Chapter 1

Chapter 1

At the very moment I won the Best Actress award, news of Zhou Huaian’s engagement flooded the internet.

The headlines on my phone mentioned his name, but there were no photos. Information about Zhou Huaian was never leaked to the press.

However, the lack of concrete details couldn’t dampen the public’s thirst for gossip.

For the past eight years, thanks to me, he had drifted in and out of the public eye under the pseudonym “Shen Nian’s Sugar Daddy.”

Everyone took pleasure in their disdain, waiting for the moment I would fall from grace.

“Shen Nian, I heard you’ve known this Mr. Zhou since you were eighteen, is that true?”

“Shen Nian, you’ve been with this gentleman for so many years-why didn’t it end in marriage? Is it because his family won’t accept you?”

“Mr. Zhou chose to announce his engagement today of all days. Was it a deliberate attempt to embarrass you?”

“Were you ever actually together? Does this mean you’ve been dumped by Mr. Zhou?”

“Is your split from this tycoon due to the Hand-Holding Gate Incident from half a month ago?”

My gaze slowly swept across their feverish faces. Their eyes seemed intent on skinning me alive just to dig out a more explosive scoop.

Zhou Huaian…

Engaged today?

A poised smile touched my lips as I looked back at them.

“I am not very well-acquainted with the Mr. Zhou you’re referring to.

“However, an engagement is a joyous milestone in life… I wish him a happy engagement.”

I looked directly into the camera and repeated slowly, “Happy engagement, Mr. Zhou.”

They continued their tireless analysis, acting like detectives as they presented evidence and deductions, desperate to catch a glimpse of some hidden secret.

I handed my phone back to my manager. She looked at me with a trace of worry.

“The internet is saying you were dumped by Mr. Zhou. Your resources and opportunities are likely to plummet. You know I don’t know much about his background, only that no one can afford to offend him.

“With someone like that, if he says the word, it won’t matter that you just won an award-you’ll be in deep trouble.”

Feeling a wave of exhaustion, I said softly, “Sister Xiaohui, don’t worry too much. I won’t hold you back…”

She gave a somewhat sheepish smile, her lips trembling slightly, but she didn’t say anything else.

No one believed that for those eight years, we were just like any ordinary couple-moving from the first spark of attraction to falling in love, and finally from a passionate, inseparable romance to a heart-wrenching, shattered end.