The Movie Queen Always Wants to Kiss Me - Chapter 26 - It’s Okay To Live Like This

Song Qiluo held her breath, her voice edged with exasperation. “Do you feel anything else? Anywhere uncomfortable?”

Tang Anhe, oblivious to the weight behind the question, shook her head. She stretched languidly, arms arching above her head, the cotton nightgown slipping to reveal the graceful lines of her body.

“Nope. Just a bit tired. My throat’s dry and hoarse. Probably from singing too much last night.”

Perfect. She had convinced herself. Very well—let her stay like this, foolish and oblivious. At least then she wouldn’t have to invent excuses to avoid her.

Frustration welled up in Song Qiluo. She pressed her fingers to her temples and waved her off. “Stop dawdling. Get up and freshen yourself. The Emperor of Acting’s new drama, Night Rain, has cast you as the female lead. Today, you’ll go over the script and start memorizing your lines.”

Routine. Mundane. Merely another turn in the cycle of her life. Nothing worth resisting.

Tang Anhe merely nodded, though her gaze drifted restlessly around the room. Only then did she realize she was still inside the private suite at Lotte Entertainment Club. Her brow furrowed. “Where’s Brother Cheng? Why isn’t she here?”

“Didn’t I tell you? She quit.”

“Quit? Why?”

“Just didn’t want to do it anymore, I suppose.”

“No… but why didn’t she tell me herself?”

Panic flickered across her face. Tang Anhe scratched at her head in agitation as she scrambled out of bed. Her body was still heavy with the dregs of alcohol, her legs weak, nearly buckling as she stumbled toward the floor.

Song Qiluo hurried over to steady her, scolding, “Be careful! Stop being so reckless!”

Tang Anhe shook her head, sat down on the bedside, pressed her forehead, and tried to recall. “We drank and sang last night. We got along so well. Why did she suddenly leave?”

“You’ve only known her for a few days. If she wants to leave, how can you stop her? That’s how the bodyguard industry works—people come and go quickly.”

“No, no way. Brother Cheng wouldn’t just leave for no reason. She must have had a reason. Sis, give me Brother Cheng’s phone number. I need to get to the bottom of this.”

Song Qiluo’s eyes darkened at her words, yet she still handed over her phone.

Tang Anhe found the contact and dialed the number.

Within seconds, a cold female voice answered. “The number you have dialed is not available at the moment. Please try again later.”

A chill spread through Tang Anhe’s heart, her eyes quickly filling with disappointment and sorrow. She had been so kind to her. They had even promised to be family to each other. Yet she had left without a word, without even a goodbye. How could she be so cruel!

Her chest tightened with pain, her eyes reddening as she clung to Song Qiluo’s waist. Her voice trembled, on the verge of breaking into tears. “How could she be like this? She’s just… she’s just—”

Heartless!

The same thought crossed Cheng Muye’s mind.

At the beachfront villa on Changyu Island.

Cheng Muye couldn’t bring herself to focus on the gourmet meal before her. Throughout lunch, she checked her phone more than a dozen times, yet not a single call from an unknown number came through. She had been gone this long, and that girl still hadn’t bothered to call. How heartless!

“Still thinking about your little beauty?”

The voice belonged to Yu Zhaoning, Cheng Muye’s only close friend.

She wore a clean, sharp bob that framed her face just above the ears. A black spaghetti-strap dress revealed her delicate collarbones, while a small red jade Buddha pendant hung from her graceful swan-like neck, swaying gently between two soft, proud curves. At first glance, the red gleam resembled a drop of blood against porcelain-white skin, creating a striking contrast.

Yu Zhaoning was devoutly Buddhist, always wearing the jade Buddha around her neck and a string of purple sandalwood prayer beads on her wrist. Having finished her meal, she now held the beads in one hand, quietly counting them one by one.

Cheng Muye frowned at the sight, then cast a glance at the untouched fruit salad and vegetarian dishes before her. “You’ve really embraced Buddhism? What’s with all this vegetarian fare?”

Her surprise was justified. Yu Zhaoning had once been notorious for her tangled affairs with both men and women, her life philosophy summed up as seize the day, revel in pleasure. Seeing her so subdued and restrained now left Cheng Muye genuinely astonished.

Yu Zhaoning offered little explanation. Instead, her gaze shifted toward the beef soup, the sweet-and-sour fish, and the braised spareribs on the table. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but she held back.

Noticing her hesitation, Cheng Muye asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you being so coy?”

Yu Zhaoning smiled faintly, her gaze dropping to the beads on her wrist as she murmured, “It’s nothing. Just eat up. Once you’re done, be my model again.”

Cheng Muye was close to her, otherwise, she wouldn’t have come straight here after leaving Tang Anhe. Her tone shed its usual coolness, tinged instead with playful banter. “Stop drooling over my body. No peeking allowed.”

“Really? No peek?” Yu Zhaoning’s lips curved into a sly smile, her eyes glinting with mischief. “If you refuse, I won’t tell anyone about those who took advantage of Tang Anhe at the mall.”

Cheng Muye had come to Yu Zhaoning’s villa for this very reason. Hearing her words, she showed little surprise, though her beautiful features grew more serious as she set down her chopsticks and asked, “You found out?”

Yu Zhaoning nodded, glancing at the maid beside her. “Go fetch the documents from my study.”

“Yes, Miss.”

The maid hurried off and soon returned with several sheets of paper. Cheng Muye took them and glanced through them. They contained the man’s identity information: his name was He Tai, thirty years old, an employee at a food factory, madly infatuated with Tang Anhe, and had purchased numerous photos of her…

While she studied the documents, Yu Zhaoning explained, “I’ve already met with this man. His head is full of nonsense. He insisted on having a meal with Tang Anhe before he’d admit the truth.”

“The surveillance at that time was malfunctioning. Do you think he could have arranged that?”

“A food factory worker? He doesn’t have that kind of power.”

“So, someone’s backing him?”

“I checked. No large sums of money have gone into his account recently.”

Could all this really be just coincidence?

Cheng Muye frowned, a wave of irritation rising within her. She couldn’t stay by Tang Anhe’s side now, afraid she might unwittingly fall into someone else’s trap again. A premonition gnawed at her that it wasn’t over yet. More trouble was bound to come Tang Anhe’s way.

Her premonition proved half-correct.

On the third day after Cheng Muye left Tang Anhe, the headlines erupted:“After the filming ceremony of the Emperor of Acting’s new drama ‘Night Rain,’ the Leading Actress secretly met him at a hotel to ‘review scripts.’”

Almost at the same time, Gu Zixiao posted a tearful Weibo: “Tang Anhe is the third party. The Emperor of Acting and I have been in love for a year.”

Shortly after, the actor himself publicly confirmed his secret relationship with Gu Zixiao.

In an instant, Tang Anhe was labeled the other woman, devoured by a frenzy of online outrage.

“I always knew Tang Anhe was no good. First hitting on fans at the mall, and now daring to covet the Emperor of Acting? She’s shameless!”

“Honestly, she’s so annoying. With all these scandals flooding my feed lately, someone just ban her already!”

“Only Tang Anhe couldn’t see what was going on between the Emperor and Gu Zixiao. She’s clearly all looks and no brains, always trying to butt in. Reading scripts late at night? Sure, Dongguan really lost out without her.”

“I think Gu Zixiao and the Emperor of Acting are a perfect match. Who does Tang Anhe think she is, meddling in this? Just because she won Best Actress doesn’t mean she’s hot stuff. Look how arrogant she is!”

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Cheng Muye scrolled through the vicious comments, her mind consumed by a single thought.

Tang Anhe had been set up!

Who was targeting Tang Anhe?

Zheng Ye? Gu Zixiao? Or were they both merely pawns in someone else’s game?

Song Qiluo wrestled with the same question, though not until she’d vented her frustration on Tang Anhe with a thorough scolding.

“Are you brainless?”

“Did a donkey kick you in the head?”

“A pig’s fart has a higher IQ than you.”

“You treat every warning like the wind blowing past your ears! Even a fish remembers better than you!”

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Shells of mockery rained down one after another. Tang Anhe endured it for nearly ten minutes before finally holding her breath and whispering a defense for herself.

“I heard the script had been changed, so I went over to get the new one. Then, since the actor seemed in good spirits, I chatted a bit longer. As for confessing my feelings, even if I had the inclination, I wouldn’t have the courage!”

Song Qiluo snorted coldly. “Who told you that? Why couldn’t you go during the day? Did it have to be at night?”

Tang Anhe scrunched up her little face and whined softly, “I… I just couldn’t sleep at night. Since I have insomnia, I figured I might as well study the script.”

The mention of insomnia only made Song Qiluo’s fury rise further.

“Insomnia? You? If you don’t get eighteen hours of sleep a day, you can’t even tell what one plus one is. And you dare say you’ve got insomnia? Who are you trying to fool?”

“I… I really am insomniac.” Tang Anhe looked utterly miserable. Seeing that Song Qiluo was truly angry, she could only point helplessly at her eyes. “Sis, look, I’ve got red, bloodshot eyes. I’m not lying to you, I swear I’m not.”