Strategy to Conquer the Vicious Female Supporting Character [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 8

Although Dong Zheng’s tea-making technique was different from Ji Huaixu’s, Qi Lin was certain she couldn’t have mistaken the taste of this tea.

There was no way two people could brew tea with exactly the same flavor.

Unless… they were the same person to begin with.

Qi Lin hadn’t realized this before. She had only vaguely noticed that Dong Zheng would unintentionally remind her of Ji Huaixu. She had assumed it was just her longing for her wife, causing her to unconsciously amplify any similarity she saw in others. But thinking about it now — once or twice might be coincidence, but too many coincidences always point to something suspicious.

If she herself could come to these novel worlds to complete missions, then naturally, Huaixu might have transmigrated as well.

Qi Lin stared intently at Dong Zheng, hoping to get a definitive answer from her.

But Dong Zheng only looked at her in confusion. “What did you just say?”

Her expression showed no signs of deceit.

[403: H-Host!]

403’s voice came just in time, before Qi Lin could lose control and pull Dong Zheng tightly into her arms.

[403: Please calm down, Host! If you act in a way that’s inconsistent with the original character’s personality, it will be considered OOC (Out of Character)! “Severe OOC” behavior will greatly affect mission completion! I’ve already blocked out the sentence you just said, since An Xiaoxiao wouldn’t say something like that!]

Even the electronic tone of 403’s voice sounded like it was about to cry. Host Qi Lin was usually so reliable that 403 had slacked off and gone off to mess around in the system space, completely neglecting the mini-world’s affairs for a while. Who would’ve thought that just glancing at the mini-world’s situation would reveal such a serious issue?

If it had arrived just a second later, not only would Qi Lin’s mission score have taken a huge hit, but its own performance rating would’ve plummeted too! And considering that Qi Lin’s base stats were too high while this world’s level was too low, her severe OOC as a main character could even punch a hole through the sky of the mini-world!

Literally — a hole in the sky!

Fortunately, Qi Lin, as a host even veteran systems could trust to handle things on her own, was more than capable. She immediately calmed down after hearing 403’s warning, sat back down in her chair, and gave Dong Zheng a genuinely bright smile.

“The great Film Queen makes tea so well, I got a little too excited!”

Dong Zheng: “…”

[Qi Lin: All right. Now give me an explanation.]

403 had never seen Qi Lin speak with such a cold and serious tone before. Feeling guilty, its electronic voice shrank a little.

[403: S-sorry, Host QAQ! I just received the notification — there really is a fragment of your beloved Ji Huaixu’s spirit inside this Dong Zheng…]

The reason it only just received the notification was… well, it had sort of forgotten about this while goofing off, so it decided to leave that part out. QAQ!

[Qi Lin: Spirit fragment?]

Qi Lin’s voice grew colder.

403 shivered but continued weakly.

[403: Yes… it’s related to the car accident your wife experienced. Ji Huaixu’s spirit was shattered into several fragments and scattered across the bodies of various residents in different mini-worlds. That’s actually one of the reasons your compatibility rating with the missions was unusually high. As long as you complete a ‘dual-line task’ in each mini-world, the corresponding spirit fragment will return to its original body. Once all the fragments are collected, Ji Huaixu will fully recover, and all your missions will be complete.]

[Qi Lin: How many mini-worlds are the fragments scattered in?]

[403: There’s no exact number yet… But going forward, I’ll calculate the mini-worlds with the highest probability of containing a fragment and send you there!]

[Qi Lin: …Fine.]

Qi Lin’s hands trembled slightly.

She lowered her eyes, doing her best not to let Dong Zheng see the intense excitement and affection in them.

Huaixu…

“Um, Film Queen,” Qi Lin asked with a bright smile, “do you really like the character Nan Zhi?”

Dong Zhen nodded. “Mm.”

Qi Lin’s smile instantly grew even brighter.

Before, when she didn’t know Dong Zheng was actually Huaixu, she thought Dong Zheng was paying special attention to her because she saw her as a strong potential rival in love. Otherwise, why would a prestigious Film Queen care so much about a small, unknown actress like her? She had heard Dong Zheng specifically inquired about her taking on the role of Nan Zhi and even came to rehearse scenes with her.

But now that she knew the truth, everything made sense.

Just like the Chinese scholar tree was Ji Huaixu’s favorite flower, the gardenia was Qi Lin’s favorite. Rather than saying Dong Zheng liked the character Nan Zhi, it would be more accurate to say she liked Qi Lin, whom the gardenia symbolized.

Taking advantage of her wife’s temporary amnesia to coax a confession out of her — Qi Lin was absolutely thrilled.

Dong Zheng glanced at the suddenly overjoyed Qi Lin, completely baffled.

Did she short-circuit or something?

Even though she’d apparently lost her mind, Qi Lin was still elated. All thoughts of giving the Film Queen a bit of personal space — knowing she wasn’t used to people getting too close — were completely forgotten. She stepped forward and grabbed Dong Zheng’s hands with both of hers. “I won’t take up your time, Miss Film Queen. Since we’re going to rehearse, let’s get started! Which scene do you want to do?”

Dong Zheng instinctively tried to pull her hands back.

But Qi Lin was holding on too tightly — she couldn’t get free.

Dong Zheng felt like she should get angry, but for some reason, when she saw Qi Lin’s earnest and expectant face, all her frustration just vanished.

The aloof Film Queen gave Qi Lin a cool glance, then emotionlessly said two words: “Up to you.”

Any scene, huh?

That was perfect!

Qi Lin instantly transformed. Still holding one of Dong Zheng’s hands, her expression switched seamlessly to gentle affection, a soft smile playing on her lips. With her other hand, she lightly stroked Dong Zheng’s face. “How could that be? Our girl Weimian is the prettiest.”

Dong Zheng’s whole body went rigid — she had never been this physically close to anyone before.

This was… wasn’t this the scene in the script where He Weimian, having just joined the Su Yi Sect, went down the mountain for the first time to see the lanterns? Along the way, she was ridiculed by local girls for being a bumpkin, and when she returned to cry to her senior sister, Nan Zhi comforted her?

A flicker of confusion appeared on Dong Zheng’s usually cold and elegant face.

Nan Zhi comforting He Weimian… did it really involve holding hands and stroking faces like this?

Ever since she developed a crush on Gu Fei as a teenager, Dong Zheng hadn’t had feelings for anyone else. As the eldest daughter of the Dong family, her background had always shielded her from unwanted attention. Combined with her famously icy demeanor, she had unknowingly driven away many would-be suitors. As a result, the great Film Queen was still as innocent as a blank sheet of paper when it came to romance. Though she felt that something was a little off about Qi Lin’s actions, she didn’t realize at all that they were flirtatious.

And so, under the excuse of rehearsing a scene, Qi Lin shamelessly took full advantage of her “wife,” thoroughly getting her fill of flirtatious touches.

By the time Qi Lin finally let go and got ready to leave, Dong Zheng’s face was already flushed red, and even her breathing had become a little unsteady. Yet even in that state, the film queen still tried to maintain her cold and aloof image, coolly signaling that Qi Lin could leave now. But no matter how you looked at it, she seemed more like a tsundere trying to act indifferent while secretly reluctant to say goodbye. The sight almost made Qi Lin want to scoop her into her arms and give her a proper kiss.

This time, it wasn’t 403 that came to stop Qi Lin, but Xiao Sun.

Yes, the same assistant Xiao Sun who had been sent out earlier to buy a watermelon.

Xiao Sun’s face was also red, but the cold sweat on her forehead and her trembling lips made it clear — she was scared.

She handed the plastic bag to Qi Lin and stammered, “Sister An, here’s the watermelon you asked for…”

“Oh, thanks!” Qi Lin was in such a good mood that she felt like flying. Her mind was completely carefree as she took the watermelon and headed straight for the break room.

“S-Sister An!” Xiao Sun cried out in a panic, quickly stopping her. “D-Don’t go to the break room just yet!”

Qi Lin was baffled. “Huh?”

What, did some kind of monster show up in the break room?

…The break room?

One look at Xiao Sun’s expression, and Qi Lin instantly understood.

This girl had probably just returned to the break room and walked in on Sister Wang and the male lead doing something.

…Seriously, male lead, next time you’re going to do something like that, could you at least lock the door from the inside? Last time An Xiaoxiao walked in on you, and now it’s Xiao Sun — do you have no fear of getting caught, or do you secretly enjoy being watched?

After silently roasting Gu Fei in her head, Qi Lin patted Xiao Sun on the shoulder. “Alright, with all that sweat, go find somewhere to cool off for a bit.”

And then Dong Zheng saw it — Qi Lin, who had just said goodbye a moment ago, running right back up to her.

Carrying half a watermelon.

Casually using the mini kitchen in the nanny van to slice it up.

And even plating the watermelon nicely before offering it to her.

“Film Queen!” Qi Lin smiled, dimples showing. “Want to eat some melon with me?”