The Movie Queen’s Secret Stand-In Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 11

Zhou Ning hurried out of the villa with her head lowered, only letting out a sigh of relief once she reached the small garden. She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Yuan Xiaoyuan,

Xiao Yuan, thank you! Also, the pickled vegetables shouldn’t be kept for too long—it’s best to finish them within a week.

After sending the message, she continued walking without noticing the two people who had just passed by.

“Stop right there!”

“You, the delivery girl! I said stop, didn’t you hear me?”

At first, Zhou Ning didn’t think they were calling for her. It wasn’t until the footsteps behind her grew closer that she turned around in confusion and pointed at herself. “Are you talking to me?”

“Stop playing dumb!” A young woman with immaculate makeup and stylish clothes stepped forward, glancing disdainfully at the phone still in Zhou Ning’s hand. “Delete the video you just took of me—now!”

Her? Taking a video? Zhou Ning stared blankly at the beautiful woman in front of her. “I didn’t take anything.”

The woman sneered. “Still denying it? Fine, then hand over your phone and let me check.”

“Why should I let you go through my phone?” Wrongfully accused, Zhou Ning’s stubborn temper flared up. “If that’s how it works, then scammers and thieves have it easy. Just stop anyone on the street, claim they took a video of you, and demand to check their phone—simple as that!”

An older middle-aged woman tugged at the young woman’s sleeve. “Let it go. Do you even realize where we are?”

“Aunt!” The young woman frowned and lowered her voice. “What if she recorded our conversation just now?” She glared at Zhou Ning. “I get it—you ordinary folks don’t get to see celebrities often, so when you do, you want to take something to show off to your friends. Fine. Hand over your phone. If there’s really nothing, I’ll give you 200 yuan for the trouble. But if you did take something, delete it right now, and I won’t make a big deal out of it.”

“You ordinary folks”? Wow. Had she just run into some Qing dynasty noblewoman who crawled out of a grave?

Zhou Ning took a deep breath. This woman was decent-looking, claimed to be a celebrity, and was heading toward the studio—she might even be Sugar Daddy’s acquaintance. Fine, she’d give Sugar Daddy some face.

“You want to see? Fine.” Zhou Ning unlocked her phone, opened the gallery, and shoved it in the woman’s face. “See for yourself—nothing, right?”

“How do I know you didn’t send it to a friend right after taking it and then delete it from your phone?” The young woman still wasn’t satisfied. “Give me your phone to check!” She reached out to snatch it.

Zhou Ning swiftly pulled her hand back, her tone sharp. “Pushing your luck, huh? Want me to call the police?” Her phone had Sugar Daddy’s contact info—no way she’d let some random person see it.

“Hmph! Enjoy unemployment!” The young woman threw out the threat before being dragged away toward the studio by the older woman.

Zhou Ning shot a disgusted look at the woman’s retreating figure. “What a lunatic!” And she was going to make her lose her job? Planning to use her celebrity influence to ruin her career? Too bad—she didn’t work for a delivery company!

Compared to this, Cai Sitian’s words were spot-on. Yuan Zhi really was a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry!

“Wang Zi, you really need to work on that temper of yours,” the middle-aged woman said disapprovingly, shaking her head. “A better attitude could have settled this with just some money. If that person had called the police, she wouldn’t have lost anything, but what about you? You know how much production teams and studios value an artist’s reputation these days.”

Wang Zi didn’t dare talk back and just gave a sullen “Mm.” When they reached the studio entrance, she suddenly stopped and looked toward the second floor, anxiously grabbing the middle-aged woman’s arm. “But Auntie, are you sure this won’t affect you?”

“It won’t,” the middle-aged woman smiled. “Before, I didn’t dare let her take you on because I was afraid, she might replace me on a whim. But now… she probably wouldn’t dare replace me so easily.”

Wang Zi’s eyes widened in delight. “You finally have some major dirt on her? Is it life-threatening?” Yuan Zhi had some minor scandals, but nothing major had ever surfaced—maybe they were just buried too deep.

“If not life-threatening, it’ll at least be a heavy blow,” the middle-aged woman poked her niece’s cheek. “But I won’t tell someone as reckless as you. Until you make it big, I still need her to make a living.”

Inside the office.

Yuan Xiaoyuan struggled to move the jar of pickled vegetables to the corner, panting as she straightened up and rubbed her waist. “By the way, Zhi-jie, Ningning said these pickled vegetables are best eaten within a week. They won’t taste as good if left too long.”

“A week?” Yuan Zhi frowned. That meant she wouldn’t have room for anything else. “Let’s share them with everyone later.”

“All of it?”

Yuan Zhi thought of the refreshing, appetizing taste of the pickled vegetables and secretly swallowed. “Save some for me.”

Another knock came at the door.

“Zhi’er, are you in?” It was Sister Wang, the manager’s voice.

“I’m here.” Yuan Zhi sat back behind her desk and casually tucked the wild boar meat wrapped in a plastic bag into her Chanel purse nearby.

Yuan Xiaoyuan’s eyes nearly popped out. Zhi-jie was truly extravagant—using a hundred-thousand-yuan Chanel bag to store pork!

Yuan Zhi swept a faint glance over the young woman behind Sister Wang, her smile unreadable. “And this is…?”

Yuan Xiaoyuan tactfully slipped out to fetch water.

“My niece, Xiao Zi. I mentioned her to you before,” Sister Wang said, her features scrunching into an ingratiating smile.

Wang Zi straightened up and greeted obediently, “Hello, Zhi-jie. I’ve been your fan since I was little. I always thought that if I entered the industry, I might get a chance to work with you on a project, but unfortunately, it never happened. When Auntie mentioned you were in City A these days, and I happened to be here too, I begged her to bring me to meet my idol. I hope you don’t find it too forward.” She finished with a silly, naive grin.

Yuan Zhi was put off by Wang Zi’s clumsy acting and naturally averted her gaze by taking a sip of water. After years in the industry, she could easily tell when someone’s expressions were genuine or just an act. Innocent and simple? Zhou Ning was the real deal. As for someone like Wang Zi—she’d seen plenty of that type in the entertainment world.

“Lately, I keep hearing younger people say they grew up watching my dramas. I guess I really am getting old,” she said, gesturing to the guest sofa. “Have a seat.”

Wang Zi sat stiffly beside her aunt, her wandering gaze repeatedly lingering on Yuan Zhi’s face. Yuan Zhi didn’t even seem to be wearing foundation? Her skin condition was incredible—you’d believe she was seventeen, let alone twenty-seven. She must have gotten cosmetic treatments!

Sister Wang knew how busy Yuan Zhi usually was and that finding an opportunity to talk like this wasn’t easy, so she quickly got to the point: “Zhi’er, how are the scripts you’ve been looking at lately? Any catch your eye? I heard a lot of girls’ love scripts have been coming your way. Boys’ love dramas have already produced several top stars.” Yuan Zhi was the type who handled everything personally. Though Sister Wang was her agent, she didn’t even fully know which scripts had been offered to Yuan Zhi.

“Scripts?” Yuan Zhi deliberately paused, observing their expressions before smiling gently. “I haven’t had time to look at the recent ones yet. I’m waiting for the results of that overseas film audition. I’ll decide after that’s settled.”

Sister Wang eagerly smiled along. “Zhi’er, we’re practically family, so I’ll speak frankly. For your next project, why not try a girls’ love drama? It could challenge you with a different role, boost your popularity, and you could even mentor Xiao Zi here. She’s adored you since she was little—even took the ‘Zi’ in her stage name from your ‘Zhi.’ The chemistry would be electric.”

Yuan Zhi curved her lips into a faint smile. “If the kid has real talent, of course I’d be happy to mentor her. But it’s best to start with smaller roles. Think about it, Sister Wang—if my first girls’ love drama gets ruined because my co-star can’t hold her own, who will the audience blame? Me or her? Would her career even survive after that?”

Sister Wang gave an awkward laugh. “She’s already acted in several dramas.”

“Oh? Any notable works? I’ll take a look later.” Yuan Zhi smiled, effectively dismissing them. “If there’s nothing else, we can talk another time?” Without waiting for a reply, she called out, “Xiao Yuan, come in for a moment.”

Taking the hint, Sister Wang left with Wang Zi and returned to her own office.

“Zhi-jie, what is it?” Yuan Xiaoyuan entered with a glass of water.

Yuan Zhi motioned for her to close the door, her expression turning cold. “How much does Sister Wang know about Zhou Ning?”

“Hmm…” Yuan Xiaoyuan thought carefully. “Not much, I think. She just heard the finance department transferred a sizable sum and asked me what it was for. I honestly said you’d taken a liking to a girl…”

“Mm. From now on, don’t let her interfere with anything regarding Zhou Ning.” Yuan Zhi’s voice grew even colder. No wonder she was pushing for a girls’ love drama and blatantly asking her to mentor her niece. She thought she had leverage!

Yuan Xiaoyuan nodded, though she didn’t quite understand. “Zhi-jie, if you don’t really trust Sister Wang, why…”

“Why keep her around?” Yuan Zhi said flatly. “She helped me a lot when I first entered the industry.” Unfortunately, some people could only share hardships, not prosperity. Once life got better, their ambitions grew wild. It was time to look for a new agent.

Yuan Xiaoyuan’s eyes sparkled with admiration. Zhi-jie was so loyal! And even though she didn’t trust Sister Wang, she trusted her. She wouldn’t betray that trust!

By the time she finished at the studio, it was already evening.

Yuan Zhi was about to head home with her bag when she noticed it was much heavier than usual. Then she remembered—it contained the wild boar meat Zhou Ning had given her.

But she didn’t know how to cook!

Her mother had spoiled her as a child, never even letting her wash a dish. And after entering the entertainment industry, she’d had even fewer chances to cook.

Leaving through the back gate of the villa district, Yuan Zhi got into the car and said to the driver, “Take me to the Eighth Ring. I might stay there a while, so go home first and come back to pick me up when I call.”

She was looking forward to Zhou Ning’s cooking. Even setting aside the food itself, having someone to share dinner with was far better than eating alone in a cold, empty house.

When Zhou Ning heard the doorbell, she rushed to the intercom screen to check. Seeing that her Sugar Daddy had arrived, she immediately turned and sprinted back to her room to put on her wig. Thankfully, she’d bought one in advance for convenience—a simple style, long black hair with soft waves.

“Zhi-jie!” Zhou Ning panted as she opened the door, beaming brightly.

Yuan Zhi had mentally prepared herself to see Zhou Ning’s shaved head again, so the sight of her opening the door with long, wavy hair gave her pause. “Nice wig,” she remarked. Zhou Ning’s appearance slowly overlapped with the image of that person in her memories.

Zhou Ning bounced with delight. “I’m glad Zhi-jie likes it!”

“I don’t know how to cook this.” Yuan Zhi pulled out her phone, cardholder, and keys from her bag before handing the whole thing to Zhou Ning. “Mind if I have dinner here?”

“Of course, of course!” Zhou Ning took the bag and pulled out the wild boar meat. “I just steamed some rice and made braised ribs. I’ll stir-fry some cured meat with garlic sprouts and whip up two vegetable dishes—that should do it. Zhi-jie, make yourself comfortable!” She then tried to return the bag.

Yuan Zhi didn’t take it. “Keep it. It reeks of cured meat now—I can’t use it. You can take it grocery shopping or something.”

“Grocery shopping?” Zhou Ning was stunned. Use this bag for groceries? Her Sugar Daddy really had no idea how to live frugally! What could this tiny, flimsy bag even hold? It’d struggle to fit a few potatoes. For groceries, you obviously needed mesh bags or canvas totes!