Seeing Qin Chaomu treat her with the cold shoulder, Shen Guai felt a pang of grievance. She straightened her back and moved her head away from Qin Chaomu’s shoulder.
“Come here.”
Qin Chaomu’s voice sounded like an Abyssinian kitten begging for food lazy, charming, yet laced with a hint of wildness.
“Huh?” Shen Guai turned her head, looking at Qin Chaomu in confusion.
“Lean over,” Qin Chaomu said. Her tone remained unchanged, those two simple words sounding more like a command.
“Sister is asking me to throw myself into her arms… could it be that you actually like me?” Shen Guai blinked, her smile blooming like a flower.
“In public, we still have to fulfill our obligations as a fake couple. We have to make the act look convincing,” Qin Chaomu said, knitting her brows.
Shen Guai obediently leaned back onto Qin Chaomu’s shoulder, grinning so wide she couldn’t close her mouth.
A Life Built on Lies
Shen Guai’s affection for Qin Chaomu began when she was fifteen. Whether it was true love or something else, even Shen Guai couldn’t quite say.
Shen Guai’s biological parents were undercover narcotics police. When she was three years old, they both died in the line of duty during a mission. Consequently, Shen Guai was sent to live with her maternal grandmother. That same year, a gang of thugs seeking revenge against her parents broke into the house. Her grandmother shoved her into a wardrobe, and the last words Shen Guai heard were: “Live on, and live well.”
Through the cracks in the wardrobe, Shen Guai witnessed the brutal massacre of her grandmother’s family. It wasn’t until a young girl covered in blood opened the wardrobe door that Shen Guai saw light again. The girl smiled and said, “Kid, come home with big sister.”
That was how Shen Guai was adopted by Madam Xu.
Madam Xu’s rules were strict: Shen Guai was not allowed to step a single foot outside the manor. At age five, Shen Guai was caught playing with a water gun and received a severe beating. It was the first time Madam Xu lost her temper, telling her: “You can do anything, but you must never become a police officer.”
At age seven, Shen Guai left the manor for the first time to attend school. Madam Xu forged her household registration to the outside world, no one knew of their connection. Madam Xu repeated the same words her grandmother once said: “Guai Guai, I only want you to stay alive.”
Shen Guai lived in the shadows. Her name was fake, her identity was a sham. Over the years, she watched those around Madam Xu die or flee as remnants of that old drug case sought revenge. She slowly began to understand the true weight of “living on.”
For over a decade, she lived a muddled existence, learning early on how to be a social chameleon, saying what people wanted to hear and hiding her true self. Her life was one grand, dark lie.
The Scripted Affection
When Shen Guai was fifteen, Madam Xu asked her if she had any dreams. Shen Guai looked at the TV playing the drama The Crossing of the Waist and pointed at the woman on screen. “I like her. I want her to be my girlfriend.”
Madam Xu, who rarely smiled, laughed heartily that day. Perhaps she found the idea childish, or perhaps she was satisfied with Shen Guai’s lack of ambition. The actress on screen was none other than the newly debuted Qin Chaomu.
To please Madam Xu and play the part of a useless, love-struck socialite, Shen Guai pretended to be obsessed with Qin Chaomu. She made sure everyone knew she was “infatuated.” Eventually, she even fooled herself.
By the time she entered film school and became an actress, her acting grew even more exaggerated. She had pre-written a script for her life at fifteen, and she intended to follow it. When she heard Qin Chaomu was starring in a modern idol drama, Shen Guai treated the director to many meals and agreed to a zero dollar salary just to land the second female lead.
On the first day of filming, meeting Qin Chaomu for the first time, Shen Guai felt an unexpected wave of nerves. When photos leaked of her looking disgruntled near Qin Chaomu, fans claimed she was a “secret admirer.” To hide the truth, Shen Guai used her seasoned lying skills to deflect her “long-term obsession” toward Chen Qinghe. Regarding Qin Chaomu, she simply said: “No, she’s annoying. Such a poser.”
Beneath the Moonlight
Back in the present, Shen Guai inhaled the pleasant green tea scent lingering on Qin Chaomu. The scent acted as a sedative, clearing her mind. She drifted into a daze and eventually fell asleep. When she woke up, the moon was high, the air was chilly, and the area was empty.
Except for one person.
“Are you a pig? How can you sleep so much?” Qin Chaomu spoke up, sounding displeased.
Shen Guai realized she had been leaning on Qin Chaomu’s shoulder the whole time. She lifted her head sheepishly but fired back: “If I’m a pig, what are you?”
Qin Chaomu massaged her aching right shoulder and smirked. “I’m the cabbage.” (Referring to the Chinese idiom “A pig rooting for a cabbage.”)
“Qin Chaomu, have you no shame? You’re a cabbage? You’re more like a pile of…”
“A single-celled organism like you, whose brain is filled with tofu and who loses millions of brain cells with every breath… it’s expected that your meager vocabulary can only come up with such low-class insults,” Qin Chaomu interrupted with a smile. She stood up and brushed off her shoulder, as if disgusted by the contact.
“Qin Chaomu! You wait and see!” Shen Guai shouted at her retreating back.
The Unspoken Gesture
Shen Guai chased after her, holding out an orange knitted cardigan. “This sweater… it was covering me just now. Is it yours?”
Qin Chaomu narrowed her eyes. “No.”
“Huh?” Shen Guai sniffed the fabric. The strong scent of tea was unmistakable. “It is yours.”
“If I say yes, will you fall in love with me?” Qin Chaomu leaned in, her expression suddenly serious.
“What kind of crazy talk is that? I wouldn’t like you even if you were the last person on earth,” Shen Guai stammered, looking away.
“Then why ask?”
“I’m afraid… afraid you might like me,” Shen Guai gripped the sweater tighter.
Qin Chaomu laughed. “That would be quite unlucky. At least we agree on that.” She patted Shen Guai’s hair. “Sister wouldn’t like you even if she had no other choice.”
“If you don’t like me, why did you kiss me?” Shen Guai bit her lip and suddenly grabbed Qin Chaomu’s collar, forcing eye contact.
A flash of panic crossed Qin Chaomu’s light-colored eyes. She smiled back. “Then does the fact that you kissed me back mean you like me?”
Shen Guai was stumped. “I don’t… I just… felt like kissing…”
“I see,” Qin Chaomu said matter of factly. “We have to kiss on and off screen anyway. You clearly have no experience. If we have too many NGs on set, it wastes everyone’s time. Out of professional responsibility, I’m simply making a sacrifice to train you.”
“Oh… is that so?” Shen Guai puffed out her cheeks. She stood on her tiptoes, leaned forward, and pressed a light kiss against Qin Chaomu’s lips. Then she shoved the sweater into Qin Chaomu’s arms and ran away.
Standing alone, Qin Chaomu couldn’t suppress her smile. She sniffed the sweater and let out a soft laugh. “Smells quite nice.”
The Midnight Encounter
Qin Chaomu hummed a tune as she walked to her Rolls-Royce. She checked her phone, a hotel location sent by Chen Qinghe. She hadn’t slept in two days. After applying some eye drops, she prepared to drive.
“Get it together, Qin Chaomu. Stop thinking about that brat. Work comes first.”
Suddenly, the passenger door swung open. A woman hopped in. “Plate ending in 0631?”
“Have you ever seen a Rolls-Royce doing ride-shares?” Qin Chaomu leaned her head on her hand, watching the intruder.
“Oh!” Shen Guai gasped. “Sorry, Teacher Qin. Wrong car. I thought it was my ride.” She paused. “But Teacher Qin, where are you going in the middle of the night?”
Qin Chaomu didn’t answer, just watched her with a fox-like grin.
“Look at my head… I got in the wrong car. Should I get out?”
Shen Guai lingered. Finally, she buckled her seatbelt and pretended to check her phone. “Where are you headed? If it’s on the way… could you give me a lift?”