Hooking Away the Male Lead’s White Moonlight, the Best Actress - Chapter 4

They remained entwined, their initially chilled skin pressing together, quickly warmed by the shared heat of their bodies.

The slanted draft from the air conditioner blew down, offering some relief to the heat flushing Hua Yanqiu’s cheeks.

As the temperature dropped, her rationality gradually returned. She managed a calm voice: “Let me go.”

While Shen Manyu was perfectly tailored to her aesthetic tastes, she was a straight woman—and a straight woman who harbored deep hostility toward her at that.

Although Hua Yanqiu had never been in a serious relationship, the tragic experiences of the friends around her had long ago taught her a lesson: falling for a straight woman leads nowhere.

They simply weren’t on the same path.

Her brief heartbeat was merely the bias of a visual person toward Shen Manyu’s exquisite physical shell. To say there was any deep sincerity within it would be an exaggeration.

Shen Manyu understood she couldn’t push too far, nor could she corner her too tightly.

Thus, receiving Hua Yanqiu’s explicit rejection this time, she knew when to quit and decisively pulled away.

As the air conditioner’s chill hit the skin that had just been warmed, Hua Yanqiu instinctively shivered.

The cold seemed to seep into her heart, leaving a hollow sensation. Hua Yanqiu was startled to find that she actually felt a hint of reluctance at Shen Manyu’s departure.

Her guard immediately shot up. Once Shen Manyu rose, she followed suit, quietly distancing herself.

Given her posture, she almost looked like she was avoiding a venomous snake.

As they moved, the other people in the room—who had been frozen like stiff statues—seemed to have their “play” buttons pressed. It was only when the two stood up that their stagnant thoughts began to flow slowly again.

Jing Yanqing felt as if he were in a dream—specifically, a soul-stirring nightmare.

His mind was a complete blank. His frozen fury was like a comical mask stuck firmly to his face. With dull, vacant eyes, he could do nothing for the moment but stare at them blankly.

A bizarre silence fell over the room.

The atmosphere was incredibly awkward, yet Shen Manyu remained unhurried. She picked up the “culprit” that had tripped her—the quilt—and said to Hua Yanqiu with regret, “The quilt is dirty, and I don’t have a spare. What should I do?”

Hua Yanqiu’s expression didn’t flicker as she stared back silently: Your quilt is dirty; what does that have to do with me?

She stood beside Sister Qi, as if drawing strength from her to maintain her sanity in the face of this “goblin” Shen Manyu.

She felt herself fortified by various buffs now; she would no longer be bewitched by this thousand-year-old fox spirit’s magic or do anything stupid that contradicted her own persona.

Sister Qi couldn’t hold it in anymore. She was nowhere near as calm as Hua Yanqiu imagined.

Seeing Shen Manyu’s eyes droop, putting on that look of an innocent, bullied little animal again, Sister Qi said decisively, “I’ll contact your manager for you.”

Good heavens, someone please come and take this brat away!

Otherwise, based on her performance tonight, she really might pin the blame for the dirty quilt on Yanqiu. Using that “favor” as leverage, she might shamelessly pester them and end up staying the night!

While pulling out her phone, Sister Qi shot Hua Yanqiu another fierce glare.

These artists—not a single one of them was easy to deal with.

At least you can scold a bratty child; if an artist won’t listen, can she, as a manager, actually lay a hand on them?

Sister Qi was exhausted to her core.

Shen Manyu nodded slightly, gave a sweet smile, and said a soft “thank you” without offering any objection.

After traveling to this world, the first thing she did was check her phone in an attempt to figure out her identity. However, the phone was spotless, with very few messages left behind.

Even though the original owner was an actress, she hadn’t saved the numbers for her manager or assistant, nor was there any contact information for her family. This made Shen Manyu suspect that the original owner might have been an orphan.

The original owner was merely an obscure, bottom-tier starlet, and the information on her Baidu Baike page was pitifully sparse. Aside from her name and birthday, there wasn’t a single word about her past or family background.

The only thing she knew for sure was that the original owner hadn’t been in the industry for long; prior to this movie, she had only acted in one low-budget web drama.

The production quality of that web drama was absurdly poor, and the original owner’s acting was even more of an eyesore. Shen Manyu clicked on one episode, but seeing the woman in the video—who shared her exact face—acting in such a syrupy, pretentious, and affected manner made her skin crawl.

She quickly shut off the video, nearly falling into a state of self-isolation from the shock.

Since she didn’t have her own company’s contact information, she relied on the fact that Hua Yanqiu’s manager and her own manager were colleagues in the same industry. Even though they worked for different companies, they could always find a way to get in touch.

This saved Shen Manyu quite a bit of trouble.

However, her main reason for bringing her quilt to find Hua Yanqiu was to avoid the male lead.

When she transmigrated, the original owner had already banged on Hua Yanqiu’s door. This matter had caused quite a stir; once Hua Yanqiu joined the cast and the two met, the trending searches over the next few days were bound to be lively.

Rather than waiting for the male lead to find out and come looking for trouble, she figured it was better to use Hua Yanqiu’s hand to checkmate him instead.

She cast a smiling glance at Hua Yanqiu. Her non-existent conscience sat steadily in her chest, yet she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of pity for this useful “sucker.”

Feeling mischievous, she arched an eyebrow and threw a wink at Hua Yanqiu, calling out in a coquettish tone, “Sister, do you really have the heart to let me leave just like this? Do you really hate me that much? So much that you don’t even want to see my face?”

Shen Manyu’s eyes were like silk, enchanting and seductive. With such a vivid, alluring beauty standing right there, speaking in a soft, tender voice with a playful lilt at the end of her sentences—

She looked exactly like a pampered cat, intentionally putting on airs because she knew she was loved.

Not only was it impossible to hate her, but one couldn’t help but feel she was incredibly cute deep down.

Every word and every soft tone was like one of Cupid’s arrows, piercing Hua Yanqiu’s heart one after another until it was riddled with holes like a sieve.

What lesbian could possibly withstand such a critical hit?

On the surface, Hua Yanqiu remained composed, keeping her eyes forward as if in meditation. Yet, despite her best efforts, a hint of a smile involuntarily escaped from the corners of her eyes.

Sister Qi was on the verge of total despair over this extreme “visual-obsessed” woman.

While dialing Shen Manyu’s manager, she took a large step sideways, physically blocking the space between Shen Manyu and Hua Yanqiu like a sentry on high alert.

Her expression was nearly stern as she glared at Hua Yanqiu, refusing to budge an inch.

Hua Yanqiu’s elegant view of the beauty was suddenly and completely replaced by the face of a well-maintained, middle-aged woman.

Almost by instinct, she felt a surge of anxiety and subconsciously tried to dodge to the side to continue admiring the visual impact Shen Manyu provided.

But once she met Sister Qi’s severe gaze, she finally felt a prick of guilt—like a bad student caught daydreaming in class by the dean.

In that moment, Sister Qi’s expression perfectly overlapped with the harsh face of the dean from her school days.

Under the dual pressure of her manager’s authority and the shadow of the “dean’s” reputation, Hua Yanqiu could only act like a cat caught by the scruff of its neck. She reluctantly pursed her lips and lowered her head in disappointment.

On the other end of the line, Shen Manyu’s manager heard the situation, offered her thanks, and prepared to rush over.

Sister Qi had managed to forcibly suppress the antics of the two “problem children,” and their side of the room could now be considered somewhat harmonious (or at least a controlled chaos).

On the other side, however, Jing Yanqing finally regained his senses. His voice was faint, as if he had suffered a major blow, as he asked blankly:

“So… what exactly just happened?”

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