Chapter 019: Did that pretty boy bully you?

Mr. Chen...

Mr. Chen was the only light in the darkest period of Jiang Yao’s life.

He was also the pain she could never bring herself to touch.

The other person’s words were full of threat.

“What do you want?” At the thought of Mr. Chen, Jiang Yao clenched her teeth.

“Yes, what do I want?” The person on the other end drawled, then let out a chilling laugh.

The call was abruptly cut off.

Jiang Yao stood rooted in place for a long, long time...

The wedding banquet went on late into the night.

Ye Yiyi was called away by her agent before the banquet ended.

Cheng Yanchi had vanished without a trace as well.

By the time it was over, Jiang Yao was the only one left, walking back alone.

She missed the last bus and didn’t call a car. Instead, she watched the dwindling crowd and walked slowly along the roadside.

On Zhonghua Road, in front of the snail noodle hotpot restaurant.

Jiang Yao stopped, looking up at the brightly lit sign, breathing in the pungent, distinctive smell wafting from within.

She didn’t know how she ended up there.

Perhaps because it was late, the shop was nearly empty, with only a few scattered tables occupied.

As the broth in the hotpot began to boil, steam rising in the air, Jiang Yao felt a little warmth return to her.

She remembered Mr. Chen had also once invited her out for hotpot.

That day had been her birthday.

At the end of the meal, Mr. Chen brought her a bowl of longevity noodles.

That young man who always wore silver-rimmed glasses smiled gently at her and said, “Jiang Xiaoqing, don’t be sad. It’s not your fault.”

But through the long years, Jiang Yao still felt she was to blame.

If, back then, she had managed to stay away from Mr. Chen, he wouldn’t have been dragged down with her, his reputation destroyed, and in the end, killed in a tragic car accident.

Jiang Yao poured herself a cup of soju, lowered her head, and unconsciously stroked the black wallet.

Her eyes reddened without her noticing.

When she finally looked up again, someone had appeared across from her.

Through the swirling steam, the man’s face seemed blurred. His handsome features had not diminished in the least—if anything, the hazy mist added a touch of ethereal beauty.

Jiang Yao’s hand, holding the chopsticks, froze.

“Didn’t we agree to eat together?” He Yunqing sat opposite her, lips gently curved, his clear eyes reflecting a faint smile.

Jiang Yao looked at him, still in the stage makeup from earlier, though he had changed into a more casual, dark blue overcoat.

He sat with an innate grace, as immaculate as a god untouched by the world.

Jiang Yao felt as if she were in another lifetime.

Someone like him shouldn’t be sitting here with her, as if descended into the mortal realm.

She didn’t speak, just lowered her head, picked up some food, and stuffed it into her mouth.

“Are you blaming me?” he asked softly.

Jiang Yao raised her eyes and looked at him through the mist. But in her mind echoed that chilling voice: “Do you remember how your Mr. Chen died?”

That spirited Mr. Chen was forever twenty-five.

Just as Jiang Yao was, now, at twenty-five.

At that thought, Jiang Yao drained her cup of soju in one go.

“You shouldn’t have come,” she said quietly.

“I’m here to keep an appointment with a friend.” He Yunqing took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and calmly picked up some vegetables.

“Mr. He.” It was the first time Jiang Yao called him so formally.

He Yunqing chewed his food quietly, neither looking up nor responding.

“He Yunqing!” Jiang Yao called his full name.

Only then did he slowly look up, his gaze steady, as if waiting for her to continue.

“I don’t need friends.”

Jiang Yao finally flung out those harsh words.

Mr. Chen’s tragedy was still fresh in her mind. She couldn’t let it happen again.

Her life was mired in mud.

Even if someone was willing to reach out a hand, she couldn’t take it—for she would only pull that person down with her, into the abyss.

She didn’t know how much effort and hardship it took to succeed in show business.

But she did know—it was all too easy to destroy someone in this world.

She and He Yunqing were best kept as parallel lines that would never cross.

He Yunqing put down his chopsticks, as if trying to read something from her face.

“I won’t come here again,” Jiang Yao said, rising to her feet and turning toward the door.

Outside, thick clouds covered the moon, and the snow was falling even harder.

The cold wind reddened Jiang Yao’s cheeks. Frost and snow settled on her jet-black hair, turning her tresses white.

She rubbed her hands together, breathed into her palms, and as she gazed at the emptying street, her eyes stung for no reason at all.

“Did that pretty boy bully you?” a clear male voice suddenly called out.

Jiang Yao spun around and saw a man standing not far behind her, leaning against a streetlamp in a crisp camel overcoat.

Who else could it be but Cheng Yanchi?

“What pretty boy?” Jiang Yao quickly composed herself.

Cheng Yanchi walked closer, saw her red cheeks, and unwound the scarf from his own neck to wrap it around hers several times. “Still pretending with me? I could tell something was wrong with you at the banquet. Looks like a lot happened while I was abroad, huh?”

As he spoke, he took her hands and rubbed them for warmth. “I’m telling you, that He Yunqing—just look at him, does he look like a good guy? Total pretty boy!”

Cheng Yanchi might have been blunt, but he wasn’t stupid.

He’d seen everything clearly that night.

Jiang Yao drew her hands back. “Oh, you think only he’s fair-skinned? I think you are too.”

Cheng Yanchi touched his face unconsciously, then grinned. “Sure, I’m fair, but I’m nothing like him. Besides, what’s our relationship?”

Jiang Yao found herself studying his face.

But Cheng Yanchi’s gaze kept drifting toward the restaurant. “Want me to go in and give him a beating? Teach him a lesson for you…”

“Cheng Yanchi!” Jiang Yao called his name in exasperation. “He didn’t bully me. Calm down—if a pro athlete gets into a fight, you’ll be suspended.”

Cheng Yanchi scratched his head. Oh, so Jiang Yao was worried about him.

“So what now? Let’s find another place to eat. I’m still hungry.”

He said this as he put an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward his car.

From behind, He Yunqing emerged and watched as Jiang Yao and Cheng Yanchi walked away together. His thin lips pressed into a line, eyes searching the distance, as if trying to see far, far ahead...

A red sports car screeched to a halt beside him.

He Yunqing glanced sideways.

A young woman stepped out, wrapped in an expensive white coat over a wine-red dress, a diamond necklace sparkling at her throat. Her face was so strikingly beautiful, it was impossible to look away.

She looked at He Yunqing, her voice soft and gentle. “Yunqing, let’s go home.”