What Should I do After Binding the Wrong System and the Female Lead comes Knocking at my Door? - Chapter 2
Gu Qing had no idea that her biggest secret had already been discovered and that someone was keeping an eye on her. All she knew was that it seemed like she had messed up something…
After changing her clothes and returning, she heard the noisy voices from the banquet. It seemed everyone was talking about Pei Yuanxi.
Pei Yuanxi was the woman who had accidentally spilled wine on herself by the window earlier.
When Gu Qing attended the banquet, she had done a quick search of the actresses vying for Best Actress. She had noticed Pei Yuanxi and did a little more research, seeing how the public was raving about her. Gu Qing had to admit, Pei Yuanxi was indeed quite enchanting and captivating, but her personality was a bit strange…
So, when she heard discussions like “Pei Yuanxi is in trouble,” and “She likes women,” Gu Qing took out her phone to look it up.
Sure enough, the internet was flooded with discussions about Pei Yuanxi’s alleged preference for women. Gu Qing lowered her gaze. No wonder Pei Yuanxi had reacted the way she did when Gu Qing asked that question earlier.
In fact, it wasn’t entirely Gu Qing’s fault. From her perspective, after Pei Yuanxi had spilled the wine on herself, she had been staring at her, swallowing hard as she watched her… Eventually, she had even asked for Gu Qing’s contact information. Given the sequence of events, it seemed quite obvious to Gu Qing that Pei Yuanxi had an interest in her.
That’s why Gu Qing had bluntly asked Pei Yuanxi if she liked women.
However, she hadn’t expected this controversy to arise. Pei Yuanxi must have thought she was trying to pry into her private life, right?
But Gu Qing didn’t really care about what a stranger thought of her. After all, there was too big a gap in their status and backgrounds, so there was no way they would ever interact much.
She had just transmigrated recently and found herself once again in the entertainment industry.
She understood how hard it would be for someone with her looks and no background to make it in the industry especially now that the company had her working on a short drama. She found it difficult to accept.
But since she couldn’t afford to pay the penalty fee for breaking her contract, she had no choice but to comply with the company’s arrangement.
The next morning, Pei Yuanxi received a file from Bai Zhou containing information about a woman.
Her name was Gu Qing, a name that suited her vibe perfectly.
She was a year younger than Pei Yuanxi, 25 years old.
Gu Qing had signed with a small agency and was currently filming a short drama. The rest of the information was her address and contact details.
With that information, Pei Yuanxi was satisfied. She lazily lay back on her couch, thinking for a moment before pulling out her phone and dialing the number from the file.
When the phone was answered, Gu Qing’s cool and clear voice came through: “Hello?”
“Hello, Miss Gu, I’m Pei Yuanxi the one who accidentally spilled wine on you last night.”
“Mm… Is there something you need?”
She was still so cold.
Pei Yuanxi silently complained in her mind but continued speaking, “I was wondering if Miss Gu would like to have a meal with me?”
“Miss Pei, I don’t know how you got my name and contact details, but I think I already told you that it’s all in the past. There’s no need for you to apologize. Also, the current online controversy surrounding you is escalating. Instead of flirting with me, maybe you should focus on solving your own problems.”
Pei Yuanxi: …
Gu Qing’s response left Pei Yuanxi stunned. Flirting? “Flirting” with her?
“Cough, cough, cough…” Pei Yuanxi coughed awkwardly and explained, “I think you misunderstood, Miss Gu. The things online are all rumors. Also, the reason I wanted to invite you to dinner is because I value your potential. I was wondering if you might be interested in learning about my studio?”
Pei Yuanxi waited for a response, but there was only silence. If it weren’t for the fact that the phone showed the call was still connected, she would have thought Gu Qing had already hung up.
“Miss Gu?”
“No… Not interested. Goodbye.”
With that, Gu Qing immediately hung up the phone. Pei Yuanxi couldn’t help but touch her face. Had her charm really faded so much?
Fine, if Gu Qing wasn’t interested in meeting her, Pei Yuanxi wouldn’t force it. After all, she was just a celebrity, not some domineering CEO. Was she really supposed to buy Gu Qing’s small agency outright?
The thought of it made Pei Yuanxi feel greasy. She had too much money to waste, right?
Pei Yuanxi shrugged and forgot about the whole thing. Compared to what she had to deal with next, this incident was nothing.
She had already had her studio release a statement. However, the statement didn’t confirm or deny anything but simply stated that Pei Yuanxi would be taking some time off to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the country, assuring fans that they didn’t need to worry and should wait for her return.
The internet was rife with speculations about the unclear meaning of this statement.
At this moment, Pei Yuanxi reposted her studio’s statement, adding the comment: “Stop overthinking. I don’t even know who I like. After all, so far, no one has made my heart flutter, right?”
This comment immediately set the internet ablaze. Many people who didn’t like Pei Yuanxi began criticizing her for being pretentious and self-centered, while her fans wholeheartedly agreed with her. They couldn’t imagine anyone being worthy of her. This caused an all-out online war between her fans and haters, pushing the hashtag #PeiYuanxiLikesWomen out of the trending topics.
While the two fan bases were bickering uncontrollably, a screenshot quickly went viral across the internet. It showed a girl asking her girlfriend: “Would you ever like an arrogant and self-centered woman?”
The girlfriend replied: “No, I’d never like someone like that.”
The girl responded: “Even if it’s Pei Yuanxi?”
The girlfriend said: “Of course, like you, my ideal partner must match my values.”
The girl: “You’re so great.”
Girlfriend: “By the way, I don’t know Pei Yuanxi. Let me search for her.”
A few minutes later…
Girlfriend: “Pei Yuanxi is fine.”
This screenshot exploded across all major platforms, with people trying to imitate it everywhere.
Thus, the earlier trending topics criticizing Pei Yuanxi for being pretentious were completely overshadowed, and the top trending hashtags were now #PeiYuanxiIsFine and #WhatDoesItMeanToBeAQueenInTheLesbianCommunity.
With this, the media storm surrounding Pei Yuanxi was effectively quelled. Meanwhile, Pei Yuanxi herself was happily giving out bonuses to her employees.
“Thanks for all your hard work, everyone. You must have been exhausted these past few days. Let’s go out for dinner tonight. Tomorrow’s Friday, so everyone gets a day off, and we’ll have a three-day weekend!”
The studio cheered, “Long live the boss!” Pei Yuanxi waved her hand dismissively as she walked toward her office.
Bai Zhou followed her and reported, “We found out it was Xie Ying, who’s also competing for Best Actress.”
“Forget about her for now,” Pei Yuanxi replied, her eyes flashing. “This matter isn’t something we should escalate just yet. We’ll deal with her later, but let’s mess with her a little first. What do you think about the hashtag #XieYingIsNoGood?”
Bai Zhou nodded. “Got it, I’ll handle it right away.”
The two of them relaxed, knowing that while Pei Yuanxi casually dismissed the matter, if it wasn’t handled properly, it could ruin her career for years.
“White Sister, you should also take some time to rest,” Pei Yuanxi said.
“And what about you? What are your plans?”
Pei Yuanxi didn’t respond, instead sending Bai Zhou out.
She had handled this situation, but there were still matters to deal with involving her system.
Pei Yuanxi rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. What a mess…
She silently called for the system, which appeared with a “ding.”
“System, who am I supposed to slap in the face this time?”
“Pei Yuanxi.”
“So, who am I?”
“Gu Qing.”
Who is Gu Qing?
MD, this system is idiotic.
Not only had it bound to the wrong person, but the systems in other novels usually bantered with their hosts, even engaging in romance! Why was hers like this?
Pei Yuanxi sighed again, “Switch to human customer service.”
After waiting a while, the system didn’t respond at all.
She gave up on communicating with the idiotic thing. Otherwise, it would drag her intelligence down to its level.
Unfortunately, Gu Qing had refused to meet her. Pei Yuanxi wasn’t the type to shamelessly push herself onto someone.
Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at the number it seemed familiar.
“Hello, who is this?”
A familiar voice came through the line: “Pei Miss, I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Gu Qing.”
“Oh, Miss Gu.”
Pei Yuanxi smiled, feeling that she had just been thinking about Gu Qing, and now the phone call had arrived. She was curious about what would prompt Gu Qing to take the initiative to call her.
“Of course, I remember. What can I do for you, Miss Gu?”
Gu Qing paused before asking, “I was wondering if you had time recently? I’d like to invite you to dinner.”
Pei Yuanxi almost wanted to ask if Gu Qing’s face hurt from the way she had spoken to her a few days ago. After all, she had said a lot that had left Pei Yuanxi confused.
“Of course, I have time. Just pick a place and send me the details. Oh… I forgot I don’t have your WeChat yet.”
If Bai Zhou had been here, seeing Pei Yuanxi’s overly dramatic behavior would have given him goosebumps. But Gu Qing didn’t know any better—she assumed this was just Pei Yuanxi’s style.
Without hesitation, Gu Qing added Pei Yuanxi on WeChat.
“I’ve added you.”
Pei Yuanxi smiled. “Okay, I’ll be waiting for your message.”
After hanging up, Pei Yuanxi hummed a little tune, feeling like she had vented some frustration. Looking out at the glaring yet warm sunlight, she couldn’t help but think, “Today is a good day.”
Meanwhile, Gu Qing, after hanging up, stood by the window, staring out blankly.
She had originally thought that once she finished filming the short drama and received her paycheck, she could scrape together enough to pay off her penalty fee and leave the company. But unexpectedly, things had taken a turn.
The penalty fee for breaking her contract was five million, while her salary for the short drama was just 100,000—clearly, the company had been taking advantage of her.
Truth be told, it had been months since she transmigrated, and she still hadn’t figured out if she had crossed over into this body or if her soul had taken over.
If it was her soul that had transmigrated, then this body was still hers, and she knew it intimately. When she first arrived, she felt a bit relieved, as she feared she might have been transplanted into an unfamiliar body. She couldn’t accept becoming someone else.
She had no problem with being her after all, the experiences, background, and body all defined who she was, and all were crucial to her identity.
But if it was really a case of her body being transmigrated into, it felt wrong because she didn’t feel like a blank slate. The existence of the contract she had with the agency proved that this “Gu Qing” had already lived here.
It was as though her parallel self in another world had ended up here. That raised a question: What happened to the original Gu Qing in her world? Had she replaced her?
If she did, Gu Qing hoped that life for the original would be a little easier, especially in the entertainment industry. Back in her original world, she had a bit more background, so things were easier for her. But in this world… it wasn’t as simple.
Upon realizing the absurdity of her five million penalty, Gu Qing thought of the filthy boss who had offered to let her go… for a night with him. Naturally, she slapped him and walked away, but she knew the contract bound her.
She was stuck.
As she thought about all this, she found herself scrolling through Twitter, where the hashtag #PeiYuanxiIsFine was trending.
She clicked on the first post and saw the meme. A smile formed on her face.
Very clever. Public relations at its finest. Not only did it distance Pei Yuanxi from the rumors surrounding her, but it also put her back in the spotlight.
But this was likely her last resort. For an actress who had just won Best Actress, using her looks for marketing wasn’t exactly classy, but it was effective in such a time.
Gu Qing paused, thinking for a moment.
“Pei Yuanxi, huh?”
Yeah, Pei Yuanxi… she’s definitely someone who can.