After Marrying My Arch-Rival - Chapter 1

Looking forward to your performance tonight.

“I said this just yesterday! To get her hands on that secret martial arts manual, this young sect master can cold-bloodedly murder her only living kin. She comes bearing birthday congratulations, but stabs them in the back the moment their head is turned. Blood relatives mean nothing to her compared to absolute power and martial supremacy!”

The woman perched on the folding chair sat with her legs crossed. Her dyed-gold hair caught the light, gleaming brighter than the sun itself. Her voice carried with piercing clarity, and her pale amber eyes narrowed, shooting daggers at her target.

“Her tears are crocodile tears…nothing behind them but hypocrisy and bitter resentment. Regret is just a surface disguise; hatred and malicious thrill are what drive her deep down. Two tears are more than enough to put on a show. The manual is all she cares about!”

Her voice was as cold as a sharp blade, yet her words flared with fierce fury, like water dropped into hot oil—crackling and sizzling across the entire filming set.

The dozens of crew members froze like quails cowering under a sudden thunderclap. The actor who had been called out bowed her head submissively, trotting over to take her scolding under the discreetly sympathetic gazes of the rest of the crew.

Sitting nearby, the camera operator couldn’t help but click her tongue in silent awe. In her eyes, this newcomer playing the second female lead was already a remarkably expressive actor, and her emotional beats had felt completely fluid. On any other set, that take would have been a wrap long ago. But in the eyes of Xu Mengzhou, the resident genius director, it was riddled with flaws.

Still, a perfectionist director was a blessing for the project. The camera operator didn’t dare intercede; she simply re-adjusted her camera angle and prepared for the next take.

The actress got into position and delivered her two lines in the hushed quiet of the set. The improvement was obvious. Staring intently at the monitor, Xu Mengzhou’s gaze softened slightly, and she offered a subtle nod of approval.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out near the entrance.

Another audio track ruined.

“I’ve said it a hundred times…no interruptions during filming!” Xu Mengzhou slammed her way up from her chair like an erupting volcano. The crew nearby immediately shrank back, quickly parting to clear a path.

Clutching her rolled-up script like a baseball bat, she marched toward the entrance with aggressive strides. But she had only taken a few steps before a figure stepped into her line of sight.

Xu Mengzhou skidded to a halt and cursed under her breath.

Her again?

“Ah! It’s Ruan Li!”

“I can’t believe Ruan Li came to visit the set in person!”

Gasping fan-like squeals drew a wave of attention. The moment they spotted her, nearly half the crew seemed to lose control, instantly swarming over to follow her every move.

In a flash, the chaotic crowd buzzed like bees surrounding their queen, calling out her name at varying pitches in hopes of catching a single glance or reply.

The woman at the center of the crowd smiled warmly. Clearly used to such scenes, she unhurriedly instructed her assistant to distribute the catered lunch boxes she had brought along. When someone asked for a photo, she obliged without a hint of celebrity pretense; when asked a question, she answered patiently, offering a soft smile for anything she couldn’t disclose.

The breeze played gently with the tips of her hair, and even the bright white sunlight seemed to soften, haloing behind her head in a gentle blur. It bathed her silky strands in translucent light and made her porcelain skin glow…looking for all the world like a merciful, gentle Bodhisattva.

“Hypocrite,” Xu Mengzhou sneered under her breath, rolling her eyes without holding back.

When she looked back up, her eyes locked right onto Ruan Li’s from across the room. Xu Mengzhou promptly rolled her eyes a second time…deliberately exaggerating the movement in slow motion to ensure Ruan Li could see it crystal clear from a hundred meters away.

Ruan Li saw it, of course. Crystal clear.

People working in the entertainment industry were quick on their feet. Once everyone received their lunch boxes, they tactfully dispersed.

Like the parting of the Red Sea, Ruan Li walked straight across the set toward the director’s monitor.

The steady clack-clack of her high heels measured out an unhurried, rhythmic pace.

Xu Mengzhou sank back into her chair, crossing her legs with the pointed tips of her leather shoes kicked high, as if trying to puncture the air. “Well, well. President Ruan’s grand arrival truly graces my humble little studio with light.”

Ruan Li merely smiled. Her dark, shiny eyes held the soft glint of clear moonlight…tender and luminous as it washed over her rival. “Mother wants us to drop by tonight to discuss the ancestral worship ritual.”

Her voice sounded like water trickling over smooth stones…an elegant tone perfectly suited for reading Sonnets. Yet in Xu Mengzhou’s ears, it sounded no different than a mosquito buzzing in the dead of night.

She wasn’t about to be fooled by this venomous spider’s gentle facade.

Hearing about the ancestral worship, Xu Mengzhou’s brows knitted together, her furrow deepening even further than before. “Is it absolutely necessary?”

Ruan Li nodded gently. “We just got married. Custom dictates we return.”

Xu Mengzhou clicked her tongue. Thinking of her mother’s endless nagging, she swallowed back her objections.

Meanwhile, Ruan Li retrieved her phone and took two steps forward, her plain white skirt trailing over the ground like pure snow. “Take a picture?”

Xu Mengzhou said nothing. She simply uncrossed her legs and sat up slightly straighter to cooperate.

Seeing this, the other woman let a smile curl her lips. She stepped behind the chair, her cascading black hair brushing past Xu Mengzhou’s shoulders as she leaned in. A faint, cool scent…reminiscent of delicate herbal tea…instantly drifted into Xu Mengzhou’s senses.

For a brief second, Xu Mengzhou spaced out, subconsciously leaning slightly toward her.

The cool strands of hair brushed against her neck, snapping her back to reality. She flinched away so abruptly that her momentum nearly sent her tumbling off her chair.

Stumbling to catch her balance, a flash of flustered embarrassment washed over Xu Mengzhou. She planted her leg to steady the tilting chair, raising her voice to strike first: “What do you think you’re doing?!”

Ruan Li let out another low chuckle, like ice cracking on a quiet pond. Tilting her head, her thick, long eyelashes cast a soft shadow under the intersecting light.

“What’s with you? It’s just a photo…what are you dodging for?”

She lightly tapped her own temple with a finger. The unsaid accusation was loud and clear: Have you lost your mind?

The nerve! She was calling her brainless in round-about ways!

Xu Mengzhou raised an eyebrow and shot back with sharp sarcasm, “Take the photo if you’re taking it, but why get so close? Anyone would think you’re harboring a secret crush on me.”

“On you?”

Just two words. Tossed out as lightly as floating willow catkins, yet they instantly decimated Xu Mengzhou, who had just thought she’d scored a point.

She slapped the armrest of her chair, on the verge of exploding, when she suddenly remembered where they were. Dozens of eyes were watching them openly or covertly. If rumors leaked that the director and the primary investor were at odds…

This drama was her absolute passion project.

Her butt, which had lifted a few centimeters off the seat, sank right back down. Xu Mengzhou took a deep, heavy breath and forced a smile through gritted teeth. “You sure talk a lot. Hurry up and snap it—don’t waste my working time.”

“If you hadn’t kept interrupting, we’d have been done already.” Ruan Li leaned close once more. The screen reflected her smiling, fair-skinned face, flawless as jade.

A thin red cord rested delicately around her neck, holding a small jade pendant carved with the character for Fortune, catching a soft glint of light.

It was impossibly simple yet striking…like a red plum blossom blooming in snow.

Beside her, the caramel-skinned director pulled her lips into an awkward, rigid curve…resembling a toddler’s scribbled drawing. Her whole body leaned hard to the side, as if she weren’t standing next to a stunning beauty, but a dangerous wild beast.

A pale, slender finger tapped the shutter button. Click. The moment was frozen in time.

“Eight o’clock tonight. See you at the intersection.”

The silk skirt brushed against her calves like drifting mist, swaying softly with Ruan Li’s graceful steps.

She had arrived amidst waves of excited welcomes, and she departed amidst enthusiastic farewells…looking less like a businesswoman and more like an adored superstar.

And an exceptionally approachable one, at that.

“A snake in disguise like her… only an idiot would fall for that ‘nice person’ act…”

Xu Mengzhou scoffed softly. Turning her head, she noticed a few takeout boxes sitting on the small side table. The brand logo printed on them was intimately familiar: Tingzhu Pavilion, her absolute favorite Sichuan restaurant.

Did this devil change her spots today?

It was a genuine surprise.

She picked up one box and opened the lid, falling into instant silence. She opened the second box, and her silence doubled. Reaching out to flip open the third box, Xu Mengzhou stared in utter disbelief.

Diced chicken with chili peppers… without chili peppers.

Spicy rabbit… without chili peppers.

Boiled fish in spicy oil… without chili peppers.

Is she insane?!

Sichuan cuisine without spice…what was the point of eating it?!

She glanced over at the rest of the crew’s meals. Everyone else’s food was covered in a rich, vibrant layer of red oil and peppers that instantly worked up an appetite. Hers alone was laughably bland, devoid of even a speck of red.

She was so angry she laughed out loud.

Has this woman’s mental age regressed to primary school?!

Even though she managed to swap meals with her assistant, the petty annoyance of not getting her revenge stayed lodged right in her chest, heavy and uncomfortable like a lump of dry cake.

Rarely for her, Xu Mengzhou didn’t drag the crew through late-night shoots. The moment evening hit, she wrapped up the day and slid into the back seat of her car with a dark face.

Her assistant, Little Yang, was already well-accustomed to her moods. Turning the steering wheel, she asked, “Boss, what time should I pick you up tomorrow?”

Whenever her boss stayed at her family home, an early morning shoot was completely out of the question. Xu Mengzhou rubbed her temples and let out a heavy sigh. “Around nine or ten. I’ll text you then. Have Assistant Director Li handle the morning scenes…shoot the Shiumen Pass sequence first.”

“Got it, noted,” Little Yang replied.

In the rearview mirror, the usually fiery director had slouched deep into her seat, her striking golden hair limp and drooping like a frost-bitten eggplant.

The mere thought of heading home to listen to her mother’s nagging made Xu Mengzhou’s ears throb. Remembering that she had to pretend to be in a loving relationship with Ruan Li made her entire body ache.

Yet no matter how reluctant she was, the car eventually pulled up at the corner intersection leading to the villa district. Not far off, a sleek silver sedan was parked by the curb…there was no telling how long it had been waiting.

Both car doors opened simultaneously.

Xu Mengzhou stepped out with her long legs, her gaze sweeping over.

Inside the silver car, the woman dressed in a soft white dress unhurriedly removed her reading glasses, set aside her magazine, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The red cord at her neck stood out starkly against the white dress…striking as a lone red plum blooming in a blanket of snow.

“Zhouzhou, I’ve been waiting for you forever.”

Her voice sounded like clear water over jade, spilling out a gentle, moonlit warmth.

Reading financial magazines in the car… Xu Mengzhou let out a soft sound of disgust in her mind.

What a poser.

The back seat had already been cleared for her. She slid straight in and pulled the door shut behind her.

They sat in the same row, barely a foot apart. Xu Mengzhou kept her head down, tapping away on her phone while slumping sideways, leaving Ruan Li with nothing but half of her back.

“Why aren’t you talking to me, Zhouzhou? Are we not head-over-heels in love?”

The speaker had deliberately softened her tone. The simple sentence sounded as if it had rolled through a bed of roses, dripping with lush fragrance and playful charm.

Xu Mengzhou shot her a side-eye. “That trick doesn’t work on me anymore. Try a new one next time.”

“Alright then. I look forward to your performance tonight.” Ruan Li rested her chin on her hand, her dark eyes sparkling like polished glass, a subtle smile playing on her lips. “Just don’t be like last time…nearly jumping out of your skin and knocking the table over just because I passed you some food.”

Xu Mengzhou’s response was a massive roll of her eyes.

Thanks to Ruan Li, her eye-rolling technique was refined enough to break a world record.

The car glided into the neighborhood, arriving at their destination within a few minutes. Xu Mengzhou was the first to step out, turning to march toward the house, but a soft cough behind her made her pause.

She turned around. Ruan Li raised her arm expectantly.

Pretend to be in love… pretend to be in love…

Xu Mengzhou closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and begrudgingly dragged herself back, her soles practically scraping grooves into the driveway.

Who on earth invented linked arms anyway?!

The soft, smooth fabric brushed against her skin as their forearms intertwined. How was this any different from being coiled by a giant python?!

Xu Mengzhou pushed the door open, forcing a stiff smile onto her face to meet her mother’s touched, delighted gaze.

The moment this ancestral worship is over, I am booking an off-site shoot. Anyone else can live this life, but I am out.

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