Rapid Collapse (GL) - Chapter 50

Shen Xi was held tightly in Han Ning’s arms. Watching Han Ning’s peaceful, sleeping face, she blinked a few times and gradually relaxed. She snuggled closer into her embrace and drifted into a restful sleep.

The next morning, Han Ning was woken up by her alarm. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she sat up with a face full of reluctance and groaned, “Why do people have to wake up early…”

Shen Xi was still asleep on the side. Hearing the noise, she opened her eyes, looked at Han Ning for a few seconds, then checked the time on her phone. “Mmm… it’s only six o’clock. I still have time to sleep a bit more…” she mumbled before turning over and continuing to sleep.

Han Ning poked her waist with her finger. “Hmph! I’m jealous of you!”

After venting her frustration, Han Ning climbed out of bed, washed up, got dressed, and went downstairs. Coco was already waiting for her in the car by the roadside.

The cool morning breeze cleared her mind a little. Coco handed her a cup of black coffee and said, “Ning-jie, I know you’re always sleepy in the morning, so I got you some black coffee.”

Han Ning took the coffee while yawning, shaking her head with a sigh. “Being a worker is really miserable. Not only do I have to wake up early, but I also have to drink this bitter stuff in the morning…”

“It’s not bitter. I asked them to add sugar,” Coco said, raising an eyebrow smugly as if she knew her best.

“You know me too well~” Han Ning praised before taking a sip. As expected, it was sweet.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the filming location—a dense outdoor forest. The temperature was fine in the morning, but by noon, it would definitely be hot and unbearable, with mosquitoes everywhere.

Looking around, Han Ning muttered under her breath, “So miserable…”

After changing into her costume, Cheng Nian arrived, and the morning shoot officially began. It wasn’t until past ten o’clock that Shen Xi arrived, holding a sun umbrella. She saw Han Ning resting to the side and naturally patted her on the butt, startling Han Ning so much that she nearly jumped in place.

Shen Xi smirked mischievously at her. Han Ning, surprised by her bold teasing in front of everyone, felt a strange excitement. Holding back her laughter, she whispered, “Since when did you become so bad?”

“When I started writing novels…” Shen Xi cleared her throat and said seriously, “Lately, I love writing this kind of stuff. Maybe I’m craving it…” She blinked at her pitifully.

Has the cold and aloof goddess turned into a hungry tiger? Han Ning wondered.

“How much longer until you’re done?” Shen Xi asked, glancing at Cheng Nian, who was still filming.

“I already finished my morning scenes. I was just watching her act while waiting for you to have lunch together.” Han Ning suddenly remembered something and tapped her head. “Oh, right! I need to tell you the detailed plan.”

“Go on.” Shen Xi sat down, sipping her drink.

Han Ning shared her thoughts.

She had been thinking all morning about how to make their fake breakup look natural and convincing. It needed to be believable enough to fool Nie Lan while also appearing genuine to onlookers.

“This has to be triggered by a small incident,” Shen Xi said after a moment of thought.

“Life isn’t a scripted drama where everything happens according to planned turning points.

If it looks too deliberate, it won’t be convincing.”

“Exactly! The thing is, you and I have always been in sync, so finding a natural little argument is actually kind of tricky,” Han Ning said, resting her chin on her hand. “And it can’t be too abrupt. We can’t just have one argument and break up right away.”

She sat up straight. “What we need is for the crew to believe that Han Ning and Shen Xi had a heated argument today—so intense that it seemed like we couldn’t reconcile. After that, people won’t be too sure about what happened next. Right, Shen Xi?”

Shen Xi adjusted imaginary glasses on her nose and nodded. “I think you’re absolutely right. But I want to add something—Nie Lan must not think that we broke up because of her text message.”

“Oh? Explain,” Han Ning leaned forward, arms crossed, looking like an eager student.

“We need Nie Lan to believe that my breakup with you has nothing to do with her text.

Instead, she should think that you and I have grown tired of each other over time, and that’s why we broke up. Her message should seem like just a small push rather than the main reason. This way, she’ll believe that my feelings for her are genuine. Otherwise, she’ll be wary of me, and how will I help you take her down?”

Shen Xi took a sip of her drink before continuing. “It’s all about the act—like luxury store salespeople, you know? They smile and bow, acting like they adore you, but it’s all for business.”

“I don’t buy luxury goods often. They usually ignore me,” Han Ning pouted.

“Then… think of beauty salon owners. The ones who call you ‘darling’ all the time, claim they’re helping you save money, but actually just want you to spend more and sign up for memberships.” Shen Xi guided her. “That’s us. Got it?”

“This play… actually has layers,” Han Ning chuckled, resting her chin on her hand. “Oh, and no matter how much we argue in the next two days, we can’t break up yet. We have to wait for Nie Lan to make her move in three days. Then, we’ll officially ‘break up’.”

Hearing the word “break up,” Shen Xi’s face darkened. “I hate that word… I don’t want to break up with you, smelly Ning Ning…”

“Come on, smelly Xi Xi… You think I want to? But we have no choice. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to win. If we can overthrow a king, how hard can it be to take down Nie Lan?” Han Ning squeezed her hand gently in reassurance.

Shen Xi sighed. At this point, there was no turning back.

That afternoon, they had their first staged argument. The cause? Something as small as Han Ning memorizing her script while Shen Xi asked what kind of coffee she wanted.

“What coffee?! You’ve been with me for so long and still don’t know my taste?! You have to ask?! And can’t you see I’m memorizing my script?!” Han Ning slammed her script onto the table, suddenly standing up so forcefully that her chair toppled over with a loud bang.

Shen Xi played her role perfectly, letting out a cold laugh. She picked up the chair slowly and said sarcastically, “Oh, right. I have to know every little detail about Han the Superstar’s preferences. I’m your girlfriend, not your assistant, okay? And if you can’t memorize your script, go bang your head on the wall. Why take it out on me?” She dusted off the chair, sat back down elegantly, and sipped her coffee with a smirk. “What’s wrong? Are you hitting menopause early? Memory loss and random outbursts?”

“You calling me menopausal?! Who are you being sarcastic to?!” Han Ning, seeing the growing audience, became even more dramatic. Cheng Nian wanted to intervene but was scared off by one sharp glare from her.

“Who else but you?” Shen Xi said with a mocking smile, pointing at her. “You going deaf too?”

Damn, this girl is savage… Han Ning thought, realizing she was losing the argument.

Frustrated, she kicked the chair and stormed off with her script.

Still fuming, she texted Shen Xi: “Had fun arguing? Just wait till we get home!”

Shen Xi almost laughed at the flirty yet threatening message. She sent back five stickers of a cat rolling on the ground cutely.

Han Ning saw the stickers, and despite herself, her lips curled into a grin. She sent a voice message: “Stinky Xi Xi! You’re getting spanked when we get home!”

That night, rumors spread throughout the crew—Han Ning and Shen Xi, the perfect couple, had a huge fight.