Falling for the Married Movie Queen - Chapter 3

“Ah…” A gasp echoed through the room, interrupting the previous playful commotion and instantly quieting the noisy space.

An Ji felt her vision go dark as she instinctively reached out to dodge. The collision happened too fast for her to evade; a soft mass crashed directly into her arms. Carried forward by the momentum, An Ji was forced to take several steps back before she managed to steady herself. Lowering her gaze slightly, she realized it was a warm body long, straight dark hair, slender and tall, bearing a striking resemblance to that genius Best Actress. The person in her arms had both hands pressed against her chest, her forehead resting right against An Ji’s collarbone, leaning against her limply as if lacking any support. The sudden turn of events left An Ji unsure of how to react, freezing her in place to the point where she didn’t even have time to raise a hand and block the plush toy that came flying after, striking the body pressed against her front.

The figure in her arms seemed to have been hit by a pause button as well, remaining completely still. Only the plush toy that had launched itself forward dropped to the floor, bouncing twice before settling into a quiet stillness.

“Whoa…”

“Teacher An…”

“The goddess is here.”

“Teacher Yu’s greeting gift is something else…”

Intermittent voices drifted over from behind. Recovering her senses first, An Ji caught sight of the various figures peering out from the room, their eyes wide and expressions startled. Her body instantly stiffened, a blush slowly creeping up her cheeks as an overwhelming sense of awkwardness washed over her. Raising a hand, she gently pushed against the person in her arms.

Surrounded by a faint, lingering trace of clean fragrance, Yu Junye felt the pushing force and only then realized what kind of posture she was currently holding: her forehead was warm, her nose pressed directly against an exquisite collarbone, and her hands were resting against a soft, yielding texture…

She immediately realized how improper this was. Using a bit of strength, she broke away from that stiff embrace.

Lifting a hand to sweep her tangled hair behind her back, she finally saw the newcomer clearly. In an instant, Yu Junye felt so mortified she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. Her usual uninhibited bravado seemed to have been completely sealed away the person standing right in front of her was none other than the legendary dream girl adored by the public, and here she was messing up her very first meeting in such a terrible fashion…

Her hand, still gathering her hair, unconsciously tightened around a strand as she bit her lower lip.

Confirming that this was indeed the genius Best Actress, An Ji let out a sigh of relief thankfully, it was a woman. Her eyes curved into gentle crescents as she swept away her momentary awkwardness and spoke warmly, “Be careful. Good thing you didn’t fall.”

Yu Junye moved her lips, but ultimately no sound came out. Finding herself utterly devoid of appropriate words, she could only stand there rigidly.

“Hey, I’m saying, Yezi, no matter how deep you are into character, you didn’t need to throw yourself into her arms quite so eagerly!” Standing within the crowd, Eileen picked up on the awkward tension flowing between the two and took the initiative to step forward, patting Yu Junye’s shoulder with a teasing remark.

With that, she turned and walked right up to An Ji, extending a hand with a smile. “Hello, Teacher An. I’m Eileen, playing Xiaoyi. My character is your sister, so please take good care of me.”

Seeing this, everyone else behind them crowded forward to introduce themselves. An Ji maintained a warm, gentle smile as she shook hands with each of them in turn, before being ushered into the studio before she could even finish greeting everyone properly.

Eileen and Yu Junye had arrived at the crew about two days early. Both possessed cheerful personalities, and they had quickly hit it off, laughing and joking around with zero inhibitions from time to time.

“Come on, still spaced out?” Eileen waved a hand right in front of Yu Junye’s eyes.

Yu Junye glanced sideways at Eileen, gave her long, sleek black hair a tug, stuck out her tongue, and grinned with a playful, mischievous grimace. “I’ve totally humiliated myself.”

“It’s fine. Look at how gentle and elegant An Ji is, she won’t hold it against you, especially not someone like you, you little demon king.”

“What kind of talk is that?! How am I a demon king? I’m very elegant too, you know.”

“Tch, not even close, not even close.” Eileen slanted a look at Yu Junye and clicked her tongue.

“That’s just your eyes failing you.” Yu Junye unceremoniously shoved Eileen aside as she blocked the path.

Even so, a lingering sense of panic fluttered in Yu Junye’s chest. True, given her current status in the industry, she could afford to pay no mind to almost anyone. But the truth was, she had never cared about such empty titles, treating acting purely as a profession, with every crew member simply serving as a colleague performing their respective duties.

Having blundered into someone so clumsily, she couldn’t help worrying whether she might have left a bad impression or caused any unpleasant feelings.

After turning it over in her mind, she decided she needed to offer an apology for her recklessness.

“I need to go apologize to her right now.” With that, Yu Junye turned on her heel and headed back toward the studio.

Within a short span, the studio had returned to an orderly rhythm: makeup artists busy with makeup, costume staff gathering outfits.

Harboring a heavy sense of guilt, Yu Junye fetched a small gift box from her bag in her own dressing room and crossed the hallway into An Ji’s adjacent dressing room.

An Ji sat quietly and demurely before the vanity mirror as her stylist worked around her.

When she decided to take on this script, Yu Junye had deliberately tracked down all of An Ji’s film and television archives to study her partner, watching every single title without exception. She had been astonished by her beauty and conquered by her gentleness; her ever-changing screen presence left a deep, lasting impression. It made her wonder: could there truly be a woman in this world who was equally adept at both literary and martial roles, possessing a towering, heroic spirit yet remaining as gentle as water?

Although they had occasionally crossed paths at social events in the past, their acquaintance had amounted to little more than polite nods. Even though their encounter earlier had been brief without a single word exchanged Yu Junye had still felt an overwhelming wave of grace and gentleness.

Comparing herself to that, she was always being nagged for lacking a feminine touch. She clearly had so much left to learn!

Composing herself, Yu Junye knocked on the door. Receiving permission, she stepped inside lightly, came to a halt right in front of An Ji, dropped her casual demeanor, and spoke with polite formality, “Hello, Teacher An! I’m Yu Junye. I’ve heard so much about you, and I’m truly honored to act alongside you.”

“You’re too kind, Teacher Yu. It’s my absolute three lifetimes of fortune to be able to collaborate with you,” An Ji said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Yu Junye with genuine sincerity.

Seizing the opportunity, An Ji finally took a proper measure of her upcoming partner. The person before her possessed fair skin, a tall and slender physique, and well-defined, delicate facial features. With her long draped hair, willow-leaf eyebrows, and a coat of bright red lipstick, an effortless, innate allure naturally bled through her pores.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I hope I didn’t bruise you?” The red lips parted, accompanied by an apologetic tone.

“It’s fine. As long as you didn’t fall,” An Ji replied, retracting her gaze with a soft smile.

Right on cue, Yu Junye handed over the small gift box and said obediently, “I found these abroad a few days ago and thought they were quite delicious. I brought them back for everyone to try as a greeting gift. I hope Teacher An won’t look down on them.”

“Oh my, you really didn’t have to be so polite.”

“What happened outside just now wasn’t meant to be a greeting gift it was quite a trespass, and I truly hope you won’t take it to heart.” Yu Junye rubbed her fingertips together at her side; that soft, yielding touch was still lingering in her mind.

“It’s alright. You weren’t doing it on purpose.” An Ji lowered her eyelashes, her voice softening by another fraction, tinged with a hint of bashfulness.

“I must say, how long are the two of you planning to keep up this polite act? You’re about to play a married couple on screen, and yet you’re acting this formal…” Eileen strolled over, draping an arm over Yu Junye’s shoulder as she looked at the two of them with amusement.

Hearing this, An Ji pressed her lips together in silence. Perhaps due to her thin skin, her entire face and even her ears flushed bright red.

Seeing this, Yu Junye shot Eileen a side-glance. “You think everyone’s like you, zero poise and far too familiar. Besides, we’re professional actors…”

She genuinely hadn’t expected that An Ji, a seasoned veteran with over a decade of acting under her belt, would blush so easily at the drop of a hat.

Eileen curled her lip, completely unbothered.

Having silenced Eileen, Yu Junye turned back to An Ji. “Please don’t mind us, Teacher An. We’re just used to joking around like this, and I hope it won’t cause you any trouble.”

“Not at all, not at all. If there’s ever anything, we can always communicate more. Since we’re partnering up, I need to integrate into your group as soon as possible.” An Ji’s voice held a slight hint of eagerness.

“Teacher Yu, Teacher Eileen, why are you two still hanging around here? Hurry up and get your makeup done! All the promotional stills need to be finished shooting today, because filming officially starts tomorrow.”

At the shouted reminder, everyone scrambled back to their respective stations.

“You are so well-behaved in front of An Ji!” Eileen latched onto Yu Junye’s arm with a sneaky grin the moment they stepped out of the dressing room.

“Behaved? That’s called being polite, okay? Anyone can see An Ji is the quiet, virtuous type. You couldn’t possibly stir up any chaos around her.”

“Mhm! Fair point,” Eileen agreed with a nod. “Hurry up and get your makeup done so we can go hang out later…”

“Sounds good!”

The two quickened their pace.

An Ji gazed down at the small gift box in her hands. She opened it to reveal a neat row of exquisite, bite-sized chocolates.

She’s just a kid, An Ji thought to herself with a fond smile.

Recalling the little interlude from earlier, she felt her curiosity toward this genius Best Actress grow even stronger.

A woman with such mesmerizing allure, so lively and active, was truly hard to link to the dull, timid scholar described in the script. Yet her polite, measured conduct from moments ago did carry a faint whiff of a bookish, pedantic scholar.

She was nothing like the woman described in the industry’s rumors the thousand-faced Movie Queen who was said to be stern, irritable, untouchable, and prone to throwing a fit whenever things didn’t go her way on set, Were geniuses really this unfathomable? Her anticipation for this collaboration grew by the day.

All three lead actors were seasoned professionals. Once they committed to a script, they had each done their homework, leaving everything ready for the cameras. Even the promotional stills looked the part, capturing the exact essence of their characters.

Thus, when An Ji caught sight of Yu Junye once again, she was genuinely startled. Not a trace of that enchanting glamour remained.

Having changed into her costume, Yu Junye stood at the designated spot in front of the photographer, striking various poses on command.

Dressed in a light grey scholar’s robe that emphasized her tall, elegant frame, with clear eyes, a bright smile, and red lips, her dark hair pulled up high into a neat bun secured by a headband, she radiated a pure, refined air. With graceful, textbook movements, she cut the spitting image of a handsome, cultured young scholar.

So handsome, and such a perfect fit, An Ji marveled internally. So this is what a real actor is like—they can slip right into character in a matter of minutes!

Though An Ji had no idea how her own makeup and styling looked, she could roughly guess from the awed expressions and gasps of everyone around her that she must look just as stunning as Yu Junye.

Stepping into the studio shortly after, Han Deyu’s eyes lit up the moment he caught sight of the two leads’ looks. A wide grin spread across his face; his intuition had been spot-on, and with their stellar acting talents guaranteed, he could already envision the massive success this drama was destined to achieve.

Heartened by the sight, the moment the shoot wrapped up, Han Deyu hurried over to the pair. “Thank you both for your hard work today. Now that everyone has arrived, let’s all gather tonight for a welcome dinner. I hope you’ll both grace us with your presence.”

“Since Producer Han is inviting, of course I’ll be there,” Yu Junye replied with a smile.

Han Deyu turned an expectant gaze toward An Ji.

Remaining as calm and composed as ever, An Ji spoke in her gentle tone, “Thank you for all the trouble, Producer Han. See you tonight, then.”

Securing a satisfactory answer, Han Deyu beamed from ear to ear and scurried off to manage other matters.

With everyone working in busy, orderly coordination, the promotional stills were successfully completed. The rest of the crew went about clearing the set, and Eileen, having wrapped up her portion earliest, headed off to remove her makeup early on.

Only An Ji and Yu Junye remained standing in the middle of the set, still clad in their costumes.

“Teacher An, let’s head off to remove our makeup too. We can leave together in a bit,” Yu Junye said, smoothing down her costume as she looked at An Ji.

“Alright! Let’s go take off the makeup first. See you in a bit.”

“Ah…” An Ji had barely stepped back into her dressing room and seated herself when a sharp scream pierced the air.