The Movie Queen And Her Rival Just Went Public! - Chapter 66

Chapter 66

For Su Cancan, who was accustomed to doing thorough research before filming, these questions were far too easy; the correct answers practically spilled out of her mouth.

“Correct.”

It was within the staff’s expectations that Su Cancan could quickly name the roles she had played, but since no one had a clear consensus on the true state of their current relationship, the fact that she could answer for Shen Luoyan so rapidly was a pleasant surprise.

The staff member’s eyebrows twitched, trying to control her expression so as not to disrupt the rhythm of the next question: “What were your respective outfits the first time you met?”

Even for established couples, this would be considered a difficult question, let alone for two people with rumors of a falling-out. The staff had already prepared a fallback question, her finger tensed on the cue card, ready to slide it up.

Being this physically close was a rarity even in their previous filming sessions. Su Cancan wasn’t used to such intimacy and had been dedicating a portion of her focus to keeping herself steady, but when the question came, she processed it in record time.

She blinked. “The first time we met during the filming period, we both wore tracksuits. But the actual first time before that… Teacher Shen wore a hooded sweatshirt, and I…”

On the day she signed the contract, she had been too busy maintaining her “diva” persona and observing Shen Luoyan to remember what she herself had worn. After answering for Shen Luoyan, she trailed off, her mouth slightly open.

“Teacher Su was wearing a white square-neck dress inside, with a black trench coat over it.”

The humid breath hit the back of Su Cancan’s ear, making contact with her bare skin and sending a momentary shiver through her entire body. Su Cancan couldn’t help a soft “ing” sound. To hide her reaction, she tilted her head slightly and whispered into Shen Luoyan’s ear: “Really? You still remember?”

Shen Luoyan’s lips brushed against her as her gaze shifted to the fine sand at their feet. “Mm.”

She could faintly hear her own heartbeat. “There’s no recording of it; it’s unprovable.”

Su Cancan’s face lit up with delight. “You’re so smart!”

The staff member stared at the answer on the card for a few seconds. Since there were few public records of Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan being in the same frame previously, the team had decided to use the first recorded meeting on camera as the standard to ensure accuracy.

Su Cancan’s answer for the filming period matched the standard answer perfectly. After snapping back to reality and judging the answer as correct, the staff continued the questioning.

The early summer afternoon sun was not gentle. The scorching light beat down on everyone. Sweat began to bead on the foreheads and noses of the four guests performing squats while carrying their partners. Zhouzhou, who had the weakest stamina, was already drenched in sweat on camera.

“What did you two eat the first time you had a meal alone together?”

Su Cancan felt like she was at a quiz competition. Having successfully answered four questions, one more correct answer would end Shen Luoyan’s “torture.” She rewound her memory’s progress bar.

Shen Luoyan continued her steady, rhythmic squats. As she slowly straightened her body, Su Cancan answered: “Greens in oyster sauce, and seafood porridge.”

“And, and cold shredded kelp.”

Correct Answer: Seafood Porridge, Cold Shredded Kelp, Greens in Oyster Sauce.

Fifth question: Correct.

Furthermore, all five consecutive questions were answered perfectly.

The staff marveled inwardly that actors truly possessed incredible memories. She raised her hand to announce: “Shen Luoyan and Su Cancan’s group has finished. Time: Two minutes and thirty-one seconds.”

The two close-up cameras continued to film their reactions. Hearing the command that they were finished, Su Cancan was about to jump out of Shen Luoyan’s arms, but Shen Luoyan had already squatted one last time to place her steadily back on the ground.

Su Cancan said apologetically, “Good work. If I’d known there was a round like this, I wouldn’t have had that soup at noon.” She shook her head. “No, I should have gone on a diet in advance.”

Shen Luoyan, hands behind her back, also shook her head.

She secretly rotated her wrist. A dull ache seeped from the joints and raced along her nerves, but her expression remained unchanged. “It wasn’t hard. You aren’t heavy; I can carry you.”

“Don’t say that. I gained several pounds after wrapping up the last project. Liu Yimin saw me today and nagged me in circles about it.”

“She’s exaggerating. Without a specific role requirement, this isn’t considered heavy.”

The two chatted naturally until a cheer suddenly erupted from the distance.

“Yay! Are we first?”

Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan turned their heads simultaneously. Youyou was thrown into Zhouzhou’s arms, her joyful expression impossible to hide.

The staff over there said something, and Youyou’s expression faltered for a second before blooming into an even bigger smile.

“Is it them?” Youyou’s gaze met Su Cancan’s, and she dragged Zhouzhou over.

Youyou’s round eyes were sparkling. “Sister Cancan, Sister Luoyan, you guys are first!”

Is it just my imagination? Su Cancan had expected the girl to be disappointed about falling behind them, yet the person in front of her wasn’t sad at all.

In fact, she seemed… excited?

Of course, she didn’t understand the perspective of a “shipper.” Youyou stood close to Zhouzhou, her fishtail braids swinging against her chest.

Her cheeks were pink. “Sister Cancan, you guys are seriously amazing! Some of those questions were so hard to answer; it was so long ago that things got blurry, but it brought back so many memories. Did you two think of any fun stories?”

Su Cancan gave an awkward smile. She hadn’t even been in a “human” state just now; she had transformed into a robot searching through time-stamped files in her brain. She hadn’t recalled any fun stories—her CPU had nearly burned out.

With a little fan in front of her, she still had an image to maintain. Just as she was about to compose a reply, another cry of pain rang out.

Accompanied by the cry was a loud, heavy thud.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to that spot. Su Cancan frowned.

Viky was sitting on the fine sand with a contorted expression and tears in her eyes. She was still in the stiff, upright posture she had held before falling from Miky’s arms. As the pain spread, she very stiffly and carefully touched the area that had hit the sand. It wasn’t a great height, but the sand was coarse. The skin visible on her hip and leg was bright red, making it painful even to look at.

The scene would normally evoke pity, but what made Su Cancan frown in displeasure was Miky, standing beside her.

As a partner who failed to protect her other half, Miky showed no sign of apology or remorse. Instead, she stood there like an unbothered bystander, just like the rest of them.

She was actually even more indifferent than the outsiders.

“Are you okay?” “Medic, come quickly!”

The crowd was a mess of people worrying and helping, alongside that one bystander.

Su Cancan knew she couldn’t help, so she stayed in place to watch the medical staff work without obstructing them. Her gaze was fixed on Viky, showing a hint of concern.

Miky seemed to suddenly realize her role and knelt beside Viky, pulling her head into her arms to comfort her. Su Cancan thought her conscience might not be entirely gone, but then, a moment later, she found herself being targeted.

Greed. Desire.

It was like a giant python flicking its tongue, preparing to swallow her whole.

Su Cancan lost count of how many times this had happened. She clenched her jaw, almost wanting to rush over and tear her apart.

In the next second, a figure stepped in front of her. Her line of sight was blocked, and she found herself standing in a shadow. Her fury was instantly met with a cool block of ice; though it couldn’t be completely extinguished, the collision of fire and water created a new sensation.

Shen Luoyan stood blocking Miky’s malicious gaze, holding a sun umbrella in one hand and a bottle of mineral water with the cap already loosened in the other, held out between them.

The moisture in her voice seemed to have evaporated along with the seaside heat; it was dry and strangely comforting. “Have some water. Filming has paused; do you want to go rest for a bit?”

“No need, it doesn’t look too serious. I feel like we’ll resume soon.” Su Cancan took the water and tilted her head back for a sip.

Putting the plastic bottle down, she muttered, “It’s not ice water?”

Su Cancan hadn’t asked her on purpose; her voice was a few degrees lower than her usual speaking tone. As Shen Luoyan tried to make out the words, she responded instinctively with a soft “mm.”

That nasal hum, with its rising intonation, acted like a little hook catching onto someone.

“It’s nothing.”

“Ah… if I remember correctly, your period is in a few days. If drinking cold water makes you uncomfortable, I can go get a cooler bottle now.”

Su Cancan’s cheeks were tinged with a faint pink, looking shy and lovely. “No need, just this bottle. This bottle is fine.”

She smacked her lips.

Hate this. Letting her know too much information about herself—she’d have to be more careful next time.

“Are you drinking?” Su Cancan instinctively held the water bottle out toward Shen Luoyan.

Shen Luoyan froze, not reaching for it.

Su Cancan suddenly remembered she had already drunk from this bottle; giving it to someone else was impolite and unhygienic. Just as she was about to pull her hand back, a slender, fair hand closed over the bottle, overlapping where her hand had been.

“Thank you.”

Su Cancan let go. Shen Luoyan’s hand shifted down slightly to the exact spot she had been gripping. Even though she had let go, and the bottle was just an object, she still felt as if Shen Luoyan’s hand were wrapping around her own.

Shen Luoyan tilted her head back to drink, her lips touching the rim. Su Cancan couldn’t help but swallow twice. In the shade, a fire was burning in her back, making her throat feel parched.

They had been in the sun for a while and had sweated; Shen Luoyan took two large gulps to rehydrate. Drinking the water Su Cancan had drunk from filled her with beautiful fantasies, but she kept them all well-hidden.

Su Cancan couldn’t tell. While she was busy burning up internally, she brainwashed herself: This is just what friends do.

“Teacher Su, Teacher Shen! Are you ready? we’re about to restart!”

The emergency had been handled. Viky’s injury wasn’t serious; the doctor had applied medicine. To keep to the schedule, a staff member came over to call them.

Su Cancan turned her head to respond: “Ready, ready! Do we need to reshoot this game?”

“Yes. Xia Yue and Cheng Lewei’s group had already correctly answered five questions when Viky fell. We just need to pick up a few shots. Teacher Su, you’ll announce the rankings then.” The staff member walked closer and paused for a moment. “Teacher Su, why is your face so red? Maybe you should rest a bit longer before we continue? We don’t want you getting heatstroke!”

This unintentional comment drew even more attention from Shen Luoyan. Su Cancan’s face burned even redder.

She coughed twice to straighten her expression and pull back her wandering thoughts. “No need. I’ll just have a few sips of water and touch up my makeup.”

Hearing her say she wanted to drink water, Shen Luoyan handed the bottle back.

Su Cancan took one look at it, turned her heels, and ran to the cooler at the rest area. She grabbed the coldest bottle of water from inside, twisted it open, and drank frantically.

“Teacher Shen.” The staff member watched Su Cancan’s sequence of actions in a daze, then mechanically turned to look at Shen Luoyan. “Is Teacher Su really okay?”

Shen Luoyan was bewildered. “She should be okay.”

She wasn’t sure. Su Cancan was just like the firecrackers set off at home during New Year’s—once the fuse was lit, whoosh, they’d jump far away, make a bunch of noise, and then return to peace.

She didn’t know what had lit the fuse of the little firecracker. Perhaps it was the sweltering heat, or perhaps it was that room-temperature bottle of water she had tactlessly held. She didn’t know, but she would reflect and learn.

As the ice-cold water flowed down her throat, past her pounding heart and into her tight stomach, Su Cancan finally found her bearings.

She smoothed her chest. This “little flower” who had been single for too long was blooming wildly at the turn of spring and summer—she had to pluck those feelings out immediately!