After Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Cold Film Queen - Chapter 65

Xu Zhe’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

She had always looked down on Zhu Songning, whether it was when they were fighting over Lu Conghuan or during their time on Youth Trainee 2.

From the moment she was born, she was the daughter of the Xu family, and her mother hailed from the Shen family—the most prestigious clan in North City. A princess born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she had always had the world at her feet. Rarely had she suffered two consecutive losses at the hands of someone from such an ordinary background.

Not only was the Center position she had felt certain of stolen from her, but her reputation had been dragged through the mud, leaving her in a position where her family had to send her abroad just so she could flee in disgrace.

All of this was because of Zhu Songning.

Xu Zhe could never figure out how Zhu Songning had managed it—until a few days ago, when the news of Zhu Songning being with Shen Qingyu was exposed.

It must be because she has a giant tree like Shen Qingyu backing her up!

And now, Shen Qingyu was actually forcing her to bow her head and apologize to Zhu Songning.

Based on what?

Her thoughts were written all over her face; it was impossible for Zhu Songning to miss them.

As the atmosphere reached a stalemate, Lu Conghuan, who was standing beside Xu Zhe, took the initiative to break the silence: “Zhu Songning, don’t take things too far.”

She was taking things too far?

Zhu Songning found it hilarious.

Back then, Lu Conghuan was the one who cheated first to climb onto the high branch that was Xu Zhe. How did she have the nerve to bite back now and accuse her of going too far?

She heard Lu Conghuan continue: “I know you’re unhappy that I’m with her, but if you’re angry, you can take it out on me. There’s no need to take it out on her.”

As she spoke, she wrapped an arm around Xu Zhe’s shoulder, assuming a protective stance.

The corners of Shen Qingyu’s mouth dipped further, her dark eyes landing coldly on Lu Conghuan.

Under that gaze, Lu Conghuan broke into a cold sweat, feeling an inexplicably powerful sense of oppression washing over her.

“So, you’re the girlfriend Xu Zhe found?” Shen Qingyu’s laughter was icy. “Xu Zhe, it seems your taste isn’t particularly good either.”

Zhu Songning felt that while Shen Qingyu was talking about Xu Zhe, she was actually taking a jab at her, too. Consequently, she silently tucked the melon seed shells in her palm even tighter.

“Since that’s the case…”

Shen Qingyu leaned back. The hand that had been resting at her side suddenly reached out to grasp Zhu Songning’s hand, locking their fingers together in a clear display of sovereignty.

“Both of you—address her together.”

Address… her?

Zhu Songning was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

Seeing that they refused to speak, Shen Qingyu continued to apply pressure.

“Don’t you love telling people I’m your aunt? I heard you introduce yourself that way quite often in the industry.”

“Why are you silent now?”

Everyone knew that Shen Qingyu loathed those who used her name to show off outside; even Zhu Songning couldn’t help but break into a sweat for her.

Seeing the situation turn sour, Mother Xu quickly shot Xu Zhe another warning look. While her gaze toward Xu Zhe still held some consideration for her own daughter, by the time her eyes swept over to Lu Conghuan, her severity was unconcealed, filled with disdain and obvious dissatisfaction.

Realizing that her departure abroad required the Shen family’s assistance, Xu Zhe gritted her teeth. She lowered her head toward Zhu Songning and bowed.

“Auntie, I’m sorry.”

However, the voice sounded as if it were being squeezed through the gaps in her teeth. Zhu Songning felt that she didn’t want to apologize—if a knife were placed in front of her, she’d probably have held it straight to Zhu Songning’s throat.

Zhu Songning shrank into Shen Qingyu’s embrace like a large dog.

“Sister, her tone is so scary,” the Alpha whispered, rubbing her head against the crook of Shen Qingyu’s neck in an intimate gesture. “I’m so frightened.”

“Zhu Songning, don’t push your luck!” Xu Zhe was so enraged by those words that she snapped upright.

Shen Qingyu simply raised an eyebrow at her, and Xu Zhe immediately lowered her head again.

Xu Zhe took a deep breath and adopted the best attitude she had ever used in her life, performing a ninety-degree bow: “I’m sorry. I apologize for the harm I caused you in the past.”

Since Xu Zhe’s attitude had yielded, Lu Conghuan no longer had the capital to remain stubborn.

She had no choice but to follow in Xu Zhe’s footsteps, her expression humiliated: “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry to whom?” Shen Qingyu asked calmly.

Lu Conghuan felt utterly mortified. Her voice faltered several times before she managed to utter the full phrase: “…Auntie.”

After saying it, it was as if her strength had been instantly drained; she nearly collapsed to the floor.

Zhu Songning felt completely refreshed by those two greetings; her posture even straightened a bit.

Is this what it feels like to have an older sister backing you up?

She loved it.

The Xu family did not stay long. They even declined Old Lady Shen’s invitation to stay for dinner, leaving as quickly as a gust of wind.

Seeing them depart, Shen Qingyu also stood up, prepared to take Zhu Songning away.

“Aren’t you staying for a family reunion dinner before you go?” Old Lady Shen’s cane thudded against the floor.

Shen Qingyu didn’t even look back. “It’s not a holiday or a festival today, what ‘reunion dinner’ is there to eat?”

She only paused to pat Shen Qingmu on the shoulder as they passed: “I’ll treat you to a meal when I have time.”

Zhu Songning poked her head out from behind her: “Sister Qingmu, thank you!”

Shen Qingmu gave them a small wave of goodbye.

After getting into Shen Qingyu’s car, Zhu Songning was still savoring the events at the Shen house, the smug expression on her face impossible to hide.

“Are you that happy?” From the corner of her eye, Shen Qingyu noticed her “little Ning triumphant” look and asked coolly, “Is seeing your ex-girlfriend really worth being this happy about?”

Zhu Songning: “Huh?”

“No, Sister, she’s just my mission target! You know that, right?”

Zhu Songning hadn’t expected to be hit with such a “jealousy bomb” while just sitting in the car.

“In my heart, there has only ever been you, Sister!”

Shen Qingyu gave a cold snort, and it was unclear whether she believed her or not.

“Then…” Zhu Songning suddenly remembered Xu Zhe’s situation. “Will the Shen family help arrange things for her abroad?”

“The Old Lady probably will. She’ll find a foreign university to dump her in for a few years so she can muddle through and bring back a diploma.”

Shen Qingyu’s hands were on the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

“Ah—” Zhu Songning was halfway through a disappointed sigh when she heard Shen Qingyu speak again.

“But I’ve already sent a letter to that school in advance, informing the administration of everything she’s done.”

Zhu Songning: “!”

She actually did that!

Shen Qingyu was a bit too wicked! Why hadn’t she thought of a method like that?!

For the rest of the drive, Zhu Songning stopped reminiscing about today’s “highlight reel” and instead began to imagine Xu Zhe’s future life. As she thought about it, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

What a bright and glorious future indeed.

The car eventually pulled into an underground garage. When Zhu Songning got out, she realized she had never been to this place before.

Is this another one of Shen Qingyu’s properties?

Remembering the number of digits she had accidentally seen in Shen Qingyu’s bank balance last time, her heart felt a slight pang of “wealth-gap” shock.

“This is Yuelan.”

Zhu Songning remembered.

It was the villa district very close to Yuanhe Entertainment. Last time, the package she had signed for on Shen Qingyu’s behalf had been sent from here.

It was also here that Shen Qingyu had lived for three whole years.

Watching her for three years.

Zhu Songning hadn’t expected Shen Qingyu to bring her here. She thought Shen Qingyu wouldn’t want to mention this part of the past.

Following in Shen Qingyu’s footsteps, she entered the bedroom. Through the window, she saw the street she had walked past nearly every day for the last three years. From this vantage point, the path she usually took was perfectly visible, with nothing obstructing the view.

It was clearly an excellent location, meticulously selected.

Zhu Songning glanced casually at the desk and noticed two slips of paper sitting there.

One was the note she had left for Shen Qingyu when she first “married” her and snuck off to participate in the survival show. The handwriting was all too familiar.

“I suddenly received notice that I have to go participate in a talent show. I’m so sorry! See you after filming ends~ From: Zhu Songning.”

After her name was a simple sketch of a “bunny-dog” winking at her. However, it was different from her original version. At the bottom, Shen Qingyu had “graded” it with a red pen, writing two large words: “NOTED.”

The other was a character sketch of Shen Qingyu that she had secretly drawn on a piece of scratch paper while brainstorming for a stage performance. She hadn’t been able to find the drawing afterward; it turned out Shen Qingyu had taken it.

Shen Qingyu noticed her gaze lingering on the two papers.

She commented, “The drawing is quite good. Did you study art?”

Zhu Songning nodded.

“In my original world, I was always afraid I’d forget what you looked like, so I went to learn drawing.”

“Whenever I felt like I was starting to forget, I’d draw a portrait to deepen the memory.”

She hadn’t expected that after being brought to this new world by the system, her past memories would be blurred, and she still failed to remember her face. Otherwise, perhaps she would have recognized her the moment they first met.

Shen Qingyu gave a soft “Mm.”

Her emotions were hard to read, but Zhu Songning sensed that her mood seemed a bit low.

Was it because of… the time they had missed out on together?

After learning the truth, Zhu Songning had felt regretful for a long time herself. But later, she slowly came to terms with it. Even across different times and spaces, neither of them had ever given up on their promise or stopped searching for the other.

They had overcome ten thousand obstacles.

“Sister, do you have paints here?” Zhu Songning suddenly had a whim.

Shen Qingyu blinked. “I think so.”

“I think I bought some body painting oils before for special effects makeup…”

She rummaged around for a bit and indeed found the paints in a cabinet. The colors were quite complete; since she rarely did that kind of makeup and had only been interested in it for a brief period, the paints had been tucked away on a high shelf.

“But I don’t think I have professional drawing paper…” She frowned, thinking for a moment.

“—It doesn’t matter.”

Zhu Songning’s gaze fell on the palette of paints. She had genuinely wanted to draw a picture to coax her sister and make her feel better. But since there was no paper…

“If I can’t draw a picture for Sister, drawing on Sister is the same thing.”

She picked up the brush and began to carefully clean her tools.

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