The Entertainment Industry's Famous Fraud Couple - Chapter 29

Under the moonlight, Qin Chaomu stood amidst the bleak autumn wind. It was early autumn in the south, fallen leaves drifted through the air, one or two occasionally landing on her overcoat.

Qin Chaomu put on her Bluetooth earphones. Playing through them was “Moscow Has No Tears” by Twins.

She looked up, her fair face reflecting the pure, bright glow of the moon. That face, usually as gentle and radiant as moonlight itself, now betrayed a faint trace of sorrow.

Qin Chaomu had grown up in an orphanage. At age seven, being intelligent and beautiful, she was chosen and adopted by a wealthy merchant couple. From then on, she was no longer alone.

She went to study in Moscow at fifteen. At eighteen, her family’s fortunes collapsed. Unable to afford her tuition, she was forced to return to China. In the prime of her youth, she used her face as a weapon to fight her way into the entertainment industry.

Eleven years had passed since then.

Life was like an iron chain, locking her heart away. There was no way forward and no path for retreat.

Like millions of others, Qin Chaomu was swept along by the currents of life. After eleven years of struggle, she had finally paid off the debts left by her parents’ business failure. Last year, however, her mother was hospitalized with uremia. The only solution was a kidney transplant.

Qin Chaomu had searched half of China but could not find a donor. While her mother hovered in critical condition on her sickbed, Qin Chaomu had to show a flower-like smile to the cameras.

No one understood that behind that smile were stacks of hospital bills, one debt collector after another, and a constant stream of critical condition notices.

She was weary of the endless grind of her acting career. She had hoped to turn her life around through the project Red Pearl, but now, it seemed she was struggling just to protect herself. On the internet, a non-stop crusade attacked her allegations of a chaotic private life, cheating, double-contracting, being a “mistress”…

Baseless accusations were heaped upon her, suffocating her.

The song “Moscow Has No Tears” was something Shen Guai had sung a cappella to her during a livestream. Qin Chaomu’s dull, black and white life had gained a few sparks of color because of that song.

That innocent girl had barged into her heart just like that. In that moment, Qin Chaomu suddenly felt that perhaps her life wasn’t entirely meaningless. Perhaps she didn’t have to spend her whole life just drifting with the tide.

Recalling their encounters, Shen Guai’s late night lunch boxes, Shen Guai risking her life against Yi Feng out of jealousy…

As the moonlight bathed her face, a trace of a smile appeared on her clear features. It was as if Qin Chaomu’s heart was finally growing real flesh and blood. In that barren land, a crack silently opened, and a bright red, alluring flower bloomed.

“Boss, haven’t you gone back yet?” Annie stood behind her, handing her a cup of soothing tea.

Qin Chaomu smiled, looked at the moon, and asked softly, “Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, isn’t it?”

Annie paused before answering, “Yes, Boss. Do you miss your mother?”

“Mhm. I want to go see her.” Qin Chaomu turned around, her tone shifting. “The thing I asked you to handle, how is it going?”

“It’s been sent out. Shen Guai will hit the trending searches in an hour.” Annie added, “An hour ago, Yi Feng returned the money.”

“Oh?” Qin Chaomu was surprised.

“They didn’t give a specific reason, but it feels strange.” Annie shook her head. Problems that can be solved with money aren’t real problems. If the money can’t be spent, it means Yi Feng is a hidden threat.

“Proceed as planned.” Qin Chaomu took a sip of the tea.

An hour later, the number one trending topic on Weibo was Shen Guai.

A blurry video surfaced showing someone resembling Shen Guai kissing a strange woman on the street. Attached to it were numerous hotel check-in records under Shen Guai’s name.

Even in the dead of night, the video gained millions of shares.

The motive of the uploader was simple: shift the heat of Qin Chaomu’s “cheating” scandal onto Shen Guai by labeling her a “player.”

The video was, of course, a fake. Qin Chaomu had simply found a girl who looked like Shen Guai, dressed her in the same clothes, and had her act out a scene with a stranger.

To survive in the entertainment industry, love is a taboo.

Qin Chaomu did indeed have feelings for Shen Guai. But when faced with a choice between her future and Shen Guai, who would choose the latter?

The three million yuan wasn’t because Qin Chaomu was deeply in love, it was the price she paid to trade Shen Guai for her own redemption.

As negative news about Shen Guai flooded in, Qin Chaomu’s scandals were suppressed. With the help of paid trolls and influencers, public opinion shifted massively in Qin Chaomu’s favor.

Naturally, Qin Chaomu wouldn’t admit they were a fake couple. Nor would she admit her secret business relationship with Yi Feng. She had to protect herself, her reputation, and her future.

Shen Guai was nothing more than an insignificant sacrifice.

Qin Chaomu watched the trending searches with cold eyes. The office was thick with smoke. She crumpled an empty cigarette pack, a sudden irritability rising in her chest.

“Annie,” she dialed the number. “Come to my office immediately.”

When Annie arrived, trembling and thinking something had gone wrong, she found Qin Chaomu leaning her head on her hands, looking haggard.

“What is it, Boss?” Annie asked fearfully.

“Go downstairs and buy me another pack of cigarettes.”

By 4:30 AM, Qin Chaomu had smoked through another half-pack. She stared at the chat window on her phone, an empty screen showing more than a dozen missed WeChat calls from her. At the top of the screen, the contact name was: Wife.

She lit a slim cigarette, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the wooden desk. After a long silence, she picked up her phone, deleted the “Wife” nickname, and changed it back to Shen Guai.

At 5:18 AM, the WeChat interface buzzed. Qin Chaomu crushed her cigarette and quickly answered the call.

“Qin Chaomu! Are you freaking insane? You keep a boy toy and then throw dirt on me?!”

Hearing the familiar cursing, Qin Chaomu didn’t get angry. Instead, she laughed, her voice seductive and nonchalant. “Shen Guai, you really know how to play, don’t you?”

“I know how to play? Play my ass! Qin Chaomu, are you even human?! This is defamation! I can hold you legally responsible!”

“Oh?” Qin Chaomu smirked. “Do you have evidence?”

“Just you wait! Dammit!”

Shen Guai cursed at the phone for twenty minutes straight until her voice went hoarse and she hung up.

Qin Chaomu pursed her lips, lying on the sofa with a sense of triumph. She seemed to remember something, got up, took a shower in the office bathroom, and then fell asleep comfortably on the couch.

By the time she woke up, it was 4:00 PM. Everything was proceeding as expected. The trending search had been suppressed all day, and Shen Guai had yet to make an official response.

Under Annie’s control, Qin Chaomu’s Weibo had posted a statement four hours ago. The gist was: “I believe Shen Guai wouldn’t do such a thing,” and “Our relationship is currently very good.”

At 6:00 PM, outside the filming set.

Qin Chaomu rolled down her car window. Behind her pink sunglasses, her face looked small and charming. Her M-shaped lips moved slightly, enough to ignite a desire in anyone to kiss her.

Shen Guai saw her immediately specifically, she saw those lips. She rolled her eyes and snapped, “You bitch, are you here to flaunt your victory?”

“Get in.” Qin Chaomu took off her sunglasses, a shallow dimple appearing as she flashed a beautiful smile.

“Why should I listen to you? You heartless, bad woman!” Shen Guai ran over to the white Wuling Hongguang (mini-van) and pounded on the window with her small fists.

Qin Chaomu put her sunglasses back on and looked straight ahead. “I said, get in the car.”

Muttering curses under her breath, Shen Guai opened the door, slammed it shut, and buckled her seatbelt. “Having a boy toy really changes things,” she complained. “Before, I got to sit in a twenty-million dollar car. Now I’m only worth a two-thousand dollar one.”

A curve appeared at the corner of Qin Chaomu’s mouth, but her voice remained cold. “When are you going to see a vet to fix that pig brain and dog mouth of yours?”

“Was it you who leaked the video?” As the engine started, Shen Guai glanced at the shabby van, feeling conflicted. She knew Qin Chaomu had sold her luxury cars to pay Yi Feng the three million yuan required to bail her out of the police station.

“So what if it was?” Qin Chaomu steered with one hand while the other gripped the back of Shen Guai’s neck. Her fingers tightened as she asked, “Did you go to a hotel to sleep with another woman or not?”

“Bullshit! You know perfectly well if I’ve slept with anyone else. Didn’t you sleep with me that night I was drunk?” Shen Guai countered.

Qin Chaomu froze. She remembered the night Shen Guai was drunk and threw herself at her. She had lied to Shen Guai, telling her they had slept together when they actually hadn’t.

Sensing she might get caught in the lie, Qin Chaomu let go and laughed softly. “I know. The hotel records were forged by me, too.”

“Qin Chaomu! You…! You’re ruining my reputation! Aren’t you afraid I’ll call the police?” Shen Guai rubbed her sore neck, her face flushed with anger.

“Heh.” Qin Chaomu gave a cold laugh. “Idiot, would that do you any good?”

Before Shen Guai could react, she asked, “Who are you, really? Why are you so good at riding a motorcycle?”

Shen Guai went silent, trying to figure out how to frame her lie.

“I investigated you. Your father is Shen Yi, your mother is Bai Hua. You’re from a rural village. At eighteen, you got into the film academy with the highest score in the province. Coming from such a poor background, where did you get the money to ride motorcycles?” Qin Chaomu hit the brakes and looked at the girl beside her with intense interest.

“What do you know? There are no cars in the mountains, everyone rides motorcycles. I’ve been riding since I was eight,” Shen Guai said, licking her lips.

The gesture was immediately caught by Qin Chaomu. She simply nodded and smiled. “Is that so?”

The window rolled down slowly. Shen Guai saw that the car had stopped in front of a small, nondescript hotel.

On the other side, Qin Chaomu’s eyes were fixed on Shen Guai’s lips like a predator.

“Shen Guai, do you know what you did wrong?” Qin Chaomu unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed Shen Guai’s chin, and forced her to face her.

Shen Guai’s heart skipped a beat.

Qin Chaomu’s smile deepened. She leaned into Shen Guai’s ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: “You shouldn’t have licked your lips.”

“Every time you lie, you lick your lips.”

“But most importantly… you shouldn’t have stuck out your damned tongue to seduce me.”