It wasn't until after ten o'clock at night that Jiang Liuyue's scenes were finally finished filming.
The lights on set went out one by one, and the crew members yawned as they packed up equipment, all looking thoroughly exhausted.
Before leaving, the assistant director called her over and patted the script in his hand.
"Liuyue, you still have a few scenes tomorrow."
"After they're done, we'll throw you a simple wrap party. Make sure to come early."
"Got it, Director." Jiang Liuyue nodded with a smile.
She was about to take out her phone to call her manager, Sister Li, when she remembered that Sister Li had been swamped lately.
A minor artist under her management had gotten into trouble—a male actor exposed for sleeping with fans, and not just one.
Sister Li was putting in overtime to handle the mess, probably still at the office pulling her hair out over a PR statement.
Never mind. She opened a ride-hailing app and quickly booked a car.
Then she idly scrolled through her messages.
Song Hanzheng's last message was still the four words "Plane has landed," with nothing after that.
As for Lin Yizhou, she had long since deleted him.
But in the "Four Heavenly Kings" group chat from her acting workshop, he was still there, though he rarely spoke.
On the other hand, Shu Qing and Chen Cheng had had a huge fight over that last incident, but it had actually cleared the air between them.
Now they were all over each other in the group chat, sweet enough to make your teeth ache.
Shu Qing: [Liuyue, once you wrap up, I'll treat you to a celebration dinner! I haven't seen you in ages.]
Chen Cheng: [Yeah, yeah! Last time you and Qingqing had dinner, I barged in like such a jerk. Sorry about that.]
Shu Qing: [Puppy sticking out tongue.jpg]
Shu Qing: [You know you embarrassed yourself last time. Lucky Liuyue was smart enough to take us out the back door, or we'd be on the entertainment news.]
Chen Cheng: [Honey, I was wrong.]
Jiang Liuyue: [Do you even need to treat me to dinner? I'm already stuffed with all this dog food.]
Shu Qing: [HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.]
Shu Qing: [Girlfriend, I'll treat you to dinner, without Chen Cheng.]
Chen Cheng: [Don't do that! It's been a while since we all hung out. Let's ask Yizhou too, and have a proper get-together.]
Chen Cheng and Shu Qing still seemed unaware of the delicate dynamic between Jiang Liuyue and Lin Yizhou.
Jiang Liuyue thought it over.
She might as well address it directly.
Jiang Liuyue: [I'm fine with getting dinner alone with Shu Qing. As for the others, forget it.]
Chen Cheng: [Why? Miss Jiang, did I really offend you that badly last time?]
Jiang Liuyue: [No.]
Jiang Liuyue: [My boyfriend is very possessive.]
Shu Qing: [!!!!]
Shu Qing: [Girlfriend, when did you get a boyfriend? Come on, let's just have dinner tomorrow night, just the two of us, and you can tell me all about it.]
Chen Cheng: [Wait, Qingqing, are you really ditching me?]
Shu Qing: [Get lost! Don't get in the way of me and my dear Liuyue chatting.]
Chen Cheng: [Stick figure clutching chest and spitting blood.jpg]
Chen Cheng: [Truly, out with the new, in with the old...]
The chat wound down with all the noise.
Jiang Liuyue didn't reply further, but Shu Qing messaged her privately.
They confirmed the time and place for dinner the next evening.
Then, cautiously, Shu Qing asked.
Shu Qing: [Is there something between you and Yizhou? He kept quiet the whole time in the group chat.]
Jiang Liuyue: [No.]
Jiang Liuyue: [He's my boyfriend's half-brother. So, keeping my distance.]
Shu Qing had clearly bitten into a juicy piece of gossip. The message she sent back carried that unspoken understanding:
"Ohhh, I get it. You don't need to say a thing, girlfriend!"
Jiang Liuyue was still replying to Shu Qing, her fingers flying across the screen.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a car slowly pulling over to the curb. She didn't think much of it.
At this hour, in this spot, it had to be her ride.
She casually opened the back door, bent down, and slid in, the motion smooth and automatic.
She calmly recited her phone number, but the driver was even quicker than she was—before she could finish the last digit, he floored the gas.
The force of the acceleration threw her back, and her phone nearly flew out of her hand.
Jiang Liuyue looked up, startled, her gaze cutting through the dim light of the car interior—and met a pair of mischievous, peach-blossom eyes.
Cen Yuan had one hand on the steering wheel, that familiar smug grin on his face.
As if to say, "Surprise!"
It was like a ghost that wouldn’t leave her alone. How did she keep running into this guy everywhere?
Instinctively, she reached for the door handle, ready to jump out.
The moment her fingers touched it, Cen Yuan drawled lazily, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.
Like he was teasing her:
"Jumping out of a car at this speed, your chances of dying aren't high."
"But your chances of ending up crippled? Pretty high."
"And if you become a cripple, I'll stop chasing you. So go ahead and jump."
Jiang Liuyue was both furious and flustered. She shot him a glare, her almond-shaped eyes practically blazing.
"Do you believe I'll tell Song Han about this?"
Cen Yuan nodded lazily, even a flicker of delight showing in his eyes.
He didn't look like someone being threatened—more like someone who had just heard the best news ever.
"I'm dying for you to! Go on, tell him right now."
He burst out laughing, his laughter echoing through the car, like a man who had finally found some entertainment.
Jiang Liuyue pressed a hand to her forehead, rubbing her temples in frustration.
What a lunatic. How did his brain work so differently from normal people?
"Young Master Cen, aren't you taking your free time a little too seriously, moonlighting as a Didi driver?" she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Cen Yuan smirked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror. Those peach-blossom eyes shimmered in the dim light with an unreadable glint.
His voice was slow and deliberate.
"I'm not free. I just wanted to see you."
Jiang Liuyue rolled her eyes.
"If the first time we met hadn't been you blocking me in the hallway and threatening me, maybe those words would carry more weight."
But Cen Yuan was unfazed. He even calmly adjusted the angle of the rearview mirror with one hand, his tone carrying a confident sort of certainty—like he knew something she didn't.
"Haven't you heard of 'love through strife'? Maybe it was exactly the way you acted that caught my attention."
Jiang Liuyue shook her head at his nonsense, a flicker of contempt curling her lips.
She cut right through him:
"You and Song Hanzheng are the ones with 'love through strife,' aren't you?"
"Are you getting close to me because of Li Feile, or because of Song Hanzheng?"
