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Dong Xu was actually quite good to Zheng Xiaoya.
Zheng Xiaoya lost her parents when she was two years old and became the only remaining bloodline of Dong family’s second young master. The second young master was famously devoted to his wife, so Zheng Xiaoya took her mother’s surname.
Even without parents, Zheng Xiaoya was still raised with care and grew up smoothly. Grandpa Dong loved her the most, and her cousin Dong Xu was very capable.
Half the reason Zheng Xiaoya became a top actress today was due to Dong Xu’s support.
Su Ling didn’t have a good impression of Zheng Xiaoya, and even less so of Dong Xu.
Lingyun Road was winding, and through the trees, Su Ling could see them, but they couldn’t see her.
Over there was a woman wearing sunglasses, with someone holding an umbrella for her.
She was tall and had very fair skin. Everyone around kept their distance, and Su Ling thought that figure looked a lot like Zheng Xiaoya.
After taking a glance, Su Ling detoured back to the dormitory.
Who would have known that behind her, there was a thud, followed by gasps from the crowd.
“Director Dong!”
Su Ling frowned, turned around, and saw Dong Xu lying motionless under the late cherry blossom tree. The large filming crew soon rushed over noisily.
Su Ling didn’t intend to interfere; in a sense, she wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs.
However, after just taking a few steps with her backpack, Zheng Xiaoya chased after her in high heels: “Hey, you there, stop.”
Su Ling stopped and turned around.
Before Su Ling could say anything, Zheng Xiaoya’s expression changed strangely, clearly recognizing her. That day at Yun Bu’s theater, Ji Chong introduced Su Ling to fill in for a vacant role, but Zheng Xiaoya intervened.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Xiaoya ended up losing the lead role herself.
Zheng Xiaoya gritted her teeth; it was the most humiliating day of her life.
This woman saw it too! Zheng Xiaoya immediately stepped forward: “What did you do to my cousin?”
Su Ling: “...” From such a distance, how could she possibly do anything to Dong Xu? Su Ling glanced at Dong Xu’s pale face on the ground. Why wasn’t Zheng Xiaoya concerned about him and instead harassing her?
Su Ling shook her head: “Miss Zheng, when I heard the sound, that gentleman was already unconscious.”
Zheng Xiaoya pushed away the umbrella above her head: “There’s no one else here but you. Are you saying my cousin became like that on his own?”
But indeed, he did become like that on his own.
Su Ling thought Dong Xu probably had heatstroke.
This kind of director was crazy when filming. On such a hot day, Dong Xu accompanied the male and female leads under the scorching sun. While others rested, he walked around looking for inspiration—it was strange if he didn’t collapse.
“Not me.” Su Ling didn’t want to get entangled and left after speaking.
Zheng Xiaoya took a few quick steps forward and grabbed Su Ling’s arm: “Explain yourself clearly.” Zheng Xiaoya’s nails were sharp, painted with nude nail polish. She pinched hard, leaving marks on Su Ling’s arm.
The pain made Su Ling almost feel like she was reliving her past life.
Zheng Xiaoya was always like this, relentless in tormenting her. Apologies didn’t work, yielding didn’t work, reasoning didn’t work either.
She didn’t know why, despite not being Qin Xiao’s fiancée yet and having little interaction, Zheng Xiaoya still looked at her with such disdain.
“Let go!”
“When my cousin wakes up, you’ll pay for this.” Zheng Xiaoya had almond-shaped eyes, full of charm. Her eyes held malice as she scrutinized Su Ling.
That day when Ji Chong introduced Su Ling, she knew the woman was beautiful. Up close, it made her even more envious.
Su Ling was only nineteen. Her skin was delicate, her innocent almond eyes naive, and without lipstick, her lips were exceptionally alluring, like a budding flower. Zheng Xiaoya bitterly thought that such an innocent appearance was no wonder Ji Chong favored her.
Zheng Xiaoya naturally didn’t see Su Ling do anything to Dong Xu; she just had a fire burning inside.
The fire of losing the lead role, of being seen in a wretched state, and of Ji Chong’s favor towards Su Ling—all made Zheng Xiaoya redirect her anger towards Su Ling and Yun Bu.
“Fine, I won’t leave. I’ll wait until that gentleman wakes up.”
As Zheng Xiaoya made a scene, many people looked over.
Dong Xu was surrounded tightly, but before the ambulance arrived, he woke up on his own.
Zheng Xiaoya now let go of纠缠 with Su Ling: “Cousin!”
Dong Xu’s brows furrowed into a川 shape, and he rubbed his throbbing forehead with one hand. The noise around him made his headache worse.
“Quiet down,” he said indifferently, but his words carried authority, instantly silencing the crowd.
An assistant helped him stand up. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, golden everywhere. He noticed someone watching him, and Dong Xu lifted his eyes to see the girl under the late cherry blossom tree.
She stood outside the crowd, her gaze calm.
No emotions, seeing him awake, she nodded slightly and prepared to leave.
Dong Xu took a step forward: “Wait a moment.”
She was startled, finally showing some emotion in her eyes. But it didn’t seem friendly.
Su Ling thought, could that saying be true—not one family enters another’s door. After Zheng Xiaoya’s false accusation, would her cousin put on another act?
Dong Xu didn’t know why, but he suddenly smiled, his smile soft: “Have we met before?”
Su Ling lowered her head, looking at the tip of her shoe: “No.”
The nearby assistant was dumbfounded. So… was Director Dong using the oldest trick in the book to hit on a girl?
They definitely met before. Back then, with her ghastly pale ghost makeup, Dong Xu had dismissed her with one sentence: She doesn’t deserve to be called an actress.
Zheng Xiaoya watched with a heavy heart: “Cousin, didn’t she do something to you just now?”
Dong Xu’s gaze was cold: “Xiaoya, don’t make trouble.”
Zheng Xiaoya had had enough of him: “Alright, alright, everything I do is making trouble, right! You treat me like this—do you even remember what Grandpa said!”
All the grievances Zheng Xiaoya accumulated these days burst out. Regardless of her status as a top actress, she cried publicly.
Her agent told the assistant to bring the nanny van: “Xiaoya, let’s talk about it when we get back.”
The last time, because of Qin Xiao’s indifferent words, Zheng Xiaoya lost the lead role and was publicly humiliated. She had been looking for a chance to make a comeback. Thus, she thought of Dong Xu. Where else could she find a leading role as significant as Dong Xu’s?
Knowing Dong Xu was filming a new drama—a campus idol suspense series—she immediately came to his set and demanded to be the lead actress.
Dong Xu refused.
Zheng Xiaoya persisted for several days. This man went on filming and eating meals as usual, completely unmoved.
Zheng Xiaoya felt extremely frustrated. Having been pampered since childhood, she rarely faced so many rejections. Therefore, she vented her anger on Su Ling without restraint.
Su Ling watched the siblings with a cold gaze. Though her features were gentle and clean, her anger wasn’t obvious.
With Dong Xu awake, she naturally cleared her name. Without delay, she turned and walked away.
Dong Xu pursed his lips, watching her retreating figure.
The girl with her backpack rounded the winding path, her figure slowly disappearing. He still felt like he had seen her before. He prided himself on his memory. In the entertainment circle, he could usually match names to faces after just one meeting.
Yet Su Ling gave him a strong sense of familiarity. He couldn’t recall where he’d seen her or even her name.
Perhaps it was a side effect of the heatstroke; he felt a blockage in his heart.
When Su Ling returned to school, no one was happier than Yun Bu.
She was like a cheerful little sparrow: “Ah, Lingling, why are you thinner? Was it tough on set? You guys were shooting a period drama, right? Do you have any makeup test photos or stills?”
Seeing Yun Bu made Su Ling happy too. During summer vacation, only the two of them were in the dormitory. The other two girls had gone home.
Yun Bu’s family relationships were complicated, with a stepfather who didn’t like her, so she rarely went home. Now, Su Ling was also homeless. She didn’t tell Yun Bu about it, instead sharing some happy moments from the set.
The two girls talked happily for a long time. Su Ling showed her the pictures she took, and Yun Bu was amazed.
Yun Bu’s previous urban drama had wrapped up, and the lead actress was replaced. With Ji Chong’s later care, Yun Bu found herself thriving.
Remembering something, Yun Bu took a box out of the cabinet: “Tan Qing gave this to you.”
Tan Qing was the girl who spread rumors about Su Ling. Su Ling was surprised she would send her something.
Opening the box, she found a neatly cleaned and folded set of clothes and shoes.
“Tan Qing said she found them in their dressing room, locked inside. She later saw them during swimming class. She doesn’t know who took them but told you to be careful.”
Su Ling was taken aback. She didn’t expect this set of clothes to be returned by Tan Qing.
Yun Bu sighed: “She’s not bad, is she?”
Su Ling smiled. No, she wasn’t. In her previous life, she dropped out of school too early and never imagined receiving such kindness. Sometimes, there isn’t a clear line between good and bad people.
Some people cause trouble, but others show kindness. These点滴of kindness are enough to make one believe in beauty and strive to live on.
The filming of Twelve Years of Dust wasn’t finished yet. Su Ling didn’t stay long at school before heading to Coral Town.
However, as soon as she arrived at the town entrance, the man waiting for her by the big stone monument gave her a sinister look.
Su Ling almost forgot about him!
Their last meeting was in L City, where he insisted on giving her that amethyst anklet.
Qin Xiao’s expression was grim.
A pile of cigarette butts lay at his feet. He fiercely extinguished the cigarette in his hand and walked towards Su Ling.
“Run, keep running.”
The sunset’s afterglow dotted the quiet ancient street, the breeze warm.
Watching him approach, Su Ling’s heart raced. She... she not only locked him out but also ran away secretly. Gripping her backpack strap tightly, she quickly apologized when he was a few steps away: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
The man’s shirt buttons were undone by two, revealing his collarbone, far from the composed beast in a suit he would become years later. His demeanor was unruly, with a hint of wildness.
Su Ling was terrified: “Qin Xiao, what are you going to do?”
He smiled and pressed his hand on her head: “Apologizing now is useless.”
He waited outside her door until eleven. Later, the front desk staff, blushing, informed him that the girl had left early in the morning. He flew thousands of miles to that shabby place to give her a gift and carried her for a long way on a sweltering night.
She just left without a word, treating him like what?
Qin Xiao was 187 cm tall, already imposing. Looking down, he was intimidating. His pupils were pitch black, focused solely on her, as if she was the only thing in his sight.
Su Ling’s legs went weak. She was truly regretful now.
She didn’t dare move or look into his eyes, whispering: “You... you should let go first.”
The hand on her head was terrifying. She couldn’t help but think of a killing move in Twelve Years of Dust , where someone could crush another’s skull with a single palm.
Even the cicadas at the entrance of Coral Town were scared silent.
She looked very obedient.
The man chuckled softly. He bent down, locking eyes with her: “You have one last chance to make up for it.”
The person in front of her overlapped with the domineering, fierce man from her past life. She stuttered, unable to form coherent words: “Wha... what?”
“Kiss me, and we’ll call it even.”
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