Chapter 45: From now on, stop calling her ‘Sister.’

His tone was far too earnest.

Sheng Li’s heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat, and her ears buzzed as if his words, “I want to win her back,” had shocked her soul right out of her body. For a split second, her mind went blank, and she thought she might have misheard him.

What was he doing? Declaring his feelings for her in public?

Had he gone mad? If that segment aired, it would be a guaranteed trending topic—something like “Yu Chi’s First Love” or “I Want to Win Her Back,” with a red “EXPLOSION” tag.

The show’s ratings would skyrocket, and the director was probably grinning ear to ear right now.

Xu Yang, who had been stunned into silence earlier, finally snapped out of it. His head filled with question marks, he stared at Yu Chi: Holy crap, holy crap, when did you date someone? Weren’t you taking the college entrance exam at 18? Who did you date? Which two months? How come I didn’t know anything about it?

He was panicking internally, hesitating for a long while before anxiously asking Teacher Luo, “Can this part be edited out during post-production?” If this aired, Yu Chi would definitely lose fans.

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Joke’s aside, this was undoubtedly the biggest explosive moment of the entire season—a moment capable of crashing Weibo. Moreover, it was Yu Chi himself who brought it up; there was no way the production team would let it go. Teacher Luo glanced at Yu Chi and joked to lighten the mood, “Yu Chi isn’t trying to win back his first love? When the episode airs, that girl might see it and be moved. It’s not easy to meet someone you truly like in life. I wish you success.”

No need to wait for the episode to air—the person in question was right here!

Sheng Li’s heart was racing, and her ears were burning. She even nervously glanced at Yu Chi. Last night, he had been so cold, but tonight, why was he suddenly confessing in public? Did he really want to win her back, or was he saying this out of revenge?

No, no, if he wanted revenge, why would he harm himself in the process?

Yu Chi appeared calm, his lips curling slightly into a smile. “Thank you.”

“Xu Yang is completely dumbfounded. Don’t worry, Yu Chi’s rapid rise to fame is fundamentally due to his acting skills and talent. He’s an actor, and actors let their work speak for them. Most of the works he’s done since debuting can be considered masterpieces. The majority of his fans won’t stop liking him just because he had a first love,” Jiang Qing said cheerfully, turning to look at Sheng Li. “Lili, am I right?”

Sheng Li paused, then smiled. “Yes, he deserves more people to like him.”

Yu Chi raised his eyes to look at her, thinking, What about you? Why did you let me go?

They were sitting across from each other, and when Sheng Li shifted her gaze, she inevitably locked eyes with him. Suddenly, she gave him a meaningful smile. Yu Chi stared at her for two seconds, lowered his eyes, picked up the wine glass on the table, and downed it in one gulp, suppressing the restlessness and dissatisfaction in his heart.

The program wrapped up perfectly at midnight.

As they were going upstairs, Jiang Qing leaned over to Sheng Li and whispered, “Tell me, what kind of girl could be so blind as to dump Yu Chi? Even over three years ago, when he had no money or fame, he still had that face.”

Sheng Li: “...”

It was predictable that after the episode aired, there would be a wave of fans cursing Yu Chi’s first love for being blind.

The cameras in the second-floor rooms had already been removed. Xu Yang followed Yu Chi into the room, and as soon as they entered, he urgently asked, “Was everything you just said true? When did you date someone? I’ve gone through every girl who chased after you, and none of them match up. I’ve never seen you get close to any girl. Was it in college? What kind of girl is so blind as to dump you?”

“It’s true.” Yu Chi sat by the bed, leaning back against the headboard with a weary expression. “But the person I dated wasn’t a student.”

Xu Yang paused, guessing, “Was it an actress from the crew?”

Yu Chi remained silent, tacitly agreeing.

“Really?” Xu Yang was quite shocked. He and Hu Yi Yang had once joked about how cold Yu Chi was, unable to imagine what he would be like in a relationship. Who would have thought that he had a whirlwind romance and breakup at 18, while they were still single…

“Zhao Shutong chased you for so long and couldn’t get you. A filming cycle usually lasts three or four months, and now you’re this famous. What starlet dumped you and made you hold onto her memory to the point of declaring on a show that you want to win her back?”

Seeing that Yu Chi hadn’t spoken, Xu Yang cautiously added, “Will your agent say something about what you said on the show? Although you’re not an idol, it might still have some impact. Or should we let your agent negotiate with the production team to cut this part out? If you want to pursue someone, you can do it privately.”

How could he pursue her privately? By relentlessly pestering her? Yu Chi thought bitterly to himself. Sheng Li had broken up with him so decisively, arranging everything for him, clearly not wanting any further entanglement. From the day she decided to break up, she never intended to reconcile with him.

On the show, she had said she wouldn’t eat crow.

She personally told him that she didn’t regret it.

So, when Jiang Qing asked him if he had ever been in a relationship, he could have avoided answering or sidestepped the question, but he still responded.

He admitted that he did it on purpose. Back then, very few people knew about their relationship, and after the breakup, there was no trace of entanglement. Suddenly, he had a crazy, obsessive impulse to let everyone know that he had dated her, even if it caused a scandal. At least it was better than them being completely unrelated and owing each other nothing. He wanted to provoke Sheng Li—he was all in.

After all this, would Sheng Li still ignore him?

At this moment, Yu Chi’s phone rang.

He glanced down—it was Huang Baiyan calling, probably knowing that he had caused trouble on the show.

When the call connected, Huang Baiyan sighed. “Yu Chi, do you know what you’re doing?”

“I know. Little Chen must have told you.”

Little Chen was Yu Chi’s assistant, and it was no surprise that he reported such a big matter to Huang Baiyan. Yu Chi calmly said, “The words are already out there, and they’re all my honest feelings. Besides, Chen Yu’s team has been bundling me for炒作 recently. Consider this my辟谣.”

Huang Baiyan was speechless for a moment. “How can this be the same? Rumors are rumors. Now you’re saying you have a first love? And that you want to win her back? When this episode airs, what will the fans think?”

“I did have a first love, and everyone will find out sooner or later. You know that.”

“...”

After a few seconds of silence, Yu Chi spoke first. “Brother Yan, has Director Chen Yuan sent over a script?”

“Are you asking about the Xu Yuan script? Yes, the female lead is set as Sheng Li.” Huang Baiyan sarcastically mocked. “Your actions are quick. You’re already planning to chase her into the crew? What can I say to you?”

Yu Chi was silent for a few seconds. Deep down, he had always been arrogant and unruly. With his rapid rise to fame over the past two years, he had plenty of confidence. He directly said, “Then don’t say anything. Save yourself the trouble.”

Meanwhile, Xu Yang leaned against the cabinet, looking at his phone. Hu Yi Yang had sent him a message: [Brother Yang, did you take any photos with my goddess today? Can you send them to me? I’ll burn incense to pray for your great success, surpassing Brother Chi.]

Xu Yang had indeed taken photos with several seniors today. He sent the photo with Sheng Li to him.

Staring at the photo, a sudden realization flashed in his mind—Yu Chi had worked as Sheng Li’s personal assistant after finishing his college entrance exam. He spent three months in the Scroll of the Rivers and Mountains crew, calling Sheng Li “Sister.” At the time, he found it strange. Moreover, Sheng Li had even helped him scold Jiang Nan...

After Yu Chi hung up the phone, he saw Xu Yang staring at him.

Xu Yang swallowed hard. “Your first love... isn’t Sister Lili, is it?”

“Yes.” Yu Chi admitted without hesitation. “She was also the one who resolved my contract.”

No wonder...

Xu Yang was momentarily shocked and looked down at his phone.

Hu Yi Yang: [My goddess looks stunning in red. Absolutely gorgeous.]

After a while, Xu Yang managed to blurt out, “If Hu Yi Yang knew that you got his goddess...” Xu Yang originally wanted to say “got her,” but under Yu Chi’s cold glare, he quickly corrected himself, “Uh, I mean, dated her. If Hu Yi Yang knew that you dated his goddess back in the crew, he’d probably go crazy.”

Yu Chi took a set of clothes from his suitcase, walked toward the bathroom, and dropped a line: “Let him go crazy after I win her back.”

Xu Yang: “...”

As Yu Chi reached the bathroom door, he turned back and warned, “From now on, stop calling her ‘Sister.’”

Xu Yang: “......”

________________________________________

Meanwhile, in Sheng Li’s room, Yuan Yuan was so excited that she immediately performed five spins on the spot. Sheng Li, arms crossed, leaned against the wardrobe, watching her calmly as she went wild.

After finishing her spins, Yuan Yuan ran over and hugged her. “Waaah, this CP fan has had such emotional ups and downs. I cried myself to sleep last night, and today I’m reborn. My future brother-in-law is so alpha! He came to this show specifically for you, right?”

Future brother-in-law, huh...

Sheng Li had to remind her, “I just told everyone downstairs that I’m leaving at seven in the morning. He hasn’t even added me back on WeChat.”

Yuan Yuan: “...”

She calmed down a bit, thought for a moment, and said, “His memory is so good. He definitely still remembers your number, and your number hasn’t changed. Moreover, he hasn’t deleted me from WeChat. If he wants to find you, he can do so anytime.”

That was correct, but would Yu Chi really come after her?

Sheng Li still couldn’t be sure.

At seven o’clock the next morning, when Sheng Li and Yuan Yuan left, the doors of the second-floor rooms were tightly shut, and everything was quiet.

As they passed Yu Chi’s room, Sheng Li glanced back.

Having slept late last night and woken up too early this morning, Sheng Li prepared to rest after getting into the car. Suddenly, Yuan Yuan excitedly shouted, “Sis…” She had originally wanted to say “brother-in-law” but remembered it was the production team’s car and quickly corrected herself. “Sis, I saw Yu Chi running over from behind. Is he coming to see you off?”

Sheng Li perked up and turned to look behind her. Through the windshield, she saw Yu Chi, wearing a black tracksuit, jogging along the beach with a fit and upright figure. He was running toward the car and slowed down when he was a few meters away.

He walked to the back of the car, casually glancing in the direction of the windshield. Sheng Li knew he must have seen her and knew she was watching him.

A few seconds later, Yu Chi turned to the right and walked into the restaurant.

Sheng Li: “...”

He pretended not to see her?

Do you remember what you said last night?