Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Seeing Lu Li enter the venue arm-in-arm with Shen Sui with my own eyes gave me a suffocating sensation, as if I were on the verge of death.

I knew Shen Sui had a childhood friend. She had been close to his entire social circle since they were young; she was essentially the group’s darling.

She had gone abroad during high school, but whenever I ate with Shen Sui’s friends, someone would always bring her up.

I opened WeChat and clicked on one of Shen Sui’s friends’ profiles, then snapped a photo of Shen Sui and her and sent it over.

[Is this the girl you mentioned before?]

The person on the other end was clearly nervous. The status “typing…” flickered at the top of the screen for a full five minutes before a message finally came through.

[Yeah, that’s her. I was just speaking casually back then, I didn’t mean anything by it. Brother Shen probably didn’t ask you to come because he was worried you’d be tired, Sister-in-law. Don’t overthink it. How about I ask him for you?]

I pursed my lips and typed a reply.

[Thank you, but there’s no need to ask him. I just checked with him; everything is fine.]

After ending the brief conversation, I looked at the two people seated in the front row.

If Shen Sui just turned his head, he would see me-his dejected fiancée.

The same fiancée whose red carpet privileges he had revoked with a single sentence.

But he didn’t look back once.

On stage, the host holding the cue cards said with a smile, “The nominees for this year’s Best Supporting Actress are-”

Several video clips rolled across the big screen, finally settling on four frames: me, Lu Li, and two other actresses.

I gripped Sister Zhou’s hand nervously.

Sister Zhou glanced at me and whispered in my ear, “Forget about it. The fix is in for Lu Li. This award is tainted now; it’s a total sham.”

My heart trembled. The moment her voice trailed off, the name “Lu Li” expanded to fill the big screen.

Even the two seasoned hosts couldn’t control their expressions for a split second.

Lu Li looked around in feigned surprise until the man beside her said something.

Judging by his lip movements, he said: “Why aren’t you going up?”

Followed by: “Didn’t you want this award very badly?”

He had asked me many times too: “Don’t you want to win an award?”

I told him I would work hard for it.

Shen Sui would always say with a smile, “Okay, I’ll wait for you. Keep it up.”

He didn’t wait for me.

As Lu Li stood up, the camera brushed past the face of the man beside her. Shen Sui was clapping with a composed, natural expression.

The murmurs in the hall died down significantly.

He was there to protect her.