The Movie Queen is Flirtatious and Doting - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The two chatted casually over dinner. Ye Yansheng had always been gentle toward women, but toward a woman she was genuinely interested in, she was exceptionally attentive and gallant.

Although Gu Yinglian was a foodie, the way Ye Yansheng was looking at her right now felt a lot like she was saying, “After dinner, let’s head to a private room.” Gu Yinglian felt a pang of regret. She prayed that she hadn’t accidentally sold herself out just for a single meal.

“Are you writing songs lately?” Ye Yansheng asked.

“Yes, I am,” Gu Yinglian replied.

“Could you write one for me? Use that pen of yours, so full of love, to compose a melody for me.”

“…”

Seeing her silence, Ye Yansheng couldn’t help but laugh. “What, you’re not willing?”

Gu Yinglian: “It’s not that. It’s just that we haven’t spent much time together… I’m afraid it might be a bit difficult.”

Ye Yansheng: “That’s easily fixed. We just need to spend more time together. I’m actually very much looking forward to getting to know you… intimately.”

Gu Yinglian looked at her. That seductive aura of hers always made one’s mind wander; Gu Yinglian felt her face flush.

Ye Yansheng: “Are you heading straight home after dinner?”

Gu Yinglian: “Yes, to get some rest.”

Ye Yansheng: “I’ll give you a ride back in a bit.”

Gu Yinglian: “No need, it’s too conspicuous.”

Ye Yansheng watched her. Gu Yinglian was wary of her status. After all, Ye Yansheng was a screen idol with fans everywhere; if they just walked out together like that, it would cause a disaster.

Ye Yansheng smiled. “Then would you like to come visit my mansion? There’s a private pool—we could go for a swim. Look how hot it is outside.” As she spoke, she glanced out the window. The sun was brilliant, and it was likely stiflingly hot out, though the indoors were cool thanks to the air conditioning.

The thought of swimming made Gu Yinglian feel uneasy and awkward. “No, it’s okay. My place has air conditioning; it’s not that hot…”

“Gu Yinglian,” Ye Yansheng called her name. Gu Yinglian looked at her. “Why do you keep refusing me over and over again? Am I not good to you?”

“Sister Ye,” Gu Yinglian felt like fleeing under her gaze. “You are good to me, but you can’t force me…”

“I’m not forcing you,” Ye Yansheng laughed. “With which eye did you see me forcing you?”

Gu Yinglian was deeply regretting this now. This was a sugar-coated shell; a “Hongmen Banquet” (a trap). Why had she so willingly come to this dinner and ended up owing her a favor!

“Sister Ye, I have things to do, I—” Gu Yinglian stood up. “I’ll be going now.”

“Hmm? You’re leaving just because you can’t win the argument?” Ye Yansheng watched her.

Gu Yinglian felt very uneasy, but she truly didn’t want to stay a moment longer. “Thank you for today, Sister Ye. I’ll treat you next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that then,” Ye Yansheng smiled at her.

Gu Yinglian gave her a quick nod and left. When she reached the elevator, she looked back; Ye Yansheng hadn’t followed. Gu Yinglian breathed a sigh of relief.

When she got home, Gu Yinglian wanted to rest. She lay on the bed but couldn’t sleep. She was clearly exhausted, yet her mind was racing. She didn’t even know what she was excited about.

Recalling Ye Yansheng’s request to write a song for her, Gu Yinglian climbed out of bed. Writing a song for her? Gu Yinglian had never attempted this kind of subject matter—writing a song for another woman… In the past, she always wrote from a female perspective, longing for love and pure feelings, but the object of her fantasies had always been male. Now… a woman was okay too?

Ye Yansheng was a charismatic woman; Gu Yinglian had to admit that much.

Gu Yinglian couldn’t help but use her as a muse, fantasizing in her mind. Thinking back to the day they first met in the dressing room, she wrote down a line:

The day I first saw you, a mysterious sentiment began to stir.

“Stir…” Gu Yinglian felt the word was a bit… suggestive. The word had suddenly jumped into her head, and she had written it down without thinking. She wanted to change it, but she couldn’t think of a better word for the moment. Forget it, she’d keep it for now.

She then thought about their time filming—Ye Yansheng’s sarcasm paired with her flirtatious and doting behavior. Was she just playing around? People like her had “flowers blooming everywhere.” Like a showy peacock, she was always soliciting affection. Whatever, it was just a song.

Gu Yinglian felt things were taking a turn for the worse. When she used Ye Yansheng as a real-life muse, her heart actually fluttered a bit. How could it not? Everyone has a heart for beauty. Aside from her somewhat questionable character, this Best Actress was a peerless beauty. Even standing next to her, Gu Yinglian felt herself grow dim. While she didn’t obsess over her own looks, she was usually confident; yet next to Ye Yansheng, she felt like she was reduced to dust.

Looking at the lines on the paper—the only things she could think of so far—she feared that if she continued, she might actually fall for her. But if she didn’t continue, she would truly be at her wit’s end.

Gu Yinglian lacked inspiration. In truth, her early success had hindered her. Imagine someone who had never even been in a relationship and hadn’t faced much survival pressure after entering society—how could she keep using that school-day method of writing based purely on fantasy? Especially after passing the age of idle daydreaming, it felt like living in a castle in the air, disconnected from real life.

One must experience things and gain life experience to write something with genuine emotion; otherwise, it’s just empty talk. The audience doesn’t want to see hollow things devoid of true feeling.

More than once, Gu Yinglian thought: did she really need to fall in love once just to be able to write songs?

But where would she find a man to fall in love with? She lived a life that was practically isolated from the world, staying home whenever possible. She had only a few friends, and they were all busy; the time they could spend together was becoming increasingly scarce.

Gu Yinglian sighed, looking at the lyrics. For the first time, her fantasy had a real-life subject, but it wasn’t the one she had expected.

As she was dazing off, her phone vibrated. She picked it up to see a WeChat message from Ye Yansheng: Baby, are you home?

“Baby”? She was calling her that affectionately already? Thinking of that meal that cost over ten thousand yuan, Gu Yinglian felt very uneasy. Was she going to keep owing her like this? She wanted to ignore her, but seeing such a well-intentioned greeting, it felt impolite not to respond. She could only reply: I’m home, getting ready to sleep.

Ye Yansheng: I thought you were going to ignore me.

Gu Yinglian: …

Ye Yansheng: Then go to sleep. Don’t sleep too much though, or you won’t be able to sleep tonight.

Gu Yinglian: Mm.

Ye Yansheng: If you can’t sleep tonight, you can find me. I’ll help you.

Gu Yinglian: No thanks.

Ye Yansheng: Don’t mention it, it’s only right.

This time, Gu Yinglian really didn’t want to reply. Fantasy and reality really were different. Fantasies automatically filtered out the bad parts, while reality always presented you with the things you least wanted to see.

Like this woman—aside from being a bit pretty, wealthy, and a Best Actress, she was essentially a rogue. But as soon as Gu Yinglian thought about those three traits—beauty, wealth, and prestige—she felt the massive gap between them again, feeling quite defeated.

Gu Yinglian thought to herself: Regardless, I must work hard to become a woman on equal footing with her. That way, she won’t look down on me!