After Transmigrating into the Villain’s Cat, I Dominated the Entertainment Circle – Chapter 103

Her Xiao Xiao

A dessert made for you

The dong dong of high heels echoed on the floor as Bai Su, carrying her bag, opened the office door.

            

Her manager was sitting in his chair, hands crossed in front of his chest. He extended a hand toward her.

Bai Su smiled, put down her bag, and sat on the sofa.

“What is it? Calling me to the company so suddenly.” She wore a faint smile, as if she truly knew nothing.

            

The manager leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on the desk. “You must have heard about the new drama Yan Yafei just signed on for. A major production. They’ve put a great deal of effort into the cast and investment.”

“I know. The news is everywhere.”

The manager nodded. “By rights, the resources for this drama should have been yours. You’re the First Sister​¹ in this company, but what about now?”

            

“Yan Yafei’s methods are formidable. Everyone in the company, from top to bottom, is incredibly fond of her now. Where does that leave you?”

“Has Yan Yafei offended you?” Bai Su raised her eyes slightly. The corners of her eyes, tilted gently upwards, were like hooks that could capture one’s soul, seeing through a person’s thoughts in a single glance.

Her manager didn’t hide it from her. He took off his glasses and wiped them. “How could she have offended me? We just have different managers, so some friction is inevitable.”

            

Bai Su smiled. Her manager didn’t have many artists under him, but each one was top-notch. Now that he was being suppressed, he was probably bottling up a lot of anger.

“Yan Yafei is very smart, but even the most careful plan can have an oversight.​² I happen to know someone who has some dirt on her.”

The manager’s interest was immediately piqued. “Who?”

            

“Feng Xiao.”

…

Lin Sifei, transformed into a cat, was curled up on Luo Ke’s lap.

            

The two were sunbathing on the balcony. Luo Ke had her laptop on the table and a stand placed by her legs. While she typed on the keyboard, Lin Sifei swiped at a tablet with her paws.

Lin Sifei looked at the scripts before her and found them all uninteresting.

She stretched lazily, her entire body seeming to melt like water as she slid down along Luo Ke’s legs.

            

Luo Ke put a hand underneath to stop her from falling.

【Your Feifei: Luo Ke, I’m so bored.】

Seeing the message pop up on her computer, Luo Ke reached out to rub her belly. “Aren’t you picking a script? Why are you still bored?”

            

【Your Feifei: The scripts are too boring. They’re all assembly-line products.╭(╯^╰)╮】​³

“Then don’t act in them. Reject them all and wait for a good one.”

Lin Sifei thought so too, but it wasn’t good to have such a long period of inactivity,​⁴ otherwise she wouldn’t get suitable exposure.

            

But even with stage plays, she couldn’t get any particularly good ones right now.

Life is hard, the kitty sighed.

Lin Sifei lifted her head and saw Luo Ke still looking at her documents with intense focus. A mischievous thought arose.

            

She extended her paws and deliberately started climbing onto Luo Ke.

Luo Ke let out a soft grunt, placing a hand under her hind paws to support her. “What are you doing?”

“Meow, meow, meow!”

            

Lin Sifei climbed onto her shoulder and wrapped herself around her neck like a genuine fur scarf.

The soft fur tickled Luo Ke immensely. She chuckled and gently squeezed her little cat paws.

Lin Sifei nuzzled her cheek and looked at her screen, which was filled with a pile of incomprehensible reports.

            

She thought for a moment, then patted Luo Ke again, signaling for her to raise the tablet stand.

With the tablet in front of her, she found the projects filed by two entertainment companies.

As she scrolled through them, her paw paused, her eyes fixed on one particular project.

            

A horror movie. She’d never tried one before. Curious. She wanted to give it a shot.

She stretched out a paw and sent a message to Li Tao, asking him to send her information related to horror films.

【Li Tao: You want to act in one???】

            

【Lin Sifei: Yeah, what’s wrong?】

【Li Tao: You, an A-list movie star, are going to act in a horror film? Do you know what kind of low-budget trash these are?】

【Lin Sifei: It’s more interesting to save a trashy film ^_^】

            

That smiling emoji of hers was just asking for a beating. Li Tao took two deep breaths, decided to give up trying to persuade her, and sent the script over directly.

“Waiting for you to turn the rotten into the miraculous,”​⁵ he said in a voice message, then went back to his work.

Lin Sifei opened the script and instantly understood what he meant by “rotten.”

            

This film was a very cliché​⁶ ghost movie, the kind that ends with it all being because of mental illness, hallucinations, or something similar.

Actually, when this idea first appeared, it must have been quite novel. But with overuse, especially in bad movies, this type of film became synonymous with trash.

Lin Sifei felt the script had to be changed first; it really wasn’t up to par.

            

She thought for a moment and started searching for screenwriters. The one she had worked with on Light seemed pretty good. He was still a university student. If he could successfully revise this script, it would prove his talent, and they could consider signing him to the company.

After some thought, she found the director’s contact information and added him on Feixin.

【Lin Sifei: Excuse me, is the screenwriter for this film open to script revisions?】

            

The director was stunned to see her name. After confirming it several times, he quickly created a group chat and pulled both Lin Sifei and the screenwriter into it.

【Tea Aroma Overflows: Why did Old Wang start a group chat?】

【Wang Zhixin: Liu Zheng, change your group nickname.】

            

【Wang Zhixin: Hello, Sifei-jie. This is the screenwriter. We’re friends. It’s a small-budget, small-scale production, but we’re confident we can film it well.】

【Lin Sifei: Don’t be nervous. I just wanted to act in a horror movie, but the script seems a bit…】

【Liu Zheng: Rest assured! I wrote that just to make a living,​⁷ without much thought. If you’re willing, I can write a whole new script right away.】

            

Lin Sifei had originally planned to contact other screenwriters, but this Liu Zheng was incredibly enthusiastic. And from the looks of their conversation, they were probably newcomers still struggling, which was why they had prepared this low-budget, formulaic, trashy script.

Since he was able to get signed into Ju Luo Culture, he must have some level of skill, right?

【Lin Sifei: You can start with the revisions. I think it’s too difficult for a horror movie to be completely original, but adding more plot twists might have a good effect.】

            

【Liu Zheng: Okay, okay.】

【Lin Sifei: You can write a new script first. I can help contact other screenwriters to join later on.】

【Liu Zheng: Okay, okay.】

            

Lin Sifei looked at the messages and couldn’t help but chuckle. This Liu Zheng was a bit amusing.

She searched for both of their names while laughing. It seemed they had collaborated several times, all on bad films. They had also worked on a few horror movies together, so the fundamentals should be fine.

Lin Sifei made her decision. 【However, the matter of investment will depend on the script. If the script is really no good, then I’m afraid…】

            

【Wang Zhixin: We understand. Rest assured, we will definitely get it done.】

【Lin Sifei: How long will it take to write a new script?】

If it took too long, it wouldn’t be worth it.

            

【Liu Zheng: Don’t worry. I’ll be making revisions and adding twists based on the original foundation. The first draft of the outline will be out within two weeks. The detailed script will take a little over half a month. I think further refinements can be made later during filming based on the actual situation.】

There was nothing wrong with that approach, so Lin Sifei agreed.

She tapped open her chat with Li Tao and told him she was joining the horror movie production.

            

Li Tao just sent a smiling emoji back, and then his profile became unclickable.

Luo Ke’s neck was starting to hurt from the weight, so she lifted her off and placed her on the table.

She immediately noticed Lin Sifei’s delighted expression and poked her with a smile. “Who did you tease this time? You look so happy.”

            

“Meow, meow, meow!” I didn’t tease anyone. I’m a serious person.

She swatted Luo Ke’s hand with her paw and lay on the table, wagging her tail.

After a week of lazing around at home, Liu Zheng’s script outline arrived. Lin Sifei read it and found it genuinely interesting. Because they couldn’t directly film ghosts and monsters, the entire story still stemmed from mental illness. But to create a twist, the film would open with a group of sane people trapped in a mental hospital, treated as if they were insane.

            

After reading the script, Lin Sifei clicked her tongue twice, feeling that Liu Zheng was indeed very talented.

She was in control of Ju Luo Culture now, so she immediately invested in the production.

But it was a bit strenuous for one entertainment company to support an entire film crew, so she dragged Xinghe Culture into it as well. The two companies would support it together, and all the actors would be their own.

            

Because the order came from the top, and it seemed to be a project they intended to prioritize, both companies recommended their promising talents, even though it was a horror film.

Lin Sifei flipped through the cast list, looking at the names from Xinghe Culture, and was suddenly struck by a feeling that a lifetime had passed.​⁸

When she had first become human, it was just like this. She had lain on her bed, looking at a list, and then chosen Feng Xiao. Now, looking at the list again, there were many familiar names, but Feng Xiao, who had once been at the very top, was no longer there.

            

She only lamented for a moment before picking up a pen and crossing off several names from Xinghe’s list. She hadn’t forgotten what she’d learned before. These few were truly terrible, and they had shown no improvement in their recent dramas. No need to look into them further.

As for the others, she would need to watch a few more of their films. She was a bit lazy, so she pushed this work onto the director and screenwriter.

【Lin Sifei: This film is an internal investment by the company, and the roles are all for our own actors. Choose well. Your futures are riding on this.】

            

【Wang Zhixin, Liu Zheng: Rest assured!】

When the director and screenwriter were choosing the cast, they would definitely pick the people they felt best fit the script.

Lin Sifei wasn’t worried in the slightest. She hopped off the bed and went to the kitchen.

            

Auntie Wu was cooking. Lin Sifei went over and held up her phone. “Auntie Wu, can you make this dessert?”

“Let me see.” Auntie Wu took the phone, glanced at it, and nodded. “I can make this.”

“Can you teach me, then?” Lin Sifei’s eyes sparkled.

            

This dessert was meant to clear heat and reduce fire.​⁹ Luo Ke had a big project at her company recently and had been busy with work all day, staying up late and getting inflamed. Her gums were a bit swollen, and she had a toothache.

She had found the dessert, but the shop said it couldn’t be kept for long, as it would taste bad.

Lin Sifei had no choice but to learn how to make it herself from Auntie Wu.

            

Because she had to be taught, dinner was made simpler. Auntie Wu truly guided her step-by-step, reminding Lin Sifei what to do at every stage.

What size flame a low heat should be, how much water to add.

“You don’t have to be too rigid. Approximations are fine for these things.” Auntie Wu smiled, stopping her from taking notes. “If you’re too deliberate, it won’t taste as good.”

            

Lin Sifei didn’t quite understand, but she nodded anyway, put down her notebook, and focused on memorizing with her heart and eyes.

A single dessert went through many processes, from simmering to boiling. Finally, it was ready. She poured it into a transparent bowl and added a slice of lemon.

“Finally, mix in a little shaved ice.”

            

Auntie Wu stopped Lin Sifei’s hand. “This is about enough.”

Lin Sifei nodded, looking at the two small bowls in front of her, and smiled happily.

“You two really know how to care for each other. That’s very good, very good.” Auntie Wu smiled, picked up her bag, said her goodbyes, and walked out the door.

            

The dessert contained hawthorn, so it was quite appetizing and could be eaten as a pre-meal dessert.

The sound of the front door opening came. Lin Sifei looked up and ran over with a smile. “Luo Ke, you’re back!”

Luo Ke opened the door and saw her Xiao Xiao wearing an apron, smiling with her hands behind her back. Her big eyes looked at her, a little shy but unable to hold back her gaze.

            

Luo Ke’s throat moved as she watched her hesitant and coy appearance.​¹⁰

“Yes, I’m back.”

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