This Best Actress is a Bit Annoying - Chapter 41

Kyoto Hospital

The nurses’ group chat was currently being spammed frantically.

Qian Jiajia: I think I saw Nie Zhuying in the VIP room.

Wang X: For real? Would Nie Zhuying actually come to our hospital? I didn’t hear any rumors. Quick, tell us, which ward?

Muzi Li: Who is Nie Zhuying?

Manager Li: You don’t know Nie Zhuying? Have you seen The Double-Faced Man? She played two roles by herself; it was like she had a split personality. Her acting was superb—that murderous look in her eyes is unforgettable. But I still prefer the older sister role more.

Muzi Li: Oh, oh! It’s her. What happened to her?

Qian Jiajia: It’s not that something happened to her; she’s taking care of a patient! I heard the person is her younger sister, and she’s quite beautiful. The aesthetics of that family are truly out of this world.

Manager Li: I’m changing shifts tomorrow. I’m going upstairs. No one is allowed to fight me for it.

Qian Jiajia: Manager Li, you’re so shameless.

Manager Li: I’m the boss; what I say goes.

“Excuse me.”

“Xia Qingye, it’s time to take your temperature.”

The corners of Nie Zhuying’s mouth curled up, her face clearly writing I am proud, I am honored.

That arrogant little look was like a victorious young rooster with its tail practically pointing to the sky. Xia Qingye had prepared herself mentally, but she hadn’t expected the nurses at Kyoto Hospital to be this crazy, coming up with all sorts of excuses to enter the room. To make it worse, several of them had used the exact same excuse.

After the nurse left reluctantly, Xia Qingye couldn’t help but remark, “She didn’t even ask for your autograph. I guess she’s not your fan?”

The smile on Nie Zhuying’s face froze for a moment. She let out a huff, as if to say, Just you wait.

Sure enough, the nurse who had just left pushed the door open again and whispered, “Miss Nie, may I trouble you for an autograph?”

She was holding a notebook. It seemed her calm departure earlier was only to go fetch her tools.

Nie Zhuying’s mood instantly shifted from cloudy to sunny. Her eyes lit up, and she shot a triumphant glance at Xia Qingye before stiffening her face and seriously taking the pen and book. “Where do I sign?”

Clutching the notebook, the nurse was so nervous she couldn’t speak. When she handed it over, she could only point to a blank space. Seeing that Nie Zhuying didn’t have the air of a big star and seemed to have a decent temper, she couldn’t help but ask for more: “Could I trouble you to write one more sentence? ‘Wu Huijia, you can definitely do it!'”

With a few quick strokes, Nie Zhuying left the message and her signature. Finally, she asked specifically, “Is this okay?”

The nurse nodded vigorously. She hadn’t expected the Film Queen to be so good-natured. Holding the notebook, she stood before Nie Zhuying, hesitating for a long time before saying excitedly, “I really love your dramas and movies. I’ll keep following you. Keep it up!”

Once she left, Nie Zhuying locked the door and walked spiritedly to Xia Qingye’s bedside. “So, Qingqing? You lost.”

The two had made a bet out of boredom to see when Nie Zhuying would be exposed in this hospital.

Actually, it was an inevitability. As long as Nie Zhuying intentionally wandered into a crowd, she was bound to be recognized. Xia Qingye had adopted a “let it be” attitude; since the other woman refused to leave the hospital and insisted on staying to care for her, Xia Qingye could only try to create some positive, proactive news for her.

Xia Qingye said with a smile, “I admit defeat.”

She beckoned with her hand. Nie Zhuying leaned in eagerly like a puppy wagging its tail, though she spoke toughly: “What? Trying to act cute because you lost? That won’t do. Who was it that said the loser has to accept a punishment?”

Xia Qingye reached out and stroked Nie Zhuying’s soft hair. “Lean in a bit closer.”

Nie Zhuying had no guard at all, wishing she could press her face right against her. Xia Qingye took the opportunity to plant a kiss on her cheek. “Are you satisfied with this punishment?”

Nie Zhuying froze, shook her head in dissatisfaction, and then pounced like a hungry wolf, pinning Xia Qingye to the bed and kissing her for a long time.

It wasn’t until Xia Qingye’s phone on the table vibrated that they were both startled into ending the deep kiss. Nie Zhuying, still unsatisfied, wanted to go back in for more, but Xia Qingye blocked her with her hand.

“Hello.”

“Sister Xia, Sister Xia! I have great news: Lazy-Egg gave birth! Five pups!”

Xia Qingye looked at Nie Zhuying, whose ear was practically glued to the phone, and repeated meaningfully, “Oh, Lazy-Egg gave birth!”

Yu Lan had no idea Xia Qingye was in the hospital and happily babbled on for several minutes. When she didn’t hear a response, she awkwardly changed the subject. “Sister Xia, when are you coming back? Nuonuo misses you; he sits by the door every day waiting for you to come home.”

Xia Qingye covered the receiver and asked Nie Zhuying, “Your ‘daughter-in-law’ gave birth. Want to see?”

Nie Zhuying hesitated. Bringing them to the hospital was unrealistic, so she smartly thought of a video: “Have Yu Lan record a few videos for me to see.”

Their conversation traveled through the phone to the other end. Yu Lan froze for a moment before reacting—her Sister Xia was actually with Sister Nie! They were even together during the Qingming Festival. Could they be at the “meeting the parents” stage?!

“Oh, oh! Okay, I’ll record them and send them to Sister Nie.”

The video arrived quickly. Yu Lan: “Come on, Lazy-Egg, look here.”

Nie Zhuying leaned over the bed. As she clicked the video, she offered her hand. “If you’re scared, I’ll allow you to hold my hand while we watch.”

Xia Qingye wasn’t actually as afraid of Lazy-Egg and Xia-Xia as she had been at the start. After all, she had raised them for a while. Looking at them for a long time made them seem less scary, as long as she didn’t have to touch them. However, seeing the five tiny pups in the video, she couldn’t help but look disgusted. “So ugly.”

Seeing that she wasn’t taking her hand, Nie Zhuying pouted and proactively grabbed the girl’s small hand, deliberately contradicting her: “How are they ugly? They’re very cute. Once their fur grows in, they’ll be even cuter.”

Xia Qingye felt her hair stand on end at that thought and quickly shook her head to shake off the goosebumps. “Have you found owners for the other three?”

Nie Zhuying checked WeChat. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’ve already ‘pre-sold’ them all.”

Xia Qingye knew the “pre-sold” part was just a joke, but she still felt uneasy. “They are Xia-Xia and Lazy-Egg’s children after all. You have to find owners who actually know how to take care of hamster babies—not like us.”

Nie Zhuying pondered that and felt something was off. “What do you mean ‘like us’? Haven’t we taken good care of them? Look at Xia-Xia and Lazy-Egg—they have kids now, and five of them!”

Xia Qingye wanted to laugh at the thick sense of pride in her voice. She didn’t even consider that she’d been a hands-off owner, dumping them on Xia Qingye or Yu Lan constantly, only caring for them for a few days, and not even knowing basic common sense like not keeping hamsters in the same cage.

Xia Qingye thought to herself: If Nie Zhuying had raised them, those two would have been gone long ago, let alone produced five pups. “Right, right, right. You’re the best. My Zhuzi is the most capable.” She shifted the topic with a smile. “Since you’re so capable, help me deal with my brother when he gets here. I want to sleep for a bit.”

Nie Zhuying: “…”

Xia Qingye felt that only by playing the “damsel in distress” could she settle Xia Yanbo. Seeing Nie Zhuying’s pouting face, she provoked her slightly: “If you don’t want to handle it, it’s fine. I won’t sleep; I’ll wait for him and tell him myself.”

Nie Zhuying immediately tucked her in. “Sleep, sleep, sleep! Hurry up and sleep. Who said I couldn’t handle it?”

Xia Qingye closed her eyes peacefully and fell asleep quickly. During her sleep, she seemed to hear the door opening and closing several times, along with Xia Yanbo’s voice. She murmured a soft “Brother.”

Xia Yanbo expressed strong dissatisfaction that Nie Zhuying had beaten him to the hospital, and this dissatisfaction was written all over his face. “Why is Qingye with you, hmm?”

Nie Zhuying let out a cold snort, looking very displeased. “You have the nerve to ask me? What kind of brother are you? Your sister is in the hospital and had surgery, and you didn’t even know. If I hadn’t stayed behind to care for her, and if I hadn’t proactively called you, would you even know? Not only are you not grateful, you’re interrogating me about why I’m here!”

Xia Yanbo: “…”

Women certainly have sharp tongues.

He ignored the strange feeling in his heart and said helplessly, “Fine. Thank you, Miss Nie, for deigning to care for our Qingye. Now, can you tell me why she fell? She fell all the way into the hospital—how is she now? Did the doctor say what we need to watch out for?”

Nie Zhuying finally understood why her Qingqing didn’t want to face her brother. The man was a chatterbox; he either said nothing or said everything in a row.

She crossed her arms, looking very angry. “You have the nerve to ask me? If you hadn’t taken Qingqing to see that bad woman named Zhong, would she have been harassed? Would she have offended that bad woman over a role and then been pushed down the steps by her?”

If Xia Qingye were awake, she’d probably give Zhuzi a thumbs-up. Her ability to shift blame, twist facts, and quote out of context was top-tier.

Xia Yanbo was rendered speechless by the barrage of questions, his mind a mess of garbled code. “Wait, tell me one thing at a time. What do you mean ‘harassed by that bad woman named Zhong’? The bad woman named Zhong is—”

Nie Zhuying was most displeased with this point. She glared fiercely at Xia Yanbo. “At that banquet, didn’t you introduce Qingqing to that old lecher Zong Cong? Didn’t he bring a female companion?”

“There was such a thing.”

“Well, there you go. Qingqing was pushed by that woman named Zhong. She fell down the steps; a bone fracture is considered a minor injury. It’s a miracle she didn’t break her arms or legs.”

This was no exaggeration. If the steps at the cemetery were a story high, falling backward like that could easily cause head trauma or instant death. Thinking of this, Nie Zhuying still felt a lingering fear.

Xia Yanbo listened for a long while and finally understood—the “bad woman” was Zhong Ruanqin. “No wonder Siji Company has been interacting with me less and less lately. So that’s the reason.”

“You’re still interacting with Siji? Zong Cong has a terrible reputation; he’s always making others take the fall. My father cooperated with him once years ago and never did again. You should cut ties early before you suffer heavy losses.” Nie Zhuying was even angrier in her heart. She hadn’t even had the chance to settle the score with Zhong Ruanqin, yet that woman dared to make the first move.

Xia Yanbo nodded. “How is Qingye’s injury now? What did the doctor say?”

Nie Zhuying briefly went over the doctor’s instructions. Finally, she added, “I’m thinking that once the doctor says her vitals are stable, I’ll take her back to my place to recover.”

Xia Yanbo was confused. “Why your place? If anyone is taking her home, it’s me.”

Nie Zhuying looked at him coldly. “How much time can you spend with her every day? She has a bone fracture; she has to stay in bed. Can you help her bathe? Can you take her to the restroom? What can you do?”

Xia Yanbo: “…”

“Besides, because of the injury, Qingye lost a script she really wanted. She’s heartbroken. Going home to face you might just make her feel worse.”

“It’s settled. I’m taking Qingqing home to care for her.”

“…”

Xia Yanbo had wanted to wait for Xia Qingye to wake up, but an emergency call came in. He spoke to Nie Zhuying and left immediately. It wasn’t until several days later that it occurred to him—he couldn’t help her bathe or go to the restroom, but could Nie Zhuying? That was just sending a lamb to a tiger’s den!

Nie Zhuying quickly got rid of Xia Yanbo, a triumphant smile on her face. She walked quietly to the bedside, looked at the sleeping girl, and couldn’t resist kissing her forehead. Suddenly, the phone in her pocket rang.

The person on the bed moved slightly. Seeing it was an unfamiliar number, Nie Zhuying quickly cut the call. However, as soon as it was cut, the number called again, persistent.

Nie Zhuying stared at it unhappily for a moment, then took the phone and walked out of the room.

“Hello.”

“Is this Miss Nie Zhuying?”

“Who are you?”

“Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is that I have a very valuable video in my hand. A video I think you’ll be interested in.”