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Once A Beauty’s Makeup confirmed its entire cast, Li Xiao Qing immediately prepared to hold the press conference in frenzy.
This time Li Xiao Qing had thrown in a lot of money to produce the drama. Just by looking at the list of media invited, it was already shocking enough.
The most important thing was Shen Zhe’s casting.
Si Nian wasn’t very interested in celebrities’ scandals or rumours but because her friend Liu Xia was the editor of a youth magazine, she kept on forcing her to dig out some gossip. Si Nian had no choice but to hurriedly ask the people around her for news, passed on and be done with it.
Thus when Liu Xia told her that Shen Zhe was now plagued by rumours and was the prime press material, Si Nian was quiet for quite some time. Oh fine, she admit, she had already tacitly agreed that Shen Zhe was secretly in love with Cheng Chen.
The press conference was held at the Four Seasons Hotel. Thanks to Shen Zhe’s magnanimous invitation, she made the sudden decision to go.
Even though he was an assistant scriptwriter, it was Dong Xiao’s first time attending a press conference. The moment he reached, both of his eyes flashed with excitement, he kept on looking for his idols. According to him, all the female actresses in the drama were his idols… therefore Si Nian stood at her corner on her own, watching the press conference. She was a bit lonely so she was about to take the opportunity to sneak away.
Lately Cola had been sulking.
Because Cheng Chen was a workaholic, she was not able to feed her at regular intervals. She can only ask the help of ah yi who cleans her house to feed Cola thrice a day. Once Cheng Chen found out, he very naturally sent Sprite over for her to look after.
Therefore, Cola was sulking.
Based on her logic, it could be because she was favouring Sprite too much that Cola was jealous. The other reason was that ah yi didn’t know how to prepare the milk, making it taste awful…
She passed by a buffet restaurant and was about to brave through the crowd of unknown faces when a hand suddenly pulled her back.
When she turned around, she saw Shen Wei Jue smirking at her. “Classmate Si Nian.”
Si Nian was stunned. She said, “Aren’t you with the general desk? Since when you became an entertainment reporter?”
Shen Wei Jue took one step back. “It’s your ‘past reincarnation’, I came here with him.”
That vibrant face, that bright smile, that pair of shining black eyes, and that head of soft black hair. Si Nian stared with her eyes wide and was rendered speechless for a long time. Finally she said, “Oh my God.”
Having said that, she grabbed onto Lin Xin’s hand. She kept on smiling at him but couldn’t find anything to say further.
“Why are you still the same?” Lin Xin became the one to break the silence. His voice was still in that familiar gentle and soft tone.
“You also didn’t change,” she said, smiling at him. “You’re completely the same as before. Oh God, why are you still the same, you don’t grow old even though so many years have passed. You still look like when you’re in your youth. Are you with the entertainment desk now?”
Shen Wei Jue rolled her eyes.
Did this seem like a woman who was almost twenty five? Why did she seem to have returned to the time when she was fifteen...
On the other hand, Lin Xin was still very calm. “I’m here to replace a colleague who had an emergency. Besides this is the biggest drama of the year, collaboration between Cheng Chen and Shen Zhe. I definitely must come over to take a look and do an interview.”
Si Nian made an “ah” sound. “Who do you want to interview?”
Lin Xia lifted his chin, smiling. “Director Cheng.”
It was at this moment, when she was still holding Lin Xin’s hand, that she turned around and saw Cheng Chen and Shen Zhe standing together. Both were smiling at her, but one smile looked like it was positively gleeful because of someone’s misfortune, the other was a lot more complicated…
Si Nian originally wanted to evade the interview, she wanted to wait for them to finish the interview before catching up with Lin Xin but she didn’t expect Cheng Chen and Lin Xin to click and started talking happily. They even decided to have supper together.
Si Nian, Shen Zhe and Shen Wei Jue very naturally also accompanied them.
The moment they sat down, Shen Wei Jue’s first sentence was actually this, “Xiao Zhe, do you still remember me?”
Shen Zhe smiled. “Of course, a few years ago you came to the backstage of Oriental Storm to say hello to me.”
Shen Wei Jue immediately gripped Si Nian’s hand. “Didn’t I once tell you, I chased after a small-time celebrity? That’s Xiao Zhe. Back then I went to Oriental Storm to do an interview, it’s that time. I told you before.”
Shen Zhe laughed a little and drank a mouthful of beer. He glanced at Cheng Chen.
His meaning was very obvious.
Look, my fanbase is blossoming, age doesn’t even matter.
Si Nian felt her entire life principles stir a little.
She suddenly remembered that Shen Wei Jue once liked a small-time celebrity, she said he debuted in some singing competition. She also remembered that Shen Zhe also debuted in some competition. In these few years Shen Zhe was also in Shanghai, Shen Wei Jue also went to some Oriental Storm or something, saying she was going to say hello to some celebrity…
Ah, fine…
She looked at Shen Zhe. “I remember now, when she came back that time, she did tell me. She was drinking water backstage when a man stood beside her, it was the idol from Baidu competition… Shen Zhe, that’s you right?”
Si Nian fished out a camera from her bag and said, “Then I’ll make the decision.” With a serious face, she told Shen Wei Jue in no uncertain terms, “Tonight I’ll help take photos of you and your idol until you’re satisfied.”
Shen Zhe’s mouth lightly twitched, shooting Cheng Chen another glance.
“Your first love sure is unabashed.”
“First love?!” Shen Wei Jue, who was basking in the happiness of meeting her idol, was as shocked hearing that as if she met a ghost.
Even the one who had been smiling without saying anything, Lin Xin was also stunned.
Cheng Chen merely took off his glasses to wipe it clean. With a beat off from the actual conversation, he said, “She’s always like this.”
Then he put on the glasses again.
“So…” Shen Wei Jue’s entire core felt terribly shaken. “You guys broke up a long time ago, right.”
Si Nian glared at her. You don’t say.
Cheng Chen didn’t say anything. He lifted his glass to toast the other two men, drinking the beer.
Shen Wei Jue looked at Lin Xin. “Then that’s good, if not I’m afraid your ‘past reincarnation’ would be targeted to death.”
Si Nian’s mind seemed to hum; her instinct told her that there was something bad impending.
Before she could say anything, Shen Wei Jue had already begun to introduce Lin Xin. “Lin Xin and I were university classmates, we took journalism. But he was a little strange. Of all people, he clicked with Si Nian who was studying law. Both of them thought each other was very good. I was thinking, if they all thought each other was good, they should just be together. But this two were seriously awkward, in the end they didn’t end up together…”
Si Nian’s hands were already weak from anxiety, this girl was seriously distorting the truth…
The problem was Shen Wei Jue’s voice was always soft and somewhat coy, plus her tone was very sentimental. Even though she was embellishing a distorted rumour, she would make it sound very realistic, making others ponder over it seriously.
“That’s why they referred to each other as ‘past reincarnation’. What do they mean by that? Well, it means that in their past life, they have met and had feelings for each other. But in this life, they met but do not have the fate.”
Having finished her story, Shen Wei Jue took a sip of her fruit juice.
…
…
The entire room was quiet.
Never mind Si Nian, even Lin Xin was stiff.
Wasn’t this called piling one lie after another?
This was the real-life example of it.
Si Nian laughed hollowly. Clearing her throat, she said, “She’s just joking. To be honest, it’s only because I think Lin Xin is good-looking, I’m merely admiring his looks…” Why did it felt like it still sounded ambiguously romantic… “It’s just that I merely thought that this guy is seriously decent, has good character too. We’re just joking when we came up with the nickname.”
Everyone was still silent…
Lin Xin also cleared his throat. “Please don’t misunderstand. Si Nian and I don’t have any sort of relationship.”
Shen Wei Jue felt like she had said something wrong so she didn’t dare to say another word. She sneakily sent a text to Si Nian: “Didn’t you already break up with your first love?”
Si Nian glanced at her phone. Closing her eyes for a moment, she finally decided not to argue with this woman any further.
When they finally finished, Si Nian wanted to take the taxi home but Cheng Chen patted her shoulder. “Wait for me at the entrance, I’ll bring you home and go visit Sprite since it’s on the way.”
On the way, as if Sprite was not his dog…
Si Nian wanted to find an excuse to flee but felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.
No matter what, he was still her first love and only boyfriend. Those words earlier… she couldn’t bear for him to misunderstand and feel hurt.
Unexpectedly when they reached home, Cheng Chen didn’t mention the topic at all. He actually asked her an unrelated, leisurely question, “I heard from Li Xiao Qing that you wrote a book? Do you want me to look at it, maybe make a film adaptation or something.”
Guiltily she looked at him. “No need, my target audience are very pure women.”
“What's the story?”
“It’s the very sweet kind of story, there’s no misunderstanding or obstacle at all. From the time they met to the time they have children, they never even fought once,” Si Nian said. Sighing, she continued, “In the months that I was writing the book, everything I look seem to be tinted pink. It was such a blissful feeling.”
Cheng Chen glanced at her. “Adaptations lately seem to prefer ‘oppressive’ romance stories. They’re more dramatic so they get popular more easily.”
Si Nian stared at him with bewilderment. “How did you learn about ‘oppressive’ romance stories?”
“Lou Lou told me.”
Si Nian made an “oh” sound. Laughingly she said, “I think mine is quite dramatic too. If I change my perspective, even the way I perceive happiness changes. For example, a pair of couple may be very poor and run into all sorts of trouble, they just graduated from university and barely getting into the workforce. Both of them can only afford a small room, they even have to support their siblings’ school fees, this can be considered dramatic right? It sounds realistic and depressing, doesn’t it?”
Cheng Chen laughed. “How realistic.”
Si Nian made an “en” sound and titled her head to look at him. With a laugh she continued, “If I’m the writer, I would write about a pair of very poor couple. Even though they earn very little but they are still very sweet. They can go to a park and have picnic there. Every week they can go the outskirts to fish. When they return home, they can cook the fish in many flavours. When they’re eating, the guy would even peel the fish skin for the girl, attentive and gentle… it’s actually that same pair. You noticed the miserable part of their life, so their misery will be enlarged in your mind. If you notice only their happiness, you will think they are very lucky.”
Both Cola and Sprite were meekly sitting near her feet.
“Si Nian,” Cheng Chen called, motioning her, “come over.”
Si Nian thought the movement was a little odd but she still went over. Cheng Chen patted on the sofa, indicating for her to sit. So she sat down next to him.
Cola and Sprite mimicked their owners and went and sat near them.
After she sat down, it was Cheng Chen who didn’t speak. He only leaned on the sofa, making himself comfortable. But it was the actual owner of the house who was sitting upright. Her hands were folded in front of her in a courteous manner. The more she sat, the more she felt nervous.
It’s already almost twelve, Director Cheng you can’t really be thinking of sleeping over again…?