After the Agreement, the Aloof Movie Queen is Chasing Me All Over the Internet - Chapter 20

Shen Qing really hadn’t read that book.

When she pulled it out from the bookshelf, except for a slight gap in the first few pages, the rest of the thick pages were still pressed tightly together, looking brand new.

Her reason was: “The cover and the author’s message were too… brilliant. I didn’t dare look.”

Du Yaozhi felt a flicker of doubt. Had she really not read it, or was she just pretending? She felt as though something about Shen Qing had changed.

Shen Qing supported the base of the book, her thumb flicking open the edge of the cover as she re-wrapped the neatly cut packaging paper. As the cover fanned out, the words “Du Yaozhi” and “Remarry Me, My CP!” were suddenly exposed under the light.

 Du Yaozhi snatched the book from Shen Qing’s hands. With a sharp thwack, she snapped it shut and stuffed it into her bag.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a movement of Shen Qing’s snow-white wrist. A red string slipped inadvertently from the sleeve of her bathrobe.

Shen Qing remained expressionless, coolly tucking the red string back up.

If Du Yaozhi wanted to test her, she might as well show her directly.

“Wait.”

Du Yaozhi turned back alertly, stepped forward, and grabbed Shen Qing’s wrist. Once she saw the old item clearly, she blurted out, “Why are you still wearing this?”

I was so busy looking at her neck, I didn’t notice her wrist.

It was the “token of love” she had given Shen Qing. Shen Qing had never worn it while they were together; where on earth had she conjured it from now?

“Give this back to me too,” Du Yaozhi said.

“Give it back?” Shen Qing allowed her wrist to be held. The fleece of the bathrobe brushed against the inside of her arm, creating an itch that felt somewhat helpless. “You’ve asked for two gifts tonight.”

“Don’t tell me”

She rotated her wrist, her expression neutral as she turned the knot side upward. Her calm gaze locked onto Du Yaozhi. “Was this gift not meant for me either?”

With her dark hair and white clothes, the red string on Shen Qing’s wrist turned inch by inch against her skin. Aside from that frost-cold face, this physical form was practically like a temptress—the kind with a thousand years of cultivation.

Who on earth taught her to dress like that?

“You actually like a piece of old string?”

Du Yaozhi didn’t back down an inch. She tilted her chin up, speaking with grounded logic. “We are finished. Naturally, things meant to show affection should be returned to me.”

“Fine,” Shen Qing replied smoothly. “If we’re only talking about interests, then we’ll do a trade.”

“What do you want?”

“Stay here for the night.”

Stay here?

Using an old string she had probably forgotten about ages ago just to make Du Yaozhi spend a night in this house full of mocking memories? Is she joking?

“No way.” Du Yaozhi looked away decisively. “Do you think I’ll fall for your tricks again?”

She had fallen for them once before, ended up living together and becoming a secret lover.

“You’re free to refuse,” Shen Qing conceded instead.

Shen Qing’s elegant voice rose slightly as she looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the massive wall of rain. “However, I’ve seen the forecast. This rain… won’t stop until dawn.”

Du Yaozhi glanced outside. The rain was indeed heavy.

But Du Yaozhi wasn’t keen on sleeping with her ex-girlfriend. “Sorry, I’m a sensitive sleeper. We won’t be able to sleep together.”

“You take the master bedroom; I’ll take the guest room,” Shen Qing said flatly, having already anticipated her response.

It was so accommodating that Du Yaozhi became suspicious. This didn’t seem like Shen Qing at all.

Du Yaozhi let out a scoff, intentionally testing her. “Doesn’t Teacher Shen hate me? You were so cold when we shared a bed back then, yet now you’re letting me have the master bedroom? What’s the meaning of this?”

“It’s nothing. I’m leaving soon anyway,” Shen Qing said.

“Moving again?” Du Yaozhi couldn’t help but blink in surprise.

“Joining a film crew.”

Du Yaozhi counted the days. Shen Qing was indeed due to join a production. Back when she had been tipsy and called Shen Qing to ask if Xu Wanxin was the female lead, Shen Qing had said the other lead was still undecided.

Now that some time had passed, the lead should be settled.

“No other requirements?” Du Yaozhi asked again after a few seconds of silence, the suspicion in her eyes never quite fading.

“None.”

Shen Qing calmly poured herself a cup of tea.

She slid the red string off her fair wrist and placed it in the middle of the coffee table, quietly handing the power of choice over to Du Yaozhi.

What does this mean? Is it really that simple?

Could Shen Qing have put it on specifically to give her a reason to stay and avoid the rain?

Du Yaozhi looked at her, then decided she didn’t want to look anymore.

Given how heavy the rain was, Du Yaozhi wasn’t about to waste a good opportunity. She laced her fingers together and rested her head on them lazily. “Fine.”

Her phone screen lit up. She typed a line to Zhou Yue: Got it.

At the same time, a new contact sent her a message. After reading it, the corners of Du Yaozhi’s lips curled up slightly.

Shen Qing tilted her chin slightly toward the walk-in wardrobe and turned her attention back to her script. “Pyjamas are in the usual place. There are new ones; go change.”

Du Yaozhi nodded, clutching her phone as she stood up.

After changing and coming back out, Du Yaozhi looked at Shen Qing, who was focused on her script on the sofa. “Does the printer still have ink? I’d like to borrow it.”

“Yes,” Shen Qing replied. “What are you printing?”

“Script excerpts.”

Du Yaozhi forwarded the file Gong Lin had sent her to her own chat interface. She pulled open the printer tray to check the paper. “My new agent said if I can land this role, he’ll sign me.”

The practice of independent agents testing independent artists before signing them was common in their circle.

Without a company to lean on, agents had to be more cautious. Using one or two rare resources to test an artist was a sign of great sincerity.

Gong Lin had saved Du Yaozhi the trouble of a public CV submission, getting her straight onto the “internal recommendation” list. Du Yaozhi wasn’t about to waste the chance.

Especially since it was a script by Director Chen Yinqing.

“You’re going to an audition?” Shen Qing asked, her tone sounding strangely hesitant.

“Yes.”

Du Yaozhi started the machine and waited nearby.

While it printed, she leaned against the edge of the desk, one leg slightly bent to trace a long, slender line. She tilted her head back lazily, staring at the warm light overhead to kill time.

Her thick, long curls draped over her shoulders, still carrying the faint, lingering scent of rose shampoo.

She sensed someone’s gaze on her.

“What?” Du Yaozhi’s eyes flicked over, meeting the other’s gaze head-on. “Has Teacher Shen been staring at me because she’s never seen me in pyjamas before?”

Shen Qing pulled her gaze away and refocused on the script. “I just think it’s quite a coincidence.”

Coincidence?

Shen Qing said she was already joining a production; there was no way she was going to the same audition.

Her ex-girlfriend really talked a lot of nonsense.

The hum of the printer stopped.

Du Yaozhi didn’t bother responding. She picked up the thin, still-warm pages of the audition script and sat down opposite Shen Qing. She used a claw clip to bunch up her long curls.

The red string lay between her and Shen Qing like a contract, tightly binding their love, their past, their confrontations, and their contradictions together.

Du Yaozhi pulled a pen from the holder, straightened her back, and began to read the script closely.

It was an Xianxia drama. It told the story of the Heavenly Goddess Jun Luo, who was harmed by a fallen traitor-god during her mortal trials and accidentally travelled back three thousand years to the eve of the great Immortal-Demon War.

Losing her memory and homeless, she was taken in as a closed-door disciple by the Demon Lord Wen Jinyue, the very person who would later destroy her clan and frame her—because of her pitiful, delicate appearance.

Through their daily lives together, Jun Luo fell in love with her master, Wen Jinyue. However, through conflicts, friction, and pain, she gradually regained her memories. After accidentally wounding Wen Jinyue, a thousand-year-old misunderstanding was finally unveiled.

It turned out that the “mortal trials” were actually a vicious tool used by the “Order-Keepers” to maintain their status, exploit women, and monopolize power. Wen Jinyue had known the truth all along and had borne the pain of reincarnation alone. After Jun Luo left, she eventually vanished within the distorted flow of time.

Jun Luo finally achieved self-awakening amidst the agony of conflicting memories, regret, and the betrayal of her bloodline. She joined forces with other women, like the spirit-demon Lian Lan, to destroy the dark system that had lasted for millennia.

In doing so, her spiritual veins were heavily damaged, and she fell from grace, wandering through time solely to find a trace of Wen Jinyue again.

It was a moving story about resisting within a complex, imperfect system of human nature, breaking chains together, and gaining new life.

One could see Director Chen Yinqing’s profound skill just from the script selection. The world-building was massive, and the story revolved around two female protagonists, requiring high-level visual language and dialogue delivery.

Gong Lin believed in Du Yaozhi’s potential and had found two difficult roles for her to choose from: the second female lead, Wen Jinyue, and the third female lead, Lian Lan.

There were fewer competitors for the third lead, and the image was gentler and more vibrant a good fit for Du Yaozhi’s soft, beautiful features. It was a “safe” role.

The character was likable and easy to control on camera. As long as she followed the director’s lead, it wouldn’t hurt her reputation. It could even help soften her “sharp” and “diva-like” image. Gong Lin had strongly recommended she go for this one.

But Du Yaozhi preferred Wen Jinyue. She had felt a resonance with the character the moment she saw it.

She wasn’t just a one-dimensional image of thorns, bitterness, and control.

Her character arc was seductive yet desolate. Wen Jinyue saw everyone’s pain clearly but chose to keep the secrets in her own way, hiding the pain in her heart while presenting lies and charm to the world.

Furthermore, the character was challenging. To Du Yaozhi, a challenge represented a possibility. Even if it was thorny, she was willing to take a bite.

However given how much she was currently at the centre of public controversy, it would be hard to win this role. If even the third lead had “trust fund starlets” trying to buy their way in, what about the second lead?

Top-tier projects rarely revealed their leads early to prevent auditionees from using underhanded tactics; Director Chen Yinqing was especially strict about this.

Gong Lin could only send her a list of “potential female leads” for her to look at, suggesting she see if she had “CP chemistry” with them. If not, she should stick to the safer third lead.

Shen Qing’s name wasn’t on the list.

Du Yaozhi flipped through the pages. They were all top seniors in the industry. After finishing, her heart sank slightly, and she shook her head silently.

It was a long shot.

After hesitating for a long time, she cast a lingering look at Wen Jinyue’s script before spreading out the third lead’s materials to study them carefully.

“I’m going upstairs. The guest room still needs tidying. If you can’t get used to the master bedroom, you can come find me next door.”

Du Yaozhi didn’t look up, busy reading.

Shen Qing checked the time. Before heading up the stairs, she looked back at Du Yaozhi. “Rest early. Do your best.”

“What, will you be testing me then?”

Du Yaozhi said nonchalantly, letting out a tired yawn. The claw clip held her beautiful hair loosely.

She rubbed her temples and refocused on the script, marking every small detail that needed attention.

Unconsciously, instinctively, she had made the things Shen Qing taught her years ago a habit.

Shen Qing watched her from a distance on the stairs. She slowly pulled her bathrobe tighter and said in a voice Du Yaozhi couldn’t hear: “Perhaps.”

Perhaps… I’ll personally be the one testing you.

Shen Qing opened her phone and silently turned a page of the electronic novel.

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