Why Does The "Fishing Queen" Always Flirt With Me? - Chapter 22

Yun Chuxian was fighting back a deep sense of embarrassment. The “unexpected situation” the night before had left her dazed for a long time; even after she’d crawled into bed, she couldn’t help but roll around in her blankets in mortification.

Does the little liar think I have a girlfriend? In this industry, it wasn’t uncommon for actors to pick up a new partner for every project and part ways once the show wrapped. If Tang Wangyue misunderstood her as that kind of person… Chuxian went stiff at the thought. Why on earth weren’t those finger cots in a drawer?

That was why she had forced out that line about “self-sufficiency.” Despite her ears turning a soft shade of pink, she maintained a calm, steady expression.

Wangyue, meanwhile, was even more flustered. She was happy, sure—but who could hear a line like that and not react? Her reaction was visceral; she felt like she was about to spontaneously combust into a pile of ash.

Chuxian’s Hanfu outer robe slipped from her shoulders, revealing the smooth, pale expanse of her neck. She stood up languidly, took Wangyue’s hand, and led her to the sofa. Wangyue didn’t even think of resisting. She let herself be pulled along until she was sitting right next to the actress.

“Did Yue come to find me because she missed me?” Chuxian asked. Her lazy tone betrayed her current mischief. Teasing this “puppy” was proving to be far too much fun.

Wangyue was too nervous to catch the teasing tone, but the question made her ears burn. Still, it reminded her of why she was there. “The role of Xia Liang… did you tell the Director to let me play it?”

Xia Liang had one incredibly high-impact scene: he kneels at the feet of the Eldest Princess, resting his forehead against her leg like a tamed wolf, and calls her “Master.”

Truthfully, when Wangyue wrote the character, she saw him as someone others might pity but who considered himself happy—a man who viewed the Princess as his heaven and his faith. The Princess was kind to him because she was kind to everyone; Xia Liang was, at best, second-tier in her heart. He chose to sacrifice himself without her knowing, and she merely wondered why she hadn’t seen the servant who used to kneel and call her master in a while.

The hardest part of playing Xia Liang was conveying that absolute, divine devotion.

Wangyue thought about it and still felt she couldn’t do it. Even if she was willing to be Chuxian’s “dog” in real life, she didn’t think she could act out that kind of piety on screen.

Chuxian smiled, playing dumb. “Oh? Is that so? I had no idea~”

Her performance was so transparent it was almost insulting, as if she were saying: Yes, it was me. What are you going to do about it?

“Then I’m going to go tell the Director ‘no’.” Wangyue stood up to leave.

But Chuxian caught her, pulling her back and pinning her down. With a low hum of laughter, she slowly hooked her arms around Wangyue’s neck. “If I was the one who recommended it… would you say yes then?”

So the little liar hadn’t rejected the Director outright because she heard it was her idea?

“Let me up first,” Wangyue said. She wanted to rise, but with Chuxian’s arms around her neck, she couldn’t move without potentially hurting the woman beneath her.

“Just get up like this.”

Like this?

Wangyue tried to sit up, and Chuxian used the momentum to rise with her. It was a struggle, but Wangyue managed to sit straight—only for Chuxian to end up nestled completely in her embrace.

No one could remain indifferent to such a fragrant, soft presence. Wangyue’s heart felt like it had been fitted with a turbocharger. It wasn’t until Chuxian finally pulled back that the warmth left her arms. Wangyue’s hand instinctively reached out, catching a handful of the woman’s silk robe.

Chuxian didn’t seem to notice. she merely tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Yue hasn’t answered me. If I ask you to play the part, will you?”

She didn’t want to push Wangyue into the industry. She wanted to push Wangyue into the emotions of the role. When new actors perform, they often inhabit the character so deeply they can’t get out of it for a while.

Chuxian reached out and tilted Wangyue’s chin up. “Yue… I want you to play it.”

A hunter doesn’t just rely on force; they use traps that the prey can’t bear to escape.

Wangyue’s pulse hammered. The tension was nearly visible on her face. Facing Chuxian’s smiling eyes, her resolve crumbled completely.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll do it.”

The moment she said it, her rational brain woke up. Wait—I have zero acting experience. Isn’t this just asking for a disaster?

Seeing the “spell” starting to break, Chuxian tilted her head, her voice controlling Wangyue’s heart like a tether. “I’ll teach you how to act. We’ll do the scenes together. You can help me study the script in return.”

She framed it as an exchange to make it easier for Wangyue to accept. Between Chuxian’s request and the Director’s hope, Wangyue figured she’d at least give it a shot. It was just a screen test; if she was terrible, the Director would find someone else.

“Let’s try a scene first,” Wangyue said, her hands resting obediently on her knees. She looked so earnest it was hard to look away—like a puppy that had just been brought to a new home, slightly stiff and out of place.

The more restrained she was, the more Chuxian wanted to bully her. She poked Wangyue’s cheek. “Have you eaten lunch yet?”

Wangyue was about to say yes, but Chuxian had already opened her own meal box. She picked up a piece of seared beef and held it to Wangyue’s lips. “Open up.”

Wangyue obeyed instantly, and the beef was placed in her mouth.

“Good girl~”

That one word made Wangyue feel the true meaning of the word “shame.” She helplessly turned her head away, and Chuxian stopped teasing, pushing the box toward her. “Eat.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll eat this.” Chuxian opened a container of fruits and vegetables with only a few tiny cubes of beef. It looked dismal compared to the seared beef.

“You’re only eating that?” Wangyue couldn’t fathom it. Chuxian was 170cm tall; how could she be full on so little?

“Screen requirements,” Chuxian explained. “I’ll be free once we wrap. When I first started, I did three projects a year. Now, it’s one movie and one drama every two years. I’m not that busy, mostly just brand events. But once I’m on set, I have to be professional. An actor’s ‘look’ is part of the job.”

Chuxian smiled at her. “Usually Bai Yu eats my meal box, but she’s out on an errand today.”

Ah, so that’s why Bai Yu isn’t here. Wangyue nodded. “Alright.”

******

After eating, the two of them left the trailer to find the Director for the screen test. Wangyue wasn’t sure how it happened, but she found herself following Chuxian like a shadow. Perhaps the actress was afraid she’d change her mind and wanted to lock her in as soon as possible.

It was a hot afternoon, and most of the crew was hiding in the shade, so few people saw them walking together. They found Sun Ran just after she’d finished her own lunch.

“You two?” Sun Ran asked, curious.

“I’m here for the screen test,” Wangyue said immediately. She wanted to show Chuxian that once she gave her word, she kept it.

Sun Ran looked at Chuxian. And you?

“I’m here to play opposite her,” Chuxian said. No one caught the flash of triumph in her eyes. “Let’s test the scene where Xia Liang kneels and calls her Master.”

Sun Ran: “?” Something is definitely going on here.

Wangyue: “…” Are we really starting with the big guns? Internally, she cursed her own past self: Why on earth did I write it like that?!

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