DTBS – Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Transmigration
“OK! Cut!”
“Sister! Are you alright?”
As soon as Qin Qingshang emerged from the water, her assistant Wen Yu enveloped her in a large towel and thoughtfully handed over the thermos flask that had been hanging around her neck.
“Thank you.” Qin Qingshang thanked her softly, accepting the hot water. The steam rising from the flask carried a thick scent of roses, smoothing the woman’s slightly furrowed brow. The icy pool water hadn’t smudged her makeup; her painted eyebrows remained dark and shapely, her elegance untouched.
“Sister Qin, my apologies.” A man dressed in sharp black attire lowered his head slightly, his voice tinged with apology. However, from Qin Qingshang’s angle, she could clearly see the disdain in his eyes. He was obviously two-faced. Sure enough, the next moment, she heard him continue in a passive-aggressive tone, “Sister Qin, your acting is just too good. I got caught up in the role and couldn’t control myself. I got carried away by emotions, I’m really sorry.”
Assistant Wen Yu naturally knew his true colors too, but constrained by the superficial glamour of the entertainment industry and its convoluted network of relationships, she could only bite her lip silently.
“It’s fine,” Qin Qingshang slowly stood up, her gaze sweeping over him as she chuckled lightly. “The next scene is between Brother Kong and you. I hope you can adjust your emotions. Of course, Brother Kong is good-tempered. Even if you really hit him, as long as the effect is good, he definitely won’t get angry.”
Qi Xingwu certainly knew the woman before him was warning him. After all, the conflict between him and the male lead in the next scene was even greater. If he didn’t perform well, he would likely offend not only the director but also the male lead—currently the industry's top male star, the highest-status and most capable actor in this drama.
Seeing Qi Xingwu leave with a forced laugh, Wen Yu followed Qin Qingshang towards the dressing room. On the way, she couldn’t help but whisper, “Sister, that Qi Xingwu is so annoying. Just because you wouldn’t agree to create fake dating rumors with him, he treats you like this. How can someone so two-faced have ten million fans?”
“Why else do you think people in the industry create personas?” Qin Qingshang held the thermos. “Fans don’t interact with him personally, so naturally, they don’t know what he’s really like. Besides, the studio’s paid online commenters aren’t hired for nothing.”
On the way, they encountered the Brother Kong mentioned earlier. After exchanging polite greetings, they each returned to their respective dressing rooms.
“Sister, Brother Kong is really nice, and he doesn’t put on airs.” Clearly, Wen Yu had a very good impression of this top-tier, talented star.
Qin Qingshang nodded without continuing the conversation. Her scenes were mostly finished. Her manager had already confirmed with the director that she had no scenes for the next few days and had scheduled an advertisement shoot for the IOM brand for her.
IOM, a well-known domestic womenswear brand, had extremely strict criteria for selecting its endorsers. Just like the first letter of the brand, ideal, the chosen person had to be a representative figure in the industry. If it weren’t for her stunning period costume look going viral, with soaring topic relevance on Weibo and high popularity both inside and outside the industry, this high-end brand probably wouldn’t have approached her.
Wen Yu was checking her phone, repeatedly verifying the upcoming schedule. When she looked up, she saw Qin Qingshang, who had changed her clothes. Concerned, she said, “Sister, your face is a bit red. Why don’t you just use the set’s bathroom and take a hot shower first?”
Speaking of this, Wen Yu gritted her teeth in anger. “If the company hadn’t forced someone else under Sister Lan’s management, the right to use the RV would definitely have gone to you, Sister.”
My Sister is one of Sufeng Entertainment’s key artists, one of their money trees!
Wen Yu was very dissatisfied with the company forcing another artist under Lan Su’s management, especially a young actress whose style clashed with Qin Qingshang’s.
Qin Qingshang frowned. Her long hair, soaked in cold water, still felt slightly damp even after using a hairdryer. The conditions on set were what they were; the hairdryer was a wall-mounted, handheld type that got extremely hot after prolonged use, not very friendly to female stars with long hair. Coupled with not having had a hot shower, it indeed made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Of course, this wasn't to say the current environment made her uncomfortable; she had experienced far worse conditions. It was just that her head felt strangely heavy this time. Given her physical constitution, this shouldn't be happening, right? Could it be because her period was approaching?
Whether it was due to lowered immunity near her period or the excessively cold pool water on set, Qin Qingshang developed a high fever that very night after returning to the hotel and taking a hot shower. Fortunately, Wen Yu discovered it in time while reviewing the work schedule and rushed her to the hospital overnight. Unfortunately, this couldn't be hidden from the media.
#Qin Qingshang hospitalized with high fever, life in danger!
“Sys,” Tao Aiqin had been lying in the vast white system space for a long time without receiving the plot the system had mentioned. “Why haven’t I received the novel plot you talked about? Your latency is pretty high, suggest upgrading your CPU~”
A crackling electric sound buzzed twice, and the system’s cold voice sounded. Perhaps it was her imagination, but Tao Aiqin felt there was a hint of guilt in the system’s tone this time. “There was a small problem.”
“What problem?” Tao Aiqin looked at the constantly floating ball of light before her. “An AI programming error?”
“I mistakenly sent the novel plot to the female lead.”
“...You said before that you are Transmigration System 030, and you have a main system above you, right?” Tao Aiqin asked.
“Yes.”
“If I report your mistake, can you send me back to my original world?”
The system seemed unsure how to answer, remaining silent for a long while before replying, “I have already filed a report with the main system. It comforted me.”
“How did it comfort you?”
“Newbie systems making mistakes is forgivable.” The system paused, then continued, “The novel content has been sent to you. Please check.”
After reading the plot, Tao Aiqin fell silent.
Simply put, this romance novel called 《Domineering CEO's Stand-in Female Star》 was a story with plot-induced stupidity disguised as a strong female lead narrative. Of course, the stupidity was inflicted upon the female characters. Tao Aiqin couldn't fathom how any woman with a normally developed brain would fall for the original male lead.
The female lead, Qin Qingshang, worked diligently in the entertainment industry, avoiding scandals, not fighting for resources, and being kind to others—practically a breath of fresh air in the industry, yet she remained lukewarm in popularity. She gained fame overnight due to her portrayal and acting skills playing twin roles in the hit period drama 《White Robed Minister》, attracting the attention of various capital investors in the industry. Learning that her contract was about to expire, various companies extended olive branches. Of course, the most terrifying thing was attracting the male lead's attention.
The male lead, Jiang Lihe, was utterly obsessed with love. After his white moonlight went abroad, he languished for years, unwilling to take over the family business. Later, because the female lead Qin Qingshang became popular, he saw her resemblance to his white moonlight. Discovering she was an artist under his family's Sufeng Entertainment, he immediately regained his vigor, swiftly took office as CEO, and used his position to pressure the female lead, forcing her to live according to his white moonlight's behavior patterns. He made her accompany him to various cocktail parties, causing the female lead to miss numerous opportunities and be subjected to online hate.
Not only did he let netizens mock the female lead, but he also constantly told her that the company hadn't given up on her only because he hadn't given up on her. Additionally, Jiang Lihe privately said all sorts of greasy things to the female lead and made "domineering" gestures—the specific details were unthinkable; Tao Aiqin felt she would explode if she recalled them for another second.
Later, the white moonlight returned, and Jiang Lihe immediately kicked the female lead aside. Freed from the burden of the cringey guy, the female lead immediately soared, garnering numerous positive reviews and fans. Seeing such a radiant Qin Qingshang, Jiang Lihe regretted it, believing he hadn't recognized Qin Qingshang's excellence in time and had neglected her. Thus began his "domineering" path of chasing his wife back.
Of course, because too many people were cursing in the comment section, the author hastily wrapped things up. The ending was completely illogical, stubbornly emphasizing one theme: the male and female leads got their HE!
“Ugh—” Tao Aiqin rolled her eyes. “Sys, don’t say any more. I’m a novelist too, and my female leads are like my own daughters. How can they be subjected to such plot-induced stupidity! I’m definitely taking this mission. Even if I’m nailed shut in my coffin, I’ll crawl out to break up the male and female leads!”
“I didn’t expect the first Host I guided to have such determination,” the system seemed quite moved. “The main system granted you a special privilege. You can create your own body and identity in the book world. As long as it’s not too outrageous, it can be rationalized for you, giving you optimal freedom.”
“Thanks, Sys. Who is the biggest villain in the book?”
“The villain with the most ink is Tao Zhuohua, the CEO of Sufeng Entertainment’s rival, Fuyao Entertainment. He’s also the second male lead who secretly loves the female lead.”
Hearing this, Tao Aiqin suppressed her pain and flipped through the original book's plot again. “He has a sister, doesn’t he?”
“Tao Qiuyun?” The system’s voice held confusion. “His sister is also a villain, but because their social classes are too different, Tao Qiuyun is cold and arrogant, disdaining involvement in the petty squabbles of the entertainment industry. So, she doesn’t get much description, only mentioned briefly when helping Tao Zhuohua vent his anger.”
“Excellent! I can create an original character, right?”
“You can,” the system hesitated slightly. “But since the main system granted this permission, I suggest you directly become one of the original book characters other than the male and female leads, or a plot character related to an original character. It would be much more convenient. You could even play the male lead’s white moonlight, get together with the male lead yourself, effectively preventing the male and female leads from getting together and reducing the mission difficulty.”
“Save me! Did I destroy the universe in my past life, so my punishment in this life is to date the male lead?” Tao Aiqin made a face as if she couldn’t bear to look, then continued, “Don’t worry, Sys! Show me the character creation interface.”
Then the system watched her spend five hours sculpting a face.
Staring at the little girl on the interface with exquisite features and explosive beauty, the floating light ball lingered on [Age: 4.5 years old] for several seconds before exclaiming, “How can a child complete the mission!”
“Patience,” Tao Aiqin wore an expression of profound mystery. “Look at the family relationship again.”
Seeing the large text [Daughter of Tao Qiuyun and Qin Qingshang], the system displayed a screen full of question marks.
“Trust me, Sys. I’ve been navigating JJWXC for over ten years. Marriage first, love later is absolutely amazing.”
“Then why don’t you pursue marriage first, love later with the female lead yourself! What’s the point of making the female lead have marriage first, love later with a villain!”
“Sys,” Tao Aiqin continued shaking her head with the air of a mysterious expert, “I’m not interested in romance. I just like shipping CPs.”
“Right, why Tao Qiuyun? She barely has any scenes. Why not set it as the daughter of Tao Zhuohua and Qin Qingshang?”
“I write yuri novels,” Tao Aiqin said with a cold expression. “I can’t stand seeing beautiful older sisters paired with men.”
“Impressive.”
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