Acting as the Movie Queen Love Rival’s Golden Finger GL - Chapter 15

Because the security personnel would not let her through, Song Jianzhi personally came out of the apartment complex to bring Li Man inside.

Li Man was dragging a suitcase and wearing the three-piece set of a baseball cap, sunglasses, and mask. If she had not greeted Song Jianzhi first, Song Jianzhi would not have recognized her even with a magnifying glass.

Looking like this, no wonder the security personnel were uneasy. Their gazes swept over her again and again like scanners.

Li Man said, “Is Miss Song going out to buy something? Why don’t I help you buy it?”

Song Jianzhi smiled. “No, I’m going home. Hurry and go up.”

Li Man was shocked and doubtful. “What? Miss Song doesn’t live here?”

“Of course not.” Song Jianzhi felt a little strange inside. What would it be if they lived together? Wouldn’t that be cohabitation?

Li Man gave a couple of “oh, oh” sounds. So Sister Ming Xu had really come here to take refuge.

She had even been muttering that such a big thing had happened, and Ming Xu’s career line was clearly about to collapse, yet Sister Ming Xu still had the mood to run her romance line.

When Li Man saw Ming Xu, she first shut the door tightly, then checked the doors and windows again. After confirming that everything was safe and the curtains were firmly drawn, she comforted Ming Xu:

“Although this matter is a little big, Sister Ming Xu, don’t worry too much. Sister Pei is helping you think of a way. She said the most important thing for you right now is to prepare for the audition.”

Actually, the biggest problem with this storm was not how negative the exposed information was, but that the one attacking Ming Xu this time was Xiwang. The company’s PR team would not only refuse to help Ming Xu suppress public opinion, they were also the main force stepping on her this time.

They were clearly determined to make Ming Xu pay the price for terminating her contract.

As Ming Xu’s manager, Pei Zishu was essentially employed by the company. Now that she could not mobilize the company’s departments, the fact that she was still running around for Ming Xu and contacting her friends in the industry to speak up for her was already the limit of what she could do.

Ming Xu understood this very clearly. She was currently browsing the online comments.

Earlier, when she had opened the Weibo trending searches, it had not been for herself to see.

Ming Xu first carefully read the statement issued by Xiwang. The statement was not long, so the sentence “after winning an award, artist Ming Xu refused to star in our company’s major television production The Great Han Woman and proposed terminating her contract with our company” stood out especially clearly.

Several marketing accounts kept by Xiwang were much more direct. Targeting Xiwang’s “subtle” statement, they reposted and interpreted it further:

“The Great Han Woman has been pretty hot in the industry recently. Quite a few first-tier actresses have been eyeing it. Didn’t expect Ming Xu would rather terminate her contract than act in it. Tsk tsk.”

“Terminating her contract because she doesn’t like the good resources the company gave her? Best Actress sure has confidence.”

“Feeling sorry for Xiwang. They eagerly delivered resources to her, but she looked down on them.”

The paid commenters in the comment section were even less polite:

“Who does she think she is? She won one Best Actress award and now her eyes are on top of her head.”

“How much money did Xiwang spend on her? They raised her until she became popular, and now that she’s eaten everything clean, she’s leaving. #MingXuUngrateful”

The topic #MingXuUngrateful had already been pushed onto the trending list and was climbing upward step by step.

The Cotton Fluffs were working hard to control the comments below, but against paid trolls, they were still somewhat powerless. The main issue was that Ming Xu had not responded at all, so the fans were also uneasy and lacking confidence. Ming Xu tapped open her own Weibo. The latest street-photo post already had more than thirty thousand comments.

“Ming Xu, I’m begging you, say something. Give me a little confidence. As long as you speak, I’ll believe you.”

“So this is the kind of person you are. You even have something ambiguous going on with a shared cucumber like Wei Xiao. Turning from fan to passerby.”

Ming Xu’s originally calm, unruffled expression shifted slightly when she saw this sentence. She frowned. “Me and Wei Xiao?”

Li Man had been nervously observing her expression the whole time. Hearing this, she said, “Someone kicked you while you were down and exposed the matter between you, Miss Song, and Wei Xiao.”

Li Man’s expression became a little hard to describe.

After she knew that Song Jianzhi and Ming Xu had already ummmm-ed, looking at those melon-eating netizens acting excited as if “the truth had finally come to light” felt like watching a bunch of fools.

Netizens still weren’t imaginative enough! she thought in pain.

This feeling of everyone else being drunk while I alone am sober was damnably wonderful!

Ming Xu then tapped open the trending topic with the words “love-triangle battlefield.” Sure enough, it was full of speculation about this romantic scandal. Amid the angry comments from the Blues, there were also a few passersby expressing rather different opinions.

“Thank goodness for the blogger. Otherwise, who knows how long my Xilan would have had to carry this black pot. #Angry”

“666666, let me conspiracy-theory this for a second. Maybe Song Third was the one who made a move against Ming Xu.”

“Wei Xiao: I’m an adult now. I want both the red rose and the white rose. #DogHead”

“Wuwuwuwu, why do two fairy sisters have to fall for this dung beetle? Wouldn’t doing yuri be better!”

Ming Xu moved her hand and liked the fourth comment.

Li Man: ?!!

“Sister Ming Xu, what are you doing!”

If fans discovered that their idol’s only action in the face of rumors and slander was actually liking a hot comment shipping a random female-female CP, Ming Xu would gain yet another trending search.

Ming Xu said mildly, “I’m using an alt account.”

Li Man’s heart, which had leapt into her throat, fell back into place.

“That’s good, that’s good…”

Ming Xu casually refreshed the page and saw that the blogger who had first broken the news had posted another new scoop:

“Freshest melon just arrived. The Great Han Woman, the drama Xiwang’s statement said Ming Xu refused to act in, was invested in by Wei Xiao. The investment amount was over a hundred million. #BaredTeeth. Ming Xu is strong! She made a CEO so dizzy with infatuation that he threw down a fortune for her. #ThumbsUp”

Li Man suddenly jumped up from the sofa. “What background does this blogger have? Fine, forget that they knew about the love-triangle battlefield before, but how do they even know about Wei Xiao’s investment!”

Ming Xu looked at the rapidly increasing comments below. Her light brown pupils were calm and steady. She smiled faintly, pointed at the screen, and said, “Can’t you tell? Whoever benefits is the one behind it.”

Li Man slapped her forehead and suddenly understood.

“He Xilan!”

Wei Xiao also shouted this name. Looking at the woman in front of him, his face was dark. “Tell me, why did you do something harmful to Ming Xu!”

He Xilan was muttering inwardly. Why was Wei Xiao like an idiot in every other aspect, yet whenever it came to investigating conspiracies related to Ming Xu, he was accurate every time?

She tilted her head, a thin layer of watery light covering her eyes as she choked out, “I couldn’t watch you silently give so much for her, yet still be misunderstood by others as a playboy! You’re clearly the most devoted. You’ve never, never let me walk into your heart.”

Wei Xiao looked at this woman before him, who loved him so desperately. The masculine pride that had been frustrated by Song Jianzhi gained immense satisfaction. He pinched He Xilan’s chin, his gaze heavy.

“Women in love have no reason. I’ll forgive you this time. You’re not allowed to do it again, and you’re not allowed to hurt Ming Xu again!”

He Xilan could not help thinking of Qiao Xin, that colleague who had always targeted Ming Xu in the past. It seemed Qiao Xin had been forgiven seven or eight times already.

A man’s mouth was a lying ghost.

He Xilan bit her lip and nodded with grievance.

Wei Xiao paid no attention to her and only said, “Heh. But you’ve paved the way for me too—I will definitely make Song Jianzhi pay the price for her actions.”

He Xilan probed, “What did Miss Song do?”

“She thinks herself clever. First, she acted like she looked down on me to play hard to get. But she was also jealous of Ming Xu and couldn’t help exposing herself by poaching Ming Xu to Xinghan.” Wei Xiao said confidently, “Did she think her mysterious act would be useful? I saw through it at a glance. She doesn’t want Ming Xu to star in the drama I invested in!”

He Xilan choked, then chose to throw away her brain and play the straight man. “Looks like Miss Song has a sincere heart for Young Master Wei.”

“Before, her targeting Ming Xu disgusted me. Now she’s gotten a little smarter and knows to pretend to get along well with Ming Xu. Ming Xu is just that pure. She’ll be fooled by Song Jianzhi’s clumsy acting.” As he spoke to the end, Wei Xiao even began feeling a little distressed for Ming Xu.

He Xilan was mentally retching. I think you’re the purest one, like a paramecium living in human society.

She could not help saying something to stab this vivid, breathing idiot. “Then what does Young Master Wei plan to do? Now that the weather is hot, will you make the Song family go bankrupt?”

Wei Xiao did not have that ability. He did have a few companies in his hands, but fighting against a massive entity like the Song family would be no different from throwing an egg against a rock. Even the entire Wei family controlled by his sister was still a whole circle smaller compared to the Song family.

Wei Xiao’s face stiffened for a long while before he recovered, then sneered. “Heh. I’m going to make her bear the infamy. I can’t let Ming Xu suffer grievances.”

The next morning, Song Jianzhi carried the corn and pork rib soup the housekeeper had simmered to Ganlin Garden to deliver warmth. When she passed by a park, a faint sweet fragrance drifted over.

She looked carefully and saw that the gardenia trees planted in the park were covered with milky-white flower buds, looking somewhat tender and green amid the dense foliage.

The buds in places with good sunlight had already half-bloomed. Transparent, round dewdrops from the previous night hung on the petals, and sweet fragrance spilled everywhere.

The blooming of a single flower was enough to make an ordinary morning moving.

The arrival of a single person was enough to make another forget sorrow with joy.

Ming Xu accepted the insulated food container and placed it in the kitchen. Song Jianzhi followed behind her and reminded her, “Remember to drink it at noon. I specially asked the housekeeper to simmer it for you.”

Ming Xu took out a suitable soup bowl and poured the soup into it. Her movements were very familiar, as if she were the true owner of this apartment.

“I can also make corn and pork rib soup,” Ming Xu said while working.

“I can’t,” Song Jianzhi said casually, wrinkling her nose.

She wandered around twice and saw washed peaches in the fruit bowl. She reached out, touched the reddest one, and gently squeezed it. It was a soft peach.

Song Jianzhi’s brows bloomed with delight. She peeled the skin and took a bite. The soft peach flesh tasted sweet and juicy, its fruit fragrance overflowing. It was super delicious.

She kept praising it. “Where did Li Man buy these soft peaches? They’re especially sweet. I’ll go buy some to take home too.”

Ming Xu washed her hands and turned back to look at her. “Very sweet?”

Song Jianzhi nodded and chewed the fruit flesh. “Try one.” As she spoke, she picked a peach and handed it to Ming Xu. “This one must be sweet.”

Ming Xu accepted it and slowly peeled off the thin peach skin.

As she made this series of movements, she kept looking at Song Jianzhi. Her light brown pupils reflected the morning light, revealing their unique magic—cleanest, yet most dreamlike, enchanting the soul.

At first, Song Jianzhi did not notice anything. But as Ming Xu’s movements slowed, the air in the entire kitchen seemed to change.

It was heating up.

Song Jianzhi’s movements as she ate the peach slowed, and she involuntarily met Ming Xu’s gaze.

Ming Xu used fingertips as white and lustrous as jade to peel away a strip of blushing red peach skin, revealing the downy-yellow peach flesh beneath. Plump. Juicy.

She brought the peach to her lips and first lightly sniffed it.

“It smells very sweet.”

Song Jianzhi inexplicably became alert.

If she had a pair of cat ears, they would probably already be flattened into airplane ears by now.

Song Jianzhi did not speak, and Ming Xu did not mind either. She lowered her eyes and no longer looked at Song Jianzhi, allowing Song Jianzhi to quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

Ming Xu’s lips, without any lipstick, were a healthy, natural pale pink. When they drew close to the goose-yellow peach flesh, the two colors were equally lovely.

She parted her lips and bit into the peach.

As she made this motion, she suddenly lifted her eyes and looked at Song Jianzhi again.

Her eyes were rippling with light, the sound of juice splashing rang beside the ear, and the juice between her lips was fresh and sweet.

Song Jianzhi’s mind went blank. In a daze, she seemed to understand something.

In that instant.

Brilliant fireworks shot up through her body. Her temperature rose, and the heat wave flushed the corners of her eyes and her cheeks. Even her throat was burned slightly dry.

“Sweet and cute,” Ming Xu said. “Really delicious.”

Author’s Note:

The author solemnly announces here that Song Third’s true identity is an honored member of the soft-peach faction.

Has the sugar content been a bit too high lately? Is Sister Ming Xu too seductive? Suddenly pondering.