This Best Actress is a Bit Annoying - Chapter 28

The two siblings waited until 10:00 PM.

They sat on the sofa staring blankly at each other until Xia Qingye finally spoke up. “Brother, give Miss Nie a call and ask what’s going on.”

Xia Yanbo turned his head away and gave her a strange look. “I’m not calling. She’s not a child.”

Xia Qingye tried to put it delicately. “Miss Nie is a guest in our home. A guest… staying out all night is a serious matter. From a safety standpoint, our family is responsible.”

Hearing his sister put it that way made Xia Yanbo feel uneasy. Since moving in, Nie Zhuying had been quite well-behaved; this sudden disappearance for an entire afternoon and evening was unexpected. He struggled for a moment before admitting truthfully, “I don’t have her mobile number.”

Xia Qingye: “…”

“Actually, neither do I.”

Xia Qingye couldn’t help but rub her forehead. Nie Zhuying had asked for her number last time, but she had never called, so Xia Qingye had only saved it symbolically. At the time, she hadn’t thought about needing her number or any other contact info.

The two looked at each other awkwardly and turned away again. They waited for another half hour.

Xia Qingye was considering asking Sister Xiang for Zhou Ling’s number to get in touch when her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. She took one look and guessed it was Nie Zhuying.

“Hello.”

Xia Yanbo watched as his sister’s bright eyes suddenly dimmed, replaced by a flicker of frustration. “What’s wrong?”

Xia Qingye stood up and explained, “Miss Nie said there’s an issue with the Hollywood shoot and she needs to reshoot some of her scenes. The schedule is tight, so she wants me to pack her clothes and essentials. She’s leaving tonight.”

Xia Yanbo nodded slightly. “Work comes first.”

Xia Qingye didn’t say much more. She went upstairs to pack Nie Zhuying’s clothes and supplies into a suitcase. During the process, Nuonuo kept circling her feet, whimpering and whining incessantly.

Remembering how she had stepped on the little guy earlier, Xia Qingye didn’t dare kick him away. She couldn’t very well kill both of Nie Zhuying’s pets in one day. She resorted to using the “dog-beating stick” to herd Nuonuo back into his cage, continuing her packing to the rhythmic sound of his howling.

Eventually, the headlights of a car flashed outside, and Nie Zhuying hurried into the house, followed by a young woman.

“Hello, I’m Sister Nie’s assistant, Yao Wei.”

“Hello. Please have a seat for a moment.”

Nie Zhuying grabbed Xia Qingye, pulled off her mask, and asked, “Are my things ready?”

Xia Qingye pointed to the luggage on the coffee table. Nuonuo and the “impostor” hamster were both in their cages—one exceptionally quiet, the other whining non-stop.

“Yao Wei, help me carry the suitcase to the car.”

“Sure, Sister Nie.”

Only then did Xia Yanbo notice that behind the car Nie Zhuying had driven back, there was a long van.

Xia Qingye glanced at the dazed-looking hamster. She couldn’t help but feel this one was even stupider than the previous one. At least the old one knew how to hold a sunflower seed or cornflake and munch away. This one had been like this since she bought it. She explained guiltily, “Nuonuo kept crying while I was packing. I don’t know why. Is he feeling unwell?”

Nie Zhuying looked relaxed. “He’s just hungry. I forgot to tell you to feed him.”

Xia Qingye took a peek. There seemed to be no dog food in the cage, and she had accidentally knocked over his water when she came downstairs. Nuonuo was whimpering at her looking quite pitiful. For once, Xia Qingye’s heart softened.

Nie Zhuying’s mind was entirely on Nuonuo. She liberated him from the cage. “I’ll feed him quickly and he’ll stop. Good boy, Nuonuo, Big Sister will feed you.”

Xia Qingye’s mouth twitched. Could you please stop turning yourself into a ‘Dog Sister’ all day long?

Xia Yanbo had chosen a safe spot the moment Xia Qingye put those two creatures on the coffee table. Seeing Nie Zhuying let Nuonuo out again, he scrambled up the stairs. “Miss Nie, don’t forget our agreement. I have things to do, so I won’t see you off. I’ll let Qingye handle it.”

Seeing his cowardly state, Nie Zhuying wanted to snap at him. “Next time I’ll bring Nuonuo back so he recognizes you, otherwise we’ll get caught in front of my parents.”

At the thought of that scene, Xia Yanbo’s face changed color, and he stomped up the rest of the stairs.

Xia Qingye watched her laughing unrestrainedly and asked, “Flight booked?”

Nie Zhuying nodded, feeding a handful of dog food to Nuonuo. He buried his head and licked the food from her hand, acting incredibly well-behaved. Then, she looked at the hamster cage. “What’s wrong with Xia-Xia today? He won’t even eat cornflakes. He doesn’t seem very active.”

She tried to toss some grains to the hamster, but the little creature ignored her and hopped away.

“Xia-Xia?”

“Ahem.”

Xia Qingye felt a chill on her back. Choking on her own saliva, she straightened her back and said righteously, “Since I bought it while at your Xia house, it naturally takes the surname Xia. So I named it Xia-Xia. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”

Xia Qingye wasn’t about to be fooled by her. Earlier that evening, Wei Xianghong had called to mention that Nie Zhuying had spoken up for her in front of two famous directors, and asked what their relationship was. At the time, Xia Qingye felt moved, but now she was amused by Nie Zhuying’s nerve. She felt that killing that hamster was no crime; otherwise, she’d have to “kill” it again now.

She shared the same name as a hamster?!

Seeing her dark expression and silence, Nie Zhuying immediately switched to a “tragic” act. “I have to fly through the night, and tomorrow I probably won’t even have time to rest before filming. These two little things will suffer a lot if they come with me.”

Xia Qingye crossed her arms and didn’t respond.

Seeing no reaction, Nie Zhuying doubled down. “And I’ll be back soon. Shipping them back and forth is such a hassle. Flights these days aren’t reliable; things get lost, and news about small animals being mistreated is everywhere. Just thinking about Nuonuo being kicked or shoved makes me so sad. How about this? You look after them for me. They’re very easy to care for! You just need to feed Nuonuo on time and give Xia-Xia some grains. Oh, and my three Feng Shui fish and the narcissus… just help me out.”

Yao Wei’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Is this really our Sister Nie?

Xia Qingye shook her head, a cold refusal. “No.”

She couldn’t imagine the result of staying with a group of furry creatures; it was a living nightmare. “I can help you with the fish and the narcissus. These two little guys, you take with you.”

Nie Zhuying was piqued by her cold-bloodedness. Her cheeks puffed out as she suddenly set Nuonuo on the floor, stepped up to Xia Qingye, and poked her chest. “Ask your own conscience! If I hadn’t helped you drink yesterday when you took me to that dinner, wouldn’t you have been caught long ago?”

Yao Wei looked at her watch and whispered a reminder, “Sister Nie, we have to go.”

Nie Zhuying waved her off impatiently. “Wait for me in the car. I’ll be right there.”

Smart people like Nie Zhuying knew when to be clever and when to play dumb. She was even using moral blackmail now. Xia Qingye sighed, pulled the other woman’s finger down, and gave it a squeeze. “How many days will you be abroad? When are you coming back for them?”

Nie Zhuying froze for a second, then reacted quickly. “Ten days at most.”

Xia Qingye helped her put her hat, mask, and scarf back on. “Don’t rush the driver on the way. Take it slow. Go on; I’ll look after them for ten days until you return.”

A flicker of joy sparkled in Nie Zhuying’s bright eyes. Turning that excitement into action, she gave Xia Qingye a sudden hug and patted her back. “Thank you! Take good care of them, Xia-Xia.”

Xia Qingye’s face turned black instantly.

Realizing her slip of the tongue too late, Nie Zhuying bolted for the door, waving as she ran. “Add me on WeChat later! Send me some photos of them when you have time!”

Xia Qingye watched her leave and immediately regretted her impulsive agreement. Once set down, Nuonuo had disappeared into the shadows. Looking at the empty dog cage, Xia Qingye’s forehead throbbed with pain.

She went upstairs and knocked on her brother’s door. “Brother, Miss Nie left her two precious pets behind. I’m going back to the apartment tomorrow and I have appearances the day after. How about you look after them instead?”

Silence.

After waiting for a long time without an answer, Xia Yanbo’s voice finally drifted from inside. “Qingye… the company holiday is over. I have to go to Europe on a business trip for a few days. You’ll have to find a way yourself.”

Xia Qingye: “…”

Caught between laughter and tears, she went back downstairs and looked around. Seeing no sign of Nuonuo, she had to search the hidden spots, like under the sofa. “Nuonuo, come out!”

She spent a long time bent over searching before spotting him climbing the stairs. With his short legs jumping one by one, he had actually made it up several steps.

“Your sister went to catch a plane. You’d better behave, or I’ll sell you.”

“Nuonuo, come.”

…

After a lot of effort, Xia Qingye finally settled the two little creatures and left them by the door. She took her pajamas to the bathroom to shower, when she suddenly spotted the hamster cage in the corner.

A dead hamster in the bathroom…

For some reason, Xia Qingye felt it was eerie. She lifted the cloth, intending to throw the cage and the body outside while no one was looking. To her shock, once the cloth was lifted, the hamster that had been belly-up was staring at her with its two little bean-like eyes, looking perfectly innocent and cute.

Xia Qingye: “…”

##Calculating the psychological trauma of being scared by a hamster##

“Holy fuck!”