Fake Love with the Movie Queen - Chapter 19

Due to limited equipment, the guests’ rooms this time were not equipped with fixed cameras.

When the live broadcast started in the morning, the host, accompanied by the cameraperson, knocked on the courtyard doors one by one in order.

Gu Nanxuan and Qiu Qing’an emerged from the courtyard one after the other.

The host greeted them with a smile: “Good morning, Qing’an, Nanxuan~”

Gu Nanxuan, who was walking ahead, remained silent.

Behind her, Qiu Qing’an offered the host a gentle, faint smile: “Good morning~”

The host was already accustomed to Gu Nanxuan’s aloofness and cheerfully suggested, “Let’s go find the others together.”

Si Kongyuan and Yu Qianxue lived nearby, and the group successfully reunited with them in less than three minutes on foot.

On their way to find Zhu Ningyue and Ge Jiang, Si Kongyuan noticed a red mark on Qiu Qing’an’s neck and asked with concern, “Qing’an, did an insect bite you here?”

She didn’t mention mosquitoes because the mark was rather large—it didn’t look like something a mosquito could leave behind.

Qiu Qing’an instinctively touched her neck. She had covered it with foundation earlier, but it seemed the mark wasn’t completely concealed.

She went along with Si Kongyuan’s assumption: “Yeah, it happened last night. I forgot to bring any ointment and was hoping it would heal by morning.”

“I have some medicine with me. I can get it for you later?”

Si Kongyuan always came prepared, especially when it came to insect repellents and treatments.

Hearing that Qiu Qing’an needed it, she eagerly stepped forward.

Qiu Qing’an didn’t refuse: “Okay.”

The “culprit insect,” Gu Nanxuan, glanced discreetly at Qiu Qing’an’s neck, quite satisfied with her handiwork.

She wasn’t worried about their relationship being exposed—even if she admitted to being the one who left the mark, the live audience might not believe her.

And indeed, that was the case.

Live broadcast comments:

【Aww, what blind insect dared to bite our queen? How dare it!】

【I’m so jealous of that insect—why couldn’t it have been me?!】

【+1】

【I got bitten a few times too. Everyone, remember to bring insect repellent when you come here!】

Not a single person suspected a thing.

Knock, knock—

The host rapped on the last courtyard door: “Ningyue, Jiangjiang, are you up yet?”

“We are.”

The voice belonged to Ge Jiang.

With a creak, the door was pulled open, revealing Ge Jiang’s face.

She looked apologetic as she said, “Ningyue probably won’t be able to come out today, so I’d like to ask for leave on her behalf.”

The host asked with concern, “Is she feeling unwell?”

Ge Jiang glanced at the cameraperson.

Understanding the hint, the host addressed the live audience: “We’ll pause the broadcast for now and resume shortly~”

She instructed the cameraperson to wait outside and led the rest of the group into the courtyard with Ge Jiang.

Zhu Ningyue was sitting inside the room. When she saw the crowd enter, she immediately covered her face.

“Why did you all come in?”

Her voice carried a hint of nervousness.

Ge Jiang explained, “The cameraperson is outside. Right now, only we can see you—no viewers.”

Hearing this, Zhu Ningyue cautiously peeked through her fingers, confirming there were no cameras before lowering her hands.

“Gasp—”

Everyone who saw her face couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

Her originally fair skin was now covered in red bite marks of varying sizes—even her eyelids were swollen from the bites.

It was almost like “disfigurement,” no wonder she was unwilling to appear on camera.

Zhu Ningyue spoke with grievance, “There are too many bugs here. I barely slept all night.”

She had always been prone to attracting mosquitoes and insects, and with the thriving ecosystem here, swarms of bugs emerged by nightfall.

In the middle of the night, she had felt an itch on her face. When she looked in the mirror, she saw herself in this state.

Frightened, she called Ge Jiang from the next room, who stayed up with her all night trying to help, but to no avail.

The host also sensed the severity of the situation and said to Sikong Yuan, “Could you please go back and get some medicine? I’ll inform the director about the livestream.”

Sikong Yuan didn’t hesitate. “Alright, I’ll go now.”

The host took out her phone and messaged Xiang Ying.

Xiang Ying quickly replied, instructing her to handle Zhu Ningyue’s situation first before resuming the livestream.

Meanwhile, the livestream switched to other scenic spots in the town, showcasing its beauty and explaining the rules and mini-games for obtaining special-access tickets to the exclusive commercial zone.

The previously bored audience was instantly captivated:

Wow, you have to win first place in five consecutive mini-games to get a ticket to the exclusive zone? That’s way too difficult!

If the bar isn’t set high, the exclusive zone would be packed, and you wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of the actress.

True.

Despite the high threshold, within half an hour of the park’s opening, one visitor had already secured a ticket.

She excitedly showed it to the camera: “I’m actually the first one to get a ticket! This is so lucky!”

The ticket had a serial number—NO.0001.

Observant viewers noticed:

The ticket numbers only go up to four digits. Does that mean there won’t be more than 10,000 tickets in total?

Wow, that few?

The livestream instantly grew tense.

Many fans at the park also realized this and hurried to participate in the mini-games.

However, as more people joined, fewer could meet the requirement of “five consecutive first-place wins.”

The difficulty of obtaining a ticket to the exclusive zone continued to rise.

The first person to get one was indeed incredibly lucky.

Back with the guests—

Sikong Yuan brought over all the medicine she had, a small first-aid kit filled with various medications.

Ge Jiang took it and picked out the useful ones, asking Zhu Ningyue, “Do you have any allergies?”

Zhu Ningyue shook her head. “No.”

Her bug-prone constitution was already troublesome enough—if she had allergies too, life would be unbearable.

Ge Jiang nodded but still carefully read the instructions for each product.

Finally, she selected a few with milder effects, opened them, and applied them to Zhu Ningyue’s skin.

As her fingers, coated in cool ointment, touched Zhu Ningyue’s face, the latter felt her heartbeat quicken at Ge Jiang’s proximity.

Ge Jiang, absorbed in the task, didn’t notice her reaction.

Sikong Yuan also picked up an ointment and approached Qiu Qing’an, trying to get closer. “Do you want me to apply some for you?”

Gu Nanxuan reached out her hand. “Give it to me.”

Sikong Yuan froze—this was the second time Gu Nanxuan had intercepted her.

She tightened her grip on the ointment. “Qing’an didn’t say she wanted you to do it, did she?”

Gu Nanxuan opened her mouth but hadn’t yet spoken.

Qiu Qing’an quickly interrupted, taking the medicine from Sikong Yuan’s hands with a gentle smile. “I can apply it myself in front of a mirror. Thank you.”

Sikong Yuan turned her gaze back to Qiu Qing’an and smiled. “Alright then,” she said, handing her the medicine.

Gu Nanxian closed her mouth, acting as if nothing had happened.

Ge Jiang finished applying the ointment for Zhu Ningyue and, after confirming she had no other reactions, said, “You should stay here and rest today.”

The ointment worked quickly, the itching on her face fading away, leaving only a cool sensation.

Zhu Ningyue gave a soft “Mm” and said, “You all go ahead with the livestream. I probably won’t be able to help today. Sorry about that.”

Ge Jiang smiled nonchalantly. “It’s fine. Whether you’re there or not, our shop will probably still be in last place.”

Zhu Ningyue thought so too, and her guilt instantly lessened.

She asked, “When you come back for lunch later, could you bring me some of the food you made? It’s not convenient for me to go out right now.”

“Sure,” Ge Jiang looked at her. “What would you like?”

Zhu Ningyue hadn’t expected her to agree so readily and quickly replied, “Anything is fine.”

As long as it’s made by you, she silently added in her heart.

“Then I’ll bring you a bit of everything. If it doesn’t taste good, don’t blame me,” Ge Jiang said, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Zhu Ningyue beamed happily. “That’s fine.”

Beside them, Gu Nanxian, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly called out, “Zhu Ningyue.”

Zhu Ningyue instinctively turned her head.

Click—her face was captured in the photo Gu Nanxian took with her phone.

Gu Nanxian admired it for a moment before commenting, “Not bad.”

Zhu Ningyue’s smile froze instantly.

She puffed out her cheeks angrily. “Delete that right now!” she demanded, reaching out to snatch Gu Nanxian’s phone.

Gu Nanxian deftly switched the phone from her right hand to her left, then handed it to Qiu Qing’an, blocking Zhu Ningyue. “What if I don’t want to delete it?” she teased.

Zhu Ningyue was too embarrassed to snatch something from Qiu Qing’an’s hands and stomped her feet in frustration. “Why did you take my picture?”

And such an unflattering one at that!

“Of course, to keep as a memento,” Gu Nanxian said, crossing her arms with a smirk. “Maybe even print it out and hang it up later.”

Zhu Ningyue pouted, her eyes instantly reddening. “You really won’t delete it?”

“I’m not falling for that act,” Gu Nanxian remained unmoved.

Ge Jiang, watching from the side, couldn’t bear it any longer and interjected, “Maybe you should just delete it.”

Yu Qianxue also chimed in, “If Ningyue doesn’t want it, you shouldn’t force her.”

Sikong Yuan, who had disliked Gu Nanxian from the start, outright challenged her. “Nanxian, isn’t this going too far?”

All three of them were standing up for Zhu Ningyue, but Qiu Qing’an, usually so kind and considerate, remained silent.

Gu Nanxian ignored them completely, taking her phone back from Qiu Qing’an. To avoid accidental deletion, she even backed up the photo several times.

Seeing everyone take her side, Zhu Ningyue felt secretly triumphant. She stuck her tongue out at Gu Nanxian behind the others’ backs, deliberately trying to provoke her.

But out loud, she still played the peacemaker. “It’s really not a big deal. Don’t you all have a livestream to do? You should get going.”

Just then, the host, who had stepped out earlier, returned and asked, “What’s going on?”

Zhu Ningyue smiled brightly. “We just finished applying the ointment to my face. Everyone was waiting for you to come back.”

The host didn’t suspect a thing and asked her a few concerned questions. Only after confirming she was fine did they finally relax.

She glanced at her phone: “It’s 8:50 now. We’ll restart the live stream at 9. Some visitors have already received tickets for the special commercial zone, so everyone should head to their respective shops to prepare as soon as possible.”

Sikong Yuan was the first to leave the room, with Yu Qianxue following closely behind.

Gu Nanxuan and Qiu Qing’an also got ready to operate their photography shop.

Before leaving, Ge Jiang handed the medicine in her hand to Zhu Ningyue: “Remember to apply it a few more times later.”

“I know, you should hurry and go.”

Zhu Ningyue gazed at her longingly, almost wishing she could just follow her out right then.

But mindful of her image, she held back.

Ge Jiang smiled at her and turned to leave.