After My Flash Marriage with the Movie Queen - Chapter 62

She wasn’t sure if other married couples were like them—chatting on the phone every night until it was late, two people separated by distance yet never running out of things to say, talking about everything from the ends of the earth to their youth, and even to their future.

Because of her public identity, Zhao Xunyin couldn’t spend as much time with Shi Nanbei as she wished. So, after their marriage, she’d been actively learning and preparing to slowly transition to work behind the scenes.

“Why though? You’re doing so well right now,” Shi Nanbei asked, puzzled after hearing Zhao Xunyin’s plans for the future.

It wasn’t an unreasonable question. After all, she had only been Zhao Xunyin’s wife for a little over two months, but she’d been her fan for more than ten years. It was only natural that her mindset couldn’t shift so quickly. In her eyes,

Zhao Xunyin was still the award-winning actress, the dazzling superstar, with endless possibilities ahead of her.

She remembered that years ago, during a talk show interview, Zhao Xunyin had mentioned that her family had never supported her decision to enter the entertainment industry. But she had loved acting so much that she gave up on college and joined showbiz instead.

At the time, Zhao Xunyin had only been seventeen or eighteen. Shi Nanbei remembered it vividly—and deeply admired how someone so young already knew what she wanted and dared to pursue it.

How charming.

“Little one, don’t you want me to spend more time with you?” Zhao Xunyin teased.

Shi Nanbei’s face flushed red. Thankfully, they were only talking over the phone—if Zhao Xunyin saw her blushing just from one sentence, that would’ve been too embarrassing.

“Of course I do! But you still have your career,” she said earnestly over the line. “When I graduate and start working, I might even end up busier than you.”

Zhao Xunyin chuckled. “So, what you’re saying is, I shouldn’t become a worn-out housewife by then?”

Shi Nanbei immediately denied it. “Have you ever seen a ‘worn-out housewife’ as gorgeous as you?”

The honesty and sweetness from her younger wife instantly lifted Zhao Xunyin’s mood.

Zhao then brought up the upcoming variety show, saying she’d have her assistant put together some background materials for Shi Nanbei. But since things suddenly felt a bit rushed, Shi Nanbei began to feel uneasy.

“Did I agree to it too hastily? I don’t want to trouble you. Will bringing me on the show cause any inconvenience?” she asked.

Zhao Xunyin thought about the group of fans on Weibo who had fallen for Shi Nanbei’s looks and were practically begging her to debut. Her expression turned complicated. “Just make sure you don’t act too obvious when you like other female celebrities on the show.”

Ah yes, jealous again—silently, of course, without saying so outright.

Feeling embarrassed, Shi Nanbei quickly swore over the phone, “Don’t worry. You’re the one I like the most.”

“Really?” Zhao Xunyin sounded doubtful.

Shi Nanbei: “……”

They’d only been married two months—how could there already be trust issues between them?

Sob, sob, sob.

Being a celebrity was always busy work, especially for someone as famous as Zhao Xunyin. Her schedule was packed nearly every day. But no matter how hectic things got, she still remembered her promise to take Shi Nanbei on a trip.

Since she couldn’t handle all the logistics herself, she asked her Chengdu-based assistant to arrange it.

The assistant was efficient and soon found a reputable youth travel agency that offered customized island tours, called Dora Three Dreams.

“This one has good reviews—it’s perfect for a free-and-easy trip,” the assistant explained. After all, islands like Semporna didn’t have many direct flights or commercial packages, and for a celebrity like Zhao Xunyin, joining a public tour was obviously not an option.

The agency’s pricing, itinerary, and hotel selection were all great—except for one thing that Zhao Xunyin couldn’t get over.

“Is this agency reliable? Who came up with such a ridiculous name?” she asked, holding the brochure.

“What’s wrong with the name? I think it sounds kind of nice,” the assistant said.

Zhao Xunyin frowned. “It just sounds like the people running it aren’t very proper.”

Dora Three Dreams? Why not just call it Dora B-Dream while they were at it?

Oh wait, that sounded kind of indecent.

The assistant blinked in confusion. “What’s so improper about it?”

Despite her complaints, Zhao Xunyin still booked the trip through Dora Three Dreams. Their Semporna packages were apparently famous nationwide, and when the agency’s manager received the booking, he calmly assured Zhao Xunyin’s assistant that everything—including their privacy—would be handled discreetly. The assistant was satisfied with that.

Because Zhao Xunyin’s schedule was tight, they decided to depart from Shanghai instead of Chengdu. That way, she could head straight to the airport after wrapping up filming and fly to Kuala Lumpur.

Once the itinerary was finalized, she sent it to Shi Nanbei on WeChat—her wife was overjoyed.

Maybe it was because this would be their first trip together, but for five days leading up to the departure, Shi Nanbei stayed in an almost childlike state of excitement. She couldn’t sleep and called Zhao Xunyin multiple times a day.

She asked what she should pack, if there was a chance of being photographed by fans, whether she should get a facial treatment before the trip.

Zhao Xunyin had never imagined that her wife would be this thrilled just because she was taking her on a vacation. Feeling a swell of pride, she said tenderly, “No need. You’re always beautiful in my eyes.”

She had expected Shi Nanbei to melt at her words, maybe even return the affection by whispering some sweet words over the phone.

After all, who wouldn’t want to hear their little wife coo softly, “You’re so sweet, darling,” or “I really, really like you, my dear wife”—the kind of things straight out of a romance drama?

An He had been right—marriage did need a bit of excitement.

Zhao Xunyin thought so too. Just the thought of it was enough to lift her mood, soothing the sting of realizing she wasn’t her wife’s favorite female celebrity.

But fate—or rather, her own luck—had other plans. After she said those words, her sweet little wife on the other end of the line didn’t sound the least bit touched. Instead, she asked in utter confusion:

“Why do I need to be the prettiest and cutest in your eyes? I only go to the beauty salon because I’m afraid that if a fan takes a picture of me looking bad, it’ll spread! I have fan clubs now, remember? I have to mind my public image when I go out, don’t I?”

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

Oh, so having fans makes you special now? As if I, an award-winning actress, don’t have fans too? As if people don’t take pictures of me?

Shi Nanbei even added, “Are you overthinking again?”

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

Shi Nanbei, when will you ever learn to shut that mouth of yours? If I ever die one day, it’ll be nine times out of ten because you talked me to death!

After hearing her wife’s words, Zhao Xunyin nearly lost her breath right there on set. Her expression twisted so dramatically that even her manager watching nearby winced in secondhand pain. It didn’t take a genius to guess—whatever her wife had said must’ve sent Zhao Xunyin’s blood pressure through the roof again.

Truly, the world was full of strange balances—everything has its counter, even people, her manager thought wryly.

After a long silence, the great Film Queen Zhao drew in a deep breath, forced herself to sound composed, and said coldly into the phone,

“What could I possibly be overthinking? Anyway, I’m busy with work. Hanging up now.”

Shi Nanbei, however, replied in an especially sweet tone—especially after learning that Zhao’s co-star in this shoot was one of her favorite male actors. Her attitude toward Zhao had only gotten more affectionate since then.

“Okay then! Work hard but be careful, okay? And don’t forget to eat!”

Zhao Xunyin secretly melted inside, though her pride—perhaps worsened by age—made her keep up appearances.

Take now, for instance. She loved hearing her little wife fuss over her, but her Film Queen image wouldn’t allow her to show it. So she simply kept her expression cool and replied in her usual indifferent tone:

“Mm, got it. You too.”

Shi Nanbei didn’t mind her tone in the slightest. What she did care about was the male star she liked.

“I’ll behave, but you have to remember to get me Wu Yan’s autograph, okay?”

Even over the phone, Zhao Xunyin could hear the shy excitement in her wife’s voice as she mentioned the actor—famous for his devastating good looks that had ruled the entertainment industry for ten straight years.

“Make sure you tell him, ‘Beibei really likes you.’”

The moment Zhao heard that “Beibei really likes you,” her face turned downright terrifying. Her manager, seeing her expression, immediately called out to an assistant, “Look! The old cow’s jealous again—this time over another old cow’s tender grass.”

“What old cow?” Shi Nanbei asked through the phone, not catching the comment.

Zhao shot her manager and assistant a murderous glare before stiffly saying into the phone, “Nothing. You misheard. I’m busy.”

“Oh, okay.” Shi Nanbei cheerfully repeated, “But you must tell Wu Yan that I really like him, okay?”

Zhao Xunyin hung up without another word. “…”

Her manager, grinning like a gossip, said, “So, your little wife’s gotten under your skin again, huh?”

Zhao kept her face impassive, saying nothing.

Her manager, ever the instigator, continued, “You know, maybe you should just accept it. At your age, your appeal to the younger crowd isn’t what it used to be.”

Zhao thought about how Shi Nanbei had gushed over that girl-group idol from Water Arrow Girls, and now over Wu Yan. She fell silent for a long moment, then finally asked her manager in a low voice:

“Do you think I’m really getting old?”

“Ha?” Her manager froze for a second—then burst into unrestrained laughter.

“Pfft—hahahahahahahahaha! Listen to yourself! Do you even hear what you just said?”

“Hahahahahahahahahahaha—sorry, I just can’t help it!”

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

“Get out.”