Chapter 26

White moonlight… no—what exactly did Jiang Banxia mean just now? Xu Chun stared fixedly at the other woman’s face without blinking. Could it be that Jiang Banxia had feelings for her all these years too? Were they actually mutually pining after each other?

Jiang Banxia’s raven-black lashes trembled faintly. She lowered her gaze slightly, hiding most of her tea-colored pupils, and quietly studied Xu Chun’s clear, striking face. She felt that the woman before her was utterly mesmerizing now, impossible to resist.

Her features were clearly innocent and wholesome, yet every unconscious gesture was like a cat’s paw, stirring ripples in one’s heart and setting the imagination running wild.

This was the woman who had occupied her entire youth, the one who had stirred the most heart-fluttering feelings she had suppressed for all those years. Leaving without a word back then had truly been because she had no other choice. If there had been any possibility at all, she would have defied her parents no matter what, stopped being the good girl they wanted, and chosen to stay by her side.

Jiang Banxia had assumed the other would be like her—focused on her studies, improving herself. Never had she imagined that while she was killing herself day and night over her research, Xu Chun was parading around back home in a high-profile romance as if she wanted the whole world to know, and even ended up so thoroughly humiliated by Yu Sui’an that her reputation was nearly destroyed.

The moment she saw the entertainment news, Jiang Banxia was furious and frantic. But the project in her hands wasn’t finished, and she couldn’t leave. So she gritted her teeth, slept a pitiful two or three hours a day, and at the cost of nearly ruining her health, managed to finish the project ahead of schedule and free up time to rush back to the country.

She disliked Yu Sui’an intensely. In her view, Yu Sui’an’s feelings for Xu Chun were not genuine at all; she merely intended to use Xu Chun. An actress of her caliber—if she could publicly announce a romance with Xu Chun, or even shift the blame for the breakup onto Xu Chun, she could ride Xu Chun’s coattails to climb one, two, even three tiers.

And reality had proven Jiang Banxia’s suspicions entirely correct.

So she had rushed home in a frenzy and, while Shen Shutong was in trouble, used her parents’ connections to parachute straight into the cast in one move and snatch the second female lead role. With her there, Yu Sui’an wouldn’t dare do anything excessive. Except… Jiang Banxia’s gaze swept over Xu Chun’s face, and she frowned imperceptibly. Could Xu Chun still be unable to forget Yu Sui’an? Had her old feelings not died after all?

Just now, Xu Chun had been sitting there alone, eyes fixed straight on Yu Sui’an, the brilliant smile on her lips so dazzling it stung.

A suffocating anger lodged in Jiang Banxia’s chest. She truly wanted to crack open Xu Chun’s skull and see what was actually stored inside.

What on earth was so good about Yu Sui’an? What made her worth Xu Chun’s constant thoughts and dreams? Or was it simply that Xu Chun had eaten rich delicacies for so long that she wanted to try plain rice porridge for a change?

Jiang Banxia’s gaze drifted uncertainly. Xu Chun had no idea the other woman had already imagined so much on her own. Noticing how Jiang Banxia’s expression was gradually turning stern and that she looked about to start accusing her again, Xu Chun’s lips moved quickly and she rushed to speak, all seriousness: “Of course you’re much better than her.”

Sensing the doubt in Jiang Banxia’s gaze, Xu Chun straightened. “You’re so beautiful, tall, long-legged, slim-waisted, well-educated, wealthy, and from a good family—who wouldn’t like you? Anyone who doesn’t like you has something wrong with their eyes and should see an ophthalmologist.”

Xu Chun had to admit her words pleased Jiang Banxia considerably, but Jiang Banxia wasn’t so easily fooled. Her delicate brows remained furrowed. “Then what exactly is going on between you and Yu Sui’an?”

Hmm… should she tell the other woman that she’d been possessed by a wicked impulse and blackheartedly extorted five million yuan from Jiang Zhaolie?

Xu Chun hesitated for only a moment, but Jiang Banxia’s expression shifted the instant she saw it. The other woman straightened abruptly, her face tinged with faint anger and a chill. “I understand.”

Xu Chun looked up, bewildered. “?” Understand what?

In response, Jiang Banxia gave her a deep look, then turned and walked away without a backward glance. Xu Chun sat frozen in place. “???” No, seriously—what did her white moonlight understand?

The moment Jiang Banxia left, Assistant A sidled over cautiously. “Sister Xu, you and Miss Jiang…” She swallowed. “Did you have a fight?”

Xu Chun glanced at her. “If you have something to say, say it.”

“It’s nothing, just concerned about you.” Assistant A gave a sheepish laugh. Xu Chun stared at her expressionlessly. “Do I look like someone easy to fool?”

She knew these people by now. Day after day, she had no idea why they were so addicted to gossip. They’d taken the Chinese people’s wholesome love of watching drama unfold to the absolute extreme.

Assistant A wasn’t annoyed at being seen through. Soon enough she went back to looking after Xu Chun as if nothing had happened. Back when she’d first been assigned to Xu Chun, she’d thought the other woman was nice enough but had an indescribable awkwardness about her. But ever since Xu Chun’s engagement had been broken off, she felt as if Xu Chun had become a different person.

As if she had her own thoughts and opinions now—more alive.

Still… surely Xu Chun wouldn’t let Yu Sui’an sweet-talk her into getting back together? Even outsiders like them could see Yu Sui’an’s scheming clearly. No matter what, they would never let Yu Sui’an have another chance to be alone with Xu Chun. That was what Sister Yang had reminded and warned them about every single day before they joined the cast.

Sister Yang had said that if Xu Chun dared to remain stubborn and let Yu Sui’an bewitch her again, then even if they had to tie her up and drag her away, they were to keep the two of them apart.

…

Yu Sui’an’s fans had been burning with anxiety lately, like ants on a hot pan—nervous, jittery, restless.

From the moment she debuted, Yu Sui’an had suffered plenty of bullying, openly and covertly. The first agency she signed with was utterly unscrupulous; not only was the profit split outrageously exploitative, but her manager was even derelict in his duties, thinking every day about how to pimp her out. During that period, Yu Sui’an attended more drinking parties every day than she did scenes.

Later, through a friend of Xu Chun’s, Yu Sui’an took out a loan to pay the astronomical breach-of-contract fee and escaped the bloodsucking company. She found her current agency, and as it happened, the manager—who had nothing better to do and was on the way to drink with the company boss—took a liking to her. They formally became friends and business partners.

Perhaps because she’d tasted too much bitterness before, or perhaps because she was simply fated to mesh with her current agency, Yu Sui’an flourished in the new company, held her head high, and with the first script they gave her, shot to fame overnight, becoming a popular young actress on the rankings.

Protected by her well-connected manager, Yu Sui’an hadn’t suffered such a grievance in a very, very long time. Frame-ups, slander, dirt—none of it had ever stuck to her. As a result, Yu Sui’an’s fans were always cocky and confident in public, like a flock of proud geese with their chests puffed out, marching invincibly forward every day.

But now they only felt pent-up fury. And alongside that fury, they were unbearably worried about Yu Sui’an, afraid this incident would strike her down and affect her mood and her acting. So a few fan leaders privately put their heads together and decided to buy some gifts, snacks, and fruit, and use a set visit as an excuse to go see Yu Sui’an.

Xu Wei was among them.

Xu Wei had been living extremely frugally these past weeks. Xu Chun had been relentlessly hounding her for repayment, even disregarding their sisterly bond, and it had left her utterly mortified. Did she think Xu Wei cared about that bit of money?

Perhaps out of spite, perhaps out of pride, Xu Wei had resolved that even if she had to bankrupt herself, she would repay the money and completely cut ties with Xu Chun—because Xu Wei did not want to owe anyone anything.

Over the first half of the month, she’d had someone sell off her luxury handbags and the luxury clothes she never wore, then sold several rarely driven sports cars from the garage that her parents had given her as gifts over the years. Finally she’d even sold an apartment, recouping a large sum, but it still wasn’t nearly enough.

Her face dark, she’d had no choice but to grit her teeth, steel herself, and sell her favorite supercar too—the one that showed off her lofty status and saved face. Then she’d borrowed here and there from her close girlfriends, and finally, scraping together every last cent, she’d gathered the money she owed Xu Chun.

The moment she transferred the money to Xu Chun, Xu Wei felt an unprecedented lightness. But a moment later, an inexplicable emptiness welled up in her heart.

So during the half year she’d spent chasing Yu Sui’an, she’d actually spent this much money?

Fifty million… an ordinary family couldn’t even spend five hundred thousand in a year. The vast sum she’d spent was enough to support two or three hundred ordinary families for a full year.

A strange feeling surged in her heart, but before she could think further, a fandom friend who also stanned Yu Sui’an suddenly called her. The first words out of her mouth were: “Huahua and the others are going to the set today to visit Suisui. You coming?”

A set visit? Thinking of Xu Chun’s earlier attitude, Xu Wei instinctively wanted to refuse. But after calming down, she realized this was the perfect opportunity to tell Xu Chun she no longer owed her anything, so she nodded and agreed. “Sure. When are you going?”

“This afternoon,” her friend said. “You’re home now, right? I’ll come find you in a bit—might as well catch a ride in your car.”

Xu Wei instinctively glanced at the empty corner of the garage that had once been hers, and her expression couldn’t help but sour. After her friend finished speaking, she instinctively denied it. “I’m not home. Just head straight to the film studio; I’ll come find you all later.”

Her friend sounded a little disappointed. “Alright then.”

After hanging up, Xu Wei stared blankly at the balance screen on her phone. After repaying the forty or fifty million she owed Xu Chun, she now had no houses and no cars; her collection of designer bags, jewelry, and clothes had shrunk by more than half; and her bank card balance was completely empty. She’d even have to take a taxi herself just to visit Suisui on set.

When in her life had she ever suffered such hardship?

Her mood turned irritable, and Xu Wei couldn’t help but resent Xu Chun’s coldness and cruelty, and regret her own extravagance—pouring so much money into Yu Sui’an alone. Plenty of fans freeloaded; she might not go that far, but spending a little money to support someone occasionally should have been enough. Why had she insisted on keeping up appearances to beat Yu Sui’an’s other fans, driving herself to this point?

It simply wasn’t worth it.

Xu Wei stewed over it the whole way. When she reached the film studio, even with a mask and hat on, it was obvious her face was thunderous. Her mind was entirely consumed by regret, so she didn’t notice where she was walking at all. By the time someone stopped her and she instinctively looked up, Xu Chun’s face had appeared out of nowhere. Startled, she stumbled back several steps, putting distance between them, and blurted out: “I’ve already paid back every cent I owed you! What more do you want?!”

Hm? Xu Chun raised an eyebrow slightly and immediately pulled out her phone to check. Only after confirming the transfer notification in her messages did her smile toward Xu Wei turn noticeably warmer and kinder. “Thanks for your hard work.”

Xu Wei didn’t know what to say to her. Crocodile tears—a cat weeping over a dead mouse. The hypocrisy made her sick. She lifted her foot to leave, but Xu Chun called her back. “You’re here to see Suisui, aren’t you?”

When Xu Wei looked up at her expressionlessly, Xu Chun smiled brightly. “Your friends are already here.” She kindly pointed her in a direction. “Over there. I’ll take you.”

After signaling her assistants with a look to withdraw, Xu Chun walked beside Xu Wei with one hand in her pocket. “Today’s matter really was an undeserved disaster for Suisui, but fortunately she has fans like you. Your presence can lift her spirits.” After this heartfelt speech, Xu Chun abruptly changed tack. “But you can’t come comfort her every single day, can you?”

Xu Wei frowned, unsure what she was getting at.

Seeing this, Xu Chun smiled brilliantly. “We can make a deal.” She spoke slowly and casually, as if merely mentioning it offhand. “You give me five hundred thousand a month, and I’ll keep an eye on her for you. How about that?”

Xu Wei instinctively wanted to refuse, but then Xu Chun added: “In the future, if anyone smears Suisui online again, I’ll go through hell and high water, ruin my reputation—I’ll personally step forward to clear her name, shoulder every accusation for her, and not give her rivals a single opening to exploit.”

“How about it?”

Xu Wei already harbored plenty of resentment over being made to repay the money. At the thought of paying five hundred thousand a month just to make things difficult for Xu Chun, she nearly nodded on the spot. Whether Suisui suffered or not didn’t matter; right now she simply wanted revenge on Xu Chun, wanted her to have a hard time.

She was already wavering. Xu Chun leaned in slightly and whispered in her ear: “Think about it. In the future, whenever Suisui gets smeared, you’re the one who solves it for her. Won’t your status among her fans rise higher and higher? Then everyone will thank you, even Suisui will want to meet you in person, buy you gifts and milk tea, take intimate selfies with you, and post them. You’ll be the only important person among her fans. All of them will envy and be jealous of you, but they’ll never be able to surpass you.”

“You’ll be the sole chosen one among Suisui’s fans. In Suisui’s heart, you’ll be different from all the rest. So could you bear to give up such a wonderful chance to get closer to Suisui?”

How could Xu Wei, someone who’d never been beaten down by society, withstand such temptation? She shook her head at once. “No, I couldn’t.”

She turned and fixed her eyes on Xu Chun. “You’ll keep your word?”

“Naturally.” Seeing the fish had taken the bait, Xu Chun’s smile grew even brighter, charm radiating from her eyes and brows. “If you’re not at ease, we can sign an electronic contract right here.”

Xu Wei didn’t even think. “Fine. I’ll sign.”

But after she opened the electronic contract Xu Chun sent over and signed it, she remembered her balance was empty. Xu Chun seemed to have noticed her difficulty too, and said considerately: “If you don’t have enough money, you can just write me an IOU first, and pay me back once you have the money.”

As she spoke, Xu Chun unobtrusively slid an already-written IOU across. At the same time she said, “Your friends should still be waiting for you, right?”

Just as the words left her mouth, the friend who’d called Xu Wei earlier rang her again. “Weiwei, where are you? We’re already here.” The girl’s voice was excited. “You won’t believe it—when Suisui heard we were coming, she had her assistant buy us loads of snacks and plush toys. There’s even a Belle, your favorite. I grabbed one for you, and I even got Suisui’s autograph…”

Hearing this, Xu Wei was instantly itching to get over there. With a flourish of her hand, she scrawled her signature across the IOU and ran off without looking back. “Xu Chun, you’d better remember what you just said.”

“Of course. I keep my word.” Xu Chun smiled, holding her five hundred thousand, thoroughly pleased.

Keeps her word? Xu Wei thought—oh, she certainly did; she was very diligent about demanding repayment… Wait! Xu Wei abruptly stopped in her tracks. Hadn’t she just finished repaying the tens of millions she owed Xu Chun? So how was she now in debt to her for another five hundred thousand?

Xu Wei’s expression turned ugly as she stood frozen. She’d tricked her!

Just then her friend came running over clutching plush toys and Yu Sui’an’s autograph. “Weiwei, look! I got one for you!” Noticing Xu Wei’s odd mood, she asked cautiously, “Weiwei, what’s wrong?”

She glanced at Xu Chun in the distance and suddenly thought of something, her eyes widening involuntarily. “Your surname is Xu too… and you and Xu Chun… could you be—”

“No!” Xu Wei instinctively raised her voice to deny it, startling her friend. After coming back to herself and murmuring an apology, Xu Wei gritted her teeth inwardly. She absolutely could not let anyone find out she and Xu Chun were sisters; otherwise, when Suisui heard Xu Chun’s name she’d be hurt, and Xu Wei herself would be attacked by Suisui’s fans. Some might even say she was a mole planted among them to feed Xu Chun information.

So even if she died, she absolutely could not let anyone know about the relationship between them.

Under her friend’s repeated concerned questions, Xu Wei forced herself to perk up. “Nothing, I just didn’t sleep well last night.” Afraid the other would keep digging, she pulled her friend toward Yu Sui’an and changed the subject. “Is Suisui doing alright?”

Her friend’s attention was diverted and she stopped probing into personal matters. “Not great.”

Xu Chun held the IOU, her face wreathed in smiles. The assistant who’d witnessed the whole thing felt her eyelid twitch violently. “Sister Xu, how could you scam even your own little sister?”

“My little sister?” Xu Chun glanced sidelong at her assistant. “What little sister? She and I are nothing but strangers who happen to share the same parents.”

The assistant was momentarily thrown by this and didn’t react in time. By the time she did, Xu Chun had already walked far away.

Yu Sui’an had taken the afternoon off and spent it with her fans. After finishing her scenes, Xu Chun glanced over a couple of times, then headed straight back to her hotel room to rest. Since that morning, Jiang Banxia’s way of looking at her had been very off—carrying a complex mix of frustration that she wasn’t meeting expectations, plus a distinct teeth-grinding quality, as if she wished she could just have her way with her right then and there.

While filming with her, Xu Chun was on pins and needles, her nerves stretched taut, terrified Jiang Banxia would suddenly blurt out some headline-making remark and single-handedly send her onto the trending list.

So the moment she got back to the hotel, Xu Chun didn’t even bother washing up. She flopped straight down onto the sofa and lay there like a salted fish, completely motionless.

After lying there for a while and recovering her senses, Xu Chun sent Jiang Zhaolie a message: 【Did you buy snacks for sister?】

Jiang Zhaolie glanced at her phone and her brows immediately knitted. She was so busy every day her heels never touched the ground. When would she have time to buy things to help Xu Chun curry favor with her mother?

Dog thing: 【No.】

Xu Chun immediately shot upright. 【No?! Why didn’t you buy snacks for sister? Are you jealous of sister, envious that someone dotes on her, while Yu Sui’an won’t dote on you or even pay attention to you?】

A moment later, Xu Chun thought of another possibility. 【You’re not thinking of embezzling that one million I gave you to buy snacks for sister, are you?】

The messages kept chiming. Jiang Zhaolie’s project was already stalled, and after Xu Chun’s barrage of harassment she was thoroughly fed up. Furiously, she snatched up her phone and typed viciously: 【I’ll give you two million. Stop bothering me.】

Xu Chun: “?!” There was such a thing in this world?!

She immediately typed back: 【Understood, this old servant shall withdraw at once. Please remember to transfer the money promptly.】

Jiang Zhaolie, coming back to her senses and realizing what she’d said in her fit of pique: “…………” Could she take it back?

Having earned yet another windfall, Xu Chun happily got up, removed her makeup, washed her hair, took a shower, and changed into the white bathrobe she’d brought with her. She was tall and slender with a great figure; every movement she made was as beautiful as a painting.

When Yu Sui’an knocked on her door, this was exactly the breathtaking scene that greeted her.

Xu Chun stood against the soft, glowing light. Her skin was already fair, and under the light she seemed to radiate a pearlescent luster, her skin almost translucent. Her waterfall of long hair hung loose, draped lazily and casually over her shoulders, still half-damp, adding a touch of unintentional allure.

Xu Chun like this was beautiful—breathtakingly beautiful, enough to make one’s heart pound like a drum.

Yu Sui’an suddenly felt her mouth go dry. But Xu Chun’s impatient opening instantly scattered all her tender feelings. “What is it?”

“I wanted to talk to you about the script, sister.” Yu Sui’an met her eyes, then slowly lowered her lashes. “There’s an emotional beat here I can’t quite grasp.”

Xu Chun frowned. She was already off the clock. Now Yu Sui’an wanted to take up her rest time with overtime?

Yu Sui’an, knowing she was in the wrong and asking a favor, produced the gift she’d been hiding behind her back. “I know you like this, sister. To apologize for disturbing you, I had my assistant queue up to buy you two portions.”

Xu Chun did indeed like this. But because the brand was so popular and the queues were always enormous, she’d suppressed her craving and hadn’t made her assistant suffer through the queue. She’d only eaten it once in front of others. She hadn’t expected this blackhearted little white lotus to remember.

“I’m truly sorry for taking up your time, sister.” With that, she placed the gift box into Xu Chun’s arms, eyes full of hope.

Of course, Xu Chun wasn’t someone a box of pastries could placate. She was just about to speak when Jiang Banxia happened to pass by behind them. She stopped, her gaze traveling over Xu Chun and the gift box in her arms, before landing coldly on Xu Chun’s face. “What are you two doing?”

Jiang Banxia’s tone was anything but friendly. Xu Chun’s mouth immediately went bitter—of all times to receive a gift, why did she have to be caught now? She hurriedly handed the thing back to Yu Sui’an and stood at attention, ramrod straight. “Nothing.”

Then she glanced at Jiang Banxia and added, “We were discussing the script.”

“And discussing the script requires this tugging back and forth in broad daylight?” Jiang Banxia smiled without warmth, staring at her half-dry hair. “Discussing the script requires showering in advance and dressing like this?”

Xu Chun truly had no defense. I’m innocent!

I wanted to change clothes too, but I had no idea Yu Sui’an would come looking for me at this hour! And I certainly didn’t know that just as I was about to refuse her, you’d suddenly appear!

As Xu Chun was silently crying injustice to herself, a voice that should have been a thousand miles away suddenly rang out: “Suisui? So you’re here—I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Xu Chun instinctively craned her neck to look. But she saw not only Jiang Zhaolie, who had spoken, but also Qin Yao walking beside her, serene as moonlight, strolling at an unhurried pace. Xu Chun instinctively clutched the collar of her bathrobe to her chest, her poor little heart giving a violent jolt: “!!!” They were all here?!