After Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Cold Film Queen - Chapter 64

Once all the hardships had passed, things began to return to their rightful tracks, and life moved step by step toward a future of happiness.

Zhu Songning learned from Luo Chuanhe that Xu Zhe ultimately failed to make her debut. The “water” (inflated data) she had created in the program’s voting was exposed, and her history of bullying trainees at the same company was completely revealed. Even the Xu family could no longer suppress the scandal or protect her.

Her withdrawal from the industry was only a matter of time.

In addition, her romantic relationship with Lu Conghuan was leaked by people within the industry. Now, the two of them were essentially in a position where everyone despised them.

When Luo Chuanhe spoke to Zhu Songning about these things, she was incredibly indignant: “I heard that the Xu family plans to send her abroad to lie low! Such a result is honestly too light for her!”

Zhu Songning, however, didn’t care much: “Alright, alright, don’t be angry. For someone like her, having her reputation completely ruined is already an extremely massive blow.”

Zhu Songning knew exactly how much Xu Zhe cared about that debut spot and her reputation. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to orchestrate so many schemes. For it to end like this could only be described as reaping what she had sown.

However, aside from Xu Zhe and Lu Conghuan, there was one other person who was quite special—

Song Yu.

That day, when Song Yu intentionally stuck out her foot to trip her, she had indeed done it very discreetly, avoiding all the cameras. She hadn’t expected that on the side of the stage, there was a staff member who was a fan of Zhu Songning. While slacking off at work, the fan had been secretly recording a “focus cam” of Zhu Songning and happened to capture that exact moment.

In the video, Song Yu’s movement was very obvious; one could see at a glance that she had deliberately extended her foot upon seeing Zhu Songning moving toward her position. From any other perspective, it looked as though Zhu Songning had simply lost her balance and fallen on her own.

She hadn’t expected this plan to have such a tiny, fatal oversight.

Zhu Songning took some time to go and meet her.

Song Yu looked much more haggard, lacking the vibrant energy she had when they first met. Her hair was still the same white as Shen Qingyu’s, not dyed back to black, but because it had been neglected during this period, the ends were dry and brittle, and the white had begun to yellow.

Zhu Songning looked at her and spoke first: “I really didn’t expect it to be you.”

Song Yu stared deeply into her eyes: “But I guessed it was you a long time ago. The person with Shen Qingyu is you.”

Song Yu’s eyes were also a pure black color, which caused Zhu Songning to daze for a moment.

Song Yu took a sip of the latte in front of her and continued: “From the moment I entered Yuanhe Entertainment, I was chosen because I bore a few points of resemblance to Shen Qingyu.”

“When I was first selected and signed, I was so happy. I called my mother in the countryside and said her daughter was about to become a big star. It wasn’t until later that I realized I was different from the others who were signed at the same time. My daily training task was simply to learn how to imitate Shen Qingyu more accurately.”

“After all, how could cultivating a new star from scratch be faster than piggybacking off Film Queen Shen’s popularity? All I needed was the title of ‘Little Shen Qingyu,’ and massive amounts of traffic would come crazily flooding toward me.”

As she spoke, the corners of her mouth suddenly curved upward.

Zhu Songning was exceptionally familiar with this smile; the curve was almost identical to the way Shen Qingyu smiled.

“I watched all of her movies and interviews. I knew clearly what kind of person she was. So, from the very beginning when she gave you the ‘reversal card,’ I knew her attitude toward you was different from everyone else.”

“She seems to like you.”

“To the point of liking you very, very much.”

Zhu Songning hadn’t expected her to have gone through all that: “But what you’re saying has nothing to do with what you actually did.”

“Of course it does.”

Song Yu’s tone suddenly became agitated.

“You don’t know—I worked so hard to imitate her for so long, but when I truly saw her in person for the first time, I knew she was someone I could never become, even if I worked hard for a lifetime.”

“And you—you clearly should have been an ordinary trainee with no background like me, fading into the crowd like the others. Why is it that you have no background and don’t need to piggyback off anyone’s popularity, yet you can still be so dazzling?”

She despised and hated Shen Qingyu and Zhu Songning with an intensity.

It was because fate was so unjust.

It left her sinking deep into the mire, yet she had to watch the person beside her standing in the light.

So, when the Director of Yuanhe Entertainment came to her, offered her 500,000 yuan, and asked her to sabotage Zhu Songning’s stage performance, she had agreed almost without hesitation.

Zhu Songning hadn’t imagined that a person who was usually so sunny and optimistic would harbor such terrifying thoughts, reaching a point that was almost obsessive.

Before coming here, she had been wondering why Song Yu did it. But when the truth was laid bare before her, she felt it was utterly absurd.

“Eat it yourself; I’ve already paid.”

Zhu Songning picked up her coat from the chair beside her and turned to leave.

“Wait!”

Hearing the shout, Zhu Songning instinctively looked back.

The remaining half cup of Song Yu’s coffee had not been finished. The scalding brown liquid flew straight toward her face.

Zhu Songning’s eyes widened instantly, looking at her in disbelief.

Just when she thought she had no way to avoid it, a figure suddenly appeared before her eyes.

—”Be careful.”

The coffee liquid splashed entirely onto Shen Qingyu’s overcoat. On the snow-white cashmere, winding stains immediately appeared, looking hideous and messy.

“Sister!”

Zhu Songning quickly caught her body as she lunged forward, the weight crashing into her.

Several bodyguards behind Shen Qingyu stepped forward quickly, restraining the frantic Song Yu.

“Sister, are you okay?!”

The concern in Zhu Songning’s eyes was impossible to hide.

“I’m fine,” Shen Qingyu shook her head, looking back at Song Yu with her lips pressed into a tight line.

“Handle this. Take her to the police station.”

“Yes, ma’am.” One of the bodyguards nodded in agreement and led the struggling woman out the door.

“Sister… why did you come here so suddenly?”

Zhu Songning looked down at Shen Qingyu, who was still in her arms. She helped Shen Qingyu take off the soiled overcoat and draped her own jacket over the other woman’s shoulders.

“To take you back to the Shen family home,” Shen Qingyu said. “I’m taking you back for revenge.”

Revenge? What kind of revenge?

Zhu Songning followed Shen Qingyu into the car in a state of confusion. The Ferrari roared to life, driving all the way back to the Shen family’s ancestral estate.

A member of the Shen family staff opened the passenger door for Zhu Songning. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Xu Zhe and her mother standing at the entrance, with Lu Conghuan following close behind Xu Zhe.

She and Shen Qingyu had run right into the three of them.

Soon after, Shen Qingmu appeared, supporting the elderly Matriarch of the Shen family as they walked down. Old Madame Shen’s cloudy yet shrewd eyes landed on both parties before she spoke slowly:

“Since you’re all here, why stand at the door? Everyone, come inside.”

Xu’s mother bowed her head and replied, “Yes.”

Shen Qingyu, however, didn’t say a word. She led Zhu Songning directly past them, entering the Shen residence first—projecting an air of utter disdain.

Benefiting from Shen Qingyu’s presence, Zhu Songning followed closely behind her. As she passed Xu Zhe and Lu Conghuan, she provocatively raised a single eyebrow at them.

“You…!”

Xu Zhe started to say something, her finger already pointing out, but her mother quickly grabbed her hand and pressed it down.

“Restrain yourself! This is not the Xu house!” her mother warned in a low voice.

Once inside the drawing room, Old Madame Shen took the seat of honor. Shen Qingyu sat on the sofa to her left, with Zhu Songning beside her.

Xu Zhe and her group entered but did not sit down immediately. Instead, they stated their purpose first.

“Old Madame, I brought Zhe-zhe here today primarily to apologize to Sister Qingyu.”

Xu’s mother belonged to a collateral branch of the Shen family. In terms of seniority, she was of the same generation as Shen Qingyu—which meant Shen Qingyu was effectively of the same generation as Xu Zhe’s aunts.

Xu Zhe’s arm was sharply twisted by her mother, forcing her to reluctantly turn toward Shen Qingyu. She looked terrified of Shen Qingyu, yet she also harbored resentment toward Zhu Songning. These conflicting emotions resulted in a stiff, blunt sentence:

“Auntie, I’m sorry.”

“Auntie?”

Shen Qingyu set down the teacup she was holding. It hit the glass tabletop with a crisp clink.

“You aren’t a member of the Shen family. What kind of ‘relatives’ are we supposed to be?”

Her words were sharp. Even the Old Madame in the head seat turned her head to give Shen Qingyu a weighted look. At her age, Old Madame Shen spent her days chanting sutras and praying to Buddha; her greatest wish was for the household to be stable and harmonious. Shen Qingyu’s words had undoubtedly touched a nerve.

The Buddhist prayer beads she was thumbing paused for a moment, and she coughed twice as a warning.

“Old Madame, please don’t be angry. Sister Qingyu is just still upset and speaking impulsively,” Xu’s mother said. She had earned the Old Madame’s favor among the many collateral relatives specifically because she was better than others at reading the room.

Having said that, she pushed Xu Zhe and Lu Conghuan forward. “Quickly, give your Auntie a proper apology. Pour the tea.”

Xu Zhe picked up the teacup Shen Qingyu had placed on the table, filled it seven-tenths full, and held it out with both hands.

“Auntie, please have some tea.”

Shen Qingyu normally despised these archaic customs, but Old Madame Shen was old-fashioned and conservative, forcing those who wanted to curry favor with her to follow suit. To an outsider, it might seem as though the Shen family was still living in an era of feudal etiquette.

Shen Qingyu made no move to take the cup.

The weight of the porcelain and the tea began to strain Xu Zhe’s hands, and fine beads of sweat formed on her forehead. After a long silence, Shen Qingyu finally spoke:

“I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong person to apologize to.”

“The person you two owe an apology to isn’t me—it’s Zhu Songning.”

Zhu Songning had been sitting beside her enjoying the show, but being suddenly called out felt like a student being caught slacking off by the headmaster. She immediately sat up straight, her palms covering the sunflower seed shells she had been snacking on.

Shen Qingyu looked at Xu Zhe and Lu Conghuan with a mocking expression. She curved her fingers and tapped twice on the armrest. Xu Zhe’s body jerked in sync with the tapping sound.

“What? She is my wife. If you call me ‘Auntie,’ then she is also your elder.”

“Did the Xu family never teach you how to greet your elders when you see them?”

————————!!————————

Ningning (Straightening her back) (Straightening her clothes) (Clearing her throat twice) (Looking on with disdain) (Laughing at the sky): “Hahahaha! My wife has come to back me up! (Glances around the room) Oh my, don’t tell me there are still people here who don’t have a sweet, darling wife?”

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