Transmigrated as the Future Movie Queen's Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 

Since that day, Su Mi had keenly sensed the change in Xin Keke.

 

It was as if Xin Keke was trying her utmost to distance herself, avoiding meeting Su Mi whenever possible. In situations where an encounter was unavoidable, even if Su Mi took the initiative to strike up a conversation, Xin Keke’s attitude remained relatively cold.

 

Even someone as thick-skinned as Ji Yuan noticed the friction between the two.

 

“Teacher Su, did you offend Teacher Xin again recently?”

 

During lunch, Ji Yuan took the initiative to sit diagonally across from Su Mi, thoughtfully leaving the seat directly opposite Su Mi vacant so she could observe Xin Keke. “Teacher Xin looks like she doesn’t really want to acknowledge you.”

 

Su Mi looked up, glancing at the back of Xin Keke’s head several tables away before letting her gaze fall back on Ji Yuan. “Teacher Ji, has anyone ever told you that being too blunt can be very hurtful?”

 

“That’s why I’m still just an assistant and can’t lead anyone myself.” Ji Yuan stuffed a large mouthful of rice into her mouth. She chewed twice and suddenly remembered something, saying indistinctly, “Actually, usually…”

 

Su Mi’s face darkened. “Talk after you swallow your food.”

 

“…Usually,” Ji Yuan said after a forceful swallow, “in this kind of situation, it’s typically your fault, Teacher Su.”

 

?

 

Do you really know the original owner that well?! You’re making me take the fall without even asking!!

 

Su Mi propped up her forehead and let out a long sigh. “The point is, I don’t know how I offended her. Things were fine a few days ago.”

 

“That’s just what you thought, right, Teacher Su?”

 

“?”

 

Su Mi snapped her head up.

 

Ji Yuan, however, didn’t seem to notice she was being stared at. She picked a piece of scrambled egg from Su Mi’s bowl, ate it, and continued: “Because you used to tease Teacher Xin all the time, it’s only natural for her to dislike you.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

What do you mean?

 

“Although you indeed look like you’ve turned over a new leaf these past few days, Teacher Su, you already caused harm to Teacher Xin in the past. That’s not something that can be compensated for in the short term, right?”

 

Ji Yuan’s eyes remained fixed on the food. The lunch today was quite good, and she was reluctant to share even a tiny bit with Su Mi.

 

However, her words left Su Mi stunned.

 

“The better you treat her now, the more Teacher Xin feels like you’re playing a prank on her. If you had found your conscience earlier and hadn’t treated her like that before, it would be more useful than anything you do now.”

 

Ji Yuan truly seemed to be the type to speak her mind directly.

 

Hearing her words, Su Mi felt a bit dejected. “…So, was I really that terrible in the past?”

 

“Yes, very terrible. You were always leading a group of people to secretly bully Teacher Xin; sometimes even I couldn’t stand to watch it.” As she spoke and ate, the rice in Ji Yuan’s bowl quickly reached the bottom. “Teacher Xin just didn’t want to get too entangled with you all; it’s not that she doesn’t have a temper. But even when I told you, you wouldn’t listen and sometimes even scolded me.”

 

And yet you can still sit across from me eating as if nothing happened?

 

Su Mi’s lip twitched.

 

Ji Yuan’s unconscious “natural” personality was truly the most terrifying kind.

 

However, it was precisely because of Ji Yuan’s blunt words that Su Mi realized the inner conflict and dilemma Xin Keke was facing.

 

On one hand, the current Su Mi was indeed treating her very well, putting in every effort to win her over. These kind acts were things Xin Keke could feel.

 

On the other hand, the original Su Mi had indeed deeply hurt Xin Keke. Those wounds were real.

 

The more it went on like this, the more Xin Keke would weigh things—essentially weighing Su Mi’s credibility in her heart.

 

And since she was currently choosing to escape, it meant…

 

Sigh.

 

Actually, one couldn’t entirely blame Xin Keke.

 

Su Mi could only let out a small sigh and say to Ji Yuan, “Eat your food, Great Assistant Ji.”

 

Originally, she had thought about finding an excuse to back out of joining the film crew so she could devote herself entirely to spending time with Xin Keke. Now it seemed that a temporary separation was indeed necessary.

 

Su Mi’s gaze lingered on Xin Keke’s back for a while.

 

Xin Keke didn’t notice the gaze from behind. Her black hair draped quietly over her back, and her thin body looked as if a gust of wind might knock her over.

 

I wonder if she has an extra meat dish in her bowl.

 

Life is not easy; Su Mi sighed.

 

Hopefully, by the time she returns, Xin Keke won’t be as repulsed by her as she is now.

 

Since there was nothing to do at home anyway, early Saturday morning, Su Mi packed her things and arrived a day early in Changning—the city where Director Song’s TV drama was being filmed.

 

Because work and the ribbon-cutting ceremony wouldn’t start until this Sunday, when Su Mi followed the location given by the butler, there were only staff members busy on the set.

 

The butler had originally wanted to accompany her, but Su Mi refused. She wasn’t the original owner; since she had already turned down the female lead role, she naturally didn’t want to attract attention.

 

Let the butler come? Within less than an hour, the entire set would probably know she was the eldest daughter of the Su family.

 

Being able to learn more was good enough; beyond that, she had no other requests.

 

The original owner didn’t have much fame to begin with, and since Su Mi had arrived early at the set alone and dressed very simply, not a single staff member here recognized her.

 

She was happy to be left in peace.

 

Speaking of which, before coming to Changning, Su Mi had roughly read through the script Director Song had given the old lady.

 

The title of the drama was The Summers We Experienced. It mainly told the story of four roommates with very different personalities living in a shared apartment, covering their respective families, careers, friendships, and love lives.

 

Reading through it, Su Mi understood; it had that “ensemble drama” kind of feel.

 

For some unknown reason, Director Song was not on set. Looking at the staff busy with the scenery, Su Mi felt embarrassed to just stand there acting as background scenery.

 

Just as she was about to go up and ask if there was anything she could help with, someone pushed her aside from behind: “Don’t stand here blocking the way.”

 

Su Mi turned around.

 

A girl wearing sunglasses was standing with her arms crossed, looking at Su Mi with some disdain. She seemed a bit startled for a moment when she saw Su Mi turn around, but she quickly regained her impatient expression.

 

Beside her was a man carrying a briefcase, appearing to be with her.

 

The girl’s outfit was clearly not something an ordinary office worker could afford; just looking at her trendy clothes and shoes, one could tell at a glance they were luxury brands.

 

Could the person in front of her be an actor for this small web drama?

 

By contrast, Su Mi was dressed much more plainly today.

 

Aside from that head of pink-dyed hair, Su Mi was wearing a white T-shirt and denim jeans today, with just a bit of base makeup on her face. She didn’t look like a celebrity or even a celebrity-to-be at all.

 

Su Mi was stunned for a moment. Just as she was about to say something, an excited shout suddenly came from the staff: “Shi Yaya is here!”

 

“Is it really her?! She’s here so early! We haven’t even finished setting up yet.”

 

“She looks so pretty up close…”

 

Soon, the staff gathered around Su Mi’s side.

 

However, their eyes were all on Shi Yaya—even though Su Mi was still racking her brains to figure out exactly which character from the original novel Shi Yaya was.

 

“Teacher Shi,” one of the staff members who looked like a manager stood out and said to Shi Yaya, “Why did you come today? Director Song is away on business. Would you like to go to the hotel and wait? I’ll contact your manager once the director arrives.”

 

“It’s okay, I just came today to say hello to everyone~”

 

Shi Yaya immediately changed her tune when looking at this male staff member. She waved to the manager beside her, who immediately pushed over a small cart holding a large foam box: “These are cold drinks Teacher Shi prepared for everyone. Thank you for your hard work, crew members!”

 

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

 

Wow~

 

Standing on the outer edge, Su Mi could perfectly “get” Shi Yaya’s intention.

 

From this kind of display, she was probably a small actor with some degree of popularity.

 

Arriving at the set a day early and bringing cold drinks was a way to get a head start—building good relationships with the crew staff and winning over people’s hearts.

 

Learned something, learned something.

 

Well, none of this had anything to do with Su Mi. It was just that having been pushed earlier, she was slightly annoyed by this minor celebrity.

 

Su Mi saw that the workers had all started drinking the cold drinks and their work had paused. Since she had nothing to do staying there, she decided to head back to the hotel to look at the script again.

 

Since she had finally made it here, even if she couldn’t play the female lead, she could try out for a small “cannon fodder” role! She’d go back and pick a character to use as a way to train herself.

 

To her surprise, just as Su Mi turned around, she heard Shi Yaya’s slightly sharp voice ring out behind her: “Hey, you! Wait!”

 

Who are they calling? So pitiful, being called “Hey.”

 

Su Mi quickened her pace, thinking to herself as she walked.

 

The sound of hurried footsteps approached, and Su Mi’s shoulder was suddenly patted hard: “I’m talking to you!”

 

“?”

 

Su Mi stopped and looked at Shi Yaya’s manager.

 

“Take a drink. Yaya was kind enough to buy them for you.” For some reason, Su Mi felt this manager was speaking to her in a very overbearing manner. “Don’t let Yaya’s kindness go to waste.”

 

Su Mi: “…”

 

Ugh, I really want to be sarcastic, but today was her first day, and she didn’t want to cause trouble for Director Song or her grandmother.

 

It was just taking a bottle of drink; maybe the other person didn’t think much of it and was just anxious seeing someone not take one.

 

Because she didn’t want to argue, Su Mi subconsciously made excuses for them.

 

Thinking of this, Su Mi turned back around, took a bottle of drink from the foam box, and waved it toward Shi Yaya: “Thanks.”

 

Shi Yaya lowered her sunglasses slightly, looking at Su Mi through the gap above them.

 

“You look very unfamiliar. Which agency are you from? I know Ye Luo and Xiao Ai. Are you the actor for the fourth roommate? The one that hasn’t been decided yet?”

 

“No, no, I’m just someone following the crew.” Su Mi waved her hands repeatedly.

 

Seriously, please let her go! She didn’t want to attract a crowd at all! How embarrassing would it be if people found out she was a “connected” hire!!

 

“Thank you for the drink, Teacher Shi. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back first.”

 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Shi Yaya called out to Su Mi. “I saw just now that you weren’t busy. How about this? Follow me this afternoon. I happen to have some matters here that aren’t finished and need an extra hand.”

 

She looked toward the male staff manager from earlier: “Brother, can I borrow someone from you?”

 

“Uh…”

 

The staff member looked at Su Mi, then back at Shi Yaya.

 

Since Su Mi wasn’t actually part of his staff, he couldn’t make the decision.

 

However, since Su Mi didn’t seem to voice any objection, he could only scratch his head and smile awkwardly: “Sure, since Teacher Yaya said so, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

 

Su Mi: “So nobody is going to ask for my opinion…”

 

Unfortunately, her voice was drowned out by the noisy conversation.

 

Well, thinking about it, it didn’t really matter. It was just helping out.

 

If she stayed idle, she would probably immediately start thinking about Xin Keke’s situation, right?

 

The staff didn’t seem to have any place where she could help out. Since Shi Yaya needed help, working for anyone was still working—she could just treat it as experiencing life.

 

The ignored Su Mi let out a long sigh: “…………Fine.”