After the Agreement, the Aloof Movie Queen is Chasing Me All Over the Internet - Chapter 40

“In your dreams.” Du Yaozhi was left speechless, quickly releasing Shen Qing’s slender wrist.

Shen Qing certainly had a vivid imagination.

Du Yaozhi stretched her arms and dragged over a new chair, sitting silently beside Shen Qing to rest. The streetlights stretched their shadows long and far until they bled into the darkening sky. The wild grass swayed, and the night road ahead felt endless, stretching into a horizon out of sight.

Does fate actually have a destination?

Sometimes Du Yaozhi wondered about things like that—those hollow, pretentious, artistic questions.

She hunched over, leaning her upper body heavily against her knees, burying her face in her arms out of sheer exhaustion. Her fringe fell forward, curling slightly in the breeze.

At her feet lay a mountain of clutter: battered prop boxes, imitation jade pendants with chipped paint, a mess of porcelain, handkerchiefs, and dried makeup palettes that had fallen from their cases. When her toe accidentally brushed against a box, the sound it made felt like a muffled cry, buried under the weight of it all.

Du Yaozhi sat huddled there, feeling as though she too were buried and overlooked.

This fate of being ignored had been written since the day she was born. Born in a small town to divorced parents and with zero connections, she had stumbled onto the path of acting and signed with a bottom-tier agency that dealt in “yin-yang” tax-evasion contracts.

If it weren’t for Shen Qing, no one would even know who Du Yaozhi was.

Because of this, throughout their years together, Du Yaozhi was constantly fighting an internal sense of inequality. In her most humble moments, she had tried to please Shen Qing, but “pleasing people” didn’t suit her. So, she had cut ties, walked away, and fled far.

Until they met again. From the tangle of love and hate to their current stolen moments on set, Du Yaozhi seemed to have found a new way to coexist with Shen Qing.

For instance, Du Yaozhi stole a glance at her.

Shen Qing’s gaze drifted down from above with its usual cool clarity—like thin snow falling from a mountain, shrouding Du Yaozhi as if observing her state of mind.

Du Yaozhi didn’t back down. She straightened her back, lifted her chin, and sat up to match Shen Qing’s height, refusing to lose out on momentum.

“Is it really alright? Staying here with me.”

After brooding for a while, Du Yaozhi rested her face in her hand and tossed out a question. “Your call sheet for tomorrow is quite early, isn’t it?”

Shen Qing didn’t answer immediately. She withdrew her gaze, the moonlight settling in her cool eyes, making her emotions impossible to read. Her pen traced a line of dialogue in the script before she spoke coldly.

“It’s fine. We aren’t filming a kiss scene.”

Du Yaozhi’s relaxed nerves snapped taut instantly. She reached out in annoyance and shoved Shen Qing’s shoulder. “You—can you be serious for once?!”

“I am being serious.” Shen Qing swayed slightly from the shove, but her tone remained steady. “A certain lady is prone to visiting me late at night, using ‘rehearsing a kiss scene’ as an excuse to break into my room. I need to be prepared.”

Du Yaozhi:

“Shut up!”

The corners of Shen Qing’s thin lips curled into a faint, silent smile.

Du Yaozhi propped up her chin, her eyes landing on the small sponge cake in front of her. The faint scent of pastry drifted through the air, teasing her taste buds.

She was tired and hungry, but she didn’t reach for it. Shen Qing didn’t move to take it away either, staying focused on her script.

If I don’t take it, won’t it just be a nuisance for the crew tomorrow? Du Yaozhi thought, glancing at Shen Qing and struggling with herself for a moment.

“Is this really for me?” Du Yaozhi asked hesitantly.

“Mhm.” Shen Qing’s eyes stayed on the script; she didn’t even blink. “I don’t eat sweets.”

What a perfect excuse. Du Yaozhi couldn’t find a single flaw in it.

Shen Qing truly never ate sweets. Every time Du Yaozhi had brought home cakes from the film sets, Du Yaozhi always ended up eating them all herself. Shen Qing would simply stand by and pour her water, fearing she might choke.

But why did Shen Qing just leave it there so carelessly? Right in front of her, as if she were certain Du Yaozhi would take it?

Du Yaozhi felt like she was being baited. But losing face over a sponge cake felt pathetic, especially since it was Shen Qing’s bait.

She gripped her sleeves, her fingertips sinking into the soft fabric. Fine, I’ll take it. It shouldn’t go to waste.

She cupped the cake in both hands, feeling the napkin underneath, and took a deep breath. She hadn’t figured out how to thank Shen Qing yet—not for the set visit, nor for today. She found it incredibly awkward to speak from the heart.

After all, Du Yaozhi was only gentle with those close to her. For those who had hurt her, she had only one attitude: either get revenge or prepare for it. Opening up was never part of the plan.

But what about Shen Qing?

The cold air caught in her throat, and she coughed into her hand. The white mist of her breath drifted under the streetlights, vanishing in an instant. Watching that heat dissipate into the night, Du Yaozhi suddenly realised she couldn’t find the right way to face Shen Qing.

She was stuck in a crack, unable to hate her completely, yet unable to love her openly.

Shen Qing was always the exception. Every time they were together, Du Yaozhi felt like she was standing on a cliff in a heavy fog, uncertain and trapped. Their shoulders were close, yet they maintained a distance that felt slightly detached.

But if Shen Qing took one more step—if she moved just a bit closer, Du Yaozhi didn’t dare guess what would happen. Would her heart flutter so much that she’d fall off the cliff into the abyss?

She instinctively tightened her grip on her soft coat, her fingers curling and uncurling as if trying to steady the chaos in her mind. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, her movements intentionally slow and casual, a mask for her inner turmoil.

Besides, Shen Qing is so reserved and high-born; she’d never lower herself to initiate anything.

Thinking this way made Du Yaozhi feel much more at ease. She tapped her cheek playfully and decided to start a conversation.

She turned to her. “When did you learn sword dancing? Was it for a previous role?”

“I was forced to learn as a child,” Shen Qing replied calmly.

A smile tugged at Du Yaozhi’s lips. “You were forced to learn things too? I thought we were different.”

Shen Qing’s voice was steady. “My sister told me that if I didn’t learn well, no girl would like me when I grew up. I couldn’t win the argument, so I swore to her I would master it.”

Du Yaozhi asked, “And if you hadn’t?”

She’s learned some bad habits now, though! Either she’s enticing people, seducing them, or baiting them.

Shen Qing took a sip of warm water and set the cup down. “Then I would have just made a new vow.”

Hahaha!

Du Yaozhi rarely saw this side of Shen Qing—her dry sense of humor. She covered her mouth with one hand, stifling her laughter.

“That’s actually quite funny.”

In the cold, people subconsciously lean toward their companions to share body heat. Du Yaozhi nudged closer to Shen Qing, briefly letting her guard down. She took a breath and returned to her usual self.

“How come I never heard you mention a sister before?”

Shen Qing never talked about her family. Even when they were dating and huddled under the covers—when Du Yaozhi would burrow into her arms and nuzzle her neck—Shen Qing would share anecdotes from filming but remained tight-lipped about her family, her past, and her upbringing.

Shen Qing remained silent, her gaze drifting toward the distance. Remote branches were weighed down by snow, forming blurred silhouettes in the night. Shen Qing lowered her eyes, withdrawing her gaze.

Seeing her silence, Du Yaozhi’s breath hitched.

Oh, so you didn’t introduce your family when we were dating, but now that we’re a fake couple, you do? What’s that supposed to mean? Some new kind of roleplay?

Du Yaozhi shrugged it off, swinging her legs. “It seems there’s a real generation gap between Teacher Shen and her ex-girlfriend. To be together for so many years and not even know basic family details… I suppose she wasn’t valued much at all, was she?”

In their region, the custom was that if you truly loved someone, you told them about your family and where you grew up early on. That way, if you ever met the parents, they wouldn’t be caught off guard.

In the end, Shen Qing still hadn’t told her anything.

Shen Qing stared at her profile for a long time, pondering the words “not valued.” Finally, her lashes flickered.

“If you want to know… if there is an opportunity in the future, I will introduce you personally,” Shen Qing said, looking down.

After intense exercise, once the body calms down, the evaporation of sweat can lead to a sudden chill. A gust of night wind blew past, and the hair on the back of Du Yaozhi’s neck stood up. She instinctively buried herself deeper into her plush coat and took a bite of the sponge cake.

It was soft, made from steamed pumpkin puree and sprinkled with osmanthus flowers. The texture was delicate with an appetizing floral note, not oily or sugary, but very pleasant.

So tasty. Definitely not made by a certain someone. Du Yaozhi mocked Shen Qing internally while holding the cake.

Seeing Du Yaozhi swallow the last bite, Shen Qing withdrew her gaze. “Is there anything else you want to ask or say?”

“If not, we should head back.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Du Yaozhi crumpled the napkin into a ball and stuffed it in her pocket. She swept a nonchalant glance over Shen Qing. “But surely Teacher Shen has something to say to me?”

Shen Qing thought for a moment. “Such as?”

So dense. Had she learned nothing from those dramatic novels? Shen Qing was such a slow learner—or was all her energy spent on seducing her? She wouldn’t even talk about what happened back then—

A flash of complex emotion crossed Du Yaozhi’s eyes, but she quickly raised an eyebrow, returning to her mocking persona. Perhaps Shen Qing didn’t have a “secret reason” for cold-shouldering her back then; maybe she just felt like doing it. Or maybe she just saw Du Yaozhi as a canary and tossed her a breakup fee when she got bored.

Du Yaozhi would never allow herself to bow to an ex.

She huffed, lazily crossing her left leg over her right. “For example… asking me why I’m practicing so desperately.”

Shen Qing closed her script and rested it on her lap. “Why are you practicing so desperately?”

Du Yaozhi lowered her head and took a deep breath, her voice muffled. “I expect the investors will try to ‘put me in my place’.”

“Put you… in your place?”

Shen Qing’s cool brows twitched slightly as if she were carefully parsing the meaning of those words. She seemed genuinely puzzled.

“Are you saying you’re afraid the investors will pressure you or cut your scenes to suppress you? So you want to take the initiative and reveal the sword dance at the fan meeting first to protect the scene?”

Shen Qing listened to every word, patiently analysing Du Yaozhi’s thoughts.

“Yes. So I can’t leave yet. You understand, right?” Du Yaozhi said. “I can’t just sit and wait for death. I don’t have a ‘backstage’ supporter. If something happens, it’s only natural they’d come for me first to make an example.”

She didn’t care for flowery, artistic questions, but Du Yaozhi intended to keep her fate in her own hands. Even if she lost, she wanted to have lived this life with flesh and blood.

Du Yaozhi spoke with conviction, but Shen Qing heard an underlying trace of stubbornness.

“They won’t,” Shen Qing said decisively after a pause.

They won’t? How can she be so sure?

Seeing Shen Qing answer without a second thought, Du Yaozhi felt a spark of suspicion. Was this another trap?

“Oh? Is Teacher Shen that certain?”

Du Yaozhi lightly draped an arm over Shen Qing’s shoulder, her fingers brushing against her hair almost imperceptibly. “Or is it—”

“Teacher Shen just wants to coax me?”

Du Yaozhi’s fingertips carried a lingering warmth like a feather as they brushed against Shen Qing’s cool earlobe, kneading the soft skin with just a hint of pressure. She watched with satisfaction as the lines of Shen Qing’s neck tensed. Then, she continued her “drama queen” act, flirting openly.

Provoking Shen Qing had become second nature to her. Who told Shen Qing to keep baiting and fooling her?

Now that Du Yaozhi had the chance, she planned to seduce Shen Qing first, and once she was hooked, Du Yaozhi would nonchalantly pull her hand away, grab her bag, and walk out without looking back. A perfect “revenge.”

She wanted Shen Qing to taste the bitterness of being toyed with. She wanted to annoy her, make her heartbroken and tearful!

“Coax?”

Shen Qing’s gaze flicked briefly toward the arm draped over her. Her expression remained calm. “Who is coaxing whom?”

“What, are you angry?”

Du Yaozhi played with a stray lock of hair near Shen Qing’s cheek, arching an eyebrow. “I’m only coaxing you because I’m afraid I’ll annoy you to death and leave you heartbroken and crying.”

The corners of Shen Qing’s lips curved into a shallow smile. Her calm eyes deepened like a pool of water rippling after a stone had been tossed in.

“Du Yaozhi.”

“Are you sure you want to ‘coax’ me like this?”

Shen Qing was giving Du Yaozhi one more chance.

Du Yaozhi didn’t care. She wound a strand of black hair around her index finger. “Then why are you so certain? Why won’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

“Fine,” Shen Qing said.

“Du Yaozhi, what is our relationship?” The same question, the same tone.

Shen Qing was staring directly into her eyes.

Du Yaozhi shrugged; she’d answered this before. “What else could it be?”

Ex-girlfriend? Fake couple? None of those seemed to bother Shen Qing.

“Is it the kind of relationship where you are pursuing me?” Du Yaozhi added provocatively, looking at Shen Qing with a mock-intimate gaze to get a rise out of her.

“Mhm.”

What did “Mhm” mean? Was she admitting it?

“Are you serious?!” Du Yaozhi’s breath hitched. She could feel her heart racing, pounding so hard her ears burned.

“You’ve noticed?”

As Du Yaozhi’s mind raced, Shen Qing spoke unhurriedly. Her voice came from right beside her ear, clear and certain. “So, next time.”

“You can prioritize my existence.”

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