Chu Qiao patted her chest, startled by her outburst. "Xia Wei Liang! Are you doing this on purpose?"
A gaze from across the way fell on her before slowly withdrawing.
"Ah! I'm so sorry, so sorry!"
Xia Wei Liang apologized profusely, but she was truly too shocked.
It couldn't be that coincidental, happening on the same day!
However, judging from the time and place Chu Qiao mentioned, it all matched up perfectly.
So... were her good friends even competing to get drugged?
Ahhh!
Xia Wei Liang pulled at her hair, feeling her brain cells were insufficient!
According to the timeline, this current life was the unfolding present, and much of it was what she hadn't experienced before.
When she turned back to discuss something else with Chu Qiao, Chu Qiao was already gone.
"Hey! Where did she go?"
She looked around, then slowly retracted her gaze, still lost in her own complex deductions.
At this moment, someone seemed to sit down beside her.
Mistaking them for Chu Qiao's return, Xia Wei Liang blurted out without thinking, "That hotel you mentioned, isn't it the one right next to the awards ceremony? Do you remember who asked you to go? Did you..."
When she finally looked up, she was so startled she almost levitated.
"Yi... Yi Shen?"
Xiao Yi had just sat down there, looking straight ahead, as if he hadn't heard her words.
For a fleeting moment, Xia Wei Liang felt a complex mix of emotions, really wanting to ask him directly if... if it was him.
Because she had woken up directly in a hotel upon rebirth, she could be one hundred percent certain that the man that night was this very film emperor.
But in this life...
She thought of Su Yu Xi, and the scar on his hand.
Her mood immediately plummeted.
All her impulsiveness subsided. Rebirth, she decided, could just be a dream. It would be better for everyone.
As for Xiao Yi...
They had been people with no intersecting paths before, and it would be the same going forward.
Without expectation, there would be no disappointment. She mustered her spirits and smiled at him, "Yi Shen, what a coincidence! I didn't expect you to be sitting here personally!"
Xiao Yi turned his head to glance at her, then gestured vaguely around them, "There's no other place."
"Oh, oh, oh."
Xia Wei Liang wasn't foolish enough to question if there really was no other place. If Yi Shen said there wasn't, then there wasn't!
However, sitting next to Yi Shen wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Even though she was showing signs of a comeback through variety shows, she was still an eighteen-line artist, an artist plagued by negative publicity.
Let alone in the eyes of others, even in her own opinion, she really didn't have the right to be sitting next to him.
As she was contemplating this, she faintly heard similar murmuring voices.
"Who does she think she is? How dare she sit next to Yi Shen!"
"Hmph, she calls herself the most stunning in the entertainment industry! That face is enough."
"What face? Shameless face?"
"Hahaha, you're too wicked~"
Xia Wei Liang didn't even bother to interrupt, listening to the full version, and couldn't help but want to laugh.
They were speaking so loudly, were they saying it to her, or to Xiao Yi? Did they really think using her would somehow highlight their own purity and uprightness?
Perhaps the past Xia Wei Liang would have cared, but the current her truly wouldn't!
She listened with amusement, feeling a bit regretful that Chu Qiao wasn't beside her. She really needed someone to share this pleasure with!
Unable to hold back, she leaned closer and whispered, "Yi Shen, did you hear that?"
Xiao Yi didn't turn his head, merely raising an eyebrow. He casually flipped through the magazine in his hand, "Hear what?"
"These little bitches... these little beauties, what they were saying just now!" Xia Wei Liang didn't need his validation at all. She continued on her own, "Don't they think before they gossip these days? And they say it so loudly, as if afraid I wouldn't hear or you're deaf? Most importantly, it lacks creativity! It lacks substance! And they keep mocking my face... Don't they look in the mirror? Are they prettier than me, or more graceful than me?"
The flipping of the magazine paused. Xiao Yi finally turned his head slowly, his dark eyes fixing on her, a slight smile curving his lips, "Graceful...?"
"Ah, yes!" She immediately turned serious and explained, "I didn't say that, the reporters did! They wrote a lot of good things about me, so I just remembered that phrase."
Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows again, his gaze returning to the magazine, and then he suddenly asked, "Why were you crying that day?"
"Which day..." Xia Wei Liang suddenly fell silent.
Xiao Yi didn't intend to drop the subject. He said slowly, "You were crying very sadly, and very despairingly."
"..."
Xia Wei Liang wished she could bury herself on the spot. "Actually... it wasn't as serious as you described. Maybe there was a little sadness, but despair... that might be a personal misinterpretation."
In short, she would die before admitting she had ever been a coward!
"Oh?" He continued with his magnetic voice, saying nonchalantly, "And for whom was your sadness?"
Can't this habit of Xiao Yi's to get to the bottom of things be corrected?
She didn't want to answer, but she couldn't offend him. She simply said, "Because... the person I liked broke up with me."
That was probably about it.
It was impossible for her and Xiao Yi in this life.
Thinking of this, she felt dejected again.
*Snap—*
The magazine was closed.
The man stood up, straightened his suit jacket, didn't even look at her, and walked away.
Xia Wei Liang: "..."
This temper... how had she endured it before?
Faint laughter could be heard from the surroundings. As Xiao Yi walked directly towards the interview area, the laughter grew louder. Some people even openly laughed aloud, "Some people just don't know their place. Give them an inch and they want a mile! What kind of person is Yi Shen? Is she someone who can get close to him just by trying to show off her looks?"
Someone immediately chimed in, laughing even more unrestrainedly.
Xia Wei Liang glanced in that direction, a bored smirk playing on her lips.
The entertainment industry was like this. Besides those who were heaven-sent prodigies, those who wanted to become famous also depended on their strength and luck!
Strength went without saying, but this "luck" had its own nuances.
As the saying goes, destiny is innate, luck is acquired.
A person's aura is very important. Whether it's connections, popularity, or likability, these formed auras significantly influence one's luck.
Therefore, in dealing with people, it's crucial to build good relationships widely.
Like these people, with their malicious tongues, they definitely didn't have the makings of great stardom. They might have a brief moment of popularity, but it wouldn't last long, because their "luck" would have already been squandered by themselves!
Xia Wei Liang slowly stood up, about to leave, when she saw Yan Zhi puffing and running towards her, "Miss Xia, please wait a moment."
Everyone looked in their direction, especially those who had been mocking Xia Wei Liang the loudest. Their eyes widened instantly, not caring if they were discovered.
Everyone knew Yan Zhi was Xiao Yi's assistant. Why was he running over? And specifically looking for Xia Wei Liang?!