This Best Actress is a Bit Annoying - Chapter 29

Xia Qingye had nightmares all night. She dreamed she had shrunk and was lying in a pile of hamsters. Each hamster was as large as she was, squeaking at her. Among them was a hamster spirit, the king of all hamsters, even bigger than a human, who pounced toward her with a series of hops…

She was startled awake by this nightmare, her hair standing on end even after she woke up. She had always maintained a distant, respectful attitude toward these small, furry creatures. Having impulsively agreed to Nie Zhuying’s request to care for them, she was now starting to regret it!

Especially since two had become three.

And one of them was a master actor who had completely fooled her!

Xia Qingye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In the corner of the room, there was a constant rustling sound, accompanied by Nuonuo’s whimpering and aggrieved whines. She used the “dog-beating stick” to lift the cloth covering the three cages. As soon as the light hit them, the three little creatures became even more active.

If it weren’t for the order of the cages, her naked eye could hardly distinguish which hamster was which.

Xia Qingye felt a bit troubled. She wondered if she should just give the extra hamster to Nie Zhuying directly, or take advantage of her absence to “quietly” deal with it.

She could almost imagine that if Nie Zhuying knew she had been tricked by a hamster and then went out to get another one, she would likely be arrogant enough to laugh with her hands on her hips and mock her for a whole year.

After thinking it over, Xia Qingye pulled out her phone to call Yu Lan, but the other’s phone was off.

The call didn’t go through until the afternoon. Yu Lan explained frantically, “Sister Xia, the flight was delayed and my phone happened to die. I’m coming right now, wait for me!”

Xia Qingye: “Yu Lan, no rush. Have you ever raised a hamster?”

Yu Lan: “Huh?”

Yu Lan: “I don’t think so. I’ve only ever raised turtles.”

Xia Qingye thought to herself: Raising a turtle and raising a ‘rat’ should be about the same… “Talk to me when you get here!”

When Yu Lan arrived at the Xia villa and saw that Xia Qingye’s luggage now included three cages, a pot of narcissus, and a fish tank with three distinct, brightly colored fish, she gasped. “Wow, Sister Xia! You’re raising so many cute little guys. You’re so kind-hearted.”

Xia Qingye didn’t have the heart to shatter her illusion. “I’ll be quite busy over the next few days. The fish, the dog, and these two hamsters are in your care. I’ll give you a raise, but if even one goes missing, I’m holding you responsible.”

Yu Lan, who had instantly plummeted from personal life assistant to pet nanny, was dazed. “Huh?”

Xia Qingye bid farewell to Xia Yanbo, who had been “playing dead” in his room and refusing to come out, and returned to the apartment provided by the company. The place wasn’t large to begin with, and with all these things packed in, it felt even smaller.

Yu Lan, not wanting to miss out on the fun, let Nuonuo out and petted him several times. “Sister Xia, this Samoyed is so cute! Does he have a name?”

Xia Qingye’s eyes twitched. She curled up on the sofa to avoid contact with Nuonuo. “His name is Nuonuo.”

“What about these two hamsters? Why are they in separate cages? It would be fine to put them in one!”

Before Xia Qingye could warn her, Yu Lan’s quick hands had already merged the two hamsters into one cage.

The two hamsters looked almost identical, but their personalities were quite different!

“These two hamsters are so cute too. Sister Xia, why does this one have a red dot on its forehead? It looks like a beauty mark.”

“The one without the red dot is called Xia-Xia. The one with the red dot… is called Lazy-Egg!”

“Pfft.”

“Lazy-Egg? Is it very lazy? I feel like these two names weren’t given by the same person.”

Xia Qingye gave her an impatient look and picked up a script. “Work hard caring for them for ten days. Once their owner comes back, you’ll be free.”

Yu Lan was surprised, then a bit disappointed. “So you aren’t the one raising them, Sister Xia? What a pity.”

Xia Qingye didn’t think it was a pity at all. However, she had a bad feeling—a feeling similar to the one she had when she soft-heartedly let Nie Zhuying buy Nuonuo.

Yu Lan had many questions, but seeing Xia Qingye focused on the script, she immediately “sewed” her mouth shut.

Nuonuo liked to depend on people. Wiggling his little butt, he followed the scent to the sofa and tried to reach up. When he couldn’t, he started scratching at the sofa fabric with his paws, standing on his hind legs, looking very proud.

The sound of claws on the fabric made Xia Qingye’s hair stand on end. She used the stick to push Nuonuo away. Unprepared, Nuonuo rolled twice on the floor, but then persistently tried to climb back up. She poked Nuonuo’s wiggling butt to keep him away. Because of her previous experience, she didn’t dare use force; she poked gently. Nuonuo thought she was playing and started chasing the stick with his mouth. Xia Qingye tried to drive him away for a long time but he just got more excited. She eventually had to call out, “Yu Lan, take Nuonuo away.”

“Oh, okay!”

Yu Lan initially thought Xia Qingye was just afraid of being disturbed; only then did she realize her boss was actually afraid of the dog!

Director Zhuang’s commercial film had been in preparation for a long time. It was a fantasy drama based on a novel called Winged People. Xia Qingye had read the novel before; it was an action-adventure story with a tight, tense plot. There had been talk of a TV adaptation for a long time, but perhaps because the scope was too large and the structure too vast, the TV version wasn’t ready yet, and the movie version arrived first.

The continent was divided into three races: Humans, Winged People, and the Shark People (Jiao race) who lived at sea. The three races were incompatible, often sparking conflicts and maintaining a tripod-like balance of power.

Director Zhuang’s film focused on the love story between a Human princess and a Winged youth. Of course, the ending… was a tragedy in a sense.

Just as Xia Qingye was preparing to study the characters, her phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw the caller ID: Lazy-Egg.

The corners of her mouth curled. She let it vibrate for half a minute before answering. “Hello, have you arrived?”

Nie Zhuying had just returned from the set. Her voice carried a heavy sense of exhaustion and a raspy, coquettish tone. “Didn’t we agree to add each other on WeChat? I want to see Nuonuo and Xia-Xia.”

“Text me, and I’ll add you.”

“Mhm.”

The two quickly added each other as friends. Xia Qingye’s profile picture was a hazy photo of herself. Nie Zhuying’s profile picture had been changed from a bamboo photo to a very lively and cute photo of Nuonuo licking milk.

Xia Qingye glanced at the little guy sleeping on the rug.

Zhu Shang Ren Jian (Nie): Record a video. I want to see Nuonuo and Xia-Xia.

Whenever Xia Qingye saw the name “Xia-Xia,” she wanted to throw both hamsters off the balcony. She bit her lip, suddenly wanting to tease the person halfway across the world.

Xia Qingye: Your Xia-Xia was bitten to death by Nuonuo. [Playing dead]

While she was imagining Nie Zhuying’s reaction, her phone suddenly vibrated frantically. She cut the call, but the other side called back persistently.

Xia Qingye could almost picture the other’s furious expression. She answered, and a roar came from the other side: “Didn’t I tell you to take good care of them? How could Xia-Xia be bitten to death? No, how could Nuonuo reach Xia-Xia’s cage? Explain yourself right now!”

A fierce, aggressive interrogation.

Xia Qingye waited patiently for her to finish her tantrum before saying leisurely, “I was just lying to you. I’ll take a photo for you now.”

The explosive Nie Zhuying: “…”

Lied to?

It wasn’t until the other side sent a video of “Xia-Xia” that Nie Zhuying believed she had been played.

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: You actually used something like that to lie to me. [Baby is unhappy]

Xia Qingye: [Pat-pat on the head]

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: I don’t want to talk to you. [Hmph]

After sending that arrogant emoji, Nie Zhuying opened the video again and noticed there was another yellow-and-white hamster next to Xia-Xia. The two were curled into a ball, their fur very fluffy. At first glance, it looked like Xia-Xia had just gotten fatter, but with several tiny paws visible, it was clearly two hamsters.

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: [Surprise] Xia-Xia has a companion! Did you buy this?

Xia Qingye, who had been caught: Didn’t you say you didn’t want to talk to me?

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: [Suddenly dejected]

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: Your EQ is just like Xia-Xia’s.

Xia Qingye’s hand paused. She deleted everything in the text box and gave a cold glance toward Xia-Xia, who was currently huddling with Lazy-Egg for warmth. Xia-Xia shivered and moved its paws, burying itself completely in Lazy-Egg’s fur.

Nie Zhuying didn’t get a reply for a long time. She took a shower, and seeing that the other woman really was ignoring her, she grew anxious.

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: [Suddenly acting cute]

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: I can’t sleep without seeing Nuonuo. Can you take a video of Nuonuo for me, please?~

Watching her act cute and coquettish, Xia Qingye suddenly softened.

Nie Zhuying was lying on the bed, feeling very drowsy, but she stubbornly stared at her phone screen. With a ping, she quickly clicked the video. In the video, Nuonuo was curled up sleeping. Because Xia Qingye approached, he looked up, likely tired from playing with Yu Lan, before tucking his head back in and continuing to sleep.

Zhu Shang Ren Jian: Ah, satisfied. [Goodnight]

Xia Qingye wanted to tell her to take good care of herself. She typed a string of words into the box, thought about it, and deleted them all.

Xia Qingye: Goodnight. Sweet dreams.

Beside her, Yu Lan was quietly staring at Xia Qingye. She felt that Sister Xia, who was checking her phone constantly, was quite startling. Was this the same Sister Xia who barely touched her phone before? In Yu Lan’s mind, Xia Qingye was a rare breed who rarely checked her phone unless Sister Xiang reminded her to check the headlines or she was making a call.

Most of the time, she felt Xia Qingye was… well, a “phone insulator.”

But now… After the New Year, Sister Xia seemed to have changed.