MQSP - Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Baiye slept in today.
Normally, she would wake up half an hour before Lin Yuqing to prepare breakfast. But when she opened her eyes today, she found Auntie Lin lying beside her, and half her body was practically draped over Auntie Lin. She was being such a bully.
Feeling very guilty, she moved her leg off Auntie Lin's and then lay there quietly. Auntie Lin had been sleeping soundly last night, but it was different now; she could wake up at any moment. It was best to stay still and not disturb her rest.
Sure enough, the moment Baiye moved, Lin Yuqing's eyelids fluttered.
"I'm sorry, Auntie Lin. I think I was crushing you…" Baiye gave a sheepish, slightly embarrassed smile.
"If you want to sleep with me again, you'd better tie up your own hands and feet beforehand." Lin Yuqing glanced at her and raised a hand to rub her forehead. She hadn't slept well at all with the girl plastered all over her! She stuck to her like a piece of medicated plaster; if she pushed away a leg, an arm would press down on her, and if not that, her little head would nuzzle over. Was she born in the year of the cat? So clingy!
Baiye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She quickly sat up and began massaging Auntie Lin's temples to curry favor. "I was wrong, it won't happen again!"
"What do you want for breakfast? I'll go make it."
The little one's ingratiating look left Lin Yuqing with no temper. "How's your wound? Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore. It stopped hurting so much after Auntie Zhang treated it yesterday. I probably didn't handle it well myself before." Baiye grinned, but Lin Yuqing shot her a harsh glare, and she immediately wiped the smile off her face. "I won't do it again."
"Go find your aunt and have her put some medicine on it for you. I'm going back to sleep." After speaking, Lin Yuqing rolled over, lowered the air conditioner's temperature, and pulled the blanket over her head.
"Okay." Baiye answered, then hugged her own blanket and tiptoed out of the room.
The moment she stepped out, she saw Xia Xiaozi standing at the door with her hands on her hips. The little one froze for a second. "Auntie, what are you doing here?"
Seeing the little one emerge unscathed, Xia Xiaozi looked astonished. "She actually let you sleep in her room?" The last time Xiao Ye was sick, Qing Jie had let the little one sleep in her bed, but that was a special circumstance. What was this? Why did it feel like those two were hiding something from her…
"Ah, but I'm a restless sleeper, so I think I disturbed Auntie Lin. She wants to catch up on sleep, so let's not call her for a while."
"Mm. Hey, you two, are you keeping some little secret from me?" Xia Xiaozi said, looking as if she had seen through everything.
Baiye felt a pang of guilt, and her pretty face flushed. "Wh-what little secret…"
"No, there's definitely something. I know you too well. What could you possibly need to hide from your aunt? I'm so hurt. I doted on you for nothing."
"I…" Baiye was in a bind. She would rather die than talk about something so embarrassing! But she couldn't bear to see her aunt looking so hurt.
Just as she was struggling…
"Xia Xiaozi! Are you slacking off again because you have nothing better to do?!" A sharp rebuke suddenly came from the room, making both of them flinch. They exchanged a look, and Baiye let out a little giggle. Under Xia Xiaozi's gaze, she turned with a hint of smugness and went back into the room.
You little brat! So you've got someone to back you up now, is that it!
Xia Xiaozi was fuming. Those two were thick as thieves now! It was unbelievable! What on earth did Qing Jie do after locking the door yesterday to make this little one so obedient?
As soon as Baiye arrived on set, Su Yu led her to the dressing room.
"Is it serious? Have you been to the hospital?"
"Don't worry, Director Su. I've had it looked at. It's nothing."
"That's good. I'll investigate this matter thoroughly. Do you have any idea yourself? Did you make an enemy of someone?"
"I… I'm not sure either." Baiye shook her head. Without any proof, it would be too far-fetched to accuse Wu Mengmeng of trying to harm her just because she had shown hostility.
Su Yu was also troubled. If Chen Ying hadn't told her, she wouldn't have even known about it, and the staff were completely unaware. She could say she was investigating, but she had no idea where to start. Didn't this mean there was a ticking time bomb in her crew, ready to cause trouble at any moment?
Moreover, she couldn't be sure if that person was targeting Baiye specifically. If they were, it would be easier to handle, since there was a target. If not, that would be a much bigger problem.
Su Yu looked at Baiye, feeling a little fortunate. At least this little one wasn't a troublemaker. Otherwise, if she kicked up a fuss, it would be a real headache.
"I'll explain the situation to Director Yang for you. You don't have to train in your costume for the next two days. Be careful and protect yourself. Let me know immediately if anything comes up."
"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Director."
Meanwhile, in the car, Lin Yuqing and Xia Xiaozi were also worrying about this.
"It's so strange. We're not new to the people in this crew. No one would want to stir up trouble on set. Besides, Xiao Ye gets along well with everyone. I haven't heard about her offending anyone!" Xia Xiaozi mentally reviewed everyone in the crew, one by one. None of them seemed like the type to do something like this. Plus, filming for the childhood scenes was about to start. Causing trouble at a time like this was just asking to get on the director's bad side.
Lin Yuqing shook her head. "You can't guard against something like this. Xiao Ye is too easy to bully."
"Then what do we do? We can't protect her openly."
That sentence gave Lin Yuqing an idea. Protect Xiao Ye openly…
Lin Yuqing's mind raced, and she quickly thought of someone!
"Find a way to let Lu Qing know about this."
"Who? Lu Qing? Why should we let her know? What does this have to do with her!?"
"It has nothing to do with us, but it has something to do with Xiao Ye."
"No, it doesn't! Xiao Ye has absolutely nothing to do with her!" Xia Xiaozi's attitude was uncharacteristically firm, and she showed considerable hostility toward Lu Qing.
Seeing her puffed-up expression, Lin Yuqing smiled. "You just said we can't protect Xiao Ye openly. In that case, finding her a powerful backer is undoubtedly the best way to protect her."
"Then why Lu Qing?"
"Lu Qing is well-connected, and she pays special attention to Xiao Ye. She should be willing to step in for Xiao Ye's sake. And among the people she knows, isn't there a very reliable manager?" Lin Yuqing explained patiently.
"Fang Yi? The top-tier one! Do you have any idea that Lu Qing, Fang Yi, and that whole group with Jiang Boyan are all your sworn enemies? They'd love nothing more than to get rid of you. How can you dare to put Xiao Ye in their hands!?" Xia Xiaozi found Lin Yuqing's idea completely incomprehensible.
"What's there to be afraid of? They don't know about my relationship with Xiao Ye. Besides, Xiao Ye isn't an ungrateful person. Do you think she'd turn against me just because someone else says a few bad things?"
"Well…" That was true. As long as they didn't know about Xiao Ye's relationship with Lin Yuqing, there wouldn't be any other trouble. And if Xiao Ye could successfully connect with Fang Yi, with a gold medal manager personally guiding her, the little one's future would be limitless!
"Are you so sure Lu Qing will step in?"
"She wouldn't be Lu Qing if she didn't." Lin Yuqing was very confident, knowing her old friend well.
Xia Xiaozi hesitated for a moment, then thought through the whole thing again. It wasn't entirely unfeasible, but she didn't know if events would unfold as Lin Yuqing envisioned.
"I'll give it a try then." Xia Xiaozi nodded, agreeing with Lin Yuqing's plan.
As soon as they parked in the garage, Xia Xiaozi took out her personal phone, found Lu Qing's number, and activated the voice changer app on her phone, making her voice sound somewhat shrill and unrecognizable. Then, she dialed Lu Qing's number.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Hello, Teacher Lu. I'm Gu Baiye's guardian."
"Baiye? Oh, hello. May I ask what this is about?"
"It's like this. Baiye didn't seem well when she came back yesterday, and she was injured. She only told me she was filming on set, but she wouldn't tell me any details. The wound looked quite serious, and I'm worried she's being bullied on set and is too scared to say anything. I was hoping to ask if you know where she's filming. I want to go to the set and ask what's going on." Xia Xiaozi's inner actress took over. Her slightly anxious tone left Lu Qing on the other end completely unsuspicious.
"What? She's injured? Did it happen on set?"
"I'm not sure either. That's why I wanted to ask."
"Okay, okay, I understand. Please don't worry. I'll help you ask around." Lu Qing told her not to worry, but her own voice betrayed a hint of anxiety. It seemed she really did care about Xiao Ye.
"Then I'll have to trouble you. I'll be waiting for your news." After hanging up, Xia Xiaozi let out a long breath. "How was that? Was my acting okay?"
Lin Yuqing glanced at her. This girl was quite the pro at spinning tales. Had she been fooled like this before?
Xia Xiaozi had no idea that in the blink of an eye, her boss's thoughts had gone astray. She was still basking in her own superb acting, feeling quite pleased with herself.
Back on Su Yu's side, she had just spoken with Yang Ping and had also discreetly inquired about Baiye's relationships with the others, receiving the expected answer: "Everything is fine, very harmonious."
Just as Su Yu was getting a headache over this, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw who it was, and her head hurt even more…
"Hello, Teacher Lu. Is it summer vacation already? You're up so early?"
"Su Yu, I'm asking you, do you know about Baiye getting injured? Did it happen on your set?"
Su Yu slapped her forehead. "Your sources are way too good. Do you have a spy here?"
"So it's true? What exactly happened?"
Su Yu's head was throbbing. She gave a simple explanation, and Lu Qing on the other end nearly exploded, giving Su Yu a thorough tongue-lashing and accusing her of being unreliable!
Su Yu felt incredibly wronged. It was a good thing Baiye didn't have a management company yet, or she would have definitely gotten another earful!
Before filming began, Su Yu gathered the entire crew for a talk.
"Yesterday, during the wire work, there was an accident, and someone was injured. I think many of you probably still don't know about this, and I believe you were unaware. I will get to the bottom of this. Whether it was intentional or an accident, I will not allow this kind of thing to happen in my crew again. I hope this is the one and only time. Don't let me hear about anything similar, or I won't give anyone any face. You can get the hell out of my crew!" Su Yu's expression was stern, a rare display of anger.
The staff also looked puzzled. Their crew had always been peaceful, and it was rare for anyone to cause trouble. It didn't seem like anyone would have such malicious thoughts.
"Alright, get back to what you were doing. And be more careful with your work." Su Yu dismissed the crowd and immediately started the day's filming. They were a little behind schedule and needed to catch up quickly.
"Hey, did you go to the hospital?" Chen Ying walked over to Baiye's side.
Baiye smiled at her. "I did. It's nothing serious. Thank you."
"I told the director about it. You don't mind, do you?"
"It's fine. It's good to give a warning, to prevent it from happening again, just like you said."
"Mm…" Chen Ying hesitated, wanting to say more.
"Is something wrong?"
"When I was leaving yesterday, I saw someone sneak into the prop room. I'm not sure if she did it, but everyone had already wrapped up for the day. It was strange for her to be there alone."
"Who was it?"
Chen Ying turned slightly to face Baiye and pointed behind her at Wu Mengmeng, who was practicing with a whip not far away.
It really was her?
A flicker of surprise crossed Baiye's face as she recalled what Wu Mengmeng had said the first day they met.
Her grudge against her was simply because of this role and some misunderstandings regarding Senior Sister Jingwen. It was all nonsense. Was it really necessary to target her like this?
"I really can't say anything more about this. After all, she's someone with connections." Chen Ying indicated that she couldn't help any further. Wu Mengmeng was, at the very least, a signed artist with MG Entertainment, not someone a newcomer like her, who didn't even have an agency, could afford to offend.
"I understand. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Let's just leave it at that for now." Baiye thanked Chen Ying gratefully, very appreciative that she had told her all this. Now that she knew who was targeting her, she just needed to be more careful. That should be enough. She would wait and see if the other girl would back off.
"It's nothing. I just wanted to help because you seem too naive. Just be careful."
Baiye smiled, and the two of them went to the training grounds to start the day's practice.
At noon, just as Baiye finished training and was about to head back to rest, she was intercepted by Lu Qing at the training grounds.
"Huh? Teacher Lu, what are you doing here?"
"Visiting the set, of course. To see how you're doing." Lu Qing, wearing a white dress and holding a pink parasol, looked incredibly youthful. She walked up to Baiye and extended the parasol to shield her.
Baiye was a little surprised. "To see me?"
"No need to be so shocked." Lu Qing smiled and studied her carefully. This girl had gotten a tan. And why did she seem even thinner and smaller?
She took a wet wipe from her bag and handed it to Baiye. "Wipe your sweat. What do you want for lunch? My treat."
"There's no need, Teacher Lu. Please don't spend the money. The boxed lunches from the crew are delicious."
"That stuff has no nutrition. Don't eat it all the time. Look at you, you're as skinny as a beanpole."
"Come on, I'm taking you out for a proper meal." Without taking no for an answer, Lu Qing grabbed Baiye's arm and led her away.
"Qing Jie, Lu Qing really came, and she took Xiao Ye away." Xia Xiaozi saw Lu Qing leading Baiye away from a distance and hurried back to the dressing room to report.
"Where did they go?" Lin Yuqing frowned.
"At this time, they probably went to eat. Hey, I didn't expect Lu Qing to be so concerned about Xiao Ye. She even came in person."
"Qing Jie, why do I feel like there's a deeper meaning in the way she looks at Xiao Ye? You didn't see it on the training grounds just now. All those kids were training together, but Lu Qing just stared at Xiao Ye without even blinking. She didn't even glance at anyone else. Isn't that a bit too intense…" Xia Xiaozi worried like a mother hen.
Lin Yuqing had no such concerns. "Stop worrying about nothing. Lu Qing has someone she likes, you know that. She's concerned about Xiao Ye, most likely because Xiao Ye reminds her of Xinran."
"How can I not worry? Xiao Ye is at that age, the budding of youth. She only half-understands matters of love, yet she's curious and eager. What if she gets a little impulsive…"
"That's enough. You've been 'budding' for twenty years, and I haven't seen you get impulsive."
"Lin Yuqing!"
Lin Yuqing raised an eyebrow. Daring to glare at me now?
"Lin Yuqing… what a nice name, haha~"
Lu Qing took Baiye to a Japanese restaurant. After they sat down, she noticed Baiye seemed a little nervous. Smiling, she gave up on the idea of letting her order and chose a few side dishes she often ate.
"How are things on set? I heard you were injured. Where did you get hurt? Is it serious?"
"Huh? How did you know?" Baiye was taken aback. It was just a small injury. Was everyone going to find out about it…
"Don't even mention it. How could you…" Lu Qing was about to say she found out from her guardian, but then she reconsidered. The fact that Baiye didn't tell her family must mean she had her reasons. Maybe her family didn't approve of her acting? After a moment's thought, she decided not to mention it.
"Oh, um, Su Yu told me. What exactly happened? Do you know who did it?" Lu Qing casually made up a lie.
Baiye shook her head. "It's nothing serious, so let's just drop it for now. Filming is about to start, and I don't have the energy to think about these things."
"But you can't just let someone bully you for nothing!" Lu Qing couldn't stand her pushover personality. If you get bullied and don't fight back, are you just going to wait for them to walk all over you?
Baiye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Teacher Lu, it's really fine. I'll just be more careful in the future."
Lu Qing slapped her forehead. This girl hadn't even left school yet; she was so naive! With a personality like this, she was lucky to be in Su Yu's crew. If she were on a big, competitive production, she'd be bullied to death!
The thought of Baiye being bullied by all sorts of people in the future sent Lu Qing's imagination into overdrive, picturing scenes of Baiye cowering in a corner, too scared to make a sound.
"Have you… ever thought about signing with a management agency? With a solid backer, at least no one would dare to mess with you so easily."
"Hm? I've never thought about it…" Baiye was momentarily stunned. She really hadn't considered it. All she wanted was to do a good job with this hard-won role and, while she was at it, take advantage of Auntie Lin! Ahem, no… learn acting skills from Auntie Lin…
After asking, Lu Qing also felt her question was redundant. "Well, how about I think about it for you?"
"Ah? You really don't have to go to the trouble, Teacher Lu." Baiye hated troubling others the most and quickly tried to refuse.
"How about this? I have a manager friend I'm on good terms with. I'll mention you to her. Whether you two are fated to work together will depend on what she says. It's no trouble, just a phone call."
"I…" Baiye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Now she understood what it meant to be unable to refuse a kind offer.
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
"It's fine, no trouble at all."
"Um… Teacher Lu?"
"Hm?"
"Can I ask… why you're so concerned about me?"
"Probably because you're such a sub," Lu Qing blurted out. Realizing her slip, she coughed twice to hide her embarrassment.
"A sub?" Baiye was completely lost.
"Sub…ject of concern! Yes! Look at you, so thin and small, you look like you're malnourished." Lu Qing scrambled to cover her tracks while secretly laughing to herself. Good thing this girl was naive enough not to understand these terms.
The food arrived, and Baiye ate quietly, so Lu Qing didn't say any more.
After the meal, she dropped Baiye back at the set, gave Su Yu another stern lecture, and then headed home.
Lin Yuqing didn't finish work until one in the morning. Su Yu had given strict orders, and the whole crew was working overtime to catch up, trying to finish filming the childhood scenes by the end of the week.
When she got home, the lights in the living room were still on. A meal was set on the table, covered with a bowl to keep it warm. Xia Xiaozi went over and touched it; the food was still hot. It was obvious this was Xiao Ye's handiwork.
She was about to go upstairs to check on the little one when she turned and realized the girl was curled up on the sofa, already fast asleep.
Xia Xiaozi tiptoed over and saw the ointment Zhang Ting had left on the coffee table. She lifted Baiye's shirt to take a look; she had already applied the medicine herself. Just as she was about to wake the little one up and tell her to go to her room, Lin Yuqing walked over, bent down, and slid her arms under the girl's neck and legs, effortlessly lifting her into a princess carry.
Baiye's eyes fluttered open, her eyelids fighting to stay apart. She was clearly exhausted. "Auntie Lin…" she called out in a soft, sweet voice, raising her arms to wrap them around Lin Yuqing's neck. She rested her head in the crook of Lin Yuqing's neck and fell back asleep with a sense of peace.
"Have you eaten?" Lin Yuqing asked as she carried her upstairs.
"Mmm…" she hummed in a low voice, nuzzling her head to find a more comfortable position.
"Go to sleep." Seeing how sleepy the little one was, Lin Yuqing said no more. She carried her to her own room and gently placed her on the bed.
However, the little one's hands, which were wrapped around Lin Yuqing's neck, didn't let go. She just slept like that. Lin Yuqing was helpless. She called Xia Xiaozi over to help, and they finally managed to free her neck from Baiye's grasp.
"Was she born in the year of the cat? Why is she so clingy!?" Lin Yuqing rubbed her neck, looking at the soundly sleeping Xiao Ye with a disgusted expression.
Xia Xiaozi shot her several glances. Why didn't I see you looking so disgusted when you were carrying her just now!? You say she's clingy, yet you still carried her? With a look of enjoyment on your face? Hello??? Could you be any more of a hypocrite??
Hah. Women!
Comments
Post a Comment