In fact, Shen Mingyou and Gu Aifei had no real conflict. They were just characters in a story, with Gu Aifei as the heroine and Shen Mingyou as a supporting role.

The book’s Gu Aifei had ideals and ambitions but used her advantages for her own success without harming others. Her fate and others’ were beyond her control; she could only shape her own destiny.

But meeting the awakened Shen Mingyou made Gu Aifei feel like they were natural rivals. Whenever they met, Gu Aifei would try to compete, losing sight of her original goals and character.

“Why compete with me? Whether you win or lose, people who like you will still like you, and those who dislike you will still dislike you,” Shen Mingyou said. She noticed Jiang Chen still hadn’t called back, looked up at Gu Aifei, and added, “It’s not like I dislike you. No matter what you do, we won’t be friends. I still don’t like you.”

Gu Aifei replied, “I don’t like you either.”

“I know, but so what? Your dislike doesn’t affect me. Why should I care?” Shen Mingyou said.

Gu Aifei was taken aback.

As Shen Mingyou said, her dislike wouldn’t impact Gu Aifei. Why should she be so upset about it or compete with Shen Mingyou?

“You are you, I am me. We should just stick to our own paths,” Shen Mingyou said with a smirk. “Of course, if you really want to fight, I won’t hold back.”

After Shen Mingyou left, Gu Aifei stayed behind for a while before leaving.

_

After the party, it was almost eleven o’clock.

When Shen Mingyou returned to the room, she was persuaded by the director and staff to drink a few glasses of wine. Stepping outside into the cold wind, she remembered she had forgotten to call Nian Nian.

She looked at her phone and saw Jiang Chen had not returned her call or sent a message, and she didn’t know where he was.

As she was about to call Jiang Chen again, she accidentally tripped over something and was about to fall.

Ji Wenlun, who was nearby, quickly moved to help Shen Mingyou.

However, he was a moment too late. Jiang Chen suddenly appeared and caught Shen Mingyou in his arms.

Ji Wenlun looked at Jiang Chen and withdrew his hand.

“Boss Jiang, you arrived just in time,” Qin Song said with a smile. “If you had been a second later, Shen Mingyou would have fallen.”

During the filming, Jiang Chen often visited the crew as a family member. Everyone knew how devoted he was to Shen Mingyou. He would bring their children to visit her, deliver meals, and pick her up and drop her off from work. Everyone understood that whenever Jiang Chen showed up, the crew’s afternoon tea would be quite elaborate.

As the saying goes, one should be grateful to those who help them. Naturally, the crew members liked Jiang Chen. When they saw him holding Shen Mingyou, everyone smiled kindly.

The producer said, “Shen had a few glasses of wine, so she might be drunk. Luckily, Mr. Jiang is here, so we don’t need to arrange a special ride for her.”

Shen Mingyou, who wasn’t drunk at all, tried to push Jiang Chen away when she heard this, but he just held her tighter.

Jiang Chen said, “I’ll take Shen home. Next time, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.”

After saying goodbye, Jiang Chen took Shen Mingyou’s hand and they walked to the parking lot.

“Why are you here?” Shen Mingyou asked.

“I’m taking you home,” Jiang Chen replied. “I’m not just passing by; I came here specifically to take you home.”

“…” Shen Mingyou got into the car and asked, “Where’s Nian Nian?”

“Nian Nian is at home. The housekeeper and aunt are taking care of her, so don’t worry.”

As soon as Shen Mingyou sat down, Jiang Chen turned around and handed her a large bouquet of brightly blooming roses. He smiled and said, “Congratulations on finishing the filming. These flowers won’t be taken by Nian Nian.”

Shen Mingyou remembered the bouquet Nian Nian gave her a few days ago and smiled as she took the flowers from Jiang Chen.

Seeing the smile in Shen Mingyou’s eyes, Jiang Chen suddenly asked, “Youyou, how do you think I’ve been doing recently?”

“Hmm?” Shen Mingyou was puzzled by his sudden question.

Jiang Chen said, “Last time I confessed to you, you said you wanted to see how I perform. Do you think I’ve done well recently?”

Shen Mingyou remembered that after Jiang Chen found out about Zhao Yan’s fire, he seemed to have “confessed” to her when he came back.

Shen Mingyou thought, “Does that count as a confession?”

How can it be considered a confession if I didn’t even say ‘I like you’?

Jiang Chen’s actions over the past two months clearly showed he was interested in her, but he never actually said he liked her.

Jiang Chen realized that his last confession wasn’t very clear.

“Shen Mingyou, listen, I like you,” Jiang Chen said, looking at her seriously. “Let’s be together!”