After My Flash Marriage with the Movie Queen - Chapter 68

At times like this—especially when dealing with a mother-in-law for the first time—no matter how strange she might be, Zhao Xunyin could only grit her teeth and endure. After all, who knew whether this was some kind of “first test” from her mother-in-law?

Back when An He first met her own mother-in-law, she had completely frozen, blurting out flirtatious remarks to Boss Qi’s mom. Even years later, her mother-in-law would occasionally bring it up, leaving An He still stewing over how she hadn’t held her tongue back then.

When Zhao Xunyin got married, An He had driven straight to her house on the very first day, acting both as an experienced friend and a long-time confidante, giving Zhao Xunyin a vivid, hands-on lesson on “how to charm your mother-in-law on the first encounter.”

Zhao Xunyin couldn’t help but ask, “Is that really necessary? Didn’t you say marrying Boss Qi was just about taking her money? Why all this effort into studying how to please a mother-in-law?”

An He replied seriously, “This is different. If I and Qi Yu broke up, that would be on me—I’d bear the consequences myself. But if it’s because of her parents? Then I wouldn’t accept it.”

“Not accept what?”

“My life is mine to decide, not heaven’s,” An He said firmly.

Zhao Xunyin: “God, really? ‘My life is mine to decide, not heaven’s.’”

Despite the boldness of the saying, Zhao Xunyin dutifully listened to An He’s lesson. In summary, it boiled down to nine words: “Listen attentively, lavish praise, show loyalty, build your persona.”

Following the lesson, Zhao Xunyin introduced herself again into the phone: “Mom, this is Zhao Xunyin.”

Listen attentively—check.

No sooner had she finished speaking than she heard an extremely proud, triumphant voice from the other end of the line—eerily similar to Shi Nanbei’s expression of pride. Just from the tone alone, Zhao Xunyin could tell without opening her eyes that it was a mother boasting about her daughter.

Except her mother-in-law wasn’t talking to Zhao Xunyin—she was speaking to everyone else around her:

“Did you hear that? This is my daughteer-in-law, Zhao Xunyin—the award-winning actress, the big star in commercials, the stunningly beautiful one. And now she calls me ‘Mom’—am I amazing or what?”

Zhao Xunyin: “?”

So, her mother-in-law was using speakerphone just to show off?

Childish, Zhao Xunyin thought wryly. But if someone’s that proud and self-satisfied, who wouldn’t play along?

Sure enough, the next second, the other side of the line erupted with genuine admiration and praise:

“My god, is that really Zhao Xunyin? Incredible!”

“A big star is a big star—the voice alone is amazing. Nanbei, make sure to get her autograph for me!”

“Incredible! When will I ever have a big star call me ‘Mom’? Oh, if only my daughter could be that beautiful”

Zhao Xunyin: “?”

So, mother-in-law, your call was just to show off?

It quickly became clear that Shi Nanbei’s family didn’t exactly follow conventional rules but compared to them, these people were actually quite easy to get along with.

“Alright, I’m going to talk to my daughter-in-law now.” After a round of admiration, Shi Nanbei’s mother seemed satisfied, announcing it to everyone around her.

Soon, Zhao Xunyin heard her mother-in-law move somewhere quieter.

“Xunyin?” she called.

“Yes, I’m here. Go ahead,” Zhao Xunyin replied. As this was her first time interacting with a mother-in-law, she was nervous, her throat slightly dry.

She was 34 years old, and this was her very first encounter with her mother-in-law—and she was already so flustered. Where was the dignity of a top actress? Where was the poise of a celebrity?

Even a few polite words of goodwill seemed impossible. Would she leave a bad impression?

Zhao Xunyin’s anxiety spiked.

“Don’t be so nervous. I’m not calling to scold you. I just learned today from Nanbei’s third aunt that Nanbei is married to you.”

Zhao Xunyin: “?”

So, Shi Nanbei hadn’t even told her own mother she got married?

Ungrateful child!

But scolding her now wouldn’t help. To make a good impression, Zhao Xunyin quickly took responsibility:

“Sorry, Auntie. I mean, Mom. I should have informed you earlier—I didn’t think it through. You’re just too perceptive.”

Lavish praise—check.

As expected, Shi Nanbei’s mother laughed warmly after hearing this:

“It’s okay, it’s not too late to know now. You’re so beautiful; it’s no wonder Nanbei is completely smitten.”

Zhao Xunyin: “?”

Mother-in-law. I’m pretty sure ‘smitten’ isn’t the right word to use here.

“So, who proposed first?” her mother asked.

Zhao Xunyin: “?”

“Believe it or not… we actually met through a matchmaking setup.”

“Well, technically, I was the one proposing.” Round it up, and you could say she did propose.

“Oh.” Her mother-in-law’s voice on the phone stretched out teasingly. “You proposed? What were you hoping to get out of my daughter?”

“Was she the one who forced you?”

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

Why is it that whenever this topic comes up, both Shi Nanbei’s grandmother and her mother react the same way?

She started wondering what kind of person her wife really was, that she could make both her grandmother and mother think like this.

“No,” Zhao Xunyin said, showing loyalty. “I like her.”

Loyalty, noted.

“Alright then, I quite like you too,” Shi Nanbei’s mother replied, her words startlingly blunt.

Zhao Xunyin: “?”

The ‘like’ I’m talking about isn’t exactly the same kind of ‘like’ you mean, Mother-in-law.

And why does her mother-in-law’s train of thought jump around even more than her wife’s? How was she supposed to respond to that?

Zhao Xunyin’s anxiety level: 10086.

“Nanbei is with you, right?” Her mother-in-law asked.

“Yes, she’s here with me.” Zhao Xunyin thought Shi Nanbei would take the phone next, and she finally felt a bit relieved. She now understood why her wife had that nervous, guilty, almost embarrassed expression when answering her mother’s calls—her mother-in-law’s level of conversation could give any interview she had done since debut a run for its money.

The main issue was that she had no idea what her mother-in-law would say next.

But judging by her tone, it seemed she wasn’t planning to talk to her daughter anymore. After Zhao Xunyin answered, Shi Nanbei’s mother didn’t ask further—she simply said, “Alright, if you have time, maybe we can have a family meal together?”

The tone was reasonable, measured—not at all like the stereotypical wicked mother-in-law characters Zhao Xunyin had played in TV dramas and films.

Zhao Xunyin couldn’t refuse. She hurriedly asked when her mother-in-law would be free. Being a celebrity, and a top-tier actress at that, her schedule was packed all year, so she wanted to make sure she could actually meet.

It was rare—this workaholic, making space in her schedule just to please her mother-in-law. If anyone else knew, it would probably break their expectations.

Role established, check.

What Zhao Xunyin didn’t expect was that Shi Nanbei’s mother would say:

“No worries. I’m busy all year anyway, don’t need to stress about it. Since Nanbei is married to you, I just ask that you take good care of her. Don’t laugh, she can be a little scatterbrained—please don’t mind.

When I get some free time, I’ll contact you. If you’re busy, that’s fine too. I still have a couple of Mahjong rounds to finish; we’ll chat next time.” With that, she hung up decisively.

Zhao Xunyin held the phone, deep in thought: “…”

This, doesn’t feel like the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law dynamic I imagined. Was An He’s lessons even useful?

After the call, Zhao Xunyin was still processing it. She wasn’t sure whether her behavior had been good or bad. She figured she’d better find some time to show proper attentiveness, and so asked Shi Nanbei—who was about to take another nap, completely unconcerned about her own mother—“Does your mom often not stay in Chengdu?”

She vaguely remembered hearing Shi Nanbei’s grandmother mention that her son and daughter-in-law didn’t live in Chengdu.

“Yeah, they’re not in Chengdu. I barely see them even once a year.” Shi Nanbei said this with self-justified confidence. “So, it’s normal that I got married without telling them.”

It seemed she even felt wronged that her mother had called to question why she didn’t inform her parents about the wedding.

Hmph. Not her fault at all—so why be scolded?

Feeling wronged.

Zhao Xunyin didn’t even know where to start in responding. She had always assumed that people who made big life decisions without consulting their parents were probably like her—distant from their parents, so there was no need to tell them.

But now, looking at Shi Nanbei, she could see it wasn’t that. Her wife’s parents treated her as an independent adult—they had the right to know, but no right to decide.

A little enviable.

Envy aside, she also knew how scatterbrained her wife could be. In the end, she gave up trying to discuss the topic further.

Perhaps because she had spent so much time with Shi Nanbei, her mindset about things happening around her had become much calmer. She didn’t panic about every little detail years in advance anymore.

Now she thought it was no big deal—whatever comes, she’d handle it as it came.