I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 12

As soon as she reached this conclusion, Jiang Luoyue deeply realized that she was not cut out for reasoning.

Ning Fuguang didn’t even know her, how could he possibly guess about her rebirth? On the contrary, she had inexplicably assumed he had ulterior motives, making her seem rather cynical.

After silently apologizing to Ning Fuguang in her heart, Jiang Luoyue set off on the return journey with Yu Qing the next day. It was only on the way that she had the leisure to pay attention to the data she had previously overlooked.

First and most obviously, Jiang Luoyue’s Weibo had gained two hundred thousand followers. Although most of the comments were malicious, quite a few people still spoke up for her, and Yu Jingtang’s fans, in particular, displayed remarkable combativeness.

As they put it, even if the whole incident ended up being a misunderstanding, making the Yellow Team’s victory seem less than perfect so what?

They hadn’t seen Miss Jingtang laugh like that in a long time! Anyone daring to criticize the Yellow Team’s faults shall face the ultimate punishment!

Only then did Jiang Luoyue remember to open Yu Jingtang’s homepage, where she discovered that the other had posted a short educational video the night before titled “Drone No-Fly Zone Precautions.” The comment section was filled with astonishment: “Is this the most Yu Jingtang has ever spoken?”

“XiaoTang, your experiences break my heart. Your voice, I adore. Say more let me hear you.”

“I told you not to let you hang out with Jiang Luoyue! Now look, our mute wife can say so much give me back my icy beauty! [clenched fist] [sobbing]”

Yu Qing noticed Jiang Luoyue’s helpless smile and asked curiously, “Weren’t you strangers before? How did you get so close so quickly?”

“She’s very smart and very gentle,” Jiang Luoyue replied after a moment’s thought, adding, “She’d get along with anyone.”

Yu Qing: “…” Was this the same Yu Jingtang she remembered the one who avoided socializing, ignored everyone, and always seemed lost in thought?

She had watched the livestream intermittently but still couldn’t figure out how the two had become so close. However, Yu Qing didn’t press further and instead brought up another matter: “Just overnight, I’ve received over a dozen scripts.”

Jiang Luoyue blinked, looking at her with a mix of confusion, curiosity, and delight.

Yu Qing explained seriously, “Out of those dozen, only three are worth considering. Director Song An’s mystery film has invited you to play the fifth female lead, but the requirement is to spend a week learning how to act as a corpse.”

From the “learning to be a corpse” aspect, it was clear that Jiang Luoyue’s role as the fifth female lead wouldn’t have much screen time, she might not even have any living scenes and would just be a corpse throughout.

The second offer was for a palace intrigue TV drama. This time, Jiang Luoyue was invited to play the role of a naive and romantic young lady from a wealthy family who unexpectedly enters the palace, undergoes a dark transformation, but is ultimately moved by the female lead’s words of love and justice, voluntarily giving up the struggle to live out her life with a green lamp and ancient Buddha.

After finishing, Yu Qing took a sip of water. “You think the plot is stupid too, right?”

Jiang Luoyue didn’t deny it.

The first two options reeked of unreliability, and she thought they were just the buildup. But Yu Qing sighed and said, “The third one is even less worth mentioning you’d play the female lead, but it’s a short drama.”

The hierarchy in the film and television industry is stark: movies look down on TV dramas, TV dramas look down on web series, and short dramas, which have risen in popularity in recent years, naturally sit at the bottom. No one says it outright, but everyone believes that only struggling actors would stoop to performing in short dramas.

Jiang Luoyue didn’t see it that way. For her, as long as the plot was reasonable and the co-stars were suitable, she was willing to give it a try.

Seeing her lack of resistance, Yu Qing continued, “This drama is invested in and produced by Fu Yunqing’s agency. If you take part, they’ll treat you fairly.”

Jiang Luoyue was taken aback. “Then why isn’t the female lead ”

“Fu Yunqing?” Yu Qing added, puzzled. “Didn’t I mention it? It’s a dual female lead drama. You’ll play the innocent flower who gets forcibly pursued and dominated by a wealthy female CEO.”

Jiang Luoyue fell silent. “Fu Yunqing plays the CEO?”

“No.” Yu Qing shook her head. “She plays the adopted daughter of the CEO. At her mother’s engagement party, she unexpectedly discovers that her future stepmother is the classmate she’s had a crush on for years. She then uses various methods to seduce and pursue her relentlessly, ultimately winning the beauty’s heart.”

Jiang Luoyue: “…” Such a complicated, twisted, and eerie love entanglement.

“Will this really pass the censors?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Yu Qing: “That’s for the producers to worry about.”

Thinking of this, Yu Qing encouraged her, “Hate Me Still has six more episodes to record. Try to team up with the remaining three people at least once. Once you get familiar, even just having a meal together and posting it online will generate buzz.”

Jiang Luoyue felt Yu Qing was likely to be disappointed. She wasn’t the type to warm up to people quickly. Her friendly relationship with Yu Jingtang was largely thanks to the latter’s naturally easygoing personality.

But she didn’t say this to dampen the mood, only mentioning that she would think it over. Yu Qing nodded and didn’t press further.

With only half a month left before the next recording of Hate Me Still, the short drama team clearly wanted to capitalize on the current hype, so the schedule was tight. When they pressed her again, Jiang Luoyue accepted the invitation.

To Yu Qing’s surprise, aside from the short drama, Jiang Luoyue also requested to participate in the suspense film scheduled to begin filming next month after the second recording, she would have time to prepare.

Song An had built his reputation on horror films and had accumulated a considerable fanbase. Making a brief appearance to boost her image wouldn’t hurt.

On the day filming officially began, Jiang Luoyue finally received the script for the short drama.

As Yu Qing put it, “The screenwriter revised some parts overnight after hearing you were joining.”

Even though she had been stunned by the title when signing the contract, Jiang Luoyue hesitated for a long time before flipping open the first page of the script, which bore the dramatic title: Eroding Bone, Perilous Love: Where Can the Gilded Canary of the Wealthy Family Flee?

Jiang Luoyue’s character, Li Yan, came from a poor background but excelled academically. However, even the best grades couldn’t overcome her family’s feudal ignorance. At the start of the new semester, shortly after receiving a scholarship, Li Yan was informed by her family that she had been sold to a widower in his fifties and was to prepare for marriage.

To escape her family, Li Yan secretly used her meager savings to buy a ticket to a neighboring city. Because of her beauty, she was tricked into working as a waitress. While being harassed, she was unexpectedly rescued by the CEO, Sheng Yu.

Sheng Yu supported and provided for her. Li Yan stayed at the Sheng residence and gradually developed feelings for Sheng Yu. After coming of age, Li Yan accepted Sheng Yu’s marriage proposal. However, at the wedding, she encountered someone she never thought she would see again Sheng Yuening.

The two had once been desk mates and shared a close relationship. But after Li Yan left her hometown, they lost contact and never saw each other again. It was only then that Li Yan learned Sheng Yuening was the daughter of Sheng Yu’s sister.

Having been betrayed by her sister, Sheng Yu harbored a deep-seated hatred for her and her daughter. The only reason she adopted her niece was to exact revenge with her own hands. Marrying Li Yan was also part of that revenge she knew Sheng Yuening was fond of Li Yan, so she intended to take everything Li Yan had right before her eyes.

Sheng Yuening tried to intervene but ended up confined instead. Upon learning of the conspiracy, Li Yan began to drown in tears, growing increasingly fragile, like a pampered canary trapped in the Sheng family’s cage, waiting for Sheng Yuening to rescue her.

But when Sheng Yuening finally returned, consumed by unrequited love and rage, she too turned dark and began to forcibly take Li Yan for herself.

Nine out of ten scenes in the script featured either Sheng Yu or Sheng Yuening gripping Li Yan’s chin and snarling, “You belong to me! No one else can touch you!”

By the end of the script, just as Yu Qing had said, Sheng Yuening successfully rose to power, eliminating Sheng Yu in the most literal sense and winning the beauty’s hand.

However, after years of coercion and domination, Li Yan held a grudge against her. Sheng Yuening had won her person but not her heart.

Compared to other dramas, The Palm Darling had a relatively simple plot. Apart from shedding tears, the protagonist either retaliated in anger before returning to tears or engaged in what could be described as a twisted version of “washing underwear with a cold face.”

After reading the plot, Jiang Luoyue remained silent for a long while. Yu Qing pondered for a moment before reassuring her, “It’s fine. The contract states that no explicit intimate scenes will be filmed.”

Besides, even if they were filmed, there was no guarantee they’d make it past censorship or avoid being reported and taken down.

Jiang Luoyue: “…” Had they already fast-forwarded to this point?

The contract was signed, so despite her confusion about the plot, Jiang Luoyue began practicing her lines.

As a fast-paced short drama, the story naturally didn’t start with Li Yan’s oppression. The very first scene was set at the wedding.

The Palm Darling crew, flush with funds, had rented out a hotel for the day to set up the wedding venue.

When Jiang Luoyue arrived, Huo Yi, the actor playing Sheng Yu, was speaking with the director. Upon seeing her, both paused.

“Miss Jiang.” Huo Yi’s demeanor closely resembled Sheng Yu’s decisive and ruthless, making her seem rather unapproachable.

Having never met before, they exchanged greetings and then fell into an awkward silence. The director promptly called for the makeup artist, who smiled and said, “Perfect timing. Yunqing has already arrived. Since you two are on a variety show together, I’m sure you have a lot to talk about.”

Jiang Luoyue:

Who started this brainwashing rumor?

She hadn’t even exchanged as many words with Fu Yunqing as she had just now while greeting Huo Yi.

Fortunately, Fu Yunqing wasn’t in the dressing room. Jiang Luoyue glanced at the empty space, quite pleased with the quiet atmosphere.

Since it was a wedding, the styling naturally needed to be elegant and formal. The makeup artist repeatedly curled Jiang Luoyue’s hair with a flat iron, a process so time-consuming that Jiang Luoyue even used the intervals to memorize her lines, with remarkable results.

So absorbed was she that when she finally looked up, she realized the makeup artist had left at some point. Her hairstyle was done; only the accessories were missing.

She must have gone to fetch them.

Without giving it much thought, Jiang Luoyue had just flipped a page with her fingertips when she heard footsteps.

Then, as if a thin, translucent veil had been draped over her eyes, her vision suddenly blurred.

Jiang Luoyue looked up in surprise.

Seemingly caught off guard by her sudden turn, Fu Yunqing, who was holding the veil, paused. Instinctively, she tried to adjust the veil, but her fingers loosened, and the veil cascaded like a nebula, landing perfectly on Jiang Luoyue’s chin and covering her face.

The window was half-open, the breeze gently rustling the white gauze, and the sunlight fell on the woman’s face, creating a hazy, dreamlike scene.

Fu Yunqing stared at her for a moment before shifting her gaze away.

Noticing her slightly guilty expression, Jiang Luoyue removed the veil and retorted, “Miss Fu, is this how you usually get close to people?”

“Impossible,” Fu Yunqing denied immediately, bristling like a cat. “I’m not getting close to you.”

Jiang Luoyue pondered, “With friends?”

Fu Yunqing nodded and snorted coldly, “I never said you were my friend. Don’t try to force a connection.”

“I just… this is the first time I’m acting alongside someone I know, so I thought I’d say hello. Don’t overthink it. Even if you try to flatter me, I won’t resort to casting couch tactics or give you any resources!”

Jiang Luoyue, who had only intended it as a joke: ?

How did Fu Yunqing jump from the topic of “friends” straight to casting couch?