Transmigrated as the Future Movie Queen's Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Perhaps due to the emergence of the “Three-Point Covenant,” Su Mi didn’t want Xin Keke to be troubled by trivial matters, so her behavior became much more disciplined than before.

However, because of this, the atmosphere between the two of them throughout the entire noon was a bit strange.

At the thought of experiencing her first ever film shoot tonight (even though she didn’t have any scenes), Su Mi felt quite nervous. Worried that her physical strength wouldn’t hold up if they had to stay up late, she forced herself to sleep for a while in the afternoon.

Upon waking, she hazily saw Xin Keke sitting at the head of the adjacent bed, reading a book.

Being in a state of half-consciousness, she didn’t remember the need to consciously keep her distance from Xin Keke. Su Mi looked at her blearily and asked slurredly, “…What time is it…?”

Xin Keke’s hand holding the script paused.

She glanced at her phone and said calmly, “It’s almost four. You can sleep a little longer.”

“Oh…”

Hearing Xin Keke’s words, Su Mi actually closed her eyes again, intending to take a nap.

After another minute of silence, she suddenly opened her eyes wide as if remembering something: “Wait! Shooting starts at six, and I haven’t had dinner yet!”

Between the ribbon-cutting ceremony in the morning and the back-and-forth with Xin Keke at noon, she hadn’t had time to eat at all. By now, Su Mi was completely famished.

She grabbed her phone: “Xin Keke, is there anything you want to eat? I’ll order takeout.”

“…”

Because she was busy scouring for nearby delicacies, Su Mi didn’t see the expression on Xin Keke’s face.

A flicker of complex emotion crossed her eyes: “No need, I’m not eating tonight.”

“How can that be? Never mind, it’ll probably take quite a while to get here anyway, so let’s get this.”

Su Mi countered and started talking to herself: “Even if you’re an actress and need to keep your figure, you still have to eat. I ordered a lot of dishes I like; I can’t finish them anyway, so why don’t you just eat with me? Otherwise, it’s a waste.”

She naturally remembered Xin Keke’s lunch tray at the cafeteria, which hadn’t a single piece of meat.

Su Mi didn’t know if Xin Keke was truly maintaining her figure or if she was tight on cash and saving wherever she could. But people are made of iron and rice is steel; no matter how tough Xin Keke was, skipping meals would truly lead to hunger-induced panic.

However, Su Mi also understood that Xin Keke wouldn’t accept her kindness outright, so she could only pretend she wanted to eat and was “incidentally” letting Xin Keke have some.

After hearing her words, Xin Keke fell silent.

The two of them seemed to return to that inexplicable silence from before.

After ordering the food, Su Mi tossed her phone aside and peeked at the person on the opposite bed. Xin Keke didn’t seem to notice her gaze, focusing with extreme seriousness on the script in her hands.

The parts belonging to her were marked with a yellow highlighter. Xin Keke was currently re-familiarizing herself with the lines. To avoid disturbing Su Mi’s sleep, she didn’t make a sound, merely reciting them in her mind.

Gazing across the small cabinet between the beds, Su Mi’s eyes lingered on Xin Keke’s face for a long time.

This was the person she needed to win over.

If it weren’t for her desire to return to the real world quickly, Su Mi would actually love to stay here for a longer period and experience a life completely different from her previous one. In fact, as a seasoned corporate slave, Su Mi knew well that every day she delayed her return was another day her project faced the risk of being axed.

The moment she set down the script, Xin Keke withdrew from her character.

Sensing something, she turned her head toward Su Mi.

Su Mi’s heart tightened, and she quickly tapped her phone, pretending to browse an app.

Hearing no sound, Su Mi looked up after a short while and found Xin Keke had lowered her head back to the script.

This awkward atmosphere ended with a call from the delivery person.

Su Mi threw on some clothes and went downstairs to fetch the food. To prevent Xin Keke from getting suspicious, she specifically ordered small-portion dishes but asked for two servings of rice.

She placed the food on the room’s table and called out to Xin Keke: “Time to eat.”

“…I’ll pass.”

Xin Keke’s voice was very soft, her eyes darting quickly over Su Mi’s face before returning to the script.

It was exactly because she expected Xin Keke to refuse like this that Su Mi had prepared a set of excuses: “Oh, come on, we didn’t eat lunch. I saw so many things I wanted to eat just now, but I can’t finish them alone.”

She took out two small bowls of rice and shook them in front of Xin Keke: “I’m afraid of wasting it, so just eat with me, okay?”

“…”

Xin Keke didn’t speak. Su Mi simply laid out all the small dishes on the table. As expected, she had ordered a lot; they almost filled the small table: “Xin Keke, look, I ordered so much. If I eat alone, I’ll have to throw it all away. It’s such a waste.”

Successfully, she heard Xin Keke let out a sigh: “How much was it? I’ll split it with you.”

“No need, I was the one who wanted to eat anyway…”

“How much.”

Su Mi pouted and named a rough figure. She truly wanted to treat Xin Keke to dinner, but given Xin Keke’s serious personality, she probably wouldn’t pick up her chopsticks if Su Mi didn’t accept the money.

Her phone vibrated; she received a digital red envelope from Xin Keke on the app.

Only then was she willing to get off the bed: “Let’s eat.”

“You really…”

Su Mi shook her head helplessly.

The original novel had only mentioned in passing during a later plot point that Xin Keke liked sour food. After scouring the menu many times, Su Mi had found a Sour and Spicy Shredded Potato dish and Old Vinegar Black Fungus that could take extra vinegar.

She didn’t know what else Xin Keke liked, so she just ordered a random assortment of meat and vegetable dishes.

Su Mi popped the lid off the rice and asked, “If I had known you were going to pay me, I would have asked what you wanted. Do you have any dietary restrictions?”

Xin Keke moved quickly, already tucking a small mouthful of rice into her mouth. Hearing Su Mi’s question, she shook her head.

“Then what do you like to eat?”

“I like everything.”

This made things difficult!

Whether Xin Keke didn’t want to tell her her preferences or truly liked everything, the conversation was hitting a dead end. Su Mi muttered an “oh” and, since she was genuinely hungry, started eating.

After quite a long time, she heard a hesitant: “…And you?”

“Eh?”

Su Mi realized that Xin Keke didn’t seem to know how to handle situations where people were kind to her.

The last time she lent her clothes and sent her to the audition, Xin Keke’s reaction was much the same as now. That slightly awkward yet perceptibly grateful response left Su Mi unsure of how to reply for a moment.

It wasn’t until her eyes met Xin Keke’s that Su Mi scratched the back of her head and laughed: “Ah, haha, me? I prefer spicy food, but unfortunately, I can only handle a mild level of spice. But as long as it’s delicious, I like everything.”

“Mmh.”

Xin Keke nodded and spoke no more, as if keeping a certain distance from Su Mi.

Su Mi stopped making a fool of herself and lowered her head to eat as well.

However, she noticed that Xin Keke truly ate the most of the black fungus and shredded potatoes with extra vinegar. She silently noted Xin Keke’s taste in her heart, planning to cater to her preferences by ordering more sour things when taking her out to eat in the future.

The original author did not deceive me.

In truth, Su Mi had already prepared herself for a long battle.

There was still a long time before the malicious incident in the original novel. As long as she changed her relationship with Xin Keke before then and helped her reach the position of Best Actress, she assumed the “mission” would be complete and she could return safely.

This was only her second week here; haste would only make waste.

The two of them finished most of the dishes and cleared away the leftovers. Su Mi washed her hands, changed her clothes, and prepared to head out with Xin Keke toward the set.

“You don’t have any scenes tonight.”

Xin Keke spoke up as a reminder. Su Mi stretched: “Don’t you? Grandma already spoke with Director Song; I can go and learn anytime.”

The temperature in Changning was high. Even though it was November, everyone was wearing short sleeves.

Su Mi wasn’t wearing a white T-shirt and jeans today; she had changed into small hot pants and a loose, casual top. She studied herself in the mirror, satisfied as she applied lip gloss: “What about you? Is it really okay that you didn’t sleep at noon? I’m afraid you won’t hold up tonight.”

“It’s fine,” Xin Keke said flatly. “Let’s go.”

Su Mi was clearly very happy: “Off we go!”

After all, this was her first time on a film set. At the thought of this, it was hard not to make excited noises like a child.

Xin Keke trailed behind Su Mi. Looking at her back, a helpless smile suddenly touched her lips.

But the smile was gone in an instant.

The first scene Director Song was filming tonight was the most critical of the critical scenes.

Su Mi only knew that the first scene tonight was definitely related to the four roommates. However, once she arrived at the set, she saw several male actors present in addition to Ye Luo, Xiao Ai, and Shi Yaya. Su Mi was immediately a bit confused.

“What exactly are we filming tonight? Why is everyone here?”

Watching the staff busy on the set, Su Mi nudged Xin Keke lightly with her elbow and asked.

Immediately after the nudge, she suddenly remembered Xin Keke’s “Three-Point Covenant,” one rule of which prohibited physical contact and touching.

Fortunately, Xin Keke didn’t make an issue of it. She looked at the room prepared for filming, as well as the lighting and sound equipment inside, and replied: “We’re filming the scene where Yuan Yuan discovers that Wei Minghui is already dating Zeng Liumei and goes to confront them.”

“Oh…” Su Mi nodded. “That means…”

Wait.

Yuan Yuan discovers that Wei Minghui is already dating Zeng Liumei and goes to confront them?

Even though she had skimmed the script, she had a very strong impression of this segment.

Back when she refused the lead role, one of the reasons was precisely this scene—specifically, the lead Zeng Liumei’s reaction after discovering Yuan Yuan and Wei Minghui’s past…

“Oh, you’re here.”

Xiao Ai was sharp-eyed and the first to spot Su Mi and Xin Keke. Hearing her shout, Ye Luo and Shi Yaya turned their gazes this way.

Thinking of tonight’s filming content, Su Mi stepped directly in front of Xin Keke, though she didn’t know why she did it instinctively.

With a smile on her face, she waved to the three: “Hi, good evening everyone, have you eaten?”

“We’ve eaten! We had coconut chicken. Ye Luo and I went out and looked around; there are quite a few good places to eat nearby!” Whenever food was mentioned, Xiao Ai became very hyper. “What did you eat?”

“We ordered takeout; it was pretty good. I’ll recommend it to you if you need it,” Su Mi said, before quickly changing the subject. “For the first scene tonight, I’ll be helping with logistics. If you need anything, just let me know.”

Su Mi’s gaze drifted seemingly aimlessly toward Shi Yaya.

D*mn it, why did the female lead have to be played by Shi Yaya…

They had just had an unpleasant encounter today…

Seeing Shi Yaya look over, Su Mi curled her lips into a sunny smile: “I’m here to observe and learn today. Good luck everyone!”