Transmigrated as the Scumbag Alpha of a Cold Movie Queen - Chapter 102 EXTRA 2

The only time they interacted on a daily basis seemed to be during their morning runs. Qi Siyu would arrive early, then walk back with Gu Qing afterward.

Gu Qing rarely initiated conversation, but she always responded to whatever Qi Siyu said.

Qi Siyu rather enjoyed this.

“Bye-bye, see you tomorrow~” Qi Siyu bid farewell as usual when Gu Qing stepped out of the elevator.

“I have an interview tomorrow morning and need to get up early to prepare. See you the day after tomorrow,” Gu Qing replied lightly.

“Ah…” A faint disappointment welled up in Qi Siyu’s heart. After running together for nearly ten days, she was getting used to it. “Alright then. Good luck with the interview—you’ll definitely ace it!”

“Mm, thank you.” Gu Qing gave a polite nod before walking out of the elevator.

When the elevator went up another floor, Qi Siyu knocked on Shi Ying’s door. Shi Ying was in the kitchen making breakfast.

Her cooking only extended to simple dishes—cold salads, boiled noodles—just slightly better than Qi Siyu’s.

“What’s with the long face?” Shi Ying glanced over, seeing Qi Siyu sitting at the table with her chin propped up, lost in thought.

“Gu Qing’s busy tomorrow, so she won’t be running with me,” Qi Siyu muttered, biting into a red wine–chocolate biscuit stick.

She’d scoured every supermarket nearby for those biscuits, even got friends to pull strings at the factory to get them fresh off the production line—always the same taste. But suddenly, the flavor felt dull.

Still, since there was no replacement, she kept eating them.

“Pfft, I thought it was something serious. It’s just one day. By the way, why don’t you just ask her out for breakfast?” Shi Ying shook her head. “You’re the perfect example of a wolf at heart but too timid to act.”

“Get lost—you’re the wolf. Eating right after exercise isn’t good for the stomach, and it’s not exactly classy to sit there all sweaty.” Qi Siyu rolled her eyes. She cared about her image, after all.

Shi Ying leaned in to sniff her. “Oh my, the smell—knocks me out.”

Qi Siyu: …

“Hahaha! But seriously, what exactly do you feel about her?” Shi Ying was curious—Qi Siyu, the perennial iron tree, finally seemed like she might bloom.

“It’s only been ten days. What feeling could I possibly have?” Qi Siyu thought aloud. “She just feels… familiar. Being around her makes me feel at ease and… happy. When I don’t see her, I think about her.”

Shi Ying gaped. “Girl, that’s practically being in love.”

“Nonsense. I’m not like you—calling someone ‘baby’ after a day, in bed in three, and breaking up in a month.” Qi Siyu shot her a look.

Shi Ying shrugged. “Fast-food love is all the rage now. Unhealthy, sure—but delicious.”

“Keep your artificial sweeteners to yourself.” Qi Siyu brushed off the sweat on her clothes and went for a shower.

________________________________________

The next day, in the conference room of the Lanyun Hotel, Qi Siyu, Shi Ying, the producer, and two assistant directors exchanged polite greetings before getting to work.

Before transmigrating into this novel, Qi Siyu had already been working on the script adaptation, and after arriving here, she continued the project as planned.

With a limited budget, they’d decided to cast newcomers. Today’s session was the post-audition interview round.

New actors were cheap but varied wildly in quality, so they had to spend time digging for hidden gems.

“We’ve seen over a dozen already, and you’re still not satisfied? That icy-faced girl just now looked perfect for Gu Qing’s role,” Shi Ying grumbled during the break.

Qi Siyu shook her head. “The heroine isn’t a block of wood. That girl’s smile just now was… unsettling.”

“What exactly are you looking for? You can’t get a custom-made lead for this budget. Good enough is good enough,” Shi Ying argued. The drama was a career-oriented feel-good story—get the plot punchy enough, and it’d work fine.

“Gu Qing,” Qi Siyu murmured. If anyone asked her ideal lead, the first face to appear in her mind was the real-life Gu Qing, who shared the same name as the heroine.

Speak of the devil—Shi Ying grinned. “Next actress is also named Gu Qing. Same name as the heroine.”

Qi Siyu blinked. When the staff ushered her in, she froze.

The heroine in her imagination… had just walked in.

Gu Qing gave a polite self-introduction and greeted the interview panel.

Shi Ying glanced over at Qi Siyu, amused—your dream girl has arrived.

“You majored in computer science?” Qi Siyu ignored Shi Ying’s teasing and opened Gu Qing’s résumé.

That name, moving in right downstairs… Could she have aimed for this role all along?

Her wariness deepened at the sight of that computer science degree.

Still, with that face, if her acting was even halfway decent, she could pull off the female lead.

“Yes. My family forced me to study it,” Gu Qing said lightly. “They’ve passed away now.”

A beat of silence settled over the room.

“Alright. Let’s start your audition,” Qi Siyu said, dropping the topic.

She’d chosen a complex scene: the wealthy family recognition arc. The heroine, driven to the brink and forced to sell her own blood, learns she’s the biological daughter of an elite family—an emotional cocktail of shock, joy, apprehension, and calculation.

“Alright,” Gu Qing replied calmly.

Since coming here, she’d read the novel. Her fate had been altered by Qi Siyu. The heroine in the book was both familiar and strange to her.

But it didn’t matter—Gu Qing could act. She simply treated it as a performance.

Surface-level daze and shock… a deeper layer of joy tinged with worry… and finally, an expressionless calm, eyes like a frozen lake.

The heroine at this point was half-blackened, already thinking of how to use her sudden elite family to escape her plight and save herself.

Shi Ying slapped the table. “This is the Gu Qing! Qi Siyu, if you still can’t decide, I’m out!”

Her exaggerated wink carried both praise for Gu Qing’s acting and a jab at her friend.

Qi Siyu shot her a glare, then told Gu Qing, “Your acting is excellent. You are Gu Qing. Go home and wait for our call. If you’re chosen, our staff will contact you.”

Gu Qing simply replied, “Thank you.”

Then she left without a backward glance.

That crisp departure left Qi Siyu oddly unsettled.

If this was just coincidence, the universe was being far too generous. Throughout the rest of the auditions, she found herself zoning out now and then.

No one else came close to Gu Qing. Still, they had to finish the process—no point wasting the other actors’ trips. They might even find someone fit for another role.

After leaving the conference room, Gu Qing didn’t leave the hotel. She went downstairs to audition for a supporting role in another production.

She was determined to get Qi Siyu’s heroine, but Qi Siyu was cautious and guarded. She needed to ease that wariness—and add a little external pressure.

The second audition went smoothly. The director even had her try the female lead’s lines and was clearly impressed.

When both productions wrapped up for the day, Qi Siyu’s team and the downstairs crew ended up sharing a table at the hotel buffet, exchanging small talk.

The other director, in high spirits, caught Shi Ying’s attention. Naturally, Shi Ying asked if she’d found a promising actress.

The director beamed and sang Gu Qing’s praises—beautiful, talented, with a bright future ahead. “Mark my words: within three years, she’ll be A-list.”

Hearing Gu Qing’s name, Qi Siyu’s hand paused mid–serving. Her smile cooled. “If I’m not mistaken, Gu Qing also auditioned for our lead role today.”

The other director’s smile thinned. “It’s normal for newcomers to audition around. Shows they’re serious about the craft. Which production she signs with… well, Xiao Qi, that’s for us to compete over.”

She’d been hesitant—her investor had recommended another actress for the lead. Competent but bland. But after seeing Gu Qing, that actress suddenly felt dull.

Only concern: possibly offending the investor.

But anything worth fighting over was worth the risk. She decided to compete.

The air between the two directors grew charged, and Shi Ying hurried to change the subject.

But Qi Siyu couldn’t let it go. On the ride home, she fidgeted in her seat, restless as if she’d been sitting on pins. “Which crew do you think she’ll choose? How could she audition for us and then for them? That’s… fickle.”

“Tsk. You’re the one who told her to wait for notice. If you’d signed her on the spot, she wouldn’t have gone downstairs,” Shi Ying said, thoroughly enjoying the show.

Qi Siyu sighed, ignoring her, eyes fixed on the retreating scenery outside.

Before heading upstairs, she stopped at a boutique fruit shop, buying cherries, blueberries, lychees… and, for some reason she couldn’t quite explain, a few lemons.

“I’m going to drop by Gu Qing’s place.” She ran home to print out a contract, then went downstairs with the contract and fruit, ringing Gu Qing’s doorbell.

【Wow, Host, you actually came.】 The system’s voice rang in Gu Qing’s mind.

Ignoring it, she went to open the door.

The moment it swung open, Qi Siyu caught a faint, pleasant scent of red wine.

When the door opened fully, Qi Siyu’s pupils constricted.

Gu Qing stood there with nothing but a white bath towel wrapped around her, head tilted as she towel-dried her hair. Droplets clung to her bare shoulders and neck, some sliding playfully down into the valley between her breasts.

Qi Siyu’s gaze instinctively followed one such droplet all the way down.

“Hello,” Gu Qing’s voice snapped her back to reality.

Cursing her own momentary daze, Qi Siyu raised the plastic bag in her hand. “My mom sent me fresh fruit—too much for me to finish, so I thought I’d share.”

“Thank you. Come in.” Gu Qing stepped aside.

Qi Siyu walked in, setting the bag on the coffee table. The apartment layout was identical to hers upstairs.

Gu Qing’s gaze lingered briefly on the folder in Qi Siyu’s hands. “Make yourself comfortable. Just give me a moment to change.”

“Of course.” Qi Siyu’s throat felt tight. If Gu Qing had guessed her intentions and hadn’t turned her away, that meant they could talk.

Three anxious minutes later, Gu Qing returned—wearing a loose white silk camisole that clung just enough to outline the rise and fall of her chest.

Qi Siyu’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest. This is worse than before!

As Gu Qing sat down, a seat away, Qi Siyu swore she could smell her natural scent.

Oh god… who could possibly endure this?

Then Gu Qing plucked the receipt from the fruit bag between two long fingers, lips curving faintly. “So… the ‘fruit from your mom’ is from the neighborhood shop?”

Qi Siyu’s mind went completely blank.