Transmigrated as the Black-Bellied Film Empress's Live-in Alpha (GL) - Chapter 15

Bai Nian had embarrassed herself countless times in front of Chen Qingying, each time more awkward than the last.

For instance, conspiring with her shady friends to scheme against Chen Qingying, which, though a historical issue from the original owner, should, from Chen Qingying’s perspective, be attributed to her.

For instance, bringing the wrong pen when they were getting divorced, or bumping into her while having dinner with friends and deliberately pretending not to know her…

“Ms. Chen.” Bai Nian reacted, exclaiming before rushing to the living room, grabbing a few wet wipes, and attempting to wipe her.

The splashes were precisely on her collar, the tiny dots dazzling against the pure white dress. Chen Qingying’s initial surprise turned into calm.

She pushed Bai Nian’s hand away, pinching the corner of her dress to prevent it from touching her skin: “It’s fine, just throw the dress away. It’s nothing valuable.”

Staring at the golden embroidered logo, Bai Nian felt a pang of heartache. Three months of her salary couldn’t even buy one cardigan, yet the other person said to throw it away so casually.

A flicker of envy crossed her mind. Knowing she was the culprit, her hand holding the wet wipes hung awkwardly in mid-air, a thousand words condensing into a murmured: “I’m truly sorry.”

She had messed things up again.

She estimated that her favorability in Chen Qingying’s eyes had now dropped to freezing point.

In Chen Qingying’s view, a stained dress was no big deal. She preferred custom-made clothes over mass-produced ones.

But Bai Nian was right about one thing: Chen Qingying did find her a bit of a headache now. Although she appeared calm on the surface, her expressionless face said a lot.

“I’ll go change.” She put down the noodles she had barely touched and stood up. The chair scraped sharply as it was dragged, and her departing figure was composed.

Bai Nian averted her gaze. Looking at the mess on the table, she lost her appetite. She used a tissue to wipe the oily surface, drained the leftovers into the trash can, and put the bowls and chopsticks into the dishwasher.

Feeling too ashamed to face Chen Qingying, she returned to her room and sent Chen Qingying a message on her phone.

Bai Nian: [I’m really, really sorry (>人<;), it won’t happen again.]

Chen Qingying seemed to still be changing, replying a few minutes later.

Chen Qingying: [Don’t blame yourself.]

A bland sentence, like plain water, yet it left a bitter taste in her ears. Bai Nian lay on the bed, her laptop propped on her bent knees, seemingly working diligently, but her ears were perked up, listening for movements outside.

A faint door closing sound came from the living room. Chen Qingying must have changed and walked out. Then, a rustling sound, and the main door closed as well.

She left.

Bai Nian pushed aside her laptop, half-kneeling on the soft bedding, making a prayer gesture to the sky, calling out in despair.

She, Bai Nian, in the darkest moment of her life, splashed oil on her clean-freak target.

After nearly ten minutes of painful remorse, she collected herself, exhausted, leaning against the upholstered headboard, her eyes unfocused, staring at the air conditioner remote in the TV cabinet.

Her phone vibrated muffledly under the bed a few times. Her consciousness returned. She lifted the covers, searched around, and finally found her phone tangled in the crumpled sheets.

Yun Ning: [Sister Nian Nian, I heard from the editor that you’ll be working remotely from N City. When are you coming back?]

The concern evident in the words smoothed away her inner anxiety. She counted the days on her fingers and gave a rough date.

Bai Nian: [Hmm, probably by the end of the year.]

Yun Ning: [Ah? That late…]

Yun Ning: [But I heard you’re going to dig up entertainment news. Chen Qingying is also in N City, so maybe you two will have a chance to meet!]

When Chen Qingying was mentioned, Bai Nian could feel the other side’s enthusiasm through the screen. She took a deep breath and replied with a perfunctory emoji.

Not only did she have a chance to meet her, but she had also just ruined the film empress’s rare mealtime.

Bai Nian rested her head against the wall, staring at the pure white ceiling, feeling as though “whenever she made a mistake, the whole world’s mockery kissed her.”

Distractedly editing her draft in the hotel for a day finally diluted the morning’s awkwardness. She got up to pour a glass of water, noticing the sun setting in the west.

The evening glow painted large swaths of fiery clouds, and the orange sunlight gilded the horizon, like spilled orange juice.

The light passing through the glass cast square patches on the floor. Bai Nian’s pupils reflected like light-colored amber. She looked back at the half-open bedroom door, and her stomach rumbled at the opportune moment.

Having endured several late-night shoots in the past few days, Chen Qingying finally had time to adjust her schedule. She finished work early these two days. When she swiped her card to enter the room, she saw Bai Nian in the kitchen.

Sometimes, she really admired her. No matter how boring or tedious a task was, when it was handed to Bai Nian, she would painstakingly complete it.

Bai Nian was preparing vegetables. Hearing the movement, she turned her head: “Ms. Chen, you’re back?”

Like many ordinary, warm families, upon returning home, the other half would be busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

Neither of them mentioned the morning’s incident, as bringing it up would only lead to awkwardness. Chen Qingying was in a good mood, and even Bai Nian seemed much more agreeable in her eyes.

She stood outside the kitchen, hearing the rumbling sound of the range hood. Even with her soft and delicate voice, the sharp-eared Bai Nian could always catch it immediately.

“It’s fine, I’ll handle this. You go sit over there, it’ll be ready soon.” Bai Nian’s forehead was beaded with fine sweat. She scooped the bubbling sauce from the pot with a spoon, tasted it for saltiness, and nodded contentedly.

As expected of herself, it tasted good.

While thinking about how this would surely charm Chen Qingying to death, she dared not turn around.

Because the other’s gaze was fixed directly on her back, like a snake with a flickering tongue coiling upwards, mixed with an indescribable meaning.

Bai Nian stiffened and carried the dishes to the table, noticing that the other person’s eyes were still on her. She instinctively shrugged her shoulders: “Is there something on my face?”

The Alpha’s shadow was stretched long by the light, like an invisible cloth draped over the table. Chen Qingying clasped her hands under her chin, asking with keen interest, “I didn’t notice before, but you like to cook.”

Although Bai Nian had said something foolish on the first day of transmigration, she assumed the other person wouldn’t take it to heart. She pulled out a chair opposite her and handed over the chopsticks.

“My parents live far away, so I can only take good care of myself when living alone.” Bai Nian recited the novel’s setting, her hand gripping the chopsticks damp with sweat.

“Were you cutting fruit platters at the bar?” Chen Qingying picked up a porcelain spoon and stirred it in the soup, whose surface had a thin film. Steam rose again.

She had long forgotten what Bai Nian said at the time.

“Um… it paid well, you know.” Bai Nian picked up a string bean with her chopsticks, held it in her mouth, and only started chewing after she had finished speaking.

The two fell into silence again. Chen Qingying was accustomed to a quiet atmosphere, but Bai Nian felt completely ill at ease. She occasionally stirred the rice in her bowl, and sometimes secretly glanced at the person opposite her.

The excessive quiet made her want to find some topic to break the current situation.

Chen Qingying possessed an innate aristocratic charm, subtly etched into her bones, yet without appearing dissolute or frivolous. At the same time, she exuded elegance and cultivation.

Seeing her concentrating on drinking soup, she seemed to give her full attention to whatever she did. Assistant Wang had said that Chen Qingying rarely ate on time.

This made Bai Nian’s excitement bubble to the surface. It was like breaking through rigid routines with a disciplined person like Chen Qingying. She carefully asked,

“Ms. Chen, have you… changed your impression of me even a little?” As she spoke, she used her index finger and thumb to show a tiny distance, her round, almond-shaped eyes full of hope as she looked at Chen Qingying.

The Alpha’s voice was clear and pleasant, like babbling water tapping the shore. Chen Qingying, without hesitation, smiled, seemingly very pleased by the question.

“Do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?”

Whether she answered with the truth or a lie, it made no difference, because the answer would be revealed either way. Sweet lies couldn’t gloss over the truth.

Noticing Bai Nian’s hesitation, she didn’t rush to answer: “Ms. Bai previously said she would compensate me. I remembered that.”

“A little bit.”

Even though her expression suggested this statement was likely not entirely sincere, it still sparked a tiny flame of hope in Bai Nian.

Chen Qingying could handle the malicious original owner with ease, let alone deal with this naive young girl now.

Taking in Bai Nian’s reaction, her dark, turbulent foxy eyes lowered, concealing the coldness within.

The two tacitly agreed not to continue the conversation, like holding pebbles in their palms, unwilling to drop them into the lake, maintaining superficial peace.

After eating, Chen Qingying sat on the sofa reading. The gold-rimmed glasses made the Omega appear refined, and the reflective lenses obscured her eyes. Bai Nian, who was tidying up the kitchen, glanced at the cover; it was about finance.

She couldn’t understand it anyway.

She didn’t really need to clean up; room service would come every day to tidy up. But she enjoyed the feeling of scrubbing oil-stained dishes until they were spotless; in a way, it was stress-relieving.

After finishing up, she walked out, remembering Chen Qingying getting up in the middle of the night to drink milk. She guessed Chen Qingying might have trouble sleeping at night, so she poured milk from the fridge and heated it in the microwave.

Five minutes later, Bai Nian held the steaming hot milk and placed it in front of Chen Qingying.

Chen Qingying should have scoffed at her ingratiating gesture, yet now the two maintained a bizarre peace.

“I saw you had trouble sleeping last night, so I heated a cup.”

Seeing the other party staring at the cup of still-warm milk without moving, Bai Nian understood her hesitation. She quickly ran to the kitchen, poured half a cup into another glass, and drank it herself.

“There’s nothing in it,” she said with surprising honesty.

“I didn’t suspect you.” Chen Qingying’s eyes were filled with amusement. She rarely lost her composure, so much so that when around her, Bai Nian felt like she was walking into a dense fog, unable to see anything clearly.

The Omega’s eyes were hidden beneath her deep brow bones. She reached out and touched the temperature of the glass, slowly cupping it with her hand.

Because of this, a mark on the web of her thumb became particularly obvious. A subtle bandage was stuck there, imperceptible unless one looked closely.

“How did you…” Bai Nian held her water glass, starting to ask.

Female actresses prioritized skincare the most. Chen Qingying covering that spot likely meant she was injured.

How could she be so careless?

Following Bai Nian’s gaze, Chen Qingying raised her hand and shook it twice, her tone dismissive: “You mean this? Oh—I accidentally burned myself.”

The words “burned myself” stirred up unpleasant memories for Bai Nian. Remembering the noodle incident from this morning, she started to feel concerned.

“Was it… because of me?”