Xiang Qingwei walked out of the restaurant without looking back, only pausing to take a deep breath once he was under the shelter outside. That was when he noticed it was raining heavily outside.
What terrible luck.
Xiang Qingwei sighed, then took out his phone to call a cab.
Fu Yanbo also stepped out of the restaurant, seeing Xiang Qingwei trapped under the shelter, and said, "Wait there, don't move." He then strode toward his car parked nearby, opened the umbrella, and returned, saying, "I'll take you home."
Without a word, Xiang Qingwei walked under the umbrella and into the rain with him.
Fu Yanbo opened the passenger door, holding the umbrella above Xiang Qingwei, who stepped into the car.
"Are you sure you ate enough tonight?" Fu Yanbo asked nonchalantly as they got in the car.
She ate more than any woman he'd ever met; if it was something she liked, she could easily eat two whole bowls of rice, happily finishing it all before lamenting about her soft belly. He quite enjoyed watching her eat, especially her soft belly.
But tonight, she hadn't eaten much at all, barely touching any of the dishes on the table.
"I've eaten enough, thank you for your concern, Mr. Fu," Xiang Qingwei said.
Finally unable to bear it, Fu Yanbo frowned. "Must you speak to me like this?"
Xiang Qingwei turned her head and calmly asked, "You are the boss, I am your subordinate. How does Mr. Fu think I should address you?"
Fu Yanbo had no words, his lips pressed together as his profile cooled visibly.
Xiang Qingwei looked out the window, her gaze fixed on the rain.
Her phone chirped a few times, notifying her of new WeChat messages.
Xiang Qingwei opened her phone—it was a message from Ling Jiayi.
It's raining outside. When are you coming home? Should I pick you up?
Xiang Qingwei replied, No need, I'm already on my way.
Okay.
Xiang Qingwei turned off her phone and placed it back into her purse, continuing to sit in silence.
The car stopped at the hotel entrance, still enveloped in silence.
"Thank you, Mr. Fu," Xiang Qingwei said as she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door to get out, only to see Ling Jiayi standing by the entrance.
He strode over, eyes locked on the open car door, and his expression shifted slightly when he saw Fu Yanbo seated in the driver's seat.
"Mr. Fu."
Fu Yanbo glanced at him and nodded coldly.
"Safe travels, Mr. Fu," Xiang Qingwei said as she closed the door and turned to walk into the hotel lobby. Ling Jiayi chased after her and grabbed her arm. "Why was it him who brought you back?"
"I'll just drop by," Xiang Qingwei replied.
Fu Yanbo, sitting in his car, watched the scene unfold until the two disappeared from sight. Only then did he finally dial Secretary Wen's number with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Secretary Wen, find Ling Jiayi a new manager."
Secretary Wen was silent for a few seconds, clearly stunned by the request. "Of course, Mr. Fu."
Fu Yanbo finally hung up, his expression cold as he drove away.
"You're not trying to reignite the flames between you, are you?" Ling Jiayi asked mockingly in the corridor.
Xiang Qingwei didn't notice the hint of anxiety in his eyes as she stopped before her room, turned around, and looked at him impatiently. "I'm already very tired today. Can you stop bothering me?" With that, she swiped her card and entered her room, shutting the door behind her with a thud.
Ling Jiayi stood before the door, staring blankly at the tightly-shut room, stunned for a while. Disbelief, embarrassment, and pain slowly filled his chest as his entire body cooled down.
Xiang Qingwei tossed her bag aside and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. How come she felt so worn out today? She turned over, lying on her back, and stared at the ceiling, letting out a long sigh.
Ding-dong.
WeChat notification rang.
Xiang Qingwei remained still.
A few minutes passed.
Ding-dong.
Another sound.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
WeChat rang several more times.
It might be something work-related.
Xiang Qingwei crawled up from the bed, retrieved her phone from her purse, and then fell back onto the bed to swipe open WeChat.
It was Ling Jiayi:
Sorry, I shouldn't have made you mad.
Don't be mad anymore, okay?
Have you calmed down?
I was wrong, I won't say anything more.
Won't you acknowledge me now?
Xiang Qingwei sighed, unable to bear it. She sat up and responded:
I'm not mad, I'm just a bit tired, so I want to rest for a bit.
Ling Jiayi responded immediately:
Then open the door, I'm right outside.
Xiang Qingwei got up to open the door, only to discover Ling Jiayi standing stiffly outside. She asked, startled, "Have you been standing here?"
Ling Jiayi nodded pitifully, eyes drifting toward her room. "Can I go in?"
Xiang Qingwei stepped aside helplessly, and Ling Jiayi slipped inside like a slippery fish.
She closed the door and turned around to face him.
"Are you sure you aren't mad at me?" Ling Jiayi asked, still worried, and stared at her, awaiting confirmation.
"I wasn't mad at you in the first place. I was just tired," Xiang Qingwei explained, then walked over to the sofa and sat down, gesturing for Ling Jiayi to sit beside her. "I was thinking earlier, now that you're here, I'll just tell you everything."
Ling Jiayi sat down, feeling a sense of foreboding due to the solemn tone of her voice.
Xiang Qingwei continued, "This is a special time right now. Although it seems that the rumors have already been contained, it's inevitable that people will continue to write articles about this in the future. So, we must be careful from now on. We can't have any physical contact with each other in public; I can't allow you to grab my arm like you did earlier in the hotel lobby."
"Although I see you as my younger brother, people might not see it the same way. If rumors are spread enough times, people will eventually believe them. So, we should avoid situations like this."
Ling Jiayi stared at her with dark eyes, "You..."
He wanted to ask, Do you really only see me as your little brother? Yet he already knew the answer, so the words never made it past his throat. Instead, they came out as, "You want us to keep our distance from each other, right?" He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "We don't even meet once a month; how much more distant can we get?"
Even this small smile vanished quickly. Something had occurred to him. After two seconds of silence, he stared into Xiang Qingwei's eyes. "Is it Fu Yanbo?"
Xiang Qingwei frowned. "What?"
"Ling Jiayi, coldly, "Is Fu Yanbo the one who told you to stay away from me?"
"No," Xiang Qingwei denied it without the slightest hesitation.
Ling Jiayi looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." Xiang Qingwei's expression remained unchanged. "This is for your own protection. Your career is on the rise right now, and your resources overlap with many other young male artists. You've blocked some people's paths and taken many others' opportunities; their teams are keeping an eye on you, and they will pounce on you without hesitation the moment they find an opening. In this industry, if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind. Once you fall back, it'll be difficult to make a comeback."
Ling Jiayi listened carefully.
He had already experienced this when he participated in the talent scouting program; even before formally debuting, the contestants had already begun jostling for position, but back then, he had been the one directly engaged in the brawl, while now, his team ran the show.
"Once you hold that trophy in your hands, you can demand the audience to pay more attention to your work and less to your private life." Xiang Qingwei lifted a hand and gently patted his messy hair. "You don't have to worry too much. Go back to the set tomorrow and focus on your acting; leave everything else to me."
"I'm sorry," Ling Jiayi looked up at her, his pretty eyes filled with guilt. "It seems like I'm unable to help, and only cause you trouble."
Xiang Qingwei smiled. "It's fine, because I'm a professional at handling trouble." She stood up. "All right, go back to your own room. We have an eight o'clock flight tomorrow morning, so you should go back and get some sleep."
"You won't be coming back with us?" Ling Jiayi asked.
Xiang Qingwei walked toward the door. "Mm, I'm a bit tired these days, so I don't want to get up too early. I'll take the afternoon flight back."
Ling Jiayi walked over and suddenly embraced her.
Taken aback, Xiang Qingwei instinctively tried to push him away.
Yet Ling Jiayi seemed to have anticipated her reaction; he pressed her face into his chest, rested his chin on the top of her head, and called out, "Sister..."
Xiang Qingwei's heart softened, and she felt a hint of melancholy.
When Ling Jiayi first came to her, he had always called her "Jiejie." She wasn't sure when he had stopped doing so; at most, he would call out "Weiwei" when he was in trouble. Otherwise, he would avoid calling her by name altogether.
Ling Jiayi was someone who had never received much love, so he didn't know how to express affection or care for others, often awkwardly expressing his fondness.
Xiang Qingwei allowed him to hold her for a while in silence.
He eventually let go of her and opened the door, then looked at Xiang Qingwei and said earnestly, "One day, I will present you with an award for Best Male Lead."
Xiang Qingwei smiled and said okay.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
After sending Ling Jiayi off, Xiang Qingwei's mood lifted significantly, having received great comfort and strength from that hug earlier.
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The entire book has been translated, with a total of 414K words and more than 1,200 pages.
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