When Fu Cheng Shen woke up in the morning, Su Luoyan was sleeping with her head on his arm, her back turned to him, revealing only a head of dark, silky hair.
He carefully cradled her head, trying to free his arm without disturbing the sleeping beauty, but Su Luoyan still woke up.
Drowsily, she instinctively reached out to hug Fu Cheng Shen, wrapping her arms around his bare, smooth chest. “Fu Cheng Shen, what time is it?”
Fu Cheng Shen gently stroked her face, tucked her hair behind her ear, and kissed her cheek. “It’s only six-thirty. There’s still plenty of time.”
“Then wake me at seven-thirty,” Su Luoyan instructed before letting go of Fu Cheng Shen, turning over, and going back to sleep with her back to him.
“Alright, I’ll wake you then,” he said softly, tucking the blanket around her before closing the bedroom door as he left.
After Fu Cheng Shen left, Su Luoyan lay in bed for a while but found she couldn’t fall back asleep. She reached out and touched the spot beside her—the sheets were still warm.
Stretching her arm, she pulled Fu Cheng Shen’s pillow into her embrace and brought it close to her nose. It carried the same faint, pleasant scent as he did.
After holding it for a while, Su Luoyan placed the pillow back in its original position, picked up her phone from the nightstand, and opened Weibo’s trending page.
While abroad, she rarely paid attention to trending topics, but since returning to the country, she had developed a habit of checking them.
As soon as she opened the trending page, a familiar name caught her eye.
#Meng Qin, the Best Senior in the World#
Su Luoyan raised an eyebrow in confusion and curiously clicked on the topic. Only then did she realize it was related to a TV drama. Nowadays, trending topic names were often baffling at first glance.
It turned out that “Senior” was a character played by Meng Qin in a TV series—a minor female supporting role.
She scrolled through a few promotional accounts and fan comments, piecing together the general plot.
The TV series was adapted from the bestselling romance novel You Are My Moonlight, a classic “substitute love” story. Meng Qin played the role of the male lead’s deceased first love, the senior, while the female lead naturally served as the senior’s substitute.
Su Luoyan clicked her tongue twice. A first love was already hard to surpass, let alone a deceased one. This was practically a modern-day version of a tragic romance, so melodramatic that one couldn’t help but wonder if the female lead had dug up the male lead’s ancestral grave in a past life.
Meng Qin’s character didn’t have much screen time in the series, and even in the original novel, she was only briefly mentioned. The general storyline was that in high school, she saved the male lead from being bullied by a wealthy heir at school and voluntarily helped him with his studies, becoming his salvation. One day after school, the male lead was confronted by the bullies again. To save him, the senior stepped in and took a knife for him. Her white dress was stained red with blood, like a withering rose. To spare the male lead from guilt, she never confessed her feelings before dying, only urging him to live well.
However, in the novel, the senior’s character was well-written and beautiful, making her the first love in the hearts of many readers. Her name frequently appeared in topics like #Ranking the First Loves We Loved in Novels#, #Which Romance Novel Character Is Your First Love?#, and #Which Character Made You Cry Bitterly While Reading?#.Since both the male and female leads were popular traffic stars, their acting in the drama was not only subpar but even their looks seemed to have declined. Original novel fans were constantly complaining, casual viewers were grumbling, and anti-fans were having a field day.
The senior student played by Meng Qin became the only normal character in the entire drama, thanks to the contrast with the leads, attracting many casual fans. Some even started shipping the male lead with the senior student.
Cicada Will Chirp: When I saw the senior student die yesterday, I cried my eyes out. It was just too heartbreaking.
Ex-Boyfriend Is Dead: I’d trade my two ex-boyfriends for the senior student’s life. She was just too good.
Meng Qin’s Little Fan: Qin Qin’s acting is really amazing. When she reached out with her bloodied hand to touch the male lead’s face, I totally shipped it.
Want Some Spicy Strips: The senior student was so good. Why did you have to like the male lead? If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have died.
Meng Qin’s Little Fan: Welcome to follow our Qin Qin! Not only is she beautiful and a great actress, but she’s also multi-talented and a top graduate from the Beijing North Academy of Fine Arts.
…
Su Luoyan exited Weibo and directly searched Meng Qin’s name in the search bar. Everything came up at once—the company Meng Qin was signed to was also one of the production companies behind that TV drama.
Suddenly, she felt a bit of pity for the male and female leads. They were probably being used as pawns, and unfortunately, their own skills weren’t good enough, so they could only be stepped on as others climbed over their bones to rise. Even though their fans were still arguing fiercely, ordinary viewers and anti-fans wouldn’t care about any of this. They could only accept their fate.
Fu Cheng Shen returned from his morning run and entered the house to find the beauty on the bed already awake, lying on her stomach and playing with her phone.
Hearing the footsteps, Su Luoyan sat up from the bed and saw him wearing a long-sleeved athletic shirt, soaked with sweat. His head was still steaming with heat, and sweat dripped down his face, past his Adam’s apple, before being absorbed by his clothes.
Normally, Su Luoyan would have the mood to appreciate this sexy scene, but now she said, “Fu Cheng Shen, go take a shower quickly. Don’t catch a cold.”
“Alright, I’ll make breakfast after I come out.”
Su Luoyan got off the bed and lowered her head to search for her slippers, which she had no idea where she had tossed. “Since I’m awake and can’t sleep anyway, I’ll make breakfast.”
Although her cooking skills were about on par with Fu Cheng Shen’s, she had no problem making breakfast or cooking a few simple home-style dishes.
Fu Cheng Shen looked at her with a pleased expression. “My Yan Er has finally grown up and learned to make breakfast for her brother.”
Su Luoyan shot him a sidelong glance, not quite agreeing with his statement. “What do you mean ‘finally grown up’? I’ve always been very sensible, okay?”
Fu Cheng Shen didn’t argue and went along with her. “Alright, it’s my fault.”
“It is your fault,” Su Luoyan insisted, not letting him off the hook.