Liu Xia Hui sat quietly in the plush leather seat opposite Wu Chunhua, the silence in the van heavy and suffocating. She could practically feel the heat of of Wu Chunhua's rage radiating across the small space.
In Xia Hui's mind, Xin Yi had always been a pest, a parasite that sucked the shine and attention away from everyone else. But as much as she hated Xin Yi, she was terrified of the woman sitting in front of her.
She prayed she wasn't here to take the blame for Xin Yi's "witchy" luck. She had already suffered enough because of that girl. She wouldn't survive being punished a second time for mistakes she didn't commit.
"So, anyone bearing the Wang name can just walk in and enjoy the fruits of everything I've worked hard for?" Wu Chunhua asked, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. She clicked her phone shut with a sharp snap and fixed her predatory gaze on Liu Xia Hui.
"Ahh..." Xia Hui let out a dry, nervous laugh, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "I've been suffering from that for years, senior. Xin Yi has always been like that, stepping on everyone else's heads to get what she wants. She doesn't care who she bleeds dry."
Liu Xia Hui spoke quickly, her voice tinged with desperation. She had to make it clear. She wasn't Xin yi's ally. She was her first victim.
"And that girl has to go to the Wine House before me..." Wu Chunhua mumbled, her voice dripping with bitterness so thick it made the air in the van feel heavy.
Liu Xia Hui swallowed hard. "I heard the interview was arranged suddenly, senior. Even the crew members were whispering about how shocked they were when the announcement came out."
Chunhua cut her a sharp, side eyes glare that made Liu Xia Hui freeze. "Suddenly?" She echoed, her voice cold. "Or conveniently?"
"No, suddenly," Xia Hui answered quickly.
The interior of the van grew silent for a moment, the only sound being the low hum of the air conditioner. Both women were lost in their thoughts, calculating their next moves.
"Can I ask you something, senior?" Liu Xia Hui finally broke the silence, her voice hesitant.
"Since when have you ever waited for my permission to speak?" Wu Chunhua asked arrogantly, though she didn't look away.
"Do you notice something different in Xin Yi lately?" Xia Hui leaned in, her eyes flickering with curiosity. "Like... she's not actually happy?"
"What do you mean?" Chunhua sat up straight now, her boredom replaced by a keen, unsettling curiosity.
"I mean, for someone who is supposedly marrying the man she loves, she looks miserable," Xia Hui explained. "Even when the paparazzi were swarming her car earlier, asking about the wedding, she stayed silent. She didn't smile, she just diverted every question. And that's not all...on the night the engagement was officially announced? She looked completely shocked like it was the last thing she expected to hear."
"Really now..." Wu Chunhua whispered to herself, a slow nod of her head signaling that she found the piece of the puzzle she needed.
Without another word to Liu Xia Hui, she grabbed her leopard skin bag and stepped out of the van. The effect was instantaneous.
"Look! It's Wu Chunhua!" The paparazzi, who had been circling Xin Yi's car like vultures, immediately pivoted. They surged toward Wu Chunhua, a sea of flashing lights and shouted questions.
"Chunhua! What should we expect from the finale of the movie?" "Chunhua, what do you have to say about the surprise wedding of your co-star, Xin Yi?"
Wu Chunhua didn't stop to answer, with a practiced, icy grace, she moved through the crowd, her eyes fixed on one target. She walked straight to Xin Yi's car. The cameras followed her every step, capturing the moment the "Queen" approached the "Rookie."
Chunhua reached out and tapped gently, almost mockingly on the tinted glass window.
Xin Yi had no choice, with a trembling hand, she whined down the window. She didn't speak, she simply stared blankly at Wu Chunhua, the silence between them amplified by the clicking shifter of a hundred cameras.
If there was a word higher than beautiful, it would have been invented for Wu Chunhua. Her face was petite and flawless, centered by a delicate, pointed nose. Her lips, painted with a gloss from her own signature makeup line, shimmered under the morning sun. Even her hair styled in perfect bangs that captured a vintage, old-school elegance seemed to defy the wind.
She looked like a queen standing over a peasant.
"There you are, Xin Yi!" Wu Chunhua chirped, her face transforming into a radiant, practiced smile as she pulled the car door wide. "Congratulations, darling?"
She spreads her arms wide, a gesture of sisterly affection that felt more like an obligation than Love. Xin Yi froze. The last time they had spoken, Wu Chunhua had barely looked at her with anything but contempt. What is she up to?
Xin Yi wondered. Is she like others pretending to like me now because of the Wang name or is this just a show for the lenses?
With the cameras clicking like machine guns, Xin Yi had no choice. She stepped out of the safety of the car and into Chunhua's embrace, plastering on the biggest fake smile she could muster.
"Everyone, looking!" Wu Chunhua turned toward the crowd, her arm still drapped tightly, almost possessively around Xin Yi's shoulders. "This is our beautiful bride-to-be! I'm so happy for her."
Then, Chunhua leaned in, her eyes scanning Xin Yi's face like a hawk looking for a crack in the armor. "But tell us, Xin Yi...why so sudden? We were so shocked by the announcement yesterday. You didn't give us a single hint that you and Wang Li Chen were... pushing things forward."
Chunhua watched her intensely. She had to do her own investigation before moving into action in her own way.
"Ahh..." Xin Yi gave a dry, nervous laugh, her mind racing to find words that wouldn't betray her. "You know...we just didn't want the spotlight to ruin our private moments," she managed to say, giving a small shrug.
Inside, her heart beat so hard it felt like it might burst. She had never been a good liar, and she prayed the cameras couldn't pick up the slight tremor in her voice.
"What private moments, Xin Yi?" Chunhua asked, her eyes glittering with fake excitement. She leaned in closer, making sure the microphones caught every words. "I mean, it's just so romantic, but so surprising! U usually, a man like Wang Li Chen would shout his love from the rooftops. He didn't even propose before the engagement was announced? No ring, no knee, no grand gesture?"
The flashes from the cameras intensified, turning the world into a blinding white strobe. The reporters started shouting over each other, sensing blood in the water.
"Xin Yi, is it true there was no proposal?" "Why the rush, Xin Yi?"
Xin Yi felt the world spinning. She could barely keep her head up, her eyes stinging from the lights. She prayed mightily in her heart for anyone, the director, a manager, even a stray dog to save her from this trap.
God did answer her prayers. The sharp, rhythmic blast of security whistles pierced the air as guards rushed in to drive the paparazzi back behind the shooting perimeter.
Xin Yi breathed a silent sigh of relief, but the weight in her chest only grew heavier. How could she never thought of this? She realized now, with a bitter sting, how small she had become im the eyes of the family that took her in.
They hadn't even bothered to give her the dignity of a proper story, they had simply shoved a wedding plan into her face like a business contract.
"What happened, Xin Yi? Why are you sweating so much?" Wu Chunhua asked, her lips pouting in a pretentious show of concern. But her eyes, cold and sharp were filled with mockery. She had seen exactly what she wanted. A girl who was terrified of her own "Fairytale".
"Nothing...it's nothing," Xin Yi stammered, quickly wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Her breath was still trembled ,her knees felt like a jelly.
"Okay, get ready everyone !Positions! We're about to start!" The director's voice boomed through the speakers, cutting through the tension.
After some minutes of arrangements and cast changing into their customes. The shooting started. To the secret frustration of Wu Chunhua and Liu Xia Hui, the morning shoot was a disaster for their plans. Instead of finding reasons to belittle Xin Yi, they watched as the entire crew shifted their behavior. The news of the "Wang Li Chen" engagement had spread like wildfire, now, people were rushing to fetch Xin Yi water, treating her with newfound respect, and patiently offering directions whenever she missed a mark.
Wu Chunhua watched it all, her blood boiling beneath her flawless skin. She had spent years earning her status, yet here was this girl receiving "Queen" treatment all because of a man's name. She waited, her eyes dark and calculating, until the director finally called for a break.
"Xin Yi dear, you must be exhausted," Wu Chunhua said, walking over to the corner where Xin Yi sat alone. She wore a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Let's go get some coffee, my treat."
"Okay," Xin Yi answered, her voice hesitant.
She didn't trust this sudden kindness for a second, but she was trapped. The public studio was swarming with assistants and crew. If she refused the generous invitation of her senior, she would look arrogant and ungrateful. With a resigned sigh, she stood up, smoothing her custome, ready to play her part in this fake relationship, just to protect her reputation for the upcoming interview.
They walked together to the coffee station, a small area tucked away behind the heavy equipment cases. Wu Chunhua moved with effortless grace, placing a ceramic cup under the machine. The hiss of the steam filled the awkward silence between them, making the air thick with anticipation.
"Milk?" Wu Chunhua asked, her voice light and conversational, though her eyes remained cold, fixed on the swirling dark liquid.
"Yes, thank you," Xin Yi answered, her body stiff. She stood just a step behind, watching Chunhua's every move.
The machine finished with a final, wet gasp. The cup was full to the brim with steaming, scalding liquid.
"It must be hard being a Wang, right?" Wu Chunhua asked suddenly. She turned around, the cup of hot coffee held firmly in her hand. She didn't wait for an answer before stretching her arm out, offering the drink to Xin Yi.
"What?" Xin Yi asked, startled by the bluntness of the question. Her mind scrambled to process the hidden meaning behind Wu Chunhua's words. Without thinking, she reached out her hands to take the cup.
She stood paralyzed, her hand still frozen in mid-air, expecting the warmth of the ceramic cup. Her mind couldn't keep up with the speed of what was happening.
She had seen it clearly, the way Wu Chunhua's eyes had suddenly turned cold and flat, the way she had intentionally tilted the cup back toward herself, and the deliberate way the boiling liquid had soaked into her own delicate skin. It was a calculated act of self manipulation.
"Ahhh!"
The scream was so raw and convincing that even Xin Yi felt a jolt of terror. Wu Chunhua collapsed back against the counter, the cup shattering at her feet like a signal flare. She broke into tears, breath catching as she cradled her aching wrist.
WhT is she doing? Xin Yi's thoughts raced, her stomach sinking into a cold pit. She did it to herself. She actually did it to herself...
Thks for reading the 3rd chapter of this my novel. I hope you're enjoying it and please look forward to more interesting chapters ahead.
Hope you love it
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