Chapter 46

Kong Xiyan arrived in City B a day early. After leaving Ping'an City, they boarded a plane and flew directly to City B. Assistant Zhou was waiting outside. When he saw them emerge, he lowered his head and said, "Chief Chi, ma'am."

Chi Wanzhao gave a faint "en" and got into the car.

Lu Han placed their luggage in the trunk. Kong Xiyan moved to help, but Assistant Zhou had already opened the door on the other side and said, "Ma'am, please."

Kong Xiyan nodded and slid into the back seat.

Before long, Assistant Zhou and Lu Han got in as well.

A week away had changed nothing in City B, but the air felt colder. Kong Xiyan turned to look out the window; a gust swept up fallen yellow leaves, tapping them against the glass before they blew away.

The scenery was the same as always.

The internet, however, was in an uproar.

Guo Yixi and He Wei had officially gone at each other's throats.

This time, they weren't hiding behind fans. They had stepped forward themselves, each eager to spill every dirty secret about the other.

The reason was simple.

Guo Yixi had been exposed—photos of her entering a hotel with several directors had surfaced.

Though the photos weren't clear, netizens had sharp eyes. With their gossip-zooming, melon-eating precision, they easily recognized Guo Yixi—and the directors too.

The most recent was Director Li, who had been set to collaborate with Guo Yixi.

Word reached Director Li's wife, who was livid. She posted a scathing article online condemning Guo Yixi.

Everyone in the industry knew Director Li liked to wine and dine, to carouse. Outsiders knew somewhat too. But it had never been so publicly aired that all netizens knew.

Director Li's wife felt utterly humiliated. She posted nearly five Weibo updates in one day. Though she had fewer followers than Guo Yixi, because of the earlier video of He Lao hitting someone that Guo Yixi's chat group had leaked, a lot of people had joined in the criticism. Add in He Wei's fans stoking the fire, and Guo Yixi was quickly cornered.

The TV drama was certainly off the table.

She might even find it hard to continue in the entertainment industry at all.

In a rage, Guo Yixi went on Weibo and threw a tantrum, showing every sign of wanting a fight to the death. The ethereal, otherworldly persona she had carefully maintained crumbled in an instant.

Because she hadn't just seduced a director—she had also been with a married man, committing adultery while he was still in a marriage.

Such a label stuck to her like a brand, and it was the final straw that broke her composure.

Guo Yixi wanted to take He Wei down with her.

On the internet, she began frantically exposing He Wei's dirty laundry. Unfortunately, they were all old news, and they only stirred up a little fuss before being suppressed. By the time Kong Xiyan returned to the apartment, showered, ate, and opened Weibo, she saw topics about Guo Yixi.

#Remove Guo Yixi from the entertainment industry!#

#Guo Yixi, Director Li#

#Guo Yixi seduces a married man#

Kong Xiyan's hand holding the phone trembled, almost dropping it. Frowning, she tapped into one topic.

—Could you all please stop this nonsense? Didn't she play the innocent act? Now the facade has collapsed, right?

—Everyone knows photos can be faked. Our Xixi only got framed because she offended someone this time.

—Oh, look at the fan defending her. Did she sleep with you too? Even if the photos are fake, what about the video? That can't be fake too, right? Miss Guo in a yellow dress, going into the hotel with Director Li.

—Ew, don't say it so harshly. They were discussing a script, after all.

—Hahaha, discussing a script. What a shameless defense. With skills like that, go scrub clean the rumor that Kong Xiyan isn't a homewrecker.

—Oh, don't give them ideas. What if paid trolls actually go wash the "Kong the mistress" label off?

—Speaking of which, I really feel sorry for Kong Xiyan. How high did she stand back then? At her peak, she could sing and act. What a pity.

—Pity my ass. Mistresses deserve to be killed by everyone!!!

—Plus one!!!

Kong Xiyan pursed her lips as she watched the topic skew off track. She hadn't expected Guo Yixi and He Wei to tear into each other. Back when He Lao had deliberately made things difficult for her, she had known Guo Yixi was stirring the pot behind the scenes. She just hadn't thought karma would come so fast.

One trip back, and Guo Yixi was ruined.

Guo Yixi still had some fans trying their best to whitewash her, but with photos, videos, and Director Li's wife's own testimony, the effort was ineffective. No one thought she was innocent.

Besides, she wasn't.

These things—she really had done them.

She couldn't even argue if she wanted to.

Kong Xiyan looked at Guo Yixi, who was being scolded so mercilessly online that she didn't dare post another Weibo, and for no particular reason she thought of herself three years ago.

How similar their situations were now.

The difference was that one hadn't done it, and the other couldn't refute it.

Kong Xiyan put away her phone and turned to look for Chi Wanzhao. She wasn't in the apartment, so Kong Xiyan looked up at the second floor and saw a door open, figuring Chi Wanzhao had gone upstairs to handle work.

Yanyan, back in the apartment, was in her element. She excitedly ran circles around the place, jumping here and there, nothing like the quiet cat she had been in the countryside. Kong Xiyan stared at her, and within a few minutes she felt sleepy. Just as her eyelids were about to close, her phone buzzed violently, startling her awake.

The call was from Tong Yue.

When she answered, Tong Yue asked, "Xiyan, can you come back tomorrow?"

Their originally agreed return date was tomorrow. Kong Xiyan sat on the sofa and curled her legs up. "I'm already back."

"Hm?" Tong Yue hesitated for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. "Oh, good. I've got a gig for you—it's for 'Meet on Friday.' You and the other leads will go on together. Is that okay?"

Kong Xiyan hesitated.

'Meet on Friday' was an entertainment show. It usually invited popular TV drama actors, serving as promotion for the dramas. Because it featured traffic stars, over time it had become a favorite among many young people.

Last year, it had been voted the most popular entertainment show.

Kong Xiyan knew that 'Meet on Friday' had made a reservation with the 'Breaking the Cocoon' team. But back then she had had a bad reputation, and she hadn't expected to be invited, so she hadn't paid much attention.

Hearing Tong Yue bring it up out of the blue caught her off guard.

After a moment's thought, she said, "Okay."

Tong Yue breathed a sigh of relief at her response. "Alright. I'll go over the details with you when you get to the set."

Kong Xiyan hummed in agreement and hung up.

'Meet on Friday' was a live broadcast. The host was sharp-tongued and especially skilled at asking questions. Because of that, two celebrity couples who were secretly dating had been exposed on air.

After hanging up with Tong Yue, Kong Xiyan pulled out her laptop and began catching up on previous episodes of the show.

When Chi Wanzhao came downstairs, she saw Kong Xiyan sitting on the wooden floor, half crouched, her head resting on the coffee table, eyes fixed on the laptop in front of her. The living room echoed with sound.

—Now on to the Q&A segment. What's her favorite food?

—Carrots!

—Next: her favorite place!

—A coffee shop in the west of the city!

—Her favorite flower?

—Roses!

—Last one! You two are dating, aren't you?

—Yes!

Then came the man's hurried denial: "No, we're not."

Too bad the live audience was already screaming, clapping and hooting unabated. The heated atmosphere was palpable even through the screen. Chi Wanzhao wore light-colored sleepwear. Seeing the computer program come to a pause, she walked over and said, "Get up."

Kong Xiyan was on the verge of falling asleep. Hearing that low murmur, she listlessly looked up and saw Chi Wanzhao holding a very small bottle as she approached.

The bottle was open, and a smell wafted over, making her frown and wrinkle her nose. "What's that?"

Chi Wanzhao walked to her side, helped her up onto the sofa, and, without a word, rolled up her pant leg. Ever since they had left the village, she had noticed that something was off with Kong Xiyan's foot, and she guessed she had been pushing through the pain.

So she had pretended not to notice.

Only after returning to City B did she send Zhou Sheng to find a medicinal wine that was effective for sprains. The smell was indeed a bit strong.

Kong Xiyan stretched one leg out flat on the coffee table. The medicinal wine was brown. Chi Wanzhao poured some into her palm and used her fingertips to rub it around the ankle.

The foot was cold.

Kong Xiyan always feared the cold. She had sat on the carpet for so long just now, and her feet were bare and freezing.

Chi Wanzhao massaged the slightly swollen area with a focused expression, her face calm, her bright eyes betraying no other emotion—clear and translucent. After being rubbed for a while, Kong Xiyan pulled her foot back and said, "It's fine now."

Chi Wanzhao's voice was much lower than usual. "Still want to go to the set?"

Kong Xiyan docilely put her leg back on the coffee table.

In the apartment, the two were silent. Yanyan, who had been leaping around, eventually flopped onto the sofa. Seeing Chi Wanzhao massaging Kong Xiyan's leg, she got curious and jumped over, lying her whole cat body across Kong Xiyan's feet.

Her white fur brushed against Kong Xiyan's sole, tickling unbearably. Kong Xiyan couldn't help but laugh, her eyes curving. Once Yanyan jumped over, Chi Wanzhao stopped moving. Yanyan then meowed at her insistently.

As if asking her to rub her too.

Chi Wanzhao's eyes were faint, and she glanced at Yanyan casually, a warning in her gaze.

Yanyan reluctantly stood up, shook her fur, and let out a fierce meow at Chi Wanzhao. Then she turned her head to look at Kong Xiyan. Just as Kong Xiyan was off guard, she leapt and pounced!

Kong Xiyan had been sitting on the edge of the sofa. Seeing Yanyan's move, she reached out to catch her, but she underestimated Yanyan's weight. The impact made her hips tilt, and she fell straight to the floor beneath the sofa.

Seeing her move, Chi Wanzhao hurriedly reached out to pull her, but Kong Xiyan was falling too fast. When Chi Wanzhao grabbed her hand, she was already being pulled down onto the carpet with her.

It didn't hurt.

But the position was awkward.

Chi Wanzhao lay on top of Kong Xiyan. Because one leg was still propped on the coffee table, Kong Xiyan's legs were spread wide. Chi Wanzhao landed right in the middle, and although cloth separated them, the area of friction between the two was too great.

Kong Xiyan blushed and whispered, "Chief Chi, get up."

Chi Wanzhao gave a faint "en," pressed her arms to the floor, lifted her head from the crook of Kong Xiyan's neck, and stared at her small earlobe, her eyes deep and dark, gleaming.

The entire apartment was quiet. Because their chests were almost touching, Kong Xiyan could clearly feel two hearts beating, thumping so loudly they hurt her eardrums.

She put her hands between them, trying to push open a little distance. Chi Wanzhao was about to reach for her wrist when a phone rang.

The ringtone was loud, and with a start, Kong Xiyan shoved Chi Wanzhao away and quickly sat up.

Chi Wanzhao's expression darkened.

The call was from Fu Qiu, who naively asked, "Sister Kong, you're back!"

Kong Xiyan gave an "en," glancing sidelong at Chi Wanzhao, and replied lightly, "Just got back."

Fu Qiu let out a little laugh. "I heard from Sister Tong. Glad you're back."

"Oh, right. Sister Tong said you're doing that show. She said you're expected at the set tomorrow. I'll pick you up at two?"

Kong Xiyan said, "Okay."

Fu Qiu's voice was on the loud side. Although Chi Wanzhao and Kong Xiyan were a little apart, she could still hear. On the other end of the line, Fu Qiu said, "Then it's settled! Sister Kong, sleep early. Good night, muah!"

Kong Xiyan said, "Good night."

After hanging up, Chi Wanzhao had already stood up. She dusted off nonexistent lint from her clothes, screwed the cap back on the medicinal wine bottle, picked up her phone, and said, "You sleep first. I'm going to call Zhou Sheng."

Kong Xiyan glanced at the time. "So late. Is it business?"

Chi Wanzhao's voice drifted over, ominous. "No."

"Just going to have Zhou Sheng find you a new assistant."

Kong Xiyan: ...