After Being Targeted by the Gloomy and Obsessive Movie Queen - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Su Family – Sick Leave

Yu Shujin wrapped up filming at midnight. It was high summer, with frequent downpours, and it began raining heavily again when Chi Xia came to pick them up. Xu Yinyu was only focused on holding her bag and ended up completely drenched.

After getting into the car, Yu Shujin realized Xu Yinyu was soaked through.

Since Xu Yinyu was wearing a white shirt, her fair skin was faintly visible beneath the wet fabric. Her delicate collarbone and the safety clasp necklace stood out particularly under the dim light.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” Yu Shujin pulled out a few tissues, yanked Xu Yinyu closer, and forcefully wiped the water droplets from her hair. “Intentionally getting wet and sick so you can use ill health as an excuse to avoid the consequences of what you did during the day.”

Xu Yinyu hadn’t expected Yu Shujin’s thought process to take such a circuitous route. She shook her head and said, “No.”

Yu Shujin said coldly, “Even if you were, I wouldn’t forgive you that easily.”

Chi Xia’s mouth was wide open, and she didn’t utter a single word for a long time.

Outside the car, rain hammered down loudly. The air inside seemed mixed with the pleasant scent of hyacinths. Xu Yinyu struggled to stay awake but didn’t know when she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the car had stopped, and she realized she had soaked a patch of Yu Shujin’s shoulder.

Seeing Xu Yinyu awake, Yu Shujin opened her umbrella, pulled the woman into her arms, and walked towards the villa.

“Xu Yinyu, what exactly did you say to Lan Zhao earlier today?” Yu Shujin had an excellent memory and had no intention of letting Xu Yinyu off the hook.

Xu Yinyu truthfully told Yu Shujin that she and Lan Zhao were strangers who had just met and only exchanged a few words.

Yu Shujin frowned, deeply displeased. “I don’t like her. Stay away from her.” As they reached the living room, she handed the umbrella to the housekeeper, Auntie Fang. Xu Yinyu handed her slightly wet bag to Auntie Fang and then went into the bathroom.

Yu Shujin asked Auntie Fang for two cups of ginger tea to ward off the cold. She then went upstairs to the master bedroom, took off her clothes, and entered the bathroom Xu Yinyu had just entered.

Several gasps of surprise came from Xu Yinyu inside the bathroom, followed by heavy pants and a few whimpers, drifting amidst the splashing sound of the shower.

At 3 AM, Xu Yinyu’s body was burning hot. Yu Shujin woke up feeling the heat and instinctively touched Xu Yinyu’s forehead, realizing something was wrong. She hasn’t actually developed a fever, has she?

Yu Shujin turned on the lamp, went downstairs to the living room, and rummaged for the medicine box. Her movements were loud enough to wake Auntie Fang, who lived on the first floor.

Auntie Fang, familiar with the villa’s layout, heard Yu Shujin looking for the medicine box. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Yu Shujin made a ‘tsk’ sound. “Her body is burning up. I think she has a fever.”

Auntie Fang’s face slightly changed. “Quickly take her temperature. If you need anything, I’ll call Dr. Xu.”

Yu Shujin took the medicine box, went back to Xu Yinyu’s side, pulled out the thermometer, and measured her forehead: 38.8°C ($38.8^circtext{C}$).

She did have a fever.

Yu Shujin went downstairs again to get a cup of warm water. She helped Xu Yinyu sit up on the edge of the bed and gently patted her cheek. “Wake up, Ah-Yu.”

Xu Yinyu’s cheeks were flushed from the heat. Her eyes groggily opened, looking at Yu Shujin. Her mind wasn’t working. She only felt her lips being pried open, and a bitter pill placed on her tongue. Before she could realize it, it was washed down with a mouthful of warm water.

“Drink more water to avoid dehydration.”

Xu Yinyu tilted her head, following Yu Shujin’s motion of feeding her water, and slowly drank. Her consciousness became even more blurry after drinking. She felt her body become very refreshed.

Xu Yinyu woke up the next day, and the person beside her was gone. After washing up, she slowly walked down the stairs and saw Chi Xia greeting her. “Miss Xu, come take your temperature first.”

Xu Yinyu nodded, took the thermometer, and pressed it against her forehead: $37^circtext{C}$.

Chi Xia took it and snapped a picture with her phone.

“Miss Xu, please eat breakfast first. Uh, I should say lunch. After you eat, take one more fever reducer. Yu Shujin said your normal temperature is $36^circtext{C}$.”

Xu Yinyu lowered her eyes. She hummed in acknowledgment and opened her phone. She was startled to see Yu Shujin pinned at the top of her WeChat list. She had no memory of re-adding Yu Shujin, let alone pinning her.

This person had fiercely warned her in the bathroom yesterday, biting her ear, ‘Even if you genuinely fall sick, I’ll find a stretcher and carry you to the set.’

Yet, today, because she was genuinely sick, she was given leniency.

Xu Yinyu clicked on the messages and found that Yu Shujin had sent an unflattering picture of her while she was still sleeping.

After sending a reply, Xu Yinyu switched to the StarBlog trending list and found that the trending topic about Yu Shujin’s marriage had been suppressed using the same method.

The confrontation between Yu Shujin and Lan Zhao yesterday had also failed to leak, likely due to strict set management.

Just as Xu Yinyu was about to put down her phone, she heard a notification sound from WeChat. It was Yu Shujin.

Xu Yinyu clicked on the message and saw that Yu Shujin had turned her photo into a sticker, overlaid with the large words: ‘I refuse!’

Yu Shujin pressed on: Come and accompany me when you’re rested. You can have Chi Xia send you.

After sending the message, Xu Yinyu waited for a long time, watching ‘The other party is typing…’ persist for ages. Finally, Yu Shujin threw down two words: ‘Endure it!’

Xu Yinyu gasped. Whether it was psychosomatic or not, her ear felt more painful.

“Teacher Yu, the next scene is yours,” a floor assistant reminded her. Yu Shujin acknowledged this, discussed the next scene’s makeup and styling with the makeup artist, and then headed to the set with her script.

“What in the world is going on, Su Qingqing!” Su Baili slammed the video and recording onto Su Qingqing’s desk. “Did I or did I not warn you not to provoke Yu Shujin again? Are you trying to hand the Su family over to her?!”

Su Qingqing lowered her head. When she saw the trending headlines unfavorable to the Su family, her heart shook. She had intended to retaliate against Yu Shujin and Xu Yinyu, but she hadn’t expected that the people she sent out would all be caught by Yu Shujin’s people and even filmed.

All the confessions pointed directly to Su Qingqing.

Su Baili was already busy handling her elder brother’s election campaign and fending off Yu Shujin’s intermittent attacks. Now, she had to clean up the mess Su Qingqing had created, practically spitting blood with rage.

“Stay home and calm down for a while,” Su Baili emphasized.

Su Qingqing suddenly raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed, the malice within them undisguised. “But that bitch Xu Yinyu humiliated me like that. I won’t accept it, Sister! I won’t accept it!”

Su Baili leaned forward, pinching Su Qingqing’s chin with her fingers, meeting her direct, malicious gaze, and said coldly, “Don’t be foolish again and cause more trouble, or I will no longer keep your identity a secret.”

Su Qingqing was instantly silenced by the threat. It took a while before she finally whispered, “I understand. I’ll listen to you, Sister.”

The coldness in Su Baili’s eyes softened. She used her thumb to gently touch the corner of Su Qingqing’s lips. “Once we’re past this storm, I’ll compensate you.”

Su Qingqing’s eyes immediately lit up. She usually loved to fly to Europe and America to buy seasonal luxury goods, effortlessly collecting bags worth hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions. Unfortunately, her bank cards had been frozen by her father because the Su family was being targeted by the Yu family. She hadn’t been shopping or spending money for days, and she felt like a hungry wolf trapped in a cage, impatient for release.

Xu Yinyu sat next to Chi Xia. “Miss Chi, I’d like to ask you something.”

Chi Xia looked up at the gentle, ascetic woman beside her. “What would you like to ask?”

“I want to ask about my mother. My mother, is she,” Xu Yinyu carefully chose her words, “awake yet?”

Chi Xia shook her head, answering in a businesslike tone. “Although Auntie Xu is not yet awake, her physical functions show a good trend of recovery. I believe she will wake up after some time.”

Xu Yinyu nodded blankly. “Thank you.”

Chi Xia rummaged in her bag, found a tablet, and handed it to Xu Yinyu. “The tablet has the monitoring feed for Auntie’s hospital room. You can check it anytime.”

Xu Yinyu took it and indeed saw her mother lying there, looking weak with her eyes closed. A series of medical devices surrounded her, and the monitor emitted a rhythmic ‘beep-beep’ sound in the empty room.

Xu Yinyu watched intently, not even noticing when Chi Xia left. She wanted to use the differences in the room layout to constantly try to pinpoint the hospital location.

However, there were many hospitals in A City, and most patient rooms had extremely similar layouts, employing similar design and renovation styles. Using this method to locate the hospital where her mother was placed was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.

When her fantastic imagination gained the approval of readers, her heart would be filled with a giant cotton candy.

After Xu Yinyu signed the marriage agreement with Yu Shujin, that subtle and lasting small happiness completely vanished. The people she had to see and the situations she had to face every day far exceeded her past knowledge and experience. She felt like an elementary school student who was given the answers by a university student, entering a free and spontaneous world and sitting in a position she might never have attained even with her best effort.

Fear and confusion constantly accompanied her, especially late at night in desolate places. The surroundings would be quiet, but her heart would be loud and restless.

“Miss Xu, Miss Xu?” Chi Xia kindly prompted Xu Yinyu, who was lost in thought. “Miss Yu will be back to eat dinner this afternoon. You can wait for her here for a bit.”

It took Xu Yinyu two seconds to process Chi Xia’s words. She glanced at the floor-to-ceiling window. The sun had retreated without her realizing it. “Okay.”

Chi Xia nodded, said ‘goodbye,’ and left. She didn’t seem to remember the tablet she had lent Xu Yinyu. Xu Yinyu, out of selfishness, didn’t remind her and only stood up to walk Chi Xia to the door.

When Chi Xia opened the door, Xu Yinyu intended to walk her out a bit further. Before the door was fully open, she saw four bodyguards standing on both sides, greeting her in unison, “Miss Xu.” They then used their bodies to block Chi Xia’s figure.

Before Xu Yinyu could fully grasp the situation, the door closed in front of her.

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