Transmigrated as the Scumbag Alpha of a Cold Movie Queen - Chapter 76

Seeing how enthusiastic Liang Siqi was, another actress quickly followed suit and introduced herself with equal fervor. “Director Qi, I’m Lu Yingxiang. I started working on the scene as soon as I received the script you sent. I’ve been preparing ever since, just waiting for you to check the results of my hard work.”

Qi Siyu’s smile grew a little more genuine. She appreciated actors who put in the effort. “Great, then you go first.”

“Sure thing.” Lu Yingxiang beamed, but the moment she finished speaking, her expression darkened. She slipped effortlessly into character—angry and intense.

Facing an empty space, she delivered her lines with conviction:

“What do you have to offer A-Can? Those controlling parents of yours, or your personality that could split into god knows how many at any moment?! You can’t make her happy.”

“Only I can. Only I can give her happiness.”

“Why can’t she see that?”

Her enunciation was crisp, with well-placed emphasis. The emotional transition was smooth, and her eyes seemed to speak on their own. Her acting was impressive—far better than some of those overhyped stars who only knew how to bulge their eyes and scream.

Qi Siyu didn’t hesitate to applaud. “Very nice. You clearly have solid fundamentals and put thought into understanding the character.”

She turned to Liang Siqi. “Your turn.”

Qi Siyu didn’t anticipate any issues here. The second female lead just needed to be sunny and cheerful throughout—Liang Siqi could probably just play herself.

To her surprise, Liang Siqi delivered more than expected. Not only was her acting on point, even her voice had range—sweeter, softer, and more powerful than her usual tone.

Flushed with praise, Liang Siqi gave a modest smile. “I used to be a voice actor. My colleagues always said it was a waste for someone who looks like me to stay behind the mic, so I thought I would give acting a shot.”

“Oh? What kind of work have you done before?” Qi Siyu grew interested. After all, for a character, the voice was just as important as appearance and acting.

Liang Siqi named a few series, and Qi Siyu made a mental note to check them out later.

“So, Director Qi, do we get to stay?” Liang Siqi’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Lu Yingxiang looked equally hopeful. For two virtually unknown actresses, this opportunity was rare. Their contract termination fees were higher than their pay, but now that the production was getting an all-around upgrade, there was a real chance of a breakout. Of course they wanted to stay.

“Of course. It’s my honor to work with such talented actors.” Qi Siyu was in a great mood. Everything was progressing smoothly—they could start filming soon, and she’d get to see Gu Qing again.

After sending off Liang Siqi and Lu Yingxiang, Qi Siyu continued interviewing a few more actors. They were all decent, and she decided to keep them—either in their original roles or slightly adjusted ones.

By the end of a busy day, most of the cast was finalized.

That evening, she arranged to have dinner with the Su family couple.

The moment they met, Su Ningqing snarked, “What, can’t eat alone? You just had to be our third wheel again? You really don’t know how annoying you are.”

“Qing, I’m meeting with Sis Qi to talk about work. If you keep acting like this, go have dinner by yourself. I’ve spent the whole day with you.” Su Ningmo pouted. She had originally planned to help Qi Siyu with auditions, but Su Ningqing had kept her up all night. She would barely crawled out of bed by the afternoon.

“Hahaha—” Qi Siyu burst out laughing, completely unapologetic. “You and your love-brain don’t belong with us logical folk~”

Su Ningqing ground her molars and quickly soothed Su Ningmo with promises not to interrupt again.

Qi Siyu pulled out her iPad and discussed the day’s auditions with Su Ningmo as they ate. There were several new roles, and Qi Siyu thought a few of the auditioning actors were quite promising. She asked Su Ningmo to help choose.

Once that was sorted, all that was left was to wait for filming to begin. Most of the original crew, apart from the director, came from Su Ningqing’s team. If any of them turned out to be difficult to work with, she would handle it then.

After dinner, Qi Siyu parted ways with the Su couple and checked her Moments feed on the ride home.

It had become a habit—every evening, either Gu Lulu or Gu Xiaoling would post an update summarizing Gu Qing’s day.

They alternated posts like competitive coworkers, as if the feed were their battlefield for winning Gu Qing’s attention.

Qi Siyu often wanted to yell at them, Fight! Fight harder! More, more!

But tonight’s post was a surprise—it was a plane ticket.

Tomorrow, 5 PM. International Airport.

Her last chat with Gu Qing had been days ago. Qi Siyu hesitated—should she message first to say she would be at the airport, or just show up?

Either way, she was definitely going.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. A notification popped up: Gu Qing had poked her avatar.

Then another message— a screenshot of the ticket purchase.

And then: “See you tomorrow.”

Oh YES!

Qi Siyu was so thrilled she felt the urge to punch something. She ended up smacking her head on the taxi roof.

The driver nearly swerved in shock. Nervously checking the rearview mirror, he watched her like she might be unhinged.

“Sorry about that,” Qi Siyu said sheepishly. “I just got too excited.”

The driver relaxed and chuckled. “One of life’s four great joys—so, which one did you just experience?”

“Ehehe… a good friend’s coming back to town.” Qi Siyu blushed as she replied. Meanwhile, she typed in the chat box, tried a few drafts, and finally settled on copying Gu Qing’s message—adding a little tilde at the end, like a secret indicator of her joy.

“Future girlfriend?” The driver, picking up on her shyness, grinned knowingly.

“No, no,” Qi Siyu quickly denied. Her voice lacked the confidence it once had, but her tone remained firm. “We’re just friends. It’s impossible between us.”

“‘Impossible,’ huh? That’s an interesting choice of words,” the driver said with a gossip-hungry face. “You youngsters… there’s no such thing as impossible. Even Einstein married his cousin, didn’t he?”

Qi Siyu twitched at the corners of her mouth. That wasn’t quite the same thing…

Not wanting to share more about her feelings with a stranger, she smiled awkwardly and focused on her phone, hoping Gu Qing might send another message.

But nothing came. She didn’t dare text again either.

For some reason, Qi Siyu’s response must’ve struck a chord—because the driver then launched into an epic retelling of their own romantic misadventures.

By the time she got out of the car, Qi Siyu knew that this driver had:

• eloped with his first love,

• attempted a double suicide with his second,

• stolen his third girlfriend from a friend,

• and dated his fourth partner—a previous girlfriend of the third—in an “AA relationship.”

Qi Siyu stumbled out of the car dazed. Who am I? Where am I? Why did I just listen to someone else’s entire romantic saga?

She didn’t care for those stories, but the driver’s line—“Just be glad you once had it”—stuck with her.

That night, Qi Siyu tossed and turned. Her dreams were chaotic—fires, car crashes, earthquakes, floods… in every scenario, something stopped her from reaching the airport.

At six the next morning, another dream involving Ultraman and a traffic jam jolted her awake.

Her pale face was now paired with dark eye circles, and her dazed eyes still lingered in dreamland.

Screw it. Might as well head out now.

Qi Siyu took her frustration out on her toothbrush, gnashing at it like it was a hated kaiju. Only after that catharsis did her mood settle.

She splashed her face with cold water and finally came to her senses.

Seeing the mess under her eyes, she grew even more alert. No way I’m meeting Gu Qing looking like this!

After doing her makeup and dressing in carefully chosen clothes and accessories, Qi Siyu called the Qi family’s chauffeur and headed to the airport.

Naturally, a beautiful bouquet was a must for such an occasion. Qi Siyu had already ordered from eight different shops near the airport.

Whichever bouquet arrived in the best condition, she will present it to Gu Qing. The rest? Perfect for a luxurious flower-petal bath that night.

Eight shops was just the local limit—if it wasn’t, she would’ve ordered even more, just to be safe.

At the airport parking lot, Qi Siyu handed the driver a generous red envelope and told him to catch a ride home.

She sat in the car for a bit, then got restless and began to wander. The airport had plenty of shops inside.

When her stomach growled, she realized she hadn’t eaten. She found a KFC, grabbed a bite, and pulled out her laptop to do some work.

But she’d overestimated herself. Her nerves left her brain blank. She couldn’t focus at all.

In the end, she gave up and watched Gu Qing’s movies on repeat, using them to calm herself.

She waited. And waited. Finally, it was 4 PM.

Qi Siyu hurried back to the parking lot—she had the flowers delivered there.

Thankfully, nothing went wrong. All eight bouquets arrived on time, and all were identical.

As they were stacked into the trunk, a passerby even mistook her for a flower vendor and asked for the price.

The flowers were fresh and vibrant. Relying on her refined aesthetic sense, Qi Siyu selected the one she found most pleasing.

The bouquet was made of pale pink roses and iridescent bubble-sheen multi-head roses, dyed to create a dreamy, vintage aesthetic.

It had a lovely name: Earl Rose. Among its many meanings, Qi Siyu’s favorite was:

“Love is blooming with you.”

For this partnership ahead, let me bloom by your side, Gu Qing.

As she turned to head back, someone tapped her shoulder.

“What a coincidence, Director Qi—are you picking someone up too?”

It was Liang Siqi, still wearing a mask and holding a bouquet of bright yellow sunflowers.

Qi Siyu glanced at her flowers and smiled. “Yeah. You too?”

“Hehe… you could say that. It’s for someone I’m sort of… seeing,” Liang Siqi replied.

You’re just going to blurt out “ambiguous relationship” like that?! Qi Siyu’s pupils dilated in shock.

“I’m not a big celebrity or anything,” Liang Siqi added. “Just an actress. Don’t worry, Director Qi—I won’t let this interfere with work. I’m very career-focused.”

Qi Siyu nodded. “Good to hear.”

They walked into the airport together—both were waiting at the VIP arrival gate, so they didn’t part ways.

The flight arrived on time, and so did Qi Siyu’s longing.

From afar, she spotted Gu Qing. It was as if her eyes had auto-focus—everything else faded into nothing.

Qi Siyu practically started bouncing in place. Why doesn’t my family own this damn airport?!

There weren’t many people in the VIP area, so Gu Qing and Gu Xiaoling quickly reached them.

“Gu Qing… long time no see. Welcome back.” Qi Siyu flushed red, her voice stiff and awkward.

She couldn’t help but recall those intense days from before, which made her both shy and self-conscious.

Yet her gaze brazenly traced Gu Qing’s face, unwilling to look away.

Gu Qing gave her a once-over, glanced at Liang Siqi beside her, then landed her eyes on the bouquet in Qi Siyu’s arms.

“You brought this for me?”

“Ah—yeah,” Qi Siyu hurriedly offered the flowers, repeating herself, “Welcome back.”

Gu Qing accepted them and placed them on her lap. “Mm.”

“Must be tired from such a long flight. I’ve already ordered dinner—let’s go get some rest.” Qi Siyu noticed the fatigue behind Gu Qing’s calm expression.

Gu Qing nodded and then turned to Liang Siqi. Her eyes landed on the pattern on Liang’s mask—it matched the one on Qi Siyu’s umbrella.

“She is?”

“Oh, right! I forgot to introduce her.” Qi Siyu smacked her forehead. “This is Liang Siqi, our second female lead. I just bumped into her at the parking lot. She’s here to meet her… ambiguous someone.”

“Hello, Ms. Gu. It’s such an honor to meet you.” Liang Siqi bowed and extended her hand like a respectful junior.

Gu Qing shook it politely. “Nice to meet you. Looking forward to working together.”

“I—I’m really looking forward to it too. I’ll do my best!” Liang Siqi replied, clearly thrilled.

After parting ways with Liang Siqi, Gu Xiaoling—who’d been demoted from pushing the wheelchair—grumbled,

“Some people just pick the easy jobs. Don’t even bother helping with the luggage.”

But Qi Siyu was in such a good mood she didn’t mind. “Sorry, didn’t notice. Hand one over, I’ll carry it.”

Gu Xiaoling gawked. “Did you do something to betray our Gu-jie? Why are you acting so weird?”

Qi Siyu rolled her eyes. “You’re the one who betrayed her! I’m just in a good mood. Can’t I be nice for once?”

“Gu-jie, she’s acting so weird. What if she got body-snatched?” Gu Xiaoling muttered, ignoring Qi Siyu and appealing to Gu Qing.

Gu Qing glanced up at Qi Siyu. “She hasn’t changed.”

“Hehe, Gu Qing says I haven’t changed~” Qi Siyu dragged out the words in a silly voice.

Thanks to Gu Xiaoling’s interruption, her hands finally stopped shaking.

If Gu Qing says nothing’s changed, then it hasn’t. Everything’s still the same.

At the parking lot, Qi Siyu helped Gu Qing into the car, then went to load the luggage into the trunk.

Gu Xiaoling was staring at the flowers. “Why… why are there so many bouquets?”

Oops. Qi Siyu had forgotten about those.

She replied confidently, “How would I know which shop’s flowers would look best? Of course I bought them all to compare.”

No way she’d admit it was because of those nightmares.

Gu Xiaoling twitched at the corners of her mouth. These damn capitalists…

“What about the rest?” she asked.

“Flower bath,” Qi Siyu said, feeling clever.

“But they’re spray-dyed. Won’t the color bleed into the water?”

Qi Siyu: …

“Mind your business!” she snapped, stuffing the suitcase in and slamming the trunk.

She bolted for the driver’s seat. Gu Xiaoling followed and immediately started tattling:

“Gu-jie, her whole trunk’s full of the same bouquet. Said she wanted to pick the best one for you and use the rest for a flower bath.”

“But the flowers are spray-dyed! HAHAHAHAHA she’s such a dumbass—”

Gu Qing looked down at the bouquet in her arms. Her smoky grey eyes softened into a blush of pink. Her lips curled ever so slightly.

“Mm. She’s an idiot.”

But in Qi Siyu’s eyes, all she saw was that tiny smile.

And if it meant making Gu Qing smile like that—then being an idiot for the rest of her life would be more than worth it.