The Movie Queen And Her Rival Just Went Public! - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

While washing the dishes, Shen Luoyan suddenly thought about installing a dishwasher at home. Eating a meal with two people was completely different from eating alone; when alone, she would just casually cook something simple and be done with it.

With two people, she wanted every meal to be nutritionally balanced, diverse in style, healthy, and delicious.

After putting away the clean dishes, she grabbed a small pink rag to wipe the table, while Su Cancan sprawled out on the sofa, sunbathing. Shen Luoyan stole glances at her as she wiped. A drop of sauce had dried on the off-white tablecloth, forming an ugly stain. The perfectionist Shen Luoyan didn’t hesitate to remove it, ready to take it for washing.

Su Cancan closed her eyes, basking in the sun. Everything before her was a vivid red. Her phone vibrated twice in her pocket. She slowly opened her eyes but was immediately blinded by the strong light, forcing her to close them again.

Turning her head away, she unlocked her phone and saw a message from Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin: The outfits for tonight’s first group recording have been sent over by Xiao Wu. Remember to open the door for him when he arrives later. Another reminder, Ms. Su, I won’t be there, so if you drink too much and embarrass yourself, I truly won’t be able to help you clean up the mess. So please, I beg you, be restrained! Also, rein in your temper. If someone does something you don’t like, just silently chant, “It’s all for the money,” and endure as much as possible.

Before she could finish the half-page message, another one arrived.

Liu Yimin: By the way, you haven’t bullied Shen Luoyan, have you?

Su Cancan gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. If he cared about Shen Luoyan that much, he should just quit and become her manager.

Liu Yimin: Just kidding. As long as you don’t get bullied, you’ll be fine. When I tell you to endure, don’t endure everything. Tell me immediately if anything happens, and I’ll rush over with Xiao Ke to rescue you.

Su Cancan loosened her clenched fist. Maybe keeping him as her manager wasn’t so bad after all. Her thumb pressed the keyboard, and her fingertip typed out a short message. Just before sending it, a knock came from the door.

“I’ll get it. My assistant is here with the clothes.”

Lying on the sofa, Su Cancan had a clear view of everything in the room except the bedroom. Seeing Shen Luoyan about to open the door, she sprang up from the sofa and rushed to the door, saying this.

Shen Luoyan actually stopped. Su Cancan bounced to the door, pulled it open, and her smile suddenly froze on her face.

“Cancan-jie?”

Shen Luoyan’s assistant, Xixi, appeared holding a set of clothes. Seeing Su Cancan, she waved a hand in greeting.

Su Cancan pursed her lips, her initial excitement fading. She stepped aside to let Xixi in.

“Cancan-jie, I won’t come inside. The production team’s car is waiting outside. Could I trouble you to take the clothes in for me?”

Xixi’s innocent little eyes were the same as when she asked Su Cancan to check on Shen Luoyan last time. Soft-hearted Su Cancan nodded in agreement. Just as the hanger was placed in her hand, someone took it away.

Shen Luoyan took the outfit, and said calmly, “I’m still reviewing a few scripts and haven’t made a final decision. Take some time to go see Teacher Chen again and ask when the new apartment renovations will be completed.”

“Understood.” Xixi acknowledged the instruction and left.

Su Cancan wanted to gossip but swallowed her curiosity, remembering the cameras throughout the house. Shen Luoyan went to hang up the clothes. Su Cancan finished sending the message she hadn’t sent earlier, looked at the contacts page, and edited another message.

Su Cancan: Have you thought of the CP name required by the production team? If not, I’ll just pick one randomly, so we don’t get awkward on the spot.

WeChat doesn’t have a ‘read’ feature. Su Cancan’s eyes darted towards the half-closed bedroom door.

Su Cancan: We’re both participating in this show for the paycheck and to gain fans. Catering to the public is a very important part of our job. I’ve reflected and admit I had a lot of prejudice against you and did some impolite things, I’m very sorry. I won’t be able to change overnight, but I promise that during future recordings, I will try my best to put it aside and cooperate better. From now on, let’s be good partners. [Handshake emoji].

There are many people in the industry who label themselves as honest and straightforward, but those who are as sincere as Su Cancan—who can directly tell their collaborator that they are rivals and still harbor ill will—are extremely rare. She tapped her fingers and peeked around, finally seeing Shen Luoyan’s reply.

Shen Luoyan: Just be yourself. You don’t need to deliberately change your attitude towards me or anything. Your fans like the vibrant and adorable you, and they hope to see that side of you. We don’t necessarily have to have CP fans. The most important thing is your feelings. If you have an idea for the CP name, go with yours.

Shen Luoyan was also sincere, though she omitted half a sentence: she also liked the vibrant and adorable Su Cancan.

She believed that exchanging sincerity for sincerity could not be wrong.

Su Cancan: Okay, let’s call it Double S. Both our names start with ‘S’, and it sounds very trendy in English.

The explanation for the CP name “Double S” was indeed as Su Cancan stated, but she hadn’t come up with it. Liu Yimin told her to avoid looking at negative comments on Weibo, which had recently been hard to resist. She would occasionally check the CP fan situation using a burner account, and this CP nickname was something she had inadvertently spotted while surfing the web.

“Good.”

The bedroom door was closed by Shen Luoyan. A single, cool “Good” drilled into Su Cancan’s ears. Just one word, yet it traveled down her ear canal and rushed to her cerebral cortex, causing her to inexplicably shiver.

The doorbell didn’t ring, yet the delighted voice of Xiao Ke could be heard through the thick walls of the building, either on a phone call or chatting. Su Cancan reluctantly got up to open the door again.

“Cancan-jie~” Xiao Ke threw herself into Su Cancan’s arms with a hug, clutching a gown. Su Cancan didn’t dodge and allowed her to crash into her.

Shen Luoyan, who had just emerged from the bedroom, narrowed her eyes, her lips under her high nose bridge pursed, her expression indecipherable.

After having her fill of snuggling with her ‘Jie’ (older sister), Xiao Ke remembered that her main task this trip was to deliver the gown. She immediately stood up straight, her smile undiminished.

After being released, Su Cancan gently pinched her cheek. The chubby girl had lost a lot of weight since starting her job. Her squishy cheeks were less soft, and the texture felt much worse when pinched. She needed to tell Liu Yimin to give her a raise so she could eat better and replenish herself.

“Cancan-jie,” Xiao Ke continued to smile. “Liu-jie said it’s not a runway event, so you shouldn’t dress too ‘sassy.’ You need to be more reserved, in both your behavior and actions. She also said we’re not here for a beauty pageant…”

Su Cancan withdrew her thought. Her sweet talk meant she didn’t need any replenishment. Thinking this, she simultaneously clapped a hand over Xiao Ke’s mouth. Xiao Ke was manually silenced, only able to make muffled ‘ooh ooh’ sounds.

Not far away, a certain Movie Queen let out a light chuckle, sweeping away the gloomy and distant expression she’d held earlier.

Su Cancan’s cheeks flushed. She let go of her hand. “Alright, Liu Yimin already told me. What else is there besides delivering the clothes?”

“Cancan-jie.” Fish only have seven seconds of memory; Xiao Ke had three at most. The incident of having her mouth covered was instantly forgotten.

Hearing those three words now made Su Cancan’s scalp tingle. She took a deep breath, preparing to hear the words that tumbled out next.

“I’m so happy, I’m sorry! The black fan’s verdict is out. She was sentenced to six years! Counting back, it’s been six years since she first harassed you. The wicked are finally punished! That’s great!”

Xiao Ke was like a little chirping bird, unable to hide any bit of happiness. Hearing her say this, Su Cancan also couldn’t help but sigh in relief. It was indeed good news.

She remembered that on the same day the recent incident occurred, Shen Luoyan had also been subjected to a similar scary event. She contained her emotions, turning her head slightly to look inside the room.

“Jie, aren’t you happy?” Xiao Ke pouted, puzzled.

Su Cancan quickly turned her head back, putting on a brilliant smile. The corners of her mouth curved upwards, her cheek muscles bunched up, and her eyes were crescent-shaped, though upon closer inspection, it wasn’t genuine joy.

“Happy. I’m very happy.”

Two days apart felt like two years. Xiao Ke chattered on for a while before finally handing the clothes to Su Cancan, preparing to meet up with Liu Yimin and Xiao Wu.

Su Cancan asked Xiao Ke to wait for her. She took the gown to the closet in the bedroom, pondering where to clear a space to hang the dress. Entering the room, she found that Shen Luoyan had already cleared a space for her.

A warm feeling flowed through her heart. After hanging it up, she walked Xiao Ke to the door.

“Listen to your Liu-jie. In the future, if anything happens, just text me. Don’t bottle it up and say it all at once.”

Xiao Ke got into the back seat, her eyes turning red. “Mhm! Liu-jie is really good to me. You take good care of yourself too!”

“You little kid, worry about yourself. Say one more unnecessary thing, and I’ll dock your pay.” Su Cancan saw Xiao Ke’s eyes were about to overflow with tears and choked up slightly, then said to Xiao Wu in the front seat, “Alright, drive safe. Be careful on the road, don’t drive while fatigued.”

Watching the nanny van drive away, Su Cancan returned to the apartment she shared with Shen Luoyan. Before the group recording started that evening, both of them quietly nestled on the sofa, one looking at a script, the other reading a web novel on her phone.

The clock in the living room pointed to five. The setting sun cast a warm, orange glow, and only then did they lazily move.

Shen Luoyan covered the cameras first. The two then went one after another to change into their event attire.

Su Cancan went first. Shen Luoyan said she would only put on foundation before going out, and Su Cancan needed to do a light makeup look, so she changed first. Liu Yimin still had some conscience, mindful of the late spring chill, and prepared her a square-neck lantern-sleeve dress. The upper body was mostly covered, only exposing her clear, straight collarbones. However, the skirt was too short; her long, fair legs were exposed. When the wind blew, her pores contracted faster than she did.

She knew this wasn’t a beauty competition, so she just applied some foundation, drew her brows, and added a thin layer of lipstick to brighten her complexion. As she finished, Shen Luoyan appeared.

Shen Luoyan’s team was clearly more humane, having prepared her a casual suit. Although the back was cut out, 80% of her skin was covered, looking much warmer than Su Cancan’s outfit.

“Will you be cold?”

Shen Luoyan’s first reaction upon seeing Su Cancan was not to praise her beauty. Instead, she frowned, her gaze lingering on Su Cancan’s exposed skin. If anyone else stared like that, Su Cancan would find it perverse and disgusting. But with Shen Luoyan, she only felt that she was evaluating the dress’s warmth.

After all, she was curvier than Su Cancan.

The sensation of their bodies touching during the promotional shoot was still vivid in her memory.

“It’s fine. Beauty requires sacrifice.” Su Cancan twisted the cap back onto her lipstick.

The lip color adorned her, or perhaps she amplified the beauty of the lip color.

Without makeup, Su Cancan was like a docile, harmless kitten. With makeup, she was an intense, undeniable beauty from the top of her hair to the heels of her feet, more like a grown, lazy cat, whose every gesture was captivating.

Su Cancan curled her long hair and clipped a butterfly accessory in the center. The princess made her sparkling entrance.

The two followed the route given by the production team toward the back of the house. The filming location was right in front of them.