Transmigrated as the Future Movie Queen's Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“Cut!”

Director Song watched the monitor, his brows knitted tightly together. The actors and the camera crew were all silent, afraid even to breathe too loudly. In truth, the take had been quite good—on any other day, they would have moved on immediately. But today, everyone could see that the Director was off. Those with their ears to the ground had already seen the news on Weibo and were whispering among themselves.

Director Song watched the footage several times, his hand instinctively covering his mouth, a serious expression on his face as he pondered.

“Director!” He Xiao ran over, breathless.

Seeing her, Director Song quickly pulled her aside. The moment he left, the set exploded into a buzz of hushed discussions.

Xin Keke watched the little groups of people gathering, her expression unreadable.

He Xiao showed the Director her phone screen. “It’s no good, Director. Not only is the outsourcing company dodging responsibility, but the main issue is that no one wants to take this on—neither professional studios nor freelance artists. We’ve already arranged for PR to take down the poster and prepare an apology, but without a new poster…”

“What about the artists we’ve worked with before? Have you asked the ones under Shengxing?”

“I have, but they all politely declined.”

Director Song’s face darkened. “If that’s the case, offer more money. I don’t believe there’s anything money can’t fix.”

When money was mentioned, He Xiao looked awkward. “Director, you forgot—our budget is already tight. There are some well-known artists who could do it, but their fees are way over budget.”

“How much do they want?”

“One hundred thousand.”

Director Song laughed, more out of frustration than humor. “One hundred thousand? Why don’t they just go rob a bank? Fine, since no one will take it, we’ll just…”

Before he could finish, his phone rang. He was about to decline the call, but seeing the name on the screen, he paused, confused.

“Su Mi?”

He Xiao glanced at the screen, and the two exchanged a look. Director Song answered: “Hello?”

Generally, the best time for PR is within 24 hours of an incident. Su Mi was afraid of wasting even a minute and dialed the Director directly. As soon as he picked up, she went straight to the point: “Director Song, it’s Su Mi. I saw the news on Weibo. I was wondering if you needed an artist for a new poster.”

“…” Director Song was silent for a moment. “You know someone?”

“I can draw it myself,” Su Mi said. “And I’ll do it for free.”

A laugh erupted from the other end of the line. “Mimi, I’m already busy enough; don’t add to the chaos.”

Figures. Su Mi knew his first reaction would be disbelief. It was only natural—the original host had never shown any artistic talent, nor had she posted any artwork online. It would be weirder if he did believe her.

“Director, I can draw, and I take on projects privately outside of work, though I can’t make them public right now.” Su Mi knew that if she told him her real work experience, he would ask for a portfolio—but in this world, where was she supposed to get one? She had to take the initiative and block any excuses.

“This involves copyright infringement. Any famous artist you hire will worry about how it affects their reputation. I’ve always taken commissions anonymously, so I have no reputation online to worry about. Plus, I’m more familiar with the four leads, so I can start faster. You just need to tell me what you need.”

Su Mi rattled off a list of reasons, not caring if he fully grasped them. She knew the Director was a smart man; he knew where his interests lay. Seeing he still hesitated, she steadied herself and dropped her final bombshell: “If you’re unsure, let’s do this: I don’t have any scenes for the next two days. I’ll have it drawn for you within 24 hours. You can keep looking for a studio or artist as a backup, and I’ll be your double insurance. But the PR crisis needs to be handled ASAP.”

It was only after she finished that Director Song spoke again, his voice raspier than before: “Mimi, are you serious?”

“Why would I lie to you?” Su Mi held the phone between her shoulder and ear, already pulling out the original host’s iPad to open Procreate. “Director, tell me what you need, and I’ll get it done as fast as I can.”

Thank goodness the original host had an iPad Pro. It was a lifesaver.

“As long as there are four protagonists and no plagiarism, I have no other requirements.” It was clear the Director was desperate. Su Mi’s prediction had been right; no one else wanted to touch this mess. “Sigh, I never thought that after repaying your grandmother’s kindness, I’d end up owing the granddaughter, too.”

“Don’t worry about that, Director. Just focus on filming. Leave the poster to me. I’ll have it to you by this time tomorrow.”

Su Mi beamed. Drawing is great. For her, acting was a challenge, but drawing was her comfort zone. In the real world, she’d handled every bizarre request imaginable. Compared to those, the Director’s requirements were simple.

She quickly settled on the composition in her head. Since it was a concept poster, she needed to convey the show’s information intuitively. She didn’t use a complex layout, opting instead to draw the four girls clearly on the poster. Sometimes, simplicity was the most striking.

From left to right: Zeng Liumei, Xia Peixing, Gao Di, and Yuan Yuan. Each face held a different expression: Zeng Liumei had her eyes closed with a faint smile; Xia Peixing was jumping high, holding the hands of Zeng Liumei and Gao Di; Gao Di was looking sideways at Xia Peixing; and finally, Yuan Yuan, who was looking out past the screen with a resolute gaze. Everyone was holding hands tightly.

Since the drama was set to air in the spring, Su Mi chose a warm color palette. After finding some reference images online and getting photos of the characters’ costumes from the wardrobe assistant, Su Mi dove into her old craft.

The moment she held the stylus, Su Mi felt a sense of reunion. It had been a long time since she’d drawn. Coming to this unfamiliar world, becoming another person, and playing out her life—none of it had been easy, not even with the original host’s wealth. But as she picked up the pen, she felt like herself again. No transmigration, no other people—just her.

Su Mi sat on a small chair in her room, head bent in deep concentration. She had only finished the rough draft of two figures when Xin Keke called. Su Mi hit speakerphone, multitasking as she talked.

“Is Director Song doing any better?”

“How did you know I was going to tell you about that…” Xin Keke lowered her voice. “He finally had a little smile on his face, and he even passed our last take on the first try.”

It felt like Xin Keke had become her personal scout. The thought made Su Mi chuckle.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just called him earlier to say I could handle the poster.” Su Mi didn’t stop moving the stylus. “He must have been really worried. I’m glad I had a way to help, hehe.”

“What way could you possibly—” Before Xin Keke could finish, Su Mi heard someone calling her from afar. Xin Keke replied and hurriedly said, “It’s my turn, I have to go.”

“Mn, okay.” Su Mi kept drawing, then suddenly remembered, “I might not have time to pick you up today. What time will you be back tonight? If it’s early, can you pick up some food for me?” Chatting like this feels like we’re roommates, she thought.

“Eh?” Xin Keke was slightly surprised but agreed quickly. “Alright, what do you want to eat?”

“Anything is fine. I’m tired of rice and dishes.” Though, if she buys rice and dishes, that’s fine too. We still have yesterday’s cake left.

“Got it. I’m going to work.”

Xin Keke hung up in a hurry, and Su Mi’s sketch gradually took shape. On the far right of the poster, Yuan Yuan’s long black hair and skirt were caught in the wind. Unlike Xia Peixing’s exuberance, Yuan Yuan was simply tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, a faint smile on her face.

Her smile, however, was impossible to look away from. It was Su Mi’s own little secret—of the four, Yuan Yuan was drawn first and with the most detail. After all, she wanted everyone who saw the poster to be drawn to Yuan Yuan.

Su Mi worked so hard she skipped lunch. As her stylus moved, more details emerged. The four girls, each with their own demeanor, stood hand-in-hand. From simple sketch to line art, and then to color, they became lifelike. She was so absorbed that hours passed unnoticed; she didn’t even hear Xin Keke push the door open with dinner in hand.

“Are you busy?”

A familiar voice sounded beside her, making her jump so hard she nearly dropped her stylus. She turned to look at Xin Keke, dazed for a moment before snapping back. “Why are you back?”

“What is this?”

Xin Keke naturally noticed the drawing on the iPad and leaned in. “The shooting schedule for today was during the day, so I’m off. Did you draw this?” The last sentence carried a note of shock.

“Ah? Hahaha, yeah…” Being caught in her old trade felt a bit awkward, though she wasn’t sure why. “I told you today, I’m helping Director Song solve this.”

The little fox’s eyes widened. “But I thought you meant you were going to find someone to help…”

“Where would I find anyone? I just happen to know how to draw, so I did it myself.”

Telling Xin Keke she could draw brought a hint of pride alongside the embarrassment. Xin Keke’s gaze lingered on the girl on the far right. “Is this… me?”

“Yes, that’s Yuan Yuan.” Su Mi used two fingers to pinch the canvas, shrinking it to show Xin Keke. “The other three characters are here too.”

Xin Keke looked at the screen, stunned. “It’s so beautiful… You actually know how to draw?”

“Hehehe.”

Su Mi did have a bit of a knack for art; otherwise, how could she have become a junior manager at such a young age and kept all those artists under her in line? She bent her head, picking up the pen to continue shading, when she heard the sound of a plastic bag being torn open and caught the aroma of food.

“Eat first, then draw.”

It was rare for Xin Keke to be so gentle. She even opened the plastic box and pushed it toward Su Mi. “I bought rice noodles. I didn’t know what you liked, so I didn’t add anything, but I grabbed all the little seasoning packets.”

The temperature in Changning had dropped quite a bit over the last few days. Seeing something hot in the evening made Su Mi incredibly happy. She swapped her stylus for chopsticks and began to eat. Through the rising steam, she watched Xin Keke’s calm, peaceful face.

A thought suddenly crossed Su Mi’s mind: If only it could always be like this between the two of them.