Transmigrating into the Rival's Fanfiction - Chapter 7

They arrived at their destination.

Fang Qing unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, and opened the door for Qin Zhi, ensuring her boss made it home safely. With that, her duties for the day were complete.

“See you tomorrow, Boss.”

“There’s a magazine shoot around 3 PM tomorrow. I’ll pick you up then.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Qin Zhi stepped out of the car. Her arm still felt faintly sore, though the pain had subsided. Now that she wasn’t focused on it, her mind drifted back to the night’s lingering, ambiguous moments.

After her falling out with her family, this villa had been the first thing she bought with her Best Actress award money. Nestled in a tranquil neighborhood with excellent security, the entire area was filled with similar villas.

As she walked toward her villa, Qin Zhi noticed something amiss. A pristine supercar, meticulously maintained and looking brand new, was parked in her yard.

The car looked familiar, but it wasn’t hers.

“Finally back! Why haven’t you been answering my calls? And pulling the ‘phone’s off’ trick now?”

Leaning against the sports car, a woman held a cigarette between her fingers, the red ember glowing faintly in the darkness, revealing a figure with a graceful silhouette.

“My dear sister,” she said, her voice dripping with mock concern, “it’s one thing to ignore Mom and Dad, but now you’re ignoring your own sister too?”

As she stepped forward, the woman’s face emerged from the shadows, bearing a striking resemblance to Qin Zhi—about seventy percent, but with a more mature allure, radiating warmth and seductiveness. Unlike Qin Zhi’s perpetually icy expression, her face was alive with emotion.

“Who let you in?” Qin Zhi asked, her brow furrowing slightly. She loathed anyone entering her domain without permission, even family.

“Still so fierce? Can’t your own sister come in?” the woman teased. “And what’s with that overpowering perfume? A-Zhi, you’ve never liked such cloying scents.”

“How interesting,” Qin Zhi replied dryly.

The woman’s gaze drifted upward, settling on Qin Zhi’s exposed neck. There, faint bruises lingered—intimate marks that spoke volumes to anyone who knew what they meant.

“Playing with some young girl, A-Zhi? In my memory, you’re not the type~”

Qin Zhi ignored her and continued walking forward.

“Qin Li, haven’t you caused enough trouble? If you’re done, get out of my house. I won’t agree to what Grandfather wants.”

Her tone was dismissive, clearly ordering Qin Li to leave.

“A-Zhi, you’re being so rude. How can you speak to your sister like that? Even Mom was upset with you today.”

“My affairs are none of your concern.”

“If you’re just here to lecture me, you can leave now. If you’re trying to persuade me to come back, you can leave now too.”

Qin Zhi closed her eyes. This world felt like a parallel universe, a carbon copy of her own, right down to the personalities of everyone she knew.

The only difference was this fleeting affair with someone named Sheng Mingluo. Qin Zhi opened the door and walked inside without acknowledging the person behind her.

Seeing her sister still acting the same as always, Qin Li scoffed. If her mother hadn’t sent her to find Qin Zhi, she wouldn’t have bothered pretending to be the good sister.

Qin Li took another drag of her cigarette. The marks on A-Zhi’s body had piqued her curiosity. After all, Qin Zhi had always been as cold as ice, keeping everyone at arm’s length. Even with her own parents and older sister, she maintained that deadpan expression.

Only in movies did Qin Zhi come alive.

What kind of person could someone like her possibly fall for? Qin Li had caught a whiff of that alluring perfume on Qin Zhi earlier—it must be a pretty young woman.

Opening the car door, Qin Li slid into the driver’s seat and stubbed out her cigarette. She pulled out her phone, tapped the screen to find a familiar number, and dialed.

“Where did A-Zhi go today?”

The voice on the other end was muffled by background noise, as if the speaker were in a crowd, but the tone remained respectful.

“Replying to the eldest Miss, she went to a hotel and stayed for at least a day and a night.”

“She took a woman inside on the first day. The Second Miss’s assistant came looking for her the next day.”

“Please wait a moment, eldest Miss. I’ll send you the woman’s information immediately.”

He wasn’t the only one assigned to keep tabs on Qin Zhi. The man had wasted no time compiling Sheng Mingluo’s information, thoroughly investigating her family background.

After a moment, Qin Li’s phone received the transmitted information. When she checked it, she discovered the source was another artist from the same company.

Even rabbits don’t eat the grass near their burrows, she thought.

There must be something special about this girl to have captivated the rigid A-Zhi enough to take her to a hotel and even gift her a director’s work.

And she’s willing to play a supporting role?

The more Qin Li learned, the more intrigued she became. She felt like she was rediscovering her younger sister, constantly surprised by new revelations.

Back home, Qin Zhi reviewed her schedule for the next day. As expected, it was light—only a magazine photoshoot.

Filming for the movie was set to begin in about a week, so her schedule was mostly clear. The room was arranged exactly as before, giving her the illusion that she had never even traveled to another world.

Yet the constant ding-dong notifications from the System in her mind served as a constant reminder that this was not reality.

After brewing herself a cup of tea, Qin Zhi opened Sheng Mingluo’s chat window, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. The chat history was still there, but it offered no useful information.

She typed out a message, then deleted it.

She didn’t know what to say or what to keep to herself, afraid her progress points might start dropping again.

Just as she was hesitating, her fingers deleting and rewriting, an emoji popped up from the other end, accompanied by a greeting:

Teacher Qin, still up so late? Is there something you wanted to tell me?

Sheng Mingluo had been reviewing the script, trying to understand some parts she was struggling with. She’d planned to ask Qin Zhi for guidance, figuring that since they were now in the same boat, discussing acting techniques wouldn’t be inappropriate.

Instead, she watched the other person’s typing indicator flicker on and off, the input box showing hesitant edits. It seemed like Qin Zhi wanted to say something but couldn’t bring herself to type it out.

This went on for so long that Sheng Mingluo even yawned. Yet above Qin Zhi’s ID, the “typing…” indicator remained.

Fine, I’ll take the initiative, Sheng Mingluo thought. How long am I supposed to wait? Her curiosity had been piqued, and she was itching to know what Big Shot Qin wanted to say.

With a swift tap, she sent a message.

But the other end suddenly went silent. Even the “typing…” indicator vanished.

Holy sh1t, no way! Was I too forward? Did I scare her off? Biting her finger, Sheng Mingluo sighed. Great, now it’s my turn to be embarrassed.

You can’t recall messages after two minutes!

Deciding to play dead, Sheng Mingluo resolved: Fine, if she doesn’t send anything, neither will I.