Chapter 75: Unexpected Encounter Part 2

Yan Muyu already knew what she was thinking.

She sighed. “Fine, where?”

The little girl pointed in front of Qiu Chao’s signature. “Right here. Initials are fine.”

Yan Muyu: “First time signing with lipstick for me. This is wild.”

She added, “When you pulled it out, I thought you were gonna ask Qiu Chao for a lip print.”

A lip print carried a bit of grown-up allure for a young girl like her, and with Qiu Chao’s effortless mature charm from just sitting there, the girl let out an “ah” and stammered, “N-no way! That’d be so rude!”

Yan Muyu: “It’s not a big deal. You’re so cute—what’s a lip print? Qiu Chao could just kiss you.”

Qiu Chao: “Am I some street performer now?”

Yan Muyu: “Want me to kiss you instead?”

Their banter flowed with easy familiarity, creating a cozy bubble that left no room for outsiders.

【Little sis, you’re grinning like me.】

【Classic case of a good person ruined by their mouth—Yan Muyuu.】

The high schooler waved her hands. “No need!”

Then she turned to her mom. “Can I borrow your lipstick?”

Her mom handed it right over.

Yan Muyu and Qiu Chao watched, wide-eyed, as the girl drew a bright pink heart right between their initials.

Her mom’s lipstick was a bold true red, blatant with its flirty vibe.

It looked just like an official announcement of Yan Muyu and Qiu Chao.

Yan Muyu: “This an invite or what?”

Qiu Chao chuckled. “First time I’ve seen a request like this.”

【Family vibes?】

【Holy crap, I learned something!!!】

【How are they this bold?!】

【My face is burning…】

That’s when Yan Muyu spotted the keychain dangling from the woman’s bag. She let out a surprised “huh.”

Qiu Chao followed her gaze, and Xuan Zhelu’s face was crystal clear on it. The production team even cut to a close-up.

【So mean.】

【Qiu Chao’s face changed!】

【Yan Muyu, why are you grinning?!】

【That keychain’s a bit worn.】

【Nah, it’s just the protective film.】

Yan Muyu: “You can spot an acquaintance from that?”

Qiu Chao: “Acquaintance?”

With the little girl’s mom right there, she didn’t say “ex-girlfriend,” but her eyes rippled with a hint of coquettish pique—even the audience caught it.

Yan Muyu: “Stranger then? That’d be rude. Or maybe a special guest?”

【@Xuan Zhelu】

【Qiu Chao’s expression is priceless.】

Qiu Chao: “So the little sister’s a fan of Miss Xuan?”

Her voice was naturally pleasing; the words sounded gentle at first, but her gaze dropped to her tea, her fluttering lashes betraying a thread of disappointment.

Yan Muyu: “Quit acting.”

She didn’t hold back. “Have some tea—it’ll make you bitter.”

【Why so blunt?!】

【Come on! Our sis has top-tier acting skills—you can’t just call it out!】

The little girl who’d gotten the signatures, meanwhile, was the most straightforward. She nodded. “I used to stan Xuan Zhelu’s girl group! So…”

She blinked up at Yan Muyu. “Can I get a Xuan Zhelu signature?”

Yan Muyu pointed at herself in disbelief. “Me? Sign Xuan Zhelu’s name for you?”

Qiu Chao chimed in coolly from across the table. “She’s a good friend, after all.”

【Drama overload!】

【Why can’t we go public yet?! I wanna dance freely!】

【Feels like Yan Muyu would actually do it.】

【Don’t!!!】

The little girl: “That doesn’t seem right…”

Yan Muyu nodded. “You know it, and you’re still asking?”

She eyed the girl, then compromised. “Getting her signature for you’s tricky, but I can call her. You talk to her?”

The girl: “That’d be too rude!”

Yan Muyu let out a dramatic “wow.” “You get rude now? I’ve been the one getting dissed.”

The little girl apologized with a frustrated groan.

Yan Muyu opened her contacts. The stream blurred everything on her phone screen except Xuan Zhelu’s name—no hearts, no cute nicknames.

Yan Muyu tapped to call and handed the phone over.

Qiu Chao propped her chin, watching Yan Muyu. “Didn’t you say no contact?”

Yan Muyu: “Did I?”

She glanced at the signed notebook on the table. “She’s a colleague at least. Don’t meddle so much, okay?”

Her tone carried a teasing lilt as she looked at Qiu Chao. “You always loved bossing me around back then.”

Over there, the little fan clutched the phone excitedly, hearing Xuan Zhelu’s voice.

Here, Yan Muyu watching Qiu Chao made the viewers’ teeth ache with secondhand sweetness.

Qiu Chao: “When did I?”

On Xuan Zhelu’s end, she’d just wrapped a commercial shoot and was surprised by the incoming call. But when she picked up, it was a stranger’s voice—way too young. Xuan Zhelu thought, Yan Muyu wouldn’t stoop so low as to…

The next second, the girl squealed “idol!”

Xuan Zhelu: ?

Yan Muyu had it on speaker. She cut in: “It’s me. Ran into your fan who wants your signature. I don’t have it, so I called you.”

Xuan Zhelu: “My signature? If you want one, I’ll mail it. What’re you gonna write it with?”

Yan Muyu: “What would I do with it?”

She pinched her teacup, smiling. “Just fulfilling a little fan’s wish.”

Xuan Zhelu: “Hang up speaker first.”

The little girl glanced at Yan Muyu, who nodded.

Yan Muyu ignored whatever they were saying and turned back to Qiu Chao. “You didn’t call when I got home late before.”

Qiu Chao thought for a moment. “Nope. I wouldn’t nag you.”

The tea was really bitter, and the sugar Yan Muyu had given her earlier had stained her tongue. Qiu Chao pulled out her compact mirror to check, saying, “You were the one stumbling in at dawn, waking me up.”

People always wondered about their shared past.

One the sister-in-law, the other the little aunt—same age, no less.

Yan Kai hardly seemed to be home, and even when old news surfaced of Qiu Chao and him together, her chemistry with anyone made it feel less real.

Yan Muyu: “I didn’t come back at dawn every night. You stayed out later than me plenty of times.”

It was an old grudge with history.

This was the freest downtime on a variety show. Yan Muyu leaned back in her chair, posture loose and lazy. She didn’t care what the fan on the phone was chatting about with Xuan Zhelu and drawled, “And raiding the fridge at midnight.”

Qiu Chao: “Lies!”

Yan Muyu: “You were way skinnier back then.”

Qiu Chao huffed. “I’m skinny now too.”

Yan Muyu: “You’re even more beautiful now.”

She looked at Qiu Chao, her words free of teasing or jest. Her gaze, amid the dust motes floating in the light, held utter sincerity.

The camera caught even the specks of dust—maybe slowed down, but it tricked viewers into sensing years in that stare.

Not a trick.

Yan Muyu had always been the one witnessing Qiu Chao’s ordinary days beneath her star aura.

The off-script schedule fans never saw: aunt-in-law and sister-in-law shopping sprees, tunnel sea views, seaside dinners. No wine or candles, but glimpses of Qiu Chao’s hidden side no casual fan got.

Maybe just one facet of the thousand faces in Yan Muyu’s eyes.

Even a decade later, she’d still be captivated by Qiu Chao off-screen.

Her lonely nights or snowy joys alike—Yan Muyu would need time to rediscover them.

【Don’t get all serious out of nowhere!!!】

【Qiu Chao was stunned.】

【Sis—don’t get fooled by sweet talk! You’re beautiful, that’s just a given!】

【Yan Muyu’s words hit even harder than flirting. You could call it flirting, but it feels so sincere.】

【Isn’t that just sincere teasing?】

【She’s not bad-looking at all, her vibe is super captivating, and with the way the show crew films her, who wouldn’t swoon?】

【I’m different. I want Yan Muyu doing boudoir shoots—bet they’d be steamy as hell.】

Qiu Chao said, “Don’t change the subject. When have I ever meddled in your business?”

Yan Muyu nodded. “Praising you isn’t changing the subject.”

She really didn’t want to drink such bitter tea, so she toyed with the rough pottery cup instead while speaking. “It was that time I got sick.”

Qiu Chao remembered now. “You call that meddling?”

Yan Muyu rarely fell ill. Compared to Qiu Chao, who pushed through exhaustion to keep working, Yan Muyu had been born knowing how to savor life.

On top of that, with her intense exercise routine, she put sickly Qiu Siyuan—who’d needed two pairs of long johns even in high school—to shame. Yan Muyu could have starred in red ginseng ads.

That bout of illness had been her worst yet.

The fever raged on without breaking, and she coughed until her lungs felt wrecked.

It happened during a summer camping trip in the mountains with friends. She’d dived into a reservoir to save a kid. She hadn’t drowned, but she’d swallowed plenty of water.

She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but she collapsed as soon as she got back.

Qiu Chao had been home those days, practicing dance nonstop for a new drama. She left early and returned late. Meanwhile, Yan Muyu had been caught up in parties and outings, so the two of them barely stayed in touch online.

Qiu Chao was used to coming back to the Yan Family estate and finding only the housekeeper there.

She had no friends—a fact that surprised a lot of people.

Even the most unpopular celebrities usually had some.

She lived like a solitary utility pole standing alone in the wilds, weathering the winds without needing companions.

Back then, her team members hadn’t been anywhere near as close as Mai Chen was now. They were just ordinary colleagues.

Qiu Chao never posted on social media and hated interviews. In private, she only read poetry collections, ones Qiu Yuan had recommended to her.

The “vase” label stuck to her like glue, but Qiu Chao didn’t mind.

No one knew what her true ambitions were. Even her assistants pitied her as little more than Yan Kai’s live-in girlfriend in name only, yet she still loved going home.

Home—with Yan Muyu.

Even if Yan Muyu was often away.

To Qiu Chao, it was already her nest.

If not for the housekeeper, she might have slipped into Yan Muyu’s bedroom to sleep.

Instead, she’d make excuses about airing out the blankets just to peek inside: at the paintings hanging in Yan Muyu’s study, at her collection of quirky knickknacks. It felt like glimpsing the hidden thoughts of the woman she adored.

Yan Muyu shrugged. “Wasn’t it? You came to my room to take care of me—not to commit a crime, right?”

She flashed a brilliant smile and winked deliberately at Qiu Chao. “That wouldn’t be good, would it?”

【What the—! She always stops halfway! Can’t she spill the full story on these moments?】

【Those four years… did Big Bro leave it open on purpose?】

【Yan Kai’s officially Moon Elder Big Bro status in my heart now.】

【I’m way more curious about that Yan Family power struggle someone dug up yesterday. It’s terrifying—like a fight for the throne.】

【That much money? Of course they’d scrap over it. But rich folks being too loyal can be weird too. Why are Yan Kai and Yan Muyu total opposites? The leak said he’s still hung up on his first love, while Yan Muyu—damn—has never even had one.】

【Does that make Yan Muyu boss material?】

【Nah, she’s artist material all the way.】

【Who says Yan Muyu isn’t loyal? She’s loyal to her feelings, which just makes her seem kinda player-ish.】

Qiu Chao said, “You seemed so pitiful and fragile back then.”

She let out a sigh. “Now I kinda want to throttle you. You were cutest when you grabbed onto me and called me Mama.”

Yan Muyu replied, “Then go ahead and throttle me.”

Qiu Chao blinked. “Would I ever? You’re the one I went to such lengths to…”

She trailed off. The two of them simply gazed at each other, heedless of anyone around them.

Yan Muyu tapped her fingers idly on the tabletop. Qiu Chao drained the last of her bitter tea without flinching, her smile serene—as if that bitterness were nothing compared to the chase for Yan Muyu.

Her greatest sweetness was right within reach.