After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 22

Xing Qu was extremely sharp. He had been frustrated before by his inability to catch the young socialite’s attention, having been rebuffed several times. Tonight, however, it seemed he finally had a chance. He quietly swapped seats with the person next to him to sit beside Meng Qiuran.

Meng Qiuran was drinking fruit juice at the time. She knew the person beside her had changed just by a glance from her peripheral vision. She finished her drink leisurely; the moment her glass touched the table, Xing Qu was already there, waiting to refill it for her.

“The juice here is exceptionally fresh; I love drinking it too,” he said with an eager smile, carefully pouring the liquid while stealing glances at Meng Qiuran’s face.

He had always thought Meng Qiuran was beautiful, but since her return to the country, her temperament seemed to have matured. She still threw the occasional small tantrum like she used to, but the truly outrageous outbursts were gone. Compared to her past willful arrogance, she now seemed more reserved and aloof, which only made her more attractive.

Xing Qu sighed inwardly: Xiao Qiu has truly grown up.

Meng Qiuran didn’t give him a single direct look, but she didn’t miss the shifting expressions on his face. Her distaste for these types of dinner parties only deepened. She glanced at the glass in front of him; he hadn’t touched a drop of juice all night. To claim he “loved drinking it” was a bold-faced lie.

However, Xing Qu wasn’t useless; he was a potential source of information. She took another sip of juice and said softly, “Thank you.”

For the arrogant Miss Meng to say “thank you” over such a small thing left Xing Qu overwhelmed with flattery. “It’s my pleasure to serve you!”

Before he could continue his fawning, Meng Qiuran looked away, focusing instead on the conversation between Meng Xiayan and the others. That “thank you” seemed like a casual, passing remark. Xing Qu snapped out of it and took a large gulp of the alcohol in front of him.

Just as the spicy sting on his tongue began to fade, Meng Qiuran’s voice reached his ears again.

“Xing Qu, let me ask you something.”

Xing Qu turned his head immediately. “Anything! What is it?”

Meng Qiuran appeared nonchalant, asking as if she were merely gossiping, “Do you think Ding Shenhai would want to sell this ‘dead’ movie?”

Xing Qu paused, thinking it over seriously. “I haven’t heard that he intends to, but considering the mess it’s in now, I doubt he’d insist on holding onto it tightly.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be promoting his girlfriend?”

Earlier, they had discussed the link between popular actresses and resources, naturally touching upon the relationship between Xu Anying and Ding Shenhai.

Xing Qu said contemptuously, “They only recently confirmed their relationship; it’s just a matter of mutual benefit. That woman has always been the type to look for a better horse while riding a donkey. Everyone knows it.”

So that’s how Xu Anying is viewed in their circle. Recalling Xu Anying’s overly familiar attitude during her first set visit, Meng Qiuran understood why she was looked down upon.

“Seeing that this plan isn’t working out, Ding Shenhai is a businessman after all—he knows whether he’s losing money or not,” Xing Qu said in a tone of someone enjoying a show. “But someone has to be willing to take over the mess. If he runs into someone who knows the ropes, it wouldn’t be impossible to drive the price down significantly.”

That was exactly what Meng Qiuran was thinking.

She didn’t know the industry well enough yet, but Xing Qu was different. His family was very close with several major video streaming platforms and spent heavily on advertisements there year-round. He might actually be useful in negotiating a lower price.

“If it were you buying it, how would you drive the price down?”

Xing Qu felt that Miss Meng’s curiosity was particularly strong tonight, but he loved it because she was only asking him. This made him immensely happy.

“That’s simple. Diplomacy first, then force. First, point out that the market outlook is bleak and costs are hard to control. Then, give him a warning: tell him not to get any funny ideas about touching the resources meant for rural education and poverty alleviation—the authorities are cracking down on that. If that doesn’t work, well, he can just wait to lose every penny.”

Meng Qiuran made a mental note. Once she had the right direction, she knew exactly what to do for the rest.

Seeing the corners of her mouth lift slightly, Xing Qu thought she enjoyed the topic and looked for a new one. “Actually, there was another drama before, the one with Su Yunzi…”

Meng Qiuran’s interest vanished instantly. “Too much gossip. I need to digest first.”

On the way home, Meng Xiayan glanced at Meng Qiuran several times. Seeing no response, he took the initiative to speak. “What were you and Xing Qu talking about all night?”

“Nothing much, just casual gossip. I don’t understand the business deals you guys talk about.”

Meng Xiayan wasn’t surprised. He changed the subject. “How are your investment returns lately?”

They had an agreement: once Meng Qiuran’s investment returns exceeded 50%, she could collect the remaining capital. In truth, her returns had surpassed that long ago, but she intentionally wanted to stall. Making money too fast didn’t fit the image of the old Miss Meng. She didn’t want to draw his attention, and she wasn’t in a hurry for that twenty million.

But now… the situation had changed.

Taking over Ding Shenhai’s mess would cost a fair amount, and that investment would be “dead money”—there was no hope of seeing a return in the short term. If she didn’t want to slow down her money-making efficiency, she needed to add to her capital.

She looked at Meng Xiayan, weighing her options, and finally settled on a moderate number.

“My luck’s been pretty good; the stocks I bought all went up.” She pretended to calculate with some difficulty. “The return is about 30%.”

Meng Xiayan hadn’t expected her to actually turn a profit. The faint smile on his lips receded slightly. “Which stocks did you buy?”

“I just followed the trends. I saw people hyping up ‘Artificial Intelligence’ concepts online a while ago. I was too lazy to analyze them one by one, so I just picked a few leading stocks in related sectors and put a few million into each.”

Her logicless, irritable tone made buying stocks sound like buying a handbag or groceries. Meng Xiayan was now certain that moving her out of the investment department had been the right move. Since her resignation, the projects reported by the department had been moving smoothly; everything was back on track.

“Investment isn’t a game of ‘house’; you can’t always rely on luck. Since you’ve made some money, settle down and learn more. See how others invest. You won’t make big money just by following the crowd.”

Meng Xiayan’s “teachings” were useless to her. It went in one ear and out the other; she just gave a slight nod to show she heard him.

Back home, Meng Qiuran finally sat down to crunch the numbers. She planned to use fifty million to take over Ding Shenhai’s share. She had about forty million left in her account, so she wasn’t strapped for cash. But considering she might need to keep cleaning up messes for Gu Ruolan, she felt she needed more capital in reserve.

Her professional habits took over. Once she entered “work mode,” she treated the investment as a project, evaluating it with cold logic and stripping away personal emotion. She focused entirely on how to use the best price and the fastest speed to kick Ding Shenhai out and get full control of The Starlight is Like You.

She wasn’t even considering making a profit from this drama anymore; she only thought about catching Gu Ruolan before she slipped into the abyss. That was her mission.

With Xing Qu’s tips, Meng Qiuran quickly gained the upper hand in negotiations with Ding Shenhai. Ding hadn’t expected Gu Ruolan to be so stubborn that the production would reach a stalemate. His heart was bleeding as he calculated how many loaves of bread he’d have to sell to make back the money lost for every day filming was delayed.

Businessmen only care about profit. Meng Qiuran focused entirely on gains and losses, using both the carrot and the stick. In the end, Ding Shenhai chose money over Xu Anying.

Once Meng Qiuran signed the contract and officially replaced Ding Shenhai, the others were notified one by one.

This time, it wasn’t just Xu Anying who exploded; almost everyone who heard the news was stunned.

Yuan Yi was in disbelief. Her boss had quietly become the primary investor. Rounded up, didn’t that mean she could back Gu Ruolan now?

“Sister Qiu, you’re incredible! So rich, so loyal!” Yuan Yi gave her a thumbs-up. “You’ve joined Gu Ruolan as my co-idol now.”

Meng Qiuran stared at her computer, watching the indices jump. She just wanted to make that fifty million back as quickly as possible. “Does this mean we can keep filming the original way?”

Meng Qiuran turned to her. Some things couldn’t be explained in a few minutes. She shook her head slightly. “We’ll see.”

The film crew wasn’t exactly celebrating; instead, the mood was a mix of joy and worry. The directors were in a meeting, and Xie Qingxu was smoking one cigarette after another.

“Director Xie, smoke less,” Assistant Director Chen said, pushing a cup of tea toward him.

Xie Qingxu stubbed out his cigarette. “Everyone knows why Boss Ding pulled out. Stalled filming is just burning money. Even if he’s replaced by Boss Meng, it doesn’t necessarily mean things will improve.”

The eldest Miss Meng was certainly rich and generous, but her bad temper and her habit of being a contrarian… anyone who asked around knew about it. Now everyone was realizing that her earlier excuse for a set visit might have been a way to scout the production’s working conditions in advance. Everyone was on edge, fearing the new boss had a poor impression of them.

Someone suggested to the Director, “Should we talk to Sister Gu again? Now that the script can be changed back, she shouldn’t oppose it anymore.”

Chen sighed. “Too late! It’s already leaked to the public. Do you think a Movie Queen’s pride is something you can just ignore?”

Xie Qingxu remained silent and lit another cigarette.

Things weren’t peaceful on Gu Ruolan’s side either. When she heard the news, she thought it was a mistake—until Yu Youqing confirmed it. She slowly accepted reality.

President Xin asked Gu Ruolan to return to the company. She hadn’t seen him for a while since she joined the crew.

“Ruolan, the company’s reaction to the script issue was a bit slow and handled poorly. I hope you don’t mind.” Xin Qi personally poured her a glass of water, leaning against his desk with a soft glow in his eyes.

Gu Ruolan sipped the water and said simply, “I understand.”

But her attitude suggested that “understanding” was all there was.

Xin Qi stared at her for a moment before walking back to his seat. “Are you and Meng Qiuran on good terms?”

She had visited her on set more than once; that couldn’t be hidden.

“Just average.”

“So she’s proactively showing you favor unilaterally?”

Gu Ruolan looked at Xin Qi; his expression was playful. She pursed her lips. “I don’t think she treats me in any special way.”

Compared to the advances from Meng Xiayan and other pursuers, Meng Qiuran indeed didn’t seem particularly “special.”

Xin Qi didn’t press further, shifting the topic to the upcoming filming schedule. As for the contract renewal, he didn’t mention a single word.

After leaving the company, Gu Ruolan didn’t feel any lighter. She sat in the car, not letting the driver start the engine. She had flatly denied her relationship with Meng Qiuran in front of President Xin, but… since Meng Qiuran had suddenly invested in this film, she couldn’t be certain it had absolutely nothing to do with her. She even felt Xin Qi’s words weren’t entirely baseless.

But then again… she had no other evidence to prove what Meng Qiuran’s intentions were. However, as things stood, she couldn’t remain indifferent anymore. At the very least, she had to ask.