Foreseeing the Future: The Scheming Film Queen and I Got Married - Chapter 23

“Cough…” A mouthful of pastry got stuck in her throat, choking her directly.

Seeing this, Gu Shiqiu took a bottle of mineral water from the car, unscrewed the cap, and handed it over.

Dong Yao took it, tilted her head back, and drank a large mouthful, finally calming down.

Gu Shiqiu said, “Eat slowly. I’m not going to fight you for it.”

“Of course I know you won’t fight me for it.” Dong Yao coughed lightly. “Why do you like me troubling you?”

Gu Shiqiu smiled and did not explain.

For some reason, Dong Yao’s mood improved, but her face remained calm. She screwed the bottle cap back on. “All right, it’s getting late. Hurry and go, or it’ll get even later.”

Gu Shiqiu did not answer. She reached out. “Give me the water.”

“Huh?” Dong Yao was stunned for a moment and subconsciously handed over the mineral water in her hand.

Gu Shiqiu unscrewed the cap, placed her lips against the mouth of the bottle, and calmly took a sip.

Dong Yao stared blankly, her heart skipping a beat.

“I’m a little thirsty. This is the only bottle of water left,” Gu Shiqiu explained.

Dong Yao said, “I drank from that water.”

Gu Shiqiu raised her brows. “So?”

“Aren’t you disgusted by me?” Dong Yao said.

Gu Shiqiu suddenly laughed. “Why would you have that thought?”

Dong Yao choked.

“Then would you think I’m dirty?” Gu Shiqiu asked.

Dong Yao shook her head. “No.”

Gu Shiqiu said, “So, I won’t either.”

As she spoke, Gu Shiqiu took another sip of water. Dong Yao watched and thought, Did this count as an indirect kiss?

But they had already kissed before. Who would care about an indirect kiss?

Although the kissing had happened in the future.

“Right, I remembered something,” Gu Shiqiu said, her hand resting by the car window, looking as if she intended to chat for a while and had no intention of leaving.

Dong Yao said, “What?”

Gu Shiqiu asked, “Who is Cheng Jun?”

Dong Yao froze for a moment. “How do you know Brother Cheng Jun?”

“Brother Cheng Jun?” Gu Shiqiu repeated softly, emphasizing the word “Brother” a little. “When you were on the phone with Auntie before, I heard a little. At the time, Auntie thought you were bringing him home for dinner.”

Dong Yao understood. “Oh, that. Brother Cheng Jun is just an older brother who grew up with me. He also lives in this town.”

Gu Shiqiu gave an “oh.” “A childhood sweetheart.”

“What childhood sweetheart? That person loves showing off. He’s liked comparing himself to others since we were little. I didn’t even like playing with him,” Dong Yao said.

Gu Shiqiu raised her brows. “Is that so?”

Dong Yao asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Gu Shiqiu shrugged. “Nothing. Just asking.”

Dong Yao looked at her and belatedly reacted. Was she afraid that Dong Yao really had something going on with Cheng Jun? Was she jealous?

Wasn’t it a little early to be jealous? After all, she and Gu Shiqiu had not interacted that many times yet. Dong Yao could not quite figure out what Gu Shiqiu was thinking.

“It’s very late. I really have to go,” Gu Shiqiu said.

Dong Yao said, “Be careful on the road. Send me a message when you arrive.”

Gu Shiqiu nodded. “Okay.”

Gu Shiqiu sat back, started the car, and Dong Yao took a few steps back, putting some distance between herself and the car.

The car moved forward, and Dong Yao watched it leave.

It had not gone far when the car reversed back and stopped beside Dong Yao’s feet.

The window rolled down, revealing Gu Shiqiu’s gentle, beautiful face.

Dong Yao was puzzled. “Why did you suddenly come back?”

“That Cheng Jun…” Gu Shiqiu said.

Why was she mentioning him again? Had Dong Yao not explained clearly just now? Was Gu Shiqiu still misunderstanding?

Dong Yao said, “Brother Cheng Jun and I really don’t have anything going on. We’re completely innocent.”

As soon as these words came out, both Dong Yao and Gu Shiqiu froze.

Her tongue had slipped for a moment, and she did not know what had happened. She had actually used “completely innocent” to describe it. But clearly, with her current relationship with Gu Shiqiu, there was no need to use such words to explain anything.

Dong Yao touched her nose to ease the awkwardness. “No, what I mean is that I don’t like him. When other people link me with him, I instinctively want to clear things up.”

In truth, it was not that she disliked Cheng Jun to that extent, but in order to justify herself, she would have to sacrifice him for now.

Gu Shiqiu nodded in understanding. “You dislike him that much?”

Dong Yao was very certain. “Yes. I don’t like him. I super don’t like him.”

Gu Shiqiu laughed softly under her breath, looking as if she was in a very good mood.

“You suddenly came back. It can’t be just to ask this, right?” Dong Yao said.

Gu Shiqiu shook her head. “No. It’s something else.”

The car had not been turned off, and it was humming. The frog calls by the fields came in waves, making it rather noisy.

Gu Shiqiu’s voice was not loud, and Dong Yao could not hear clearly. She bent closer. “What did you just say?”

Gu Shiqiu looked at the person who had suddenly drawn close, her expression pausing. She suddenly recalled when she was young, when a little girl with two small pigtails had also bent down and leaned close like this.

Even after so many years, Gu Shiqiu still remembered the words that little girl had said clearly. They circled by her ears from time to time: “You must always remember that you have a fiancée and that you’re engaged from childhood. You’re not allowed to flirt around outside. A person must remain faithful from beginning to end. Do you understand?”

The little girl’s face overlapped with the person in front of her.

“It’s too noisy. I didn’t hear clearly.” Dong Yao moved even closer.

The corners of Gu Shiqiu’s lips unconsciously curved into a smile. “I said, you must always remember that you have a fiancée and that you’re engaged from childhood. You’re not allowed to flirt around outside. A person must remain faithful from beginning to end. Do you understand?”

Gu Shiqiu returned the words Dong Yao had said in childhood exactly as they were.

Dong Yao blinked twice, her eyes filled with confusion. “What? Childhood engagement? I don’t understand. Are you asking whether Cheng Jun and I have a childhood engagement?”

The smile at the corners of Gu Shiqiu’s mouth froze. She turned off the car, and the noisy humming finally stopped.

However, Gu Shiqiu’s expression now looked a little unpleasant.

Dong Yao frowned. Was Gu Shiqiu angry because she had not heard what she said clearly?

But that could not be blamed on her. The car was noisy, and the frogs were noisy too. It would have been strange if she could hear clearly.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Gu Shiqiu’s expression, Dong Yao felt a little panicked.

Gu Shiqiu’s brows furrowed tightly. “You and Cheng Jun have a childhood engagement?”

Dong Yao froze. “No.”

Gu Shiqiu’s expression eased slightly.

“Why did you suddenly bring up childhood engagements?” Dong Yao looked at her, completely baffled.

Gu Shiqiu said faintly, “Your forgetfulness is quite something.”

Dong Yao became even more confused.

Gu Shiqiu only smiled and did not explain further.

Because Dong Yao was standing close at this moment, she saw the inside of the car. On the front passenger seat were four or five brand-new bottles of mineral water.

Hadn’t Gu Shiqiu just said that there was only one bottle, so she had been forced to drink from the same one as Dong Yao?

Gu Shiqiu also noticed where Dong Yao’s gaze had landed.

“Want some water?” Gu Shiqiu asked.

Dong Yao opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but for a moment, she did not know what to say.

Why had this person lied? And after lying, she was so open and calm, not guilty at all.

Gu Shiqiu took a bottle and handed it to her. “If you want to drink, I’ll give it to you.”

Dong Yao looked at the bottle she handed over, then looked at Gu Shiqiu. “You clearly have so many bottles of water. Why did you drink from the same bottle as me just now?”

Gu Shiqiu stuffed the mineral water into Dong Yao’s arms. “Because you’re silly.”

After saying that, she smiled.

It had to be said, Gu Shiqiu looked very beautiful when she smiled.

The black car drove into the night. Dong Yao stood where she was, watching it leave. What was this? Had Gu Shiqiu really driven the car back just to say a few random, confusing things and then call her silly?

What was all this?

Forget it. Dong Yao shrugged. Whatever. Time to go home.

She turned and walked toward home. After taking two steps, she turned back to look again. This time, Gu Shiqiu had truly left and did not come back.

Dong Yao felt somewhat melancholy. Her mood was low, and she sighed.

Just then, someone suddenly patted her shoulder.

Dong Yao was startled, and the osmanthus cake in her hand almost flew out.

She turned back and saw Lin Yunyi.

“What are you doing!” Dong Yao was furious. “Don’t you know people can scare people to death?”

Lin Yunyi held an old-fashioned popsicle in her hand and bit into it. “Why are you wandering around outside in the middle of the night?”

Dong Yao said, “Aren’t you also wandering around outside?”

Lin Yunyi lifted the old-fashioned popsicle in her hand. “It was too hot, so I went to the convenience store up ahead to buy a popsicle.”

Dong Yao gave an “oh.”

“Who was in the car just now? I saw you talking with that person for a long time,” Lin Yunyi said. She had just come out of the convenience store not long ago, and from a distance, she had seen Dong Yao chatting with someone in the car.

Dong Yao replied, “A friend.”

Lin Yunyi raised her brows. “Since when did you have a friend who drives a luxury car? That brand isn’t cheap.”

Dong Yao turned and walked away. “Why are you asking so much?”

Lin Yunyi followed. “What’s going on? Who was it? A blind date your mom introduced you to?”

Dong Yao glanced at her. “Gu Shiqiu.”

Lin Yunyi rolled her eyes. “There you go again. Who was it really?”

“See? I told you it was Gu Shiqiu, and you don’t believe me. Forget it. I’m too lazy to talk to you.” Dong Yao waved her hand.

Lin Yunyi caught sight of the paper box tucked in her hand. “What’s that? The packaging looks pretty nice.”

Dong Yao hid it behind her.

The thing Gu Shiqiu had given her—she instinctively did not want to share it with anyone else.

“Just some osmanthus cake.” Dong Yao looked at her warily. “There isn’t much left. Don’t even think about it.”

Lin Yunyi clicked her tongue. “Look at how petty you are. Who wants to eat that? It’s so hot today. I’m not even willing to eat that kind of thing.”

Although she said that, when she was about to leave, she suddenly doubled back and snatched a large piece of osmanthus cake from Dong Yao’s hand.

Dong Yao looked at the person running far away and turning back to give her the middle finger, then looked at the large missing piece of osmanthus cake in her hand. She rubbed her forehead.

She had known that once Lin Yunyi saw it, this would not end well. Sure enough, she had not guessed wrong.

After returning home, Dong Yao had no mood to edit video material, nor could she calm down and draw. She simply stared blankly at the half box of osmanthus cake.

She lay down but could not sleep, tossing and turning.

She checked the time. It was almost eleven. Gu Shiqiu should be arriving soon.

Bored out of her mind, Dong Yao once again opened Gu Shiqiu’s Moments. In truth, there was nothing in her Moments. It was set to show only the past three days, and for as long as Dong Yao had added her as a friend, Gu Shiqiu had not posted a single thing.

She opened it. As expected, there was still nothing.

She exited and began studying Gu Shiqiu’s profile picture. She opened the picture of the big orange cat. This cat did not match Gu Shiqiu’s image at all, but it was quite cute.

Dong Yao put down her phone and silently shouted, So boring.

Ding-dong.

Her phone rang.

Dong Yao’s eyes lit up. She flipped over, picked up her phone, and unlocked it at lightning speed.

It was a message from Big Orange Cat.

Gu Shiqiu: I’ve arrived.

Dong Yao’s fingers quickly tapped across the screen: Then sleep early. It’s very late now, and you still have work tomorrow.

Gu Shiqiu replied very quickly: You’re still not asleep?

Dong Yao: I’m about to sleep.

Gu Shiqiu: Okay. Good night.

Dong Yao replied with a cute good night sticker.

After confirming that the other party was no longer sending messages, Dong Yao put down her phone. Those restless, anxious emotions were instantly soothed.

So the reason she had not been able to sleep and could not calm down was not because of anything else, nor because she was bored.

It was because she had been waiting for Gu Shiqiu’s reply all along.

Now, she could finally sleep peacefully.

Just after saying good night to Dong Yao, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Gu Shiqiu frowned and walked over. “Who is it?”

No one behind the door answered, but the knocking continued.

Gu Shiqiu did not open the door, but she could vaguely guess who it was.

Sure enough, the person behind the door could no longer hold back and began pounding on the door and shouting. “Gu Shiqiu, open the door! You forced me into this state, and you still want to stay out of it? Dream on!”

After shouting for a while, Yu Fei softened her tone again. “Open the door. Let’s talk properly. I’ll apologize to you. Anything is fine. I’m begging you, let me go, all right?”

Gu Shiqiu picked up the phone and called the front desk.

Five minutes later, Yu Fei was dragged away by security. Before being dragged off, her hoarse shouts could still be heard. “Gu Shiqiu, just you wait! I won’t let you have an easy time!”

Gu Shiqiu turned on the speakers and played a soothing instrumental track. She poured herself a glass of wine, lifted it, and took a small sip.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, she looked down.

Yu Fei had been thrown out by the security guards. She fell onto the ground, and a puddle of water soaked her expensive but wrinkled clothes.

From where Gu Shiqiu stood, she could see everything perfectly.

Yu Fei crawled up from the ground and shouted curses like a madwoman, like a shrew.

Truly, she was miserable enough.

A boring little show.

Gu Shiqiu drank the wine in her glass in one gulp and closed the curtains.

“We’ve found the person who leaked your phone number and schedule before…” Jiang Qi had not finished speaking when she heard movement outside the room.

“Don’t stop me. I want to go in. I want to say a few words to Miss Gu.” A middle-aged woman shouted outside the door. “Miss Gu, Miss Gu, Miss Gu.”

Jiang Qi frowned. “She’s the one who sold your schedule to Yu Fei.”

The person shouting outside was the housekeeper hired for Gu Shiqiu’s private villa. Auntie Jiang had already worked at Gu Shiqiu’s home for ten years.

Gu Shiqiu asked, “You’re sure it was her?”

Jiang Qi nodded.

Gu Shiqiu’s gaze was calm, neither sad nor happy. No one knew what she was thinking.

Jiang Qi said, “I didn’t expect it to be her either. She’s usually quite honest, and she’s been by your side for so many years. She can be considered an old employee. I know you value relationships, so I didn’t make her pay the penalty for breach of contract. I only fired her.”

Gu Shiqiu did not speak.

“Although she’s been by your side for so many years, if she dares do something like leaking your private schedule, she can’t stay,” Jiang Qi said. Listening to the commotion outside, she was afraid that Gu Shiqiu would go softhearted for a moment and keep someone like this by her side.

“I’ll have someone drive her away. She keeps shouting here. It’s noisy,” Jiang Qi said.

Gu Shiqiu said, “Let her in.”

Jiang Qi tried to persuade her. “It’s better not to meet her. You’re easily softhearted. If she cries and makes a fuss…”

Gu Shiqiu only repeated calmly, “Let her in.”

Jiang Qi was helpless. “All right.”

“I told you, Miss Gu would definitely be willing to see me. I worked at her house for ten years. We’re practically family.” Auntie Jiang spoke while walking inside.

Gu Shiqiu said to Jiang Qi, “Go out first. I want to talk to her alone.”

Jiang Qi hesitated, but in the end, she could only push the door open and leave.

Gu Shiqiu sat on the sofa, looking at Auntie Jiang standing not far away. There was not much expression on her face.

“Miss Gu, it’s truly wonderful that you’re still willing to see me.” Auntie Jiang looked sorrowful. “Miss Gu, I worked under you for ten years. Even if I don’t have merit, I at least worked hard…”

Gu Shiqiu picked up the teacup on the coffee table and looked at the water inside, cutting her off lightly. “You worked, and I paid you. There’s no such thing as merit or hard work.”

Auntie Jiang froze, clearly not expecting Gu Shiqiu to react this way.

When Gu Shiqiu dealt with people, she always greeted them with a smile and rarely interrupted others when they spoke.

In the ten years Auntie Jiang had worked under Gu Shiqiu, she had not actually had much contact with her because Gu Shiqiu’s work was special. She was away year-round and rarely came home.

But over these ten years, every time Gu Shiqiu returned home, Auntie Jiang could feel that she was an easygoing, kind, and generous employer.

This expressionless, warmthless appearance—Auntie Jiang was seeing it for the first time in ten years.

Auntie Jiang clenched her hands into fists, panic rising in her heart.

If she lost this job, barring any surprises, she would absolutely never find a better one.

Think about it: the employer was away year-round, she lived alone in the villa, and only had to clean once every ten days or half a month. For work like this, she could earn over ten thousand a month. Even if she searched with a lantern, she would not find another job like it.

Auntie Jiang gritted her teeth. She absolutely could not be fired.

“Miss Gu, I admit that at the time, I was blinded by greed. But I really had no choice. My husband has cancer and needs money for surgery. That woman called Yu Fei opened her mouth and offered me one million. I couldn’t withstand the temptation.”

At this point, Auntie Jiang became a little angry. “I didn’t expect she was a scammer. She had no money at all. Her company had already collapsed. How could she have one million to give me?”

“All these years, in order to gather surgery fees, I’ve been running around everywhere. Above me, I have a mother in her seventies to support. Below me, I have two children who just started middle school. I truly have it very hard.”

As she spoke emotionally, tears began to fall.

Gu Shiqiu was soft-hearted. If she said a few more words and shed a few more tears, it would definitely work. Auntie Jiang wailed and cried with great effort.

“Miss Gu, you are a magnanimous person. Please spare me this once. I absolutely won’t do it again. Please don’t fire me…”

Auntie Jiang spoke for a full ten minutes, until her mouth was dry and tears had fallen in handfuls.

She had thought she could move Gu Shiqiu, but when she looked up, the person sitting on the sofa still had a calm, rippleless expression.

“Are you finished?” Gu Shiqiu smiled faintly and asked.

Auntie Jiang wiped her tears and sobbed. “Miss Gu, you can’t be this heartless, can you?”

“Firing you is heartless?” Gu Shiqiu laughed once. “Have you forgotten something? Perhaps now, it isn’t a question of whether or not you’ll be fired. Did you think the confidentiality agreement you signed back then was just for show?”

Hearing this, Auntie Jiang panicked. “Miss Gu, don’t scare me. I know you’re not that kind of person. How could I afford to pay? Don’t scare me. I know I was wrong. And you’re not such a cruel person. Didn’t that big manager Jiang already say I wouldn’t have to pay…”

Gu Shiqiu’s gaze suddenly turned cold. “I think you’ve misunderstood. I am far more cruel than you imagine. I have a flaw: anyone who betrays me, I make them pay several times the price.”

“First Yu Fei, now you, Auntie Jiang.” The words “Auntie Jiang” were emphasized heavily.

“I don’t care whether you have a husband with cancer, nor do I care about your elderly mother or young children. Those are your own affairs. However much the contract says you must compensate, I will demand every cent from you.”

Gu Shiqiu placed the teacup back onto the coffee table. The cup met the table with a dull sound.

“If you can’t afford to pay, that’s fine. Then spend the rest of your life carrying a debt you can never repay.”

Listening to her every word, Auntie Jiang collapsed onto the floor, her whole body going weak from fear.

How could she possibly afford that penalty? To Auntie Jiang, that number was astronomical.

The woman in front of her had a beautiful face, a gentle personality, and treated others kindly…

Yet with only a few words, she could also force someone into a dead end.

So everything had been an illusion.

Auntie Jiang regretted everything.