The Movie Queen’s Secret Stand-In Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 9

Yuan Zhi really wanted to turn around and leave. Zhou Ning’s current appearance had already caused her severe mental distress. She even thought that if she ever reunited with that person one day, the image of Zhou Ning like this would flash through her mind, and she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from laughing right in front of them.

Her sweet and innocent first love memories! Now tainted by Zhou Ning’s bizarre shadow.

“You actually believed me when I was joking?” Yuan Zhi frowned as she walked past Zhou Ning into the room. Her tone carried a hint of reproach and heartache, but also thick with guilt. She had only said it offhandedly—she never expected Zhou Ning to take it seriously.

Zhou Ning froze for a moment, then closed the door and followed behind Yuan Zhi, asking in a small voice, “So… that person didn’t become a monk?”

“No.” Yuan Zhi sat down on the chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, glanced back at Zhou Ning with pity, then quickly averted her gaze to the distant mountains, afraid of worsening the mental distress. “Are you stupid? Such a big deal, and you didn’t even think to ask for clarification? You just shaved your head like that?”

“Zhi-jie, I’m sorry…” Zhou Ning noticed Yuan Zhi’s avoidance and lowered her head apologetically. It seemed her good intentions had backfired.

“Why are you apologizing to me?” Yuan Zhi still didn’t dare—or couldn’t bear—to look at Zhou Ning’s current state and kept her eyes fixed outside the window. “Even if I had really asked for it, you could’ve refused such an unreasonable request. Don’t be such a pushover. Do you just do whatever I tell you to? If I said that person was a bit chubby, would you deliberately gain weight too?”

Zhou Ning stood behind Yuan Zhi and muttered, “I could do that.” She didn’t think it was unreasonable.

Yuan Zhi turned her head in shock and gave Zhou Ning another look.

“Hehe.” Zhou Ning grinned and sat down in the chair opposite Yuan Zhi, radiating optimism. “After all, Zhi-jie spent money on my image, right? It’s just like when you act—you do whatever fits the role. It’s really not unreasonable at all.” Then, with a more apologetic tone, she reflected, “But you’re right, Zhi-jie. I should’ve asked you for clarification before acting. You must find me off-putting now, huh? Ruining that person’s perfect image in your heart.”

Yuan Zhi listened in stunned silence, realizing that Zhou Ning was truly hopelessly naive. The reason she had given Zhou Ning the money upfront was precisely to prevent her from bending over backward just to secure the payment. But who would’ve thought Zhou Ning would be so earnest? Even after the money was safely in her hands, she still went to such lengths to try and please her.

The result might’ve been disastrous, but the intention was good at heart.

“Zhi-jie, don’t be sad. I can wear a wig!” Zhou Ning’s eyes lit up as she suggested excitedly. “Wigs have their perks too—you can change hairstyles ten times a day without any hassle.”

Yuan Zhi twitched her lips. “Why would I be sad?” Shouldn’t the one feeling sad be Zhou Ning herself? A head full of beautiful hair, gone just like that. She made such a huge sacrifice just to please her, only for it to fail.

“It’s not what you ordered, right?” Zhou Ning tucked her hands into the sleeves of her monastic robe, a little embarrassed. “Like when you really want to eat eggs, so you buy a whole crate, only to crack them open and find they’re all balut.”

Balut? Yuan Zhi glanced at Zhou Ning’s shiny, bald head gleaming in the sunlight and nearly lost control, almost bursting into laughter. More like a peeled hard-boiled egg, wasn’t it?

She didn’t dare look too long at Zhou Ning, whose entire being radiated infectious joy, and quickly averted her gaze again. Struggling to maintain composure while suppressing her rising smile, she said with forced calm: “I asked Xiao Yuan to bring some gifts from abroad for everyone at the studio. She got one for you too.” With that, she placed the gift bag on the coffee table.

“A gift?” Zhou Ning’s voice brimmed with delight. She extended her hands from within her monastic robe sleeves and carefully unwrapped the gift bag, her tone shifting from joy to wonder: “Wow! What adorable eggs!” She happily held the pale yellow wooden sphere to her ear, bursting into laughter as she asked: “Zhi-jie, doesn’t this round, yellowish-white egg look just like my head?”

Yuan Zhi stared resolutely at the distant fields, not daring to glance sideways. She knew she’d burst out laughing—just imagining the scene made her cheeks ache from holding it in. How had Zhou Ning developed such an eccentric personality anyway? Where did she get this complete lack of self-consciousness?

Seeing Yuan Zhi ignore her remark, Zhou Ning remained utterly unfazed. Cradling the sphere with earnest curiosity, she examined it closely: “Is this like a Kinder egg? Why can’t I find any opening?”

“Or maybe it’s a foreign blind box? Could there be a doll inside?”

Zhou Ning muttered to herself while fiddling with the object.

Hearing metallic balls rolling inside, Yuan Zhi offered: “It’s a puzzle. A brain teaser—you’re supposed to figure out how to open this sphere without breaking it.”

“Oh…” Zhou Ning nodded with sudden understanding, her shiny head bobbing as she asked eagerly: “Are there rewards for solving it? Like money hidden inside that only remains intact if you succeed?”

“No. The fun lies in the thought process itself.” Yuan Zhi felt like she was explaining to a child.

Zhou Ning pouted: “That’s not very motivating. If I designed this, I’d put money inside that gets torn up if you fail to solve it properly.”

“Damaging currency is illegal.” Yuan Zhi glanced at Zhou Ning’s absorbed expression as she hugged the sphere, wondering why her exhausted self still hadn’t gone home despite having completed both her original purposes—seeing Zhou Ning’s face to ease her longing for someone, and delivering Xiao Yuan’s gift. The first plan had backfired, the second was done. Why was she still sitting here?

After serious consideration, Zhou Ning suggested: “Then put coins inside.”

Yuan Zhi shot her a mild glare: “With coins, you wouldn’t need careful solving—just smash it open since they won’t get damaged anyway.” Such childish, meaningless conversation, yet her mood wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“Right…” Beaming, Zhou Ning placed the sphere before Yuan Zhi: “Zhi-jie, why don’t you try? I feel like I’ll never solve this thing. Oh! I completely forgot to get you water!” Without waiting for response, she set the puzzle down and scampered inside.

Yuan Zhi picked up the wooden sphere and shook it slightly, hearing the faint sound of metal balls moving inside. She usually stayed at home and had played with various puzzles before, so the logic was quite familiar to her. The track inside the sphere could be opened, but it was likely jammed by the metal balls. There were probably a few small grooves along the track—by listening to the sounds and positioning the metal balls into the grooves one by one, a gentle twist would open the sphere.

Zhou Ning was struggling in the kitchen. There was no tea, no coffee—nothing at all. Drinking cold water in early March was bad for the stomach, but serving plain boiled water to a guest seemed too plain. Would Sugar Daddy feel slighted? After all, this was a conversation worth a hundred thousand yuan—was this all she had to offer?

“Zhi-jie, we don’t have anything to drink at the moment, just plain warm water,” Zhou Ning said apologetically, handing over a mug of lukewarm water. “But you can tell me what you’d like, and I’ll make sure to have it ready next time.”

Next time? Yuan Zhi glanced at Zhou Ning’s completely bare head, her emotions complicated. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted there to be a next time.

Pointing at the now-opened wooden sphere, she said, “The puzzle’s solved—you can study the logic yourself. As for drinks, chilled purified water is fine. I don’t like hot drinks. I’ll take my leave now.”

“You’re leaving already?” Zhou Ning felt she had disappointed Sugar Daddy and lowered her head, her voice subdued. “I’ll buy a wig as soon as possible. Next time, I won’t let Zhi-jie see such an ugly sight.”

Seeing Zhou Ning’s guilt, Yuan Zhi felt even more unsettled. “It’s not your fault—I was the one who joked first. And you don’t look ugly now.”

“You don’t have to comfort me. From the moment you arrived, you barely looked at me—it must have been painful to see.” Zhou Ning forced a smile, as if saying, I understand, no need to lie to me.

Unable to think of anything more to say, Yuan Zhi simply stood up and muttered, “Don’t overthink it,” before heading toward the door.

“Wait, Zhi-jie!” Zhou Ning dashed to the fridge, grabbed two jars, stuffed them into a fresh-keeping bag, and hurried after Yuan Zhi. “I made some Chinese Mahogany Paste and Pickled Vegetables myself. Please give them a try.”

Under Zhou Ning’s enthusiastic insistence and her own guilt over the new hairstyle, Yuan Zhi couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

“I’ll take them, but you don’t need to see me out.” Without Zhou Ning by her side, wearing a mask would draw less attention.

Standing in the elevator, Yuan Zhi blinked hard, trying to erase the lingering image of Zhou Ning’s gleaming bald head. The sight she had witnessed today might haunt her for the rest of her life. The final impression that person had left on her was supposed to be that of an unattainable, lofty flower.

Now… that lofty flower vibe was completely gone. If she had to describe it, maybe it was more like an enlightened monk!

Zhou Ning sat back down by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the successfully solved sphere on the coffee table, feeling a little dejected.

Her first service for Sugar Daddy had ended in failure, hadn’t it? Given how Sugar Daddy had barely wanted to look at her, she doubted there would be a next time.

Did that mean she had taken five million yuan for nothing?

No! She couldn’t live with that guilt!

But to return the money untouched… Not only had she already paid a hefty tax on it, even if she hadn’t, she couldn’t bear to part with it. She wasn’t that noble.

The money would be kept, and service would be provided.

Zhou Ning opened Taobao and began frantically saving pictures of wigs. After saving them, she didn’t dare send them immediately—timing was crucial when sending messages. Bombarding Sugar Daddy with a flood of pictures when he was already annoyed would only make things worse.

Another day! She’d wait until Sugar Daddy was in a better mood.

Zhou Ning set aside her new phone and pulled out her old one from her pocket. Her daily dose of joy now came from the bizarre conversations in the relatives’ group chat. Not that all the Zhous and Suns were strange relatives—there were plenty of normal ones too—but the normal ones didn’t dare speak up!

Anyone who dared say half a word in her defense would be cursed out by Sun Lixiang and Zhou Feipeng for eighteen generations of ancestors.

Take the little cousin who kept popping up in her friend requests. Because she’d occasionally chatted with the original host before, Sun Lixiang and Zhou Feipeng had hounded her relentlessly after losing contact with Zhou Ning. They demanded the cousin get Zhou Ning’s contact info no matter what, or else she wasn’t trying hard enough and was colluding with her.

What logic! The cousin’s friend requests were practically pleading, begging Zhou Ning to accept just so the family would stop pestering her, promising to mute Zhou Ning afterward.

Zhou Ning hit accept.

Sis, you finally accepted!

Sweetie, if you add me now, Sun Lixiang and Zhou Feipeng will only bother you more later.

But they’re already driving me crazy.

It’ll get worse. Here’s what you do—next time anyone asks, tell them: “Isn’t my cousin right there in the family group? Say whatever you want there—it’s not like she can’t see it. I’ve tried adding her so many times and she never accepts. She’s not going to now, so pressuring me is useless.”

Mhm. Sis, how are you lately? Grandma still cares—she secretly told me Aunt went too far. No wonder you drifted apart, treating her own daughter like that.

I’m good. How’s Grandma? The original host’s grandmother had been kind to her, though the elderly woman was powerless against her fierce children and couldn’t protect her granddaughter from her mother’s abuse.

She’s alright.

Good. I’ll show my face in the group, so they stop harassing you. Delete me ASAP for your own peace.

Zhou Ning transferred a few thousand from her bank card to WeChat, screenshot the balance, and posted it in the group with the caption: Don’t worry about me—life in Y City is great. Just won a few grand in the lottery!

Sun Lixiang, as if monitoring the group 24/7, immediately chimed in: How much longer will you fool around out there? Transfer that money to me now—I’ll save it for you before you blow it all in a few days.

The audacity! Zhou Ning thought she was shameless, but this was next level.

Ms. Sun. According to the law, unless you’re over 55 years old or have lost the ability to work, I’m not legally obligated to provide alimony. Besides, isn’t there your precious son? I’ve been earning nearly ten thousand a month for you all these years. Shouldn’t it be Zhou Feipeng’s turn to contribute now?

Do you think renting a house cost nothing? Paying the mortgage costs nothing? Eating costs nothing? You think there’s anything left from the little money you earn?

Zhou Ning basked in the sun, leisurely sipping cool boiled water as she typed unhurriedly: The rented house is where you live, and the mortgaged property is under Zhou Feipeng’s name. What does that have to do with me?

I raised you for twenty years—does that cost nothing? Zhou Ning, even if you want to sever ties, you have to pay back all the money I spent on you over the years first!

I never said I wanted to sever ties. Or do you? If so, I’ll gladly oblige. But think carefully—if we really cut ties, I won’t even bother burying you when you die. Zhou Ning had checked the relevant laws. This world was like the one she’d lived in before—legally severing bl00d relations was extremely difficult.

In your dreams! I raised you all these years, and you think you can just walk away? Don’t kid yourself, you worthless thing! No matter how you turn out, when you die, your estate will still belong to me and Feipeng!

Zhou Ning found Sun Lixiang truly absurd. She was the one who brought up severing ties first, yet now she was the one throwing a tantrum.

Oh. Then I wish you a long, long life!

After sending that, she couldn’t be bothered to reply further. Waiting for her to die? Forget whether Sun Lixiang and her son would outlive her—she could simply draft a will beforehand and donate all her assets after death.