After Transmigrating into the Villain’s Cat, I Dominated the Entertainment Circle – Chapter 105
by Little PandaMoney is King
Clipping Fingernails
The next afternoon, Lin Sifei took a deep breath, put on a hat, sunglasses, and a mask, and walked out the door fully armed.
Li Jing acted as her driver, taking her to the coffee shop where Bai Su had arranged to meet.
The coffee shop had two floors. The lower floor had open seating, while the second floor consisted of private rooms.
As soon as Lin Sifei entered, a waitress walked over with a smile. “Hello, are you Miss Bai’s guest?”
“I should be,” Lin Sifei said, looking at her. “How did you know it was me?”
“The guest said you would be wearing a hat and mask, just like her.”
Lin Sifei nodded to herself. It was indeed the standard issue for a celebrity going out.
The waitress led her to the door of a private room and left. Lin Sifei pushed the door open and saw Bai Su sitting at a table, drinking coffee. Next to her sat a man with black-framed glasses—her manager.
“Please, sit.” Bai Su smiled and raised a hand when she saw her.
Lin Sifei walked in, with Li Jing following behind her.
Bai Su raised an eyebrow slightly. “Feifei, you brought someone else too. Wouldn’t it be better if she stepped aside?”
“Didn’t you bring someone as well?”
“I’m her manager,” the man in the black-framed glasses said.
Lin Sifei placed a hand near Li Jing. “Li Jing. My manager’s younger sister, and also his representative.”
Now that both sides were equal, the manager couldn’t say anything more.
Bai Su cupped her face with her hands and smiled. “As long as she’s one of us, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Lin Sifei took off her hat and sat down. “It’s not like we’re plotting a conspiracy. What’s with this ‘one of us’ talk? It’s kind of creepy.”
Bai Su just smiled without a word, lifting her coffee cup for a sip.
Lin Sifei didn’t touch the coffee in front of her.
Bai Su smiled and said, “Not drinking? I guessed you wouldn’t be late, so I ordered for you ahead of time. I heard you have a sweet tooth, so I didn’t pick anything too bitter.”
“No, thanks. I don’t like coffee. It gives me insomnia,” Lin Sifei replied, rejecting the offer with a smile of her own.
Bai Su tilted her head but didn’t insist, continuing to drink her coffee.
Lin Sifei glanced at her watch, the second hand ticking away relentlessly. There were so many better things she could be doing with this time. Why was she just sitting here?
“Senior Bai Su, is there something you need?”
“Don’t be so formal,” Bai Su said, setting down her coffee cup. “Just call me Bai-jie.”
Lin Sifei’s expression was one of complete refusal. “I’d rather not. A certain level of respect is still necessary.”
Like a young girl, Bai Su pouted coquettishly.
Lin Sifei wasn’t buying it. She often made that pouting face herself, but she didn’t like it when others did. She was just that full of double standards.
“Senior Bai Su’s time must be quite precious as well. If you have any thoughts about the script, it’s better to say them sooner so changes can be made.”
“You’ve probably guessed that I didn’t ask you here to talk about the film.”
Lin Sifei nodded casually. “So what is it, then?”
Sensing her wariness, Bai Su stopped wasting time. “I just want to cooperate with you.”
“Cooperate on what?” Lin Sifei frowned.
“You have some black material on Yan Yafei, don’t you? And it must be something that could cause a huge public outcry, or she wouldn’t be so afraid.”
“I do,” Lin Sifei confirmed. “Was it you who asked Feng Xiao to come forward again? But the evidence Feng Xiao has isn’t enough, right? Yan Yafei’s favorite tactic is to verbally lure people in; Feng Xiao was the one who did most of the dirty work.”
“She provided the water army, which was the main force that slandered you back then. That’s the biggest piece of evidence of her direct involvement.”
Lin Sifei sneered. “Then you must also know who that batch of water army belongs to. Do you dare to have a falling out with Feng Tingyun?”
Bai Su’s expression changed slightly. This was what she was wary of. That water army belonged to Feng Tingyun. He had probably ordered them to stop at the time, but if Yan Yafei insisted on shifting the blame to him, Feng Tingyun’s team and fans would likely be forced to help whitewash her name. In that case, Bai Su’s chances of winning would be slim.
“You’re worried Yan Yafei will drag others down with her, forcing them to help her.” Lin Sifei smiled. “The truth is, she does have a whole group of people tied to her.”
The smile on Bai Su’s face deepened, but the chill in her eyes grew heavier. “That’s why I hope you’ll cooperate with me.”
“And borrow the power of the Luo Corporation behind me while you’re at it,” Lin Sifei finished her unsaid words.
She let out a laugh. “I refuse. Yan Yafei has too many helpers and there’s too much resistance. Besides, cooperating with you isn’t the least bit safe. The so-called evidence you have now can’t possibly cause any major damage, especially with her new drama about to start filming. The production quality of that show is so high that it’s expected to get great results. When that happens, plenty of people will be lining up to make excuses for her.”
“That’s why I have to act before the drama starts!” Bai Su looked up, her brow furrowed for the first time. “As long as I can prevent her from starring in it now, she’ll have a huge gap in her career, and her fans will be very disappointed.”
Lin Sifei smiled with understanding. “So this is about snatching a role.”
A faint blush appeared on Bai Su’s face. For someone of her status, fighting for a role was a humiliating affair. Yet it was Yan Yafei, of all people, who had reduced her to this.
“The screenwriter for that drama is He Li, and Yan Yafei is his handpicked female lead. You don’t stand a chance.”
Bai Su looked at her in surprise. “You know that for a fact?”
“I do, for a fact.” Lin Sifei felt there was no need to continue the conversation and stood up. “By the way, the Luo Corporation has also invested in that drama.”
A look of shock crossed Bai Su’s face. “Why?”
“To make money, of course,” Lin Sifei said, looking at her as if the answer was obvious. “Anyone with eyes can see that.”
Bai Su took a deep breath. “Aren’t you afraid Yan Yafei will rise up because of this? You won’t be able to suppress her then.”
“I’ve always believed that to make it in this industry, you need to have some integrity. After all, in this internet age, no matter how well you package yourself, the painted skin1 will eventually be torn away. You can’t hide it forever.”
She smiled, wiggled her fingers, and pulled the door open to leave.
Bai Su watched the door close and leaned back in her chair.
Her manager looked at her. “What do you plan to do now?”
“Stop.”
The manager looked at her, a little surprised.
Bai Su flicked her hair back, her smile radiant. “Lin Sifei isn’t worried at all. It seems the material she has is enough to destroy Yan Yafei, no matter how high she climbs. In fact, the higher, the better.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m starting to look forward to it—the shocked looks on everyone’s faces when the true face beneath Yan Yafei’s painted skin is finally revealed.”
“Besides,” she added, “He Li specifically chose Yan Yafei. I can’t snatch the role anyway, so why bother?”
The manager took out a recording pen. “What a pity. We didn’t reach an agreement, and we didn’t find out anything about the black material. The most we can do is some creative editing.”
“We’ll see,” Bai Su said with an indifferent wave of her hand.
In the car, Lin Sifei gripped the back of the seat. “Li Jing, did you record it?”
Li Jing nodded. “And I took a video.”
Lin Sifei took the tablet and sat back. “Ugh, dealing with people like that is so exhausting. It’s better to keep a copy for myself as insurance, just in case my words get twisted.”
When she got home, Lin Sifei tossed her bag onto a chair and collapsed onto the sofa.
She opened her phone and saw that the horror film’s small group chat was buzzing with messages again. It turned out that Bai Su had been confirmed to join the cast, playing a minor ghost with only two lines.
【Bai Su: Hello, Sifei. I’ll be in your care from now on.】
Lin Sifei’s mouth twitched. She replied very politely, 【Senior Bai Su, you’re too kind.】
【Wang Zhixin: So, are there any changes to the plot you two discussed that need to be made?】
Silence spread through the group chat. Lin Sifei silently facepalmed. It was a problem that never existed in the first place. What was there to say?
In the end, she decided to play dead. Bai Su was the one who had made up the excuse, after all.
After a moment of silence in the group, Bai Su finally came out and explained that her initial idea had been immature and that after talking with Lin Sifei, she had decided to abandon it and stick with the original script.
Wang Zhixin and Liu Zheng naturally had no objections. This was great; it saved them a lot of time and effort.
Liu Zheng was already halfway done with the detailed script. Lin Sifei downloaded it and started reading, discussing it with him in the group. Before she knew it, the sky had grown dark.
When Luo Ke returned home, she was startled to find the house dark and quickly opened the door to go inside.
Seeing the faint glow from the sofa, she breathed a sigh of relief and flipped the switch by the door. “Why are the lights off?”
Lin Sifei finally snapped out of her trance and looked over, her face lighting up. “You’re back!”
She tossed her phone aside and threw herself at Luo Ke.
Luo Ke laughed and hugged her. “What were you so engrossed in? You didn’t even notice I was home.”
Lin Sifei stuck out her tongue. “I was reading the script.” She smiled and held up the tablet. “Look, this is the role I picked for you. You’ll just have to follow me the whole time. You’re part of the main group.”
Luo Ke looked at the character card on the tablet and raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is it okay for me to have such a big part? I don’t know how to act.”
“You just have to be yourself. This is a companion-type character, a spirit from behind.2 You have no lines, so you can act however you want.”
Luo Ke nodded. Many people appeared stiff when acting because they were unnatural in front of the camera, but she was naturally unconcerned by such things. Playing herself would truly be playing herself.
She looked at the tablet as Lin Sifei draped herself over her.
“Are you done with your company’s business?”
Luo Ke looked up. “All done. I just have to sign one last contract tomorrow.”
“Mmm,” Lin Sifei hummed vaguely, leaning forward like a swimming fish trying to slide into her arms.
Luo Ke steadied her by the shoulders, afraid she would fall.
She glanced at Lin Sifei and noticed the tips of her ears were slightly red. Her eyebrows rose.
Lin Sifei reached out and clasped Luo Ke’s hand, her index finger sliding over Luo Ke’s fingertips, caressing her nails.
“You haven’t clipped your nails recently.”
The air between their touching bodies instantly grew hot. Her words were like a spark, setting a fire that spread through Luo Ke’s entire body.
The world spun. Luo Ke gripped her wrist. “You started this.”
“I did,” Lin Sifei said, biting her lip with a smile.
A thin white line appeared on her crimson lips, tempting Luo Ke to dye them red once more.
Luo Ke sat on top of her, slowly leaning down.
Lin Sifei smiled and wrapped her arms around her. “You haven’t clipped your nails.”
Luo Ke froze. Lin Sifei’s fingertips were sliding between her butterfly bones3—a sensitive spot for her.
Lin Sifei nibbled on her earlobe. “Let me do it.”
A wave of heat washed over them, drowning them in its depths.
Lin Sifei fished a nail clipper out of the coffee table drawer and pressed it into Luo Ke’s hand. “You can start preparing now.”
Luo Ke wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her, cheeks flushed, her gaze dazed.
“At a time like this, aren’t you afraid I’ll cut my hand?”
“I’m in a hurry,” Lin Sifei pouted, biting Luo Ke’s collarbone plaintively.
Luo Ke threaded her fingers into Lin Sifei’s hair and tossed the nail clipper aside. “It’s fine. There are other ways.”
Footnotes
- From a famous story in “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,” “painted skin” refers to a beautiful human skin worn by a demon to hide its true form. It is used metaphorically to mean a deceptive facade.
- Literally “spirit from behind.” It can refer to a guardian spirit, a ghost that haunts someone, or in this context, a character who is always present as a silent companion.
- “Butterfly bones” is a term for prominent scapulae (shoulder blades), which are considered an elegant or beautiful feature on a person’s back.
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