The Villainous Film Empress (12)
A little rich girl dedicated to saving the world X A paranoid, dark, and vengeful film empress
Song Xuyi was numb to it.
Every time she met Zhao Qingyu, she would inevitably end up embarrassing herself.
The temperature was low in the morning, so Song Xuyi was dressed warmly. The fall didn’t hurt her, but as Zhao Qingyu pulled her up, stifling a laugh, Song Xuyi’s face couldn’t help but turn red.
That smile on Zhao Qingyu’s face is so infuriating!
“Xuyi, what are you doing here?”
Zhao Qingyu was dressed very simply, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore no makeup, just a sporty outfit. After Song Xuyi explained her purpose for being there and mentioned she would be staying in the village for over a month, Zhao Qingyu’s smile grew even more cheerful.
“I’ve been here for a few days. I was just about to go for a run. Do you want to join me for a look around the village…?” Though she framed it as a question, Zhao Qingyu was already pulling Song Xuyi along.
The two bodyguards insisted on following, so Song Xuyi had no choice but to run with them in tow. She had been so immersed in her studies this past year that she hadn’t had much time to exercise. Naturally, she couldn’t keep up with a film star who worked out year-round and two professional bodyguards. Before long, Song Xuyi was out of breath, while the other three looked as if they hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Song Xuyi quickly fell far behind. She glanced left and right, planning to sneak back midway, but Zhao Qingyu stopped, turned, and waited for her up ahead with an unreadable smile. “Xuyi, hurry up!”
Gritting her teeth, Song Xuyi reluctantly ran to Zhao Qingyu’s side.
“Wipe your sweat.”
Watching the red-cheeked Song Xuyi run toward her, Zhao Qingyu’s eyes darkened slightly. She took a wet wipe from her pocket, tore open the packaging with unhurried, deliberate movements, and lowered her head to meticulously wipe the sweat from Song Xuyi’s brow.
Song Xuyi’s hand, which had reached out to take the wipe, froze in mid-air.
She never thought Zhao Qingyu would wipe her sweat for her.
The distance between them was far too close—so close that Song Xuyi could feel Zhao Qingyu’s light breath. Zhao Qingyu’s expression was incredibly focused. Her long lashes were like the wings of a butterfly, and for a dizzying moment, she possessed a strange sort of gentleness.
Song Xuyi froze, a strange nervousness blooming in her heart. She pressed her lips together, turned her head slightly, and spoke with a dry throat, “I… I can do it myself!”
“Don’t move,” the female villain chuckled softly. Her voice was so quiet that only Song Xuyi could hear it. The tone was still gentle, but the words she spoke sounded utterly malicious to Song Xuyi. “Are you sure you can do it yourself?”
“A little kid who needs two parents to watch her even on a run…”
Song Xuyi’s eyes widened.
The female villain had at least put on a disguise before. Now… was she dropping the act in front of her?
What was even more infuriating was that Zhao Qingyu was the one who had started all this, yet she had the nerve to turn it back on her!1
Song Xuyi’s eyes were wide and round. She knew the female villain was deliberately provoking her, but she couldn’t stop the anger from rising in her chest.
So infuriating!
If it weren’t for Zhao Qingyu’s stunningly beautiful face, she really wanted to punch that hateful expression of hers!
…
However, the female villain seemed completely oblivious to Song Xuyi’s shame and anger. Seeing the two bodyguards turn to look their way, she slowly finished wiping the sweat from Song Xuyi’s forehead and patted her head, still covered by its hat, as if petting a small animal. She then reverted to her considerate big-sister persona and began jogging slowly alongside Song Xuyi.
“Xuyi, you’re going to be a doctor in the future. How will that small frame of yours ever endure a long surgery…?”
“You need to exercise more…”
Her face a wooden mask, Song Xuyi couldn’t be bothered to respond to the female villain’s hypocritical admonishments. She silently took out her small Bluetooth headphones, stuffed them in her ears, and, with a ball of frustration pent up in her chest, charged forward…
Perhaps fueled by anger, Song Xuyi surpassed her usual limits and quickly completed a lap, returning to the courtyard entrance.
After condemning the female villain with the System the entire way, Song Xuyi had calmed down. This is fine, too. Now that the female villain has exposed her true colors, I don’t have to pretend to be a fan anymore.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Song Xuyi was about to enter the courtyard when Zhao Qingyu suddenly plucked an earbud from her ear. Zhao Qingyu, who had caught up, still wore that same infuriating smile. “What song has you so engrossed? Let me have a…”
She didn’t finish the word “listen.” The sound of ancient bells and a wooden fish from 《Heart Sutra》2 filled the air from the earbud. The smile on Zhao Qingyu’s face instantly vanished, replaced by a rare, stiff expression.
She turned to look at Song Xuyi, who was pouting and glaring at her, her entire face a blatant declaration of her anger.
“You… Haha…”
Zhao Qingyu finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
She laughed with an unprecedented, carefree joy, laughing until tears streamed from her eyes, laughing until Song Xuyi’s expression shifted from condemnation to confusion…
She must think I’m crazy, right?
But Zhao Qingyu said nothing more. She slowly placed the earbud back in Song Xuyi’s hand and then, suddenly and gently, gave her a brief hug.
“Xuyi, you’re so cute.”
As adorable as a stubborn, innocent child. It makes me want to get closer, yet I’m terrified of defiling you.
The female villain was absolutely infuriating!
Song Xuyi felt that coming here had been a mistake.
She was like a pitiful rabbit that had foolishly stumbled into a gray wolf’s territory. With Zhao Qingyu here, Song Xuyi was almost certain the coming days would be extremely ‘eventful’.
Sure enough, that evening, a text message from Zhao Qingyu arrived on her phone.
“Your body needs exercise! Let’s run together tomorrow at seven!”
Song Xuyi pursed her lips, not wanting to reply. But then, another message came through.
“I’ll be downstairs waiting for you on time. It’s okay if you sleep in, I’ll come upstairs to get you ^_^…”
Song Xuyi read Zhao Qingyu’s subtext loud and clear: Don’t even think about escaping.
This was a blatant threat!
Song Xuyi ground her back teeth fiercely. But she knew the female villain’s character all too well—she always did what she said she would. Reluctantly, she set her alarm for six-thirty in the morning.
Song Xuyi tossed and turned all night, fully prepared to be teased by the female villain during their run. But to her surprise, Zhao Qingyu didn’t deliberately provoke her again. She seemed to have reverted to being the seemingly gentle and kind, yet actually distant, Zhao Qingyu.
A villain’s heart is a needle in the sea.3
Song Xuyi didn’t want to guess the reason for the change. It was better that Zhao Qingyu wasn’t teasing her; Song Xuyi was happy to be left in peace.
Aside from her morning runs with Zhao Qingyu, Song Xuyi spent her days following the Old TCM Doctor on his free clinic rounds to every household. She also found out the reason Zhao Qingyu had come here.
It was related to her next role. Her previous two films had been for the big screen, and she now wanted to challenge herself with the small screen, so she had accepted a role in a TV drama about the early years of Emperor Su Qing.
A legendary figure like Emperor Su Qing was naturally a hot commodity4 for film and television. Numerous works about her had been produced over the past few decades. To put old wine in a new bottle and bring a fresh perspective to a topic everyone was already familiar with was extremely difficult. One misstep could trigger a nationwide wave of complaints.
For Zhao Qingyu, who was at the peak of her popularity, this was not a good choice. It was no wonder she hadn’t announced her schedule.
Moreover, it wasn’t just Zhao Qingyu on this trip; the director and investors of the film were here as well. They planned to build a set in this mountain village to film the first half of the drama.
No wonder the town mayor placed so much importance on Zhao Qingyu and her group.
Once the project was confirmed, even after the film crew left, the physical sets they built would remain. Coupled with the fact that this village was Emperor Su Qing’s native place, and with the added appeal of natural landscapes and local cuisine, it could very well be developed for tourism.
Zhao Qingyu’s group had been here for nearly ten days. The investors had stayed for a few days and were full of praise, having already signed a contract with the town to build the set here. They were also interested in constructing a small Film Base.
However, even though she had faith in Zhao Qingyu’s eye for scripts, Song Xuyi was still a little puzzled. She felt that Zhao Qingyu had some other motive for choosing this role. Unfortunately, the current Zhao Qingyu had re-enabled her hypocrisy mode, and Song Xuyi couldn’t get a word out of her. But from Zhao Qingyu’s busy schedule, leaving early and returning late, it was clear she was extremely dedicated to this project.
Song Xuyi stopped prying. In any case, it was a good thing for the local people.
The days passed one by one.
Soon, Song Xuyi had been there for half a month.
She had gotten a bit of a tan, and the villagers had started affectionately calling her ‘Little Doctor Song’. Although she no longer did her daily fan check-ins for Zhao Qingyu, they still met to run every day.
Most of the young people in this place had gone out to work, leaving behind mostly the elderly, women, and children. Although they knew Zhao Qingyu was a big star, they probably hadn’t seen her movies and had no real concept of her profession. Zhao Qingyu was living a very comfortable life here. And to Song Xuyi’s surprise, she discovered that Zhao Qingyu could actually understand the local dialect and could even sing the local folk songs quite convincingly.
Song Xuyi was stunned when she heard Zhao Qingyu singing a folk song during their run. She knew Zhao Qingyu was dedicated and always used her own voice in filming, but she never expected her to learn even the local folk songs so well.
And Song Xuyi wasn’t the only one who was stunned. An old grandmother in a nearby vegetable patch squinted at the singing Zhao Qingyu and said something, as if in disbelief. Song Xuyi didn’t understand what she said, but Zhao Qingyu lowered her head and, after a long moment, shook it at the old woman.
“What did she ask?”
Zhao Qingyu glanced at Song Xuyi and smiled nonchalantly. “She asked if you were my meimei.”
Song Xuyi frowned. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhao Qingyu was fooling her, but Zhao Qingyu seemed a bit down at that moment, so Song Xuyi tactfully decided not to press the matter.
A few days later, the second batch of supplies donated by Song Xuyi’s parents arrived in the village. That day, Song Xuyi didn’t follow the Old TCM Doctor on his rounds. Instead, she and the two bodyguards took a guide’s tractor to go pick up the supplies.
No one expected that halfway there, a strong wind suddenly picked up, followed by a downpour of rain and hail. The temperature plummeted by nearly twenty degrees Celsius. Fortunately, the supplies from Father and Mother Song included down jackets, and the group felt some relief after putting them on.
Because of the rain, the sky darkened quickly. By the time they returned to the village, it was already getting dark.
The first floor was in chaos. Many people had caught a cold due to the sudden harsh weather and had come to see the Old TCM Doctor. Song Xuyi took a hot bath and was just starting to warm up under two quilts when she suddenly heard a cry of alarm from next door. She didn’t really understand the local dialect, but she clearly heard the two words ‘Qingyu’ and her heart instinctively clenched.
Zhao Qingyu hadn’t come back!
The author has something to say:
It’s almost the end of the month, and I hear my little angels have a magical liquid on hand, one that only works on authors! It’s even more amazing than AD Calcium Milk!5 A few bottles can make an author radiant and full of energy, with the wondrous effects of cooling you in summer, strengthening you in autumn, keeping you fit in winter, and beautifying you in spring~
Rubbing my hands, starry-eyed: My lovelies, won’t you really consider giving this author a few bottles? (*^＿^*)～
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me with Overlord tickets or irrigated me with nutrition liquid~6
LP: Re-translated on December 22, 2023
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