After Being Targeted by the Gloomy and Obsessive Movie Queen - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Amnesia – Xu Yinyu’s Dream Comes True

The ambulance siren cut through the silence with a long, drawn-out note.

The moment the two cars were about to collide, Yu Shujin violently turned the steering wheel, crashing the sedan directly into the guardrail.

A massive impact hit her. A bright white flash crossed Yu Shujin’s vision. Blood flowed down her cheek, and then all consciousness and memory vanished instantly.

The moment Yu Shujin opened her eyes in the sterile white hospital room, a sharp ringing sound screamed past, lasting a full minute before gradually subsiding.

A thunderclap suddenly sounded outside the hospital window, causing a slight tremor in Yu Shujin’s chest. A searing pain tore through her ribcage. She felt as though her chest had been forcibly opened and crudely stitched back up.

Even breathing was accompanied by fine, bone-deep pain, as if the most vital piece of flesh in her chest had been forcibly excised.

When Yu Shujin tried to trace the source, she felt a frightening tranquility in all her memories, unable to summon the slightest ripple.

“You’re awake? Shujin, do you still remember me? I’m Grandma, your only living relative,” Yu Zhenmin said, her tone carrying a hint of nervousness and anxiety.

The one thing missing was a relative’s concern.

Yu Shujin was connected to an oxygen tube. Her eyes moved, her eyelashes fluttered, and a trace of confusion passed through her gaze.

Xu Yinyu was settled by Xu Ruoying in a small villa abroad.

During the first week, she lay in bed, avoiding any news of Yu Shujin. She always hid in the smallest bedroom, drawing the curtains and sitting blankly in front of the television, regardless of day or night.

It wasn’t until the second week that Xu Yinyu received news that Yu Shujin was out of danger.

She had also lost the majority of her memories.

Xu Yinyu’s tightly wound nerves began to relax from that moment on. She started to venture out, planting flowers and growing vegetables in the yard. When the weather was good, she would take her sketchpad to a nearby park to sketch nature.

In the second month in Country S, she attempted to find part-time work to support herself.

Xu Yinyu had only studied until the third year of high school. Since then, she had been working domestically, and her English studies were still stuck in high school rote memorization.

Her spoken English could only support simple communication. Initially, she could only work odd jobs at convenience stores. As she communicated more, she tried working as a waitress in restaurants, a bartender in bars. Sometimes, when the bar’s resident singer called in sick, she would even step up and sing a few songs.

Xu Yinyu didn’t have a large repertoire of songs. When she sang one of the ‘few’ songs, the blonde beauties below would smile in surprise, “Wow, it’s Yu’s song! Singer, she’s my favorite Chinese singer.”

The first time she heard the audience cheer “Yu,” Xu Yinyu’s lips would still tremble uncontrollably, and she would even miss a guitar string. As she heard it more often, the sharp pain in her heart was slowly healed by time. She could even smile and nod, “Thank you.”

During the long, fragmented days, Xu Yinyu used a broken heart to replant a flower garden and a vibrant vegetable patch.

Two years later, Country S.

A year ago, Xu Yinyu found a formal comics company and was successfully hired. This was her first time working as an independent comic artist abroad. Many procedures and rules here were unfamiliar, and mistakes were inevitable during practical work.

Her superior was a sharp, red-lipped beauty.

The employees called her Alice.

Every day at work, Xu Yinyu most feared hearing the click of Alice’s high heels approaching.

Whenever she thought about it, Xu Yinyu predicted her files would be violently slammed onto her desk.

Alice’s warning voice would sharply ring in her ears.

Fortunately, her English wasn’t that good yet, and she couldn’t understand many of Alice’s insults and curses, saving her the process of internal turmoil.

Whenever Alice saw this Eastern girl standing with her head down and eyes lowered in a posture of weakness, her combat effectiveness would invariably decrease.

“Be serious, young woman! Making comics requires unbridled passion and zeal. Don’t look so dispirited!” Alice thumped Xu Yinyu’s shoulder.

Xu Yinyu nodded, “Okay.”

Her colleagues snickered. Alice watched Xu Yinyu, frowned, and left.

After enduring a week of scolding, Xu Yinyu gradually mastered the company’s basic rules and drawing details, and her work efficiency slowly improved.

Alice even made her the team leader for a new comic project, tasking her with independently completing a major project.

After taking over, Xu Yinyu worked around the clock, sleeping in the company for two consecutive weeks. The day she finished and handed in the project, Xu Yinyu wanted to go downstairs for dinner. However, the continuous exhaustion had drained her strength. Her foot slipped on the stairs, and she tumbled down the last few steps.

“Bang!” Her back hit the edge of a step, the pain blacking out her vision.

Her colleagues quickly gathered around, helping Xu Yinyu up and anxiously asking, “Are you okay?”

Xu Yinyu took a moment. Her scattered internal organs slowly settled back into place. She nodded, “I’m fine.”

Xu Yinyu slowly stood up, leaning on the wall. Her confused mind instantly cleared. She checked her hair in the glass downstairs, waved at her astonished colleagues, and said, “I’m off work. See you tomorrow.”

The first phase of the project concluded. Xu Yinyu’s project completion rate was high, earning her verbal praise and a bonus. She was flattered to receive the medal specially presented by the team leader to outstanding employees.

Alice then appointed her as the company’s independent artist for the season. While meeting clients, Xu Yinyu accidentally ran into Marlene again.

Marlene immediately pulled her to the coffee shop next door for a meal. The two hadn’t seen each other in two years, yet the passage of time hadn’t made them vague or distant.

Marlene stood Xu Yinyu up, carefully examined her, then touched Xu Yinyu’s hand, smiling broadly. “Long time no see, Xu.”

“I missed you, Teacher Marlene. Thank you for still remembering me,” Xu Yinyu was flattered.

“I won’t forget you,” Marlene smiled, gesturing for Xu Yinyu to sit down.

Xu Yinyu signaled the waiter, ordering two signature coffees, taking care to ask about Marlene’s preference before ordering.

“You’ve changed a lot, Xu. I can feel the vibrant vitality in you,” Marlene, too, felt genuine relief seeing her friend, who once couldn’t smile, now radiating a beautiful life force.

Xu Yinyu touched her cheek. “Thank you for your help back then, too.”

Before her escape, she and Marlene met at art exhibitions multiple times. Xu Yinyu, often surrounded by bodyguards, slowly revealed her identity to Marlene.

Before Marlene could investigate, her friend, out of kindness, warned Marlene not to become too close to Xu Yinyu.

Marlene thus learned about Xu Yinyu’s relationship with Yu Shujin and sincerely tried to counsel Xu Yinyu, even offering help with her escape.

But Xu Yinyu refused.

“I only did what a principled person must do,” Marlene said.

Marlene was in Country S this time for an art exhibition and would stay for two short weeks. After the exhibition, she would return to Country F for rest.

“Painting is a wonderful thing. In the process of creation, you take on the role of a creator dominating all things, but it also requires a huge expenditure of mental energy.

The cost of exploring new worlds is high; to some extent, it uses life as fuel.

Xu, I can’t do it anymore,” Marlene’s tone slowly shifted from anticipation to regret.

The thing every aspiring painter fears most is the depletion of inspiration and the drying up of ideas.

“Teacher Marlene, don’t worry. The world is always before you. Taking a proper rest and pausing will also allow you to enjoy a different kind of scenery, which is equally beautiful,” Xu Yinyu comforted Marlene from the perspective of a laid-back homebody.

Marlene’s tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed with Xu Yinyu’s words. A smile curled her lips, and she praised, “You are a unique treasure, the kind that makes one feel a strong sense of possessiveness.”

Marlene said the last sentence very softly, and Xu Yinyu didn’t quite catch it. She smiled in agreement. “Good horses are common, but connoisseurs are rare.*”

Xu Yinyu’s eyes trembled slightly. The possibility she had never dared to entertain was brought up again by Teacher Marlene. She had thought that the silence back then marked the end of her relationship with Marlene.

She hadn’t expected a beautiful bonus reunion after the conclusion.

Xu Yinyu was delighted, but she hesitantly told Marlene that most of her energy was currently focused on work, leaving no time for painting.

Marlene then said, “You can think about it carefully. No rush. My studio is waiting for you to join.”

Xu Yinyu’s guilt deepened. She lowered her eyes, nervously taking a sip of coffee with many small movements.

Finally, as the evening glow faded and darkness slowly crept in, a foreign woman nearly six feet tall walked in, took Marlene’s hand, greeted Xu Yinyu, and hurriedly left.

Xu Yinyu went to the bubble tea shop across the street, bought bubble tea for every colleague, brought it to the company, and distributed it. She also proactively invited her colleagues over for dinner at her place.

The next morning, just as Xu Yinyu finished baking bread, the doorbell rang.

It was Victoria.

Today, she wore a light blue trench coat, her brown curly hair tied back, and a snow-white fuzzy hat on her head. The fluffy edges rubbed against her cute cheeks, making her look like a winter elf.

“Xu, I’m here to help you,” Victoria beamed. Without waiting for Xu Yinyu to speak, she pushed past the door, holding a bag.

Xu Yinyu stepped aside to let her in, a smile curling her lips. “Welcome.”

Xu Yinyu took the bread out of the oven. “Want some bread? It’s freshly baked.”

Xu Yinyu turned to place the bread on the dining table, not realizing Victoria was already standing behind her. They nearly bumped into each other.

Victoria held Xu Yinyu’s waist, her fingertips inadvertently grazing her side. Her lips brushed against Xu Yinyu’s cheek, carrying a warm breath.

Xu Yinyu’s eyes trembled abruptly. She subconsciously moved to the side, avoiding Victoria’s overly intense gaze.

“Xu, be careful,” Victoria licked her lips, her voice lower than usual, with an almost imperceptible huskiness.

Xu Yinyu tightened her grip on the bread plate. A figure that made her shudder flashed in her mind for an instant, but after the mental storm passed, she maintained her composure, only nodding gently. “The bread is on the table. Can you help me set it up?”

When they were together, Victoria often initiated physical contact. Xu Yinyu assumed this was local custom and tolerated it.

Closer to noon, the doorbell rang again.

Xu Yinyu stood up to open the door. Her colleagues handed her all their gifts, the scent of wrapping paper mixing with laughter around Xu Yinyu.

But Xu Yinyu’s vision was obscured by the pile of gifts. She instinctively took a step back and bumped right into a warm embrace.

“Be careful,” Victoria’s smiling voice came from above her head. She reached out to help share the majority of the gifts.

Her colleagues suddenly erupted with an intense, scrutinizing, and gossipy look.

Xu Yinyu looked at her excited colleagues with confusion. She brought the finished dishes out of the kitchen and reminded them, “It’s ready. Don’t forget to wash your hands first.”

During dinner, Xu Yinyu and Victoria sat together.

Her colleagues’ discussions were very scattered, ranging from a male colleague’s foul-smelling shirt to his number of infidelities, from Xu Yinyu’s delicious cooking to Victoria’s wonderful college life.

Xu Yinyu smiled, joking along. “Victoria seems very popular.”

“What about you?” Victoria suddenly turned to look at her, the emotion in her eyes so direct it made Xu Yinyu uneasy. “Am I popular with you?”

“Huh?” Xu Yinyu didn’t react, tilting her head slightly in confusion. “What?”

Victoria smiled, suddenly leaned in, and kissed Xu Yinyu’s cheek.

The soft, warm touch lightly landed on her cheek, like a gentle feather falling into a deep ravine.

Xu Yinyu froze in place, her hand holding the chopsticks stiffened. She looked at Victoria in disbelief, wanting to speak but unable to.

For the past two years, she had poured herself entirely into her work, enjoying the sense of achievement it brought, all with the goal of forgetting a deeply painful relationship.

Victoria’s kiss at this moment shattered the protective shield Xu Yinyu had erected over the past year.

Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, her colleagues quickly brought up new gossip, rallying the party mood again.

After all her colleagues had left, Victoria helped Xu Yinyu clean up the aftermath. “Xu, are you unhappy?”

Xu Yinyu put down the clean dishes and turned to face Victoria. “Victoria, I don’t feel that way about you.”

The frank, passionate young girl in front of her was full of carefree youthful exuberance—something she had never possessed but had stubbornly fantasized about.

But when a long-imagined thing was finally placed before her, Xu Yinyu’s first instinct was to push it away.

Victoria’s expression instantly froze. “Xu, why?”

All expression faded from Xu Yinyu’s face. She couldn’t deceive a pure-hearted girl, nor could she deceive her candid emotions and innocent body.

“Victoria, I have a wife. I’m married.”

Victoria’s eyes widened in shock, filling with tears. She looked like an innocent little deer that had been greatly wronged. “But there’s no trace of a second person living in your house. Are you just casually making up a lie to brush me off because you think I’m young and restless?”

Xu Yinyu said, “No, it’s not. I really am married. I’m not lying to you. We even had a wedding of the century. You can search for it online.”

Victoria saw the wedding video Xu Yinyu found: a breathtakingly beautiful, tall woman gently holding Xu Yinyu’s hand, walking down a long red carpet, the deep affection in her eyes so palpable it was almost physical.

The shock in Victoria’s eyes deepened. She murmured, repeating, “You’re really married? She’s so beautiful, and you two look so well-matched. Wuwuwu…”

Her final tone carried a sorrowful yet comical sob.

Xu Yinyu was flustered by her tears. The cool composure on her face seemed to crack under Victoria’s sudden emotion. “Don’t cry.”

Xu Yinyu waved her hands, telling her she hadn’t accepted her pursuit and wasn’t a homewrecker.

“Control your emotions first.”

“Don’t cry. I’ll bake you a small cake and braised pork tomorrow,” Xu Yinyu said.

Victoria sniffled twice. She blinked her swollen eyes, pouting sadly. “Really? Won’t your wife be jealous?”

Xu Yinyu shook her head. “We’ve been separated. She won’t know.”

Victoria, still with a pitiful sob, persistently offered herself. “Why did you separate? Did your relationship break? Can you consider me? I really like you.”

Xu Yinyu looked at her sternly, shaking her head. “I’m used to being alone.”

Victoria sniffed and wiped away her tears. “But living alone is very lonely.”

Xu Yinyu placed the baked small cake into a takeout box, handed it to Victoria, and then ruffled Victoria’s head, putting her fuzzy hat back on. “I’m not afraid of loneliness. I enjoy the quiet that comes with it.”

“Victoria, I’m sorry. I can’t accept you.”

Victoria’s tears fell harder onto Xu Yinyu’s hand. “Hug me. Please hug me again.”

Xu Yinyu gently embraced her, patting her shoulder. “Be brave, Victoria. Keep moving forward, and you will achieve great things.”

The fastest flight from China to Country S takes ten hours.

Yu Shujin slept on the first-class flight, then stepped off the plane and headed straight to the negotiation table without adjusting to the time difference.

After two years of immersion in business, she was like a work machine precisely refined by human hands.

When still, her expression was one of cold indifference.

When engaging with others, her lips would curve up, but there was no trace of a smile in her eyes, only bone-chilling coldness.

The smooth demeanor of the former movie star had gradually disappeared, leaving only the ruthless ferocity of a corporate killer.

“President Yu, thank you for coming specifically to negotiate,” Shen Nianyan smiled faintly.

Yu Shujin coldly glanced at the documents in her hand, unwilling to waste words on her. She took the documents, read them carefully, and placed them back on the table.

“President Shen, if you want to cooperate, please show your sincerity.”

“President Yu, please look closely again. I believe the terms I offer are sincere enough,” a cold look flashed in Shen Nianyan’s eyes.

“President Shen, hard cash is sincerity. You can keep your ‘sincerity’ for yourself, but please don’t take it out to disgust others,” Yu Shujin pushed the documents back.

Shen Nianbai, sitting nearby, looked gloomy and volatile. If Shen Nianqing hadn’t restrained her, she would have slammed the table and started yelling long ago.

“Since President Yu is so direct, I will be direct too. The bottom line for our Shen Group in this real estate investment is [omitted amount], with absolutely no possibility of concession,” Shen Nianyan’s eyes darkened.

“In that case, Chi Xia, let’s go,” Yu Shujin, wearing a black cashmere coat, rose cleanly and left without hesitation.

Chi Xia grabbed a random file and jogged a few steps to catch up with Yu Shujin.

Before they could leave the conference room, Shen Nianqing blocked their path, smiling. “It’s not easy for President Yu to come all this way. We should fulfill our duties as hosts. Surely President Yu won’t deny us even this small courtesy.”

Yu Shujin glanced at Shen Nianqing, crossed her arms, her cold eyes deep. A complex emotion flashed across them before she gave a sudden laugh. “Fine.”

Chi Xia looked at Shen Nianqing with alertness. Shen Nianqing returned a gentle smile.

“President Yu, did you not bring Miss Xu on this business trip today?” Shen Nianbai suddenly spoke from behind Yu Shujin.

Shen Nianyan, whose eyes were focused on Yu Shujin, suddenly turned toward Shen Nianbai, her gaze like a cutting blade.

Chi Xia was even more outraged.

Everyone present, except Yu Shujin, knew that ‘Miss Xu’ was off-limits, especially in front of Yu Shujin.

Yu Shujin’s eyes remained deep and undisturbed. She replied coldly, “Miss Xu? Who is that? I never bring irrelevant personnel on business trips.”

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