After the Agreement, the Aloof Movie Queen is Chasing Me All Over the Internet - Chapter 7

Du Yaozhi’s thumb hovered over the call interface. When the phone vibrated with a low hum, she hesitated for three full seconds.

It was her. It was her voice, one that Du Yaozhi knew all too well, even after a year.

“What is it?”

Shen Qing’s surroundings were quiet, devoid of any background noise. Her crisp voice took over the receiver, so clear that Yaozhi could hear the faint sound of her breathing.

Du Yaozhi hadn’t actually considered the possibility that Shen Qing would answer. Because she had the phone on speaker, everyone in the room heard it perfectly.

Zhou Yue was stunned, her eyes wide, not daring to make a sound.

Xu Wanxin was also startled, falling uncharacteristically silent.

It was as if everyone present knew that this question was directed specifically at Du Yaozhi a calm, steady inquiry that belonged only to her.

Bloody hell.

Du Yaozhi actually thought she detected a hint of a “girlfriend checking in” vibe in Shen Qing’s tone.

You don’t pick up early, you don’t pick up late, why pick up now? To cause me trouble?

We’re broken up.

Du Yaozhi had been drinking, leaving her feeling a bit hazy just like last time, but the memory of Shen Qing’s possessive, lustful posture from their previous encounter sent a sudden wave of heat through her elbows.

When we were dating, you wouldn’t pick up. Now we’re broken up, you do? We had great sex while together, and you won’t let me go even after?

Du Yaozhi wanted nothing more than to disgust Shen Qing. She intentionally pitched her voice higher, affecting a flirtatious tone. “Oh, so you still remember me?”

Her eyes curved into a smile, but her voice was like a well-mannered thorn. “I thought Teacher Shen wouldn’t be taking my calls anymore.”

Zhou Yue could tell Du Yaozhi was trying to provoke Shen Qing, but in Xu Wanxin’s eyes, it looked like something else entirely.

On the other end of the line, Shen Qing paused. Not even the sound of breathing came through; it was excessively quiet.

“Is that so?” After a moment, Shen Qing actually let out a soft laugh. “Are you doing this on purpose?”

“Of course.” The voice over the phone sounded slightly distorted. Du Yaozhi lifted the phone to her ear, a smirk playing on her lips. “It’s so late. What are you doing?”

“On my way back,” Shen Qing replied.

She was actually answering seriously.

Du Yaozhi frowned, refusing to back down. “A friend of mine told me your new project has finalized its leading lady. Congratulations are in order, I suppose.”

“That’s fake,” Shen Qing clarified directly.

As if sensing her response was too cold, Shen Qing added patiently, “The director shortlisted a few candidates but didn’t find them suitable. We’re still in the negotiation phase; it’s far from being finalized.”

She seemed to be shifting her seat. The soft rustle of fabric sounded finer than silk—likely the thin gauze near her neck, which made her voice sound even more refined and elegant.

“Oh, I see.” Du Yaozhi’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

She leaned her back against the wall, head tilted slightly, her posture relaxed and effortless. “Then I must have heard wrong. Someone told me I should start getting used to ‘carrying the shoes’ for your leading lady. I guess that won’t be necessary now.”

“Du Yaozhi!” Xu Wanxin was fuming, her eyelids twitching with rage so hard her eyeliner disappeared into the folds of her skin.

She looked frantic and disheveled, yet she was forced to lower her voice. “What the hell are you talking about?!”

The moment the call actually connected and she saw the name “Shen Qing,” Xu Wanxin had initially felt a flash of disdain. But when Shen Qing’s actual voice came through, her face turned pale, then flushed with embarrassment.

The very Shen Qing she had racked her brain to network with—the one she sent holiday greetings to just to curry favor, was just… picking up a call from a literal “nobody” like Du Yaozhi for no reason?

They even had each other’s personal contact info?

What kind of dirty tricks is this bitch using?!

Xu Wanxin gritted her teeth, suddenly switching to a tearful act, trying to paint herself as the victim. “We’re supposed to be sisters, and yet you belittle me like this! You… you…”

Tears were practically welling up in her eyes, her voice thick with a sob.

Du Yaozhi, naturally, wasn’t going to give her the stage to perform.

“Be a good girl, Miss Xu. Be quiet.” Du Yaozhi’s reply was polite and gentle. She pressed her index finger to her lips, as if giving a command to a rowdy dog.

On Shen Qing’s end, the background noise was messy, and she could faintly hear the angry voice of another woman.

Shen Qing remained unfazed and signaled Jing Ping to give her the phone.

“Who is speaking to you?” Shen Qing asked.

Du Yaozhi took her time, preparing to deal with both of them. “The eldest daughter of the Huasheng family, surname Xu. She likes you quite a bit; she even took a photo with your billboard today.”

“What do you think, Teacher Shen? Are you interested? Want me to introduce you?”

Shen Qing said nothing.

“Hmm? Silence means you’re interested?” Du Yaozhi flipped her phone over, cradling it in her palm and fingers, then raised an eyebrow at Xu Wanxin. “Miss Xu, care to say a few words?”

Xu Wanxin was livid. Damn you, Du Yaozhi!

She had just casually “introduced” her to Shen Qing, the very person she dreamed of talking to—in such a humiliating way.

How did Du Yaozhi have the nerve to be so smug? Was she insane?

She was someone sinking in the mud! She was inferior in every way, currently being dragged through the mud by the entire internet.

Clearly, the whole world was against her, so why was Shen Qing?

Xu Wanxin’s pride wouldn’t allow her to bow to an artist at the bottom of the food chain. Even her assistant was frantically tugging at her, whispering for her to stop.

Xu Wanxin apologized to the phone, “I’m sorry, Teacher Shen. It’s late, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Du Yaozhi smirked. “So sorry to disturb you, Teacher Shen.”

“You’re not disturbing me,” Shen Qing replied, to Du Yaozhi.

The assistant was pulling Xu Wanxin away, so Xu Wanxin lifted her chin, her voice barely a whisper through gritted teeth: “Du Yaozhi! Just you wait.”

Shen Qing will acknowledge me sooner or later. I don’t need you. Who knows what disgusting methods you used behind the scenes!

Xu Wanxin turned to leave, but she clearly underestimated Du Yaozhi’s ability to annoy people to death.

“My friend is a bit shy, let me pass on the message for her.” Du Yaozhi watched Xu Wanxin’s retreating back with a beaming smile. She suddenly remembered something and spoke clearly enough for the other woman to hear: “Teacher Shen, Happy Holiday.”

“You!”

Xu Wanxin’s eyes bulged. She whipped her head back, glaring at her with a stiff neck.

“I’m still here,” Du Yaozhi said, watching as Xu Wanxin finally scurried away.

Once the woman had vanished, Du Yaozhi’s tone leveled out. She turned to Zhou Yue. “Alright. Let’s head out too.”

Zhou Yue was frowning at her WeChat messages, looking overwhelmed. “Yaozhi… I’m so clumsy! I’m so sorry, I forgot the crew’s shift schedule changed! Sister Lin finished her shift this morning and can’t give us a ride!”

“It’s fine, we’ll just call a cab. Just wrap up well.” Du Yaozhi scanned the QR code to settle the bill, pulled two masks out of her coat pocket, handed one to Zhou Yue, and put on her sunglasses to hide her face.

Du Yaozhi was just about to hang up the phone.

But Shen Qing spoke. “Send me your location.”

Du Yaozhi froze. Surely she didn’t want her address. She probably wanted the rival’s address. So, Du Yaozhi calmly sent the current location. Immediately after, she saw the “Why?” message Shen Qing had sent a year ago.

“Miss Xu hasn’t been gone long. If Teacher Shen wants to catch up, you’d better hurry,” Du Yaozhi advised “helpfully.”

“I have no interest in her,” Shen Qing said flatly.

Du Yaozhi scoffed, clearly not taking the statement to heart. Instead, she joked, “Then Teacher Shen is here to pursue me?”

“Yes,” Shen Qing said.

Du Yaozhi: “?”

Pursue her?

“Du Yaozhi.”

Shen Qing called her name. Her steady tone dropped a few notches, sounding almost like a sigh.

However, the words that followed were so suggestive they were hard to parse.

Shen Qing: “Today is October 14th. It’s Blue Valentine’s Day, and also the first anniversary of our breakup.”

“Which holiday did you want to wish me a happy one for?”

**

Zhou Yue’s first-time riding in a luxury business van left an indelible impression on her.

With two “Great Buddhas” sitting in the front left and front right, she felt like an actress being scolded by a director after repeated failed takes, huddling in the back seat like a frightened quail.

The silence inside the black van was eerie. The auras of Du Yaozhi and Shen Qing were completely different.

Shen Qing had just returned from a Lunaris launch event. In top-tier circles, Lunaris represented unquestionable taste and status, and their selection process for spokespeople was notoriously rigorous.

Yet, Lunaris had chosen Shen Qing almost instantly, appointing her as their sole global ambassador without even a trial period.

She possessed immense commercial value and perfectly matched the Lunaris brand image: cold, intelligent, elegant, and independently serene.

After the after-party, her team had swapped her extravagant haute couture gown for a white silk private outfit, though her hair and makeup remained.

The moon-white silk draped from her shoulders in a straight silhouette, and the off-the-shoulder design accentuated Shen Qing’s slender neckline.

The cut was minimalist, but in the night, her exposed skin seemed to catch the faint glow of the moonlight.

Shen Qing managed to make a simple private outfit look holier-than-thou and breathtakingly beautiful.

But what caught Du Yaozhi’s attention the most was the beauty mark Shen Qing had added.

It was just below the outer corner of her right eye, less than half a finger’s width from her lashes. When Shen Qing looked up, it vanished into the shadow of her eye socket a very specific, very special placement.

It was identical to Du Yaozhi’s own.

Was such a sensitive placement a specific design by a makeup artist? Or—

Shen Qing’s gaze lifted. Being a skilled actress, Du Yaozhi naturally closed her eyes for a split second and shifted her pupils away.

The atmosphere was stifling.

Zhou Yue stared at Shen Qing’s seat and then at Du Yaozhi’s awkward gaze. It felt like she was staring at two brick walls; she hit a dead end whichever way she looked.

She wished she could shrink into nothingness, reduce her presence to zero, and simply vanish.

But after a while, Zhou Yue found it funny. She couldn’t take it anymore and began typing furiously on her phone.

The screen lit up. Du Yaozhi finally had an excuse to look away from the boring scenery outside the window and look down.

[Zhou Yue: Aaaaaahhh Yaozhi, I don’t know if I should say this.]

Du Yaozhi typed two words back.

[Say it.]

[Zhou Yue: Do you know what you two look like right now?]

[Zhou Yue: Like a little couple having a fight and drinking ice water a total cold war.]

Better not to have said it.

Du Yaozhi did feel bad for dragging Zhou Yue into her mess with Shen Qing and making her so uncomfortable. For the sake of their friendship, Du Yaozhi thought about opening her mouth to explain.

It definitely wasn’t because of Shen Qing.

Who wants to wish Shen Qing a Happy Valentine’s Day?? In your dreams.

Du Yaozhi scoffed mentally. She spent ages trying to find the right words, but she couldn’t think of anything to say to an ex-girlfriend that wasn’t full of sarcasm or resentment.

Before she could think of anything, Shen Qing spoke first.

Shen Qing tilted her shoulder, her face partially turned toward her. “So, did you make that call because you ran into trouble?”

“Yeah,” Du Yaozhi said vaguely, looking out the window. “Not too much trouble.”

Du Yaozhi had been trained by Shen Qing herself; she was very decisive in handling matters.

“Resolved?”

“Resolved.”

Shen Qing nodded, her gaze returning to the road ahead. The moonlight fell on her dark hair, making her look cold and noble, as if they were discussing a trivial matter.

After a brief silence in the cabin, Shen Qing’s voice rose again. “Next time something like this happens, you can call Jing Ping directly.”

“It’s not convenient for my phone to be used constantly. There are times when I can’t answer your calls.”

Du Yaozhi grew annoyed at that. Her gaze flickered briefly over Shen Qing, the rustle of her coat audible as she shifted. “Is that so?”

She leaned back slightly, asking with a cold laugh, “Then what about before?”

“Before… was it not convenient to take my calls then, either?”

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