After A Secret Marriage With The Trending Queen - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

In the dead of night, the hospital corridor was cold and empty. The surroundings were chilly, even the air, which was mixed with the smell of disinfectant. She had been inside for quite a while, and yet there was no news.

Shen Lu sat on the bench outside, restless and anxious. She called Sister Wang almost every ten minutes, but the result was always the same: turned off. Why was she unreachable at such a crucial moment? She didn’t know how Ye Qin was doing, and if something serious happened, what would they do when the film crew was scheduled to start shooting tomorrow morning?

Just then, Ye Qin was wheeled out by the nurse. Ye Qin was sitting in a wheelchair, on an IV drip, her face pale, her lips colorless, and she looked completely drained of energy. The doctor followed them out, and Shen Lu quickly asked, “Doctor, how is she? Is the situation serious?”

“Are you her…”

“She is my boss,” Shen Lu replied.

“Oh, it’s acute gastroenteritis. We’ve put her on an IV drip, and a night’s rest will be fine. However, this is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. The key lies in her usual dietary habits.”

Hearing the doctor’s words, Shen Lu nodded with genuine embarrassment. “Her diet is indeed very irregular, and she often doesn’t eat.”

“Then you need to pay more attention to that in the future.”

Shen Lu quickly nodded, then instructed the nurse to arrange a high-class private room for Ye Qin. She would now go to the lobby to pay the fees.

An artist being sick is not a glorious matter, and there’s no need for everyone in the hospital to know, so a quiet private room with fewer people was better.

By the time Shen Lu finished paying the fees and returned to the room to find her, Ye Qin was already asleep. She was too tired; the moment her stomach pain subsided, she drifted off. Shen Lu sat in the chair by the bed, watching her, and couldn’t help but nag her softly, “See? You don’t eat properly, and now you have stomach pain and ended up in the hospital. I kept telling you to eat a little, a little, but you wouldn’t listen. You’ve become as thin as a bamboo pole…”

Thankfully, the doctor said it was nothing serious and that a night’s rest would fix it. If something really bad had happened, Sister Wang would have flayed her alive when she returned.

…

“Is this the life you wanted now? Struggling yourself, despised by the villagers, rejected by your family, and carrying a burden?” Wang Lin struggled to utter the words.

The woman shook her head. “This is all my own doing. I don’t blame anyone.”

Wang Lin sneered. “Don’t blame anyone… you’re truly magnanimous. I will never forget the fact that those people forced us apart. Do you know that because of you, I’ve been alone all these years, never having a second person?” Her voice was almost a growl.

“Actually, you didn’t have to do this for me. I’m already… unable to retreat completely. Xiao Ran is my life.”

“What about me?”

The woman smiled, a very helpless smile. “If there is a next life, I will put everything aside and be with you.”

Circumstances play tricks on people. When Wang Lin and Yang Li fell in love, the law had not yet legalized same-sex marriage. It was only about ten years ago that they were forcefully separated, their love broken up. Wang Lin had fallen out with her entire family for her sake, and she had expected Yang Li to do the same. Yet, on the day they had agreed to elope, Yang Li pulled her hand away and said, “I’m sorry, I’m getting married.”

Ten years had passed since that separation. During that time, the marriage laws underwent a major change, adding the option of same-sex marriage, but Wang Lin could never find the right person again. Yang Li became the unattainable first love, the white moonlight she could never let go of or forget.

She hated her… and she loved her.

They had promised to leave together, but you let go first.

If Wang Lin hadn’t been in H City for work yesterday and accidentally seen that familiar figure on the street buying groceries with a little boy, she might never have seen her again in this lifetime.

“Where is the child’s father?” Wang Lin asked.

“We divorced a long time ago…” Yang Li said lightly, her eyes as calm as if she had already seen through all worldly affairs. “The year after Xiao Ran was born…”

Past memories played out vividly like a movie.

“Yang Li, if you walk out of this door today, don’t ever come back.” “How could our Yang family give birth to such an unfilial daughter who brings shame to our ancestors!”

Yang Li turned back. “I’ve satisfied your wish for me to marry and have a child. Now, I just want to live my own life.” With that, she resolutely left.

“Later, the child’s father was constantly drinking, playing cards, and not coming home, just idling his life away. When we divorced, the court awarded the child directly to me. I took the child and came to H City to live alone. It’s been eight years since I left. I haven’t been home in eight years.”

“Then why, why didn’t you look for me?” Wang Lin didn’t understand.

Yang Li gave a bitter smile. “It was I who let you down back then, and now I have a child. How could I have the right or the face to look for you?”

“…” Wang Lin’s lips moved. “If I hadn’t bumped into you yesterday, were you planning to never see me again for the rest of your life?”

Yang Li didn’t speak.

Wang Lin felt her heart being ripped apart, but even more, she felt pity. She looked down at the time and realized it was too late. She had stayed long enough, and she had work tomorrow. She stood up, opened her wallet, took out all the cash inside, and placed it on the table. “It’s too late. I won’t disturb your rest. Take this money for now. I’ll come see you in a few days.”

She turned and walked towards the door. Yang Li stood up, silent for a long moment, then just murmured, “I don’t want the money. Take it back.”

Wang Lin tilted her head, ignoring her, and opened the door to leave.

Wang Lin returned to her car and angrily slammed the steering wheel a few times until a sharp pain shot through her knuckles, making her stop. She pressed her phone, but it didn’t respond, realizing it was dead. After starting the car, she plugged in her phone to charge. Halfway down the road, the phone automatically turned on, and she saw countless missed calls from Shen Lu. Something must have happened, so she immediately called back.

It was past two in the morning. Shen Lu had fallen asleep leaning on the bed until she was startled awake by the phone ringing. To avoid waking the sleeping Ye Qin, she quickly answered and went outside to the corridor to take the call. “Hello, Sister Wang, why are you just calling me back now?”

“Did something happen to Ye Qin?”

Shen Lu hummed in affirmation. “Acute gastroenteritis late at night. She’s been given an IV drip and is now sleeping in the hospital.”

Hearing this, Wang Lin made a sharp turn of the steering wheel and changed direction without a word. “I know, I’m coming right now.”

Shen Lu’s worry finally subsided upon learning that Sister Wang was on her way, and she felt she could explain the situation now.

Working with an artist is like this, often working round the clock, with days and nights reversed. Shen Lu’s mother always advised her to quit and find another job, likely because she was worried about her lack of rest and constant fatigue.

However, after three years, Shen Lu’s biological clock had long since adjusted. Due to the nature of the job, her phone had to be answered almost 24 hours a day, and it was not allowed to be turned off or run out of credit. After Wang Lin arrived, she pulled Shen Lu outside to talk. “Were you photographed on your way here?”

Shen Lu shook her head sheepishly. “The situation was urgent, and I was alone. I didn’t pay much attention to whether we were photographed. My only thought was to rush Sister to the hospital.”

“Forget it, as long as she’s okay,” Wang Lin said. “What did the doctor say?”

Shen Lu repeated the doctor’s exact words. Wang Lin sighed helplessly. “To look good on camera, most artists are very strict about their food intake. It can’t be helped. You’ll just have to supervise her more in the future and make sure she eats something, even if it’s just a little.”

Shen Lu nodded. “I’ve got it covered.”

“You’ve been up all night. Go rest for a while. You have to be at the film set first thing in the morning. Don’t let your own health break down.”

“Mhm, thank you for your concern, Sister Wang!”

At the first light of dawn the next day, Ye Qin woke up. She found Shen Lu sleeping with her head resting on the edge of her bed. She cautiously got out of bed, trying not to wake her, and headed for the bathroom. But Shen Lu woke up anyway and greeted her with a smile, “Sister, you’re awake.”

Ye Qin immediately stiffened. She acknowledged her with an “Mhm,” then awkwardly turned her head and added, “Last night… thank you.”

“No need to thank me, no need to thank me, this is part of my job,” Shen Lu said, and immediately picked up her phone to do her usual routine of browsing the news.

Then, she saw the name hanging high at the very top of the trending list and instantly lost her composure.

“Sister, you’re trending… you’re number one, and I’m number two…”