The Female Lead Avoids Her Like the Plague

Xu Chun fell silent for a moment. Her gaze traveled back and forth between Jiang Zhaolie and Yu Sui'an before finally settling on Jiang Zhaolie, and she suddenly snapped, “What are you looking at?!”

Jiang Zhaolie had come happily to accompany Yu Sui'an dress shopping, only to be cursed at out of nowhere by Xu Chun. She was instantly bewildered: ???

Why am I the only one being yelled at?

Xu Chun stared unblinkingly at Yu Sui'an. Yu Sui'an pressed her lips together, still composed as ever, and called out meekly, “Jiejie.” Xu Chun remained unmoved, her face blank. Jiang Zhaolie, terrified that Xu Chun might suddenly lash out, instinctively reached out and shielded Yu Sui'an behind her. “I was the one who dragged Suisui here to pick out a dress for my grandfather's birthday banquet.”

“If you have a problem, take it up with me; none of this has anything to do with Suisui.” She was so protective of Yu Sui'an that Zhou Yuying, who had been standing off to the side minding her own business, turned livid.

She studied Yu Sui'an from behind Jiang Zhaolie's arm. The girl's looks were nothing special—bland and watery, not even as pretty as Xu Chun. Zhou Yuying couldn't understand why Jiang Zhaolie would give up a dazzling beauty like Xu Chun to treat Yu Sui'an like some treasured prize. What on earth made Yu Sui'an worth Jiang Zhaolie's doting?

Zhou Yuying held her fire and turned toward Xu Chun, screaming internally: Curse her out! Keep cursing her out! Rip Jiang Zhaolie to shreds, and then I'll step in as the good guy. Her opinion of me will go up.

Xu Chun flicked Zhou Yuying a couple of indifferent glances. “Oh.” Her tone was slow and drawn out. “Then take her and go pick something out. Why are you explaining all this to me?”

Xu Chun hadn't meant anything by it, but Jiang Zhaolie took it to heart. The moment Xu Chun finished speaking, Jiang Zhaolie noticed Yu Sui'an's gaze drift lightly over her, subtle and fleeting. “......”

Jiang Zhaolie suddenly felt terribly wronged. With just a few words, Xu Chun had managed to sow distrust and distance between her and Suisui, and she herself was too clumsy with words to explain it to Suisui. All she had were the same few lines, repeated over and over; Suisui might not be sick of hearing them yet, but she was sick of saying them.

She couldn't help but become anxious and insecure. Would Suisui think that being with someone like Xu Chun, whose tongue was sweeter than honey, was more fun than being with a dull, unromantic person like herself?

They had been lovers once, after all. Even after breaking up, Suisui was pure-hearted and took relationships seriously. Did she still think about Xu Chun? Had she never been able to forget her?

And when Jiang Zhaolie thought of the way the two of them had interacted on the dating show, and the ship fans that had sprung up online afterward, her heart grew restless and agitated, and even her expression soured.

Xu Chun had no desire to deal with these two. She turned to pick out her clothes and leave, but Yu Sui'an called after her, “Jiejie, are you here to pick out a dress too?”

“Mm.” Xu Chun gave a perfunctory reply and quickened her pace. But Yu Sui'an followed right on her heels. “Jiejie, let me help you.” She smiled sweetly. “Back when you had all those events to attend, I was the one who personally picked out your dresses, remember?”

“Every time, you praised my taste and said you wanted me to pick your clothes for a lifetime.”

Yu Sui'an's voice was sweet and soft, every syllable crisp and clear; even a deaf person would have heard her. Xu Chun reflexively stopped in her tracks and turned back in disbelief. Her slightly upturned eyes carried a hint of allure, fixed hard on Yu Sui'an. What are you doing?

Is Jiang Zhaolie's dislike for me not deep enough yet? Or is my downfall just not coming fast enough?

Xu Chun refused without a second thought. “No need.” Her eyes darted, and she grabbed Zhou Yuying, who had been watching the drama unfold and was poised to swoop in for the spoils. “I already have Yuying helping me.”

Yu Sui'an turned her clear almond eyes toward Zhou Yuying without a flicker of expression.

Zhou Yuying, caught in Xu Chun's grip and pinned by Yu Sui'an's stare, couldn't help but shiver. “?” Who had she offended? Why drag her into this three-way bloodbath? She had only wanted to wait until Yu Sui'an and Xu Chun left, then seize the chance to get closer to Jiang Zhaolie!

“One more person won't hurt,” Yu Sui'an said, her mood shifting just as quickly. Her harmless face lit up with a faint smile again. “I'll thank Miss Zhou in advance on Jiejie's behalf.”

Who asked you to thank me? Zhou Yuying felt utterly unlucky. “No thanks needed. I've known Xu Chun and Zhaolie much longer than you have.” She flashed a grin, her tone aggressive and provocative. “If anything, I should be thanking you for keeping Zhaolie company all this time.”

For a beat, the air went silent. The atmosphere turned tense at once, the smell of gunpowder spreading in every direction, thick enough to give Xu Chun a headache. She couldn't be bothered to get involved; without a glance at any of the three, she turned and walked off. She casually picked a dress and told the shop assistant, “Wrap this black dress up for me and have it delivered to my home sometime next Monday.”

The chosen dress had a simple, understated design—not flashy at all. It wasn't ugly, exactly—just proper, nothing that would drag down Xu Chun's looks. But Yu Sui'an glanced at it and said softly, “Jiejie is so beautiful—whatever she wears, she shines so brightly that no one can look away.”

The female lead's flattery was laid on thick with no attempt to hide it. Xu Chun turned around silently—

Don't do this. I'm scared.

Really.

Unsolicited favors always meant theft, or worse—especially coming from Yu Sui'an, a scheming white lotus with eight hundred schemes packed into every inch of her, someone who wouldn't lift a finger without profit. Would she praise anyone for no reason? Of course not. She had to be full of bad ideas right now—a pit already dug, waiting for Xu Chun to jump in herself.

Maybe Yu Sui'an had feelings for her and that was why she was praising her... but Xu Chun refused to believe it. Pies didn't fall from the sky. Only traps did.

The other party was the proper female lead. Would the female lead's love be so easily given to a supporting villain like her? Of course not. Jiang Zhaolie wasn't just sitting there as a decoration. So Xu Chun would never be swayed by such an easy temptation. Thinking this, Xu Chun felt she was truly an incorruptible saint, unmoved even with a beauty in her lap.

She was so proud of herself that she straightened her back. She squared her shoulders, swiped her card, and after a brief word to the three of them, vanished from their sight in a puff of smoke. Zhou Yuying was left speechless. “......”

Zhou Yuying instinctively looked at the silent Jiang Zhaolie. “Zhaolie, I've been looking for ages and I still can't decide. Why don't you help me pick?”

She walked over and tried to loop her arm through Jiang Zhaolie's and play coy, but Jiang Zhaolie dodged as if avoiding the plague. “I don't have an eye for this. Pick one yourself.” With that, she turned to Yu Sui'an. “Suisui, look at the dresses I picked for you—which one do you like?”

The two walked side by side into the VIP room, and Zhou Yuying secretly clenched her jaw. Enjoy your moment now; when the birthday celebration comes, I'll make sure to teach that Yu Sui'an a lesson. Just a small-time actress with no power and no backing. Does she really think she can ride roughshod over me?

When Xu Chun got home, she happened to run into her manager, who had come to deliver the adapted script. “You've finished the original novel, right?” When Xu Chun confirmed, the manager smiled. “Then you should be able to familiarize yourself with the script faster than the others.”

After a few brief reminders about important matters, the manager added, “We've already reached a preliminary agreement with Yu Sui'an's team. Barring any surprises, we should have everything settled next week.” She paused, then brought up another matter. “I don't know if you remember—last year a new actress debuted under the ‘Little Xu Chun’ label. She built her career off your name back then, and now she's pulling the same trick—using the controversy to fish for your popularity.”

That ‘Little Xu Chun’ was at most four parts Xu Chun's lookalike, but she was signed to Xu Chun's rival company, and they were willing to spend money on marketing and press releases, so for a while they did manage to make the newcomer quite famous. But marketing-driven hype is just foam; her popularity lasted half a year at most before fizzling out without a splash.

Now that Xu Chun was mired in controversy, the other side had gotten ideas again. They spent money marketing her as something incredible and snatched several endorsements from Xu Chun's team. She was riding high.

Xu Chun was already a top actress; her manager couldn't be bothered to stoop to their level. But the other side provoked them again and again, and she was starting to get angry. She had come today to ask Xu Chun's opinion. “What do you plan to do?”

“Do?” Xu Chun blinked, tilted her head, and propped up her cheek with one hand. She thought for a moment, then said, all innocence, “Of course we can't let her off.”

“Sue her. Sue her for defamation right away—she won't soothe my wounded spirit unless she pays me a few million.”

The manager almost thought she'd misheard. “...?” She'd seen plenty of peace-loving living Buddhas, but this was the first time she'd met a money-grubbing living Yama.

She steadied herself, and after a long hesitation, finally asked tactfully, “Have you been...” The manager paused. “Having any financial difficulties lately?”

Xu Chun blinked in confusion. “No, why?”

Then why do you keep demanding money from people like Yu Sui'an, Jiang Zhaolie, and ‘Little Xu Chun’? You used to be so lofty, treating money like dirt. But the manager only dared complain about that in her heart. After going over everything that needed to be said, she said her goodbyes and left the Xu residence.

The real name behind ‘Little Xu Chun’ was Shen Shutong. She was still a second-year student at an acting academy; because her older brother and sister-in-law both worked in the entertainment industry, she had naturally set out to become an actress too. At first, with her brother and sister-in-law's marketing, she shot to fame quickly and gained a good number of fans. Later, with no works to her name, her popularity plummeted, and no matter what methods she tried, she couldn't hold the public's attention, but she didn't give up.

Later, when Xu Chun's career imploded, Shen Shutong no longer dared use Xu Chun's name to draw traffic, terrified of being caught in the crossfire of Yu Sui'an's fans' fury. But not long after, Xu Chun's reputation recovered thanks to a dating show, and so Shen Shutong got the itch to ride her coattails again.

Over the past few days, Shen Shutong had asked her brother and sister-in-law to post a flood of smear posts about Xu Chun online, smearing her image with slander and rumors, and even bribed many marketing accounts to sing her own praises, building herself up to the skies until she was practically being called ‘the light of the entertainment industry.’ To drum up even more attention, Shen Shutong didn't hesitate to drag Yu Sui'an in as well, having people pair the two of them up everywhere, and even personally logged into a sockpuppet account to create a CP（couple）super-topic for herself and Yu Sui'an.

Yu Sui'an's team had originally turned a blind eye to Shen Shutong's antics, but now that the other side was dancing right under their noses, they naturally had no reason to stand by anymore.

So Yu Sui'an's team issued a statement right after Xu Chun's manager's statement, sternly condemning the other side for riding coattails and leeching off Xu Chun's heat and sparking heated discussion online.

After finishing up dress shopping with Jiang Zhaolie, Yu Sui'an sat down to rest and check her phone, only to discover her team's move. After asking around, her gentle brows knitted slightly. Then her fingers moved, and she posted on Weibo—

【Looking like that, she can't even compare to a single strand of jiejie's hair.】

Xu Chun was reading the script when her phone buzzed. She glanced at it casually, and just as she was about to look away, she froze mid-motion, then widened her eyes in disbelief. “?!”

Jiang Zhaolie's phone got the push notification too. After reading the Weibo post, she lowered her head, her eyes darkening. “Suisui.” Her voice was low. “Why.”

Yu Sui'an turned her head, her eyes perfectly normal. “I don't want to see jiejie being bullied by others.”

Jiang Zhaolie's breath caught. It felt as if someone had seized her heart and twisted it hard, the pain nearly suffocating. Her face went pale, a bitter taste slowly spreading through her mouth, and she heard her own trembling voice ask, “Suisui, are you...”

She forced the words out. “Still liking her, even now?”

TL Note:

white lotus (小白花) = internet slang for a woman who seems sweet and innocent but is secretly scheming.

living Yama (活阎王) = a terrifying, ruthless person; Yama is the king of hell in Chinese mythology.

CP super-topic (cp超话) = a fan-made discussion board for a romantic pairing; CP is slang for “couple” or “pairing.”