This Best Actress is a Bit Annoying - Chapter 13

“Ah, it’s over. So many missed calls!” Following Xia Qingye’s instructions, Yu Lan had turned off her phone to sleep. When she turned it on this morning, the sheer volume of messages and missed calls caused the phone to lag to the point of exploding. Yu Lan looked ready to cry. “Sister Xia, they’re all from Sister Xiang. Over a hundred of them! What do I do? Is she going to fire me in a fit of rage?”

Xia Qingye, with a facial mask applied to her face, simply gave Yu Lan a thumbs-up.

Yu Lan miserably dialed Wei Xianghong’s number. Before she could even speak, the agent’s roaring fury surged through the phone. Yu Lan reflexively pulled the phone away from her ear and hit the speakerphone button.

“Don’t you dare tell me both your phones ran out of battery at the same time; I’ve heard that excuse a thousand times! Do you have any idea how many calls I made last night? Your Sister Xia is on the trending headlines—the headlines! Do you know what that means? We didn’t spend a single cent and she’s already bundled with an international Film Queen for publicity, for f–k’s sake…” Perhaps exhausted from shouting or running out of creative insults, her tone suddenly shifted after a moment. “Her Weibo is currently being stormed by Nie’s fans. You’d better convince her to stay put in the set for the next two days. Otherwise, getting splashed with dirty water or having eggs thrown at her—all of that could happen. Also, do NOT reply to anything on Weibo. Wait for me to get there!”

While this was happening, Xia Qingye had turned on her own phone. Once the lag from the messages and missed calls subsided, she logged into Weibo. Her account was also exploding with private messages and notifications. After her mask was done, she took a general scan. Her Weibo only had three lonely posts, but the comment count on the second one had surpassed 10,000. She opened it to find a sea of abuse.

—MirrorMirrorIsMyBambooThePrettiest: B–ch, get out of the entertainment industry, or I’ll tear you apart every time I see you.

—OnlyBambooHeart: Xia-B–ch, “hello” my a–.

—AntiSocialYouth: MMP, you’re the most shameless and “impressive” newcomer I’ve ever seen.

—CatWatchingScenery: I’ve followed you for a while. No works since debut, no commercials, just constant hype. Now you’re provoking our Bamboo. Little girl, you’re seeking death.

…

Yu Lan read them one by one, her anxiety rising to a fever pitch. She was dying to jump in and fight those classless fans herself. “Sis… Sister Xia, what do we do now? Those fans are too much; they’re actually cursing you.”

Xia Qingye tossed her phone aside, taking the “out of sight, out of mind” approach. “Let them tear into me if they want. It’s not like I’m losing a limb.”

Yu Lan was the personification of the saying “the emperor isn’t worried, but the eunuch is dying of anxiety.” “Sister Xia, how can you not be worried? It’s Film Queen Nie. If she sees this, won’t she think you’re using her for clout? Won’t she secretly sabotage you?”

Xia Qingye shrugged nonchalantly. “Who knows.”

During a lull in the conversation, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and stood up. “Brother.”

Xia Yanbo had also seen the push notification early this morning and realized his sister was being dragged through the mud on the trending list. “Qingye, your phone was off, and your assistant’s phone was off too. What happened?”

Xia Qingye explained with a smile, “I forgot to charge my phone yesterday. As for Yu Lan’s phone, I’m not quite sure.”

Hearing the word “Brother,” Yu Lan’s scalp went numb. She sat up straight, her almond eyes wide, staring fixedly at Xia Qingye. Then, she heard Xia Qingye say airily, “It’s fine. Sister Xiang is coming over today to handle it. Don’t worry.”

Once the call ended, Yu Lan couldn’t wait to suggest, “Sister Xia, should we have Sister Xiang contact Film Queen Nie’s agent to explain and ask them to step forward and clarify?”

Hearing this, Xia Qingye turned her head to stare at Yu Lan.

Yu Lan felt the hair on her neck stand up under the gaze. She felt a chill behind her ears and shrank back, trying to minimize her presence. “What… what’s wrong, Sister Xia? Did I say something wrong?”

Xia Qingye licked her lip slightly and smiled. “Yu Lan, if you were Film Queen Nie, how would you help clarify?”

Yu Lan thought for a moment and said tentatively, “Just post on Weibo that she wasn’t actually the ‘reserved’ lead for The Twin Flowers?”

Xia Qingye let out a playful laugh. “Oh? First, let’s ignore whether Sister Xiang and her agent are on good terms. Let’s also ignore why an A-list superstar like her should help us. If she clarified like that, wouldn’t it indirectly suggest that she—a Film Queen—is somehow inferior to me, a brand-new rookie?”

Yu Lan: “!!!”

Film Queen Nie being inferior to Xia Qingye!!!

Seeing the change in Yu Lan’s expression, Xia Qingye knew the assistant understood. “Don’t let Sister Xiang hear that, or you’ll get another scolding. Remember: read less gossip, use your brain more. Do you know what ‘trouble comes from the mouth’ means? If you said that out loud, that’s exactly what it would be. Yu Lan, in the future, please think before you speak to me.”

Having been properly schooled, Yu Lan instantly became as quiet as a quail, nodding repeatedly. “Understood, Sister Xia.”

Meanwhile, more than twelve hours had passed since the incident began to ferment. Nie Zhuying had finished work and was home, taking a bubble bath. When she opened Weibo and saw the news bundling her with Xia Qingye, she nearly dropped her phone into the tub.

[The original lead for “The Twin Flowers” was Film Queen Nie Zhuying; replaced last minute by rookie Xia Qingye.]

The headline was blunt and invited all sorts of wild speculation.

Nie Zhuying’s desire to soak vanished. She quickly washed up and called Yao Wei and Zhou Ling over, sounding dissatisfied. “I’m on the trending headlines! Such a big ‘happy event,’ and not one of you told me?”

Yao Wei pursed her lips and looked toward a frustrated Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling’s face was long, her brow furrowed into a deep “V.” “You call this a ‘happy event’?”

Nie Zhuying whistled cheerfully. “I haven’t been on the trending headlines for a while; why wouldn’t it be happy? I underestimated her, though. Her scandals are popping up one after another—she’s almost catching up to that person. But, based on what did she actually get into the cast? Sister Ling, did you find out?”

Zhou Ling’s expression soured further. “Director Xun’s set is always tight-lipped. I only found out that her first audition was indeed brilliant, so he arranged a second one. However, not many people know about the second audition; I only heard that Director Xun and Film Emperor Lu interviewed her personally and signed her on the spot.”

Nie Zhuying rubbed her chin, contemplating. “Is it possible she charmed Lu Yu too?”

Yao Wei couldn’t help but snort with laughter. “Sister Nie, weren’t there rumors that she has a Sugar Daddy? Maybe she overheard you turning Director Xun down and used some ‘means.’ Otherwise, how could a newcomer get that role?”

Theoretically, it was possible, but Nie Zhuying felt something was off. She had worked with Xun Guang early in her career. She knew how fastidious he was—a director who couldn’t tolerate the slightest flaw. Why would he “let things slide” on such an important casting decision?

Zhou Ling warned, “This woman has only been debuted a few months and has already caused this much trouble. She’s not as simple as we think. Next time you see her, try to avoid contact so she doesn’t use you for clout.”

Nie Zhuying let out a cold snort. “She wouldn’t dare!”

Yao Wei asked weakly, “So we aren’t going to step in?”

Zhou Ling gave her a cold look. “Step in for what? Let’s see how she handles it. If she really drags Zhuying into the mud, I’ll make sure she regrets it.”

Wei Xianghong arrived with a van full of treats. Upon arrival, she had the goods distributed to the crew, then smilingly requested a short break from the director and pulled Xia Qingye into the car. The moment the door closed, her smile vanished.

“News about Nie Zhuying usually doesn’t go out without marketing accounts giving a heads-up. The account that leaked this is clearly a novice. He doesn’t realize he’s offended both CEO Xia and Nie Zhuying. I did a bit of intimidation and found out who’s behind this. Do you have an idea yourself?”

Through the glass, Xia Qingye saw Qi Jiani weaving through the crowd like a busy little bee, her enthusiasm undiminished. She remembered the woman’s tearful smile yesterday; it had truly exceeded her expectations. Even after being blacklisted for three years, some people’s inner light only became clearer with time.

“Chu Rou tried to settle with me twice in private. Yesterday she brought Fang Xiang to my room again, asking me to tell my brother to back off. Sister Xiang, you know my brother’s temper. If I were bullied like this and then turned around to plead for them, he’d probably make sure they could never work in this industry again. So, I refused.”

Wei Xianghong nodded understandingly; that sounded exactly like Xia Yanbo. “So—”

“So I’m sure it was Chu Rou. My brother has backed her into a corner, and she’s acting out of desperation. Since we’re in the same cast, it wouldn’t be hard for her to find out Nie Zhuying was the original lead.”

“Correct. It was indeed Chu Rou who hired the marketing account to smear you. This time, she wants to drag you down with her.” Wei Xianghong watched Xia Qingye’s reaction closely as she spoke.

Xia Qingye’s face was cool, revealing no emotion. “In that case, Sister Xiang, don’t hold back.”

Wei Xianghong let out a long sigh of relief. She patted the girl’s shoulder. “I like that about you. You see through things. Some things are meant to be left in the past.”

Xia Qingye nodded obediently. “Mhm.”

The next day, a clarification from Xun Guang regarding Xia Qingye was pushed to the trending list. People were reposting it left and right, though some of Nie’s fans still questioned if Xun Guang had “sponsored” Xia Qingye and was only helping for that reason…

Seeing these comments, Xun Guang felt like he was losing even more hair. His balding head glowed brighter, but he found one silver lining: the buzz for The Twin Flowers had reached a new high thanks to the headlines involving Xia Qingye and Nie Zhuying.

At the same time, Xia Yanbo authorized the second wave of “black material” leaks regarding Chu Rou.

Author’s Note:

Nie Zhuying: Qingqing, let’s do some bundled publicity~ You kiss me, I kiss you, come on~

Xia Qingye: Rejected due to ugliness.

Nie Zhuying: Don’t be like that~ Or you touch me, I touch you~

Xia Qingye (referencing the past): Who was the one who said ‘avoid contact’ so I wouldn’t use them for clout, hmm?

Nie Zhuying: That was Sister Ling.

Zhou Ling: I handle the food and drink, and I still have to take the fall for you!