The streets after midnight were silent and quiet.
Xia Yuan was well-behaved when drunk, her eyes slightly glazed as she lay relaxed in the front seat.
Her slightly curled long hair softly draped over her chest, covering the baby fat on her cheeks, making her small face appear even smaller.
Her long eyelashes hung lightly, the corners of her eyes tinged with a glamorous red.
Her fair face flushed with a rosy hue, resembling the delicate red of rose petals, her lips slightly parted as she breathed softly.
The curve of her upper body rose and fell with her breath, creating an unintentionally enchanting atmosphere in the cramped space of the car.
With both hands on the steering wheel, Meng Xiyue, sitting elegantly and upright, glanced over and quickly averted her gaze, focusing ahead as her slender fingers gently stroked the handle, “Fasten your seatbelt.”
Hearing this, Xia Yuan turned her head towards the source of the voice, her porcelain skin almost translucent under the car lights.
She wore a white shirt and a light grey jacket, buttoned up to her slender neck, the buttons at the cuffs sparkling with a serene shimmer of tiny diamonds, exuding an ascetic beauty.
Even during rest times, she was dressed formally.
How rigid a life she led.
The remnants of Xia Yuan’s rationality began to wander, her body limp and motionless.
Meng Xiyue looked up, her gaze faint.
“Miss Xia, it’s 00:18 now. There are seven hours and 42 minutes until I start work. Please cooperate.”
Her voice was also cold.
Xia Yuan blinked, her foggy mind even more confused: “Huh? What?”
Her voice was soft and nasal, almost coquettish, her lips slightly pouting in grievance as she propped up her limp body to sit sideways, her weak hands resting on Meng Xiyue’s shoulders.
Her eyes, misty and resembling peach blossoms, were visibly filled with distress.
“Why are you angry?”
Her fragrance mixed with the scent of alcohol, the sudden closeness made Meng Xiyue frown, trying to remove Xia Yuan’s hands from around her neck.
But the drunken Xia Yuan was more clingy than usual, her fingers interlocked, holding even tighter.
Looking at the other’s eyes squinted into slits, unable to hide her smugness, Meng Xiyue stopped moving, her eyes quietly watching the face in front of her.
The drunken Xia Yuan spoke amidst their mingling breaths, her voice carrying a different emotion: “Miss Xia, drinking alone late into the night, you should have called your brother to pick you up.”
Xia Yuan moved closer, her nose almost touching Meng Xiyue’s: “But I have you.”
“Meng Xiyue, aren’t you always the nicest to me?”
Too close.
Meng Xiyue slightly turned her face, a hint of crimson brushed at the corner of her light-colored, shimmering eyes: “In any case, Miss Xia, if today’s situation happens again, I will directly inform your brother.”
Xia Yuan didn’t notice the change in the other person.
Hearing that Meng Xiyue would tattle next time, she reluctantly removed her hand from Meng Xiyue’s shoulder and huffed, “I’m not a child anymore, why involve parents?”
She clearly didn’t want to deal with Meng Xiyue anymore.
Meng Xiyue glanced at her watch, leaned over, and slowly approached her, methodically fastening her seatbelt.
With her warm breath close to her ear, Xia Yuan felt uncomfortable and squirmed a bit.
As she looked up into those indifferent eyes, she dared not move again until she had buckled her seatbelt and returned to her seat to start the car.
Xia Yuan fiddled with the seatbelt around her abdomen, unable to suppress a smug feeling.
She obviously treats her well but won’t admit it.
“I don’t want to go home,” Xia Yuan began to push her luck.
While waiting for the green light, Meng Xiyue spared a glance at her: “Where do you want to go?”
“I want to go to your house,” Xia Yuan stated matter-of-factly.
The light turned green.
Meng Xiyue didn’t speak.
Xia Yuan glanced at him and coughed, now mostly sober: “At worst, I won’t drink so late again, but today I’m going to your house.”
“If you don’t agree, just let me out here.”
Her tone became imperious towards the end.
Meng Xiyue’s voice was emotionless, “I understand.”
Knowing she had given in, Xia Yuan hummed in triumph; she knew Meng Xiyue wouldn’t really leave her alone.
…
Meng Xiyue brought the troublesome Xia Yuan back to her house.
She arranged a guest room for her, which was cleaned daily by a housekeeper, and it was very tidy: “You’ll stay here tonight.”
Xia Yuan glanced around and then looked away, finding it too plain.
She crossed her arms: “I need pajamas.”
Meng Xiyue glanced at Xia Yuan, who seemed to need assistance like a true lady, pursed her lips slightly, and went to her room to fetch a clean set of pajamas.
When she returned, she saw Xia Yuan wrapped in a bath towel, with clothes carelessly strewn on the bed and high heels scattered haphazardly.
Xia Yuan, eager for a shower, took the pajamas and thanked Meng Xiyue casually, “Thanks, I’m going to take a shower. I feel like I reek of alcohol.”
Soon, the sound of water running came from the bathroom.
Meng Xiyue stared at the abruptly placed clothes in the room, her fingertips twitching.
By the time Xia Yuan finished her shower, Meng Xiyue had already returned to her room.
Xia Yuan stretched comfortably, her gaze falling on a particular spot.
She paused, then seductively tucked her hair behind her ear.
She knew Meng Xiyue always had a way of secretly being nice to her.
Look, the neatly hung clothes and the well-placed shoes were glaring evidence.
＊
After finishing “The Third Person,” Xia Yuan found herself idle again.
Fortunately, it didn’t last long as Xia Ke had already found her an entertainment company and arranged an agent for her.
Being the Xia family’s heiress, agent Lin Xin was well aware and didn’t dare to push her around, always prioritizing Xia Yuan’s preferences.
After reviewing several scripts, none of which caught Xia Yuan’s interest, Lin Xin hurriedly suggested, “Miss Xia, I heard Director Li’s new movie still needs a fourth female lead. Why don’t you give it a try?”
Director Li had just been nominated for Best Director in Hollywood last year and was at the peak of his fame.
It was tough to get a role, but being chosen by Director Li could brighten her future prospects.
Xia Yuan thought it over and agreed.
If she was going to do it, she’d do it to the best of her ability.
With only three days left until the selection, Xia Yuan prepared to cram on her acting skills.
…
Meng Xiyue got off work early for a change.
When she arrived home, the hourly worker was just about to leave.
Seeing the dignified and elegant Meng Xiyue, the worker respectfully said, “Miss Meng, I found an earring in the guest room.”
Meng Xiyue took it and replied, “I know, thank you.”
After everyone left, Meng Xiyue looked at the sparkling earring in her hand under the light, her beautiful lips pursed tightly.
It belonged to Xia Yuan.
Troublesome…
However, this time, the trouble didn’t come as Xia Yuan’s phone went unanswered.
Meng Xiyue held the phone, her gaze lowered, her lips pursed even tighter.
The reason Xia Yuan didn’t answer the phone was simple.
Ding Yaoyao was suspected to be pregnant.
Although Xia Yuan was practicing her acting, she still had quite a few followers.
One of them felt unwell and went to the hospital, just in time to see Ding Yaoyao looking troubled as she left the gynecology department, occasionally touching her stomach.
Ding Yaoyao and Xia Yuan were at odds.
Everyone in the circle knew that the ordinary girl Ding Yaoyao had stolen the childhood sweetheart of the wealthy Xia Yuan, and many were watching the drama unfold.
The follower immediately called Xia Yuan.
Undeniably, when Xia Yuan received the call, she felt furious, and then a sense of ‘as expected’.
She wanted to confront and make a scene.
Strangely, in her mind, she recalled a pair of cold, indifferent eyes.
Suddenly, all her thoughts settled down; after all, she had no real standing to question anyone.
Still feeling somewhat uncomfortable, she simply turned off her phone.
In the end, Meng Xiyue put away the broken earring, deciding to return it the next time she saw her.
Recently, Ding Yaoyao and Li Ting were as sweet as honey without Xia Yuan’s interference.
As the male and female leads were naturally attracted to each other, it was only logical for Ding Yaoyao to get pregnant.
Leaving the hospital, Ding Yaoyao’s mood lifted.
Although becoming a mother so soon was daunting, the thought of bearing Li Ting’s child brought an unstoppable smile to her face.
She needed to find the right moment to give Li Ting a surprise.
＊
“Meng Xiyue, you’re here too.”
Xia Yuan came to the Xia Corporation to find her brother.
Not being formally trained in acting, she couldn’t meet Director Li’s standards and was rejected.
So, this time, she came to ask her brother to invest in a movie for her.
She wanted to show Director Li that rejecting her was his loss.
Meng Xiyue looked at Xia Yuan, who was clearly upset, and wisely chose not to ask too many questions, simply responding, “Hmm.”
After N.S’s rise, their collaborations with the Xia Corporation increased.
However, while Meng Xiyue didn’t ask further, Xia Yuan took the initiative to say, “I came here this time to have my brother invest in a movie. Oh, you don’t know, my acting was criticized by that Director Li as completely worthless.”
“But don’t worry, I talked back.”
Meng Xiyue wasn’t worried at all.
One look at Xia Yuan and you could tell she wasn’t someone who would suffer a loss easily.
What surprised her more was when she asked, “You’re acting in a film?”
Only then did Xia Yuan remember that she hadn’t told Meng Xiyue about her entering the entertainment industry, and she began to elaborate on her journey into showbiz.
Before entering Xia Ke’s office, Xia Yuan finally finished her story.
Meng Xiyue spoke up, “N.S has an endorsement opportunity, would you like to try it?”
Setting aside other factors, Xia Yuan’s demeanor was the most suitable among many female celebrities for the product elements.
Recently, Meng Xiyue had screened several candidates but hadn’t found a satisfactory spokesperson.
“Ah?”
She had casually complained a few times, and they actually offered her an endorsement.
At that moment, Xia Yuan felt a tingling sensation in her heart, slightly throbbing.
