“Yes.”
…
With 30 people doing makeup, outfit fittings, catwalks, formations—the rehearsal drained Chi Yumo’s energy to almost nothing by day’s end.
Ten times more exhausting than last year’s graduation performance rehearsals.
Physical exhaustion.
And mental exhaustion.
After learning she was Shen Muxi’s personally recommended newcomer, some fawned over her, others sniped passive-aggressively—never a moment’s peace.
By a little after six p.m., the group finally returned to the hotel from the venue in batches.
Chi Yumo slung her gym bag over her shoulder and headed out from the dressing room when a staff member stopped her in the corridor: “Mo Yu, use the side door. Your assistant’s here to pick you up.”
Contestants’ assistants or family/friends paid out of pocket to stay in the same or nearby hotels—hers was no exception.
Outsiders couldn’t stay for the full rehearsal; they’d been sent back that afternoon.
Coming specially to pick her up now—probably Shen Muxi had something for her?
Chi Yumo thought nothing of it and turned toward the side door the staff pointed to.
During the day, all entrances were either guarded by staff checking credentials or locked.
From eight in the morning until six in the afternoon, they had been busy the entire day. Those who needed to leave had scattered, and those who needed to withdraw had done so. Finally, everyone could catch their breath. Only after resting sufficiently could they face tomorrow’s first competition with full energy.
She pushed open the door and had only stepped one foot out, with half her body still under the shelter, when someone grabbed her arm.
“Miss Mo, it’s me. I asked the staff to guide you to this exit. President Shi has something to say to you. It won’t take long—will you come with me?”
It was Qiao Ke.
She still wore a committee work badge on her chest.
It looked like she had been waiting for quite a while.
Chi Yumo didn’t struggle with her.
If Shi Youwan wouldn’t give up after one or two tries, she would just reject her a few more times until she did.
This time, it wasn’t the black seven-seater business van but an ordinary-looking white sedan.
The side door was some distance from the road, and Qiao Ke pulled her along hurriedly.
She was afraid Chi Yumo would run and afraid of being seen.
They got into the car one after the other, and Zhang Kai started the engine, driving smoothly away from the photography shed along the road.
After spending the day with a group of women, the scents on Chi Yumo were indescribable—a mix of Alphas’, Omegas’, and Betas’ perfumes and pheromones that even she couldn’t stand.
She just wanted to hurry back to the hotel, take a shower, and refresh herself.
Chi Yumo looked out the window while Shi Youwan looked at her. “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
She had.
Boxed meals had been delivered at five-thirty. They were unpalatable, but they were all hungry, so they had each eaten a few bites regardless.
“There’s an old-established Chinese restaurant on Lingnan Road, run by an elderly couple in their sixties. I don’t know if you’ve been there—will you accompany me to have dinner there?”
After half a minute, when Shi Youwan spoke a second time, Chi Yumo finally shifted her gaze from the window outside to the one inside.
She pulled out her tablet: 【I’ve eaten. I don’t want to eat again. President Shi, please just say what you have to say. I’m very tired and want to go back to rest.】
Shi Youwan could see Chi Yumo’s exhaustion. She wasn’t ignoring it; she was trying to take care of her health and wanted to take her to eat something to replenish her strength.
“Zhang Kai, back to the hotel.”
Back to the hotel—to the hotel. Different verbs, different destinations.
A few minutes later, Shi Youwan’s phone rang.
It was Shen Muxi calling.
Shi Youwan’s left hand had been injured a few days ago. She had applied ointment and wrapped it in gauze, but now it only had a band-aid. She habitually picked up the phone with her right hand.
She stared at the screen for a few seconds before muting it and not answering.
In those few seconds, Chi Yumo caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye and saw the caller ID on the screen.
Was Shi Youwan sulking at Shen Muxi?
Those two.
Chi Yumo’s luggage bag sat on her lap, containing daily necessities and two changes of clothes. Her phone was in the side pocket.
Her premonition was correct. When Shi Youwan didn’t pick up, Shen Muxi called Chi Yumo instead.
Shen Muxi was her benefactor and her boss. She still had to serve this old Buddha for three years, so she couldn’t ignore the call.
Feeling the vibration, she unzipped the bag without avoiding Shi Youwan. She stared at the phone screen for a few seconds before switching it to her right hand to answer.
“Did Shi Youwan pick you up?”
Chi Yumo tapped the bottom of the phone once to indicate “yes.”
She usually kept her phone volume low, but with the noisy crowd inside today, she had turned it up to avoid missing calls from Shen Muxi or her assistant.
After Shen Muxi’s first sentence came through, she realized her mistake. She tapped the bottom and hurriedly turned down the volume.
Before she could press it twice, Shen Muxi’s complaint rang in her ears again: “That crazy woman!”
“…” Chi Yumo’s heart skipped a beat as she gripped the volume-down button. If Shi Youwan heard that, it would create bad blood.
Shen Muxi didn’t stop after cursing Shi Youwan: “Little Mo Mo, you’re on the same boat as me now, so you have to be loyal to me. Our boat has just set sail, and our grand ambitions are just beginning. Don’t go soft on me.”
Chi Yumo was utterly speechless and tapped the bottom twice to indicate “no.”
That was their call code: one tap for yes, two for no.
“I’ll believe you for now. Given a certain someone’s lack of integrity, I’ll give you another piece of wisdom—better late than never? No, late affection is cheaper than grass. Keep your eyes wide open!”
“…”
Chi Yumo hurriedly hung up.
She wasn’t the one cursing—why should she feel guilty?
She glanced out the window and saw they had arrived at a hotel entrance, but it wasn’t the one she was staying at.
The photography shed and the designated hotel weren’t far apart to begin with. Shi Youwan’s hotel was only five kilometers away in a straight line from the shed, and with few traffic lights on this stretch, they arrived in ten minutes.
Qiao Ke got out to open the door for Shi Youwan. By the time Shi Youwan had walked around to the right side, Chi Yumo still hadn’t gotten out.
She rolled down the window and held up her tablet: 【President Shi, the competition has rules and discipline.】
“Miss Mo, staying just a little while won’t be a problem,” Qiao Ke persuaded, but Shi Youwan blocked her hand from opening the door.
Shi Youwan opened the door for Chi Yumo.
She picked up the bag from Chi Yumo’s lap and handed it to Qiao Ke, then reached for her wrist, pleading softly: “Xiao Mo, give me one hour, okay? If not an hour, then forty minutes? Thirty minutes? Xiao Mo, just twenty minutes—can’t you do that?”
Even if Chi Yumo had a heart of stone, Shi Youwan’s pleas stirred her compassion.
Because those were… exactly the words she had once said to Shi Youwan.
Back then, they had been lying on the same bed, under the same blanket. Back then, she had still held Shi Youwan as something precious.
And Shi Youwan had responded with a kiss, saying—okay, sleep with me for another twenty minutes.
Shi Youwan’s psychological tactic had hit precisely.
In unfamiliar Lingjiang City, Shi Youwan wasn’t the Shifeng Group president followed by an entourage everywhere she went. Chi Yumo wasn’t the little bodyguard who had to stay out of sight behind Shi Youwan.
They could be like two ordinary people, riding in the same car, getting out at the same hotel, entering the same elevator, and the same room.
Qiao Ke placed Chi Yumo’s bag on the cabinet to the left of the entrance, fetched two cups of warm water and set them on the coffee table, then left the room.
She didn’t go far. Together with Zhang Kai, who had come up afterward, they sat idly in the open lounge area exclusive to VIP floors on this level, staring at each other.
The suite’s living room had a single-person sofa, a four-seater sofa, and two chairs by the window.
Chi Yumo didn’t go inside. She chose the single sofa to sit on and glanced at the time on her tablet, thinking it would just be twenty minutes—the time to drink a cup of water.
Time passed quickly.
Shi Youwan circled from the other side of the coffee table and sat on the long sofa next to Chi Yumo.
An arm’s length away—yet worlds apart. The girl looked at the water cup, the tablet, the window, the floor—anywhere but her.
“Xiao Mo.”
She called out with deep affection, but the girl “cleverly” ignored it by lifting the cup to drink.
It wasn’t that Chi Yumo didn’t dare to look; she just wanted to preserve some dignity for Shi Youwan, to help her maintain the pride befitting a president.
But Shi Youwan no longer cared about dignity: “Can you not participate in the model contest? Whatever you want, whatever you want to do, I can help you. If you want to earn money on your own, to build a career by yourself, there are many paths, many fields—not just entering the fashion circle or entertainment industry as an artist.”
Models and the fashion circle were half-celebrity, half-entertainment world.
The entertainment industry’s waters were too deep and murky, full of too many underhanded dealings. Her Xiao Mo was pure, clear, and untainted; she shouldn’t be dragged into that cesspool.
After hearing Shi Youwan’s “plea,” Chi Yumo sneered inwardly.
She typed back with her head lowered: 【I’m just a mute with no skills to speak of. How many paths does President Shi think I have?】
If she had paths, would she have ended up begging the Deaf-Mute School for shelter? If she had paths, would she have made a deal with Shen Muxi?
If she didn’t take the path Shen Muxi offered, was she supposed to do odd jobs her whole life, earn pocket change forever, and wear out her legs searching for a mother with no clues?
That was laughably naive.
But if becoming mute was the price to exchange for her family, she had no regrets. If breaking with Shi Youwan was the price to recover her memories, she accepted it.
She had already paid a heavy price and had no way back. She could only go all in, moving forward, looking ahead, demanding fairness from fate.
【Does President Shi want me to go back to my old job, being a bodyguard without agency for you or another big boss?】
【Unfortunately, I’m not as skilled as Kai Ge. I can’t drive or be on 24-hour standby. So, finding another way out is the only way to survive.】
“I’m sorry, Xiao Mo. I—” Heavy self-blame was like a red-hot branding iron, repeatedly crushing Shi Youwan’s heart. “I didn’t know you had a psychological aversion or fear of driving. It was my negligence.”
