The Film Queen’s Live-In Son-in-Law is the King of the Women's Kingdom (GL) - Chapter 25

The show’s staff was acting terribly, and the comments were full of angry viewers. The director wondered if he should try to fix things. But the couple riding the scooter seemed to be having a good time. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Yu Chiyin was holding onto Shen Ji’s waist, resting her head on her shoulder, and feeling sleepy.

Shen Ji was trying to figure out how to let her wife sit in front of her. She was afraid Yu Chiyin would fall off if she fell asleep. It wasn’t as easy as riding a horse, so she gave up on the idea. To keep Yu Chiyin from sleeping and falling off, Shen Ji tried to find things to talk about.

“Wife, why is this thing called a ‘little electric donkey’?” Shen Ji asked. She looked at the scooter from every angle and didn’t see a single resemblance to a donkey.

Yu Chiyin explained, “It’s powered by electricity.”

“And people ride them like crazy, just like donkeys, right?”

Shen Ji thought about it. “I don’t think it’s the same,” she said.

“Hmm? Why not?” Yu Chiyin yawned. Shen Ji had noticed since they started filming. Her wife loved to sleep, but she chose a job that didn’t allow for much of it.

“Donkeys need carrots and can get old and sick. They’re much more valuable,” Shen Ji said.

“… “

Yu Chiyin had just made a quick comparison, but Shen Ji actually took it literally. But she still gave Shen Ji a reminder. “The scooter doesn’t need to eat carrots, but it needs to be charged, just like our phones. It can’t be used without electricity.”

“And it can break and get old, too.” Shen Ji tried to absorb all this new information.

The viewers in the comments were silent. Does someone really not know what a scooter is? they wondered. Shen Ji seemed a bit out of place. It was hard to say why, but her perfect posture on the scooter made people suspicious.

She sat so straight that she could be edited into a picture of a business meeting. That’s when people realized that even though she was a famous “player” in the city, her manners were always perfect.

People started to look into Shen Ji’s background, wondering if she came from a secret wealthy family. A simple white shirt made her look elegant. Even with a cute Spongebob helmet on, she looked calm and confident.

The show had cleared the area beforehand, so even if fans knew where they were filming, they couldn’t get close. Yu Chiyin was excited when she got off the scooter. She waved at Shen Ji, who was parking it.

“Come on, come on! I haven’t been to a supermarket in ages!” she said, her eyes shining. The last time she went to a supermarket was before she became famous.

Yu Chiyin got her first movie role on her own, not with her family’s help. A famous director saw her and she became a huge star. She just sort of fell into the entertainment industry. But she was the type of person who would do something to the best of her ability.

So even with a great start, she worked hard. She took acting classes and learned everything she could about acting. Shen Ji remembered that two walls of their bookshelf were filled with books about acting.

On her days off, Yu Chiyin would spend a whole day just observing people or watching movies at home. She would take notes on every movie she watched.

Shen Ji had used her computer once and found a folder filled with her notes. It was no wonder Yu Chiyin didn’t have time to go to a supermarket. She was either working or studying.

And Yu Chiyin was too famous to go to a supermarket even with a disguise on. Even though the show cleared the place for them, Yu Chiyin was happy.

“I’m coming,” Shen Ji said. She had long legs and caught up to her in a few strides.

Yu Chiyin smiled and pushed an empty shopping cart. She pointed inside and said, “I want to sit.”

She remembered seeing a trending topic on social media called #OtherPeople’sShoppingCarts vs My Shopping Cart. One was full of snacks, and the other had a beautiful girl sitting inside. At that moment, Yu Chiyin thought she had to try that someday. As an adult, she wanted both.

So she told Shen Ji to push two carts: one for groceries and one for her. Shen Ji happily agreed.

Once she sat inside, she realized it wasn’t comfortable. Her hands and legs felt awkward, and her butt hurt. But it didn’t matter. The great actress just waved and said, “Let’s go!”

Shen Ji smiled and pushed both carts at the same time. One was heavy, one was light. She looked relaxed and wasn’t struggling at all.

The other contestants were waiting for them to buy ingredients for dinner, so their goal was to go to the grocery section.

Yu Chiyin acted like a curious kid, pointing to different vegetables and asking Shen Ji what they were, even though they had signs. She just wanted to hear Shen Ji’s patient and gentle answers.

“That’s celery.”

“That’s spinach.”

“That’s lettuce.”

“That’s chrysanthemum.”

The viewers and directors were confused by their playful banter, but what could they say?

The two would have to pay 50 yuan for the scooter ride back, which meant they only had 100 yuan for groceries. Yu Chiyin had no idea about grocery prices. Shen Ji usually did the shopping. Before Shen Ji, Yu Chiyin never cooked. Food was always delivered to her home.

But even without a clue, she could do math. 100 yuan for eight people was less than 20 yuan each.

Yu Chiyin looked at the prices of vegetables, then told Shen Ji to push her to the meat and seafood sections. She looked around the empty supermarket and pulled on Shen Ji’s sleeve. “How about we buy eight cups of instant noodles? We can each get a hot dog, too.”

Poverty had made the famous actress resourceful. She thought about it for a second. “We can also add a marinated egg.”

Shen Ji laughed. “We can also get a bottle of yogurt. That would be a rich dinner.”

When the director saw that they were seriously considering this, he couldn’t hold back. The camera flashed blue, and a voice came out.

“Um… just a reminder, your task is to buy ingredients to make a rich dinner for the contestants. It needs to have meat, fish, and vegetables.”

Yu Chiyin looked at the round camera suspiciously. She turned to Shen Ji. “Did you hear something?”

Shen Ji was a bit surprised but quickly shook her head. 

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Mhm, me neither,” Yu Chiyin said, satisfied. She smiled and told Shen Ji to push her to the instant noodle aisle.

The director knew something was wrong and sent a staff member to talk to them. The show had only rented out the supermarket for a few hours. There were no other customers, but the supermarket staff and the show’s staff were all hiding, watching.

Yu Chiyin argued her case. “The task card didn’t say we had to have meat, fish, and vegetables! Besides, we can get that with instant noodles. Look at this…”

She picked up three cups of noodles. “This one has a seafood flavor. It has fish and shrimp.”

“This one is beef. That’s meat, right?”

“The seasoning packets have vegetables! And there are eggs, too!”

“I even added a hot dog and a marinated egg for everyone. Isn’t that enough?”

She was so convincing that the staff member was speechless, wondering if he was being too strict.

Shen Ji stepped in and suggested a compromise. “If you really need us to buy ingredients, 100 yuan isn’t enough for eight people.”

“How about the show gives us a few challenges, and we get a money prize for completing them?”

Then she gave the staff a rare, small smile. “That way, everyone wins, right?”

Yu Chiyin wasn’t happy. She pinched the corners of Shen Ji’s mouth to flatten her smile. Satisfied, she looked at Shen Ji’s now cold, expressionless face.

“Don’t smile,” she said fiercely, like a squirrel carefully hiding a nut. “They’re being mean to us. Don’t smile at them.”

Shen Ji nodded and kept a straight face. When she wasn’t smiling, her eyes looked down at everyone with a sense of arrogance.

“… “

The show’s staff was shocked by these two. But they had to come up with a plan quickly. They were afraid the couple would just get the instant noodles and go back. The comments were already criticizing the show. It was a dating show, but they were making the couples struggle. Fans were calling the director a jerk.

******

[I want to see my couple on a date, not eating instant noodles. Get it?]

[What is this, the stone age? Who thinks people want to see a show about being miserable?]

[100 yuan for eight people isn’t enough. It’s not enough for one person!]

******

Yu Chiyin thought no one noticed her. She leaned close to Shen Ji and whispered loudly in front of millions of viewers.

“How about we buy our stuff and run, and make the show pay for it?” she whispered. She was a genius. If they ran, the show would still have to pay. They would also get to keep the 100 yuan.

“That’s a great idea,” Shen Ji said. They went behind a shelf and started to plan their escape. They talked about what expensive vegetables would be easy to grab, their escape route, and how to deal with the staff if they got caught.

Finally, Yu Chiyin said, 

“If we get caught, we’ll just make our manager pay.”

 The show had taken their phones and cash, but her manager had money!

Shen Ji hesitated for a few seconds. “Actually,” she whispered, “I have 1,000 yuan hidden in a secret compartment in my suitcase.”

Shen Ji was trying to show her loyalty, but she got an unexpected reaction.

Yu Chiyin pinched her. “You have a secret stash!”

“We’ve only been married for two months!!”

“… “