The next day at the company, Shi Qiubai saw neatly arranged boxes in Shen Xiaoyu's office and frowned slightly.
"Sister, are you leaving?" she asked cautiously, somewhat anxious.
Shen Xiaoyu was lost in thought but returned to her senses upon hearing the voice, making a sound of acknowledgment, "I have that plan, but it probably won't happen so quickly."
Perhaps sensing her unease, Shen Xiaoyu reassured her, "Don't worry, before I leave, I'll make sure you're properly settled."
Shi Qiubai stared at her seriously for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.
There were no arrangements at the company, so Shen Xiaoyu continued with her own work, coming early and leaving late, arranging Shi Qiubai's work.
Meanwhile, Su Huan kept waiting for Shen Xiaoyu's call.
But after leaving her phone in front of her for half the day, the only message she received was a text from Qin Miao.
Qin Miao: The magazine contract has been signed. Shooting is in mid-July.
Su Huan: Understood.
She held her phone, looking at it for a long while, then typed another line.
Su Huan: Regarding Shen Xiaoyu...
Her finger moved, and she deleted all the words.
After finishing an advertisement shoot that day, Su Huan took a car back to the company.
She had originally arranged to discuss magazine details with Qin Miao, but as if possessed, she walked to Shen Xiaoyu's office door, where she could hear the conversation between Shen Xiaoyu and Shi Qiubai.
"Sister, my parents want me to ask if you have time to come for dinner tonight," Shi Qiubai complained. "You didn't go last time, and mom has been nagging me about it forever."
"Alright, I have nothing on tonight, I can go over."
"Yay! I'll tell mom right now!"
Su Huan suddenly pushed open the door to see Shi Qiubai leaning next to Shen Xiaoyu, holding out her phone.
"Mom wants to talk to you."
Shen Xiaoyu awkwardly took the phone, smiling forcefully.
But before she could say anything, the phone was taken away, the call ended, and the device thrown back into Shi Qiubai's arms.
Both turned to see Su Huan standing before them.
"Queen Su? What are you doing!" Shi Qiubai bristled.
Su Huan didn't respond, looking at Shen Xiaoyu with composure, "You're just her manager, not her guardian. There's no need for you to be so entangled with her family."
As Su Huan spoke, she reined in her intimidating aura and sat down in a nearby chair, crossing her legs.
Standing in front of Su Huan, Shi Qiubai's eyes reddened with anger. She bit her lip and looked pitifully at Shen Xiaoyu.
"Sister..."
Her voice was choked, filled with the tone of wronged tears.
Shen Xiaoyu patted her hand reassuringly, "Queen Su, why didn't you give advance notice of your visit?"
Hearing this, Su Huan's gaze shifted to her face, snorting with laughter as if she'd heard a joke.
"With our relationship, do I need to make an appointment to see you?"
"What relationship do we have?" Shen Xiaoyu retorted.
"We..." Su Huan opened her mouth but couldn't speak.
The fact that they were together was known only to themselves, without even a single photo as evidence.
Given their previous relationship, even if she said it, no one would believe her.
Shi Qiubai on the side snorted with laughter, muttering under her breath, "Acting so familiar. You're the one who pushed Sister out. So fake!"
Shen Xiaoyu could see that Su Huan was already angry and, fearing she might retaliate against Shi Qiubai, quickly spoke up.
"Shi Qiubai, what nonsense are you talking about? Apologize immediately!"
Shi Qiubai seemed somewhat reluctant, but under Shen Xiaoyu's pressure, she unwillingly apologized: "Senior Su, I'm sorry."
Shen Xiaoyu's expression eased slightly as she smiled, "Qiubai is still young. If she said something wrong, please be understanding."
With things said to this extent, if Su Huan persisted, she would be seen as unreasonable.
Shen Xiaoyu's protection made Su Huan's heart feel sour and swollen. This treatment had once been reserved only for her, but now someone else was being protected.
Shen Xiaoyu didn't give her a chance to speak, continuing to ask: "I still haven't asked, what brings Queen Su to find me?"
Su Huan looked at Shi Qiubai.
Shen Xiaoyu followed her gaze and immediately said: "She is my artist." Not an outsider.
Su Huan understood her implication, and her fingers curled slightly.
She thought for a while before speaking: "The matter of the personal assistant was my oversight. I want you to come back and continue being my manager."
Shen Xiaoyu raised her eyebrows slightly, somewhat surprised.
"Su Huan, I won't be your manager again."
[If she pushes too hard, I'll just quit! I've saved enough money anyway. To hell with the mission, to hell with Su Huan! I won't serve her anymore!]
[If you leave, what about Shi Qiubai? After all, you're staying now all for her sake.] the system asked leisurely.
[Worst case, I'll pay the breach of contract penalty and arrange for Qiubai to be with a manager I trust. As long as Su Huan doesn't go after her, she can continue in the entertainment industry.]
Su Huan looked at her, her lips pressed white.
After a long while, she lowered her gaze, hiding the panic in her eyes: "You... you don't need to tell me right away. I'm going abroad tomorrow. You can think about it for a few more days."
After saying this, Su Huan almost fled in disarray.
Shen Xiaoyu looked at her in surprise, full of doubt.
She didn't remember Su Huan having any international appearances scheduled.
Perhaps Qin Miao had arranged something new? Though there seemed to be some show abroad recently.
Shen Xiaoyu didn't think much of it, turning to look at Shi Qiubai, who was still standing nearby.
Her eyes were red, tears about to fall, looking quite pitiful.
Shen Xiaoyu smiled helplessly, "Don't cry, nothing's wrong."
Shi Qiubai's mouth turned down, and those crystal tears rolled down her cheeks like scattered pearls.
She sobbed, "Sis-Sister, are you really leaving me?"
Shen Xiaoyu was stunned, not knowing how to comfort her, and could only grab tissues for her.
"Why are you crying? Stop crying. There's a magazine shoot tomorrow, and it won't look good if your eyes are swollen."
Her words only made Shi Qiubai cry harder. She stepped forward and threw herself into Shen Xiaoyu's arms, clutching her waist, her words barely coherent.
Shen Xiaoyu held her arms awkwardly, patting her back in a flustered manner.
"You, you..."
She wanted to comfort her but didn't know what to say.
"Sister, if you resign, I'll leave with you!" Shi Qiubai raised her head from her embrace, looking at her with tear-filled eyes. "This awful company, we'll both leave!"
Shen Xiaoyu tapped her head, "Don't talk nonsense! You just signed with the company. If you leave before you've even started making money, you'll have to pay millions in contract penalties. It's not worth it. Besides, Xingheng Entertainment is a powerful major company in the industry. If you offend them, your future path in the circle won't be easy."
Seeing Shi Qiubai's pouting lips about to cry again, she curved her lips into a slight smile, "Alright, don't worry about my affairs. They can't do anything to me."
"Sister..."
Shi Qiubai opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Shen Xiaoyu raising her hand.
She clearly didn't want to continue discussing the topic and took several files from the desk to hand to her, "These are some scripts I've received. Take a look. Whichever one you like, I'll take you to audition tomorrow."
Shi Qiubai held the documents, her lips turning down again as if about to cry.
Shen Xiaoyu was afraid of her reaction and found an excuse of having a meeting to escape the office.
She wandered around outside for a while, went downstairs to the café to pack two cups of coffee, and when she came back up, Shi Qiubai had already made her decision.
"Sister, I want to shoot this one!"
Shi Qiubai handed the script to Shen Xiaoyu.
As Shen Xiaoyu had expected, Shi Qiubai had chosen the only fantasy script among them—"Mirror Flower Destiny."
Shen Xiaoyu remembered that the original book had briefly mentioned that Shi Qiubai became famous starting with this drama.
"Mirror Flower Destiny" told the story of a mirror that cultivated into an immortal and fell in love with a flower that had also achieved immortality.
Later, it was revealed that the so-called mirror immortal was actually a demon god, and the mirror was a tool to seal the demon god. Breaking the mirror would cause the demon god to lose control and become a heartless killing machine, wreaking havoc on all living beings.
To save the three realms and the demon god, the flower immortal returned to 5,000 years in the past and met the small demon before it became the demon god. Driven by her mission, she sealed the small demon.
The small demon's love turned to hatred, and it became a heartless killing machine, causing devastation across the three realms.
Shi Qiubai would play the female third lead in "Mirror Flower Destiny"—Su Yuqing, the protagonist's half-sister from 5,000 years ago, who was also the evil Phoenix Princess Feng Yan whom the female lead encountered in the Mirror Flower Water Moon, as well as the demon god's guardian Purple Bamboo who, after the death of Ye Yushang, regained her memories and suffered a tragic love with the third male lead, eventually dispersing her soul to save him.
Though her scenes weren't many, playing three roles would make her stand out if performed well.
The crew of this drama seemed quite good, but the male and female leads were big names with more authority than the director, causing the script to be repeatedly revised, ultimately destroying the character designs and relationship dynamics.
Combined with the two leads' shouting-style acting, both characters came across as unstable, especially the final line about making the three realms perish, which was widely mocked.
With nowhere to express his vision, the director focused his attention on the supporting roles, especially obedient actors like Shi Qiubai, resulting in her three characters having well-rounded personalities. Combined with her excellent acting skills, she became one of the few supporting actors who stood out in this drama.
If not for what happened later, Shi Qiubai would have secured a place in the entertainment industry, but unfortunately...
Shen Xiaoyu closed the script, looking at her seriously, "Prepare well. I believe you can definitely do it!"
In this life, she wouldn't die so hastily, and Shi Qiubai wouldn't become a tool to advance the main leads' relationship.
She would guide Shi Qiubai onto the path she deserved.
Shen Xiaoyu had Shi Qiubai prepare diligently for two days, then drove with her to the audition.
"Mirror Flower Destiny" was one of Pigeon Studio's major investment projects this year, and with a known director at the helm, a long queue had formed for the auditions.
Shi Qiubai nervously paced back and forth outside.
Shen Xiaoyu smiled to ease her nerves, "Don't worry, I know you'll definitely do well!"
Shi Qiubai looked at her and nodded firmly.
Soon after, Shi Qiubai's name was called.
After Shi Qiubai went in, Shen Xiaoyu sat outside waiting, also looking through other scripts suitable for Shi Qiubai.
What she needed now was exposure. As long as she could appear in the public eye, the type of script didn't really matter.
Besides, she didn't have many scenes in this drama; she could finish filming in two months at most.
Shen Xiaoyu wanted Shi Qiubai to seamlessly transition to the next production.
While selecting scripts, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Queen Su, I still hope you would consider this script. As long as you're willing to participate, we can agree to any conditions!"
"Mr. Hu, I will discuss your proposal with my team, and it also depends on Su Huan's future arrangements," came Qin Miao's smiling voice from not far away.
Su Huan?
Why would she be here?
Shen Xiaoyu looked up, meeting Su Huan's gaze directly.
People around also caused a slight commotion due to her appearance.
But Shen Xiaoyu's heart remained undisturbed.
These past few days at home, she had been leaving early and returning late, truly not seeing Su Huan. Recalling that Su Huan had mentioned going abroad a couple of days ago, Shen Xiaoyu naturally assumed Su Huan was out of the country, not expecting to encounter her here.
Shen Xiaoyu turned to look at Shi Qiubai, who was still in the audition room, and after some thought, decided not to go over and greet them.
After the company statement was released, everyone knew that Su Huan's manager had changed to Qin Miao.
Of course, the company had also announced that she was now managing a new artist, even getting Shi Qiubai's name briefly trending—a small blessing.
Since the two no longer had any relationship in public, there was no need to come together.
She lowered her head, no longer looking at Su Huan, though that burning gaze remained on her, not moving away for a long time.
By the time Shi Qiubai finished her audition, Su Huan had already left.
The result was unsurprising—Shi Qiubai got the role of the extra.
Shi Qiubai was very happy, insisting on treating Shen Xiaoyu to dinner.
Shen Xiaoyu didn't agree, telling her to go home and rest first, to pack her things for joining the production crew.
"Mirror Flower Destiny" wasn't shot on green screens for special effects but opted for location shooting, meaning they would be traveling extensively.
Even though Shi Qiubai's scenes weren't many, it still meant two or three months away from home.
After explaining all the important points to Shi Qiubai, Shen Xiaoyu drove back home.
When she arrived, she didn't see Su Huan, assuming she had some work.
However, all the way until Shi Qiubai joined the production, Shen Xiaoyu never saw Su Huan again.
Not seeing her, she was quite relieved.
But this feeling of relief quickly disappeared.
On the first day at the filming location, she saw Su Huan—dressed in the demon god's costume.