After the Agreement, the Aloof Movie Queen is Chasing Me All Over the Internet - Chapter 44

“How is the filming on your end? How far have they progressed?”

Jing Ping returned after clearing the set, walking with a brisk stride and naturally resting an arm on Gong Lin’s shoulder.

“They’ve progressed to pulse-reading now,” Gong Lin replied, looking down at the camera monitor.

Jing Ping’s eyebrows knitted into a knot. “How can they be pulse-reading on a date? What, did they fall for Traditional Chinese Medicine halfway through falling in love??”

Gong Lin didn’t bother explaining; she simply tilted the screen toward her. “See for yourself.”

Jing Ping: “It really does look like that.”

She couldn’t understand the “kink” these two had, acting all clingy and sweet in their actions while bickering with their words. Let’s see if they still bicker when it’s time to film the kiss scene later!

“How did the talk go with the restaurant?” Gong Lin asked.

“Mentioned a name, followed the protocol.” Jing Ping’s tone was breezy, as if she were talking about the weather. “The other party was very savvy. Clearing the area, signing non-disclosure agreements, obtaining exclusive filming rights, all done in one go.”

That was indeed smooth. As long as they cooperated once, they could trade it for the implicit promotion associated with the name “Shen Qing.” No businessman would turn down such an opportunity.

Sometimes, Gong Lin felt this kind of exploitation was cruel. In the game of capital and interests, a celebrity’s name was maliciously trademarked and forced into commercialization. Like a bird in a cage, the more valuable they were, the less freedom they had.

The name “Shen Qing” carried an irresistible, sky-high price tag, but how much did it take away in return? Gong Lin rubbed her brow; she was thinking too far ahead. This was the industry standard for stars. She had more pressing matters to handle and no time for idle worrying.

“Keep a close eye on things. I have enough footage. I have something to deal with downstairs first; I’ll wait for you at the usual spot.” Gong Lin packed up her equipment.

“Sure thing.” Jing Ping replied, then raised a brow with a teasing yet serious tone: “What’s the rush? Do you want Sister to give you a hand?”

“Are you worrying about Yaozhi’s future fashion resources? Sister has a wide network in that area. From top-tier magazine shoots to high-end luxury brand assessments, I can pull some strings and pave the way for you.” Jing Ping hooked an arm around her neck, her knuckles nearly brushing Gong Lin’s cheek.

“Not at all.” Gong Lin took a step back with a blank expression, brushing away the restless hand. “I just feel like some details for Yaozhi’s fan meeting haven’t been nailed down.”

The fan meeting was only a few days away. The tighter the schedule, the more Gong Lin felt there were loopholes left unaddressed. The wire in her heart was pulled taut.

“Ah, a professional hazard.” Jing Ping understood that all too well; in this industry, there wasn’t a day without something to worry about. “But our Yaozhi is quite low-maintenance. You should see a certain woman named Shen Qing.”

Jing Ping began to pour out her grievances. “Ever since that day she soaked in cold water on set, Shen Qing has been interrogating me every day! Asking me if her cooking is good. She’s my boss—could I say it’s bad? I showered her with praise! As a result, she ‘repaid’ me by having me test her poison every single day. It was so bad I wanted to cry, but couldn’t. Thankfully, Shen Qing finally figured it out and learned to make sponge cakes. Those are actually decent.”

Gong Lin felt like she had heard of this before. One night after that incident, Du Yaozhi had uncharacteristically swapped her sharp, mature leather coat for a… fluffy jacket before returning to her room? Du Yaozhi had kept saying she was “possessed by a temptress” and told Gong Lin never to remember it. In fact, Gong Lin would never forget that shocking contrast for as long as she lived.

Gong Lin still had work to do and couldn’t chat. “Alright. I need to do one last check on the movement lines and emergency plans with the security head. The wires and equipment for Yaozhi’s sword dance segment must be foolproof.”

“Okay. You get to work; I’ll find you in a bit.” Jing Ping also planned to wrap up and gave her a smile.

Gong Lin nodded and left first. She chose not to take the conspicuous glass elevator, instead ducking into a relatively quiet stairwell to clear her thoughts before making a call. Just as she was about to dial, a familiar, shrill female voice drifted from around the corner of the stairs, echoing clearly.

Gong Lin froze and immediately hid behind a wall. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

“That dead old woman! I don’t think she ever planned on helping me, did she?? Who knows what she’s plotting! When things went south, she didn’t even show up to back me up, leaving me to suffer for so long.”

It was Xu Wanxin and Qin Qian.

Xu Wanxin’s voice echoed in the empty stairwell. There wasn’t much anger in it, only a cold sense of being offended. “I see now that she’s just using me as a pawn while she hides in the back to reap the benefits. When trouble hits, she washes her hands of it!”

“And seeing Du Yaozhi acting all smug over there is a real eyesore.” Xu Wanxin nearly ground her teeth to pieces. “A few days ago, I specifically bribed someone on her set to spread fake news and arranged for people to make a scene… Instead, she used Shen Qing to put on another good show. She’s certainly got skills.”

Qin Qian hurriedly tried to coax her. “No matter how much Du Yaozhi hypes herself up, her rank is still behind yours. Besides, don’t you still have that CEO Li?”

Xu Wanxin let out a light, disdainful scoff. “Li Rongjin? Hilarious. What can a man actually accomplish? That waste of space is only good for being a stepping stone. If real trouble hits, I’ll be the first to push him out as a scapegoat! He couldn’t even suppress a nobody like Du Yaozhi, yet he has the nerve to boast in front of me.”

Gong Lin held her breath. Xu Wanxin was truly two-faced, fawning over people in person while plotting like this behind their backs. The voices were getting closer. She held her breath and moved with extreme caution, hiding deeper in the shadows.

“Miss is truly brilliant, looking out for herself first!”

Xu Wanxin loved being flattered. Her voice rose. “Oh, right, how is that matter I asked about coming along?”

Qin Qian: “Everything is arranged. Du Yaozhi is going to have a hard time soon. When the time comes, we’ll just wait and see how miserable she looks!”

Xu Wanxin gave a satisfied hum. “Don’t let me down.”

A brief silence followed, the air in the stairwell feeling stagnant. Then Qin Qian’s voice rose again, lower than before, yet amplified by the walls.

“But Miss, don’t you like Shen Qing? Will going against her cause?”

Xu Wanxin’s voice carried a slight echo. “Like her? Of course, I like her. After all, only the best and the most expensive is worthy of me. I’ve put in so much effort! Yet she actually goes and likes a lowly, flirtatious butterfly! It’s beneath her! And it’s an eyesore to me.”

Qin Qian: “Then Miss, what do you plan to do?”

Xu Wanxin let out a soft laugh that sounded particularly chilling in the empty space. She took two steps and spoke unhurriedly. “Since this butterfly keeps fluttering in front of me and being a nuisance.”

The footsteps stopped.

“Then I’ll just pull her wings off! Tear them to shreds! Once she falls from the sky and into the mud, I’ll see if Shen Qing’s eyes will keep looking at her!”

Her voice suddenly turned sharp, every word squeezed from between her teeth with cold malice, echoing against the walls as if she were whispering right behind one’s ear.

Gong Lin’s heart jolted. Her breath hitched, and she nearly made a sound. Just then, a warm hand reached out from behind, covering her mouth just before she could gasp, while another hand steadied her arm.

It was Jing Ping.

“Shh,” Jing Ping whispered into her ear, her sharp gaze scanning the stairs below.

They maintained this position for a long time until they were sure Xu Wanxin had taken the elevator and left. Only then did Jing Ping let go.

“They’re gone.”

Gong Lin immediately turned around, her voice low. “Why are you here?”

Jing Ping shook the coffee bag in her hand, her tone normal as if nothing had happened. “To find you, obviously. I saw you looking tired and rubbing your eyes, so I bought you a coffee. I even asked the server for some sea salt. How is it?”

Gong Lin was in no mood to wonder how Jing Ping knew her specific preference for sea salt in her coffee. She frowned, her expression grave. “This is no small matter.”

“I know. You haven’t seen much of it, but this kind of filth isn’t exactly new in this circle.” Jing Ping stuffed the warm coffee into Gong Lin’s hand. “Take it, warm your hands.”

Gong Lin took it reflexively, her fingertips turning white from the grip. The warm cup couldn’t dispel the chill in her heart. Her mind was filled with Xu Wanxin’s malicious plan to “pull the wings off.”

“Alright, beauty, what’s with the face?” Jing Ping patted her shoulder, smiling playfully. “Don’t look so miserable. Don’t you still have Sister here? Don’t tell Yaozhi yet; she needs to stay stable for the fan meeting. As for Xu Wanxin, I’ll have someone keep an eye on her.”

That afternoon, Shen Qing left for A-City early.

With Shen Qing gone from the set, Du Yaozhi felt uncharacteristically out of place. It felt strange to have no one bothering her; it was almost too quiet.

These past few days, the crew had been exceptionally attentive to Du Yaozhi, practically revolving around her. Du Yaozhi pretended not to know why, simply thanking them by buying rounds of hot milk tea. She knew in her heart that this unusual treatment had everything to do with Shen Qing. Even just a fleeting encounter with Shen Qing was enough to spark a wave of ambiguous whispers on set—as if everyone was “shipping” them.

There was a little stray black cat in the studio. When it was found, it was buried in the snow and nearly dead. Chen Yinqing immediately had someone save it and kept it on set temporarily, planning to send it to a stray cat shelter later.

As it happened, the production was missing a few shots of Wen Jinyue with a cat. They had planned to use CGI, but the black cat was very clever and frequently showed up to “show its face.” After a while, Director Chen made a decision and hired the cat as an actor.

The kitten was very well-behaved. Whenever it saw Du Yaozhi, it would run to her and rub its head against her calves.

When Zhou Yue called her, Du Yaozhi was teasing it with a small twig. Zhou Yue was excited, saying she had to come and pet the cat next time, and went on a tangent about cat trivia.

“Ancient people said black cats ward off evil! They said black corresponds to water and the Black Tortoise is a bane to evil spirits!”

Hearing this, Du Yaozhi straightened up with interest. “What about temptresses? Can they ward off temptresses?”

Zhou Yue was confused. “What’s wrong? Are you being haunted by a temptress? What kind?”

Once Du Yaozhi started, she couldn’t stop: “She loves acting weak, loves using little props, loves ‘fishing’ for me, loves chasing people, loves asking people to choke her… and she even touched my hand! Fine, she touched it, but then she actually wanted me to touch her back!”

It had caused Du Yaozhi’s dreams to become weird; she was uncontrollably thinking about bullying Shen Qing to give her what she deserved!

“Stop, stop, stop!” Zhou Yue’s confusion grew. “Why does this ‘temptress’ sound so much like Shen Qing???”

Du Yaozhi remained calm, her lashes lifting slightly. “You heard wrong.”

“Alright.” Zhou Yue didn’t think much of it, Shen Qing was Shen Qing. “Anyway, she’s not there today.”

True, Shen Qing wasn’t there today.

Du Yaozhi lowered her gaze, idly drawing a circle on the ground with the twig. The kitten tilted its head beside her. In the distance, the faint sounds of the crew testing equipment drifted over. Everything was as usual, but the absence of a specific figure made the bustle feel hollow.

Du Yaozhi crouched by the roadside, letting the thin winter sunlight hit her.

“You couldn’t possibly be missing her, could you?” Zhou Yue’s voice came unbidden from the other end of the line.

“Am I crazy? Why would I miss her?” Du Yaozhi scoffed. How could she?

She casually tossed the twig away. The dry branch flew from her hand and landed in a pile of weeds nearby, snapping in two. Silence followed.

Du Yaozhi said those words, but the moment the branch left her hand… she suddenly realized she really did miss Shen Qing. Even though she had thrown it away, her heart remained in place.

Why?

She’d much rather bully herself.

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