The Movie Queen And Her Rival Just Went Public! - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

After one sneeze, Su Cancan couldn’t stop the strange dryness and itch in her nasal cavity and let out a string of consecutive sneezes.

Her eyes were red, and physiological tears welled up and spun in her eye sockets. Her pitiful appearance was endearing. Shen Luoyan quickly pulled out tissues, but halfway through handing them to her, Su Cancan brushed her hand away.

Su Cancan dodged her attentiveness and pulled out a few tissues herself, using some to wipe away tears and the rest to blow her nose.

The foreign matter blocking her nasal cavity was cleared, and her air passages were instantly unobstructed. The scents, no longer hindered, rushed into her body. It was a complex mix, but after sniffing, she could generally distinguish a few smells.

The most obvious was the air freshener commonly used after car washes to remove odors—a light, refreshing lemon scent. Second was Shen Luoyan’s usual perfume, which was not surprising to find in her car. Finally, and most bizarrely, there was the scent of YSL Black Opium perfume, which did not align with her known preferences.

YSL Black Opium, a concentrated fragrance…

The top and middle notes had dissipated, transitioning to a blend of woody and grassy scents covering every inch of exposed skin. The intense perfume had been applied heavily, quickly turning from extreme seduction to cloying sweetness. This extra stimulation instantly collapsed the overall aesthetic structure.

Oh, Su Cancan remembered. She also knew someone who favored intense fragrances and had used this perfume on several occasions they met—Viky.

“Shall I take you to dinner?” Shen Luoyan noticed Su Cancan’s displeasure, withdrew her hand, and tried to avoid her minefields as she asked.

Su Cancan pinched a clean tissue to cover the lower half of her face, intending to block out the odors. Her eyes were lowered: “Fine.”

Shen Luoyan opened her mouth, but seeing Su Cancan hide all her emotions and lean slightly to the right, only leaving her a stubborn back, she reluctantly clenched her back teeth and started the car, driving toward the pre-arranged restaurant.

The city lights came on. Pedestrians and vehicles moved constantly along the roadsides. Su Cancan looked at her face reflected in the glass. The surrounding hustle and bustle made her feel like she was the only one living a lonely life.

The black Urus drove out of the main city area. The vehicles in the lane noticeably thinned out. The previously continuous string of red tail lights broke up, scattered across the ground like isolated stars. No one could see them, and no one could recognize them. Su Cancan lowered the window, allowing the cool, crisp air to rush in and push out the strange molecules.

Shen Luoyan followed the road signs to exit the elevated highway. The cool breeze hit her cheeks from the right. She slightly reduced her speed and opened the window on her side: “I met Viky this afternoon. Her perfume was too strong, so I went to have the car washed…”

“You don’t need to tell me that,” Su Cancan interrupted her. The white paper between her fingers twisted and struggled to break free, but just as it was about to succeed, she grabbed it back and crumpled it into a ball. She lifted her eyelids: “I only opened the window because I felt a bit stuffy. You don’t need to tell me who you meet or what you do. Those are your private matters. I… I’m a colleague at best. There’s no need to report your schedule to a colleague.”

The car body gently vibrated and quickly steadied.

Shen Luoyan’s chest visibly rose and fell: “Understood.”

If Su Cancan said they were colleagues, then they were colleagues. If she didn’t want to hear it, then Shen Luoyan would stay silent. It wasn’t complicated, as long as Su Cancan was happy.

The sound of rushing air clashed in her ears. Su Cancan didn’t engage in conversation and quietly browsed her fan forum.

OnlyLoveCanCan: My baby must be filming the romance show now, but what can we do? We can’t get close, and days without fan-site photos are so hard to bear. Wuwuwu, baby wife, I miss you so much. Remember to check back on Weibo often! Kiss/

GuardVolcanoWatchMeAttack: It’s okay. I only need to forage for wild herbs for twenty-eight more days to be close to my wife. What’s twenty-eight days? Six hundred and seventy-two hours. Over forty thousand hours. Help me up, I can keep foraging. (If Baby Cancan posts on Weibo, I can barely recover and fight for another twenty-eight days)

VolcanoLady: Start counting from the first floor. Let me see how many little sparks are waiting for Cancan.

Su Cancan looked around and saw that posts urging her to update her Weibo accounted for more than half. She recalled the past few months. Since the official announcement of Nian Qing, she hadn’t shared any daily life updates. She really should post a Weibo to comfort the fans who constantly cared about her.

She selected three selfies from her album and added the picture she had casually taken in the recording studio today. She edited the caption and clicked send.

Some fans who had noticed she was online were waiting for her next move. As soon as the Weibo was posted, the shares, likes, and comments instantly broke four digits. She didn’t click into it, just stared blankly as the numbers kept rising until the car smoothly parked in a strange courtyard, and Shen Luoyan raised the windows.

“We’re here.”

In her student days, Shen Luoyan was a goddess in her classmates’ eyes and a favorite of her teachers. After entering the workforce, she was never arrogant but never humble or subservient either. Yet, when it came to Su Cancan, she was willing to shatter all her proud achievements, and even her speech became unconsciously careful.

Su Cancan pressed the button, and the seatbelt retracted to its original position: “Mhm.”

The passenger side door was pulled open first. The seat was empty, and the door was closed. Shen Luoyan sat alone in the enclosed car, frustratedly rubbing her forehead. The trapped anger had nowhere to be released. She quickly rubbed her face with her palms, put on a relaxed expression, and got out of the car.

Shen Luoyan had booked the whole space by phone in advance, so their car was the only one in the courtyard parking lot. The two of them got out of the car one after the other, and an enthusiastic waiter greeted them and led the way.

“Ms. Shen, we’ve prepared the dishes according to your request, and the kitchen is ready. Would you like to start serving now or wait a little longer?”

The two sat down. The waiter poured their tea and stood straight at an angle, maintaining a close but not too close distance.

Shen Luoyan looked at Su Cancan, ready to ask for her decision, but Su Cancan, sitting directly across from her, was looking down, silently observing the dark green tea leaves sinking and floating in the white porcelain cup.

Shen Luoyan interlaced her fingers on the table: “Serve it now.”

“Very good. I’ll arrange for the dishes to be served now.” The waiter nodded and turned to the kitchen.

“Wait a moment.”

Su Cancan suddenly spoke, and the waiter immediately stopped. Shen Luoyan had been watching Su Cancan the entire time, her heart pounding fiercely. Both of them waited for her next sentence.

“Where is the restroom?”

The waiter pointed in a direction: “Straight ahead, turn right to the end. Would you like me to take you?”

Su Cancan waved her hand. She simply didn’t want to be alone with Shen Luoyan and wanted a place to calm down. She declined the waiter’s kindness and strode away under Shen Luoyan’s gaze.

This was a private restaurant. Judging from the decor, it featured garden landscaping and obvious Suzhou-style architectural characteristics. The interior was decorated in the old Ning City style. After passing through the corridor and turning right, the restroom sign appeared. She walked in and stood directly in front of the sink.

She turned on the faucet. Water splashed into the sink, and droplets hit the back of her hand. Distracted for a few seconds, she took off her mask and hat, bent down, and scooped up a handful of clean water to splash on her bare face.

Water droplets traced a path down her brow bone, across her smooth cheeks, and converged at her slightly parted red lips. Before more could gather and slide down, they were carried away by the next forceful splash.

The inexplicable anger in her heart didn’t subside. She turned off the faucet, took out a portable cotton wipe from her bag, and pressed it to absorb the moisture on her face. Her mind was in turmoil when her phone suddenly rang.

Her phone was lying face up on the marble counter. The screen instantly lit up when a message arrived. Without moving, she lowered her head to look. It was a message notification from an unsaved number.

Given the explosion of online chat apps in recent years, choosing the most primitive method to message her made Su Cancan hesitant. She maintained her posture, unlocked her phone, and checked the message.

The phone number’s IP address was in Hangzhou. A self-introduction, a screenshot, and a piece of text—this person threw their intentions out clearly.

Su Cancan’s only comments were two words.

Pervert and Psycho!

Her eyes were filled with confusion as she stared at the screen.

I’m Viky

To be honest, you’re my type. I’m interested in you. You saw the picture, so I don’t need to say more. If they start a fight, we can’t be blamed for finishing it. Shen Luoyan is just bland and tasteless. She can’t give you an orgasm. I’m confident I can make you feel good. Think about having sex with me once?

A water droplet from her chin succumbed to gravity and fell freely, landing squarely on the image. Zooming in on the screenshot, a smiling Samoyed on the left side of the chat history made her eyes flicker.

Vvvviky: Sister Luoyan, can I come find you?~ Shy/

Shen Luoyan: Sure. I’ll send you the location. Come over.

She didn’t need to check the exact location. The glaring “Recording Studio” was exactly where she had spent the entire afternoon.

If it were only these texts and chat screenshots, Su Cancan wouldn’t believe it, but the perfume in the car and Shen Luoyan’s flustered explanation served as proof. Everything became clear and undeniable.

She wouldn’t try to convince herself to trust Shen Luoyan, nor would she argue. She just stared calmly at the conversation until the phone screen gradually dimmed and went black.

The soft yellow light overhead shone on her face. Her complexion, free of any visual distortion, looked sickly pale.

Everything she had assumed was overturned. The difficult step she had taken backward would likely be impossible to take forward again.

Shen Luoyan and Viky’s affairs were none of her business. But she wouldn’t feel right until she disposed of the trash currently harassing her. Shifting her focus to the text content, her anger gauge filled to capacity, threatening to explode. She picked up her phone and began typing against the tiled wall.

[Su Cancan: I’ve seen sick people, but never someone as sick as you. Lecher, hooligan, pervert, freak—any of those words are too good for you. You can’t keep your own woman and come to me to act slutty. You’ve got guts. If you don’t have a mirror at home, shake your head and shake the yin shui sloshing in your brain out to look at yourself. With a face like yours, you look nothing like a human. What makes you think you can attract me? You stinking hoodlum, if you harass me again, I’ll curse your ancestors for eighteen generations! Get lost!]

After the message successfully sent, Su Cancan was still furious and cursed at the vile person. She clenched her small fists. Before the person could reply, she quickly blocked the contact to avoid seeing any more unclean things that would stain her eyes.

Rage consumed her brain, controlling her limbs. She came out of the restroom holding her phone. Walking quickly in her anger, she didn’t notice the corner and bumped into someone.

Her apology stopped when she confirmed the person she bumped into was Shen Luoyan. Shen Luoyan saw her unsteady footing and, worried, reached out to steady her, but Su Cancan deftly dodged her touch.

She said coldly: “Shen Luoyan, don’t touch me.”