this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Xu Qingli walked straight to the end of the red carpet in one breath, even overtaking the group of guests ahead of her.
It wasn’t until a staff member stopped her and asked for her signature that she paused.
Afraid that her signature might expose her, Xu Qingli casually drew a chibi-style pear and tried to leave immediately after signing. However, the host intercepted her, “Pear Blossom, come on over.”
With no choice, Xu Qingli had to stand in the interview area.
“You walked the red carpet unusually fast today. Is there a reason for that?” the host asked, deliberately glancing at Yu Cheng behind her with a provocative look in their eyes.
Xu Qingli replied, “Would you believe me if I told you I just really needed to use the restroom?”
The host: “…”
Just then, the group of guests Xu Qingli had overtaken earlier arrived at the interview area. She gestured for the host to interview them instead and quickly slipped away.
Her haste wasn’t just due to social anxiety. Another reason was that Yu Cheng was also one of the “fish” the original host had hooked into her romantic fishpond.
The original host had no significant background, so most of the people she interacted with were industry insiders. The chances of running into them at various events were alarmingly high.
What made it worse was that the two of them had recently collaborated on a drama. Though they weren’t the lead roles, because both their names contained a type of fruit, netizens had paired them together as the “Fruit CP1.”
The moment Xu Qingli appeared in the red carpet waiting area, Yu Cheng had sidled up to her, deliberately leaning in just to whisper in her ear. Seriously, his intention to fuel the CP rumours was blatantly obvious.
CP fans in the audience had immediately erupted into excited screams, making Xu Qingli’s scalp tingle.
But what unsettled her even more was Yu Cheng’s overly intimate behavior.
The moment he got close, the warmth of his breath against her skin made her unbearably uncomfortable, while the overpowering scent of cologne he wore made her want to sneeze.
And so, Xu Qingli had bolted down the red carpet.
Though socially anxious, she wasn’t out of touch with the world. She kept up with news and had a decent understanding of fandom culture, so she knew her actions had pretty much amounted to her personally dismantling this CP.
Both Yu Cheng and the CP fans would probably be furious, right?
If Gao Xuan got angry too, that would be perfect. He had just helped her secure a photoshoot location, yet now she couldn’t even walk the red carpet properly. It was downright ungrateful of her.
She hoped he’d stop giving her resources altogether, letting her fade into obscurity.
With these hopeful thoughts, Xu Qingli headed toward the event hall.
The pathway between the red carpet area and the hall was lined with media personnel.
Xu Qingli had walked the red carpet too quickly, leaving the media with few usable shots. Now, they were all shouting at her:
“Pear Blossom, look this way!”
“Xu Qingli!”
“To the right!”
“Turn around!”
The noise made her head throb, and she quickened her pace even more.
In their urgency, the crowd surged forward. Someone lost their footing, nearly falling, and chaos briefly erupted.
Xu Qingli was walking with her head down when something suddenly flew toward her, grazing the tip of her nose.
Reacting swiftly, she instinctively caught the object, which turned out to be a pair of glasses with thick lenses, smeared with what looked like coffee stains.
This section of the pathway was narrow and short, so no staff had been stationed there. No one had expected an accident like this, and soon, security quickly arrived to restore order.
Xu Qingli scanned the crowd and spotted a media reporter in the front row, slightly hunched over, squinting as he looked around, his gaze unfocused. Beside him on the ground lay a shattered coffee cup.
The glasses were clearly his.
There happened to be a handkerchief in her bag, so Xu Qingli casually wiped off the liquid before walking over and placing the glasses in the reporter’s hand.
The residual warmth on the glasses made the reporter pause for a moment.
At that moment, Shui Miao arrived with the staff, shielding Xu Qingli as they escorted her toward the inner venue while bombarding her with questions about whether she was alright.
It wasn’t until they reached the inner venue that the staff dispersed.
Shui Miao still remembered what Xu Qingli had said during the interview earlier. She didn’t actually believe Xu Qingli needed to use the restroom. Given the ambiguous relationship between Xu Qingli and Yu Cheng on set, along with their sizable CP fanbase, Shui Miao figured Xu Qingli was deliberately avoiding any impropriety to spare Wen Qiaozhou any discomfort.
But since she’d lied, they had to follow through, so Shui Miao led her straight to the restroom.
This suited Xu Qingli perfectly. The inner venue was packed with people, and just the thought of greeting everyone made her scalp tingle, let alone having to socialize.
Ideally, she could hide in the restroom until the event ended.
Once they reached a quieter area, Shui Miao lowered her voice and asked, “That guy was from Star City First in Entertainment. And you actually still wiped his glasses for him?”
Star City First in Entertainment had once been highly reputable in the industry, but with the decline of print media, they’d taken a turn for the worse, specializing in digging up dirt on celebrities.
If there was no dirt, they’d fabricate it; they’d do anything for clicks and traffic.
Most importantly, they were backed by the same investors as Xiao Chuxia. Since Xiao Chuxia and Xu Qingli had overlapping personas, Star City First in Entertainment had frequently targeted Xu Qingli with smear campaigns.
Shui Miao had seen it clearly from outside—the reporter had crouched down to snap unflattering photos of Xu Qingli from an awkward angle, which was how someone had managed to knock his glasses off.
So, Shui Miao thought not stomping on them was already an act of kindness. Why bother wiping them clean before returning them?
Although Xu Qingli had inherited nearly all of the original owner’s memories, they weren’t truly her own, so they didn’t come naturally. Without actively recalling them, some people and events that were somewhat irrelevant to her wouldn’t immediately click.
She was already nervous enough in such a crowded setting, so how could she possibly spare the energy to figure out whether she had any grudges with a particular paparazzo?
She’d just acted on impulse. Wiping the glasses had also been a way to distract herself and ease her tension.
Who could’ve guessed he was from the rival camp?
“Well, there were so many people watching…” Xu Qingli mumbled before suddenly coming up with an idea. “Someone must’ve filmed it, right? This could be a chance to improve my image a little.”
Shui Miao paused, then nodded approvingly. “Good point. I’ll have someone track down the footage and make sure you trend.”
Xu Qingli: “…”
That wasn’t exactly necessary.
“You’ve been doing really well lately,” Shui Miao praised, glancing around to ensure no one was nearby. “You’re becoming more and more mature.”
“Mature?” Xu Qingli wondered if she’d misheard. “The red carpet earlier… won’t it have any negative impact?”
“Relax. I checked the comments. Although there are some haters, overall, most people are praising you for being genuine and adorable.” Shui Miao said. “Sacrificing a few shippers to boost public favor is worth it. Especially since it completely draws the line with Yu Cheng… brilliant.”
Pleasing Wen Qiaozhou meant endless resources, and with resources came exposure. With that, why worry about lacking fans?
Xu Qingli: “…”
So her plan had backfired again?
Just what kind of luck was this?
*
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:
Xu Qingli lingered in the restroom for a long time before finally emerging.
Shui Miao had never wanted her flirting around in the first place, and now that she knew Xu Qingli was fully focused on Wen Qiaozhou, she didn’t say a word.
The two of them leisurely made their way back to the event hall. Yu Cheng was looking around in another corner, possibly searching for her.
Xu Qingli jolted in alarm and hurried to find her seat. When she saw it clearly, her heart sank once more.
For this event, the original owner had previously pulled some strings for her to be arranged to sit next to a male actor who had debuted not long ago. Though the actor wasn’t particularly famous yet, he had excellent resources, landing lead roles right from his debut. The original owner had coincidentally happened to watch his latest film, which had high production value and was likely to become a hit.
The original owner had high hopes for this actor and wanted to extend her goodwill before he rose to stardom, believing such relationships to be the most stable.
It had to be said, the original owner had a keen eye in this regard, because in the novel, that actor did indeed become a sensation later on.
But now, Xu Qingli’s seat wasn’t next to that actor. Instead, she was seated beside Xu Linhe!
Xu Linhe was already in his seat, gazing in her direction. Catching Xu Qingli’s glance, he smiled faintly at her.
Despite the smile being gentle, Xu Qingli still sensed a hint of warning behind it, causing her to tense up inexplicably.
Xu Linhe’s parents were industry heavyweights, placing him among the top of the nepo baby pyramid. Though his actual achievements were mediocre, event organizers always showed him respect, ensuring he got the best seats. The current seating arrangement, however, was one the original owner had compromised on to accommodate the male actor, and was hardly befitting of Xu Linhe’s status.
Xu Qingli couldn’t help but glance at Shui Miao.
Shui Miao’s expression was also grave as she whispered, “Seems like he’s doing this on purpose.”
Last time, he had acted magnanimous, as if he didn’t care much about Xu Qingli, so how come he had now changed his mind in just a few days?
Xu Qingli: “…”
In the novel, Xu Linhe was indeed a troublesome character, but he had been fixated on Shu Ruan. It was only after the male lead, Huo Wanfeng, intervened that he finally stopped causing trouble.
What should she do now?
“Should I ask someone to switch seats with you?” Shui Miao scanned the guests, considering who might be suitable.
But they had arrived late, and many guests were already seated. Without a solid reason, switching seats now would draw attention and embarrass Xu Linhe—possibly backfiring.
“Forget it.” Xu Qingli decided it was best not to involve more people. Gritting her teeth, she resolved to take the seat. At worst, she’d offend Xu Linhe, and if he blacklisted her, that would actually be even better. “I’ll just go—”
Before she could finish, a haughty female voice called from behind, “Xu Qingli!”
Xu Qingli and Shui Miao turned simultaneously to see Wen Xiangxiang striding toward them.
“Miss Wen.” Xu Qingli nodded slightly in greeting.
“I’ve got my eye on your seat,” Wen Xiangxiang said coldly. “Switch with me.”
Xu Qingli was both startled and delighted, studying Wen Xiangxiang for a moment.
Today, Wen Xiangxiang was also wearing a voluminous gown, adorned with a luxurious emerald necklace, her chin slightly raised. Her tone was imperious, like a spoiled princess unfamiliar with the notion of being denied.
Nearby onlookers exchanged subtle glances, thinking Wen Xiangxiang was being overly domineering.
But for Xu Qingli, this was akin to giving her a pillow just as she was about to doze off, simply the perfect opportunity! Feigning hesitation, she paused briefly before replying, “Alright.”
This way, she had been forced to change seats, able to avoid sitting next to Xu Linhe while temporarily not offending him either.
Seeing her agreement, Wen Xiangxiang didn’t bother to even say a word of thanks, lifting her skirt and heading straight for Xu Qingli’s seat.
Xu Linhe had noticed the commotion too, looking slightly stunned. However, he didn’t dare to offend Wen Xiangxiang either and said nothing in opposition.
Only then did Xu Qingli heave a long sigh of relief, quickly moving to take Wen Xiangxiang’s seat.
This spot was closer to the front, with popular celebrities seated on either side of her. Xu Qingli politely greeted them when she first sat down but didn’t speak again afterward.
They had all witnessed the earlier incident, and the male star to her right even comforted her, “Miss Wen has a bit of a princess syndrome, but it might not necessarily be ill-intentioned. At least this seat isn’t bad, right?”
He clearly thought she was upset about the seat swap, so Xu Qingli could only smile at him and say, “Thank you.”
Truthfully, she also found Wen Xiangxiang’s behavior a bit odd.
No matter how you looked at it, Xu Qingli had helped Wen Xiangxiang in getting the female lead role in the promotional video. So logically, Wen Xiangxiang shouldn’t have come to take her seat.
Even if she wouldn’t be grateful, openly snatching someone else’s seat in front of so many people wasn’t exactly the best thing for her own reputation.
No matter how much of a princess complex Wen Xiangxiang had, why would she go and tarnish her own image?
But if you said she had done it to help Xu Qingli—well, that was something Xu Qingli couldn’t quite believe either. How would Wen Xiangxiang even know she didn’t want to sit next to Xu Linhe?
After turning it over in her mind without reaching any conclusion, Xu Qingli decided to stop overthinking it. After all, she didn’t really understand Wen Xiangxiang as a person, so she simply stopped thinking.
The latter half of the event passed quickly without further incident. Once it ended, Xu Qingli left immediately, but as soon as she reached the parking lot, Wen Xiangxiang caught up to her. “Xu Qingli.”
“What is it?” Xu Qingli stopped and turned to look at her.
“I helped you today, so let’s consider us even from last time,” Wen Xiangxiang said awkwardly, still wearing her haughty expression. “I don’t owe you anything now.”
“You knew I didn’t want to sit there?” Xu Qingli stared at her in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Beg me, and I’ll tell you,” Wen Xiangxiang suddenly smirked.
Xu Qingli: “…”
Before she could respond, Wen Xiangxiang glanced to the side and added, “Never mind, we’ll talk next time. You should go now.”
Following her gaze, Xu Qingli saw Xu Linhe approaching as well.
“Let’s go,” Shui Miao hurriedly opened the car door.
Only after the car left the garage did Shui Miao speak up. “Could it have been President Wen?”
“Huh?” Xu Qingli didn’t follow.
“The only one who could make Wen Xiangxiang sacrifice her image to help you is probably President Wen, right?” Shui Miao guessed.
But she wasn’t so sure. If it was Wen Qiaozhou, did that mean he knew about Xu Qingli’s… fishkeeping? And he still helped her?
Xu Qingli was even more confused. “But he wasn’t even there. How would he know? And why would he ever do something like that? It couldn’t have been him!”
Shui Miao was about to say more when her phone rang. Seeing it was Gao Xuan, she quickly answered, “President Gao?”
“Why isn’t Pear Blossom’s phone working?” Gao Xuan asked urgently.
Shui Miao froze. “Her phone broke, and she just got a new number… Sorry, we haven’t had time to report it to the company yet.”
“You two are going to be the death of me,” Gao Xuan muttered.
“Did something happen?” Shui Miao asked nervously.
Gao Xuan replied, “President Wen is looking everywhere for her.”
Xu Qingli: ?
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- CP = couple pairing. Yu Cheng’s name “Cheng” is an orange. ↩︎
