After A Secret Marriage With The Trending Queen - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

She was slightly surprised for a second, then reached out to take it. “Thank you… thank you, Sister.”

Ye Qin glanced at her in the mirror and said no more.

With her makeup finished, Ye Qin was ready to go for the first set of makeup photos. When they first arrived at the studio, Tan Xueying was already shooting. The photographer was trying various angles to capture the most beautiful shots. “Perfect!”

Just then, a staff member walked over to Shen Lu and the others. “Miss Tan might take a while longer to finish shooting. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you,” Ye Qin said.

“No, no need, please go on with your work,” Shen Lu said, waving her hand with a smile. The moment she finished speaking, her phone in her pocket rang, unusually loud and attention-grabbing in the studio. Shen Lu instinctively covered her bag, as if to muffle the sound, and quickly said to Ye Qin, “Sister, sorry about that, I’m going out to take a call.”

Ye Qin didn’t speak, which Shen Lu took as approval.

Shen Lu rushed out, holding her bag, wondering why her mom would call her right at this moment. The corridor was empty at the end, so Shen Lu took her phone there to answer. She whispered, “Mom, I’m at work, why are you calling me now?”

“Didn’t you ask a friend to find a job for Jingjing a while ago? He was doing fine at first, but who knew that brat would mess up and argue with the manager. Now they won’t let him work there anymore. Can you please put in a good word for him, please, Lu Lu?”

Shen Lu forced a helpless smile. “Mom, he made his own mistake, let him bear the consequences. For the past few years, you’ve always dragged me along to clean up his messes, which is why he’s in his twenties now and hasn’t accomplished anything. Mom, it’s time to let go.”

“But he’s still my son. As his mother, I can’t just stand by and do nothing, can I?”

“Mom, let me tell you this: the reason Shen Jing is the way he is now is because you meddled too much. You always protected him and helped him solve everything, spoiling him into a lawless mess with no survival skills once he entered society.”

“That may be true… but… oh, never mind. Shen Jing, you talk to your sister yourself. Be polite.” Then, a sound of arguing came through the phone, along with Shen Jing’s extremely resistant voice, “I won’t take it.” The mother and son seemed to argue for a long time on the other end.

Finally, Shen Lu lost her patience and simply said, “Mom, forget it, let him fend for himself. Don’t worry about it anymore. I need to get back to work here. If I don’t go back soon, Sister Qin will get angry.”

“Alright, alright, fine then. You’re working alone in another city, remember to take good care of yourself and don’t get too tired. Don’t work twenty-four hours a day like an ox, you need to rest, understand?”

“I know, I have my limits. I’ll hang up now.” After saying that, Shen Lu lowered her phone and clicked hang up, but she accidentally fumbled and the phone flew out of her hand. She tried to catch it several times in the air but failed, and the phone hit the ground. Oh my god, she didn’t want to spend money to replace her phone—her monthly salary was so small. She immediately crouched down to pick it up.

Unexpectedly, a hand reached out before her. The hand was very pale and slender, somewhat delicate, and a thin silver chain was on the wrist. Without any other embellishment, it perfectly highlighted the beauty of the wrist. Shen Lu looked up and met Tan Xueying’s face, subconsciously jumping to her feet in a panic, completely flustered.

Tan Xueying reached out and returned the phone she had picked up to Shen Lu. Shen Lu took it and thanked her repeatedly. Tan Xueying pursed her lips and gave a faint smile. “You’re welcome.”

However, if Tan Xueying was done shooting, it meant Ye Qin must have started. Shoot, she’d been out for so long and hadn’t gone back. She wondered if she would get scolded. “Well, thank you, I should go back now.” With that, Shen Lu ran off.

After she left, Tan Xueying’s assistant by her side muttered impatiently, “Sister Xueying, you’re too down-to-earth…”

“It was just a simple gesture,” Tan Xueying replied, then walked towards the elevator.

When she returned to the studio, Ye Qin was posing as the photographer requested. The natural beauty radiating from her whole body made the photographer continuously praise her, “Simply too beautiful, too beautiful, how can anyone be born this beautiful.”

Ye Qin, focused on her work, didn’t pay attention to whether Shen Lu had returned. Shen Lu probably felt reassured now. She found an empty chair in the audience area, sat down, rested her chin on her hands, and quietly stared at the stage. It had to be said that Ye Qin was truly born beautiful. Standing on stage, she was naturally the brightest and biggest focal point in the entire studio, drawing everyone’s gaze and making it impossible to look away. Even Shen Lu, who faced her every day, was unconsciously mesmerized.

The day ended with about four or five outfits photographed. Ye Qin was utterly exhausted and began to doze off in Sister Wang Lin’s car. Sister Wang was simultaneously giving instructions to Shen Lu. “The filming starts tomorrow, and it’s going to be very busy for a long time. Make sure you take good care of her daily life. Even if you can’t relieve her worries, at least don’t cause her any trouble or stress.”

Shen Lu, sitting in the passenger seat, nodded, then looked back at the exhausted and sleeping Ye Qin. “I will take good care of Sister, and I definitely won’t cause her any trouble.”

“Good,” Wang Lin said while driving. “You’ve been with Qin for three years now. Not to mention merit, you’ve put in hard work. I’ll talk to her about giving you a raise.”

“A raise? Great! Thank you, Sister Wang!” This was probably the best news Shen Lu had heard lately.

At the hotel entrance, Shen Lu got out first and opened the back car door, gently waking Ye Qin. “Sister, we’re at the hotel.”

Ye Qin slowly woke up. “Mhm.” She got out of the car by herself. Wang Lin then said, “Shen Lu, take her up. I won’t be going up with you. I have some personal matters to take care of today.”

For an artist, the assistant is in charge of internal affairs, while the manager is in charge of external affairs, diplomacy, and various professional work matters, which require strong professional competence. Of course, their salaries are not on the same level. An assistant receives a fixed monthly salary, while a manager receives a percentage of the artist’s pay, which is quite substantial. Shen Lu sometimes daydreamed about whether she would become a manager one day and earn a lot of money.

After escorting Ye Qin back to the hotel room, Shen Lu asked Ye Qin, who had collapsed onto the sofa and fallen asleep, “Sister, do you want anything to eat? I can go out and buy something for you.”

“I’m not eating. You can leave,” Ye Qin answered, nestled in the sofa with her eyes closed.

“But you haven’t eaten all day, only a cup of coffee this morning. Your body won’t be able to handle this,” Shen Lu said. Even though Shen Lu knew that female artists often skip meals and diet to look good on camera, their bodies would eventually protest. Plus, Ye Qin’s work intensity today was very high; eating a little bit wouldn’t make her gain weight.

“I said I’m not eating, didn’t you hear me?”

“….” Shen Lu bit her lip. “Then I’ll leave now. Call me anytime if you need anything.” After saying that, seeing that Ye Qin didn’t respond, Shen Lu quietly opened the door and left.

Her room was downstairs, a standard twin room which was the most basic and affordable in the hotel. Assistants and staff were mostly allocated rooms like this. Shen Lu went back, took a shower immediately, and then sat on the edge of the bed to treat the wound on her foot. She suddenly remembered the medicine Ye Qin had given her during the day. She quickly took it out of her bag, squeezed a bit onto the sole of her foot, and it felt cool and very comfortable, with no stinging sensation. Ye Qin had said it wouldn’t leave a scar. If it was really that good, she might as well buy another tube to keep on hand. Thinking this, Shen Lu opened her mobile shopping app and searched for the name on the tube. The resulting price made her gasp.

Such a small tube, with a total volume of less than 10ml, cost over two thousand on the official website. Considering her meager wallet, she decided against it. This tiny thing was worth half a month’s salary for her. It was not something someone like Shen Lu could afford.

…

Wang Lin drove to an old, run-down residential area. After parking her car, she arrived at a house door. Before raising her hand to ring the bell, she hesitated and struggled internally for a long time until the person inside opened the door herself.

A woman in a plain dress, with no makeup, said to her, “You’re here… come in.”

The woman pulled the corners of her mouth into a helpless smile. “I couldn’t help it… I really couldn’t…”

Just then, the voice of a little boy came from the inner room, calling out, “Mom, do we have a guest?” The voice was very sweet and well-behaved.

The woman replied, “Go to sleep, sweetie. It’s a very old friend of Mom’s.”

Wang Lin’s eyes widened in disbelief, but after a long pause, she chose to accept the fact. “Is this… your child with him?”

…

In the pitch-black living room, Ye Qin was curled up on the sofa, her hands pressed against her stomach, enduring the pain with a frown. Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead. The cramping pain in her abdomen made her feel on the verge of fainting.

She initially thought it would pass, just like usual, but she realized this time it didn’t seem to be stopping. She knew she couldn’t wait any longer. Her phone was close by, sitting on the coffee table, but the pain was so agonizing that she felt she didn’t even have the strength to reach for it.

Ye Qin tried hard, hooking her hand towards it several times, enduring the excruciating, almost deadly pain. Finally, she got hold of the phone. Without a second thought, she immediately called Shen Lu. The time it took for the call to dial and be answered felt so long, so very long, so incredibly long.

Shen Lu was awakened by the ringing. Due to her professional instincts, she almost instantly jumped up and quickly answered.

Over the phone, Ye Qin’s voice sounded very weak. “Hurry… come…”

“Sister, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?” Shen Lu asked anxiously, while quickly getting dressed. “Wait for me, I’m coming right now.” After saying that, she put on her slippers and ran out.

When she pushed the door open and entered, she saw Ye Qin lying on the sofa, her face pale, and she realized the seriousness of the situation. “We’re going to the hospital.” She said, helping Ye Qin up. While going downstairs, she tried calling Sister Wang, but the phone was turned off. This was truly urgent. With no other choice, Shen Lu had to support Ye Qin all the way to the hotel lobby. Fortunately, a kind security guard helped them flag down a car to the hospital, otherwise, Shen Lu truly wouldn’t have known what to do.

On the way to the hospital, Ye Qin was in unbearable abdominal pain and leaned weakly against Shen Lu. Shen Lu was extremely worried seeing her like this, and with Sister Wang unreachable, everything was up to her. As soon as they entered the hospital lobby and checked into the emergency room, medical personnel came with a bed to take her. It was at this moment that Ye Qin’s hand suddenly grabbed Shen Lu’s.

She held her tightly with all her strength, refusing to let go. Shen Lu was frantic.

“You won’t leave me, right?” Ye Qin asked.

“No, I won’t. I’ll wait right outside for you,” Shen Lu quickly promised her.

The next second, a small, relieved smile actually appeared on Ye Qin’s pale face. She let go with peace of mind and was wheeled away.