Waking Up to a Contract Marriage with the Film Queen - Chapter 9

The next day, Le Yiqiu boarded the high-speed rail with a mix of anxiety and excitement. To her, everything was a “first”: her first time on a bullet train, her first day of work, and the prospect of seeing Lin Xianing again so soon.

She spent the journey staring out the window or observing the other passengers. The world had changed so much; she felt like a child coming out of the mountains for the first time, curious about every little thing. However, she masked it well, maintaining a calm, composed exterior.

“Sister?”

Le Yiqiu had purchased a second-class ticket. A young girl was sitting in the seat next to her.

Hearing the address, Le Yiqiu hesitated before looking over. “Me?”

“Yes! I’m Luo Yaxi. Is this your first time on the high-speed rail?”

Sister? The girl looked to be about twenty. It felt strange to be called that, but Le Yiqiu reminded herself that while she felt eighteen, she looked twenty-eight. To the world, she was the “older” one.

Le Yiqiu gave a polite, non-committal smile.

“It’s my first time, too,” Luo Yaxi chirped, seemingly oblivious to Le Yiqiu’s reserve. “I’m going to the Film City to become an actress.”

Is this kid a bit slow? Le Yiqiu wondered. Doesn’t she know you shouldn’t talk to strangers?

Luo Yaxi continued as if they were old friends. “I’ve wanted to be an actress forever, but my family wouldn’t let me go to film school. So, I’m using my summer break to go to the Film City and start as an extra.”

“Wait—”

Le Yiqiu tried to cut in, but Luo Yaxi was on a roll.

“You think being an extra is beneath me, right? But there are no small actors, only small roles! I’m going to start from the bottom and become an actress just like Lin Xianing.”

At the mention of Lin Xianing, Luo Yaxi’s face lit up with pure adoration.

Hearing her wife’s name made Le Yiqiu’s irritation soften slightly. Well, at least she has good taste in idols, she thought. Otherwise, I might have had to tell her to shut up.

“You’re Lin Xianing’s wife, aren’t you?”

The sudden question made Le Yiqiu close her eyes instantly. When you don’t want to deal with someone but don’t want them to read your expression, closing your eyes is the best defense.

Am I that famous? she wondered. There were only a few photos of her online—mostly blurry shots taken by fans years ago during her student days. To recognize her from that was either a sign of deep obsession or a hidden motive.

Le Yiqiu opened her eyes, stared at Luo Yaxi in silence for a long beat, and then closed them again.

Luo Yaxi looked bewildered. “Well? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“You’re very loud,” Le Yiqiu said flatly.

“That’s so rude! How can you make personal attacks during a conversation?” Luo Yaxi’s voice rose slightly, though she kept it restrained for the sake of the carriage.

Le Yiqiu frowned. “Rude? We’re strangers. Why should I talk to you? Why should I answer your questions?”

She had no patience for people without boundaries.

“Strangers?” Luo Yaxi paused, then a look of realization dawned on her. “You really do have a problem.”

Le Yiqiu was ready to ignore her again when Luo Yaxi’s next sentence sent a jolt through her.

“I’m Luo Yaxi. My mother is Lin Xianing’s aunt.”

What?

Le Yiqiu snapped her eyes open. She had done her homework on Lin’s mother, Wu Yu, but she hadn’t gotten around to the rest of the family tree yet. She only vaguely recalled that Lin’s uncle-in-law was named Luo.

What are the odds? she thought. Running into a cousin on the train? Did I just blow my amnesia cover?

Luo Yaxi was impatient. “Stop acting. I saw you and my cousin at the hospital the other day. I thought one of you was sick, so I followed you and overheard that you lost your memory.”

“Oh, I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose! I was going to come in and ask what was going on, but a doctor called me away.”

Le Yiqiu realized she didn’t even have to ask; Luo Yaxi was spilling everything on her own. “What were you doing at the hospital?” Le Yiqiu asked smoothly.

Luo Yaxi’s face flickered with a brief, panicked look. “Nothing much.”

“Really? Because I heard a story about a young girl who hit an old man. The old man said it was a hit-and-run; the girl said he was a scammer.”

“A ‘Miss Luo’ and a ‘Mr. Chen,’ I believe.”

“You’re ‘Miss Luo,’ aren’t you?”

Le Yiqiu had been bored at the hospital and had overheard the patients gossiping about a local news story. A young girl in a luxury car hitting an elderly man was exactly the kind of “rich versus poor” drama people loved.

Luo Yaxi’s eyes turned red. “I didn’t hit him! He literally threw himself at my car!” She looked like she was about to cry.

Le Yiqiu had seen the headlines. “Beauty in Luxury Car Hits Elderly Man.” The comments had been vicious, filled with “yellow rumors” about how a girl her age got such an expensive car. The harassment was brutal.

Le Yiqiu’s heart softened. “Has it been resolved?”

Luo Yaxi shook her head. “No. I didn’t dare tell my family.”

“Why not?”

Luo Yaxi was a student; her family could handle this much better than she could. Unless… she really had hit him?

“I want to act like my cousin,” Luo Yaxi whispered. “But they say I’m just being frivolous. So I…”

“So you ran away from home?” Le Yiqiu finished.

Le Yiqiu found it both funny and relatable. She had tried to run away once as a kid, only to realize she didn’t have bus fare and had to walk back home within five minutes. But Luo Yaxi was twenty and had pocket money. She had fought with her family and bolted. Now, she was in over her head but too proud to admit defeat.

“You’re going to the Film City to ask your cousin for help, aren’t you?”

Le Yiqiu was right. Lin Xianing was her first choice for a career boost, and now she was her first choice for a legal shield.

“My cousin will know what to do,” Luo Yaxi said hopefully.

Le Yiqiu sighed. “Call the police.”

“Huh?”

“If you didn’t hit him and he says you did, call the police. Check the surveillance cameras. He won’t call them because he’s a scammer; why won’t you call them? Are you trying to be a martyr?”

Zero common sense, Le Yiqiu noted internally.

“They said… they said the police wouldn’t help,” Luo Yaxi stammered.

“Who said that? The Chen family? The people trying to extort you?”

Luo Yaxi nodded miserably. “They said I have to pay for everything.”

Le Yiqiu was speechless. “And you believed them?”

“No… but look at what people are saying online.”

The internet was implying she was a “kept woman” and that because she was rich, she owed the old man. Between the online vitriol and the menacing family at the hospital, the student had panicked. She’d told the scammers she was going to borrow money from a friend just so she could escape. They had even taken her car keys.

“Listen to me,” Le Yiqiu said as the train pulled into the station. “Do not go to your cousin right now.”

“Why not?”

“If you don’t want this to explode, stay away from her. If the media sees a girl from a ‘hit-and-run’ scandal meeting with a superstar like Lin Xianing, it’ll stay on the hot searches for a week. You’ll ruin her reputation along with your own.”

Luo Yaxi gripped her phone. “Then… what do I do?”

Le Yiqiu stood up as the crowd began to move. “Find a hotel near the Film City. Stay there. I’ll talk to your cousin for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Now go.”

Outside the station, Le Yiqiu saw a driver holding a sign with her name. She turned back to the girl. “Your cousin is filming. She’s busy. I don’t know if she can help you right away, so you really should call your parents.”

She had met slow people before, but Luo Yaxi was in a league of her own. She was selfish enough to only think of her own problems without realizing how her presence would hurt others.

“Do I have your WeChat?” Le Yiqiu asked.

“Yes.”

“I have work. I’ll contact you later.”

Le Yiqiu didn’t wait for a reply and climbed into the car. The driver told her they’d drop her luggage at the hotel and then take her straight to the set to meet the director and the screenwriting team.

But Le Yiqiu only had one person on her mind: the leading lady.

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