Jiang Li was an artist under “Hurricane Entertainment,” and the company had rented her an apartment in a prime downtown location.
Because this area had good security, high privacy, and convenient transportation, quite a few celebrities and stars chose to live here. Occasionally, when taking the elevator, one would always run into a familiar face or two.
Since she would soon be participating in a fifteen-day variety show, Yang Yi had recently deliberately given Jiang Li some time off to rest, allowing her to appear before the public in better shape.
At this moment, it was just after dinner.
After finishing a plate of greens whose calories had been precisely calculated—no wait, a salad—Jiang Li sat cross-legged on the living room sofa—
Continuing to stare at the black long trench coat placed before her with a grim, troubled expression.
Yesterday at the hotel, Yang Yi had to leave in a hurry due to some last-minute company business, only instructing Xiao Qing to see her home.
Just before leaving, Xiao Qing, who was in the habit of checking for any forgotten items, had a professional relapse and keenly spotted the black trench coat left forgotten in the corner.
When Jiang Li saw that coat, a few images flashed through her mind again.
Her conscience was pricking her badly, so she wanted to have Xiao Qing take the coat back first, and later see if Sister Yang could contact Shang Chi’s agent to return it.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Qing only glanced at the trench coat before waving her hands in terror: “Sis, this is a jacket Shang Chi has worn—I wouldn’t dare take it home! My little shabby apartment can’t afford clothes worth six figures in a minute!”
“If it accidentally got dirty… or bitten by a mouse…” Xiao Qing wore an expression like she was about to make a heroic sacrifice, covering her chest with both hands and stepping back a few paces, saying mournfully, “Selling me off wouldn’t even cover the cost!”
Jiang Li clicked her tongue and casually flipped the coat over: “It’s not that exaggerated—”
Lowering her eyes, she spotted a small, inconspicuous logo in the corner of the coat.
Every stroke radiated the smell of money.
The word “exaggerated” that Jiang Li hadn’t finished saying was swallowed back down, replaced midway by a single-syllable curse starting with “s.”
That dog Shang Chi really was as extravagantly wasteful as ever, ten years and counting.
Out of nowhere, she recalled the time in her first year of high school when Shang Chi had transferred to their school.
That day, the boy’s hair was a bit messy, clearly just waking up without fixing it, wearing a lazy, cocky expression.
When the teacher called his name, he leaned one hand on the doorframe and answered a languid “Here.”
Yes, that’s right—he was late on his very first day of transferring. Just that cocky.
At the time, he was wearing a pair of overhyped, ridiculously expensive collab sneakers, strolling slowly in from the doorway.
When the homeroom teacher asked him to introduce himself, he raised an eyebrow.
He simply picked up the chalk from the podium, turned around, and wrote two big characters on the blackboard: Shang Chi.
Those two characters took up at least a third of the blackboard.
The flamboyant, sweeping handwriting was just like him—loud and arrogant.
Back then, he’d probably transferred in a hurry, so his school uniform hadn’t arrived yet, forcing him to temporarily wear his own clothes.
A simple t-shirt and pants.
Others might not have noticed, but she spotted those understated logos at a glance.
Jiang Li raised an eyebrow slightly.
A provincial first-tier high school that only cared about grades—since when did it take in people with connections?
As Jiang Li was thinking this, she didn’t notice that Shang Chi had already come down from the podium and was walking toward her.
Just as she was lost in thought, the boy leisurely came to a stop in front of her desk.
In the silence of the room, he suddenly raised a hand and tapped her desk with his knuckles.
A playful expression on his face: “Classmate, you’ve got ink on your face.”
He paused, then added, “That serious, huh?”
Jiang Li snapped back to reality.
She assumed he meant she was studying so intently that she hadn’t even noticed the ink smeared on her face, and was kindly pointing it out.
So she reached for the small mirror in her drawer to check.
But just as she lowered her head, she clearly heard this jerk drawl out in a teasing tone: “No need to stare so, unblinkingly.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Then, amid the murmurs of the crowd, the boy casually took a seat in the empty spot behind her.
Whether it was a clash of vibes or simply bad chemistry, from that day on, the feud between them only grew deeper, and their chaotic, riotous high school life kicked off from that moment.
For three years of high school, they were at each other’s throats—like needle against thread, neither willing to yield.
From major standardized exams to trivial daily matters, they were both determined to outdo the other.
But…
Jiang Li furrowed her brow.
Before graduation, there was a period when she always felt Shang Chi was acting a bit strange.
As for how exactly he was strange, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Then, during the summer after the college entrance exams, just as everyone had submitted their preferences and everything was about to settle into place—
Shang Chi went abroad.
The news came out of nowhere and caused quite a stir at the time.
According to Shen Luojia, even their homeroom teacher was stunned, because in all three years of high school, Shang Chi had never shown any intention of studying abroad for college.
After the admission results came out, Jiang Li took some time to accompany Shen Luojia back to school, helping her retrieve some things from their classroom.
The classroom was empty at the time, but on the backdrop wall at the back of the room, the notes they’d written in the first semester of senior year—their dream universities—were still there.
Jiang Li glanced over casually and, among the dense cluster of colorful sticky notes, spotted someone’s bold, flamboyant handwriting.
What it said was clearly the top domestic institution—Hua University.
Just like hers.
Jiang Li hugged a throw pillow and suddenly leaned back against the sofa, her mind going blank for a moment.
So…
Why exactly did Shang Chi suddenly go abroad for college back then?
In the quiet environment, the phone rang abruptly, cutting off her thoughts.
Seeing that it was Yang Yi calling, Jiang Li answered immediately. “Sister Yang, I was just about to find you—”
“Li!” Yang Yi shouted in a high-pitched voice, directly cutting Jiang Li off.
Jiang Li felt a vague sense of dread at her tone. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
She quickly ran through recent events in her mind, and her heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that she and Shang Chi had been photographed together last night?
“You’re trending! Have you seen it?”
Jiang Li frowned.
No way?
They really got photographed?