I stood and gave a slight bow. The director and the camera crew also rose to applaud.
Once it was over, Shen Ci was immediately surrounded by a group of interns asking for his autograph and contact information.
I gathered my things and quietly left.
As soon as I reached the door, I heard someone call:
“Jiang Chu...”
He broke away from the crowd and called to me from a distance:
“Let’s have lunch together later. Invite Miss Jiang too.”
Shen Ci was now a major figure in the research community, so the station director accepted his invitation without hesitation.
In an elegant private dining room, nearly fifteen people—including the station director, staff members, and his assistant, Meng Shengtong—sat around a round rosewood table.
He had changed out of the suit he’d worn for the interview and into a white sweater. Sitting between two executives, he propped his chin on one hand as he listened to them talk, occasionally lifting his eyes to deftly refuse a proffered glass of liquor.
I was never good at socializing and only lowered my head to eat.
Suddenly, the girl beside me accidentally knocked over her wineglass. The liquid spilled across the table and soaked into the hem of my skirt.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry...” She hurriedly pulled out some tissues and handed them to me.
It was a minor mishap, but her clumsy movement drew everyone’s attention.
In an instant, I became the center of attention.
Not wanting to look up and meet Shen Ci’s eyes, I said, “I’m going to wash this off,” and hurried away from the table.
A small wine stain was enough to stand out clearly against the white cotton skirt.
I was standing in front of the restroom mirror, not yet having dealt with it, when my phone rang.
The shrill sound in the quiet space stabbed into my heart like a blade.
I answered, bracing myself against the sink and lowering my head, my face expressionless.
“Xiaoxiao, when are you sending me your paycheck? Your father has no money, and your little brother still hasn’t paid his tuition.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Huh?”
“I said... what does Li Yanming’s tuition have to do with me?”
“You ungrateful brat! Have you forgotten who paid for you to attend high school and college? Without me, would you have gotten into this school? Would you have made it to graduate school?”
“Just wait. I’ll come to your workplace and make a scene myself. Don’t expect to get any peace!”
I didn’t listen to the rest and hung up.
I turned on the faucet and splashed water directly onto my face, closing my eyes as I tried to suppress the surge of emotion.
When I opened my eyes, the mirror reflected a pair of reddened eyes filled with despair.
I took a deep breath and opened the door... only to see Shen Ci.
At the dark end of the hallway, he leaned against the wall in a white sweater and black slacks, a coat in his hand.
After hesitating for a few seconds, I tried calling out:
“Mr. Shen.”
His lashes trembled slightly, and his dark eyes turned toward me.
“Jiang Chu, do you still remember me?”
I tried to appear calm.
“What are you talking about?”
He lowered his head and gave a self-mocking laugh, turning his wrist slightly as he spoke in a low voice:
“Never mind.”
Then he held out the coat to me.
“Put this on and cover yourself up.”
It was a sports jacket that his assistant couldn’t fit into.
I stepped back and shook my head.
“Thank you.”
Our eyes met, and he furrowed his brow slightly.
“Were you crying?”
I tilted my head away.
“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Shen. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving first.”
Before I could go, he called me back and bent down to pick something up from the floor.
A blue women’s wallet.
The moment I saw him open it, my expression changed, and I rushed over.
In the first slot of the transparent plastic pocket was a high school graduation ID photo of... Shen Ci.
Against a blue background, the teenage boy wore a white uniform, the collar casually spread open to reveal his slender neck and delicate collarbones.
Shen Ci’s skin was as white as jade. His short black hair was neatly trimmed, his lashes lowered slightly, and his thin lips pressed together in faint displeasure, as if someone had dragged him off to take a picture before he’d gotten enough sleep.
He put the wallet away, gazed at me with profound meaning, and held it back out.
“You really don’t remember me?”
I wanted to say something, but realized that no matter what I said, it would sound like I was making excuses. So I stayed silent.
After a long silence, I still couldn’t bear to let this moment pass.
Regaining my composure, I opened my mouth.
“Shen Ci.”
“Mr. Shen.”
Meng Shengtong, Shen Ci’s assistant, and I spoke almost simultaneously.
The click of her high heels echoed down the hallway as she approached, speaking as she walked:
“You left your coat in the room. It’s freezing outside.”
Her voice was brimming with intimacy, even carrying a hint of coyness.
Standing beside Shen Ci, she glanced at me with an arrogant look.
“Isn’t it already too late for you to claim the title of ‘star’ sooner or later? What, you didn’t ask enough during the interview and want to meet privately for some extra ‘discussion’?”
“We just happened to run into each other.” I answered with a polite smile and took two steps back to create some distance.
“I won’t bother you two anymore. Goodbye.”
After turning away from the hallway, I ran into the executive who had just finished a phone call and was returning to the room.
Delighted to have secured an exclusive interview with Shen Ci, he even took the time to ask me solicitously:
“You did a good job today. Why do you look so pale?”
“Take the afternoon off and go home to rest.”