Hooking Away the Male Lead’s White Moonlight, the Best Actress - Chapter 9

Hua Yanqiu was stunned.

She remained standing there, staring blankly as Shen Manyu cast a light, indifferent glance her way, flashed a triumphant smile, tossed her hair, and turned to walk away with pride.

A soft thud followed as the door closed, cutting off her line of sight and separating the room from the world outside. Shen Manyu’s graceful silhouette vanished completely.

A sudden mess of turbulent emotions crashed against her chest—complex feelings she couldn’t quite decipher herself. She let out a long, slow breath.

The events of tonight had been far too intense. The moment Shen Manyu left, Sister Qi finally felt her legs give out. She sternly warned the two junior assistants, instructing them that not a single word of what happened tonight could be leaked.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the two assistants nodded frantically, nearly swearing an oath on the spot.

Since it was late, Sister Qi ushered them out to get some rest. Once they left, she turned to find Hua Yanqiu hanging her head, staring at the floor, still appearing somewhat lost in thought. Anger surged within her.

Sister Qi asked with a fake smile, “So, Yanqiu? Did you actually fall for her? Do you really want something to happen between you two?”

Hua Yanqiu’s train of thought was broken. She met Sister Qi’s gaze calmly, and Sister Qi didn’t back down an inch. The two faced off for a moment before Hua Yanqiu, feeling guilty after all, lost the confrontation and averted her eyes.

“How could I?” Understanding the insecurity and probing nature behind Sister Qi’s words, she offered a calm reassurance. “Shen Manyu is no saint; she’s like a time bomb that could go off at any moment. I’d have to be insane to want something to happen or to get entangled with her.”

Hua Yanqiu’s career was still on the rise. Though she seemed to have reached the peak, there was still room for growth. If her unconventional sexual orientation were exposed at such a critical juncture, it wouldn’t just be a weapon for others to attack her with—her own fans would likely be the first to explode.

Moreover, the other person involved was Shen Manyu, an artist with a notorious reputation.

Previously, when Shen Manyu was acting out and constantly targeting Hua Yanqiu, she had drawn ridicule from the entire internet. Hua Yanqiu’s fans had been the driving force behind that backlash. Those fans had sincerely felt angry on their idol’s behalf, hacking a path for her and completely conquering Shen Manyu’s Weibo comments.

If Hua Yanqiu were to turn around now and say she had feelings for Shen Manyu—or that they might even have a deeper relationship—her fans would be the first to lose their minds. In this industry, you don’t fear the insults of strangers; you fear the “backstabbing” of fans who leave. These die-hard fans know everything about their idol, and once they turn into haters, their combat power is unmatched.

Sister Qi watched Hua Yanqiu intently for a long while. Seeing that she was speaking from the heart, the heart that had been pounding in her throat finally settled back into her chest.

She knew Yanqiu’s character best. Her assertiveness was built on a foundation of rationality. Occasional lapses in judgment were harmless; having complex feelings toward Shen Manyu didn’t mean she would easily throw away the career she had worked so hard for just for a woman.

Therefore, Sister Qi decided there was nothing left to nag her about. Now that the tension had faded, a playful curiosity surfaced. “Yanqiu, let’s do a little interview. I want to know… what does it actually feel like to be buried in there?”

Hua Yanqiu’s brow twitched. Her brain defied her logic; the moment Sister Qi finished her sentence, she involuntarily recalled that intoxicating sensation.

But that indescribable bliss vanished in an instant. Within a split second, a deeper sense of suffocation—almost tangible—wrapped around her heart.

This was absolutely going to be a lifelong psychological shadow!

Hua Yanqiu gritted her teeth secretly. She didn’t want to answer the question and tried to change the subject, attempting to seize the moral high ground first: “So, why didn’t you pull her off me? Why did you just stand there watching the show?”

Sister Qi ignored her accusation and pressed on relentlessly: “Yanqiu, were you happy?”

Hua Yanqiu touched her smooth forehead, avoiding the question. The spot where Shen Manyu had bumped into her earlier was throbbing with a dull pain. The pain wasn’t sharp, but it was persistent.

She picked up a small folding mirror, lifted the hair covering her forehead to check the injury, and thought for a moment. Deciding this wasn’t a suitable topic to discuss with others, she circled back to the previous point: “I was about to suffocate, and you actually stood there watching at your leisure?”

Sister Qi sneered. “I felt like you were enjoying it quite a bit. I stood by and didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, fearing I’d ruin your ‘good time.'”

“Yanqiu, saying such things now… does your conscience really not hurt? You’re like the dog biting Lu Dongbin—you don’t recognize a good person when you see one. You’re just feeling guilty and lashing out in anger! I helped you so much, and now you’re turning around to bite me?”

She righteously labeled Hua Yanqiu an ungrateful “white-eyed wolf.”

Hua Yanqiu fell silent.

She wasn’t just silent because of the weight of Sister Qi’s words. Her eyes met her own in the mirror—two identical faces, both wearing the exact same look of disbelief.

The bluish-black bruise on her forehead was glaringly prominent. For a fleeting moment, Hua Yanqiu thought she was hallucinating. She instinctively reached up and pressed down with a bit of force; a sharp, throbbing pain instantly radiated outward.

Questioning her very existence, she frowned. “Is it really this obvious?”

She was referring to the bruise, but Sister Qi misunderstood, thinking she was responding to their previous conversation.

Sister Qi nodded and said earnestly, “The way she was provoking you? I thought you were about to lose it and swallow her whole.”

Hua Yanqiu set the mirror down. The bruise, previously hidden by the mirror and her hair, was now startlingly visible to Sister Qi.

Sister Qi couldn’t help but snicker at first. Then, catching herself, she stifled her laughter and hurriedly cupped Hua Yanqiu’s face, turning it back and forth to inspect the injury.

An artist’s face is precious cargo, especially with the movie set to begin filming soon. If Hua Yanqiu delayed Director Chu’s start date at such a critical moment, given the man’s notoriously foul temper, he would likely tear her a new one.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Hua Yanqiu remained uncharacteristically docile, letting Sister Qi tilt her head around like a lifeless ragdoll.

After a careful inspection, Sister Qi realized it wasn’t a major injury and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She felt a mix of irritation and amusement. Unable to help herself, she mocked her with a hint of schadenfreude: “This is what you get for playing the ‘gallant protector’ and being a soft-hearted fool! The movie starts soon, and we have to shoot the official posters before that. I’d love to see what you’re going to do if that massive bruise doesn’t fade in time.”

“What will I do?” Feeling incredibly stifled, Hua Yanqiu sneered. “If it really doesn’t fade, I’ll naturally be going to the culprit to demand justice.”

Support Hooking Away the Male Lead’s White Moonlight, the Best Actress