Chapter 63

Zheng Xiyu had never seen Tang Tianman like this before.

In her eyes, Tang Tianman had always been proud, beautiful, lively, and adorable.

Even when she was angry, it was always a restrained kind of irritability—at most, she’d pout a little. She had never looked this genuinely heartbroken, with such a pitiful expression.

Those big eyes gazed at her, brimming with tears. A couple of blinks, and it seemed like strings of pearls might tumble out.

Zheng Xiyu’s heartstrings tugged sharply. She strode back quickly, bent down, and cupped that small face in her hands.

“Of course I’m going. Didn’t I come here just to be with you?”

Tang Tianman glanced down at the phone in her hand. It was still ringing.

Zheng Xiyu tossed the phone onto the sofa with a flick of her wrist. “Not answering it.”

Tang Tianman grew anxious at once. “I didn’t mean you shouldn’t take the call.”

“Alright, alright. Take your time and tell me.” Zheng Xiyu’s thumb gently brushed over her eyelids. “No rush. Whatever you want is fine.”

Tang Tianman suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Her demand just moments ago had been crystal clear: she didn’t want Zheng Xiyu taking calls behind her back, didn’t want her hiding things. Otherwise, it felt like Zheng Xiyu would hang up and head right back home, leaving her alone.

But now, with Zheng Xiyu being so accommodating—saying whatever she wanted was fine—Tang Tianman felt too embarrassed to speak up.

She felt like she was being unreasonable. She hadn’t been like this before. She’d never held anyone back from their business; she was always fiercely independent, not the type of girl who needed company for everything.

How had she turned into this…?

Tang Tianman sniffled, feeling even more aggrieved.

“Oh, my goodness.” Zheng Xiyu pulled her into her arms. “Don’t make that face. Whatever you say goes—I’ll listen to you.”

Tears spilled from Tang Tianman’s eyes with a soft plop. She didn’t even know what there was to cry about, but luckily, her face was buried right against Zheng Xiyu’s chest, hidden from view.

“It’s… it’s nothing.” She tried to steady her emotions, forcing a normal tone. “I was just afraid you had something urgent.”

“I don’t. What could be so urgent?” Zheng Xiyu said categorically.

“But you have competitions…”

“I don’t have any competitions. You know the dates as well as I do.”

“You have training…”

“Missing a day or two won’t matter. I can make it up.”

“You’re really busy…”

“I’m just a student right now. How busy can I be? If I can’t even have a personal life now, what about later?”

“You make a good point.” Tang Tianman nuzzled against her in the embrace, wiping the tears from her face. Then she suddenly looked up, quickly turning her head away so Zheng Xiyu wouldn’t see. “Whether it’s studying or work, we need a balance of tension and relaxation.”

“Mm.” Zheng Xiyu’s hand rested on the top of her head.

Tang Tianman said, “The call got cut off. Call them back.”

“Mm.” But Zheng Xiyu didn’t move.

Tang Tianman twisted her head away from her palm. “Alright, go take it in the bathroom. I want to check online about this mess some more.”

“Okay.” Zheng Xiyu picked up the phone, leaned down, and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

Tang Tianman nodded and rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand.

Zheng Xiyu went off to make the call, and Tang Tianman plopped down on the sofa, scrolling through Weibo again.

It was truly disheartening.

After a while, a sound came from the phone. “All done?”

It was Li Tong’s voice, small and sly.

Tang Tianman let out a short “Ah,” suddenly remembering she was still on speaker.

“What do you mean ‘done’?” She quickly adjusted her tone. “What are we going to do about this?”

Li Tong replied, “Ruan Ruan and I have already used our accounts to request post deletions, but at best, the original links will be gone. People have definitely taken screenshots by now.”

“Mm.” Tang Tianman responded listlessly.

Ruan Ruan suddenly chimed in. “Baby, turn off speakerphone.”

“Oh, right.” Tang Tianman switched it off and held the phone to her ear.

Ruan Ruan said, “There’s nothing more we can do about it. You need to talk to Zheng Xiyu and see if it affects her side. The online sentiment is positive right now, and the internet’s memory is short—just a day or two. As long as nothing else comes up, it’ll blow over soon.”

“Mm.” Tang Tianman nodded.

“We heard you two talking earlier. Zheng Xiyu really dotes on you, but…” Ruan Ruan paused. “Never mind…”

Tang Tianman’s heart fluttered with unease, like a child who’d done something wrong. “I know what you mean. You’ve said it before.”

“Mm.” Ruan Ruan continued, “Don’t let it ruin your mood. Do what you need to. See you when you get back.”

“Mm.” Tang Tianman agreed.

After hanging up, she lost all interest in Weibo.

No matter how many people knew Zheng Xiyu, the comments boiled down to two types: effusive praise or sneering disdain.

In the online world, anyone could say whatever they wanted. Tang Tianman couldn’t control it, nor could she.

The only person she could truly care about, truly communicate with, was Zheng Xiyu herself.

And she was the most important one.

Tang Tianman lay back on the sofa, reflecting on herself.

Zheng Xiyu came back from her call and sat down beside her.

“Anything important?” Tang Tianman asked.

“Nothing.” Zheng Xiyu said.

Tang Tianman stared at the ceiling. “I want you to share your life with me—the good and the bad. Don’t forget, I’m actually a year older than you. I’m your senior sister. I’m not that childish or clueless. I can handle it.”

“Senior Sister, you’re amazing.” Zheng Xiyu smiled and ruffled her hair.

Tang Tianman didn’t budge, pressing on with what she needed to say. “If you keep hiding important things from me, I’m not stupid—I can sense it, even without details. Over time, I’ll start wondering every day if you’re keeping something from me again. Trust erodes just like that, bit by bit.”

Zheng Xiyu fell silent.

Tang Tianman rubbed the back of her hand. “I’m a little worried about you.”

“The call was from the coach.” Zheng Xiyu explained. “She’s been out of town these past few days, so I hadn’t told her about taking leave from training. She saw the stuff online and noticed I wasn’t at the training grounds, so she got a bit anxious.”

Tang Tianman asked, “Who did you tell about skipping training, if not the coach?”

Zheng Xiyu: “The captain.”

Tang Tianman: “Is telling just the captain enough? Does Wang Tingxi have that much authority?”

Zheng Xiyu: “No.”

Tang Tianman: “…”

She sat up straight and looked at Zheng Xiyu. “So you came out with me by skipping training?”

Zheng Xiyu: “Pretty much.”

Tang Tianman said, “My fault.”

“Hm?” Zheng Xiyu immediately countered. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“How can you say that? Aren’t you here because of me? Wasn’t it because of me that we ran into that homewrecker business and ended up on the hot search out of nowhere?”

“That was an accident.”

“Don’t ignore the first part.”

“I wanted to.” Zheng Xiyu’s tone suddenly carried some edge. “I wanted to come out with you, so I did. I wanted to skip training, so I did. Don’t I have that much freedom?”

She rarely spoke like that, and Tang Tianman was taken aback.

“I’ll take responsibility for my own choices.” Zheng Xiyu’s brows furrowed slightly. “It has nothing to do with anyone else.”

Tang Tianman had a bad feeling. “Is there something else going on?”

“No.” Zheng Xiyu stood up. “Let’s wash up and sleep. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

Tang Tianman pouted and stayed curled up on the sofa, unmoving.

The pleasant night had lost its spark.

Both of them felt a tangle of emotions, so their actions cooled considerably.

After washing up, they lay side by side in bed. Tang Tianman had planned to just lie there stiffly with her eyes closed until sleep came, but once the lights were off, Zheng Xiyu’s warmth and scent enveloped her. She decided not to deny herself.

She scooted closer and nestled into Zheng Xiyu’s arms.

Zheng Xiyu wrapped her arms around her, holding her close, and tucked the blanket around her.

Tang Tianman felt much better. “Good night.”

“Good night.” Zheng Xiyu’s lips brushed her earlobe. “See you tomorrow.”

Because of the award ceremony, event coordinator Zhou Qingpei called early the next morning to hurry Tang Tianman along.

Still groggy from sleep, Tang Tianman didn’t catch the location and just mumbled a couple of “Ahs.”

Zheng Xiyu, already up and freshened, took the phone from her hand.

“Mm, seven o’clock arrival, makeup at eight-thirty, event starts at ten with a live stream. Got it. No, I don’t need anything—I’m just accompanying someone.”

After hanging up, Tang Tianman got out of bed and stretched.

Zheng Xiyu handed the phone back. She stood by the bed, tall and imposing.

Tang Tianman’s stretch landed perfectly on her shoulder, and she twisted her body playfully. “No taking other people’s calls without permission, okay?”

Zheng Xiyu: “I only picked up because it was for you.”

Tang Tianman grinned and rested her chin on top of Zheng Xiyu’s head. “Are you my manager now?”

“If you want me to be, I am.” Zheng Xiyu said. “Free of charge.”

“As if it’s free.” Tang Tianman hopped off the bed and headed to the bathroom, delighted. “You’ve got a priceless treasure like me in return!”

“Priceless treasure.” Zheng Xiyu echoed with a smile.

They washed their faces, changed clothes, and morning sunlight streamed into the room. Her beautiful girlfriend was helping her pack.

Although trouble always seemed to find them, it was another day full of energy for Tang Tianman. She clenched her fist, pumping herself up.

The organizers had provided breakfast, so once the two women had freshened up, they headed out the door.

They arrived right on time at seven o’clock. The event was quite upscale—they had rented an exhibition hall, invited the media, and promotional posters lined the way everywhere.

Being two young women, Tang Tianman didn’t hold back at all. She kept her arm linked with Zheng Xiyu’s all the way from the entrance of the exhibition hall to the restaurant door. Inside, they claimed a prime spot by the window and sat down.

Zhou Qingpei was run off her feet at the moment. She zipped over to greet them both, then darted away just as quickly.

It was the staff who were rushed off their feet at events like this, while the invited guests mostly just had to wait. So Tang Tianman took her time, enjoying a leisurely breakfast with Zheng Xiyu. They chatted idly and sipped their tea.

More than forty minutes passed before Zhou Qingpei drifted back over. “Time to get your makeup done, Tianman,” she said to Tang Tianman.

“Got it. Let’s go.” Tang Tianman stood up and beckoned to Zheng Xiyu, who followed right behind her and straightened the collar of her shirt.

“You’ve really thought of everything,” Tang Tianman said to Zhou Qingpei. “Even bringing in a makeup artist. That’s why I did a face mask this morning and made sure my skin was well moisturized—it’ll make things easier for her.”

Zhou Qingpei smiled at her. “Then let me thank you on behalf of the makeup artist, Miss Tang.”

“Hey, just call me Tianman.” Tang Tianman grinned happily.

“Alright, Tianman.” Zhou Qingpei paused, glancing over at Zheng Xiyu. “Everyone will probably be on camera at some point. Xiyu mentioned she doesn’t want any makeup…”

Tang Tianman cut in before she could finish. “How many people do you expect to watch the live stream?”

“We’ve got coverage from local TV news stations, the stream’s up on Red Penguin, and we’ve linked up with China’s Five Major Photography Associations. Plus, there’ll be big prize drops during the broadcast, so we should have a pretty good turnout.”

“What kind of prizes?” Tang Tianman asked.

“Ten full-frame cameras.”

Tang Tianman fell silent for a moment.

Talk about targeted advertising—and deep pockets, too.

She was a little stunned. “You guys… are pretty well-funded, huh?”

Zhou Qingpei gave a gentle smile, modest to a fault. “It’s not bad.”

“Our event prizes weren’t quite this… tempting,” Tang Tianman admitted.

Zhou Qingpei winked at her. “There’ll be some unexpected surprises.”

Tang Tianman’s heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t sure if it would be a pleasant surprise or a shock.

But a scare was quick to arrive. The moment the three of them stepped into the makeup room, two young women suddenly crowded around Zheng Xiyu, phones in hand and eyes shining with excitement. “Aaaah, you’re so pretty! Can we get a photo with you?”