After My Flash Marriage with the Movie Queen - Chapter 24

After coaxing her own wife, Qi Yu finally turned to the woman sitting on the sofa. “You came at just the right time.”

“…” The moment Zhao Xunyin heard those words, her instincts told her something was off. Everyone knew that Boss Qi was the least courteous person in the world. The day she started being polite to you, there was a ninety-nine percent chance she was about to throw you into some kind of trap.

Sure enough “The company’s planning to invest in a new film. Free up your schedule after August,” said the ever-calculating Qi Yu.

“Another one?” Zhao Xunyin hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to contribute to the company—she did. But whenever it came to entertainment investments, Boss Qi’s record was catastrophic.

No matter what industry Qi Yu touched, she turned a profit. But every single film or TV series under her company’s name? Without fail, box-office disasters.

As a Double award-winning actress, Zhao Xunyin had her pride. Yet every flop she’d ever starred in came from Qitian Entertainment.

If she did another one, it’d be too embarrassing to admit in public.

It hadn’t bothered her much before, but now that she was married—well, that was different. Just imagining her wife Shi Nanbei’s reaction, honestly, Zhao Xunyin was terrified of being disliked.

After all, Shi Nanbei didn’t hide her disapproval very well.

Zhao sighed inwardly. Once upon a time, she was the Film Queen—no matter where she went, people chased after her. But ever since marrying Shi Nanbei, that title didn’t seem to carry much weight anymore.

Whenever she brought it up, Shi Nanbei would just say, “What does you being a film queen have to do with you being my wife?”

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

Well, technically, it doesn’t. But after you say that, what am I even supposed to reply?

After Zhao voiced her hesitation, Boss Qi merely shot her a cool glance.

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

Fine. She knew she couldn’t complain. After all, she had asked Qi Yu earlier to help clean up that little mess with Shi Nanbei.

“This one won’t flop,” Qi Yu declared. Even she was sick of her own failed projects. Determined to redeem her reputation, she had poured a fortune into hiring a renowned director and screenwriter—this time, Qitian Entertainment would rise to fame.

“Let’s hope so,” Zhao murmured, clearly unconvinced. But since her boss had already made up her mind, Zhao didn’t dare push it further.

“So, what are your plans after that?” An He, who had just finished applying her face mask, asked casually.

“After I finish the boss’s project, I’m planning to retire.” Zhao leaned back on the sofa, her tone half-joking, half-serious.

“What?” An He looked at her like she’d just said she was moving to Mars. “You’re at the peak of your career—and you’re talking about retirement?”

Envy hit her hard.

She’d spent her whole life hustling—so desperate to make it that she’d even married the stone-faced Qi Yu, all for a shot at fame. And yet here she was, faded and forgotten, living off her wife’s money. Meanwhile Zhao Xunyin, that lucky woman, had effortlessly won every major award, raked in millions per film, and now—now—she wanted to retire?

Unforgivable. Envy twisted An He’s face into something truly feral.

“My little one’s a bit clingy,” Zhao said with a small smile, completely unaware—or perhaps completely unbothered—that she was showing off. “I spent the first half of my life chasing money, always rushing around, never stopping to enjoy it. So in the second half, I’d like to actually live a little.”

Zhao didn’t know whether An He understood, but Qi Yu certainly did.

“Planning to settle down in Chengdu?” Qi Yu asked.

“Mhm. That’s the plan,” Zhao replied. “My little one’s studying medicine—she’s only in her third year. She’s still got another five years to go.”

Qi Yu’s lips twitched upward slightly. “I’d like to meet her sometime.”

Unlike An He, Qi Yu had actually been close to Shu Yu back in the day. But when it came to Zhao and Shu’s relationship, she had never been supportive. She’d said bluntly that the two of them weren’t suited for each other and should part ways sooner rather than later.

Poor An He, the once-devoted fan of the “Double Queens” CP, had been devastated when her own wife said that.

“You’re just jealous that Yinyin and Yuyu are beautiful and kind!” she’d shouted back then.

Boss Qi had simply replied, “Heh.”

An He: “…”

But while An He was wallowing in jealousy, all the way in Chengdu, Shi Nanbei was practically drowning in despair.

And the reason? Her wife’s cursed, ever-blooming peach-blossom luck.

Even before marrying Zhao Xunyin, she’d known her wife was a national treasure. But the moment Zhao publicly announced their marriage, the trending tag #ZhaoXunyinWife had stayed glued to the top of Weibo for days.

Shi Nanbei had been living in constant anxiety—especially after seeing her roommate, Wu Lili, staring blankly at her phone, devastated, when the marriage news broke.

The pressure was immense.

And after reading about that infamous Fudan University roommate poisoning case, Shi Nanbei was even more terrified.

She and Wu Lili were both medical students, after all. With the chemicals they worked with in the lab, if Wu Lili wanted her dead.

Shi Nanbei: “…”

Poor thing. Life was hard enough without feeling like the whole world wanted to steal your wife.

This marriage was turning out to be way more dangerous than she’d expected.

To be fair, Shi Nanbei had wanted to tell Wu Lili the truth. But Wu Lili simply refused to listen—completely lost in her own delusions.

Then one morning “I got it!” Wu Lili suddenly shouted, springing up from bed like a resurrected corpse. “I finally figured out who Zhao Xunyin’s wife is!”

Shi Nanbei, hiding under her blanket playing PUBG, broke into a cold sweat.

Please, Lili, don’t kill me. I swear I just went on a blind date that day.

I didn’t mean for this to happen!

“I’m telling you, her wife’s definitely from Chengdu!” declared Detective Wu Lili, waving her phone triumphantly. “Remember when Zhao Xunyin came to Chengdu for a week? Fans saw her at the government office! Her studio said she was just passing through for work, and everyone believed it, but—but!”

Her face grew increasingly deranged. “I zoomed in on the photos and saw a woman’s reflection in a roadside mirror!”

Yang Shan lazily hummed an “oh,” not even bothering to look up. “And how’d you figure that out?”

“I magnified the image and saw someone about her height standing right beside her—look, here!” Wu Lili shoved the phone in everyone’s faces. “By the Audi A8 door—see it? It’s blocked a bit, but she was totally talking to this woman!”

Finally, she announced triumphantly, “So I can confirm it—Zhao Xunyin, that heartless woman, went to the civil office that day to get her marriage certificate with this woman!”

Shi Nanbei: “…”

It wasn’t me—it really wasn’t what you think!

Wu Lili continued her rant, eyes burning. “I never thought her wife would be from Chengdu! Of all the 16 million people here, someone actually had the guts—the sheer gall—to steal my wife!”

Shi Nanbei: “…”

I’m sorry, okay? I was wrong!

Wu Lili sneered coldly. “Unless I die first, I’ll search every street if I have to—I will find out who this homewrecker is!”

Shi Nanbei: “…”

Lili, you really don’t have to look far. The culprit’s literally me.

I swear I was possessed that day—I just went for a blind date! If I’d known it was your wife, I never would’ve been so reckless!

Sob.

Yang Shan, unable to take it anymore, sighed. “Seriously, what’s your problem? Even if Zhao Xunyin weren’t married, you’d never have a shot. Why blame her wife?”

“Unfair?” Wu Lili cried, tears streaming again. “How is it not unfair? I treated her so well, and she did this to me! Zhao Xunyin—you heartless woman!”

Shi Nanbei: “…”

No, no, it’s me who’s heartless.

Watching Wu Lili sob her heart out, Shi Nanbei finally couldn’t hold it in. She poked her head out from under her blanket and whispered, “Uh, Lili?”

“Nanbei! Don’t you think I’m right?” Wu Lili turned toward her, eyes blazing. “She totally wronged me, didn’t she?”

Shi Nanbei looked into her roommate’s fervent gaze, on the verge of tears. She swallowed hard, crawled out of bed, and approached Wu Lili’s bunk like a guilty child.

“Lili, I’ll show you something. But promise me, no matter what happens—we’ll still be good sisters, okay?”

Wu Lili frowned, puzzled. “What kind of talk is that? Even if you stole my girlfriend, we’d still be sisters.”

Shi Nanbei: “…”

But I stole your wife, Lili.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Nanbei handed her phone over. On the screen was a selfie—Zhao Xunyin holding her close in the car.

She braced herself for an explosion. She expected Wu Lili to scream, to curse her, something.

But instead, Wu Lili calmly handed the phone back and said, “That’s it? I’ve got even spicier ones.”

Shi Nanbei: “.?”

Then Wu Lili opened her gallery and showed her a collection—dozens of photoshopped images of her and Zhao Xunyin: kissing shots, couple portraits, wedding photos, and even a few explicit ones that made Shi Nanbei’s face flush crimson.

Shi Nanbei: “?”

How is my head getting greener by the second?

She was now half-convinced that maybe Zhao Xunyin really had two-timed her with Lili.

Unbelievable. Her wife’s peach blossoms bloomed like a forest!

Wu Lili smirked at Shi Nanbei’s shell-shocked expression. “You know what’s most important for a fangirl like us? Learning how to Photoshop yourself with your idol.”

“As long as you can use Photoshop, there’s zero distance between you and them,” she lectured proudly.

Shi Nanbei: “…”

Right. My bad.

Lili, I really underestimated you.