiao clenched her fists, and her sharp thorns instantly pricked out. She suppressed her emotions, speaking as calmly as possible about what she had once said: “Didn’t you steal a lot of my resources back then and spread rumors about me? Yes, when I trusted you the most… you played with me… I thought then, thirty years on the west bank of the river, thirty years on the east bank! One day, I will be more famous than you…”

Her final words trembled. Si Xiaoxiao seemed to have underestimated her emotional investment in that past period.

She was clearly able to say things like not hating Li Ting.

However, not hating didn’t mean not being angry.

The more she interacted with Li Ting, the deeper the thorn that had once been planted in her heart seemed to stab.

Si Xiaoxiao also found her own contrariness strange.

How can I not even purely hate a person?

Li Ting’s fingertips resting on the armrest curled slightly, almost imperceptibly, as if pricked by an invisible needle.

The magnificent nebula in her sight twisted suddenly for a moment, her breathing became labored, and a deep, bone-piercing pain silently spread from the bottom of her eyes, only to be forcibly suppressed back into a deep, placid calm.

Si Xiaoxiao spoke the truth; the entire atmosphere instantly collapsed the moment that time was touched upon.

“Li Ting, are you trying to play with me again this time?”

Ultimately, she couldn’t hold it in, asking the question that had been buried in her heart.

Yet, the question sounded so lacking in confidence, even carrying a hint of a sob, but filled with countless turbulent emotions.

It was precisely because she felt played that she asked this.

So how was she played?

Giving trust? Subconscious dependence? Or, certain expectations that shouldn’t have been born?

This question actually had a second half.

She wanted to know if it was because Li Ting had ulterior motives for her that she would feel her heart race again and again, and even her dreams would be filled with those fanciful desires…

Si Xiaoxiao was afraid to pursue the underlying reason for her courage to ask this question. Arrogant as she was, she could only use such words to disguise herself.

Unfortunately, they had, after all, missed each other for seven years, and Li Ting failed to understand Si Xiaoxiao’s true meaning.

No matter how sensitive Li Ting was, she would eventually have her thoughts disturbed by the fear of loss and those unspeakable affections.

Therefore, she felt fear and apprehension.

I cannot be disliked.

The question was abruptly spat out from her throat, her voice tight.

“Do you want to, once again, activate the system?”

The question came suddenly and coldly.

“Activate? The system?” Si Xiaoxiao blinked, momentarily confused. It was her do-or-die question, so why did Li Ting answer a question with a question?

Disappointment inevitably began to brew in her heart.

Li Ting’s fingertips lightly tapped the seat, giving her explanation calmly: “From the results, disregarding the limiting conditions, the system’s rewards are indeed very generous.”

Sally’s words from that day were still ringing in her ears.

The top cover for that magazine was originally confirmed to be another international film empress, but Sally said a picture of the little girl who was on an IV drip on set many years ago, crying with red eyes in a corner yet still stubbornly redoing takes again and again, inexplicably flashed through her mind.

As if possessed, she looked up Si Xiaoxiao’s recent photos… and that led to the subsequent decision to overrule all objections.

Sally called it fate’s guidance, but both Si Xiaoxiao and Li Ting knew it was the system’s gift.

In the entertainment industry, the illusory concept of luck was undoubtedly a very important factor.

“Don’t you think so?” Li Ting’s tone was still gentle, yet it sounded a little cold: “Don’t you think it’s better to resolve our current state as soon as possible?”

Si Xiaoxiao’s heart was suddenly pricked, as if pierced by an ice shard, and she squeezed out a question through gritted teeth: “What do you mean by ‘our current state’?”

“I mean this unclear situation now,” Li Ting lowered her voice, suggesting: “The system can influence our emotions and even feelings. Those things that shouldn’t be born are affecting our judgment of each other.”

A surge of displeasure arose from the bottom of Si Xiaoxiao’s heart. She seemed to sense what Li Ting was trying to deny. An unnamed fire was raging in her heart, but a sense of powerlessness grew alongside that flame.

Is this Li Ting’s answer?

“You’re right.” Si Xiaoxiao’s voice was dry, carrying a kind of resigned dejection.

She couldn’t help but inwardly celebrate that this variety show wasn’t a live broadcast. As early as when Li Ting asked her if she wanted to be famous, Si Xiaoxiao had turned off the recording.

The moment she turned off the recording, she actually carried a kind of do-or-die determination.

In the empty exhibition hall, Li Ting’s voice sounded: “Now is actually a good time. The variety show filming is coming to an end. The sooner we complete the system’s nine scripts, the sooner we can… go our separate ways. Don’t you think so?”

“That’s the fourth question you’ve asked me.” Si Xiaoxiao licked her lips, pushing Li Ting’s question aside, bound by the initial agreement to buy ten questions.

It seemed that only this way could she draw some strength.

She remained silent for a long time, and finally, forced herself to answer: “I think… you’re right.”

Her heart felt like it was being clenched by a hand. She wanted to refute, but refute what?

She couldn’t refute anything.

“Is that so?” However, Li Ting didn’t let her off the hook. Those two simple words were like ice-tempered needles, precisely stabbing her attempt to hide her vulnerability.

“…How do we activate the script?” Si Xiaoxiao didn’t answer, her voice sounding a little shaky.

They were not playing truth or dare, so not all questions needed to be answered.

Li Ting chuckled softly, a light laugh whose emotions couldn’t be discerned: “It’s simple, you just need to continue answering my question.”

“Answering… a question?” Si Xiaoxiao frowned. She didn’t think answering a question had anything to do with the system.

Clearly, the condition for triggering the system was…

“Si Xiaoxiao, we are arguing.” Li Ting’s eyebrows were gentle.

“Arguing?” Si Xiaoxiao looked up at the starry sky, which was so beautiful.

“Yes, Si Xiaoxiao.” Li Ting’s voice was like poisoned steel, easily able to cause torn skin and piercing pain: “What exactly are you thinking? Wasn’t being betrayed once enough? Do you still want to play the game of good friends with the traitor who hurt you? Are you really just good friends? Or, are you still very much concerned about me?”

This was also her probing.

“I…” Si Xiaoxiao’s breathing suddenly quickened. She instantly bristled with sharp points, counter-questioning: “What about you? What do you mean? Constantly asking me questions, the strange one is clearly you.”

The condition for triggering the system was an argument.

Therefore, they were just triggering the system.

Yes, so at this moment, they could say anything.

“Me? Strange?” Li Ting sneered, and continued: “But aren’t you very happy with my every touch? Why is that? Miss Si Xiaoxiao, why don’t you first see your own heart clearly?”

“Teacher Li is the one shamelessly clinging to me, isn’t she?” Si Xiaoxiao countered sharply, not giving way at all.

Once again, they heard the distant chime, and the electronic voice came through again.

[The script about to be activated is ———— The Springtime of the Tentacle Monster.]

The stars disappeared, replaced by a strange room—a room with dim light, permeated by damp moisture and a peculiar sweet, slightly metallic scent… a strange room.

Si Xiaoxiao opened her eyes abruptly, and what followed was an intense pain.

It really triggered the system.

But this fresh blood… it hurt so much.

She was bleeding a lot, pouring out of her body non-stop.

The lack of oxygen to her brain prevented her from sorting out the confrontation before entering the instance.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

She felt like she was going to die.

Si Xiaoxiao stretched out her hand, wanting to cover the wound on her abdomen… but…

It was no use.

Her body became heavier and heavier, and her recently regained consciousness seemed about to drift away again.

Well done, this system. It looks like it has arranged quite a character for her this time too.

Support