After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 5

When Meng Qiuran heard the word “reward,” her lips curled only slightly; she clearly didn’t buy that phrasing.

However, she didn’t expose her. There was no need.

She folded the vest draped over her wrist and said indifferently, “It was a small effort, nothing worth mentioning.” She turned her head to look at the tightly closed bedroom door. “Just keep a closer eye on your artist in the future. There isn’t always going to be a busybody around to help.”

She defined herself as a “busybody” and her help as a “small effort,” doing her best to distance herself from the situation.

Yu Youqing was somewhat surprised by her attitude. She had expected the woman to open her mouth wide for a huge sum or hint at other favors; she hadn’t expected her to want nothing at all.

Yu Youqing didn’t let it go at that. Instead, she made a phone call.

“Yes, get here as soon as possible.”

Meng Qiuran’s past experience told her that this “get here” meant someone was coming to deliver money.

Sure enough, Yu Youqing only told her to wait a moment before someone came hurriedly knocking at the door.

Yu Youqing went to the door, didn’t let the person in, and whispered a few instructions. She returned holding a kraft paper envelope.

Meng Qiuran stole a glance. Fortunately, it wasn’t particularly bulging—not as exaggerated as the scenes in movies.

However, Yu Youqing was holding something else in her hand.

Seeing that Meng Qiuran remained calm, a flash of surprise crossed Yu Youqing’s eyes, quickly replaced by her previous smile.

“Even if you think it’s a trifle not worth mentioning, Ruolan and I must formally express our gratitude.”

Yu Youqing held both items out to her. “There is some cash here, and a watch. We hope you will accept them.”

Meng Qiuran didn’t know where she had managed to procure a Rolex at this hour. It looked like a classic model that would be very easy to liquidate.

A real professional, she thought. It seemed this wasn’t her first time handling such matters.

Meng Qiuran raised an eyebrow. She didn’t want them. But Yu Youqing’s attitude was clear: If you don’t take them, I won’t feel at ease.

Having been in the capital circles before, Meng Qiuran knew exactly what the purpose of paying someone off was.

After a brief stalemate, she reached out and took the items. “Then, thank you.”

Seeing her accept, the smile on Yu Youqing’s face became more vivid. She then handed over her business card. “This is my card. If you return home and need help with anything in the future, you can look for me.”

She spoke politely, like a genuine promise.

Meng Qiuran took it and stuffed it into her jacket pocket.

She was currently just a bartender working in a small Berlin bar; why would she need the help of a big-shot manager? Yu Youqing was simply telling her: If you change your mind, come find me—just don’t go blabbing elsewhere.

“It’s late. I’ll head back now. Goodnight.”

This time, Yu Youqing didn’t stop her. After watching Meng Qiuran leave, she took the name tag out of her pocket and looked at it repeatedly.

Just as Meng Qiuran left, Xiao Yan rushed back.

“Sister Qing, the reporters outside the bar have been dealt with. They likely only caught Sister Lan leaving the banquet; the trail went cold once they reached the bar.”

Yu Youqing frowned and remained silent for a long time. Xiao Yan kept glancing toward the bedroom, wanting to check on Gu Ruolan.

“Ruolan is fine. Dr. Lin is inside checking on her.” Yu Youqing handed the name tag to Xiao Yan. “This bartender… go investigate her thoroughly.”

Gu Ruolan had sent a photo of this tag to Xiao Yan, who had forwarded it to Yu Youqing. Now, seeing the physical object, Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment.

She quickly regained her composure and put it away.

Yu Youqing added, “If Ruolan asks later, just tell her the girl took ten thousand Euros and a Rolex.”

Xiao Yan blinked, thinking to herself that the girl certainly knew how to pick.

Dr. Lin emerged from the bedroom. Yu Youqing and Xiao Yan both waited for him to speak.

As a long-term accompanying physician, Lin Yangcheng understood Gu Ruolan’s condition very well.

“She has a slight food allergy and… accidentally ingested a small amount of a ‘club psychedelic’ candy. However, the dosage was very light. She just needs to drink plenty of water to metabolize it.”

He was very professional and had already labeled it as “accidental ingestion.” A Movie Queen doing drugs would be a massive scandal. She had just won the Silver Glow award that so many coveted; plenty of people were waiting for her to crash and burn.

Yu Youqing knew Gu Ruolan was allergic to certain foods, but she hadn’t seen her eat any of them at the banquet. As for the candy, it was even more impossible for it to appear at such an event.

But after years of working together, she didn’t believe for a second that Gu Ruolan would secretly take such a thing. Furthermore, she was going to see Jiang Sinian—how could she be brainless enough to mess with that?

She turned to Xiao Yan. “Send Dr. Lin back first.”

She entered the room and saw Gu Ruolan leaning against the headboard, holding a glass of warm water.

“Take your medicine and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“I didn’t touch those things.” Gu Ruolan’s voice was hoarse. She loathed those messy substances; there was no way she would take them.

“I absolutely believe you.” Yu Youqing sighed. “It might have been chaotic management. After all, those things are everywhere abroad; they don’t see it as a huge deal.”

Gu Ruolan’s physical discomfort had eased slightly, much better than when she was at the bar.

“Where is she?”

Yu Youqing knew who she was asking about and smiled. “She already left.”

Gu Ruolan wasn’t surprised. Just as she was about to speak, Yu Youqing took the initiative: “I thanked her for you. She was very satisfied.”

Gu Ruolan asked, “What did you give her?”

“Ten thousand Euros and a watch.”

Gu Ruolan paused, then nodded, her expression somewhat complicated. She seemed a bit disappointed, yet also felt it was to be expected.

Yu Youqing urged her to drink more water. “Hurry up and get some sleep. You have a meeting with film distributors tomorrow at noon, and we head back in the evening.”

Gu Ruolan complied, quickly emptying the glass. She was indeed very thirsty.

“Ruolan, should we postpone your start date for The Starlight is Like You?”

Gu Ruolan was confused. “Why?”

“You need a few more days to recover. Besides, you’re a Silver Glow Movie Queen now; no one will say anything if you show up a few days late.”

Gu Ruolan took every movie seriously. She would usually arrive a week before the contracted start date to get into character faster. That week was her own contribution, unpaid.

Now that her value had skyrocketed, the crew would still be winning even if she cut two or three days off that week.

Gu Ruolan shook her head. “I don’t want to change my filming habits. I’m fine.”

Seeing her persistence, Yu Youqing didn’t push further.

Meng Qiuran didn’t go back the way she came; after all, no sane person would walk through those dark alleys at night. It was late when she got home. Fortunately, the original host didn’t mistreat herself when it came to accommodation—the apartment had a great security system, and the guard even proactively waited at the door for her.

She planned to take a shower and wash her jacket; she still had to wear it to work tomorrow.

When she went to take off her name tag, she found it missing. Meng Qiuran searched everywhere twice and confirmed it was lost.

She wasn’t sure if it fell on the way or in Gu Ruolan’s room. She decided to ask Yu Youqing.

Finding the business card, she sent a text to Yu Youqing.

The reply came quickly: Yu hadn’t seen it but promised to help look for it.

After a hot shower, Meng Qiuran finally stepped away from the chaos. She hadn’t expected to meet Gu Ruolan for the first time this way; in the original book, the intersection between her villain self and Gu Ruolan hadn’t even begun yet.

“The plot is starting to go off the rails, and there’s no system to correct it,” she sighed at the mirror while brushing her teeth, lamenting the lack of a system in this novel.

[Aha, but there is.] A playful, slightly comical voice suddenly appeared, giving Meng Qiuran a fright.

She looked around but found no one else.

[Stop looking. I am the System.]

Meng Qiuran’s face went blank with disbelief.

[Did you use to work at Shengcheng Group? Did you just finish the Rongheng merger before you transmigrated? Were you reading a novel in your car? Did you—]

“Alright, stop.” Meng Qiuran looked down; she felt depressed every time she thought about those things.

[Don’t be mad. It’s not impossible to go back.]

Meng Qiuran snapped her head up. Although she couldn’t see it, she believed it was a system now. Because except for a system, no one in this world could know those things about her past.

[Help the heroine achieve success in both her career and love, and you can go back.]

Meng Qiuran frowned, analyzing the feasibility of the task.

[The heroine is Gu Ruolan; you’ve met her. Once she wins the ‘Grand Slam’ and finds her true love, you can successfully go home.]

The word “home” was an immense temptation for Meng Qiuran.

But she quickly cleared her head and began to bargain: “The Grand Slam just means the ‘Big Three’ European awards, right? The Oscars are too commercial and boring.”

[Mm-hmm.]

Okay, difficulty reduced slightly. She pushed further.

“She’s a Movie Queen; she definitely won’t want to go public or get married too early. As long as she and the other person confirm their relationship, that counts, right?”

[That works.]

That made it much easier. Meng Qiuran began to calculate how much time she would need. Once she had a goal, she was full of motivation, like a wolf finding its prey.

The System stopped responding. After a few tries, Meng Qiuran realized the System had gone into stealth mode.

This feeling of being passive was unpleasant, but she had to endure it for now.

After a hazy sleep, she was woken up at 7:00 AM by her phone.

The name “Meng Xiayan” on the screen was particularly jarring. Meng Qiuran thought for a moment before remembering this was the original host’s older brother.

“Hello.” She sounded half-asleep and very displeased with the call.

Meng Xiayan sighed. “Qiuran, Dad is sick. Come back immediately.”

Meng Qiuran rolled over, still groggy. “Mm, what kind of sickness?”

“Heart disease.”

Meng Qiuran didn’t have much of a reaction. The original host wasn’t close to the family, and she certainly wasn’t.

“I’ve already sent Qin Haoyun back. If you’re not willing to do the blind date, we won’t mention it for now. Just come back to see Dad.”

Meng Qiuran had checked online last night; Gu Ruolan’s group was returning home tonight.

To complete the mission given by the System, she indeed had to go back.

“Okay. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Likely not expecting his sister to agree so readily, Meng Xiayan was stunned for a moment.

After hanging up, Meng Qiuran received a transfer of 100,000. Her brother told her to buy the earliest flight and get home.

Meng Qiuran lost her sleepiness. After packing, she went to the bar to resign. She was a temporary worker anyway, so leaving was normal. The boss readily gave her a check. David was reluctant to see her go, so she comforted him by saying they’d stay in touch.

Once she returned home, she would definitely change her contact info and barely use Facebook; those words were essentially a final goodbye.

It wasn’t the first time Meng Qiuran had caused a scene, so not many people were surprised by her return. After visiting Meng Qining in the hospital, she took Meng Xiayan’s car back to the family mansion.

Perhaps satisfied with her performance at the hospital today, Meng Xiayan’s tone was exceptionally friendly: “Qiuran, don’t leave again this time. I’ve already turned down the Qin family for you. Just stay and spend more time with Dad.”

Meng Qiuran rested her cheek on her hand, looking out the window, and replied nonchalantly, “Mm.”

Meng Xiayan knew her temper. Since she had agreed, he didn’t say more.

Just then, someone called him. Meng Xiayan picked up and smiled.

“They’re back? You guys handle the dinner party; I’ll head over when the time comes.”

Meng Qiuran clearly felt the person beside her perk up with obvious excitement.

She didn’t turn her head, but she listened carefully to the conversation.

It seemed they were organizing a dinner party to invite some investors and female stars. The Meng family had many industries but didn’t dabble much in film—was Meng Xiayan suddenly interested?

“Right, you must make sure Gu Ruolan comes. She must be there.”

Meng Qiuran paused. Was this dinner party being organized for Gu Ruolan?