After A Secret Marriage With The Trending Queen - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ye Qin, a post-90s young starlet with an angelic face and a devilish figure, has mediocre acting and average line delivery skills. Yet, she has carved out a place for herself in the entertainment industry relying on her enormous fan base and a knack for trending topics.

And from now on, she has acquired a new identity: the legal wife of the non-celebrity, Shen Lu.

Of course, this secret is only known to four people, including the two parties involved.

Three years ago, after graduating, Shen Lu successfully applied for the position of assistant, becoming a “nanny” in Ye Qin’s life and work. The change happened a month ago when Ye Qin’s grandmother was hospitalized with cancer. Although the surgery was successful, it could only extend her life by a maximum of five years.

Ye Qin’s parents moved abroad when she was very young, and she was raised by her grandmother. She has a deep bond with her, and naturally, she couldn’t accept this news. Therefore, when her grandmother, lying in the hospital bed, expressed her wish to see her granddaughter settle down, Ye Qin almost immediately took on this important task.

She didn’t want her grandmother to leave this world with any regrets. Looking around, the most suitable person to cooperate with her in this act was right in front of her: Shen Lu was pulled into the scheme.

Ye Qin had enough trust in her, despite Ye Qin’s manager, Wang Lin, trying to persuade her many times, but to no avail.

Shen Lu pouted, I haven’t even felt wronged, and yet you all look like you’ve been taken advantage of.

After getting their marriage certificate, Ye Qin brought Shen Lu to her grandmother’s bedside. Seeing her again, her grandmother’s complexion was much better; she should be discharged soon.

Shen Lu vaguely remembered her grandmother holding her hand and saying, “My granddaughter-in-law, haha, you two must be good to each other. Although your grandma was born in the old society, her thinking is not backward at all. Same-sex marriage has been legal for years now, and I’m much more at ease with my Qinqin finding a girl than a boy.”

Shen Lu smiled and nodded, “Yes, yes, Grandma, don’t worry, we’ll be fine, and you must get well soon.”

At this moment, she knew that she was truly stuck with no turning back.

The cat-shaped desk lamp illuminated a marriage contract on the desk. Black clauses were listed on the white A4 paper.

1. Party A (Ye Qin) and Party B (Shen Lu) are in a contractual marriage. Party B is not allowed to have any crossing the line or infringing behavior toward Party A.
2. Party B guarantees not to disclose any information to the outside world, otherwise, they will pay liquidated damages ten times the contract amount.
3. The contract period is 5 years. After the contract expires, Party B will receive financial compensation of 5 million from Party A. …

Before going to sleep, Shen Lu checked the contract again. She wondered how all the clauses seemed to restrict her. It was simply a shameful treaty. However, after five years, she would receive five million—money she could never earn in her lifetime. Maybe it wasn’t a bad deal after all.

That woman, Ye Qin, is beautiful and has a sweet voice. Being her wife for five years might not be a loss.

Shen Lu rolled up the contract, squatted down to pull open the bottom drawer, carefully placed it inside, and then closed the drawer.

Just before falling asleep, she received a message from Sister Wang Lin.

[Tomorrow at six in the morning, be on time to wake Ye Qin up and get her ready. There’s an event at eight.

Shen Lu obediently replied, [Received], then tilted her head and silently calculated the time. It would take at least thirty minutes to rush from her place to Ye Qin’s. She needed thirty minutes to get up and get ready. So, she needed to get up around five o’clock tomorrow. She set her alarm, checked it repeatedly, and finally lay down to rest with peace of mind.

Ye Qin’s manager, Wang Lin, is a decisive woman; there is no such word as “late” in her dictionary. Shen Lu remembered that three years ago, when she first started as an assistant, she was late once. Sister Wang Lin had scolded her fiercely in front of the entire company, and Shen Lu almost quit, feeling heartbroken. However, through their long-term association, she knew Wang Lin’s nature—a sharp tongue with a soft heart. On the surface, she might be scolding and reprimanding you, but it’s actually for your own good, to help you learn and survive longer in this industry.

At five in the morning, Shen Lu was awakened by the alarm on time. She mechanically got up, dressed, washed up, grabbed her bag, and left the house. At five-thirty, the city was just waking up. The public buses hadn’t started yet, but there were already elderly grandpas and grandmas in orange and yellow striped sanitation uniforms doing clean-up work on the streets. Whenever Shen Lu hurried along this road, she felt a sense of relief. There were people whose jobs were harder and who woke up earlier than her; what were her troubles compared to theirs?

At six o’clock sharp, Shen Lu arrived at the entrance of the upscale apartment where Ye Qin lived. She first rang the doorbell, and as expected, no one answered. She had no choice but to take out the spare key from her bag; apart from her, Sister Wang also had a key.

After gently pushing the door open, Shen Lu changed her shoes. The living room was filled with a strong smell of alcohol. Shen Lu pinched her nose and proceeded. Dirty clothes were strewn on the sofa, high heels were scattered here and there, and wine bottles were tipped over. At this moment, her mind could even picture the events of last night.

To save time, Shen Lu decided to wake Ye Qin up first, and then come out to clean up the mess. The bedroom door was not closed. What caught her eye was Ye Qin, dressed in her underwear, sleeping at the foot of the bed, with the quilt kicked onto the floor. Shen Lu pursed her lips, strode in, picked up the quilt for her, and then shook her shoulder, “Sister, wake up, wake up, time to get up.”

Although their birthdays were only half a month apart, Shen Lu was already used to calling her this.

Ye Qin opened her eyes, somewhat hazy, and then closed them again the next second. Shen Lu had to resort to the second measure, half-dragging her body off the bed, while muttering complaints, “Always like this, leaving me to clean up your mess. You’re twenty-five years old, why are you still acting like a child… blablabla…”

Ye Qin suddenly opened her eyes. Shen Lu froze. A hint of awkwardness permeated the air.

“Talking bad about me right to my face, are you?” Ye Qin said slowly.

“N-no, none at all!” Shen Lu quickly glossed over it, attempting to change the subject, “Why are your eyes swollen? Did you look at netizen comments again last night? Sister Wang told you not to look at those online things, but you never listen, and now you’ve been stimulated again.” Shen Lu rambled on.

Ye Qin was a little impatient. She tossed her long hair and then got out of bed. “So much nonsense.” She then walked into the bathroom inside the bedroom.

Shen Lu shrugged. She didn’t know why, but every time Ye Qin snapped at her, hearing those fierce words spoken in her sweet, almost child-like voice, she didn’t feel angry at all; instead, she found it a little cute.

But, the task of waking her up was finally completed. Shen Lu left the bedroom and began to clean and tidy the living room. This is my fate, she thought, the fate of laboring for others.

In a little while, her cell phone in her pocket rang. It was Sister Wang calling.

Shen Lu immediately put down what she was doing and answered the phone.

“Are you up?”

“Reporting, Sister Wang, she’s up.”

“Good. The makeup artist will arrive in twenty minutes. I’ll pick you two up downstairs at 7:30.”

“Okay, Sister Wang.”

After hanging up the phone, Shen Lu continued wiping the table. Just then, Ye Qin, who had finished washing up, poked half of her body out of the room and asked, “Did you bring a sanitary pad?”

Shen Lu was startled and quickly said, “I did.” She started rummaging through her bag. When she looked up again, Ye Qin was already standing in front of her, her long hair slightly curled. The scent of her hair wafted to Shen Lu’s nose, very fresh and pleasant. Before Shen Lu could speak, Ye Qin had already reached out and taken it herself, without even a word of thanks.

Shen Lu was long used to it. This was the real Ye Qin, wasn’t it—her second face, not the gentle and charming little lady she was in front of the cameras.

Looking at Ye Qin’s retreating figure, Shen Lu shook her head dismissively. While she had to admit that Ye Qin’s looks were beautiful and unparalleled, she would never in her life fall for a woman like this!

After changing her clothes, Ye Qin came out and looked down at Shen Lu, who was sitting on the sofa idly playing with her phone. “By the way, did you memorize the contract when you got back?”

Shen Lu shivered, “Y-yes, I did.”

“Remember, you are not allowed to make any mistakes!” Ye Qin leaned slightly towards her, tapping her index finger on Shen Lu’s nose. Shen Lu woodenly nodded. Only then did Ye Qin smile slightly and stand up straight. Shen Lu swallowed nervously. To her, this felt like a dagger hidden behind a smile.

Just then, the doorbell rang outside. Shen Lu suddenly jumped up, “The makeup artist is here! I’ll get the door.”

“You must be Ye Qin’s assistant, right? Is Ye Qin here?” The speaker was a flamboyant male makeup artist, who didn’t forget to curl his little finger with every gesture.

“She is, please come in,” Shen Lu answered politely.

When the makeup artist saw Ye Qin, his expression immediately became exaggerated. “Oh my darling, what’s wrong with your face? It’s swollen!”

Ye Qin was expressionless. “Let’s begin.” With that, she coldly walked towards her dressing room.

Shen Lu stood behind, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. Serves you right for drinking last night, she thought, now the makeup artist dislikes you. Then she heard the person inside call out, “Shen Lu!”

Shen Lu immediately responded, “Sister, what’s your command?”

“I’m hungry. Go downstairs and buy some soy milk and youtiao (fried dough sticks).”

“But… Sister Wang specifically instructed you not to eat deep-fried food.”

Ye Qin sat in front of the mirror, her brows furrowed, clearly trying hard to think of a foolproof plan. After a while, she stammered, “Just say you ate it.”

Shen Lu inwardly complained: Sister, you use this excuse every time. Can’t you come up with a different one…

…Then came the sound of the door slamming shut. The hard-working Shen Lu had already gone out.

The male makeup artist giggled coyly, “Your assistant is certainly obedient.”

Ye Qin gave a rare, slight smile, her tone suggesting a hint of relief and pride, “Of course. Who do you think trained her?”