The day that the production crew released the promotional photos all of the major sites rushed in and began creating posts and chattering wildly about the release within minutes. And there were many instances where Ruan Tian's name was brought up.
For once, there seemed to be some fans among the horde of mud-slingers.
【I'm calling it now, 'Obscurity' will be a hit! Our queen's blessing shouldn't be underestimated, and there's also the blessing of Qin An and his sky high popularity, but the most important thing is that the film crew is so good! From the director to the screenwriter, everyone is a pro. 】
【Generally, this kind of vigorous and powerful marketing in the very early stages means that the final product will just be quietly rushed out during the later stage. I don't think this will amount to much. 】
【The film seems to be some sort of crime drama? The male and female leads are both police officers anyway. I don't know about anything else, but just looking at the names attached to the project it seems like it's definitely going to fail. 】
【Suddenly I feel that having Ruan Tian play the second female lead is no good at all hahahaha 】
【I think you're wrong. Ruan Tian's eyes in her picture are so expressive, my instincts tell me that her performance won't be bad at all. 】
There was a constant buzz of discussion online, and while a certain minority praised Ruan Tian's photos and seemed to feel that there was no way she could be a terrible actress if she could make an expression like that, a larger portion seemed convinced that the film was definitely going to flop. These people all estimated that this film would become a dark stain on Director Cheng's otherwise sterling reputation.
From time to time, people would secretly mock that Ruan Tian's dreams of climbing up and becoming a phoenix would definitely crash and burn yet again this time.
However, the film at the center of this storm of discussion still wasn't finished yet, and there were still another two months left in production.
For some reason, during this time Qin Yu came to the set almost every day. He was one of the investors, and he just acted like it was his right.
Ruan Tian never greeted him when she saw him, and whenever their paths cross it seems like the words 'I don't even know this person' were written across her face.
She felt that there weren't many people in the entertainment industry who despised each other as much as she and Qin Yu did, and she wasn't laboring under any sort of delusion that he was coming to the set to see her.
After all, even if she were a temple to Buddha Qin Yu probably still wouldn't want to pay her a visit.
It was early February, and there was a light snowfall over the streets of the capital, seeming to emphasise the cold weather outside.
For today's scene, Ruan Tian was filming the death of her character. In the scene, the character was pushed down from the third floor and rolled down the stairs for a while before smashing into a stone pillar. Then, because she was misunderstood as an accomplice of the villain, the male lead shot her to death.
Director Cheng didn't ask her if she needed a stand-in, he just casually asked her if she was comfortable doing the wire stunt: "Do you want to try first?"
Ruan Tian glanced at the several story high staircase and pondered for a moment before replying: "Sure."
She had used to work as a stand-in for the female lead of a certain online martial arts drama, so she was used to flying around in the sky with the help of wires. This kind of stunt didn't cause any ripples in her heart and she didn't even consider it too difficult.
"Scene forty-six, take one, action!"
The villain approached with a fierce look on his face and his fingers tightened on Ruan Tian's arm. He snarled "You bitch, you dare to secretly report to that little policeman? It seems that I've raised you for so many years in vain, but don't worry, I will personally send you to see the king of hell this time. While I'm at it, I'll let you see if you are in that little policeman's heart at all."
After he finished his lines, she was pushed hard down the steps.
Ruan Tian rolled down the staircase, her body tumbling against the hard steps before finally slamming into the pillar. Her eyes watered with painful tears and there was a coppery taste in her mouth.
Using her aching limbs, she struggled to push herself up from the ground and onto all fours with her bloody palms.
However, before the girl could push herself up, a gunshot rang out. An instant after the shot rang out, her body was pierced by the bullet and she collapsed to the floor. Her clear eyes were wide with confusion for an instant before transparent tears slowly began to fall from the corner of her eyes, and an animalistic groan of pain slipped from her lips.
Using her last bit of strength, she raised her hand and tried to touch the man's face.
This was the man she loved.
She knew that he was a policeman.
She knew that he was using her.
She knew that he didn't love her back.
But couldn't he treat her better? Couldn't he give her a hug, here at the end?
She hadn't been seriously hugged even once in her life.
It must be warm…
WIth that thought, she slowly closed her eyes.
Director Cheng called cut.
The eyes of the professionals around the set actually turned a bit wet, and they felt an urge to cry.
Director Cheng also had slightly reddened eyes, but after a moment he cleared his throat and called: "Ruan Tian, can you do it again? The roll just now didn't seem quite real enough. You hesitated a bit, so try not to be afraid of the pain. The rest was very good though."
Ruan Tian made an 'ok' gesture.
Seeing that, Director Cheng nodded and then gave them all a ten-minute break.
But seeing this, Qin An felt a bit uncomfortable and, regardless of whether his brother could see it or not, he walked straight over to Ruan Tian's chair, "Don't you want to use a stand-in, ah? It's painful to fall like that."
By now Ruan Tian's impression of Qin An had become a little better, and she only felt that he was just a spoiled young master who didn't know about the sufferings in this world.
He was just naive, and his malice wasn't deep.
"No need. I have thick-skin, so a little fall doesn't hurt."
"It hurts for me just looking at it. Ruan Tian, today I've discovered that you are actually such a brave person."
"It doesn't hurt, I've experienced worse things anyway."
Qin An's eyes were filled with confusion, as if asking if what she said was true.
Ruan Tian took a sip from her water bottle and then grinned, "Just kidding, ah."
After being tricked, Qin An angrily snorted: "Scram!"
Ruan Tian hadn't quite lied, and besides she didn't want to act like Xianglin's wife and go around crying about her troubles. (tl note: Xianglin's wife (祥林嫂) is a character from《祝福》who had a miserable life and spends a lot of time telling people about it, so being compared to her is sort of like saying that the person is always 'throwing a pity party'? I can't think of a better idiom.)
She was an optimistic person anyway.
She had just unluckily been given a script that called for a bitter love!
Shit.
Back at her high school graduation ceremony, it had been very uncomfortable to watch the boy that she liked and her sister hugging in front of her, and it had been even more uncomfortable when someone had kicked her down the stairs so hard she had almost broken two of her front teeth.
That time had been really painful.
Painful enough that she had cried.
Just sitting on the ground, crying noiselessly.
After that, she had taken a few more falls while working as a stand-in.
The pain in her body from those falls had been at least ten times worse than the pain she had felt at the graduation ceremony, but her heart had hurt much less.
To be a bit melodramatic, perhaps her heart was already numb.
She had even thought a few times that it would be nice if she could take a particularly hard fall one day and just forget everything.
Forget it all, the happy and the unhappy together.
But unfortunately she didn't have the qualifications to enjoy the standard amnesia plot so many heroines in movies and dramas got to experience, so nothing convenient like that ever happened.
Eventually, they resumed filming and Ruan Tian did another take of the stair stunt. After filming it, she was feeling some pain in her waist so, while rubbing her waist, she asked: "Was it alright this time?"
Director Cheng was a man who always pursued perfection so, after a moment of silence, he said slowly, "Let's do it again, it's still not quite there."
In the end, Director Cheng didn't let the scene pass until Ruan Tian had done four takes. By that point, she had a sore waist and aching shoulders, but she never said a word of complaint.
After finishing shooting, Director Cheng was looking at Ruan Tian in a new light. He really felt he had found a good seedling this time.
She really had an amazing talent for acting and also an aura that many people wouldn't be able to imitate even after decades of training.
But the most important thing was that she was very modest and studious. She worked very hard and didn't just rely on her little bit of talent to do whatever she wanted, and she wasn't afraid to endure hardships.
Director Cheng patted her on the shoulder, "Well done. Come here for a moment, let's take a picture."
Ruan Tian, who was holding a small bouquet of flowers sent by the crew, nodded with a smile and said, "Okay."
After she finished taking the photo with the director, Ruan Tian looked around at the surrounding staff members and gave a polite bow, "Thank you for your care, you've all worked hard."
"It's fine, it wasn't hard. It wasn't hard." The staffers chorused.
But then Qin Yu, who had been sitting off in the dark, suddenly got up and walked over towards her and put his cool fingers gently on her shoulder.
Ruan Tian's body stiffened, and her expression froze.
In her mind, she was tangled between cursing him out and holding back.
In her heart, she kept meditating on the words 'Take a step back', 'To live, we must be open-minded', 'I am a lotus', and 'I have no temper' in order to suppress the sudden murderous impulse gripping her heart.
Qin Yu's low voice then rang in her left ear, "En, well done. Take a picture with me too."
Ruan Tian: I'll take a picture with your mother.
Was the word 'unwilling' not scrawled across her face obviously enough?
But Qin Yu, regardless of her mood, forcibly gripped her wrist and pulled her up to take a few pictures with her before releasing her with a smile.
Ruan Tian's face was grey and dull, seeming wilted and sapped of spirit.
Even until now, she really didn't understand this Qin Yu. She just couldn't figure him out.
Sometimes crazy, sometimes normal.
He wasn't any less crazy than a wild dog, and there was always a chance he would bite her when he caught her.
Qin Yu appeared on the set of 'Obscurity' just too frequently so, in the end, the news couldn't be concealed and various pictures were taken.
He had always been someone low-key who rarely appeared in public, and Qin Pictures was just one tiny company under his name that was practically insignificant compared to his other businesses. His presence at Qin Pictures was surprising enough, and no one knew what to make of him lowering himself to go out to some set.
【lmao All the other Ruan Tian CPs are fake. Only Qin Yu is real. 】
【this is killing me, really killing me 】
【 Seeing a good-looking man and a beauty, I can only bow in respect.】
【The relationship between my parents may be fake but the QinXTian CP must be real! 】
【To the poster above, it seems too much water has gotten in your brain, it's really sad to see.】
However, most of the netizens were just fooling around and there was very little serious research on the relationship between these two this time.
After all, these small netizens dared to randomly speculate and fabricate things about the soft persimmon called Ruan Tian, but they did not dare to spread those same kinds of rumors about Qin Yu. After all, the Qin Group's lawyers had never lost a defamation suit.
—
Ruan Tian ended up riding back to the hotel in Qin Yu's car and Jiang Lili completely lost track of her. She stopped answering her phone and practically disappeared.
For some reason, Qin Yu's driver drove very slowly, and the usual half-hour drive to the hotel still hadn't ended even after 40 minutes.
But she just lowered her head and played with her phone, treating the man beside her like he was air.
After they finally arrived at the hotel, Qin Yu followed her into the elevator.
Ruan Tian wasn't paying much attention, so she didn't notice that the elevator didn't stop on her floor and she ended up being tossed into his top level suite.
Ruan Tian took out her phone and dialed 911 in front of him before saying blankly: "If you are sick, you should go for treatment."
Qin Yu just laughed coldly. He circled around her and said in a mocking voice: "What did I tell you back then?"
"Two years ago, I clearly told you that marrying Shen Shu would be nothing but suffering, but you didn't believe me."
"But I was right, wasn't I? Tch, he just doesn't like you after all."
"It's not surprising that you two ended up divorced, but why must you always charge headlong into a wall without ever looking back like that? Doesn't it hurt?"
Ruan Tian laughed angrily, "It's none of your business! None of your business! none of your business!"
Then she kicked him, hard! However, despite her kick, he didn't seem to feel any pain.
"Yes, I'm from the countryside. Sure, you all always looked down on me, teased me, and mocked me, but do you really think you are so noble? None of you are half as good as me."
Qin Yu was a bit taken aback. He hadn't wanted to irritate her.
He had just been unable to help himself.
He had waited so long for her to finally divorce Shen Shu.
By now, he was practically going crazy from repressing himself.
For a long moment, Qin Yu fell silent, but then he turned around and picked up two boxes of medical plasters, "Here. They help with circulation and blood replenishment."
Ruan Tian looked down at the boxes in his hands and saw that they were from an American brand and seemed expensive at a glance.
She was still feeling upset, but she was never muddled when it came to money.
Thus, she angrily snatched the boxes over, spun on her heel, and left the room in a grand manner.
Facing her disappearing back, Qin Yu sighed softly: "Why can't you just learn to be a bit softer…"
—–
Usually whenever she finished shooting a scene, Ruan Tian would return to the city to donate more blood.
However, she didn't rush home this time, instead she just stayed in her hotel room, drew the curtains tightly, put on a blindfold, and slept until late the next afternoon. Once she felt she had regained enough energy, she began to slowly pack her bags.
The heating in the room seemed a bit excessive because, midway through packing up, her forehead was drenched with sweat. Because of the heat she took off her coat and sat on the ground to rest for a while.
But there was suddenly a knock at the door of the hotel room.
Ruan Tian assumed that it was just room service or a maid, so she walked over and casually opened the door. However, when the door opened, the delicate beauty Zhou Xiaoqiao was revealed.
Zhou Xiaoqiao's face was pale, her brows were furrowed, and her whole body radiated a 'weak white-lotus' vibe. She cautiously asked: "Can I come in and talk to you?"
Ruan Tian felt very uncomfortable every time she had to talk to her sister alone. She really didn't know what to say or how to face this person.
But eventually, she just muttered, "Come in."
With Ruan Tian's invitation, Zhou Xiaoqiao walked into the hotel room and sat on the sofa with an uneasy expression.
Ruan Tian's voice a little strange, "Did you come to here to look for me"
Zhou Xiaoqiao nodded her head, but at the same time her eyes reddened and she seemed to be too choked up to speak.
Ruan Tian just asked: "So what are you looking for me for?"
Was her WeChat connection bad or something? But no matter how bad it was, she could always just get in touch with a phone. Why would she come here in person? How awkward.
Zhou Xiaoqiao opened her mouth as if to say something, but instead she just started crying silently.
She was really the embodiment of the saying that 'Women aren't made of water, but made of tears'.
Unfortunately, Ruan Tian wasn't a man, so her heart wasn't moved at all.
She felt that her sister could just cry then, after all, it wasn't like she would die from it.
Even if she cried until her eyes turned blind it wasn't like Ruan Tian would have to compensate her.
When Zhou Xiaoqiao saw that Ruan Tian didn't even mean to hand her a tissue, her crying gradually stopped.
With wet tears still hanging on her face, she looked pure and fragile.
Finally, she said in a choked voice, "Tiantian, I-I… I've been feeling really guilty. I can't help but feel that I caused you and Shen Shu to divorce."
Ruan Tian didn't move, too lazy to even lift her eyes, "You're thinking too much."
Zhou Xiaoqiao was briefly stunned, but she quickly wiped her tears and continued: "Is it really not because of me? I've always known that you liked Shen She since we were young, so I never had the thought to rob him from you. You don't blame me, right?"
Ruan Tian smiled awkwardly, "Um, of course not, don't think nonsense."
What she actually wanted to say was: There's no need to put gold on your face! (tl note: no need to take credit for something that has nothing to do with her.)
The divorce between her and Shen Shu was a no-brainer, and it really had nothing to do with Zhou Xiaoqiao.
Zhou Xiaoqiao nodded and gave a soft but joyful exclamation, "It's great if you don't blame me." Then she sniffled, and said, "I've heard that Brother Qin Yu has been coming here recently, you two didn't fight, right?"
Ruan Tian felt she could see through Zhou Xiaoqiao's thoughts here.
Something like: She wouldn't deliberately try to harm her, but at the same time she was extremely possessive and couldn't stand to see any of the men who loved her getting closer to Ruan Tian.
Ruan Tian really didn't want to deal with Zhou Xiaoqiao, so after pondering for a long while she just said, "You're not in good health, I'll call a taxi to take you home."
Zhou Xiaoqiao bit her lower lip. She was reluctant to just leave like this.
Originally, she had planned to stay with Ruan Tian for a night in the name of their 'sisterly bonds'.
However, Ruan Tian quickly pushed her out to the front of the hotel while at the same time calling for a taxi. Unfortunately, it was during peak hours, so they would have to wait a long while for the car to arrive.
Zhou Xiaoqiao stood at the entrance of the hotel and said hesitantly, "I-I… I can stay and accompany you for the night…"
Ruan Tian: No way in hell.
"That's okay."
Zhou Xiaoqiao quickly pulled out her usual coquettish methods, and reached out to grab her sleeve. But Ruan Tian, who was facing her like she was a big enemy, subconsciously brushed her hand away. Who would have guessed that this person, her big sister, seemed to be even more fragile than glass and instantly began to lean back as if she were going to fall down the stairs.
Fortunately, Ruan Tian had quick eyes and quick hands, so she caught her and dragged her back.
Zhou Xiaoqiao's turned another shade more pale, and she whispered: "Thank you."
Soon, the taxi Ruan Tian called arrived and she eagerly waved down the driver. Once the car stopped, she quickly pushed Zhou Xiaoqiao into the car without hesitation and said to the driver: "Thanks mister."
As Zhou Xiaoqiao sat in the car and stared at the figure of her sister getting smaller and smaller outside the window her hands clenched into fists. She told herself that she shouldn't be jealous of her little sister for the umpteenth time.
Her younger sister had been living outside for so many years, so as an elder sister she should care about and help her poor sister that had suffered for some many years.
But Zhou Xiaoqiao just couldn't help herself. Every day, she felt afraid that her parents would start to like her sister more, or that the men who used to like and pamper her would begin to like her sister instead.
—-
After Zhou Xiaoqiao went home, she fell ill with a high fever, and only after spending three days in the hospital were they barely able to get her raging temperature under control and discharge her back home.
Mother Zhou was very anxious, and she circled around her constantly, "Qiaoqiao, where did you go!? Why did you come back so ill like this? Were you bullied by someone?"
Zhou Xiaoqiao, who was lying sick in bed, could only softly reply in a weak voice, "Mother, it's not like that. I really haven't been bullied."
But the more she denied it, the more Mother Zhou suspected something was wrong.
Unfortunately, the child's mouth was shut tight and she couldn't pry anything out.
Mother Zhou was resolute and determined to get to the bottom of things, so she immediately had someone to check on Zhou Xiaoqiao's recent movements and look at the surveillance in the places she had gone. After watching the surveillance videos, she realized that Zhou Xiaoqiao had gone to find Ruan Tian the night before she fell ill.
This moment she learned this information, a fire lit in Mother Zhou's heart.
Having found out about her precious daughter's meeting with Ruan Tian, Mother Zhou went out of Zhou Xiaoqiao's room and found a soundproofed room to call Ruan Tian.
As soon as the call connected, she didn't wait and immediately shouted angrily: "What did you say to your sister?! She fell ill and developed a fever when she came back from seeing you! I've told you so many times to treat your sister better, why do you never listen?"
Ruan Tian had just woken up, so her voice was muddled and nasal, "Ah, she's sick again? What does that have to do with me?"
Mother Zhou was so angry she felt as if her chest was going to explode: "What kind of tone are you using right now? You come home tonight to take a good look at your sister, just see how much she has suffered because of you!"
After hanging up the phone, Ruan Tian pondered the matter seriously, and eventually came to the conclusion that she would need to go back this time.
She borrowed Jiang Lili's Maserati, slammed the pedal to the metal, and drove all the way to the front gate of the Zhou residence before heading in.
The Zhou family and the Shen family didn't live very far apart, and it seemed that Shen Shu's mother had come to visit when she heard that Zhou Xiaoqiao was ill. Currently, she was sitting in the Zhou family living room, and behind her, Shen Shu had come as well. However, Shen Shu's face was dull and expressionless, as if it were a stranger who were sick instead of his precious white-moonlight.
Ruan Tian glanced at the pair of them briefly but didn't give them any further thought.
As Mother Zhou wanted, she went upstairs to visit Zhou Xiaoqiao.
After looking at her, she confirmed: En, she was living well as usual.
After dinner, Mother Zhou began to rebuke Ruan Tian despite all of the outsiders present, "You know that your sister is in poor health, but you let her stand in the cold wind in front of the hotel? Aren't you just trying to kill her, ah."
Ruan Tian just fiddled with her fingers indifferently.
Mother Zhou pointed at her and said angrily: "Why don't you ever learn?"
Ruan Tian raised her head and met the other woman's eyes, "It's not that I don't learn. It's just that, in your eyes, whatever I do is wrong."
"You know, I always used to wonder why you, someone who obviously doesn't love me at all, spent all that effort looking for me everywhere so that you could take me home."
"But I've figured it out since then. It was all just so that you could reassure yourself. You lost me as a baby, and that weighed on your conscience, so by finding me and taking me back you are able to feel like you've made up for your mistake. That way you don't have to feel guilty anymore."
Mother Zhou never expected for Ruan Tian to suddenly speak about her selfish motives so bluntly.
In fact, after she had lost her baby she had nightmares for many years, but after finding the child and bringing her back, she never had nightmares again.
Thanks to that, the little guilt she had used to feel had long disappeared.
Ruan Tian's voice was steady. She would never cry in front of her parents, nor in front of Shen Shu, so she was very calm. Anyway, these were things that she had been wanting to say for a long time.
"In your eyes, I can never do anything better than Zhou Xiaoqiao, and you feel that because you brought me back to the Zhou family I should thank you."
"Before I was five years old, I lived in a lot of different places. I bounced around and stayed with couples who didn't yet have children, and whenever they would finally have a child of their own they would instantly discard me."
"In the end, in order to eat, I had no choice but to pick up trash. Every day was a struggle to survive."
She could still remember a certain day back when she was a child when she had happened to find herself at the gate of the amusement park and saw all sorts of happy mothers holding their children, taking them out to play and buying them sweets. At that time, she had a dream that maybe one day she would also find her own mother, and maybe she would also experience that gentleness?
That was why when Mother Zhou found her and asked to bring her back, she hadn't hesitated for a moment before following her back to the Zhou residence.
Mother Zhou's face changed a few times, and for once she could finally see the resentment in Ruan Tian's eyes.
On the side, Shen Shu's expression had also turned dark. He had never known any of these things about Ruan Tian, nor had he ever heard her mention it to anyone before.
Mother Zhou took a few steps back, feeling a sense of panic in her heart.
Ruan Tian said: "These days, I feel that maybe being an orphan without a mother is actually better."
These words were like a knife stabbing into Mother Zhou's chest.
For her daughter to say this, she couldn't accept it for a while.
Her knees turned weak, and she could only barely keep herself upright by holding the corner of the table.
After throwing down those harsh words, Ruan Tian left.
Her only thought was that, in the future, those people online would definitely scold her with 'Your mother is dead' like usual.
But now she could brazenly reply: 'I don't have a mother!'
Shen Shu chased her out into the hall and stepped in front of her before she made it more than a few steps.
Ruan Tian tried to brush past him, but he continued to block her.
"Do you need something?" She finally asked.
"There are still some of your things in our wedding room, when are you going to collect them?" Shen Shu answered calmly.
Wait.
Did she and Shen Shu have a wedding room? Since when?
"I don't need them."
"You don't want your ring or your necklace?"
"En, I don't want them anymore."
Shen Shu's face turned sullen. In the recent days, he had found himself looking up and watching a lot of the projects that Ruan Tian had worked in during the past two years and had been shocked to see how hard she had been struggling all this time.
She lived stubbornly and dazzlingly, like an unyielding sunflower that never stopped reaching up towards the sun.
Shen Shu lowered his head, his usual jade-like face was taut with tension, and his eyes were bloodshot. He said, "I gave them to you when we got married."
…so shouldn't she want them?
Ruan Tian suddenly felt that this Shen Shu was a real ****ing interesting guy.
She blinked her eyes innocently, "Weren't they prepared by your secretary?"
She almost wanted to laugh, this thousand year old fox suddenly wanted to play innocent and sincere?
Shen Shu pursed his lips, "I bought them."
Ruan Tian seemed stunned for a second and lowered her head, but the next instant she raised her face and replied easily, "You can just throw them in the trash, or you can sell them, whatever, I don't want them. That's all there is to it."
Shen Shu's eyes seemed to be filled with a thick layer of ice, the kind that could freeze a person to death.
Ruan Tian snorted before saying with a cold laugh, "Shen Shu, don't look at me like that. Rather, isn't this something you're already very good at?"
"After all, the gifts I gave you, aren't they all in the trash?"
Whether they were the things she had personally prepared.
Or the famous brands that she had bought after spending several months saving carefully and eating frugally to buy.
Shen Shu had thrown them all away like they were nothing.
But now when it came to one broken necklace it was too much for him?!
…
A moment after having that thought, Ruan Tian realized that her emotions had gotten a little out of control.
Her words just now were obviously a sarcastic barb about Shen Shu's past behavior.
But, in fact, she had never wanted to say that sort of thing.
Back when she had loved him, she had really loved him. It had been the kind of love where she was always ready to shamelessly dedicate everything to him.
But in the same way, after she had finally set her numbed heart down, she no longer even wanted to contact him again.
Ruan Tian couldn't help but lift her eyes to look at him. He was undoubtedly a handsome man. He had outstanding facial features, a sword-like nose, a pair of well defined eyes, and a pair of lips that were perpetually slightly pursed in a way that made his expression look a little cold.
What Qin Yu had said was right. She was the kind of person who would solidly run forward into a brick wall without ever looking back and, even if she hit the wall and bounced off, she wouldn't cry out from the pain. Only once her head was truly broken and bleeding would she finally feel the hurt.
And so she had loved Shen Shu for many years without ever looking back.
Ruan Tian said: "Whatever it is you want, I have something to do, so I'll go first."
Shen Shu stared at her silently for a few seconds before slowly stepping aside.
After a while, Mother Shen came out from the Zhou residence and came to stand beside him. She looked at her son and asked, "What did you talk to her about?"
Shen Shu's throat tightened, "Nothing."
Of course, Mother Shen understood her son very well. Ever since he had been a child he had been arrogant and unruly and had never once looked back or regretted.
Eventually, she patted him on the shoulder, "Go home first." After a pause, she continued: "Ever since you were in junior high school, your father and I have never interfered with any of your choices. Since it was all your own choice, don't regret."
Mother Shen had never liked Ruan Tian as daughter-in-law, but she had also never taken the initiative to make things difficult for the girl.
After all, even back when they first got married she had guessed that the couple wouldn't last long.
Back then, Ruan Tian's eyes had been constantly glued to Shen Shu, always full of shyness and longing.
But what about her son? His face was always cold and expressionless, without even a trace of happiness.
After that, Shen Shu went home and slowly headed up to the bedroom upstairs and looked down at the drawer which contained the matching ring and necklace that Ruan Tian had probably never worn. He had indeed paid for these things, but in reality he had just sent people to buy them before having his secretary wrap them up to send to Ruan Tian.
In fact, he didn't even know that the ring didn't fit her finger.
Suddenly he was snapped from his reverie by the sound of the nanny knocking on the door, "Sir, should I prepare you something to eat?"
Shen Shu hadn't eaten much at the Zhou residence, so he responded: "En, prepare a bowl of light congee."
The nanny gave an affirmative response and retreated.
Shen Shu's head ached, so he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. However, after he stood back up a little while later he still felt the same sense of discomfort.
There was an inexplicable irritability that had settled in his chest.
Shen Shu had a model childhood, during which he had received the best education and learned from the best etiquette teachers. Since young, he had always been a role model among his peers. And while he had always acted restrained, modest, and considerate of others, there was an undeniable sense of arrogance and pride deep in his bones.
The words Ruan Tian threw at him today continued to bounce around in his head.
Indeed, all of the things she had given him had gone straight into the trash.
He had always treated her with deep prejudice and seen her as a joke.
He had never even really considered Ruan Tian as his wife.
Shen Shu couldn't help but think back. When they were kids, he hadn't known anything about Ruan Tian, but he had heard from Zhou Xiaoqiao that her sister was a crude and vulgar person.
At one point, during the spring game event of their second year of high school, Ruan Tian had volunteered for three events in one breath, and he and Qin Yu had happened to end up watching her during the tug-of-war.
She had been a slender girl in a school uniform with a number plate pinned to the front. She had been standing blankly in the lead position while holding the rope, and when the whistle sounded she had begun to struggle ferociously, eventually pulling the rope over and winning the game.
That year, she had also taken first place in the shot put competition and broken school records in the three kilometer dash.
But back then, Shen Shu hadn't had any thoughts of what a good job she was doing, instead, he only had one impression: Indeed, she was crude.
Like everyone else, he had only ever regarded Ruan Tian as a village girl who had suddenly flown up to a high branch and wanted to act the part of a phoenix.
He had never even thought about what kind of life Ruan Tian had been living in those years before she had brought back and, perhaps more crucially, he had forgotten that she had always been a true daughter of the Zhou family all along.
The next day, when Secretary Liu came in to work, he felt that the boss seemed to be in a bad mood. He had an extremely cold face on, and he had even scolded several people for minor things he wouldn't usually mention.
After a meeting, Shen Shu put down his pen and leaned back in his chair, his expression heavy and dark. He said coldly: "Go and check on Ruan Tian. I want all of her information from her birth to the present."
Secretary Liu repeated to confirm, "You mean the madam?"
Shen Shu lifted his eyes and glanced at him.
Secretary Liu quickly changed his words, "Ah, you mean Ms. Ruan?"
Shen Shu replied: "En."
Secretary Liu was very professional, so his response was a simple: "Understood."
However, in his heart, Secretary Liu actually felt very puzzled. The boss had divorced that woman a while ago, so why was he suddenly asking him to investigate her? As far as Secretary Liu knew, their divorce had been very smooth without even any disputes over property.
A harmonious parting of ways.
Also, Secretary Liu felt that the boss probably hated Miss Ruan very much, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to treat her so ruthlessly.
—–
The next day, Ruan Tian drove back and returned the car to Jiang Lili and exaggeratedly told her friend the story of how she had bravely stood up to Mother Zhou this time.
Hearing the story, Jiang Lili immediately smashed the car keys in anger, "Is your mother sick in the head? She knows that Zhou Xiaoqiao is human, but are you not human?"
Her body trembled with anger, "And all this after actually having you donate blood to Zhou Xiaoqiao like that. She's really not a human being."
Ruan Tian suddenly remembered that too.
She had actually almost forgotten about the blood donation.
When they stuck the needle stuck in her skin it had really hurt.
Even the heroine of a bitter drama wouldn't have to taste the bitterness she did.
After Jiang Lili calmed down, she asked, "But why did you suddenly decide to fight back against her this time?"
Ruan Tian finished peeling her orange and stuffed an orange slice into her mouth. After a bite, all she could taste was sweetness, and said, "I'm rebelling."
"I'm not a ****ing persimmon."
Just as she and Jiang Lili were speaking, her phone suddenly chimed with a notification. She picked it up and saw it was a message from the bank.
Ruan Tian's card had been frozen.
But Ruan Tian's expression was indifferent.
After all, she had never used any of the money given to her by the Zhou family in the first place, and she had never touched that card even once.
After eating two oranges, Ruan Tian felt a little better, and she asked, "By the way, have you lined up any new jobs? You should know that I love working, my work is my real husband."
Jiang Lili half-heartedly picked up her role as an agent again and said, "Well, I've helped you pick up a slot on a variety show, and there's a role for the heroine of a web drama that I'm considering."
Ruan Tian scratched her head, "What's to consider?"
Actually, Ruan Tian has never taken a lead role in her life, so she knew the answer to her own question.
Hearing the question, Jiang Lili was stunned silly for a second before replying, "En, you're right. What's to consider? Let's just pick it up?"
Ruan Tian responded equally recklessly, "En, take it."
Actually, Jiang Lili really felt that this web-drama seemed to be pretty good, if a bit low budget. It was an adaptation from a novel and the original author was personally acting as the screenwriter, plus the platform that was broadcasting it wasn't too bad. On top of that, filming wouldn't start until March, which would give Ruan Tian enough time to take some rest.
"Ah, I almost forgot to tell you but there is one more thing. The venue for our company's annual meeting this year has been set. It's seven p.m. the day after tomorrow at the Lesha Hotel. Remember to dress yourself up beautifully."
Qin Pictures was a company with a lot of well-known artists, including a few Movie Queens.
There were also many small and newly popular flowers.
Thus, the annual meeting was a place where all of the company's female artists competed in beauty. Knowing that, Jiang Lili was really a bit afraid that Ruan Tian might decide to show up in a sweater and jeans or something and shame them both to death.
Ruan Tian agreed: "OK."
Then, although while neither of the friends expected it, the two new projects they had just decided to pick up were actually quickly exposed online.
The variety show had deliberately released the news at the urging of the producer in order to drum up some hype before filming began.
Meanwhile, the web drama was a tiny production that was working with some really small workshops that didn't have any professionalism at all, and everything ended up being leaked. Before long, there were all sorts of gossip and WeChat pictures flying around all over the place from the leaks.
【Hahahahaha omg, there's really a show called 'The Cold Prince's Wife Xiaoxiao Runs Away' in 2020? 】
【A small budget web drama with a total of 20 million in investment! Hahaha I'm laughing to death. 】
【No matter who Ruan Tian tries to cozy up to for heat, it's all useless. After all, when she connects herself to stuff like this doesn't she just look like an idiot! 】
【*Sees the title* *Backs away slowly* 】
【Hahaha do the Ruan Tian fans all want to kill themselves now? 】
The official announcement hadn't even been made yet but the netizens were already dragging the show ruthlessly.
But soon the mommy-fans started biting back. And, although they acted sweet and warm in front of Ruan Tian, their essence was actually extremely fierce.
They were ruthless to everyone except for Ruan Tian.
【Little sister who likes to come and stare at us so much, I wonder, is your idol dead? 】
【Whatever TianBaby picks up, we'll watch it all, you don't have to bother yourselves. 】
【You all come here to mock and ridicule, but this drama is going to explode. 】
Ruan Tian's fans might have inherited their idol's sharp way of speaking, because after two or three sentences of counterattacking many of the haters had already shut up.
—-
On the day of the company's annual meeting, Ruan Tian and Jiang Lili headed to the venue together. Ruan Tian was wearing an evening dress and jewelry that had all been prepared for her by the company, something that had never happened before.
When she had received the dress and accessories, Ruan Tian had even wondered if the box had been sent to the wrong place.
It was very inexplicable.
The Lesha Hotel had been booked out and a security check was required to enter or exit. There was even a live red carpet event scheduled.
The Qin Pictures annual meeting didn't lose out to those big film award ceremonies at all.
Online, fans had long been squatting in the chat room for the live broadcast as they waited for their idols to appear.
Of course, fans of Ruan Tian weren't just waiting, they were also guarding her as they squatted.
There was a traffic jam on the road so Ruan Tian was almost late, but in the end, she arrived at the hotel with a few minutes to spare. She quickly tidied up her dress, checked her makeup one last time, and then got out of the car before being invited in by the staff.
At the same time, a certain website was broadcasting the progress of the annual meeting in real time.
【I was really shocked just now. Ruan Tian actually walked the red carpet at the end like she was the finale… this is really the treatment for the ****ing boss's wife…】
1L: I was also shocked. Watching the live broadcast, even Liu Yilee walked before her despite all of her awards…
2L: Last year the finale was Li Dong. The year before that it was Shao Yuzhuo, who took Best Actor. In which year was the last person to walk the carpet not a big shot? There are so many big celebrities this year, no matter what it shouldn't be Ruan Tian's turn, right?
3L: I suddenly remember the rumors about her and Qin Yu from some time ago. I always thought those rumors were nonsense, but did anyone ever look carefully?
4L: I admire her. Why don't I get such treatment.
5L: Qin Yu can be regarded as the real power in the Qin family, right? So is Ruan Tian the noble concubine? Tch.
6L: No doubt about it, she's really a noble concubine. Even though he usually never does, Qin Yu actually showed up to the annual meeting this time! Someone just posted a picture so it's real. Also, that evening dress that Ruan Tian is wearing is a high-end luxury item, and a customized model on top of that.
7L: ****, even after watching this for some many years, this should be the first time he participated in the Qin Pictures annual meeting, right?
8L: My head is going black, I feel sick, what about you guys?
9L: I'm laughing myself to death in the chaos.
But in fact.
Ruan Tian was just stuck in a damn traffic jam!
She hadn't even intended to walk the red carpet, but after she got out of the car she had been quickly pushed over here by someone and before she knew it there she was being stunned by the camera flashes.
Thus, she had no choice but to put on an elegant smile and walk the carpet.
Meanwhile, after seeing her on the red carpet in the live broadcast, her fans were all crowing, 'She's so beautiful, it's killing me', 'Ahhhhhh, so beautiful, too beautiful', "Big sister killed someone with her beauty again today', 'Ah, I'm sorry everyone, our TianBaby accidentally showed up and suppressed everyone else again today'.
Before long, the red carpet event ended and the live broadcast closed.
After finally getting into the venue, Ruan Tian and Jiang Lili went to their two different assigned tables according to their invitations. But once she sat down, Ruan Tian noticed that Qin Yu was at the head of her table and, for some reason, almost everyone else at the table was a high-ranking person from the various companies in attendance. It seemed that she was the only artist.
Ruan Tian felt like she was sitting on pins and needles and she felt a chill on her back.
She felt that this was definitely Qin Yu's plot to deliberately make things difficult for her.
None of the big shots at the table recognized Ruan Tian, so they were all speculating about who this woman might be. After all, there shouldn't be anyone in their circle so eager to take their own life that they would blatantly arrange for a little lover to sit at the main table like this.
But, although they all had doubts, no one asked anything.
And no one suspected Qin Yu at all.
Ruan Tian planned to just bury herself in her meal and ignore everything around her.
But as soon as she stretched her chopsticks out, the other people at the table all stood up and toasted to Qin Yu in unison,
"""President Qin, a toast to you."""
Ruan Tian pondered for an instant. She was bad with alcohol, so she decided not to toast as well, because that would mean she would have to drink.
Also, if someone asked her to toast Qin Yu respectfully, she really might not be able to control herself from throwing the wine in his face.
Thus, only Ruan Tian was sitting there, motionless as Mount Tai, even as everyone else at the table was toasting.
The head of the film and television department couldn't bear to see this and quickly sent a few desperate winks while hissing, "Get up quickly."
Ruan Tian stood up reluctantly and smiled dryly at Qin Yu, "President Qin, sorry but I'm ill. I'm afraid I might infect you, so I can't toast right now."
Qin Yu looked back at her with a smile that was not a smile. He swirled the wine in the glass in his hand and said casually, "It's okay, I'm not afraid to get sick."
****. Really shameless.
Hearing that, Ruan Tian fell silent for a moment before changing her words: "Then I'm afraid you might be sick and infect me, so I can't toast right now."
The people present all sucked in a cold breath, hardly believing that someone dared to speak like this to Qin Yu's face.
Qin Yu sneered, his eyes cold. Unsurprisingly, Ruan Tian didn't hesitate to challenge him.
After that, Ruan Tian ate until she was full, but she had no interest in watching or participating in this sort of event, so she quickly slipped away at the first opportunity.
In her mind, Qin Yu was like a plague god, and there would be nothing good any time she saw him.
Ruan Tian went to find Jiang Lili to asked to borrow a shawl before slipping through the back door to leave.
At the back entrance of the hotel, the streetlights were dim and the road was so dark that a person could barely see a few feet ahead.
Outside, Qin Yu was lazily leaning against the wall with one hand in his pocket in a pose that seemed somehow graceful. When he heard the sound of footsteps, he raised his alabaster face and smiled over at Ruan Tian, "You're full?"
Ruan Tian immediately stepped back and tried to open the door, only to hear a click and find that it had locked behind her.
Qin Yu slowly walked up to her and raised his hand until the tips of his fingers brushed across the side of her face. His eyes fixed themselves on her snow-white collarbone for a moment before slowly creeping down. Then he raised an eyebrow and said, "What are you doing running so fast? You think I'm going to eat you?"
Ruan Tian wrapped the shawl around herself tightly and pursed her lips.
Qin Yu was a madman who couldn't be reasoned with. That was the truth she had understood about him ever since she was a child.
"I'll drive you back, how about you cook me a meal?"
In order to get rid of him, Ruan Tian spat out, "Qin Yu, do you always show up in front of me because you like me? Because you can't live without me?"
Qin Yu brows furrowed and he didn't reply, as if he were really thinking about the question seriously.
Ruan Tian pressed on and spouted some nonsense: "Unfortunately, there are already too many people who are crazy about me, you don't have a chance."
…
Because she ended up being the finale of the red carpet event, Ruan Tian was chased by Liu Yilee's fans all night long and scolded mercilessly. And with certain people fanning things from the side, they even moved on to ruthless personal attacks before very long.
A certain Liu Yilee superfan directly summed everything up with one post: 【Ruan Tian, the chief white lotus of the entertainment industry, has tried to leech Xu Jing's popularity, and has actively promoted speculations about a CP between her and Qin An, but what has she ever actually done as an artist? I'm just asking questions here. Scolding is cyber violence. 】
【With all due respect, a person who has never even acted as the female lead in anything isn't even worthy to be compared with Sister Yilee. 】
【It seems that as long as you sleep enough people, you can do anything. I suggest other actresses follow her example. 】
Liu Yilee's fans showcased both immense fighting power and staying power as they directly clawed their way up the hot search until they reached the very top, controlled the discussion on Weibo, shamelessly reversed black and white so they could simultaneously act pitiful to drum up sympathy for their idol and also frame Ruan Tian with whatever random crimes they could think of.
They also took the lead to control the tone of the conversation online so they could keep Ruan Tian's fans on the defensive, always pressing them to clarify for fabricated crimes.
A large number of random passersby listened to their one-sided words and directly took Liu Yilee's side. Before long, it was cemented that Ruan Tian had maliciously stolen the finale of the red carpet event, and all the netizens began to condemn her for her behavior.
In another place, Jiang Lili had begun to seriously hate this Liu Yilee. This woman was so poisonous, always taking the lead to attack and blacken Ruan Tian again and again, and for what?
But the victim, Ruan Tian, consoled her casually, "Just unplug the network cable, all your grievances will disappear."
Jiang Lili sighed but seemed to agree. She turned off her phone and said, "The first episode of that variety show will start recording next month. I've asked around and this time shouldn't be like that last one, and the other four guests seem to be pretty good too."
—
However, before she began shooting the new show, Ruan Tian planned to go see Haui Mo at his school.
She was someone who kept her promises and, besides, it wasn't like she could let a little boy down, right?
So Ruan Tian found a free Friday, put on a mask, and then took a taxi to Huai Mo's school.
It had already been quite a long time since the two met last time.
Ruan Tian didn't expect that Huai Mo's grades were so good, he was actually attending Capital University, the best school in the city. (tl note: so he literally goes to '首都大学' which I'm like 90% sure is a generic name the author made up because '首都' just means 'capital', as in the capital of a country)
Huai Mo came to the school gate to pick her up after classes were over. When Ruan Tian saw his white lab coat she was a bit taken aback, "You're studying medicine?"
Huai Mo smiled, "That's right."
He seemed a little embarrassed, "Sister, I just came out of the lab and didn't have time to change my clothes, do you mind?"
Ruan Tian didn't mind, rather, she thought that Huai Mo looked better in a lab coat than casual clothes.
It went well with his exquisite facial features and white, delicate-looking skin.
Huai Mo took Ruan Tian to the school cafeteria for their meal. When a certain senior from the same lab saw him smiling, she was shocked like she had seen a ghost.
Haui Mo was well-known in the Capital University Department of Medicine. He was a genius student with a deep background, but he had an extremely introverted personality and he seemed to like spending all of his time doing strange anatomy experiments in the lab.
He was known to be surly and capricious, and he had no friends because he never bothered making friends.
He only liked to spend his time messing around with all kinds of animal carcasses.
It was even said that ever since the first time Haui Mo had entered the dissection room he had never been afraid or gotten sick and vomited like many new students would. No matter what he saw, he could deal with it all with calm and composure.
After enjoying a good meal, Ruan Tian pointed over at a random other student who was also wearing a white lab coat at the next table and asked, "Is that your classmate?"
Huai Mo glanced over, "En, it's one of my seniors."
Ruan Tian made an 'ohh' sound and asked, "Then will you be able to become a doctor after you graduate?"
In reality, Haui Mo had no thoughts of saving the world or helping people. He was talented in medicine, but that didn't mean that he was interested in medicine.
He just liked the feeling of holding a scalpel and cutting.
But outside he said: "If there are no accidents, I should be able to. My dream ever since I was young is to treat illnesses and save people."
And sure enough, Ruan Tian's eyes seemed to turn a bit brighter as she looked at him, "Ah, you're so kind."
Huai Mo lowered his head and blushed, looking very boyish and young, "I'm not as good as sister says."
Ruan Tian was struck by his cute blushing and shy appearance, and she couldn't help but raise her hand to rub his hair, "You're very good, ah."
Ruan Tian still remembered that Huai Mo was a poor student living in poverty like she had been so, after lunch, she really wanted to give him some money directly. But after thinking about it, she felt that if she gave him money directly she might hurt his self-esteem, so she came up with the roundabout method of taking him to a supermarket and buying him a bunch of instant food for him to take back to his dorm to eat.
Of course, Haui Mo hadn't lived in the school dorms for even a single day.
In the end, the instant food was all brought back to the massive Huai residence.
The atmosphere in the Huai family villa was always bleak, with all of the housekeepers and maids walking on eggshells and being very cautious in their work.
Haui Mo was like a little ancestor, the kind that everyone had to pay their respects to.
When evening fell, a maid summoned up her courage and went to knock on the door of the young master's room to invite him to eat.
Huai Mo went downstairs with a cold face. When he saw the food on the table, he sneered and said, "Get rid of this."
The butler's hair was all white from worry. Actually, the young master was so thin he was nearly anorexic, so he persuaded: "Young master, you should take a few bites even if you don't like it. Otherwise, Miss Ruan will be worried to see you so thin."
Huai Mo put on a pensive expression, "Will she really be worried?"
The butler said stiffly: "Yes, she will."
Haui Mo finally sat down. After eating a bowl of food, he suddenly said, "I really don't like her going out to act."
"But there's nothing I can do about it."
"It's such a headache."
The butler knew that Haui Mo's mood easily jumped to extremes.
Anyway, he couldn't make sense of the young master's mutterings this time, nor did he want to.
He simply shut up, stood in place, and listened.