Xia Yuan obediently sat in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt. She had just driven over in a hurry, with a lot on her mind. After hearing Ding Yaoyao’s hypocritical words, the two of them were finally alone, so she had to speak up quickly.
After all, if Meng Xiyue was driving, she wouldn’t allow her to talk.
“What does Ding Yaoyao mean by asking me to help her raise a child? Such audacity, making me take over for her.”
“She’s so disgusting. If she wasn’t pregnant, I would have slapped her already.”
“Who does she think I am, Xia Yuan, to dare to involve me in this mess?”
Seeing Meng Xiyue’s cold expression and calm demeanor, Xia Yuan continued, “I don’t care anyway. In the future, you shouldn’t see Ding Yaoyao anymore.”
After finishing her words and glancing at Meng Xiyue, who showed no emotion, Xia Yuan took a step back silently. “At the very least, call me when you meet her.”
Meng Xiyue parked the car steadily and casually agreed, “Okay.”
Xia Yuan was happy, but said, “I’m not being nosy, but what if Ding Yaoyao clings to you?”
“You never refuse people.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Xiyue turned her gaze from the front to Xia Yuan, seeing her smug expression. She then looked away, her eyelashes curled like butterfly wings, covering half of her eyes. She appeared clear and cold. “She said the Xia family wants to form an alliance with Tianyu.”
The green light turned on.
Xia Yuan exploded, “What? I don’t want that. I don’t even like Li Ting.”
“Who started this rumor anyway?”
“I’m not cheap enough to rush into becoming a stepmother.”
“Only a fool would get involved with Tianyu’s mess.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Xiyue thought, in the books, isn’t this young lady just a fool?
The journey was not peaceful, filled with the young lady’s angry voice all the way.
Meng Xiyue, who preferred peace, listened to these words of temper without stopping, and slightly curved her lips after a while.
After talking all the way, they finally arrived at the film set.
Xia Yuan immediately brushed off the trivial matter and the most important thing now was for Meng Xiyue to watch her act.
As soon as they entered the set, Zhong Le and Lin Qi quickly approached. Seeing the elegant and aloof Meng Xiyue looking a bit reserved, they greeted her and said, “Sister Xia, you’re back.”
The two carefully observed Xia Yuan, looking quite pleased.
Xia Yuan nodded, “Go get your makeup done first.”
In historical dramas, the makeup, headpieces, and costumes were all extremely intricate. Xia Yuan’s absence for a while caused a delay.
She took Meng Xiyue to the dressing room where two female actresses were sitting, smiling and greeting her.
Xia Yuan only gave a faint response.
Don’t think she didn’t know how these two talked about her behind her back.
As soon as she sat down, the makeup artist quickly started applying makeup on her. Xia Yuan looked at Meng Xiyue through the mirror, “It might take a while.” She glanced at the small cake box on the makeup table, “Zhong Le, go get a box of small cakes.”
Zhong Le hurried out to get it.
As the powder was applied to her eyes, Xia Yuan closed her eyes but didn’t forget to talk to Meng Xiyue, who occasionally responded.
The gazes of the two actresses beside them couldn’t help but glance over. Everyone in the crew knew that Xia Yuan was the one bringing in the funding, with a strong backstage presence that even the director didn’t dare to overlook. They were all curious about the woman being so specially taken care of by Xia Yuan.
The two actresses didn’t dare to get too close to Meng Xiyue, who just sat there in a simple dressing room, unable to hide her noble and elegant demeanor, clearly not an ordinary person.
They could only listen attentively, gather some gossip, and share it later.
Zhong Le quickly brought a box of small cakes over, “Sister Xia?”
Xia Yuan took it and handed it to Meng Xiyue, “Try it.”
Meng Xiyue glanced at the makeup artist busily applying powder to Xia Yuan. Under the lights, the fine dust floated in the air.
She took it, “I’m not hungry.”
Xia Yuan, who was half-closing her eyes while getting her makeup done, didn’t notice these details. She felt a bit disappointed, “Then remember to eat it, it was bought according to your taste.”
“It’s too sweet.”
Sitting upright, Meng Xiyue was slightly stunned, her long eyelashes drooping slightly, her voice a bit low: “Okay.”
Xia Yuan had a good foundation, her makeup was done quickly, but the headdress was a bit troublesome. This was her last appearance, and since it was a royal banquet in the plot, it was quite grand. Moreover, as a concubine, there were specific requirements for the headdress.
The two of them chatted intermittently as they finished preparing, only the final hairpin was left.
Beauty lies in the bones, and Xia Yuan’s beauty was evident in both her bones and skin. Her skin was as white and smooth as jade, with a slight tilt of her head, cooperating with the other party’s depiction, revealing her slender swan-like neck, where faint blue veins added a touch of allure to her snowy skin.
The hairpin was in place.
Xia Yuan opened her eyes and looked at Meng Xiyue, her crimson lips curved into a smile: “Meng Xiyue, do I look good?”
Meng Xiyue fell silent for a second before replying: “You look good.”
Xia Yuan happily went to change into her court dress. As she was not the empress, she could only wear dark red.
Even in the dark red ancient attire, Xia Yuan’s elegance and grace were hard to conceal, her peach blossom eye makeup exuding a hint of charm.
She walked step by step towards Meng Xiyue.
Meng Xiyue subconsciously moved aside, her fingers holding the cake box tightening slightly, causing a curve in the paper box.
“It’s still early, let’s go out for a while.” Xia Yuan felt a bit guilty for making Meng Xiyue wait for her for so long, but she also felt a hidden joy in her heart.
As soon as they stepped out, they encountered the female lead, Xu Chuchu, who was coming to touch up her makeup. She was a rising star with delicate features.
Seeing Xia Yuan, who was dressed gorgeously and alluringly, Xu Chuchu’s face stiffened. In the drama, she played the body double for Empress Jiayue played by Xia Yuan. In one scene, she had to wear the ceremonial dress of the former Empress Jiayue or the current Concubine Shu Fei to evoke the emperor’s pity.
Xu Chuchu had undergone plastic surgery on her face, although it was not very noticeable in daily life, it appeared stiff under the camera. Now, with Xia Yuan’s comparison, she knew without thinking how much hate comments she would receive on her social media.
Feeling aggrieved by a newcomer from the backstage who was stepping on her face and suppressing her, Xu Chuchu was angry. There were not many people around, so she didn’t bother to pretend. With a snort, she bumped into Xia Yuan with considerable force, causing most of the hairpin on Xia Yuan’s head to slip out.
Without even looking at Xia Yuan, Xu Chuchu walked away directly.
She wasn’t afraid of pleasing Xia Yuan like others were. She was the female lead, chosen by the director for her acting skills and also for bringing in a substantial amount of funding to the production.
As long as she didn’t cause any major trouble, Director Chen Qin would turn a blind eye.
Xia Yuan turned slightly, her voice cold: “Stop.”
Xu Chuchu turned around, “Is there something you need? I need to touch up my makeup and don’t want certain people to be so idle.”
Xia Yuan fixed her hairpin and walked up, glancing down at the corner of her eye. The other party was arrogant, but she was even more arrogant: “Apologize.”
Xu Chuchu was displeased, “Oh, what if I don’t apologize, what can you do?”
Xia Yuan chuckled, slightly tilted her head to look at Meng Xiyue, whose eyes were clear and calm, without any resistance.
In an instant, she bumped into her. Just as the other party had treated her, she returned the same, with even more force than Xu Chuchu.
With this bump, Xu Chuchu, who couldn’t react in time, fell to the ground. Xia Yuan looked down at her disdainfully and snorted.
“If you continue to be so sarcastic, watch how I deal with you.”
After saying these harsh words, she walked away directly. She didn’t have time to argue with the other party. “Meng Xiyue, let’s go.”
Meng Xiyue silently followed.
“Meng Xiyue, you saw that, right? Normally, I’m the one who gets into trouble.”
“I never bully anyone on purpose.”
Xia Yuan didn’t forget to subtly influence Meng Xiyue. She was always so against Ding Yaoyao, but Ding Yaoyao was just too annoying, and she had no relationship with her at all.
It would be best to have Meng Xiyue stand on the same side as her.
Meng Xiyue looked at the fully villainous aura of Xia Yuan, feeling somewhat helpless, “I know.”
She was well aware that Xia Yuan was not one to suffer losses.
The two sat on a bench under a tree to rest. Under the night sky, not a single star was visible.
The dim streetlights also brought a bit of blur to their vision.
Xia Yuan leaned back on the chair, having been sitting for a long time doing her makeup, feeling a bit sore in her body, squinting her eyes.
“Meng Xiyue, don’t forget to eat the cake.”
Meng Xiyue’s calm eyes showed ripples, “Okay.”
The slender fingers opened the box under the light, picked up a piece with a fork, and put it into her mouth.
Sweet.
Xia Yuan glanced over to see her eating seriously, leaning back in her chair, relaxing, and slowly closing her eyes.
The atmosphere was quiet and gentle.
However, it was quickly disrupted.
Two stand-in actresses came over and sat next to Meng Xiyue, excitedly discussing the idol stars appearing in the crew.
They completely ignored Meng Xiyue and Xia Yuan on the side, lost in their own world.
During the conversation, the girl next to Meng Xiyue accidentally bumped into her several times, the feeling of their clothes rubbing against each other made her uncomfortable, so she leaned towards Xia Yuan.
Still quietly eating cake.
When she looked up, she saw Xia Yuan’s delicate, white face with what seemed like a strand of fluff floating on her eyelashes.
Under the night sky, it was enchanting.
Her fingertips moved slightly, she took a bite of cake, then turned sideways, leaned slightly forward, and without disturbing Xia Yuan, her slender fingertips touched her face.
As the voices of the two stand-in actresses grew louder, just as her fingertips were about to touch the other’s eyelashes, she felt a sharp pain in her waist from an elbow, Xia Yuan furrowed her brows slightly, and when she opened her eyes.
Her cheeks flushed.
A wave of cake and cream scent hit her.
Their eyes met.
The other’s pretty, slender lips were against her face.
Xia Yuan instantly came to a conclusion based on her senses.
She was kissing her.
Meng Xiyue was stunned for just a second, then immediately stood up.
Just that light, gentle kiss, neither of them could forget.
Meng Xiyue’s eyelashes trembled slightly, “This was an accident, it’s…” It was then that Meng Xiyue noticed the two actresses sitting beside her had already left, chatting and laughing.
Xia Yuan’s heart was pounding, as if it had been suddenly struck by something. Her hands, hanging at her sides, trembled slightly, and her whole body seemed to be burning up.
Especially the place where she had been kissed.
A faint scent of milk.
The other party actually stole a kiss from her while she was dozing off.
Just the thought of it made Xia Yuan start to stutter as she spoke, “T-t-time’s up, let’s go.”
Watching Xia Yuan leave ahead of her, Meng Xiyue lowered her eyes. The tuft of fluff in her hand had long been blown away by the wind. She pursed her lips, the tips of her ears blushing and hidden in her hair.
It was an accident…
＊
Xia Yuan’s state had been off the whole time, having several NGs before finally getting through. Clearly, she had forgotten her initial intention to amaze the other party with her acting skills.
At this moment, she didn’t even dare to meet Meng Xiyue’s eyes.
The atmosphere between the two of them was strange all the way, especially when they were alone. The blush on Xia Yuan’s face didn’t fade.
When they parted ways, Meng Xiyue explained once again, “It was an accident.”
Xia Yuan absentmindedly responded with an “Oh” and got off the car directly.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of why Meng Xiyue had stolen a kiss from her when she wasn’t paying attention.
