Qiu Chao seemed uneasy and lingered in place for a good while. Yan Muyu leaned out the window. “What are you staring at? Go on in and make some money.”
She couldn’t have cared less. She whipped the steering wheel around with expert precision, tires nearly kissing the guardrail along the mountain road.
Viewers in the live stream caught the off-screen staff’s startled gasps.
Yan Muyu just laughed. “What are you afraid of? I’m off.”
The rusty red mini-truck kicked up a cloud of dust as it left, peeling away with a touch of swagger.
【Won’t she get struck by lightning if she keeps this up?】
【That perfect mix of rock-solid safety and thrill.】
Yan Muyu had a bit of fame in the industry, but she was far from a full-fledged celebrity.
She only ever came up in conversations when certain fans lamented how unflattering their idol looked in magazine shoots.
This time, she was joining the variety show as Qiu Chao’s manager, and whenever people saw Yan Muyu’s name, Xuan Zhelu inevitably came to mind.
But they were from different companies. Teng Huang New Star had been getting a lot of exposure this year, and Xuan Zhelu’s schedule had no variety shows on it.
She poured her all into television, with solid results to show for it.
After her junior colleague Sun Sitiao appeared on Whale Entertainment’s big push from last quarter, A World Starting Anew, group dinners always brought up Meng Heng.
They were from the same company, and Xuan Zhelu got along well with Sun Sitiao.
Sun Sitiao was as straightforward as they came. Teng Huang Corporation wasn’t the type to treat artists like trading goods anyway, so if one wanted a sugar daddy, the company wouldn’t interfere.
Sun Sitiao had been with Shen Tianqing for a stretch before.
She called it dating; Xuan Zhelu saw it as her playing pet for a while.
And now, Shen Tianqing’s interests were clearly fixed on Meng Heng—who knew what kind of stand-in that was.
During the variety show run, Sun Sitiao vented in the group chat, and Xuan Zhelu fished for news on Yan Muyu in roundabout ways.
Like whether Yan Muyu had a new flame, which artist she favored most, if there was any chance Shen Tianqing might hook up with her, and so on.
Sun Sitiao got a little annoyed by the questions.
She suggested Xuan Zhelu drop by the set if she had time, but Xuan Zhelu turned her down.
Just like now: Xuan Zhelu was on the ancient costume drama set, taking a mid-break rest with her eyes closed, when her assistant rushed over. “Little Xuan! You’re trending!”
Xuan Zhelu hummed in acknowledgment, her tone rising playfully at the end.
The assistant added, “With Young Boss Yan.”
She lowered her voice, as if it were some scandalous secret.
In truth, everyone on set knew this. The drama was wrapping up soon, and as the female lead, Xuan Zhelu had zero promotional pairing potential with the male lead.
In the behind-the-scenes footage, the male lead clearly hit it off with the second female lead.
But Xuan Zhelu had solid acting chops and didn’t rely on fan service.
If she delivered on screen, audiences would buy it.
By now, the crew had noticed Xuan Zhelu’s top trending spot.
“Xuan Zhelu and Yan Muyu for real?”
“This even trended number one?”
“Are those marketing accounts digging up real dirt or fake?”
Plenty of hushed discussions.
Most of the crew, piecing together Xuan Zhelu’s on-set vibe, could tell this woman seemed allergic to men.
The male lead was one of the better-looking rising stars—not some ancient relic look—and his climb had been meteoric.
Yet Xuan Zhelu treated him like a porta-potty. When they had to film hand-holding scenes, she’d drag him along looking like she desperately wanted to clock out.
You couldn’t call her unprofessional, though.
She just didn’t like her male coworkers. She got along great with the second female lead, snapping selfies every other day.
Once the assistant finished, Xuan Zhelu finally opened her eyes and tapped into Weibo.
YanMuyuXuanZhelu#
YanMuyuItsAllInThePast#
@ReaderAWhoLovesWritingLongReviews: Yan Muyu played two songs by Xuan Zhelu back-to-back on the variety show—is this lingering feelings??
@OneMoreDrinkNoHarm: They were in love, right?!! Otherwise why say “it’s in the past”!
The top posts were from marketing accounts, flooding with pics of Xuan Zhelu from the show to “prove” their history.
The assistant watched her artist nervously, only to see Xuan Zhelu beaming with delight.
She scrolled through the comments with a smile.
[Isn’t this hard evidence?!! They definitely dated!]
[That phone case… I want it, but no luck finding a match. It’s handmade? Whyyy!]
[Is this why Xuan-jie hasn’t had a single scandal all these years?]
[Female brother-in-law works fine… I’m sold.]
Dressed in her ancient costume, Xuan Zhelu lounged in a director’s chair, the nearby fan whirring away.
She was in high spirits, mulling over those three words “female brother-in-law” and grinning ear to ear.
The male lead, who got the cold shoulder daily, walked by and thought he’d gone blind.
Without a second thought, Xuan Zhelu posted on Weibo—
@XuanZhelu lulu: Of course she and I are good friends. Who’s saying it’s in the past? [cute]
Her assistant couldn’t stop her in time and thought they were doomed.
Her manager would know it was… whatever. Xuan Zhelu was the daughter of Teng Huang’s big boss—who’d dare blacklist her?
So what if she liked women? She wouldn’t go without roles.
But liking women was one thing—couldn’t she pick one who’d stick around? Everyone knew Whale’s Young Boss Yan never settled down!!
Yan Muyu was blissfully unaware. She wasn’t big on Weibo anyway, posting mostly on her university Insta account.
And with work wearing her out, she just closed her eyes for a breather during cargo-hauling breaks.
By the time the sun dipped low, she hopped on her bike to pick up Qiu Chao.
She arrived at the Embroidery Workshop to find the doors shut and checked her phone—only then spotting Qiu Chao’s message.
Qiu Chao: Pei Wan came to get me.
Yan Muyu huffed.
It was right around dusk, when weary birds flocked home, filling the sky with their chattering conference.
The live chat caught her huff and filled with comments about her being pissed.
Right now, Qiu Chao was outside washing vegetables. Liu Song, back from tea picking, was pumping water for her.
Pei Wan was inside steaming rice.
There was a big pot in the yard, lit up earlier by Liu Song so Qiu Chao could make sour plum soup.
Ding Yingxue was clumsily splitting firewood, whining miserably. “Why is this so hard to chop? My back’s killing me.”
Liu Song replied innocently, “Looks like Young Boss Yan has a strong back.”
Ding Yingxue made a choked sound.
Qiu Chao chimed in, “Her back is pretty strong.”
【What are you all even talking about?!!】
【Song Bao, Mom knows you’re pure!】
【Ding Yingxue’s face is killing me. She wants to argue but doesn’t know how lololol.】
【Sister Qiu!! Why are you so sure? Stop saying things that make me think dirty!】
Xi Xi, who’d spent the day hauling cow dung, was already bathing but kept demanding more hot water.
The day before, these female stars had still been prim and proper, careful not to squander Yan Muyu’s efforts—even sharing a bath was no big deal.
But by day two, all restraint had crumbled.
Xi Xi’s rich-girl temper flared; no matter how much she scrubbed, she swore she still reeked of cow dung. She shooed the follow-cam crew away and bossed Ding Yingxue into fetching hot water.
Ding Yingxue stank of it too.
So she kept her distance. After a day of duck-herding whistles, her mouth ached anyway—she was the type to speak as little as possible.
Liu Song said, “Young Boss Yan’s taking forever to get back. That mountain road must be brutal.”
The blue-haired singer seemed so out of place here, yet her childlike innocence shone through. Her gaze was clear when she looked at people, hardly the mark of someone long in the industry. It was hard not to like her.
Even Qiu Chao, wary and friendless in the biz, had a good impression of her.
Ding Yingxue pursed her lips. “Didn’t Sister Qiu ride with Young Boss Yan this afternoon? How was it?”
Qiu Chao went, “Oh. She’s got great skills. No issues.”
【Was Qiu Chao always like this, or have I changed? Every line from her feels loaded.】
【Ding Yingxue whistling—don’t make me die laughing.】
【Yesterday: female celebrities. Today: xx Village: shape-shifters.】
From inside, Xi Xi called again for fresh water.
Because there was no follow-up camera crew, all the footage from the courtyard came from fixed positions. The audience could only watch as Liu Song hauled a bucket inside.
Qiu Chao tossed some dried fir leaves into the stove to build up the flames. The firelight danced across her face while the sky in the distance grew dark.
Streetlights flickered on one by one in the viewers’ line of sight, curving along the mountain road with a distant, cinematic atmosphere.
Qiu Chao had also unpacked all the items she’d bought from the herbal shop that afternoon.
Liu Song must have gotten splashed by Xi Xi as well—when she emerged, half her pant leg was soaked.
She didn’t seem upset in the slightest. Instead, she smiled and squatted down beside Qiu Chao. “Are these all the ingredients? I thought sour plum soup just needed sour plums.”
Qiu Chao replied, “I’ve made it before.”
Right at that moment, a noise came from outside. Liu Song stood and peered out, then shouted excitedly, “Young Boss Yan is back!”
In the twilight, Yan Muyu pedaled up on her bicycle, dismounting with casual flair.
She called out to Qiu Chao in the courtyard, “Couldn’t you have told me sooner that you didn’t need a ride?”
Qiu Chao glanced up with wide, innocent eyes. “I sent you a WeChat the moment Pei Wan showed up to pick me up.”
Her voice was still soft and lingering, but her eyes held no trace of amusement. She looked genuinely upset.
Liu Song picked up on the tension between them right away. She veered off with feigned purpose, heading over to help Ding Yingxue chop firewood.
Yan Muyu said, “You know I don’t check my phone during the ride. Couldn’t you have just called me?”
【I can vouch for it! Pei Wan asked Qiu Chao if she wanted to make a call, but Qiu Chao said there was no need!】
【From Yan Muyu’s perspective: What’s up with Ex-Sister-in-Law?】
【My shipper brain just thinks Qiu Chao’s jealous lol—especially since Xuan Zhelu came up today!】
【Qiu Chao was scrolling through Twitter at the Embroidery Workshop too! I saw it!】
【Xuan Zhelu is so bold! Is she nuts?!】
【I actually kinda like her personality. Hope she shows up as a special guest.】
Qiu Chao asked, “Don’t you check your phone?”
Her voice floated lightly through the air. “Don’t you have to unlock it to listen to music? I figured you’d see the notification pop-up.”
Her tone was downright aggravating. Yan Muyu had only meant to ask casually, but now irritation flared up. She let out a breath. “Fine.”
“Then tomorrow, you can have Pei Wan give you a ride too.”
With that, she shoved her bicycle aside and strode into the courtyard. As she brushed past Qiu Chao, Qiu Chao suddenly grabbed her arm.
Yan Muyu glanced down. “What?”
Qiu Chao lowered her voice so much that the courtyard microphones couldn’t catch it.
But Yan Muyu heard every word.
“You’re saying you only wanted to pick up Xuan Zhelu, right?”
