Why Does The "Fishing Queen" Always Flirt With Me? - Chapter 16

Tang Wangyue was the repressed type. Her mind was full of flirtatious comebacks, but given her current standing with Yun Chuxian, she didn’t dare voice them. She could only bite her tongue and endure.

Sitting on the soft leather seat, facing a woman whose eyes were curved in a gentle smile, Wangyue felt inexplicably hot despite the air conditioning. She forced a clumsy change of subject. “How do you plan on handling the situation outside?”

“Want to know?” Chuxian reached for the cap of the vegetable juice bottle but failed to twist it open. She pushed it back toward Wangyue, looking at her with a pitiful, helpless expression.

If Wangyue hadn’t seen those viral videos, she might have actually believed her. “Aren’t you supposed to be a ‘Super Strength Girl’?”

In more than one video, Chuxian had shown off her surprising strength—picking up female stars that male actors struggled to lift, twisting caps for others with ease. Most impressively, a behind-the-scenes clip from a period drama showed her effortlessly pulling back a heavy bow that a male co-star had been bragging about needing immense strength to draw.

In short, anyone who followed Chuxian knew she was stronger than she looked.

“You’ve been searching for me quite a bit, haven’t you?” Chuxian leaned against the armrest, propping her chin on her hand. Her gaze was lazy and captivating as she stared directly into Wangyue’s eyes.

Wangyue didn’t look away; she met the gaze head-on. “As if. I just stumbled across them on the trending charts.”

If I told her the truth, where would my pride go? She thought. A flash of stubbornness crossed her eyes; if it was a contest of being tight-lipped, she had never lost.

Chuxian was amused by that stubborn glint. “Is that so? Well, feel free to search for me more in the future.”

I won’t.

Wangyue pursed her lips and silently twisted the cap off the juice, pushing it back to Chuxian. The actress still hadn’t answered her question.

My little liar is getting grumpy, Chuxian thought. She sat up straight and took a sip of the juice. Ugh… that’s actually pretty bad.

“Not bad at all,” she said aloud.

“Really?” Wangyue’s eyes widened. She hated the stuff, so she assumed it was objectively gross, but maybe people who liked health drinks actually enjoyed it? This blend even had bitter melon in it; for Chuxian to call it “not bad,” she truly wasn’t an ordinary person.

Chuxian shifted her long costume, revealing a flash of her pale thigh. It was a hot day, and wearing leggings under the layers of silk was standard practice—as long as the hem didn’t fly up, no one would know.

Wangyue was momentarily blinded by that sliver of white. Every move this woman made seemed calculated to tempt.

Chuxian, satisfied with the reaction, finally addressed the matter outside. “Guan Ming wanted to come for a ‘support visit’ from the start, but I rejected her. Somehow she found out my fans were coming today and pulled a bait-and-switch. She conspired with someone on the crew to block the real fans so her own trucks could get in. When questioned, the security could just say they thought her group were the fans. No one would care about the real fans’ grievances.”

Except they hadn’t expected to run into someone who wouldn’t stand by while her fans were mistreated.

Wangyue was puzzled. “How did you find out the details so quickly?”

“I guessed.” Supplemented by evidence, Chuxian was 90% sure her guess was the truth.

“If the situation isn’t resolved well, it’ll hurt your reputation,” Wangyue noted. This was why she had come—to offer a subtle warning. She couldn’t say it outright, lest she sound like she was sowing discord.

Chuxian smiled and moved to the seat right next to her. She patted Wangyue’s head, looking at her with a half-smile. “Yue, you’re even more worried about me than I thought.”

Is now really the time to be flirting?

Wangyue tried to ignore the fluttering in her chest and flatly denied it. “I am not.”

“Don’t worry about me. The one who’s truly anxious is Sun Ran.”

Every day a shoot was delayed, the production lost a fortune. If they didn’t get this “Great Buddha” Guan Ming to leave, they couldn’t film. Chuxian had already given Sun Ran a suggestion—one that benefited both of them. If Sun Ran didn’t agree, the narrative would become that the production company allowed the disruption just to give Guan Ming a chance to pursue her. That way, the public ire wouldn’t fall on Chuxian.

However, that would mean offending the investors. It was a “middle-ground” strategy.

Wangyue, being a writer of political intrigue, understood the subtext immediately. Yun Chuxian looked like a soft, sweet treat on the outside, but she was filled with “black sesame”—a truly devious woman.

“Then I’ll be going.”

Wangyue felt relieved. Since Chuxian had it under control and there were bodyguards outside, nothing too crazy should happen. She couldn’t help but feel that Chuxian had seen a lot of this before; having so many bodyguards on a professional set seemed extreme, but maybe it was necessary.

Wangyue picked up her coffee—the ice had long since melted—and prepared to leave, but Chuxian caught her hand.

“Did you really come here just to tell me that?” Chuxian’s voice was soft and incredibly pleasant.

Wangyue had already stood up. Looking down from their joined hands, her gaze traveled from the bridge of Chuxian’s elegant nose down to the white expanse of her collarbone. Perhaps it was the heat, but the actress’s Hanfu wasn’t quite settled properly.

Wangyue’s throat went dry. Feeling like her gaze was too obvious, she felt her ears begin to burn and quickly looked away. She began to chant a mantra in her head: Look not at what is improper, look not at what is improper…

Then she felt a bit ridiculous. Was she some ancient scholar? Just because Chuxian was wearing ancient robes didn’t mean she had to inhabit the scene.

“Yes,” Wangyue rasped.

“And here I thought it was because you missed me,” Chuxian said, her tone laced with a hint of grievance.

Unable to resist, Wangyue looked back. Whether it was acting or not, Chuxian actually looked hurt. Wangyue couldn’t bear to look down on her from above, so she sat back down. “Yun Chuxian…”

She wanted to say something firm, but the moment she met those eyes, the words died in her throat. She opened her lukewarm coffee and took a small sip. It wasn’t great, but it was still cool.

Chuxian’s lips curved into a smile. “Thank you for worrying, Yue. Bai Yu told me what happened at the gate. It’s all thanks to you.”

Faced with such a sincere thank you, Wangyue didn’t quite know what to say. She was the type who would meet aggression with aggression, but when faced with gentleness and manners, she didn’t want to lose her own.

“You’re welcome. We’re friends, after all.”

“Friends?”

Chuxian leaned in close, her lips near Wangyue’s cheek. If Wangyue turned her head even an inch, they would touch. “Yue, I have no interest in being your friend.”

Wangyue’s heart sank. Was I just being sentimental?

Then Chuxian’s voice shifted. “Wouldn’t being your ‘Sister’ in a romantic sense be better?”

Wangyue nearly choked on her coffee. The flush that had been contained to her ears spread rapidly down her neck until she was bright red. Chuxian immediately pulled a tissue and gently dabbed the corner of Wangyue’s mouth.

“Cough—” Wangyue couldn’t help but let out a dry cough.

“You’re like a little kid, choking on water like that.” Chuxian teased, lightly pinching Wangyue’s cheek.

Wangyue didn’t know if anyone could resist a gentle woman leaning in like this, but she knew she was powerless against Yun Chuxian. She stared at her for a moment, her mind completely submerged in the presence of the woman beside her. The scent of cold roses was intoxicating. If it weren’t so rude, she would have taken a deep breath.

“I’m fine,” Wangyue said, trying to maintain a steady voice despite her shyness.

Chuxian tilted her head, her eyes never leaving Wangyue’s face. “You haven’t changed at all since you were little.”

“You saw me when I was little?” Wangyue asked, immediately intrigued.

Suddenly, Guan Ming’s voice rang out from outside. “Chuxian! It’s me! I’ve been out here forever, why won’t you come out?”

“Get out of my way! What are you doing? We’re all professional people, stop manhandling me!”

“I’m here to see your boss! We’re friends! If you keep blocking me, I’ll have you fired!”

Chuxian’s bodyguards remained steadfast, refusing to let her near. Guan Ming, unable to break the line, resorted to shouting in frustration.

Chuxian’s eyes remained on Wangyue. Seeing her frown, she asked, “Want to see how I handle this?”

“Huh?”

Before Wangyue could react, Chuxian hit the door release. Wait—if she opens the door, people will see me in here!

Wangyue scrambled to pull the privacy curtain of the small lounge area shut, blocking the view from the outside. Since the trailer was in “sentry mode,” they could still see outside through the screens.

Wait… if the cameras were on, did that mean Chuxian had seen her hesitating outside earlier? How mortifying.

Chuxian watched her pull the curtain with a smile. “By closing that,” she said slowly, “it’s going to be even harder to explain if you’re discovered.”

Wangyue froze. She’s right. She could have faked a script discussion or even claimed she was borrowing the bathroom. Closing the curtain made it look… undeniable. But it was too late now.

Outside, the door to the trailer slid open. From a certain angle, people could see into the lounge, but the curtain was now firmly in place.

Chuxian made to stand up and cross over Wangyue’s legs to get to the door, but “accidentally” tripped and landed right in Wangyue’s lap.

Before she could get up, Guan Ming’s voice rang out again. “Chuxian! It’s Guan Ming! I’m here for the support visit!”

Chuxian paused her movement, remaining straddled across Wangyue’s lap as she called out to the exterior. “President Guan, we aren’t close. What ‘support visit’ are you talking about?”

The blunt rejection made Guan Ming’s face turn an ugly shade of red.

Inside the car, as Wangyue tried to shift away, Chuxian hooked her arms around Wangyue’s neck and whispered a warning. “Does Yue want to be discovered by the people outside?”

Wangyue: “…”

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