After Swapping Bodies with the Movie Queen, She Ended Up with Me (GL) - Chapter 41

In the end, Mu Lingwan decided to let Rong Qing continue acting in her place for the remaining dozen or so scripts.

Though Mu Lingwan usually pretended not to care and acted indifferent when interacting with Ming Qiao on shows, deep down, she still resented Ming Qiao for betraying her back then.

Winning wasn’t the point—she just didn’t want Ming Qiao to have an easy victory.

Even now, Mu Lingwan refused to let her have the satisfaction.

Zhou Ying had tried persuading her for a long time but to no avail, so she could only sigh and let her be. However, she did relay the words of the Taoist priests they had consulted earlier.

“The master said your condition is a case of soul displacement. If this goes on for too long, you might adapt to your current body and never be able to return,” Zhou Ying told Mu Lingwan over the phone. “He suggested setting up some arrangements at home and, well… interacting more with Rong Qing.”

Mu Lingwan frowned. “What kind of superstitious nonsense is this?”

“Don’t dismiss it. How else do you explain your current situation? When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth—who said that again?”

“…Pure nonsense.” Mu Lingwan leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs and propping her head up as she glanced sideways at Rong Qing’s tightly shut bedroom door on the second floor. “Are you seriously suggesting I should… get intimate with her?”

“Oh, come on, you two are practically a couple now. What’s wrong with being a little affectionate?” Zhou Ying’s voice was practically dripping with amusement. “Honestly, I think Rong Qing is a great girl. Who knows? Maybe she’s really the right one for you. It’s not like you’re into men anyway, and having a girlfriend isn’t illegal. You might as well consider it!”

Zhou Ying genuinely liked Rong Qing, and she could sense that Mu Lingwan had unusual feelings for the girl. Otherwise, why would she go out of her way to promote Rong Qing and no one else?

Mu Lingwan grew irritated by Zhou Ying’s teasing. “Stop it. There’s no way between us.”

Just as she finished speaking, Mu Lingwan caught sight of Rong Qing’s bedroom door opening out of the corner of her eye. Startled, she hastily hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.

Rong Qing came downstairs with a cup to get some water. Seeing Mu Lingwan sitting on the sofa watching her, she smiled and asked, “It’s almost noon. What would you like to eat?”

Mu Lingwan’s gaze swept over Rong Qing.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt like she had gained a bit more weight compared to a few months ago.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Mu Lingwan said, “Have I gotten fat?”

Rong Qing thought she was referring to herself and examined her carefully. “No, you look the same. I don’t see you eating much normally, so you probably haven’t gained weight.”

“I meant me—has my body gotten fatter under your care?” Mu Lingwan said sternly. Rong Qing glanced down at her own stomach and mumbled, “I don’t think so…?”

Mu Lingwan wasn’t convinced. “My eyes are the scale. You look like you’ve gained at least ten pounds. Come here. Get on the scale.”

Feeling guilty, Rong Qing followed Mu Lingwan to the weighing scale in the living room. Under the other woman’s intense stare, she set down her cup and slowly stepped onto it.

Mu Lingwan squinted. “97 pounds. That’s a full 12 pounds heavier than when we first switched.”

Rong Qing lowered her head in shame, nervously twisting her fingers as she explained, “I just had breakfast, drank several cups of coffee, and… and I’m wearing a sweater!”

“Do you think all that weighs 12 pounds?” Mu Lingwan asked her.

“…Probably not.”

Rong Qing didn’t want to gain weight either, but Mu Lingwan’s eating habits were unbearable—just a cup of coffee in the morning, a salad for lunch, nothing after 2 PM, and even during filming when meals were mandatory, she’d only eat a finger-sized portion. After 6 PM, she wouldn’t even drink water.

There was no way Rong Qing could keep up!

Mu Lingwan frowned at her. “Lose the weight before we start filming.”

Rong Qing wanted to cry but then paused, standing on the scale as she asked, “Filming? Again? What filming?”

Hadn’t they just finished recording “Heartbeat Moment”? What else was coming up?!

Mu Lingwan glanced at her, a slight smirk forming. “Spring Moonlight.”

Rong Qing: “!!!!!”

Mu Lingwan then explained her plan, emphasizing that filming could start anytime and Rong Qing needed to lose at least ten pounds to look the same on camera as before.

Sitting on the sofa, Rong Qing was stunned by the news.

She never imagined she’d one day star in a high-budget TV drama—even if it was just as a stand-in. The idea left her speechless for a long time.

“C-Can I even do this?” Rong Qing asked anxiously. “I’ve never acted before, not even an audition. I don’t know the first thing about acting.”

“You’re definitely a beginner, and jumping straight in won’t be easy,” Mu Lingwan admitted bluntly. “But I refuse to lose to Ming Qiao, so you understand—you have to do this for me.”

Rong Qing was terrified. She wanted to cry.

No one had told her she’d have to act too!

Seeing Rong Qing’s distress, Mu Lingwan softened her tone. “Don’t worry too much. Besides losing weight, I’ll train you in acting. You’ve already been on a variety show and spent time in front of cameras—this shouldn’t be too hard for you.”

Rong Qing looked up, still uncertain.

Mu Lingwan moved closer, sitting beside her and patting her hand reassuringly. “You can always trust me, no matter what. This time is no different.”

Rong Qing met Mu Lingwan’s gaze, then looked down at their joined hands. After a long pause, she finally nodded.

Zhou Ying was shocked that Rong Qing agreed to act in “Spring Moonlight,” but she quickly drafted contracts for both Rong Qing and Mu Lingwan to sign.

“This agreement has binding effects—it’s a private delegation contract,” Zhou Ying explained as she organized the documents. She then pulled out another stack and tapped them lightly. “These are other contracts you need to sign, including my employment contract as your agent, the investment agreement for ‘Heartbeat Moment,’ the client amendment contract, and more. I’ll explain them all later. Since we’re all in this together now, might as well get everything signed today. Rest assured, I won’t steer you wrong.”

Rong Qing’s eyes were swimming from the stacks of contracts before her. Zhou Ying had talked herself hoarse, spending the entire afternoon explaining all the terms and conditions to Rong Qing before finally leaving contentedly with the contracts in her arms.

Mu Lingwan looked at Rong Qing still sitting dazedly on the sofa and blinked at her. “What are you still sitting there for? Time to start losing weight.”

Rong Qing: “…”

She looked up at Mu Lingwan with lingering fear and asked cautiously, “Can we start the diet tomorrow? Let me have one last meal.”

“No,” Mu Lingwan said. “There’s no time like the present. You’re skipping dinner tonight.”

Rong Qing exclaimed in shock, “But I didn’t eat lunch either!”

“You had breakfast, didn’t you?”

“I only had half a corn cob and two small steamed buns this morning.”

“That’s plenty—your carbs are already over the limit. Skip dinner and drink more water… Oh, and no water after 6 PM. You can drink some black coffee now—it gives a strong feeling of fullness.”

Rong Qing thought the idea that black coffee could make you feel full was the biggest scam of the century. What fullness? There was none at all! She’d still get hungry, and not only that, the caffeine would keep her awake all night!

Lying in bed, Rong Qing stared at the ceiling in the dark, listening to her stomach growl incessantly, already regretting agreeing to Mu Lingwan’s offer to film “Spring Moonlight.”

She was already so hungry she felt dizzy.

Heavens, this was only the first day—how was she going to survive the days ahead?

Unable to sleep from hunger, Rong Qing finally couldn’t take it anymore in the dead of night and quietly got up. She crouched by the door, opening it just a crack to peek at the dark, silent hallway outside before mustering the courage to slip out.

Click—

Rong Qing turned on the kitchen light and looked guiltily at the double-door refrigerator before her.

“Sorry, it’s not that I don’t want to lose weight, but shouldn’t it be gradual?” Boldly placing her hand on the fridge handle, she felt guilty toward Mu Lingwan, but she was just too hungry to bear it!

But the moment Rong Qing opened the fridge door, her vision darkened.

The fridge light was cold, and the interior was completely empty.

No leftovers, no fruit, no vegetables—not even the usual sparkling water. Only a few lonely bottles of mineral water lay inside, making Rong Qing’s heart sink.

Refusing to believe it, she checked every compartment, only to find the freezer empty too—not even an ice cube remained.

“How could this be?!”

Rong Qing was devastated. She distinctly remembered the fridge being full this morning—how could everything be gone now?

Next, she rummaged through the rice jar, only to find no rice, no flour, and most shockingly, not even any seasonings. The soybean oil had mysteriously vanished too.

After half an hour of fruitless searching, Rong Qing felt even dizzier. In the end, she somehow dug out a packet of Banlangen (a Chinese herbal remedy), boiled some water, and drank it. Whether it was the medicine’s effect or not, she crawled back under the covers and drifted into a deep sleep, not waking until noon the next day.

When she finally woke up, Rong Qing was still groggy—her mind awake but her body still asleep. Strangely, she didn’t feel hungry at all anymore.

It seems yesterday’s banlangen actually had some effect?

While Mu Lingwan was sitting on the living room sofa drinking coffee and scrolling through her phone, she saw Rong Qing emerge from her room with messy long hair. Standing on the second floor, Rong Qing glanced at Mu Lingwan and obediently blinked: “Morning.”

“It’s not morning anymore.” Mu Lingwan looked up at her, raising her coffee cup as she said, “Go wash up, then come weigh yourself.”

Stepping onto the scale, Mu Lingwan saw the number had dropped by 2 pounds. She praised, “Good results. Didn’t sneak any food last night, did you?”

Rong Qing rubbed her stomach pitifully. “No, I just drank some hot water.”

“Just hot water?” Mu Lingwan looked at her with amusement, teasing, “Then why are several packets of banlangen missing from the living room?”

“Not several, I only made one packet.” Rong Qing immediately realized she’d been caught and hung her head dejectedly as she stepped off the scale. “I was starving last night. Can I eat a little today? I’ll die if I don’t eat anything.”

“You can eat today.” Mu Lingwan chuckled lightly. “One boiled egg in the morning, one at noon. Since you slept through breakfast, you’ll just have the noon one.”

Rong Qing’s eyes widened slightly. Yesterday she probably would have protested vehemently, but now…

“Fine.” Rong Qing said weakly. “Can you boil me a bigger one?”

Mu Lingwan looked at Rong Qing in surprise. She knew how painful dieting could be, especially this rapid weight loss method—it was downright torturous. When Mu Lingwan first tried it, she’d often be so hungry she’d feel like biting anyone in sight, her mood as volatile as a firecracker ready to explode.

Sometimes exploding without any provocation.

But Rong Qing’s temper seemed… relatively stable?

Perhaps out of sympathy, Mu Lingwan added extra salt to Rong Qing’s boiled egg—at least it wouldn’t taste so bland.

As Rong Qing ate her “lunch,” Mu Lingwan sat across from her and said, “Starting today, we’ll practice facing the camera. You need to get comfortable with positioning and lighting so you’ll feel more natural when filming.”

Rong Qing finished the egg in a few bites, licking her fingers as she nodded in understanding.

Watching Rong Qing’s pink tongue lick “her own” fingertips, Mu Lingwan suddenly felt her throat itch. She quickly averted her gaze with a light cough and said, “Alright, let’s go practice in the basement.”