Chapter 18: Your Friend Is Also Zhou Beiming’s Woman?

Su Nian stared at the simple message on her screen. It looked familiar, yet foreign.

Zhou Beiming is moving into her place?

There was no one to take care of him there. She lived off takeout herself.

Su Nian wanted to decline.

But Zhou Beiming was the one making compromises—if she protested further, it would seem ungrateful.

She didn’t reply.

That night, when she got home, Su Nian went into full-on cleaning frenzy.

She was usually too busy to tidy up, so the place was a mess.

She mopped the floor three times, took down all the curtains and washed them, scrubbed the bathroom until it sparkled—even the toilet was gleaming.

Thinking about the sheer number of clothes Zhou Beiming had in his wardrobe, she decided to turn the guest room into a walk-in closet.

There was a plaque hanging on that room’s door:

“Reserved for Lige.”

That was Chu Lige’s room. She’d sometimes stay over for a few days to keep Su Nian company.

Su Nian pulled out her phone and called Chu Lige.

Lige was filming a night scene on set. It was noisy over the line.
“Xiao Nian Nian, why aren’t you asleep this late?”

Su Nian checked the time. Yeah, it was late.

Her body ached from all the cleaning. She collapsed onto the sofa.
“Lige, Zhou Beiming’s moving in with me.”

“What?”
Chu Lige thought she misheard. Wearing ghost makeup, she ducked into a quiet corner.
“Say that again.”

Su Nian enunciated clearly, “Zhou Beiming is going to live with me.”

“What the hell!”
Chu Lige shoved the fake wig out of her face, her pale makeup glaring under the light.
“You’re really going to live with him?”

“He’s the one moving in. I’ve been cleaning all day, my arms are killing me.”
Su Nian lowered her gaze, voice weak.
“I was thinking of using your room to store his clothes. He has so many, and my closet isn’t big enough.”

Silence on the other end.

They’d once promised each other: no matter what, they’d always leave a room for each other if one of them ever had a home.

Su Nian softly called out, “Lige?”

Chu Lige cursed under her breath.
“That bastard Zhou Beiming—what’s his deal? Running to your place to hide from his mess of flings?”

Her voice was loud. Su Nian had to hold the phone away.

After Lige finished ranting, Su Nian explained,
“He wanted me to live at his place at first. But today I ran into Su Jin and Gu Zeyuan… things are going to get complicated.”

Chu Lige understood Su Nian’s nature. When trouble came, Su Nian’s instinct was always to run.

She used to try and push Su Nian to confront things—but eventually realized it only made things worse.

Su Nian was a soft little bun through and through. No matter how much you tried to toughen her up, she’d just end up hurt.

And she had this emotionally detached way of never getting mad no matter what others said.

Lige had tried countless times to get her to see a therapist. Su Nian always insisted she was fine.

Lige gave up trying.
She suddenly asked, “Xiao Nian Nian, don’t tell me Zhou Beiming’s caught feelings from sleeping with you?”

Over the past couple of years, if Chu Lige had relied solely on Su Nian’s descriptions of Zhou Beiming and not read the news, she might’ve thought he wasn’t that bad.

Even though theirs was a transactional relationship, Zhou Beiming respected Su Nian, didn’t cause her trouble, and even gave her a certain degree of freedom.

But the media painted a very different picture.

Just recently, he’d been seen buying sanitary pads at a convenience store with Ye Wanzhen.

Men like him? Their hearts were public property.

If he really had other intentions toward Su Nian, she had to end it immediately.

Then Su Nian said over the phone,
“No, his grandpa wants him to go on blind dates. He asked me to help stall, so I went to the Zhou family with him.”

Chu Lige frowned, ghost-white features wrinkling up.
“Are you sure? Xiao Nian Nian, don’t be naive. Don’t end up helping him and getting sold in the process.”

Su Nian gave a bitter smile.
“He’s so rich—why would he need to sell me? Besides, if he really wanted to, why bother going in circles? My situation already puts me completely at his mercy.”

Chu Lige had to admit, that made sense.

If Zhou Beiming wanted Su Nian to do something, one word from him would do.

She sighed.
“If I were you, I’d cut ties with that family. Then you wouldn’t have to accommodate Zhou Beiming at all.”

She’d said this to Su Nian maybe a thousand times by now.

Su Nian massaged her sore arms.
“Lige… If my parents hadn’t divorced, maybe they would’ve loved me too.”

Chu Lige was helpless. Everyone has their own upbringing.

Su Nian had a deep fixation on family.

No matter how her parents treated her, she never complained.

Lige felt both sympathy and frustration.

Maybe Su Nian didn’t even see it as suffering.

Lige brought up an old topic again.
“Nian Nian, remember that time I had depression? I saw this really good therapist. Want me to introduce you?”

Su Nian looked down.
“I’m not sick.”

Lige didn’t push it.
“Fine. My bedroom—go ahead and use it for that bastard’s clothes.”

Su Nian apologized.
“Once he moves out, I’ll change it right back.”

Lige wasn’t as optimistic.
“Let’s hope so. I just worry he’ll end up squatting in your house permanently.”

“How could he?” Su Nian chuckled.
“Zhou Beiming falls for every pretty face he sees. Sooner or later, he’ll find someone he truly loves. I’ll be irrelevant by then.”

Lige gave a mirthless laugh.
“Men like that? I doubt they’ll ever truly love anyone.”

For some reason, Su Nian found that oddly believable.

To Zhou Beiming, women were just options.

After chatting a while longer, they hung up.

---

Film Set.

Chu Lige was about to head back. She turned—and jumped.

A man in gold-rimmed glasses was leaning casually against the set wall, arms crossed, eyes sharp and unreadable.

She nearly had a heart attack.

The man didn’t even flinch at her ghost makeup. His gaze was steady and indifferent.
“You’ll take any role these days?”

First love is a bittersweet thing. While it feels magical at the time, once the hurt sets in, it’s best to never cross paths again.

Seeing him now only made Chu Lige want to draw a blade.

That was how she felt.

She couldn’t even be bothered to speak. Lifting the hem of her ghost costume, she brushed past him.

A forearm blocked her path.

He asked,
“Free tonight?”

White shirt, crisp and spotless. A single button glinting near her chest. A faint character—‘Jiang’—etched in gold.

A symbol of status.

The only heir of the Jiang family, five generations single-line male descent. Born with a silver spoon, life planned out from birth—including his wife.

Chu Lige found it dull.
“Young Master Jiang, can’t you see I’m working? You know my dad’s a debt dodger. I need to earn money.”

She was a low-tier actress, barely scraping by.

She used to play corpses. Eventually, she’d done it so much she carved out a niche in the horror genre. It paid slightly better.

She needed more roles, but luck was never on her side. It always felt like the heavens were playing games with her.

Chu Lige brushed away Jiang Yun’s hand and strode off.

His cold voice echoed behind her:
“Your friend… is also Zhou Beiming’s woman?”

That was exactly what Chu Lige had been dreading.

He’d heard everything.

Then Jiang Yun slowly uttered two emotionless syllables:

“Su Nian?”