Wimpy Movie Queen Is Divorcing Me Again

Lu Xici's hand was grabbed by someone.

She seemed to have fallen to the ground, her legs and feet were numb, unable to move.

The person's face was not clear, but the red lips and white teeth could be seen, a beautiful girl.

"Lu-meimei*, don't cry." Her voice had a hint of childishness, so familiar that it made Lu Xici's heart tremble.

*妹妹 (mèi mèi) means "younger sister" in English. It is used to refer to a female sibling or relative who is younger than the speaker. It can also be used as a term of endearment or affectionate address for a younger female friend or acquaintance.

Looking up from below, Lu Xici finally saw the face of the person pulling her.

It was a young girl, with almond-shaped eyes, but full of righteousness, not showing any coquettishness, but rather a bit stern.

But it didn't match the baby fat on her cheeks, making her look somewhat grown-up.

And she indeed behaved like a grown-up, pulling Lu Xici and trying to help her up.

"Lu-meimei, don't cry. Come."

Lu Xici fell heavily, and the girl didn't manage to pull her up.

The girl didn't speak, just approached Lu Xici a bit more, blocking the sun, with her expression difficult to discern against the light.

Lu Xici suddenly felt a bit panicked, her heartbeat gradually becoming loud and clear.

Like if she couldn't stand up again, she would be left behind by this person.

And she didn't want to be left behind.

So she let go of the hand and tried to struggle to stand up on her own. However, the distance between her and the girl kept increasing.

"Don't go!" Lu Xici shouted towards that direction, but only received a cold and indifferent face in return.

After standing up, the scene changed. It was now dark all around, with the nearest light source several meters away, making the night scene ambiguous.

Lu Xici found herself surrounded by a group of ill-intentioned individuals, and their leering gaze made her uneasy.

She tried to reach for her phone, but her hand felt as if it was frozen and couldn't move.

Just as the group of people was about to close in, a figure appeared, kicking the person in front of Lu Xici down. Then, the figure grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the light.

It must be a dream. Lu Xici recognized the person who came to her rescue and realized the truth.

She was startled awake.

The feeling of being unable to hold on, unable to catch up, yet being pulled out of the mud by Jun Youyue, gave her a suffocating sensation, almost like she was lacking oxygen.

When she snapped back to reality, she realized that she had fallen asleep on the balcony, with her phone dropped on the ground, facing the direction where the sun was rising.

How could she fall asleep like that and have such a dream?

Lu Xici ran her hand through her still-messy hair, feeling not only a headache but also some soreness in her body.

The basis of the dream seemed to be when Jun Youyue, in junior high, was playing with her, a primary school student. She accidentally fell, was ridiculed by others, and sat on the ground crying.

Childhood memories and dreams were quite different. Back then, Jun Youyue would still call her "Lu-meimei", kick away those bothering them, and pull her up.

Lu Xici picked up her phone, and the corner of her mouth unconsciously curved into a mocking smile. She was afraid of Jun Youyue leaving her to the point that it manifested in her dreams.

Three years had passed. Whether it was about their marriage or Jun Youyue securing her position as a researcher.

Lu Xici opened the messages from her friends in the chat group and started replying one by one, while her mind wandered elsewhere.

During the first year, they treated each other with respect, and they would still exchange a few words. Lu Xici spoke, and Jun Youyue listened.

As Jun Youyue got busier, they had less and less time together. Even when they were both at home at the same time, they had nothing to talk about. Not to mention hearing the words "Lu-meimei" from that block of ice.

As she replied to the messages, her fingers came to a halt, no longer moving mechanically.

Lu Xici felt a slight itch on her face, and when she touched it, she realized it was damp and warm.

Thinking of Jun Youyue's gaze this morning and her sudden departure, Lu Xici couldn't help but bury her head in her arms, holding back her tears.

Whether it was in reality or in dreams, it seemed like Jun Youyue was drifting further away from her.

But blurred lines between liking and loving were inherently selfish.

Lu Xici clutched her sleeve, just as she clutched onto that broken string of a kite. She wanted to steal more glances at Jun Youyue, to say a few more words to her than anyone else.

Her phone vibrated, and it was a message from her agent. Reading the title of the message, Lu Xici's self-mocking smile intensified.

* * *

The research institute was still as quiet as ever, with everyone busy with serious or not-so-serious matters, creating an image of a bustling academic scene.

Tao Sheng narrowly escaped a mishap last night, thanks to Lu Xici's help. So today, she naturally came to thank Jun Youyue.

The two of them found some free time to chat, Tao Sheng talked, and Jun Youyue listened.

"That person last night was your wife, right? She's so cool!"

"Mm." Only if you paid close attention could one notice the faint curve at the corners of Jun Youyue's mouth.

As if struck by something, she bit her lip, and her ears suddenly turned red.

She was also quite... charming and adorable at times, wondering if she could be considered as cool.

Tao Sheng was used to her indifferent attitude and continued talking.

"When you said you were married before, I didn't believe it. You didn't even wear a ring, and I thought maybe you were trying to kill those peach blossoms*."

*Peach blossom (桃花)  is often used to refer to romantic entanglements, admirers, or potential lovers.

"Not really. Wearing a ring would affect the experiments."

But today, Jun Youyue did wear it. She could take it off during the actual experiment, and it wouldn't be a hassle for even two minutes.

"Hehe, I understand. You want to hide such stunning beauty as your wife. If I were that lucky, I'd want to be the only one who could see her too."

Tao Sheng happily covered her face, receiving a look from Jun Youyue.

Unexpectedly, she sensed a hint of resentment in her gaze. This was quite a rarity; the iceberg had an expression!

"I'm straight, I was just joking, don't take it seriously." Hurriedly, before that icy grievance turned into a tangible ice block and hit her, Tao Sheng quickly explained herself.

"Oh right, what's her name? I feel like I've seen her somewhere before." Yesterday, when Lu Xici descended from the sky, she was wearing a mask. Tao Sheng was preoccupied with fear at that moment and didn't have time to identify her features, but she felt she looked familiar.

Jun Youyue hadn't mentioned her to anyone else.

She fell into deep thought, and Tao Sheng didn't mind, picking up her phone to browse through Weibo*.

*social networking site similar to Twitter 

Her attitude of keeping pace with the times is out of tune with most of the people in the institute, otherwise she wouldn't have been in the institute for almost six years and she was only a Level 4 researcher.

Seeing the endorsement picture on Weibo, Tao Sheng took a deep breath and widened her eyes. The eyes, nose, and demeanor of the beautiful sister in the picture, how come they look so much like the wife of the person in front of her?

"Jun, Jun, Junjun Youyue! You, you, you!" Tao Sheng clicked on the advertisement, zoomed in on the endorsement picture, and flashed the phone onto Jun Youyue's face.

Jun Youyue blinked. Is there something wrong with this picture? She has a lot of pictures like this on her phone.

Immediately, she realized that Lu Xici's identity had been exposed, and raised her hand to press Tao Sheng's shoulder. "Don't tell anyone."

"Ah!" Tao Sheng was startled, breaking the dull atmosphere of the institute. For a moment, countless pairs of eyes looked in her direction, and she quickly covered her mouth.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Tao Sheng was startled.

Seeing Jun Youyue's unmoved expression and she felt embarrassed again.

She is almost four years older than Jun Youyue, so why is she still so surprised?

During the lunch break, Tao Sheng got out of her research group and slipped into Jun Youyue's small laboratory.

Thanks to Jun Youyue's extraordinary talent, the institute opened such a small place for her as a special case.

Jun Youyue moved all the experimental equipment into the lab and focused on her experiments, seemingly oblivious to outside matters. However, she kept an eye on things behind the scenes, unsure if someone higher up is trying to scheme against her.

The lab is so small, and the projects assigned consecutively have tight deadlines.

Jun Youyue doesn't quite believe that those people can be sincere.

In this small space where only friends are present, Tao Sheng no longer cares about being reserved.

While circling around Jun Youyue, Tao Sheng bombarded her with questions while scrolling through her phone.

"Is your wife the famous Lu Xici, the movie queen*?"

*The term used is 影后 (Ying hou), I've been translating this as movie queen, but it can also translate to award-winning actress or top actress

"Huh?" Jun Youyue raised an eyebrow. What movie queen?

"The award ceremony last night, the Golden Monkey Award for Best Actress. Don't you know? Well, I guess you wouldn't, considering how tight your schedule was for the previous project. I was even worried for you."

Tao Sheng had only heard of Lu Xici before and had seen a few of her movies. But after her appearance last night, she became a dewdrop—a nickname for Lu Xici's fans.

"So, she rushed to save us right after the awards ceremony... I mean, to save you. True love, huh," Tao Sheng exclaimed, while Jun Youyue stood there in a daze.

No wonder Lu Xici's initial gaze towards her was so complicated.

Jun Youyue furrowed her eyebrows slightly.

She had already apologized, but should she also congratulate her? The Golden Monkey Award must have been challenging to win, right?

Jun Youyue didn't fully understand these things, but seeing that Lu Xici showed no signs of joy last night, she blamed herself for causing trouble.

How should she congratulate her? Jun Youyue became troubled once again, clenching and loosening her hand repeatedly. Finally, she decided that the person swaying around in front of her was too distracting and promptly ushered Tao Sheng out.

Tao Sheng didn't mind and happily went to save Lu Xici's beautiful pictures in the Chaohua*.

*feature in Weibo similar to Twitter Community where one can follow/contribute on topics of interest and share with other followers 

On the way, it seemed that there were more people looking at her, and their gazes were somewhat peculiar. Tao Sheng wondered in her heart, but she pretended not to notice and pricked up her ears to eavesdrop on their whispers.

Struggling and hesitating, an hour passed before Jun Youyue finally got back to her senses and deleted and revised her messages to Lu Xici, not even touching the experiment.

She realized that she had wasted a lot of time and had to put the congratulations aside for now, focusing on the experiment.

* * *

It was only in the afternoon that Lu Xici received the belated congratulations from Jun Youyue.

Two words followed by a period, nothing more. It took Lu Xici a moment to realize that Jun Youyue was congratulating her on winning the award yesterday.

At least, it could be considered that she cared about her. Lu Xici curled the corners of her mouth and then realized that she had just smiled.

This is terrible, after receiving news from Jun Youyue, how am I happy?

Lu Xici scrolled up the chat box between the two of them, but it only took a couple of swipes to reach the top. Her phone hadn't been changed for years, and the oldest message was from three years ago.

Scrolling down, all she found were conversations like "Are you not coming home today?" and "Mm." 

The frequency of their messages had become slower and slower. The last time they exchanged messages was a month ago when Lu Xici asked Jun Youyue if she wanted to visit her mother's house together, but Jun Youyue coldly refused.

That's why this "Congratulations" felt so precious and rare, no wonder she was feeling so happy about it.

He Lan watched her artist's face change rapidly. In just a few seconds, she went through five different emotions: joy, surprise, annoyance, confusion, and finally, calmness. It was enough material to shoot a short film.

He Lan cleared her throat and asked Lu Xici to look up.

"The rumors online..." He Lan was referring to the gossip about Lu Xici leaving the scene in a hurry last night and being "caught" appearing aggressively at a restaurant.

Lu Xici quickly concealed any improper expressions. "It's nothing. I will handle this matter and spare you the trouble, Lan-jie. I've read the script, and I feel that the theme is not... well, you know, it's that kind of predictable feeling, a bit cliché." Especially the romantic plots, they're clichéd to the extreme.

Lu Xici is still in the age of peach and plum*, and most of the scripts she received were in the romance genre, whether it was girl-girl or girl-boy, the plotlines were all very similar, making her feel unchallenged.

*women in their 20s, gorgeous and moving like when peaches and plums are in full bloom

She would rather play a role where she falls in love with a dog.

Some artists may choose to stay within their comfort zones, but Lu Xici was completely the opposite. She loved challenging herself, and she had never repeated the same character type in the roles she portrayed.

"I agree. These are the ones I received before. Today, there are even more piled up. With the title of Best Actress on you, there might be some good ones among them."

He Lan pondered for a moment, then added, "You have a shoot the day after tomorrow."

"I know." Lu Xici returned a friendly smile. "My mother... the system given by Ms. Lu is still very smart."

He Lan nodded, but didn't know what to say.

Every time she faced Lu Xici, she felt a bit nervous. The reason was simple - Lu Xici had a very strong background.

Even though He Lan was capable and had her own strengths, she believed that her network of contacts and resources couldn't compare to Lu Xici's, especially considering Lu Xici came from a prominent family.

And the reality proved her thoughts right. Lu Xici had been an artist under He Lan for many years, and He Lan didn't do much for her except screening endorsement and movie scripts. She had plenty of leisure time and received a considerable salary.

There's a saying, "No merit, no reward," and He Lan was genuinely anxious to help Lu Xici in any way she could, including attempting to do some assistant's work for her.

However, Lu Xici's mother's company was in the electronics industry.

After Lu Xici entered the entertainment industry, her mother directly ordered the development of a complete assistant system for her. It reminded her of daily tasks, future schedules for the next three days, and even listed her social connections and important points of attention in a clear and organized manner.

Even after arriving at a new film set, the system would issue orders to the household helpers, making them more reliable than actual people when it came to helping Lu Xici with shopping and other tasks.

Lu Xici knew He Lan's embarrassment and tried to comfort her. However, she failed, so she could only do her best to maintain a positive attitude in her presence, preventing her from overthinking.

She took a sip of tea and was about to leave to see her dear old mother. "I have to trouble Lan-jie to help me screen the script. The ones that are novel and eccentric are the best."

"Thank you, Lan-jie." She put down the teacup, smiled sincerely at He Lan, turned and left.

He Lan shook her head for a second, then covered her heart.

What kind of fairy artist did she bring with her?! For the little girl's thoughtfulness, she deserves everyone's love!

Managers are all old mothers, and He Lan is no exception. She quickly adjusted her state and vowed to help Lu Xici.

When Lu Xici returned home, no one greeted her, not even her mother's puppet cat.

She sighed silently, mourning her low status in the family.

With her position, how can she ask her mother to help her get rid of the rumor about her "wife" later?

Author's Note:

Jun Youyue: I think our relationship is really good, right?"

Lu Xici: "?"