This realization made Su Huan panic. She tried to do something to prove they hadn't reached this point yet, but countless words came to her lips and only merged into a stammering whisper:
"Xiaoyu, I haven't eaten yet."
She thought desperately that even if they were just friends, one would politely make some allowance, even just casually making something for her to eat would be good.
But Shen Xiaoyu just looked at her with incomprehension, as if looking at some unreasonable unknown creature. No way, she had already made it so obvious, why was she still so thick-skinned about staying here for a meal? She really couldn't understand this person's thought process!
And Shi Qiubai beside her wouldn't indulge her at all, directly attacking: "Director Su, how old are you to still be acting like a spoiled brat here? If you haven't eaten, go home and eat. What are you doing staying at my house? My small temple can't accommodate such a big Buddha like you."
At this moment, Su Huan had no mood to respond to Shi Qiubai's provocation. She just stared blankly at Shen Xiaoyu, her body stiff. Even Shen Nian'an beside her noticed something was wrong with her.
"Mommy, what's wrong with you?"
Su Huan tried hard not to lose composure, comforting: "Mommy is fine."
Shen Nian'an helplessly shook her arm, her little face full of worry: "Mommy, let's go home."
"Mm." Su Huan responded, but her gaze involuntarily drifted to Shen Xiaoyu, forcing a smile: "Xiaoyu, thank you for taking care of Nian'an these past two days."
"It's what I should do, after all, Nian'an is also my daughter."
Shen Xiaoyu casually replied politely, thinking that next Su Huan should gracefully take her leave, but unexpectedly she looked around and suddenly said:
"Actually, I'm not that hungry now. You don't mind if I sit for a while, do you?"
Shen Xiaoyu: "..."
Shi Qiubai: "Very much mind!"
The two looked at each other in tacit understanding, both feeling utterly speechless.
Su Huan acted as if she hadn't heard Shi Qiubai's words, directly sitting on the sofa and casually picking up the puzzle Shen Nian'an had been playing with earlier, waving at her: "Nian'an, did Mama buy you this toy?"
Shen Nian'an didn't know what to say for a moment. After all, this puzzle was bought by that bad auntie who wanted to be her stepmother, and she had bought a whole bunch of toys just to keep her from bothering Mama. Annoying.
But Mama didn't like children lying. She could only puff up her little face and say: "No. It was that wom..." Halfway through, she remembered Shen Xiaoyu had said not to say "that woman" - such impolite words. She could only reluctantly change her words: "Aunt Shi bought it for me."
This made things even more awkward.
Su Huan lowered her eyes and fiddled with the puzzle, trying to find a new topic to have a calm conversation with Shen Xiaoyu, even if just a few words.
But how could Shi Qiubai give her this chance? She directly snatched the puzzle from her hands, along with other toys on the table, packaging them all into Shen Nian'an's little bag.
Smiling without warmth: "Director Su, take the puzzle home and play it properly with your daughter. Don't be polite. Take your time leaving, we won't see you out."
Su Huan immediately felt embarrassed, looking at Shen Xiaoyu: "Xiaoyu..."
Shen Xiaoyu felt her scalp tingle when called like this. What could she say? What else could she say? She was afraid that if she hesitated even slightly, Shi Qiubai would get angry, and once angry, she would turn dark, and the corruption value would...
[Corruption value +2]
It increased.
Really, who had she offended to be tormented like this?
Shen Xiaoyu instantly lost patience too, directly ignoring Su Huan's gaze and instead moving closer to Shen Nian'an, touching her hair: "Nian'an, go back early. If you miss Mama, call me and I'll pick you up to play again."
"Okay." Shen Nian'an readily agreed.
After agreeing, Shen Nian'an turned to see Su Huan still sitting on the sofa. For the first time, she felt her mommy was being quite unreasonable too. How could she be so thick-skinned to stay at someone else's house? She felt a bit embarrassed.
She directly climbed onto the sofa to get her little baby, then turned to pull Su Huan: "Mommy, let's go."
Su Huan's body stiffened, looking at Shen Xiaoyu again, but Shen Xiaoyu directly avoided her gaze.
What else could she do?
Su Huan's eyes immediately reddened. She lowered her gaze to hide her embarrassment and left with Shen Nian'an.
Even after getting in the car, her eyes were still moist, just forcibly holding back from crying in front of her daughter.
Children are always sensitive to their mother's emotions.
"Mommy, did you cry?"
Su Huan tried hard to lift her eyes, wanting to force the tears back. She didn't want her daughter to see her in such a sorry state.
But Shen Nian'an's sweet voice saying: "Mommy don't cry, Nian'an is here with you," made Su Huan's tears burst forth, silently sliding down her delicate profile.
Nian'an pulled out tissues, stretching her little hands to wipe her tears. After wiping, she imitated adults, hugging her and gently patting: "Mommy don't cry anymore. If you cry and your face gets puffy, you won't be pretty."
In that instant, Su Huan felt as if the place in her heart that was painfully bleeding had received comfort, finally catching her breath, not so painful it would suffocate her.
She wiped her tears dry and sincerely sighed: "Nian'an has really grown up."
"Mama really taught me many principles that Mommy never told me before."
Su Huan paused, touching Nian'an's hair, seeming to speak to her daughter yet also to herself: "Nian'an, Mommy will bring her back."
Driving home, having the servants take Nian'an to wash up, Su Huan felt some discomfort in her stomach and returned to her room, lying weakly on the bed.
Su Huan hadn't lied—she indeed hadn't eaten dinner that evening. To be precise, she hadn't eaten all day. No appetite in the morning, too busy at noon to eat, and in the evening she had wanted to use picking up Nian'an as an excuse to eat with Shen Xiaoyu, but unexpectedly...
She couldn't help but smile bitterly, involuntarily thinking of the past.
That seemed to be from a very long time ago, sixteen years perhaps. She and Shen Xiaoyu hadn't known each other long when she developed gastroenteritis from irregular eating, often breaking into cold sweats from pain during class. She was used to it by then, just silently lying on her desk and enduring.
It was during a break that Shen Xiaoyu noticed, buying her painkillers, reminding her to eat on time every day, even lying to her family so her mother would make soup and bring it to school for her to drink.
Later on...
Shen Xiaoyu accompanied her into the entertainment industry—endless all-nighters, endless socializing, endless drinking. But she was always trying to protect her, finding ways to help her avoid drinking, making food in different ways to coax her to eat. No matter how late she came home, there was always hot soup waiting for her.
She had long been spoiled by Shen Xiaoyu, but later she didn't want her anymore.
For six years, she had never moved on. She kept thinking they could return to the past, that Shen Xiaoyu would come back to love her like before.
During the six years Shen Xiaoyu was unconscious, she kept having such dreams. As long as Shen Xiaoyu woke up, she would apologize, repent, and besides, they had a daughter together—Shen Xiaoyu would eventually forgive her.
And now, the beautiful dream was shattered. She had to face the bloody truth—Shen Xiaoyu would never love her like before again.
She suddenly felt bone-deep cold, her stomach cramping even more. She clutched her abdomen, struggling to get up and take a painkiller, then lay on the bed and turned off the lights.
The room immediately dimmed. Su Huan tried hard to make herself sleep.
Once asleep, her heart wouldn't hurt anymore.
That night, Su Huan slept extremely restlessly, her consciousness muddled, sleeping fitfully, but unchanging was Shen Xiaoyu's hazy figure in her dreams, coming and going, lingering.
Sometimes standing by her bed, silently gazing at her sleeping form, seeming to mutter: Su Huan, did you ever truly love me? Is saying you love me really so difficult?
She opened her mouth, wanting to say no, I love you.
But then suddenly remembered something. Right, she couldn't say it. Shen Xiaoyu would leave her. She couldn't...
The scene changed. Shen Xiaoyu was coughing up blood, lying lifelessly in her arms, smiling desolately: "I'm about to be eliminated. Congratulations, Su Huan, you've worn down the first pursuer to death."
She cried and apologized, frantically saying she loved her, constantly begging Shen Xiaoyu to stay. She heard Shen Xiaoyu say: "Su Huan, I once thought about staying for you, but unfortunately, you're not worthy."
"I choose to go home."
"No!"
Su Huan suddenly awoke, breaking into a cold sweat. She stared blankly at the white ceiling above, only then realizing it was just a dream.
A dream that tortured her.
Shen Xiaoyu's words in the dream still echoed: "Su Huan, I once thought about staying for you..."
If back then, she hadn't been so selfish, using despicable means to keep Shen Xiaoyu, would their ending have been different?
Su Huan fell into self-doubt for the first time. Was she really wrong to desperately want to keep Shen Xiaoyu?
But just thinking about Shen Xiaoyu leaving again made her feel like she was suffocating. Those six years of unconsciousness were her lifelong nightmare—she absolutely couldn't experience it again.
Su Huan got up, trying hard to shake off those chaotic thoughts. She couldn't give up, at least not lose to Shi Qiubai. Even if Shen Xiaoyu currently couldn't accept reconciling with her, she absolutely couldn't let Shi Qiubai take advantage.
She tried hard to calm her breathing. After a moment, she returned to her usual cold and distant appearance, cleaned up her disheveled state, and went to the company.
There were still many things waiting for her to handle.
Out of wariness toward the system, Su Huan had been having people monitor Tang Tang. According to the information she heard from Tang Tang's conversations with the system, the current plot point was when the female lead Tang Tang was pregnant and running away. Tang Tang was currently still trapped in Ning Yu's villa.
It seemed she just needed to wait patiently. Once Tang Tang regained her freedom, she would definitely come find her, since only in the research lab could Tang Tang shield herself from the system's monitoring.
However, Ning Yu probably wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Although she currently had shares in Xingheng Entertainment, she didn't have much say. Her personal studio currently didn't have the ability to compete with Xingheng Entertainment. Perhaps she should consider that person's proposal.
After thinking for a moment, Su Huan called Li Xiang.
"Tell Director Bai that I've considered her previous proposal. Set up a time to meet and discuss."
"Yes, I'll handle it right away."
Li Xiang nodded and turned to leave.
Su Huan stopped her: "Go ask Shi Qiubai's manager about her recent schedule and appearances."
"Director Su, this..." Li Xiang hesitated.
This really wasn't proper.
Shi Qiubai was a female artist under Xingheng Entertainment. Although her boss was a shareholder of Xingheng Entertainment, she was just the studio manager with no relationship to Xingheng Entertainment. To rashly ask Fang Jiong about artist arrangements like this—given Fang Jiong's temper, she had no doubt he would curse her out and tell her to get lost.
Su Huan quickly realized the impropriety and said regretfully: "I was inconsiderate. Go handle your work. I'll ask Fang Jiong myself later."
Li Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and immediately went out to arrange work.
Su Huan took out her phone and called Fang Jiong. It connected quickly, but his tone didn't sound very good.
"Such a bad temper. Who provoked you?"
"Nothing." Fang Jiong seemed to be forcibly suppressing his anger, asking: "Queen Su, how does such a busy person like you have time to call me?"
Su Huan propped her chin with one hand, speaking in a business-like tone: "Recently my studio is preparing to film a period drama script. I wanted to ask about Shi Qiubai's schedule and see if she's interested in participating."
As soon as she finished speaking, Fang Jiong immediately exploded: "Don't mention that ungrateful Shi Qiubai to me. She's completely focused on being lovey-dovey with Shen Xiaoyu now. I'm no longer her mana..." Halfway through, he suddenly stopped, realizing something: "Su Huan, you're trying to get information out of me."
Su Huan showed no embarrassment at being exposed, laughing: "How could that be? My studio really is preparing a period drama script. If you have suitable artists, they're welcome to audition."
"Get lost!" Fang Jiong cursed: "I think you're all possessed. If Shen Xiaoyu is really that good, what were you doing before?"
The phone hung up with a slam. Su Huan stared at her phone, stunned.
She hadn't really listened to much of Fang Jiong's cursing. Her mind was full of them being lovey-dovey together all day. In an instant, she couldn't help but think of the two embracing each other before, and she immediately panicked.
Su Huan could no longer pretend to be calm and composed. She immediately called to inquire about Shi Qiubai's situation, only to learn that Shi Qiubai had temporarily suspended all her schedules and only occasionally came to the company.
Now Su Huan really couldn't sit still. She couldn't help but wonder what the two were doing. If Shi Qiubai wasn't working, wouldn't she have more time to please Shen Xiaoyu? What if Shen Xiaoyu impulsively agreed? Then what about her?
Su Huan could no longer remain calm. She immediately took out her phone and called Shen Xiaoyu. A calm voice came from the other end: "Is there something you need?"
When the words reached her lips, she suddenly didn't know what to say, only able to ask almost clumsily: "Xiaoyu, how have you been lately?"
Shen Xiaoyu was baffled: "I'm doing fine. Do you need something?"
Su Huan really wanted to tell her: I'm not fine, Xiaoyu, I'm really not fine. Can you please not treat me like this?
But the words turned bitter at her lips and she swallowed them back. She knew she couldn't say it—saying it would only make Shen Xiaoyu more annoyed with her, might even inexplicably add a "What's wrong with you!"
For a moment, Su Huan didn't even know whether to be glad that Shen Xiaoyu had amnesia and thus wasn't cursing at her, or to feel sad about her post-amnesia calmness and indifference.
Before she could organize her thoughts to say something, Shen Xiaoyu had already hung up due to her silence.
No, she had to do something to separate the two, to make Shi Qiubai go to work, to arrange schedules and activities for her.
Su Huan suddenly stood up, pulling back her chair and striding outside.
On the other side, after being cursed out by the hung-up Fang Jiong again, Shi Qiubai repeatedly begged for mercy, trying to extinguish Fang Jiong's anger.
But Fang Jiong was determined. He had already arranged for a new manager handover and temporarily suspended Shi Qiubai's schedule. Shi Qiubai was happy to rest for a while and simply pulled Shen Xiaoyu out to travel and relax.
Actually, when she first found Shen Xiaoyu, she was very bothered by her amnesia. Only she remembered the time they had spent together, always feeling like she was performing a one-person show.
But thinking of the pain her sister had suffered being hurt by Su Huan, she suddenly felt somewhat grateful. It was good that her sister had forgotten—then everything left would be the beautiful memories she brought to her sister.
She had to make her sister fall in love with her during this period of amnesia, completely let go of Su Huan. Only then would she have a chance to confess to her sister.
Originally staying home was fine too—no need to drag her sister out traveling as an excuse. But... thinking of that little spy Shen Nian'an, she couldn't help but get a headache. Forget it, if she couldn't fight her, she could hide from her.
Shi Qiubai quickly adjusted her mood, thinking about what to say later, and went to her rest room to find Shen Xiaoyu.
"Sister, I talked it over with Brother Fang. He's giving me a week off. Let's discuss where to go play?"
She cheerfully pushed open the door, showing off to Shen Xiaoyu.
Shen Xiaoyu was boredly scrolling through gossip and happened to see more melodramatic stories about the original and Su Huan. Good heavens, it was more exciting than novels.
Fortunately, Su Huan still had some conscience this time, taking all the blame upon herself. Otherwise, she would have been cyberbullied like the original. But even so, there were still many voices cursing her. It seemed she should try not to go out recently to avoid trouble.
Seeing Shi Qiubai come in, she quickly put away her phone and asked in surprise: "Fang Jiong agreed that easily?"
Not long ago, this manager had told her not to be an assistant anymore. She had indeed mentioned it to Shi Qiubai later, but Shi Qiubai disagreed, so she hadn't insisted. After all, she still had to complete her mission. She just resolved in her heart that no matter what, she would never hurt Shi Qiubai—that was her bottom line.
Afraid that Shen Xiaoyu would worry, Shi Qiubai hid the fact that Fang Jiong was changing her manager, acting relaxed: "Work is never finished anyway. Sometimes you need to relax, otherwise what's the point of earning so much money?"
Shen Xiaoyu deeply agreed and didn't ask further.
The two discussed where to go with laughter and conversation. Due to Shi Qiubai's status and Shen Xiaoyu's recent high online popularity, they directly passed on domestic options and prepared to go abroad.
"How about we go skiing in Northern Europe!" Shen Xiaoyu suggested.
Shi Qiubai thought of something and said pitifully: "Sister, I'm afraid of cold. Why don't we go to the beach instead!"
Shen Xiaoyu readily agreed.
"Great, then let's go to the beach. I'll have someone book tickets first."
Shi Qiubai excitedly sent messages to have someone book tickets while turning to ask Shen Xiaoyu: "Sister, what are your measurements?"
"Huh?" Shen Xiaoyu was confused for a moment.
This question jumped too much—forgive her for not reacting immediately.
But Shi Qiubai acted completely natural, explaining: "To choose swimwear for sister! I have many designer swimwear pieces sent by brands in my wardrobe—they're gorgeous. Sister, tell me your measurements and I'll have someone pick them out and bring them home for you to try."
This sounded very proper, but Shen Xiaoyu felt something was off somewhere.
"Bust 108, waist 60, hips 86."
"Sister, we have the same waist measurement! My hips are 84. As for bust..."
Shi Qiubai deliberately drew out her tone, looking her up and down with an excited expression: "Sister, you're quite well-endowed. D cup, right?"
"Mm-hmm... ah, yes, D." Shen Xiaoyu stammered: "Um, don't choose anything too avant-garde. I... I'm afraid I can't wear it."
"Then I'll pick several styles for Sister to try at home."
After saying this, she glanced at Shen Xiaoyu, almost like winking: "Sister, will you let me help you choose when the time comes?"
"Mm, okay..."
Before Shen Xiaoyu could finish, harsh knocking suddenly rang out.
Their conversation stopped abruptly. Shi Qiubai unhappily went to open the door: "Who is it? Didn't I say not to disturb my rest?"
Outside the door, Su Huan stood stiffly with a cold face, obviously having listened for who knows how long.
Shi Qiubai was immediately delighted: "Oh my, Director Su, how do you have time to come eavesdrop at my place?"
Having learned from several losses, Su Huan got smart and directly walked past her toward Shen Xiaoyu, saying softly: "Xiaoyu, I have something to tell you. Can we talk privately?"
Tch, definitely nothing good!
Shen Xiaoyu complained while secretly glancing at Shi Qiubai, afraid she might get upset and turn dark.
Fortunately, the corruption value didn't rise. Instead, Shi Qiubai directly confronted with a dark face: "What kind of shady business can't be said here? Right, Sister?"
Su Huan said nothing, just stubbornly looking at Shen Xiaoyu.
Shen Xiaoyu had to take a stance: "Um, if you have something to say, just say it here."
Su Huan's face immediately went pale, but she still suppressed her voice: "Xiaoyu, Nian'an has always wanted to go out and play. Do you have time? We could take her out together this weekend."
"No, I already made plans with Qiubai to travel abroad." Shen Xiaoyu told the truth.
Su Huan looked regretful: "Nian'an has been looking forward to it. She'll probably be very sad when she finds out."
Heh, trying to use a child to steal her corner—unacceptable.
Shi Qiubai was afraid Shen Xiaoyu would soften, immediately exploding: "Su Huan, could you have some shame? Could you stop always using Nian'an as an excuse to emotionally blackmail Sister into softening her heart to achieve your ulterior motives?"
These words hit Shen Xiaoyu right in the heart.
When Su Huan mentioned Nian'an, she had indeed become quite unhappy, just didn't have the nerve to expose it directly.
Seeing Shen Xiaoyu's changed expression, Su Huan's face flashed with nervousness as she frantically explained: "Xiaoyu, I didn't mean that. I just..."
Halfway through, she suddenly couldn't continue.
Shen Xiaoyu looked at her with a grave expression: "Su Huan, regardless of your intentions, I'm telling you clearly that there's no possibility between us anymore. Children are innocent. If you truly love her, I hope you can properly guide her to understand our relationship instead of using the child to pester me. It's meaningless."
Having said this much, it was almost like directly slapping Su Huan in the face.
Su Huan's lips moved, trying to say something in defense, but the words felt pale and powerless. After a long time, she could only stammer out three words: "I'm sorry."
"I won't say it's okay."
Shen Xiaoyu looked at her with a cold, neither sad nor happy expression.
She had no right to say "it's okay" on behalf of the original, and putting herself in the situation, she would want to slap Su Huan a few times and tell her to get lost, rather than speaking so nicely to her.
"I'm really sorry."
Su Huan staggered. She had thought of many things to say when she came, but now she could only clumsily repeat "sorry."
Shi Qiubai looked at Su Huan's heart-dead appearance and felt she was putting on an act. She couldn't help but sneer: "Late-coming deep feelings are cheaper than grass. Sister, don't you think it's cheap?"
"Cheap."
One word made Su Huan leave in embarrassment.
She didn't even dare look back at Shen Xiaoyu who had spoken.