Reborn! Entangled with the Obsessive Best Actress - Chapter 28

“It’s nothing, I just keep feeling a chill down my spine,” Song Qingxing said, wiping her nose with a fresh tissue. She continued walking along the path, Xie Jingcheng quickening her pace beside her.

They reached the elevator.

As she pressed the button, Xie Jingcheng pulled out her phone and called the property management office.

Her voice was cold and sharp, sending shivers down Song Qingxing’s spine. If she had to describe the feeling, it was like being stared at by her strict homeroom teacher.

Xie Jingcheng’s rigid demeanor truly resembled that of an old cadre.

Though she was a beautiful woman with an icy aura, her coldness was almost unbearable. When she wasn’t speaking or smiling, she could freeze a person to death.

“How could you let an outsider slip through security?”

“Don’t apologize. Apologies are useless. Today he only came to ask for a favor, but what if he had been a knife-wielding assailant? How would you have handled that?”

“The safety of our residents is paramount. Increase patrols immediately.”

“I understand this will burden the security staff. That’s fine. I’m willing to raise their salaries.”

Xie Jingcheng hadn’t lived here often before, so she hadn’t paid much attention to security. But now that she planned to stay permanently, she needed to guard against malicious intentions.

For Xie Jingcheng, giving the security guards bonuses and raises was as easy as lifting a finger, but it would make them work even harder.

After all, the property was under the Xie Family’s name anyway.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Unlike the typical security guards who loaf around for a monthly salary of three thousand, the guards here were primarily veterans or those trained in Sanda martial arts, making them difficult for ordinary people to handle.

Even those carrying knives could be subdued within five moves if they lacked any real combat skills.

Xie Jingcheng chatted for a while longer before hanging up.

She didn’t turn off her phone, though. Instead, she switched to a messaging app, her fingertips dancing across the screen as if typing a message to someone.

Song Qingxing was curious but didn’t dare ask about her patron’s affairs. She simply tightened the light gray robe draped over her shoulders.

The garment was a designer piece, made from some unknown material that was remarkably warm despite its thinness.

More importantly…

Song Qingxing pulled the robe’s collar tighter, her nose catching the faint, cool fragrance. It smells so good… What brand of perfume does she use?

It was utterly captivating.

Realizing her actions were a bit too obsessive, Song Qingxing hastily lowered her hand, her ears flushing slightly. She quickly pretended nothing had happened.

The elevator doors opened, and after unlocking the door with her fingerprint, they entered a luxurious suite. The room looked much the same as yesterday, but it was noticeably brighter, likely cleaned by a housekeeper.

“You must be cold from the garage. Go take a hot bath right away,” Xie Jingcheng said, leading Song Qingxing to the spacious bathroom. Song Qingxing’s eyes widened in surprise. The bathroom was enormous, nearly the size of an average person’s living room and bedroom combined.

The bathroom was tiled with textured, handcrafted ceramic tiles, each one exquisitely beautiful. A large bathtub stood in the center of the room.

Xie Jingcheng turned on the hot water, and steam began to rise from the tub.

“I’ll get your clothes. You go ahead and soak.”

Xie Jingcheng’s demeanor was now gentle and tender, a stark contrast to her fierce attitude in the car earlier. She likely felt guilty for mistakenly tying up Song Qingxing.

“Okay,” Song Qingxing replied.

Remembering the script, Song Qingxing worried that Xie Jingcheng might be too busy to practice with her. She parted her lips slightly, her voice tinged with nervousness. “Xie Jingcheng, the scripts are in my bag—the male and female leads, plus the other main characters. Take the male lead’s copy.”

“You’re exhausted from today. We can skip rehearsing for now.”

Xie Jingcheng misunderstood Song Qingxing’s intentions. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. For an ordinary person, this would have been a perfectly unremarkable gesture.

But Actress Xie was no ordinary person. With every movement, every gesture, she exuded a captivating charm that could bewitch countless hearts.

No wonder Xie Jingcheng had remained the white moonlight and goddess in the hearts of countless admirers for so many years.

“Qingxing, haste makes waste in all things, even when practicing acting. Simply reading the script won’t lead to improvement. You must learn to observe—observe how other actors perform. For example, observe how people express anger in real life.”

“Everyone is different. A thousand people, a thousand faces. The way a hot-tempered person explodes in anger differs greatly from how a gentle soul expresses anger, or how someone finally releases years of pent-up resentment.”

Song Qingxing listened intently, realizing she was receiving private tutoring from Actress Xie—an unexpected stroke of luck.

After delivering her advice, Xie Jingcheng left.

Left alone in the bathroom, Song Qingxing waited until the hot water had filled the tub before tentatively testing the temperature with her finger.

Satisfied with the warmth, she undressed and sank into the tub. The built-in massage function kneaded her back, easing the day’s aches and pains.

Her sore muscles relaxed completely.

Except…

It seemed she hadn’t added anything at all.

Song Qingxing glanced at the bath bomb sitting beside the cabinet and tossed it into the tub. The bath bomb contained fragrant oils and skin-cleansing ingredients—essential for a luxurious soak.

She tore open the packaging and dropped the entire bath bomb in, watching as white bubbles erupted and swirled.

Hmm… this feels just like soaking in a hot spring.

Just as Song Qingxing was about to settle in and relax, she noticed something else beneath the cabinet: a collection of yellow, gray, and surprisingly colorful items.

Curiosity piqued, she reached down and pulled them out, discovering a set of toys arranged on a porcelain plate.

The miniature ducks came in various designs: some wore helmets, others sported sunglasses, a few had handlebar mustaches, and one even wore clown makeup.

Beside them were several raccoon and panda figurines. Song Qingxing was stunned.

Who would have thought that the esteemed Xie Jingcheng, Actress Xie herself, would collect such childish toys?!

Beneath the cabinet, she also found a few miniature boats.

Song Qingxing placed all the rubber duckies on the water’s surface and gently swished her leg through the bathwater. The duckies bobbed up and down, creating a scene reminiscent of the proverb “Ducks know first when the spring river warms.”

The small boat nearby rocked with the motion. Song Qingxing noticed a wind-up mechanism on its back, wound it a few times, and watched as the boat churned through the water, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake.

Wow!

She had completely misjudged Xie Jingcheng.

These toys were far more fun than she’d imagined.

Lost in her playful reverie, Song Qingxing completely forgot that Xie Jingcheng had only come to fetch her clothes and would soon return to the bathroom. Before long, a knock echoed through the room.

Panic surged through Song Qingxing. Glancing at the bathtub overflowing with toys, she scooped them all into her arms, intending to toss them behind the tub.

If Xie Jingcheng doesn’t look back there, she’ll never find them.

But before she could toss the toys, the bathroom door swung open. Xie Jingcheng’s features were softened by the mist, but the spacious bathroom meant the fog wasn’t too dense.

Xie Jingcheng could clearly see the pile of rubber duckies clutched in Song Qingxing’s arms.