Xu Shuili looked at the message from Shen Yu and gave a soft “tsk.” “Whether you’re actually busy or just pretending, you know the truth in your heart!”
It had been a few days since Xu Shuili found out Shen Yu had an ex-girlfriend, but she was still in a state of shock, especially since that ex-girlfriend was someone she actually knew.
It had taken her ages to book an appointment with Twilight.
This was truly too dramatic. Shen Yu had been searching for Wen Xi for ten years, only to find out that Wen Xi herself had extensive ties to the entertainment industry. Yet, somehow, Shen Yu had remained completely in the dark.
Wen Xi was playing a masterclass in “hiding in plain sight.”
Xu Shuili reasonably suspected that Wen Xi’s semi-involvement in the industry was just a convenient way to secretly observe Shen Yu. After all, she’d never heard of Wen Xi having a partner, though she had no concrete proof.
But as they say, the first love is always the hardest to forget.
Xu Shuili had known Shen Yu for four or five years and had always felt that Shen Yu was remarkably aloof. No matter who approached her on set with an agenda, Shen Yu couldn’t be bothered. Even when it came to scripts, she basically refused intimate scenes; choosing a project was entirely up to her mood.
Not to mention the countless “social butterflies” who never even got a chance to get near her.
Xu Shuili felt like crowning Shen Yu with the title of “Most Chaste in the Entertainment Industry.”
The two of them had become friends through acting together, and Xu Shuili had only managed to win Shen Yu over after a year of relentless pestering.
Back then, they were both newcomers. Xu Shuili didn’t have many friends, and Shen Yu was so beautiful that, as a lover of aesthetics, Xu Shuili made it her mission to befriend her.
In hindsight, it was funny that they truly bonded over her relationship problems. After a breakup, Xu Shuili wanted to go drinking and dragged Shen Yu to a secret bar. They weren’t famous yet, so they didn’t care about being recognized.
When Shen Yu heard the invitation to drink, she agreed surprisingly quickly.
However, by the time Shen Yu arrived, Xu Shuili was already somewhat incoherent.
Seeing Shen Yu, Xu Shuili gave a blurry-eyed smile. “Sit down, sit! Why were you so slow? I already ordered a few rounds for you.”
Shen Yu picked up a cocktail and took a sip. “You’re just drinking too fast. You shouldn’t drink like this when there’s no one with you.”
“Don’t I have you?” Xu Shuili laughed dismissively, but as she looked up, her eyes began to mist over. “Tell me… why is falling in love so hard?”
Shen Yu didn’t speak; she just tilted her head back and took another sip of her drink.
“Forget it, what’s the point of talking to you about this? You’ve never even been in a relationship,” Xu Shuili grumbled.
After a long silence, Shen Yu said, “…Mm.”
“You don’t understand,” Xu Shuili said with a bitter face. “When we were in the honeymoon phase, she was so good to me. But it’s only been a few months and she’s already gone cold. She even dared to bring up a breakup. I’m seriously angry!”
Shen Yu’s hand tightened slightly around her glass. “Why?”
Xu Shuili snorted. “Why else? She fell out of love. Love comes fast and goes fast! Shen Yu, that’s just adult life for you!”
Shen Yu whispered, “Not necessarily.”
Xu Shuili’s expression immediately changed. She glared at Shen Yu. “How can you say that? Did someone feed you some lies or make you empty promises? Let me tell you, don’t believe that nonsense. Some people are just like that, when they like you, their sweet talk is the best thing you’ve ever heard, but as soon as they stop liking you, their past words are nothing but farts! Totally useless!”
Shen Yu pursed her lips and asked, “Have you been in many relationships?”
Hearing this, Xu Shuili slumped onto the table. “I guess… only two or three.”
“Two or three… is it easy to forget an ex?”
Xu Shuili snapped her head up, looking at her suspiciously. “Why are you asking that?”
Shen Yu replied nonchalantly, “Seeing you drink so much, I just got curious.”
“It’s alright, I guess,” Xu Shuili said, tentatively accepting the explanation. “Only the first love is really hard to forget. It gets better after that.”
Shen Yu lowered her gaze and whispered, “Mm.”
But the sound was so faint that Xu Shuili didn’t hear it, turning back to ramble about how she and her first love broke up.
Shen Yu had listened very intently back then.
Thinking about it now, Xu Shuili felt more and more that something was off.
At the time, she thought she had found a soulmate who understood her; it turned out it was because Shen Yu had a story of her own.
Shen Yu had hidden it so deeply.
It was only later that Xu Shuili learned about Shen Yu’s true background. She could only say that it was no wonder Shen Yu could live so freely in this “dirty” entertainment industry.
Her status as the eldest daughter of a major conglomerate was right there.
However, aside from being a bit casual with her work, Shen Yu didn’t really use her title as a socialite.
Xu Shuili had secretly looked into it out of curiosity, and once she understood, she completely sympathized with Shen Yu’s choices. Her family was simply too much, well, except for her younger brother, who was a total “sister-con.”
Shen Yu’s family company had been listed for years and had already leaped into the national top fifty.
But when Shen Yu was only two years old, her biological mother passed away. Less than a year later, her father brought a pregnant stepmother through the Shen family gates.
Shen Yu’s biological mother had been an excellent actress, beautiful, talented, and with many classic films to her name.
Shen Yu couldn’t deny that her father loved her mother; even now, there was a photo of them in his desk drawer.
But that wasn’t an excuse to white-wash his fickleness. Every time she saw her father being intimate with her stepmother, she felt a bit nauseous.
To clearly remember a past lover yet be so intimate with another.
Because of this, her father was always searching for her mother’s shadow in her.
Shen Yu had inherited all of her mother’s strengths, including her looks and her acting talent.
She was forced to live in her mother’s image, yet few people ever asked if she was willing.
Except for… Wen Xi.
That year they first met, Wen Xi stood at the bottom of the steps and asked hesitantly, “I secretly watched you training just now. You seemed a bit unhappy. Why? Are you tired?”
That was the first time her heart had ever been stirred.
In all the years since the breakup, Shen Yu rarely mentioned her ex-girlfriend to outsiders.
Firstly, because of her status, her sexual orientation was a difficult thing to reveal.
Secondly, just the thought of Wen Xi made her heart ache, let alone talking about her with others.
Wen Xi sat in her office, buried in work for a while. After finishing the final details with the post-production team, she packaged the files and sent them to Xu Shuili’s studio email.
She stretched and then tore off the bandage wrapped around her right hand, tossing it into the trash.
In a daze, she could almost see the faint pink scar in the center of her right palm.
Checking the time, it was already 5:30 PM.
She stood up, walked out of her office, and lightly tapped on the glass of the main office area. “Everyone, you can head off. You guys decide where we’re going for the team dinner.”
Hearing this, everyone immediately slammed their mice onto their desks.
There was a collective cheer.
“Hotpot, BBQ, roast meat, or crawfish?”
“Hotpot! Definitely hotpot! I haven’t had it in ages!”
“I agree! How about that place we went to last time? The flavor was pretty good.”
Wen Xi smiled. “If no one has any objections, those with cars can give a lift to those without. Let’s head out.”
Everyone packed up their things with lightning speed, their work fatigue vanishing instantly.
Wen Xi followed behind them, chatting with Pu Tao.
[Peach Peach Peach]: Boss! How could you guys have a dinner without calling me, boohoo…
[T.T]: Hurry up and come. I didn’t say we wouldn’t wait for you. It’s the same hotpot place from last time.
[Peach Peach Peach]: Heehee, I’m actually already on my way!
[T.T]: [Angry emoji]
[T.T]: By the way, I didn’t get a chance to ask, what happened at the field site?
[Peach Peach Peach]: Small thing. A few bouquets weren’t to the client’s liking, so I had to go with them to a few shops to re-order.
Wen Xi frowned.
[T.T]: They had to call you over for something like that?
[Peach Peach Peach]: Nothing I could do. The client actually said she didn’t trust anyone else’s aesthetic and insisted I go with her.
Wen Xi had nothing to say to that; she even gave a helpless sigh. After all, the client is king.
She typed sincerely:
[T.T]: You’ve worked hard.
As they chatted, they got into the elevator. Wen Xi didn’t have a car either, so she hitched a ride with her employees to the neighboring mall.
Once they arrived, Pu Tao followed them in shortly after.
Wen Xi had booked a private room. The temperature inside was perfect. As soon as Pu Tao entered, she collapsed into a seat.
Wen Xi looked at her with a smile. “To reward you, what do you want to eat?”
Pu Tao held up three fingers. “I want three plates of duck intestines.”
Just as Wen Xi was about to say something, her phone suddenly rang. She saw the caller ID and hurriedly said to just order whatever, she was paying, then stepped out to find a quiet corner to take the call.
“Hello.”
The person calling was Yu Qiao.
“Sorry, I just saw my phone. Did Shen Yu go to find you?”
Wen Xi said, “Yes, she was staking me out at the entrance of the neighborhood.”
Yu Qiao sighed. “Didn’t I tell you not to go out lately?”
Wen Xi said softly, “Something came up today, I had no choice.”
Yu Qiao: “You probably guessed she lured you out on purpose, right? It’s been ten years. You’ve changed, and so has she. She’s been through the wringer in the entertainment industry for so many years; these tactics are second nature to her.”
Wen Xi frowned. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
Yu Qiao: “…Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Wen Xi accepted the apology readily. “Anyway, she can’t do anything to me.”
Yu Qiao laughed. “You sound quite proud of that?”
Wen Xi retorted, “I just didn’t say anything, that’s all. No matter what she asked, I didn’t tell her.”
Yu Qiao was silent for a long time. Wen Xi could faintly hear the sound of a lighter clicking.
Yu Qiao said, “Actually, it wouldn’t matter if you came clean with her. About what happened back then… you were innocent.”
“I don’t want to talk about this with you,” Wen Xi said, looking at the darkening sky outside, dotted with a few stars. “You know, if I wanted to tell her, I would have told her long ago.”
At first, she didn’t say anything because she was afraid of affecting Shen Yu’s future. She was afraid their relationship would be exposed and Shen Yu’s career would be ruined before it even started.
Later, she didn’t say anything because she was afraid Shen Yu would feel too guilty. She was afraid it would bring Shen Yu a heavy burden.
She didn’t want their relationship to be tainted by Shen Yu’s pity or debt. That kind of emotion wasn’t what she wanted at all.
She wanted Shen Yu to love her from the bottom of her heart. She wanted their relationship to be pure and untarnished.
She didn’t want to see Shen Yu sad because of her again. She didn’t want to see the heartache in Shen Yu’s eyes every time she looked at her if she knew the truth.
She only wanted Shen Yu to love her.
Not to love her based on a desire to compensate her.
If that was how it had to be, she would rather Shen Yu never know the truth for the rest of her life.
“Then let’s change the subject,” Yu Qiao said, having learned a bit about Wen Xi’s temperament over the years. “You said she seems unable to forget you?”
Wen Xi said precisely, “It’s possible.”
“So what do you plan to do?”
Wen Xi sighed. “I think I’m being very contradictory. When I heard Shen Yu say she’s been looking for me for ten years, I was flustered on one hand, but secretly happy on the other.”
Wen Xi laughed. “Am I a bad person? I’m basically trying to have my cake and eat it too.”