Love Contract with the Queen Actress - Chapter 20

Shen Wu traced the lead from that sentence, “Don’t stay up too late gaming.”

What kind of person invites Su Yuchen to their place to play games so late at night? Clearly, their intentions weren’t purely about gaming!

And then, in the very next sentence, she actually heard Su Yuchen say, “Send me your address.”

What?! Was she really planning to go to someone else’s home?!

Shen Wu felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. Furious, she mentally throttled a plush pig toy: Su Yuchen, you idiot! Going to someone else’s place this late, are you stupid?!

Or was there someone else in the picture already? Damn it!

It had only been eighteen days! How could you be this irresistible already?!

No, she had to find out who this person was.

She mentally tossed aside the little figurine that was practically spitting smoke from its mouth and inched closer bit by bit. But just as she got near, the call ended.

Shen Wu thought she had disguised herself perfectly, leaning against the handrail, gazing out the window, while stealing glances at the person beside her from the corner of her eye.

Yet Su Yuchen was still holding her phone, staring blankly at the screen.

Shen Wu didn’t dare turn her head just yet, her mind racing, Who could she be spacing out over after a call? Is this person really that important to her?

Speaking of important people, Shen Wu gritted her teeth lightly. Shouldn’t Su Yuchen consider me the most important person?

No, the most important person.

At this thought, Shen Wu couldn’t resist leaning over to peek,

But she couldn’t see clearly…

All she could make out was another chat window opening, but she couldn’t tell who it was or what was being said.

At this moment, Shen Wu cursed the bus in her heart for not turning on more lights, fundamentally rejecting the fact that wearing sunglasses naturally darkened her vision.

The more she couldn’t see, the more she wanted to, so she leaned in further and further,

Until their heads lightly bumped together.

“…”

“…”

Su Yuchen’s eyes widened in surprise, blurting out, “It’s you?!”

Shen Wu, her cheeks half-hidden behind velvet gloves, thought, I disguised myself so well, how did you recognize me?

But the next sentence turned Shen Wu’s face as dark as a burnt pot.

“Liu Ruomeng.”

“Why are you following me again?”

“Liu Ruomeng?”

Behind the sunglasses, Shen Wu’s brows furrowed, the displeasure in her expression barely concealed by the shades and hat.

“And what do you mean, ‘again’?”

“…”

Though just a few words, they were enough to make Su Yuchen’s chest tighten.

She bent slightly, trembling fingers carefully lifting the oversized sunglasses just a fraction, revealing Shen Wu’s captivating eyes along with the faintly displeased gaze cast downward at her.

“…”

Su Yuchen’s fingertips tingled with numbness. She quickly lowered the sunglasses and pinched her own cheek.

“Ouch,”

It hurt. This wasn’t a dream.

Only then did she manage to squeeze out two shaky words.

“It’s… you?”

Her voice trembled, matching the erratic pounding of her heart.

Yet the corners of her lips betrayed her, curling upward uncontrollably.

Shen Wu taking the bus? That was practically a miracle. No, the real miracle was Shen Wu taking the bus to find her, and even going so far as to disguise herself. That was a miracle within a miracle.

Even tabloid journalists wouldn’t dare write something so absurd.

The gloom that had weighed on her for the past half-month vanished in an instant.

For some reason, Su Yuchen couldn’t suppress the joy bubbling up inside her.

Her chest felt flooded with sweetness, and she wanted to say more. But when she tilted her head slightly, she saw Shen Wu gripping the handrail tightly, clearly still upset.

Dressing like this only makes you stand out more, you know.

The vehicle continued to sway, and the weary passengers merely glanced in their direction without further inquiry.

In the dimly lit carriage, Shen Wu held onto the handrail, glaring angrily out the window. “When do we get off?”

Su Yuchen was pulled back to reality by her words and suddenly remembered. Flustered, she looked up at the station sign. “Oh, oh, the next stop.”

In less than three minutes, the vehicle arrived at the station.

“Ding dong,” the bilingual announcement played over the speakers: “We have arrived. Please take your belongings and exit through the rear door.”

Su Yuchen and Shen Wu followed the crowd out the back door.

Su Yuchen made sure to shield Shen Wu the entire time, preventing others from bumping into her. Only once they reached the platform did Shen Wu turn around and ask a deadly question.

“What did you just call me?”

“…”

Su Yuchen couldn’t answer. She smiled, trying to charm her way out of it, but Shen Wu, dressed entirely in black, had now removed her sunglasses and mask. Her expression was stormy, and her stance matched the sharp, icy aura of her outfit.

Su Yuchen hesitated for a while, then simply stuffed her hands into her down jacket pockets, nervously fiddling with her innocent phone.

“I know it’s because my disguise was too good.”

Shen Wu spoke with certainty.

She genuinely believed her disguise was flawless and would accept no arguments.

As she spoke, Shen Wu took two steps toward her, arms crossed and chin lifted.

“But just because my disguise was too good, you blurted out someone else’s name?”

“So, is this person very important to you?”

Her words hung in the night breeze, carrying a hint of sourness, as if freshly plucked from a vat of vinegar.

“No, not at all,” Su Yuchen quickly denied. “Just a regular friend.”

“Regular friend?” Shen Wu’s voice was muffled. “A regular friend who invites you over to play games late at night?”

“You haven’t even played games with me again!”

This…

This was impossible to explain.

“I remember now, Liu Ruomeng, wasn’t she on set.”

Shen Wu’s brows furrowed again. “So, when did you two get so close?”

Su Yuchen carefully chose her words. “I ran into her on set later and overheard her on the phone. I found out her two stray animal rescue centers were running out of funding, so I was considering helping her organize a livestream fundraiser for the animals.”

“We really are just regular friends. I swear!”

Behind her sunglasses, Shen Wu’s expression was unreadable.

After a long pause, she finally asked slowly, “Really?”

“Really! Really!”

She sounded a bit mollified, it seemed her explanation had been clear enough. Thank goodness.

Just as Su Yuchen began to relax, her phone buzzed violently in her pocket.

Coincidentally, she had been absentmindedly playing with it, and the call was instantly answered, worse yet, it was put on speaker.

“Sis!! Why aren’t you replying to my messages?”

“I just went out of my way to watch your past roles, sis, your acting is amazing!”

“I’m seriously getting more and more in awe of you!”

“Woo-hoo! Sis, you’re the best!”

Liu Ruomeng’s enthusiastic praise rang out clearly in the empty night air.

“…”

This time, it was Su Yuchen’s turn to panic. She pulled out her phone, mumbled a few excuses, and tried to hang up.

“I’m busy right now, talk later.”

Unexpectedly, Liu Ruomeng’s loud voice couldn’t be suppressed at all: “Hey, sis, what are you doing? You’re not replying to my WeChat messages, so I had to call and ask. When are you coming to my place? The new game controller I bought is so much fun! And there’s delicious food, what do you want to eat? I’ll have my assistant buy everything for you. Sis, talk to me! Have you forgotten how you even hit me before-”

“Alright, stop talking.”

Please, don’t say another word!

Liu Ruomeng’s voice was abruptly cut off by the red end-call button, vanishing mid-sentence in the empty train station.

Shen Wu heavily readjusted her sunglasses and turned to leave.

But the dim evening light made it hard to see, and she immediately twisted her ankle the moment she took a step. The next second, she found herself enveloped in a warm, fragrant embrace.

Su Yuchen held Shen Wu, her ears burning.

“Be careful.”

“…”

The arm around her slender waist was delicate yet strong, and the scent of her body, untainted by any artificial fragrance, carried the warmth of her skin, a pleasant aroma unique to Su Yuchen.

Shen Wu pressed her lips together, swallowing to moisten her dry throat.

She raised her hand and pushed Su Yuchen away. “Go hug your Liu Ruomeng. Don’t touch me.”

Su Yuchen shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum. “I won’t go.”

Shen Wu frowned. “Why not?”

“If I go, won’t you fall?”

“…”

The words melted Shen Wu’s heart into a puddle of spring water, though her lips remained as stubborn as an iron weight.

“Just let me fall then!”

Su Yuchen fought back a laugh, her lips twitching. “I don’t dare.”

“Why not?!”

“I’m afraid you’ll get mad.”

“…”

Shen Wu mentally beat up a plush pig in her mind: Is my temper really that bad?

Is it? Is it?!

Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened that night.

Shen Wu crossed her arms out of habit. “One Yuan says if you don’t come see it soon, it’ll go on a hunger strike, protest, run away from home, and look for its mom.”

“How is One Yuan doing?”

“You only ask about One Yuan, not me?”

“Then, how are you?”

“I missed you too.”

“…!!”

Su Yuchen’s eyes widened slightly, her gaze at Shen Wu turning slightly dazed as a faint blush spread across her fair skin.

“So, come to my place tonight.”

Still the same blunt Shen Wu, but after saying “I missed you,” even she felt a little embarrassed and turned slightly away.

“Ahem! Come to my place tonight. We need to discuss One Yuan’s education.”

“Did it…” Su Yuchen ventured cautiously, “do something bad again?”

“Worse,” Shen Wu’s lips curled slightly. “It’s practically ‘committed every crime imaginable.'”

Her gloved fingertip, clad in black velvet, tapped Su Yuchen’s nose teasingly, as if playing with a kitten. “Just like you.”

Su Yuchen finally couldn’t hold back and let out a soft laugh.

“Alright, let’s go home then.”

She actually agreed?

Shen Wu was surprised by this sudden concession but decided to go with the flow, giving a casual “Mm,” and said, “Let’s go.”

Under the streetlights, their tall, slender figures stood close together.

The orange glow stretched their shadows long across the ground, intimate and tender.

But their bickering never stopped.

Shen Wu, a goddess in public, shed all pretense around Su Yuchen, her words flowing endlessly.

“Hey, hey, this way. Cross the street.”

“I parked my car in the subway station parking lot over here earlier.”

“How was I supposed to know which bus you’d take? I had to ride back and forth several times to find you!”

“Stop laughing, damn it!”

Shen Wu stomped ahead angrily, only to nearly trip again after a few steps due to her blurry vision.

She adjusted the sunglasses on her nose and raised her hand like an empress dowager: “Here, help me walk.”

Su Yuchen grinned and performed a playful curtsy before stepping forward to support Shen Wu’s wrist.

The two crossed the zebra crossing to retrieve their car on the other side of the road.

Just then, an elderly woman passed by with her granddaughter in tow and remarked approvingly, “See that? A good deed.”

“That girl isn’t just pretty, she’s also kind-hearted, helping a blind person cross the street.”

Shen Wu, the “blind person” being helped while wearing sunglasses: “…”