Chapter 18: The Film Empress Who Jumped Off a Building to Commit Suicide (18)

Afterward, Shao Zizhi spent two full days recovering—and still hadn’t quite managed it.

Bai Qian knew she’d gone a bit overboard with the punishment this time. The little girl was delicate, after all, and it was only natural she couldn’t handle it. So for the next two days, no matter how spoiled Shao Zizhi acted, Bai Qian coaxed her with uncharacteristic patience and good humor.

Shao Liangrong’s wedding banquet went ahead as planned.

Shao Zizhi’s bad habit of making decisions without consulting Bai Qian had been forgiven, thanks to Bai Qian’s “punishment.”

“You’re not sitting with me? When my mom and the others ask about it later, what am I supposed to say?”

“Simple,” Bai Qian said coolly. “Just tell them we’ve broken up.”

“No way! I’m not saying that!”

“Then you’ll have to come up with a foolproof excuse on your own, little girl. If I sit there quietly eating my meal and suddenly a bunch of well-meaning elders crowd around me, you know exactly what I’ll do, don’t you?”

The silent “Popping Candy threat” was now even more terrifying than the “Moving House threat.”

Shao Zizhi panicked. “We’ve done everything together already—why won’t you just date me?”

Bai Qian looked at her with cool detachment. “Why won’t I date you? Shouldn’t you know better than anyone?”

“How would I know!”

“Tell me, then—what have you been doing since we wrapped filming on Autumn Chill Cold River Waters? Aside from clinging to me every single day?”

The woman averted her eyes, mumbling and unable to come up with a response.

“You’re already like this without even dating. If we actually started, would the word ‘ambition’ even exist in that head of yours anymore?”

No one knew better than Bai Qian just how terrifying Shao Zizhi’s lovestruck brain could be.

She was like a horse straining at its reins right now—Bai Qian could keep her in check with the simple rule of “no dating allowed.” But the moment those reins snapped, she could already picture the wild mare running rampant under the excuse of “being in love.” Utter madness!

The little girl looked aggrieved. “But girls want a sense of ceremony too! I do! And it’s not just dating—I want to marry you! If you like kids, we can do what Shao Liangrong’s planning and have one of our own!”

“Perfect. You want ceremony, and I want your ambition. No problem—if your ambition ever gets so intense I can’t ignore it, I’ll give you all the ceremony you could want. Until then, why don’t we talk about how you’re going to show me that ambition from here on out?”

Shao Zizhi clapped her hands over her ears. “Even College Entrance Exam kids get winter break! I’ve only skipped studying for a few days, and you’re pushing me like this! Bai Qian, you’re worse than my bald high school homeroom teacher!”

“Say whatever you want. Starting tomorrow, stop obsessing over dating me and focus on honing your acting skills. Got it?”

“New Year’s is just around the corner! Can’t I start after that?”

Bai Qian shrugged indifferently. “Sure. New Year’s is coming up soon anyway. We can save the rest of this year’s kisses for next year.”

“No!” Shao Zizhi wailed, full of resentment. “Fine, I’ll study! Bai Qian, I hate you the most for forcing me like this!”

…

Bai Qian had no idea how Shao Zizhi explained things to her family, but just as she’d hoped, no one came over to chat with her throughout the entire wedding banquet.

Truth be told, she wasn’t great at dealing with elders like that. As a Guardian, her required courses had taught her how to get along with protagonists—how to leverage various identities to help them escape their tragic fates.

These elders weren’t protagonists from any world, though, so she’d never bothered with the elective course on “How to Interact with a Protagonist’s Elders.”

Once the banquet ended and they were back in the car, Shao Zizhi couldn’t wait for her praise. “Bai Qian, didn’t I do great tonight? Wasn’t I amazing?”

“What did you tell them?”

“I said we’re getting married in a little while, so they’ll meet you naturally when our parents have their sit-down. No need to rush.”

“Shao Zizhi!”

“Don’t get mad yet—this is just a delaying tactic! I’m smart, see? I said ‘in a little while’ without specifying when. If they ask later, I can just say ‘in a little while’ again! Until you finally say yes, it’ll always be ‘in a little while’! Aren’t I clever?”

Bai Qian: “…”

Clever, my foot. If you didn’t look so stupid grinning like that, I’d suspect this was another one of your sneaky preemptive strikes!

“Speaking of which, Bai Qian, you’ve never really talked about your family. Which city are they in? I asked my parents, and it’s fine if we spend New Year’s with yours this year.”

“No need.”

“You’re really that sick of me? I’m not—”

“They’re dead.”

As for the original host’s foster parents, to her they were little more than business partners in a transaction.

In the second month after Bai Qian took over the original host’s body, the foster mother realized she’d been blocked and called from someone else’s phone to demand money.

Weighed down by moral blackmail and emotional manipulation disguised as family ties, Bai Qian finally bought her way out of that phony relationship with a substantial sum.

The people around her promptly shut up.

Bai Qian pressed down on the accelerator. “Then I’ll head straight home? Nowhere you want to stop?”

“Shao Zizhi?”

She turned her head. The woman in the passenger seat was silently streaming tears.

This was the first time Shao Zizhi had let her grief spill out without a sound, and it pierced the heart more deeply than any of her previous breakdowns.

Helpless, Bai Qian pulled over, unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned across the console, and drew the fragile young woman—crying like a shattered porcelain doll—into her arms.

“I’m not sad anymore. Now that I’ve met you, all that’s left is joy.”

Shao Zizhi sniffled through her sobs. “Then come home with me this year. My mom and dad will be your mom and dad too. You’ve never gotten any New Year’s money all these years—I’ll make them give you every red envelope you missed, down to the last one!”

Childish words, but they lent the night’s moonlight an uncommon tenderness.

~~~

Bai Qian couldn’t even remember what she’d been wasting her energy on back then. Who could have guessed she’d end up going back to the Shao Family for the New Year—as Shao Zizhi’s girlfriend, no less.

“No one who doesn’t win a Golden Orange Award deserves a girlfriend,” Bai Qian said with dead seriousness.

Aside from that prerequisite, there was one additional clause.

Anyone who got a girlfriend and then slacked off on work after winning an award would find herself single again in short order.

Those were Bai Qian’s terms for playing the role of Shao Zizhi’s girlfriend on this trip home.

“Let me say it one more time: our relationship only exists in front of your parents. In reality, we’re still nothing to each other. Got it?”

Shao Zizhi nodded and pumped her fist with resolve. “Once we’re back, I’ll buckle down and study hard. Next year, I’m getting myself a girlfriend for real!”

Bai Qian patted her head approvingly. “I’m glad to see that determination. Good girl—hold on to it and keep that energy up, all right?”

“Okay!”

A pair of elders who could raise a girl as spoiled yet utterly likable as Shao Zizhi were bound to be decent people themselves.

When it came time for New Year’s red envelopes, Mother Shao actually produced a large gift bag containing two envelopes, portioned out according to their ages.

Shao Zizhi lit up like she’d been the one surprised, nodding in satisfaction. “Mommy~ I love you the most!”

Even in her twenties, she was still a total mama’s girl, forever acting cute with her mother.

It was rather endearing.

Bai Qian stayed with the Shao Family for just three days. When she got home and stepped on the scale, she’d packed on a solid five pounds.

The New Year was underway.

Shao Zizhi threw herself into the effort to win herself a girlfriend.

In early February, Shao Liangrong finally returned from her honeymoon.

She brought Bai Qian a New Year’s gift: a bottle of premium liquid from a country renowned for its essential oils.

“New product—edible. My wifey and I tried it last night. Just a drop the size of a fingernail, and holy hell, it was intense. My back’s still got the marks from her nails digging in.”

Bai Qian figured Shao Liangrong was exaggerating as usual. If it were that good, it’d be sold out in seconds.

Zhao Tong’s voice drifted over from behind them, low and ominous. “Shao Liangrong, go home and pack your things. Grab whatever you need.”

“What’s wrong, wifey? We just got back from our honeymoon—are we heading out on another trip? Oh, I lined up a new drama role for you; haven’t told you about it yet.”

A cold laugh. “I’m taking you to get divorced.”

Bai Qian tactfully vacated the living room for the two of them and slipped into the kitchen to check on Shao Zizhi’s progress.

Spotting her out of the corner of her eye, Shao Zizhi grinned. “Just one more dish to go! Bai Qian, you hungry? The beef’s ready—you can snag a few slices if you want.”

“Not hungry. Too much noise out there; I came in to escape it.”

“Should we just kick out these two freeloaders who mooch off us every day?” She didn’t look like she was kidding.

Bai Qian couldn’t help but laugh.

The cozy mealtime was just getting started when Shao Zizhi’s face turned serious and she dropped a bit of a damper. “Shao Liangrong, I’ve got something to say to you.”

Bai Qian tugged at her sleeve under the table, a silent warning not to air the gripes she’d vented privately earlier.

Shao Zizhi grabbed her hand instead and fixed the oblivious woman with a stare. “Next time you come over for dinner, it’s either you or Zhao Tong doing the cooking. Pick one—at least.”

Shao Liangrong protested. “Why, sis? Neither of us can cook! And we bought the groceries!”

Shao Zizhi sneered. “How much does it cost to buy groceries anyway? Consider it settled. Next time you want to come over for a free meal, bring a pair of hands that know their way around the kitchen. Otherwise, my house isn’t welcoming you.”

The little girl pouted. “Fine, fine, I get it!”

And so, the next time Shao Liangrong and Zhao Tong came through the door, an unfamiliar middle-aged woman trailed in behind them.

The two of them stared in confusion, but Shao Liangrong—the Shao family heiress who had learned from childhood that money could solve most of the world’s problems—introduced her with perfect naturalness. “This is the cooking hand Sis asked me to bring. This auntie used to work at a five-star hotel. It took a ton of effort to hire her. Now we can freeload whenever we want, right?”

Bai Qian: “…”

The effortless joys of the wealthy were truly beyond imagination.

A week later, Bai Qian suddenly remembered that New Year’s gift bottle Shao Liangrong had brought.

Back then, Zhao Tong had stormed in furious and started yelling. Bai Qian had casually set the thing down on the coffee table before leaving.

After dinner, with no sign of it in the living room, she’d completely forgotten about it.

Now that it was on her mind, she needed to track down that “invisible bomb” and toss it.

She searched the coffee table, the sofa, every spot in the living room where something that size could have fallen. Still no sign of the thumb-sized bottle.

When she asked Shao Liangrong, the girl swore she hadn’t taken it. Bai Qian set the matter aside for now, figuring she’d ask Shao Zizhi when she got home.

The little girl walked in just as Bai Qian was curled up on the sofa, trying her luck with some gacha pulls.

She caught sight of her from the corner of her eye and gave a flat, emotionless greeting.

Shao Zizhi rushed over and stole a quick kiss from her lips before darting toward the kitchen. “I’m dying of thirst. Anything to drink in the fridge? I’ll grab something.”

“I finished the last can of Sprite. There are still two oranges left—you can squeeze those for juice.”

A few seconds later, Shao Zizhi emerged from the kitchen.

“Never mind. Found a bottle that’s drinkable. It’s small, but it’ll take the edge off. Bai Qian, did you order this online?”

Bai Qian’s eyelid twitched. She whipped her head around.

In Shao Zizhi’s hand was an empty little bottle—the exact one Shao Liangrong had given her.

That familiar voice rang out, proving her little sister’s earlier claims weren’t all exaggeration.

“Sister… I’m so hot…”