The Movie Queen Always Wants to Kiss Me - Chapter 55 - She's Always Been Protecting Me

However, Cheng Muye didn’t want to expose her just yet.

Hearts grow cold gradually, and revealing too much too soon would strip her of that warmth.

With a faint smile, Cheng Muye guided Tang Anhe back toward the elevator and down to the luxury car waiting beneath the studio building.

Lin Yue, behind the wheel, looked up in surprise. “So soon? Brother Cheng, where are we headed now?”

“Stick to the original plan,” Cheng Muye replied.

Lin Yue nodded and drove straight to the courier shop where the gift box had been sent.

Cheng Muye had already glimpsed the deliveryman’s face on the villa’s security footage, so she recognized him the moment they arrived.

The small street-side courier shop was compact but well-positioned, surrounded by the hum of traffic and neighboring businesses.

The young man who had delivered the package was busy moving goods, his baseball cap still in place. As Cheng Muye approached, Tang Anhe stepped forward with a familiar tone. “Aze, what are you doing here?”

Huo Ze looked up, eyes lighting up instantly. He set down the packages he was handling and walked over with a smile. “Hey, Sister Tang! What brings you here?”

“Just a little matter,” Tang Anhe replied casually.

“What kind of matter?”

“Someone sent a package to a friend of mine… and the contents weren’t exactly friendly.”

“Oh? What was inside?”

“Hard to say. Some unsavory stuff—not a very pleasant gesture.”

Cheng Muye listened carefully, eyes scanning the shop. She wheeled herself over to an older deliveryman nearby, probably in his fifties, his back hunched, sweat glistening on his forehead.

“Excuse me, brother,” she said, pointing toward Huo Ze. “Do you know anything about him?”

The deliveryman followed her gesture and recognized Huo Ze. A grin crept across his weathered face, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he said, “Oh, him? He’s a student at Changqing University, working part-time here. The kid’s got drive—can really handle the grind.”

That wasn’t quite the answer Cheng Muye needed.

She smiled lightly and asked, “He seems like a decent guy. But where does he live? What’s his family like?”

The deliveryman narrowed his eyes. “You… what are you getting at?” His tone carried caution as he studied her carefully.

“That kid doesn’t come from a well-off family. He’s honest and reliable, treats people right. He shouldn’t have gotten into any trouble, right?”

“No, no, you’re overthinking it,” Cheng Muye said, her tone teasing yet disarming. “I just think he’s decent-looking, could even make a good little star. You know how it is—stars these days rise fast and make good money.”

Even an older man like this knew the allure of celebrity. He nodded slowly, a trace of envy in his voice. “Oh, that young man really is handsome. All the young ladies who come here to send packages notice him. They secretly ask for his number, but he won’t give it. I guess he already has someone special in mind.”

Still, it wasn’t the answer she needed.

Cheng Muye responded absently, “Oh.”

The delivery man suddenly perked up, his face lighting with excitement. “Oh right! I remember now! The boss once treated us to dinner, and he came along. During the meal, he left his wallet behind. I opened it to see whose it was and found a photo of a girl. She was pretty, though looked a bit older. Who knew this guy had a thing for older women?”

His offhand remark sparked a bold thought in Cheng Muye’s mind.

The delivery man knew Tang Anhe, Song Qiluo’s cousin. If he knew Tang Anhe, perhaps he also knew Song Qiluo. And since Song Qiluo was indeed older than the delivery man, could she be using him to intimidate Tang Anhe and Cheng Muye?

Cheng Muye was still mulling over the possibility when Tang Anhe arrived with Huo Ze, smiling as she introduced him. “Muye, this is Huo Ze, Sister Qiluo’s younger brother.”

Song Qiluo’s younger brother?

Huo Ze?

No blood relation, yet called her brother? Was he the son of Song Qiluo’s father’s later wife?

Was their relationship similar to hers and Shen Si’s?

Cheng Muye ran through the situation in her mind before addressing Huo Ze. “Hello, I’m Cheng Muye. I was the recipient of the package you delivered today.”

Huo Ze looked startled. “Uh, hello. My name is Huo Ze.”

He extended his hand, and Cheng Muye shook it, her smile polite but tight. “Did you notice that the package you delivered today had no sender information?”

Huo Ze flushed, clearly flustered. “Uh… I think so. I must have overlooked it.”

“Oh, I see,” Cheng Muye said, feigning understanding as she met his gaze directly. “The item sent to me is threatening. I need to find the sender. Mr. Huo, could you assist me?”

“Huh? No way,” he blurted, face paling.

“Yes, Mr. Huo. This is a very serious matter.”

Huo Ze’s color drained completely, and he hurriedly turned to Tang Anhe. “Sis Tang, I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please put in a good word for me. Don’t let Miss Cheng report me. I really need this job.”

Tang Anhe, aware of his circumstances, smiled reassuringly. “It’s fine, Aze. Don’t worry. Just give me the sender’s information.”

Huo Ze hesitated, shaking his head. “That… that’s not really possible.”

“You don’t want to tell?”

“It’s inconvenient to say.”

“Is there some secret involved?”

Realizing he couldn’t brush it off, Huo Ze adopted a helpless expression. “The sender didn’t want their information recorded. I checked it and saw it wasn’t dangerous, so I didn’t think much of it.”

Cheng Muye’s tone sharpened suddenly. “How much did she pay you?”

“What?”

“How much?”

“It couldn’t have been that simple, right? She must have paid you to stay silent. How much?”

Huo Ze frowned, hesitating for a moment before holding up three fingers.

Cheng Muye smiled knowingly. “Three hundred thousand?”

Huo Ze shook his head. “Three thousand.”

Cheng Muye’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then how about this. I’ll give you thirty thousand. Now tell me what that person looks like.”

“No, I don’t remember,” he replied, avoiding her gaze.

“You do remember,” Cheng Muye insisted. She pulled up a photo of Song Qiluo circulating online on her phone and held it before him. Her tone was calm but piercing. “It’s her, isn’t it? The one who had you mail the package—it was her, wasn’t it?”

Huo Ze glanced at it and shook his head. “No, it’s not her.”

His cover was painfully thin. He wasn’t a natural liar.

Cheng Muye saw right through him, yet her tone softened. “Why lie? Mr. Huo, your eyes betray you.”

Tang Anhe, watching silently, had already pieced together the truth. She didn’t confront Huo Ze, instead turning away to leave. Cheng Muye pushed the wheelchair to follow, but after just two steps, Huo Ze called out, stopping her.

“Sister Song isn’t a bad person,” he said hurriedly.

“Do you have some misconception about what constitutes a bad person?” Cheng Muye asked, her gaze sharp.

“Oh… I forgot—you have no idea what Song Qiluo did.”

Cheng Muye continued. “So, Mr. Huo, you really should ask Song Qiluo yourself what she did to your little Sister Tang.”

With that, Cheng Muye continued pushing the wheelchair, catching up quickly. When they reached the luxury car, Lin Yue got out to help her in and folded the wheelchair.

In the backseat, Tang Anhe stared out the window, her eyes glistening and slightly reddened, lost in thought.

Seeing Cheng Muye settle into the seat, Tang Anhe turned her head, speaking haltingly. “Maybe… maybe I never really understood her thoughts. I thought… I thought she was my family, my only sister. How could she hurt me? No… she wouldn’t hurt me. When I was little, I was a child star. In kindergarten, lots of boys teased me, tugging on my skirt. She was already in elementary school back then, but she came to pick me up every day. She was fierce, often scaring those boys until they cried… she always protected me…”

Cheng Muye listened quietly, her own involvement in Tang Anhe’s childhood a constant, lingering regret.

“People change,” she said lightly, almost dismissively.

“How… how could they change?” Tang Anhe whispered, unable to comprehend. She shook her head, memories of countless moments of past warmth flooding her mind.

“Aunt has always treated me so well—actually, even better than she treated Sister Qiluo. I remember the day before Qiluo’s college entrance exam: she had a fever, but I was away auditioning for a promising role. For my sake, Aunt even set aside her own daughter’s important exam. In the end, Qiluo missed one of her exams and lost the chance to attend her dream university. Yet afterwards, neither of them uttered a single complaint.” Her voice trembled, carrying a mixture of sorrow, gratitude, and lingering confusion.

“It was I who felt guilty, trying in every way to make amends, only to be told I was being distant. Because of me, Qiluo lost her mother’s attention. And because of me, Aunt ended up hurting Qiluo’s heart too. They… they did all of this just for me…”

Perhaps it was precisely these countless little acts of kindness that had made her repeatedly forgive their greed and selfishness. She wasn’t blind to the fact that their warmth wasn’t entirely pure—it was just that their past generosity had been so overwhelming that it had blinded her to their petty schemes in the present.

Tang Anhe wiped her tears, covering her face with both hands as her voice choked with emotion. “But they’ve truly broken my heart. I’ve always obeyed them, yet they’ve consistently ignored my feelings. I don’t even know where I went wrong… why are they doing this? Does Sister Qiluo no longer want me? Does she not want me as her sister anymore?”

Tears fell like pear blossoms in the rain, each drop carrying the bitter realization that she might be abandoned completely.

“You gallant horseman, so mighty and strong, Your steed races like the wind,
Across boundless plains you roam…”

The familiar melody rang out from her phone.

Tang Anhe wept bitterly as the device she had left on the seat beside her began to vibrate. She glanced at the caller ID—Song Qiluo.

Her hand hovered, trembling, before clenching into a fist. She wanted to answer, yet dared not. Her heart twisted in a tangled knot of fear, sorrow, and uncertainty.

Cheng Muye watched silently, her own chest tightening. She truly wished to have Tang Anhe’s heart all to herself, hoping it would be filled only with her. Yet, seeing her hurt over her family only made Cheng Muye feel even more pained. Frowning, she stared at the phone that kept singing, and couldn’t help reaching out.

“Don’t answer it!”

Tang Anhe quickly snatched the phone and turned it off.

Cheng Muye tenderly stroked her hair, her voice soft and soothing. “Anhe, running away isn’t the solution.”

“I just… I don’t know how to face her.”

“You do.”

“Hm?”

“Have an open and honest talk.” Cheng Muye lowered her head, brushing a tear from her lashes with a gentle kiss. “I wanted to expose Song Qiluo and the others, to keep you away from them. But I realized how much they mean to you. You cry for them, you laugh for them—they make you feel alive. They are part of your life. And if you ever lost them… I can’t bear to imagine how broken you’d feel.”

Cheng Muye had always been emotionally reserved. Without parents, her connection to her grandparents had been strained, tinged with subtle resentment. Yet that loneliness never brought her comfort. Meeting Tang Anhe had awakened something in her—she instinctively clung to her, holding on with all her strength, wanting to protect her completely.

How could she bear to see Tang Anhe turn into a hedgehog herself?

That would only wound them both.

Cheng Muye’s eyes softened with sudden understanding. She reached out to wipe Tang Anhe’s tears, her gaze full of warmth and deep affection. “Song Qiluo may have made mistakes, yes. But from what you’ve said, perhaps there are reasons behind her change. Anhe… give them another chance. You are the warm sunlight that brightens others’ darkness. You have that power. I believe in you—you can open your heart and reclaim that family bond.”

“Really?”

Tang Anhe’s eyes brightened, a flicker of hope sparking within them.