When a Scumbag Cannon Fodder Alpha Meets a Mad Movie Queen Villainess - Chapter 8

Shen Yuanyi smiled. Half an hour passed quickly, and she said, “Goodbye.”

The other end reluctantly hung up the call.

Was she really a careless person?

Surely the original owner wouldn’t have hidden cameras installed in her room, right?

Shen Yuanyi glanced at a hanging pothos plant beside the discreetly placed TV. She walked over but stopped just before reaching it. She really had hit rock bottom in terms of boredom.

Instead of studying the script or understanding her character, she was searching for non-existent hidden cameras in her room.

Stretching, she returned to the sofa and picked up the script, flipping through it. Occasionally, she would get up and pace around the sofa, trying to immerse herself in the character’s emotions. She continued until midnight when exhaustion finally drove her to bed.

Qi Ning’an stared at the screen as Shen Yuanyi gradually approached, nervously biting her index finger and holding her breath, her heart pounding wildly.

Was she about to be discovered?

The thrill was like riding a rollercoaster—adrenaline surging, pupils trembling.

Watching Shen Yuanyi stop and turn back to pick up the script, Qi Ning’an finally exhaled in relief. Flushed, she collapsed onto the soft bed, breathing heavily.

The smile never left her lips as she gazed at the photos plastered across the wall, bursting into laughter.

When Shen Yuanyi woke up, she received a message from Qi Ning’an: “Good morning, puppy.”

“Morning!”

Qi Ning’an: “Wow, what a coincidence today! I thought I’d have to wait forever for my puppy to reply.”

Shen Yuanyi smiled faintly, slipped on her slippers, and typed, “Yeah, I just woke up and saw your message. What a coincidence.”

After freshening up, she didn’t chat much with Qi Ning’an, simply sending, “I’m heading to the set now.”

Qi Ning’an replied, “Be careful on your way.”

And with that, their conversation ended.

Both the director and the agent thought Shen Yuanyi was just going through the motions. After all, for the past two years, she had come and gone as she pleased, never caring about anyone else.

But for two days straight, she arrived on time—even earlier than the crew—giving everyone the sudden impression that the child had finally grown up.

Director: “Teacher Shen, you’ve worked hard!”

Agent: “Yuanyi, are you feeling unwell? Don’t hide it from us.”

Shen Yuanyi shook her head and waved them off. Even though the original owner had been terrible, the people around her still embraced her quickly.

Another day envying the original owner.

Returning home in the evening, her phone buzzed with messages from the bank and loan sharks demanding repayment.

Shen Yuanyi was too exasperated to be angry, grumbling inwardly: Original owner, couldn’t you have taken all your mess with you when you left?

She used the remaining balance in her account to pay off the bank debt. As for the loan sharks, she’d have to work hard to earn the money to repay them.

That night, she chatted with Qi Ning’an for another half hour.

Qi Ning’an: “Puppy, let me guess what you’re doing. You guess what I’m doing too.”

Shen Yuanyi figured it out instantly. “This is yesterday’s game.”

“Correct.”

After a moment’s thought, she replied, “Alright.”

Qi Ning’an: “Then I’ll guess first.”

After a brief pause, the voice on the other end said, “Are you reading in bed?”

Shen Yuanyi stifled a laugh. She was standing in front of the bathroom sink, looking into the mirror. “Nope.”

“Are you in the kitchen?”

“Nope.” Shen Yuanyi shook her head and tapped the mirror with her finger.

This guessing game was fun—teasing the big villain felt surprisingly satisfying.

Qi Ning’an: “You’re standing in front of the bathroom sink, tapping the mirror with the knuckle of your left middle finger, a green bottle of hand soap beside you…”

Another detailed description—Shen Yuanyi felt a chill run down her spine after listening.

How could it be so accurate?

“Did I guess right?”

Snapping back to reality, Shen Yuanyi lightly slapped her own cheek and cleared her throat. “You got it! Sister is amazing!”

“Is that so?”

Shen Yuanyi could hear the laughter on the other end of the call and couldn’t help but smile along.

“Now it’s my turn to guess what you’re doing.”

“Mhm, go for it, puppy!”

Glancing at the time—9:25 PM—Shen Yuanyi sat back on the sofa, thinking. At this hour, most people would probably be getting ready for bed.

“I bet you’re lying in bed… putting on a face mask?”

Qi Ning’an, sitting elegantly on the sofa in the villa’s living room with her legs crossed, swirled her wine glass and replied softly, “So accurate! You guessed it right away, puppy.”

Shen Yuanyi pressed her lips together, stifling a laugh, unable to hide her smugness. “Heh, really?”

“Puppy, you’re too good. I’m starting to wonder if you’re spying on me.”

That had to be a compliment, right? She hadn’t expected to guess correctly so easily. Shen Yuanyi’s voice was brimming with pride. “I’m just that good—no need to spy to know what you’re up to.”

Qi Ning’an clapped, praising her with a playful, “Amazing, amazing, amazing.”

The praise was so over-the-top that Shen Yuanyi couldn’t suppress her grin.

Seeing how late it was, Shen Yuanyi got into bed, said “Goodnight,” and hung up.

From then on, their routine continued—each day spent between two fixed points, but every night, they’d spare half an hour to play their guessing game.

Once again, Shen Yuanyi guessed correctly and hung up the call, thoroughly satisfied.

As the villa gathering approached, her heart inexplicably raced. Before bed, the friend who had previously slipped her a business card reached out, reminding her to come the next day. She agreed.

That night, Shen Yuanyi tossed and turned in bed, replaying the novel’s plot in her mind. She vaguely remembered the female lead suffering under the male lead’s torment, desperate to escape, only to cross paths with the antagonist. The female lead tried to use the antagonist to flee the villa, and the pure-hearted antagonist agreed—only to get dragged into the leads’ twisted games. On the road down the mountainside villa, the male lead intercepted them, forcing the antagonist to witness their… activities.

The trauma left the antagonist retching, clutching her stomach afterward. Even the sight of mating stray cats would trigger her nausea.

Shen Yuanyi clenched her fists. She wouldn’t let that happen.

The next day, she went to the set as usual. By evening, a Maybach was parked outside—Qi Ning’an’s car.

Suppressing a smile, Shen Yuanyi opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. “Qi Ning’an, long time no see.”

The poised woman in the backseat smiled gently. “It has been a while.”

Remembering last night’s game, Shen Yuanyi chuckled but found herself at a loss for words. Grasping for a topic, she asked, “How have you been these days, Qi Ning’an?”

“…”

The silence that followed was unbearably awkward.

Shen Yuanyi wanted to scream and yank her own hair out. Who asks such a bland question?

Qi Ning’an smiled warmly, leaning in to adjust the folded collar of her shirt. “Is that all you wanted to say to me after seeing me again?”

Those rabbit-like eyes gazed at her, pure and innocent.

Shen Yuanyi realized her heartbeat was pounding loudly. Smiling, she lowered her gaze to look at the utterly clueless Qi Ning’an, whose warm breath tickled her neck—damp and hot.

They were so close. The villainess was being irresistibly alluring like this.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Yuanyi pushed her away with a laugh, scratching her cheek as she said, “We’ve only talked on the phone before, so now that we’re face to face, I don’t even know what to say. Hmm… suddenly it feels like we’re online friends meeting for the first time.”

Qi Ning’an smiled faintly. “Now that you mention it, it really does feel like that.”

Their eyes met, and for some reason, just looking at each other made them want to laugh. The conversation flowed naturally after that.

For Shen Yuanyi, a barely relevant member of a struggling girl group, gatherings like this usually had nothing to do with her—a background character. Though her primary goal was to follow the plot and prevent the pure-hearted villainess Qi Ning’an from being hurt, this wasn’t a novel but the real world. Soon, many people would surely flock to Qi Ning’an to chat, leaving Shen Yuanyi—the nobody—with no one else to talk to besides her.

The time alone with Qi Ning’an in the car felt all the more precious.

“Puppy, what’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”

Startled, Shen Yuanyi looked at the person who had leaned in, tilting her head with curious eyes fixed on her. She held her breath.

Choking on her own saliva, she coughed a few times. “You—”

“Me?” Qi Ning’an tilted her head further, inching even closer.

Shen Yuanyi shook her head and leaned back. “It’s nothing.”

Noticing the car had reached the halfway point up the mountain villa, she seized the moment to change the subject. “Qi Ning’an, we’re almost there. You’ll be meeting Director Zhou first, right?”

“Mhm, I should greet the host first.”

“And after that?” Shen Yuanyi swallowed, her eyes betraying a fleeting hope—Could you stay with me?

But how could an innocent little bunny read the wolf’s gaze? After a brief pause, Qi Ning’an replied, “Then I’ll catch up and chat with others in the industry.”

“What about you?”

Shen Yuanyi cleared her throat and turned her head toward the window. “Same.”

The original owner’s friends counted as half-acquaintances, right? She could just find one of them to talk to later.

Thinking this, she suddenly didn’t feel so lonely anymore.

Qi Ning’an curled her lips in a small smile, choosing not to expose the puppy’s thoughts.

Soon, the driver stopped at the entrance of the mountain villa and announced, “We’re here.”

Shen Yuanyi and Qi Ning’an stepped out, greeted by black-suited bodyguards and a stream of celebrities emerging from luxury cars.

The moment the crowd spotted Qi Ning’an, they swarmed her with greetings, pushing Shen Yuanyi aside. She forced an awkward smile and slipped away.

Entering the villa, she marveled at the lavish garden and pool setup. Just then, she bumped into the original owner’s friend—the same one who had slipped her a business card last time—wandering around with a wine glass.

“Shen Yuanyi, over here.” The woman beckoned, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Reluctantly, Shen Yuanyi approached and was dragged to a secluded corner by the pool.

“Later, I’ll bring Director Zhou some wine. Wait for me in the first-floor lounge, and don’t let anyone else in to ruin my plan.”

“What are you planning?” Shen Yuanyi eyed the woman suspiciously.

“Offering myself, of course.”

Countless people in the industry were scrambling to get into Director Zhou’s inner circle. Zhou Huan was a renowned young director, and every actor who had worked with her had skyrocketed to fame, making her collaborations highly coveted by those dreaming of leaping from obscurity to A-list stardom. Even established A-listers were eager to work with her at least once.

“Drugging?”

“What else?”

Shen Yuanyi had every reason to suspect that the person who drugged her last time was this so-called friend of the original owner. Her eyes darkened instantly.

“Go ahead. I’ll wait for you.”

She just couldn’t figure out why this “friend” would drug the original owner—there seemed to be no motive.

“Then I’m off. If there are benefits, I won’t forget my bestie.” The woman winked at her before walking away with a glass of red wine.

Now truly alone, the noisy, chaotic environment felt completely alien to her.

Qi Ning’an entered surrounded by admirers, and their eyes seemed to lock instantly.

Shen Yuanyi immediately turned away, grabbed a glass of wine from the table, and joined a random group of strangers.

The main antagonist sure is popular. This party definitely won’t be boring.