Chapter 121: Angry With Me

With the meeting having dragged on today, Li Yuan was afraid and anxious that the silly girl would wait in the snow for him. It was a good thing she was not waiting on him.

Picking up on the sound of a car, Shen Xi jumped up, ran out, and swiftly climbed up the ladder before catching a glimpse of a car parked in the driveway. Tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw the man getting down from the car.

Snowflakes were fluttering in the air.

Li Yuan lifted his head amid the drifting snowflakes and observed the young lady wiping the tears away from her swollen red eyes. Distressed, Li Yuan quickly made his way towards her.

Shen Xi promptly wiped her tears dry before he came over. She could not put her finger on the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she should be happy with him back and well.

Nevertheless, Shen Xi was not the least bit happy and for a split second, grievance tempted her to lose her temper.

However, who was she to lose her temper at him? What was the relationship between him and her? Who was she to him?

Where did he go? What did he do? Why must he report his whereabouts to him?

Shen Xi was merely the young sister next door in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Li Yuan sounded nervous; his body tensed up.

“Nothing.” Shen Xi shook her head and averted his gaze.

She had phoned Kun Lun countless times but no one picked up, giving her the impression that something had happened to him. Shen Xi wanted to look for him yet had no idea where to start.

“Why are you crying if there’s nothing?” Li Yuan was heartbroken. “Tell me, who bullied you?”

Embarrassed, Shen Xi had the urge to climb down right away but the sound of his voice overwhelmed her with grievance. She answered in a raspy voice, “No one bullied me.”

With worry in his eyes, Li Yuan furrowed his brows and spoke angrily, “Who was it?”

Since Shen Xi was afraid of his further questioning yet was unwilling to admit her concerns and fears, she went ahead and showed him her finger. “I’m hurt.”

“How did you injure yourself?” Looking at her crying and aggrieved face, Li Yuan could only resent that words were not colorful and powerful enough.

What did he have to do to save her from the pain and tears?

Li Yuan wanted nothing more than to run to her side to embrace her and wipe away her tears.

Nevertheless, he could do nothing at present.

What right did he have? He was only a big brother living next door to her.

“Pricked by a needle.” Shen Xi answered in a hoarse voice coupled with a few sniffles before staring at him with tearful eyes. “Where did you go? I thought you weren’t coming back.”

“The meeting ended late.” The girl’s tears seemed to trickle into his heart one drip at a time, corroding his heart bit by bit and suffocating him with heartache.

“Oh.” Giving a nod, Shen Xi wiped away her tears and bashfully covered her face while mumbling, “How embarrassing. You should get some rest. I’m going home.”

“Be careful.” The young lady had run off before Li Yuan could finish his sentence.

Shen Xi had just climbed down the ladder when there was a knock on the door.

Standing at the entrance, Kun Lun politely handed over a beautiful gift box and a bottle of medicine. “This is a birthday gift for Mrs. Shen and medicine for you.”

Shen Xi spoke in hushed tones. “My mom doesn’t celebrate her birthday. Please convey my gratitude to Brother. I’ll keep the medicine.”

Kun Lun brought the present back.

Li Yuan frowned at the sight of the untouched present in Kun Lun’s hands before gruffly remarking, “She’s angry with me.”

The little girl was fuming.

She was irritated and the injury was an excuse to fob him off.

Chapter 122: Etched On My Mind

“No, Boss. Ms. Shen said that her mom doesn’t celebrate birthdays or accept gifts.” Kun Lun was quick to explain. “She didn’t refuse the gift because she’s angry with you. She did take the ointment.”

“She didn’t come over to thank me.” Li Yuan faced the wall. His heart was aching, harking back to the girl accusingly questioning his whereabouts with grievance. With gloomy and cold eyes, he turned to Kun Lun and asked, “Did she look for you today?”

Turning as white as a sheet, Kun Lun replied, “Boss, wasn’t my phone confiscated?”

Li Yuan frowned as he held back his raging fury. “Go retrieve it and take a look!”

Kun Lun wanted to die when he saw the countess missed calls. He handed the phone to Li Yuan. “Boss, Ms. Shen called me multiple times.”

Uh…

This really was not his fault!

Boss was the one who had confiscated his phone!

It never crossed his mind that Ms. Shen would actually call his number. The phone number was given to her two months ago but who knew, out of all the times, she would ring in on the day his phone was confiscated?

Li Yuan stared at the phone screen with darkness bubbling in his eyes.

To have called so many times yet not be able to get through, she must have been anxious, scared, and worried.

Unable to bear the sight of Li Yuan beating himself up, Kun Lun put on a bold face and gave his two cents. “Boss, look at the bright side. It’s clear that Ms. Shen is worried about you, cares for you, and has feelings for you because of the calls she made to me.”

“Get lost!” Li Yuan coldly blurted. He stared at the screen of missed calls on the phone with a complicated look on his face. His lean fingers slowly felt the screen, tracing over the young lady’s name.

Shen Xi.

These two words had stirred him for a long time and now the name was etched on his mind.

As he gradually took in the sweet idea that she was worried about him and had feelings for him, his furrowed brows began to relax themselves.

Shen Xi was regretting her actions. Why did she allow her feelings to get the better of her when she thoughtlessly went to meet with Brother and talk to him?

He was smart and did not know what was going on.

Would he think of her as pretentious and hate her for that?

Crouching, she snuck up against the wall and listened for footsteps coming from the other side before quietly revealing her eyes. She cried out after confirming it was Kun Lun, “Kun Lun!”

Her emotions were all over the place when Kun Lun knocked on the door bearing presents. With that, Shen Xi had forgotten to inform him to keep mum about the phone calls.

Kun Lun had no clue why she was here again nor how long she had been waiting. He was in for quite a shock when taking a fleeting glimpse out the window. “Ms. Shen, why are you still here?”

Boss would be sick at heart to find out that she was still waiting here.

“About that… I need to talk to you about something. Don’t tell Brother that I called you.” Shen Xi’s heart sank following the discoloration in Kun Lun’s complexion. “You told him?”

Feeling the pressure resting on his shoulders, Kun Lun took a gulp with difficulty before facing her begrudging eyes. “I’m sorry.”

One thing was for sure, it was Fang Zhu, that b*stard’s fault! Kun Lun would not be caught with an addiction had Fang Zhu not insisted that he beta-test the latter’s newly developed game.

If Kun Lun did not have a game addiction, he would not have played during the meeting.

Had he not played, Boss would not have realized and confiscated his phone.

Kun Lun would not have missed Ms. Shen’s calls. Things would not have progressed this way had his phone not been confiscated.

“I am to be blamed for calling you so many times.” Turning grim in the face, Shen Xi grew listless.

Sigh!

This was fate!

Everything was fated!

Chapter 123: Come Straight To Me

A silver veil whitewashed the great outdoors first thing in the morning, as a result of a snowfall last night.

Carrying a backpack, Shen Xi slowed down the pace while crossing the courtyard. She quietly glanced at the wall and walked towards the ladder only to wimp out and stealthily make a U-turn.

She probably should just forget it.

Shen Xi was too ashamed to face Brother.

At the end of the day, she was not thick-skinned enough. What was there to be embarrassed about anyway? What was wrong with worrying about him?

To worry was simply human nature. Even if a single stray cat out of a colony that was fed daily went missing one day, the person would be looking around for it out of concern.

She had just turned around.

Out of the blue.

A paper plane came flying and landed by her feet.

Bending over to pick it up, she noticed that there were words written on it.

The man’s handwriting bore vigorous and fluid strokes that reflected debonairness and poise. ‘This is my phone number. Come straight to me if anything’s the matter.’

Beneath was his phone number.

Shen Xi put away the paper plane with care before twirling around like a jolly idiot. With smiling eyes, she lifted her head to face the wall and shouted, “Good morning, Brother.”

It did not take long before the man’s heart-stopping sexy voice was heard from the next door. “Good morning.”

Clenching onto her pounding heart, Shen Xi turned red in the face and fled off without another word.

Li Yuan pursed his lips upward, admitting the delight through his eyes as he listened to the young lady’s fading but flurried footsteps.

…

There was an English debate competition a week before the exams. It was also the last competition of the semester.

With two weeks counting down to the exams, the final participants for the English debate competition had been decided.

Apart from those of the top class, there were two finalists from the international class – Shen Xi and Pei Xu.

Pei Xu may not do well in his studies but he was pretty good in English. This was especially reflected in oral debate in which Pei Xu rose above the competition, displaying laid-out thoughts and a sharp tongue. He was always one of the debaters representing No. 4 High School.

The debate team gathered on a Saturday afternoon to work together towards teamwork and team spirit, so as to bring their collective talent to full play during the competition.

The top class, under the leadership of Chen Bingbing, decked out the classroom with a red carpet, fresh flowers, and firecrackers to surprise Su Ruowan for taking home the silver in the design competition.

“Here comes Wanwan. Positions, everyone!”

Chen Bingbing waved her hand at everyone in the classroom.

It was a joyous occasion with crackling sounds of firecrackers exploding in the background and colorful confetti dancing in the air.

“Congratulations on winning, Wanwan.”

The group shouted in unison while presenting the flowers to her.

Covering her mouth, Su Ruowan was moved to tears by this scene. She excitedly exclaimed, “Thank you all.”

“Wanwan, you’re the best.”

“Wanwan, you’re our pride.”

“Wanwan, I heard that Mr. Movie Star, Fu Qingye was there to give out an award. You must have seen him!”

The crowd gathered around her, enviously offering their best wishes and compliments.

Su Ruowan let out a gentle smile and nodded. Of course, she met with him. That man was more charming and charismatic than behind the camera.

With a look of adoration, Chen Bingbing frantically pulled her. “Oh my god. Wanwan, I’m so jealous of you. Tell me, what is Fu Qingye the movie star like in person? Did you talk to him?”

“Yes.” Su Ruowan appeared coy. No one would know the truth despite what she said anyway.

With the incessant questioning from her girlfriends swelling Su Ruowan with conceit, she began to talk to them about Fu Qingye.

Su Ruowan tooted her own horn about chatting and sharing a meal with the movie star, adding that Mr. Movie Star was sweet, gentlemanly, and nice to her. She lived her unattainable desire through her words, only leaving out the part about sleeping with him.

Sitting in the back, Shen Xi faintly swept a glance at her before resuming her attention on the mock test papers.

The look given by Shen Xi irritated Su Ruowan, prompting a subtle change in her eyes. Carrying flowers in her hands, Su Ruowan walked to Shen and asked with concern, “Shen Xi, why weren’t you at the awards ceremony yesterday?”

Chapter 124: Hang In There!

What was that look? Was Shen Xi trying to mock her or look down on her?

What gave Shen Xi the right to look down on her? Was it the horrible design that did not qualify her to the finals?

Not to put Su Ruowan down, Shen Xi nonchalantly replied, “It was my mom’s birthday. I didn’t have the time.”

“Shen Xi, who are you trying to fool? You weren’t even shortlisted. You’re a joke to talk about the finals and using a stage name.”

Taking the lead, Chen Bingbing arrogantly laughed out loud.

“She’s only here to give us something to laugh about. It’s hysterical. Just admit you have no talent. Don’t try and put up a front.” Girlfriend A covered her mouth and snickered.

“Shen Xi, where’s your trophy? Come on, show us!” Girlfriend B threw her a scornful and mocking look.

“Don’t put her in the spot. I’ll eat sh*t if she can show us the trophy.” Girlfriend C laughed her head off.

“Are you really going to eat sh*t if I show you the trophy?” Lifting her head, Shen Xi darted a cold and aloof look at Girlfriend C.

The roaring laughter came to an abrupt stop among the group who were taunting Shen Xi.

As color drained from her face, Su Ruowan became nervous and tried to sound her out. “Shen Xi, they were only joking. Don’t make it difficult for them. They won’t act this way if you just show us the trophy, on the assumption that you have it.”

“What? Are you that afraid I won first place?” A contrast to Su Ruowan’s horrified and discolored complexion, Shen Xi was smiling brightly, with an unfathomable glint in her eyes.

Su Ruowan knew for a fact that it was impossible, and that Shen Xi was merely trying her luck, having known that Cai Ni, the winner, was not there to accept the award just so she could mess with Su Ruowan’s mind. Nevertheless, it was hard not to harbor suspicion following Shen Xi’s words and the look in her eyes.

“Wanwan, there’s no point talking to this sort of person.” Chen Bingbing angrily pulled Su Ruowan away while looking daggers at Shen Xi.

Honestly speaking, Chen Bingbing was afraid of Shen Xi and refrained from crossing her, probably because Shen Xi carried herself with an air that stood for no nonsense. Chen Bingbing would at most get a one-up by ridiculing and mocking her.

“Shen Xi, it’s fine even if you didn’t win anything.” Letting out a gentle smile, Su Ruowan made a gesture to cheer her on. “Hang in there! I believe you can do it.”

Shen Xi curled her lips in contempt towards Su Ruowan’s pretentiously fake smile.

Su Ruowan only looked for Shen Xi to ascertain whether she was Cai Ni. She would relax since the latter was unable to produce the gold medal.

Shen Xi, that b*tch, deliberately misled her to cast doubt and make fun of her.

Yes. She should not be fooled and give Shen Xi the satisfaction!

Changing the topic from Shen Xi, Chen Bingbing and the rest began a discussion on “The Smiling Nation”.

“Did you watch the show yesterday? It was great. Every episode is to die for. The awesome screenwriter has won me over.”

“Every episode is to die for? More like, every minute is to die for! I don’t want to accelerate the show even by one minute. The actors are amazing, even down to extras. That’s some solid acting.”

“The male and female leads are newbies but they can act way better than those influencers with huge followings. I heard that it was a live recording. I’ve got to give it to the actors memorizing their lines.”

“The male lead, He Pei, is such a hottie. Good looks, great acting skills, especially his eyes that can really tell stories. I can bet that he will be a hit. The screenwriter sure has an eye for picking actors. Love it!”

Clutching her chest, Chen Bingbing shrieked while drooling over the male lead. It was love at first sight for her, having been swept off her feet by He Pei. Nothing was of significance to her, except for He Pei.

Chapter 125: Go Against Him

Listening in as the group spoke highly of the actors, screenwriter, and director, Shen Xi took a glance at them and suddenly found them less of an eyesore.

“Why is the viewership doing badly on the first episode? It’s only 0.5%. I’m not convinced. The costumes, sets, and actors are clearly top notch. People must be blind not to watch.”

“It’s only the first episode. What are you getting worked up for? We can recommend and share this with people on various forums, Moments, Weibo, and our friends to boost it. I can guarantee that the ratings will skyrocket during the second episode.”

“That’s right. Go, go, go, He Pei!”

The group were not having it at the mention of TV ratings and hence, decided to push the show to everyone around.

Su Ruowan was bitter about hearing them praising the TV show. With Su Mushi walking in, she tugged on Chen Bingbing. “Bingbing, you guys should stop it.”

Mushi was not going to be happy to hear this. After all, the script was first handed to him with the expectation that he was the male lead but he declined the offer.

Putting on a sour face, Su Mushi coldly swept a glance at the people in the classroom before turning to leave in a huff.

What the hell? Why was everyone talking about that d*mned TV show everywhere he went!

It was supposed to be a total bust. Were they blind? Why did they fall for such a shoddy and disgusting production!

“Mushi.” Worried, Su Ruowan called out and chased after him.

Once the siblings were gone, Chen Bingbing began to talk in hushed tones, commenting that it was a shame Su Mushi turned down the part. It was overall a show of quality, with every minute of the plot to die for. If the show kept up with this pace, surely it would turn out to be a high-quality hit show that was hard to come by.

Feeling happy, Shen Xi no longer thought of them as an eyesore. Those who praised her script, her actors, and director were on her side for now.

“Have you watched “The Smiling Nation”?” Yu Qiubai entered the room and approached Shen Xi.

Shen Xi buried her head into her mock test papers without lifting a glance.

Taking a seat beside her, Yu Qiubai went on talking with smiling foxy eyes. “Let’s watch together if you haven’t already.”

With that, he placed a mobile phone between them and removed the earphones to set the audio to the phone’s speakers.

Shen Xi coldly glanced at him, still refusing to share a conversation with him.

“Sigh. It’s a shame if you haven’t watched. I really recommend you watch. It’s the best show ever.” Yu Qiubai grabbed his phone and made his exit.

This child seemed to have a low opinion of him!

Su Ruowan came in to find someone in class watching the TV show on speakers. It was none other than Mushi’s best friend, Yu Qiubai.

The show was played on an LCD computer screen which occupied two desks. It was pretty cocky and heavy-handed of Yu Qiubai to do so.

Drawing near, Su Ruowan meekly stared at him. “Qiubai, please, can you not watch? Mushi is about to return, and he’d only be upset and sad to see this.”

Yu Qiubai impatiently glanced at her. “Can you not eat then?”

Su Ruowan’s eyes welled up and reddened from feeling wronged. Like a little bunny tugging at heartstrings, she exclaimed in a weak yet innocent voice, “Qiubai!”

Sick of her, Yu Qiubai looked askance at her and tapped the table. “This feeds my soul, do you get it?”

What more could Su Ruowan say? Su Ruowan bit her lip in sorrow after being shot an angry look. With her misty eyes failing to soften his heart, she left in dismal.

Su Mushi managed to get a grip and returned to the classroom at the sound of the bell, albeit he was still fuming inside.

He did not want to nor would he ever admit that “The Smiling Nation” was gaining reputation the day after the first episode. Higher viewership was only a matter of time.

There was quite a bustle in the classroom as he approached the classroom. His face turned grim to learn that someone was broadcasting “The Smiling Nation” as well as conversing about the plot.

He was curious as to who the sightless idiot was for having the balls to go against him!