Chapter 32
After the wrap party ended, Xu Chun didn’t stay at the hotel to rest; she went straight home. It was already late at night, and when she arrived, Xu Wei was lying on the couch playing a game.
At the sight of Xu Chun, Xu Wei instinctively set her phone down and sat up with a start, staring blankly at her. A moment later, the assistant bustled back and forth, hauling Xu Chun’s belongings in from the car. Xu Wei hesitated, then got up and asked, “Do you need help?” Even as she asked, her legs were already carrying her toward the assistant; she gently took the luggage from his hands and put it away without being told.
Xu Chun raised an eyebrow at the sight, crossed her arms, and asked, “What did you do to cross me this time?”
Xu Wei froze at the question. “???”
Xu Chun suddenly leaned in close and angled her ear toward Xu Wei. “Did you curse me out with Yu Sui’an’s fans, or did you join them in spreading rumors about me?” She felt no real affection for this sorry excuse for a little sister, and this sorry excuse for a little sister certainly didn’t have much goodwill toward her either; Xu Chun didn’t believe the girl had turned sweet overnight into some gentle, considerate sibling.
She eyed Xu Wei up and down from the corner of her eye, brows knitting slightly. “Or maybe…” She thought it over. “You did something even worse behind my back?”
Xu Wei had been burned—and thoroughly frightened—by her own sister’s scheming, so she’d wanted to mend their relationship a little, just so Xu Chun would stop fixating on her and conning her all day long. Who’d have guessed that on the rare occasion she actually pulled back from the brink and turned over a new leaf, she’d be misunderstood like this? Xu Wei was instantly furious and shoved the luggage bag into Xu Chun’s arms. “Then pack it yourself.”
Seeing her flare up, Xu Chun hurried to grab her. “Weiwei, you can’t blame me for being paranoid—it’s just that your past behavior really broke my heart.” Half joking, half serious, she said, “If you hadn’t gone behind my back and gotten tangled up with Yu Sui’an, I wouldn’t be this sensitive, would I? Am I wrong?”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Xu Wei didn’t argue; she just said coldly, “Don’t mention her in front of me ever again.”
Who? Yu Sui’an?
Xu Chun’s interest sparked instantly, and she hurried to keep pace with Xu Wei. “Why? Weren’t you a devoted fan who dropped tens of millions on her over half a year? How come you don’t even want to hear her name now? Did you two have a falling-out? Or did some other fan outspend you and make you jealous?”
Her mouth rattled on without pause. Xu Wei, already furious from being cursed out by Yu Sui’an’s fans, finally lost her temper. She slammed Xu Chun’s suitcase down on the floor and raised her voice without meaning to: “Are you done? If you’re done, go upstairs and sleep.” She frowned, looking Xu Chun up and down with distaste. “You reek of alcohol. It’s disgusting.”
With that, she ignored Xu Chun and walked past her.
Xu Chun propped her chin on one hand with interest, watching the other’s retreating back with dark, unreadable eyes. She was thoroughly energized. Something big must have happened between Xu Wei and Yu Sui’an recently—something she didn’t know about!
And indeed, a lot had happened recently.
First, Xu Wei had quit the fan group, and her suspected defection was discovered; then Yu Sui’an’s fans flooded her inbox with insults for days on end, full of language so filthy and vulgar it was unbearable to read.
Then someone dug up her identity as “Xu Chun’s biological sister,” which made Yu Sui’an’s fans escalate their abuse. A mob formed to accuse her of being shameless and scheming, claiming she’d deliberately infiltrated Yu Sui’an’s fan group to sell information about Yu Sui’an to Xu Chun, and that this was why Yu Sui’an had been plagued by bad luck and petty villains lately.
Finally, Yu Sui’an’s fans with no scruples at all doxxed her personal information online, dug up every detail of her past, and even photoshopped a memorial portrait of her, cursing her to die a horrible death.
Friends she’d once chased celebrities with turned their guns on her overnight, spitting venom—even Huahua, her closest friend, was no exception. Back when she’d first become a Yu Sui’an fan, Huahua had been the one to bring her into the fold; to show her gratitude, Xu Wei had bought her piles of cosmetics and designer bags, and had even personally driven to her home to pick her up. She’d never been that attentive to her own parents.
But now, merely because she’d left the fandom, Huahua and the other fans wanted to grind her into the mud and keep her there forever, never to rise again. Xu Wei’s heart had been savagely wounded through and through.
And she couldn’t let Xu Chun find out about something so humiliating—because if Xu Chun knew, she’d definitely mock her. She’d spent so much money on Yu Sui’an, then sold off everything she had to pay Xu Chun back another tens of millions; all told, nearly a hundred million had flowed through her hands. A full hundred million, and in the end she’d gained nothing, ending up abandoned by everyone. The heroine of an angst novel had it better than she did.
Forget letting Xu Chun know—Xu Wei wanted to bury the whole thing in the dirt and let it rot, never to be mentioned again for the rest of her life.
After hauling the luggage, Xu Wei sat gloomily at her desk in her room, full of regret. Had she known it would come to this, she’d never have become a Yu Sui’an fan, let alone spent so much money on her.
Unfortunately, there was no cure for regret in this world. She was weak and alone now, forced to bear Yu Sui’an’s fans’ abuse and curses all by herself. She hadn’t just silently endured it, of course. She’d fought back tooth and nail, but she was badly outnumbered, and against that massive fan base, she ultimately came out the loser.
Xu Chun was dead certain Xu Wei was hiding something. If the girl wouldn’t tell her, then she’d find out anyway. After tasking her assistant with getting to the bottom of things as quickly as possible, she put her phone down and went to clean up in the bathroom. By the time she’d finished her skincare routine, blow-dried her hair, and changed into comfortable pajamas, her assistant had uncovered the whole story and sent it to her phone.
Staring at the screen for a while, Xu Chun was delighted.
In ancient times, someone whose achievements overshadowed the sovereign got their entire clan wiped out by the emperor. Who’d have thought that today there’d be a Xu Wei who’d furiously dropped fifty million only to be chased and cursed by her idol’s fans? It was enough to make anyone laugh until their teeth fell out.
She immediately went on Weibo to check out Xu Wei’s battle record. She had to admit, the girl had some real skill. If she weren’t fighting alone with such pitiful strength, there was no way she’d lose an argument to the fish fans. Xu Chun watched for a while and saw that even now Xu Wei was still fighting back, locked in a heated online battle with the fish fans.
Her eyes darted around, and suddenly Xu Chun had a wicked idea.
She immediately reposted one of the fish fans’ nastiest comments with her own comment: 【Xu Wei is my biological sister. If she doesn’t side with me, is she supposed to side with Yu Sui’an? You’ve been cursing her so viciously these past few days that now I have to bleed money on a sports car to soothe her wounded heart. Just wait for my lawyer’s letter.】
At once, Xu Chun’s fans popped up everywhere: 【??? Why don’t I have a sister this good! I’m so jealous I could phase out of existence!】
【I’m a bit confused. Didn’t Xu Wei enthusiastically spend a fortune boosting Yu Sui’an up the charts and doing her data? How come she’s getting cursed out by a certain fandom now?】
【I know! It’s because Xu Wei and our Sister Xu are sisters, so a certain fandom suspects she was acting on Sister Xu’s orders, deliberately infiltrating the enemy’s ranks to gather information.】
【Even if she was infiltrating, she wouldn’t need to splash out this much cash so ostentatiously. By the numbers, Xu Wei’s spent tens of millions on Yu Sui’an already, right?】
【No no, your information’s wrong. A certain fandom is cursing her because she quit the fandom. They think she betrayed them.】
【Huh? If they can’t have her, they have to destroy her? As expected of a certain fandom’s standard operating procedure.】
【But Xu Wei going toe-to-toe with a certain fandom is really entertaining. As expected of our Sister Xu’s biological sister—her combat power is amazing! When’s little sister joining our fan group to share some tips?】
Xu Wei was deep in the middle of a heated argument when her opponent vanished the next second. Baffled, she searched for them for ages without luck, then finally returned to the Weibo homepage, planning to browse entertainment news and relax. But the moment she opened the trending topics, she saw the hashtag #XuChunBiologicalSisterQuitsFandomAttackedByFishFans# and froze.
She’d been cursing back and forth with Yu Sui’an’s fans for days without making the trending list. How had this blown up tonight of all nights?
And it even had Xu Chun’s tag on it.
She couldn’t help knitting her brows. Would this affect Xu Chun somehow? Even though she and Xu Chun didn’t get along, she didn’t want to drag her down; otherwise Xu Chun would come demanding compensation for emotional damages again. After a moment’s thought, Xu Wei posted: 【This is entirely a personal matter and has nothing to do with anyone else.】
After posting, she thought, That should distance me from Xu Chun, right? Just as the thought crossed her mind, she saw Xu Chun’s repost and warning on her homepage and froze.
A feeling she couldn’t describe or put into words rose in her heart.
It was complicated—surprise and delight, mixed with threads of guilt and apology, along with other nameless, bittersweet emotions.
She’d been so awful to Xu Chun before, had even been a fan of Xu Chun’s ex-girlfriend and sworn enemy, yet after she’d been mobbed, Xu Chun had still stepped up without hesitation to have her back. And she was even going to buy her a sports car.
Xu Wei’s throat tightened, and she couldn’t help thinking—
If getting cursed out by Yu Sui’an’s fans for a few days meant getting a sports car, then a few curses didn’t seem so bad. If Xu Chun comforted her with a sports car every time Yu Sui’an’s fans cursed her, she could get cursed until Xu Chun went bankrupt.
She secretly tightened her grip on her phone and couldn’t resist charging back onto the battlefield—come on, you beasts, don’t spare this delicate flower!
Xu Chun still had no idea her wallet had been targeted by her own sister. She casually scrolled through the comments and caught one in particular: 【As expected of you, Sister Xu. Even after your drama wraps, you still serve up such entertaining follow-up gossip. Every day since you joined the cast, the off-screen drama’s been more exciting than on-screen. I can’t imagine what the finished drama will look like. I’m now desperately anticipating the day the show airs.】
Subway grandpa looking at phone: “?” No, you’ve got it wrong!
But once that comment appeared, everyone chimed in agreement; Xu Chun couldn’t argue against a whole crowd even if she wanted to, so she let them have their way. She couldn’t help scratching her brow—no! Next time on the variety show, she absolutely had to perform well and restore her pure, unpretentious, honest image.
Xu Chun rested at home for two days. During those two days, she took Xu Wei to order the sports car she’d promised her on Weibo, leaving Xu Wei looking at her with an expression so complicated even a scientist couldn’t analyze it.
Xu Wei had assumed she was joking. Who’d have thought Xu Chun would act with such lightning efficiency, actually buying it without blinking an eye? Xu Wei couldn’t help reflecting: being a Yu Sui’an fan meant spending money and getting cursed out, but being a fan of her own sister meant being treated as an honored guest and group pet by her sister’s fans—plus getting a sports car. Anyone whose brain hadn’t short-circuited knew who to choose.
Her eyes darting about as she weighed her options for a long while, Xu Wei decisively threw herself into her sister’s camp. “Sis, from now on I’ll be your fan.”
Xu Chun glanced over and refused flatly. “No.”
Xu Wei: “? Why?”
“You, my fan?” Xu Chun looked her up and down. “What could you do for me? Drop tens of millions on me like you did for Yu Sui’an, or do data and keep my supertopic peaceful like Yu Sui’an’s fans?”
“Give me a break. If you’ve got money and time to do all that nonsense, you’d be better off just transferring it to me directly.”
Xu Wei was speechless. “…”
Xu Chun didn’t take her sports-car-induced conversion seriously. “Just cause me less trouble out there from now on, and that’s enough.”
Xu Wei lowered her head and said nothing. Xu Chun didn’t mind; she turned and went to her room alone to change into workout clothes and exercise.
The three days passed in a flash. Jiang Peiyuan had reserved a private room at the biggest hotel in the city center. Though the two families were meeting to break off the engagement, the proper etiquette hadn’t been skimped on—a luxurious private room, an absurdly large round table, a dazzling array of delicacies with perfect color, aroma, and taste. The whole spread was impressive.
But Grandpa Xu still wore a sour expression. His granddaughter wasn’t some puppy or kitten, to be coaxed gently when needed and then, once won over, cast aside heartlessly the moment the other party’s feelings changed and they wanted out. Grandpa Xu had already made up his mind: today Jiang Zhaolie had to give them a satisfactory explanation.
If Jiang Zhaolie wanted to pursue her true love, fine, but the compensation owed Xu Chun couldn’t be short by a single cent.
Xu Chun arrived late to that charged, confrontational atmosphere. “Sorry, traffic held me up a bit.” She carried her bag, scanned the room, and decisively sat down beside Qin Yao, a brilliant smile lighting up her face. “Sister, it’s been a while.”
Qin Yao nodded, gestured for her to set her bag aside, and asked what she’d like to drink.
Once Xu Chun had decided, Qin Yao pressed the bell on the table to call the waiter in and start serving. The two chatted about everyday matters as if no one else was there, looking thoroughly familiar with each other.
Jiang Zhaolie stared fixedly at Xu Chun. It had been a while since she’d seen her, and she’d changed quite a bit—more vivid, and more beautiful. Her face was barely the size of a palm, her delicate features exceptionally lovely; dark hair, red lips, fair skin, and an alluring aura. Perhaps because she was in the throes of budding romance, she no longer seemed as cold and distant as before.
Today Xu Chun’s long black hair was slightly curled, paired with makeup as light as water, yet somehow it didn’t make her look washed out at all; instead, she seemed impossibly gentle and tender. Every pore radiated the heart-fluttering aura of first love, making one’s heart ripple and one’s thoughts run wild.
Jiang Zhaolie had never seen Xu Chun like this—that indescribable, lethal quality somewhere between a young girl and a mature woman, drawing people in like nothing else.
She’d been looking too long. Xu Chun suddenly noticed her gaze and whipped her head around, raising an eyebrow at her in puzzlement. As she moved, Qin Yao also turned to look, her gaze faint, revealing no particular emotion.
Jiang Zhaolie snapped back to herself and gave a cold nod by way of greeting.
Seeing her, Xu Chun remembered she was in the middle of a breakup with Yu Sui’an and kindly expressed her concern. “You and Yu Sui’an doing all right lately?”
The moment the words left Xu Chun’s mouth, Jiang Zhaolie sensed Qin Yao’s placid gaze turn sharp, almost suffocating her. Jiang Zhaolie stared hard at Xu Chun, speaking through gritted teeth: “She and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Huh? Really?
Xu Chun really wanted to lean over and get some gossip, but Qin Yao sat between her and Jiang Zhaolie, so she had to give up for now. “It’s fine, no need to explain, I understand.” In the manner of an understanding stepmother, she said earnestly, “Couples argue and make up all the time—nothing unusual about it. You two might be back together by tonight.”
Jiang Zhaolie noticed that at Xu Chun’s words, everyone in the private room turned to look at her in unison. Grandpa Xu in particular gave a heavy snort. “I don’t think I’ll have much of an appetite for this meal today…”
“Don’t be like that.” Jiang Peiyuan’s eyes twitched. “I specifically asked around about your preferences—today’s dishes are guaranteed to satisfy you.”
Grandpa Xu wouldn’t budge. “Whether I’m satisfied isn’t important. What matters is whether my granddaughter eats happily today. If she doesn’t, none of it is worth anything.”
Jiang Peiyuan sighed inwardly and shot Jiang Zhaolie a look. Jiang Zhaolie pressed her lips tightly together, then after a moment stood and filled a cup for herself. She raised it toward Xu Chun. “What happened before was my fault. I apologize to you now.”
With that, she drained the cup in one gulp.
The strong liquor burned fiercely going down, but compared to the tangled emotions in her heart, it was nothing worth mentioning.
She hadn’t been in contact with Yu Sui’an for a long time. Though she’d blocked Yu Sui’an long ago, in all this time Yu Sui’an hadn’t added her back or called to demand an explanation. She seemed to have become a completely irrelevant stranger to Yu Sui’an—not even worth a moment’s distracted concern.
These past days the gloom of heartbreak had hung over her; she’d barely managed to suppress those feelings, and then Xu Chun had brought it up, and all of it came surging back beyond her control, choking her with misery.
Jiang Zhaolie downed one cup in one breath and filled another. “Whether it was forcibly announcing the broken engagement in public at Grandpa’s birthday banquet, or falling for someone else and letting you down—it was all my fault. I’m sorry.”
With that, the freshly filled cup was swallowed down as well.
Seeing Jiang Zhaolie about to pour herself another, Xu Chun instinctively glanced at Qin Yao; Qin Yao turned her eyes to Jiang Zhaolie, her voice faint. “That’s enough.”
Jiang Zhaolie paused, but stubbornly filled the cup and, facing Xu Chun, drank the third apology cup before sitting down.
Qin Yao’s upturned eyes fixed straight on Jiang Zhaolie. Jiang Zhaolie lowered her face slightly, long thick lashes hiding all the thoughts in her eyes.
Jiang Zhaolie sat quietly, the atmosphere around her heavy and subdued, radiating a faint air of dejection. Grandpa Xu glanced at Xu Chun; seeing she hadn’t spoken, he refrained from lecturing the younger generation, and instead drew Jiang Peiyuan into a discussion of the betrothal gift list the Jiang family had sent over at the time of the engagement.
Jiang Peiyuan got a headache the moment he saw the old man settle comfortably into his seat, ready to wrangle with him. Without a second thought he said, “Forget the betrothal gifts—let Xiao Chun keep them as pocket money. Consider it a bit of compensation from our Jiang family to Xiao Chun.”
How would he dare ask for the gifts back? He’d be lucky not to get ruthlessly fleeced by that old fox Xu Jixian.
Grandpa Xu hadn’t expected him to cave so quickly. The extortion speech he’d had ready stalled on the tip of his tongue, leaving him thoroughly unsatisfied. The elders of both families fell silent, until a knock at the door from the waiter broke the awkward silence. Jiang Peiyuan seized the opening. “We’ll talk about the rest later—let’s eat first, eat first.”
Grandpa Xu snorted but didn’t say much more.
His goal today was to secure enough benefit for his granddaughter; he needed a full stomach to have the strength to keep negotiating with Jiang Peiyuan, so he wasn’t about to take it out on his own belly.
The meal was a strained affair. Xu Chun spent the whole time chatting with Qin Yao—one moment “Sister, you won’t ignore me after the engagement is broken, will you,” the next “Sister, after the engagement’s broken I’ll be all alone, can I still come find you to hang out and talk,” and then “Sister, when I come find you to play, Zhaolie won’t have any objections, will she?”—all of which left Jiang Zhaolie feeling thoroughly out of sorts.
Once the engagement was broken today, Xu Chun would fully show her fox tail and launch a fierce pursuit of her mother.
At the thought, Jiang Zhaolie felt an inexplicable emotion.
And that inexplicable emotion nearly peaked as she watched Xu Chun shower attention on Qin Yao. She forced herself not to look at the two beside her, but her attention kept drifting there against her will, her eyes stuck as if glued, impossible to pull away.
Her gaze fell on Xu Chun uncontrollably, yet reason told her this was inappropriate behavior and she shouldn’t do it. The two impulses warred within her, and just as Jiang Zhaolie was about to split in two, her phone suddenly buzzed a few times—a news link from a friend: 【What happened between you and Yu Sui’an? She actually denied your relationship.】
Jiang Zhaolie’s heart clenched, and her fingers instinctively tapped open the video of Yu Sui’an’s interview.
The girl in the frame was still pure and sweet, radiant as ever, but the words from those moist pink lips cut like a knife: “Miss Jiang and I?” Yu Sui’an smiled at the camera, open and composed. “Miss Jiang and I are very good friends. Our relationship isn’t the kind everyone imagines.”
Her smile faded a little. “I don’t have any plans to start a new relationship for the time being.”
The comment section below was full of speculation about whether Yu Sui’an still harbored feelings for Xu Chun, with all sorts of opinions about her behavior.
Jiang Zhaolie gripped her phone tightly, closed the news page, and returned to WeChat to reply flatly: 【She and I were only ever friends. Nothing more.】
Her friend sent back a long string of question marks, but Jiang Zhaolie was in no mood to reply.
She hadn’t drunk much today, yet she felt a bit drunk now, her mind hazy, unwilling to think about anything. She sat for a while, the gloom in her heart finding no outlet, then rose and left the private room to get some air.
She hadn’t noticed Xu Chun slip out, so when they accidentally collided at the corner by the restrooms, she instinctively blocked her way. “What are you doing out here?”
A moment later she recalled the earlier scene and stared at Xu Chun expressionlessly. “Having fun chatting with my mom?”
As she spoke she planted herself firmly in Xu Chun’s path. Seeing she couldn’t get past her, Xu Chun had to stop. “Fun, of course it’s fun.” She smiled brightly. “I’m so happy I’ll be laughing in my dreams.”
Perhaps she’d been provoked too much tonight, combined with the alcohol hitting hard—Jiang Zhaolie suddenly leaned in, backing Xu Chun into the corner, her expression unreadable.
Xu Chun’s back hit the wall, and it took her a while to react. When she raised her eyes and looked straight into Jiang Zhaolie’s tipsy gaze, her spirits soared, and she couldn’t resist offering her ear. “Hey, are you trying to cuckold your mom today?”
Her sudden closeness brought a faint fragrance that lingered, refusing to disperse. Jiang Zhaolie lost herself for a moment and didn’t reply.
Then a voice, powerful enough to shake mountains and rivers, sounded in her ear: “Unfilial child! You actually covet your stepmother’s body—you’re despicable!”
What made it even more suffocating was that the instant Jiang Zhaolie raised her head, she saw in the mirror on the white wall ahead Qin Yao’s slow, imposing approach. Jiang Zhaolie sobered instantly, straightened up, and put distance between herself and Xu Chun with lightning speed. “I didn’t!”