Chapter 10: The Attic  

Shen Simo looked up in confusion. “See you tonight? Where are we meeting tonight?”  

“Tomorrow night. Photoshoots usually take a long time, right? By the time you get here tomorrow, it’ll probably already be evening, so—see you tonight.”  

She forced a stiff smile, but her heart pounded wildly, her pulse racing so fast that her ears buzzed with the sound.  

For a moment, Shen Simo thought Lu HuaiChuan had discovered that “Lu Yong” was actually her own account. She absolutely didn’t want anyone in her personal life to know about her streaming identity—the root reason being fear of judgment, fear of being told that her efforts were pointless.  

After all, Shen Simo worked tirelessly every day, editing videos and streaming like crazy, yet after over a year of effort, her follower count still hadn’t even reached 50,000. Other creators who started around the same time had already landed sponsorships, some even buying their parents big houses.  

Meanwhile, with the income from her modeling and streaming, she barely scraped by in Shanghai. After sending her parents 4,000 yuan for living expenses and paying rent and utilities, there was almost nothing left for herself.  

Sitting on the crowded subway during rush hour, breathing in the pungent stench of sweat, she touched the expensive earrings on her lobes and strengthened her resolve to become a Dodder Flower. Even if it meant parasitic entanglement, she had to fulfill her dreams.  

After some thought, Shen Simo decided that Lu HuaiChuan finding out about her streaming career wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—as long as Lu HuaiLin didn’t find out.  

If that private account named “User36874387,” which was always competing with Lu HuaiLin, really belonged to Lu HuaiChuan, she could just avoid tearing open that thin veil. She could string both brothers along—every little bit helped.  

After showering and applying a face mask, Shen Simo sat down at her computer, adjusted her equipment, and sent Lu HuaiLin a message.  

[I’m home. See you tonight.]  

…………  

Just as Lu HuaiChuan had predicted, Shen Simo didn’t leave the studio until nearly 9 p.m.  

From 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., minus breaks for meals and touch-ups, the shoot had lasted nearly 12 hours. She couldn’t even remember how many sets she’d posed for or how many outfits and makeup looks she’d cycled through—her face was stiff from smiling.  

Carrying two servings of Grilled Cold Noodles, Shen Simo hailed a cab and headed toward the downtown art studio.  

As for why Grilled Cold Noodles—there happened to be a street vendor at the intersection outside the studio. The owner was from the same hometown as her and promised Shen Simo that the taste would be just like home.  

She wanted Lu HuaiChuan to try the street food she’d loved most back in her hometown before coming to Shanghai for university.  

Lu HuaiChuan had left the door unlocked for her.  

The massive standalone villa was eerily quiet, with only the rustling of leaves stirred by the night breeze breaking the silence.  

Carefully, she pulled open the front door, tiptoed down the hallway, and hesitated at the junction between the foyer and the living room. The lifeless atmosphere of the first floor made her unsure whether to call out the homeowner’s name first or just step inside.  

Then, a familiar figure emerged from the other end of the hallway, near the storage room, slowly coming into Shen Simo’s view.  

Lu HuaiChuan wore a black T-shirt under a paint-splattered khaki apron. He waved at her. “Come in. I thought you’d be even later. Have you eaten yet?”

The moment she heard his concern, Shen Simo’s exhaustion seemed to vanish. So there really was someone in this city who cared about her life.

“Yeah, I’ve eaten.” Shen Simo finally smiled genuinely, striding toward Lu HuaiChuan and handing him a portion of the Grilled Cold Noodles she was holding. “Here. Grilled Cold Noodles—I bought them outside the studio. They taste just like the ones from my hometown.”

Lu HuaiChuan took the paper box and began eating right there in the middle of the living room. “Where in the north is your hometown?”

“A small county next to Snow City.”

“That’s impressive, Simo. Coming all this way from home to work alone and still taking such good care of yourself. If I were your parents, I’d be bursting with pride, bragging about my precious daughter to everyone.”

In truth, Shen Simo’s parents were exactly like the ones Lu HuaiChuan described—always telling the neighbors how amazing she was, how much money she made, and how she never gave them any trouble.

Shen Simo continued along his line of thought. “Yeah. They worked hard their whole lives just so I could leave that little county, so I can’t let them down. The climate and medical resources here are much better than back home, and I really want to bring them here to live. But the housing prices are too high. From working part-time in college till now, I’ve saved up enough to maybe buy a one-bedroom in the suburbs. Pretty impressive, right?”

She shook her head slightly with a hint of pride, her soft hair swaying gently with the motion.

For some reason, Lu HuaiChuan suddenly grew serious. He wheeled his chair closer, tilting his head as he proposed, “How about I buy you one?”

Shen Simo thought she’d misheard. She blinked and let out a soft “Huh?” before saying, “That’s way too generous. How could I possibly accept?”

“Then move in with me. You can see for yourself—this place is huge, and usually, it’s just me and Duan Yu living here. You wouldn’t have to pay rent. Of course, it’s just a suggestion—the choice is yours.”

Shen Simo was indeed money-minded, but she still had her wits about her.

Though Lu HuaiChuan was a somewhat well-known painter and Lu HuaiLin was the CMO of Yunde Group’s Asia-Pacific division, who knew if Lu HuaiChuan might be a wolf in sheep’s clothing? She’d worked too hard to save up—she couldn’t afford to be scammed again.

Until she fully understood the social connections of Lu HuaiChuan and Lu HuaiLin and infiltrated their circles, she absolutely couldn’t take things further with this man.  

Better safe than sorry.

Seeing Shen Simo remain silent, Lu HuaiChuan grew restless. He set the paper box on the coffee table and found himself an out. “It’s fine. If you ever need anything, just reach out anytime.”

“Thank you. With a friend like you, I feel more confident staying here.”

A complex emotion flickered in Lu HuaiChuan’s eyes—perhaps protectiveness, perhaps something more consuming—but it all dissolved into a soft sigh. “It’s getting late. You’ve had a long day—you should rest early.”

Shen Simo’s room was in the attic above the second floor of the backyard studio. Though called an attic, the space was larger than her old bedroom, with wooden windows on two sides. Opening them revealed the meticulously tended little garden below.

The only inconvenience of this room was the lack of a ceiling light, with only a wall lamp and a bedside lamp. It was precisely this kind of decor that made the attic the best spot in the entire villa for enjoying the night view.

Shen Simo changed into clean loungewear and sat at the wooden table, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed outside.

Lu HuaiChuan, holding a cup of warm milk, quietly peeked in from the doorway. He didn’t want to disrupt such a beautiful scene. He wanted to etch every detail about her into his memory without missing a single thing, then record it all in oil paintings and store them in that storage room dedicated solely to her—until the paint rotted and peeled away.