After Being Marked by the Top Celebrity Childhood Friend [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 6

Want to Kiss?

“Yiyi?”

Lin Que looked at the young girl in front of her with a hint of surprise.

The girl wore a blue-and-white striped high school uniform, the fabric at her shoulders pulled into cramped wrinkles by the weight of her backpack.

A fan, Lu Ling thought. Kids these days really have it good. “Hello, I’m Lin Que’s new assistant.”

“No wonder,” Zhao Yiyi let out a sigh of relief. The moment she looked up and her eyes met Lin Que’s, her rims reddened involuntarily. Her voice carried the aggrieved tone of a child acting spoiled: “Sister, I really thought I wouldn’t be able to see you today.”

Zhao Yiyi’s eyes flickered as she gazed at Lin Que, her lips parted slightly. It wasn’t until Lin Que reached out, her cool fingertips gently brushing away the girl’s tears, that she snapped back to reality.

For a long time, “idol chasing” had been viewed by boring adults as a major sign of a child being “ruined.”

— You haven’t seen her true self; the way she presents herself to you is entirely coached by the company. She isn’t real.

— Does she even know who you are?

What they didn’t understand was that these things didn’t actually matter.

They loved them because they were simply too beautiful.

Whenever unexplainable pain struck, whenever the internal regulator spun out of control, returning to this utopia always provided healing—that was the meaning of loving them.

Zhao Yiyi pulled up her phone’s photo album. “Sister, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken photos secretly. I was just a bit excit—”

Lin Que’s focus clearly wasn’t on the secret photography. She looked at Zhao Yiyi and asked, “How are you getting home?”

“I remember you mentioned once that you aren’t a local from Chenghua.”

Zhao Yiyi blinked, momentarily unsure how to respond.

“I see.”

Lin Que sighed softly. Before Zhao Yiyi could react, Lin Que took her phone, turned, and ushered her into the car. She said to Lu Ling, “Keep an eye on her.”

Lu Ling and Zhao Yiyi sat shoulder to shoulder, staring at each other.

It was awkward.

Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long.

Lin Que buckled her seatbelt and started the engine. “It’s too late now. Your mother said she’s coming to Chenghua to pick you up tomorrow morning at seven.”

“I’ve already booked a hotel. I’m taking you there now.”

Zhao Yiyi’s voice suddenly spiked in volume: “My mom didn’t yell at you, did she?? Also—”

“No,” Lin Que looked at her and said seriously. “She kept saying ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m so sorry.'”

Zhao Yiyi lowered her gaze and stopped talking.

Lu Ling thought Lin Que would start lecturing, but she didn’t; she stopped exactly where she needed to.

Through the rearview mirror, Zhao Yiyi watched Lin Que drive. Her gaze jumped back and forth between Lin Que and Lu Ling before she eventually lowered her head to play on her phone.

The assistant sits in the back while the artist drives.

It was a bit strange.

Even though the two of them didn’t speak, the atmosphere was peculiar enough.

Lin Que was the kind of beauty whose striking features left an immediate impression—sharp facial lines contrasted by a cool, detached aura. Lu Ling, on the other hand, had a more delicate and spirited style.

With standard almond eyes and long lashes that cast trembling shadows on the skin beneath, she looked like a little deer choosing a stream to drink from.

Lively, vivid.

Lu Ling had no idea the youngster beside her was already mentally “shipping” them. She was lost in her own thoughts—if Yiyi weren’t seventeen, but twenty-seven, Lin Que wouldn’t have gone this far.

Adults have the obligation to be responsible for their own actions, while minors need proper guidance; neither requires a condescending lecture.

This reflection lasted until they dropped Yiyi off at her room—

“Alright, let’s get some rest too.”

Lin Que had booked two rooms.

Only two.

Inside the room, Lu Ling stood by the entryway. Lin Que stood with her back to her, glanced down at her phone, and promptly turned it off.

“Ahem—”

Lin Que turned around.

Lu Ling kept her hands behind her back, her gaze wandering. Before she could organize her words, she heard Lin Que ask, “Do you want to take care of that?”

“Huh?”

Lin Que smiled gently and said succinctly: “The red wine.”

Lu Ling looked down—the dark red wine stain on her white T-shirt was incredibly prominent.

“You wash up first. I’m going out for a bit; I’ll be back soon.”

Having said that, Lin Que didn’t give Lu Ling time to react. The door opened and closed extremely fast, and within three seconds, it opened again—

There was only one room card.

“Haha… I’m used to living alone, sorry.”

Lin Que rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Pfft—”

Lu Ling burst out laughing. She leaned forward slightly to meet Lin Que’s eyes and teased, “Tell me then, Big Star. What are you going out for, even at the risk of paparazzi?”

“A date with a girlfriend?” Lu Ling joked.

“No,” Lin Que shook her head. “There’s a mall nearby. I want to buy you a change of clothes.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Lu Ling’s breath hitched. Redness slowly climbed up to her ears.

“Ah… no girlfriend, I see,” Lu Ling gave a couple of awkward laughs. Her mind went blank, and she had no idea what she was saying before she finally “bam” slammed the door shut.

She leaned her back against the door, her strength failing her.

No girlfriend.

It was such a normal sentence!

What was wrong with her?

Outside the door, Lin Que stood dazed for a long while before the meaning finally registered.

She checked the time; nearly twenty minutes had passed.

Lu Ling was still standing in the same spot.

Lin Que shook her head helplessly.

She intentionally heavy-stepped her way toward the chair.

— Is she gone?

Lu Ling held her breath, ears pricked. It was the sound of a chair being pulled out. Did she go to the window?

Better shower.

Lin Que glanced toward the bathroom, then withdrew her gaze. After a moment’s thought, a layer of a smile surfaced on her lips.

Quite silly, but also quite cute.

Only after hearing the shower stop did Lin Que knock on the door: “I’ve hung the change of clothes on the door handle.”

The bathroom was silent for two seconds before a response came, exceptionally loud as if to prove something— “Okay!”

Or rather, righteous.

When Lu Ling came out after changing, the room was warm. Lin Que had turned on the air conditioning at some point.

Seeing her come out, Lin Que hurriedly put out her cigarette.

“You smoke?”

Lin Que shrugged. “Occasionally.”

As if to lighten the mood, Lin Que joked, “Our local vampires don’t get sick from smok—”

“Are you unhappy?” Before she could finish, Lu Ling looked at her, her eyes watery.

Lin Que froze for a moment. Lu Ling hesitated, then tentatively asked, “Is it because of Sister Jia Jia?”

“Yeah,” Lin Que exhaled and admitted honestly, “A little, but not much.”

After escaping the dinner party, back in the underground garage, Jia Jia had kept her head down, her expression buried in the shadows, her shoulders slumped.

Lin Que had glimpsed a tag “escaping” from Jia Jia’s suit jacket, and her heart skipped a beat—Jia Jia’s reason for choosing this was no different from that of the male actor at the dinner.

It was to trade for better resources.

She had ambition. Working for others could never compare to working for herself.

In the garage, the moment their eyes met, Jia Jia’s hand rose and then fell weakly: “Sister, you’ve ruined everything.”

“That balding middle-aged man didn’t just invest in Long Night; he has production teams overseas, do you understand?”

“I know you don’t like attending these events, but it’s not like you had to do anything!” Jia Jia took a deep breath. “I would have blocked the drinks for you, and I wouldn’t have let you do anything you shouldn’t. We’ve been together for four years; can’t you even trust me on this? You just had to… sit there. If any of them spoke to you, just go along with it and say a few nice things—”

“When did you get in touch with that bald man’s company?” Lin Que’s eyes were cold. “Last year? The year before? It doesn’t matter anymore. Before this, your transactions didn’t bring me any substantial loss, so I respected and understood your ambition. But that doesn’t mean I truly don’t care about anything.”

“Jia Jia,” Lin Que looked at her, her lashes trembling slightly. “We’ve known each other for four years.”

“I just needed to sit there quietly and say a few nice words,”

Lin Que gave a light laugh. “When you say those words, you must find them ridiculous yourself, right?”

“…What are you going to do now?” Lu Ling asked in a very soft voice, looking at Lin Que.

“What do you mean ‘what am I going to do’?” Lin Que looked at her, then realized. “Ah, you mean about that.”

“Nothing at all.”

Lu Ling was stunned. Lin Que glanced at her, the corners of her lips curling up slightly: “It’s every man for himself. There’s nothing wrong with her wanting to move up.”

“But she used you as a ladder!”

Lu Ling was baffled.

The smile in Lin Que’s eyes deepened, her tone casual: “From the result of it, I wasn’t the one she stepped on.”

Lu Ling wanted to argue further, but she saw Lin Que looking at her. Under the light, Lin Que’s eyes shifted into a beautiful light amber. She said each word seriously: “Youyou, Jia Jia is actually a very good person.”

“She’s like you; she had absolutely no contact with this industry during university. I was her first artist, and she was my first manager. I know how hard she works. To work this hard and persevere, she has one goal: to get ahead. For all these years, she’s been moving in that direction—an opportunity, a chance that could make her leap from her current position, was placed in front of her. If it were someone else, it would probably be hard to refuse. People ultimately love themselves the most.” Lin Que paused, then said slowly, “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

The room fell silent.

Lu Ling looked at Lin Que.

This Lin Que was a stranger to her.

In her memory, Lin Que had always possessed that arrogant, detached look of “I don’t need to try; I am the chosen one.”

Had her own prejudices been too heavy all along?

She had to admit,

Regarding Lin Que, she carried a very heavy bias, from childhood until now.

“Youyou,”

Lu Ling looked toward the source of the voice. Lin Que’s smile was faint, almost like she was acting spoiled: “I’m actually not that bad.”

— She must be a mind reader.

Lu Ling just stared at her. She watched as the corners of Lin Que’s lips curved into a beautiful arc. Both of them spoke almost simultaneously:

“But why should you be the one sacrificed?”

“Want to kiss?”

— BOOM!

Lu Ling’s brain nearly exploded; her entire body turned beet red.

Lin Que glanced at her sideways and pointed at her own lips: “You’ve been staring at my lips.”

“I have not!”

“Okay, you haven’t.” Lin Que shrugged.

This indifferent attitude made Lu Ling feel a wave of stifled frustration.

“Where’s your proof?” Lu Ling asked, staring straight at her.

Lin Que looked at her, stood up, one step, two steps—thump.

Their shadows overlapped.

The tips of Lin Que’s hair brushed against the skin of Lu Ling’s exposed collarbone like reeds. Their breaths mingled. Lu Ling’s hands, hanging at her sides, were clenched tight.

The scent of mint, which usually symbolized clarity, made the world feel dizzy in this moment.

“Why did you close your eyes?”

Lu Ling snapped her eyes open. The next second, a warmth brushed past her lips—

“Youyou, goodnight.”

Lu Ling slept exceptionally soundly that night. By the time she woke up, it was already noon the next day.

Her phone was vibrating crazily.

The name on the screen was: Song He.