Transmigrated as the Future Movie Queen's Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 29

“Heave-ho!”

Su Mi gently placed the cake on the table, clapped her hands, and stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the room with a heart full of lightness.

The gold letter balloons were arranged to spell “Happy Birthday” on the wall, their angles carefully adjusted by Su Mi so they didn’t look stiff. White and orange balloons, strung together with tape and rubber bands, formed a bridge-like arch beside the letters.

Rows of little fox plushies sat on the floor—Su Mi had bought them because she thought Xin Keke resembled a little fox—and she had arranged them in a neat line alongside fresh bouquets of flowers. The room felt like a florist’s shop, filled with a lovely, sweet fragrance the moment you walked through the door.

Sitting on the table, bathed in the soft glow of the warm lamp, was the DIY cake Su Mi had made, along with the bracelet she had bought for Xin Keke. The design in the center of the cake was a drawing of Xin Keke’s side profile, which Su Mi had attempted herself. Her first time using icing tools had been a messy disaster, but thanks to the help of the shop owner, she had managed to finish it despite the chaotic start.

Su Mi looked at the profile on the cake. Yes, she’ll definitely like it.

She checked the time—6:40 PM. She hadn’t realized she had been busy for the entire afternoon. Thinking of the 7:00 PM meeting time she had agreed upon with Xin Keke, Su Mi meant to wait, but she couldn’t resist and called her instead. Her heart was dancing, which made every passing second feel agonizingly long.

She counted silently in her heart, and after seven seconds, the call was finally answered.

Su Mi chirped, bubbling with excitement: “Hello? Xin Keke…”

She stopped mid-sentence. She could hear noisy background sounds on Xin Keke’s end—a chaotic mix of clinking glasses and the gruff voices of men. Su Mi’s heart tightened immediately. “Xin Keke, where are you right now?”

“Hello…?”

Finally, the person Su Mi had been worried about spoke. Her voice was soft, muffled by a slight nasal tone. Su Mi’s heart squeezed. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Where are you? I’ll come find you!”

“I’m… I’m fine…”

She was slurring her words, and Su Mi could tell immediately that she had been drinking. Oh no. Most bars weren’t even open yet—where had she gone to drink? Judging by the chaotic noise, it sounded like a night market or an outdoor food stall. A beautiful young woman drinking alone surrounded by groups of men? Was that even safe?!

Su Mi was frantic, practically coaxing her: “Honey, where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”

“At…”

Perhaps it was Su Mi’s gentle tone; after a moment of thought, Xin Keke gave her a location. Su Mi checked it on her app and gasped—Xin Keke had gone incredibly far, over ten kilometers away. She didn’t dare waste a second and jumped into a taxi.

Throughout the ride, Su Mi didn’t dare hang up the phone. She didn’t know how much Xin Keke had drunk, but she sounded completely unlike her usual self—dreamy and unfocused.

“Sit there and wait for me, okay? I’m coming to get you.” Hearing the raucous background noise, Su Mi was undeniably anxious. “Did you drink? Don’t drink any more, wait for me.”

“Mn…” She was compliant enough on the phone.

Su Mi urged the taxi driver to treat the car like a rocket, and half an hour later, she finally arrived on the street. It was one of Changning’s famous food streets; even in November, many stalls had tables set up outside, filled with the smoke and fire of barbecue. Su Mi ran down the street, phone in hand. Thank goodness—she spotted Xin Keke sitting at a table by the roadside.

The light from the stall hung right behind Xin Keke. With her back to the light, she looked even more lonely. Su Mi hung up and walked over.

“Daring to run out alone in the middle of the night.”

Xin Keke was holding her glass, about to take another sip, when Su Mi snatched it away. “It’s so late—you’re still drinking?”

She hadn’t been that angry initially, only worried about Xin Keke’s safety. But seeing Xin Keke choose to drink away her sorrows alone rather than come home to celebrate her birthday made Su Mi’s temper flare after days of hard work. It felt like she was the only one who cared.

Su Mi took a few deep breaths, turned to settle the bill, and grabbed Xin Keke’s hand, intending to haul her up. “Come back with me. Didn’t we agree we’d eat together tonight?”

Xin Keke struggled a bit, but she was no match for Su Mi’s strength; her resistance looked like child’s play. Su Mi turned back to scold her, only to see the girl’s eyes were rimmed with red.

Su Mi: “…”

Don’t make me look at a woman’s tears. Her hardened heart crumbled into dust at the sight of Xin Keke’s red eyes. She loosened her grip, instead cupping Xin Keke’s hand in her own palms. Su Mi picked up the bag Xin Keke had dropped on the table and slung it over her own shoulder, softening her tone. “Do you know how dangerous it is for a pretty girl like you to be out drinking alone?”

“…Mn.”

Xin Keke sniffled and gave a vague response. Su Mi gripped her hand tighter. “No more drinking. I’m taking you back now. If you want to drink, we’ll order takeout and drink in our room.”

She tried to lead Xin Keke away, but as she took the first step, she felt a tug from behind. Su Mi turned back to see Xin Keke releasing her bitten lip, revealing a glistening, crimson mark where her teeth had been. “Su Mi.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Today… is my…”

The courage she had finally mustered dissipated right before the words could leave her lips. Xin Keke’s brows knit together, then she bowed her head and shook it.

What did she want to say? At this moment, Su Mi understood more than anyone what Xin Keke had left unsaid. Why retreat? Why be so sure that Su Mi couldn’t bless her? Why not give Su Mi a little more faith? Perhaps it was the heart of a child who had never felt love, unable to confirm if the sudden warmth they were receiving was real.

At this moment, Su Mi’s heart felt like it had been crumpled into a ball, a sharp, tearing pain. You are destined to be a best actress loved by millions in the future, so please, don’t show such heartbreaking expressions ever again. She suddenly stepped forward, coming to Xin Keke’s side. “Happy birthday,” Su Mi whispered into her ear. “But when I left to find you, I left your gift at the hotel. Do you want to go back and take a look with me now?”

Xin Keke lifted her head abruptly, staring at Su Mi in a daze. The little fox looked dazed and adorable. Su Mi smiled at her. “Let’s go?”

Feeling her hand being tightly gripped, Xin Keke, though still hazy with alcohol, followed Su Mi obediently. Su Mi called another taxi. It was rush hour, and traffic was slow, but a tipsy Xin Keke sat quietly in the back seat without a word. Her hand stayed tightly interlaced with Su Mi’s, as if she were afraid that if she let go, Su Mi would vanish.

Su Mi brought Xin Keke back to the hotel. Even though their palms were slick with sweat, neither of them let go. As they passed their own room, Xin Keke whispered, “You went past it…”

“I didn’t.” Su Mi said. “It’s this way.”

She swiped her card to open the door and turned on every light in the room. In an instant, everything she had meticulously prepared was revealed before Xin Keke’s eyes.

“Princess, please come in.” Su Mi blocked the door with her body, leaving a path for Xin Keke. “Tell me, do you like it?”

No matter how much Xin Keke had drunk, after an hour of rest, she was mostly sober. Yet she stood outside the door, hesitating to enter.

“What’s wrong?”

“This… what is it?”

Xin Keke pointed at the balloons in the room, even taking a small, panicked step backward. Su Mi grabbed her, afraid she’d be scared off by the cake and run away again. “It’s your birthday today, isn’t it?”

“I spent several days getting this ready—how can you be running away? Is it that ugly… Student Xin Keke, your reaction is really breaking my heart!” Su Mi laughed. “The gift and the cake are inside; take a look and see if you like them?”

Xin Keke blinked, looking as if she hadn’t processed Su Mi’s words at all. “What did you say…?”

Su Mi couldn’t be bothered to talk anymore. She stepped forward, wrapped her arm around Xin Keke’s waist, and dragged her into the room, closing the door in one fluid motion. Xin Keke let out a small “ooh” as she was hauled inside. Even with the door shut, Xin Keke stood in the entryway, afraid to go further. She pinched her own arm hard, wincing as she took a sharp breath, still unable to believe this was real.

“Did you… prepare all this just for me?”

Xin Keke looked up at Su Mi, who was standing nearby. Su Mi sighed helplessly: “Who else would I go to the trouble of doing this for?”

As she spoke, Su Mi led Xin Keke into the room. “I didn’t know what flavor of cake you liked, so I asked the shop owner to pick a filling, but it should taste decent.”

“…Cake?”

Xin Keke looked startled until she turned around and saw the small cake on the table. The person drawn on top looked very familiar, but she didn’t dare to believe it was her. Beside it lay the shimmering bracelet—the exact one she had seen in the mall yesterday.

“Xin Keke, happy birthday,” Su Mi whispered from behind her. “I hope that every day from now on, you will be happy.”

Xin Keke’s body seemed to turn into a statue. She stood there, motionless. “Is that me drawn on the cake?” she asked, her voice still relatively calm.

Su Mi twitched her lips: “Ah, is it that abstract? I thought it looked pretty much like you…”

The words had barely left her lips when Xin Keke’s shoulders began to tremble violently. She couldn’t hold it back, and her head bowed, her entire body shaking.

“…Xin Keke?”

Su Mi called her name, but the next second, a tear-streaked Xin Keke turned around and walked straight into Su Mi’s arms. She hugged Su Mi’s waist and back tightly, not daring to let out a sob. Only the shaking of her body and the dampness on Su Mi’s shoulder told Su Mi that the person in her arms was weeping.

“Thank you…”

The muffled voice came from beneath the fabric. Xin Keke tightened her arms, whispering over and over again: “Thank you… thank you…”

The void in her heart was finally filled. Su Mi felt the warmth of the person in her arms, then rubbed her cheek against Xin Keke’s ear. She hugged Xin Keke back with equal intensity.

“…You’re welcome.”