The Movie Queen And Her Rival Just Went Public! - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Separated by a distance, one could see under the night sky a small area draped with dense string lights. Each tiny bulb glowed faintly. A soft breeze swept through, the light strings swayed, and the faint light rippled.

《FOR U》 is a slow-paced romance reality show, aiming to encourage the audience to slow down, feel the love in life, and try to love. Therefore, there was no host on site, only a dozen camera operators following the couples.

Shen Luoyan and Su Cancan were the third couple to arrive. Among the four people already there, they only knew the college couple, Youyou and Zhouzhou, who had greeted them that morning. After exchanging simple greetings with them, the two walked up to the unfamiliar couple.

“Hello, we are the probationary couple. I am Su Cancan.” Su Cancan hooked her arm through Shen Luoyan’s, carrying herself with grace and confidence. “This is Shen Luoyan.”

Having lived under the camera’s gaze for a long time, Su Cancan naturally located the camera currently capturing them, giving a subtle guide to help the two non-celebrities find a good angle.

“We’ve seen you on TV. Cheng Lewei, Xia Yue.”

The woman in the professional suit spoke first. She extended her hand, and Shen Luoyan grasped it before Su Cancan could.

Su Cancan silently observed the two, of course, without any malice.

Cheng Lewei, who was speaking, was clearly an elite woman, holding a certain leadership position in the workplace. Judging by her attire and appearance, she seemed several years older than the others. Her words and actions demonstrated the intelligence and composure of a mature woman.

Her composure, however, was different from Shen Luoyan’s. Shen Luoyan possessed an inherent aloofness, maintaining a certain distance from everyone.

Their hands parted, and the social interaction continued.

“My girlfriend is a bit slow to warm up, so please bear with us.”

As Cheng Lewei spoke, Su Cancan’s attention shifted to the subject of her sentence—Xia Yue.

Xia Yue was petite, with a clean, translucent, small face. Her skin was fair, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses rested on her delicate nose, concealing half the light in her beautiful eyes. The slight dark circles under her eyes made her look extremely obedient. However, her body language was very stiff. Although she was also linking arms with her partner, she seemed to be leaning her entire weight onto Cheng Lewei, using her as a support to counteract gravity.

“It’s alright. Just have fun; there’s no need to cooperate for anyone else.”

The words slipped out of Su Cancan’s mouth. After she spoke, the expression on her beautiful face froze slightly. These were the exact words someone had said to her earlier.

“Yes, there’s no need to cater to others.” Shen Luoyan presented the last of the gifts they had prepared for the couple.

Unexpectedly, it was Xia Yue who reached out to take it.

She curved her lips awkwardly, and two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks. “Thank you. Our gift is a bit hard to carry, would it be alright if we left it outside your door later?”

Xia Yue’s voice was as sweet and pleasant as her appearance. As she spoke slowly, Cheng Lewei watched her with a smile. Su Cancan accidentally noticed that on the hands that were linked together, Xia Yue’s hand was completely enveloped by Cheng Lewei’s, and Cheng Lewei’s slender thumb was constantly and gently stroking her skin.

“Excuse us, we’re late. Everyone’s already here!”

A sudden, high-decibel shout interrupted all movement on the scene. All attention, including that of the camera operators present, turned to the same person.

Viky arrived before her voice finished announcing her presence. Her outfit was even more revealing and sexy than the one she wore for the morning greetings; the top was exposed, and so was the bottom. Her mini-skirt only reached her upper thigh, and the occasionally playful breeze lifted it, creating a brief moment unfit for children.

Miky hadn’t changed clothes. He followed beside her, his eyes still holding ill intentions, especially when they met Su Cancan’s slightly furrowed brow. He even boldly raised an eyebrow, openly flirting and being provocative.

Su Cancan avoided his sticky, predatory gaze and actively moved closer to Shen Luoyan.

With everyone present, Viky wanted to take the lead and no longer conceal her ambition, consciously moving to occupy the center position.

“The production team said this is just a get-together to get to know each other, so let’s not be too reserved. I see there’s food and wine over there. Why don’t we eat and chat?”

Su Cancan didn’t respond. After trying to dodge him repeatedly, she couldn’t escape Miky. At this moment, she was standing between Shen Luoyan and Miky. The dangerous aura and pungent, strange perfume from Miky slowly enveloped her.

Shen Luoyan sensed Su Cancan’s discomfort. Su Cancan had previously stated that she disliked skin contact, but after spending time together, Shen Luoyan realized it wasn’t directed at her; it was her long-standing habit. The fact that Su Cancan was now abandoning that habit and leaning in closer must have been for another reason.

Without asking, Shen Luoyan secretly shifted her position, creating space where she had been standing and moving Su Cancan into it. Although Shen Luoyan was slim, her height was a factor. She glanced down obliquely at Miky, who only reached her ear, and caught Miky’s unfriendly look. A rank, foxy smell instantly wafted up.

“You’d better figure out who you can touch and who you can’t,” Shen Luoyan warned in a low voice, a hint of irritation mixed with the coldness.

Su Cancan was rescued and, momentarily, felt comfortable being near the vibrant college couple. After taking a deep breath of fresh air, she heard Shen Luoyan’s vague voice and turned her head to steal a glance at her.

She hadn’t realized it before, but this person was quite observant, immediately coming to her rescue. She was arguably half a good person.

Viky took on the role of temporary host, approaching the buffet area prepared by the production team and drawing the others’ attention with her voice. With so many cameras around, no one wanted to embarrass her, so they followed, each grabbing food and drinks to their liking and sitting down in the space arranged by the crew.

“Let’s raise a glass to our meeting!”

With everyone seated, Viky lifted her stemmed glass. The liquid inside swayed back and forth with her large movements, and the substantial ‘objects’ in front of her also swayed. Using this as an excuse to propose a toast, everyone drank a little, willingly or unwillingly.

Shen Luoyan’s scalp tingled when she saw Su Cancan’s wine glass half-empty.

“Can you handle it? Maybe you shouldn’t drink anymore.”

Su Cancan had just lifted a piece of beef to her mouth when Shen Luoyan’s words reached her. She dropped her chopsticks in annoyance and said matter-of-factly, “Excuse me, I, Su Cancan, why are you worried about my tolerance? Besides, I checked; the wine is quite good.”

Confidence is good, but blind confidence…

Shen Luoyan didn’t dare to press further. She had figured out some of Su Cancan’s little habits, one of which was not to be contradicted. The Cat Princess’s status trumped everything. Anyone who went against her would be remembered. Forcing her would not succeed and would be counterproductive. If she insisted, she might have to carry her back to the cottage.

Night quietly fell, and darkness enveloped the earth. Tonight was starless, with only a solitary full moon hanging in the sky.

When most of the food was gone, Viky picked up a box from who knows where. “The production team also prepared a game. Let’s play together. It’s a great way to improve our relationship!”

The evening breeze was light, carrying a chill. Some people were secretly shivering, while the necklines of others seemed to dip a little lower. Shen Luoyan’s left elbow had been brushed against several times. She didn’t know how many times she had endured it, and even her good temper was beginning to fray.

“Save me,” she signaled to Su Cancan.

The little drunkard was hesitating whether to switch to champagne for her next drink. Shen Luoyan’s glance captivated her, and she looked back in confusion.

Shen Luoyan mouthed the words: “Save me.”

As she looked at Shen Luoyan, she happened to see Viky practically sitting on the arm of Shen Luoyan’s chair. Su Cancan instantly understood Shen Luoyan’s intention. Good colleague, you helped me once, I’ll help you once. She made an “OK” gesture under the table, nodding with a meaningful expression.

“Wait a minute,” Su Cancan spoke up. Not only did the people present turn, but a dozen cameras focused on her.

She smiled. Her lipstick had been wiped clean from eating and repeatedly tilting her head back to drink, revealing her natural pink lip color. A few drops of wine stained her lips, magnifying her allure and driving men wild.

“When we play the game, let’s not crowd around the table here. Everyone is dressed casually today. Why don’t we move to the empty space upfront? Without the table blocking us, we can see more clearly and play more wholeheartedly.”

“Good.” The others answered in unison without objection.

Viky gritted her teeth. “Okay, Cancan-jie.”

《FOR U》 relied on Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan to generate traffic and seize the market. Viky’s manager had instructed her before the show not to offend them. Despite her displeasure, she complied, responding with a cheerful look.

“However, my dress might be a little inconvenient,” Su Cancan heard Viky say as the crew quickly set up the new space and Su Cancan stood up.

She sat coyly, and everyone looked over. Su Cancan, standing above her, looked like the mean female antagonist in a fairy tale who was bullying the protagonist. Su Cancan tossed her hair and laughed.

“Oh dear, it was my lack of consideration. But it’s okay, the production team prepared blankets. I’ll be the first to grab one for you later.” She pouted, drawing everyone’s attention to her beauty. “But you don’t need to worry at all. You and Miky are so close that even without a blanket, he would be willing to take off his jacket for you.”

The speaker had an intention, and the listener understood it.

Shen Luoyan repeatedly chewed on the second half of her sentence, carefully wondering if Su Cancan was hinting that she should take off her jacket for her, failing to notice Su Cancan quietly hiding behind her, her little tail rapidly wagging in triumph after getting away with a tease.

After the back-and-forth, Viky was left with nowhere to vent her frustration. She knew that Miky would never take off his jacket for her, which only fueled the fire, preparing her to attack Su Cancan at any moment.

From behind, she watched Su Cancan chatting enthusiastically with the younger girls. Shen Luoyan didn’t join in but stayed by her side, kicking away any small stones in the grass before Su Cancan reached them. These scenes ignited her jealousy. She stomped her foot fiercely but quickly subdued her hostile expression.

The production team hadn’t prepared blankets, only a pair of thin cotton pajamas that a camera operator had recently bought for his daughter was on the scene. Su Cancan, keeping her promise, took them after thanking him profusely and offered them to Viky, who hesitated to take them.

“They’re so cute!”

Su Cancan shook out the pants. The straightforward aesthetics of a straight man were confirmed: the hot-pink thin cotton pajamas were printed with two sheep, one Pleasant Goat (Xiyangyang), and the other, also a sheep.

Viky’s hands, which were clenched by her side, tightened and then relaxed. After a long period of psychological preparation, she accepted her fate and put them on.

Everyone sat down according to their previous dining arrangement. Just as Viky was rejoicing in her luck at switching places with Miky to sit closer to Shen Luoyan, the person next to her squatted down, then sat. Her shyness and fawning expression were about to spill out when they vanished completely upon making eye contact with Su Cancan.

The war had officially begun—hers and Su Cancan’s. Viky secretly hardened her resolve.

Two minutes later, Viky was holding a slip of paper from the box.

“Dare: Ask the person to your right a private question.”

“Are you still a virgin?”