“Of course, why do you ask?” An Yin naturally hoped Lu Muqian would come to watch—otherwise why would she have mentioned it to him?
“If I enter, everyone will know about my relationship with Yinyin. Do you still want me to go in?” Even if their marital relationship were exposed, did she still want him there? Was that how he should understand it?
In Rong City, who didn’t know Lu Muqian? The moment he stepped into the venue, his relationship with An Yin would inevitably become public knowledge. And then… Yinyin would be furious.
An Yin had forgotten again—it was another consequence of her loose tongue in her past life. On the day they registered their marriage, An Yin had insisted: no wedding ceremony, no revealing their relationship to the outside world.
So this was what Lu Muqian was concerned about.
An Yin cupped the man’s handsome face, her expression full of remorse. “Lu Muqian, I’m sorry. I was wrong before. Can you forget all those foolish things I said?”
“Can I really forget them?”
“Yes. Starting today, erase all those hurtful words I said to you before. Do whatever you want to do.”
“Alright. I’ll listen to Yinyin.”
An Yin truly hadn’t expected Lu Muqian to still remember all those cruel words she’d said to him in her past life. Now, looking back, she could hear how deeply painful those words must have been. How had he managed to carry them in his heart all this time?
………………
After the preliminary competition, As Initial Seen Studio received numerous business collaboration offers. An Yin divided her time between handling studio work and occasionally going out for inspiration.
But then… she encountered the unrequited love she’d carried in her heart during her past life—what could be described as the joy of her youth.
Just as work began, Jiang Mengyue excitedly pushed open An Yin’s office door. “Yinyin, guess who wants to collaborate with us today?”
“Hmm? Who? Someone who’s got our Miss Jiang so excited?”
“Not just me—you’ll probably be over the moon when you hear.” Jiang Mengyue and An Yin had been close friends since university, so she knew all about An Yin’s little crush from those days.
“Don’t tell me it’s someone I know?”
“Exactly! Han Corporation wants to work with us. Do you know who’s in charge of Han Corporation now?”
Seeing Jiang Mengyue’s teasing manner, An Yin felt uneasy, her eyelids twitching nervously. She tossed her pen toward Jiang Mengyue and said,
“Stop keeping me in suspense! Just tell me who it is!”
“Oh my god—Senior Han Xuan! That guy you had a crush on in university!”
“What? Han Xuan? Didn’t he go abroad after graduation?”
Han Xuan was two years ahead of An Yin in university. They’d met during freshman orientation events, and he became the object of her secret admiration throughout her college years.
“Right! I heard he came back to take over Han Corporation. And get this—they say this collaboration was his idea.”
“So, my dear, your former white moonlight has returned. How are you going to explain this to your husband?”
An Yin crossed her arms and made a stopping gesture at Jiang Mengyue.
“Hold it right there. My heart belongs completely to my husband now. Han Xuan’s return isn’t going to make me hurt my husband.”
“Hey, bestie, did you forget? Didn’t you tell me Han Xuan came to see you before he went abroad and asked you to wait for him?” Jiang Mengyue wore a mischievous look, kindly reminding An Yin.
“Ugh, I’d completely forgotten about that.”
She knocked on her own head, trying hard to recall. What had she said? It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t remember—Han Xuan really wasn’t that significant a figure. In her previous life, she hadn’t even met him before she died.
“But I remember, I said I wouldn’t wait.”
No, that wasn’t what An Yin had said, but in any case, she hadn’t agreed.
“No, I can’t show up for this collaboration. You go and handle the discussions.”
Just then, the intercom on An Yin’s desk rang. “Hello…”
The receptionist’s voice came through, “Sister Yin, the person in charge of the collaboration from Han Corporation is here, waiting in the lobby.”
Jiang Mengyue heard it too and pressed An Yin’s hand. “Alright, entertain them for a moment. We’ll be right there.”
“Sis, you can’t hide anymore. Come out with me. You might dodge it today, but you can’t avoid it forever.”
…………
An Yin reminisced about her past life. During her university years, she had liked someone for two whole years—no, to be precise, it was a secret crush. But he went abroad after graduation, and before An Yin could confess her feelings, she received his farewell instead.
She still remembered the day before Han Xuan’s graduation when he came to find her.
At the time, An Yin never would have imagined that the person she secretly admired also liked her. What a coincidence that was.
Han Xuan started with a confession, “An Yin, I like you.”
Before An Yin could respond, he added a twist,
“But, I’m going abroad in a few days. My further studies might take several years. What I want to ask is, can you wait for me?”
“How many years exactly?” Wait? An Yin wasn’t the type to cling to one tree and ignore the whole forest.
“I’m not sure. Maybe… three years, or possibly… five.”
“So you’re asking me to gamble my youth on an uncertain relationship?” They hadn’t even started dating, and he already wanted her to wait. Was he trying to get something for nothing?
“No, it’s because I genuinely like you that I dared to confess the day before graduation. I never had the courage to bother you before.”
“Oh, well then, Senior, I’m sorry, but I can’t wait.”
An Yin couldn’t bear to let her years of secret affection end so abruptly, so she came up with an alternative,
“But we can make a promise. If I’m still unmarried when you return, we can give it a try.”
“Alright.” Han Xuan felt inexplicably confident, believing that An Yin would surely wait for him.
But An Yin didn’t want to lose her freedom to socialize and explore relationships over the next few years just because she agreed to wait for him.
Looking back now, perhaps she hadn’t liked Han Xuan that much after all. Maybe it was just the fervor of youth, a simple attraction driven by hormones.
An Yin and Jiang Mengyue walked out together but didn’t see the person she had imagined. Instead, it was a representative from Han Corporation.
An Yin’s tense heart relaxed. It was good that it wasn’t him. Even though she no longer had any special feelings for Han Xuan, he was still someone she had once secretly admired, and that made the situation slightly uncomfortable.
This time, the representative from Han Corporation was only there to discuss the possibility of collaboration. They hadn’t received any official notification yet.
Once an agreement was reached, the collaboration could begin immediately.