Love Contract with the Queen Actress - Chapter 18

Su Yuchen stood by the roadside with her canvas bag, waiting for the bus, the outline of her clenched jaw visible on her pale face.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and turned around. “Can you stop following me?”

“…”

From behind a thick tree trunk, a corner of clothing that had been hiding there hesitated before slowly revealing half a figure.

It was Liu Ruomeng.

“I-just let me follow you!”

She frowned, pouted, and put all her effort into acting cute, utterly confident in her ability to charm.

Unfortunately, her smudged makeup had dried into streaks under the night wind, and with half her body still hidden behind the tree, shadows enveloped her entirely. The cold breeze only added to the eerie vibe.

“…”

Absolutely unnecessary.

Su Yuchen couldn’t bear to look and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

“What can you possibly gain by following me? I can’t give you any roles.”

“I can’t invest in you either, I’m broke as hell.”

“Big sis!” Seeing Su Yuchen about to leave, Liu Ruomeng rushed out from behind the tree and grabbed her arm. “Big sis, don’t go!”

“In the past, everyone just flattered me, letting me do whatever I wanted. No one has ever dared to tell me the truth like you.”

“You even hit me, no one’s ever dared to hit me before!”

“Oh my god, if you’re willing to hit me, then you must be right! I won’t leave even if you hit me again!”

Su Yuchen: “…”

Watching Liu Ruomeng’s determined expression, Su Yuchen fell into deep thought, was this girl some kind of masochist?

“Then what exactly can you do if you follow me?”

Su Yuchen posed the ultimate question.

This time, Liu Ruomeng fell silent but only for a second before hopping in place and insisting, “It doesn’t matter! Even if I don’t know, I’m still following you!”

“I already know you didn’t steal anyone’s fiancée, it was all just someone’s delusional obsession, and it ruined me!”

“Oh.” Su Yuchen looked up at the sky in exasperation. “How do you know I didn’t steal someone’s fiancée?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Liu Ruomeng smacked her own head as if it were the smartest thing ever. “If you really had the skills to steal someone’s fiancée, would you still be stuck without even a car?”

Su Yuchen: “…”

That cut deep!

Liu Ruomeng, as usual, couldn’t read the room and clung on stubbornly.

“Anyway, I don’t want to go back to the company’s arranged place. I hate all those fake, sycophantic people. Now that I’ve fallen from grace, I finally see their true colors, the same people who used to worship me!”

She looked like she wanted to spit in disgust.

“…”

Su Yuchen sighed, rubbing her temples. “Then where are you going to go?”

Liu Ruomeng: “Where are you going, big sis?”

“I’m going home. You should-” Before she could finish telling Liu Ruomeng to go back to her own place, she felt a sudden weight on her arm. Turning, she saw Liu Ruomeng clinging to her like a koala.

“Your place! Perfect!”

Liu Ruomeng’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go to your place! I’ve never been to another female celebrity’s home before.”

“…”

Su Yuchen felt utterly drained. She tried shaking her off, but it was no use.

The next second, she resolutely trudged forward under the added weight, her words slipping through gritted teeth.

“No, you can’t come to my place.”

“Why not? Why not?”

Liu Ruomeng clung to her like a koala, her core muscles straining as she gritted her teeth.

“This could cause a scandal.”

For the first time, the tension in Su Yuchen’s jaw was visibly pronounced against her fair skin.

“Huh?!” Liu Ruomeng exclaimed. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Yeah, and neither did I,” Su Yuchen replied, continuing to walk as she struggled to pull out her phone to check the time. She estimated that the last bus had already left, and her mood grew heavier, just like the weight on her arm. Her tone turned sharp. “Then don’t make trouble.”

Though Su Yuchen had recently gained a bit of attention, at her core, she was still a nobody.

Liu Ruomeng, on the other hand, was different. She was a relatively well-known actress, young but with plenty of film and variety show credits to her name. Even with some negative press, her popularity remained unaffected.

So, the smartest move was to keep her distance.

Su Yuchen didn’t want to ride on anyone’s coattails.

She kept walking, not saying another word.

It was clear her mood had soured.

After hanging on for a while, Liu Ruomeng finally let go and chattered on endlessly, but she received no further response.

Eventually, she noticed Su Yuchen’s foul mood and wanted to ask about it, but Su Yuchen simply refused to engage.

Just as Liu Ruomeng was running out of things to say, she finally managed to ask a question Su Yuchen was willing to answer.

“Why are you still walking forward?”

“…”

Su Yuchen stared straight ahead at the flat road, moving through the patches of light cast by the streetlamps.

“Because I’m going home.”

Liu Ruomeng was stunned. “Huh? You’re walking all the way back?”

“No.” Su Yuchen sighed. “There’s a bus stop about two kilometers ahead. If we hurry, we might still catch the last bus.”

Liu Ruomeng gazed at the back of Su Yuchen’s head with admiration. “Sis, you’re really amazing. My useless ex-assistant dug up some info on you, I know you’ve been supporting your seriously ill, bedridden mother all these years on your own. And now you’re walking two or three kilometers just to catch a bus home? No one else could be as tough as you.”

Maybe it’s just because I’m poor…

Once again, Su Yuchen thought of Shen Wu’s delicate handwriting, the red annotation: Because you’re poor.

Ah… Shen Wu.

The mere thought of her made Su Yuchen’s chest ache with a sour, tangled mess of emotions, leaving her distracted these past few days.

Work kept her occupied, but in idle moments, memories would seep in from all sides. Her heart felt like a sieve with holes, letting cold gusts of wind swirl through the remnants of her thoughts.

In truth, she saw herself as nothing more than a stubborn weed, gritting her teeth and growing tenaciously, soft in appearance but unyielding in adversity.

When she was in a bad mood, she’d snap at people or simply ignore them.

Of course, there was always one exception.

“You talk too much.”

Su Yuchen tossed the words over her shoulder and kept walking without looking back, her tone colder than the night breeze.

Liu Ruomeng began panting unevenly. “Sister Yuchen, please, can we stop walking? I can’t go any further.”

Accustomed to a life of luxury with chauffeurs at her beck and call, walking this far on foot was already her limit.

“Then go back. I need to get home.”

Su Yuchen remained resolute, not even turning her head.

Liu Ruomeng panted heavily as she rushed forward and grabbed Su Yuchen’s arm. “Sis, are you really planning to walk there on your own two legs? You’ll be exhausted by the time you arrive!”

Su Yuchen: “I won’t. I walk often.”

“Why won’t you listen? Are you trying to torture yourself?!” Liu Ruomeng raised her voice, ready to lose her temper, but when she caught sight of Su Yuchen’s fair face with a slight frown, she immediately softened, panting like a puppy begging with clasped paws.

“Sis, sis, let’s not walk. I’ll call my assistant to bring the car over, and I’ll drive you back. Okay?”

“Assistant?” Su Yuchen’s skeptical tone was impossible to miss. “You have an assistant?”

“…”

Liu Ruomeng pouted. “Sis, that’s really hurtful, you know. I do have some authority, at least.”

She still held onto Su Yuchen’s arm while waving her other hand frantically. “No more walking, no more. I’ll take you. Please don’t walk anymore.”

It wasn’t entirely unreasonable for Su Yuchen to think Liu Ruomeng was in dire straits, after all, just moments ago, she had been crying and sniffling, lamenting how everyone had abandoned her.

In less than ten minutes, the car arrived.

Liu Ruomeng personally opened the passenger door, her tear-streaked, smudged face beaming as she enthusiastically gestured for Su Yuchen to enter.

“Hop in, sis. I’ll take you home myself.”

The assistant who had delivered the car was one of those who had been peeking earlier that afternoon. Now, his eyes darted around nervously, as if pricked by thorns. If Liu Ruomeng hadn’t planted her hands on her hips and snapped, “Stop staring and scram!” he might have stayed rooted to the spot, lost in his own dramatic thoughts.

Truly, there’s always someone who can rein in another. The ancients didn’t lie.

As the car drove off smoothly, a shadow emerged from the bushes behind the assistant. A telephoto lens extended, and the sound of rapid shutter clicks filled the air, click, click, click.