Chapter 7

The late September weather had finally shed its summer heat, turning cool. Kong Xiyan sat in the car, gazing absently at the flowers and leaves outside the window, until Fu Qiu called softly, "Sister Kong?"

Fu Qiu was the assistant Tong Yue had arranged for her. A driver was also with them.

Kong Xiyan snapped back to attention and turned to look at the girl beside her. Round face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, lips always curving upward, eyes crinkling into a smile whenever she looked at someone—and right now she was looking at Kong Xiyan. Kong Xiyan calmly averted her gaze and responded, "Mm."

Fu Qiu was new to the industry, full of curiosity about the entertainment business, unable to contain her excitement as she spoke. She smiled and said, "Sister Kong, just a few more minutes."

Just then, Kong Xiyan's phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?"

Tong Yue's crisp, capable voice came through the receiver. "Almost there?"

Kong Xiyan: "Mm, almost."

There was noise on Tong Yue's end, and after a pause she said, "Go ahead and start shooting without me. I'll come by later—something's come up here I can't get away from."

Kong Xiyan nodded. "Sure."

They soon arrived at the filming location. Gu Ling and Wu Qing were already there, in the middle of makeup. When they saw Kong Xiyan and the others get out of the car, Gu Ling glanced over and then turned her gaze away, while Wu Qing said with a hint of contempt, "Still thinks it's three years ago, huh."

Gu Ling rarely bothered to respond to her, but this time she did: "Can't be too sure. Maybe she's latched onto someone better."

Wu Qing rolled her eyes. "Right. Wonder who she managed to climb up on to get Sister Tong to take her on."

Just thinking about it made her angry. If Tong Yue had decided to take on Gu Ling instead of her, she could accept it. For the past two years, both she and Gu Ling had been the company's rising stars, and while they fought behind each other's backs, Gu Ling's skills were on par with her own.

Losing to Gu Ling, she could live with.

But instead, it was Kong Xiyan who showed up out of nowhere. Never mind that she was parachuted in—just think about what she'd done in the past. Anyone who saw her couldn't help but want to curse at her. To lose to someone like that...

She couldn't swallow this!

Wu Qing had already asked around; Kong Xiyan and Sister Tong weren't even that close. She thought to herself, maybe Sister Tong doesn't really care for Kong Xiyan either.

Otherwise, why would she only send an assistant with her today?

Kong Xiyan had no idea that Gu Ling and Wu Qing had already sized her up. Fu Qiu led her to the dressing room at the back to change. As they walked down the corridor, they ran into Xiao Cheng.

Xiao Cheng was wearing his costume.

The drama started filming from the point where the male lead became a deputy general, with the early plot inserted through flashbacks. Because the novel had dual female leads, the first half focused on the male lead's bonding with the prime minister's daughter, and the second half on his love-hate relationship with the princess.

But for the TV adaptation, the dual female leads were cut down to a single lead. The male lead's bonding with the prime minister's daughter was transformed so that he only felt gratitude toward her, with no hint of romance.

This made his later falling for the princess more plausible.

Xiao Cheng stood in the corridor. He was naturally handsome, and in his armor now, his heroic bearing was even more pronounced—features refined, profile clean-cut.

Kong Xiyan, standing a few paces away, nodded in greeting. Xiao Cheng broke into a smile, showing none of the aloof pride expected of a male lead. Instead, he raised his hand and jogged a few steps toward her. "Sister Kong, you're here."

"Mm."

Kong Xiyan's reaction was rather flat. Behind her, Fu Qiu was swooning. "So handsome!"

Xiao Cheng just smiled at the compliment. He said to Kong Xiyan, "You haven't changed yet, have you, Sister Kong? Go on in."

Seeing him reach out as if to usher her inside, Kong Xiyan subtly stepped aside. "Okay, I'll head in then."

Fu Qiu still wanted to admire the handsome man, but since Kong Xiyan had gone into the dressing room, she had no choice but to follow reluctantly.

Only after the door closed did Xiao Cheng's sunny smile fade. His assistant muttered behind him, "A-Cheng, why do I feel like you're sucking up to her?"

The disgust in his voice was obvious. He even tilted his head toward the room. "Look at how much you're worth now. You can have any woman you want. Someone like her, she's not clean. Better not get mixed up with her."

Xiao Cheng pressed his lips together. "What the hell do you know!"

The assistant's face reddened. "How would I not know?! I've seen what they say about her online—'loose woman,' 'homewrecker,' all that. You've barely gotten a foothold. I can't let you ruin your own future."

Xiao Cheng turned and flicked his assistant's forehead with his finger. "And you still say you understand. You don't understand a damn thing."

"Then you tell me—if she's as bad as the internet says, why is she standing on this set?"

The assistant was taken aback and mumbled, "Isn't it because of Sister Tong? Everyone knows she latched onto her."

Xiao Cheng scoffed. "If Tong Yue really had that kind of power, enough to help her make a comeback now, she wouldn't have just watched her rot and ruin her own career back then."

The assistant hesitated. "Then who?"

Xiao Cheng didn't answer.

He didn't actually know who it was. But after they'd parted ways that day, he'd thought it over: if Kong Xiyan were close with Tong Yue, Tong Yue would have helped her back then, not abandoned her.

Which meant their relationship wasn't all that deep.

So for Kong Xiyan to return now and be placed under Tong Yue's wing meant the person behind her could at least keep Tong Yue in line.

And Tong Yue's clout was already considerable.

Then the person behind Kong Xiyan must be even more formidable.

So sucking up to Kong Xiyan was the wise move.

The assistant nodded after hearing Xiao Cheng's reasoning and finally managed, "Brother Cheng's got a sharp mind."

Xiao Cheng neither confirmed nor denied. He just cast him a sidelong glance and turned to head downstairs.

Wu Qing and Gu Ling had finished their makeup and were sitting on stools chatting off to one side. A couple of other actors stood nearby; they smiled and nodded at Xiao Cheng as he passed.

Xiao Cheng sat down next to Wu Qing and Gu Ling. Wu Qing glanced at him, her eyes lighting up, and didn't look away until Gu Ling cleared her throat.

Still, she kept stealing glances at Xiao Cheng, thinking to herself that the usually unserious Xiao Cheng, dressed in that armor, actually had a bit of iron backbone and righteous bearing.

Also, a bit of handsomeness.

Wu Qing couldn't help inching closer to him.

Gu Ling paid no attention to her little move. She took out her phone, and just as she was about to make a snide remark about Kong Xiyan upstairs, she looked up and saw her standing at the top of the stairs.

Kong Xiyan, as the prime minister's daughter, was made up with a noble, refined elegance. Her robes draped over her, chin slightly raised, she exuded an aura of sacred inviolability. Step by step she descended the stairs, graceful and poised.

The noise on the lower floor gradually faded. Eyes were drawn to her involuntarily. Kong Xiyan's long sleeves swayed lightly as she swept her gaze over the crowd, then lowered her eyelids and said, "Apologies for the wait."

For a moment, no one could tell whether they were in a scene or in reality.

It was Director Sun who clapped and laughed. "I've heard for a while that Miss Kong's acting is outstanding, and now I can see it's true."

His clap startled everyone. Gu Ling, who had already been overshadowed, felt her face darken at the director's praise. She gritted her teeth. "No good at it, how else would she fool men."

Her words were vulgar but not without truth. The others fell silent for a heartbeat, yet nobody refuted her.

Even Director Sun looked at Kong Xiyan with a hint of pity.

If not for what happened three years ago, with her superb acting and striking looks, she might well have been at the top of the A-list by now. Maybe even made more legends.

Truly a shame.

Kong Xiyan acted as if she hadn't heard Gu Ling. Behind her, Fu Qiu's face was flushed, her eyes burning with indignation.

Tong Yue arrived just in time, hitting the set at the perfect moment. The moment she walked over she sensed something off in the atmosphere and couldn't help but ask with a smile, "What's going on? Not happy to see me?"

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances. None of them wanted to offend Tong Yue. Even Gu Ling had only spoken when she knew Tong Yue was away; she wouldn't dare challenge Tong Yue openly.

Seeing that no one spoke up, Fu Qiu said sulkily, "Sister Tong, just now she—"

She pointed at Gu Ling. Tong Yue followed her finger, but Kong Xiyan cut in with a smile, "Miss Gu was just complimenting my acting."

Director Sun quickly interjected, "Right, Tong Yue, you missed it. What a shame you didn't get to see."

Tong Yue smiled and went along. "Well, there'll be plenty of chances later."

Director Sun nodded and changed the subject. The others exchanged glances and let the matter drop.

Only after the promotional stills shoot was done did Fu Qiu, still unhappy, trail behind Kong Xiyan. "Sister Kong, why did you stop me back there? I wanted to tell Sister Tong they were picking on you."

Kong Xiyan had already changed out of her costume and removed her makeup. She was sitting at the dressing table when she caught the sound of an interview playing on a nearby TV. The man seated on screen had his hands resting on his knees, his voice steady. "That's right."

The host continued, "So, Mr. Wei, is there a chance you and Miss He might rekindle things? I heard you've been visiting her on set quite often lately."

Wei Yan smiled at the host. "Life is long. Nothing is set in stone about the future."

The host nodded knowingly and moved on to the next question.

Kong Xiyan's hands clenched, her long nails digging into her palms. She seemed to feel nothing until Fu Qiu gently nudged her. "Sister Kong?"

"Sister Kong, what are you thinking about?"

Kong Xiyan snapped back, composed herself, and slowly unclenched her hands. Her palms stung with warmth. Her gaze drifted past Fu Qiu to the TV behind her. She curved her lips into a smile. "Nothing."

Nothing.

She just wanted to tell Wei Yan, there on the screen, one thing:

The Kong Xiyan they had once tried to destroy—she was back.