Wimpy Movie Queen Is Divorcing Me Again

Chapter 5: Is It Worth It?

"Zhuzhu? Zhenzhu? Zhumi?" Lu Xici called out three different nicknames, and her cat lazily jumped down from the cat tree.

After a thud, there was a 'da da da' sound as the cat moved closer towards Lu Xici.

That's right, it's not even walking, it's just moving slowly. It takes one step and then stretches lazily. The speed is as slow as a snail.

Lu Xici had no choice but to take the initiative to take a step forward, and took the kitten into her arms.

Zhenzhu didn't want to talk to her, licked her paw coldly, and jumped out of her arms.

As soon as it touched the ground, it was as if Lu Xici had pushed it, pretending to be knocked down.

Lu Xici stroked the kitten's soft belly, passed the lazy cat, and walked towards the living room.

Then she met a pair of peach blossom eyes that were exactly like her own.

It's just that her eyes are more affectionate, and the pair in front of her were sharp and cold. Looking straightly at her, Lu Xici unconsciously straightened her back.

"Mommy~" Her dear mother looked in a bad mood.

"I see you're home." Lu Xici smiled awkwardly, saying something irrelevant.

Lu Tingyi gave her a reproachful look. "I called you, a busy person, to come home for dinner. How could I not be at home?"

"It's just that, you didn't come out to greet me when I arrived. Mom~"

Lu Xici smiled very sweetly, and crawled towards her mother, holding Lu Tingyi's hand, trying to act coquettishly again, but was stopped by a sharp eye.

"Enough, you're a grown-up, still pretending, do you want me to praise your acting? Lu Tingyi waved her hand, tossing away the dog skin plaster*.

*狗皮膏药 (gǒu pí gāo yào), 1. dogskin plaster, used in TCM for treating contusions, rheumatism etc

2. quack medicine, 3. sham

"I'm already good at acting. I won the Golden Monkey Award."

Lu Xici muttered, took out the trophy from the bag, and knocked it on the coffee table.

Anyway, Jun Youyue isn't interested either, so it's better to take it home.

Lu Tingyi glanced at the trophy, her expression became much warmer.

In any case, this is also a trophy her daughter has earned through her hard work.

When filming "Mountain People", Lu Tingyi visited Lu Xici. Before filming, she lived in the mountain for a month. At three o'clock in the morning, she was still summarizing the character traits and trying to figure out the next scene. She didn't have it any easier.

"You've worked hard, darling. You're really amazing." Lu Tingyi praised bluntly, and stuffed a grape for her daughter.

Both of them fell silent, and the sound of the cook preparing the meal served as background music, preventing the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.

Lu Xici struggled for a long time, but decided to bite the bullet and ask her mother to help her. "Mom, there are... rumors on the Internet."

Lu Tingyi paused for a while holding the grape.

"Do we need to clarify this kind of grasping at shadows and adding to the story news? Although it's a bit hot."

When Lu Tingyi saw it during the day, she helped her daughter control the heat of the news.

From her personal point of view, this step is almost enough, there is no need to do more processing, or it will be easy to backfire.

Besides, it's hard to tell if it's a rumor or not. She has heard some rumors about Jun Youyue and someone.

"But..." It is the truth, but the news was written too ugly.

It says that Lu Xici is publicly showing affection, but behind the scenes, she goes to nightclubs to catch cheaters.

Jun Youyue is not a public figure but a research scientist, so her identity is protected. The online exposé, of course, couldn't reveal her, but only posted a few vague pictures and fabricated some exaggerated stories.

The Movie Queen's wife was punished for cheating, and the marriage between the two has always existed in name only, and they played their own games. What's even more outrageous is that Lu Xici intervened in other people's relationships, disregarding the other party's wishes, and relying on her own power and influence to force the marriage.

And that picture, at first glance, seems very deceptive. The clothes and figure are very similar to Lu Xici, but Lu Xici actually changed clothes in the car last night and went not to a nightclub, but to a regular restaurant.

Netizens don't know the truth and just follow the excitement. Many people were persuaded by those vague pictures and agreed with the view that Lu Xici's marriage had problems.

Lu Xici glanced at the comments section and noticed that only one netizen named "Shengsheng Buxi" commented, expressing disbelief. The tone of the comment indicated their excitement.

Upon seeing the word "Sheng" Lu Xici twitched her mouth and quickly scrolled past that comment.

This kind of gossip news appears every now and then, but the coincidence is that last night, Lu Xici did go to see Jun Youyue.

"You want to clarify because you don't want them to say those things about that child Jun right?" Lu Tingyi furrowed herbbrows, looking at Lu Xici.

Her gaze seemed to carry immense weight, and Lu Xici felt extremely guilty and couldn't bear the pressure, so she lowered her head.

"Yes... She didn't do that kind of thing, why should she suffer such slander?"

This little girl also expressed her confidence.

Lu Tingyi almost laughed angrily at her, grabbed the grape in her hand and put it in her mouth.

"Let me ask you, does she watch the news? She doesn't even know about you winning the award, does she?"

Lu Tingyi looked at Lu Xici's appearance and got angry, giving her disappointing daughter a tap.

"You and her had an arranged marriage without any feelings involved. Think clearly, she can certainly find someone she likes outside, it wouldn't even be considered a betrayal to your marriage. That Tao what's her name..."

"Stop it!" Lu Xici turned her head before her mother could say the name, not wanting to hear it again.

"Stop talking, I don't want to discuss about her."

"Tsk. Why are you so stubborn? You insist on hanging on a tree, right? There are so many young and beautiful suitors, what are you thinking? Even if you like older ones, there are many choices. The daughter of Aunt Liu's family, the one who confessed to you before, isn't she also very good?"

Lu Tingyi insisted on saying it, as her mother, who else would say such things?

"Mom," Lu Xici frowned.

"I like Jun Youyue." She said very softly, her words floated in the air, she was helpless, but like a sharp knife, it pierced the heart of Mother Lu.

Liking comes with great momentum, occupying reason without any logical basis, it's the most unreasonable and willful emotion.

Lu Tingyi felt a mix of heartache and anger as she looked at her daughter. Ultimately, the heartache prevailed, and she sighed.

"Is it worth it?" She asked softly, without any harsh words, but this feather-like question still pierced Lu Xici's heart.

From the age of 15 to 23, eight years of persistence, her entire youth, and not even a couple of affectionate words in return. Is it worth it?

Lu Xici didn't know.

* * *

They didn't have a very pleasant meal. The atmosphere at the dining table was tense, and neither of them said a word. After finishing the meal, they said their goodbyes.

Today, Jun Youyue didn't come home either. Lu Xici slumped on the sofa in her marital room, replaying the conversation with her mother in her mind.

Realizing that she hadn't accomplished anything today, Lu Xici pouted, forced herself to perk up, and went to her study on her floor.

She couldn't focus on reading the book. Lu Xici put down the science fiction novel in her hand and opened her email, hoping to see if He Lan had sent any new scripts.

If there were none, Lu Xici didn't want to be idle, and she definitely didn't want to be dragged into managing the company. She decided to pick a genre from the existing options that she hadn't acted in before.

Lu Xici had been in the entertainment industry for five years, and on average, she starred in one movie per year. So far, she has only acted in five films.

Out of those, only one was a comedy, while the rest all had some elements of romance.

The award-winning film "Mountain People" revolves around the theme of dedication. The main plot follows a rural girl who devotes herself to improving her hometown's life, goes out of the province for education, but her hometown is destroyed in a fire.

With only her two younger siblings left, she works hard while studying to achieve success. Afterward, she wholeheartedly joins the poverty alleviation cause, helping many places like her hometown.

Although romance plays a minor role, the main obstacle for the female protagonist to return to the rural area is her relationship with her boyfriend.

Lu Xici didn't even have to try hard to portray the deeply conflicted feelings, as her emotions for Jun Youyue were full of tug-of-war, and she portrayed them authentically.

Later, the female protagonist gives up on love for her career, and in reality, Lu Xici also starts to doubt her marriage. Although she hasn't figured it out yet, she hasn't let go either.

He Lan provided her with three good scripts.

The first one is about family bonds, written by a well-known screenwriter in the industry, and the production team is almost ready, just lacking a lead actress.

The plot has some similarities to "Mountain People."

In this story, a scientist's daughter single-mindedly researches medicine to save her mother, neglecting her life and emotional connections with people. In the end, her mother doesn't get to try the medicine she developed, and she doesn't get to see her mother one last time.

The second one is about genetically modified humans, with a slight science-fiction backdrop. The script has reportedly been shelved for several years.

The protagonist is a low-level researcher who is uncertain about the consequences of her research.

When the first batch of genetically modified humans is created, she decisively suspends her research and tries to prevent more modified humans from being born. In the process, she gets injured by a modified human, and upon waking up, she discovers that her mother turned her into a modified human to save her.

The third one is about animal rescue, with a series of interconnected stories in a hyperlink narrative structure. The main theme is still love, but this one is a lesbian film.

He Lan underlined the first script, thinking it's the best choice.

Lu Xici isn't interested in the first one, but she's still torn.

She prefers the plot of the third one because her family also keeps small animals.

However, the setting of the second one is intriguing, and the protagonist is a researcher, which aligns with Jun Youyue's profession.

And the genetically modified humans... Lu Xici furrowed her brow; she felt that the term sounded somewhat familiar.

She can still think about it. Lu Xici continued to study the script sent by He Lan.

* * *

"Is it worth it?"

Closing her eyes, Lu Xici recalled her mother's expression of frustration and helplessness.

In fact, Lu Tingyi rarely discussed such topics with her daughter.

Her parenting style was more like giving her freedom to pursue her interests, and Lu Tingyi would support whatever Lu Xici wanted to do wholeheartedly, which led her to enter the entertainment industry.

Today, Lu Tingyi said so much because she truly cared about Lu Xici.

At the beginning, Lu Tingyi did have some objections to this marriage, but after all, Jun Youyue was the child of a close friend, and the two families had a good relationship. Lu Tingyi also watched Jun Youyue grow up.

To be fair, Jun Youyue was a good girl—beautiful, sensible, intelligent, and determined. In just three years, she had advanced to the position of a Level 3 researcher.

However, the biggest problem was that she didn't like Lu Xici.

Or rather, in Lu Tingyi's view, it was strange for a scientific mind like Jun Youyue to fall in love with a living human being; her lifelong companion should be science.

But in that situation, the simplest way to help Jun Youyue was to form a marriage alliance.

They became in-laws, and half of the power was shared with her, which made those who coveted her back off.

Moreover, Lu Xici also said she liked Jun Youyue and wanted to give it a try.

Three years had passed since that try, but there was no progress at all.

Lu Tingyi would rather Lu Xici close her heart and remain single for a lifetime than see her getting hurt again for Jun Youyue.

Lu Xici did not completely ignore her mother's words. She was still undecided and conflicted.

If Jun Youyue didn't have someone she liked, it wouldn't be bad for them to continue in this vague state. At least Lu Xici would have the title of a wife, while others might have nothing.

She decided to have a drink. Lu Xici opened the liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle. She thought drinking was just for pleasure, and a little alcohol would be enough to make her tipsy. She didn't think it would matter much.

One glass, two glasses. Lu Xici's vision started to blur, and she dizzily lay down on the long chair, her face flushed abnormally.

Author's Note:

Later, she found out that she would drag Jun Youyue in a drunken madness, and she even imagined herself as a very disciplined Lu Xici: You must quit drinking, you must!"