After My Flash Marriage with the Movie Queen - Chapter 43

Perhaps in the entire entertainment industry, only Zhao Xunyin’s wife would be insane enough to actually read her own partner’s fanfiction.

Watching Shi Nanbei’s wide-eyed, innocent expression, Zhao Xunyin was speechless for a solid half day. In the end, Shi Nanbei even had the nerve to say, “Actually, fanfics about celebrities are pretty common, right? You should be more open-minded.”

Zhao Xunying: “…”

How could she possibly be open-minded about that? It wasn’t that other people’s wives didn’t read fanfiction—it was that none of their wives were out here reading steamy fanfics about their partners with someone else!

Seeing Zhao Xunyin’s darkened expression, Shi Nanbei nervously bit her finger and whispered, “It really wasn’t my fault! It’s all Lili’s doing. You know Wu Lili, right? She’s your superfan. She’s got tons of fanfics and even fanart of you.

She’s the one who sent them to me.”

Far away in her dorm, Wu Lili suddenly sneezed out of nowhere.

“Who’s badmouthing me behind my back?”

Her roommate Yang Shan replied flatly, “Maybe someone’s thinking about you?”

Wu the eternal scapegoat Lili squinted suspiciously. “You sure about that?”

After interrogating for a while, Zhao Xunyin discovered that her wife had even read fanfics pairing her with Shu Yu!

Her face turned greener and darker by the second. She had seen all sorts of people in her career, but she’d never encountered anyone quite like Shi Nanbei. Yet the latter remained blissfully unaware of her crime and even tried to play cute:

“Well, that one was just the classic CEO x Celebrity trope—you know, the kind of stuff those Jinjiang authors love. I just stumbled across it while scrolling through fan spaces and downloaded a few. I only skimmed two pages, really.”

Looking at Shi Nanbei’s pink, overheated ears, Zhao Xunyin would sooner die than believe that “two pages” excuse.

In the end, to regain some dignity, Zhao Xunyin gritted her teeth and said, “Send them to me. I want to see.”

Shi Nanbei froze. “What?!”

Her reaction made Zhao Xunyin’s mood instantly improve. She smiled sweetly and repeated, “I said, send me the fanfic where I’m paired with someone else. I’d like to have a look.”

Shi Nanbei: “…”

This is it. I’m dead.

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

Over the phone, An He nearly burst a lung laughing after hearing Zhao Xunyin describe how her wife had been reading spicy fanfics about her and another actress. “Oh my god—where did you even find such an adorable creature?

Walking, breathing adorableness!”

Zhao Xunying: “…”

She knew she shouldn’t have told An He. Of course this woman would find it hilarious. But if she didn’t vent to someone, Zhao Xunyin felt she’d explode from internalized humiliation. It wasn’t like she could go rant about it on Weibo—what would that do to her ice-queen public persona?

An He was still laughing uncontrollably. “Your wife is hilarious! Next time I’m in Chengdu, you have to introduce me.” Then, catching her breath, she asked, “So, did she actually send you the fanfic?”

Zhao Xunyin fell silent. “…”

What was she supposed to say? That her wife had seriously sent her a 2-gigabyte compressed folder full of fanfics?

Two whole gigabytes! Where did Shi Nanbei even find that much content? And when Zhao Xunyin asked, her wife had the audacity to reply righteously, “You can read them if you want, but don’t spread them around, okay? They’re all officially purchased copies. We must support original creators, no piracy!”

At least the girl had a strong sense of copyright ethics.

Zhao Xunyin was so exasperated she smacked Shi Nanbei on the butt. “And who exactly would I send them to?! You want everyone to know my wife reads fanfics about me and other women?”

Shi Nanbei: “…”

Realizing she’d messed up, Shi Nanbei stuck out her tongue and bolted toward the bathroom. “I’m gonna take a shower!”

And now An He wanted a copy too?

No way—Zhao Xunyin’s pride couldn’t take another hit.

Having known Zhao Xunyin for years, An He was familiar with her temper. Her silence usually meant yes, so her curiosity spiked even higher. “Come on, send me a copy too! I wanna see!”

Zhao Xunyin didn’t even hesitate. “No.”

“Hahahahahahahaha!” An He burst out again. Just imagining Zhao Xunyin’s tortured expression on the other end made her laugh harder. “I can’t believe there’s actually someone who can control you! The old saying’s true—there really is always one thing that conquers another.”

Zhao Xunyin finally snapped. “Did you call just to laugh at me?”

“Okay, okay, fine,” An He said between giggles, finally sobering up. “Serious talk now—did your agent tell you about that variety show invitation?”

“I haven’t decided whether to accept it yet,” Zhao Xunyin replied.

“Don’t you dare turn it down!” An He exclaimed. “You have to go!”

“And why’s that?”

An He, shameless as ever—and even more so since marrying Qi Yu—replied without a trace of embarrassment, “Because I’m planning to join the same show!”

Zhao Xunyin fell silent. “Is your wife throwing money at another project again?”

You couldn’t blame her for asking. Over the years, Qi Yu had spent a fortune trying to make her wife famous. The dignified young master of Qitian Group had begged directors, producers, and screenwriters to give An He custom film roles just to boost her career.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel. Despite the money and effort, the audience simply didn’t bite. After all these years, An He was still hovering around third-tier celebrity status.

In this industry, sometimes fame really did come down to luck—and no amount of money could buy it.

“Hey, don’t make it sound like that’s the only reason!” An He protested. “Can’t I just want to work for once? Even freeloaders get bored eventually!”

Zhao Xunyin’s voice was laced with doubt. “You sure about that?”

An He: “…”

Seeing that she couldn’t fool Zhao Xunyin, An He had no choice but to come clean. But even as she confessed, she made sure to drag Zhao Xunyin down with her.

“Come on, who else can I blame if not you? If you hadn’t lost your mind and suddenly announced your marriage, we wouldn’t have had all those advertisers pulling out and throwing a fit. Would I be out here hustling for work? Don’t you know you’re Qitian Entertainment’s cash cow? You got married out of nowhere, and my wife’s been working overtime cleaning up the mess ever since!”

“So, Boss Lady, which variety show caught your eye this time?” Zhao Xunyin’s tone was cool and flat, her question striking right at An He’s soul.

Though people often mocked An He for being nothing but a pretty face, she did have one redeeming quality—she was exceptionally good at asking for favors. Unlike her wife, Qi Yu, who could maintain a funeral-level expression even when begging for help, An He knew how to look sweet and sincere enough to get what she wanted.

“Oh, darling, don’t be like that,” she coaxed playfully. “Whichever show you go on, I’ll tag along! You know Qitian Entertainment’s always had that ‘buy one, get one free’ policy.”

The “buy one,” of course, referred to the award-winning Zhao Xunyin, while the “get one free” was An He herself—barely a third-tier celebrity at best.

Everyone in the industry knew that Qitian Group’s big boss, Qi Yu, was completely whipped. Over the years, she’d spent absurd amounts of money trying to boost her wife’s career. And while most producers laughed behind their backs at

how hopeless An He was, none dared to turn Qi Yu down whenever she made a request.

After all, even if you won’t bow to life, you’ll bow to money.

While chatting with An He on the phone, Zhao Xunyin’s gaze drifted toward the bathroom. Not long after An He’s chatter came to an end, the sound of running water stopped as well. Knowing that Shi Nanbei had finished showering, Zhao Xunyin’s tone turned slightly perfunctory.

“Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll look over the shows my agent sent me and get back to you.”

“Wait, don’t hang up yet! You still haven’t sent me that fanfiction about you and your wife!” An He started laughing through the receiver, but before she could finish, Zhao Xunyin swiftly ended the call.

“Were you on the phone?” came a gentle voice from behind.

Shi Nanbei emerged from the bathroom, towel in hand, drying her hair as she walked out. Her skin was dewy and soft, like a freshly peeled egg—radiant, fresh, and utterly captivating.

Zhao Xunyin’s heart gave a guilty jolt. Maybe it was her own conscience acting up, but the moment Shi Nanbei asked that question, she suddenly thought back to that afternoon—standing on the stairs, whispering into the phone with her ex.

Had Shi Nanbei heard any of that?

“It was the boss’s wife,” Zhao Xunyin admitted honestly as she reached out to take the towel from Shi Nanbei’s hands and gently began drying her hair. “She wanted to talk about variety show offers.”

“Variety show? What kind?” Shi Nanbei asked curiously.

“It’s not decided yet. Just reviewing options.”

As Zhao Xunyin lowered her gaze, she met the younger woman’s bright, expectant eyes. For a moment she was stunned—but then it clicked.

“You have a favorite show you’d like to see me on?” she asked softly. She could already guess what Shi Nanbei was thinking—she just wanted to see her partner appear on TV.

Over the years, Zhao Xunyin had rarely accepted variety show invitations. She’d risen to fame late, and even after winning awards, many people still questioned her abilities. So, she kept herself busy—constantly filming, spending over eighty percent of the year on set. The rest of her time went to acting workshops and posture training. She hardly had room for the fast-paced, easy-money world of variety shows.

But if it was something her wife really liked, she could at least consider it.

“Mm!” Shi Nanbei nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling. “I really love Following Bear Grylls on the Wild! Would you go on that one?”

Zhao Xunyin’s face froze on the spot.

If she remembered correctly, that was the show where they dropped celebrities into the wilderness with nothing but their bare hands—and surviving meant eating bugs and raw animal meat.

Even if it meant disappointing her wife, Zhao Xunyin’s answer was firm.

No way.

Who knew if she’d even make it out alive? After all, that was the same show that once had its guests writing wills before filming began.

Her expression went utterly blank.