Chapter 41
In the meeting room of Oak Tree Entertainment.
Xu Ling had posted photos from Starry Night, some of her alone, and some with other artists.
If she could, she would have really liked to put the photo with Qin Cong’an as the tenth one, the +1 hidden behind the nine-square grid. But she would have definitely been flamed to death. Forget the netizens; just facing Sister Huai would have been enough to get her an earful.
The photo with Qin Cong’an was ultimately placed in the center of the nine-square grid. And of all photos, it was the one of her with her arm around Qin Cong’an’s waist. Why not? It was the one with the most buzz and had already been widely circulated.
Xu Ling looked at her inexplicably trembling hand. It was as if her own hand was shy from being looked at, starting to get hot and sweaty… She could still feel the smooth touch from last night.
Qin Cong’an had liked it.
Xu Ling clutched her heart and went to look at Qin Cong’an’s account. Her personal account hadn’t posted anything, but her studio had posted her solo photos.
And, a photo of the two of them holding hands.
Xu Ling was scared to death. Qin Cong’an had been pulled for photos with many people last night, but she had only posted the one with her? The problem was, the two of them hadn’t actually stood together for a solo photo last night. The photo they had posted was cropped from the group photo.
Wait a minute. No one had told her to start promoting this early.
“You should like hers too,” Yi Huai said from the side. Before Qin Cong’an’s studio had posted it, they had shown it to them. It was part of the future promotion, so of course, they had to respond.
“Oh…” It was an order. Xu Ling could only comply. After liking it, she didn’t dare to look at her phone anymore. “Sister, will this cause some kind of bloodbath?”
“For example?”
“Just… a lot of things.”
Yi Huai suddenly slapped the table, startling Xu Ling. “What are you thinking? Isn’t a bloodbath a good thing? Do you want to stay in calm waters forever, to be a transparent person that no one cares about? Did you want to follow Qin Cong’an’s path after working with her? That won’t work. You’re not her.”
Of course, that wasn’t what Xu Ling meant, but she couldn’t explain it.
Yi Huai held the tablet in front of her. “Look. Are you happy?”
Xu Ling looked at the densely packed schedule on it and was stunned. “Is this mine?”
“Yeah, a lot of people have invited you. All kinds of events, shows. I even turned some down.” Yi Huai was very happy, and then said earnestly, “It will definitely be very tiring, but you can’t miss these opportunities to show your face.”
Xu Ling nodded.
Seeing that her enthusiasm wasn’t that high, Yi Huai glanced at her and said, “Didn’t you not want to stir up a CP with Ming Yao? While he’s on set now, and there are other events and promotions after filming, you should seize this time to raise your status. Only then will you have the right to refuse.”
“I know! I’ll work hard!” Suddenly, she was motivated.
The internet was indeed in a heated discussion about Qin Cong’an pulling Xu Ling to stand near the center for a photo, about Xu Ling looking smug with her arm around Qin Cong’an—
Hey, I wasn’t smug!
Xu Ling was going crazy. That was just her usual expression management. How was it interpreted as “smug about having a wife”… Okay, she looked at the photo carefully. It did seem to have that meaning.
So scary. Netizens were so scary!
It was as if they were staring at every single one of her facial muscles, interpreting her expression. Xu Ling was really starting to be afraid that netizens would see through her pathetic feelings.
But this heated discussion didn’t last long. After all, there was a lot of news in the entertainment industry every day. On days with no news, people were watched to create some news. The two of them had no further contact, so the buzz was replaced by other events.
Xu Ling started to attend various events, flying all over the country, participating in both big and small events. She even made a guest appearance in a drama as a big star.
Qin Cong’an had joined a new production.
The fans were wailing. They wouldn’t be able to see her for several months again. But they were also very happy, liking that An An brought them different roles and different works.
At this time, a TV series that Qin Cong’an had filmed last year was released.
It was a suspense drama. Qin Cong’an’s character was killed in the first episode, but everyone was trying to find the truth behind her murder. With a large number of flashbacks and flash-forwards, her scenes were from the first episode to the last. She was one of the main leads.
There were romance scenes, not many, but the connection was very deep. In just a few short scenes, many people started to ship them. Because they knew that this relationship was destined to end with her death, everyone was sad while shipping them, which made it even better to ship.
Knowing that there was no good ending, but still being moved—Xu Ling understood this feeling very well.
Xu Ling was extremely busy every day, but she watched this drama as soon as it was released and also saw every promotional material.
For some reason, Qin Cong’an looked a little unfamiliar, very different from when she was with her.
It was also a little different from the time before they had had any contact.
It always felt like when she was interacting with the actor she had a romance with in the drama, she was even more detached. Even when she was smiling and responding, she seemed very distant.
When Xu Ling watched the two of them interact, she didn’t feel any jealousy, just wondered, is she okay now? Is there something she’s unhappy about?
She even had a feeling that Qin Cong’an’s relationship with the world was no longer close.
A netizen commented sharply: An’s CP in the drama is as good to ship as ever, but her CP outside the drama is even harder to ship than before.
The upper limit of a suspense drama wasn’t high. Even with an actress like Qin Cong’an who brought in traffic, even with good reviews and high ratings, and even with some viral moments, it still couldn’t reach the level of a top-tier drama.
After it finished airing, the buzz lasted for a long time, but only a small group of people were still discussing it. It was a work that would be regarded as a classic by those who liked it, a typical case of being critically acclaimed but not a commercial success.
After the promotional period, Qin Cong’an disappeared from the public eye again, focusing on filming on set.
And Xu Ling appeared more and more frequently, from small events to major TV stations. She seized every opportunity to appear in front of the audience.
The time she got the most buzz was on a somewhat popular outdoor game variety show. There was a game where you had to reach for an item by splitting your legs.
Xu Ling, who was visibly the one with the longest legs, was thought to be a strong contender but ended up at the bottom of the rankings. Her flexibility was laughably bad. She even pulled a muscle from trying too hard and was embarrassingly taken off the stage.
Sister, this isn’t funny.
Xu Ling was really embarrassed. Her flexibility shouldn’t be this bad. At least, it hadn’t been this bad at one point. Recently, it really hadn’t been good, and she had been too busy to exercise.
She lost the game and got injured, but it was a blessing in disguise. She even trended on social media.
Xu Ling was quite surprised. She didn’t understand why.
“Because you’re as beautiful as a 3D model, but you have a human feel. The way you screamed, like a pig being slaughtered,” Yi Huai said.
“…” What human feel? Dead pig feel?
The moment her inner thigh muscle was pulled, she really had lost control and screamed. The artists who had been on the show for many seasons were very good at variety and helped her create many memes, which was how she got the buzz.
Xu Ling asked, “Where has this video been spread?”
“The whole country has probably seen it,” Yi Huai said, looking at her with praise. “Not bad. You’ve unlocked a new identity. You can’t act, but you can take the funny beauty route.”
Xu Ling didn’t mind being laughed at by the whole country, but she just didn’t want Qin Cong’an to see it. Although they had no relationship anymore, but… she just had a bit of a burden.
What if? What if Qin Cong’an was still thinking about her, preparing to break up?
“By the way, Sister,” because of the pulled muscle, Xu Ling remembered something. “When we were filming She and Her and the Knife, I saw in the script beforehand that there was a scene where Jian Yu helps Wen Xi with a medicinal bath after she pulled a muscle. Why didn’t we film it?”
Xu Ling had been thinking about this in the early stages and had even guessed that the reason Qin Cong’an wanted to shower together so badly was because of this. But later, she was drowned in all sorts of messy thoughts and just followed Director Chang’s arrangements, not even remembering that this scene was gone.
“It was cut by Qin Cong’an a long time ago,” Yi Huai said. “Your reaction time is quite long. Alright, I’ll arrange the clumsy beauty persona for you right away.”
No, Xu Ling didn’t want this persona.
But she didn’t say anything in rebuttal. It would be useless. And, Xu Ling sighed… it was actually cut by Qin Cong’an. What a pity.
The official trailer for She and Her and the Knife was released to the public. Character posters and scene posters were also released one after another.
This meant that the promotional period had entered its middle stage, and the main creators were about to gather together again.
Xu Ling had already recovered after taking Chinese medicine. Even though she had been very tired recently, and the company had put a lot of pressure on her, and she was prone to overthinking, her sleep had been pretty good, so her condition wasn’t that bad.
Xu Ling had also made up her mind. When she saw Qin Cong’an, she would maintain a professional and stable state, as if they were just colleagues.
But Xu Ling hadn’t expected Qin Cong’an to have lost so much weight.
Almost uncontrollably, she followed behind Qin Cong’an, almost following her into her backstage room.
It wasn’t until she saw Gao Quan walk over from the corner that Xu Ling came back to her senses and turned to run away.
Xu Ling went to her own backstage room, her heart pounding. The high-intensity work during this period had made her mistakenly think that she had already digested it. But just seeing her thin back made her tremble from her fingertips.
How could she have lost so much weight? Was the current drama she was filming too hard? But when they were filming She and Her and the Knife, she had been so tired every day, but she hadn’t gotten this thin.
After winter set in in North City, the wind was terrifyingly fierce. Xu Ling was afraid she would be blown away.
Xu Ling stood up and left the room. As soon as she opened the door, she happened to see Sister Huai about to come in.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to say hello to my senior.”
“Okay, I was just about to call you over. Let’s go together.” Yi Huai happened to be carrying something to give.
Xu Ling didn’t know if she would be more nervous or more at ease with Sister Huai with her. But in this situation, she couldn’t let Sister Huai not go.
“Knock, knock, knock,” three knocks, Xu Ling’s usual rhythm.
The door was opened from the inside by Gao Quan. She smiled at the two of them. “Long time no see. Please come in.”
“Long time no see, Sister Quan,” Yi Huai greeted, handing over the item in her hand. “Xu Ling went to Fu City for an event a while ago and bought some local bird’s nest there. Teacher Qin has been filming in the north recently, and it’s too dry. This can help moisturize.”
“Thank you,” Gao Quan said, accepting the gift and politely asking the two of them to sit.
Yi Huai shook her head. “We just came to say hello.”
“Hello, Teacher Qin,” Xu Ling said, looking at Qin Cong’an, who was sitting on the sofa. She was holding a script and looking up at them. Her face also looked a little thinner, a little tired. “Have you been… very tired recently?”
“It’s okay,” Qin Cong’an replied calmly, her gaze still on Xu Ling.
Xu Ling was the first to feel uncomfortable and looked away, but then she didn’t know where to look and her gaze returned to Qin Cong’an. But this time, she didn’t look at her face, but at her hands.
But how could the conversation continue? The conversation seemed to have been cut off by Qin Cong’an.
The two managers exchanged a look. What was this subtle atmosphere? It was as if something was surging.
Gao Quan broke the deadlock. “She’s filming a drama about a single mother right now. Recently, they’ve been filming a rather sad part. She’s lost a lot of weight. I feel bad for the muscle she’s lost. I don’t know how long it will take to get it back after filming.”
Xu Ling breathed a sigh of relief. So it was for the role… as long as it wasn’t because she was unhappy about something.
But at the same time, she felt a little empty. She had thought, could there be a possibility that she had gotten so thin because of her?
And so they left Qin Cong’an’s backstage room.
Qin Cong’an put the script aside and rubbed her eyes.
“Very tired?” Gao Quan asked.
“Mhm.”
“Hard work, hard work. After today’s meet-and-greet, you can go straight home. You haven’t been back in a long time. Rest early tonight.”
Qin Cong’an rubbed her temples again. It wasn’t because of that. It was just that seeing Xu Ling made her feel particularly tired.
The matter went back to the day after Starry Night.
That day, both sides had posted a photo together. Qin Cong’an knew that Xu Ling had only put the photo with her in the center to cooperate with the company. But after all, before Xu Ling had run away last night, the atmosphere had been very good.
Qin Cong’an didn’t want a bad ending. The ending of the fanfiction was too beautiful. The novel said that Xu Ling loved her very, very much, which inexplicably gave her a sliver of fantasy.
So she had sent a message to Xu Ling. Yes, what was wrong with taking another step?
She had received feedback immediately, but it wasn’t a reply from Xu Ling. It was a cold system prompt: [You are no longer the other party’s friend.]
A very thorough death.
She didn’t know when Xu Ling had deleted her. The thought that she might have deleted her on the night she left made Qin Cong’an no longer have any lingering feelings. She calmly deleted Xu Ling.
Fortunately, Qin Cong’an was about to join a new production soon. She had even gone to the location a week early to blend in with the locals with the director and get a deeper understanding of the background.
From time to time, she would see that Xu Ling had attended some event, smiling brightly, bending her knees slightly when taking photos with passersby, so beautiful she was about to break through the lens, yet so approachable and gentle.
Qin Cong’an knew that Xu Ling had a sunny personality and was very likable. She had a charm that made people like her. She would be loved by everyone.
But why, did she not want that? This was clearly a very good thing.
When she saw Xu Ling’s photos and videos, Qin Cong’an would sometimes smile along. But as soon as it was over, facing the empty hotel room, she would feel so tired, so tired.
Qin Cong’an closed her eyes to rest, her consciousness a little unclear. She could hear some sounds. The door opened, closed. The door opened again, and closed again.
Someone sat down next to her, and the sofa dipped.
The scent of citrus mixed with green tea wafted into her nose. Qin Cong’an suddenly opened her eyes and saw Xu Ling next to her, seemingly startled by her.
“…Hi,” Xu Ling said.
Qin Cong’an tidied her hair and asked coldly, “How did you get in?”
“I saw Sister Quan go out, so I came in.”
This answer seemed to say something and nothing at all. Qin Cong’an’s tone was tinged with impatience. “I mean, what did you come in for?”
“I came to…” Xu Ling was so nervous she didn’t know what to say. In a panic, she caught a glimpse of the new script on the sofa. “Go over the schedule.”
