Pei Yu headed off to work and wouldn’t be back until evening.
Shen Luoxi turned back to Lan Yue, who was still sitting on the sofa, and asked, “Do you have any new projects coming up?”
“Nothing,” Lan Yue shook her head. Her last movie had just wrapped, and she was still reviewing scripts for the next one. However, she was negotiating for a variety show; if it went through, she would join the cast next week.
Lan Yue belonged to the film circle. Shooting times were short, and she took on at most two or three films a year. The rest of her time was spent on promotional tours or making cameo appearances. She was actually quite career-oriented. Of course, the Lan family specifically groomed her for this not primarily for the money, but to build influential connections.
“You’re graduating soon, aren’t you?” Lan Yue said suddenly.
For a split second, Shen Luoxi didn’t understand. Her expression went blank, but she quickly recalled her current identity’s details. She was currently a senior in university and would graduate this June.
Lan Yue, being a year older, had already graduated.
Shen Luoxi nodded. “Yes, almost. Why? Are you coming to my graduation ceremony?”
“Mhm,” Lan Yue replied obediently.
The graduation ceremony…
Thinking about it, Shen Luoxi felt a surge of dread as memories of the novel’s plot surfaced. On her graduation day, the original Shen Luoxi hadn’t just invited Lan Yue and her circle of sycophants; she had also forced Pei Yu to attend. She had threatened to leak a private video if Pei Yu didn’t show up.
At the time, Pei Yu was working out of town. Upon receiving the message, she had begged her director for an entire hour before the crew allowed her one day off to return for the ceremony. Pei Yu had attended in full dress, and the two had performed a show of marital bliss for the media. That day, four of the top ten trending topics were about them.
The terrifying part happened that night. After the ceremony, Shen Luoxi took Pei Yu and her friends to a graduation party. In the car, no matter how much Pei Yu pleaded that she needed to get back to work, Shen Luoxi refused to let her go and used her pheromones to provoke her.
Pei Yu was forced into heat. She sat in the car, biting her own arm until it was covered in marks just to maintain her composure. But the more she resisted, the more the original Shen Luoxi wanted to possess her. Upon arriving at the party, they didn’t even join the festivities; Shen Luoxi dragged Pei Yu to a rooftop balcony and forcibly marked her. Meanwhile, in the room next door, Lan Yue was doing the same to Shi Xiaoman. They could even hear each other’s voices.
Shen Luoxi closed her eyes and turned away. What a total scumbag.
Lan Yue noticed her shift in mood. She stood up and walked over. “What’s wrong? You don’t want me to go?”
“No,” Shen Luoxi denied. She looked up at Lan Yue and offered an invitation: “I might not invite anyone else to my graduation, but I have to invite you. You have to be there, right in the center.”
Lan Yue finally relaxed. “I’ll be there.” Shen Luoxi still cared about her after all.
After their chat, Lan Yue left for work. Shen Luoxi took the opportunity to head to the university. She would definitely have to be there on graduation day, and since all the faculty, students, Lan Yue, and her old friends would be present, Shen Luoxi needed to familiarize herself with the campus layout to avoid getting lost or exposing herself.
The school wasn’t far—about a twenty-minute drive. Shen Luoxi got out and walked in alone, refusing to let anyone follow so she wouldn’t raise suspicion.
The driver was worried, though. He stepped out and followed her for a bit. “Miss, are you sure you don’t need me to drop you at the dorms? It’s quite a walk from here.”
“No need,” Shen Luoxi waved him off. “I’m in a bad mood and want to walk alone. Don’t follow me. If you insist, you can just quit before tonight.”
The driver didn’t dare push further. “Alright, I understand, Miss. Please call if you need anything.”
Shen Luoxi wandered through the campus. It was a large school. Usually, someone with her personality wouldn’t walk anywhere; she was always chauffeured. However, the university had strict rules prohibiting students from driving on campus, with no exceptions. Not even for a Shen.
Normally, the driver would use a small electric golf cart to take her to her apartment or classes. After memorizing the locations of the teaching buildings and her classrooms, Shen Luoxi left the school and headed back to the office.
Night.
Pei Yu had said she would be back by 11:00 PM, but it was actually 12:30 AM by the time she returned. Shen Luoxi hadn’t slept; she had been waiting up.
The moment the doorbell rang, the drowsy Shen Luoxi jumped up from the sofa, slipped on her slippers, and hurried to the door. “You’re back?”
Pei Yu was exhausted. Seeing Shen Luoxi the moment she opened the door gave her a jolt of adrenaline born of fear. It’s this late and she’s still awake?
Shen Luoxi stood in the living room, keeping her distance. “Have you eaten?”
“I have,” Pei Yu lied. She stood by the foyer, not moving an inch, her hand still gripping the door handle. It was as if she were prepared to bolt back outside the moment Shen Luoxi made a move toward her.
Her guard is so high, Shen Luoxi thought. Not wanting to push her, she took two steps back. “Okay. Get some rest then.”
To put Pei Yu at ease, Shen Luoxi turned and went into the guest room, closing the door behind her. Only then did Pei Yu change into her slippers and drag herself to her room. She had another shoot tomorrow and a four-hour flight ahead of her.
Once inside, Pei Yu instinctively locked the door, grabbed her bathrobe, and went to shower.
Meanwhile, Shen Luoxi sat in the guest room and messaged Zhou Jing: Did Pei Yu eat dinner tonight?
Zhou Jing replied: No, she didn’t eat anything. Because the shooting schedule was tight, they had worked straight through the night. Pei Yu also wanted to maintain her figure, so she planned to just wait until morning to eat.
Shen Luoxi messaged back: Got it.
She stepped out of the room and went straight to the kitchen to prepare something for Pei Yu. While maintaining a figure was important for actresses, she couldn’t eat nothing at all. She decided on a healthy, low-fat dish: stir-fried beef with asparagus. One dish and a glass of milk would be enough; any more and Pei Yu wouldn’t touch it.
When it was ready, Shen Luoxi brought the plate to Pei Yu’s door and knocked three times. The rhythm was steady and calm.
Pei Yu had just finished showering and drying her hair. Hearing the knock, she walked to the door and reached for the lock. But she hesitated and stepped back. Her instinct to open the door immediately wasn’t because of Shen Luoxi’s recent kindness, but because in the past, if she didn’t open up right away, she would be beaten.
But Shen Luoxi had changed. This knock probably wasn’t a precursor to trouble. Pei Yu decided to test her. She wanted to see if the change was real or just an act. If she was right, she wouldn’t be hit; if she was wrong, well, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been beaten. She turned around and didn’t open the door.
Shen Luoxi waited. Half an hour passed, and the food began to cool. Maybe she was still in the shower, she guessed. “No, I’ll try one more time.”
Shen Luoxi was worried that Pei Yu would feel unwell if she slept on an empty stomach. She knocked again. Knock, knock, knock. “Um, Pei Yu? I made some stir-fried beef and asparagus. Please eat something. You have to work tomorrow; don’t go hungry.”
She waited, but there was still no sound. At this hour, maybe she had fallen asleep. Shen Luoxi picked up the plate she had placed on the chair by the door and went back to the living room. She sat down and began to eat the beef herself, but since it had been sitting out, it was cold and tough.
Click. Halfway through the meal, the bedroom door opened. Pei Yu emerged wearing her loungewear.
Shen Luoxi, her mouth full of tough beef, looked back. Her fork was still poised with another piece of meat.
“Are you eating?” Pei Yu asked, standing by the sofa. Her hair was loose, she was makeup-free, and she looked… beautiful.
Shen Luoxi swallowed. “I made this for you, but you didn’t hear me when I knocked, so I was eating it myself.”
Pei Yu’s expression didn’t change. “Is it good?”
Shen Luoxi felt like she was being interrogated. “It was good when it was fresh. Now it’s not great. Tough and hard to swallow.”
“Then why are you still eating it?” Pei Yu countered.
Shen Luoxi put the piece on her fork into her mouth and started chewing. “Can’t waste food.”
Seeing her struggle to chew, Pei Yu walked around the sofa and sat down. “Is it a hassle? If not, make me another portion. I’m a bit hungry.”
Shen Luoxi swallowed. “When you first came back, you said you’d eaten. Now you’re hungry?” This woman can lie with a straight face, she thought.
Pei Yu was silent for two seconds. She put her hands on her knees to stand up. “I’m not hungry. I’m going back to my room.”
“Wait, wait!” Shen Luoxi called out, putting down her fork. “I’ll make it. Give me ten minutes.”
She hurried into the kitchen, tied on her apron, and grabbed asparagus and the last bit of beef from the fridge. As the water ran in the sink, Pei Yu sat in the living room. She leaned over, picked up the fork Shen Luoxi had been using, and tried a piece of the cold beef from the plate. It tasted good, but it was indeed cold and tough. She put the fork back.
The sound of running water stopped, replaced by the rhythmic thud-thud-thud of a knife on a cutting board. Pei Yu listened, then moved to the seat Shen Luoxi had just occupied. She picked up the remote and flipped through the channels.
Eventually, she landed on one of her own dramas. It had just aired its finale recently, and she hadn’t seen it yet.