After A Secret Marriage With The Trending Queen - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

After giving her statement, the sky outside was beginning to brighten. The interrogation was complete. The perpetrator was an out-and-out sasaeng fan with some radical, insane thoughts. Wang Lin came out carrying her bag but was immediately blocked by the reporters and media who had been camping there all night.

“We heard Ye Qin was harassed by a sasaeng fan. Could you briefly comment?”

“Was it really just a sasaeng fan?”

“……”

Wang Lin nodded toward the cameras and spoke a few very official lines, explaining the sequence of events and the satisfactory resolution. Only then did she get into her car, chased by reporters raising their cameras and clamoring for more.

Once in the car, she carefully recalled one of the reporters’ questions, finding it thought-provoking. She then stepped on the gas and quickly drove away from the local police station.

…

Shen Jing, realizing his sister hadn’t returned since leaving late at night, abruptly sat up on the sofa. An unsettling feeling crept into his heart. He vaguely remembered dreaming that his sister had been kidnapped by a villain. Could the dream have come true? Without thinking twice, he started packing and called Shen Lu while heading upstairs to check on Sister Qin.

Shen Lu yawned as she answered the phone, stepping out of Ye Qin’s bedroom. “What are you doing? Your sister is fine. I wasn’t kidnapped. I’m with Ye Qin.”

“That’s good… that’s good….”

“Good my foot! A pervert broke in last night, and we spent half the night dealing with it. Luckily, that person is now in custody.”

“Why didn’t I know!”

“You were sleeping like a dead pig, of course you didn’t know,” Shen Lu retorted.

“I’m at the door, Sis. Can you open it for me?” Shen Jing said.

Shen Lu opened the door for him. “Why did you come up here!”

“Of course, I have to see how Sister Qin is doing! She must be terrified after something like that happened.”

“No, Shen Jing, I….” Before Shen Lu could finish, Shen Jing had already rushed inside, completely lacking any sense of boundary. Shen Lu had no choice but to reluctantly close the door.

Since Shen Lu had just come out of Ye Qin’s bedroom, the door hadn’t been fully closed, just gently ajar. Shen Jing went to the door, knocked, and called out, “Sister Qin, I came to see you! I heard what happened last night. Are you okay?”

Shen Lu pouted helplessly as she walked toward him. “She’s sleeping. Why are you shouting here? Don’t disturb her rest.”

No sooner had she spoken than the person inside the room spoke.

“Is that Shen Jing?”

“Yes, it’s me, Shen Jing. I came to see you, Sister Qin,” Shen Jing said, exceptionally excited.

Ye Qin chuckled softly. “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome! After all, we’re family, aren’t we?”

Shen Lu immediately jabbed him with her elbow, but Shen Jing quietly questioned her, “What? Aren’t we family?”

Shen Lu forced a smile. “Yes… we are family… Hehe… hehehe…”

Seeing no further reaction from inside, Shen Lu, who understood Ye Qin’s unspoken cues, quickly pulled Shen Jing away from the bedroom door. “Alright, you need to leave now. It doesn’t look good if a grown man like you stays here.”

Shen Jing defended himself while being pushed away by Shen Lu. “But she’s my own sister-in-law! Why can’t I stay here?”

Shen Lu pursed her lips in frustration. “You’re not wrong, but outsiders don’t know that! Now hurry up and get out!”

Finally having chased the troublesome Shen Jing out, Shen Lu leaned against the door and sighed in relief. This secret was too unsafe in his hands. She constantly felt it could be exposed at any moment.

Shen Jing ambled to the elevator, pressed the down button, and the elevator quickly arrived and stopped at his floor. When the door opened, he ran into Sister Wang Lin. Shen Jing’s nerves immediately tensed up. He dropped his usual flippant attitude and greeted her respectfully, “Sister Wang, Sister Wang, good morning.”

Wang Lin stepped out of the elevator, expressionless, only giving him a once-over. “Why did you come up here?”

“Ah, well, I heard something bad happened last night, so I came up to see how Sister Qin was doing.”

Wang Lin raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I didn’t realize you cared about her so much.”

Shen Jing rubbed the back of his head, feigning relaxation. “Of course! She’s my sister now, after all. It’s only right to be concerned.”

Wang Lin chuckled softly, looked down, and saw his flip-flops. Her expression hardened. “Hurry up and get ready. Pick up the car downstairs at eight.”

“Yes, yes!” Shen Jing quickly darted into the elevator, not daring to waste another second.

…

A knock came at the door. Shen Lu opened it reluctantly, immediately saying, “Shen Jing, I told you not to… Oh, Sister Wang, I thought it was Shen Jing again.”

Wang Lin walked past her and asked, “Where’s Ye Qin? How is she?”

Shen Lu followed her. “Sister Qin is still in the room. After you left last night, I stayed up and watched her sleep for a while.”

Wang Lin nodded and went straight into Ye Qin’s room. Ye Qin was already awake and had just finished changing. “How are you? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? I can ask the crew for another day off.”

“No need. I’ve already taken one day off. I need to get back to the set to catch up on filming,” Ye Qin replied, pulling her long hair out from under her shirt. “How was that person dealt with?”

Wang Lin stood by the door with her arms crossed. “He’s been detained. Since the offense wasn’t severe, he’ll be released after half a month or a month at most. However, the hotel said they would offer compensation for the incident.”

Ye Qin smiled wryly. “What use is compensation? I’m not short on money.”

“Oh, right. Did that guy say anything to you last night? I have a feeling this isn’t as simple as it seems,” Wang Lin asked.

Ye Qin shook her head. “I only noticed the person doing something in the living room. They didn’t speak to me. But later, they did try to open the door. Luckily, I got out of bed early and locked it… Thinking back to last night, I’m still unsettled.”

At this, Wang Lin frowned, her expression becoming serious. She walked out into the living room without a word. Ye Qin followed curiously. “Is… is something wrong?”

Wang Lin stood with her hands on her hips, scanning the living room but remaining silent, her eyes missing no corner. The inexplicable tension affected Shen Lu too. Finally, Shen Lu spotted a small black dot on the light bulb, something that wasn’t normally there. She quickly called out to them. “Sister Wang, Sister Qin, come look at this!”

Wang Lin looked up and quickly said, “Shen Lu, get a chair.”

Shen Lu complied. Wang Lin stood on the chair and soon removed a small black object attached to the light bulb. The small black item was blinking red. She instantly knew what it was.

“It’s a bug (eavesdropping device),” Wang Lin said, jumping off the chair, immediately throwing it on the ground and crushing it with her foot. Shen Lu was stunned. Sister Wang is truly fierce…

Ye Qin was so startled she stepped back twice, feeling chills run down her spine.

“So now we can reasonably suspect that the so-called crazy sasaeng fan wasn’t just a sasaeng fan,” Wang Lin stated.

“But why put a bug? Who would do something like that?” Shen Lu asked, confused.

Wang Lin shook her head. “The entertainment industry is a place full of competition and trouble. Many people will stop at nothing to gain fame. Ye Qin’s rise has made too many people in the industry jealous. She has too many enemies. Anyone could be the person who planted this bug.”

Just then, Ye Qin voiced her inner suspicion. “Could it… have been Tan Xueying?”

Shen Lu was about to defend Sister Xueying, but Wang Lin immediately dismissed it. “It can’t be her. We already ruled out Tan Xueying’s team during the late-night script incident. And it’s unlikely to be her this time either.”

If that was the case, it would be even harder to find the real culprit. And even if they did, it wouldn’t matter much. They could only be extra careful from now on.

“Shen Lu, from now on, when you’re working with Ye Qin, you need to be more careful and vigilant about the people who approach her.”

“I understand, Sister Wang. I will pay closer attention.”

“Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s get ready and head to the set.” Wang Lin paused and then added, “I will report this to the company. They will decide on the appropriate response.”

Ye Qin nodded. At this point, that was all they could do.

…

The media went back and uniformly began writing press releases, each eager to seize the opportunity and publish the news first. Every outlet wanted the top headline. Combined with public discussion and fan concern, the topic was quickly pushed to the number one spot on the trending search list.

This sparked concern and discussion among fans and casual observers.

“Not a fan, but this is truly disgusting behavior. This is a complete invasion of privacy, isn’t it?”

“My heart aches for our Qinqin. She works so hard filming, and now she has to deal with perverted harassment.”

“Why did the media blur the pervert’s face? They should expose him!”

“This incident doesn’t look like a marketing stunt, does it?”

“To the person above, stop with the conspiracy theories! Who would do this kind of marketing stunt!”

“…….”

On the way to the set in the car, Shen Lu, as usual, checked the public’s opinion and comments online about the incident. She noticed quite a few of Ye Qin’s fans had rushed to Shen Lu’s Weibo to seek the truth, ask about Ye Qin’s current condition, and urge her to rest well and take care of herself.

Shen Lu relayed all these messages to Ye Qin. Ye Qin then said, “Help me send a message to everyone, just say I’m alright.”

Shen Lu nodded, drafted a Weibo post, and wrote, “Sister Qin asked me to tell everyone that she’s okay now. Thank you for your concern.”

A little while later, she refreshed the page, and there were already many fan comments.

“Shen Lu, please take good care of Qinqin for us. It truly hurts to see her go through this.”

“Thank you for last night! Sister Manager said you brought security to subdue the pervert. You’re awesome!”

“It’s great that she’s okay. Knowing she’s safe puts us fans at ease.”

“…..”

Shen Lu smiled involuntarily as she scrolled through the comments. These fans who loved Ye Qin were truly adorable. They were nothing like the crazy, obsessive people the outside world portrayed. They were just kind, simple, and innocent girls.

Through this job, Shen Lu also felt the significance of her own value—happiness and the responsibility of being valued by others. If she hadn’t taken this job, she might never have had this experience.

…

At the film set.

The makeup artist who was working on Shen Lu also brought up the topic. “Some fans are just too crazy these days. It’s really not easy being an artist.”

Shen Lu only offered a faint smile in front of the mirror. If it weren’t for the events of this morning, she might have been kept in the dark, believing it was just simple harassment by a crazy sasaeng fan.

Shen Lu bought black coffee for Ye Qin. In the hallway, she ran into Tan Xueying, who was alone, already in makeup, and preparing to leave. “Hello, Sister Xueying.”

Tan Xueying nodded. “Ye Qin must have been terrified by what happened last night.”

Shen Lu nodded. “I was terrified too. It was awful.”

Tan Xueying smiled softly and raised her hand to pat Shen Lu’s shoulder. “Then please say hello to Ye Qin for me. I won’t go find her myself. You know, she’s never been fond of me.”

“No, Sister Xueying. It’s not as serious as you think.”

Tan Xueying paused. “I’m aware of my standing in Ye Qin’s mind.” With that, she walked away.

Shen Lu held the hot coffee, pouting as she watched Tan Xueying’s retreating figure. It seemed impossible to get these two female leads to get along. She’d just let things take their natural course.

…

After the morning shoot, Ye Qin was eating lunch in the resting lounge when she unexpectedly received a call from an unknown number. Her first reaction was to ignore it. Then she tossed the phone to Shen Lu, asking her to deal with it.

Shen Lu focused on the number and quietly mumbled, “Mom?”

Ye Qin turned her head. “What did you say?”

Shen Lu pointed at the constantly vibrating phone. “This looks like a call from my mom.” But how did her mom get Ye Qin’s number? It must have been that brat Shen Jing.

Ye Qin seemed momentarily flustered and proactively asked Shen Lu for her opinion. “So, should I answer it?”

Shen Lu shook her head and handed the phone back to Ye Qin. “You decide. I’m leaving.” She then turned and fled the scene.

“Shen Lu, you—”

In the blink of an eye, Shen Lu had left the lounge, leaving Ye Qin alone. The phone continued to vibrate on the table. Ye Qin’s hesitant hand finally slid to the answer button.

“Hello, is that Qinqin?”

“Yes, it’s me, Auntie.”

“Oh, I saw the news online! How could you go through something like that? Shen Lu’s father and I are very worried about you.”

“Thank you, Auntie. But I’m fine now.”

“How about this? I’ll add you to our family group chat. That way, if anything else happens, you can just say something in the group, and we’ll know,” Mama Shen said.

“Family group chat?” Ye Qin questioned.

……

Shen Lu, who was lurking outside, was startled when her phone suddenly chimed. She saw Shen Jing’s message in the family group chat: “Newcomer, send a red envelope!”

She clicked into the chat and saw that her mother had actually added Ye Qin to their family group. Seriously… Shen Lu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

A little later, another message arrived in the family group. Ye Qin had indeed sent a red envelope. Shen Jing was the most enthusiastic, claiming it and immediately saying, “Thank you, Boss!”

Shen Lu hesitated to open the red envelope, feeling it was inappropriate, but she was curious about how much Ye Qin had sent. After some internal debate, she clicked on it. To her surprise, she had claimed the last and largest share, totaling a whopping $6,666.66. The remaining $3,333.34 was split between Shen Jing and her parents.

She was slightly stunned. Ye Qin had actually sent a large red envelope of $10,000.

Sure enough, Shen Jing complained in the chat: Wow, Sis, you actually grabbed such a big share! I demand you treat us to dinner tonight.

Shen Lu felt uneasy holding this money, which was almost a few months’ worth of her salary. She quickly pushed the door open and said to Ye Qin’s back, “Sister, why did you send so much money in the group?”

“It’s just ten thousand yuan. It’s not that much,” Ye Qin replied. “Besides, I went to your house empty-handed last time. Consider it for buying a few things for Uncle and Auntie.”

“But, what about this…” Ye Qin held up her phone.

“Are you talking about the red envelope you just claimed? What, if you don’t want it, you can transfer it back to me.”

Hearing this, Shen Lu felt a little reluctant to give it up.

Ye Qin saw her reaction in the mirror and smiled. “Didn’t you save me last night? This is a reward.”

Shen Lu pouted, pretending to be unenthusiastic. “Since you insist on giving it to me, Sister, I’ll respectfully accept.”

…

In the evening, after wrapping up the shoot, Tan Xueying received a mysterious phone call. She silently walked off the set alone to answer it.

Due to the events of the previous night, Ye Qin was called in by the director for a check-in. Shen Lu was left bored, wandering around the set, waiting for her to come out. Suddenly, Tan Xueying, who had returned from her call, tapped her on the shoulder. Shen Lu instinctively jumped back a few steps.

“It’s Sister Xueying! You scared me.”

Tan Xueying curved her lips into a smile. She unexpectedly took a few steps forward and walled Shen Lu against the wall behind her. “Am I really that scary?”

Shen Lu was too nervous to move, her eyes wide. “N-no….”

After she spoke, Tan Xueying reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Shen Lu’s ear, a deep, unreadable smile in her eyes.

Shen Lu swallowed hard, terrified. What was happening? Why did Sister Xueying feel a little strange?