A Max-Level Film Queen Takes on the Scumbag Alpha Script [Transmigration] - Chapter 54

Jiang Baihe glanced over to see staff members leading two girls in. They were delicately pretty, but they looked very unfamiliar to her.

She searched her memory for a moment and found that she had absolutely no impression of these two; they didn’t look like they were regulars in the entertainment industry.

“Who are these two?” Jiang Baihe whispered to Lin Yiqiu as they stood up to welcome them.

“Nepotism hires,” Lin Yiqiu whispered back quickly, covering her mouth. “They’re biological sisters, Xiang Meng and Xiang Xi. They got famous on streaming apps by filming low-budget romance web dramas. The straight-haired one on the left is the older sister, Xiang Meng, and the curly-haired one on the right is the younger sister, Xiang Xi. They’re signed to Lianyun, and their popularity and buzz depend entirely on trash-talking others.”

Among the few people present, Jiang Baihe was from Sihai Entertainment and had the backing of Sihai—making her a “Pillar of the Sea” in the industry. Lin Yiqiu was from another entertainment giant, Huasheng, which focused more on girl group idols. As for other entertainment companies, Jiang Baihe hadn’t observed them closely, but she felt the name “Lianyun” was strangely familiar.

Seeing the newcomers getting closer while Jiang Baihe was still deep in thought, Lin Yiqiu gave her a final hint: “Li Ran.”

Jiang Baihe suddenly realized. On her first day after transmigrating, she had fallen right into the middle of a “water-splashing” scandal, and Lin Yiqiu was also one of the victims. The person who had moved against them was an artist signed to Lianyun Entertainment. No wonder she had an impression of that company.

There wasn’t enough time to talk further, so Jiang Baihe only had a basic understanding of them. Although she had a grievance with Lianyun, very few people would show their true thoughts in front of a camera. Jiang Baihe put on an appropriate expression, and no matter how much the lens zoomed in on her face, no fault could be found in her.

Before long, the other two guests arrived one after another. One was a famous singer, Ye Qing, and the other was a “traffic starlet,” Ning Yu’an. The six of them greeted each other to get acquainted, and the director chose that moment to sneak out. “Good morning, everyone! I am the director for this program. It’s a great pleasure to meet you all!”

Everyone applauded. Among them, the Xiang sisters were the most active and supportive, seemingly determined to get enough screen time.

Director: “Our journey is about to begin. Is everyone ready?”

“Ready!”

“Good.” The director grinned mischievously. “Then those who brought phones and wallets, please hand them over first!”

The six people fell into a deathly silence. In the haze, one could almost hear a thunderclap; undoubtedly, the post-production team would add a few lightning bolts there.

“No way, Director! My phone is my life!” Xiang Xi clutched her bag in terror, looking as if she would rather die than surrender.

“How can we cultivate feelings if you’re holding your phones the whole way? Hand them over.”

With a wave of the director’s hand, staff members came forward to check their backpacks. Xiang Meng and Xiang Xi made a show of tugging back and forth with the staff; their exaggerated behavior made everyone present laugh.

While “acting” along with the others, Jiang Baihe secretly felt lucky that she had anticipated this. She had guessed this part would happen, so she had adjusted her phone earlier—especially regarding the calls and contact name for Yan Shu. Although most staff wouldn’t rummage through an artist’s items due to professional ethics, it was better to be safe than sorry; personal privacy and security had to be maintained.

Thinking of Yan Shu, Jiang Baihe couldn’t help but lose focus for a moment. Just a few hours before she left the house today, Yan Shu had already boarded a private plane for Y-Country. Calculating the time, she was likely still on the way. She wondered how many days it would be before they could meet again.

After the phones were collected, the six were taken onto a bus by the production crew, officially marking the beginning of the program. On the way to the destination, the group didn’t stay idle; the director randomly started a “Song Guessing Challenge.” Getting the correct song title within a set time earned a point, and reaching a certain score earned a “Tips Pouch” for puzzle-solving.

Jiang Baihe wasn’t very familiar with this area, but fortunately, the team had a singer, Ye Qing. After several efforts, they gathered enough points and successfully secured the pouch for this segment. Inside the pouch was just a small piece of paper. Ye Qing unfolded it to share with the group.

“—Wait for the Husband’s Return (Pan Lang Gui).”

“Husband? What husband? A lover?” Lin Yiqiu looked at the three words on the note, completely confused.

Xiang Meng didn’t understand either. “Is our show this time centered on a wedding theme?”

Ye Qing: “How could it be a wedding theme here? The bus has already driven out to the suburbs!”

Jiang Baihe stared at the paper and pondered for a moment, then shook her head. “There are still too few clues. We can only take it one step at a time.”

A few hours later, the vehicle gradually drove into the mountains. The view outside shifted from grand buildings to lush forests, and the road changed from smooth asphalt to a bumpy dirt path. The driver tried his best to drive steadily, but everyone was still severely jolted. Their faces were quite pale.

“I can’t take it… I want to throw up…” Ning Yu’an, who looked frail, covered her mouth. Her voice was as tiny as a bird’s chirp.

The bus seats were arranged in pairs, with the production crew in the front and the guests in the rear. Ye Qing and Ning Yu’an sat in the same row as Xiang Meng and Xiang Xi, while Lin Yiqiu and Jiang Baihe—who were both tall—sat in the row behind them.

Ning Yu’an sat on the aisle side, with Ye Qing to her left and Xiang Xi to her right. Just as she said she wanted to vomit, Xiang Xi beside her showed a face full of disgust and quickly moved away from her like she was dodging trash. If not for the seatbelt, it looked like Xiang Xi would have bolted to another seat.

“Don’t you dare throw up near me!” The disgust in Xiang Xi’s voice was completely undisguised, making Ning Yu’an feel mortified. Yet, she didn’t dare to argue with her at that moment.

“Look at that—as soon as the cameras are off, they show their true colors,” Lin Yiqiu whispered to Jiang Baihe, rolling her eyes. Jiang Baihe simply raised an eyebrow.

After the song-guessing game ended, the crew had gathered enough footage and stopped recording inside the bus to save battery. Without the cameras around, no one bothered to maintain a friendly facade and simply slept in their seats.

Though they weren’t well-acquainted yet, they were technically in the same team. When faced with someone feeling unwell, even a stranger should at least pretend to care. Unexpectedly, the Xiang sisters chose to drop the act entirely. If this kind of drama could happen on the bus, the actual recording was bound to be a mess.

“Are you okay?” Ye Qing was a bit of a “good samaritan” who didn’t want to offend either side. She looked at Ning Yu’an worriedly and wanted to get supplies from the front, but she was trapped in the inner seat; she needed Ning Yu’an to move. She had heard Xiang Xi’s words and knew she couldn’t rely on the sisters, so she looked back at Lin Yiqiu and Jiang Baihe. “Um…”

Before Ye Qing could finish, Jiang Baihe had already unbuckled her seatbelt and nodded at her. Jiang Baihe stood up, steadying herself against the seats as she walked to the production crew in the front to ask for plastic bags and anti-nausea medicine, which she brought back to Ning Yu’an.

Ning Yu’an took the items and looked at Jiang Baihe gratefully. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. It was no trouble.”

“Hmph, hypocrite.”

As she returned to her seat, a soft snort came from nearby. The voice was low, and it was unclear whether it was Xiang Meng or Xiang Xi, but it was definitely one of them. Jiang Baihe wasn’t angry; she was mostly just too lazy to argue with them, but Lin Yiqiu didn’t have such a good temper.

“Tsk, someone has a foul mouth here. Did they eat sh*t before leaving the house?” Lin Yiqiu said loudly.

Ye Qing, in the front row, immediately let out a snicker, then bit her lips to hide her smile. Ning Yu’an also understood Lin Yiqiu was mocking those two, and even her nausea decreased significantly. Knowing Lin Yiqiu was standing up for her, Jiang Baihe smiled and gave her a thumb’s up. She felt quite lucky to have made such a friend.

Realizing they had provoked everyone’s anger, the Xiang sisters didn’t dare say more. The director’s crew in the front clearly heard the row in the back, but no one came to mediate. This was the tone of the show; they loved it when artists clashed because it created more drama and views. The director even wished they would start fighting right then and there and felt a bit regretful that the cameras were turned off. If that scene could have been recorded, it would definitely trend once the episode aired.

Less than half an hour after things settled, the bus suddenly stopped. They were currently about halfway up the mountain. Jiang Baihe immediately had a bad feeling. “Director, what happened?”

“The bus ran out of gas. From here on, you’ll have to hike up the mountain!”

Everyone: “…”

The six of them were herded off the bus, each carrying a small backpack provided by the production team. Jiang Baihe checked hers and found first-aid supplies, provisions, a map, and other items. The crew had silently and orderly started recording before getting off, following the six like shadows.

Just as everyone got off safely, the bus that was supposedly out of gas suddenly started up with a “vroom vroom.” The director, sitting in the bus, waved to the crowd on the ground and said with a smile, “Those who reach the village first will have the priority right to choose their rooms. Good luck!”

The six: ???

Good luck?! Good luck your head!

As soon as the director finished, the bus zipped away, leaving them only with a cloud of exhaust fumes.

“Hey! Wait!” Xiang Xi ran after the bus for a few steps, but seeing she couldn’t catch up: “That’s insane!”

Jiang Baihe and Lin Yiqiu hadn’t expected the crew’s outrageous maneuver and stood there caught between laughter and tears. Ning Yu’an was still feeling unwell and looked at the mountain path with a pale face.

Xiang Meng chose this moment to act concerned, as if nothing had happened on the bus. She asked gently, “Are you okay? You look quite unwell.”

Ning Yu’an looked at her coldly and said nothing. The atmosphere was awkward, and Xiang Meng put on a “hurt” expression. The cameras surrounding them recorded everything perfectly. Ning Yu’an actually knew she shouldn’t behave like this while filming, but she simply couldn’t stand these sisters being two-faced. Even if she got bashed after the episode aired, she accepted it; there was no way she’d give them a nice face right now.

“Should we set off now?” Xiang Xi ran back, wanting to leave first with the map.

They nodded and started off with their bags. The map provided by the crew wasn’t a complete version but a very crude hand-drawn one. They walked aimlessly, unable to tell north from south. After a while, Ning Yu’an, who was pushing herself, couldn’t hold on anymore and wanted to stop for a rest. But the Xiang sisters disagreed.

Xiang Xi: “Who knows what kind of room we’ll be assigned if we’re late?” Among the two, Xiang Meng’s persona was “gentle and considerate,” while Xiang Xi’s was “brash and straightforward,” so she directly snapped back.

Ning Yu’an: “I’ll stay here and rest myself. I didn’t ask you to follow me!”

A dispute flared up, and both sides were at daggers drawn. Lin Yiqiu was enjoying the gossip and wanted to complain to Jiang Baihe, only to find that Jiang Baihe had been staring at that “unreadable” map the whole time.

Then Xiang Meng stepped in to play the “good cop”: “Alright, alright, we’re a team. Don’t fight. How about this? We’ll head ahead to scout the path for everyone, and you guys can catch up after you’ve rested.”

Ye Qing hesitated. The director’s final words had been a bit of a stimulus for her. She said, “Then I’ll go with you.”

Lin Yiqiu also shot Jiang Baihe a look: What do you say? Go now or wait? Lin Yiqiu couldn’t stand the sisters’ character and didn’t want to be in their company, but she’d also be annoyed if they snatched the best room first.

Jiang Baihe raised an eyebrow and suddenly asked, “Which way do you plan to go?”

Xiang Meng glanced at Jiang Baihe, her expression turning even gentler. She was actually a bit wary of Jiang Baihe; she had heard about her scandals and knew she couldn’t afford to provoke Sihai Entertainment behind her. She said, “We plan to follow the map and go that way. Baihe, do you want to join us?”

Looking in the direction Xiang Meng pointed, Jiang Baihe turned her head slightly and said to Lin Yiqiu, “I’m a bit tired.”

Lin Yiqiu understood immediately. “Then we’ll rest for a bit, too.”

Xiang Meng: “Alright, then we’ll head off first.”

Xiang Xi raised her eyebrows provocatively. “Don’t worry, we’ll leave a room for you.”

Jiang Baihe curled her lips slightly. She brought her index and middle fingers together and gave a casual salute toward her forehead. “See you on the mountain.”