The Movie Queen And Her Rival Just Went Public! - Chapter 67

Chapter 67

“Guests in position, cameras ready.”

Su Cancan adjusted her mood on the sidelines. Once she had transitioned from a “flushed little tomato” back into a “fresh young egg,” she returned to the set. Seeing that everyone was present, the staff snapped the clapperboard to resume filming.

“Xia Yue and Cheng Lewei’s group completed the questions in four minutes and one second.”

Resuming from the scene before Viky’s fall, the cameras captured Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan chatting with Youyou and Zhouzhou, while Cheng Lewei held Xia Yue and Miky held Viky.

After the staff announced the completion of the third group’s Q&A, the remaining pair symbolically answered two simple questions, bringing the first part of the game to an end.

This game used a point system. Since there was no official host, a dedicated staff member recorded the points earned by each couple per round. Once the round concluded, Su Cancan walked to the center of the group with her cue cards to introduce the second game.

The camera operator focused on her flawless face. Su Cancan gave the lens a sweet smile, a small, shallow dimple appearing on her cheek.

She gripped the cards, her eyes scanning a line quickly: “After the first round, ‘The Embrace of Love,’ we and our partners have recalled many sweet memories. Walking hand-in-hand, stumbles are inevitable. In those moments, I hope we can remember today—remember that we worked hard for each other… With that sweetness in mind, let me introduce the second program: Water Balloon War.”

The rules of the Water Balloon War were similar to dodgeball. However, to create more highlights, the production team had the four couples form two alliances to compete in teams of four. In each team, two people were responsible for offense and two for defense. Each team had 20 water balloons. The team with the higher hit rate would earn points for both resident couples. In the event of a tie, the points for that round would be split equally among the four couples. There were three rounds in total.

After explaining the rules, Su Cancan noticed the last line on the card. She raised an eyebrow with a look of deep meaning: “Couples, don’t forget the prop cards you obtained yesterday. Using them at the right time might be the key to your ultimate victory.”

Prop cards were kept secret and weren’t ready to be used just yet. Following the procedure, they drew lots to form teams.

Four hands reached into an opaque plastic box. When they pulled them out, each palm held a colored ocean ball.

Youyou saw the ball in Zhouzhou’s hand and jumped three feet high: “Yay! Sister Cancan, we’re both yellow!”

Per the rules, guests holding the same color joined forces. These two groups formed one team, while Xia Yue/Cheng Lewei and Viky/Miky naturally formed the other.

Su Cancan nodded, remembering her role: “Let’s discuss some tactics.”

Viky, whether due to physical discomfort or a foul mood, had a long face. When the camera panned over, she barely managed a smile, but the moment the lens was away, her face went pitch black. When Su Cancan made her suggestion, Viky immediately turned her back.

“Dammit. What bad luck.”

the camera operator holding the rig thought for a moment his ears had malfunctioned. By the time he recovered from the shock, the next sentence gave him his answer.

“I’m over this. Teaming up with these two… I won’t get any screentime. Those two look like weaklings; we’re definitely going to lose. F*cking hell, this is so annoying.”

Viky complained to herself, while Miky looked off to the side with indifference. Out of the corner of her eye, Miky spotted the stunned cameraman and rolled her eyes impatiently, nudging Viky with her elbow.

Viky’s anger flared: “What?”

Miky pursed her lips, didn’t answer, and rolled her eyes toward the camera.

“Hehe, I just like to mutter to myself when I’m thinking about things. Don’t mind me~” Viky said, looking piteously at the camera. But the camera operator felt a wave of goosebumps for no reason. It was his first time seeing a “Sichuan Opera face-changing” performance live; since it was free, he decided not to comment.

Youyou’s excitement at being on her idol’s team was slow to fade, her mouth stretched in a grin as she spoke: “Sister Cancan, Sister Luoyan, who’s on offense and who’s on defense?”

Faced with the question, Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan made eye contact.

A few seconds later, Su Cancan looked away: “Let the strong be strong; I’m weak, so I’ll lie down first. I’m not as tall as Teacher Shen and I’m clumsy, so I volunteer for defense.”

“Mm, okay.” Shen Luoyan, forced into the offensive role, accepted the arrangement calmly. She silently shifted her steps to block the slanting sunlight for Su Cancan.

Youyou let out a long “Oh”: “Makes sense! Then let the two of us be the offense. You’ll definitely protect me, right?”

“Of course.” Zhouzhou let Youyou shake her arm, her ear tips turning red.

Watching the young couple show off their affection, Su Cancan, full of “dog food,” turned her head to look at the sea. The light from the setting sun carpeted the earth, inlaying the surface of the sea with golden glints. In the distance, massive waves rolled in layers, surging forward until they neared the shore, where they gently wrapped around a layer of sand, leaving golden beads on the coast.

“I will protect you well.”

Su Cancan froze. It felt as if a rhythmic pounding echoed in her ears again. She gave herself a moment to distinguish the sound, her brown eyes cast downward.

Before the conversation could open, it was interrupted: “Sister Cancan, what about the prop cards? How should we play them?”

Su Cancan exhaled. Acting as if she hadn’t heard the previous words, she turned around with a natural expression: “We can share them in advance, but since we don’t know the opponents’ skills, we’ll have to play it by ear.”

When a high-speed water balloon flying over Shen Luoyan’s head hurtled toward her, anyone would have panicked for a moment. The dot in Su Cancan’s pupils grew larger and larger. She instinctively leaned her body to the right to dodge.

Unfortunately, her movements were a bit slow. By the time she moved, the balloon was only tens of centimeters away. Being hit seemed inevitable.

“Watch out!”

Amidst her teammate’s concern, the water balloon in Su Cancan’s eyes seemed to enter slow-motion as it lunged at her. Judging she was about to be hit, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to the impact.

The noise amplified. Suddenly, the salty, humid air in her nostrils was pushed aside by an elegant, woody fragrance.

The next second, she was wrapped in a warm embrace. The other person’s skin radiated heat, and strong pheromones diffused around her.

With a bang, water with a hint of warmth splashed onto her ankles.

Receiving a signal of safety, Su Cancan slowly opened her eyes. The game hadn’t stopped. Seizing the blind spot created when Shen Luoyan turned to save her, Viky threw another water balloon in quick succession.

This time, Su Cancan faced it head-on and was prepared. With Shen Luoyan’s arms wrapped around her waist, Su Cancan guided her in a slight tilt, dodging the attack.

“Quick, quick! It’s not over yet!”

Shen Luoyan was a few centimeters taller than Su Cancan. She looked down to see Su Cancan focused on the game. Spurred on by the opponent’s attack, Shen Luoyan’s competitive spirit flared. She gently released Su Cancan and began leading her with agile movements to avoid the barrage of water balloons.

The balloons flew back and forth. Youyou and Zhouzhou were also working hard. Facing Xia Yue and Cheng Lewei, there was enough affection that they didn’t go for “kill shots,” but since Cancan had almost been hit, Youyou’s “little universe” completely exploded.

Protecting the “main couple” is a mandatory lesson for every CP fan; it’s true online, and even truer offline.

Once ignited, Youyou went into a frenzy. On one hand, she reminded Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan to dodge, and on the other, she grabbed water balloons in each hand and hurled them at the opposition.

Each group only had twenty balloons per round. Zhouzhou stopped her own attacks specifically to fetch and hand balloons to Youyou.

“Charge!”

The “little beast” disregarded her image, but her youthful spirit was simply hot-blooded and endearing. Youyou’s logic was almost entirely gone, save for a sliver of awareness; 90% of the balloons she threw landed at the feet or on the bodies of Viky and Miky.

Viky and Miky couldn’t understand why they were being targeted. Per the rules, hitting the offensive side didn’t count for points. Because Youyou’s frantic assault broke their rhythm, the two were too preoccupied to aim. Every balloon they threw missed Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan.

The first round ended quickly due to the balloon limit.

When all forty balloons were used up, the staff called for a break to tally the scores. They found that the two on the defensive side were perfectly clean. Su Cancan and Shen Luoyan were only wet below the calves. Of Xia Yue and Cheng Lewei, only Cheng Lewei had been hit once on her back while turning to protect Xia Yue.

“Are you sick? Do you even know the rules? Psycho!”

During the break, a drenched Viky took the towel offered by a staff member and finally couldn’t help but curse loudly.

Everyone knew she had powerful connections, so they pretended not to hear, focusing on tidying the set or preparing props. Her cameraman didn’t have time to shut off his rig, so he hurriedly tilted the lens toward the ground.

Hearing herself being cursed at, Youyou turned to glare at her, her small mouth pouting in a mix of grievance and anger.

“Did we misunderstand the rules? Attacking those two doesn’t earn points,” Su Cancan said softly, opening a bottle of juice and handing it to Youyou, wondering if she had gone wild just to defend her.

The air Youyou was puffing in her cheeks deflated: “No…”

Shen Luoyan pursed her lips: “Was it because you didn’t want Teacher Su to get hurt?”

Upon hearing Shen Luoyan’s question, Su Cancan and Youyou both looked at her.

Youyou nodded: “Even though it’s a competitive game, they were playing so aggressively. Viky was clearly targeting Sister Cancan. I didn’t want to hurt Sister Xia or Sister Cheng over there either, so…”

Su Cancan interrupted Youyou: “Let’s go on the offense next round.” Her tone wasn’t forceful, but it carried an undeniable resolve.

Stared at by a pair of large, determined eyes, Shen Luoyan agreed immediately without even asking for a reason.

The field was cleared, and forty new balloons were prepared. The second round began at the sound of the whistle.

Viky and Miky said nothing upon seeing the change in attackers. A pink water balloon flew from Miky’s hand and landed right in front of Su Cancan. Miky moved her lips toward her.

“A gift.”

Su Cancan’s expression was stern. The blue water balloon in her hand seemed to have a homing device; it left her palm at high speed and hit Miky squarely on the calf.

She called out: “Sorry, my aim was off.”

The apology didn’t sound like an apology; it reeked of gunpowder and provocation. Anyone with eyes could tell Su Cancan disliked Miky, but Miky didn’t get angry. She raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“It’s okay. Sister’s water balloon is very gentle; it doesn’t hurt at all.”

Sister?

Shen Luoyan frowned. She thinks she’s worthy of calling Su Cancan ‘Sister’?

Besides her, the most displeased person was Viky, who was closest to Miky. She glared at Miky, fire nearly spraying from her eyes.

Su Cancan smiled: “Is that so? Then be careful of the next one. Sister’s water balloons don’t have eyes, and her strength is quite random.”

She’s actually acknowledging herself as Miky’s sister?

Shen Luoyan knew Su Cancan was just talking tough, but she still felt a bit of bitterness. Her grip on the water balloon tightened. Her gaze met Cheng Lewei’s in a daze, and in an instant, her soul returned to her body.

“Enough talk. Let’s see what happens on the field.” Su Cancan threw another balloon without mercy. Her previous sentence had been a feint; the target wasn’t Miky. The person who had lowered their guard was hit, and their fury erupted.

Viky gripped a water balloon and took a large stride forward. As the balloons flew through the air, her chest heaved up and down. They seemed to be in an accidental sync.

Great cry and little wool—her forceful throw didn’t hit anyone. Conversely, a water balloon from Shen Luoyan, who had been silent for ages, vanished from her hand.

Under the camera’s record, everyone found the landing spot of that balloon: Viky’s chest.

Shen Luoyan’s tongue swept over her teeth. She hadn’t been back to academic study for too long; even the simplest parabola had been drawn off-course. The balloon she intended to land on the shoulder had hit that spot instead. Truly sorry.

Viky clutched her chest in pain: “Ah!”

“Sorry. My aim isn’t very good either. I was aiming for Sister Cheng; I didn’t expect to hurt you. Are you okay?”

Shen Luoyan’s apology was clearly more sincere than Su Cancan’s—at least her tone was flat and non-aggressive.

Seeing it was Shen Luoyan, Viky immediately softened: “It’s fine. It’s just a game. Continue, continue.”

Su Cancan glanced at Shen Luoyan, not understanding what she was up to. She picked up a water balloon and hurled it without any hesitation.

Unfortunately, the one hit was Viky again.

Even more unfortunately, the balloon burst on the other side of her chest.

Viky’s light-colored swimsuit showed the water stains clearly. Having just dried off after her earlier fall, her swimsuit had finally recovered its appearance, only for her “key areas” to be marked like this just as the second round started.

It was embarrassing, but her anger was hard to vent. She had just told Shen Luoyan she didn’t mind; if she made a scene with Su Cancan now, how would it be reported?

But she truly couldn’t swallow this. Su Cancan was clearly provoking her on purpose.

Viky covered her chest to hide the stains and shouted: “Wait a minute!”

The stretch fabric had poor absorbency. She applied pressure with her palm to squeeze the water into the surrounding fabric. With everyone watching her, she raised one arm, her chest now completely soaked into a uniform color.

She curled her lips into a smile—half provocation, half malice.

“We’re using a skill card!”

“The skill is—”

“Time Freeze for 30 seconds!”