Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Shen Yibai stopped in his tracks.

He turned around, his cold, assessing gaze falling on Qin Se, a layer of ink-dark shadow settling over his eyes.

“Three years ago, at the Xiangcheng Plaza event, you were there. You were Ning Xi’s private bodyguard.” Qin Se met Shen Yibai’s gaze coldly, her expression distant and utterly fearless.

The two of them stared at each other for several seconds.

The chill in Shen Yibai’s eyes grew deeper and deeper. At last, he said flatly, “So?”

That was as good as an admission.

Qin Se’s brow lifted ever so slightly.

Before Shen Yibai had all but admitted it, she actually hadn’t been that certain.

After all, Shen Yibai had been wearing a mask and a black baseball cap back then. She hadn’t really gotten a clear look at his face.

Her question just now had only been a probe.

She hadn’t expected… that she had guessed right.

Three years ago, he had been Ning Xi’s private bodyguard, someone who protected Ning Xi at every turn. Now, he was on the same variety show as Ning Xi, and had even grown close to another girl on that very show.

The way Qin Se looked at Shen Yibai instantly gained a bright, unmistakable trace of disgust. She raised her eyes, her tone calm but tinged with provocation.

“Nothing. I just think it’s rather interesting, don’t you?

“Two people who clearly know each other pretending to be strangers on a variety show… it’s hard not to wonder whether one of them did something to wrong the other.”

Half of Shen Yibai’s face was hidden in shadow, blurred and indistinct, making his expression impossible to read.

After a long while, he finally spoke in an even voice. “Don’t waste that overactive imagination of yours on things you don’t understand. It’s very…”

The word “ridiculous” was already on the tip of his tongue, but when he remembered Qin Se’s relationship with Ning Xi, he ultimately swallowed it back.

This was Ning Xi’s friend. Someone who stood up for Ning Xi…

Shen Yibai paused for a moment. Then, without saying anything else, he turned and went straight back to his room.

Qin Se also found it pointless. She tugged coldly at the corner of her lips, her dislike for Shen Yibai now complete.

That same night, the atmosphere between Ning Mingyue and Fu Zhi was no more pleasant.

When it came to handling her relationship with Shen Yibai, Ning Mingyue had become blindly confident because of Fu Zhi’s deliberate encouragement.

Now that things had changed between her and Shen Yibai, her first instinct was to discuss it with Fu Zhi.

And so, after Fu Zhi finished his shower and came out of the bathroom-

“Ah Zhi!”

“Holy-! Ning Mingyue, are you insane, standing here in the middle of the night?! You scared the hell out of me!” Fu Zhi cursed without thinking.

Noticing that the water dripping from his hair had soaked into his silk pajamas, making the fabric somewhat transparent, Fu Zhi hurriedly covered his chest, terrified that Ning Mingyue might catch even the slightest glimpse.

Ning Mingyue: “…”

What was there to see on a guy younger than her?

Besides, when there was a more mature, outstanding, and emotionally stable Shen Yibai around, how could she possibly be interested in Fu Zhi?

But Fu Zhi didn’t see it that way.

“If you want to look, go look at Shen Yibai. You’d better keep your distance from me. From now on, when I’m showering, stay holed up in your room and don’t come out. Otherwise, if the viewers catch it one day and post screenshots online, what am I supposed to do with my life?”

“…”

So people really could laugh when they were rendered completely speechless.

Ning Mingyue’s chest rose and fell again and again.

At last, she remembered why, when Fu Zhi came to the Ning Family to see her as a child, she had always avoided him, leaving him to settle for looking for Ning Xi instead.

Because Fu Zhi had been a foul-mouthed little bastard since he was a kid!

Every single time, he could make her half-dead with anger! She had even silently prayed for the Fu Family to go bankrupt so that Fu Zhi would be isolated and bullied by everyone!

But after she went abroad, Fu Zhi had somehow changed. His attitude toward her had improved.

Over time, she had actually begun to think that perhaps Fu Zhi felt something different for her, and in turn, she had polished up her memories of him from the past.
Now, he had well and truly come to his senses.

“Why should I agree just because you told me not to leave my room?” Ning Mingyue’s expression changed in an instant, her cold look carrying a hint of condescension.

But in the end, mindful that there was still a certain gap between the Ning Family and the Fu Family, she did not continue. She simply returned to her room with a chilly expression.

Fu Zhi watched Ning Mingyue’s retreating back and clicked his tongue in disgust. “No one changes faces faster than she does. Damn poser.”

He just knew Ning Mingyue was no good.

Even as a child, she had looked down on everyone, turning her nose up at this person and that person, yet in front of the elders she would put on the act of a fragile, kind, obedient little girl.

Right after Shen Yibai was kidnapped and his whereabouts became unknown, Ning Mingyue had suddenly fallen seriously ill and gone abroad. Wasn’t it simply because she thought Shen Yibai might never come back and didn’t want to be tied to her engagement with him?

Only Shen Yibai couldn’t see through any of this.

Fu Zhi curled his lip, deciding that after Shen Yibai and Ning Xi called off their engagement, he would give Shen Yibai a subtle reminder.

Otherwise, Shen Yibai might fail to see people for who they were and truly get fooled by Ning Mingyue, that damn poser.

At the thought of the engagement, Fu Zhi immediately grew irritated again.

How come, ever since Shen Yibai had mentioned it last time, there had been no follow-up at all?

Meanwhile.

The Jiang Sheshe and Wei Xuan team, which shameless netizens had been eagerly awaiting, saw their livestream viewer count rise to second place tonight, faintly drawing even with Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen’s team.

[The topic #Jiang Sheshe’s Love-Brain Awakening# has already shot to number one on the trending searches. Even if Wei Xuan doesn’t watch the livestream replay, he should know about it by now, right?]

[I am so looking forward to Wei Xuan’s reaction right now]

[Am I the only one worried Jiang Sheshe’s love-brain will relapse?]

No sooner had that Danmaku comment been posted than there was a knock on Jiang Sheshe’s door, followed by Wei Xuan’s gentle voice.

“Sheshe, are you asleep?”

Jiang Sheshe jolted. Not knowing how to answer, she once again resorted to her usual solution: stall and play dead.

But Wei Xuan, outside the door, seemed to have expected this. He said softly again, “I know you’re not asleep yet. Can we talk?”

[Jiang Sheshe, don’t say yes! Don’t!]

[It’s over. Based on Jiang Sheshe’s usual behavior, she’s probably going to get reeled in by Wei Xuan again]

[Jiang Sheshe, wake up!]

Every netizen watching wished they could rush through the screen and reject him on Jiang Sheshe’s behalf.

But to everyone’s surprise, this time Jiang Sheshe actually stood firm.

“I’ve already changed into my pajamas, so it’s not really convenient. Maybe… another time,” Jiang Sheshe said in a tiny voice. Though her voice was faint, it was very firm.

Only after a long while did a low, sigh-like sound come from outside the door. “Okay.”

Jiang Sheshe instantly felt a little guilty.

But even with that guilt, she still did not open the door.

Her drowsiness, however, had vanished completely, leaving her to toss and turn in bed like a pancake on a griddle.

And then-

The viewers in the livestream saw Jiang Sheshe pull a book titled Calculus out of her suitcase.

[????????????]

[Girl, what are you doing? Don’t you only watch manicure and makeup videos at night?]

[Fine, fine, fine. Ning Xi is a genius with an extraordinary memory, Jiang Sheshe is a hardworking girl who reads calculus, and here I am, stabbed in the back, defenses broken, heart gone cold]

[So I’m the only idiot here?]

The viewers were devastated.

Until, one minute later, Jiang Sheshe closed the book and smiled in relief.

“As expected, reading for a bit makes me sleepy right away.”

Then she gave a live demonstration of what it meant to fall asleep in three seconds.

Netizens: “…”

What in the actual hell.