After A Secret Marriage With The Trending Queen - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

“That’s enough. Your job here is done. Remember to deal with all of these tomorrow,” Ye Qin said, sounding quite pleased. She turned with an elegant flourish and leaned back on the sofa, crossing one leg and wearing a faint, meaningful smile.

Shen Lu nodded, feeling a chill as she carried the stack of mooncakes Ye Qin had given her out of the room.

Ye Qin basked in her self-satisfaction for a while before noticing the box of mooncakes Shen Lu had left behind. She reached for it, examined it closely for a moment, and said, “Tan Xueying?” Heh… Ye Qin sneered, tossing it casually into the nearby trash can.

When Shen Lu returned to her room, she was startled to find Shen Jing taking selfies. “You’re so vain!”

“Of course! Now that I’m staying in a hotel with a big celebrity, of course, I have to document your brother’s good looks…” Shen Jing stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the full box of mooncakes in Shen Lu’s arms. “Are these for me?”

Shen Lu pouted helplessly. “Take them all if you like.” Anyway, there were too many for her to eat alone. But speaking of it, Ye Qin was really strange. Why was she so competitive with Tan Xueying? After all, the other party had good intentions; sending mooncakes before the Mid-Autumn Festival wasn’t a big deal. She was acting like a jealous lover (a vinegar jar).

When she snapped back to reality, Shen Jing was already sitting on the sofa, unceremoniously ripping open a box and gorging himself. He seemed to be choking. “This expensive mooncake tastes different, but it’s so dry! Sis, get me a bottle of water!”

Shen Lu rolled her eyes at him. “Why don’t you choke to death.” She tossed a bottle of water to him. “Is it really that good? Let me try some.”

Shen Jing tightly hugged the box of mooncakes to his chest. “There are more, aren’t there? You open another box!”

Shen Lu: …That’s too much.

A little later, Shen Lu threw a blanket at Shen Jing’s head, her voice cold. “You sleep here tonight.”

Shen Jing protested unhappily. “I’m your brother! Can you really bear to see me sleep on this cold sofa?”

Shen Lu’s face contorted in annoyance. Her mouth twitched. “The room will have the heater on tonight. And if you don’t sleep on the sofa, where are you going to sleep? With me in my bed? In your dreams!”

Shen Jing swallowed his food. “I was just joking! I’ll sleep on the sofa, the sofa, hehehe….”

…

Late at night.

The sound of high heels clattering on the pavement was loud. Ye Qin was running frantically, constantly looking back. The person in black was getting closer and closer, inescapable. She was consumed by panic and fear, but the path ahead seemed endless. She had been running for a long, long time, completely exhausted and unable to go on.

Finally, she stumbled and fell to the ground. When she looked back, the man who had chased her disappeared instantly without a trace. Before she could even catch her breath, a spooky voice came from behind her: “I’ve caught you, hahahaha…”

“No, let go of me, let go of me….” Struggling, Ye Qin tore off the man’s mask. When she saw the man’s face, she nearly lost her mind from fright. It was her father, who had passed away many years ago. Ye Qin refused to acknowledge that man as her father; to her, “father” was just a cold, emotionless term.

She gasped, nearly deprived of oxygen.

Ye Qin bolted upright in bed. Before her was a pitch-black room where she couldn’t see her own hand. She realized with a start that the horror was just a dream. But at that moment, her heart was racing so fast she could hear its frantic beating. When she lifted her hand to her eye, she found it slightly damp.

Ye Qin fumbled for the bedside lamp. When she finally found the switch and the room instantly lit up, she let out a huge sigh of relief. But the reassurance lasted only two seconds. She sensed movement outside the bedroom, a very faint but distinct sound of footsteps. Had someone come in?

“Shen Lu?” Ye Qin called out tentatively. She heard something drop to the floor outside. The person seemed very flustered. Ye Qin got no response, and her heart immediately leaped into her throat. She instinctively grabbed her phone and quickly called Shen Lu.

She waited a long time, but no one answered the call. Those ten seconds felt like an eternity to Ye Qin. She had no choice but to get out of bed, her bare feet silently stepping on the floor as she crept to the door and locked it. As she did this, her hands were trembling, and her feet on the ground felt completely unreal.

Finally, Shen Lu answered the phone, her voice slightly slurred, as if she had just woken up. “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Ye Qin silently climbed back onto the bed, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Shen Lu… I… I’m scared…”

Shen Lu sensed the distress and immediately snapped awake, turning on the bedside lamp, waking Shen Jing in the process.

“What is it, Sister?”

“I think someone got into my room. Can you please come over?” Ye Qin’s voice was hoarse, conveying urgency and fear.

“Okay, okay, I’ll be right there.” Without a second thought, Shen Lu grabbed her jacket and got out of bed, simultaneously calling the hotel security.

After hanging up, Ye Qin huddled on the bed, holding herself tightly, shaking all over. The person outside seemed to have heard the movement inside and walked closer. Ye Qin suddenly heard a violent knocking on the door and shrieked. The person continued to shake her door.

Ye Qin hugged her head, silently praying for Shen Lu to arrive quickly.

After a while, the shaking stopped. Footsteps could be heard wandering around the living room. Ye Qin swallowed hard and quickly picked up her phone to text Shen Lu. “Are you here yet? That person is still here.”

She was so nervous she barely dared to breathe. This was scarier than shooting a horror movie.

Finally, Shen Lu arrived with a group of hotel security personnel and successfully apprehended the intruder. Shen Lu shook Ye Qin’s doorknob. “Sister, it’s me. Open the door.”

Ye Qin quickly got out of bed and opened the door. The moment she saw Shen Lu, she threw her arms around her without hesitation, her voice slightly tearful. “Why did you take so long!”

Shen Lu pursed her lips, her hands hovering awkwardly in the air. “Sister, that person has been caught. It’s okay now. You’re safe.”

Ye Qin looked up and saw several security guards restraining a man. The man was still looking at her with a lecherous, wicked smile that sent shivers down her spine.

“Ye Qin, I love you! Ye Qin, I love you!” the man yelled as he was being led away.

“Sister Wang is already on her way. The hotel staff has also called the police. Are you okay, Sister?”

Ye Qin shook her head, still shaken. “I’m fine.”

Shen Lu pouted. “But how did this guy sneak in? Is this hotel’s security system really that bad? This is one of the best suites in the hotel. We must hold the hotel accountable for this.”

Ye Qin looked unwell and shook her head. Just then, Wang Lin finally arrived, looking frantic. She rushed to Ye Qin. “Are you alright? Are you hurt? I heard an extreme sasaeng fan broke in.”

Shen Lu sighed. “These fans nowadays, this is outright invasion of privacy.” She turned to look at the pale, expressionless Ye Qin, feeling a pang of sympathy.

The hotel manager rushed over immediately, standing before Ye Qin and apologizing profusely, citing negligence on the hotel’s part.

Wang Lin was very dissatisfied and stated that she would not let the matter rest easily, or similar incidents would happen again and again in the future.

Ye Qin waved her hand. “Forget it. I’m tired. I want to rest.” It had been a long night of commotion. Since the incident was over, blaming the hotel manager wouldn’t help much now.

She would take this as a lesson. Tomorrow’s headlines would undoubtedly be about this. The hotel management would then be forced to issue a statement or a solution.

The police needed Shen Lu to give a statement. Ye Qin, however, said, “Sister Wang, you go. Shen Lu might not be able to handle it…”

Before she could finish, Shen Lu interrupted her. “Sister, I’m fine! Giving a statement isn’t difficult, and I was one of the witnesses!”

When Ye Qin heard this, she immediately gave Shen Lu a meaningful look.

Wang Lin had no choice but to agree. “Alright, then Shen Lu, you stay here and look after Qin.”

…

After all the commotion, it was well past midnight.

Shen Lu quietly tidied up the mess in the living room alone. She noticed that Ye Qin’s clothes, which were hanging on the balcony, were untouched. Usually, wouldn’t a perverted male sasaeng fan want to get their hands on a female celebrity’s intimate clothing?

There were signs of disturbance in the living room, but after a careful check, nothing seemed to be missing. All of this made her feel that it wasn’t as simple as a perverted sasaeng fan, but she couldn’t think of any other possibility.

After cleaning up, Shen Lu went to the door of Ye Qin’s bedroom. “Sister, I’ve finished cleaning up.”

“Mhm…” Ye Qin replied but said nothing more.

Shen Lu felt bored and awkward. Standing there wasn’t good, but Sister Wang had instructed her to stay and look after Ye Qin. Leaving now was impossible. She decided to go sit on the sofa and rest, but just as she lifted her foot to walk away, Ye Qin spoke again from inside.

“Come in if everything is settled.”

Shen Lu: ???

In this situation, that sentence was highly suggestive. Peh! Shen Lu, what kind of dirty thoughts are in your head? After swallowing hard, Shen Lu slowly walked in.

“Sister, do you have any other instructions?”

Ye Qin, who had been lying on the bed facing the door, turned her back to Shen Lu, preventing her from seeing her face.

“I’m a little tired. Don’t leave tonight. Stay in the room and keep me company.”

“Oh… o-okay.” Shen Lu pulled up a chair and sat down, biting her lower lip and resting her face in her hand as she watched Ye Qin on the bed. It wasn’t easy being a celebrity these days, and it wasn’t easy being an assistant either. Staying up late to guard her artist while she slept.