The Movie Queen's Beloved Crybaby Alpha - Chapter 42

Facing Xu Youyou’s question, Bai Qian’s mother’s expression immediately darkened.

“Young lady, what do you mean by that?” Her voice even carried a sharp edge.

Xu Youyou remained unhurried, even smiling as she replied, “Don’t overthink it. I just wanted to mention that the sound system in the entertainment room seems to have some issues. If you want to use it, you might need to ask the homestay owner to fix it.”

Bai Qian’s mother seemed to realize her own inappropriate attitude and forced a dry laugh. “I’ll mention it to the owner later then.”

Xu Youyou smiled at her. “Great. We’ll go pick some fruit now.”

With that, she lightly tugged at Wei Youning’s sleeve. Wei Youning caught on and said, “Right, right, let’s go. Don’t want to delay lunch preparations.”

Then, taking Jiang Can’s girlfriend and Ye Qinglan by the hand, she ushered them outside.

Once out of the homestay, the group exchanged glances. After a moment of silent understanding, Xu Youyou was the first to pull out her phone and open the livestream.

As expected, the earlier exchange had stirred up the chat again.

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What’s going on? Why does this episode feel so tense?

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What happened? I stepped away for a bit and missed it.

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Is Xu Youyou a civilian? She seems to have no sense of boundaries!

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Seriously? The person above clearly didn’t see Bai Qian’s mom wandering upstairs earlier and lingering outside their rooms. Who’s the one with no boundaries here?

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She just lingered for a bit, didn’t do anything. No need to overreact.

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Lol, let me put it this way: imagine during New Year’s, relatives visit your home when you’re out, and they linger outside your bedroom door. Tell me you wouldn’t feel creeped out.

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Stop with the analogies! I’m already getting goosebumps!

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Maybe she was just worried their doors weren’t locked properly?

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Come on, the homestay was rented to the production crew. Who else would go in besides them?

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Forget that, I’m more curious about what these four are doing with their heads huddled together now. It’s completely silent! Can the crew move closer?

Noticing the chat, Xu Youyou quickly put her phone away.

The group stood up, pretending nothing had happened.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to the orchard,” Jiang Can’s girlfriend said.

“Okay.”

The backyard had a small orchard with seasonal fruits. They didn’t pick much, just a little of each, before returning to the house. Bai Qian’s mother was watching TV, and the group tacitly avoided disturbing her, simply setting the fruit down before heading to wash up before lunch.

Unexpectedly, hearing the noise, Bai Qian’s mother turned and frowned at their small basket of fruit. “Why did you pick so little?”

The group was taken aback.

As public figures, Ye Qinglan and Wei Youning couldn’t react strongly. Xu Youyou was held back by Wei Youning after the earlier confrontation, the young girl had already attracted many online critics. She wasn’t officially debuted yet, just considering entering the industry. Though appearing on the show, she’d only be talked about casually later, not treated as an industry insider facing backlash.

Thus restrained by Wei Youning, the frustrated girl could only turn her back to Bai Qian’s mother to hide her emotions.

Only Jiang Can’s girlfriend couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Auntie, do you think we didn’t pick enough?”

Bai Qian’s mother snorted lightly, “Now that you’re all wealthy people, why are you still so stingy?”

Jiang Can’s girlfriend took a deep breath.

Had Bai Qian’s mother responded properly, she could have smoothed things over.

But this passive-aggressive attitude was truly unpleasant. If not for the show’s cameras, she would have fired back with a series of sharp retorts. As it was, she only managed a strained smile: “If you think it’s not enough, you’re welcome to pick more yourself, just pay the fee. While this amount isn’t expensive for us, extravagance isn’t our style.”

“I believe you’d agree with that, wouldn’t you?”

Bai Qian’s mother was left speechless.

Just then, the kitchen door opened. Ning Yunshu smiled at the group, “Sister, everyone, you can wash up for dinner now.”

“Yes, we’ll go wash up,” Ye Qinglan responded, patting Jiang Can’s girlfriend’s shoulder in understanding.

The group went to wash their hands and helped set the table.

“It smells amazing!” Wei Youning couldn’t help exclaiming at the lavish spread. “You’re all so talented!”

Jiang Can scratched his head sheepishly, “Actually, Director Ning did most of the cooking. We just helped with prep work.”

Wei Youning looked astonished.

Ye Qinglan teased from the side, “I told you long ago that Xiaoshu is an excellent cook.”

“Well now I’ve seen it for myself,” Wei Youning smacked his lips appreciatively.

Bai Qian added with a smile, “Director Ning is truly remarkable. We couldn’t contribute much and had to rely on her alone. You’ve worked hard, Director Ning, please sit and rest.”

As she spoke, she pulled out the chair beside her.

“No need for formalities you all helped plenty,” Ning Yunshu said, but instead took the seat next to Ye Qinglan. “Sister, try it and see if it suits your taste.”

She never even glanced at the chair Bai Qian had offered.

Bai Qian felt awkward but turned to her mother who was slowly approaching to ease the tension. “Mom, come eat.”

“Coming,” Mrs. Bai sat down reluctantly.

“Let’s eat. We’ll rest a bit after before heading out,” Ye Qinglan announced.

As everyone began eating, they praised Ning Yunshu’s culinary skills between bites.

Bai Qian even remarked, “Director Ning cooks so well. I wonder who’ll be lucky enough to enjoy your cooking every day in the future.”

Ning Yunshu curved her lips, tilting her head toward Ye Qinglan. “Sister, what do you think?”

Seeing her smiling eyes, Ye Qinglan played along, “Hmm, it’s so hard to guess, who could it be?”

Their interaction didn’t escape the watching netizens:

-So hard to guess, who could it be?

-So hard to guess, who could it be?

-Stop copying the previous comment!

-Hard to guess,  my foot! You can’t take your eyes off each other!

-Just typical couple antics, don’t mind them.

After lunch, they loaded the dishwasher and retired to their respective rooms.

As it was lunch break, Ning Yunshu turned off all the cameras in the room on her own initiative before turning to Ye Qinglan. “Sister, what do you think about Bai Qian and her mother?”

Ye Qinglan frowned slightly before responding, “It’s hard to say. Bai Qian seems fine for now, apart from speaking in a somewhat manipulative way. But her mother,  I’m not sure how to describe her. Let’s lock the door when we go out this afternoon.”

Ning Yunshu nodded, then hesitated before adding, “About Bai Qian while cooking today, she kept subtly probing about our relationship.”

Ye Qinglan’s frown deepened. “Hmm, I’ve been getting a vague feeling today maybe I’m being overly suspicious but I sense Bai Qian might harbor some hostility toward me.”

Ning Yunshu’s expression turned serious. “I’ll have someone look into it.”

After a moment’s thought, Ye Qinglan said, “I’ll quietly ask Sister Wei for information. Director Fang is her friend, so she might know something. But with all the cameras around today, it wasn’t appropriate to ask directly.”

“That works.”

Both took out their phones, Ning Yunshu contacted Qin Yun while Ye Qinglan reached out to Wei Youning.

Wei Youning didn’t reply immediately, so Ye Qinglan assumed she was sleeping and prepared to message Ke Ying instead.

Before she could send the message, Wei Youning called.

Ye Qinglan quickly answered, “Sister Wei.”

“I’m furious! Absolutely furious! I’m so sorry, Qinglan. I invited you to this variety show only to make you uncomfortable.” Wei Youning’s voice was clearly agitated.

“What’s wrong, Sister Wei? Calm down first.” Sensing something amiss, Ye Qinglan tried to soothe her before asking, “What exactly happened?”

Wei Youning sighed deeply. “It’s partly my fault for not noticing earlier. Originally, Bai Qian wasn’t Fang Qiang’s first choice for the show. But Bai Qian has backers, she was forced into the lineup. Fang Qiang had no choice since this was decided just two days before filming. It was too late to notify anyone or make changes.”

Ye Qinglan asked, “Even if she was inserted by connections, normally this wouldn’t make you so angry or require notification, would it?”

Wei Youning gritted her teeth. “My dear, are you truly unaware?”

“Aware of what?” Ye Qinglan was completely confused.

“That Bai Qian started in web dramas just like you, but all her projects were overshadowed by yours. After graduation, you soared in the film industry, winning Best Actress honors, while she’s stuck playing ditzy heroines in TV dramas. In terms of popularity you might not compare, but in prestige and achievements, you’ve eclipsed her for years.” Wei Youning’s voice carried clear exasperation.

“Why does that matter?” Ye Qinglan couldn’t help saying. “We’re on completely different career paths. There’s no need for her to compare herself to me.”

Wei Youning hesitated before speaking, “It’s not that simple. Since she debuted at the same time as you, the two of you were bound to be constantly compared. Even if you don’t care, others will. Your current market value has far surpassed hers, but in this industry, it’s hard to avoid obstacles. What’s more, she already has powerful backers now, why would she deliberately choose to appear on the same variety show as you? It’s obvious her intentions aren’t pure. The problem is, we still have no idea what they are.”

“And then there’s Bai Qian’s mother. Do you know why Youyou asked about her today?”

“Why?”

Wei Youning’s tone immediately turned serious.

“Because while we were grocery shopping, Youyou had some free time and opened the livestream. She happened to see Bai Qian’s mother loitering near our door for quite a while.”

“The way she was acting,  it looked like she was studying our door lock.”

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