“She’s called Zhao Xing’er.”
Lin Xiangwan froze, a sudden bitterness rising in her chest.
She lifted her eyes to look at Jiang Shijing.
The man curved his lips in a faint smile, as if reminiscing about sweet past moments with Miss Zhao.
Suddenly, a chorus of cheers erupted around them.
“Wow! Is that Zhao Xing’er, who just won the Best Actress trophy last year? My brother is her die-hard fan!”
“Oh my god, no wonder she’s the most unforgettable ex! Zhao Xing’er is a national goddess now there’s no one more outstanding in the world!”
Jiang Shijing raised an eyebrow and, following their words, said, “Exactly. Someone this outstanding is naturally unforgettable.”
Ah Shui and Xiao Lan, realizing a man this exceptional was out of their reach, instead pulled him aside and started asking how he knew Zhao Xing’er.
Lin Xiangwan sat in a corner, heart tight with discomfort.
From beginning to end, Jiang Shijing hadn’t once looked her way.
Her decisive departure three years ago had been an unprecedented betrayal to him. Was that all it meant to him?
Lin Xiangwan instinctively reached for the drink in front of her, but Wen Qian stopped her wrist.
Leaning close, Wen Qian gritted her teeth and whispered, “He’s just an unworthy, playboy scoundrel! Do you really need to get drunk over him?”
Hearing this, Lin Xiangwan instantly sobered.
The warmth in her eyes cooled, and she let go of the glass.
Meeting her friend’s worried gaze, Lin Xiangwan smiled faintly, “Mm, not drinking anymore.”
She stood and headed to the restroom to compose herself. After washing her hands, she wiped her fingertips with a tissue and pulled out her phone to search.
She hadn’t cared much about celebrities before, and was curious what the Best Actress looked like.
A quick search brought up the actress’s photos.
Lin Xiangwan saw the thumbnail and was about to click when she suddenly paused.
Zhao Xing’er’s profile photo showed her in a red spaghetti-strap dress, radiant and beautiful.
Even without a clear close-up, Lin Xiangwan noticed a mole on her shoulder.
The mole was in exactly the same spot as hers.
The only difference was that Zhao Xing’er’s mole was red.
Lin Xiangwan looked at herself in the mirror.
Snow-white shoulder, red mole striking.
It must be a coincidence.
Silently, Lin Xiangwan judged Zhao Xing’er: breathtakingly beautiful.
She put away her phone and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, a figure was standing at the restroom door.
Jiang Shijing glanced at her and blocked the exit.
Lin Xiangwan frowned slightly. “This is the women’s restroom.”
“Talk,” Jiang Shijing slurred, reeking of alcohol who knew how much he’d drunk.
Lin Xiangwan stepped back inside. “I don’t want to talk. Don’t let them see go away.”
“And if I don’t?” Jiang Shijing stepped closer.
Lin Xiangwan’s pupils trembled. “W-What are you doing coming in? Get out, now!”
“There’s no one else here anyway.”
Jiang Shijing grabbed her waist and pulled her out.
Lin Xiangwan collided with his chest, gasping, “Bastard, can’t you let go of me!”
She didn’t want anyone to see them, didn’t want their relationship exposed.
Since she wasn’t even his most unforgettable ex, there was no reason for anyone to know about them.
“Angry?” Jiang Shijing pinched the flesh at her waist, lowering his gaze to look at her. “You’re not my most unforgettable woman. Doesn’t that piss you off?”
Being called out, Lin Xiangwan raised an eyebrow coldly. “I’m glad it’s not me. Being unforgettable just means you’re still hung up on me running off to avoid marriage. You resent me then who would dare do business with me? That’s why I want you to forget me, Mr. Jiang.”
Jiang Shijing’s brow lifted slightly, lips curling.
But his eyes lacked the usual flirtatiousness he used on girls, even carrying a faint chill.
“Lin Xiangwan.”
His voice was low, and Lin Xiangwan felt a sudden jolt.
“I gave you two chances already. You didn’t cherish them.”
Lin Xiangwan narrowed her eyes and pushed against his shoulder to create distance. “I don’t know what riddle you’re playing.”
Jiang Shijing pulled down her hand, running his fingers along her waist and pinching the soft flesh at the back of her neck.
The move made Lin Xiangwan tense, strangely reminding her of nature documentaries.
When a sheep is about to be preyed on, the tiger bites the back of its neck.
Jiang Shijing chuckled lowly. “Dingsheng, Huafeng I’ve been waiting for you to give in.”
Lin Xiangwan looked up at him.
“As long as you say you need my help, say you didn’t intentionally betray me by running off, say you’re sorry, I’ll immediately open Rongcheng’s company doors to you.”
He lowered his head, leaning close to her hair, catching a faint scent of jasmine.
“But you say you don’t love me, and you feel no guilt toward me.”
At this, his tone softened.
For some reason, Lin Xiangwan felt a pang of grievance.
She tried to push him away, but Jiang Shijing pressed closer, bodies flush together.
“You won’t even kiss me to secure the Huafeng contract. Lin Xiangwan, do you hate me that much? Wasn’t I good enough to you when we were dating?”
Lin Xiangwan’s brow twitched twice, eyes heavy with weariness.
She met his dark, unreadable gaze and whispered, “I want to ask you the same. Wasn’t I good enough when we were dating? But you didn’t love me, and you feel no guilt. Why ask others to do what you can’t?”
Jiang Shijing frowned, grabbing her wrist. “Why should I feel guilty? You ran off.”
“Running off is automatically wrong? Wasn’t it you who wronged me first?” Lin Xiangwan couldn’t contain herself and raised her voice.
All these years, all these feelings, she had kept inside.
Even hearing Jiang Shijing say it at the bar, she hadn’t publicly called him out keeping some dignity for both.
Running off was her form of revenge but she hadn’t wronged him, so what was the revenge for?
Lin Xiangwan didn’t expect Jiang Shijing to feel an ounce of guilt; a natural playboy would never.
But she also didn’t expect him to ignore the fact that he had fallen out of love first.
A fire burned inside Lin Xiangwan, about to explode.
Yet Jiang Shijing escalated, pinching her chin and demanding, “Do you even have a conscience saying these things?”
Lin Xiangwan pushed him away forcefully, voice icy. “I don’t want to drag up old matters. Think what you want. You just said you gave me two chances what does that mean?”
She had a bad feeling.
Jiang Shijing’s expression darkened. He stared at her for a few seconds, then smirked.
“Soon, you’ll know.”
Lin Xiangwan’s patience snapped. She circled around him to leave but abruptly stopped.
At the end of the corridor, Shen Fan rested her hand on the class monitor’s shoulder, looking over.
Both of them had mouths agape, faces full of disbelief.