Acting as the Movie Queen Love Rival’s Golden Finger GL - Chapter 6

He Xilan went to the restroom. There weren’t many people inside.

As she took out her lipstick and touched up her makeup in the mirror, she heard the sound of a toilet flushing from one of the stalls, followed by a string of phone ringtones.

The woman stamped her foot, but still answered the call.

“Ah, yes, yes, Director Bei, please go ahead.”

“I remember the audition matter. Yes, yes… The script? Elder Hu said he only gave it to his friend over at Xinghan. Ah, right, Xiwang’s Ming Xu has a good appearance and fits Elder Hu’s definition of the female lead very well, so he asked me to notify her to come audition.”

The restroom was very quiet, and He Xilan heard everything clearly. When she heard “Ming Xu,” her hand paused as she twisted the silver tube of lipstick.

“Nothing else. Mm-hm, all right.”

No more voices came from the stall. A woman walked out, wearing a short formal dress. Her short hair was neat and sharp as she washed her hands beside He Xilan.

He Xilan looked at her through the mirror. It was Yang Liu, the assistant director Bei Hai liked to use.

Yang Liu raised her head. Their gazes met in the mirror, and He Xilan greeted her with a smile. “Director Yang, long time no see.”

Yang Liu also smiled and said, “Xilan, you look very beautiful tonight.”

He Xilan put the lipstick into her evening clutch, snapped the bag shut lightly, and said, “You’re giving me face.”

“Not at all. If you ask me, among actresses these past two years, only you and Ming Xu stand out the most.”

…And Ming Xu.

He Xilan’s smile was like a spring breeze brushing the face. Naturally, she took Yang Liu’s arm and walked outside with her, speaking softly. “Although I didn’t mean to, I accidentally heard a sentence or two of your phone call just now outside. I still have to apologize to you.”

Yang Liu waved her hand. “How could I blame you? The call just came at the wrong time!”

He Xilan lowered her voice and said, “But ever since I heard it, my heart has been itching terribly. So I can only be bold and ask you—this Elder Hu… is he Teacher Hu Fan?”

“I like Teacher Hu Fan’s works too much. The moment I heard it might be his film, I couldn’t sit still.”

Yang Liu’s footsteps paused. Leaking news early was a major taboo in the industry. But looking at the anticipation on He Xilan’s soft and beautiful face, this time had also been a matter of strange coincidence…

Yang Liu was still feeling conflicted when He Xilan pressed her lips together and smiled. “I’ve put Director Yang in a difficult position.”

After saying that, she lightly moved on to other, easier topics. Yang Liu responded smoothly, her expression unchanged, but how could she not know that He Xilan had already guessed it from her long silence?

But being guessed and admitting it were, after all, two different things.

He Xilan returned to her seat with her expression as usual. She was also in the fourth row, two or three seats away from Chen Yuanning. When one of the cameras on the left swept past, it happened to frame her and Ming Xu together.

The bullet comments immediately had more to chatter about.

“Why is my Xilan sitting behind Ming Xu? What is the organizer doing?”

“Ming Xu has a nominated work, thank you.”

“Reminder to Chen Yuanning’s fans: He Xilan just ditched your idol and entered with President Wei, hehe.”

“??? It’s the shameless pretty boy clinging to a rich woman. My Lanlan only reluctantly went with the CEO, okay!”

“Who’s insulting my son! Where’s my knife!!”

The livestream instantly became a bloody battlefield. Fans of other celebrities cracked melon seeds and watched the show, flooding the screen with bullet comments: “Fight, fight.jpg”

Ming Xu and He Xilan had debuted in the same year and belonged to two different entertainment companies. Both were new-generation actresses their companies strongly supported.

From the moment they debuted, they had been compared in terms of popularity. Over the past few years, they had fought over endorsements, schedules, and roles. When they attended events together, organizers also loved placing them together to create discussion. They could be called ironclad rivals, and the moment their fans met, they rolled up their sleeves and started fighting.

At this awards ceremony, Ming Xu had a nominated work, while He Xilan’s new drama, The Person I Love, had not been nominated. He Xilan’s fans had already kicked up a fuss online once before, and now there was even less need to say anything.

Song Jianzhi sat in the center of the first row. There were no familiar faces on either side of her, and beside her sat that idiot Wei Xiao.

Every now and then, a camera crane would sweep over. She had to keep a smile on her face, and her face was almost stiff from it. She could only pour out her misery to the system in her heart. “I’m so tired, wuwuwu.”

The system said, “Host performed very well tonight. You weren’t timid at all when facing the reporters on the red carpet. Just hold on a little longer, and you can go home!”

Song Jianzhi saw that no camera cranes were swaying over for the time being, so she propped her arm on the armrest, rested her cheek on her hand, and said, “Oh. I was actually very panicked at first, but then I thought about how even Wei Xiao can act like a CEO in front of them without being exposed.”

“Once I thought of that, even every strand of my hair radiated confidence.”

The system was once again convinced by its host. “Fine.”

Song Jianzhi thought about it and felt dissatisfied. She hadn’t come tonight purely to suffer. She had to do something.

Where was Ming Xu?

She wanted to turn around and look, but everyone around her looked like successful entrepreneurs, so she felt too embarrassed to glance around.

After thinking it over, she dug out the WeChat of her newly recognized little cousin. “Where are you sitting?”

Chen Yuanning replied very quickly. One glance was enough to tell he was just like her, bored enough to secretly play on his phone.

“Fourth row, a bit to the right!”

Peng Zhou’s fingers tapped wildly. “Bot lane’s about to explode! Chen Yuanning, hurry up!”

Chen Yuanning quickly turned his phone horizontally and opened Honor of Kings. “Hold on! Just now, it was my cousin asking where I’m sitting. I had to tell her.”

Peng Zhou immediately said, “A message from your cousin definitely has to be answered. Why don’t you switch out and draw her a seating map? Maybe she wants to come over and find you.”

“Get lost.” Chen Yuanning laughed and cursed. “Even if she comes to find me, why are you so happy? Hey, come back! Don’t let Diao Chan show off!”

Peng Zhou did not listen to his friend’s advice and got outplayed by Diao Chan’s second skill until his corpse lay across King’s Canyon. He leaned over to watch Chen Yuanning’s Zhao Yun harvest kills, just in time to see a WeChat pop-up appear:

Little Cousin: Then where is Ming Xu sitting?

Peng Zhou scratched his head. “Sister Ming Xu is right in front of us. If your cousin turns around and looks, won’t she know? Why did she specifically ask?”

“Don’t know.” Chen Yuanning was immersed in the pleasure of harvesting kills. After getting a quadra kill, he returned to the crystal with a sliver of health and switched out to reply to the message.

Song Jianzhi opened WeChat and looked. Then she turned back as if unintentionally, and sure enough, two rows behind her, she saw Ming Xu.

Ming Xu was sitting together with the crew. The director and male actors beside her were all wearing formal suits. She was like a blooming rose in a pile of dead leaves, especially striking, though she was a cool-colored rose.

Song Jianzhi used her lifetime’s acting skills to play the role of a cousin turning back to look for her younger cousin while secretly observing her service target, who was actually her future client—the only customer she had to serve well.

And she had slept with that client all over without even carefully looking at her.

Song Jianzhi reflected deeply on herself. Taking advantage of the chance to meet at the awards ceremony, she properly looked at Ming Xu’s face.

Ming Xu was speaking to the person beside her. Her side profile was smooth and clean, her red lips opening and closing. The line from her forehead to the bridge of her nose was especially beautiful, with more delicacy and radiance than her polished photos online.

Song Jianzhi: As expected of my client. Only this face is worthy of being the female lead.

She was happily absorbing the beauty when Ming Xu suddenly nodded to the director beside her, then straightened and faced forward. Song Jianzhi was caught off guard and met Ming Xu’s gaze in midair.

Separated by two rows of dark red seats and the scattered guests seated there, Song Jianzhi stared blankly at Ming Xu. The overhead lights shone down, and Ming Xu’s light brown pupils were filled with starlight, beautiful enough to seem unreal.

Oh no. She’d been caught.

Subconsciously, she revealed a civilized and polite smile.

Sure enough, Ming Xu stopped looking at her.

In the back row, Chen Yuanning finally pushed the enemy crystal. Amid the “Victory” sound effect, he put down his phone and looked up. Seeing Song Jianzhi twisting around and looking in his direction, he hurriedly stretched out his arm and waved at her.

Song Jianzhi also gave a small wave in greeting. The smile on her face became a little more genuine, and as if trying too hard to prove there was nothing suspicious, she even called out, “Yuanning.”

Now Ming Xu should understand that she had been looking at Chen Yuanning! Nice!

Song Jianzhi turned back with peace of mind and sat properly in her seat, receiving a displeased look from the idiot Wei Xiao beside her.

Ming Xu sat with lowered eyes, her gaze falling on her exquisitely done nails.

The conversation behind her sounded again.

“Your cousin is even prettier when she smiles. Her voice is so sweet.”

“To be honest, that was also the first time I heard my cousin call me that sweetly.”

Ming Xu recalled it.

It was very sweet.

Author’s Note:

Extra update added. Obediently waiting for praise.