Love Contract with the Queen Actress - Chapter 23

For a moment, Fu Nan didn’t respond. After a brief pause, she leaned in and asked in a hushed voice, “Are you serious?”

“You really want to go on a dating show with Su Yuchen?”

“Do you realize what that means?”

Shen Wu: “I’ve never been more serious. Just go ahead and make the arrangements. You should trust someone as reliable as me.”

“…”

The emojis in Fu Nan’s mind were already shattered. She forced a smile and said, “Oh, you’re so reliable.”

“By the way,” Fu Nan finally couldn’t suppress her burning curiosity and leaned in again to ask, “You and Su Yuchen, is it really real?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve misread the situation. You know how you are, always so.”

She paused, then, under Shen Wu’s encouraging gaze, uttered the word: “Narcissistic.”

“Hmph,” Shen Wu scoffed, though it was clear she was a bit affected.

She glanced toward the kitchen and slapped the table. “I’m just self-aware, okay? Don’t believe me? Fine, come with me. I’ll show you just how meticulously and attentively she cooks for me.”

Fu Nan shook her head, laughing as she followed.

The two of them hovered at the kitchen doorway, peering inside.

Fu Nan deliberately ignored the small scorch mark on the wall and focused on the girl standing with her back to them.

…

Five minutes earlier.

Su Yuchen was washing ingredients in the kitchen, the water rushing over her fingers.

As the clear stream flowed over her fingertips, she zoned out for a moment.

The Starry Night was an annual grand event, something she had never paid much attention to in the past. But today, she found herself thinking about it over and over, feeling inexplicably drawn to it.

It was probably because of Shen Wu.

She had seen the official promotional post from the organizers, announcing a new twist this year: the two most-voted attendees would dance together.

Because of this, Fu Nan had been discreetly informed by the organizers, who hoped Shen Wu would brush up on her waltz.

Clearly, the organizers had anticipated that if Shen Wu attended, one of the top two spots would inevitably be hers.

The entire event would be livestreamed, so fans of various celebrities were already vying for the other spot.

Many had long since begun rallying support and boosting data for their idols.

Even the cheapest, most distant audience tickets for the Starry Night had been scalped for exorbitant prices, each ticket representing a vote for their favorite star. Now, even those sky-high tickets were sold out.

This was clearly a gimmick by the organizers to capitalize on Shen Wu’s participation, and it had worked like a charm.

The event had instantly become the center of attention, the glittering stars now entangled in a fierce battle for fame and influence. Any celebrity invited to the Starry Night would see their status skyrocket.

But none of that was what concerned Su Yuchen. What bothered her was the thought of someone else dancing with Shen Wu.

How could she… dance with someone else?

If only she could be the one to dance with Shen Wu.

But how could someone as insignificant as her, a mere Cinderella, ever have a chance to participate in such an event?

Unless… unless…

Su Yuchen quietly glanced back and caught sight of the softly lit dining room, where two tall, elegant figures were lounging comfortably, chatting idly, sipping soup one moment, tapping the table the next, completely oblivious to her presence.

Cupping a pumpkin still glistening with water droplets in her hands, Su Yuchen raised it reverently above her brow, closed her eyes, and began murmuring a heartfelt prayer.

“Pumpkin from Shen Wu’s home, you must carry a trace of celestial aura, right? Please, please, I hope through you, my fairy godmother can hear my prayer. Grant me a pumpkin carriage to take me to the ‘Starry Night’ ball. I want to dance with Shen Wu.”

“So! Please!”

With that, she carefully set the pumpkin down, clapped her hands together with a soft pat, and bowed three times in solemn reverence.

The two shamelessly eavesdropping at the kitchen doorway: “…”

Fu Nan was just about to whisper, “That’s kind of adorable,” when Su Yuchen spoke first.

“Alright, Shen Wu wants milk pumpkin soup. So, I’m counting on you now.”

With her back still turned, Su Yuchen raised the kitchen knife high. For a fleeting moment, the blade seemed to flash with a cold, sharp gleam.

Thunk.

A swift, decisive chop.

The pumpkin split cleanly in two, its two hemispherical halves wobbling unsteadily on the cutting board.

“…”

Shen Wu and Fu Nan both instinctively recoiled, exchanging a glance.

Returning to the dining room, the two carried an odd, uneasy feeling, as though they’d just witnessed a crime scene. Strangely, neither felt much like eating that pumpkin soup anymore.

Yet the tantalizing aroma wafting from the kitchen teased their appetites all the same.

Warm light filled the room, mingling with the sweet, comforting scent of food. Suddenly, it struck them, perhaps the two of them really could be happy together.

Fu Nan thought she ought to support them. Shen Wu had been right before: when you find the right person, everything else falls into place.

She no longer had any reason to object.

The two sat in silence for a long while, until Shen Wu shot Fu Nan a glance and rapped her knuckles against the table. “Fairy godmother, you know what to do.”

“…”

Fu Nan pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, yeah. Otherwise, I’ll end up like that pumpkin, wish granted, then chop, right?”

Shen Wu propped her chin on her hand. “Who knows? Godmother.”

She deliberately laced the last word with saccharine sweetness, smirking as Fu Nan scooted farther away.

But as she spoke, her sleeve slipped slightly, revealing a few red marks on her slender, pale wrist strikingly vivid.

Fu Nan, who had been covering her face in secondhand embarrassment, caught sight of the marks through her fingers. She straightened abruptly, eyes wide. “What happened to your wrist?”

“Don’t tell me you… don’t tell me you’re…”

Don’t tell me you’re the bottom?

The words died in her throat, partly because Fu Nan refused to believe it, and partly because she didn’t dare ask.

Sure enough, Shen Wu yanked her sleeve back up, feigning nonchalance with exaggerated indifference. “Oh, this? Pfft. What are you worried about? Of course not. I got these from paragliding the other day. You know, paragliding? Pretty thrilling stuff.”

“Oh…”

“Very thrilling.”, Just not the kind of thrill Fu Nan was imagining.

Either way, it was clear Fu Nan still didn’t quite buy it but she found it even harder to believe Shen Wu could be the bottom.

Because honestly? Everything about her screamed “capable of devouring Su Yuchen whole.”

Fu Nan responded with a skeptical “Hmm,” then added, “Well, you should still be careful. Tomorrow is the ‘Starry Night,’ so don’t go getting yourself hurt again. The slightest thing could be blown way out of proportion.”

“Alright, alright, I get it.”

Shen Wu waved her hand impatiently. “Let’s get back to business.”

After waving, she suddenly grinned, propping her elbows on the table. “So, what do you say, Fairy Godmother? Will you help this little one make her wish come true?”

Fu Nan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Fairy Godmother is a bit much, but since I am her agent, fighting for my artist’s interests is just part of the job. Just wait and see tomorrow.”

…

That night, Su Yuchen rode back home in Fu Nan’s car.

She knew full well what it meant for the styling team to arrive at her place at 9 a.m. the next morning, showing up at Shen Wu’s house would be completely inappropriate.

So, she hadn’t even needed Fu Nan’s reminder. She’d planned to take the subway back on her own, but Shen Wu had practically shoved her into Fu Nan’s car, insisting she call once she got home.

The car glided down the boulevard, weaving through alternating patches of streetlight and shadow. The usual rush-hour traffic had long since faded, leaving only the occasional lonely vehicle emerging from a side street before disappearing again into the darkness.

The whole ride, Su Yuchen felt uneasy. After years of navigating film sets on her own, she’d never been alone with someone so high up the ladder before.

Fu Nan was a partner at Gaole Entertainment and, now her agent, effectively her boss in every sense. The idea of Fu Nan personally driving her home was bizarrely uncomfortable.

The car’s heater hummed softly, filling the space with warmth.

From the corner of her eye, Fu Nan noticed Su Yuchen sitting stiffly, fingers fidgeting nervously in her lap.

Clearing her throat lightly, Fu Nan broke the silence. “Yuchen, I-”

“Yes!”

Su Yuchen practically shouted, as if she were about to stand up and raise her hand to answer a question.

The sudden loud response startled them both, reviving the awkward memory of Su Yuchen’s fingers accidentally brushing against Fu Nan’s neck earlier that afternoon.

A few painfully awkward seconds passed before Fu Nan managed a strained smile, masking her own discomfort.

“Ah… no need to be so tense. I just wanted to ask, what’s your favorite color?”

“Huh?”

Su Yuchen blinked. “Light colors, I guess? Why?”

“No reason,” Fu Nan replied, keeping her eyes on the road while mentally planning for tomorrow. “Just getting to know you better since we’ll be working together a lot. Like, what clothing brands do you usually wear?”

Brands… clothes…

“…”

That was an awkward question to answer.

Su Yuchen pinched the hem of her cheap jacket hesitantly before murmuring, “I don’t really know much about brands.”

Fu Nan gave an indifferent “Oh” and focused back on driving, missing the shift in Su Yuchen’s expression.

“Where do you usually shop for clothes, then?”

“…” Su Yuchen paused, then decided honesty was best. “Taobao. Free shipping. I only filter for stores with return insurance.”

Fu Nan, dressed in understated designer labels and driving a Grand Cherokee: “……?”

Su Yuchen continued, “Crown-rated shops, established for over five years, with an average rating of 4.8 or higher.”

“And they must offer a seven-day no-reason return policy.”

“…”

Fu Nan: “…”

Got it. Tomorrow, the fairy godmother will show you what’s what.

…

When Su Yuchen returned home, she was greeted by the same pitch-black night as always.

The entire room was filled with a heavy gloom, a stark contrast to the warm, hazy light that always surrounded Shen Wu.

She closed the creaking security door behind her, set down her keys, and navigated through the cramped living room while texting Shen Wu.

Corn-Loving Xiao Yu: [I’m home!]

[Line-drawn puppy sticker.GIF]

Su Yuchen’s WeChat avatar was a simple yet adorable white rabbit munching on an ear of corn. The background was soft, the rabbit’s body lightly shaded, with only its eyes and the carrot rendered in vibrant colors. This chubby little rabbit had been nibbling on carrots on her WeChat profile for as long as she could remember.

“Buzz.”

Her phone vibrated, Shen Wu had replied.

Wu: [That took a while?]

As the message came through, Shen Wu’s avatar refreshed, changing from an abstract ink blot to a photograph. It showed an old, worn-out electronic pet with a yellowed white plastic shell, lying quietly in a velvet-lined brocade box.

Su Yuchen stared at Shen Wu’s new avatar for several seconds, only snapping out of it when another message arrived.

Wu: [Asleep?]

Corn-Loving Xiao Yu: [Not yet. Need to wash up first before bed.]

After sending the green chat bubble, it took a while before Shen Wu responded.

A white chat box popped up.

Wu: [Alright, rest early. See you tomorrow.]

Shen Wu probably needed to rest for tomorrow’s event, which was why she ended the conversation so quickly. Su Yuchen didn’t even register the meaning behind “see you tomorrow”, how could she possibly meet Shen Wu when the latter was attending the grand “Starry Night” event?

Oh, wait, she could. On Shen Wu’s brand-new TV.

The thought made Su Yuchen grin brightly. Cradling her phone in both hands, she typed earnestly:

[See you tomorrow!]

…

The next day, the sun was already high when Su Yuchen finished tidying the house. She had gone to the morning market for fresh vegetables, prepared porridge and side dishes for her mother, and brought them to Gu Yinfeng’s bedside to feed her. By the time she was done, it was past ten o’clock.

On the 120-inch laser TV, clusters of dazzling figures flashed across the screen. The pre-show for “Starry Night” had begun, with numerous celebrities posing for the cameras, flashing peace signs.

As Gu Yinfeng ate, her gaze suddenly fixed on the screen.

It was rare for Su Yuchen to see such intense emotion in her mother’s eyes, most of the time, Gu Yinfeng’s expression was as still as stagnant water. Turning to look, she saw an outdoor host in a garden, tilting the microphone toward the person beside her.

“Is Mozheng also attending the ‘Starry Night’ event today?”

Fu Mozheng sat elegantly and composedly, inside the private glass greenhouse of her own home.

Under a beige parasol, Fu Mozheng sat at a white vintage wrought-iron tea table, accompanied by a small wrought-iron chair in a royal style. Holding a script in her hand, she smiled at the camera while a makeup artist bustled around her.

The makeup brush swept lightly across Fu Mozheng’s cheeks, dusting them with a rosy blush to enhance her complexion.

She waved at the camera, her hair still adorned with colorful clips left by the hairstylist to hold her style in place. Though she appeared casual, every detail from the angle of her brows to the strands at her temples had been meticulously crafted.

“Hi, friends of ‘Starlight Morning News,’ I’m Fu Mozheng. I’m so happy to be part of the ‘Starry Night’ event this time. I hope you’ll remember me.”

Fu Mozheng’s voice came through the TV, and Su Yuchen unconsciously set down his chopsticks, his gaze fixed on the screen.

The host glanced at the script in Fu Mozheng’s hand, feigning exaggerated surprise as she covered her mouth and directed the camera closer. “Wow, Mozheng, you’re still working so hard even while getting ready for tonight’s event! Is that the script for your new drama?”

“Oh, yes,” Fu Mozheng replied, looking down at the object in her hand. She waited until the title Love of the City had been captured by the camera long enough before gently pressing her hand over it. “Just taking the time to study the script. I have to make every second count, homework is a must, especially since I’ll be joining the production next week.”

The host gasped in surprise. “Is this the same drama Shen Wu is part of?”

Fu Mozheng tactfully held back, maintaining a faint smile for the camera. “You’ll find out when the time comes.”

Love of the City? Could it be the same script Fu Nan had once asked him to review at the company?

It must be.

On the TV, every inch of Fu Mozheng’s polished appearance was magnified, and a faint glimmer appeared in Gu Yinfeng’s eyes.

Then, Fu Mozheng tapped the script in her hand, tilting her face slightly to accommodate the makeup artist’s brow brush as she continued, “But no matter what, I’ll give 120% to bring the character to life. I have confidence in myself. My mother has also given me a lot of guidance, helping me appreciate the joy of embodying a role even more.”

The host immediately perked up. “Your mother?”

The question made Gu Yinfeng lift her chin slightly, her thin lips tightening unconsciously. The next moment, Fu Mozheng proudly declared to the camera, “Yes, my mother, Ruan Mengqing.”

“My mother has been incredibly supportive of my acting and has helped me tremendously. I hope to be as outstanding as she is.”

Amid the host’s flattering remarks, “Your mother, the legendary actress Ruan”, Gu Yinfeng lowered her eyes, picked up the bowl of soup in front of her, and began sipping it slowly.

She drank unhurriedly, but each swallow seemed deliberate, almost forceful.

“How enviable, getting to attend such a grand event. Ah, I’d love to go too,” Su Yuchen murmured wistfully, taking a small bite of boiled egg white as he stared at the TV.

Gu Yinfeng continued drinking her soup, her voice muffled as she spoke slowly, “Don’t covet what isn’t yours. Don’t yearn for places you don’t belong. One must learn to be content.”

“You’re right,” Su Yuchen agreed, swallowing the egg white before cradling his bowl with both hands and smiling. “Even if I’m not qualified to attend, having dinner with Mom is happiness enough.”

Gu Yinfeng made a noncommittal sound, not lifting her head, if anything, she seemed to bury it even lower.

Su Yuchen also took a sip of porridge, then suddenly realized something and quickly asked,

“Speaking of which, Mom, did I have a virtual pet when I was little?”

Gu Yinfeng was still sipping her soup. Hearing this, she looked up, clearly not remembering.

Su Yuchen gestured with her hands to indicate the size, trying to jog her mother’s memory.

“It was about this big, with a white plastic shell and yellow edges.”

“There was a little cat inside, tiny but always eating, and you had to clean up its mess all the time.”

But the attempt failed. Gu Yinfeng shook her head, her sallow, withered face showing no recognition. “I don’t remember anything like that.”

Su Yuchen sighed. “Alright.”

That expensive and “luxurious” toy from her childhood had been lost to time, discarded in some forgotten corner.

Otherwise, she would have taken a photo to proudly show Shen Wu, telling her that she, too, once had a similar virtual pet!

This so-called breakfast had dragged on until past eleven.

Just as Su Yuchen was about to clear the dishes, the security door of the house was knocked on.

Bang, bang, bang.

The old green-painted security door made a sound louder than the actual knocking, startling everyone.

“Who is it?”

Su Yuchen opened the wooden inner door and was met with her uncle’s beaming face.

Standing outside, he called excitedly into the house, “Yuchen, open the door quickly!”

Confused, Su Yuchen opened the door, and her uncle ushered in several people behind him stylishly dressed, adorned in shiny designer brands, looking every bit the part of important, eye-catching figures.

“Yuchen, I was just taking a walk downstairs when I saw these people asking around for your address. What a coincidence, right? So, I brought them up. Do you know them?”

Most likely, seeing how well-dressed and wealthy they looked, completely out of place in this crumbling, nearly-dead neighborhood, he had eagerly led them home, whether they were acquainted or not.

Su Yuchen studied the group and suddenly found one of them vaguely familiar.

Sure enough, that person stepped forward and said, “Hello, Miss Su. I’m Assistant of Fu Nan. We tried calling you earlier but couldn’t get through. Luckily, we ran into your relative. Time is tight, please come with us now. We’ll do your hair and makeup on the way, and you’ll need to pick out a suitable gown.”

“Tonight, you’ll be attending ‘Starry Night’ as a specially invited guest of the organizers.”