Overnight Hit: Vicious Stepmother and Genius Son
Chapter 391

Chapter 391: 391

An Xi looked at the expression on Qiu Wanshuang’s face. It was very calm, and so was her tone of voice, but the sentences she uttered had an unsettling effect.

Everyone was not a fool, and naturally, An Xi also knew who Qiu Wanshuang was talking about. Her words were meant not only for Ye Zhenzhen but were also pointed at her.

Previously, when she was in the same drama crew with Qiu Wanshuang, the director asked her to shoot a diving scene. But halfway through, she felt a chill in her stomach and realized she had started her period. The set was already built, and the crew asked her to dive a couple more times.

It was winter, and her complexion turned pale. She was trembling when she jumped down, and eventually, she fainted and was taken to the hospital.

The ultimate outcome was that Qiu Wanshuang’s manager, Sister Xia, indirectly blamed her during an interview with entertainment reporters. She complained about Shuangshuang’s busy schedule being disrupted because of the past few days’ scenes being delayed by a non-cooperative actor from the same crew.

The implication was that An Xi, because of a conflict with Qiu Wanshuang, had held back the entire crew’s progress. Consequently, she missed many opportunities for roles that she could have taken on, as her absence was used as an excuse by others.

Unexpectedly, she and Qiu Wanshuang had run into each other again on this kid variety show.

An Xi smiled and said, "Shuangshuang, we were just chatting about the minor issue of children getting sick. Why make such a long speech about it, as if you were some kind of woman trapped in a deep-seated grievance?

The experiences you’ve mentioned depend on personal choices. If you think having children is strenuous, you could choose not to have any. And if you find acting exhausting and challenging, you could choose to retire."

Trapped woman in a deep-seated grievance?

Qiu Wanshuang’s gaze suddenly narrowed, her eyebrows slightly raised, and she spoke with certainty, "I’m just empathizing with Sister Jiajia. Acting is the career I love, and I’m not ready to retire yet. An Xi, by saying that, you’re only showing that we’re on different wavelengths and that you can’t understand."

While saying this, Qiu Wanshuang seemed to have been provoked by An Xi’s term ’trapped woman in a deep-seated grievance,’ as her tone was noticeably different from before and carried a sense of superiority.

It was as if, among the four people here, only Xu Wanjia had the credentials to compare with her in terms of talent. An Xi and Ye Zhenzhen were both inexperienced, and in her heart, she looked down upon them.

An Xi nodded, "I’m not your husband; there’s no need for me to understand your thoughts.

Since acting is a career you’re passionate about, maybe talk less about it. Otherwise, your fans might think you’re complaining about the difficulties of acting. Also, saying how hard it is in front of the children can be somewhat of a moral bind, don’t you think, Zhenzhen?"

Everyone here was an actor, as well as a mother. However, Ye Zhenzhen was a stepmother, and she, like Ye Zhenzhen, didn’t have any notable representative works currently. This was a blatant underhanded criticism.

The word around the industry was that Qiu Wanshuang’s manager, Sister Xia, was hard to deal with. From her perspective, would Sister Xia be so difficult if Qiu Wanshuang herself were easy to deal with?

Ye Zhenzhen’s phoenix eyes sparkled, and her face showed a faint smile. She understood An Xi’s intimation that she should speak up for herself, refusing to be bullied by Qiu Wanshuang.

She fully grasped the meaning behind Qiu Wanshuang’s words. She hadn’t given birth and was a stepmother, allegedly unable to comprehend the struggles of a biological mother. Suddenly, she, Ye Zhenzhen, was flaming red with a global endorsement from GK snatched right from Qiu Wanshuang’s grasp.

Indeed, most women in this industry were similar. The circle was so limited, and the cake was only so big. What wasn’t yours was someone else’s; they all relied on their abilities.

Speaking of snatching, it would only count if GK had announced Qiu Wanshuang as the endorser and she had usurped her position. As things stood, with nothing official, idle slander was unworthy of a response.

Whoever took the bait would be playing the fool. An open claim would be inadvertently admitting to it without any basis.

She shrugged slightly, with an indifferent attitude, "I don’t have much to say, I can’t empathize with childbirth and these things, but it’s fine just listening to you talk. Despite not going through a pregnancy, I can still experience the joy of having a five-year-old son and being a mother."

"As for acting, it’s my beloved job, so I really have nothing to complain about."

Xu Wanjia seemed to realize that she had been only empathizing with Qiu Wanshuang earlier, without considering that Ye Zhenzhen was the only stepmother present. She quickly tried to smooth things over,

"Hey, speaking of which, I’m really envious of Zhenzhen. Handsome husband, cute son, and you didn’t even have to go through the nine months of pregnancy. If I could have a chance, I would choose a life like yours any day—nothing could be happier!"

As she spoke, Xu Wanjia seemed to suddenly come to a realization, as if she had been influenced by Qiu Wanshuang’s sentiments. Why bring up things like enduring pregnancy or acting?

Everyone here is a mother, everyone is an actress. Isn’t discussing this just to target Zhenzhen?

Xu Wanjia worried inwardly that this might be another Han Jiangxue situation. If another mom like Han Jiangxue joined the show, she felt she would either be worn to death or disgusted to death.

An Xi echoed the sentiment, "Sister Jiajia, you’ve really spoken to my heart. Given the choice, I too would pick the kind of life Zhenzhen has."

At this point, An Xi genuinely regretted her impulsive self from years ago, not considering the consequences, which let others grasp something to hold against her, and she still couldn’t lift her head high at her in-laws’.

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret, and since she had made her choice, she had to stick with it...

Qiu Wanshuang still wore a faint smile on her face, but her heart was soured by the back-and-forth conversation, feeling as though, being the newcomer, she was isolated by the others.

Since the conversation had already gone in this direction, she didn’t say anything more, but called out to her daughter,

"Yunyun, don’t run around anymore, okay? We’re about to start filming the show soon."

Ji Yunyun was a few months older than Yang Yike, born on New Year’s Eve, hence her nickname Xiao Tuantuan. Outside, Qiu Wanshuang still called her daughter Yunyun.

Ji Yunyun was about the same height as Yang Yike, but the two little girls didn’t talk much after meeting and didn’t play together. Earlier, Xiao Yiyi, Xiao Chen, and Gu Xiaoran were playing together, while Xiao Yunyun wandered around by herself.

Seeing her mother, Yunyun pouted and said, "Mommy, I want Brother Xiao Chen to play only with me, I don’t want him to play with anyone else!"

Hearing her daughter’s words, she looked at the three children laughing and talking together and at her own daughter, standing there alone. A pang of concern hit her—she didn’t mind being isolated, but her daughter couldn’t be left out.

Qiu Wanshuang immediately picked up her daughter and soothed her in a soft voice, "Baby, do you really like Brother Xiao Chen that much?"

Ji Yunyun nodded, "I think Brother Xiao Chen is the handsomest, so I only want to play with him!"

Qiu Wanshuang nodded in agreement, "Yes, Yunyun is right, Brother Xiao Chen really is the handsomest.

But Brother Xiao Chen has his own friends, and he’s not exclusively yours. Plus, you’re not even friends with Brother Xiao Chen yet. If you want to play with him, you need to be brave and go make friends with him!"