After A Secret Marriage With The Trending Queen - Chapter 70

Chapter 70

The fall recruitment season of the year Shen Lu graduated from university, she was exactly twenty-one and a half. Because her major wasn’t a good fit for the jobs available, she struggled to find suitable work and had to return home disheartened. Those days spent cooped up at home, Shen Lu sent out countless resumes, most of which went nowhere, and she was constantly nagged by her mother.

Compounding this, her younger brother, Shen Jing, had just finished his college entrance exams that year. Going from a student to an unemployed drifter, a person like him who had simply drifted through school naturally didn’t even qualify for university. He spent all day at home playing video games. Consequently, the conflicts between the sister and brother grew even worse.

Homebody, sloppy, instant noodles, toe-picking, unwashed hair, unbathed—every time Shen Lu walked past Shen Jing’s door, she could seemingly smell a strange odor. At his age, he was full of youthful vigor and couldn’t handle criticism. Sometimes, if Shen Lu said even a few extra words, the two would start a quarrel, an earth-shattering fight that nearly came to blows, exhausting their mother and father.

One day, their mother somehow found a flyer advertising free training for celebrity assistants and urged Shen Lu to give it a try. Shen Lu thought to herself, continuing to live at home leeching off her parents wasn’t a solution. She might as well try it for now; the training was free, so there was nothing to lose. Plus, she wouldn’t have to see that vexing kid, Shen Jing, every day. With a shrug, she went.

A celebrity assistant is essentially half a nanny. The educational requirements aren’t high—you just need to be diligent, reliable, and capable. Thus, the people who signed up for the training were a mixed bag; there were plenty of middle school and vocational school graduates. Shen Lu still remembered when she handed in her information to the person in charge, the person was slightly surprised, adjusted their glasses, and looked at her, asking, “Recent graduate?”

Shen Lu nodded.

“Why would you think of applying for celebrity assistant training?”

Shen Lu didn’t have any other reason. “It’s hard to find work. Since I’m idle at home anyway, I thought I’d give it a try.”

For their industry, it was extremely rare for a university graduate to humble herself to be a “nanny” for a celebrity. The training lasted three months, and the assistant certification was easily obtained; the passing rate for trainees was generally over eighty percent.

But this was only the first step on the path to becoming an assistant. Next, they had to apply to entertainment companies. Only upon being selected would they be assigned to an artist in need.

Shen Lu happened to be the lucky one, or perhaps the unlucky one, because she was assigned to Ye Qin. It was rumored that Shen Lu was her Nth assistant; all the others had been worn down and left, with the longest-lasting one only making it three months.

“Good luck,” the person said to her when Shen Lu received her work badge. Before taking this job, Shen Lu had naturally heard of Ye Qin—a popular female star who had become famous based on her looks, not her acting skills. Shen Lu didn’t like artists like that, believing that without genuine skill, they were bound not to last long in the industry.

Sister Wang was the one who introduced her to the job and explained the work schedule. The moment Shen Lu first saw her, she felt she was a difficult and strict person. “If you want to go far and climb high in the future, then work hard. It’s not impossible to become a manager, or even a producer, later on.”

Shen Lu wasn’t thinking that far ahead. She just wanted to get by for now and avoid her mother’s nagging.

The first time she saw Ye Qin, the celebrity was even more beautiful, thinner, and fairer than she appeared on TV—almost glowing white. She was extremely noticeable in a crowd, the kind of person you saw first and couldn’t take your eyes off of.

“Ye Qin, this is your new assistant.” Someone led her to Ye Qin.

Ye Qin was busy. Flipping through a script in her hand, she asked without lifting her head, “What’s your name?”

At that time, Shen Lu felt this woman was quite aloof, not at all as approachable, cute, and sweet as she appeared on television. “Shen Lu,” she answered truthfully.

Later, she learned that this woman was completely manic, neurotic, and extremely sensitive!

Most importantly, she was truly incompetent in daily life, dumping almost all matters outside of work and within her personal life onto Shen Lu. Many times, Shen Lu couldn’t help but wonder if she was just a manual laborer; the work was more exhausting than carrying bricks every day.

To vent her work frustrations, Shen Lu registered a burner account on a famous forum and would occasionally post a complaint.

“Have you ever seen a twenty-five-year-old who earns a fortune but can’t manage her own life? I have!”

She received many replies at the time. One of them was ignored by Shen Lu and didn’t register in her mind, but now that she thinks about it, it’s a bit chilling.

That netizen had replied: [You think I can’t manage my own life? I’m pretending.]

Later one day, Ye Qin voluntarily confessed the truth. “Actually, that burner account that replied to you was me.”

Shen Lu: ….. 🙂

…

After becoming Ye Qin’s assistant, Shen Lu learned that Ye Qin had a grandmother whom she loved dearly. Ye Qin herself was very filial and would fly back to accompany her grandmother almost whenever she had a break in her work schedule. Shen Lu had accompanied her many times. The grandmother was a very kind and amiable person who would even give her fruit and show her great care and concern. This brought a lot of warmth to Shen Lu, who had never had a grandmother since childhood.

Unknowingly, Shen Lu had been working by her side for three years. Shen Lu, who had initially only planned to stay for a while, had quietly adapted to this life and was too lazy to look for a different job, thinking her current situation was quite good. She planned to save up some money and then go back home to open a small shop.

The staff at Ye Qin’s studio were quite surprised that this little assistant had “survived” for so long. In the blink of an eye, she had become a veteran employee there.

Until one day, Ye Qin’s grandmother suddenly fainted and was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with cancer. Ye Qin instantly became completely distraught and despairing. She recklessly canceled all her work and stayed by the hospital bedside day and night.

Shen Lu helped out. More than once, she heard the grandmother express her wish to see Ye Qin get married. Under immense pressure, Ye Qin was pulled aside by Shen Lu, who proposed the idea of a contract marriage, saying it was to let her grandmother pass away without regret, and she would compensate Shen Lu afterward.

For the sake of the grandmother, and for the sake of the money, Shen Lu bit the bullet and agreed. She admitted she was a very materialistic person, but who doesn’t love money? Anyway, she wasn’t doing anything against her conscience.

After agreeing on the date to register the marriage, Shen Lu quietly stole her household registration book from home. On the day of the registration, a light rain was falling. It was early June. The grandmother had just successfully undergone surgery, but the doctor estimated she could live for at most another five years.

Ye Qin had prepaid people at the Civil Affairs Bureau to keep the matter a secret and not disclose it externally. Fortunately, the people were willing to help maintain the confidentiality.

When she saw the official stamp placed on the documents, Shen Lu’s heart skipped a beat. After today, even if she later divorced Ye Qin, she would be a twice-married person. Was all this really worth it?

Leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, clutching her copy of the marriage certificate, Shen Lu zoned out in the car for a long time. Then, Sister Wang handed Shen Lu the draft contract as requested by Ye Qin. “Take a look. If there are no issues, sign it.”

Shen Lu read the contract over and over, and finally signed her name. She had already come this far; there was no room to back out. Sign it, she would. If she endured these five years, she would receive five million yuan. This deal wasn’t a loss for her.

But who knew that soon after the marriage registration, Shen Lu followed Ye Qin into the “Unrivaled” film crew, and on the very first night, she was slept with… She felt utterly cheated.

Just then, Shen Lu’s face was pinched by a certain person. “Do you still feel cheated now?”

“Not cheated, not cheated! I made a profit,” Shen Lu said guiltily, succumbing to a certain person’s intimidation.

…

When Shen Lu was seven, she was scolded by her mother for fighting with her younger brother. She stood on the curb, sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly, a girl about half a head taller than her appeared. The girl was wearing a lovely, small floral dress and had her hair tied in pigtails; she was very beautiful.

She reached out and offered Shen Lu a candied hawthorn. “Here, I’ll buy you a candied hawthorn. Can you stop crying?”

Shen Lu reached out and took it. She sniffed and indeed stopped crying. Eating the treat, she smiled and said, “Thank you, big sister.”

“I’ll take you to play on the slide.” Shen Lu’s small hand was taken, and the two girls ran toward the children’s play area.

A whole afternoon of playing quickly made Shen Lu forget her unhappiness. Children are always like that, without much memory; their emotions come and go quickly.

Later, the two were tired and went to swing on the swings. The girl held onto the ropes, tilted her head, and looked at her. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Shen Lu. What about you, big sister?”

“My name is Tan Xueying. Why were you crying?”

“Because my brother stole my things, and I hit him, and then Mom scolded me,” Shen Lu pouted in a childish voice.

Tan Xueying let out an “Oh.” “If it were me, I wouldn’t cry.”

“Why?” Shen Lu asked.

“Because my mommy and daddy are divorced. I’m a child nobody loves. Daddy had an affair, so Mommy left him. Now Daddy ignores me all day and just leaves me with the nanny.”

“Ah… That’s so sad for you. You’re even sadder than me,” Shen Lu furrowed her brow.

“Yes. That’s why I envy you. You have a little brother, and a mommy and daddy—a whole family,” Tan Xueying said.

“It’s okay. You have me now, too. I’ll be your good friend from now on.” The innocent little Shen Lu extended a hand of friendship, and Tan Xueying reached out and held her hand.

That summer, they saw each other almost every day, and the two children played so well together. Tan Xueying would give her beautiful little dresses to Shen Lu, and Shen Lu would share her fun toys with her. At their young age, they gave each other the most genuine affection.

But then…

Tan Xueying was clearly very unhappy that day. She held Shen Lu’s hand and said, “We probably won’t be able to see each other much anymore.”

“Why?” Shen Lu frowned.

“Because my daddy is going abroad, and I have to go with him. But I promise you, when I grow up, I’ll definitely come back to find you.”

“Mhm, I’ll wait for you!” Shen Lu nodded firmly.

“You absolutely must not forget me!” Tan Xueying walked away, looking back to urge her.

But you still forgot about me, little Shen Lu.

Tan Xueying sat in prison, hugging her knees and curled up on the narrow bed, surrounded by walls—deep, solitary, and seemingly endless.