I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 5

Fu Xiaoxiao stood on the side, ready to roll up her sleeves and fight with Bai Feifei at a moment’s notice.

However, Bai Feifei’s reply was something she would never have expected.

[Bai Feifei: I can come anytime.]

“Bald Old Pan” sent three more 60-second voice messages in appreciation of her understanding. Bai Feifei didn’t even listen to them, sending back a smiley face.

‘Bald Old Pan’ replied with a grinning emoji, and the chat ended there.

Bai Feifei silently curled the corners of her lips and closed the chat window.

Fu Xiaoxiao, thinking she was possessed, widened her eyes. “Did a donkey kick you in the head? At a time like this, shouldn’t you be leading me to cause a scene so my mom can bail us out of jail?”

Bai Feifei felt that before “Bald Old Pan” could get to her, Fu Xiaoxiao’s dramatic antics would drive her to her wits’ end first.

She looked up and patted Fu Xiaoxiao’s head, soothing her like a puppy. “You have to be a little more mature. You leave room for things to happen in the future.”

Fu Xiaoxiao held up five fingers. “I just graduated from college this year. I started elementary school when I was five, so I’m only twenty-two. I’m in my prime, a blossoming flower. How am I old? Can this ‘Bald Old Pan’ even do anything for us?”

“In the entertainment industry, twenty-two is already an auntie,” Bai Feifei said with a sigh, not answering her second question. She casually opened Weibo, hugged the throw pillow tighter, and said, “Look, these young trainees are only fourteen or fifteen and already have over two million fans.”

Fu Xiaoxiao immediately felt a sense of crisis. “I’ll go pull some strings tomorrow to change your age to eighteen and buy you 2.5 million fans. That’ll get us to three million, not too high and not too low, with plenty of room for improvement, and you won’t look like such a nobody!”

On this topic, Bai Feifei and Fu Xiaoxiao were completely in sync.

Fu Xiaoxiao finally saw a hint of disdain on Bai Feifei’s hard-to-read face and smartly changed the subject. “Why are you holding your stomach? Are you pregnant?”

Bai Feifei was speechless.

“My stomach hurts,” Bai Feifei said blankly. “I’m probably hungry.”

Fu Xiaoxiao said dully, “Oh.”

Bai Feifei opened her mouth, unable to figure out how she and Fu Xiaoxiao had become such good friends and grown up together for over twenty years.

She decisively decided she couldn’t continue talking to her, or she would be turned into an idiot. She got up and said, “Let’s go. Take me out to eat.”

At first glance, the statement seemed normal, but a closer listen revealed a lot to think about. Yet, Fu Xiaoxiao seemed so used to it that she didn’t find anything wrong and grabbed her wallet to follow her.

Bai Feifei walked to the door and, after hesitating for less than a second, chose to sit back down in the wheelchair Guan Ziyao had gotten for her.

Fu Xiaoxiao took a step back. “What are you doing?”

“Push me.” Bai Feifei pointed outside. “The rain has stopped.”

Fu Xiaoxiao tilted her head, and for some reason, she imagined something, actually taking hold of the handles and pushing her.

“Auntie didn’t leave you any money?” Bai Feifei asked from the chair.

Fu Xiaoxiao said with a pitiful tone, “She left me 200 yuan.”

“Hand it over.” Bai Feifei extended her hand.

Fu Xiaoxiao gave her the entire wallet.

Bai Feifei counted the money and said contentedly, “I’ll hold onto it for you. Let’s take a taxi to eat. The places downtown are cheaper and taste better.”

As Fu Xiaoxiao pushed her down the slope, she grumbled, “Why does what you just said sound so familiar…”

“Of course it does. Auntie tells you that every New Year, so you’re used to it,” Bai Feifei chuckled.

Putting everything else aside, Fu Xiaoxiao was indeed a born optimist. Wherever she was, there was never a lack of laughter.

Fu Xiaoxiao’s reaction was different from a normal person’s. She wasn’t angry or embarrassed. She even thought Bai Feifei’s reasoning was sound and nodded. “You’re right.”

Bai Feifei’s annoyance vanished.

The two of them found a small restaurant that served both Sichuan hotpot and grilled skewers. They ordered a serving of maoxuewang and a few grilled sets.

They ate like they were two starving ghosts, finishing almost everything on their plates, much to the amusement of the owner.

During the post-meal high, Fu Xiaoxiao lazily leaned back in her chair, scrolling through gossip. She suddenly saw something, her eyes lit up, and she waved wildly at Bai Feifei. “Look, look! The beautiful girl who rejected you is trending!”

Bai Feifei raised her face blankly, picked up a custard bun the owner had given them, and stuffed it into her mouth. She said, “Shut up.”

Fu Xiaoxiao was rubbing salt in the wound.

She hadn’t even dared to message Huo Wu yet.

She wasn’t afraid of being mocked or yelled at by Huo Wu. What she was afraid of was her message disappearing into a void, with Huo Wu not replying, only giving her the cold shoulder.

She couldn’t stand that.

Bai Feifei looked down at her phone.

The hashtag for Huo Wu’s trend had a “hot” label on it, followed by a few others with her name that were clearly just trying to ride the coattails. They were all about unknown young celebrities, and the comments were dominated by fan responses.

#HuoWuMissesThousandFlowersAward# #HuoWuSpottedAtCouple’sHotel,SuspectedOfMeetingSecretLover# #HuoWuDeepSeaButterflyWingGown#

Bai Feifei just happened to refresh the page, and the second hashtag immediately jumped to the front.

She opened the one she was most interested in. The comments were, as expected, a mess. Huo Wu had always relied on her talent, not on the tactics of internet celebrities. Her fans were always free to express themselves, so there was no large-scale comment filtering.

Bai Feifei randomly read a few of the top comments.

[Hands off Huo Wu, the beauty is not available.]

[Huo Wu has a diamond destiny, elegant and noble, attracting attention. She’s born for the entertainment industry, destined for success. Diamonds have high hardness and strong pressure resistance, they can bravely break through and change their fate, but they need to withstand outside challenges. Her love life will be difficult, her true love will come late, and she’ll need a benefactor’s help.]

Her true love would come late?

She was already here. How could it still be late?

Could it be someone else?

When Bai Feifei saw this, her finger twitched, and she clicked on the fortune-teller’s profile picture.

It cost 99.99 yuan a session, a very lucky price.

As soon as she refreshed, the account showed that it had been reported and banned.

Her thoughts were interrupted. All Bai Feifei could think about was “love life will be difficult, her true love will come late.” She felt guilty about the first half and anxious about the second. She mulled over the seven characters, a mix of conflict and entanglement, which ultimately left her feeling uneasy.

[She has a proper boyfriend. Maybe she’s on vacation with him?]

Bai Feifei’s breathing suddenly hitched. An indescribable pain instantly enveloped her insides, like a fire, burning her whole body.

[It’s been rumored that Huo Wu has a boyfriend outside the industry, a rich and handsome guy who holds an umbrella for her in the rain, getting one side of his body wet, and who acts as a human cushion to keep her from stepping in dirty water. I heard that every time Huo Wu joins a new project, he treats the entire crew to a meal…]

Bai Feifei’s vision blurred.

She remembered.

In the five years she was missing, according to the original plot, there was indeed such a person.

This person existed in everyone’s conversations, and many people claimed to have seen him, but no one knew who he was. He was very good at hiding himself. But even so, the fact that Huo Wu had a boyfriend was already etched into everyone’s minds, and it had almost become an open secret in the industry.

Now, it was etched into Bai Feifei’s own heart.

Fu Xiaoxiao suddenly looked up and saw Bai Feifei on the verge of tears. She was startled and grabbed a napkin from the table. “Why are you crying? What did you see?”

Bai Feifei let her take the phone, her face long. She slumped in the chair just like Fu Xiaoxiao had on the sofa, dispirited and not wanting to say a word.

Fu Xiaoxiao had already seen the comments.

[Do you have to stare at the hotel? There’s a hospital next to it. Maybe a family member had an emergency. Didn’t you see from the pictures that Huo Wu, her assistant, and manager all looked so worried? Even the live broadcast from the Thousand Flowers Award only managed to catch her back?]

[Have you ever seen anyone meet a secret lover and bring their manager and assistant with them? Is a secret lover more important than the awards ceremony? Don’t you know that skipping it means automatic disqualification? What kind of a big shot would do something like that?]

[The person above speaks the truth.]

“Boyfriend?” Fu Xiaoxiao raised her head nonchalantly. “They’re not married yet, and even if they were, they could still get divorced. Just steal him!”

Bai Feifei thought for a moment. “That’s not very ethical, is it?”

Fu Xiaoxiao said, “Then you just have to be prepared.”

Bai Feifei waited for her to finish.

Fu Xiaoxiao’s face was blank. “Wait until they get engaged, then get married, then wait for her boyfriend to die. Or wait until they break up, then you can make your move.”

Bai Feifei paused, then suddenly thought of something. “Do you know who this boyfriend of hers is?”

“No, I don’t. How would I know? I didn’t have much to do with the entertainment industry before. At most, I’d just go out to dinner with those people… Most of them were asking me to find my mom for help,” Fu Xiaoxiao said glumly. “I’m just a good luck charm.”

“A good luck charm is better than a financial drain,” Bai Feifei said, mustering a bit of spirit. “First, I have to figure out who her boyfriend is.”

She didn’t know anything about the boyfriend, but she knew Huo Wu.

She didn’t believe Huo Wu would be so ambiguous with her if she already had a partner, especially not at such an important time.

Bai Feifei let out a breath and leaned back. Fu Xiaoxiao cried out and rushed over from her seat to support her. “What’s wrong? Why is your face so pale?”

The commotion quickly attracted the attention of others, and several nearby tables began to turn their heads, their gazes a mix of curiosity and concern.

Bai Feifei didn’t want to make a scene. She clutched her stomach and said, her face pale, “Stomach ache.”

The stress and emotional tension had affected her already weak stomach. In addition, she hadn’t eaten for who knows how long. Not only that, but she had also had medicine and alcohol, and after a night of intense activity, she had eaten greasy and spicy food like maoxuewang and grilled skewers…

Bai Feifei covered her face and groaned, thinking she was so unlucky to have been careless when she was with Fu Xiaoxiao.

Fu Xiaoxiao was about to take her to the hospital. The wheelchair next to them finally came in handy. Fu Xiaoxiao ran quickly and smoothly to a nearby hospital and got Bai Feifei registered.

After she had run up and down several floors, she returned to the hospital room and saw Bai Feifei lying weakly on the bed, her face as white as wax.

Fu Xiaoxiao was so scared. “What did the doctor say?”

“Acute gastroenteritis.” Bai Feifei knew it was related to her diet and lack of rest. She briefly explained a few things to Fu Xiaoxiao, then didn’t have the energy to talk anymore, waiting for the nurse to come and give her an IV drip.

Fu Xiaoxiao pulled a chair up next to her, worriedly stroking her face. She lowered her voice and said softly, “It must be so uncomfortable, right?”

“Just stay with me,” Bai Feifei said, her eyes half-closed, feeling weak.

Fu Xiaoxiao told her to stop talking and anxiously went to hurry the nurse along.

She walked back in with the nurse and saw Bai Feifei pulling out her phone again. She was groaning in pain from time to time, but she was still typing away on her phone.

Was she chatting with someone?

Bai Feifei only sent two messages to Huo Wu.

[Bai Feifei: Ah Wu, are you there?]

[Bai Feifei: Can I see you again?]

Just as she thought, the messages disappeared into a void, with no reply.

Bai Feifei felt the pain in her stomach intensify, sometimes a wrenching pain, sometimes a stabbing one, dense and sharp.

Finally, she let the nurse take her left hand to insert the needle. She didn’t have the strength to type anymore. She leaned in and softly sent a voice message: “I’m sick, very sick. Can you come see me… I’m at a private hospital, in a single room, so it’s very safe.”

The nurse glanced at her a few times. She thought the girl was young, with soft black hair and fair skin. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were all red, probably from the pain and crying, as if someone had bullied her.

Bai Feifei sniffled, waited for the nurse to finish, and felt the familiar cold sensation spread up her arm, gradually numbing the pain in her stomach. She felt that Huo Wu probably wouldn’t reply.

Just as she moved her hand to the power button to turn off the screen, she suddenly received a new message.

[Ah Wu: Send me the location.]

Bai Feifei’s heart suddenly pounded, beating so hard it felt like it would leap out of her chest.

Immediately after, she received another message.

[Ah Wu: This is Ji Meng.]

Bai Feifei’s heart instantly turned cold. She took a breath, and her nose was filled with the stinging sensation of ice, a deep, tearing pain.

Huo Wu still didn’t want to talk to her.