After A Secret Marriage With The Trending Queen - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Evidently, this conversation provided Shen Lu with no substantial help or advice. She quietly opened the door to leave. Shortly after exiting Ye Qin’s room, she received a call from Sister Wang (Wang Lin).

Wang Lin had her arm around Yang Li’s shoulder, both nestled on the sofa in the living room. Yang Li had initially prepared to step away, but Wang Lin told her there were no secrets from her; she was not an outsider.

Shen Lu answered the call as she walked back.

“Hello, Shen Lu, you’re not asleep yet, are you?”

“No, Sister Qin just wanted to chat. I’m on my way back now.”

“So, what did she tell you?” Wang Lin asked.

“She said…” Shen Lu looked around, saw no one, then glanced up at the camera overhead before lowering her voice. “She said it was up to me what I chose.”

“Okay, don’t hang up yet. I’ll talk to you once you’re back in your room.”

Shen Lu hummed in agreement. Just then, she vaguely heard another woman’s voice on the other end, seemingly chatting with Sister Wang, but she didn’t dwell on it, figuring it was private business.

Once she was back in her room and the door was closed, it was easier to talk. “Sister Wang, I’m ready.”

“Let’s get back to the main topic. After discussing it with the team, our strategy is for you not to reject Tan Xueying for now. I’ll explain the specific reasons slowly.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Lu already had a bad feeling. So, the final decision was to make her lead Tan Xueying on? What did that make her?

“…Please explain, Sister Wang.”

“We now suspect the other party knows something. We can assume her series of approaches toward you are deliberate, aiming to unravel the truth.”

“The truth… meaning the secret marriage between Sister Qin and me?” Shen Lu asked, confused.

“Exactly. Therefore, not only for Qin’s future but also for maintaining the validity of your contract, we need you to cooperate over the coming days.”

“…” Shen Lu bit her lip. “But I can’t act. What if I mess up?”

“Don’t worry about that. All you need to do is show that you and Ye Qin have no relationship beyond work. I know this might be unfair to you, but I trust you’ll do it. After all, we’re all in the same boat; we sink or swim together…”

“Sister Wang, I understand everything you’ve said. I know what to do.”

After hanging up, Shen Lu sat on her bed, lost in thought for a long time. When did she get dragged into this industry? Probably long before she realized it. Now, she couldn’t retreat completely. She could only grit her teeth and move forward.

Just then, she received a message from Tan Xueying.

Sister Xueying: Asleep yet?

Shen Lu hesitated but finally opened the chat box and replied: Not yet.

Sister Xueying: I’m not here to pressure you for an answer. I’m not in a hurry; I can wait slowly.

Shen Lu: But I still can’t understand why you like me. I don’t feel like I have any appealing qualities. Ye Qin always says I’m useless.

Sister Xueying: That’s because she doesn’t know how to cherish the person in front of her. In my eyes, you are full of dazzling qualities. I will cherish you well.

Admittedly, these words really touched Shen Lu’s heart. But being touched was not the same as love. The special place in her heart seemed to have been quietly reserved for someone else long ago.

Shen Lu: Sister Xueying, thank you. You’re the first person to ever say that to me.

A moment later, Tan Xueying sent a head-patting emoji: Then, can I invite you to dinner tomorrow?

Shen Lu hit her own head. Remembering Wang Lin’s instructions, she felt torn and indecisive but finally replied with a simple Yes.

…

The next day, Shen Lu kept her appointment. Tan Xueying took her to a Cantonese cuisine restaurant. Knowing that Li Li had been hostile toward Shen Lu, Tan Xueying went alone without her assistant. Shen Lu arrived early and sat restlessly, completely uncomfortable and feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles.

“Did I keep you waiting?” Tan Xueying smiled, her demeanor very gentle, just as usual. It was hard for Shen Lu to imagine or believe that all this was part of a plan and a deliberate approach, as Wang Lin had described.

“No, no. I just arrived too,” Shen Lu replied awkwardly, almost knocking over the water glass on the table in her haste.

“You don’t need to be nervous. Just treat it like we usually interact,” Tan Xueying said, trying to soothe her.

“Mhm…” Shen Lu nodded, silently picking up her glass and taking a sip of water to ease her tension.

Tan Xueying pushed the menu toward Shen Lu. “See what you’d like to eat?”

Shen Lu shook her head. “I don’t usually eat Cantonese food, so I don’t know what’s good. You order, Sister Xueying.”

“Alright.” Tan Xueying skillfully opened the menu and ordered a few dishes. “Trust me, you’ll eat this and never forget it.”

Shen Lu gave an awkward smile. She felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, she was deceiving Sister Xueying to cooperate with the act. On the other hand, she couldn’t betray Wang Lin and Ye Qin. Her head was spinning.

…

“So, Shen Lu went on a date with Tan Xueying?” Ye Qin asked with an air of nonchalance, pretending not to care at all.

Wang Lin, sitting opposite her on the single-seater sofa, flipped through her schedule without looking up. “From what I know, it wasn’t much of a date. Just dinner, at most.”

Ye Qin, “……”

Seeing her lack of response, Wang Lin closed the documents and looked up at her. “Ye Qin, you haven’t developed feelings for Shen Lu, have you?”

“Feelings? How could I? Is my taste that bad?” Ye Qin reacted strongly.

“Good, then. I warned you beforehand. This is a critical period in your career. Any kind of relationship is not beneficial to you.”

Ye Qin didn’t reply. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, twirling the corner of her shirt.

She felt Wang Lin didn’t need to emphasize that point; she knew it clearly.

…

Shen Lu returned from dinner around 9 PM, driven back to the hotel by Tan Xueying’s red Porsche. Li Li, who had received a message early, was waiting in the parking lot. Naturally, she couldn’t avoid a direct confrontation with Shen Lu, but since Sister Xueying was entirely on Shen Lu’s side now, Li Li didn’t dare do anything to Shen Lu in front of Tan Xueying. To maintain appearances, Shen Lu did not go upstairs with Tan Xueying but stayed alone in the parking lot for a while.

She then sent a message to Sister Wang.

Shen Lu: Sister Wang, we’re back.

Sister Wang: OK. You did very well.

Receiving her message, Wang Lin immediately notified Ye Qin. “Alright, she’s back. Looks like things went smoothly.”

Ye Qin lifted her eyes and replied dismissively with a single word, “Oh.”

She then added, “Tell her not to come up tonight. I need to rest.” With that, she got up from the sofa and walked toward her bedroom, her silhouette looking utterly lazy.

That night, Ye Qin had a dream.

As Shen Lu and Tan Xueying grew closer and more intimate, their relationship became the subject of intense gossip on set, virtually known to everyone. Shen Lu stopped caring about the contract clauses with her, and Tan Xueying was willing to pay the fifty million penalty for her sake.

The two of them got together, holding hands and even kissing right in front of her. Ye Qin clenched her fists.

And Shen Lu even turned back and said something incredibly callous to her: “Ye Qin, you can just go play by yourself.”

Then, Shen Lu and Tan Xueying walked away hand-in-hand, intimately close, leaving her only with their backs.

When she woke up, Ye Qin was drenched in a cold sweat. She frantically reached for her phone to call Shen Lu, but after dialing, she quickly hung up. It was just a dream. It wasn’t real.

…

Shen Lu was woken up by the phone call. Just as she was about to answer, the other party hung up. Thinking Sister Qin might have something urgent and not wanting to delay, she put on slippers, quickly washed her face, and took the elevator upstairs.

Ye Qin was sitting on the headboard, staring blankly. She was surprised when Shen Lu rushed in, her words catching in her throat. “Sister, I rushed up as soon as I got your call…” “It’s nothing, a slip of the hand.” Ye Qin coldly got up, walked past Shen Lu, and went straight into the bathroom inside the bedroom to wash up.

Shen Lu stood frozen, twitching the corner of her mouth. It was a slip of the hand… I thought something was wrong, it scared me to death.

“Then, Sister, if there’s nothing wrong for now, I’ll go downstairs and change?”

The person in the bathroom didn’t reply. Shen Lu took that as tacit permission and quickly slipped out.

She had really developed a kind of occupational habit now: whenever Ye Qin called, she felt inexplicably panicky and nervous. She wondered if she’d still be like this years later when she changed careers… But by then, she and Ye Qin would probably have no connection or contact anymore.

The following days were the same. Because of Ye Qin’s indifference, Tan Xueying grew bolder with Shen Lu, frequently sending flowers to the set and playfully interacting with her on the film site. Now, people in the crew were already speculating that the relationship between Tan Xueying and Ye Qin’s assistant, Shen Lu, was unusual. The rumors were spreading wildly, and these whispers naturally reached Ye Qin’s ears.

Due to the team’s decision, Shen Lu had to act against her conscience and do things she didn’t want to do. She couldn’t voice her feelings. Truthfully, she wasn’t doing well during this period. The psychological pressure was too immense. She didn’t understand why she had to bear all this.

That afternoon, Sister Wang came to talk to her, mainly to inquire about her recent condition.

“I see you’ve been a little listless at work lately, your condition isn’t great. If you have any difficulties, and you’re uncomfortable talking to Ye Qin, you can talk to me.”

Shen Lu pursed her lips and forced a smile. “I’m fine, Sister Wang. Don’t worry about me. Maybe I’m just a little tired lately.”

Wang Lin patted her shoulder. “After Qin wraps up this film, I’ll give you a few extra days off. Okay, that’s all for now. Go back to work.”

Returning from the set that day, Shen Lu secretly ordered a large amount of alcohol via delivery. About half an hour later, the delivery guy arrived. She opened the door to see a young man who spoke in a local accent. “A young girl drinking so much alcohol is bad for your health. Oh, it exhausted me to carry this up.”

Shen Lu gave an embarrassed smile. “Thank you, I’ll give you a five-star review later.”

She then used all her strength to move the cases of beer from the doorway back into her room. After leaving the review, her phone showed 3% battery life remaining. She was too lazy to charge it. Normally, she might have been invited out by Sister Xueying again tonight. Forget it. She didn’t care about anything tonight. She just wanted to completely let loose for once.

I’ll get totally drunk. To hell with the act! To hell with the contract marriage!

Cheers.

…

“Sister Wang, where is my itinerary?” Ye Qin asked over the phone while rummaging through her bag.

“I gave it to Shen Lu. Go find her to get it.”

Ye Qin then called Shen Lu, but the phone immediately indicated it was off. Seriously? Ye Qin was extremely surprised. An assistant’s phone being off would lead to a salary deduction. Didn’t Shen Lu, who loved money, know this? In the three years she had been with her, this was the first time Ye Qin couldn’t reach her. Ye Qin was irritated, but also vaguely worried.

She decided to go downstairs to look for her personally.

“Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock!” A knocking sound came from the door. Shen Lu was already blind drunk, having finished most of a box of beer by herself. She felt completely floaty. The chainsaw noise next door is really loud.

“Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock!” Ye Qin knocked again, growing impatient. The phone was off, and no one answered the door. Fortunately, she had a spare room card. She called out to the person inside, “I know you’re in there. If you don’t open the door, I’m coming in.”

……

Still no response.

Ye Qin had no choice but to use the room card to open Shen Lu’s door. The moment she entered, a strong smell of alcohol hit her. She closed the door, covering her nose with her hand. She looked up and saw Shen Lu sitting on the floor, hugging a bottle. A children’s cartoon was playing loudly on the TV. Ye Qin angrily grabbed the remote and turned it off. But Shen Lu wasn’t having it.

“No, no! I want to watch! I want to watch!” she cried, lunging to grab the remote from Ye Qin.

“Shen Lu, what are you doing!” Ye Qin scolded her.

Shen Lu froze on the spot. Her brain seemed to clear up slightly, but not entirely.

The next second, she started crying, pointing at Ye Qin and complaining. “It’s all because of you! My purity is gone! When I go out now, I’ll be a second-time married person! Who will want me?!” Shen Lu cried, “Do you think I wanted to be a spy? Does anyone know or care about the pain I’ve been holding inside during this time… sob… sob… sob…”

Ye Qin’s expression softened. She grabbed tissues from the table to wipe Shen Lu’s tears, soothing her like a child. “There, there. I know, I know. Please stop crying, okay?”

“You don’t know!” Shen Lu slapped her hand away and continued to cry. “Why did I have to get caught up in all this? Why me? I’m not happy at all! I have to live so cautiously every day… sob, sob…”

Before she could finish, Ye Qin pulled her into her arms and held her tight, gently stroking her back. “You’ve been wronged.” Her eyes were full of sympathy as she looked at Shen Lu.

After a long while, Shen Lu calmed down. Ye Qin led her to the bed to sit down, allowing Shen Lu to rest her head on her chest and sleep. Ye Qin, who was typically a germaphobe, didn’t seem to mind the tears and snot at all in that moment.