A Scummy A, But Bound To A Cutesy-Appeal System - Chapter 11

Pei Xixia felt that she truly was the king of terrible old memes. At a time like this, she actually inappropriately thought of the six hearts Tang Sanzang spat out in the Kingdom of Biqiu in Journey to the West.

She staged a little theater in her mind, imagining herself holding a rose between her teeth with deep affection as she confessed to Lu Yimo:

“I have a heart that wants to protect you and cannot bear to see you suffer even the slightest grievance. I have a heart full of guilt toward you, regretting that I wrote your background so miserably. I have a survival heart that wants to complete the mission and spend a longer future with you in this world…”

“I also have a heart that appreciates your talent and beauty, a heart that cherishes your stubborn and unyielding nature, and a heart curious about the path your future life will take… I have so many hearts, but the one thing I don’t have is a heart with bad intentions.”

Sigh. What a pity. This world did not have Journey to the West. Even if she made the joke, Lu Yimo would not understand her humor.

Pei Xixia shook her head helplessly.

Seeing her looking like her soul had wandered beyond the heavens while she wore that foolish expression of barely suppressed laughter, Lu Yimo felt even more baffled. She could not be bothered to scold her again and simply turned her head away.

The midyear gala continued moving forward. As the final winners of one major nomination after another were announced, the atmosphere at the venue was constantly pushed higher, and the audience’s enthusiasm gradually reached its peak.

After all kinds of awards were presented, Polar Bear TV publicly revealed for the first time the major titles it would be pushing in the second half of the year. It played the promotional video, triggering another wave of excitement.

Pei Xixia had originally thought that things would just about end there. The hosts waved goodbye to everyone, and the exit music had already begun.

Pei Xixia and Lu Yimo had planned to leave too, but the crowd behind them was far too congested. They could not get out for a while, so they stayed seated and waited.

Then they saw Yan Songlan holding a mixed bouquet of blue irises and hyacinths as she returned to the stage once again.

Pei Xixia and Lu Yimo exchanged a glance, unable to figure out what she was planning.

The audience in the stands reacted quickly. “Ahhh! Come back quickly! There’s an Easter egg!”

Yes, this time Polar Bear TV had still been holding back a big move. It had creatively arranged a hidden Easter egg: Yan Songlan would personally draw the lottery, selecting three seat numbers from audience members still present at the venue and three usernames from viewers who were still online in Polar Bear TV’s official livestream room. The reward was the chance to appear as an extra in Yan Songlan’s next movie.

This movie was Yan Songlan’s first work challenging herself as a director. It would premiere on Polar Bear TV while being released simultaneously in offline theaters.

When the lottery rules appeared on the big screen, the half of the audience remaining in the venue erupted into unprecedented passionate screams.

Even Pei Xixia had to admit that this Polar Bear TV did have a bit of cleverness.

No wonder a TV platform had invited Yan Songlan, a film star. So it turned out they were going to cooperate with Yan Songlan and compete for a movie premiere. Their ambition was not small.

The lottery segment thoroughly whetted the audience’s appetite. Perhaps it was also deliberately dragging things out, waiting for the audience members who had just left to return. It was clearly something that could have been settled quickly, yet Yan Songlan kept interacting endlessly with the audience until Pei Xixia grew drowsy listening to it.

Finally, the lottery segment ended, and Polar Bear TV’s midyear gala reached its true finale. On behalf of the hosts, Yan Songlan delivered the final closing remarks. “Thank you to all the guests and audience members for your companionship over this long time. Tonight shines because of passion, and the future will be brilliant because of anticipation. I look forward to our next meeting. Goodbye.”

She bowed to the audience, then turned and exited along the red carpet.

Pei Xixia could not help yawning. “It’s finally over.”

Just then, Yan Songlan made a move no one had expected.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks. As if acting on a sudden whim, she gave a sly wink to the camera, raised the exquisite blue bouquet in her hand high, and made as if to throw it toward the enthusiastic audience seats.

The crowd instantly burst into thunderous cheers and endless screams.

Pei Xixia immediately sensed that something was wrong. Even if Yan Songlan were Popeye, there was no way she could throw the bouquet from there all the way to the stands. What was she putting on this performance for?

At that distance… it was actually much closer to her and Lu Yimo…

Don’t tell me…

Sure enough, before she could react, in the next second, Yan Songlan released the bouquet. It flew unerringly toward their position. The target could not have been more obvious. She might as well have walked over and directly handed it to Lu Yimo.

Pei Xixia: “!!!”

Lu Yimo had just been tidying the hem of her clothes and had not noticed what was happening at all. The instant she looked up, a bouquet descended from the sky. She instinctively reached out and caught it. In the next second, her confused expression appeared on the big screen.

Beside her, half of Pei Xixia’s twisted face barely made it into frame.

The audience erupted into screams once again. Faintly, someone could be heard shouting Lu Yimo’s name.

Yan Songlan seemed to pause in surprise, then revealed a perfectly measured smile. “What a coincidence. It’s my junior.”

She did not give the audience time to think it over. She blew a kiss toward the viewing platform, then truly turned and left this time, leaving the stone she had thrown to stir up a thousand ripples.

Pei Xixia’s face turned ashen.

Because it had happened so unexpectedly, there had been no mobile cameras aimed at this side. The audience seats were also far away. Other than Pei Xixia, who had already been on alert, no one would notice that Yan Songlan had planned this in advance, including Lu Yimo herself.

In that flash of lightning and sparks, Pei Xixia once again remembered the faint, almost imperceptible pause in Yan Songlan’s gaze when she had first appeared.

So that had not been an illusion.

But this should not be happening!

According to the current direction of the plot, Yan Songlan should not be paying any special attention to Lu Yimo.

And what was that “What a coincidence, it’s my junior” supposed to be? Bah! She was really good at pretending! Lu Yimo could not even remember that the two of them had been in the same club. How could a busy person like Yan Songlan remember it so clearly?

Unless she also knew the direction of the plot.

In other words, she had awakened.

This guess made a trace of coldness seep into the bottom of Pei Xixia’s heart without her realizing it. Logically speaking, even if Yan Songlan had awakened and learned the future direction of events, right now, she should only be wondering why Lu Yimo had not stabbed Pei Xixia to death, or trying to find some other way to befriend Lu Yimo. She should not be forcefully making her presence known at such a grand event.

It was as if she were in a hurry.

But what was she in such a hurry for?

Pei Xixia’s worried gaze landed on Lu Yimo. She did not know whether she was thinking too conspiratorially, but she kept feeling that this Yan Songlan was no kind soul.

She was the one who really had bad intentions!

Heh. What a boring callback. Absolutely no one cared.

Lu Yimo did not notice anything abnormal. She was lowering her head and lightly sniffing the bouquet, her nose wrinkling slightly. The scent was probably a little too sharp. Noticing Pei Xixia’s gaze, she raised her brows, and a lively glimmer flashed for an instant through her emerald eyes. “I guess I count as a lucky audience member too.”

Pei Xixia felt as if some soft spot in her heart had been poked.

Such a beautiful, gentle, positive cub should enjoy a peaceful and smooth life. She absolutely should not have to endure these undeserved hardships!

If Yan Songlan dared harbor any improper intentions toward Lu Yimo, Pei Xixia would definitely not let her off!

Sigh. If only she could know what Yan Songlan was thinking…

Wait!

Pei Xixia’s eyes lit up. The Inner-Thought Eavesdropping Card! She had the Inner-Thought Eavesdropping Card! As long as she chased after Yan Songlan right now and caught up to her, wouldn’t she be able to know what Yan Songlan was thinking?

No. She could not. In the next second, Pei Xixia reacted. Right now, at most, Yan Songlan would only find it strange that she had not died. Yan Songlan would not realize that the original Pei Xining had already been replaced by a new soul. At present, the enemy was in the open while Pei Xixia remained hidden. Chasing after her would be equivalent to declaring war face-to-face.

The best method now was to stay still and bide her time, while continuing to play the scummy woman in front of Yan Songlan so that Yan Songlan would think she was still the original Pei Xining, and that her survival was purely an accident. Then Pei Xixia could slowly observe Yan Songlan’s true purpose.

…So hard.

She was just a tiny little screenwriter. How had she ended up needing to compete in acting against a film empress?

Lu Yimo gently nudged her with an elbow, her tone displeased. “Why are you spacing out again?”

Pei Xixia forced a smile. “It’s nothing. I’m a little sleepy.”

Lu Yimo did not suspect anything. She lightly frowned. “I already wanted to say this earlier. You have no awareness of expression management at all. You yawned several times facing the camera. A lot of people online are probably scolding you now.”

Pei Xixia felt so tired. “No way… You get scolded just for dozing off? That’s way too harsh.”

Lu Yimo pointed it out bluntly. “Other people probably wouldn’t.”

Pei Xixia repeatedly made an “okay” gesture with her hand. “Got it. Say no more. I understand.”

Lu Yimo glanced sideways at her. After a pause, she added, “But I think we… performed decently tonight. We didn’t look like our marriage was falling apart.”

Pei Xixia smiled bitterly. “Your standards for me are way too low.”

“It was just for show anyway.” Lu Yimo picked up her bag. “Let’s go back. Aren’t you sleepy?”

Pei Xixia secretly sighed. They should go home first. As for how to deal with Yan Songlan… there was no rush for this exact moment.

An hour later, Pei Xixia sat at home and was viciously slapped in the face by reality.

She opened Weibo, originally wanting to see whether this midyear gala had changed everyone’s impression that she and Lu Yimo were wives whose relationship was falling apart, and also to verify whether there really were people criticizing her for yawning.

Who would have thought that on Weibo, Pei Xixia herself had practically vanished from the discussion. Netizens were all talking about that “fated bouquet,” and Lu Yimo’s reputation had actually turned around overnight!

“Before, I was too loud when I spoke. After following Sister Yan for so many years, this is the first time I’ve seen her smile so gently! My Sister Yan has never misjudged a person before. This time, I choose to believe Lu Yimo. Even if it’s tragic-beauty aesthetics, I’ll accept it.”

“Ahhh, Lan and Mo are locked! A successful, cold film empress pulls a potential rising star who met the wrong person out of the mud! What kind of rescue literature has come to life? Screaming!”

“Sob, sob, sob, I held back for several days and didn’t dare speak. Thank heavens for having eyes. May my Momo turn things around against the wind and have a smooth star path from now on!”

“Not a fan of anyone, just discussing rationally. Lu Yimo’s future resources will definitely rise in quality. The Pei family’s rotten mess is already unworthy of the current Lu Yimo.”

No, seriously. How had these people managed to avoid mentioning her, Pei Xixia, by name in every single word, yet still scold her, Pei Xixia, in every single sentence?

Putting that aside, there was also a strong sense of dissonance in these comments.

Pei Xixia put herself into the situation and thought about it. If she were Yan Songlan’s fan, and her goddess threw a bouquet only for the person who caught it to happen to be a morally questionable unknown actress, would she feel like she was dying from how shippable it was?

No. She would feel unlucky to death, as if her idol had been dragged into trouble for no reason. She would not be able to distance herself fast enough.

These comments seemed heartfelt at first glance, but in truth, they could not stand up to scrutiny at all.

Clearly, someone was guiding the narrative.

Then who could that person be?

The answer was self-evident.

Yan Songlan.

She had already made her move.