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“Chi Zai, I didn’t bring a notebook. Can I get a few more autographs? On my bag, and on the back of my phone case, and one more on my clothes, please?”
“Sure.”
“Chi Zai, are you here filming a movie? I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“Yes, we arrived two days earlier than planned.”
“That... that girl, is she really your first love?”
“Who else could it be?” Yu Chi asked with a smile in his voice.
“Wuwuwuwu, don’t worry, we definitely won’t talk nonsense. Although we don’t know what kind of person she is, you’re so good, the person you like must also be very good.”
“Thank you, she is very good.”
“Wuwu, why do I feel like crying so much? Then... will you go public?”
“Yes, we will.”
...
Sheng Li stood on the third-floor landing, listening to Yu Chi’s tone as he spoke to the two fans. She could sense his happiness and patience. In fact, Yu Chi rarely showed his emotions outwardly, giving off a cool and reserved impression. He didn’t talk much, but he wasn’t emotionally detached. On the contrary, his emotions were rich, and he was extremely sensitive and perceptive, otherwise, his acting wouldn’t be so good.
However, there weren’t many people he truly cared about.
The person he loved was only her.
He only had one or two close friends, Xu Yang and Hu Yiyang.
His respected teacher He Yuanren and his manager Huang Boyan.
And then there were his fans. Releasing good work was the best feedback and reassurance he could give them.
Those who liked him were never hurt or disappointed by him.
For a person with this kind of personality, falling in love was not easy. Once he held someone in his hand and placed them in his heart, there was no escape. Of course, Sheng Li didn’t want to escape. She was just suddenly grateful for her decision back then to shamelessly pursue him.
Those tactics might not work on Yu Chi now.
While Sheng Li was lost in thought, Yu Chi had already come downstairs and stood in front of her. She looked up at him, “Did they leave?”
Yu Chi nodded, his eyes lowered as he glanced at her, a chuckle escaping him, “Sister, you ran so fast, were you afraid of being seen?”
In the quiet stairwell, every little sound was clearly audible.
The footsteps and voices downstairs grew clearer, a man and a woman, sounding like a couple.
The two simultaneously glanced downwards. Seeing that the couple was about to come up to the third floor, Yu Chi suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and pinned her against the corner of the wall. Sheng Li, caught in the corner, was momentarily stunned. He had already lowered his head and kissed her. Sheng Li hadn’t expected him to be so bold. Her heart pounded, yet she couldn’t resist the feeling. She raised her hands and hooked them around his neck.
The couple had reached the bottom of the stairs. When they looked up, they saw this scene: a man slightly hunched over, pinning a woman against the corner of the wall in a passionate kiss. The woman’s slender, pale fingers, with red nail polish, clutched the back of the man’s collar. Perhaps it was the man’s handsome back view and the woman’s alluring touch that made the scene indescribably sensual and captivating, like a movie still.
Even more captivating than a movie still.
“Cough, don’t look, let’s go quickly.” The man coughed awkwardly, pulling his girlfriend upstairs rapidly.
As the woman passed by, she couldn’t help but glance back at Yu Chi’s back. Reaching the fourth floor, she couldn’t help but whisper, “That guy is so handsome.”
The man scoffed, “You can tell he’s handsome just from his back?”
The woman said, “Yes, I can.”
“Then I’ll say that girl is beautiful, with nice hands and straight legs.”
...
The voices faded into the distance until they were no longer audible.
Yu Chi finally released Sheng Li. Sheng Li, slightly breathless, touched the back of his neck, her fingertips tracing the black braided rope, sliding along his warm skin to his distinct collarbone, pulling the pendant out from under his collar.
She touched the small golden fish.
Although she had long guessed that he was wearing this around his neck, seeing and touching it with her own eyes was still very moving.
Sheng Li looked up and asked, “Why did you change the string? Did the old one break? Or did you do it on purpose, afraid I’d recognize it?”
“No.”
“Then...”
Yu Chi said coolly, “The night I broke up with you, I snapped it. So I changed it.”
Sheng Li was taken aback. She touched his neck and asked, “Did you throw it away?”
The stairwell was silent. Yu Chi put his hands in his pockets, turned his eyes away, and didn’t say anything.
“Did you pick it up again?”
Yu Chi pursed his lips, turned his head back to look at her expressionlessly, and countered, “What else?”
She touched the back of his neck and whispered, “Did it hurt a lot?”
Back then, when Yu Chi forcibly broke the string, a red scratch that broke the skin was left on the back of his neck. His skin was fair, making it look particularly noticeable. But that little pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
Yu Chi said softly, “It was okay.”
So it did hurt.
Sheng Li lowered her eyes, her long, curled eyelashes casting soft shadows beneath them. She gently kissed the small fish, pulled open his collar, placed the pendant back inside, and looked up at him tenderly, “Yu Xiaochi, in the future, I won’t let you hurt anymore.”
________________________________________
The next morning, Sheng Li had breakfast with Zhou Sinuan. She instructed Yuan Yuan, who was sitting next to her, “Last night, when we left the movie theater, your brother-in-law’s fans recognized him, but they didn’t see me. Keep an eye on the internet today to see if anyone leaked anything.”
Yuan Yuan whispered, “Should we tell Sister Rong? In case it gets exposed, she can handle the public relations in time.”
“No need. Sister Rong can’t control things between Yu Chi and me anymore. Exposure is only a matter of time. What kind of PR can we do? Deny it? Definitely not, that would be a slap in the face later.” Sheng Li smiled casually, “Let’s find a time to go public after I finish filming.”
Zhou Sinuan raised an eyebrow, “With Yu Chi’s current popularity and status, and the fact that he publicly declared he was pursuing his first love, if you two go public, Weibo won’t be respecting your relationship if it doesn’t crash. Also, you’ve been in the industry for so many years, and although you’ve been tied to Lu Xingyu as a CP since childhood, you’ve never admitted to any relationship. People aren’t clear on what’s real and what’s not. After you go public and everyone finds out that Yu Chi’s first love is you, their jaws will definitely drop. Then the Xing Sheng CP fans will backlash, and your rivals will seize the opportunity to spread negative rumors. Won’t it be a bloody mess?”
“You’re really something, can’t you hope for everyone’s blessings for us?” Sheng Li rolled her eyes at her.
Zhou Sinuan: “I’ll wish you eternal happiness first, okay?”
As it turned out, Sheng Li’s worries were unnecessary. Yu Chi’s two fans didn’t post anything strange. They kept their promise and guarded the secret.
The filming of “Xu Yuan” was nearing its end. Xu Yuan used her own body and the cruelest words to successfully bring Zhou Luo’s guilt to its peak. Zhou Luo began to frantically search for the leader of the human traffickers from back then, even though he had been searching for many years. Perhaps it was heaven’s pity, or perhaps heaven was finally going to punish him. After more than half a year of searching, one accidental late night, he stumbled upon a scene of child trafficking.
Zhou Luo rescued the girl, risking his life to fight the fleeing head of the traffickers, and was shot twice, nearly losing his life.
More than ten days later, Zhou Luo woke up in the hospital and learned that the girl he had saved was an undercover police officer. That night, led by Cheng Nan, they cracked another major case of trafficking women and children. The trafficker who had taken Xu Yuan back then was personally handcuffed by Cheng Nan.
And Zhou Luo also confessed that he had colluded with the traffickers back then and was an accomplice in tricking Xu Yuan into being sold.
More than ten years after Xu Yongliang’s death, he was exonerated. He was no longer a rogue murderer, but he would never know.
Xu Yuan had endured twelve years of suffering and waiting, and finally received the justice she deserved.
However, the scars etched on her soul could never be erased.
This was the tenderness and cruelty of human nature.
The final ending of the movie was—
Xu Yuan took the ring box Cheng Nan had left to the criminal investigation team. She handed the ring to the undercover policewoman, “Please give this to Cheng Nan, and tell him that we are not people from the same world.”
He would always face the sunlight.
But she had walked in the darkness for too long and had long been lost.
Cheng Nan found Xu Yuan in a temple. At that time, Xu Yuan was wearing a beautiful ethnic costume, with light makeup, listening to the lamas chanting scriptures. Her expression was peaceful and serious, her eyes pure, as if she were praying for something.
Cheng Nan watched her from afar for a long time, then walked behind her and took her hand.
Xu Yuan saw who it was, was stunned for a moment, and asked in a panic, “How did you find me?”
Cheng Nan didn’t answer the question. He looked down at her and said softly, “In the future, every time you run away, I will look for you. Anyway, I have plenty of time and patience, and I will always find you again.”
The sunlight shone on them. Xu Yuan’s eyes were wet. She raised her head, looked at the dazzling red sun, and tears finally streamed down her cheeks.
This man forcefully brought sunlight into Xu Yuan’s world.
She prayed amidst the chanting scriptures, wishing that this world and its people would always face the sunlight.
...
“Cut!” Chen Yuan shouted loudly, smiling broadly, “Congratulations to Yu Chi on wrapping up!”
Soon, everyone followed suit, shouting, “Congratulations on wrapping up!”
The entire set was lively and noisy.
Sheng Li couldn’t stop her tears, still not out of Xu Yuan’s emotions. Yu Chi raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes. She was stunned for a moment, sniffled, and then raised the corners of her lips, going over to hug him. “Congratulations on wrapping up, thank you for being a part of this film.”
The corners of Yu Chi’s lips curled up, and he said softly, “No thanks needed, you deserve it.”
Sheng Li was amused by his rare sweet words, smiled showing her teeth, and finally got out of character.
The two walked towards the crowd. Zhou Sinuan said with a grin, “Teacher Yu has such a big deal. When I wrapped up, it wasn’t this lively.”
Zhou Sinuan played the undercover policewoman and had wrapped up filming yesterday. She had stayed specifically to watch this scene.
Sheng Li smiled, “You’ve all wrapped up, and I still have more than a month of filming left.”
Chen Yuan came over and asked, “Is Yu Chi leaving tonight? So soon?”
“Yeah, I have to go back to school, busy with graduation stuff.” Yu Chi really didn’t have time to stay. His luggage was already in the car, and he had to rush to the airport later.
Chen Yuan said sincerely, “It was a pleasure working with you. You’re the most talented young actor I’ve ever seen. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in the future.”
Yu Chi nodded, “Thank you, Director Chen. There will be opportunities.”
After Yu Chi changed his clothes and said goodbye to everyone, he couldn’t find Sheng Li anywhere.
He gave her a call.
“I’ll be right there, wait for me!”
Her voice sounded a bit breathless.
Yu Chi asked, “Where did you go?”
Sheng Li laughed, “You’ll find out in a moment.”
Two minutes later, Sheng Li ran up to him, her cheeks slightly flushed, a few beads of sweat on her forehead. She handed him a good luck charm, “I heard this temple is very effective. I went to get a few. This one is for you.”
Yu Chi reached out and took it, asking softly, “You just went to get this?”
“Mmm.” Sheng Li nodded, her peripheral vision catching Xiao Chen beside him looking anxiously at the time. She took a step forward and whispered, “You should go back, you’re going to be late. After I finish filming, you should have just graduated. I’ll come find you then.”
Graduation was such an important event, she wanted to be there with him.
Besides, she wanted to see him in his graduation gown.
...
In early June, “Xu Yuan” wrapped up filming.
Sheng Li went abroad to film an advertisement and came back just in time for Yu Chi’s graduation ceremony. Old Liu found a place to park, and she sat in the car, scrolling through Weibo. She saw a trending topic: #YuChiGraduation#
Clicking on it, she saw photos of Yu Chi in his graduation gown.
She looked at the comments below.
Top comment: Yu Chi has graduated, did he win back his first love?
Second top comment: Yu Chi still hasn’t won back his first love today.
Sheng Li chuckled softly, exited Weibo, and sent Yu Chi a location: 【Chi Zai, I’m here waiting for you.】
At that time, Yu Chi was being dragged by classmates and alumni to take photos together. He was usually very busy and rarely stayed in the dorm. Plus, he looked too cool and was a big star. For his classmates and roommates, even if he sat next to them in class and slept in the bed next to them at night, they still felt a sense of distance from him.
She didn’t know if the classmates had discussed it beforehand, but they all said they wanted to ask for autographs for friends or family on this day.
In the June weather, Yu Chi was heavily surrounded, feeling really stuffy, so he unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt, revealing his distinct collarbones and the black braided rope around his neck. He quickly signed autographs, and the class monitor stood in front of him, grinning, “Yu Chi, we’ve been classmates and roommates for four years. I’m really curious about what you wear around your neck. I asked you, but you wouldn’t show me. Your fans can’t even find a similar one. Everyone is dying of curiosity.”
Everyone chimed in, “Yeah, yeah!”
One boy even shouted, “My girlfriend said if I can find out what you’re wearing around your neck today, she won’t break up with me.”
The girls stared at his collarbones, following suit, “My bestie said if I can find out what you’re wearing around your neck today, she won’t cut ties with me.”
Yu Chi: “...”
The class monitor suggested, “Yu Chi, Actor Yu, Brother Chi! How about we ‘bless’ your necklace today?”
Yu Chi signed one after another, the corners of his lips slightly curved. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a heat on his neck. A boy, taking advantage of his inattention, grabbed the rope and pulled, dragging the pendant out from under his shirt collar.
Yu Chi frowned, his gaze coldly sweeping over the boy.
The boy flinched under his gaze.
Everyone was stunned, their eyes all falling on the pendant that had been pulled out. It was a small golden fish. It was actually gold? Boys rarely wore such gold pendants. How to put it? Everyone thought it was tacky.
However, it looked very good on Yu Chi.
The class monitor looked at the boy reproachfully, “What are you doing? You just grabbed it...”
A boy suddenly shouted, “Holy crap, this necklace... this pendant, this little golden fish! My goddess has one! She used to wear it often, and she even said it was a treasure she dug up on set when she was 17, and she even named the necklace Treasure...”
“Yeah, yeah, I remember too.”
“I also remember... Yu Chi mentioned the word ‘treasure’ at an awards ceremony...”
“Sheng Li and Yu Chi?”
...
The classmates looked at Yu Chi in disbelief, their expressions dazed by this shocking revelation.
With so many mouths, it was impossible for Yu Chi to completely silence everyone, nor did he want to. But he didn’t like this feeling of being passive. He glanced expressionlessly at the boy who had pulled his necklace, raised his hand, and put the pendant back inside his collar.
He continued to sign autographs, three more left. After signing the last one, he dropped the pen with a click.
Yu Chi stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone’s faces, finally landing on the boy who had called Sheng Li his goddess. The corners of his lips curved into a smile, “This necklace was indeed given to me by your goddess, my girlfriend.”
“Ahhhhhhh!” A female voice screamed.
The stunned crowd was awakened, their eyes widening as they looked at Yu Chi.
“I’ll go first, wish you all the best.”
Yu Chi left those words behind and turned to leave.
As soon as he walked out of the crowd, he posted a Weibo update.
Sheng Li had been waiting in the car for more than half an hour, idly saving photos of Yu Chi in his graduation gown on Weibo. Suddenly, Weibo froze, and she couldn’t click on anything. Thinking her phone was stuck, she exited and tried to re-enter, but couldn’t get in no matter what.
Did Weibo crash?
There was a commotion outside the car window. She turned her head to look.
Yu Chi walked over quickly in a simple white T-shirt and casual pants. Two security guards and Xiao Chen were blocking the surging fans and reporters. While blocking them, Xiao Chen shouted loudly, “Everyone, don’t push, be careful, be careful!”
As soon as Sheng Li saw this commotion, she quickly opened the car door, and Yu Chi swiftly got in.
Someone with sharp eyes saw Sheng Li and immediately screamed, “Ah, Sheng Li!”
“It really is Sheng Li! Sheng Li is here to pick up Yu Chi! They’re real!”
“Ah, I’m dead, it’s actually true!”
“Wuwuwuwu, why is it Sheng Li?!”
Sheng Li: “...”
She turned her head to look at Yu Chi and whispered, “You... did you just post on Weibo?”
The car slowly drove away. Yu Chi leaned lazily against the seat, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, tilted his head back and drank half of it. He turned his head to look at her, a soft chuckle escaping him, “Yeah, didn’t you see?”
Sheng Li’s heart was pounding. She was stunned for two seconds before saying, “Weibo crashed, I can’t get in.”
Along the way, their phones kept ringing and buzzing with messages.
After hanging up Rong Hua’s call, Sheng Li finally managed to open Weibo. She and Yu Chi occupied six of the top ten trending topics, five of them marked as “hot.”
#YuChiShengLi# HOT #FirstLoveWonBack# HOT #ShengLiSaysYuChiIsATreasure# HOT #ShengLiLuXingyuCPBroken# HOT #YuChiShengLiCemeteryDateIsReal# HOT #YuChiSaidHeWouldWinHerBackInFrontOfShengLiOnTheShow#
...
These were just the top ten. Clicking on “more trending topics,” Sheng Li’s own name made her dizzy.
Her palms were sweating. She clicked on Yu Chi’s Weibo and saw the post he had made an hour ago.
Yu Chi V: Thank you everyone for your concern during this time. I’ve won back my first love @ShengLi