The Aloof Film Queen Gets Entangled by a Sweet Little Omega - Chapter 18

Maybe Breaking Up Like This is Fine

Shi Zi and Chu Ye boarded the high-speed train to return home. Shi Rui dropped them off at the station alone, and upon returning to the school entrance, she spotted a roasted sweet potato stall.

She walked a few meters past it before suddenly stopping, turning back, and halting in front of the stall. “Boss, I’ll take one.”

“How many pounds?” the vendor asked.

Shi Rui lowered her head and gestured with her hands. “About this big.”

“Alright, I’ll pick the sweetest one for you.” With that, the vendor used tongs to pull out one of a similar size, packed it in a box, and handed it to her.

Shi Rui paid and ate as she walked, thinking to herself that the vendor was a liar—it wasn’t sweet at all.

Back at the dorm, Rong An was showering while Ming Qing was editing photos they had taken over the past two days. Qian Qian was sitting on Ming Qing’s lap eating potato chips, while Ming Qing occasionally pinched her cheeks to force her to look at the computer screen.

“Quick, pick one. Which one looks best? I want to post it on my Moments.”

“They all look so good,” He Qianqian said, unable to choose. “Qingqing looks beautiful no matter what.”

Shi Rui placed the unfinished roasted sweet potato on the desk, washed her hands, and stood before Ming Qing. She heard Ming Qing ask without even looking up, “Did you see the aunts off?”

“Mhm.” Shi Rui nodded, her eyes fixed on her. He Qianqian looked up to greet her, “Xiao Rui…”

Before she could finish, Ming Qing scooped her up by the waist with one hand and sat her on the desk. She stuffed a phone into her hands. “Take this and change your Moments background to the photo I sent you.”

“Oh,” He Qianqian replied obediently. Ming Qing turned and gave Shi Rui a look. “Come downstairs with me to pick up a package?”

Shi Rui agreed immediately. “Let’s go.”

He Qianqian called out softly from behind them, “Qingqing, I have a package too.”

“Call me ‘Wife,'” Ming Qing teased her mischievously. But Qianqian was an honest, obedient girl; she tilted her head, narrowed her eyes, and called out sweetly, “Wife~ I have a package too~”

Her soft voice twisted through eighteen bends of a mountain path as she pressed her hands together in a plea: “Please, please, thank you, Wife~”

The usually calm and composed Ming Qing felt a sudden surge of fluster. Her gaze, which had been fixed on He Qianqian, quickly darted away. She gave a guilty-sounding grunt and left with Shi Rui.

“Your mood has been off these past two days. Does it have to do with your sister? I noticed you haven’t really mentioned her. Did you have a fight?”

After heading downstairs, the two didn’t go to the mail center but went for a walk on the track field instead.

As dusk fell, the track field was sparsely populated, making it the perfect place for a chat.

Shi Rui kept her hands behind her back. After a moment of silence, she nodded and said, “She hasn’t replied to my messages once.”

“What?” Ming Qing grew angry the moment she heard this. “Since when did she stop replying?”

“Let me think… it seems like…”

Shi Rui’s tone didn’t sound particularly anxious, as if she didn’t care much. After a while, she replied, “It seems like since we got together, she hasn’t really paid attention to me.”

Ming Qing clenched her fists and hissed, “She really is a jerk! She stops cherishing you the moment she has you. How typical!”

“It’s not like that,” Shi Rui refuted softly. “She’s just a coward.”

“Don’t be such a ‘love-brain,’ Little Rabbit.”

“I’m not a love-brain. There’s a reason. Sister… she has her own difficulties. I’m not entirely clear on them yet, so I can’t tell you. I promise, once I understand everything, I’ll tell you first.”

Shi Rui raised three fingers toward the moon to swear an oath. For a little rabbit, this was a very serious vow.

Seeing that her earnest persuasion couldn’t change Shi Rui’s mind, Ming Qing dropped the subject. Some things can only be understood and grown from through personal experience. She cleared her throat and asked, “So, what did you want my help with?”

“I have a favor to ask.” Shi Rui paused for a moment, then said with determination, “Isn’t she on a film set shooting right now? Find a way to get me in as an extra. I want to see her.”

“Why go through all that trouble? If you want to see her, just say the word and wouldn’t she come?” Ming Qing didn’t understand—not at all.

Besides, did she look like someone with the power to just toss people into a film crew as extras?

Shi Rui softened up, hugging Ming Qing’s arm and nuzzling her with her ear, acting spoiled. “Qingqing, please? I don’t want to message her right now, and I have my own reasons. I’ll tell you everything later.”

Helpless, Ming Qing had no choice but to agree.

On the other side, in the dressing room.

Luo Xiao leaned back in her chair, fiddling with her phone. Suddenly, it vibrated twice. She immediately perked up and opened it, only to find it was just a generic notification. Her energy vanished instantly, and she slumped back into her chair listlessly.

It had been four days. Four days since the Little Rabbit had last messaged her.

Even though this was the result she wanted, now that it had actually come true, it felt a bit…

The door to the dressing room opened from the outside. Qi Ran walked in, stubbing out a cigarette. Seeing Luo Xiao’s lifeless state, she asked in confusion, “If you miss her, why don’t you just message her? Go see her.”

She waited a thousand years, only for it to end this easily? That’s a bit of a joke, isn’t it?

Luo Xiao tilted her head back and closed her eyes, replying with a face full of exhaustion, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore.”

She hated how she had become so indecisive, constantly looking over her shoulder and overthinking every move.

Hearing this, Qi Ran’s tone softened. She sat across from her and offered earnest advice: “Luo Xiao, what happened a thousand years ago wasn’t your fault. If there had been a choice, you would have been the last person to want anything to happen to Little Rabbit. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Besides, your current behavior is hurting her too, you know?”

Luo Xiao slowly opened her eyes. Her green pupils were filled with an endless sorrow, looking like a spring landscape buried under wind and snow—all the vibrant life had vanished.

“She won’t be hurt.”

“I’ve only seen her a handful of times. In her eyes, I’m probably just someone with a bit of a celebrity glow and the temporary thrill of a new relationship. As long as we stop contacting each other, she’ll forget me soon enough.”

Luo Xiao murmured in a low voice, as if trying to soothe herself. “She will forget me.”

As long as the Little Rabbit was safe, she was willing to do anything—even if it meant staying far away.

Qi Ran wanted to argue further, but the phone in her pocket buzzed twice. She pulled it out, and a smile instantly spread across her face. She waved the phone at Luo Xiao and said, “I’m done chatting with you. You’re heartbroken, but my ‘Spring’ is coming. I’m out of here.”

“Mhm.” Luo Xiao didn’t even look up, her eyes still staring blankly at her phone screen.

Little Rabbit…

Outside, Qi Ran dialed the number back, unable to stop herself from smiling as she asked, “Little Lamb, what made you think of calling me? Do you miss me?”

Back in the dorm, four heads that had been huddled tightly together suddenly scattered. No one wanted to pick up that call—it was way too cheesy.

“Hello? Little Lamb? Why aren’t you talking?”

“If you don’t speak up, I’m hanging up, Little Lamb.”

Ming Qing’s skin crawled from the cringe. She nudged Rong An, egging her on: “You do it.”

“Not me. I’m honest and plain-spoken; I don’t know how to talk to people like that.” Rong An truly couldn’t bring herself to say it, so she directed the person next to her: “Qianqian, you go.”

“Oh.” He Qianqian obeyed and stepped forward, preparing to hold the phone and reply, only for Ming Qing to grab her hand. “No, she can’t do it.”

“Then who?” Rong An was out of ideas. Ming Qing hesitated for a moment, then, with a “do-or-die” expression, said, “I’ll do it.”

But just as she made up her mind, the phone on the desk was snatched away.

Shi Rui steadied her breathing and calmed her nerves. In a very steady tone, she said, “Hello, Sister Ran. This is Shi Rui.”

“Oh.” Qi Ran let out a startled cry on the other end, followed by a long silence. After a while, she spoke again: “Xiao Rui, is something the matter?”

She sounded much more normal now.

Shi Rui looked up at Ming Qing and saw her gesturing wildly with her hands. Following the cues, Shi Rui said, “I heard there’s a film crew scouting locations in S-City. I’d like to be an extra. Is that possible?”

“Well…” Qi Ran’s tone sounded a bit hesitant. There were indeed two or three crews filming in S-City recently, but anyone with half a brain knew what Shi Rui was really after by calling her. She was debating whether she should tell Luo Xiao.

Seeing the silence on the other end, Ming Qing gestured anxiously from the side. Shi Rui watched her and translated haltingly, “A-And… Qingqing says… she wants to go too.”

“That is absolutely not a problem,” Qi Ran replied decisively. Choosing romance over friendship, she tossed Luo Xiao to the back of her mind. Pretending to check a schedule, she added, “I just checked; there are indeed a few scenes to be filmed at your university. You guys should come then.”

“Great, thank you, Sister Ran.” Shi Rui was overjoyed and thanked her sincerely. At the end, she added one more thing: “Don’t tell Luo Xiao.”

Qi Ran’s heart skipped a beat. She sighed inwardly, thinking that Luo Xiao’s “cliff-drop” breakup had clearly hurt the poor girl—she wasn’t even calling her “Sister” anymore, just using her full name.

After hanging up, she glanced back at the dressing room door and muttered to herself, “Don’t blame me for taking initiative. If you don’t want a wife, I still want mine.”

Time flew by. Towards the end of the month, a couple of rainstorms hit, and the temperature dropped sharply. It was finally time to reorganize the wardrobe for winter.

Luo Xiao had been filming non-stop for several days, handling the most grueling and exhausting scenes in the script. The director had prepared a stunt double for her, but she refused to use one, insisting on doing everything herself. Now that those scenes were finished, it was time to move to S-University to film the “student era” scenes.

This was supposed to be the easiest part of the shoot and wouldn’t be very tiring; it was expected to take about two days. However, Luo Xiao suddenly requested the director to use a stunt double for the outdoor campus scenes.

The director was curious but figured she might just be exhausted from the heavy workload of the previous days, so he nodded and agreed.

When Qi Ran found out, she tried to probe for information. “You aren’t hiding from someone, are you?”

“Hiding from who?”

Luo Xiao flipped through her book with a natural expression, having returned to her previous cold demeanor. It was as if that brief relationship had been nothing more than a dream born from a momentary overflow of longing.

Stubborn.

Qi Ran saw right through her but didn’t say anything, simply curling her lip and walking away.

On the day of filming, Shi Rui and Ming Qing successfully joined the crew as extras. Qi Ran had been quite generous, getting them each a role with two lines of dialogue:

Server A and Server B in a restaurant.

The specific plot was as follows:

Gu Chengyu (played by Luo Xiao) and her college girlfriend, Qi Wen, are eating at a restaurant. Because a guest at the next table is smoking and Qi Wen hates the smell, she asks a server to negotiate with the guest. However, the server responds with sarcasm and attitude. Consequently, Gu Chengyu steps up to protect her “wife” and gives the two servers a harsh lesson.

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