After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 18

From that day on, Huo Qingzhuo’s attitude toward Shen Junfu changed. Although it wasn’t exactly “friendly,” she had become much more calm. When Shen Junfu deliberately tried to cause trouble, Huo Qingzhuo would simply treat her like a naughty child, acting as if it didn’t matter, which ended up infuriating Shen Junfu even more.

This continued until Friday, the day of the opening ceremony. Shen Junfu and Huo Qingzhuo were backstage preparing.

Both were wearing the long dresses gifted by Shu Yueqing—one white and one black. Shen Junfu absolutely refused to wear white, so she wore a black dress that looked both beautiful and fierce. Huo Qingzhuo didn’t mind and wore the white dress, looking ethereal and full of grace.

Both had their hair down without excessive accessories. Huo Qingzhuo wore the floral wreath given by Wei Qingqing, while Shen Junfu wore the golden crown of thorns. Their styles were distinct and vivid; standing together, they looked like two extremes, yet they were strikingly harmonious.

Shen Junfu sat beside Huo Qingzhuo with a dark expression, legs crossed, elbow resting on the new piano Shu Yueqing had recently donated. Thinking about Shu Yueqing sitting out in the audience made her expression even sourer, radiating an aura that warned others not to approach.

Huo Qingzhuo, on the other hand, was in a good mood. She put on an earbud with one hand and looked down at her phone.

Click!

In an unnoticed corner, the faint sound of a camera shutter rang out.

Time passed quickly as the ceremony neared its end. Huo Qingzhuo and Shen Junfu were the finale. Because of the high expectations for their performance, very few students sneaked out; some who had left even checked the time and sneaked back in just to see them.

“Next, please enjoy the four-hand piano performance, ‘Iron Blood,’ by Huo Qingzhuo and Shen Junfu! Please welcome them!”

As the host finished the introduction, the hall erupted in thunderous applause. People had been highly anticipating this ever since a short clip from the preliminary selection was leaked, let alone seeing it live.

The heavy curtains slowly rose. Shen Junfu and Huo Qingzhuo were already seated at the piano. They both glanced at Shu Yueqing, who was sitting in the middle of the front row, and began to play.

Having collaborated once before—and despite their personal friction, having practiced frequently over the last few days—their performance was much more skilled and synchronized than the first time. They had even added some technical difficulties to enhance the skill level and visual appeal of the performance.

As the piece ended, Huo Qingzhuo and Shen Junfu stood up to take their bow, their movements identical, sharp, and decisive.

By the time they finished, the opening ceremony was essentially over. Once the host gave the closing remarks, the people in the back rows had already mostly cleared out, and the principal and other officials in the front row had also departed.

After the performance, Huo Qingzhuo prepared to leave directly through the backstage rear exit. She didn’t have any luggage; she just put on a coat, and with her phone in hand, she was ready to go.

“Huo Qingzhuo, wait a minute.”

Shen Junfu called out reluctantly, her brow furrowed in a very awkward expression.

“What is it?” Huo Qingzhuo checked the time; she wasn’t in a rush since she had no plans for the afternoon.

“Come with me.” Seeing the curious gazes of the people around them, Shen Junfu took the lead and walked outside.

The two left together, walking side-by-side. Halfway there, Huo Qingzhuo turned to Shen Junfu. “What are you trying to do now?”

“Shu Yueqing wants to treat you to dinner. Do you really think I’d want to call you otherwise?” Only when they were away from others did Shen Junfu reveal the reason.

Huo Qingzhuo was stunned for a moment, then became overjoyed and readily agreed. “So that’s it. Sure! I actually need to thank Sister Shu in person, otherwise, I wouldn’t even have a performance outfit.”

“I’m warning you one more time,” Shen Junfu stopped and pointed at Huo Qingzhuo. “You are not allowed to call her ‘Sister Shu.’ You either call her ‘Auntie’ or ‘President Shu’!”

“I might not be able to agree to that,” Huo Qingzhuo also stopped. If it weren’t for the sake of acting well-behaved, she wouldn’t even want to call her “Sister,” let alone “Auntie.” “How about you change how you address me instead? You could call me ‘Auntie’ or even ‘Step-mom.’ What do you think?”

“In your dreams!”

Shen Junfu stomped off in a rage. Huo Qingzhuo smiled at Shen Junfu’s back and followed unhurriedly.

The two got into the car Shu Yueqing had sent to pick them up, failing to notice a flash of light at the school gates.

The dinner itself was nothing extraordinary. Shen Junfu guarded Shu Yueqing like she was protecting against a thief, practically keeping herself glued between Shu Yueqing and Huo Qingzhuo. Even if Shu Yueqing tried to ask Huo Qingzhuo a few questions, Shen Junfu would intercept and answer for her.

“Xiao Huo, I didn’t expect you to be so talented at the piano. You know foreign languages, you play piano… what else can you do?” Shu Yueqing started a conversation once the food was served.

Sitting in the middle, Shen Junfu beat her to the punch: “She can also act.”

“Oh?” Shu Yueqing didn’t quite understand what Shen Junfu meant.

“I hope to become an actress in the future,” Huo Qingzhuo said. She hadn’t expected Shen Junfu to be so quick-mouthed, but it wasn’t a secret anyway.

Shu Yueqing was silent for a brief moment before nodding with a smile. “That’s not bad. If you’re interested after graduation, you can come to me for help.”

“Don’t bother,” Shen Junfu said, realizing she had accidentally provided them with a topic to bond over. She immediately tried to sever the connection. “Don’t you worry about her. She already has her own contact with a film crew. Once you have one, more will follow; why would she need your help? Besides, if she needs help, why bother you? She can just come to me.”

“Yes, I already have plans. Thank you, Sister Shu. If I ever need help, I won’t be stubborn about it. I’ll toast you with tea instead of wine for now.”

Huo Qingzhuo never intended to rely on Shu Yueqing’s charity; she had her own plans. She followed Shen Junfu’s lead to move past the topic. Unexpectedly, her independent behavior made Shu Yueqing think even more highly of her.

Shu Yueqing didn’t push further. Except for Shen Junfu, the meal was quite pleasant for everyone.

After dinner, Shen Junfu proactively suggested taking Huo Qingzhuo back and asked Shu Yueqing to leave first. Since it was getting late, Shu Yueqing agreed, drove away, and left the driver and Shen Junfu to take Huo Qingzhuo home.

Once Shu Yueqing was gone, Shen Junfu led Huo Qingzhuo along the roadside while the driver followed slowly behind in the car.

“What are you up to now?” Throughout the meal, Huo Qingzhuo noticed that Shen Junfu’s protection and admiration for Shu Yueqing were extreme—she was willing to pay any price for it.

“I can help you. You want to enter the entertainment industry, you want to be an actress—I don’t care what you do, I can help you. But you have to stay away from Shu Yueqing.”

Shen Junfu wasn’t as impulsive or angry as before; she spoke seriously and calmly, making it impossible to ignore her words.

“Just because you don’t want me to be your step-mom? If I told you I wanted billions of dollars, would you agree? The thing is, she doesn’t even feel that way about me right now.”

Huo Qingzhuo still thought Shen Junfu was being childish. If it were that easy, everyone in the world would be chasing Shu Yueqing.

“Give me a price. If I can accept it, I’ll give it to you. If I can’t, I’ll put that money on the black market for your life instead. I only care about the result.”

Shen Junfu spoke casually, as if a human life meant nothing to her.

Huo Qingzhuo’s expression turned grave. “That’s illegal, Shen Junfu. You shouldn’t joke about things like that.”

“Yes, it’s just a joke,” Shen Junfu smiled nonchalantly. “But you’re welcome to test me.”

Under Huo Qingzhuo’s increasingly serious gaze, the smile faded from Shen Junfu’s face, replaced by a deep intensity. “Huo Qingzhuo, I have no bottom line. I only have her. From ten years ago, when she carried me out of the rain covered in blood, she became my entire world. No one can take her away.”

Standing by the road, Huo Qingzhuo met Shen Junfu’s gaze without flinching. “I won’t take her from you, because she never belonged to you in the first place. Furthermore, all of this depends on her own choices. Neither you nor I can control that.”

“Her choice won’t be you.” Shen Junfu looked at Huo Qingzhuo decisively. “Her family will never accept someone from the entertainment industry, and you are destined to choose a path that goes in the opposite direction of hers.”

“Then why are you so nervous?” Huo Qingzhuo’s heart tightened for a second before returning to normal.

“Sixth sense,” Shen Junfu didn’t dodge the question. “But I won’t let that happen. Get in the car, I’m taking you home.”

Watching Shen Junfu walk toward the car with a determined back, Huo Qingzhuo’s eyes darkened.

Ultimately, Huo Qingzhuo didn’t go home. Because she had to sign a contract the next day, she reported to the elders at home that she was going out with classmates and wouldn’t even return tonight.

Thinking it best to make the most of the situation, she had Shen Junfu drop her off near the meeting location. She checked into a hotel to sleep for the night.

As for Shen Junfu, she couldn’t care less; after dropping her off, she immediately had the driver leave.

Huo Qingzhuo sent a message to Shu Yueqing to let her know she was safe and then slept at the hotel. The next morning, she got up to sign the contract.

After washing up, Huo Qingzhuo habitually checked her silent phone for messages. She was startled by the sheer number of notifications—in her past life, the only person who would message her this much was her manager the morning after she had caused a disaster.

Opening them, she saw most were from Wei Qingqing, along with a few others.

She clicked on Wei Qingqing’s messages and scrolled to the top to read them one by one.

[Wei Qingqing: Qingzhuo, quick, look online! You seem to be going viral!]

Huo Qingzhuo: ???

She hadn’t even filmed the web drama yet, and the contract wasn’t even signed. Why would she be viral?

Utterly confused, she kept reading. Wei Qingqing was loyal enough to send everything useful and useless, including various photos.

When Huo Qingzhuo opened the photos, she realized they were all from last night—candid shots of her and Shen Junfu. There were shots of them in the dim lighting backstage, with Shen Junfu leaning against the piano and her fiddling with her earbuds, as well as photos of them after the performance, still in their black and white dresses, getting into the car Shu Yueqing had sent.

Huo Qingzhuo’s heart tightened. Her professional instincts kicked in, and she almost called a manager for PR. But then she remembered—she wasn’t a celebrity. Right now, she was just an ordinary high school student.

Would these photos even matter?