After My Flash Marriage with the Movie Queen - Chapter 74

Zhao Xunyin: “Do we really have to go this far?”

It had been ages since she’d appeared on a variety show. When she received the task card from the production team, her thoughts spun a thousand times over before she finally couldn’t hold back and asked them out loud—because honestly, this was a little insane.

She, a dignified, award-winning actress, was being asked to earn admiration points from elementary school students?

Was the production team out of their minds?

Clearly, this was the reaction they’d been waiting for. The staff smiled at her calm meltdown and said slowly, “There are even bigger ones coming up.”

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

She really wanted to know where on earth Boss Qi found these people to run a variety show like this. Also, was Boss Qi getting the same treatment as her?

Emmmmm. Boss Qi and a group of elementary school kids.

Just the thought of that was quite a stimulating mental image.

And, as it turned out, Zhao Xunyin’s instincts were spot-on—Boss Qi had truly outdone herself this time. She’d gone too far and ended up shooting herself in the foot, no, make that smashing her own leg with a boulder.

Task: Earn 10 admiration points from elementary school students.

When Boss Qi received her mission card, her expression was even darker than Zhao Xunyin’s had been.

Boss Qi: “…”

What kind of ridiculous task was this?

Heaven and earth could testify—Boss Qi was good at almost everything. But in her thirty-five or thirty-six years of life, she had never interacted with children.

She stared at the short, eight-character task card for a full two minutes. Even when expressionless, her face could be intimidating enough; now, looking as if she was reviewing a disastrously unbalanced financial report, the tension in the room rose to a visible chill.

The production crew: “…”

Was their sponsor not very happy right now?

They exchanged wary looks, standing frozen in Boss Qi’s luxurious living room, not daring to make a sound. The silence grew heavier and heavier—until, just as it was about to hit breaking point, An He appeared on the staircase, coming down from the second floor after finishing her preparations.

“What’s Boss Qi looking at?”

An He might be a little scatterbrained, but she wasn’t as clueless as Shi Nanbei. She’d noticed the strange tension the moment she stepped into the living room, though she didn’t think too much of it.

Seeing her wife standing stiffly among the crowd, not saying a word, An He immediately sensed something was off and asked the question out loud.

The cameras naturally swiveled toward her, and the post-production team even added a line of text: “The savior has arrived!”

Even through the words on-screen, anyone could tell how much pressure the production crew was under in front of Qi Yu.

Could you blame them? Boss Qi was a notorious perfectionist, the kind of workaholic who demanded flawlessness in everything. If things went wrong, there was no telling what she’d put them through later.

An He, of course, was oblivious to the collective anxiety. She was back on camera after a long hiatus and wanted to make a great impression. Which explained why she had gotten up—technically at four in the morning—to get ready.

Back then, Boss Qi had even grumbled from bed, “Why are you up so early?”

An He’s eyes sparkled. “Of course I need to doll myself up! This time, I’m going to stun the world with my beauty!”

“You’re already beautiful,” Boss Qi murmured sleepily from under the covers.

By nature, Qi Yu was disciplined and serious. She’d always been surrounded by admirers, but sweet words like that rarely passed her lips—except, occasionally, for An He.

It was precisely because those words were so rare that they had such power. Every time she said something like that, she would earn a kiss or a reward from her wife.

But this time, her compliment didn’t have the desired effect.

After hearing it, An He merely smiled faintly, a little pitying, and replied,

“Don’t you realize? I’m not dressing up for you—I’m dressing up for the world, so that everyone with ulterior motives knows that I, An He, can conquer half the entertainment industry on beauty alone.”

Qi Yu: “…”

You’re overthinking this.

With an air of confidence and grace, An He swept across the room and came to stand beside Qi Yu. Her wife’s expression didn’t change at all—it remained as cold and unyielding as ever. Without a word, Qi Yu lowered her gaze, handed her the mission card, and said nothing.

Only An He could see the trace of frustration on her wife’s face.

She took the card and laughed. “What’s got you looking so depressed?”

Qi Yu said nothing.

An He glanced down—and froze.

Task: Earn 10 admiration points from elementary school students.

Elementary schoolers???

Admiration points???

Unlike Qi Yu or Zhao Xunyin, An He didn’t have the patience for this kind of nonsense, nor could she pretend to. The first thing she did after reading the card was lift her head and demand,

“Have you guys lost your minds, or have we not eaten enough today?”

The production crew: “…”

Considering everyone only had a bowl of glutinous rice balls for breakfast, you tell us, was that too much or too little?

An He frowned and continued, “Boss Qi really did invest in your show, right?”

The camera nodded, and the post-production text popped up: “Boss Qi—Our Biggest Sponsor Mommy!”

An He raised an eyebrow. “Then did she not give you enough money? Is that why you’re torturing us like this?”

The production team: “…”

Qi Siyu was famously generous. Working under her on one variety show often earned you more than doing two under anyone else.

An He still wanted to say something, but Qi Siyu stopped her. At last, the ever-composed “Boss Qi” opened her mouth:

“Are they all the same?”

She was asking whether all the couples received the same task card.

Production team: “Yes, all the same.”

Before Qi Siyu could respond, An He burst out laughing. “Hahahahaha—then Zhao Xunyin’s got the same task as me? Perfect! Let’s do this!”

Qi Siyu hesitated: “…”

An He was practically bouncing in her seat. “I don’t believe it. If Zhao Xunyin can do it, why can’t I? Come on, Boss Qi—show them your charm! Let’s go win over those elementary schoolers!!”

Qi Siyu: “…”

Forget it.

Each couple received their mission card, picked a destination, and split up into four groups with the film crew following along.

For the Marquis couple and the Professor Ji couple, the missions were relatively simple. Maybe because the age gap between them and the elementary schoolers was too big, the production team arranged for them to go to child-heavy locations—a tutoring center and a shopping mall. Both places were packed with kids during summer vacation, so their tasks were completed smoothly and quickly.

But when it came to Zhao Xunyin and Qi Siyu’s respective teams, the missions got progressively more absurd.

One group’s task was set in a public square; the other’s, in a park.

It was early morning, during the hottest stretch of midsummer. Unless it was after sunset, neither location was likely to have children—or even many people at all.

Zhao Xunyin and Shi Nanbei were assigned to the square. On paper, their task seemed easy—but in reality, it was the hardest of all.

It was summer break. At six or seven in the morning, the square was full of elderly folks doing tai chi, but not a single child in sight. After circling the area twice, they hadn’t even seen a baby in a stroller, much less an elementary schooler.

“Did you offend Boss Qi or something?” After their second lap, Shi Nanbei couldn’t help but whisper.

“Why would I offend her? Besides, she doesn’t meddle with production like that.”

That was true—and knowing Qi Siyu’s personality, she wouldn’t stoop to abusing her sponsor status to interfere with the show anyway.

It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, but the August heat in Shanghai was unbearable. After two futile rounds and zero qualifying targets, Zhao Xunyin was starting to get frustrated.

Since there was no point wandering around aimlessly, she took Shi Nanbei to a nearby bun shop with the 50-yuan allowance from the show. They bought steamed buns and soy milk, then sat down on a park bench to eat breakfast.

“I don’t want to eat the vegetable buns,” Shi Nanbei mumbled after taking a bite, her cheeks puffed up like a dumpling herself.

“No.”

“Oh.”

After a pause, Shi Nanbei looked up again. “But the cameraman’s been working so hard, do you think he’s hungry?”

She gazed at the man lugging the heavy camera, her expression soft and pitiful.

The cameraman was so touched he nearly cried. What an angel! Just for that, I could drop dead on this job and still not complain!

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to.

She could practically see through Shi Nanbei’s little scheme. Expressionless, she said, “He’s not hungry.”

Then, after a beat: “And no picky eating. Finish your bun.”

Shi Nanbei wilted. “Okay.”

A few moments later, she tried again. “This soy milk’s really good! You should drink more, it’s supposed to be great for your skin!”

Zhao Xunyin’s eyebrow twitched. “You can drink it all.”

“Oh.”

Wuwuwu, what’s gotten into my wife? She’s getting fiercer by the day. She won’t even let me finish a sentence anymore.

Dejected and pitiful, Shi Nanbei nibbled at her bun like a small, wronged rabbit. Her big, teary eyes and helpless little face could have broken anyone’s heart.

Anyone except her wife, apparently.

While others might feel sorry for her, Shi Nanbei herself didn’t think she looked pitiful at all. Still chewing, she began looking around curiously—until her gaze landed on the tai chi group ahead.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, the background music gentle and flowing. Shi Nanbei froze, staring in open admiration.

After talking for a while without getting a response, Zhao Xunyin turned to look at her—only to find her wife gazing at the tai chi crowd with shining eyes and a look of pure awe.

Zhao Xunyin: “…”

A bad feeling crept up on her. Something told her, this wasn’t going to end well.