Jiang Wanting entered Shen Zui’s official fan community and scrolled to a Weibo post forwarded by Shen Zui’s promotional fan account, originally posted by Shen Zui’s studio.
[Shen Zui Studio v: Mr. Shen Zui will participate in an event hosted by “Fashion New Entertainment” today at 4 p.m. Remember to click the link to watch the livestream!]
Jiang Wanting let out a surprised “Huh?”—Shen Zui had an event this afternoon?
After the studio posted this update, many fans were buzzing with excitement. This was Shen Zui’s first public appearance since announcing his engagement.
It wouldn’t be long before Shen Zui entered a filming schedule, making him even less visible. Once he started shooting, he would practically vanish, rarely taking on any commercial activities until the project wrapped up.
At 4 p.m., Jiang Wanting tuned in on time to the “Fashion New Entertainment” online livestream. As soon as she clicked in, she saw a top female star walking the red carpet.
With fair skin, striking looks, and long legs, she wore a blue starlight gradient evening gown. Her makeup was delicate and sweet, her legs long and straight, and her face radiated a confident smile.
Even though Jiang Wanting didn’t usually follow dramas, she knew exactly who this was—top female star “Zhao Xizi.” A former child star, she had risen to fame in recent years to become a leading actress. Her fanbase was strong, and her popularity nationwide was undeniable, earning her the title of the nation’s sweetheart.
The hosts, a man and a woman, spoke into the microphone in unison: “Let’s welcome Xizi!”
“Xizi looks absolutely stunning today! We heard that your drama ‘Setting Sail’ just wrapped up. What are your upcoming plans and activities?”
Zhao Xizi took the microphone and gave a slight nod, her voice gentle and soft. “I’ll probably be heading into another filming project soon!”
“Great! Could you give us a little hint about which new project it might be?”
Zhao Xizi smiled warmly and replied gracefully, “Let’s keep a bit of mystery! If all goes well, I’ll be entering the set in a few days, and everyone will find out then.”
“Alright then, we’ll look forward to Xizi’s new work!”
With an elegant smile, Zhao Xizi waved to the photographers and strode away in her towering heels, her beautiful face glowing with confidence and sweetness.
“Now, let’s welcome the next guest…” The male host paused deliberately. “Young actor Shen Zui!”
The female host chimed in excitedly, “Let’s welcome Shen Zui!”
As soon as Shen Zui appeared, the comments in the livestream began scrolling rapidly. No one had expected Shen Zui to appear right after Zhao Xizi instead of as the grand finale.
True to the fashion event, Shen Zui wore a pre-season outfit from a renowned brand, with a brooch on his chest worth millions.
Dressed in a light-colored suit and sporting a stylish crescent-moon-shaped fringe, Shen Zui exuded an air of elegance and refinement in every gesture.
Jiang Wanting couldn’t help but sigh in admiration—her husband was so handsome! That teardrop mole was absolutely perfect, and those slightly upturned peach blossom eyes… This time, he really was her husband! “Hehe,” she giggled foolishly.
The livestream comments were flooded with “Ahhhhhhh!”
The screen was filled with screams of excitement.
[Ahhhhhhh, my husband is so handsome!!]
Comments from Shen Zui’s fans drew criticism from fans of other celebrities.
[How dare this guy show his face? He’s lost over a million followers already.]
[Handsome, yes, but what a shame—he’s already engaged.]
[Husband? Not a chance. The moment he announced his relationship, he stopped being your husband.]
[What’s wrong with you upstairs? I’ll call him whatever I want. Do you live by the sea? Mind your own business.]
“Shen Zui truly dazzles us today!” the female host couldn’t help but exclaim.
“What activities has Shen Zui been busy with lately? Can you share with our fans?”
Shen Zui held the microphone with his long, distinctively jointed fingers, his voice deep and steady. “They’re all private arrangements, not convenient to disclose.”
“Uh…” Both hosts were momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond.
“Yes, since they’re private arrangements, it’s not convenient to disclose,” the female host, seasoned from years in the industry, smoothly defused the situation the next second. “Our fans might be disappointed then.”
After Shen Zui finished the red carpet walk, Jiang Wanting didn’t continue watching. She picked up her iPad to continue admiring his looks—Shen Zui’s studio was as efficient as ever in releasing photos.
This time, it was a rare nine-photo grid.
Jiang Wanting couldn’t help but repost and like it. So handsome, so handsome! Ugh, this is my husband!
At H University, it was inevitable to run into people you disliked within the same college.
“Hey, Wanwan, what a coincidence!” Liu Yiwen was dressed youthfully and stylishly.
Since the public elective class was shared by two groups, wasn’t running into each other perfectly normal? “What a coincidence,” my foot—such an affected, hypocritical white lotus. Jiang Wanting didn’t want to engage with her.
But Liu Yiwen refused to let her have her way, insisting on sitting next to her and launching into a torrent of complaints on behalf of Lin Zhongye.
“Wanwan, are you really going to ignore Lin Zhongye from now on?”
“I heard he was made to kneel as punishment by his grandfather last night, apparently because of you. The reason was that your grandfather went to talk to his grandfather.”
Hearing this, Jiang Wanting muttered softly, “Serves him right.”
Liu Yiwen caught Jiang Wanting’s words and looked at her with a sorrowful expression. “How can you be so heartless? You two were once together. Hearing that he was punished like that, you still act so aloof and indifferent.”
Jiang Wanting grew tired of listening and said with a cold, expressionless face, “Can you shut up?”
“You…”
The class bell rang, forcing Liu Yiwen to swallow her words.
After class, Jiang Wanting really didn’t want to deal with her and simply moved to another seat.
After school, she checked her phone and saw that the [Female College Student Passionate Chat] group was tagging her every day.
[He Jing: Has Wanwan really turned over a new leaf?]
[Zhou Zaiyue: Miss Jiang used to be even more playful than us, but now she’s nowhere to be seen.]
[Liang Mengmeng: @Jiang Wanting Come out already!]
[Liang Yi: @Jiang Wanting We’re waiting for you at our usual spot. If you don’t show up, we’ll keep tagging you.]
[He Jing: Yeah, we’ll tag you until you come out @Jiang Wanting]
[Zhou Zaiyue: @Jiang Wanting]
Jiang Wanting resisted the urge to disband the group chat. Since they were so eager to see her, she might as well go meet them.
She replied in the group: Tomorrow, wait for me.
…
The next day, Saturday.
Jiang Wanting didn’t dress up much, casually throwing on a long dress. Standing in front of the mirror, she frowned slightly.
It looked a bit too plain. After some thought, she changed into a black spaghetti-strap maxi dress, letting her black curly hair fall loosely.
Slipping into a pair of stilettos, Jiang Wanting twirled in satisfaction.
Downstairs, Nanny Rong saw her coming down the stairs in high heels, carrying a bag.
“Young Mistress, where are you going so late?”
“Oh, that… my friends invited me out for dinner. Don’t prepare dinner for me.”
Jiang Wanting lied without batting an eye. “By the way, I’ll be back before nine.”
Leaving Nanny Rong standing there bewildered—you don’t need to report your return time to me!
Jian Shan was the name of the bar.
Jiang Wanting tilted her head slightly to look at the flickering sign above the bar, then took out her phone to make a call. “Hey! I’m here, where are you guys?”
The person on the other end gave her the private room number.
“Got it.”
She hadn’t expected Lin Zhongye and Liu Yiwen to be there too. Suppressing the urge to turn around and leave, Jiang Wanting forced a polite smile.
“What a coincidence, everyone’s here?”
Lin Zhongye looked at the woman he hadn’t seen in a long time. Dressed like this, she reminded him of her before the amnesia—she used to love wearing outfits like this, and he loved it too. It was a shame she never let him touch her, making him, her official boyfriend at the time, feel utterly humiliated.
“Wanwan,” Lin Zhongye said with a bitter smile.
Liu Yiwen’s expression shifted slightly, her fingers clenching until her knuckles turned white. Damn it! How could this bitch dress so provocatively? All the men were staring at her. Men really are creatures driven by their lower halves.
Li Xinyan pretended to step forward and pull her over. “Wanwan, why are you dressed so plainly? You didn’t even put on makeup—what a waste of such a pretty face.”
“And you are?” Jiang Wan obediently followed her and sat down.
Li Xinyan didn’t take offense. “Never mind, let’s all introduce ourselves! Our Wanwan has lost her memory.”
She’ll get what’s coming to her later. Who told her to be so arrogant before, acting like a spoiled princess? Every woman here hated her, and every man wanted to sleep with her.
“I’m Li Xinyan.”
“He Jing.”
“Liang Yi.”
“Zhou Zaiyue.”
“…”
After they finished introducing themselves, Jiang Wanting took the glass of wine He Jing had poured for her, lowered her head, and sniffed it. The smell was quite strong.
She set the glass down and pulled out her phone to scroll through Weibo.
Seeing her refuse to drink, Liu Yiwen nearly gave herself away. She forced a dry laugh. “Why aren’t you drinking? You used to love this.”
“Yeah, yeah, you loved whiskey,” He Jing chimed in.
“Really? But I’ve lost my memory!” Jiang Wanting widened her innocent almond-shaped eyes.
“I’m afraid I’ll get drunk, and besides, I have a curfew at home. I just came to see you all—you wouldn’t force me, would you?”
Her tone couldn’t have been more deliberately coy.
“Then how about just a drink?” Zhou Zaiyue poured her a soft drink, his gaze blatantly lecherous. He had been lusting after Jiang Wanting for a long time. That woman was so arrogant, she never even glanced his way.
She used to be Lin Zhongye’s woman, but now that they’d broken up, tonight was the perfect chance to make her fall hard.
“Thank you! I’m not thirsty yet.”
Zhou Zaiyue stiffened. Damn it! Why did she seem like a completely different person now, so stubborn and unyielding?
“How about we play a game?” Liu Yiwen suggested. “Let’s play dice—guess the number!”
Everyone was eager to join, and Jiang Wanting didn’t want to spoil the mood. She put away her phone. “Sure.”
“Let’s go over the rules first. If you guess right, you can make any request of anyone here. If you guess wrong, there’s a small penalty.”
“Sounds good,” Jiang Wanting said, pursing her lips. Since they wanted to put on a show, she’d play along.
Li Xinyan shook the dice. “Yiwen, you guess first!”
“Number four.”
“Wow, you’re amazing, you actually guessed it right!” He Jing cheered for her.
Liu Yiwen smiled, looking somewhat shyly at Jiang Wanting. “Then I’ll make a request of Wanwan. Drink that glass of whiskey from earlier.”
“That doesn’t seem right. I already said I don’t drink,” Jiang Wanting replied, looking at her with a troubled expression.
“Then how about just the soft drink?” Zhou Zaiyue didn’t miss any opportunity.
Jiang Wanting curled her lips, picked up the glass of soft drink on the table, and sniffed it. “Hmm, you all seem really eager for me to drink this, don’t you?”
Before they could speak, Jiang Wanting casually swirled her glass. “Could it be that something inappropriate was added inside?”
“Not at all! You’re overthinking it, Wanwan.” Liu Yiwen forced a dry laugh.
“I hope so.” Jiang Wanting handed the drink to Liu Yiwen. “Since there’s nothing, then you drink it for me, Yiwen.”
“You…” Liu Yiwen’s expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
The next second, Jiang Wanting poured the entire drink onto the floor. “Aren’t you tired? I’m exhausted just watching. You went through so much trouble to get me here, and then went through even more trouble trying to make me drink alcohol or beverages.”
“Who would believe you don’t have ulterior motives?” Jiang Wanting picked up her bag and stood up.
“Stop!” Zhou Zaiyue tried to block her way.
“What, what do you think you’re doing?” Jiang Wanting crossed her arms and lifted her chin.
“If Young Master Zhou doesn’t want to go bankrupt, you’d better step aside!” Jiang Wanting said with a cold expression.
“You…” Zhou Zaiyue’s face turned ashen. Indeed! No one present could contend with the Jiang family, especially since Jiang Wanting had such an elder brother.
Jiang Wanting sneered, proud as a little peacock. “From now on, let’s go our separate ways. We’re simply not the same kind of people.”