After the Agreement, the Aloof Movie Queen is Chasing Me All Over the Internet - Chapter 12

Question: My ex-girlfriend is kissing someone else in my dream.

After finishing her day’s schedule, Shen Qing set off for Hong Kong.

She traveled in an understated vehicle, driving through a private entrance at a famous Hong Kong hospital. Led by a nurse, she entered a quiet room.

“Mother.” Shen Qing stopped by the hospital bed, looking down at the woman resting there.

Her mother, Jiang Yunjian, looked up at the sound. She gave a pointed look to two women dressed in formal black standing by the door; once they departed, she spoke without looking away from her task. “Sit.”

Though Jiang Yunjian was gravely ill and had been bedridden for years, her manner of reading the newspaper remained sophisticated and precise. She stared out at the night view beyond the window, her pale face set in a solemn, dignified mask that showed no trace of the disease ravaging her body.

Even toward her own daughter, Jiang Yunjian maintained the air of a superior, waiting with a cold expression for Shen Qing to obey her command.

Shen Qing pulled a chair back half a foot and sat by the bed.

Jiang Yunjian flipped a page, her voice flat and emotionless. “How have things been lately? Are there any film crews you’re interested in for the second half of the year?”

“Everything is fine. I plan to work with Director Chen. Once the investors and the director finish casting, we’ll officially start production.”

Shen Qing washed her hands and took an apple from the fruit basket, picking up a paring knife. Her long fingers pressed against the tip of the blade; with a gentle turn of her slightly damp hand, the peel curled away from the fruit in one continuous strip.

“Director Chen is a decent collaborator, but the script’s theme is inappropriate,” Jiang Yunjian said. “The character arc doesn’t suit you. It doesn’t fit your current public image.”

“And what do you think is suitable?” Shen Qing cut the apple into pieces and placed them on a plate. She slowly wiped the moisture from the silver blade with a handkerchief.

Her tone wasn’t heavy, and her voice was cool, yet it felt like standing at the edge of an abyss. She didn’t argue about the script; instead, she steered the conversation elsewhere.

The room was filled with the sharp scent of disinfectant. The emptiness amplified the silence and the suffocating pressure.

“Following the rules,” Jiang Yunjian stated. “Following the life plan, I laid out for you, for Shen Qing. That is what is suitable.”

The fruit knife made a sharp clack as it was set on the table, echoing in the cold air.

Shen Qing stood up, placing the fruit plate on the bedside table with one hand. “Since it was a plan made for me, did it also require suppressing irrelevant people? Is that how it works?”

Jiang Yunjian glanced at the fruit, pausing. It was as if she had expected this. She turned her head back to look out the window. “I will never tolerate my daughter associating with low-class people. If you won’t listen to me, I have my own ways of punishing those people.”

“As you say.”

Shen Qing lowered her eyes. Listening to her mother’s oppressive words, she began a calm narration. “Suppressing a newcomer who has nothing. Deliberately encouraging the most predatory people to ostracize and hurt her. Even specifically bringing in the industry’s most unsettled ‘philanthropists’ to try and ruin her virtue… This is what you consider a ‘classy’ way to punish someone”

“Shut up!”

The elegance finally shattered on Jiang Yunjian’s face, replaced by fury. The veins in her neck bulged against her withered skin. “I am your biological mother! I am the mistress of the Shen family! I will not allow you to be so insolent!”

Likely due to the sudden surge of anger, she broke into a fit of coughing, clutching her chest as she gasped for air.

She had admitted it. She admitted to crossing Shen Qing’s bottom line, over and over again.

Shen Qing let out a cold laugh that didn’t reach her lips. She poured a cup of warm water and held it out. When Jiang Yunjian refused to take it, Shen Qing set it down next to the fruit plate. She watched her mother, motionless, and said softly, “I know.”

“You know?” Jiang Yunjian coughed, yet she remained seated upright, her head held high. “Shen Qing, if you truly ‘know,’ then walk the path I have paved for you.” Her gaunt face was heavy with an undeniable authority. “My blood flows in your veins. I have raised you since you were a child. In the end, you and I are the same. If you don’t listen to me, how good do you think your life will be? How much do you think you can actually achieve?”

“Or do you think” Jiang Yunjian’s words were calculated to wound. “That turning back now means you aren’t hurting her anymore?”

Hurt? Who started this cycle of hurt?

Shen Qing’s expression remained unchanged. She used a cloth to wipe a stray water droplet from the table, folded the dirty rag, and adjusted her sleeves.

“Mother, you seem very confident that you hold something over me. But I should tell you…”

As Jiang Yunjian’s coughing subsided, Shen Qing walked slowly toward the bed under her mother’s intense gaze. She leaned down, gripping the handles of the bed frame, which trembled slightly under her strength.

She met Jiang Yunjian’s eyes directly and whispered like a ghost, “Setting a trap to kill my father and seizing the entire family estate… I truly cannot do that.”

“But as for the rest” Shen Qing leaned in closer. “I can do it.”

Visiting hours were over. Shen Qing’s phone rang. she slowly released the bed handles and left the room under her mother’s icy stare.

“Goodnight, Mother,” Shen Qing said.

The door closed with a dull thud a sound that felt like a psychological threat.

**

By November, the temperature had dropped significantly. The night wind carried a damp chill. While not as freezing as mid-winter, the cold was beginning to bite.

The city center remained as bustling as ever. Media crews had already set up their equipment outside the Baoli Gala, their long lenses aimed straight at the entrance.

Shen Qing was in the Baoli VIP lounge making final adjustments.

“Remember? Walk ten steps to the red carpet. When the media catches the lens, show off the watch and the rings first. Slow your pace for another twenty steps to the signing area to show the earrings. Finally, during the interview, turn just so—the camera will focus perfectly on this necklace.”

“Remember! You must showcase this necklace properly. The brand manager was very insistent about it.”

Jing Ping listed the instructions until she was dizzy herself, eventually pulling up a chair next to Shen Qing. “I hope the feedback this time isn’t just ‘we only looked at your face.’ Otherwise, next time they’ll make you wear something even bigger and heavier. It tires me out just looking at it.”

“Mm,” Shen Qing replied, sitting quietly with her eyes downcast.

Sensing something was off, Jing Ping moved her chair closer, peering at Shen Qing’s neck with feigned shock. “Qing! Your necklace is crooked.”

“It’s not,” Shen Qing said calmly. “The main pendant is centered exactly below my throat. The styling aligns with the main axis, and there’s no lateral shift.”

“Oh, so you are awake.” Jing Ping dropped the dramatics and leaned back. “I thought you’d fallen asleep, you seemed so distracted.”

“Agent Jing has a sharp eye,” Shen Qing’s voice lifted slightly as she faced the mirror. “To see ‘distracted’ in addition to ‘asleep’ or ‘awake’.”

Jing Ping slapped her knee and chuckled. “Of course! I’ve been working with you almost as long as you’ve been in the industry. Think I can’t see what’s on your mind?”

Shen Qing tilted her head, looking at Jing Ping with eyes like deep pools reflecting the sapphire’s glow. A faint smile touched her lips. “Is that so?”

“No,” Jing Ping corrected herself instantly. “I forgot you were a child star, Shen Qing. If our partnership lasted as long as your career, we wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“Then where would we be? Touring Hengdian in wheelchairs?”

“A nursing home,” Shen Qing said, taking a sip of warm water.

Jing Ping rolled her eyes. “Can you not say things like that with a face like yours? Every time I want to snap at you, looking at your face makes my attack power drop!”

Shen Qing smiled but didn’t speak.

“Honestly,” Jing Ping sighed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “I miss our Zhizhi. Beautiful, sweet-voiced, and kind-hearted. Every time she saw me, she’d sweetly call me ‘Sister Jing’.”

Jing Ping stole a glance at Shen Qing and continued her lament. “Sigh, I wonder if our Zhizhi will be bullied by the media today. Will she be cold? Will people make things difficult for her? A certain ‘young lady’ who clearly still has feelings doesn’t even seem to care. It’s so lonely watching the red carpet on this tablet by myself.”

Taking the opportunity, Jing Ping held out the tablet showing the live red carpet feed, skillfully giving Shen Qing an opening. “Well? Want to take a look?”

“They’re together,” Shen Qing said softly. She didn’t look up, nor did she turn toward Jing Ping.

“Huh?”

“They? Who? Du Yaozhi and Zhou Yue?” It took Jing Ping a moment to process. She bolted upright, her mouth agape. “What do you mean ‘together’? When did this happen? How do I not know about this?”

“Is it not obvious?” Shen Qing looked down at the ripples in her water cup. “She wouldn’t just live with anyone. Judging by her state back then, they’ve likely been living together for a long time.”

As her manager, Jing Ping felt a pang of worry. She knew how draining it would be for Shen Qing to face the media in this state of mind. She dropped the act and leaned forward, her tone turning serious. “Alright, I know you’ve got a lot on your mind. You’ve been on edge since you got back from the hospital. If the string is too tight, it’ll snap and ruin your performance. Besides, what you’re thinking might not even be true.”

Shen Qing squeezed the disposable cup, remaining silent.

“Here, try this. It’s a ‘folk remedy’ popular within the team” Jing Ping unlocked her phone and handed it over. “It’s called ‘Emotion Displacement’.”

Shen Qing took it skeptically. It looked like a standard Q&A platform. “What’s special about this?”

“It’s like magic. Every time you ask something, a little robot patiently answers. You can even find people asking the exact same questions. It’s much smarter than other platforms.”

Seeing Shen Qing holding the phone without moving, Jing Ping continued her pitch with conviction. “Whenever I tell it about a nightmare, it always takes my side and comforts me. The things it says are so soothing.”

“Plus, after posting, you’ll see so many people having the same dreams. Sharing the resonance helps bleed off the pressure. Try asking it something.”

Shen Qing’s long fingers began to tap the screen as if she were playing a piano. Jing Ping sat close but couldn’t see what she was typing.

[Question: My ex-girlfriend is kissing someone else in my dream.]

Shen Qing sent it as a simple statement.

A polite little robot popped up: [Dear user, I currently do not have a specific function to answer this question. I suggest you visit the Community Forum. Based on the keywords “Dream,” “Ex-girlfriend,” and “Kiss,” I have found similar threads and expert advice for you. Hope this helps]

Shen Qing was unmoved and about to close the chat when the screen automatically jumped to another interface.

[User: What do I do?! I dreamt I was kissing my ex!! Waiting online! It’s urgent!]

[Top Expert Tip: Kiss her back! Let her know who the real master of the dream is!]

Shen Qing noticed a tag on the screen: “Viewed recently.”

With a completely impassive face, she deleted the history and handed the phone back to Jing Ping. “It’s useless,” she said coldly. “Delete it.”

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