Chapter 17

After lunch, the makeup artist came to remove Kong Xiyan's makeup. Tong Yue urged her to rest as soon as she got home, since she only had four or five hours before the evening shoot.

Kong Xiyan hummed in acknowledgment and nodded.

Before leaving, Tong Yue asked if she wanted to delete her two Weibo posts, saying she'd seen the comments and was worried they might affect her mood.

Kong Xiyan looked at her and said, "No need."

To her, these were trivial matters. She just needed to wait for Chi Wanzhao's photos to be handed over, and the hidden truths would come to light.

Tong Yue patted her shoulder, wanting to comfort her but not knowing where to start.

Kong Xiyan followed her out of the set. As she got into the car, she remembered the promise she'd made to Yuanyuan, so she turned to Tong Yue and asked, "Sister Tong, I recall that in next month's schedule, I have a week off, right?"

Since "Breaking the Cocoon" was a weekly drama and her scenes were front-loaded, her filming load for next month was drastically reduced. Moreover, with her status as a returning artist, she naturally couldn't land endorsements or events.

So a week had opened up.

Tong Yue opened her tablet, glanced at it, and said, "Mm, you can rest for a week in the middle of the month."

Kong Xiyan smiled. "Can I arrange that week freely?"

Tong Yue nodded. "Of course."

"But to avoid unnecessary trouble, would you mind telling me what you plan to do?"

She was worried about another incident like Wei Yan's. Though she couldn't fully control her artist, she wanted to know the itinerary thoroughly to prevent emergencies.

Moreover, Kong Xiyan was under special care as requested by Assistant Zhou.

She couldn't afford to be negligent.

Delighted at the prospect of a vacation, Kong Xiyan beamed. "Of course. I'm just going to the countryside. Don't worry, Sister Tong—nothing will go wrong."

Seeing Tong Yue was about to ask more, Kong Xiyan dispelled her doubts.

"Sister Tong, that place doesn't even have internet yet."

Only then did Tong Yue relax and ask, "Do you want me to drive you there?"

Kong Xiyan said, "No need."

Tong Yue hummed in acknowledgment, then asked, "Wait—is that the place where you spent three years?"

No wonder, since she was blacklisted three years ago, there hadn't been a trace of her online. No matter how hard Wei Yan and He Wei's fans dug, they couldn't find anything.

It turned out she was cut off from the world.

Kong Xiyan nodded. "Mm."

Tong Yue said, "Alright, I'll clear that week for you."

She could also take a good rest for a week. Ever since she took on Kong Xiyan, she'd been busy with PR, networking, and buying bots—spinning like a top every day.

With Kong Xiyan away in the countryside for a week, she could rest too.

Besides, in that place where she'd stayed for three years without anyone knowing, Tong Yue wasn't worried about any trouble.

Tong Yue closed her tablet and saw Kong Xiyan off to the car. Spotting Xiao Cheng not far away, she instructed the driver to take Kong Xiyan home before walking over to Xiao Cheng.

Xiao Cheng was talking with his assistant when he caught sight of someone approaching from the corner of his eye. He looked up, a sunny smile on his face. "Sister Tong."

Tong Yue looked at him. "I heard from Xiao Qiu that you've been helping Xiyan a lot lately. Thank you."

Xiao Cheng waved his hand. "I'm a fan of Sister Kong anyway. No need for such heavy thanks—if you say that, Sister Tong, you're not treating me as a friend."

His eyes were sincere, his handsome face all seriousness.

Tong Yue said, "You, with that silver tongue, no wonder you win everyone over."

Xiao Cheng smiled and scratched his head. When his driver came over, he had to say to Tong Yue, "Sister Tong, let's catch up when we have time."

Tong Yue nodded, watching him get into the car. The van left a trail of exhaust in her sight, and she lowered her eyes, deep in thought.

Once in the car, Xiao Cheng's smile faded. He turned to his assistant and said, "Go check which directors keep cats at home."

The assistant was baffled. "Huh?"

Xiao Cheng thought for a moment. "Also, check the high-ranking officials in City B while you're at it."

The assistant grew more confused. "A-Cheng, why are you looking for that?"

Xiao Cheng shot him a glance. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Don't ask questions—just go check."

The assistant pulled out a laptop from his bag, thought for a while, and said, "Speaking of cats, I remember that Chi of Jingyan also has one. Two years ago, when she was rumored with Chai Yin, a bunch of reporters camped outside her place. Eventually, one reporter got a photo of her holding a cat, and then... tsk tsk."

Xiao Cheng frowned. "What happened then?"

The assistant lowered his voice. "Chi took over that entire newspaper and shut it down."

"That's how word barely got around in the industry."

Xiao Cheng said nothing. He'd spent years drifting in and out of the entertainment circle without much fame; back then, finding resources was busy enough that he never paid attention to such gossip.

Seeing his expression, the assistant asked, "So, do you want me to check Chi too?"

Xiao Cheng turned his head. "Do you even need to ask? Do you want to end up like that reporter?"

He did believe Kong Xiyan had someone with a background backing her, but it couldn't be the head of Jingyan.

If she really had ties with her, they wouldn't have given her a second female lead role—Gu Ling, the female lead, would have been pushed aside long ago.

Besides, Director Sun knew Chi. If he knew Kong Xiyan was someone Chi knew, he'd have been all over her, and never would have let Guo Yixi bully her.

So, he shook his head.

Impossible.

Xiao Cheng turned his gaze out the window. Mid-October, and the streets were still lush with flowers and green leaves. The not-too-hot sunlight streamed through the window, and he squinted.

The van drove past the scenery, leaving a trail of exhaust.

In another car not far away, Kong Xiyan was heads-down texting Chi Wanzhao.

—I'm home, but I have scenes tonight, so Yanyan...

Chi Wanzhao's reply was as brief as ever: Okay.

Kong Xiyan shrugged and put her phone down. Seeing the apartment was near, she stopped the driver and got out at the intersection.

After entering the apartment, she pushed the door open and met Yanyan's accusing gaze. The cat sat by the door, head raised, blue eyes full of displeasure. When she saw Kong Xiyan come in, she swished her butt and trotted into the living room.

Kong Xiyan followed behind her, coaxing, "Yanyan?"

Yanyan ignored her, jumping onto the sofa and burying her head between her paws.

Kong Xiyan sat on the sofa, pressed her nose against Yanyan's pink one, and, meeting her eyes, smiled. "Yanyan, what's the matter? You upset?"

Yanyan: "Meow..."

Seeing she finally responded, Kong Xiyan released her head and hugged her, stroking her white fur while saying, "Little ungrateful thing!"

Chi Wanzhao descended the stairs and, hearing this, glanced at her sideways. After a moment, she said, "Right, Yanyan, you are quite ungrateful—Miss Kong is off earning your milk money."

The voice from behind made Kong Xiyan nearly jump off the sofa!

She whipped around; Chi Wanzhao stood behind her in pajamas. Stammering, she asked, "You—you're not at work?"

Seeing her reaction, Chi Wanzhao looked away and called, "Yanyan."

Yanyan leaped off Kong Xiyan and trotted to Chi Wanzhao, tugging at her pant leg. Chi Wanzhao, somewhat helplessly, picked her up and explained, "Miss Kong, it's the weekend today; I'm off."

Kong Xiyan said, "Oh," nearly forgetting that Chi Wanzhao wasn't an actress and should rest on weekends.

Chi Wanzhao petted Yanyan for a while, then disdainfully pinched her plump flesh. Feeling the disdain, Yanyan protested with two "meow meows."

Watching the two interact, a smile tugged at Kong Xiyan's eyebrows. She asked, "CEO Chi, has Yanyan eaten yet?"

"Yes."

Although Kong Xiyan had left last night, she'd prepared Yanyan's food and put it in the fridge; Chi Wanzhao could heat it up on time for the cat.

After answering, Chi Wanzhao asked, "Have you eaten?"

Kong Xiyan nodded. "Mm, I've eaten too. Well, I'll head upstairs to rest."

Seeing she was about to leave, Yanyan leapt from Chi Wanzhao's arms into Kong Xiyan's and looked up, letting out a "meow..."

Seeing this, Chi Wanzhao parted her lips. "Take her upstairs to sleep. She waited for you all night."

Kong Xiyan was flooded with guilt, wanting to squeeze Yanyan into her chest. As she carried her up the stairs, she murmured, "Yanyan's so good—I'll buy you cans tomorrow."

Yanyan licked her chin. "Meow..."

Not until the upstairs door closed did Chi Wanzhao sit down on the sofa. She turned on the TV, which was playing a trailer for "Breaking the Cocoon."

After watching for a few minutes, she fell asleep leaning against the sofa armrest.

Only the sound of the TV echoed through the apartment. Upstairs and down, it was quiet, as if slumber had swallowed the place.

After some time, Chi Wanzhao was roused by a noise upstairs. She picked up her phone from the coffee table—it was past six.

She blinked, having slept five hours.

Just as she rose, she saw Kong Xiyan coming downstairs, fully dressed. Meeting her eyes, Kong Xiyan looked apologetic. "CEO Chi, I'm off now."

"Wait."

Chi Wanzhao rubbed her temples. Just waking, her mind was still foggy, so she blurted, "I'll drive you."

Kong Xiyan froze in place, then quickly said, "No need, thanks, CEO Chi. The driver will be here soon."

"I'm going now."

With that, she brushed past Chi Wanzhao, trailing a breeze. Before Chi Wanzhao could say more, she heard a bang as the apartment door clicked shut.

Yanyan padded down the stairs, swaying, jumped onto the sofa, and looked up at her. "Meow..."

Chi Wanzhao looked down at her, her starry eyes slowly clearing. She sat beside Yanyan, picked up her phone from the coffee table, and dialed.

Zhou Sheng was still at the office, working overtime. He quickly answered: "Hello, CEO Chi."

Leaning back on the sofa, her voice still hoarse from sleep, Chi Wanzhao said, "Arrange something—I'll be doing a set visit soon."

Zhou Sheng didn't catch on at first, dazed for a second. "Set visit?"

Then he quickly responded, "Understood. Is the CEO planning to put some pressure on Director Sun?"

Chi Wanzhao said, "Mm?"

"Mm, yes."

Zhou Sheng didn't second-guess it and agreed readily. "Got it—I'll set it up as soon as I can."