The door opened, but Hua Yanqiu had not yet emerged from the bathroom.
This hotel primarily catered to business travelers, so the bathroom privacy was excellent. Although the partitions were glass, they were frosted; not a single glimpse of the interior could be seen from the outside.
Shen Manyu cast a quick glance in that direction before withdrawing her gaze. She helped Sister Qi arrange the breakfast items on the table one by one, asking casually:
“Since Brother Mo used to be at the same company as you, and you even acknowledge his talent, why did he jump ship to our small, unknown company? Isn’t that essentially ruining his own career prospects?”
Sister Qi didn’t overthink the question. It wasn’t some deep, dark secret, and since Shen Manyu had asked, she answered directly: “My interactions with him weren’t extensive. We were just colleagues who shared a bit of professional camaraderie.”
“The decision he made was very sudden. No one in the company could understand it at the time. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted on having his way. There was nothing we could do.”
Sister Qi seemed truly unable to let go of his choice, her voice still tinged with regret as she mentioned it. Though she wasn’t the type to nag, she couldn’t help but say this much to Shen Manyu.
“Your company may be small, but it’s backed by the massive Su family. The current head of the family, the eldest Miss Su, focuses her energy on real estate and finance; she doesn’t care much for the entertainment industry’s trifles.”
“That being said, your company still has a background. Very few people in the industry would dare to move against you proactively. If they were to displease the Su family behind you, the loss would outweigh the gain.”
So that was it.
These words were a subtle hint.
Shen Manyu and Hua Yanqiu were getting closer. If Shen Manyu’s reputation remained as poor as it had been, Hua Yanqiu would be affected to some degree.
Sister Qi’s underlying meaning was clear: if Shen Manyu wanted to resolve the recent wave of negative public opinion, she shouldn’t try to fight it alone and powerless. Instead, she should seek help from her manager and her company.
Shen Manyu picked up on her goodwill, but the two of them weren’t thinking in the same direction. Shen Manyu’s thoughts naturally drifted back to her conversation with Mo Cheng the previous night.
No wonder a minor 18th-tier celebrity like the original owner could cause such a massive stir over a “stolen script” incident and still have Mo Cheng settle things with the big-name stars she had offended.
Shen Manyu fell into deep thought. As Sister Qi finished speaking, she couldn’t help but steal another glance at her. After Mo Cheng jumped to Yaoxing, Sister Qi never imagined that he would immediately take over Shen Manyu’s management.
And not long after being under his wing, Shen Manyu had started making trouble for Hua Yanqiu.
Mo Cheng was undoubtedly a reserved person, but a person’s feelings cannot be hidden forever. His special attitude toward Hua Yanqiu was obvious to any discerning eye.
Sister Qi had even wondered if he—driven by unrequited love turned to resentment—was deliberately instigating Shen Manyu to make life difficult for Hua Yanqiu.
“Is he coming to see you today?” Sister Qi asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Contacting Mo Cheng last night had been a desperate move of necessity. If Mo Cheng were to follow Shen Manyu here today with so many “troublemakers” present, she feared the situation might spiral out of her control.
Shen Manyu finished setting out the breakfast and pulled out a chair to sit down.
Guessing the intent behind Sister Qi’s question, she said reassuringly, “Brother Mo told me yesterday that he’s quite busy lately. I’m not the only artist he manages. He probably won’t have time to accompany me before the filming starts.”
Sister Qi let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, her tensed body finally relaxing slightly.
Just as they finished their preparations, the bathroom door pushed open. Hua Yanqiu walked out, drying her hair.
Her hair was soaking wet, droplets of water sliding slowly down her jade-white skin. Her cheeks were flushed from the steam, and even her usually cold, clear eyes seemed a bit misty.
Shen Manyu leaned back in her chair in a languid posture. Her gaze swept past the dripping strands of hair and landed on Hua Yanqiu’s water-moistened red lips.
Her gaze didn’t hold any particular lust; instead, it carried a touch of quiet appreciation and playfulness.
Under that gaze, Hua Yanqiu’s entire body stiffened involuntarily, and her movements as she dried her hair became a bit rigid.
The roles of the two women seemed to have suddenly flipped, a complete reversal of the situation from the previous night.
Granted, some people simply preferred to shower after waking up—it was a part of her daily routine.
But being caught in the act by Shen Manyu like this, for some reason, turned a very ordinary habit into something inexplicably colored with a layer of ambiguity.
Sister Qi, standing on the sidelines, was no fool. How could she miss the exchange of looks between them?
She couldn’t help but close her eyes, feeling like a giant lightbulb—her presence was so overwhelming it was practically hindering the pheromones vibrating in the air.
And yet, she had no choice but to play the villain.
She stood up, blocking Hua Yanqiu’s line of sight to Shen Manyu, and shot the latter a stern glare, signaling her to act more normally.
When she spoke, however, her tone remained relatively calm: “Go dry your hair quickly and come eat. If you delay any longer, breakfast will be cold.”
Hua Yanqiu nodded slightly. As she picked up the familiar hairdryer, she couldn’t help but remember that this was the very item she had lent to Shen Manyu yesterday, which had then been returned.
Yesterday, when Shen Manyu had emerged from her shower wearing only a thin nightgown, the collar of her dress had been slightly dampened by the droplets falling from her hair.
While the hair had been blown dry later, the clothes weren’t so easily fixed.
Just as when the two of them leaned in extremely close afterward, and Hua Yanqiu had helped pull up her slipping collar—her fingertips had lightly brushed against the damp fabric.
That cool temperature seemed to linger on her sensitive fingertips even now.
Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who thought of this incident upon seeing the familiar object.
The smile on Shen Manyu’s face deepened. She propped her hands on the table, leaning forward as she drawled, “Sister, do you need me to help blow-dry your hair?”
Here we go again, here we go again.
Sister Qi felt that familiar breath catch in her chest; a sense of suffocation washed over her heart.
She had countless complaints she wanted to vent, but she didn’t even know where to start.
Clearly, these two had been at each other’s throats before—though it was mostly Shen Manyu making things difficult while Hua Yanqiu couldn’t be bothered to pay her any mind.
How had they suddenly evolved from enemies, or even love rivals, into whatever this was?
Only a single night had passed!
Or was it possible that the “dimensionality reduction strike” of Shen Manyu’s stunning looks really worked that well on a beauty-lover like Hua Yanqiu?
Hua Yanqiu paused as she was about to press the power switch, her expression complicated.
As long as Shen Manyu was bold enough to ask, she was bold enough to agree. Unfortunately, with Sister Qi sitting there like a strict guardian, the setting was truly inappropriate.
She could only cast a regretful look at Shen Manyu. Shen Manyu sat back down, unable to suppress a laugh at the scene.
It felt like two young lovers who had caught feelings for each other, exchanging secret glances and making ambiguous little gestures right under the nose of one of their parents. Amidst the worry and caution, the thrill of it was actually more prominent.
It just so happened that this “mother-in-law” was extremely dissatisfied with her “daughter-in-law,” staying on guard at every turn, looking even more vigilant than if she were watching for a thief.