Qin Chaomu stood at the entrance of Shen Guai’s room, dazed for a long while.
“Am I really going in empty handed?” Qin Chaomu shook her head. Just as she was about to turn back, she crashed right into Shen Guai’s arms.
The first thing to hit Shen Guai’s senses was the fragrance of tea clinging to Qin Chaomu light, mixed with a hint of milk.
Qin Chaomu must have just showered; in the moment of their collision, Shen Guai could even feel the lingering mist of moisture on her.
Startled, Shen Guai let out a light cough and took a half-step back. She wondered to herself: Is it because I didn’t give her any of the strawberries when I was handing them out? Did she find out and come looking for me?
Shen Guai had indeed bought a crate of strawberries, but after sharing them with the crew, she specifically instructed her assistant, Wutong, not to give any to Qin Chaomu.
Shen Guai’s exact words were: “Give them to anyone, just not Qin Chaomu.”
“Qin… Sister~”
Shen Guai’s greeting was sweet, but she felt guilty. The reason for her guilt was that while she wanted to annoy Qin Chaomu, she was also afraid of her actually getting angry.
After all… it would be quite easy for Qin Chaomu to ruin her.
“You certainly put a lot of thought into things.”
Qin Chaomu casually brushed back her bangs.
Shen Guai squinted at her. Qin Chaomu’s previously light blue long hair had been dyed back to black. For some reason, this hair color looked much more pleasing to Shen Guai than before.
“Ah! It’s just, if Sister likes it, then I… I hope Sister likes it…”
Shen Guai didn’t even know what she was saying; she was confusing herself.
But thanks to her immense acting talent, she reacted quickly. That guy Wutong must have given the strawberries to Qin Chaomu after all.
If Qin Chaomu had come all this way just to thank her, did Wutong say something he shouldn’t have? Or was Qin Chaomu up to no good?
Shen Guai thought suspiciously: No way. Since when has Qin Chaomu ever been up to anything good?
“This is a little specialty from home. I didn’t have much else to give you.”
Qin Chaomu suddenly produced a bundle of cured meat (la rou) from behind her.
“Huh?”
Shen Guai stared at the meat in Qin Chaomu’s hand, hesitating to take it.
Qin Chaomu an A-list star, a triple crown Best Actress actually ate things like cured meat?
“I was bored at home before joining the production, so I cured some meat myself. I planned to eat it while on set.”
“Tha… Thank you, Sister…”
Shen Guai was completely stunned. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t figure out why Qin Chaomu was giving her cured meat… and homemade at that?
“Wow! Sister, you’re so kind!”
Shen Guai’s words couldn’t have been more perfunctory.
“The weather is quite hot.”
Qin Chaomu raised her hand, fanning herself near her ear. She looked to the side, then glanced casually at Shen Guai.
“It is quite hot.”
Shen Guai wasn’t good at small talk and had no idea why Qin Chaomu was suddenly so chatty today.
“Is the air conditioning in your room working?”
“The AC is fine.” Shen Guai grew more confused by the second, having no clue what Qin Chaomu wanted.
“Oh! That’s great. The AC in my room is broken. I’ll come into your room to enjoy yours for a bit.”
Having said that, Qin Chaomu naturally stood at Shen Guai’s door, wearing her usual, shallow “international star” fake smile.
Seeing Shen Guai frozen in place, Qin Chaomu reached out, fished the room card from Shen Guai’s person, and then tucked it into Shen Guai’s hand.
“What? Surely you aren’t that stingy? You won’t even let me share the AC?”
“How is that possible?”
Provocation always worked on Shen Guai, especially when it came from Qin Chaomu.
They had been filming for over a week, and although their rooms were on the same floor, they usually avoided each other like the plague. Qin Chaomu had never stepped foot in Shen Guai’s room.
As soon as she entered, Qin Chaomu was stunned.
“Why are there so many posters of Chen Qinghe? Are you her fan?”
Qin Chaomu’s voice changed.
“She’s just a senior I really admire.”
“Oh.” Qin Chaomu felt a bitter twinge in her heart. Wasn’t Shen Guai supposed to like me? Wasn’t it said that Shen Guai liked me even before she entered the entertainment industry?
“Is something wrong?”
Unlike Qin Chaomu’s room, Shen Guai’s space was filled with plushies and various trinkets. At a glance, it was pink and tender; even the floor tiles were covered with a sandy white fluffy rug.
It looked less like she was here to film and more like she was here to experience a luxury lifestyle.
“I’m fine.”
Qin Chaomu looked at the posters of Chen Qinghe plastered on the wall. She suddenly turned around, leaned against the wall, and raised an eyebrow. “Since when have you liked Chen Qinghe?”
“Since junior high. A costume drama Chen laoshi starred in became a huge hit back then, and I really loved the second female lead she played.”
“Pfft. Characters on screen are different from people in real life. Liking a role doesn’t mean you have to like the actor.”
Qin Chaomu’s smile vanished. The gloom in her phoenix-shaped eyes sent a chill down Shen Guai’s spine.
There it was again… that “sanpaku” gaze. Whenever Qin Chaomu looked at people like that, Shen Guai felt like she was up to no good.
Shen Guai did like Chen Qinghe, but she didn’t know her personally; she simply viewed her as a role model because of her acting skills.
“In real life, Chen laoshi seems like a good person too…”
Shen Guai speculated: Could Qin Chaomu be trying to bait me into saying bad things about Chen Qinghe, only to go and snitch so she can ruin me?
“Oh? It seems you’re very interested in her.”
Qin Chaomu let out a cold laugh and snatched the cured meat back from Shen Guai’s hand.
“If you like her so much, why didn’t you go act in a play with her?”
Shen Guai was left speechless by the rebuttal. She truly didn’t understand what Qin Chaomu was doing.
Suddenly, it clicked. Qin Chaomu and Chen Qinghe were rivals!
Didn’t Qin Chaomu steal a role from Chen Qinghe? Their relationship must be terrible, which would explain why Qin Chaomu was so angry that someone liked her rival…
“Sister might not know, but I want to act with Chen Qinghe-laoshi. Unfortunately, her status is too high; I don’t have the chance.”
Having figured this out, Shen Guai intentionally used her words to annoy Qin Chaomu, implying that Qin Chaomu’s status couldn’t compare to Chen Qinghe’s.
Hilarious. I can’t suppress Qin Chaomu, but can’t Chen Qinghe?
“Is that so?”
Qin Chaomu’s eyes darkened. With a sudden tug, she pulled Shen Guai into her arms.
Before Shen Guai could react, Qin Chaomu had pinned her against the wall. Then, Shen Guai smelled that intense tea fragrance again.
The soft sensation on her lips made Shen Guai’s mind go blank. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She tried to push Qin Chaomu away, but failed twice.
Qin Chaomu gripped Shen Guai’s chin firmly. Her lips were first bitten lightly a tingly, numbing sensation and then Qin Chaomu’s small tongue pressed against Shen Guai’s lower lip, pushing it open and craftily sliding inside.
The feeling of suffocation grew stronger. Shen Guai’s legs went weak from the kiss. Every time she reached her breathing limit, Qin Chaomu would pull back just in time.
Shen Guai’s face was flushed bright red. Her entire body went limp, relying entirely on Qin Chaomu to hold her up. Just as she caught her breath, Qin Chaomu leaned in to kiss her again.
Each time was more intense than the last. Shen Guai was kissed into a dizzy stupor; her lips were becoming swollen.
Shen Guai wanted to push her away, but she couldn’t tell if it was the fragrance on Qin Chaomu that made her weak or the kiss itself. Either way, after two feeble attempts at struggling, she stopped resisting.
Qin Chaomu’s long eyelashes brushed against Shen Guai’s eyelids, making them itch. Her body felt soft to the touch, and Shen Guai unconsciously hooked her arms around Qin Chaomu’s neck.
Her lips parted, and her tongue tentatively reached out, meeting Qin Chaomu’s. It was slick, a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt.
“Ah! Qin Chaomu! You mother…!” Shen Guai covered her mouth and cursed loudly.
Almost the instant Shen Guai had extended her tongue, Qin Chaomu had bitten down hard, drawing blood.
“If you don’t know how to use your mouth, don’t speak next time just stick to kissing. If I hear anything unpleasant from you again, I won’t bite so lightly.”
Qin Chaomu grabbed a small mirror from the desk. Her first priority was touching up her lipstick.
“Qin Chaomu! Don’t go too far!”
Shen Guai was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes.
“The color of your AC unit is too ugly. I don’t like it. I’m leaving.”
Shen Guai stared blankly at Qin Chaomu’s retreating figure, then looked up at her central air conditioning unit and couldn’t help but mutter, “Has this woman lost her mind?”
“As expected, she just came here to make me miserable.”
Fuming, Shen Guai grabbed a teddy bear and started kicking and punching it.
“I’m so mad!”
Shen Guai sat on her bed for a long time, clutching her face, wondering why Qin Chaomu had suddenly given her meat and why she had entered her room…
Was it really just to humiliate her?
Recalling Qin Chaomu’s past behavior, her thoughts became clearer. No, Qin Chaomu isn’t a normal person. She’s a dark, belly black, foul mouthed freak. I can’t look at her through a normal lens!
Shen Guai pressed a pillow over her head and lay face down on the bed, crying and cursing all night.
She didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky, and even then, she felt out of sorts.
“My dear young lady, why the long face?”
Jin Xi walked in looking mysterious. “Look who’s here!”
“Chen-laoshi!”
Chen Qinghe smiled and patted Shen Guai’s head. “Long time no see.”
“Why… are you on set?”
Shen Guai looked at Jin Xi in confusion.
“Starting today, Chen Qinghe will be making a cameo as the fourth female lead.”
A familiar, cold voice rang out, tinged with its usual sarcasm. Behind Jin Xi and Chen Qinghe, a figure emerged.
It was none other than Qin Chaomu, the person Shen Guai had spent the whole night cursing.
“Shen Guai likes you, likes you very, very much.”
“Chen Qinghe, let’s go. There’s a kiss scene today. Chen Qinghe, come watch the shoot.”