Chapter 25
Zuo Bian had a good dream, though she couldn’t recall any of it upon waking.
Early in the morning, Little Frog resumed its countdown, tirelessly counting from 1 to 99, then starting over, as if it was etched into its very being.
Zuo Bian sat up in bed and checked the time on her phone. It was 7 a.m., neither too early nor too late.
“Good morning,” she mumbled, getting out of bed and sleepily making her way to the bathroom to wash up.
【Host, the progress is now at 24.2%.】
“Ugh… gargle, gargle, spit.” Zuo Bian rinsed her mouth.
“Are there any plot triggers coming up soon?”
【Let me see… It seems that Qin Ai’s childhood friend is returning from abroad next week. Her name is Lin Qingqing, and her threat level is a whopping 61! Her Green Tea level is even higher than Hu Miaofu’s. Host, you need to prepare in advance.】
Zuo Bian washed her face, mumbling, “She actually passed. I’ll take her seriously.”
【But why do I feel like you’re being perfunctory, Host?】
Zuo Bian put down the towel and said blankly, “I’m not. It’s just that I haven’t met her yet, so it doesn’t feel real.”
【Host, you’ve changed. You used to be on high alert even when facing the male lead with a threat level of only 5…】
Zuo Bian wrung out the towel with her bare hands until not a single drop of water remained. As she hung it up, she said to 555, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I have to go to the set for filming now.”
Before leaving, Zuo Bian patted Little Frog’s head. “Be good, I’ll leave the tablet for you to play with.”
“Ribbit! Don’t disturb me while I’m counting—ribbit, ribbit, ribbit, ribbit! Counting! 82, 83, 84, 85…”
“Alright, 555 and I are leaving. Bye.”
As the door closed, Little Frog’s voice weakened. “But I don’t have hands, ribbit, how can I play, ribbit…”
=================
When Zuo Bian arrived at the set, the director and the crew were already busy. Remembering what Qin Ai had said the night before, Zuo Bian subconsciously started looking for Hu Miaofu.
After looking around and not finding Hu Miaofu or her assistant, Zuo Bian withdrew her gaze. As she was heading to the makeup room, she overheard two people talking around the corner.
They were talking about Hu Miaofu. Zuo Bian instinctively stopped to listen.
“It seems Hu Miaofu offended someone. I heard from the screenwriter that they’re going to write her character off. They don’t even need to film her death scene. They’ll just use some old footage and edit it together.”
“I heard that Hu Miaofu offended President Chang at the Chang family banquet and was blacklisted.”
“I heard about the banquet, but the footage wasn’t released to the public. How did you know?”
“Well, I’ve been in the entertainment industry for many years, I have some connections. It’s absolutely true that Hu Miaofu tried to seduce President Chang and was rejected! I wouldn’t lie to you!”
Zuo Bian was also at the banquet that night. She knew what had happened and that the person Hu Miaofu had truly offended was Qin Ai.
【These people are really well-informed. If I didn’t know the truth, I would have believed them.】
‘But what they’re saying isn’t entirely unreasonable. I can see the desire and ambition in Hu Miaofu’s eyes. She wants to climb to the top, but she doesn’t want to work her way up step by step.’
Zuo Bian had actually seen through Hu Miaofu from the moment they first met, even though Hu Miaofu had tried to hide it.
The reason why Zuo Bian didn’t say anything was simple. Although she had a strong sense of justice, Hu Miaofu hadn’t actually harmed anyone, so Zuo Bian wouldn’t judge her from a moral high ground.
Now, Hu Miaofu mistakenly believed that Qin Ai was the one who pushed her into the water, and by losing her role, she had received her due punishment.
The “Ascending to Immortality” crew was no different without Hu Miaofu, everything was still proceeding as usual.
Zuo Bian chatted with Qin Ai every day during her breaks and often fell asleep to the sound of Qin Ai playing the piano.
A week passed by just like that. They were already halfway through filming, and everyone except Xu Ruisheng was getting into the groove, their performances improving with each passing day.
One of the scenes couldn’t be filmed at their usual location the next day, and the director, considering that everyone had been working continuously for so long, decided to give them a three-day break.
Zuo Bian was very happy to hear about the break. She was already thinking about how to spend her vacation. First, she would go home and bring gifts for everyone. And then she would go see Qin Ai.
Although Qin Ai had said she could visit her at Qin Group or the Qin residence anytime, Zuo Bian hadn’t taken the initiative to go see her because she was busy with filming. She wanted to surprise Qin Ai.
Before going home, Zuo Bian bought a lot of things. Because she was so rich, she had no concept of money anymore. She bought whatever she thought was good, and before she knew it, she had bought half a carload of things. Her bodyguards had all become her porters.
News of Zuo Bian’s return had already reached her parents and Zuo Yuan. As soon as she arrived home, she was warmly welcomed by the three of them.
“Xiao Bian, let Mom see if you’ve lost weight. You’ve actually lost weight. If you’re tired, you don’t have to continue filming. It’s too hard, Mom feels sorry for you.” Du Yundong held Zuo Bian’s hand, looking her up and down. Zuo Bian, who was already perfectly slender, was told she had lost weight.
Zuo’s father also felt sorry for his daughter. He watched the videos sent by Zuo Bian’s assistant every day with his wife to see if their daughter was suffering or injured.
Zuo’s father said, “Xiao Bian, next time you want to act, consider a modern drama. Costume dramas are too dangerous.”
“The entertainment industry is not a good place. Xiao Bian, see if there’s anything else you like to do, Brother will help you.”
Zuo Bian waited for her parents and brother to finish speaking before she said, “I’ll consider it. Although acting is quite interesting, the more I’m exposed to things, the more I realize how little I know. So I want to study after I finish filming this drama. There are many things I want to learn about.”
Du Yundong stroked Zuo Bian’s hair and said lovingly, “We’ll support you no matter what you want to do, Xiao Bian. Just follow your heart.”
“Mm-hmm, thank you, Mom, and thank you, Dad and Brother. I know you’re worried about me, but since I’ve already started filming this drama, I’ll definitely finish it properly.”
Zuo’s father said with loving eyes, “Our Xiao Bian is so sensible.”
“Actually, it’s okay if Xiao Bian isn’t sensible. With us, her family, here, who can bully her?” Zuo Yuan put his arm around Zuo Bian’s shoulder and led her inside. “Knowing that Xiao Bian is coming back today, Brother specifically asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes.”
Du Yundong, who was following behind, said, “You brat, don’t take credit for my work. It was clearly me who instructed the kitchen, when did it become you?”
“Anyway, as long as there are dishes that Xiao Bian loves, it’s all good.” Zuo Yuan laughed.
Seeing her brother and mother “competing for her favor,” Zuo Bian couldn’t help but laugh.
She had imagined what it would be like if her parents and family were all still alive, and now that imagined scene had become reality. She was truly happy and blessed.
After dinner, Zuo Bian took out the gifts she had bought: clothes, bags, necklaces, shoes, rings, bracelets, and a lot of health supplements like honey and bird’s nest.
“I didn’t know what you guys liked, so I bought a bit of everything.” Zuo Bian said a little embarrassedly, suddenly realizing that she had bought a bit too much.
Of course, everyone loved the things Zuo Bian bought, and the phrase “I love anything Xiao Bian buys” was repeated three times in different voices.
Among all the gifts, there were only three boxes of chocolates that Zuo Bian hadn’t given away. Zuo Yuan asked curiously, “Xiao Bian, are these chocolates for you?”
Zuo Bian seemed to remember something and shook her head with a smile. “No, they’re for Qin Ai.”
Hearing this answer, the smile on Zuo Yuan’s face instantly froze, like dumplings thrown into a -30 degree freezer. He shouldn’t have asked! Why did he ask?! He was only hurting himself! He wanted to sing the lyrics: “I should be under the car, not in the car, seeing how sweet you two are…”
“Forget I asked.” Zuo Yuan silently hugged the large gold chain Zuo Bian had given him. Although it was tacky, it was a gift from his sister! He would wear it even if it was ugly!
Du Yundong’s eyes lit up. She felt that there was something going on between her daughter and Qin Ai.
“Xiao Bian, since you’ve prepared a gift for Qin Ai, you should give it to her personally.”
“Mm, I’m planning to go see her later.” Zuo Bian put the three boxes of chocolates into a bag.
The three boxes were dark chocolate, white chocolate, and milk chocolate, because she didn’t know which kind Qin Ai preferred.
Du Yundong prepared a car for Zuo Bian and told her not to come back too early before she left.
Zuo Yuan repeatedly reminded Zuo Bian to be careful and not be tricked into sleeping with Qin Ai.
Zuo Yan, as a firm believer in protecting his daughter, decisively covered his son’s mouth. Zuo Yuan could only make muffled sounds.
Zuo Bian got into the car and waved goodbye to the three of them.
“Xiao Bian, remember to bring Mom another daughter!” Du Yundong’s face was beaming with joy.
The car arrived at the Qin Group building, and Zuo Bian got out of the car, carrying the bag.
【Go for it, Host!】
Zuo Bian walked into the building and told the receptionist that she was looking for Qin Ai. The receptionist didn’t immediately realize that she was referring to President Qin. Few people in Qin Group dared to address Qin Ai by her name directly.
“Does this lady have an appointment?”
“My name is Zuo Bian.”
“So it’s Miss Zuo, please follow me.”
Qin Ai had already informed the receptionist that if Zuo Bian came looking for her, she should be taken directly to her office.
Zuo Bian followed the receptionist into the elevator. The elevator stopped on the 55th floor.
“President Qin is probably still in a meeting. Miss Zuo, please wait here for a while.”
Zuo Bian sat down on a sofa. As soon as she sat down, she felt a sharp and hostile gaze on her. She looked up and met the eyes of a beautiful woman.
The woman sat with her legs crossed, her expression arrogant. She sized Zuo Bian up and down, a sense of crisis rising within her.
“So you’re Zuo Bian? You look alright, but you don’t seem very intelligent. I wonder how you managed to get close to Sister Qin. By acting cute and playing dumb?”
Zuo Bian blinked, not understanding why this woman was saying these things to her.
Soon, Zuo Bian understood the reason. 555 told her, 【Host, this is Lin Qingqing, the third female lead with a threat level of 61!】
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