Since she put it that way, she would keep it.
Shen Lu carried the fruit basket, chuckling happily for a long while before finally returning to the dressing room, placing it down, and rushing back to the set. Ye Qin was sitting on a chair resting, with a large parasol overhead and a small mini-fan in her hand. Shen Lu hurried over and asked, “Sister, would you like something to drink?”
Ye Qin squinted one eye open slightly. “Why are you only just arriving? Did you deal with the fruit basket?”
Shen Lu instantly felt guilty, and sweat beaded on her temple and ran down her cheek. Wiping it away, she said, “Well, I ran into Sister Xueying, and she said since I was going to throw it away, I might as well give it to her, so I… I took it back.”
As she finished speaking, Shen Lu noticed Ye Qin’s eyebrows furrowed, as if she were trying hard to control her temper. Finally, she opened her eyes and said with a tone of clear disdain, “Shen Lu, why are you so spineless?”
“What does this have to do with being spineless?” Shen Lu retorted. “I just think it would be a huge waste to throw away a fruit basket that cost over a thousand yuan, especially since the fruit is still fresh.”
Ye Qin was so angry that her face flushed red and white, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I need to read my script now. We’ll settle the score tonight.”
Shen Lu pouted. Settle the score, then. It’s not like I’m not used to it, and it’s not like you can do anything to me. Before, I was afraid of being fired, but now I have the magic weapon of a contract to protect me.
Just as she thought this, a stagehand came over and called out, “Is Shen Lu here? Shen Lu, someone is asking for you outside!”
Shen Lu was startled. It was rare for someone to come looking for her at the film set. Could it be one of Ye Qin’s fans? “Sister, you rest first, I’ll be right back.” With that, Shen Lu quickly walked in the direction the person had pointed.
Outside the set was an overgrown patch of wasteland. A young man with dyed yellow, “killer-matte” hairstyle was squatting on a raised mound in the middle of the weeds, a blade of grass hanging from his mouth. Shen Lu recognized him immediately—it could only be her younger brother, Shen Jing.
Shen Lu pursed her lips, put her hands on her hips, and strode toward him. “Why are you here? Who told you I was here?”
Shen Jing raised his eyes, still holding the grass blade in his mouth, with a hoodlum-like expression that Shen Lu couldn’t stand. “Who else? The only one in our family who knows your whereabouts…”
Before he could finish, Shen Lu lost her patience. “Spit it out, what do you want?”
“I need to borrow money.”
“No money,” Shen Lu replied.
“Are you even my biological sister? Are you just going to stand by and watch your own brother suffer? I don’t even have money to eat. Mom won’t give me any, so I had to come to you.”
Shen Lu laughed at this. “It’s good that Mom didn’t indulge you this time. Where were you when you should have been earning money to eat? I got you a job, and you didn’t do it properly. Even God can’t help you.”
“No, no, Sister, you can’t treat me like this!” Seeing Shen Lu about to leave, Shen Jing quickly jumped off the stone and grabbed her arm, refusing to let go, swaying like a childish brat.
“Let go of me, or I’m calling for help.”
“Go ahead and call. I’m your brother. They can’t do anything to me.”
Shen Lu was furious. She stomped hard on his foot and used the moment to break free. Unexpectedly, Shen Jing suddenly shouted at her back, “I know your little secret!”
Instantly, Shen Lu felt a chill down her spine, and a cool breeze swept past. She abruptly turned around, her expression serious. “What exactly do you know?” Perhaps she was too nervous, falling right into the brat’s trap.
Shen Jing swaggered closer, scrutinizing Shen Lu’s slightly anxious face. “How about that? I caught you red-handed.”
“Oh~ I get it. You were just trying to trick me! You little brat!” Shen Lu gritted her teeth in anger.
“I don’t have time for that, Sister. Did you steal the family’s household registration book (Hukou book)?”
The next moment, the brat unexpectedly hit Shen Lu’s Achilles’ heel, and her words instantly became stammering. “Why would I take the Hukou book? What are you talking about?”
Shen Jing looked completely confident. “Oh, stop pretending. I saw you steal it that night.”
“You little rascal! Weren’t you drunk and asleep? How did you see it?” The moment the words left her mouth, Shen Lu covered her mouth. “You little fox! You tricked me into talking…”
Shen Jing smiled proudly. “Tell me, what did you take the Hukou book for? Did you secretly take it to marry some random guy?”
This guy was usually so dense, but today he was suddenly so smart, guessing something that was almost completely true. No, she had to find a way to get rid of him. If this matter were to be exposed, her whole family would be in trouble.
Shen Lu shook her head helplessly. “Since it’s come to this, I’ll tell you the truth, Sister. I took the Hukou book to use it for a mortgage loan.”
“A loan?” Shen Jing was shocked.
Shen Lu nodded heavily, an unintentional look of sadness crossing her face. “A while ago, I got hooked on a gambling game and lost all my savings. Thinking I could win it back, I borrowed money… To be honest with you, your sister is now deep in debt and truly can’t spare any extra money for you.”
Shen Jing covered his mouth, unable to believe it. “I told you not to play online mahjong and poker, but you wouldn’t listen. Now look what happened. This… this won’t implicate me, will it?”
Shen Lu shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay off all the money myself. But I beg you, Sister, please don’t tell Mom and Dad, okay?”
Shen Jing pursed his lips uncomfortably. “I understand. I’ll keep your secret.” After that, he sighed deeply, pulled out a few tens of yuan from his pocket, and put it into Shen Lu’s hand. “Take this money to buy food.”
“What about you?” Shen Lu asked, rarely feeling a touch of humanity from her brother.
“I…” Shen Jing pouted. “I’ll just eat at home for a while.”
Shen Lu looked overwhelmed with gratitude. “How about this? Since you came all this way, I don’t really have anything to give you. Wait here, and I’ll come out the back door later and bring you something to take back.”
“What is it?” Shen Jing asked curiously.
Shen Lu answered as she ran. “It’s something worth over a thousand yuan!”
…
Finally getting rid of Shen Jing, Shen Lu still felt that the Hukou book issue would remain a problem until it was resolved. She was already very scared the last time her mom asked about it. This kid, Shen Jing, was extremely unreliable. Who knew when he might accidentally let the secret slip? For the sake of her five million yuan, she had to resolve it quickly.
The first day of shooting ended. Ye Qin had been on set all day and was exhausted, with no spare energy to actually hold the fruit basket issue against Shen Lu. In fact, sometimes, Ye Qin just talked a big game. She seemed fierce, but in reality… Shen Lu had long figured out her temperament. Otherwise, how could she have stayed by her side peacefully for three years?
As dusk was falling, and because the filming location was in the suburbs, it was quite a distance back to the city. Ye Qin fell asleep as soon as she got into the car, one hand resting casually on her chest, the other naturally hanging by the seat. Shen Lu sat in the adjacent seat, separated by a small area for drinks, resting her chin on her hand and wondering how to bring up the topic of the Hukou book. After all, Ye Qin hadn’t returned it to her since she took it to get the marriage license, perhaps forgetting about it in her busy schedule.
The person in the seat next to her was already breathing steadily, her chest rising and falling. Although slender, her figure was still curvy—curvaceous and well-proportioned… Ugh, Shen Lu, where are you looking? She couldn’t help but recall that passionate night, and a blush crept up her cheeks.
“Oh, right, Shen Lu. I had the nutritionist create a nutritional meal plan and sent it to your email. You know what to do, right?”
Shen Lu nodded. “I understand. I’ll make sure Sister eats properly from now on.”
Wang Lin frowned. “I didn’t tell you to supervise her. I want you to personally cook for her.”
Shen Lu’s eyes widened. I… you must be joking…
Wang Lin continued, “The lunch boxes on set are too greasy. Female artists mostly can’t eat them. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be responsible for making her separate meals.”
“N-no problem…” Shen Lu stammered out her agreement.
Just then, Ye Qin’s phone rang, vibrating continuously on the small table. Shen Lu glanced at the caller ID on the screen: “Grandma.” She quickly pushed Ye Qin awake without hesitation and said, “It’s Grandma’s call.”
Ye Qin, who had been drowsy a second ago, instantly sat up straight. She quickly answered the phone. No matter how tired or sleepy she was after a day of work, Ye Qin always managed to present her best self and use the gentlest tone when speaking to her grandmother.
“Hello, Grandma, I’m on my way back to the hotel after finishing work.”
The voice on the other end was very kind and gentle. “My precious granddaughter, you work so hard. I hope Grandma isn’t disturbing your rest?”
“Grandma, how could you be disturbing me?” Ye Qin unconsciously smiled, looking completely relaxed.
“You and your granddaughter-in-law haven’t come to see me in half a month! I miss my granddaughter-in-law,” Grandma said on the phone.
Ye Qin silently glanced at Shen Lu. “Grandma, we’re with the film crew now. I promise to come back to see you when I have time, okay?”
“Grandma knows you’re busy with work and can’t spare the time to keep me company. Then let Lu Lu come. Let my granddaughter-in-law keep this old lady company and chat with me.”
Ye Qin knew that Grandma had already compromised. If she refused again, it would be too impolite, and besides, she also cared about her grandmother. She usually rushed home to see her whenever she had a holiday. She reluctantly pursed her lips, reached out, and handed the phone to Shen Lu. “Here, it’s Grandma’s call.”
Shen Lu took the phone and cheerfully called out, “Hello, Grandma, I’m Shen Lu.”
“My granddaughter-in-law~” The voice on the other end was extremely warm.