Transmigrating into the Rival's Fanfiction - Chapter 19

Qin Zhi stood by the wooden railing, holding her lunchbox. Sheng Mingluo didn’t know how long she had been watching her, hidden behind the dense foliage of the ornamental trees. At first, Sheng Mingluo had been too focused on eating to notice.

Forced to plaster on her trademark business smile, Sheng Mingluo pointed with her chopsticks at the plastic lunchbox in her hand, feeling utterly miserable. Please… I’m just a passerby grabbing a meal. How did I get dragged into this?!

Aren’t you worried about getting bitten by mosquitoes squatting there?

Immediately, Sheng Mingluo’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out to see a message from Qin Zhi.

It’s not too bad… there aren’t many mosquitoes here.

Her priorities are so strange. Why would she ask about mosquitoes?

Do you like my secret?

So, she found out after all. Sheng Mingluo swore to herself that she hadn’t intentionally eavesdropped.

The chilling message made Sheng Mingluo’s gaze toward Qin Zhi shift uneasily. She swallowed hard, losing her appetite for the remaining half of her lunchbox.

In truth, Qin Zhi hadn’t clearly heard the specifics of Fang Qing’s phone call, but she could guess most of it. Fang Qing had deliberately sent her away to make the call in private.

It was all about her recent, unpredictable health issues.

She sent the WeChat message to Sheng Mingluo simply to test what Sheng Mingluo had actually heard. Seeing the look of panic on Sheng Mingluo’s face downstairs, Qin Zhi smiled.

I really didn’t hear anything… Teacher Qin!!!

At this point, the only option was to play dead. Feigning ignorance was often the best solution—a survival tactic Sheng Mingluo had learned as an obscure 18th-tier celebrity.

Just teasing you. Come up quickly; it’s cooler up here.

Qin Zhi lightly bit her chopsticks as she teased Sheng Mingluo, as if caressing a beloved doll. A hint of amusement flickered in her eyes.

Okay, Teacher Qin, I’ll be right up.

The view was indeed much better from above. Sheng Mingluo gave Qin Zhi a radiant smile, and neither of them mentioned the earlier conversation.

“Mingluo, you’re here! I was wondering where you’d gone.”

A cheerful male voice rang out. Luo Hu, carrying a lunchbox, greeted Sheng Mingluo familiarly. He had spent some time searching for her, never expecting to find her with Best Actress Qin Zhi.

“I saved you a chicken leg. Want it?”

As expected, his lunchbox contained a large, golden-brown, greasy chicken leg. Sheng Mingluo had arrived late at the crew’s cafeteria and missed out on getting one.

Tearfully, she consoled herself, “Just think of it as dieting!”

But even if she was starving, she needed to maintain a proper distance from male celebrities like this. Sheng Mingluo swallowed hard, took a few steps back, and leaned against the wooden railing.

She refused with righteous indignation.

“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Luo, but…”

“She’s a germaphobe and doesn’t like eating leftovers,” Qin Zhi interrupted coldly.

The atmosphere between the two women crackled with tension. Though the area was sparsely populated, the scattered staff members were drawn to the scene, whispering and glancing their way.

The main cast had already clashed just a few days into filming.

Qin Zhi was living up to her reputation as a demanding diva, cold and unapproachable.

Sheng Mingluo, inexplicably saddled with a sudden case of germophobia, had no choice but to smooth things over. After all, when titans clash, it’s the small temples that suffer the collateral damage.

“Teacher Qin is right,” she said apologetically. “Mr. Luo, I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I’m a germaphobe.”

Luo Hu couldn’t stand it any longer. He grabbed Sheng Mingluo’s wrist and pulled her behind him, glaring down at Qin Zhi with disdain.

“Qin Zhi, don’t think your celebrity status gives you the right to bully others. What right do you have to speak for Mingluo?”

“Did she say she didn’t want it?”

This is a disaster, Sheng Mingluo thought frantically.

Sheng Mingluo’s wrist was gripped tightly, the man’s hand like a vise, imprisoning her. She stumbled forward, caught off balance by the sudden pull.

Qin Zhi’s cold gaze locked onto Luo Hu. Without hesitation, she flipped the takeout container upside down, dumping the steaming contents onto Luo Hu’s head. The hot food and greasy sauce poured over him, splattering into his eyes and stinging painfully.

“I said… let go of her.”

The white rice and vegetable leaves slid off Luo Hu’s body, staining his clothes yellow. His hair hung limp and greasy, leaving him looking utterly disheveled, like a drowned rat.

“You fucking b1tch! Don’t push your luck!”

His vision blurred by the oily mess, Luo Hu could only make out a vague silhouette. He released Sheng Mingluo’s wrist and swung a fist wildly.

The scene sent shivers down the spines of onlookers, Sheng Mingluo included. Her wrist burned with a fiery pain, the skin still red from the man’s brutal grip.

Qin Zhi took a step forward.

Luo Hu’s punch missed its mark, sending him stumbling against the wooden railing, his body tilting precariously.

Before he could unleash a torrent of curses, Qin Zhi’s foot slammed into his rear, sending him crashing to his knees.

“You filthy thing… how dare you touch me?”

“Don’t throw a tantrum in front of me.”

Another kick landed, Luo Hu’s face contorting in pain as he grimaced, but he refused to cry out, gritting his teeth against the agony of the leather shoe slamming into his back.

Ridiculous! If word got out that he’d been beaten to his knees by a woman, begging for mercy, how could he ever face his peers again?

Qin Zhi’s eyes blazed with fury as she delivered two more brutal kicks. Sheng Mingluo finally snapped out of her daze. Is Teacher Qin having another episode? Without hesitation, she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Qin Zhi’s waist and pulling her backward.

“Qin Zhi! Stop hitting him… Do you even realize what you’re doing?”

They weren’t alone. If someone recorded this, Qin Zhi’s reputation would be utterly ruined.

The woman’s body pressed tightly against Qin Zhi’s back, trembling with fear. Sheng Mingluo’s palm covered the back of Qin Zhi’s hand, her face buried against Qin Zhi’s neck, her lips close to her ear.

“This… this is completely irrational.”

Sheng Mingluo knew Qin Zhi was trying to help her out of a tight spot, but she couldn’t approve of such a reckless, impulsive approach. It was downright foolish, practically gambling with her entire acting career.

“Let go. Who told you to touch me?” Qin Zhi’s face remained icy, her voice frigid. She hated having her thoughts exposed, despised her own loss of control, and loathed anyone who urged her to be rational.

“I won’t let go. Please calm down.”

“This is a film set. Everyone’s watching.”

Sensing Qin Zhi starting to yank at her wrist, Sheng Mingluo quickly signaled to the nearby staff, who were nearly paralyzed with fear. She clung to Qin Zhi with all her might, wrapping around her like an octopus, refusing to be pried off.

The staff immediately understood. They dropped their tools and scrambled down the stairs in a panic. Only then did everyone fully grasp what had just transpired.

Someone rushed forward to help Luo Hu up, but he shoved them away. His face livid, he stood up, brushing off the spilled food and glared at Qin Zhi with a venomous gaze.