Villainous Movie Star (11)
After the meeting ended, Zhao Qingyu, who was skilled at winning people over, sent signed postcards to several roommates of Song Xuyi. The roommates were ecstatic and instantly became die-hard fans of Zhao Qingyu. For the next half of the semester, they would incessantly mention Zhao Qingyu’s name beside Song Xuyi.
It was also from that day that Song Xuyi noticed Zhao Qingyu referring to herself as “kid” on WeChat.
Song Xuyi protested against this nickname because, after all, Zhao Qingyu was only three years older, and the term sounded awkward. However, her feeble protest had no effect in front of Zhao Qingyu. The villain acted stubbornly, and Song Xuyi couldn’t change her mind.
Later on, Song Xuyi became calm about the situation.
During this time, she also figured out the temperament of the villain: Zhao Qingyu often deliberately teased her, and the more she resisted, the happier Zhao Qingyu became. Instead of opposing her, Song Xuyi thought it would be better to stay calm and let her do as she pleased. Once she lost interest, she would stop causing trouble.
As long as Song Xuyi didn’t have to face Zhao Qingyu’s mesmerizing face or exchange WeChat messages, she believed she had the ability to cope.
Now, everything was only in the first half of the plot summary: Zhao Qingyu had released two movies in the past year, and her debut film had been submitted for consideration in a national-level award for “Best Actress,” promising a bright future. According to a popular fan account, numerous scripts had already been sent to Zhao Qingyu, including works by renowned directors.
However, perhaps due to shooting two films in quick succession, Zhao Qingyu seemed to have not taken on any new projects recently. She had filmed a few advertisements and appeared on a variety show to maintain her exposure, but fans had no idea what else she was doing.
Song Xuyi casually inquired and tried to find out, but Zhao Qingyu turned the tables:
“Why are you suddenly interested in my schedule? Do you want to meet me?”
Song Xuyi was startled and quickly changed the subject.
However, given the precedent, Song Xuyi remained somewhat apprehensive in the following days, fearing that Zhao Qingyu might suddenly appear before her at any moment.
As it turned out, Song Xuyi’s worries were somewhat unnecessary. Until the start of the summer vacation, she hadn’t seen Zhao Qingyu again.
With the arrival of summer vacation, Zhao Qingyu’s responses to messages became fewer and fewer. She explained that it was because the signal in her current location wasn’t very good, causing communication issues.
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
This explanation revealed a piece of information: Zhao Qingyu probably wasn’t abroad.
Relieved that Zhao Qingyu hadn’t secretly gone abroad to cause trouble for the male lead, Song Xuyi completely let go of her worries and began focusing on planning her summer vacation schedule.
Song Xuyi intended to accompany an elderly traditional medicine practitioner on a medical outreach trip to rural areas, while also collecting medicinal herbs.
The elderly practitioner came from a poor family and had grown up relying on the generosity of others. Every year in July and August, he would go to the countryside to provide medical consultations.
People often claimed that the elderly practitioner loved money, citing examples such as frequently treating the powerful and charging high fees to the Song family for Song Xuyi’s apprenticeship… But Song Xuyi knew that for decades, the elderly practitioner couldn’t bear to change his old clothes, as he donated most of his money to impoverished mountain villages.
To address the issue of unemployment among farmers, the elderly practitioner taught the people in the mountains to cultivate medicinal herbs and purchased them at the most affordable prices. He was considered the benefactor of the entire village.
This time, Song Xuyi and the elderly practitioner went to the medicinal herb base sponsored by the elderly practitioner for medical outreach and to purchase medicinal herbs.
At first, Song Xuyi’s parents didn’t agree with her going to the mountain village. However, after enduring Song Xuyi’s persistent persuasion, they reluctantly assigned two trustworthy bodyguards to accompany her and provided a large amount of donated supplies. Only then did they allow Song Xuyi to go with the elderly practitioner.
The destination for this trip was a mountain village in the northwest.
The village was located deep in the mountains at a higher altitude. They cultivated cold-resistant medicinal herbs such as ginseng, Codonopsis pilosula, and gastrodia elata. The road had been established only a few years ago.
Song Xuyi traveled to the village on a tractor used for attending the local market. The journey was bumpy, and Song Xuyi felt dizzy and nauseous. However, not wanting to cause trouble for others, she gritted her teeth and endured it, her face becoming paler and paler.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Most people who come here for the first time are not accustomed to it. After a few visits, you’ll be fine…”
The people around paid attention to Song Xuyi’s condition and naturally noticed her discomfort.
As a precaution, the elderly practitioner checked Song Xuyi’s pulse and assured the two bodyguards that she would be fine. Then, perhaps to distract Song Xuyi’s attention, the elderly practitioner began telling a story:
“Although this place seems remote, in ancient times, it was home to an extremely famous figure. Can you guess who it is?” The elderly practitioner piqued everyone’s curiosity before leisurely stroking his beard and continuing, “This is the hometown of Emperor Su Qing, a renowned beauty nest. Throughout history, it has produced many beauties. Unfortunately, this place is too remote…”
Emperor Su Qing was well-known in this world, even the original owner, who was ignorant and uneducated, had heard of her reputation—she was the only female emperor in history.
The life of Emperor Su Qing was full of legendary tales: born into poverty, she disguised herself as a man and took her sickly brother’s place in the military. With remarkable military prowess, she rose in rank and became a feudal lord and a high-ranking official. Eventually, she overthrew the corrupt and incompetent old dynasty, saving the people from distress and ushering in a prosperous era.
Song Xuyi didn’t expect this place to be the hometown of Emperor Su Qing.
The elderly practitioner went on to share many anecdotes. After about two hours, as evening approached, the group finally arrived in the village. The climate in the mountains changed rapidly, and the temperature noticeably dropped in the evening.
The elderly practitioner instructed everyone to put on the down jackets they had brought in their luggage and repeatedly cautioned, “The altitude here is higher, and the climate changes dramatically. Don’t wander outside the village casually…”
The elderly practitioner had already arranged accommodations in advance, and for over a month, they would be staying at the village chief’s house.
Most of the houses here are old stone houses from ancient times. There are only a few brick houses in the entire village. Even so, the conditions at the village chief’s house seemed somewhat difficult: the tables and chairs appeared to have been used for many years, and there was an outdated color television on the cabinet, which was on the verge of being replaced a decade ago. The clothes worn by the children had patches on them…
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However, the village chief’s family was extremely diligent. The house was cleaned spotlessly, and there was a scent of sunlight above the bedding, indicating that it had just been washed and aired.
Due to limited space, the village chief allocated a separate room upstairs for Song Xuyi, while the rest of the people crowded together.
“We initially planned to arrange for some people to stay at Shuanzi’s house,” the village chief said somewhat apologetically as he rubbed his hands and glanced at the neighboring house. “But Shuanzi’s house recently received some guests who seem to be involved in a major project. The town attaches great importance to it, and even the mayor has come to accompany them…”
The food tasted delicious, unexpectedly fragrant and flavorful.
After finishing dinner and freshening up, Song Xuyi went upstairs.
Perhaps to ensure Song Xuyi’s comfort with the accommodation, the village chief had intentionally burned some herbs in the room. After a day of burning, the scent became a bit strong. Song Xuyi opened the window to let in some fresh air and noticed a figure wearing a down jacket standing in the courtyard of Shuanzi’s house next door.
Was this the guest the village chief mentioned?
Under the swaying corridor lamp, Song Xuyi couldn’t make out the person’s appearance clearly. She saw the person holding a mobile phone, changing positions in the yard, seemingly searching for a signal…
Song Xuyi glanced at the person once more. Although she couldn’t discern the person’s features in the darkness, Song Xuyi had an inexplicable feeling deep inside—a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen this person somewhere before.
However, no matter how much she thought about it, Song Xuyi couldn’t figure out who among the people she knew would come to this remote and impoverished place…
After a while, the scent in the room dissipated. The night breeze was chilly, and Song Xuyi couldn’t help but shiver. In that moment of closing the window, it seemed like the person in the neighboring courtyard was still searching for a signal…
So persistent.
Song Xuyi yawned and took out her phone. As expected, there was only one bar of signal remaining. She hadn’t received a reply to the message she sent in the morning, saying, “I’m going to the mountains with my master for a medical charity event. The signal is not good there, so I might not be able to send messages.”
Suppressing her drowsiness, Song Xuyi sent another message:
“We’ve entered the mountains. Everything is fine. The villagers here are very welcoming.”
After sending out the message, Song Xuyi circled back to it, unsure if it would actually be delivered. However, after a long day of traveling, she was incredibly tired. She placed her phone on the bedside table and fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Song Xuyi woke up and noticed a glaring exclamation mark following the message she had sent. Clearly, it had not been successfully delivered.
Shortly after she fell asleep, she received a WeChat message from Zhao Qingyu: “Where did you go?”
How strange!
Song Xuyi was puzzled. Over the past year, the two of them had gotten used to chatting on WeChat, and she had never bothered to remember Zhao Qingyu’s number. Now that she was in an area with poor signal reception, communication between them had indeed become a problem.
Song Xuyi had initially thought about using this opportunity to cut off their contact. After all, to maintain her “fan” identity, it was usually her who initiated the conversations between them. However, the thought of Zhao Qingyu’s reaction after she unilaterally severed contact made Song Xuyi feel a tingling sensation on her scalp. In the end, she reluctantly called the butler and asked him to help send Zhao Qingyu’s phone number.
The butler was extremely efficient, and within half an hour, he sent a text message to Song Xuyi with Zhao Qingyu’s phone number.
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Song Xuyi looked at the number but hesitated to make the call.
She dragged her feet while brushing her teeth and washing her face. She took two laps around the courtyard, and finally, she took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and walked to the front gate, intending to make the plunge – to give Zhao Qingyu a “call check-in.”
The door of Shuanzi’s house next door opened, with someone walking out.
Song Xuyi didn’t pay much attention and frowned as she squatted beside the courtyard gate. With a resentful expression, she pressed the phone button.
“Beep, beep…” The sound came through the phone, and Song Xuyi’s brow furrowed even tighter.
“-Pfft!”
Suddenly, a light chuckle came from beside her, and at that moment, the call connected.
A familiar female voice, filled with laughter, came from above and through the earpiece: “Are you looking for me, Xuyi?”
Song Xuyi looked up in astonishment—Zhao Qingyu’s stunning face, capable of captivating anyone, was right above her, and she was bending over with a smile, holding her phone and looking at Song Xuyi.
How… How could she be here?
Song Xuyi was taken aback, and as she saw the radiant smile on Zhao Qingyu’s face, she felt a chill run down her spine. Instinctively, she tried to move back, forgetting her own posture, and her feet gave way…
——Bang!”
The author has something to say:
Anonymous User: What is it like to have a nightmare appear right in front of your eyes?
Song Xuyi: Thank you for the invitation. It’s probably how I feel right now~ T_T
LP: Re-translated on December 21, 2023