She can only live as Sheng Qiao from now on (1)
Huo Xi took Qiao Qiao to his home, poured her a cup of hot water and sat across from her.
She was still crying, her shoulders trembling, and she looked around before stopping her eyes on Huo Xi. She closed them and whispered: “Huo Xi…”
He looked at her, a hand on his forehead, and said in a voice void of emotion: “Sheng Qiao, what do you want?”
When she heard the name Sheng Qiao, she burst into tears again.
Huo Xi: “…”
She cried for a while and, as if she had just remembered something, raised her head: “Huo Xi, did you close the curtains? We must not be photographed.”
Huo Xi: “…”
After a long time, she finally stopped crying and choked: “Huo Xi, I am usually so happy to see you. But something happened to me today. Something terrible and I can’t seem to feel happy anymore.”
Her idol was near but she was gone. She had heard Huo Xi had moved to a new place a month ago but had not expected it would be her own residence. How great would it be if she was still Qiao Qiao.
Huo Xi did not have any interest in what had happened to her. He looked at the time, got up and said lightly: “I will call a car for you to bring you home.”
Qiao Qiao’s head was a mess and she followed him weakly.
They took the elevator to the garage where a car was waiting. For celebrities like Huo Xi, the security measures were important and there was no need to worry about reporters sneaking in.
Huo Xi opened the door for her and quietly said: “Get a good night’s rest.”
She nodded and got in the car. Huo Xi closed the door and was about to go back home when Qiao Qiao rolled the window and called him.
“Huo Xi.”
He turned his head. Her eyes were red and her voice was trembling but she looked at him earnestly.
“Good luck for tomorrow.”
He nodded: “Thank you.”
Qiao Qiao sat back and gave the driver Sheng Qiao’s home address.
It was very late when she got back. Returning to this cold and unfamiliar place, she looked around and started crying again. She was hoping to go back to being Qiao Qiao today, but it seemed impossible.
All communication methods that belonged to Qiao Qiao were no longer valid and there were no photos of her anymore on Weibo nor Facebook. Qiao Qiao had disappeared silently.
But the earth was still running, the world was still moving and other people’s lives had not changed. Everything was normal but she was gone.
Qiao Qiao looked at her bed and lied on it for two days, without eating nor drinking.
Two days later, Gao Meiling’s phone call pulled her back to the reality she did not want to face.
“Fang Bai is on his way to pick you up so get ready.”
After hanging up, it took her a while to get up. When she went to put makeup on, she looked at the person in the mirror for a long, long time.
Qiao Qiao had disappeared.
She could only live as Sheng Qiao from now on.
******
Assistant Fang Bai rang the doorbell and waited outside politely. He was a newcomer and when he had first joined the agency, he had heard that Gao Meiling and Sheng Qiao were the most difficult persons to please. Everybody avoided them.
When he was just hired, Sheng Qiao’s assistant had just been fired by Gao Meiling. The agency could not find anyone for a while as none of the old employees wanted to take the job. Fang Bai had been thrown to the sharks.
Before leaving, the former assistant had kindly reminded him: “Talk less, do more and treat them as bosses. You can avoid a lot of trouble.”
Fang Bai had kept that in mind and had maintained a respectful yet distant attitude since then. And so far, he had not made any mistake and he couldn’t help but think that working for these two was not as scary as the rumors said.
When the door opened, Fang Bai looked up and yelled “Qiao” before staggering back in shock. Who was this female ghost?
With messy hair, pale lips and a haggard face, the woman was wearing a wrinkled red dress. Fang Bai calmed down and tentatively asked: “Sister Qiaoqiao?”
She hummed and went back inside.
Fang Bai hesitated and finally followed her inside. He stood in the entrance and said: “Sister Qiaoqiao, we need to be at the agency at nine thirty. There is one hour left.”
Sheng Qiao was standing in front of the water dispenser and drank three cups in a row. After still for a while, she walked to her closet.
“Okay.”
She had a hoarse voice and Fang Bai guessed she was sick. He should probably go to the pharmacy to buy some medicine, if she delayed her work, they would both suffer.
As he was thinking about it, Sheng Qiao had already walked out, her hair casually pulled back in a ponytail, and was putting on a long black coat. She said to him: “Let’s go.”
Fang Bai was stunned: “Like this?”
“Yes, why?”
She used to take two hours to put on her makeup! Fang Bai could only shake his head.
“Okay, let’s go then.”
Sheng Qiao stayed silent on the way to the car. Once inside, Fang Bai looked at her carefully from the rearview mirror and finally asked: “Sister Qiaoqiao, are you feeling okay? Should we go to the hospital first?”
She shook her head weakly.
“I’m okay, just a little hungry.”
Fang Bai wanted to laugh. He looked at the street and pulled the car over.
“I will buy you some breakfast.”
The roadside breakfast shop was quite lively. Fang Bai did not know what she liked and he bought something randomly. Back in the car, he handed the food to Sheng Qiao.
“Sister Qiaoqiao, eat while it’s still hot.”
Smelling the food, Sheng Qiao felt even more hungry and finally smiled. She thanked him and began to eat.
Fang Bai had not seen Sheng Qiao in a few days. Because he had not paid much attention to the Internet before, he had not known about Sheng Qiao’s bad reputation. It was only after being reminded by his coworkers that he realized she was not a good person.
However, after a few days, there did not seem to be anything wrong with Sheng Qiao. She would not see him much and he had been quite idle. Maybe because they had been getting along, he thought Sheng Qiao was quite friendly. And when she had just thanked him, her eyes had been bent and she had looked much better than those celebrities with heavy makeup.
Once Sheng Qiao was full, her face got some colors back. She cheered up and asked Fang Bai: “What are we doing at the agency today?”
Didn’t she know her own schedule?
Fang Bai replied: “You have a magazine interview after today’s meeting and then we have to head to the set in the afternoon.”
Sheng Qiao was still drinking soy milk and almost spat out.
“What set? Why don’t I know Sheng… why don’t I know I have a new job?”
Fang Bai was dumbfounded, how could she be so casual?
“Sister Qiaoqiao, don’t you remember {Crazy Words}?”
Sheng Qiao thought about it for a long time.
“If you’re talking about that Danmei1 drama, yes I remember.”
She used to be an avid reader and was familiar with the popular Danmei novel {Crazy Words} but she still did not understand: “Haven’t the two male protagonists officially announced? What does it have to do with me?”
Fang Bai was speechless.
“You are the female lead. We are going to take the promotional photos this afternoon so it can be announced.”
Sheng Qiao slammed her head on the car seat. Fang Bai kept explaining: “the script got reviewed and the director decided to add a heroine. The agency invested in {Crazy Words} and Sister Gao took the role for you during the meeting.”
Did Gao Meiling wanted her to die? She wanted her to play the heroine of a gay drama? Was she supposed to compete with one the male leads? She suspected Gao Meiling was her biggest hater.
- Damnei: basically Chinese yaoi
KOTranslation 
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