Chapter 3

The rain was too heavy. Leng Xiang looked out through the misty rain.

That was Qin Wen’s car.

Qin Wen was holding a woman in his arms, holding an umbrella to shield her as she got into the car. Then he closed the umbrella, returned to the driver’s seat, and started the car.

The woman Qin Wen was protecting was one of the newcomers Shen Cheng had recently signed, named Yu Shan. She was playing a vase-like third female lead in Jiang Sisi’s new drama crew.

Three months of crew life, eating and sleeping together in the deep mountains and old forests—what kinds of feelings could develop from that? It was all too normal.

Leng Xiang’s face turned cold. She took out her phone and dialed Qin Wen.

The other end of the line was very quiet. The voice of the boyfriend she had dated for three years was also very gentle: “Xiangxiang.”

Leng Xiang’s voice was extremely calm: “Where are you right now?”

“Where else could I be? I’m at home. I’m going to the TV station to record a show later. What about you?”

Leng Xiang didn’t speak for a long time. She looked up at the misty sky. The rain grew heavier and heavier. She said, “Qin Wen, I saw you with Yu Shan.”

The phone signal wasn’t great, and the voice was a bit distorted. The other side fell silent for a long time before the voice came through the receiver.

Qin Wen said, “Xiangxiang, I’m sorry.”

Leng Xiang viciously hung up the phone and strode into the curtain of rain.

Their relationship could be described as good or bad. At the beginning, Qin Wen said he liked the dramas she starred in, and she was attracted to this gentle and sincere man. Later, they started dating, but they were both too busy. It didn’t feel like a couple’s relationship; it was more like colleagues, treating each other with respect and politeness. No one even noticed that the two of them were actually dating.

But in the end, three years of affection wasn’t something that could be severed just like that.

Leng Xiang braved the downpour and caught the bus. She finally made it home, where the landlady and a repair worker in a blue uniform were standing at her door, waiting for her to return.

Leng Xiang greeted the landlady and led the repair worker into the house.

The landlady was a good person. Her biggest hobby was playing mahjong, and she lived next door.

The old house had poor soundproofing, and at night, she would end her games early to take care of Leng Xiang.

The landlady came to collect rent on time every month and never overcharged her. She would hold Leng Xiang’s hand and say, how could such a pretty young lady live alone like this?

Leng Xiang had no answer and could only smile.

The room was flooded. As soon as the repair worker entered, he got to work, prying up the floor tiles one by one to check where the leak was coming from.

Leng Xiang went to the kitchen to boil water for them. As soon as she plugged in the kettle, the landlady pulled her to sit on the sofa outside and watched the repair worker bustle about while chatting with her.

They hadn’t exchanged three sentences before the conversation stalled, and then she got to the point.

“Xiangxiang, it’s like this. My good-for-nothing son is getting married soon, and I was thinking of having the young couple live here with me. The house is a bit rundown, but at least I can look after them.”

“It means I’d have to trouble you.”

The words were very clear and direct.

The landlady did have a son who was useless and unmotivated. In the past two years, he had finally started to make something of himself and was getting married, but they hadn’t bought a house yet.

Leng Xiang was silent for a moment, then nodded.

“I’ll move out as soon as possible.”

But where could she go?

The repair worker said it definitely couldn’t be fixed in this short time, and no one could stay there tonight.

Leng Xiang grabbed a piece of clothing and said she could go stay out by herself; it was no problem.

Leng Xiang stood on the steps below the old house, holding her phone and looking through her contacts. No matter how she looked, she didn’t know who to call at a time like this.

A few years ago, when she was at the peak of her fame, her temperament was too aggressive and her temper too straightforward, so she only made drinking buddies.

These past few years, as she plummeted, she found herself without a single person to turn to at a time like this.

Leng Xiang looked at the names in her contacts and finally could only call Shen Cheng.

·

Shen Cheng drove over to pick her up, and Leng Xiang got into her car.

Shen Cheng carefully navigated the car out of this winding residential area amid the torrential rain.

Before, when Leng Xiang said she wanted to rent a place and chose here, Shen Cheng hadn’t agreed at first. There were too many people and eyes around—for an actress, this kind of place was utterly unlivable.

At that time, Leng Xiang twisted the key in the lock and opened the old security door, inviting her inside.

Shen Cheng’s brows hadn’t relaxed once; they were furrowed tightly. She looked around at the place with a million dissatisfactions.

Even in that situation, Leng Xiang could still raise her brows and say to her, “It’s cheap here. I have no money. What else can I do?”

Her brows slanted into her temples. Even without makeup, Leng Xiang was just as young and beautiful, able to outshine those internet celebrity faces by ten streets. No one could match that coldly glamorous aura of hers.

Even standing in such an old rental in a rundown residential area, Leng Xiang still looked noble and untouchable, beautiful to the point of stunning.

And now?

Shen Cheng glanced with her peripheral vision at Leng Xiang in the passenger seat. That face was still beautiful, but it carried a trace of fatigue she wasn’t familiar with.

Leng Xiang shouldn’t be like this.

Shen Cheng asked, “What happened?”

Leng Xiang turned her head, looking at the window glass being washed by the rain. The temperature difference between outside and inside caused a layer of fog to form on the car window. She wiped away the thick mist with her hand, revealing her own reflection on the glass.

She said, “I broke up with Qin Wen.”

“I saw him with Yu Shan.”

Her schedule had been cut, she had no place to live, and her boyfriend had broken up with her.

These things piled up one after another. For the first time, she felt this exhausted, like she couldn’t hold on any longer.

Before Shen Cheng could speak, Leng Xiang added, “Did you know about this a long time ago?”

Shen Cheng was Yu Shan’s manager. Did she really not know anything?

“Did you know all along and deliberately hide it from me?”

Shen Cheng sighed. Luckily, she had a good temper and knew Leng Xiang’s dogged temper all too well. Otherwise, anyone else would have been pissed off to death by Leng Xiang.

Shen Cheng said, “I swear, I didn’t know.”

She had so many newcomers under her; how could she manage their romantic affairs?

Leng Xiang knew she was lashing out unfairly. She tried to suppress the anger in her heart and apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

Leng Xiang closed her eyes and repeated it.

“I’m sorry.”

It was rare to see her so meek.

Shen Cheng smiled to herself inwardly. After thinking for a moment, she pulled a card out of her cardholder.

Leng Xiang took the card: “What is this?”

Shen Cheng said, “The Black Pool Gold Card.”

“You’re in a bad mood. Go play and relax a bit. You’re too tired.”