This Best Actress is a Bit Annoying - Chapter 14

The Twin Flowers became a hit on Weibo before it even finished filming, and along with it, Xia Qingye became famous. In just over a month, she appeared on the trending list three or four times—one of which was a forced “bundled” marketing stunt with Film Queen Nie Zhuying. She was becoming famous through notoriety.

This free publicity actually satisfied Director Xun. He treated the drama caused by Chu Rou and Xia Qingye as promotion for the new show and turned a blind eye to it.

Xia Qingye’s follower count skyrocketed, gaining over a hundred thousand fans before she even released a single work. Every day, her private inbox was flooded with abuse and curses from either Chu Rou’s or Nie Zhuying’s “brain-dead” fans.

After reading a few, Xia Qingye handed the account over to Yu Lan to manage. Delete what needs to be deleted; whatever keeps it quiet.

“Wow, Sister Xia, do you think Miss Chu really got involved with her agent?”

“Maybe they’re just dating.”

“Uh—” Yu Lan didn’t buy it. From her brief contact on set, she felt Chu Rou was the type to look down on everyone. Fang Xiang, on the other hand, had average looks and no moral compass; aside from being an agent, he had no shining qualities. He had a list of flaws a mile long.

For a woman who had worked her way up to becoming an A-list starlet to be with a man like that, there were only two possibilities: true love or resources. Yu Lan suspected Chu Rou leaned toward the latter.

Seeing the girl frowning at her phone, Xia Qingye teased, “What? Are you in heat?”

Yu Lan was dazed, wondering if she’d heard correctly. Did Sister Xia just make such a cold joke?

Xia Qingye put down the book Wei Xianghong had brought her, On the Professional Ethics of an Actor. “Since you’re my assistant, you aren’t allowed to date for now—especially not people in the industry. If a relationship affects your work, Yu Lan, don’t wait for my brother to fire you; I’ll be the first one to let you go.”

Yu Lan: “…”

Seeing the assistant look stunned, Xia Qingye found a bit of amusement in it. “However, if you do like someone, you can tell me. I’ll vet them for you. If the guy is okay, I’ll let you marry him.”

Yu Lan’s heart was like a roller coaster, rising and falling with every sentence. Her tiny heart, shattered a moment ago, automatically healed upon hearing the last sentence. “Thank you, Sister Xia!” she chirped emotionally.

On this day, the wail of police sirens broke the peaceful routine of the set. Filming was forced to stop. When Director Xun saw the police cars, his face turned as black as a pot. When he saw paparazzi sneaking behind the cars with cameras, he immediately burst out cursing. “No photos allowed! Production crew, get those people out of here!”

Xia Qingye stood nearby, watching. Guided by the crew, the police found Director Xun. Yu Lan was scared half to death. “Sister Xia, why are there so many police?”

Xia Qingye couldn’t say for sure. in her limited career in the industry, aside from noise complaints during filming, this was the first time she had seen so many police cars appearing at once. They looked serious—not like they were here for a warning, but for an arrest. “You haven’t done anything wrong; what are you afraid of?”

Yu Lan thought about it and realized she was right, instinctively puffing out her chest.

Soon, Xun Guang led the group to the crew’s living quarters. Not long after, a man was seen being controlled by the police, dragged toward the car while wearing only a tank top and shorts.

“Let me go! It’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding!”

“Miss Chu, please come with us to the station to make a statement.”

“Fine, let me just inform the director.”

Xun Guang stood by coldly, listening to Chu Rou’s polite excuses with a blank face. He waved her away impatiently. “Go, go, go. Just go.”

Chu Rou repeatedly apologized to Xun Guang, appearing humble and polite to outsiders, but only she knew what was truly happening. Eventually, she was taken away in the police car.

The set was instantly abuzz with gossip about what this was all about.

Yu Lan was stunned for quite a while. After Chu Rou left, she whispered in surprise, “Wow, Sister Xia, how did Miss Chu become so haggard in just one night?”

Xia Qingye’s eyes curved, a playful smile deep within them. “When a ‘pure’ artist who has always followed the ‘maiden’ image is suddenly exposed for an affair with her agent—with intimate photos to boot—how do you think she’d look?”

Yu Lan almost blurted something out, but remembering Xia Qingye’s earlier warning, she swallowed it back. She wasn’t Chu Rou; she really didn’t know how to react.

The answer to this farce arrived by afternoon.

[Shocking!!! Chu Rou calls the police, accusing her agent of using despicable means of blackmail to force her submission.]

The article was a long narrative detailing how Chu Rou, as a victim, had suffered under the “poisonous hands” of the pervert Fang Xiang since her debut. It included photos, evidence, and a clear audio recording.

Xia Qingye pressed play. A man’s sleazy voice said, “Pure maiden? You look more like a lustful maiden to me. Rou-rou, what do you think would happen if your fans saw you like this?”

Then came Chu Rou’s bitter “pleading”: “Don’t, Brother Fang. As long as you don’t hurt my fans, as long as you don’t make them sad, I’ll do anything.”

There was no need to hear the rest; it was all Fang Xiang’s teeth-gritting threats.

Yu Lan clenched her fists, outraged. “This Fang Xiang is too much! To use such methods to threaten Miss Chu… no wonder she looked so haggard. I didn’t expect Miss Chu would do all this just to protect her fans.”

Xia Qingye wore a faint smile, quietly watching Yu Lan’s indignation. After a while, she asked coolly, “You think Chu Rou is pitiful?”

Yu Lan nodded, but catching the look in Xia Qingye’s eyes—which seemed to see through her very soul—she instinctively shook her head. “Sister Xia, actually, as a woman… if she really faced something like that, it’s quite pitiful.”

Xia Qingye stared at her with a half-smile. “Yu Lan, you’d better prepare two warm eggs tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll need them then.”

It had been exactly twelve hours since the initial scandal broke. The matter had reached its peak. The “Rou-fans” who were previously heartbroken at the affair were now rolling up their sleeves to fight the “antifans” over the “truth.” Comments were polarized.

The set was closed for the day due to the police intervention.

Xia Qingye lay on the sofa scrolling through Weibo, watching the war between Chu Rou’s loyalists and haters. After an hour, she received a call. “Sister Xiang.”

Wei Xianghong was very satisfied with the “water army” currently attacking Chu Rou. “I thought yesterday’s leak would be enough to finish her, but I didn’t expect it—Fang Xiang raised a viper. She turned on him and bit him first.”

Xia Qingye thoughtfully twirled the beads in her hand. It was a string of sandalwood prayer beads, 108 in total, which she had found in a corner of the original owner’s room. Since she had literally returned from the dead, she decided to wear them. Now, whenever she thought about things, she’d instinctively flick them, one by one, to calm her mind.

“Sister Xiang, I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?”

Xia Qingye thought for a moment. “Find a chance to visit Fang Xiang. Find out the details and help him make a comeback. Then, in a few days, release the recording I gave you earlier.”

Wei Xianghong was momentarily stunned. She had expected Xia Qingye to soften her heart, but instead, the girl was handing over a sharpened blade, waiting for the perfect moment to strike the heart. Her decisiveness exceeded expectations. But then again, Chu Rou had repeatedly exploited the feelings of her fans; she truly deserved to be hit where it hurt. “Alright, leave it to me. But why help a man like Fang Xiang?”

Xia Qingye smiled and told the truth. “Director Xun hates people who disrupt the order of his set most.”

Wei Xianghong: “…Does he?”

“The contract explicitly states that if someone intentionally disrupts the set or leaks secrets during filming, the production has the right to terminate the contract without paying any penalties.”

Yu Lan’s eyes widened. She stood in the room feeling lost, as if she had just heard something she shouldn’t have.

Xia Qingye hung up and pondered for a moment. “Go invite Jiani to my room.”

“Oh! I’m going!” Yu Lan practically ran out. Since they lived close, she returned with Qi Jiani within minutes.

“Go pour two glasses of water.”

“Yu Lan said you were looking for me, Qingye.” Qi Jiani acted very restrained in front of Xia Qingye. Originally, she thought a newcomer landing a lead role was just luck or background. But after witnessing Xia Qingye and Film Emperor Lu’s performances, she had quietly discarded her shallow assumptions and re-evaluated Xia Qingye.

Xia Qingye tossed her script into Qi Jiani’s arms. “For the next few days, study the scenes for Noriko Arima. Find the feeling. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come ask me.”

Qi Jiani: “!!!”

Yu Lan: “!!!”

Qi Jiani fumbled with the script, holding it with both hands. She flipped through and saw that most of the main characters had detailed notes written in the margins. The tiny handwriting filled the pages, showing how much heart the writer had put into studying the roles. Without a doubt, this was Xia Qingye’s personal script. It took her a long time to find her voice. “B-but… isn’t Miss Chu playing Noriko Arima?”

Xia Qingye let out a soft laugh. “Very soon, she won’t be.”