After Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Cold Film Queen - Chapter 5

Outside, it had started snowing again at some unknown time, fortunately, it was only a light snow.

The snowflakes densely covered everything. White is the color of silence, masking all miscellaneous colors under a blanket of sacred purity, making it difficult to distinguish between pretense and sincerity hidden beneath the snow.

Shen Qingyu stopped the car and parked in a spot beside the villa.

But she didn’t get out immediately, instead sitting quietly inside the car. Snowflakes drifted down before their eyes, quickly melting into water on the front windshield.

Zhu Songning couldn’t exactly say she liked or disliked snowy days. To be precise, she wasn’t particularly interested in such romantic, ephemeral matters.

For the past twenty years, only two things have supported the trajectory of her life—

Money and fame.

However, at this moment, in the virtual snowy weather of a world within a book, sitting quietly beside Shen Qingyu, she felt a long-lost sense that snowy days actually hold some romantic emotion.

The sound of the snow,

Gentle and ceaseless.

She pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, “Thank you… for the compliment.”

“What?” Shen Qingyu snapped out of her thoughts and asked, stunned.

“Thank you for complimenting my hands.”

A word like “dexterous” was undoubtedly the highest praise for a magician.

Though Zhu Songning still found the remark slightly strange.

“Oh.”

Shen Qingyu smiled, turning her head to look at Zhu Songning. The snow accentuated her fairness, and her lips were a vivid crimson.

Being this close, Zhu Songning finally noticed a tiny tear mole at the corner of the film empress Shen’s eye, which softened her cold and sharp contours considerably.

“That wasn’t a compliment, but a fact.”

“If I were to compliment you, I would say—”

Shen Qingyu turned her head back and extended a finger toward the sky.

“You are as bright as the sun.”

The sun?

Where would the sun be on a snowy day?

Zhu Songning followed the direction of her finger and saw that, miraculously, a sun was indeed hanging in a corner of the azure sky in the world covered in white snow.

“You allow me to clearly feel warmth shining upon me.”

She added.

Zhu Songning’s body tensed.

Her heart began to flutter uneasily; for a moment, she couldn’t grasp the meaning behind Shen Qingyu’s words.

“Just kidding, Ningning doesn’t need to be so nervous.”

Shen Qingyu retrieved a black long-handled umbrella from the back seat and handed it to Zhu Songning.

“There’s only one umbrella in the car. You’ll have to bear with sharing it with me for a short walk.”

“Of course.”

Zhu Songning nodded slightly, took the umbrella, and gentlemanly walked around to the other side of the car, offering the umbrella to Shen Qingyu as she alighted, and together they walked into the villa.

Sharing an umbrella is an inherently intimate act, yet both maintained a certain social distance, a sense of unity in appearance but detachment in spirit.

Folding the umbrella, closing the door.

Zhu Songning put on the slippers Shen Qingyu had prepared and turned around to see the woman holding a white towel, her fingernails painted a gentle nude color.

“You got wet. Shall I dry you?”

The space under the umbrella was limited. Since Zhu Songning had deliberately tilted the umbrella toward Shen Qingyu, her own shoulder was mostly damp with melted snow.

“No need, I’ll do it myself.”

Zhu Songning took the towel from her hand, not missing the faint, slightly helpless look in her eyes.

“That’s not what I meant,” Zhu Songning hastily explained, “I might just be a little tired today.”

This was too odd.

It was utterly bizarre.

If she weren’t certain that she had truly never met Shen Qingyu anywhere before, she would almost think they had been acquainted for a long time.

Apart from the accident last night.

It was unlikely someone like Shen Qingyu would have a one-night-stand complex.

“Alright. Your room is the first one on the second floor. The housekeeper already cleaned and tidied it this morning.”

Zhu Songning quickly wiped the snow off her shoulder and promptly retreated to the room, taking off her jacket and hanging it on the rack.

The room was clean and tidy, decorated in a simple Nordic style. The sheets and duvet covers looked freshly changed.

She rolled onto the bed and turned on her phone.

The moment she opened it, she saw the top trending push notification of the day—

“Top-Tier Film Empress Suspected of Secret Marriage, Sweetly Registers Marriage with Partner Today”

Zhu Songning: “???”

She clicked into the post.

It was a text-and-image blog post, featuring a candid photo showing two blurry figures in front of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

As a participant, Zhu Songning recognized at a glance that the people the paparazzi had captured were none other than her and Shen Qingyu.

[Is the marketing account out of money again? This whole year, my Sister Shen has been rumored to be married thirty times, pregnant twenty times, and secretly meeting someone fifty times.]

[LOL, who doesn’t know Film Empress Shen is asexual and has had zero scandals since her debut? Do you really think anyone will believe a random blurry picture from God knows where?]

[It’s 2025, and someone is still trying? If Film Empress Shen had a partner, I’d eat that thing while standing on my head!]

[It’s more believable to spread the rumor that I’m with the Film Empress than that Shen Qingyu has an Alpha.]

[I’m not hiding it anymore. The photo is real. The one who married Yuyu is me (Jerry wearing a wedding dress)]

Zhu Songning looked at the comments section and breathed a sigh of relief.

Thanks to these gossiping marketing accounts, the Boy Who Cried Wolf effect was truly saving her life at a crucial moment.

Aside from these loud objections and comments trying to stir up trouble, a small fraction of people were engaging in rational analysis.

[But am I the only one who thinks the long-haired back view looks a lot like Film Empress Shen??]

[Seriously, I’ve seen that jacket. It looks a lot like Yuyu’s casual airport wear from last winter.]

[Sigh. Honestly, even with such a blurry picture, the figures of the two are so authoritative. Even if it’s Film Empress Shen, it’s still good to ship.]

[Haven’t seen such an authoritative AO relationship in a long time.]

[If you’re blind, please donate your eyes to someone in need.]

[If you’re blind, please donate your eyes to someone in need.]

[If you’re blind, please donate your eyes to someone in need.]

…

Zhu Songning scrolled through Weibo for a few more minutes. Suddenly, upon refreshing again, the posts had all become “404 not found.”

Even the trending topic that had just shot up vanished without a trace.

The PR team must have intervened.

As expected of a top-tier film empress, the team’s response speed was quick.

However—

A vague sense of unease still lingered in her heart.

Shen Qingyu’s demeanor felt somewhat different from the ‘Ice Queen Film Empress’ described in the book, making her regret whether agreeing to the contractual marriage was the right decision.

Moreover, not only did they get the marriage certificate, but they also achieved “cohabitation” within a single day.

Just as she was deep in thought, a text message suddenly popped up on her phone.

[Youth Trainee 2 Program Team: Hello, esteemed Ms. Zhu Songning. Congratulations on passing the audition for Youth Trainee 2. The program will begin recording on December 15th at 9:00 AM. The address is xxxxxx. Please adjust your schedule accordingly. Please reply upon receipt. We look forward to meeting you!]

Looking at the content of the text message, Zhu Songning took three seconds to finally recall what this was about from her jumbled memories.

This was the program that Xu Zhe was originally supposed to participate in. Lu Conghuan, as a successful debut member from Youth Trainee 1, would serve as a mentor.

The subsequent plot involved the explosive popularity of the couple’s ship on the show, Xu Zhe successfully debuting as the center, and both the protagonist Alpha and Omega gaining fame, fortune, and love.

However, a change occurred while Zhu Songning was following the plot.

Perhaps her ability to attract antagonism was too strong, for when Xu Zhe saw her, she demanded, with a spoiled tone, that Lu Conghuan make Zhu Songning also sign up for the show, to serve as a negative foil for her in the competition.

Lu Conghuan, being pestered by Xu Zhe, said to her, “You know Xu Zhe is my best friend. Just help her this one time. It won’t hurt you.”

At the time, Zhu Songning was diligently playing the part of the devoted admirer. No matter how much she cursed internally, she outwardly pretended to be oblivious to their relationship and agreed.

She casually submitted a chaotic audition video to the program team.

She didn’t expect such a bizarre dance video to pass?

Could it be that Xu Zhe hated her so much that she used her connections to get her accepted? Did she really want to see her make a fool of herself on the show that badly?!

She closed her eyes and recalled the program’s penalty for breach of contract.

She couldn’t afford it.

Throwing back the covers, Zhu Songning smoothly slipped under them, only to unexpectedly find a plush rabbit toy pressed underneath the duvet.

It was a very large one, a soft, pale pink.

It was strikingly similar to the rabbit toy she had in her original world.

She had searched through various malls in this world but never saw a rabbit toy from this IP. She hadn’t expected to find it today in the room Shen Qingyu had prepared for her.

Ningning: Did you prepare this?

Shen Qingyu replied quickly.

Yuyu: I bought it casually when I was abroad. I told the housekeeper that a young girl would be staying, so she probably put it here.

Yuyu: Keep it if you like it.

As expected, it was just a coincidence.

Zhu Songning’s fingertips twitched slightly.

Ningning: Thank you.

Yuyu: (We are the best in the world.jpg)

Zhu Songning looked at Shen Qingyu’s emoji—a rabbit, a dog, and a cat hugging each other—and inexplicably smiled.

The old-fashioned film empress sends such cute emojis?

How could she be so contradictory yet somewhat adorable?

Burying her head in the plush toy, she could smell a faint scent of jasmine sachets.

It smelled very similar to the Omega’s scent that night.

Her mind was stimulated by the fragrance. After a brief period of distraction, she slowly sobered up.

This was wrong.

The atmosphere between her and Shen Qingyu was too strange!

She thought of the text message from the program team again.

Zhu Songning drafted the message and clicked send.

[Zhu Songning]: Received. I will arrive on time.

If she remembered correctly, this survival show was closed-off. Trainees would live together, and contact with the outside world would be severely restricted.

She needed to find a place to calmly collect herself!

The corners of Zhu Songning’s mouth curled up.

And while she was at it, it was time to settle the score with those crazy protagonists.

Shen Qingyu had an advertisement to shoot. After finishing, she returned home but couldn’t find Zhu Songning anywhere.

A note was pressed under a water glass on the living room table. The handwriting was bold and energetic, like a flying dragon and dancing phoenix.

“I suddenly got notice that I have to attend a survival show. I’m so sorry. See you after the recording ends~”

“From: Zhu Songning.”

The Alpha had also left a simple sketch after her name—a lively rabbit-dog winking at the person outside the paper, looking quite like herself.

Shen Qingyu’s hand slowly tightened, yet she feared creasing the writing on the note, so she loosened her grip again.

Oh no… did I act too aggressively?

Did my sensitive little puppy notice something?

She felt a slight regret, though her expression remained unchanged.

Shen Qingyu put down the note, picked up the water glass that had been weighing down the paper with one hand, and with the other, dialed a number.

“Hello, it’s me, Shen Qingyu.”

“Didn’t you want to invite me to be a PD for the second season? Yes, I can go.”

“I had other reasons for refusing before… Alright, I’ll have my agent discuss the details with you later.”

“Mmm, that’s all for now.”

Shen Qingyu set down the glass of water. A faint, alluring lipstick stain remained on the rim of the glass.

It was crimson and tempting, misted over with light condensation.

She ran away, but it didn’t matter.

No matter what, she would personally bring the naughty child back.

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