The Villain Decides to Go on Strike [Transmigration] - Chapter 4

Gu Qin Yu was stunned.

She vigorously rubbed her eyes, not caring that she smeared her cheap, heavy makeup, making her look like a colorful panda.

Confirming Luo Xiying’s gentle smile showed no sign of pretense, Gu Qin Yu gasped dramatically and took a large step back.

“Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I have the face of a fickle, heartless man?” Luo Xiying countered.

Gu Qin Yu stared at Luo Xiying’s face for a moment and genuinely couldn’t bring herself to associate that face with any unserious words like “fickle” or “heartless man.”

“Then what do you even like about her?” Gu Qin Yu asked, confused.

“Maybe it’s that she’s good-looking?” Luo Xiying picked out Mu Qinghan’s merits somewhat uncertainly.

“But you’re good-looking too! Doesn’t looking in the mirror satisfy you?”

“Maybe it’s that she has potential and talent?”

“Haven’t you promoted enough newcomers before? I never saw you particularly care about any of them.”

“Maybe she’s rich?”

“Who in the industry doesn’t know that Miss Luo is the richest?”

“Maybe her family background is good?”

“What kind of family background could that obscure newcomer possibly have?” Gu Qin Yu pouted dismissively. “She has great background resources but refuses to use them, insisting on starting from scratch in the industry. Who knows how much bullying she’ll suffer? Is there something wrong with her brain?”

“There is,” Luo Xiying stated.

Gu Qin Yu choked, glancing at Luo Xiying, suddenly unsure which question her answer referred to.

Family background or… something wrong with her brain?

Gu Qin Yu desperately wanted to reassure herself it was the latter, but reason told her it was likely the former.

Luo Xiying was a young mistress, after all, more knowledgeable than her. Since she was so certain, maybe that Mu Qinghan really did have some exceptional qualities.

“What kind of background could someone surnamed Mu have?” Gu Qin Yu pondered for a moment, puzzled. “I haven’t heard of any major families surnamed Mu. At most, a few rich second-generations, but they’re nowhere near your family.”

“You don’t know that Mu family?” Luo Xiying asked. “A century-old scholarly family, a whole family of professors and teachers, truly planting their peach and plum trees all over the world.”

As the female lead of a shuangwen, her family background was naturally a point of great focus.

Coincidentally, Mu Qinghan was the standard “winner in life.”

Unlike Luo Xiying, the “fake young mistress” who was tragic from beginning to end, Mu Qinghan was a genuine, well-born young lady from an established family.

Her parents were loving and had deep connections, but the young lady herself had spent years traveling the world and rarely appeared in public, which was why few people recognized her.

If her proper name and title were announced, even Luo Xiying’s biological father would have to show her some respect.

However, this young lady was bored and specifically entered the entertainment industry under an assumed name, acting as a newcomer.

Ordinary people didn’t know her background, so naturally, they didn’t pay much attention to her.

It wasn’t until the later stages of the plot that someone tried to smear the female lead’s family background, only to accidentally uncover her astonishing pedigree.

Inevitably, another cannon fodder offered their face to be viciously slapped by the female lead.

That was all later in the story, but knowing it beforehand was an advantage.

At least it might make Gu Qin Yu slightly more obedient and stop her from seeking death.

However, Gu Qin Yu didn’t immediately grasp Luo Xiying’s intent. She was frowning, trying to figure out which “Mu family” this was.

This was the disadvantage of being thoughtless. She was familiar with every detail of the rich bosses, big-shots, and wealthy second-generations, and she could talk endlessly about industry gossip.

But when it came to anything outside of that, she was practically blind and confused.

Seeing Gu Qin Yu’s ignorant expression, Luo Xiying realized it was no wonder she had such a miserable end in the previous life.

This person’s intelligence truly hadn’t been focused on the right things at all.

Luo Xiying’s eye twitched uncontrollably a few times. She held back from saying anything too harsh and changed her approach, mentioning things like a certain CEO’s revered teacher, a certain young master’s professor, or the mentor of a certain rising business mogul…

Hearing the familiar names, Gu Qin Yu suddenly understood—

Luo Xiying was saying that the Mu family had very extensive connections.

But that doesn’t seem like much, does it?

It’s not like her family has their own money and power.

Before Gu Qin Yu could display this dismissiveness, Luo Xiying immediately added, “And she takes her mother’s surname; her father’s surname is Yin.”

Gu Qin Yu’s mouth, which had been half-open, snapped shut.

When she heard that surname, she instantly thought of a certain entity.

There was only one she could possibly think of.

However, that possibility was too high-level for her to process.

“Yin, Yin… Is it the one I’m thinking of?” Gu Qin Yu stammered, unable to speak smoothly. “Is it that, that, that Yin—”

Luo Xiying nodded calmly.

Gu Qin Yu’s expression instantly transformed from mere surprise into a world-famous painting—one entirely plastered with horror and distortion.

Especially when she remembered what she had done to that young lady.

She started trembling uncontrollably.

“Th-then can I still leave the set alive?” Gu Qin Yu clutched the windowsill, her legs so weak she could barely stand, her face twisted in a cry. “Maybe I should just find a block of tofu and smash my head against it first.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” Luo Xiying comforted her. “As long as you behave yourself during this time, she won’t remember you.”

“Really?” Gu Qin Yu stared at Luo Xiying tearfully, looking like she was about to pounce on her at any second.

“…If you’re still worried, there’s actually one more way.” Luo Xiying subtly moved backward.

“What way?” Gu Qin Yu asked, full of expectation.

“Work hard,” Luo Xiying said earnestly. “When you become a powerful figure in the industry and everyone remembers you, then others won’t dare to casually target you.”

Gu Qin Yu pondered this for a moment with her rarely-used brain and felt that Luo Xiying’s words made perfect sense.

She instantly felt a little calmer, wiped away her tears, and smeared her eye makeup even more.

“You’re right! Seeking help is worse than relying on oneself! I’ll go back and memorize my script right now!”

Gu Qin Yu declared this emphatically, then quickly reached out to steady herself on the windowsill, stabilizing her trembling legs. “…But let me recover first. I can’t walk right now.”

Luo Xiying: “…”

I guess this problem is solved… right?

Probably.

This must be the benefit of being simple-minded.

She was so easy to fool.

Luo Xiying subtly let out a sigh of relief.

She slowly sank back into the bed, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling.

Gu Qin Yu’s problem was temporarily solved, so what about her own problem?

It’s truly a headache.

Luo Xiying slowly burrowed into the quilt until it covered her head. In the dark, stuffy confinement, her brain slowly quieted down.

…

Perhaps because she had said the word “like” too many times during the day, Luo Xiying saw a similar scene in her dream.

It wasn’t entirely a fantasy dream; it should be called a memory, or perhaps “plot.”

The protagonist was not Luo Xiying herself, but another minor cannon fodder from the storyline.

This minor cannon fodder was male, an industry senior who was a singer, with not much interaction with Luo Xiying.

This little cannon fodder was originally one of the characters who actively offered his face for the female lead to slap.

He was notoriously disrespectful towards women in the industry and had mocked the female lead openly and subtly many times.

During a collaboration, he spoke ill of the female lead and the female producer behind their backs, which instantly backfired when it was recorded by a surprise live-stream camera.

That live stream directly ruined the little cannon fodder’s reputation, sending him crashing from the clouds into the mud.

The little cannon fodder held a grudge and sought revenge, thus embarking on a path similar to the villain: constantly digging traps and causing trouble for the female lead.

However, despite causing trouble to advance the plot, the little cannon fodder’s ending was much better than the villain’s.

Aside from his initial self-inflicted downfall, he didn’t suffer any substantial harm.

In the end, he had an epiphany before the grand finale, sincerely regretted his past, reformed, started over, and restarted his career.

Both were villainous cannon fodder—one died miserably in an unknown corner, the other redeemed himself halfway through and started a new life.

This stark contrast once made Luo Xiying grit her teeth in envy toward this lucky little cannon fodder.

The reason for this, in hindsight, was probably the difference in their feelings for the female lead.

The villain only felt envy, jealousy, and hatred toward the female lead—an accumulation of entirely negative emotions.

The little cannon fodder’s feelings were complex: initial dislike, but later, he seemed to become a masochist who fell hopelessly in love with the female lead.

Halfway through the plot, the little cannon fodder was still digging traps for the female lead, but he accidentally helped her several times by mistake.

Perhaps it was the pleasure of altruism that hooked him, leading him to take on a dramatic route of intensely criticizing the female lead while secretly helping her.

Later, one day, he suddenly had a realization, understood his true feelings, publicly confessed his love, and sincerely apologized, which surprisingly won him a lot of goodwill.

Of course, with the official male lead present, he could only retreat sadly after his sincere repentance and confession, and restart his own career.

Ultimately, the key point was his tireless help and dedication to the female lead in the latter half of the plot.

It is well known that a grand epiphany and selfless dedication to the protagonist is the start of a clean slate.

Even if the redemption is not entirely successful, helping the protagonist a few times would at least make her feel indebted to him.

At the very least, it would prevent him from meeting a miserable end—at least he’d have a whole corpse.

…

The next day, Gu Qin Yu arrived at the hospital early, ready to take Luo Xiying home.

Luo Xiying had been awake for a long time, in an unnaturally alert state, staring up at the ceiling with heavy dark circles under her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

“Xiying, I’ll take you back now, while no one knows yet, or it might get crowded later…”

Gu Qin Yu packed the items on the table, reminding her as she did so.

“Qin Yu,” Luo Xiying suddenly called out after a long period of contemplation. “Do you have the director’s phone number?”

“Yes, why?” Gu Qin Yu consciously handed over her phone.

“I don’t want that role anymore,” Luo Xiying said. “I’ll let the director know.”

“What?” Gu Qin Yu froze, then her expression changed dramatically. “Why? This is Director Shen’s drama! Didn’t you always say you wanted to work with Director Shen? Since Mu Qinghan already turned it down, you don’t need to give it to her like this.”

“It’s just more suitable for her.”

Luo Xiying, looking distant, pressed the call button and, just before the call connected, added one last earnest remark.