The Movie Queen And Her Rival Just Went Public! - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Shen Luoyan indeed didn’t know; she was currently stretching her shoulders. Having maintained the same posture for a long time, her limbs felt like rusted machinery, making popping sounds as she moved, with the tendons connected to her bones feeling sore and weak.

When the “Cat Princess” returned from her small victory, Shen Luoyan caught her eye out of the corner of her own and immediately stopped her movements, sitting upright as if nothing were wrong.

Su Cancan raised an eyebrow, unable to hide her excitement: “Why are you still sitting there? Aren’t we going to eat?”

Shen Luoyan pursed her lips, stood up, and the two of them followed Zhouzhou and Youyou out of the bus’s rear door. While waiting for Cheng Lewei and Xia Yue to descend, Su Cancan tilted her head back to stretch. Through the glass, she saw the four remaining people in the bus standing together, with Viky’s mouth moving animatedly.

Having accidentally seen her message earlier, Su Cancan didn’t need much imagination to guess that these two “vixens” were looking for trouble. Cheng Lewei and Xia Yue were civilians; their network wasn’t as complex as Viky’s, nor did they have financial backers protecting them. Su Cancan considered finding an opportunity to warn the other two couples to limit their contact with Viky and Miky. Just then, the four emerged from the vehicle.

“Follow the markings on the ground, and you’ll reach the restaurant shortly,” a staff member prompted once all four pairs had deboarded. “The most important part of the journey is enjoying the scenery along the way. You can also look around on the path to the restaurant—maybe you’ll find some exclusive memories just for you~”

Since all reactions had to be showcased for the camera, Su Cancan found it hard to muster genuine anticipation because she and Shen Luoyan simply had no “shared memories.”

Following the others’ lead, the large group set off in a grand procession, following the arrows pasted on the ground.

“Wow, this is the Moments post from our official announcement!”

Youyou was the first to cry out in surprise. She plucked a photo hanging from a pine branch. The cameraman moved in with his equipment as she held the photo up, explaining the story behind it.

“This is the post Zhouzhou made when we went public. Zhouzhou was a big figure at school with many fangirls. I put in so much effort to pursue her! At the time, I was insecure and felt I wasn’t good enough for her, so for various reasons, I chose not to go public. But when my roommate told me she had posted an announcement, I truly felt like the happiest person in the world!”

Until now, Zhouzhou’s image on the show had been that of a laconic, “cool girl.” Holding Youyou’s hand, she spoke a long paragraph for the first time.

Her tone was sincere to the point of reverence: “It wasn’t like that. Actually, I was the one who fell first. When she said she liked me, I was the happiest person in the world. Going public wasn’t to give her a sense of security, but to give it to myself—to tell everyone we knew that Youyou is my girl.”

the cameraman cooperated perfectly, zooming in on the small text at the bottom of the photo.

The caption read: Youyou is my girl.

Youth is full of vigor; even those playing a “cold and aloof” persona can’t help but reveal their truest emotions in front of a lover. The camera slowly pulled back until it framed both of them. Zhouzhou cupped Youyou’s face as if holding a precious treasure, slowly bringing her lips toward her.

As their lips touched, the frame blurred.

Many photos were hanging from the plants on both sides. Shen Luoyan walked at the back with Su Cancan, their designated cameramen waiting nearby for them to make a move.

Not far away, Xia Yue and Cheng Lewei found their memory, leaning together in a heartwarming display. Further ahead were Viky and Miky; Su Cancan had never seen them in a “true” state of being in love, feeling only that Viky’s “clowning” for the camera to get attention was a very low-level tactic.

“Ours.”

Su Cancan hadn’t noticed Shen Luoyan stop. When she realized the space beside her was empty and turned back, she found Shen Luoyan standing before an unnamed tree.

From a few steps away, the tall Shen Luoyan stood with her head lowered, staring at a photo from some unknown period. Su Cancan rarely read such softness in her expression; Shen Luoyan’s eyes were so tender they looked as if they might overflow with spring water.

Su Cancan wondered what photo could move her so much. Driven by curiosity, she walked to her side, looked down, and felt her heart skip a beat.

The photo in Shen Luoyan’s hand was their high school graduation photo.

The tradition for school graduation photos was a grand group shot of the entire grade, followed by individual class photos. The production team had edited this large group photo, blurring out everyone except the two of them.

In the picture, one was on the far left and the other on the far right. Separated by thousands of people, they each shone with their own light, yet there was a strange sense of destiny between them.

“So youthful.”

Su Cancan’s fingertip brushed over the tiny dot that was her younger self. For a moment, she felt as if she had returned to six or seven years ago, struggling for her art exams and her dreams, while Shen Luoyan was charging forward in her academics.

It was magical—two originally parallel lines had actually found an intersection.

In her subconscious, FOR U was their intersection, so once the show ended, they would naturally drift apart again.

“Very beautiful.”

Looking at the eighteen-year-old Su Cancan, Shen Luoyan couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth. Once the sun-drenched vitality of a young girl leaves that specific age, it often becomes thinner, but Su Cancan was different. She had a unique beauty at every stage of her life, eternally stunning and charismatic.

“Of course,” Su Cancan pouted arrogantly, moving her finger to reveal her characteristic small face. “Now that we’ve seen the high school photo, you can’t say I’ve had plastic surgery anymore. I have Teacher Shen as a witness.”

It was meant as a joke, but Shen Luoyan nodded cooperatively: “Yes, I’ll testify. You’ve always been beautiful.”

Her Weibo fans praised her in every way imaginable, and plenty of industry peers complimented her looks, but coming from Shen Luoyan’s mouth, it just felt… awkward. It was the kind of awkwardness like a princess lying on a bed with a hidden pea, or a stray hair prickling inside a sweater.

“Teacher Shen’s looks haven’t faded either. Beautiful, great acting, and a high IQ.”

Su Cancan threw out a random compliment, leaving the cameraman beside them with a face full of black lines.

Is this a dating show or a ‘sworn brothers’ show? Or a mutual-praise competition?

The three couples ahead were actual real-life couples with many memories; Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan had far fewer. They walked slowly, nearly missing their own photos until the sharp-eyed cameraman prompted them to find another one.

While the cameraman was lamenting that this “family” would fall apart without him, Shen Luoyan quickly hid the photo.

Su Cancan leaned her head over, seeing only the white back of the photo: “Can’t we look together?”

Shen Luoyan said, “It seems… not very appropriate.”

Su Cancan was confused: “How could that be? The production team prepared these memories for us.”

She felt even more uncertain. She and Shen Luoyan truly had never shared a frame. There were no offline events, and certainly no Weibo interactions. At first, she had avoided her deliberately, and later she found out that Shen Luoyan was doing the same when turning down offers. She defined their relationship as “arch-rivals.” Before this, it had been her own one-sided dislike of Shen Luoyan. The “candy” the shippers found in their fan forum was mostly fan-edits of their dramas or Photoshopped pictures, leading the solo fans to rudely call the shippers “thieves.”

Shen Luoyan’s secrecy only piqued Su Cancan’s curiosity. She held out her hand to Shen Luoyan.

“It’s unfair if only you see it. You can’t deprive me of my right to know.”

As she spoke, Su Cancan pressed closer to Shen Luoyan. Shen Luoyan hesitated for a second, and in that moment of weakness, Su Cancan snatched the photo from her hand—the entire process recorded by the cameraman.

With the photo in Su Cancan’s hand, Shen Luoyan’s concentration intensified; she was so nervous that every pore seemed to be gasping for fresh air.

Looking at the scene in the photo, Su Cancan went silent for several seconds.

She remembered the story behind this photo very clearly. In fact, no one cared more about the day this story took place than she did.

Three years ago, she had clearly been invited to attend the Golden Branch Awards, but she had risked offending her backers by claiming illness to stay away. On that day, Shen Luoyan was radiant and dazzling on the television screen.

And she… she had hidden in her dark home, crying until her eyes were swollen.

“It’s a photo of Teacher Shen receiving her Best Actress award, isn’t it?” She thought that after so much time, she could face it calmly, but her voice still trembled as she spoke. “The black gown really suits Teacher Shen.”

Su Cancan opened her mouth, but her throat was too dry to speak. Shen Luoyan was the other party involved; she had also personally experienced every bit of the three years of bitterness.

Just as the cameraman thought they had found some special memory, Shen Luoyan reached out and covered the lens.

“Please turn off the camera and step away for a moment. I have some things I want to say to Cancan privately.” Her tone was calm yet carried an undeniable pressure. The cameraman, who weighed over 200 pounds and was twice her size, actually obeyed and left with his gear.

Once he was far enough away, Shen Luoyan walked behind Su Cancan and turned off her microphone. After stepping back in front of her, she turned off her own.

“Actually,” she looked at Su Cancan, not knowing how to start. It didn’t seem like a good time, but if she missed it, there was no guarantee the misunderstanding wouldn’t escalate further.

Shen Luoyan said in a deep voice, “Actually, I’ve always wanted to talk to you—about Rising Sun and the Golden Branch Awards.”

Su Cancan looked away from the photo and stared at her in disbelief, her instinctive reaction being to flee: “I don’t think there’s anything to talk about.”

“You know,” Shen Luoyan clenched her fingers, making a decision. “There is.”

“We both know very well that this matter has stood between us for three years. In those three years, you’ve pushed away every event, business deal, and recording where I was present.”

A cold light flickered in Su Cancan’s eyes: “Could you please stop being so conceited? What makes you think I push away shows and variety programs because of you? Have you heard too much praise in the industry that you think the world revolves around you? Besides, you’re such a big star—would you really care about my schedule or choices?”

Su Cancan’s way of protecting herself was to hurt others without hesitation. Even if she got hurt in the process, she wouldn’t soften.

She was successful; she hit the softest corner of Shen Luoyan’s heart in one shot.

“You shouldn’t be like this…” she murmured.

These words enraged Su Cancan. The “Cat Princess” bristled, her hostility doubling.

“You say I shouldn’t be like this? Then teach me—what should I do?”

“Didn’t you want to talk about Rising Sun? Fine, let’s talk. Talk about why you stole my role. Talk about what means you used to get that role. Talk about how you took the role and gained both fame and fortune, and why you are now recording a dating show with a ‘loser’ like me.”