When he saw He Jincheng standing outside the door, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Oh, it’s Young Master He.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling that Ji Mingxin’s attitude was intentionally provoking He Jincheng. It seemed like he’d been subtly provoking He Jincheng from the moment we were at the bar.

Worried that things might get out of hand, I told Ji Mingxin to go back to his room and rest.

Once he was gone, I turned to warn He Jincheng outside the door, “He’s just sleeping in the guest room, but if you knock on that door again, I won’t hesitate to actually do something with him.”

Then I shut the door immediately.

It worked. After that, He Jincheng didn’t make any more trouble.

---

Even though the video had been deleted and it was nearly impossible to find traces of it online, the damage to my career was still devastating.

After discussing my decision to quit the industry with Sister Yue, I walked out, only to run into He Jincheng again.

I couldn’t believe this was just a coincidence. “Have you been following me?”

“He Jincheng, could you please let me go? I feel sick to my stomach just seeing you now.”

He Jincheng glared at me, practically gritting his teeth as he said, “Then who don’t you feel sick seeing? Ji Mingxin? Do you really think he’s approaching you out of kindness? I’ve known him for over a year. He’s just trying to steal you from me.”

After he finished, he seemed to notice my expression darken, so he softened his tone. “Cheng Yu, please don’t trust him. Ji Mingxin is crazy.”

I scoffed, “And who should I trust? You, He Jincheng?”

---

I cooked lunch at home and brought it to the hospital, where Ji Mingxin was also present. I couldn’t help but think of what He Jincheng had said, and it left me feeling a bit uneasy.

After Ji Mingxin put Cheng Xinxin to sleep, we went for a walk downstairs.

I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

Ji Mingxin also halted. “Yu-ge, what’s wrong?”

There’s no denying that he has the perfect looks and physique for the entertainment industry, yet here he was, willing to give it all up to stay by my side every day.

Whenever I asked him why, he’d always say, “I hurt my arm, I need time to recover.”

I stared at the bandages on his arm for a moment, then stepped closer and unwrapped them.

Three months had passed, and there wasn’t a single trace of injury on his arm.

The afternoon sun was harsh, so I squinted and smiled, “Your wound seems to be all healed.”

“Yu-ge…”

I sighed softly. “You know, I’ve been betrayed badly before, so I’m scared of being lied to again.”

Ji Mingxin’s voice grew urgent. “Yu-ge, I wasn’t trying to deceive you. I just needed an excuse to stay with you.”

He brushed aside his slightly long hair, revealing a scar behind his ear. “Yu-ge, do you really not remember me? I’m Mingxing!”

Mingxing… the name sounded somewhat familiar.

Seeing that I wasn’t able to recall anything, Ji Mingxin looked disappointed, but soon forced a bitter smile.

“It’s okay if you’ve forgotten. I can help you remember.”

He pulled me to sit on a bench. “Back then, before I was adopted, you met me for the first time at the orphanage…”

Ji Mingxin explained that he too had grown up in an orphanage, living there for as long as he could remember. But unlike the others, the kids there always bullied him.

“You were the only one who didn’t hate me. When I was injured by the other kids, you were the only one who helped bandage me up.”

He once again showed the ugly scar behind his ear. “Do you remember this? There was so much blood that time, and when you couldn’t find any medicine, you cried so hard. I remember thinking, why are you crying? You weren’t the one in pain.”

Suddenly, something clicked in my memory.

After that incident, he was adopted by a wealthy couple because of his striking appearance, and we lost contact.

“A year ago, when I returned to the country, you were already a film emperor, but when I showed up in front of you, you didn’t recognize me.”

“And then you got involved with someone like He Jincheng…”

He lowered his head, looking like a hurt puppy.

“So you decided to steal his business?”

“Mhm,” Ji Mingxin nodded. “Every time he hurt you, I would take a deal from him.”

I looked down at the fallen, yellowing leaves and let out a bitter laugh. “It seems like you’ve stolen quite a lot from him.”

Ji Mingxin stood up and tried to hug me, but I dodged.

He paused, then withdrew his arms and squatted in front of me. “Yu-ge, I know I’m not a good person either.”

“If He Jincheng had been good to you all along, I wouldn’t have shown up again, but he made you unhappy.”

A gust of wind rustled the dry leaves on the ground, and amidst the sound of the wind, I heard the first part of his next sentence.

“Yu-ge, I’ll never make you sad. Can you…”

I abruptly stood up, cutting him off. “Cheng Xinxin should be waking up soon. I need to head back, and you should get back to work too.”

After that, I quickly left.

This time, Ji Mingxin didn’t follow me.

---

Recently, Cheng Xinxin has been in better spirits. After seeing the ocean on TV, she kept begging to go to the beach.

“Brother, please take me there.”

At her age, she should be out running and playing freely, but her illness felt like a chain, trapping her in this white building.

I couldn’t bear to refuse, so I agreed.

Her condition was unstable, so getting permission to leave the hospital was difficult.

But when I saw her laughing as she splashed in the water, barefoot, I felt that this trip was absolutely worth it.

What I didn’t expect was that Ji Mingxin would show up too.

As usual, he greeted me with a grin. “Yu-ge, what a coincidence! You and your sister are here too!”

I sneered. “Quite the coincidence.”

“Hehe, well, Xinxin invited me. How could I say no?”

The blue sea, the clear sky, the sandy beach—it was all so beautiful. Yet, the person next to me chose to ruin the moment by saying something I didn’t want to hear.

“Yu-ge, have you been avoiding me lately?”

I turned my head away. “No.”

“You knew what I was going to say that day, didn’t you?”

As the waves came in, Cheng Xinxin jumped up to avoid them, but still got splashed, landing in the sand. She laughed happily.

I tried to dodge certain things too, but it seemed I couldn’t escape them either.

Ji Mingxin was like that wave, relentlessly chasing after me.

“I only see you as a friend. If I didn’t hear or know certain things, we could just stay friends forever.”