Ex-wife-chasing redemption arc / Substitute romance / Sweet on the outside, scheming underneath
Also known as The Reverse Trap: A Flirtatious Substitute's Guide to Luring Her Target
The famous triple-threat actress had recently taken in an enviably charming young Taoist.
The young Taoist was refined and handsome, always wearing a hint of a smile, and polite to everyone.
Today she read fortunes for the production staff, tomorrow she drove out ghosts for the crew. When it was hot, she treated everyone to iced drinks; when it turned cold, she made them ginger soup.
She was so warm and thoughtful, the perfect person to bring home.
Only those who knew the actress well felt sorry for the young Taoist. They all knew she was only a substitute for the actress's beloved white moonlight.
The better she behaved now, the harder she would fall later.
Qiu Shui thought so too. Once she got bored, she would just throw her away.
She fussed over the young Taoist and gave her everything she asked for, all to indulge a hidden fantasy.
A shadow was only a shadow. No matter how much it resembled the moonlight, it could never be the moon.
Qiu Shui never expected the young Taoist and the white moonlight to actually meet. Even less did she expect the young Taoist to force a smile without crying or making a fuss, growing ever more humble in her words and ever more obedient in her actions.
The white moonlight would never be so humble and spineless.
So Qiu Shui grew bored and discarded the young Taoist without a second thought.
The young Taoist cried. The young Taoist begged. The young Taoist knelt on the film set for an entire night.
Everyone told her she should give up.
Later, Qiu Shui had a few more relationships, but none of them felt right.
One drunken night, as if possessed, she climbed up to the young Taoist's temple.
The door opened, and she saw the young Taoist smiling with an innocent yet unfamiliar look in her eyes.
"Sister, the script is over."
Qiu Shui didn't know then that the substitute she had imagined had received her own script many years ago.
Her role was the villainess.
And the first thing she did was change the title of her script to The Years I Spent as an Actress's Substitute Lover.
*
One night after escaping the plot, Qiu Shui was so exhausted that her hands trembled as she leaned against You Zhifei's neck and caught her breath.
She complained that the young Taoist was too demanding, her voice full of satisfied delight.
The corners of You Zhifei's eyes were flushed. Her cool phoenix eyes curved as she retorted hoarsely:
"Are you sure you can keep up?"
Qiu Shui was furious. "You think I'm old, is that it? I'm only nine years older than you. You didn't used to be this seductive!"
Suddenly, she froze.
A hint of bitterness entered her voice. "Back then, I tried everything just to get one kiss."
You Zhifei smiled. "They say true love never lasts, but a good trick always wins hearts."
Qiu Shui glared at her. "Are you talking about me?"
You Zhifei smiled and buried her head in Qiu Shui's neck, rubbing against her like a cat. Her sweet scent filled the air, and the actress fell for her all over again...
Just before dawn, You Zhifei chuckled and carried the exhausted Qiu Shui into the bathroom.
The sound of running water woke Qiu Shui. Half-asleep, she heard You Zhifei whisper in her ear, "I'm talking about myself."
Nine-year age gap: a 28-year-old actress and a 19-year-old young Taoist.
Ambitious, radiant older actress with a commanding presence x innocent, cool, sweet-on-the-outside-and-scheming-underneath younger Taoist
My love for you is always out of sync.
Reader's Guide:
✨ The story has a slow pace at first to reflect the young Taoist's unhurried temperament. The pace will pick up later.
✨ The entertainment industry in the story is entirely fictional. All the characters are original.
✨ This story features a pair of virgins. The heroine Qiu Shui is unrelated to the Qiu Shui in my other novel, Conquest of the Cold and Abstinent Heroine.
Theme: The world treats you as you treat it.
