After Being Marked by the Top Celebrity Childhood Friend [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 2

Long Time No See

Everything that happened under the cover of night—the torrential rain, the spilled neon lights that coated her tiny ten-square-meter rental like bloodstains, the hollow sensation as canine teeth punctured the skin of her neck—all of it came flooding back into Lu Ling’s mind.

All those images could be summarized in a single sentence:

The perpetrator currently snuggling in her arms like an innocent bystander, her celebrity boss Lin Que, was highly likely—no, definitely—not human.

At the same time, she found herself tied to her own bed by Lin Que in an extremely undignified manner.

Lin Que slept peacefully. As if sensing something, she released the grip she had on Lu Ling’s waist, wrapped herself in the quilt, and turned her back.

Lu Ling tried to struggle; the knot loosened by a notch. Good, she’s not entirely devoid of conscience.

She stood up, closed the door, and ended the “public viewing” of her nine-hundred-yuan-a-month semi-basement apartment.

The surface of the mirror standing next to the coffee table was covered in water stains, but it hadn’t lost its basic function.

Lu Ling scrutinized herself; she was still decently dressed.

However—

“Where’s my phone?”

Just as she finished speaking, she found her dying phone in a puddle-filled corner behind the door.

“Ha.”

Lu Ling laughed, speechless.

Yet, in the next second, something even more exasperating happened—Grumble—

With the person who “threatened” her life still in the same room, her first reaction was actually: I’m hungry.

Fortunately, there was still twenty yuan in cash in her coat pocket.

Enough to buy two medium bowls of ramen with extra meat.

Lu Ling calculated in her head and realized she could even add a three-yuan grilled sausage.

A pleasant surprise.

Lu Ling threw on her coat, opened the door, and glanced at Lin Que lying in the quilt.

Too thin.

This was Lu Ling’s first impression upon seeing this person again after twelve years.

The distance between the door and the bed was no more than ten steps. From such a short distance, Lu Ling looked over and saw nothing but flatness.

A person like a sheet of paper.

Lu Ling had heard the phrase “the camera adds ten pounds” before. Up until today, she hadn’t seen Lin Que outside of a lens for twelve years. Lu Ling recalled the “Lin Que” she saw on screen—someone thin as a sheet of paper only looked “well-proportioned and healthy” on camera. The truth behind the so-called “perfect body” and “healthy physique” was achieved by overtaxing the body.

How ironic.

But by choosing to live under the lens and using “beauty” as a bargaining chip, maintaining the “beauty” recognized by the majority naturally becomes the only choice.

Click—

Lu Ling closed the door very softly.

Forget it, I’ll buy two portions.

The person on the bed flinched for a moment, and the “rustling” sound of skin against the quilt vanished into the sunlight.

“You’ve really used this phone to its limit…”

Lu Ling carried the two packed portions of ramen and the sausage, her other hand shoved nonchalantly into her pocket. Hearing this, she sighed inwardly, thinking with a mix of helplessness and self-mockery: If I had a choice, I’d rather not be this frugal.

Then, her only problem would be what to do about a broken phone, rather than being here, stealthily searching on someone else’s phone for things like “Do vampires really exist?” or “Will I really be turned after being bitten by a vampire?”—the kind of stuff even a middle-schooler would be too embarrassed to type out.

The woman looked up at her, glanced at the phone screen, and when she saw the words in the search box, her eyes paused. After coming to her senses, she coughed twice as if playing a prank.

“Being bitten by a vampire—”

Lu Ling hurriedly turned off the screen, her index finger reflexively rubbing her nose twice as she forced herself to stay calm, awkwardly changing the subject: “Sister Yuan, can my phone still turn on?”

Li Yuan’s beautiful fox-like eyes narrowed for a moment. she took a quick sniff, her brows furrowing slightly as she scanned Lu Ling from head to toe again. She looked down and said flatly: “It can, but the screen is dead.”

“Then…”

Before Lu Ling could finish, Li Yuan generously stated: “I have to order a screen from the manufacturer for this. It’ll take three or four days at the earliest. Use this one in your hand for now.”

“Huh?” Lu Ling didn’t react for a moment. The woman looked up and saw the girl’s bright eyes filled with confusion and couldn’t help but smile. Her tone softened unconsciously: “What ‘huh’? Do you have a spare phone on you?”

This was undoubtedly a huge help.

Modern people are creatures that cannot survive without a phone.

“Thank you, Sis! Seriously, you’re a lifesaver!”

Lu Ling looked at her sincerely. Just as she was about to say more, Li Yuan raised a hand to interrupt her, looked at the bag in her hand, and asked: “Eating alone?”

“Um… yeah, right,” Lu Ling laughed awkwardly. “I have a pretty big appetite.”

“Too hungry.”

Regarding Lin Que, although Lu Ling hadn’t officially started her job, she already had the self-awareness of being an assistant.

“That’s good, eating more is a good thing,” Li Yuan said flatly. “But be careful of indigestion—if you have time, go to that clinic at the end of the street and get some common medicine to keep on hand. Her stuff is cheap…”

“Got it—thanks, Sis!”

Lu Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Before the woman could finish, she turned and bolted away.

The sky after the rain was clear—a rare, pollution-free sunny day in Chenghua.

Li Yuan watched Lu Ling leave and didn’t look away for a long time.

“Tsk… Did that kid not get bitten? That shouldn’t be right…”

She carelessly swept the disassembled phone into the trash can. Along with the ear-piercing clatter of the rolling shutter door closing, only the sign—its original color no longer recognizable—remained, pathetically exposed to the scorching sun.

Holding her things, the closer Lu Ling got to her rental, the more nervous she inexplicably felt.

It felt like returning to her strictly controlled childhood. Carrying a backpack with a test paper that was just one point away from the ninety points her mother required, her mood then was much the same as it was now.

Back then, little Lu Ling was afraid of facing Ms. Lu Ye’s words, which wounded without a blade.

But she was twenty-four now. What was there to be afraid of?

The rental was small, but it was her own little nest.

Lin Que might be a big star, but her actions last night—setting aside the supernatural facts—amounted to breaking and entering.

Thinking of this, Lu Ling toughened up a bit.

She shoved the spare phone into her pocket, switched the bag from her right hand to her left, pulled out her key, and took a breath—Creak—

The door opened.

“Xiao Lu, you’re back…”

The person who opened the door was the one who interviewed her yesterday, Lin Que’s manager, Jia Jia.

The person’s mouth opened and closed, saying nothing more than meaningless pleasantries.

To Lu Ling, she was out of focus.

Her gaze was fixed on Lin Que.

Lin Que had changed her clothes.

A tan coat was draped over the head of the bed. A draped white shirt paired with wide-legged trousers of the same material made Lin Que look even thinner.

She looked like a kite floating inside the fabric.

Her long hair wasn’t the blonde from her memory, but black, just like hers.

Realizing this, Lu Ling couldn’t help but freeze.

In an instant, Lin Que seemed to sense her gaze and turned slightly to give a lazy glance.

Their eyes met briefly and then parted.

Lin Que frowned slightly, her slender fingers gently rubbing her temples. She seemed uncomfortable, or perhaps it was more of a dissatisfaction with this tiny rental room.

“—Um, excuse me,”

Lin Que lowered her hand and looked at her.

Lu Ling sat down at the coffee table on her own. The faded red folding stool gave a dissatisfied groan as she sat.

“If you two don’t have anything else to do, could you please leave my house?”

Lu Ling took out the packed food one by one. After snapping the disposable chopsticks apart, she looked up at Lin Que, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a well-behaved light: “Tomorrow is the official day to report for work. Meeting early—”

“You’re my new assistant?” Lin Que looked at her, then turned to her manager, her eyes full of impatience. “Didn’t we agree it would be that girl named Lu Ling?”

Jia Jia: “…”

Lu Ling froze—she doesn’t remember me anymore?

“Ha.”

Lu Ling let out a cold sneer. She stood up, rubbed her hands haphazardly on her pants, and extended her right hand. Looking at Lin Que, she said word by word: “Hello, I am Lu Ling.”

Lin Que scrutinized her but did not reach out.

Lu Ling’s hand paused for a moment before she pulled it back.

Sitting back down, she could no longer pretend to be magnanimous.

The packaging made a harsh sound as she carelessly tossed the condensation-covered lid onto the floor.

Lu Ling deliberately displayed rudeness and boorishness. She took a fierce slurp of noodles and pointed her thumb toward the door, muttering a muffled “Please leave” through her mouthful.

Before she could even swallow the noodles, Lin Que first frowned, then covered half of her face. Her whole body hunched over, her shoulders flinching, and then, without warning, she rushed into the bathroom—

The sound of dry retching echoed inside, like a suppressed low growl.

This happened so suddenly that by the time Lu Ling snapped out of it, she was already holding a glass of water, standing blankly by the door.

Jia Jia was also at the door.

Unlike her bewilderment, Jia Jia didn’t look up. She was typing on her phone as if she had seen this a thousand times before, eventually stepping aside to send a voice message with complete composure.

Clearly, this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

It probably happened frequently.

Lin Que’s retching stopped briefly and then started again. Just as Lu Ling, worried, wanted to go in and check, Jia Jia grabbed her wrist.

Half of the warm water spilled onto her sleeve.

“Don’t be too nervous, it’s fine.”

Jia Jia let go and smiled at Lu Ling reassuringly. She handed her a pack of tissues and slowly wiped her own bag.

“Lin Que is joining a film crew the day after tomorrow. Due to the requirements of the role, the smell of the noodles was too strong, and she just felt nauseous—it’s a normal occurrence, don’t worry too much.”

These words provided no comfort whatsoever.

Two months ago, Lin Que could also be described as thin.

The hand Lu Ling used to hold the water cup hung limply by her side.

Jia Jia glanced at Lu Ling, smiled, shook her head, and secretly thought she was still young.

“Not bad, you have the psychological fortitude for this line of work.”

Lu Ling looked at her.

“A person as big as Lin Que breaks into your house for no reason, and you don’t even call the police.”

“Ah…”

Call the police?

It was strange; that thought had never even occurred to her.

Only after Jia Jia’s reminder did Lu Ling realize that for a normal person facing this kind of thing, the first reaction would be to call the police.

She hadn’t.

Of everything that would happen after calling the police, not one thing would have a positive impact on Lin Que.

“—Splash.”

Lin Que’s eyes were bloodshot, and her lips were a moist red. She stood on the step. Lu Ling looked up at her, her lips moving, but before she could say anything, cool, soft lips pressed close to the corner of her mouth.

A kiss from a conscious Lin Que.

It tasted of mint.

“Youyou,”

“Long time no see.”

“Yeah.” Lu Ling stared at her blankly and nodded subconsciously, her eyes unable to look away, her voice very, very soft. “Indeed, it’s been a long time.”