The Ice-Queen Actress Used Her Acting Skills to Reel Me In! - Chapter 7

After everyone had left, He Junyu turned around and said, “She really does seem quite difficult to get along with—gives off this ‘stay away’ vibe.”

She glanced at Shen Niannian. “But she seemed quite nice to you. Totally different from how she treated me.”

Shen Niannian loosened the collar of her cheongsam and walked toward the dressing room. “Don’t say that. My conscience feels a little guilty now.”

He Junyu stood at the foot of the stairs and called out, “Where was your conscience when you made me prepare the spring collection in January? Your conscience only works selectively!”

Shen Niannian laughed and turned back. “Once I’m done with my work, I’ll come stay with you for a while and let you boss me around, okay?”

From this angle, He Junyu’s gaze naturally landed on Shen Niannian’s slender, long legs beneath the cheongsam, and further up, her serene, almost ethereal face—a stark contrast to her otherwise alluring figure.

It was hard not to forgive her.

He Junyu sighed, defeated. “Fine, then.”

—

Qin Zhaoman and Qiao Qiao were dining at a French restaurant.

Qiao Qiao still couldn’t believe it and couldn’t help saying for the third time, “You actually gave Neve the keycard to your café!”

After ordering from the waiter, Qin Zhaoman asked, “Didn’t you tell me to?”

Qiao Qiao’s expression shifted repeatedly. “But I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

Qin Zhaoman’s café was located right beneath her company, extremely discreet, without even a cash register. Labeled as a café, it was essentially her private lounge. So far, only six or seven keycards had been issued—two of which belonged to Qiao Qiao and Phoebe.

Qiao Qiao lamented like Xianglin’s wife, “I just blurted it out without thinking. Afterward, I even regretted it, worried that if you refused Neve, she’d be upset.”

The waiter brought two steaks and opened a bottle of red wine for them.

Qin Zhaoman picked up her knife and fork to cut into her steak. “It’s not a big deal. Getting from Yahe to the café means crossing the entire C District. Even without traffic, it’d take two hours. Does Neve really have the time to traverse the whole city just for a cup of coffee?”

Qiao Qiao thought about it and sighed. “So you only gave her the card because you knew she wouldn’t actually come? I thought you actually had a soft spot for Neve.”

Qin Zhaoman ignored her, focusing on cutting her steak.

If she truly had no favorable impression of Shen Niannian at all, she wouldn’t have given out the keycard. But this goodwill wasn’t anything special—certainly not worth explaining to Qiao Qiao.

Halfway through the meal, Qiao Qiao was called away by a phone call, rushing off to meet her girlfriend. Qin Zhaoman paid the bill and headed straight back to the office.

While rummaging through her bag for her car keys, her fingers brushed against the small note Shen Niannian had written.

The address on it was in District D, not too far from here.

Qin Zhaoman glanced at her schedule for the day, confirmed there were no meetings she needed to attend, then turned the steering wheel and drove toward the address on the note.

The navigation led her to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic under Zhao Medical Engineering.

Qin Zhaoman’s gaze lingered on the name “Zhao Medical Engineering.”

She had collaborated with Zhao Medical Engineering long ago, back when its head was still Shen Changhe.

She didn’t know much about Shen Changhe, only that he had built his initial capital through his wife’s Zhao Medical Engineering before decisively breaking away to establish Yahe Group from scratch—a man of formidable capability.

Qiao Qiao had once shared some gossip with her—Shen Changhe’s second wife didn’t like Shen Niannian and her sister, so Shen Niannian grew up in Country F raising her younger sister herself.

This gossip held some credibility. If she had been groomed as a proper successor, she would never have been sent into the entertainment industry.

And to send not just one, but two—what a joke.

Qin Zhaoman only realized she needed an appointment when she arrived at the clinic. In Country F, family doctors were the norm, and hospitals didn’t operate on a reservation system either. It was her first time encountering this. After receiving the appointment form, she was guided through filling it out.

“Are you Qin Zhaoman?” The young girl seemed a little afraid of her, asking softly.

Qin Zhaoman paused her pen and looked up at the girl in charge. “I am.”

The girl said gently, “Then you don’t need to fill it out. Niannian already made the appointment for you. I didn’t expect you to come so early—I thought you’d arrive in a few days. Niannian said she reserved the next month’s slots for you.”

Qin Zhaoman set down the pen in her hand. “The entire month?”

The girl led her upstairs. “Dr. Zhao is getting on in years and hardly sees patients anymore. Unless it’s a particularly severe case, he usually doesn’t take them.”

She knocked on the door. “Dr. Zhao, your patient is here.”

“Come in.”

Qin Zhaoman pulled open the wooden door to find an elderly man with white hair and beard sitting inside. Lean and bright-eyed, he had an air of an immortal sage.

Dr. Zhao gestured for her to sit opposite him. After asking about her symptoms, he first pressed on her leg bone and told her that medication was already too late—acupuncture could only alleviate the pain.

Qin Zhaoman hadn’t held much hope to begin with, so even relief was an unexpected boon.

Dr. Zhao called the girl back in to help Qin Zhaoman change into treatment clothes. When she returned, he used moxibustion before the acupuncture. Qin Zhaoman wasn’t used to the smell and coughed incessantly from the smoke.

Dr. Zhao cracked open a window and made small talk. “Did you get this injury from a motorcycle fall too?”

Qin Zhaoman confirmed it, then unexpectedly learned from Dr. Zhao that Shen Niannian had also been injured in a motorcycle accident.

Amid Dr. Zhao’s lecture about young people not chasing thrills, Qin Zhaoman couldn’t help asking, “Doesn’t Shen Niannian use stunt doubles for her films? How did she get hurt?”

Dr. Zhao continued with the acupuncture. “I don’t know about stunt doubles, but Xiao Shen is very diligent—not like the celebrities these days. Take that embroidery film she did—she spent two whole years learning needlework properly. Just look…”

Qin Zhaoman followed his pointing finger to a small framed embroidery on the wall. She had noticed it when she entered but assumed it was a photograph. Now, upon closer inspection, she realized it was actually an embroidered piece.

Dr. Zhao proudly boasted, “This was a gift from Xiao Shen. It’s our clinic’s ginger cat, Da Huang.”

Qin Zhaoman knew little about embroidery, but Shen Niannian’s work didn’t require an expert eye to appreciate—even an amateur could tell it was exquisitely done.

To master embroidery to this level just for a film—Shen Niannian was truly dedicated.

Leaning back against the cushion, Qin Zhaoman’s thoughts drifted to Shen Niannian’s scenes in that motorcycle film.

She recalled the flawless technique in the curves, the exhilarating music, and the stunning drift at the climax.

Qin Zhaoman’s pulse quickened at the memory.

Had those shots been performed by Shen Niannian herself?

But upon reflection, it was impossible. Motorcycles weren’t like embroidery—the worst you’d get from the latter was a pricked finger, but the former could easily leave you with broken bones.

Even if Shen Niannian wanted to try it herself, her talent agency wouldn’t take that risk.

Qin Zhaoman pulled herself away from the memories of those film scenes. The acupuncture session had ended, and on her way back, she received a call from Shen Niannian.

Those scenes of Shen Niannian resurfaced in her mind again, making the car feel stuffy. She rolled down the window slightly.

“Hello?”

“There are some precautions regarding the medicine you’re using. The clinic couldn’t reach you, so they asked me to relay them to you.”

Shen Niannian’s voice over the phone sounded slightly colder than usual, yet still elegant—it reminded Qin Zhaoman of Phoebe’s million-dollar violin.

Qin Zhaoman pulled the car over and said, “Go ahead.”

There was the sound of a mouse click from the other end, then what seemed like the phone being set down, possibly accompanied by the opening of a glasses case.

Qin Zhaoman didn’t rush her, listening to the sounds and picturing Shen Niannian’s demeanor on the other end.

After a moment, Shen Niannian said, “There are several pages. I just skimmed through them—basically, you can’t eat anything spicy, seafood, or cold.”

Qin Zhaoman heard clearly but didn’t quite understand. “Then what can I eat?”

A brief silence followed before Shen Niannian tentatively suggested, “…Sweet things?”

Qin Zhaoman chuckled. It wasn’t particularly funny, but Shen Niannian’s serious tone made it amusing.

Shen Niannian seemed to notice and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Of course, she couldn’t explain that.

Qin Zhaoman suppressed her smile and replied in a composed tone, “Nothing.”

At this point, the call should have ended.

She started the car again but suddenly asked before hanging up, “Do you usually use stunt doubles when filming?”

The question was spoken softly, blending with the sports car’s engine noise. Shen Niannian didn’t catch it. “What?”

They weren’t close enough for such a question—it was rather odd.

Qin Zhaoman said, “Never mind. Goodbye.”

Shen Niannian had the good habit of not pressing further. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye” wasn’t just a formality. Two days later, after handling a backlog of documents, Shen Niannian went to Qin Zhaoman’s café.

Qin Zhaoman’s café was tucked away in an alley beneath an office building, its yellow bricks making it particularly inconspicuous—similar to those trendy “bear paw” cafés, except the paw hole was replaced with a card reader.

Inside, the staff consisted of twin girls who stared at her in surprise, like two adorable Ragdoll cats.

Shen Niannian removed her mask and held up her card. “Do I need to check in?”

The girl with the white cat ear headband brightened instantly, waving her hands. “No need!”

She stood excitedly behind the counter. “What would you like to drink? Or eat? We can make anything for you.”

Shen Niannian smiled. “A piccolo latte, please. No dessert needed.”

The girl with the black cat ear headband squeezed forward. “Should we put a little mermaid plushie on the chair across from you? To keep you company.”

Shen Niannian found them endearing. “Does Qin Zhaoman get a plushie when she comes here?”

At the mention of Qin Zhaoman, the twins visibly tensed. The white-cat girl explained, “President Qin doesn’t need one. We only have one mermaid plushie—it’s a fan item from Suisui’s support event.”

The little black cat girl nodded vigorously: “Niannian, the rose garden MV you filmed for Suisui is super beautiful!”

Shen Niannian chatted with them as she was led to one of the seats.

The café was quite spacious with a French-inspired, lightly luxurious design. The floor was covered in dark green carpet, and a piano stood in the center. At the moment, she was the only customer.

The twins prepared her coffee and brought it over, the latte art featuring an adorable little fish.

Shen Niannian said, “Thank you, Daisy.”

The white cat girl looked surprised. “You already remember I’m Daisy?”

“Yes,” Shen Niannian replied, quite fond of the two of them. “I can tell you apart even without the headbands.”

The twins promptly removed their cat ear headbands and switched places a few times. After confirming that Shen Niannian could indeed distinguish between them, they were delighted and told her she was the first guest who could tell them apart without relying on the headbands—most customers would mix up their names even when they wore them.

After chatting with them for a while, Shen Niannian effortlessly gleaned some information about Qin Zhaoman.

Qin Zhaoman only came in after 1 p.m., but she visited almost every day. Unlike the Qin Zhaoman described in Qiao Qiao’s words, the twins’ portrayal matched the image Shen Niannian had in mind—an imposing, formidable female CEO who commanded respect.

Daisy asked, “Niannian, are you here to see President Qin?”

Shen Niannian placed the gift box on the chair beside her and said, “I’m here to deliver something to President Qin.”