After Becoming a Film Queen, She Dumped Her Financial Sponsor - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Who Exactly Is the “First Love” That Was Supposedly Dead?

The two of them exchanged lines smoothly.

Gu Xin, however, noticed something was off with Qiao Sijin. She seemed spaced out, staring into the distance. Gu Xin reached out and waved her finger in front of Qiao Sijin’s face, then cleared her throat.

“Teacher Qiao, are you alright?”

“We’re going on soon.”

Hearing her name snapped Qiao Sijin back to reality. She lowered her eyes and gave a faint smile.

“I’m fine. What could possibly be wrong?”

“I’m doing great.”

But she clearly looked like something was wrong.

Gu Xin wanted to say something, then stopped herself.

She was learning to be smarter—now wasn’t the time to bother Qiao Sijin, especially with the scene coming up soon.

“I feel like the way Gu laoshi looks at Qiao laoshi is… not normal. Is it just me?”

A few extras sitting on folding chairs were munching on sunflower seeds, their iced milk teas placed on the ground beside them. Heads leaning together, they peered ahead like they were watching some juicy drama unfold.

Their eyes were locked in, determined not to miss a single second of the show.

“What’s the big deal? It’s totally normal for actors to fall for each other on set. And besides, Qiao laoshi’s been on fire lately. I mean, even I’d be tempted by her.”

“Here you go again, catching feelings.”

“Let me dream… In that case, I want her too.”

They huddled closer, whispering among themselves. None of them had scenes left to film today, but they stuck around for the free lunch.

If you can score a free meal, why not? And while they were at it, they could watch the “gods” go head-to-head in their acting.

“Since you all like Qiao laoshi, I’ll take Gu laoshi.”

Sharing is caring—it’s what good friends do.

“By the way, have you heard the gossip about Qiao laoshi?”

“It’s all over the forums these days.”

One of them was furiously scrolling on her phone, fingers practically sparking with speed as she frantically took screenshots.

She was terrified the post would be deleted before she could save it. Missing out on juicy gossip was a tragedy.

“What gossip? Qiao laoshi hasn’t done anything lately… Unless you’re talking about this morning’s group photo? What’s so special about that?”

Another girl took a sip of her milk tea, confused.

It was standard practice for films to have promotional photoshoots halfway through production. A group photo at the studio entrance, some paid-for engagement online from fans and the company—totally normal stuff.

“No way that’s what I’m talking about. Do you remember when Qiao laoshi once mentioned her first love? Someone dug it up on the forum!”

That bombshell hit like a lightning strike. Instantly, the rest of the group turned their full attention to her phone screen, heads crammed together.

“Anyone know who the so-called ‘dead’ first love of the rising actress from Q University actually is?”

The post was packed with thousands of replies.

“OP, she said her first love is dead. Aren’t you scared of getting struck by lightning for digging into a ghost’s past?”

“Honestly, I think OP has a point. Judging by how Qiao Sijin acts, that first love of hers is definitely still alive—and doing just fine~”

“Look! Someone claiming to be her college classmate posted a WeChat moment saying Qiao Sijin really did have a major crush on someone in college. This is solid gossip!”

“I don’t get it. How does someone as gorgeous as Qiao Sijin end up being the one who has a crush? Unfair, totally unfair!”

“Holy crap, there’s even a photo… It’s a little blurry, but you can clearly tell… That person standing next to her—looks like a woman, right?”

After reading a few comments, everyone looked up, glancing at one another knowingly.

“That silhouette looks kind of familiar… Like I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

“Exactly! It’s bugging me—I can’t put my finger on it, but she does look familiar.”

But no one could quite recall where they’d seen that person before.

“Is that really… Qiao laoshi’s first love?”

Someone gulped.

Then they remembered what had happened that morning and all nodded in agreement—they were almost sure of it now.

“Of course it is! Didn’t Qiao laoshi just say earlier that she liked women—especially the kind who are beautiful and rich?”

Such a shallow reason… was this really the Qiao laoshi they all looked up to?

That girl gave a dramatic wave, her necklace swaying at her neck, looking utterly devastated.

“Alright, alright! Stop ruining my image of Qiao laoshi as pure and perfect!”

By the time Qiao Sijin wrapped filming, she had already tossed the morning’s events out of her mind. Carrying her handbag, she had changed out of her costume into her own clothes.

She flicked her long hair with her fingers and let out a breath, enjoying the fresh air that came with being done for the day.

The weather was getting colder—no mercy from the season.

“Boss, are you still planning to go later?”

Li Ke glanced at the extras still huddling behind her like baby chicks. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. Maybe she should tag along too.

She didn’t have anything better to do after work anyway. And getting to look at pretty women? Not a bad way to spend the evening.

“Go where…?”

Oops. Her memory wasn’t exactly the best.

“To see some beauties, of course! Qiao laoshi, they’d definitely welcome you over there. Their team just got off work too, and I’ve got friends over there.”

“Let’s go together!”

“The lead actress of the other production is Zhou Qi—you worked with her before, right? You two probably have a lot to catch up on.”

Oh—so it was that thing they mentioned this morning. These people were really efficient with their planning. Qiao Sijin felt like she was already committed and couldn’t back out now.

Still, it wasn’t a big deal.

She hadn’t seen Zhou Qi in a while. A little reunion between old friends wouldn’t hurt.

They hadn’t met since working together on that wuxia film, both getting busy with their own careers.

Thinking of that, Qiao Sijin pulled out her phone from her bag, intending to message Zhou Qi. Ever since that stupid incident where she accidentally liked one of Fu Qingyun’s posts, she’d been super cautious.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Now she only used WeChat to handle the absolute basics of her social life. Every time she opened her chats, she’d remember that embarrassing moment all over again.

“Dear friend, I heard you’re filming right next door. I just got off work—mind if I drop by for a quick chat?”

She thought Zhou Qi would take a while to reply, being a busy woman and all. But before Qiao Sijin could even exit the chat window, a message popped up.

“Qiao! You’re the only one who still cares about me. How about this: I’ve only got one or two more scenes. Let’s grab dinner later?”

“The food here is greasy as hell. No appetite. Going out alone’s boring—since you’re coming, perfect timing. Keep me company.”

Well then, guess that settles dinner too.

Still, Qiao Sijin didn’t plan to eat too much. If she woke up tomorrow all puffy from water retention and looked like a bloated pig, that’d be a disaster.

“Sure, I’ll head over now and wait for you to finish up.”