Transmigrated as the Top-Tier Alpha's Secretly Married Ex-Wife - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Su Tuantuan was busy filming, and two days later, there was a new development in Bai Xue’s situation.

After Su Tuantuan’s clarification, the online discourse shifted, and many bloggers came out to support Bai Xue.

Being bullied in the workplace was already an insult, and then facing discrimination from netizens—where exactly was society placing young women?

This public outcry gradually increased, and netizens who had previously “verbally attacked” Bai Xue also began to reflect.

Meanwhile, Bai Xue’s former agent was afraid to show his face. Shen Jun was zeroing in on his tax evasion and illegal transaction loopholes.

His arrest was imminent.

Many companies sought to sign Bai Xue.

Bai Xue, however, was in no rush. She first came to the film city to find Su Tuantuan.

She had cut her hair short, just above her ears. Without her previous aggressive appearance, she looked like a tomboy.

She watched Su Tuantuan busy on set, and during that time, Meng Han even dragged her into a few scenes as an extra.

After wrapping up work, she and Su Tuantuan sat together at a barbecue stall.

She poured the beer; it was ice-cold, and moisture quickly condensed on the glass.

Su Tuantuan waited for the food to arrive. Bai Xue chattered on. “I really didn’t expect you to keep that evidence at the time. You…”

Su Tuantuan interrupted. “Don’t bring up the past. There’s no point in dwelling on it.”

Bai Xue fell silent again, downing a few sips of beer herself. “Several companies want to sign me, but I’m a little scared. They say once bitten, twice shy…”

Bai Xue gave a bitter smile. “I kind of don’t want to act anymore.”

Su Tuantuan looked up at her, surprised.

She was surprised that Bai Xue would say such a thing.

This was Bai Xue.

The person who had never talked about giving up, even when things were incredibly difficult before.

Now she was saying she didn’t want to act.

“Then don’t act.”

Su Tuantuan returned to her calm state, peeling a boiled edamame pod. “No one is forcing you. If you want to retire, then retire. If you want to leave, then leave. Who’s going to stop you?”

Bai Xue bit her lip and didn’t speak. More people gradually arrived at the barbecue stall. Because it was next to the film city, many actors came to eat.

Seeing Su Tuantuan and Bai Xue, the actors warmly greeted them like old acquaintances but didn’t interrupt their conversation.

Su Tuantuan responded with a smile and continued peeling edamame. She glanced at Bai Xue, who looked like she was about to cry.

“Have you decided?”

Bai Xue lowered her head, fighting back her emotions. Tears were about to fall, but she suddenly grabbed her beer glass and took several large gulps.

Putting the glass down heavily, she choked out, “Goddammit, I just… I just can’t accept it.”

She wanted to leave, yes.

But if she left just like this, what did all the years of struggle mean?

She was a little fearful. “I really don’t know. I put in so many years of effort to get to this point. What else will I face if I continue?”

She cried again, wiping her bare face. “But if I leave now, I feel so unwilling! I really can’t accept it!”

She repeated the word “unwilling” several times.

How could she be willing?

She was opposed by her family but insisted on attending an arts academy, and after graduation, she smiled and attended social events, drinking with people everywhere.

All for a chance to be on camera.

She finally had a glimpse of hope.

Now there was nothing holding her back from leaving, yet she was terrified.

If she encountered another agent like Wu Ziqi, the rest of her life would be ruined.

“Here you go! Spicy crawfish and your grilled skewers!”

The waiter brought the platter. The crawfish was steaming hot. Su Tuantuan put on disposable gloves and took a grilled corn skewer.

“Delicious.”

Su Tuantuan gave an honest assessment. Bai Xue snapped, “All you think about is eating!”

Su Tuantuan offered her a grilled chicken foot. “Want to try some?”

Bai Xue hesitated before taking it. Su Tuantuan had already picked up her beer. “Want to clink glasses?”

Bai Xue mumbled, clinked glasses with her, and took a drink that emptied half the glass. Su Tuantuan only drank a third.

Su Tuantuan pinched a crawfish. “Oh, it’s hot!”

She let out a small cry, gave up on attacking the crawfish, and went back to eating the skewers.

“If you can’t accept it, then keep going. What else can you do?”

She spoke slowly. Bai Xue glanced at her, then lowered her head and started peeling a crawfish.

“Do you have any better way to make money? What else can you do besides being an actress? If you think about it carefully, is it true that you can’t do anything else besides acting, but as an actress, you’re not particularly outstanding?”

Bai Xue froze, her action of peeling the shrimp paused. She looked at Su Tuantuan, blinking.

Su Tuantuan smiled at her. “I was like that back then, too.”

Su Tuantuan realized her gloves were useless and took them off, continuing to eat edamame.

“Always dreaming of one day making it big, but constantly unable to find where the hope lay. Like a frog in a well, you know there’s a sky outside and you want to get out, but no matter how you jump or try, you can’t get out.”

Su Tuantuan smiled helplessly. “That kind of helplessness, controlled by fate, is like being crushed underfoot and told you’ll never make it, you’ll always be stuck like this…”

Su Tuantuan sighed softly. “But isn’t everyone like this? Look around, isn’t everyone like this?”

“Very few people make it to the top. We envy how high they stand, but don’t they also face more resistance?”

Su Tuantuan tapped Bai Xue’s glass again. “I’m here for you. No matter which company you sign with, I won’t let you get a raw deal. If you’re really worried, I can talk to Sister Zhou; she likes you too.”

Bai Xue peeled a plate of crawfish, removing all the intestinal veins, and handed the plate to Su Tuantuan. “Eat it.”

Su Tuantuan whined, “Hey, were you even listening? You came all this way to give me a motivational speech, and this is your reaction?”

She picked up a crawfish and tasted it. “It tastes good, actually.”

She added, “But the ones you peel yourself taste better.”

Bai Xue tried to take the plate back. Su Tuantuan quickly stopped her. “Since you’ve peeled them, I’ll reluctantly eat them. I can’t waste my good friend’s effort, can I?”

Bai Xue: “…”

That was the definition of rubbing it in.

She did feel a little emotional, and she did genuinely want a fresh start.

She wasn’t really trying to retire from the industry; she just felt like she had no support if she stayed in this circle.

But when she remembered the promise she made to her parents, she truly couldn’t give up.

“I want to join Qiao Yanran’s company.”

She continued peeling shrimp. “Her company has great resources, and her agent gives her enough freedom. She told me that in all her years in the industry, her agent has never forced her to take roles or do anything she didn’t want. So, I feel like…”

Su Tuantuan laughed in exasperation. “So you had everything planned out already.”

Bai Xue looked a little embarrassed.

“Then why did you come here hypocritically telling me you didn’t want to act or be an actress? Were you messing with me?”

Su Tuantuan tapped her hand with a chopstick. “Stop peeling; eat it yourself.”

Bai Xue pouted. “I was peeling them for myself, though.”

Su Tuantuan feigned anger, and Bai Xue was amused. Seeing her laugh, Su Tuantuan laughed too.

The two laughed louder and louder, until people at the barbecue stall started looking over.

Su Tuantuan laughed until tears came to her eyes. She picked up her beer glass, her smile gradually fading. “Bai Xue, when the day comes that you achieve your great ambition…”

Bai Xue also raised her glass and clinked it hard against Su Tuantuan’s. “…you’d dare laugh at Huang Chao for being no man!”

Bai Xue confirmed that she would sign with Qiao Yanran’s company.

The contract was overseen by Shen Jun.

Wu Ziqi was arrested for violating the law.

Once the verdict was out, he would have plenty of time to spend in jail.

The filming progress for Su Tuantuan and He Xiyao was steady, but Meng Han was a perfectionist.

Even if one person was slightly lacking in front of the camera, she would call everyone to restart.

Su Tuantuan encountered this kind of “demon” director for the first time.

In the real world, few people were so obsessed with technical precision.

She once met an old acting veteran who, due to illness, was deaf, so he would memorize his co-star’s lines in advance.

He acted based on reading the other actor’s lips.

He practiced again and again, writing down the lines if he couldn’t remember.

But the actor performing opposite him, unable to simply mouth “1, 2, 3, 4, 5,” threw a fit on set.

The director and everyone else tried to pacify that actor, terrified that if he got angry and quit, the production would suffer greater losses.

After all, that actor was a big-name celebrity, and the crew relied on him.

Su Tuantuan personally saw the look of self-reproach in the old veteran’s eyes.

Reaching that level of acting, he only hated that he couldn’t hear.

If every industry had people like Meng Han.

Striving for excellence, doing every task well.

Then that would be a blessing.

In the midst of her busy work, Su Tuantuan didn’t have time to think about Mo Xian.

Since they had agreed to meet at the peak, constantly replying would be a disturbance and utterly unnecessary.

As the filming schedule neared its end, Su Tuantuan began to say goodbye to several co-stars.

They had spent two months together, and their bond was naturally deep.

The weather gradually turned cold. November in the film city was always wet. When Su Tuantuan and He Xiyao wrapped up filming, the sky was foggy, and a fine, dense rain was falling.

Meng Han presented both of them with flowers, smiling and crying. “Excellent, truly excellent.”

She gave a thumbs-up. “Tuantuan, I wish you both a splendid future and continued success.”

The delicate young wife in the story established herself in the frontier and ended up with the humble official constable.

Together, they led a warm, sweet, and peaceful life.

In reality, He Xiyao didn’t express much emotion. Even in the current emotional atmosphere, she only slightly lowered her eyes to show her reluctance to part.

Su Tuantuan held her flowers and took a photo with her. They both attended the wrap party.

That night, they rushed back to City A.

After this drama, there were still more schedules.

They had to read scripts, choose roles, and more importantly, Su Tuantuan needed a few days to fully detach from the character.

From then on, Ruoyi, the delicate young wife from the frontier, had nothing to do with her.

Su Tuantuan was relatively quick at getting in and out of character.

Many people act in a show and might never fully detach from the role their entire lives.

She and He Xiyao took the same flight. Qiao Yanran called and suggested they meet up for a late-night meal.

With both their schedules packed, Su Tuantuan naturally agreed.

Upon landing, Shen Jun personally came to pick them up. Su Tuantuan asked He Xiyao if she wanted to go.

He Xiyao asked with a deadpan face if Bai Xue would be there.

Su Tuantuan was stunned for a moment. Qiao Yanran and Bai Xue were now at the same company.

So, the get-together would naturally include Bai Xue.

“She will be.”

Su Tuantuan frowned. Could He Xiyao be prejudiced against Bai Xue?

Unexpectedly, He Xiyao rarely curved her lips into a smile.

She said, “Then I’ll go.”