Yan Muyu’s ears had gone numb from all the chatter.
It was nearly ten at night now, and Xia Yuanyuan was driving steadily toward the hotel, following the navigation.
The car interior was dim, yet the streets they passed blazed with bright lights. It was more than enough illumination for Qiu Chao to glimpse Yan Muyu’s expression—a far cry from the gentle warmth she’d shown Xuan Zhelu back at the bar.
Qiu Chao had arrived a step ahead of her.
After Xing Wen claimed ignorance about Yan Muyu’s whereabouts, Qiu Chao had called Lin Chi and learned about the bar Yan Muyu frequented.
The woman on the other end hadn’t hesitated for a second.
This was the kind of intelligence Qiu Chao deserved for all the favors she’d called in lately—places Yan Muyu loved to go, her favorite restaurants, even spots where she gathered with friends.
Qiu Chao hadn’t expected such generosity from Lin Chi. She’d even ventured, “Aren’t you worried Yan Muyu will get mad if she finds out?”
She had met Lin Chi years earlier, after a fashion show overseas. Back then, Lin Chi’s boyfriend hadn’t been the current college boy but a brown-haired mixed-race model—pale-skinned, strikingly beautiful with blue eyes, the kind people joked could pass for an elf straight out of a fantasy tale.
Lin Chi had recognized Qiu Chao first and greeted her warmly.
Qiu Chao’s initial encounter with Lin Chi had been at a Yan Family gathering.
That year, Qiu Chao had been Yan Kai’s contractual girlfriend. They weren’t engaged, but everyone in their circles knew it, with rumors swirling that Yan Kai was ready to abandon a business marriage for her sake. She was, in effect, Yan Muyu’s soon-to-be sister-in-law.
Lin Chi was a woman with impeccable connections, her laugh bright and unreserved. Her sun-kissed skin evoked the flow of a honeyed river, radiating an almost tangible vitality that clashed wildly with her corporate roots.
It had been Yan Kai who’d introduced them. Lin Chi had mentioned she might start an entertainment company for fun someday.
To Qiu Chao’s surprise, she actually did—and kept it small-scale, with no real ambition to expand.
After Qiu Chao parted ways with Yan Kai, she hadn’t kept in close touch with anyone she’d met through that relationship.
The overseas autumn had blanketed the streets in fallen ginkgo leaves, with a violinist playing on a corner. Qiu Chao had just changed out of her runway gown, draped in a coat and not yet in her car, exuding an air of Eastern allure.
Breaking into that world abroad was tough, even for ethnic Chinese who sometimes caught a break. More often than not, the advantages went to others.
Running into someone from her past placed Lin Chi squarely in the realm of old acquaintances for Qiu Chao.
Especially since Lin Chi was so close to Yan Muyu.
Qiu Chao had followed Yan Muyu’s various accounts incognito, both domestic and international ones. Every so often, she’d spot photos of the two together.
A third person sometimes appeared in those shots—like an exquisite figurine, Shen Tianqing, the well-known director.
Shen Tianqing never smiled in the pictures, which only made Yan Muyu look all the happier by contrast. One comment beneath read:
“Regen, wanna come over to my place tonight?”
The replies came from all nationalities, a testament to Yan Muyu’s storied romantic entanglements from her study-abroad days—a reputation that hadn’t dimmed since her return.
Yet for all her elite background, Yan Muyu never came off as aloof or superior. She didn’t give the impression of toying with hearts.
The hand clutching a wine glass in a selfie, or cradling a camera—those glimpses alone were enough to set Qiu Chao’s mind racing.
Back then, Qiu Chao had believed she’d fulfilled her heart’s deepest wish: the obsession from age seventeen, that hand pulling her from the dirt—so warm, so searing it kept her awake at night. She’d pried open her battered heart, desperate to let all those pent-up years of longing and dreams dissolve into sweet, molten bliss.
But it had happened only once.
Later, she’d tried to forget Yan Muyu. That single time had been enough to shatter what had once been an amicable bond between them.
No one else was Yan Muyu.
Qiu Chao had never recaptured that joy.
She grew ever more remote and striking, her unfulfilled craving propelling her career relentlessly forward.
Yet in the dead of night, it dragged her down into the abyss. Even when she had someone anonymously purchase products from Yan Muyu’s startup—imagining they carried Yan Muyu’s essence—it did nothing to help.
Yan Muyu had gotten her hooked.
She’d spend countless nights, when she should have been sleeping to recover for her schedule, burying her face in the pillow in despair, replaying that one-sided romance from when she was twenty-two, over and over.
~~~
In that deep autumn abroad, she’d run into Lin Chi, who was being held close by her young boyfriend. Lin Chi didn’t care one bit about how mismatched their skin tones looked.
She’d told him to wait on the other side of the street, then flashed Qiu Chao a warm smile and greeting.
Qiu Chao hadn’t known how to broach the subject.
Seeing Lin Chi inevitably brought Yan Muyu to mind.
By then, Yan Muyu was already one of the top photographers back home, her entrepreneurial ventures taking off—though she still treated them more like playthings.
As a child, Qiu Chao had found it baffling. Some people seemed to drift through life without working a day, never short on money or plagued by worry over it.
They could even effortlessly shine in whatever field they chose.
Yan Muyu embodied the type Qiu Chao envied most.
She had it all, acquired it with ease. Heartless to her core, yet she put on such a show of affection and care.
Lin Chi had cut straight to it: “You want to know how Yan Muyu’s doing?”
The actress before her looked almost fragile, but Lin Chi seemed to understand completely. She smiled and said, “She’s doing great.”
Qiu Chao had started, “That’s not—”
Lin Chi cut in: “And how have you been?”
Qiu Chao: “Pretty good.”
Lin Chi’s laugh made Qiu Chao feel utterly exposed. She wasn’t that fresh-faced newcomer anymore, yet she still felt dwarfed by the other woman’s experience.
Lin Chi: “You like her?”
Qiu Chao jumped as if startled. The autumn day was dim, hazy skies lingering like smog that ignored the season.
Much like the perpetual shadow over Qiu Chao’s true feelings.
She shook her head, quickly composing herself. “No way.”
Lin Chi: “I heard you two parted on bad terms.”
She wasn’t particularly tall, but she had a commanding presence. “I remember that one used to adore you. Now she flips out at the mere mention of your name.”
Qiu Chao let out an awkward “uh,” recalling Yan Muyu’s look of disgust at their last meeting—as if Qiu Chao had betrayed Yan Kai.
“Something happened between us.”
Lin Chi barely registered it, murmuring an “oh.” “You’re probably swamped these days. If you come back home, get in touch.”
She glanced at her watch. “If you’re still of a mind then, we could make a deal.”
Qiu Chao shot her a surprised look.
Lin Chi clarified: “A proper deal, like events with my company.”
Her laugh was disarmingly candid. “Don’t worry—I only go for eighteen-year-old boys.”
Qiu Chao: …
Talk about particular tastes.
Now that Qiu Chao was back, she’d barely given her name on the call before Lin Chi caught on.
Lin Chi: “What’s there to fear from Yan Muyu getting mad? I hope she does—she’s never had any real highs or lows her whole life.”
“Her ex-girlfriend died, and I didn’t even see her shed a tear.”
Lin Chi sighed. “Meanwhile, she saw all my ugly breakup moments. Kinda shitty of her, now that I think about it. I just want to see her lose her cool for once.”
She sounded almost wicked, but Qiu Chao could hear the fondness underneath—the easy intimacy of deep friendship that she could never breach.
Lin Chi added: “Good luck to you.”
Qiu Chao pressed, uncharacteristically: “Aren’t you curious?”
Lin Chi: “Oh, I am. I’ve got two little sisters, you know. One’s Shen Tianqing—you’ve heard of her. She’s been half-dead inside for ages.”
“The other’s Yan Muyu. One’s got no brains, the other’s perpetually pissed. If they don’t start dating soon, they’ll drive me nuts.”
Lin Chi chuckled. “But I hope they get a fresh start. Neither of them is doing great right now.”
So Yan Muyu wasn’t in a good place these days?
Qiu Chao gazed at her. Even in the flickering streetlights, Yan Muyu’s profile held an irresistible pull.
She could smell the rum on Yan Muyu—specially mixed, sharp and biting, nothing like her polished public image.
Yan Muyu wasn’t much of a drinker by tolerance, but she loved it. She always held back in crucial moments, though.
That day, she hadn’t.
Yan Muyu: “Why are you staring? Don’t look at me like I’m dinner.”
Her tone was sharp, stripping away her usual flat, AI-like monotone.
Qiu Chao: “Are you mad?”
Yan Muyu: “Would you be in a good mood after someone wrecked your perfect night?”
She didn’t go so far as to demand they pull over, but just then, Lou Haiyan’s call came in. Yan Muyu answered.
Lou Haiyan: “Young Boss Yan…”
Yan Muyu: “I’m in Qiu Chao’s car. They got photos? How am I supposed to control that? Handle it.”
She stared out the window, phone in one hand, the fingers of the other propping up her forehead.
A beam of light swept across, illuminating the tattoo on Yan Muyu’s finger—like a ring, scripted in French.
The next instant, Yan Muyu whipped her head around, locking eyes with Qiu Chao’s stunned gaze.
Yan Muyu was indeed a little angry. Qiu Chao was too clingy, her desires on brazen display.
Yan Muyu had encountered all sorts over the years.
Ex-girlfriends, classmates, club playmates. Even the bold and passionate ones didn’t match Qiu Chao—subtle yet audacious, scorching hot, with eyes that feigned perfect innocence.
Qiu Chao’s hunger appeared modest at first glance, like a shallow bowl. In truth, it was a bottomless pit, impossible to fill no matter how much you poured in.
Yan Muyu even sensed that Qiu Chao wasn’t looking at her entirely—more like searching her for traces of something else.
Searching for traces of my brother?
Sorry, but we don’t look anything alike.
Qiu Chao noticed Yan Muyu seemed even angrier and scooted over to her affectionately once more.
“A wonderful night with me isn’t good enough?”
The coldly alluring female star’s lips were plump and full, the complete opposite of Yan Muyu’s thin ones. She had topped some magazine’s poll for the celebrity women most wanted to date—by a landslide.
They drew men in, but didn’t have quite the same pull on women.
Yan Muyu let out a cold sneer. “Can a night with you really be called wonderful?”
Qiu Chao shot back, “So what form do you want? Something dirty, where you curse me out as shameless?”
Yan Muyu didn’t know what to say for a moment.
She knew she couldn’t bring herself to hurl insults, even though Qiu Chao really was pretty shameless.
But there was nothing vulgar about Qiu Chao. She had this knack for stirring up a hazy, tantalizing itch—like that photoshoot Yan Muyu had done for her all those years ago.
A beauty veiled in gauzy curtains amid the snow, her gaze seductive while her visible face stayed innocently pure. She hadn’t yet developed her current icy allure, but that mesmerizing enchantment was already there.
It was a shame, such a shame. That set of photos had become Yan Muyu’s nightmare.
It marked the bottleneck she still hadn’t overcome. Every time she picked up her camera, thoughts of Qiu Chao flooded in, along with that crushing sense of defeat.
The disbelief she’d felt at twenty-two, followed by fury at the feedback on the finished shots.
Qiu Chao sidled closer again. She seized Yan Muyu’s hand and pressed it against her own chest.
“Don’t forget the terms under which I signed with your company.”
Yan Muyu replied, “Wasn’t it just to be your manager?”
“But Qiu Chao, the variety show’s not underway yet. And your manager hasn’t turned into a vegetable.”
Xia Yuanyuan hated how poorly her headphones blocked out noise.
At that moment, it felt like she’d driven her car straight under someone else’s bed.
Qiu Chao pressed on. “But it’s the tail end of the promo period for the variety show now, Little Yan.”
Yan Muyu scoffed. “Is that why you had someone snap photos of us?”
A warm hand rested against her chest—warm enough to set Qiu Chao’s heart fluttering.
Only then did Yan Muyu realize Qiu Chao was wearing the same style outfit as Xuan Zhelu.
Qiu Chao said, “I ran it by PR. They gave the okay.”
Yan Muyu’s voice squeezed out through clenched teeth. “So you didn’t think to notify the person actually involved?”
The next second, Yan Muyu’s phone screen lit up. After facial recognition unlocked it, a new message popped from Shen Tianqing—the director who had filled in on Qiu Chao’s acting variety show, A World Starting Anew.
Shen Tianqing: [Image]
Shen Tianqing: Whale Entertainment’s Young Boss Yan and ex-sister-in-law hitting a bar—signs of reconciliation?
Shen Tianqing: You didn’t let Qiu Chao * you, did you?
Shen Tianqing: Yan Muyu, that’s so low-class. Using this to hype the new variety show? I used to think you had more class.
Yan Muyu yanked her hand free from Qiu Chao’s grasp. She was just about to fire off a curse at this damn widow Shen Tianqing when the car braked hard.
A delivery scooter had darted out at the intersection ahead.
Yan Muyu’s head nearly smacked into the back of the front seat, but the hand Qiu Chao was clutching slipped straight into her cleavage.
Shocked, she roared, “Are you crazy? Why aren’t you dressed properly?!”
The woman in question tightened her grip on Yan Muyu’s wrist and asked without a shred of shame—
“If you get the chance, help me debunk that rumor about my ‘high-grade silicone.'”
She even seemed smug about it. “I’m one hundred percent natural.”
