Foreseeing the Future: The Scheming Movie Queen Married Me - Chapter 9

Before stepping down from the stage, Dong Yao looked back.

Gu Shiqiu was no longer looking at her; she was already waving to the fans below, saying her final goodbyes.

Dong Yao felt a bit dazed. Even though she had received the confirmation she sought, the whole situation still felt surreal.

The concert ended. Gu Shiqiu exited the stage, and the stage lights faded to black. The audience began to leave the stadium in succession.

Heavy-hearted, Dong Yao followed the crowd toward the exit. Once they were outside, Lin Yunyi grabbed Dong Yao’s shoulders and began shaking her frantically.

Dong Yao was shaken until she felt dizzy, and whatever heavy thoughts she had were rattled right out of her head. “Alright, alright! If you shake me any more, I’m going to puke.”

“Let me see the signed album, just one look, please?” Lin Yunyi pressed her hands together. “Pretty please with a cherry on top.”

Right now she was begging, but Dong Yao knew her well—if she didn’t show her, the next second would involve “highway robbery,” and this girl possessed Herculean strength.

Being sensible, Dong Yao handed the item over. Lin Yunyi took the album, practically caressing it, and then blatantly stuffed it into her own bag.

Dong Yao: “…”

Lin Yunyi tugged on Dong Yao’s hand, swaying back and forth while acting spoiled—though it was clearly a performance. “I remember that besides the signed album, there was also a signed poster…”

“That’s enough. You’re not getting that one,” Dong Yao flatly refused.

Lin Yunyi huffed. “You won’t give it to me? Tell me, did you fall in love because you watched the concert and got to see my Shiqiu’s legendary beauty up close?”

Dong Yao: “Weren’t you always promoting her to me before? Now that I’m a fan, aren’t you happy?”

Lin Yunyi beamed. “Of course I am! Now I have someone to fangirl with. You won’t complain when I mention her anymore.”

Suddenly, Lin Yunyi looked at her with a shifty, mischievous expression.

Dong Yao had a bad feeling. “What are you doing?”

“You touched my Shiqiu’s hand just now. Let me touch yours!” Lin Yunyi said excitedly.

Dong Yao instinctively hid her hand behind her back. “Can you please suppress your perverted tendencies?”

“Call me a pervert all you want, let me touch it.”

“Get lost.”

“You don’t know anything about palmistry! You just wanted to hold my Shiqiu’s hand. Your motives are impure! No, let me hold your hand so I can feel it too.”

Lin Yunyi lunged for the hand. Dong Yao dodged frantically.

After messing around for a while, they eventually grew tired and stopped. Lin Yunyi said, “Alright, I’m done. Are we still eating hot pot or what?”

They had agreed beforehand that after the concert, they would visit a “viral” internet-famous restaurant to eat hot pot.

Dong Yao was directionally challenged, and Lin Yunyi only had a vague idea of how to follow the map. After wandering for half an hour, they ended up back where they started and were forced to hail a taxi.

The starting fare was ten yuan, plus a five-yuan midnight surcharge, making it fifteen yuan just to get in. The driver drove forward for one minute, made a U-turn, and stopped.

The hot pot restaurant was directly across the street from where they had hailed the cab.

Dong Yao: “…”

Lin Yunyi: “…”

They paid the fare with tears in their eyes.

Inside the restaurant, the waiter greeted them warmly and led them to a seat. After ordering, Dong Yao drifted off into another daze. Lin Yunyi called her name several times without getting a response.

“Did your soul leave your body?” Lin Yunyi waved her hand in front of Dong Yao’s face. “What are you thinking about so deeply? I called you like five times.”

Dong Yao pursed her lips, looking solemn, as if she were about to discuss a matter of life and death. Lin Yunyi was affected by her expression and waited seriously for her next words.

Then, Dong Yao said: “Do you think there’s a possibility that… Gu Shiqiu is actually a man?”

Lin Yunyi’s lip twitched.

A short distance behind them, a woman wearing a face mask paused in her tracks. She tilted her head and glanced in Dong Yao’s direction.

“I thought you were going to say something important, but you’re just talking nonsense. Boring,” Lin Yunyi rolled her eyes.

Dong Yao: “I’m serious. Is it possible she’s a man dressed as a woman?”

Lin Yunyi smiled sweetly. “Do you think there’s a possibility that… you’re an idiot?”

Dong Yao was stifled.

Actually, Dong Yao had asked Gu Shiqiu this question herself in the dream, but the dream ended before she could get a definitive answer.

Inside a private booth…

The booth had one-way glass; the people inside could see out, but the people outside couldn’t see in.

Gu Shiqiu watched the person sitting on the other side of the glass, recalling her line: “Do you think there’s a possibility that… Gu Shiqiu is actually a man?”

Gu Shiqiu tilted her head in confusion.

Do I look like a man? That was the first time she had ever heard such a comment.

The assistant, Xiao Wen, followed Gu Shiqiu’s gaze and looked out, her face showing surprise. “Isn’t that the fan who went on stage to read Shiqiu-jie’s palm?”

The people in the booth followed her gaze. There were seven or eight people, all staff members involved in the concert planning, gathered here to celebrate the successful show.

Xiao Wen: “She looks so young. I wonder if she’s even an adult.”

Gu Shiqiu withdrew her gaze and took a sip from her cup. She did indeed look quite young.

The hot pot was average, and Gu Shiqiu didn’t have much of an appetite, so she barely ate. However, the person on the other side of the glass seemed to be eating with immense gusto.

Bite after bite—it was clearly hot, but she couldn’t wait. When she got burned, she would fan her mouth with her hand and huff. After eating a piece of pork belly, she would squint her eyes in bliss.

She managed to make ordinary ingredients look like a gourmet feast.

Driven by curiosity, Gu Shiqiu picked up a piece of cooked pork belly and ate it. She frowned.

Too spicy, too salty. She was used to light food; hot pot clearly didn’t fall within her preferences. But the way the person on the other side ate… it was very good at stimulating one’s appetite.

Dong Yao ate a piece of green vegetable. Gu Shiqiu, moved by a strange impulse, followed suit and ate a piece.

Dong Yao ate a meatball. Gu Shiqiu followed suit and ate a meatball.

Just then, Gu Shiqiu’s wrist was suddenly grabbed.

Gu Shiqiu pulled her gaze away from Dong Yao and looked at the person holding her wrist.

Assistant Xiao Wen chuckled awkwardly. “Shiqiu-jie, you shouldn’t eat like that. You have a shoot tomorrow morning. If you eat too much, the bloating won’t look good on camera.”

Gu Shiqiu snapped out of it and nodded. “Right. I know. I’m done.”

Xiao Wen breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart was filled with confusion. Usually, at dinners and parties, Gu Shiqiu never overate; she didn’t need anyone to monitor her.

Xiao Wen had once suspected that Gu Shiqiu actually disliked food—that she had zero interest in it and only ate to survive. This was the first time she had seen her eating so unrestrainedly, one chopstick-full after another.

Is this hot pot exceptionally delicious? Xiao Wen picked up her chopsticks and took a big bite.

Not really. Just normal hot pot flavor. Not much different from the usual.

“Want some alcohol?” Lin Yunyi asked suddenly.

Dong Yao’s eyes darted around, and she nodded. “Sure.”

Both were “good girls” who hadn’t really drunk much growing up. Naturally, they didn’t dare order hard liquor. They ordered two bottles of fruit wine, which was sweet and low in alcohol.

Dong Yao picked up her glass and drained half of it in one go. “It’s basically juice.”

Lin Yunyi shook her head. “It tastes weird. Like soda, but bitter.”

Lin Yunyi stopped after one sip, but Dong Yao treated it like water to wash down the spice—one bite of hot pot, one sip of wine.

Soon, her cheeks were flushed red.

Lin Yunyi saw her face. “You didn’t get drunk off fruit wine, did you?”

Dong Yao shook her head. “Not drunk. Don’t be dramatic.”

Lin Yunyi looked at the empty bottles by Dong Yao’s hand. Two whole bottles, finished.

“You really drank it like water. It says fruit wine, but it’s still alcohol.” Lin Yunyi rolled her eyes. “If you get drunk, I’m not taking responsibility for you.”

“Who wants you to? Eat your hot pot.” Dong Yao’s head was buzzing, her face was hot, and her tongue was starting to feel heavy, but she persisted in eating.

Even if I’m drunk, I can’t let good food go to waste!

Once the hot pot was nearly finished, the alcohol fully kicked in. Dong Yao dizzily patted her full stomach, wiped her mouth, and began applying lipstick while using the glass partition as a mirror.

Her hand was trembling, and she kept missing her mark. Finally, she applied it crookedly.

She pouted at the glass and giggled. “Perfect.”

On the other side, Gu Shiqiu choked on her water. “Cough, cough, cough…”

Xiao Wen: “Shiqiu-jie, are you okay?”

Gu Shiqiu shook her head, glancing at the person on the other side of the glass with a smile in her eyes.

Lin Yunyi looked at her speechlessly. “What ‘perfect’? You’ve painted yourself a bloody maw. I’m done with you. You’d better not act like a drunk fool later, or I’m leaving you on the street.”

Dong Yao stood up. Her body felt floaty, and the floor felt like soft cotton. Lin Yunyi supported her as they walked toward the exit.

Gu Shiqiu’s gaze followed them through the one-way glass. Only after Dong Yao disappeared through the door did she withdraw her gaze; after that, she didn’t look outside again.

The dinner ended. Gu Shiqiu put on her mask and stood at the entrance, waiting for the driver to pull up.

A sound came from behind a pillar, and suddenly, a head poked out.

Gu Shiqiu froze.

It was her.

Dong Yao’s face was bright red, and she was grinning foolishly. She looked exactly like a child who had snuck a drink and turned into a silly drunkard.

Dong Yao hugged the pillar and gave it a loud “Mwah!”—leaving a large lipstick mark.

Gu Shiqiu watched her in silence. What does she think that pillar is? There were already three or four lipstick marks on it; they were likely all her handiwork.

After kissing the pillar a few times, Dong Yao tilted her head and looked over.

A person was standing nearby. A mask obscured her features, but she was tall and slender—and most importantly, her eyes were beautiful.

“Gu Shiqiu!” Dong Yao pointed at her and shouted.

Gu Shiqiu was surprised. She can recognize me through the mask while this drunk?

Dong Yao wobbled toward her and came to a stop in front of Gu Shiqiu. Then, she let out a rather loud alcoholic burp.

Gu Shiqiu: “…”

“Sorry. Couldn’t help it.” Dong Yao’s speech was slurred and her expression was muddled, but she was very polite.

Gu Shiqiu gave a soft chuckle. This person wasn’t just cute-looking; her behavior was… cute, too?

Dong Yao began walking in a circle around Gu Shiqiu. Gu Shiqiu didn’t disturb her, letting her look.

“Sorry, I’m going to be rude.” Dong Yao gave Gu Shiqiu a solemn bow.

Gu Shiqiu’s beautiful brows knitted slightly. Why is this little drunkard bowing and apologizing out of nowhere? What is she planning?

Suddenly, Dong Yao grabbed Gu Shiqiu’s arm. “One look. Just one look. I just want to confirm if you’re a man or a woman. I promise I won’t look too much. Just one look.”

As she spoke, she reached out and prepared to strip the woman’s clothes in public.