Transmigrated as the Future Movie Queen's Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Xin Keke was acting very strangely. In fact, Su Mi had sensed Xin Keke’s emotional state the moment she walked in the door, but the second Xin Keke looked at her, it was as if she had hardened her resolve, and those negative emotions seemed to dissipate instantly. It made Su Mi acutely aware that even if she asked, Xin Keke wouldn’t necessarily tell her the truth.

Forget it, Su Mi thought. Given Xin Keke’s personality, if she didn’t want to talk, prying wouldn’t help. Tomorrow was her birthday, and Su Mi didn’t want to upset her further. She could deal with these extra worries by asking Ye Luo and Xiao Ai later.

As it turned out, Su Mi didn’t even have to look for Xiao Ai—Xiao Ai found her first. Late at night, Su Mi received a message: “Big Mimi, thanks for covering the payment for me today~ Let me treat you to a drink?”

Su Mi checked the time. Good grief, it’s ten minutes to midnight. You really know how to pick a time to ask someone out.

Xin Keke had fallen asleep early. After her shower, she hadn’t said much to Su Mi, had memorized some lines in bed, and drifted off. Su Mi stared at Xiao Ai’s message, torn. She knew that if Xiao Ai was messaging her at this hour, it had to be about what happened to Xin Keke today. Still, sneaking out in the middle of the night made it look like she and Xiao Ai were up to something.

After a moment of thought, Su Mi replied: “Sneaking out with me in the middle of the night? Won’t your Ye Luo be angry if he finds out?” She had long ago figured out the relationship between Xiao Ai and Ye Luo, so there was no need for formal pleasantries.

Xiao Ai sent a ghost-face emoji: “Oh, you know? Then I’ll tell Ye Luo, and the three of us can go out for a drink.”

Su Mi glanced at the sleeping Xin Keke and smiled softly. “It’s too late today. Let’s do it another time, and I’ll treat you both. Tell me, what happened today that upset her?” She added, “She was in a bad mood when she got back and went to sleep very early.”

This time, Xiao Ai replied quickly. “I was busy all afternoon filming with a different group, so I only heard rumors—can’t guarantee they’re 100% true. Around 6:30 PM, I heard a minor supporting actor was being sarcastic and snide toward Xin Keke.”

Su Mi was shocked. “Huh? Snide to her?” Aside from Shi Yaya, Xin Keke shouldn’t have any enemies on set. “What did they say?”

Xiao Ai replied with an ellipsis. Su Mi was about to press further when she saw Xiao Ai’s next question: “Big Mimi, did you hear that someone was spreading rumors this afternoon that your grandmother is the CEO of Jiancheng Group? Is that true?”

Eh? Eh?? They were just talking about Xin Keke—why was it suddenly about her? Who in Dingjiang City didn’t know Jiancheng Group? Even across the province, it was a highly competitive corporation. Wait, wait, she had asked Director Song and He Xiao to help keep that confidential—how did Xiao Ai find out?

Seeing that Su Mi hadn’t replied, Xiao Ai sent a cat-sighing emoji: “So it is true. Big Mimi, I had no idea your family was so loaded.”

“The minor actress this afternoon was saying that Xin Keke is only close to you because she’s trying to climb the social ladder and exploit you for her own benefit,” Xiao Ai continued. “She also claimed that while you were nice to Keke at first—bringing her to set and picking her up—you were just bored and would dump her soon. She told her to be ‘realistic’ and stop daydreaming.”

Su Mi stared blankly at the words on her screen. She knew every character, but combined, the information felt like a tsunami. Every sentence Xiao Ai sent required a moment of processing to truly understand. What on earth is going on? It had only been two days since she’d been on set—how had things turned so upside down?

Su Mi referenced the part about her own identity: “Do you know who started spreading that rumor?”

“No idea. Ye Luo only told me about it tonight after asking around.”

“Alright, please keep an eye out for me. Whoever is spreading these rumors is being really cruel,” Su Mi typed rapidly. A sense of unease gnawed at her. “I had no idea this was why Xin Keke was upset. I’ll make sure to cheer her up soon.”

Xiao Ai sent a thumbs-up emoji: “I’ll leave it to you!”

The conversation ended. Su Mi gripped her phone tightly. She had never imagined that she would one day become an excuse to attack Xin Keke. She had even less expectation that Xin Keke would be wounded by such an obvious lie. Su Mi turned to look at the girl sleeping on the bed with her back to her. She must feel so wronged. She was the one who had approached Xin Keke first, yet because of her family background, she had turned Xin Keke into the “leech” in the rumors.

Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Recalling the look in Xin Keke’s eyes before her shower, Su Mi felt a sharp pain in her heart. At that moment, Xin Keke had already decided to shoulder it all alone. She had digested all the negative emotions by herself, not wanting to burden Su Mi with even a fraction of it. Were you worried I’d look down on you, or were you afraid this wasn’t genuine either?

“You’re such a fool,” Su Mi whispered, looking at Xin Keke’s back.

Su Mi didn’t expect the malice from a minor actress toward Xin Keke to be this deep. Keke wasn’t even playing the female lead—why would a stranger go out of their way to ostracize her? There had to be an ulterior motive. Thinking of how close Shi Yaya had been with those minor actors lately, she was Su Mi’s first suspect. Could it be Shi Yaya?

The thought crossed her mind, but she dismissed it just as quickly. Shi Yaya was right—if Xin Keke and Su Mi had a falling out now, given the previous “injury” incident, Shi Yaya would be the first one suspected. Things weren’t that simple.

It was already the middle of the night, so mulling it over wouldn’t help. Su Mi rolled over and drifted off to sleep. She had been busy preparing Xin Keke’s birthday surprise these past few days, which was why she hadn’t been commuting with her. To some people with malicious intent, that had been twisted into something filthy and shameful.

Fine, so that’s how you want to play. In this book world, with no money-earning tasks and no real-world pressure, Su Mi didn’t believe she couldn’t outplay a group of bastards who relied on underhanded tricks.

Tomorrow was Xin Keke’s birthday, and she was going to make sure she had a wonderful day.

The next morning, Su Mi was woken up by her alarm at 9:00 AM. When she opened her eyes, she heard the sound of rushing water. She lay in bed, dazed, trying to figure out what was happening, when Xin Keke walked out of the bathroom. Su Mi was shocked: “You’re not going to the set today?”

Xin Keke looked puzzled: “Director Song said there’s a location change.”

Location change?? What kind of location change?? Su Mi woke up instantly. This is bad. She grabbed her phone to check the group messages. She remembered Keke needed to be up early, but when she opened the main cast group, Director Song’s “All Members” tag caught her eye: “Due to venue availability, today’s shoot is changed to Episode 14, Scene 3. Shi Yaya, Xiao Ai, and Wen Jun, please gather at the original filming site!”

D*mn it, Director Song, how could you drop the ball at a critical moment! I was waiting for you to call Keke away!

“Eh??” Su Mi looked at Xin Keke, shocked. “So you don’t have to work today?”

“Mn.”

Su Mi: “…” No way. No way, no way, no way!

She had planned everything: once Xin Keke left for work, she would set up the room, go to the cake shop for the DIY session, and finally surprise Xin Keke that evening. Her entire plan had just been thrown into disarray. Su Mi felt like crying. She held onto one last shred of hope: “So… that means you’re staying in the room all day?”

Xin Keke looked at her strangely. Her expression was odd; she suddenly pursed her lips: “…I’m going out in the afternoon.”

“Something up?” Su Mi’s head was still spinning with plans for the cake and the room, so the question was reflexive. “Funny enough, I’ve got things to do this afternoon too, so I can’t be with you.”

“Mn.”

Xin Keke answered softly and lowered her head to clean up her makeup at the table. Su Mi didn’t dare dawdle. She scrambled out of bed to brush her teeth, wash her face, and get ready to finish inflating the balloons. After sending a message to the cake shop owner to confirm her afternoon time, Su Mi got dressed, only to find Xin Keke already ready to leave.

“You said you had things to do in the afternoon. It’s only ten—why are you leaving so early?” Su Mi asked, curious.

Xin Keke didn’t even look at her, just nodded. “Mn, they just told me the time changed.”

“Oh, right. By the way, where are you going? Can we eat dinner together?” Su Mi suddenly remembered she hadn’t secured evening plans; if Xin Keke didn’t come back, two days of work would go to waste. “Seven tonight, meet here, deal?”

Xin Keke, already at the door, paused with her hand on the handle: “I don’t know what time things will finish there. I’ll message you when I’m done.”

“So, where are you…”

The sound of the door closing cut her off.

Su Mi: “…” Is she still holding a grudge from last night?

Su Mi could feel that Xin Keke was still in a bad mood. Unfortunately, she was spread too thin right now. She decided to wait until the evening surprise to help Keke work through her underlying feelings. Besides, the investigation into the minor actress and her grandmother had already been handed off to Ye Luo and Xiao Ai, she was just waiting for results.

Her mission today was to make Xin Keke happy. But the fact that Keke wouldn’t tell her where she was going bothered her. It was her first time celebrating someone else’s birthday; she hoped it would go well. Thinking this, Su Mi pulled the small gift box containing the bracelet she’d bought yesterday from her bag.

“I really hope you like it,” Su Mi murmured to the box. “And please, stop being sad.”

She opened the box. The bracelet lay quietly inside, as beautiful as the first time she saw it. Su Mi smiled, tucked the box away, put on her coat, and headed to the room next door.