this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Wen Qiaozhou’s character was exactly like this in the original novel, with his actions always unpredictable, never following conventional logic. The author personally certified him as the story’s major villain who loved stirring up trouble.
That was why Xu Qingli instinctively used this phrase in her mind, figuring that Wen Qiaozhou would never know about her inner thoughts anyway.
Wen Qiaozhou was so amused by her he almost laughed out of anger—who exactly was the one stirring up trouble here?
However, ever since gaining the ability to see the inner thoughts of others, he had encountered far more infuriating remarks than this. He had long since hardened his heart and remained unflappable to insults. Thus, he showed no emotion and simply instructed calmly, “Since it was your suggestion, you’ll be the one to go and inform the two of them of the result.”
Despite it being just a random excuse on his part, it still meant yet another unnecessary social interaction for Xu Qingli.
Fortunately, she would be the bearer of good news, so it wasn’t too much of a hassle. Afraid Wen Qiaozhou might make further demands of her, Xu Qingli quickly agreed and retreated, swiftly closing the door behind her.
“Why did you help Shu Ruan and Wen Xiangxiang?” Shui Miao asked only after they had put some distance between themselves and the office.
If she told her the truth and said that she didn’t want to film the promotional video, it would only raise more questions that would be even harder to explain, and Shui Miao wouldn’t believe them anyway. After giving it some thought, Xu Qingli put on a mysterious air and said, “To share the spotlight.”
She had already drawn enough attention tonight, which was bound to invite the envy of others.
Now that the female lead role was to be split among three people, that scrutiny would also naturally be divided.
At the same time, she could also leave Wen Qiaozhou with an impression of her kindness and selflessness.
As for Gao Xuan, seeing how Wen Qiaozhou granted every single one of Xu Qingli’s requests, wouldn’t he further prioritize her for future resources?
Truly a move that killed two birds with one stone.
“Brilliant,” Shui Miao couldn’t help but praise, then asked, “But why three people?”
In her mind now, every word Xu Qingli said and every decision she made was laden with deeper meaning.
Xu Qingli didn’t have an answer to that, after all, wasn’t it because of Wen Qiaozhou?
Before she could figure out how to respond, Shui Miao came to her own conclusion, “I see, it’s because a triangle is the most stable structure.”
As a manager, she naturally understood the entertainment industry better than most. Shu Ruan’s qualifications were top-tier even in the entertainment industry, and now that she had signed with a major company, she was bound to rise as long as she didn’t self-destruct. Wen Xiangxiang had connections and was a guaranteed resource magnet, someone no one dared to cross.
So, even though Xu Qingli was slightly more popular than them at the moment, if these two truly saw her as a rival, given her pile of past scandals… she likely wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
By putting the two of them together, each with their own strengths, it was easy to create a situation where “when the snipe and clam fights, the fisherman profits1.” Instead, neither would dare act rashly, naturally reducing the threat to herself.
Moreover, this opportunity was something Xu Qingli had helped them secure. As long as they had any remaining conscience at all, they would still remember her kindness to some extent, further minimizing the threat.
Shui Miao gave Xu Qingli a thumbs-up. “I really underestimated you before.”
Xu Qingli: “…”
This only proved how powerful Shui Miao’s imagination was, didn’t it?
There had been no way for her to possibly explain herself, even if she grew over a hundred mouths.
“Never mind, this is a good thing. With this mindset and awareness, my job just got a lot easier,” Shui Miao said. “Alright, you go notify Shu Ruan, and I’ll handle Wen Xiangxiang. Let’s wrap this up quickly so we can rest, today’s been truly exhausting.”
Heaven knows she was speaking from the heart. Setting aside everything else, as Xu Qingli’s manager, Shui Miao received a share of all her earnings. So of course she wanted Xu Qingli to be as successful as possible. But now that she had truly realized Xu Qingli was even smarter than she was, when she recalled how she had once taught her a few petty tricks in the past, Shui Miao couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.
Xu Qingli was too embarrassed to explain herself, so she simply nodded in agreement.
At any rate, meeting Shu Ruan was better than having to see Wen Xiangxiang. The little princess might not only refuse to appreciate her kind gesture, but might even mock her in return.
Tonight’s meeting had run late, and then she’d also spent quite a long time being held up by Wen Qiaozhou. By now, it was already late, with only a few people remaining in the company.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
After parting ways with Shui Miao, Xu Qingli headed to the artist department, only to find Shu Ruan wasn’t there.
She thought about calling but realized her phone had died at some point. Today had been so chaotic that she hadn’t paid attention to such trivial matters.
Too embarrassed to borrow someone else’s phone, Xu Qingli decided to wait for Shui Miao in the parking lot.
After all, informing Shu Ruan could be done with a phone call later, and there was no need for a face-to-face meeting, which would save her both the time and hassle.
The company parking lot was enormous. Xu Qingli rarely left her house and couldn’t navigate the place properly. As she walked, she realized she might have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way.
By now, only a handful of cars remained in the vast, empty lot. With few identifying landmarks, Xu Qingli began to feel uneasy.
Her personality made her dread inconveniencing others. What if Shui Miao couldn’t find her and got angry?
Quickening her pace, she turned a corner and heard voices ahead.
Anxious, she mustered some courage and walked toward the source of the sound, hoping to ask for directions.
This was still company property, so there shouldn’t be any danger.
But as she got closer, she realized something was off. Five or six people were surrounding one person in the corner. This wasn’t colleagues chatting until late, but a group bullying someone.
The girl being bullied stood out amongst them in a striking red dress—it was Shu Ruan!
Suddenly, Xu Qingli recalled a scene from the novel: After Shu Ruan secured the lead role in Wen Corporation’s promotional film at the company artist conference, she became the center of attention. Many people approached her to chat, delaying her departure. At the time, Shu Ruan was still living in the company dormitory behind the office building, connected by an underground parking lot. She kindly escorted her manager to the parking lot before heading back to the dorm, only to be ambushed before she could leave.
The attackers were a girl from Shu Ruan’s dorm and her friends. The girl’s boyfriend had developed a wandering eye and tried to hook up with Shu Ruan. Shu Ruan scolded the scumbag but, not wanting to cause misunderstandings, didn’t mention the matter to her roommate. Unbeknownst to her, the guy held a grudge and told his girlfriend that Shu Ruan had tried to seduce him but he’d rejected her.
Shu Ruan and her roommate already had minor conflicts between them, so the roommate believed her boyfriend and gathered her friends to teach Shu Ruan a lesson.
Outnumbered, Shu Ruan stood no chance against the group until the male lead of the original novel happened to pass by and rescue her, beckoning in the start of their story.
Xu Qingli had assumed that since Shu Ruan hadn’t publicly secured the lead role tonight, the subsequent events would surely differ from the original novel. Yet here they were, the same scene unfolding just the same.
It seemed changing the course of the plot wasn’t so easy after all.
Xu Qingli hid behind a pillar and didn’t dare to take another step forward.
The male lead would surely arrive at the critical moment to save Shu Ruan, so there was no need for her to intervene now.
But still had a lingering trace of worry and couldn’t bring herself to leave either, so she decided to wait until he appeared before slipping away.
“What a shameless slut, to even think of stealing your roommate’s man!”
“I hate homewrecking bitches the most!”
“You dressed like that tonight just to try and seduce President Wen, right? Too bad he wouldn’t even look at you.”
“Acting so shamelessly, why bother pretending to be so modest? Just take off that flimsy cover-up too…”
The group grew more aggressive, even starting to tear at Shu Ruan’s clothes.
Xu Qingli stomped her feet anxiously. Where was the male lead? Why wasn’t he here yet?
She kept looking around, but the parking lot remained eerily empty, with no one else coming except those few in the corner.
What was going on?!
Male lead, hurry up and come save your wife!
Her inner plea failed to summon the male lead, but had instead drawn a scream from Shu Ruan—those people had actually torn a piece of her clothing off.
“Stop!” Xu Qingli couldn’t bear to just stand by and do nothing any longer. Steeling herself, she shouted at the group and rushed over.
The group hadn’t expected anyone still be here and intervene at this time. They turned around, and seeing Xu Qingli, they at least remained somewhat polite. Shu Ruan’s roommate said, “Li Hua2, this has nothing to do with you. We’re just teaching this homewrecker a lesson.”
“Shu Ruan isn’t a homewrecker.” Now that she’d stepped in, Xu Qingli had to see it through, even if she was socially anxious. She forced herself to speak up. “I can vouch for her.”
“How can you vouch for her?” Shu Ruan’s roommate’s expression darkened.
A thin layer of sweat formed on Xu Qingli’s forehead. Clenching her fists, she tried to stay calm. “I saw it by accident. It happened behind the silk tree3 near your dorm. That scumbag cornered Shu Ruan and confessed to her, saying the reason he got together with you was because of a painting… Shu Ruan scolded him, and he got so angry he swore he’d make her suffer. It must’ve been the scumbag who instigated things between you two to turn you against her. Don’t fall for it.”
The moment she finished, everyone believed her words.
Because these details were things no outsider could’ve known.
Shu Ruan’s roommate, having been deceived by the scumbag and mistakenly wronging Shu Ruan, couldn’t bring herself to apologize. Instead, she snapped angrily at Shu Ruan, “Why didn’t you tell me? If you’d said something earlier, wouldn’t none of this happened?!”
Shu Ruan clutched the collar that they had torn off, her face cold as she remained silent. Calming down after a moment, she turned to Xu Qingli and said, “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.” Xu Qingli shook her head. “Actually, I came here specifically to find you.”
“Find me?” Shu Ruan was stunned. “What for?”
“President Wen sent me.” Xu Qingli raised her voice. “He said you’ve been cast as the female lead for the promotional film.”
She deliberately didn’t mention that there would be three female leads.
The women who had been about to slip away during their conversation all turned back in shock.
“The female lead for the promotional film… is me?” Shu Ruan was equally stunned.
“Yes, it’s you.” Xu Qingli nodded. “If you don’t believe me, have your manager check with President Gao. He’ll contact you before filming starts anyway.”
Only then did Shu Ruan truly believe her. Perhaps because of the sheer shock of it all, her eyes reddened slightly. At a loss for words, she repeated, “Thank you.”
“Why should you thank me? This is because of your own talent after all.” Xu Qingli said.
“Shu Ruan.” Her roommate hurried back, pulling a shawl off one of her friends and handing it to Shu Ruan. “Sorry about today. We were wrong, and I apologize. How about this, we’ll take you back to freshen up, and then we’ll make it up to you properly, okay?”
Shu Ruan hesitated but eventually took the shawl, wrapping it around herself. Then she glanced at Xu Qingli, her expression uncertain.
“It’s alright, you guys can go back first.” Xu Qingli waved her hand with a smile.
She believed they wouldn’t trouble Shu Ruan anymore, and she had exhausted all her energy, no longer in the mood for socializing anymore.
Shu Ruan hesitated for a moment, ultimately feeling that her current state was indeed a bit disheveled. After leaving Xu Qingli with a, “Let’s keep in touch,” she soon left with the group.
Xu Qingli watched their figures disappear around the corner before leaning against an ordinary-looking black SUV nearby, bending over her waist as she caught her breath.
Inside the heavily tinted car window, Wen Qiaozhou’s hand was still hovering over the door handle, yet his eyes gleamed with curiosity and amusement as they met Xu Qingli’s through the specially treated glass.
Above her head, a chibi version of herself plopped onto the ground, mouth wide open as she wailed, sobbing uncontrollably.
Her tears flowed like a breached dam, cascading down in torrents, while a large thought bubble floated beside her: [My god, really scared the baby4 to death!]
Not long after, the ground was soon flooded with water. The little girl stretched out her stubby arms to paddle around, as if discovering something a fun new toy. Then she reached into the empty space beside her and pulled out… a tiny boat.
She then climbed aboard, rowing playfully while still continuing to shed tears.
Wen Qiaozhou: “…”
What a talent.
i’m back !!! thanks for waiting so patiently (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)
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- When two sides fight over something, a third party takes advantage of their conflict to benefit. ↩︎
- Xu Qingli’s given name (Qingli) translates literally to ‘green pear’. Lihua (translated literally as ‘pear blossom’) could be used as an affectionate nickname by close friends, but since this group does seem close to XQL, it could also be used in a mocking or passive-aggressive manner, with the use of such a soft, pretty name being sarcastic, emphasizing that she’s too gentle or meddling. ↩︎
- “合欢树”, literally “tree of joyful union,” is often associated with love and couples in Chinese symbolism. Mentioning that the scene happened “behind the silk tree” subtly reinforces the irony of a tree symbolizing harmony and affection becoming the setting for betrayal and conflict. ↩︎
- Playful and cute way of referring to oneself. ↩︎