Transmigrated as the Black-Bellied Film Empress's Live-in Alpha (GL) - Chapter 10

No wonder they said Chen Qingying was the nation’s goddess, exuding charm everywhere; even she couldn’t resist it.

This was the carrot-and-stick approach, boiling a frog in warm water to make it drop its guard. She absolutely couldn’t be careless.

Due to the long commute, Bai Nian woke up early every day and prepared breakfast. However, Chen Qingying rarely touched it, and when she came back in the evening, the breakfast was still neatly placed on the table.

What a waste.

She put the toast back into the toaster again and fried another egg; this had almost become her staple dinner.

Fortunately, it was nearly September, and being soaked in oil, it wouldn’t spoil. Thinking of her supervisor urging her to submit her draft, she mercilessly chewed her sandwich, her mind replaying the news article.

After a quick tidying up, Bai Nian went upstairs, encountering Chen Qingying who was about to come down.

Tight jeans made her legs appear firm and long, with good waist-to-hip proportions. Looking up, the other person wore a simple white T-shirt, her long hair pulled back.

Bai Nian mustered her courage to greet her: “Ms. Chen.”

After some time together, Chen Qingying’s attitude towards her had improved slightly. But it was limited to granting a glance, then resuming silence.

One proactive action for a lifetime of introversion.

Of course, such a thing couldn’t happen to Bai Nian. She prided herself on being thick-skinned. Seeing the Omega walk to the door with her bag, and then looking at the night falling outside, she asked with concern.

“Ms. Chen, where are you going so late?”

A beautiful Omega going out alone was too dangerous.

She was prepared to be told to mind her own business, but surprisingly, that phrase didn’t come.

The tiles were like a calm lake surface, reflecting shadowy outlines. Chen Qingying bent down, her T-shirt half-tucked into her belt. She put her phone into her bag and actually responded.

“I’m going to the film set for the next few days. The car is waiting outside.”

Just as this unprecedented behavior caught Bai Nian’s attention, the other party followed with another sentence.

“Watch the house carefully, don’t bring strangers home casually.”

No wonder she was willing to speak; it was about this. But Bai Nian was still happy; at least in the other person’s eyes, she was half a reliable person.

“Task guaranteed.” A sense of mission surged from the bottom of her heart. Chen Qingying paused her action of carrying the bag and looked at her meaningfully.

The door closed with a “bang,” and the house returned to quietness. Bai Nian, the “left-behind child,” walked stiffly into the guest bedroom, ready to start working.

Thinking that she wouldn’t have to see Chen Qingying for the next few days, the huge stone in her heart lifted. Firstly, it avoided awkwardness, and secondly, it allowed her to relax and organize her thoughts.

After continuously working overtime writing drafts for nearly an hour, her thoughts began to lose focus. When refining her wording, if she wasn’t careful, her mind would be occupied by other things.

Like Chen Qingying.

The guest bedroom didn’t have the master bedroom’s living area. Besides the walk-in closet and private bathroom, there was only a bed and a dressing table directly facing the window.

Aside from taking graduation photos since childhood, Bai Nian rarely primped herself. This also made those around her forget that her appearance wasn’t bad. At least on the street, she could be considered a little beauty with an eighty percent return rate.

She had always been slow to react to the entertainment industry, so most of her reports concerned businesses, rarely venturing into entertainment. Her understanding of this world’s culture was even more minimal.

As if by some supernatural influence, the mouse cursor moved away from the document interface, opening a search engine. She typed in recent news about Chen Qingying.

News from online proxies and fan site managers was always the fastest. Soon, Bai Nian saw the other party’s schedule in recent itineraries.

Although only approximate times were given, meticulous netizens could infer many details by comparing airport pickup times, filming start times, original novel plots, and so on.

It was in the neighboring N City.

She stared at the timetable for a long time, accidentally stumbled upon Weibo, and then accidentally joined a fan site manager’s group.

Many coincidences colliding together became deliberate. Looking at the refined photos in the group files, Bai Nian couldn’t help but praise them.

It wasn’t over-editing; it was clearly restoring her beauty. After all, she saw this face every day and knew that reality was far more enduring than what the camera captured.

She had many reasons to convince herself of her unconscious membership in the fan support team.

She was her wife, after all. If she didn’t even know the other person’s preferences and schedule, how could she be qualified? How could she gain the other person’s forgiveness? And how could she win the female lead’s favor and cling to her leg to instantly ascend?

After a triple interrogation in her heart, recalling the foolish things she had done before, Bai Nian learned from her painful experience. From her meager savings, she allocated another sum to buy Chen Qingying’s high-definition photos.

Now, her illustrious resume had another line added to it.

After admiring photos of the beautiful Omega for half a day, realizing she still had a draft to write, she reluctantly closed the webpage.

Fine, needle-like rain slanted across the sky, tracing silver lines in the misty S City. The wind-beaten leaves shone with an oily sheen. By the time Bai Nian folded her umbrella and stepped into the newspaper office, she had arrived just one minute before the attendance clock-in point.

Sitting at her desk, she propped up a mirror to tidy a damp strand of hair on her forehead. Beside her, Yun Ning tapped the desk and whispered.

“Sister Nian Nian, why are you so late today?”

Yun Ning always arrived just in time for work, and every time she came, she would see Bai Nian already seated. It was the first time she had seen the other person arrive later than herself.

As she spoke, she pulled out a packet of wet wipes from her drawer, poking at them with her fingertip before handing them over: “There seems to be a hairdryer in the pantry. Go use it quickly, don’t catch a cold.”

Bai Nian took them and thanked her. She tore open the seal, pulled out one, and handed the rest back: “I slept too late yesterday, and my biological clock failed this morning.”

After Chen Qingying left, she subconsciously believed she didn’t need to wake up early to cook, so she naturally overslept.

Plus, last night she was researching Chen Qingying’s search terms, inadvertently staying up until the middle of the night. Now her head felt groggy, like mush.

Somehow, even in her dreams, it was her face. Of course, it wasn’t the shyness of a young girl in love; Bai Nian saw scenes from the original book.

The woman stood silently, arms crossed, watching her through iron bars. Her alluring foxy eyes were as calm as an ancient well, as if looking at a stranger.

It was a nightmare.

Bai Nian was carefully parting her stray hair with a wooden comb when her editor walked up to her. He first glanced at the umbrella on the floor: “Don’t bring umbrellas inside in the future, just hang them outside the door.”

The middle-aged man’s nasolabial folds were deeply etched. His swollen eyes protruded slightly, and black-rimmed glasses rested on his nose, making him seem unapproachable.

“Oh, oh, I’m sorry. I was in too much of a hurry. I’ll take it out right away.” Bai Nian, who had been reprimanded, quickly picked up the umbrella, but the editor blocked her way.

“That’s not urgent. Have you finished your draft?”

“Y-yes, I’ve finished it.” She quickly logged into WeChat, opened the document in her file assistant, and scrolled through a few pages with the mouse wheel.

Looking at the richly illustrated pages, the editor’s expression softened slightly. He patted Bai Nian’s shoulder and praised her: “Well done. Come to my office in a moment.”

Seeing him enter the office, Bai Nian quickly shook her umbrella dry and hung it outside the door. When she returned, Yun Ning looked worried.

“Why did the editor suddenly call you over? Nothing bad, right?”

“What could be wrong? It’s probably a mistake in the last draft, don’t worry.” Bai Nian reassured her, though she wasn’t entirely sure herself.

The corridor leading to the office felt exceptionally long. When she saw the man’s bald spot through the frosted glass, her heart pounded.

Resignation? A lecture? Don’t tell me he’s increasing her workload?

Knocking and entering, the editor was putting down an old-fashioned tea mug. The enamel cup was printed with several bright flowers, and from the dark blue rim, a few vibrant goji berries could be seen steeping inside.

It looked like the kind of tea set Bai Nian’s grandmother’s generation would use.

Seeing her approach, the editor gestured: “Come in, come sit.”

He subtly raised his chin towards the open chair opposite him. After Bai Nian straightened her clothes and sat down, the editor clasped his hands, his face indicating an important announcement was about to be made.

It didn’t seem like a lecture.

This allowed Bai Nian to slightly ease the tension in her heart.

“Xiao Bai, since you haven’t been here long, you need to have the right attitude. Look, you almost came late today, everyone else arrived early, right?” The editor took a deep breath, beginning to put on airs.

“You’re absolutely right,” Bai Nian said humbly, secretly cursing the editor in her mind.

She wasn’t even late, so how was her attitude not proper? But she knew the editor calling her over wasn’t just about such a minor matter.

“Here’s the thing, you do have experience, and your abilities are recognized by everyone. Recently, there’s a real estate developer in N City collaborating with our newspaper. After deliberation, we’ve chosen you to conduct the interview. For the expenses, remember to get receipts and we’ll reimburse you when you return.”

In the past, Bai Nian felt nothing about such outdoor assignments, but upon hearing the words “N City,” her attention was instantly drawn.

It was truly like someone sending a pillow when you’re sleepy. Last night’s dream made her deeply realize that a complacent, defeatist attitude might not change the outcome. Chen Qingying said she would protect her, but Bai Nian felt undeserving.

She hadn’t done anything; how could the other party easily forgive her? Just when she was worrying about how to improve their relationship, the opportunity for a business trip to N City fell into her lap.

What immense good fortune! Such good luck, in any novel, would be enough for the female protagonist, right?

She didn’t really hear the rest of what he said. Walking out of the office, Yun Ning saw her looking spaced out and proactively approached her.

“Sister Nian Nian, the editor didn’t make things difficult for you, did he?” The young girl blinked her eyes and handed her the freshly made milk tea: “Drink some to warm your stomach.”

Bai Nian shook her head: “The editor is sending me to N City for an interview.”

“Wow!” Hearing this, the girl’s round eyes lit up. She hadn’t been there long and hadn’t been dispatched to another city yet. “Is this like a business trip vacation?”

“Not really. Most of the time will be dedicated to work, so there might not be much time for fun.” Bai Nian opened her laptop and typed her inspirations from yesterday into the computer.

After thinking about it, she felt it necessary to inform Chen Qingying, so she composed a message and sent it.

Bai Nian: [Ms. Chen, I’ll be going to N City for a business trip in a few days. If you need anything, feel free to contact me [fist bump emoji]]

Before she could put down her phone, the reply came almost instantly.

Chen Qingying: [Got it.]

Chen Qingying: [If you don’t want to work, just resign. If you’re short on money, ask me.]