Chapter 16

Shen Yan tried to pull away, but no matter how many times she struggled, she couldn’t break free. She lowered her gaze and saw the whiteness of Meng Yian’s knuckles.

“You’re guilty,” Meng Yian repeated, his tone calm. His eyes darkened with emotion. “I told you to wait for me, that I’d work hard to earn money, but you threw me away like garbage.”

Shen Yan pried at his fingers, trying to loosen his grip, but he only held on tighter, making her wrist ache.

Taking a step forward, Meng Yian leaned close to her ear and murmured, “You said I couldn’t give you what you wanted, that I had no right to be with you. I spent three years trying to forget you, but then you appeared again. And now, you’re trying to run? I won’t let you.”

Shen Yan ordered coldly, “Let go.”

At her words, Meng Yian’s grip loosened slightly—only to tighten again the next second.

As she stepped back, Shen Yan kept trying to shake off his hand. “Meng Yian, let me go!”

Meng Yian stood there, watching her with cold eyes, making no move to release her.

The next moment, Shen Yan bit down on his wrist. At the same time, she shoved him away forcefully. Meng Yian staggered back a few steps, finally letting go.

Standing tall, Shen Yan glared at him. “I’m not guilty!” With that, she turned and walked away.

Meng Yian remained where he was, staring at the fresh bite mark on his wrist. Then, he looked at Shen Yan’s retreating figure before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Meng Yian returned to his room, and Assistant Wu immediately approached, handing him a stack of documents. “President Meng, these are the files you asked me to print.”

As Meng Yian reached out to take the documents, Assistant Wu froze for a moment—was that a bite mark on their president’s hand? When he tried to take another look, Meng Yian had already sat down at the table, and Assistant Wu didn’t dare to stare.

Just then, the phone rang. Meng Yian swiped to answer.

On the other end was his mother, Li Cuiyu. “Son, is Shen Yan trying to get back together with you?”

Glancing at Assistant Wu, who looked puzzled, Meng Yian replied, “No.”

Li Cuiyu paused for a moment before saying, “Back then, you couldn’t give her the future she wanted. But now, things are different. If you still like her, I support you being with her. I believe she left because of her career, not because she didn’t like you. It was just that her ambitions were more important to her at the time.”

Pressing his lips together, Meng Yian said, “I don’t like her anymore.”

After a long silence, Li Cuiyu sighed, wanting to say more, but Meng Yian directly used work as an excuse to hang up the call.

Looking at her phone, Li Cuiyu muttered to herself, “If he doesn’t like Shen Yan anymore, why is he still refusing to go on blind dates? Could it be that she hurt him too deeply?”

She shook her head. “Oh well, as long as he doesn’t fall for her again, it’s fine.” That was the only reason she had called. Since Meng Yian had firmly stated that he didn’t like Shen Yan anymore, she felt reassured—there would be no reconciliation.

In her mind, the women she had arranged for Meng Yian to meet were all excellent matches. They were well-matched in status, looked good together, and were far superior to Shen Yan.

Meanwhile, Assistant Wu remained standing where he was.

Meng Yian asked, “Regarding Shen Yan…”

Before he could finish, Assistant Wu quickly interjected, “I work for President Meng. I know who I follow and who pays my salary.”

Satisfied, Meng Yian nodded and continued reading the documents as if the phone call had never affected him.

Seeing that Meng Yian trusted him, Assistant Wu finally prepared to leave. He considered himself a smart person—no matter which member of the Meng family asked him about Meng Yian’s affairs, he wouldn’t say a word.

Just as he reached the door, Meng Yian called out, “I will be attending the ‘Cherished Life’ launch ceremony.”

Internally, Assistant Wu felt a pang of sympathy for Shen Yan but quickly responded, “Understood.”

After seeking help from the hotel staff, Shen Yan finally got her room unlocked. She retrieved her key card, thanked the staff, and went straight to the bathroom to rinse her mouth.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she muttered, “Meng Yian said he won’t let me get away—he must be trying to torment me.” With that thought, she knew she had to work even harder.

After washing her face, she went straight to bed. The argument between He Han and Zhou Ruo next door continued, but Shen Yan felt it had nothing to do with her. Even if she went over, she wouldn’t be able to help. So, she ignored it and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, Zhou Ruo knocked on Shen Yan’s door, waking her up.

“He Han came to me yesterday because of your audition. I have never been biased—I only recommended you for the audition because I thought you had a chance. Now, He Han has switched to a different manager. Even though I suggested it, this whole thing started because of you.” Zhou Ruo paused, waiting for Shen Yan to respond.

Shen Yan simply said, “Sister Zhou, I will do my best to act well.”

Before Meng Yian did anything, she would focus on her career.

Zhou Ruo had booked a flight back at noon. After having breakfast at the hotel, she and Shen Yan headed to the airport, accompanied by Zheng Rou and Wang Peng.

Zheng Rou, wanting to find out what kind of audition program Shen Yan had participated in, started complimenting her.

“Yan Yan, you’re so beautiful.”

“Yan Yan, you have such great poise.”

“What skincare products do you use? And what perfume?”

Shen Yan responded perfunctorily, not interested in continuing the conversation. She wasn’t fond of socializing.

At the airport, as they got out of the car, Zheng Rou stuck close to Shen Yan again. This time, Shen Yan asked bluntly, “What do you want?”

Caught off guard by her directness, Zheng Rou was momentarily flustered before stammering, “I just wanted to ask what audition program you’re participating in.”

Shen Yan replied, “A xianxia drama—Immortal Path.”

Zheng Rou was dumbfounded. Just like that, Shen Yan told her? No pretentious evasiveness, no withholding of information. This wasn’t what she had expected at all.

Pulling her suitcase, Shen Yan walked straight into the airport with Zhou Ruo. Given her current level of fame in the entertainment industry, there were no fans to greet her, nor were there any reporters following her. Entering the airport was simple.

Watching them disappear into the terminal, Wang Peng immediately approached Zheng Rou, who was still in a daze. “Did Shen Yan refuse to tell you?”

Zheng Rou didn’t respond.

Wang Peng smirked. “I knew it. There’s no way Shen Yan would tell you what audition program she’s in. If we knew it was a big opportunity, we wouldn’t want her participating either—it’d mean more competition for us.”

But then, Zheng Rou said, “Shen Yan is auditioning for Immortal Path.”

Wang Peng was stunned. “What?”

By the time he processed what she had said, he was just as baffled. “What’s going on with this Shen Yan? I don’t get her at all.”

Wang Peng asked, “How did you ask her?”

Zheng Rou replied, “She told me to ask directly, so I did. Then she just told me.”

Wang Peng was speechless. This was not the reaction he had expected.

Wang Peng: “………”

Wang Peng and Zheng Rou stared at each other for a while before Wang Peng finally said, “Next time, when you get what you want, at least look happy. Don’t act like Shen Yan, as if nothing worked out.”

Zheng Rou felt a bit wronged—after all, she was just as confused.

Although Wang Peng was somewhat grateful to Shen Yan, this time, he was determined to make sure Zheng Rou signed up and reclaimed some dignity.

Zhou Ruo was sharp enough to guess what Zheng Rou had been trying to ask Shen Yan, but she didn’t say anything. After all, she wasn’t sure whether the xianxia drama audition was a real opportunity.

After discussing it briefly with Shen Yan, Zhou Ruo thought they were on the same page—until Shen Yan said, “If she has the ability, then let her win.”

Zhou Ruo sighed. “Yan Yan, you’re still too naive. Winning isn’t always just about ability—sometimes, it takes certain methods.”

Shen Yan replied, “Sister Zhou, I believe that in the entertainment industry, success should be based on strength.”

Zhou Ruo raised an eyebrow. “But yesterday, you said you got the audition because of your looks.”

After thinking for a moment, Shen Yan admitted, “Yesterday, it was because of my looks. But good looks are also a kind of strength.”

After returning to City A, Shen Yan received a call from the assistant director of the Chen Fei production team. He invited her to join the crew for a gathering after filming wrapped up, but Shen Yan declined.

She was grateful to the assistant director, but she had no desire to stay involved with the Chen Fei crew.

Once Chen Fei was released, she would at least become more recognizable in the entertainment industry. However, in her previous life, Chen Fei had never included the character of Consort Lan. Shen Yan had no idea how playing this role would impact her career.

The assistant director didn’t press the issue. Instead, he added, “By the way, I invested a little in Chen Fei, just like you suggested.”

After chatting a bit more, Shen Yan hung up as the car pulled up in front of her apartment complex.

Zhou Ruo wasn’t only managing Shen Yan—she had other artists to handle as well. As soon as she got back to City A, she had work to do. She was so busy that she even declined Shen Yan’s invitation to have a meal together. After dropping her off, she left right away.

Dragging her suitcase, Shen Yan walked inside at a leisurely pace, taking about six or seven minutes to get home.

Even though she had only stayed in City B for one night, she still had clothes that needed washing. She crouched down to unzip her suitcase and take out her clothes—only to immediately realize that something was off.

The items inside weren’t hers.

Instead, the suitcase was filled with what looked like men’s clothing.

She had taken the wrong suitcase.

Zipping it back up, Shen Yan picked up her phone to call the airline’s customer service. Just as she was about to dial, her phone rang.

As soon as she answered, a deep, magnetic male voice came through the receiver.

“We took each other’s suitcases. I found your business card inside.”