After breakfast, the nanny played with Panpan in the living room while Shi Yu carefully examined the enlarged contract on her own.
She had no choice but to accept the facts.
After staring at the digital contract for a while, she printed it out and stored it in the bottom drawer on the right side of her desk.
Before she could lock it, the nanny gently knocked on the door.
“Miss Shi, Miss Xie is here. Should I let her in?”
The nanny’s voice came from outside the study. Shi Yu put away the contract, stood up, and went to open the door.
Even in broad daylight, Shi Yu couldn’t shake off a sliver of fear. But since Xie Bing had come to her, she couldn’t refuse to see her.
She instructed the nanny to take Panpan to the small garden and waited alone in the living room for Xie Bing.
It had only been a few days, but Xie Bing looked much more haggard, the confident energy she had been building up now gone.
When Shi Yu first met Xie Bing at her previous company, Xie Bing was just an ordinary girl who had graduated from college two years prior, full of dreams about the entertainment industry, yet stuck doing the hardest and most exhausting work as an assistant.
Shi Yu wasn’t the type to boss people around and treated Xie Bing kindly, at the very least, her job was much easier than that of other artists’ assistants.
So when Shi Yu expressed her intention to leave the company, Xie Bing didn’t hesitate at all.
After more than two years together, Shi Yu’s popularity had continued to rise, her songs were widely sung, and her family background had inadvertently become known to Xie Bing.
Not following her would have been a foolish choice.
“Shi Yu, ever since last time, I’ve been feeling unwell all over, as if I’ve been cursed. Has anything strange happened to you?”
The events of last night and what happened at Century Garden felt like a dream to Shi Yu, something she didn’t want to recall.
Yet Ji Yao’s appearance and warnings lingered, subtly making their presence felt.
Shi Yu clenched her fists and looked at Xie Bing. “No, I’m fine.”
Thanks to her change in temperament over the past few years, she had grown accustomed to speaking concisely. Thus, Xie Bing didn’t notice anything amiss and instead began chattering incessantly about the strange things she had encountered.
The more she went on like this, the more Shi Yu found her peculiar.
Thanks to Ji Yao, she found it even harder to trust people now because no matter how good things seemed at first, people would inevitably change one day.
Take Ji Yao, for example, and Xie Bing recently.
They made her adopt a skeptical attitude.
Take Xiao Hu, for instance, who had been inexplicably brought over by her. After being frightened and taken away by the police, she would still contact Shi Rui.
Shi Yu didn’t deny that this was a form of concern notifying her family to take care of her.
But would this composed Xie Bing, after disappearing for a few days, appear before her in such a disheveled state?
Moreover, from what she knew, the studio’s operations hadn’t encountered any issues at all.
All scheduled work and events were proceeding without a hitch.
“Xie Bing, if you’re not feeling well, take a longer rest. Over the years, no matter how busy I’ve been, you’ve never had a moment to spare.”
Shi Yu spoke calmly, but her words visibly affected Xie Bing, whose pale face stiffened, her lips frozen in place.
It took a while before Xie Bing seemed to find her voice again: “Shi Yu, I no need.”
Shi Yu’s attention remained fixed on Xie Bing’s face, observing her expression as she spoke.
Testing, suspicion.
This caused the seeds of doubt in her heart to take root and sprout incessantly.
“Shi Yu! Is Panpan awake? She said she wanted to go to the amusement park!”
“I’m sorry, Miss Shi, I couldn’t stop her.”
The person speaking in front was Ji Yao, who had appeared out of nowhere, while the flustered aunt trailed behind.
Little Panpan squeezed between the two of them, happily grinning at Shi Yu.
Shi Yu’s gaze was naturally drawn to Ji Yao’s sudden appearance.
At the same time, she didn’t miss the resentment in Xie Bing’s eyes.
But Shi Yu was puzzled, what was she resentful about?
After a moment of thought, Shi Yu coldly confronted Ji Yao: “Is there something wrong with your eyes?”
“Panpan is right beside you.”
“Ah, this…” Ji Yao scratched her head awkwardly, only then noticing the weight leaning against her leg. When she looked down, she met Panpan’s eyes so, strikingly similar to Shi Yu’s, yet slightly reddened.
“Mommy, don’t you recognize Panpan?”
“Yes, yes, of course I do! I was just in a bit of a hurry.” As she spoke, Ji Yao lifted Panpan high into the air with both hands, making the child laugh uncontrollably.
While Ji Yao and Panpan were having fun, Shi Yu felt utterly speechless, and Xie Bing and the aunt were visibly uncomfortable.
“Shi Yu, why is Ji Yao here?”
Xie Bing was the first to speak up, her tone filled with the usual disgust whenever she mentioned Ji Yao.
If not for recent events, Shi Yu might have thought Xie Bing was speaking out of indignation on her behalf.
She would have ignored the comment and continued to watch coldly from the sidelines.
But now…
She decided to explain.
Not for Ji Yao’s sake, but for her own.