The Villainous Film Empress (7)
A little rich girl dedicated to saving the world X A paranoid, dark, and vengeful film empress
Song Xuyi never expected her “tree hollow”1 to suddenly come to life.
She was even more surprised that Zhao Qingyu had even noticed the number of days she had missed her “check-in.”2
She often browsed the Super Topic3 and knew that some fans had dedicated groups to track sign-ins. Those who signed in less frequently would be looked down upon by everyone else. But she never imagined that she, too, would one day be called out for breaking her streak.
And by the idol herself,4 no less.
At this thought, the heat rose to Song Xuyi’s face again.
She stared at the money transfer Zhao Qingyu had sent, feeling incredibly conflicted. She didn’t know whether to accept it or not. In the end, she put her phone down and went downstairs again.
If the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move.5 Since Zhao Qingyu hadn’t accepted the transfer she sent, she was too embarrassed to accept the one Zhao Qingyu had sent her.
Downstairs, the Song family had already composed themselves.
Given the Song family’s status, their phones rang nonstop every New Year’s Eve. Song Xuyi rarely mingled in her parents’ circles and had already cut ties with her old bad company,6 so she only called and texted a few classmates and teachers.
This was a rare moment of leisure for Song Xuyi. She curled up on the sofa, sipping a sweet and sour cocktail and eating snacks while scrolling through Weibo. Subconsciously, she clicked into Zhao Qingyu’s Super Topic.
The final trailer for the movie Zhao Qingyu was starring in had just been released.
The official description called it a story of revenge and power struggles in the martial arts world.
In the trailer, Zhao Qingyu’s gaze was sharp as she sat high on a throne. Though she was only twenty-one, a single turn and glance conveyed all the vicissitudes her character had endured over the years. Her eyes at first held a hint of wistfulness as she looked down at the crowd prostrating at her feet, as if she couldn’t understand why the girl who once only wanted to marry her shixiong7 and live a happy, pastoral life was now here. Then, her beautiful eyes narrowed sharply, time flying like an arrow as the glint and flash of daggers and swords8 from all those years flickered before her. Finally, her gaze grew resolute. The camera pulled back, showing her standing above the countless masses, lonely yet cold, as she slowly raised her hands…
Only when this segment of the trailer ended did Song Xuyi snap back to reality, letting out a long breath.
The alcohol seemed to have gone to her head. This version of Zhao Qingyu was just too cool, so captivating that one couldn’t help but be drawn in by her, even wanting to prostrate before her.
Song Xuyi was still lost in the emotions from the trailer when a video call lit up her phone screen. Seeing the three words “Zhao Qingyu” at the top, her heart leaped, and the phone nearly slipped from her grasp. She finally managed to get a firm grip on it, but in her haste, she accidentally pressed “Accept”…
The screen spun chaotically for a moment before the other person’s flushed face appeared.
“Hello, Xuyi.”
Zhao Qingyu gazed at Song Xuyi’s shy face on the other end of the call. It had been a while, and Song Xuyi seemed to have lost a little weight. The lines of her face were more defined, making her large, mist-covered eyes appear even bigger.
Had she been drinking?
Zhao Qingyu had to admit, she really liked Song Xuyi’s eyes. They were clean and clear, possessing a brightness that others couldn’t imitate, as if they were eternally brimming with vitality, hope, and fighting spirit.
It was as if Song Xuyi had suddenly become this way. Thinking back, Zhao Qingyu found that she had already forgotten what the old Song Xuyi was like.
Zhao Qingyu didn’t know when she had started paying attention to the daily life updates Song Xuyi sent her.
She was incredibly sensitive to others’ emotions. After a few interactions, she was certain that the current Song Xuyi didn’t actually like her very much and was even faintly afraid of her.
So why did Song Xuyi insist on pretending to like her?
Zhao Qingyu wanted to figure out the reason.
When she first started receiving Song Xuyi’s messages, she deliberately didn’t reply. She wanted to test Song Xuyi’s attitude.
But every day when she opened her phone, Zhao Qingyu wasn’t sure what she was feeling herself. She would always subconsciously clear the red dot on Song Xuyi’s chat window and had never once considered blocking her.
And every time she received flowers from Song Xuyi on set, the other people in the crew would tease her, some sincerely and some not: “Qingyu, I’m so jealous you have a fan with such a prominent background like the Song family’s princess…”
Whenever she heard this kind of talk, Zhao Qingyu would smile on the surface but sneer inwardly. Just a fake fan putting on a false show.
But Song Xuyi sent a bouquet of flowers every week without fail.
Zhao Qingyu accepted the flowers and got along peacefully with the “friendly” director and actors around her. She never again encountered the kind of awful incidents she had on the previous set…
At that point, a conjecture began to form in Zhao Qingyu’s mind: Song Xuyi… she seemed to be using this method to… protect her…
But why would she do that?
Her confusion about Song Xuyi grew. One day, when the crew went out for a meal, they passed by a supermarket. Zhao Qingyu went inside, bought a vase to put in her room, and began to change out the flowers Song Xuyi sent each week…
Then, the messages Song Xuyi sent began to change.
One day, Zhao Qingyu was getting her makeup done early in the morning when Song Xuyi’s chat window lit up again.
“I bet you’ve blocked me, hehe.”
Zhao Qingyu watched coldly, waiting to see what she was up to, but unexpectedly, the other girl sent nothing else.
It wasn’t until she finished filming a night scene that day that she saw another message from Song Xuyi: “Today’s exam was so hard! I think I got the last big question wrong…”
Was she… acting spoiled with her?9
But then there were no more messages.
The next morning, she saw a message from Song Xuyi that read, “This morning we had my favorite lemon chicken feet. The chicken feet at our cafeteria are to die for, super delicious. And the cutest thing is, the auntie who serves the food always gives me an extra one…”
It was only then that Zhao Qingyu belatedly realized: that little lass10 Song Xuyi was actually using her WeChat as a tree hollow!
For the first time, Zhao Qingyu felt like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.11 But besides this possibility, she couldn’t think of any other explanation.
However, as Zhao Qingyu looked at the chicken breast and broccoli diet meal in front of her, the food she had grown accustomed to suddenly seemed tasteless.
That evening, Song Xuyi was back:
“The trailer for your new movie came out today! You’re so beautiful…”
“Professor Huang made another guy cry today. Even though I don’t admire him as much as I did at the start of the semester, he actually made a lot of sense: there are some minor mistakes that you absolutely cannot make…”
…
From then on, Song Xuyi began to share the most ordinary, trivial details of her daily life.
Zhao Qingyu would scroll through them every day but never replied. After all, in her mind, the messages Song Xuyi sent were just a form of amusement; she didn’t take them to heart.
Until one day, Song Xuyi didn’t send a WeChat message.
What happened?
Zhao Qingyu was in a daze the entire day. She was even called out for several ‘cuts’ on set. That night, she tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep…
The next day, a message from Song Xuyi finally arrived.
“It’s so tiring studying with the old master every day! But I’ve also learned so much…”
So she had been busy with her studies.
Zhao Qingyu had to admit, in that moment, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart. It was also then that she realized: Song Xuyi’s place in her heart seemed to be a little more important than she had imagined…
This was not a good sign.
But as she looked at the follow-up message from Song Xuyi on her phone—”The old master praised me for having great talent, I’m so happy”—Zhao Qingyu’s lips curled up unconsciously.
Song Xuyi as a person was truly dazzling, which was why she naturally attracted the attention of a dark and duplicitous person like herself. Every time she read the messages she sent, it felt like she was keeping a delightful pet on her phone, giving her a strange sense of satisfaction.
In any case, it was just a pet she could see through at a glance. What kind of trouble could it possibly stir up?
…
However, this interruption was only the beginning. For a period after that, Song Xuyi’s messages became sporadic. Even though she knew Song Xuyi was busy studying, Zhao Qingyu began to feel suspicious, almost instinctively. Is she really studying? Or has she… given up on pretending to like me?
Without even realizing it, the frequency with which she checked her phone increased significantly. Every time she looked at the empty chat window, it felt like a feather was tickling her chest, a kind of indescribable restlessness.
This feeling reached its peak around the New Year: Song Xuyi hadn’t sent a message in five days—
With the arrival of the Spring Festival, the film crew gave everyone a three-day holiday.
New Year’s Eve arrived.
The caregiver had gone home for the holiday, and her mother was asleep after being given a sedative. The hospital room was silent. Zhao Qingyu sat in the room, expressionlessly scrolling through her phone. She had received an email saying that the financial statements for the company she had secretly established had already doubled.
Zhao Qingyu’s lips curved, but she didn’t feel the joy she thought she would.
She tapped into her phone and subconsciously paused on Song Xuyi’s chat window again. A familiar middle-aged man walked in and handed Zhao Qingyu a red envelope,12 which also contained a check.
Zhao Qingyu didn’t look at the check. She looked up at the man and asked softly, “Is Auntie Liu still unwilling to see me?”
The man glanced at Zhao Qingyu and shook his head.
Auntie Liu was Zhao Qingyu’s benefactor. After her mother had lost her mind, it was Auntie Liu who had supported Zhao Qingyu for a long time. The initial capital for establishing her company had also been borrowed from Auntie Liu.
However, Auntie Liu had always refused to meet Zhao Qingyu, only asking that she grow up happy, safe, and sound.
Zhao Qingyu had always kept up a good disguise, just as Auntie Liu had hoped. She excelled in her studies and skipped grades, graduating from university at nineteen. At twenty, she suddenly signed up for a performance program, and at twenty-one, she shot to fame… Her smile was her impenetrable mask. She had fooled everyone; no one knew about the monstrous hatred she kept hidden deep in her heart.
The man left quickly.
Zhao Qingyu’s mood worsened. She subconsciously opened her phone and lingered on Song Xuyi’s page, only to find that a money transfer had appeared. That little lass who had been missing for five days had also sent her New Year’s money…
Zhao Qingyu sneered inwardly, but as if by a ghost’s volition or a god’s will,13 she couldn’t stop herself from replying.
She had already predicted Song Xuyi’s reaction: she would surely be as shocked as if she’d seen a ghost, and then she would definitely blush beet-red…
She had never seen a kid who got embarrassed so easily…
Zhao Qingyu stared intently at the chat window, but fifteen minutes passed with no reply.
Zhao Qingyu’s face fell.
Just as she was about to toss her phone aside, the other side finally replied.
She knows what’s good for her!14
Zhao Qingyu sneered as she read the fake fan’s words of loyalty, but she couldn’t help sending New Year’s money back.
Song Xuyi didn’t reply again, nor did she accept the transfer.
A fake fan indeed!
Zhao Qingyu completely lost her patience and initiated a video call.
However, after the call connected and she had said hello, Zhao Qingyu found herself at a loss for words as she looked at Song Xuyi’s flushed cheeks and the ‘shh’ gesture she was making…
Song Xuyi seemed to have taken her phone outside.
BOOM—with a tremendous roar, Song Xuyi turned the camera around. Fireworks were being set off at the Song family’s grand residence. The adults were congratulating each other, and the children were jumping around. Bathed in the colorful explosions in the sky, the lively clamor seemed to pour out from the screen, making the hospital room feel a little less cold and desolate…
The camera turned again, and Zhao Qingyu saw the girl’s shy, smiling face.
“Happy New Year, Qingyu-jie.”
“May the new year bring you good health, and may you be… happy in all things!”15
…
The author has something to say:
Song Xuyi: Wishing you “may all your wishes come true” would mean my own demise. I’m not that stupid~(^_^) ~
LP: Re-translated on December 5, 2023
✨ Unlock Early Access to Chapters! ✨
Choose your perfect membership at bamboopandatl.net:
📚 Full Access ($4.99)
• Advanced chapters of ALL ongoing novels
• Access to complete finished novels
• Ad-free reading experience
📖 Single Novel Access ($1.49)
• Advanced chapters of ONE specific novel
• Ad-free reading for chosen novel
PayPal is the only current payment option!