After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 7

Gu Ruolan was truly stunned this time, unable to grasp the intent behind this demand. She usually tried her best to decline such dinner parties, but when forced to attend, she remained on high alert, overanalyzing every small detail for fear of falling into a trap.

She simply couldn’t bring herself to throw away her bottom line like some of her peers. On the contrary, the longer she spent in the industry and the more absurdities she witnessed, the more cautious she became.

Because of her caution, the scene reached a stalemate, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

Meng Xiayan sighed softly, thinking his sister had relapsed into her old habit of being nitpicky and causing trouble.

She promised me yesterday, and she was behaving so well just now. Why did she suddenly revert to her old self?

Jiang Hengyi, sitting next to him, looked at him with a grin. “Now this looks like the Qiuran I know.”

Meng Xiayan’s face darkened as he calculated when he should step in to stop his sister’s nonsense.

Xie Yuzong hadn’t witnessed Meng Qiuran’s tantrums firsthand, but being in the same circle, he had heard the rumors. Although she had interrupted Gu Ruolan’s apology, he was quite interested in seeing where this was going.

While the young bosses remained passive, Gu Ruolan’s rivals were anything but quiet.

Seeing Gu Ruolan remain silent, Su Yunzi pretended to offer helpful advice: “Ruolan, don’t be so stubborn. It really was your fault for being late today. You weren’t willing to drink, and now you’re being difficult about giving an explanation. This doesn’t look good.”

Her tone was gentle, full of apparent kindness intended to help Gu Ruolan out of a jam. But every word served to remind everyone that Gu Ruolan’s behavior tonight was a sign of disrespect.

Moreover, she didn’t exactly whisper. Despite only being separated from Gu Ruolan by Xu Anying, her voice was loud enough for the entire table to hear clearly.

Gu Ruolan snapped back to reality just as Xie Zixuan decided to join the fray.

“Sister Ruolan, Miss Meng’s request is quite reasonable. After all, we’ve been waiting for an hour. It’s only natural to want to know the circumstances.”

Miss Meng.

A flash of surprise crossed Gu Ruolan’s eyes, so quick that only someone as close as Meng Qiuran could have caught it.

While Su Yunzi’s attack was targeted at Gu Ruolan, Xie Zixuan’s words were mindless; her intent to curry favor with Meng Qiuran was obvious to everyone.

As if afraid Gu Ruolan didn’t know who “Miss Meng” was, Xie Zixuan added helpfully: “She’s Boss Meng’s biological sister. Her words carry just as much weight.”

Meng Qiuran didn’t take the bait. She didn’t give Xie Zixuan so much as a glance. Instead, she reached out and casually pushed the wine glass she had taken from Gu Ruolan further away.

Then, she met Gu Ruolan’s gaze and arched an eyebrow. “Since it’s about work, let’s hear it. Everyone is interested in that tonight anyway.”

It was true that Meng Xiayan and Xie Yuzong were interested in investing in film; that was the pretense for tonight’s dinner. Meng Qiuran had now brought it out into the open.

Gu Ruolan suppressed her shock regarding Meng Qiuran’s true identity. Steadying her nerves, she began to explain the specific reason for her tardiness.

“Sister Qing and I went back to the company for a meeting this afternoon. As it ended, the screenwriter and director of my next drama, The Starlight is Like You, arrived. They wanted me to adjust my schedule because they want to shoot more scenes of the character’s younger years.”

Xu Anying was the actress set to co-star with Gu Ruolan in that drama. The Starlight is Like You was a female-centric story with a great script. Gu Ruolan’s character went from youth to old age. Originally, the younger version was to be played by a film student, but now they clearly wanted Gu Ruolan to do it herself.

This was a common tactic—it was about generating hype and riding the coattails of the new Movie Queen’s fame.

There are plenty of 27-year-old actresses playing 17-year-olds; the difficulty is making the audience believe it without it feeling forced. Sometimes, even the best acting cannot compete with natural youth.

The director and screenwriter had gone straight to Gu Ruolan’s company, yet Xu Anying—who was also in the film—knew nothing about it. Now that she couldn’t even get a word in, Xu Anying’s face turned quite ugly.

The bosses didn’t know the “ins and outs” of the industry, but it sounded like a sudden and legitimate work matter. Their anger dissipated slightly, though they were still a bit grumpy—anyone gets irritable when they’re hungry.

In her past life, Meng Qiuran had encountered this situation many times in business. She had a solution.

Just as Gu Ruolan was about to explain the technical differences and goals of the casting change in detail, Meng Qiuran interrupted her.

“I’m starving. Let’s eat first. You can finish your explanation later.”

Without waiting for a reaction, Meng Qiuran summoned the server at the door to begin the formal course service.

Everyone had been surviving on snacks and fruit while waiting for Gu Ruolan. Now that the food was arriving, even these big shots—who usually looked down on eating—found themselves genuinely hungry.

As the hunger eased, the mood improved. The atmosphere softened, showing signs of relaxation.

Gu Ruolan ate light food and didn’t speak much, appearing quite somber. But her mind was working overtime, staying tense as she thought about how to handle the rest of the night.

Suddenly, Meng Qiuran called her again.

“Miss Gu, now that we’ve all eaten, you can continue your explanation.”

At this, Meng Xiayan couldn’t help himself. He leaned toward his sister and whispered, “Qiuran, let it go.”

Xie Yuzong sipped his wine. To be honest, he didn’t care much for the inner workings of a film set; he could take it or leave it.

Meng Qiuran was relentless. “Brother, I want to hear it.”

Meng Xiayan frowned. In front of so many people, he couldn’t be too harsh with his sister; he couldn’t let others see the Meng family as a joke. “Don’t take it too far.”

Meng Qiuran seemed indifferent to her brother’s warning. She smiled at Gu Ruolan across the table. “Go ahead. We’re listening.”

Her tone was more normal than before, but still carried a hard edge of demand.

When Gu Ruolan first arrived at Qidu Mansion, she was indeed flustered, especially with Xie Yuzong being so aggressive. But through Miss Meng’s “interference,” she had actually gained time to buffer and adjust.

Although this woman wasn’t much better than Xie Yuzong, at least Gu Ruolan could now respond with composure.

Gu Ruolan put down her chopsticks, took a sip of tea, and patted her mouth with a napkin.

“A character with a large age span is a challenge for an actress, but also an attraction—it provides great room for performance. However, I have never advocated for ‘reverse-aging’ portrayals. One can use acting to express experience and depth, but using acting to mimic biological youth has little meaning.”

The faces of Su Yunzi and Xu Anying darkened. Both had done exactly that multiple times and were quite fond of it.

Director Lin Chuyu, however, understood and agreed with Gu Ruolan’s stance. But sometimes, when investors applied pressure, he had to give in, which frustrated him.

When Gu Ruolan spoke about acting, she unconsciously revealed a deep respect and seriousness for her work. Her distance seemed to vanish, making her incredibly captivating.

Meng Xiayan already liked Gu Ruolan’s looks; he had been smitten the moment he saw her in person, and now he was listening with rapt attention.

Even Xie Yuzong’s lips curled slightly. He had thought the industry talk was boring, but when Gu Ruolan spoke, there was a lot of insight. However, remembering what happened earlier, he suppressed his smile so as not to appear too obvious.

Lin Chuyu wanted to use this chance to let the investors understand the actor’s ecosystem so they might interfere less in future productions. He intentionally guided Gu Ruolan to keep talking.

“Then, Ruolan, what do you think makes a ‘suitable’ actor?”

Since she had just won the Silver Glow award, it wasn’t arrogant for her to discuss the standards of a qualified actor.

Gu Ruolan was demanding of her own acting, but she never acted superior when evaluating others. She didn’t name names, choosing only to discuss her understanding of characters.

She then expanded to the importance of the script, the compatibility of actors, the level of commitment between partners, and production costs.

As the scope of the topic widened, more bosses began to chime in. Some were curious, some had changed their minds about her, but all were centered around Gu Ruolan.

For the entire night, the other actresses were left in the cold with no chance to speak.

Gu Ruolan was exhausted, having to handle the rotating questions from several big shots. But as long as it was about work, she didn’t find it boring or repulsive; instead, she answered with complete sincerity.

By the end of the meal, she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, and she hadn’t said another word of apology. Instead, the bosses had asked her several times if she was interested in taking on more roles lately.

After the dinner, Meng Xiayan took a business card from Yu Youqing and gave his own in return. This was expected. Unexpectedly, Young Master Xie lingered for a while, put out his cigarette, and walked over as well.

He held his card between two fingers. “I’m looking to invest in a movie soon, and I haven’t found a suitable female lead yet.” He glanced at Gu Ruolan, who was talking to Director Lin. “If Miss Gu is free, she might consider it.”

Yu Youqing nodded with joy and tucked the card away. “Thank you for your appreciation, Mr. Xie. We will discuss it with the company.”

Though Gu Ruolan was talking to Director Lin, she stole a few glances at Meng Qiuran. This young lady had targeted her quite a bit tonight; if she hadn’t been so relentless, Gu Ruolan wouldn’t have had to speak so much.

Fortunately, the result wasn’t bad—a blessing in disguise.

But Miss Meng appeared completely indifferent, not feeling bad in the slightest. When they came out, her goodbye was incredibly perfunctory—she just waved and got straight into her car. In contrast, Meng Xiayan was still buzzing, finding more topics to chat about after handing over his card.

Driving away from Qidu Mansion, Meng Xiayan was still reflecting on Gu Ruolan’s performance. His attraction to her had deepened.

Meng Qiuran continued to stare out the window, seemingly unimpressed with the dinner.

“Qiuran, what do you think of Gu Ruolan?”

Meng Qiuran turned her head and saw his sparkling eyes. Her first thought was: He looks like a greedy rat.

She looked away, staring at the back of the front seat, and said casually, “She’s quite pretty.”

“More than just pretty! Her personality is very special!”

Meng Xiayan smelled of alcohol, and his tone was visibly excited. He no longer sounded as flippant and disdainful as he had when discussing other actresses, but he carried a strong desire for conquest.

“Compared to the others, she’s in a completely different league.” Meng Xiayan recalled Gu Ruolan discussing acting standards, and his heart grew more restless. “If I could win her over, it would be worth spending an extra hundred or two hundred million.”