After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry] 2

Chapter 2

Zhou Jinsi looked at the woman before her, who seemed to freeze for an instant. The person was so thoroughly bundled up that she couldn’t make out any details. Not giving it a second thought, she averted her gaze and walked away.

Her train of thought, which had just begun to wander back into memory, was cut short. Shi Qin, snapping back to reality, followed her out.

Her eyes unconsciously fixed on the tall figure’s back. It was winter now, and the person was wearing a long, black trench coat that accentuated her slender silhouette as she walked.

Even her height is so similar…

Could it really be her? But it’s only been two years. How could she have changed so much?

Shi Qin walked on, filled with doubt, but the crowd suddenly thickened as they reached the terminal, and her line of sight was blocked.

A group of fans who had come specifically to meet her at the airport swarmed forward, eagerly holding out posters and other items for her to sign. Thankfully, her assistant, Mo Li, arrived just in time to create a small buffer between them and Shi Qin.

Once they finally made it out of the terminal, Shi Qin turned to wave at her fans before getting into a private car with Mo Li.

Mo Li had only started working as Shi Qin’s assistant a few months ago. At her core, she was still a recent college graduate, not much older than Shi Qin. Most importantly, Shi Qin didn’t have the airs of a celebrity, so Mo Li found it easy and natural to be around her. After all, not every artist was so approachable in private.

“The movie is scheduled to start filming soon. The hotel has been arranged near the shooting location. Oh, and there’s a dinner tonight. A car will pick you up from the hotel downstairs a little after five.”

“Mm,” Shi Qin responded faintly, then sighed softly, taking off her sunglasses and mask to let her skin breathe. Faint, dark circles smudged the skin beneath her exquisite, almond-shaped eyes, yet they did nothing to diminish her beauty.

Mo Li instinctively turned to look at her profile.

Although it wasn’t the first time she had seen Shi Qin without makeup, Mo Li marveled inwardly every time, as if gazing upon a divine masterpiece crafted by the gods.

In her line of work, she saw plenty of celebrities, from D-list actors to A- and B-list stars.

But she genuinely couldn’t think of many who could compare to Shi Qin’s breathtaking beauty, even with a bare face.

A small, well-rounded head, a straight and prominent nose beneath the low brim of her hat, full lips, a slightly upturned chin—the entire curve of her profile was utterly graceful. Whether it was her bone structure, her complexion, or her overall aura, Shi Qin was top-tier in every aspect.

When she smiled, her eyes sparkled with life; when she didn’t, she was a cold and stunning beauty. From the very first moment Mo Li saw Shi Qin, she believed she was destined to make it in the entertainment world.

“Why are you staring at me? Am I that good-looking?” Sensing the gaze from beside her, Shi Qin turned and gave her a generous smile.

Isn’t that a rhetorical question? Mo Li knew Shi Qin loved to tease her like this, so she didn’t respond, instead asking with concern, “It’s a pretty long drive from the airport to the hotel. If you’re tired, you should get some sleep. I’ll wake you up later.”

Shi Qin smiled faintly and turned her head wearily toward the window. Watching the bustling traffic flash by outside, a wave of drowsiness washed over her. The non-stop schedule these past few days had truly exhausted her.

But the moment she closed her eyes, the scene from the plane inexplicably surfaced in her mind.

She had only seen her for two brief seconds, and the face was already starting to blur in her memory. Yet, where did that sense of familiarity come from?

The Zhou Jinsi in Shi Qin’s memory was still the person from two years ago.

A tall, awkward individual. Back then, she had waist-length hair and long bangs that nearly covered her eyes. She wore glasses due to severe nearsightedness, and her skin was even darker than in high school after two weeks of intense sun exposure during college military training.

Her thoughts unconsciously drifted back to a fragmented memory from the past.

“Take off your glasses.”

“Wh-why?” Faced with her sudden proximity, the other person seemed nervous, her words turning into a stutter.

Without another word, Shi Qin had assertively reached out and taken off Zhou Jinsi’s glasses. Without the heavy frames to hide them, her subtly refined features were revealed. She blinked, and Shi Qin smiled in satisfaction.

“Because I want to see you better…”

The eyes from that memory suddenly, for a fleeting moment, perfectly overlapped with the ones she saw on the plane.

Shi Qin’s eyes, which had been closed, snapped open. A lingering mistiness clouded her gaze, blurring her view of the world outside the window.

Zhou Jinsi, is that you…

.

The first thing Zhou Jinsi did upon returning to Jing’an was not to go home. Instead, she took a taxi to a hotel with her luggage, planning to stay the night.

The hotel she booked was near the school where she was about to start working. It was a good chance to relax for a night while also getting an advance look at her new work environment.

A few days prior, when her friend Lin Qi heard she was coming back, she had suggested they go out for a drink.

It was originally just a joke. After all, in all the years Lin Qi had known Zhou Jinsi, the girl rarely touched alcohol. But to her surprise, Zhou Jinsi had agreed on the spot. So, the two found a quiet bar near her hotel.

Lin Qi was a close friend Zhou Jinsi had made during college.

They were in the same class, and though they hadn’t known each other long, their personalities meshed surprisingly well. A quiet person like Zhou Jinsi didn’t have many friends; Lin Qi was someone she could truly call a confidante.

Reuniting after two years, their conversation naturally drifted from old times to their current lives.

“You’ve changed so much! I almost didn’t recognize you when I first saw you,” Lin Qi said, still looking at Zhou Jinsi with a hint of disbelief.

Her hair was now cut short, the length just below her shoulders. The bangs were gone, replaced by a center part that revealed a smooth forehead. Her skin was much fairer, and she had even switched from glasses to contacts. Lin Qi had always thought Zhou Jinsi’s features were quite delicate up close, but now they were even more apparent.

Hearing this, Zhou Jinsi just smiled faintly, raised her glass to her lips for a sip, and said, “Everything in the world is in constant flux. People are no exception.”

During the year she was with Shi Qin, she had always harbored a sense of insecurity. After the breakup, when she left for graduate school, a realization suddenly struck her one day. She wanted to change herself from head to toe, as a farewell to her former self.

Lin Qi’s gaze fell on the glass held by her long, slender fingers. She nodded in agreement. “True. I remember you never used to touch this stuff.”

“Hm?” Zhou Jinsi asked, puzzled.

Lin Qi tilted her chin slightly, gesturing toward the drink in her hand.

Zhou Jinsi swirled her glass, the amber liquid sloshing gently inside.

She truly wasn’t someone who enjoyed alcohol. But after forcing herself to break up with Shi Qin and going to grad school, the emotional pain combined with academic pressure had become overwhelming. Occasionally, Zhou Jinsi would have a drink or two to numb her mind and soothe her feelings.

“Don’t tell me it’s because of her…” Lin Qi had also had a couple of drinks, her eyes slightly hazy as she looked at her.

Tonight was a reunion between old friends, so it didn’t matter if they spoke freely. She still remembered Zhou Jinsi telling her about the three years she had a crush on Shi Qin in high school.

Zhou Jinsi froze. She knew who Lin Qi was talking about.

She blinked, her gaze shifting away. To this day, she still avoided any topic related to Shi Qin whenever possible. She couldn’t say why; it had been so long, and she was the one who had initiated the breakup.

But what else could she have done if she hadn’t mentioned it?

She had seen the two of them in an embrace with her own eyes…

As the memory returned, a dull ache throbbed in Zhou Jinsi’s heart. In truth, Shi Qin had come to ask her for a reason back then, but even now, Zhou Jinsi had no idea what had possessed Shi Qin to accept her confession in the first place.

That uncertainty had made Zhou Jinsi’s once-resolute heart fragile. She had said it was because she felt they weren’t compatible. Shi Qin seemed to have stormed off in anger, and she had never offered an explanation. Not long after, she flew to another city, and from then on, they lost all contact.

“It’s in the past. Let’s not talk about it…” Zhou Jinsi said softly. Lin Qi couldn’t decipher the emotion in her voice.

“Okay… I heard you’ve already found a job?” Lin Qi changed the subject.

Zhou Jinsi: “Mhm, at the high school near this hotel. I’ll be teaching a senior class as soon as I start, so I don’t have many days off.”

Lin Qi smiled. “I never thought someone as quiet as you would choose to be a teacher. That’s great, too. Sigh… but speaking of which, the two of you are really drifting further and further apart.”

Zhou Jinsi’s eyes darkened. For some reason, an image of Shi Qin in high school, with her ponytail, giving a speech on stage, suddenly flashed in her mind. She had spent three years getting closer to her, but after their paths finally converged… now it seemed they had split completely.

“Perhaps… this is for the best…”

…

The brief get-together ended late at night.

After saying goodbye to Lin Qi, Zhou Jinsi hailed a cab back to the hotel. When she got out of the car, her legs felt like jelly the moment her feet touched the ground. She had to concentrate just to steady herself.

She hadn’t actually drunk that much tonight, but she was never a heavy drinker to begin with. A few glasses were enough to leave her tipsy.

Now, the alcohol had gone to her head. By the time she finally got on the elevator, her consciousness was already starting to fade.

Seventh floor…
Eighth floor…
Ninth…

Her nearly-closed eyes were glued to the ascending floor numbers. When the elevator finally arrived, she stumbled out.

The movement of the elevator had intensified her dizziness. Her head was now heavy and spinning, and her eyes could barely stay open. Zhou Jinsi silently vowed to herself never to get this drunk again. It was too painful…

She made her way to the room number she remembered and took the key card from her pocket to swipe it. She tried several times, but it wouldn’t work. Suspecting her drunkenness was making her clumsy, she tried again and again, but still nothing.

“Tsk.” Zhou Jinsi was getting impatient.

She grabbed the doorknob, swiping the card with one hand while pulling on the door with the other. Barely conscious, she was now trying to force it open.

Finally, after her relentless efforts, the door opened—but from the inside.

A stunningly beautiful woman in a bathrobe stood before her. A lock of long, wavy hair was draped over her chest, revealing a long, fair neck and, below it, curves that sparked the imagination…

Zhou Jinsi stared at her, her mind suddenly a complete blank.

Shi Qin stood in the doorway, looking up at the person before her, who, just like in the old days, froze the moment she saw her.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, a faint pink blush dusted her fair cheeks, adding a touch of allure to her otherwise cool and composed face. Now, Shi Qin could finally see her face clearly.

“Zhou Jinsi,” Shi Qin said, enunciating each word.

Zhou Jinsi’s mouth fell slightly open, but before she could utter a word…

The next second, Shi Qin grabbed her by the collar and pulled her straight into the room.