Strangers in Public [Entertainment Industry]

Updates: 3,000+ words daily before signing, 6,000+ words daily afterward [Rekindled romance | Showbiz | Secret crush becomes mutual | Intense push and pull | Star-crossed lovers] *Sultry, seductive black lotus x cool, aloof white moonlight Blurb: There was an unspoken secret in the entertainment industry: Qin Xiangyi and Xu Tingzhi didn't get along. On the red carpet, they walked one after the other without so much as a glance at each other. Asked about the other in interviews, Qin Xiangyi raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. “Ms. Xu? We don't know each other that well.” Xu Tingzhi gave a cool, three-word reply: “No comment.” Online, people speculated wildly. Some said they'd fallen out over competing for roles, others claimed they'd once been together and then had a bitter breakup. Some even dug up behind-the-scenes footage from the film they made together three years ago and analyzed it frame by frame, claiming, “The way they look at each other is definitely not innocent.” Their fans had fought for three years. Fan-site photographers took aim at each other's idols, and their fan clubs had issued eighteen declarations of undying enmity. Everyone said they were like rival kings who could never share the same throne, destined to be enemies. Until one day, Qin Xiangyi got drunk and was cornered in her car by paparazzi. Their cameras pressed against the windows. The next second, a slender, clearly jointed hand reached out from inside the car and calmly drew the curtain shut. On its wrist was the limited-edition watch everyone knew Xu Tingzhi never took off. The trending topics exploded. - Three years earlier, at film school, Qin Xiangyi was a junior and Xu Tingzhi a senior. Surrounded by a group of younger students, Qin Xiangyi watched from afar as Xu Tingzhi spoke onstage as an outstanding graduating student. Dressed in white with dark hair and cool, refined features, she was like a distant, unreachable goddess. Back then, Qin Xiangyi only dared to hide in the shadows and secretly love her. Later, fate gave her an absurd gift: just as they were starting out, they were cast in the same art-house film, playing lovers entangled in a complicated relationship. They loved and fought onscreen, while offscreen their intimacy remained secret and ambiguous. Just when Qin Xiangyi thought her wish had finally come true and they were about to make a fresh start, Xu Tingzhi told her, “I can't tell the difference between what happens on screen and off.” Those words became a thorn in Qin Xiangyi's heart. After they broke up, Qin Xiangyi turned herself into Xu Tingzhi's opposite: bold, passionate, and invincible. She thought she'd long since turned that page. Until a variety show brought them together again and arranged for them to live under the same roof for three days and two nights. As soon as the cameras were off, Qin Xiangyi pinned Xu Tingzhi to the sofa, her fingers still clutching her collar. Xu Tingzhi's eyes were red, but her voice remained cool. “Qin Xiangyi, you've had too much to drink.” Qin Xiangyi lowered her head, smiling as if it were nothing. “Xu Tingzhi, you said you couldn't tell the difference between what happens on screen and off...” “Then why are you blushing now?” / Reader's guide: 1. No real-life inspirations. This is pure author indulgence, so please don't overanalyze it. The characters have flaws, and none of them are perfect. Please discuss them respectfully. 2. All major characters and important supporting characters are women. I simply wanted to write a story with a vibrant cast of women. The romance between the two female leads is the focus, and all plotlines serve them. 3. The details about the entertainment industry are made up, so please don't read this if that bothers you. End of section Coming soon in my collection: The sister story Contract Lover. Please add it to your collections TT [Older woman-younger woman romance | Friends with benefits to lovers] Female CEO x female top-tier star Tan Shuyu first met Chen Yang in the VIP section of an underground bar. She wasn't famous yet, and was earning extra money by singing and playing onstage in a cheap sequined leather jacket. She looked so fragile that anyone might feel an urge to rescue her. Chen Yang sat in the shadows, dressed in a suit, a slender woman's cigarette between her fingers. She didn't clap or smile once. After the show, Tan Shuyu was cornered in the dressing room. Chen Yang's assistant handed her a business card. “Miss Tan,” Chen Yang said, leaning against the doorframe and raising her cigarette toward her, “do you want to be famous?” Tan Shuyu later signed with Chen Yang's company, moved into an apartment Chen Yang had arranged, and walked every red carpet in gowns Chen Yang had picked out. They kissed in the back seat of a van late at night and made love in the bathroom of a celebration-suite. But as soon as they were done, Chen Yang would always pull away, expression unchanged, and open her tablet to get back to work. “Chen Yang,” Tan Shuyu finally said, pressing down on the hand holding the tablet, “have you ever, even for a second... thought of me as something other than your product?” Chen Yang leaned down and kissed her forehead, without a trace of desire. “Tan Shuyu,” she said with a smile, “don't let feelings hurt your market value.” / Chen Yang was famous in the industry as a smiling viper, the head of an entertainment empire who put profit above all else, was smooth and worldly, and never made a deal at a loss. She took Tan Shuyu, a sharp-tongued troublemaker known throughout the industry, from nobody to a top-tier star. During their contract, they were a boss and her cash cow, as well as each other's most secret bedmates. Chen Yang drew a clear line: she provided opportunities, they were bedmates by mutual consent, and love was out of the question. Tan Shuyu hated Chen Yang's ever-composed, calculating businesswoman's face. She hated how Chen Yang treated life like a game and put profit above everything. Most of all, she hated herself for being captivated by Chen Yang even though she knew she was powerful, vulgar, mercenary, and manipulative. / Theme: Love is a game for the brave.