Fake Love with the Movie Queen - Chapter 7

Gu Nanxuan and Zhu Ningyue couldn’t see the barrage of comments, so they had no idea their audience had dwindled to almost nothing.

Even if they had known, they wouldn’t have cared. After all, they hadn’t joined this show to gain fans.

“Hey, should we head back now?” Zhu Ningyue peeled the tangerine the shop assistant had given her, popped a segment into her mouth, and asked.

Gu Nanxuan snatched the remaining tangerine from her hand. “What else would we do if we don’t go back?”

Zhu Ningyue thought about it and agreed. She casually tossed the peel into the trash, clapped her hands, and prepared to leave.

Gu Nanxuan gave her a strange look.

Zhu Ningyue blinked. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I just took your tangerine, and you didn’t even get mad?” Gu Nanxuan was genuinely surprised.

Zhu Ningyue was notoriously possessive—no one was allowed to touch her things, let alone snatch them right out of her hands.

The corners of Zhu Ningyue’s lips curled into a smug smile. “That tangerine was a freebie from the shop assistant, so consider yourself lucky. But the cherries I bought? You’re not getting a single one!”

Gu Nanxuan scoffed. “Fine, I don’t want them anyway. Who cares about your stupid cherries?”

Live stream comments:

These two really can’t stop bickering, can they?

Starting today, I officially declare the Gu-Zhu Rivalry CP established. Who’s in favor? Who’s against?

With so few viewers in the stream, there were hardly any votes for or against.

But the shippers didn’t care. They quickly opened the official dating show forum, navigated to the Gu-Zhu CP tag, and began diligently maintaining it.

From the moment Falling for You premiered, the show’s official forum had prepared tags for every potential CP, making it easy for viewers to ship their favorites.

These tags were sorted by popularity—the more people shipping a pair, the higher their tag would rank.

However, since the show had just started, there weren’t many shippers yet.

So after a few posts were made under the Gu-Zhu CP tag, it quickly climbed to the top of the forum.

Viewers monitoring the forum:

Unless I’m mistaken, isn’t this the tag for Gu Nanxuan and Zhu Ningyue’s CP?

What kind of cursed ship is this? Someone actually ships them? I have to check this out.

Me too!

As more curious viewers flocked in, the Gu-Zhu CP’s popularity soared.

Many fans entered skeptically but left with newfound enthusiasm:

I’m kind of impressed by the first person who shipped them. How did they even see the potential here?

Right? The enemies-to-lovers trope is just chef’s kiss—I’m obsessed!

I’m going back to their stream to dig for more content.

By sheer coincidence, Gu Nanxuan and Zhu Ningyue’s live stream suddenly saw a surge in viewers.

Unaware that their CP had taken off, the two continued their usual banter.

“Wow, these cherries are so big and sweet!”

Back at the villa, Zhu Ningyue proudly displayed the cherries she’d bought, taunting Gu Nanxuan.

Gu Nanxuan glared. “Don’t forget, we’re supposed to share these with everyone when they get back.”

“I know. But they’re not here yet, so I’m just teasing you first.” Zhu Ningyue hummed cheerfully, thrilled to have gotten the upper hand twice in one day.

Gu Nanxuan ignored her, pulling out her phone and typing away on the sofa.

Seeing that she wasn’t responding to her, Zhu Ningyue suddenly felt it was pointless. She tossed the cherries onto the bar counter and prepared to sneak around to see what Gu Nanxuan was chatting about.

Who would have thought that, unfamiliar with the height of the sofa, she would trip as soon as she lifted her foot, sending her tumbling forward—right on top of Gu Nanxuan.

Live chat:

I log in and see such a spicy scene right away? Have these two already confirmed their relationship?

Upstairs, it’s actually a misunderstanding.

What misunderstanding? What I saw is real. Screenshot posted to the forums, hehe.

“What are you doing?!”

Caught off guard, Gu Nanxuan was pinned down, her phone falling onto the sofa. She quickly reacted, trying to push Zhu Ningyue away.

At that moment, Ge Jiang and Yu Qianxue walked in from outside, carrying bags, just in time to witness the scene.

“What are you two…?” Ge Jiang, who was in front, was the first to see the two of them tangled together.

Hearing her voice, before Gu Nanxuan could even move, Zhu Ningyue scrambled up in a flash.

In her panic, she bumped her leg against the coffee table, the pain nearly making her cry out.

Ge Jiang looked at her with concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Zhu Ningyue forced a smile through the pain, hurriedly explaining, “I just tripped by accident, that’s why I fell on Nanxuan.”

“Oh, I see.” Though Ge Jiang said this, her tone still carried a hint of skepticism.

Afraid of being misunderstood, Zhu Ningyue shot Gu Nanxuan a pleading look, hoping she’d help explain.

But Gu Nanxuan didn’t even glance her way, picking up her phone from the sofa and moving to sit in another corner.

Left with no choice, Zhu Ningyue could only stew in frustration.

Ge Jiang hadn’t meant to misunderstand them, but Zhu Ningyue’s behavior didn’t exactly scream “nothing going on” with Gu Nanxuan.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that the two knew each other—and were quite close.

“What are you all doing?”

Qiu Qing’an and Sikong Yuan walked in together, seeing everyone standing around with their things still in hand.

Just as Ge Jiang was about to speak, Zhu Ningyue cut in first, “We just got back too. What did you guys buy?”

Mentioning their purchases, Sikong Yuan immediately perked up. “We bought a ton of ingredients! Later, you can tell me whatever you want to eat, and I’ll make it.”

She laid out the ingredients on the table—mostly vegetables, about a dozen varieties, with a small portion of meat.

“You bought this much?” Zhu Ningyue’s eyes genuinely widened this time.

She couldn’t understand how, with the same 110 yuan, the others had managed to buy so much while she and Gu Nanxuan had only gotten less than half a kilo of cherries.

Sikong Yuan gave a modest smile. “It’s really not that much. It’s all thanks to Qing’an—without her, we wouldn’t have gotten so much.”

At the market, many vendors recognized Qiu Qing’an. Because of that, they’d managed to buy a lot of the ingredients at discounted prices.

Qiu Qing’an smiled faintly. “Yuan Yuan did most of the work. I just helped pick out a few things.”

With her praise, Sikong Yuan was over the moon.

The hashtag #GoldenAwardActressPraisesMe would definitely trend—if not explode, at least give her a decent boost in popularity.

She turned to the others. “What about you guys? What did you buy?”

Yu Qianxue placed the items she and Ge Jiang had bought on the table as well. “We got some ready-to-eat food and semi-prepared dishes,” she said.

Neither of them knew how to cook, so naturally, these were their go-to choices.

There weren’t many items—just three types—but the portions were generous.

After the two groups had shared what they’d purchased, their gazes shifted to Gu Nanxuan and Zhu Ningyue.

Gu Nanxuan had stood up from the sofa when Qiu Qing’an returned and was now standing to the side with Zhu Ningyue, observing.

Noticing their eyes on her, she calmly distanced herself from Zhu Ningyue and said, “Don’t look at me. The stuff was bought by Zhu Ningyue.”

Zhu Ningyue gave an awkward laugh, silently cursing Gu Nanxuan for her lack of sisterly solidarity while complaining aloud, “The things around here are just too expensive, so I only bought a little bit of fruit.”

She pointed at the cherries placed on the nearby counter.

Everyone fell silent for a moment at the sight of that meager offering.

Live stream comments:

…Seriously? Is this rich girl really so out of touch with reality?

Thank goodness our Yuanyuan bought enough, or they’d be going hungry tonight. Our Yuanyuan is the best!

It’s all thanks to Qiu Qing’an, okay!

Our Jiangjiang isn’t bad either!

Qianxue, Qianxue!

The live stream was buzzing with arguments.

Back in the villa, Qiu Qing’an was the first to speak. “It’ll be nice to have some fruit after dinner later,” she said.

Yu Qianxue quickly nodded in agreement, her tone noticeably ingratiating. “Yeah, I was actually craving cherries too.”

The surrounding area was indeed expensive, and everyone had checked the prices before heading out.

As a wealthy heiress, it wasn’t surprising that Zhu Ningyue didn’t know how to shop wisely.

Even they had struggled to find reasonably priced places.

So no one really blamed her.

Seeing that no one else had objections, Si Kongyuan naturally didn’t say anything more either.

She affectionately looped her arm through Qiu Qing’an’s. “Qing’an, let’s go cook. We’ll do it the way we planned earlier, okay?”

Gu Nanxuan narrowed her eyes dangerously at the overly familiar gesture.

Normally, she wouldn’t mind Si Kongyuan clinging to Qiu Qing’an for clout, but physical contact was crossing the line.

Just as she was considering how to separate the two, Qiu Qing’an subtly withdrew her arm from Si Kongyuan’s grasp and picked up some of the items on the table. “Let’s divide the tasks first,” she said.

She turned to Si Kongyuan. “How about you and I each handle two stir-fry dishes?”

“Of course!” Si Kongyuan had been eager to show off her skills and immediately pulled out pots and pans from the cupboard, ready to shine.

“I’ll help wash the vegetables,” Ge Jiang said, carrying the produce that needed cleaning to the sink.

Yu Qianxue glanced around and timidly offered, “I can help with chopping.” She then moved to the prep area.

Most of them had found something to do.

Zhu Ningyue, accustomed to being waited on hand and foot at home, had no idea what to contribute.

She clicked her tongue at Gu Nanxuan, who was lounging comfortably on the sofa, and walked over to kick her foot. “Why aren’t you helping?”

Gu Nanxuan leaned back against the sofa. “Watching from here is enough.”

Zhu Ningyue followed her gaze and realized that from this angle, she had a clear view of the kitchen.

Qiu Qing’an was currently standing beside Si Kongyuan, talking.

A flawlessly sculpted profile, with the faintest hint of a smile playing at the corners of her lips. The overhead light cast a glow upon her, as if she were bathed in a halo.

Even the pink apron she wore couldn’t diminish the captivating aura around her.

Zhu Ningyue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: She’s truly beautiful.

Snapping out of her daze, she noticed Gu Nanxuan staring at her with a dangerous glint in her eyes, tinged with wariness.

Confused, Zhu Ningyue asked, “What?”

Gu Nanxuan narrowed her eyes. “Who were you just looking at?”

Zhu Ningyue clicked her tongue. “Jealous much?”

With that, she deliberately turned her attention away from Qiu Qing’an and began scanning the room for Ge Jiang instead.