After sending the red packet, Ling Wei felt somewhat uneasy. Only when she saw that Xie Qingyan had accepted it did she finally relax.
However, such a large bouquet of roses with high end packaging must have cost far more than two hundred yuan. But given her current income, two hundred was the most she could afford.
After waiting for a while and seeing no reply, Ling Wei stopped dwelling on it and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Lan Ruo was still there, and it would not be polite to keep playing on her phone.
They chatted for a bit longer. Ling Wei could tell that Lan Ruo was fine now. Her emotions were calm, unlike earlier in the day. Only then did Ling Wei cautiously ask, “Were you planning to post some explosive news on Weibo this afternoon?” As a top tier celebrity, Lan Ruo had tens of millions of followers. If she revealed any major news, it would trend within minutes.
Lan Ruo hesitated before saying, “I… ran into some problems in my relationship. I was planning to take a drastic step to force a resolution, but after talking with you this afternoon, I gave up the idea.”
It matched Ling Wei’s guess. In her previous life, when Lan Ruo’s relationship with her boyfriend Shen Jing hit trouble, she had tried to salvage it by publicly revealing their relationship on Weibo, only to be met with Shen Jing’s cold denial.
Now it seemed that the incident which had severely damaged Lan Ruo’s reputation might not happen again.
Ling Wei offered a few more comforting words before steering the conversation elsewhere.
For celebrities, topics involving relationships were always sensitive. They had already spoken more intimately than their acquaintance warranted, so it would be inappropriate to probe further.
After Ling Wei finished removing her makeup and eating all the rock sugar bird’s nest soup, Lan Ruo stood up to leave. The moment she left, Ling Wei quickly grabbed her phone and opened Moments.
She had just tried to dismiss Boss Xie with two hundred yuan, which was hardly a dignified move. She really wanted to know whether he would use that as material for another post.
The result…
“My baby is just this naughty and cute. Makes me want her.”
The attached image was a screenshot of their chat showing the red packet she had sent.
…
Makes him want her?
How could he even post something so shameless? Boss Xie, could you at least behave like a decent human being? When you say something like that, have you considered the feelings of the other person involved?
Ling Wei had the urge to smash her phone.
Yet the overwhelming romantic vibe, the pink bubbles practically bursting from the screen, almost made Ling Wei believe they were genuinely in love.
Daddy Xie truly was a talent.
While grumbling and refreshing the page, she saw more of his replies that seemed ready to blow the sky apart.
“Daddy is happy.”
“Daddy can deliver from thousands of miles away.”
“That’s just how wild I am.”
“Single dogs have no right to comment.”
Ling Wei: …
When he said deliver from thousands of miles away, did he mean what she thought he meant? Deliver from thousands of miles just for that? Ugh, how had her own thoughts suddenly become so dirty?
After a while, another reply from Daddy Xie appeared.
“Unified reply. Try sending Daddy another red packet. If you dare send one more, just wait for the empire to fall when winter comes.”
…
What kind of move was that now?
Could it be that his friends on Moments saw the red packet she sent and followed suit, each sending Daddy Xie two hundred yuan as well? Did they really have to be that mischievous? Daddy Xie looked as if he were about to explode, even blurting out such melodramatic lines about an empire falling when winter comes.
It seemed Daddy Xie’s Moments was full of talents too.
Over the next few days, Ling Wei did not have many scenes. After all, she was only a supporting character. When she was not filming, she would hang around the set, chat with Lan Ruo, and observe. When she had scenes, she would put on the stifling costume and act opposite Lan Ruo.
Since their talk that day, Lan Ruo’s attitude toward her had clearly softened. She often sought her out for conversation. Through Lan Ruo, Ling Wei also got to know the male lead, Wang Yang, who turned out to be quite easygoing.
Bai Xiaolian only arrived on Ling Wei’s fifth day on set, fashionably late.
Zhao Ruyi accompanied her. After entering the production, Zhao Ruyi went around greeting people, apologizing to the director and explaining the reason for their delay.
Chen Xiaoruo fumed. “Is she managing an artist, or raising her own daughter?”
Ling Wei sighed. “Yes, compared to that, I must have been picked up from a trash heap.”
“Sister Wei, don’t be upset. Today she ignores us, tomorrow we’ll make her someone she can’t hope to reach.”
Ling Wei gave her a thumbs up. “I like the way you talk.”
While Zhao Ruyi busied herself paving the way for Bai Xiaolian, Bai Xiaolian herself came to Ling Wei to assert her presence. She would never forget the humiliation of being outshone at the audition.
Although she had come out at a disadvantage last time, Bai Xiaolian still carried herself arrogantly before Ling Wei. “You’re feeling pretty proud of yourself now, aren’t you?”
Ling Wei was not intimidated at all. She smiled. “Not bad. I’m in quite a good mood.”
Bai Xiaolian’s eyes nearly popped out. She sneered, “Shameless. If you hadn’t used underhanded tricks, this role would have been mine.”
Ling Wei raised an eyebrow and replied calmly, “We each rely on our own ability. If you didn’t get it, that just proves you weren’t capable.”
Bai Xiaolian scoffed. “Your ability only extends to snatching small roles like this. Just wait and see. I’ll make you understand that being pretty means nothing. You will never compare to me.”
“Then I’ll wait and see,” Ling Wei replied coolly.
Watching Bai Xiaolian sway away like a peacock showing off its feathers, Chen Xiaoruo stuck out her tongue at her back and said to Ling Wei, “Sister, just ignore her.”
Ling Wei smiled. “Actually, there’s something about her worth learning.”
Chen Xiaoruo blinked. “Like what?”
“She’s good at delivering ruthless lines. I should learn that.” Once she mastered it, she would try it on Boss Xie and scare him to death.
Chen Xiaoruo: …
No matter how harsh Bai Xiaolian’s words were, it did not change the fact that she was destined to play Ling Wei’s maid. In their first scene together, once they put on their costumes and stood side by side, the visual contrast was strikingly harmonious. Ling Wei even kindly complimented her, “You look quite nice in that outfit.”
Praising her for looking good in a maid’s costume was an unmistakable insult. Bai Xiaolian nearly exploded on the spot, but with several cameras set up nearby, she could only swallow her anger and grit her teeth. “Let’s see how long you can stay smug,” she muttered.
Ling Wei looked up at her directly. The straightforward gaze made Bai Xiaolian shift her eyes uneasily, as if guilty.
Their first take naturally ended in an NG. Director Guo Qi frowned at Bai Xiaolian. “You’re Consort Ru’s only trusted maid. You need to be more confident, not hunching your shoulders all the time.”
After addressing Bai Xiaolian, he turned to Ling Wei. He had been quite satisfied with Ling Wei’s acting over the past few days, rarely needing to worry about her. Today was unusual. “Ling Wei, rein in your presence a bit when you act, otherwise she can’t keep up with you.”
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone on set understood that the director was implying Bai Xiaolian’s acting was inferior to Ling Wei’s.
Ling Wei nodded obediently and said she would take note.
Bai Xiaolian’s face flushed red, and she could not help shooting Ling Wei another glare.
They filmed the scene two more times, both with issues on Bai Xiaolian’s side. By the time the director finally called it a wrap, Bai Xiaolian was on the verge of tears.
On the way back to the hotel, Chen Xiaoruo reenacted Bai Xiaolian’s performance with vivid exaggeration, making Ling Wei laugh nonstop. Ling Wei teased her, “Looks like your acting isn’t bad either. Maybe you should debut someday.”
Chen Xiaoruo waved her hands frantically. “No way. My looks are my fatal flaw.”
“Nonsense. You’re very cute,” Ling Wei reassured her.
Chen Xiaoruo’s eyes lit up. “What’s cute about me?”
Ling Wei thought for a moment. “You’re chubby. It’s cute.”
Chen Xiaoruo: …
She realized she had only brought humiliation upon herself.
A little after nine, Ling Wei received a video call request from Xie Qingyan. She was surprised, but before she could answer, the call was disconnected.
Although they had not been in contact these past few days, Ling Wei had still been sending Boss Xie a coquettish text every night as agreed. Most of those syrupy lines had been copied from the internet by Chen Xiaoruo.
Perhaps Boss Xie had been busy, because his Moments had remained stuck on the red packet post, with no new updates.
Counting on her fingers, Ling Wei figured that after so many days of silence, Daddy Xie was probably itching to stir up trouble again, which was why he had sent a video request.
As a qualified contract lover, being considerate was an essential skill. Ling Wei quickly sat up straight, adjusted her clothes, draped a jacket over her shoulders, and then initiated a video call to Daddy Xie.
The phone rang twice before he hung up.
Ling Wei: …
What kind of move was this now? He had been the one to call first.
Assuming Xie Qingyan had tapped the wrong button, Ling Wei tried again.
It was hung up once more.
She refused to believe it, tapped to send another request, and he hung up again.
By the fifth time, Ling Wei had had enough. She tossed her phone aside, took off her coat, and flopped back onto the bed to continue memorizing her script. She should never have bothered with that drama king in the first place.
When she was about to sleep, she could not resist scrolling through Moments again. Ever since witnessing the astonishing posts from Daddy Xie, Ling Wei had developed the habit of checking Moments before bed.
Then she saw that Daddy Xie, who had been quiet for only a few days, had returned.
“During a remote meeting, the little one kept making a fuss. Headache~”
The attached image was another cropped screenshot of a chat interface, showing her repeatedly requesting a video call while Xie Qingyan kept declining.
Ling Wei: …
This was truly snow in June, an injustice unheard of through the ages.
He was clearly the one who initiated the video call to tease her. How was she supposed to know he was in the middle of a video conference at the time?
Author’s note: In these recent chapters, Daddy Xie only exists in Moments. I will try to have him make his cross country delivery appearance soon.