After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 2

Yuan Yi usually had a bright and straightforward personality; you could tell just by her clothing style and the way she spoke. But the moment the topic turned to Gu Ruolan, she instantly became a worrying “tiger mom.” From the script to the production team, to the cast list of co-stars, and finally even the background of the investors—she would nag about every single detail.

“But I trust Gu Ruolan’s eye for projects. Her ability to pick a script is absolutely top-tier,” Yuan Yi said, giving a thumbs up in praise. “She never acts in those tacky, boring dramas. She won’t take them no matter how much money they offer. Every film she stars in wins at least one Best Actress award—that’s her confidence and her capability.”

This was no exaggeration. Gu Ruolan had debuted at twenty, and while the number of films she had made wasn’t huge, every single one had something impressive and memorable about it. Even more impressive was her incredible luck with awards; she almost never walked away empty-handed.

When she debuted, she was just a fresh face from the film academy. Her family had zero connections in the industry, and she hadn’t started out as a child star in commercials or hit TV shows. Yet, she shot to fame with her very first lead role, her stardom shining blindingly bright.

Yuan Yi’s eyes sparkled as she recalled Gu Ruolan’s highlight year: “With her first movie, she swept almost all the domestic Best Newcomer awards. Only a ‘Power Fantasy’ novel would dare to write a plot like that.”

Gu Ruolan was 21 that year, and Yuan Yi was only 16, but that didn’t stop her from being a die-hard fan.

Lu Xinyi, on the other hand, actually preferred Su Yunzi. She always felt that Gu Ruolan was too cold, aloof, and detached. Aside from sensing her versatility through her movie roles, she lacked a sense of presence in daily life; she didn’t feel “real.”

Unlike Gu Ruolan, who was like the cold moonlight, Su Yunzi was like the sun and the stars. Not only was she prolific in her work, but she also appeared frequently on other programs. Beyond her onscreen characters, Su Yunzi’s personal image had a strong sense of presence.

However, this didn’t stop Yuan Yi and Lu Xinyi from being best friends and fangirling together. It wasn’t the first time Su Yunzi and Gu Ruolan had competed for an award, and the two friends hadn’t initially thought much of it.

But as the time for the announcement drew near, the restlessness and anxiety in their hearts intensified.

Yuan Yi nagged for a long time, her words essentially serving as evidence for how high the probability was of Gu Ruolan taking the Silver Glow tonight.

The more Lu Xinyi listened, the worse her expression became, but try as she might, she couldn’t find a strong counterargument.

Still, she couldn’t help but try to save some face for Su Yunzi: “Gu Ruolan’s film is too ‘art-house.’ It definitely has an advantage for awards, but the box office performance will be a struggle.”

Every one of Su Yunzi’s films was a blockbuster; she was a guaranteed box-office draw, and producers never had to worry about that.

But after saying it, Lu Xinyi lost her own confidence. That might have been true in the past, but not this time. This film had been a success both domestically and overseas—it was a breakthrough for Gu Ruolan.

Tonight’s Silver Glow Award wouldn’t be an encouragement for her; it would be a confirmation.

“A Pink Lady, please. Thank you.” A customer came to order, and Meng Qiuran stood up.

Perhaps it was the “fan effect,” but she felt the Gu Ruolan described by those girls was different from the one she had imagined while reading the novel, and different from the feeling she got from the online photos.

Meng Qiuran’s bartending skills were quite good. This customer was a regular who had just visited two days ago.

While waiting for her drink, the woman glanced at Meng Qiuran every now and then. It wasn’t blatant, but she clearly wasn’t just looking to see how her drink was being made.

Meng Qiuran’s thick black hair was quite eye-catching in Berlin. Wearing her bar uniform, she didn’t carry the decadent air often found in such places; instead, she possessed a unique focus while working.

She seemed out of place in a bar, yet exceptionally attractive.

Meng Qiuran acted as if she hadn’t noticed the customer’s gaze, focusing solely on the cocktail. When she placed the coaster and the glass in front of the woman, a waft of perfume hit her directly.

Lighter than David’s, but still very strong.

That was Meng Qiuran’s first thought. But she wouldn’t show it; that would be unprofessional.

“Enjoy,” she said, her lips curling slightly into a smile for the customer.

“Are you free tonight?” The woman wasn’t in a hurry to drink, her eyes lingering intentionally or otherwise on Meng Qiuran.

Meng Qiuran’s hand paused as she cleaned the bar, and she was forced to look up to respond.

“I shouldn’t be.” Her tone was calm, her answer clear.

The woman wasn’t ready to give up easily. After a brief pause, she said, “The Delon will surely be packed tonight. You’ll be busy until the early hours.”

She seemed to be finding an excuse for Meng Qiuran, yet also seemed annoyed at herself for forgetting that fact.

Meng Qiuran smiled, acknowledging the point.

“Then what about tomorrow?”

Meng Qiuran stopped what she was doing completely. The woman’s invitation didn’t seem like a spur-of-the-moment thing.

The woman had vibrant red lips and long, wavy hair paired with large hoop earrings—a heavy Bohemian style.

“The number you gave me last time was probably wrong; I couldn’t get through.” She took a shallow sip of the drink, the flavor delighting her just as much as it had two days ago.

Meng Qiuran’s brow twitched. She remembered and recognized her now—this was a “romance” the original host had provoked before Meng Qiuran transmigrated.

The original Miss Meng loved to flirt when she had nothing better to do. Fortunately, it was just “lip service”; she probably knew that once things got serious, they would be hard to untangle and would cost too much effort.

Meng Qiuran had to walk over and face her: “The number wasn’t wrong, but I’ve changed my number.”

She still maintained a faint smile, her explanation light and indifferent.

The woman’s expression stiffened, showing a hint of embarrassed annoyance.

They were both “players”; if she couldn’t understand those words, she would just be inviting humiliation.

The woman stared at her for a long while, looking somewhat reluctant and unwilling, but she eventually picked up her glass and left.

Meng Qiuran didn’t watch where she went. As usual, she wiped down the spot where the customer had sat.

The minor interlude at the bar didn’t attract much attention, but Yuan Yi and Lu Xinyi happened to hear it since they were close.

This kind of thing was common in a bar, so they weren’t too surprised. They just couldn’t help but steal a few curious glances at Meng Qiuran, wondering what kind of bartender could make a customer so proactive.

When Meng Qiuran looked back at them, the young girls immediately turned away, pretending to continue their chat, though their hurried movements gave them away.

Just then, Meng Qiuran received a call from David. His wailing made her think for a moment that he had been kidnapped.

“Qiu! We lost! My Demi lost!”

Meng Qiuran raised an eyebrow knowingly. The awards had been announced.

Still, she offered David a few words of comfort, saying that winning and losing were part of the game, that being nominated was a form of recognition in itself, and that Demi’s talent was obvious to everyone.

David lamented for a bit but accepted reality, quickly turning to praise the new Movie Queen of the night to Meng Qiuran.

“Gu’s performance was indeed perfect. The way she looked standing on stage receiving the award was very moving. I feel sad for Demi, but Gu truly deserves it.”

David went on to use several flowery adjectives to praise this Movie Queen from the East. Meng Qiuran occasionally laughed at some of his inappropriate descriptions, but she truly felt Gu Ruolan’s charm through his words.

Perhaps because they were compatriots, Meng Qiuran felt an instinctive happiness for Gu Ruolan for winning such a prestigious award in Berlin.

However, the moment she recalled the plot of the original book, her happiness was diluted by a deeper sense of pity.

After hanging up on David, Meng Qiuran instinctively looked at the nearby table. It was already empty.

The young girls had left.

They must have already found out the result of the awards.

Customers gradually increased—mostly staff from tonight’s ceremony. From their conversations, Meng Qiuran heard more about the scene tonight.

The most valuable piece of information she gathered was that Gu Ruolan’s company would be holding a victory banquet for her tomorrow night at the Lindo Hotel.

The Lindo Hotel was not far from the bar; Meng Qiuran passed it every day on her way to and from work.

**

Gu Ruolan stayed backstage for a long time after the ceremony. A constant stream of people came to congratulate her—hugs, pleasantries, invitations. There was no end to the conversation; she was busier than she had been before the event started.

More importantly, many reporters were gathered outside the theater, all wanting to be the first to interview this Silver Glow Movie Queen.

Gu Ruolan’s manager, Yu Youqing, was busy handling things outside, while her assistant, Xiao Yan, stayed with her backstage. Several other company staff members stood guard nearby.

Gu Ruolan gripped her trophy tightly, only letting Xiao Yan hold it temporarily when someone came to talk to her.

Anyone could see that she truly loved and cared about this trophy.

After waiting backstage for nearly an hour, Yu Youqing finally returned, drenched in sweat: “Ruolan, let’s go.”

Her saying this meant that things had been arranged outside; at the very least, getting back to the hotel wouldn’t be an issue.

Xiao Yan quickly grabbed a coat and draped it over Gu Ruolan: “Sister Lan, there’s a wind tonight.”

The gown Gu Ruolan wore tonight wasn’t overly revealing, but it was certainly off-the-shoulder. There was heating backstage, but it would be a different story once they left the theater. One has to stay beautiful for the red carpet, but when leaving, health is the priority.

She pulled her coat tighter, but she wouldn’t let go of the trophy in her hand for a second.

Seeing this, Yu Youqing laughed: “Ruolan, that’s your treasure; no one is going to take it from you.”

After saying that, she couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at it herself.

The Silver Glow Award was the oldest of the “Big Three” European film festivals and held the highest artistic value. It was the dream of many actresses.

Now that her own artist had secured it, it was a source of great honor for her as a manager as well.

Once they were in the van and away from the chasing flashbulbs, Gu Ruolan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn’t want to talk; she just stared blankly at the trophy in her hand.

From the moment her name was announced, her thoughts had been a bit chaotic.

She had looked forward to this moment for a long time and worked hard for it, but now that she actually had it, she found herself at a loss for words.

She had thanked many people on stage: the committee, the director, the crew, the investors, her management team, and the audience—she thanked them all one by one.

Only two expressions of gratitude went unsaid: one to herself, and the other to Jiang Sinian.

She hadn’t seen Jiang Sinian in five years, and in the last three, she had barely even heard any news. This former top-tier investor who once ruled the film industry seemed to have vanished completely.

Yu Youqing was beside her, talking about tomorrow’s schedule: “The company wants to expand the scale of tomorrow’s victory banquet to get more material to send back. We need to seize this opportunity.”

The buzz for Gu Ruolan winning had been high to begin with, but because her competitors included Demi and Su Yunzi, the management company hadn’t dared to be too arrogant. Now that the mystery was solved, her strong competitors actually made her victory more persuasive.

Gu Ruolan watched the street scenery outside the window, having no objections to the banquet.

Yu Youqing continued to nag: “Many foreign investors will attend tomorrow. Ruolan, you must make the most of this chance.”

She was clearly very excited, looking even more thrilled than Gu Ruolan.

Gu Ruolan turned back and curled her lips into a small smile: “Okay.”

Being able to open up the overseas market was a very good thing for her as well.

Yu Youqing studied her for a moment and sighed softly: “You need to smile more tomorrow.”