Song Rumeng took the bus back to her rental apartment. The apartments near the company weren’t cheap—a third of her monthly salary went toward rent. It was pride that had made her rent this place after meeting Bai Yuzhou—good location, relatively new building. Yet even so, Song Rumeng still remembered the look of natural disdain in Bai Yuzhou’s eyes the first time he came here.
Now that Bai Yuzhou was unwilling to contact her, she wondered whether she should move somewhere else—after all, it really wasn’t cheap for her.
As she stepped out of the elevator, Song Rumeng spotted a dark figure standing by her door. The man’s clothes were too small for him, tight and ill-fitting, made of rough, faded fabric. He wore a baseball cap, head down as he smoked—the floor at his feet littered with cigarette butts, the cheap smoke filling the entire hallway.
Song Rumeng’s heart tightened, then flared with anger. Her building had four units per floor, and she knew her neighbors well—they were all white-collar workers or junior managers from nearby big companies. If anyone saw this, she couldn’t bear to imagine what they’d think of her behind her back.
Suppressing her irritation, she hurried over and asked in a low voice, “Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you? You can call me ahead of time if you need something.”
Xiao Chen looked at her, noticing the barely concealed annoyance in her eyes. He clenched his jaw so hard that he tasted iron in his mouth.
Song Rumeng felt uneasy under his gaze. She looked away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and asked with feigned concern, “How’s work going?”
“Quit.”
“Why’d you quit?”
“They found out I’d been in prison. Didn’t want me.”
Song Rumeng fell silent, unsure what to feel. Back in her naive youth, she had liked Xiao Chen for his good looks and his willingness to fight for her. He had liked her too. Her family situation was complicated—her father was in poor health and couldn’t do heavy labor, her mother had a questionable reputation, and her grandparents favored boys over girls. Because it was a small town, many classmates knew about her family, and she’d been ostracized since childhood. Only Xiao Chen was willing to protect her, even standing up against those who bullied her.
Xiao Chen had hurt someone while defending her, and she had been consumed with guilt, vowing to wait for him to get out of prison and build a good life together.
But she got into a university far from home. There, no one knew about her family. No one knew about the boyfriend in prison who had hurt someone for her. People only saw her as pretty, smart, gentle—a girl from a poor background who had made something of herself.
She didn’t want to go back to that old life. And on top of that, she’d met the wealthy second-generation Bai Yuzhou. His father had been featured in financial magazines multiple times—some said his family had more money than the richest names on the domestic rich list. They were the real deal.
Song Rumeng wanted to change her fate. She didn’t think she was wrong.
She just hadn’t expected Xiao Chen to come looking for her so soon. What good would coming to her do? If she could go back in time, she wouldn’t have wanted him to act so rashly.
All she could do now was find him a job to support himself and then get him to stop bothering her.
Xiao Chen raised his hand and took one last drag, then tossed the cigarette butt and ground it out with his foot. It was still cold out, but he wore black sneakers—the first pair he’d bought after being released, costing twenty yuan. His gaze drifted to the woman beside him—brown leather boots, a light gray midi skirt, a blue sweater, a handbag on her wrist, and a brown coat draped over her arm. She looked beautiful and polished, completely unlike the girl who once hid behind him with red-rimmed eyes. It suddenly struck him that coming out of prison, he was the only one still stuck in the past.
Song Rumeng didn’t invite him inside, but her tone was laced with worry. “Achen, don’t worry. I’ll ask around and help you find something.”
As if remembering something, she added, “Have you eaten? There’s no food at home. Let’s go get some noodles—I remember you love beef noodles.”
Xiao Chen looked up at her. “What’s your relationship with that Bai Yuzhou?”
Song Rumeng faltered. “Ach… Achen, what do you mean?”
Xiao Chen let out a bitter laugh—whether mocking her or himself, it was hard to tell. “Song Rumeng, I really fucking regret it.”
His parents had divorced. His grandparents were dead. The uncles and aunts who had doted on him as a child now looked at him with strange, wary eyes.
He had once been his family’s hope. Now he had lost everything.
Song Rumeng’s hands unconsciously clenched. “Xiao Chen, I’m the one who wronged you. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Will you marry me?”
Song Rumeng fell silent. Xiao Chen’s eyes reddened. He gritted his teeth. “Fine.”
He nodded, turned, and walked away. But after two steps, he stopped. “Oh, and I heard that boyfriend of yours isn’t really some rich second-generation heir. He’s just an adopted son—taken in for a marriage alliance. I wonder if his wealthy family would still acknowledge him if he ends up with you.”
With that, he strode off, his tall frame carrying a hint of desolation.
But Song Rumeng didn’t regret it. To her now, Xiao Chen was nothing but a burden.
His words, however, sent her mind spinning. What did he mean by “adopted son”? Her heart pounded. She thought back to how Bai Yuzhou feared his father—even toward his father’s assistant, he was excessively deferential.
She had assumed the dynamics of wealthy families were complicated, that father-son bonds were cold, but blood was blood. As long as they both held on, there would surely be a good outcome.
Now it all made sense.
Bai Yuzhou had disappeared because he regretted it—was that it?
Panic seized Song Rumeng. She suddenly realized that what she feared more than losing Bai Yuzhou was losing her last chance to step into the world of the elite.
The exams took a week. The last one ended in the morning. Gu Xi and Fang Pingping left the exam hall and had ramen at the cafeteria. On their way back to the dorm, they passed many students dragging suitcases home for the holidays.
The school didn’t allow students to stay in the dorms over the New Year—there had been an accident before, when some students had cooked in their dorm during the holiday and started a fire.
Fang Pingping didn’t want to go home. Going back meant endless housework with no time to study, and her parents would pressure her to go on blind dates. She didn’t want to share all that with Gu Xi, so she just said she wanted to stay on campus a couple more days.
Gu Xi knew about her family situation and invited her to stay at her apartment instead. Fang Pingping declined, feeling it wasn’t appropriate.
Before the two could settle on a plan, Gu Xi received a call from Hong Jie, the makeup artist she’d worked with before.
“Hong Jie.”
“Xixi, I heard you ran into some trouble on that last production. I only found out recently. It’s my fault—I just thought that role suited you and didn’t look into anything else beforehand.”
“Jie, it’s okay. I’m back at school now. Don’t blame yourself—it had nothing to do with you.”
“I know, but I still feel bad. I just lined up a good role for you—it’s another supporting part, but it’s really solid. The director is someone I know, and I recommended you. The role doesn’t have heavy screen time—shooting starts at the end of the month and runs through after the New Year. If you’re interested, I’ll give him a call right now…”
Gu Xi understood what she meant—if she agreed, Hong Jie would secure the role for her.
She hesitated. She didn’t think she was a very good actress, and after what happened last time, she felt a bit wary of the industry. But when she heard it would run through the New Year, she felt a pull toward it.
In previous years, she’d always been summoned to the Gu family home for the holidays. This year, she didn’t want to go anywhere. She glanced at Fang Pingping beside her, who nodded vigorously and whispered, “I’ll go with you.”
So Gu Xi agreed. “Jie, I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Don’t worry about it. I want to do you a favor too—I have a feeling you’re going to be famous someday.”
Hong Jie didn’t hide her intentions at all, and her honesty actually made Gu Xi feel at ease. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Then I’ll be counting on you, Hong Jie.”
After hanging up, Fang Pingping immediately said, “We’re about to graduate. Branching out now is good for figuring out our career direction. Even if we don’t make it in this industry, we’ll still gain experience dealing with people.”
She felt that last time, Gu Xi’s lack of social experience had led to her being taken advantage of. And there was something else she didn’t say out loud—although Gu Xi came from a well-off family, she didn’t want her to remain a sheltered flower in a greenhouse.
“This time I’ll go with you. I’ll bring my books and won’t leave your side.”
“Okay.”
This time, Gu Xi didn’t have to wait long. Hong Jie soon sent her the production contact. Gu Xi wasn’t great at handling these things, so Fang Pingping replied on her behalf, confirming the time, location, pay, and other details.
Gu Xi felt a bit bad—Fang Pingping was preparing for grad school and civil service exams, and she felt like she was taking up too much of her time. She promised to split the pay fifty-fifty.
Fang Pingping didn’t like taking advantage of others. She felt the down jacket Gu Xi had given her was already expensive enough, and insisted that a standard assistant’s wage would be fine.
Gu Xi couldn’t talk her out of it, but decided she’d give her a big red envelope during the New Year instead.
Over the next few days, Gu Xi looked up relevant materials and watched similar films. She didn’t know much about acting, so after watching each scene, she practiced in front of the mirror, mimicking the performances. When she felt she wasn’t quite getting it right, she looked up reviews online and practiced over and over.
Before she left for the production, Gu Xi received a call from Gu Chenghai. His tone carried the reprimanding air of someone in authority. “You’ve been on break for days and still haven’t come home? Bring Yuzhou over for dinner in the next couple of days.”
Hearing that familiar voice stirred nothing in Gu Xi’s heart. In her previous life, she’d been locked away in a psychiatric hospital—Gu Chenghai surely knew, yet she’d never received anything from him.
“I have things to do at school. You two eat without me.”
His voice turned sharp with displeasure. “Gu Xi, is that any way to talk to your father?”
She hung up coldly. A few seconds later, he called back. She glanced at the screen, then blocked the number.
Fang Pingping told Gu Xi she’d posted a job listing for a bodyguard. “I figured I’d try it out—the pay I offered was pretty low. To my surprise, someone actually applied. I thought maybe we should meet them. We’ll be there for about a month, and just the two of us girls might not be safe.”
Gu Xi thought she was being very thorough. “Let’s meet them then. Just set a time.”
“Okay, how about two this afternoon?”
Gu Xi didn’t think much more about it and went back to watching shows and writing up her notes.
At one in the afternoon, the two left the dorm. The meeting spot was a café near campus, so they decided to walk over with umbrellas. Unexpectedly, they ran into a familiar face at the school gate.
Ling Jiaojiao called out to Gu Xi, then sized up Fang Pingping with a sidelong glance, pouting in feigned grievance. “Xixi, now that you have a new friend, you’re ignoring me.”
In her past life, Gu Xi had truly considered Ling Jiaojiao a good friend. She didn’t have many friends—Ling Jiaojiao was the only girl she’d grown up with. If she had openly admitted to liking Bai Yuzhou, Gu Xi wouldn’t have been upset.
But Ling Jiaojiao didn’t do that. She toyed with her like a fool, and in the end, she even said to her face: “Xixi, don’t be like your mother, okay? Sometimes love just doesn’t make sense.”
She knew perfectly well that her parents’ marriage was the deepest wound in Gu Xi’s heart—her mother had been driven to instability after discovering Gu Chenghai’s infidelity—yet she deliberately used it to hurt her.
So looking at Ling Jiaojiao now, Gu Xi replied calmly, “Jiaojiao, adult friendships can be just as unreasonable. You’re so immature—no wonder your parents prefer your sister.”
The girl across from her stiffened for a moment, then stared at Gu Xi in disbelief, clearly not expecting her to say something so harsh.
She knew how much she hated her sister. How could she hurt her like this?
Gu Xi felt a sense of satisfaction. In good spirits, she took Fang Pingping’s arm and walked away.
Fang Pingping rubbed her nose guiltily, feeling a bit like the mistress who’d stolen someone else’s husband in a TV drama.