As Su Mo emerged from the moonlight, she had barely taken two steps when Ji Lingye’s voice came from behind her. “Miss Su, let me give you a ride.”

“No need, I can get a taxi,” Su Mo politely declined.

“Come on, it’s settled. Besides, I need to discuss your grandmother’s recovery progress with you.”

This time, Su Mo didn’t refuse and followed Ji Lingye into the car directly.

Once inside, Ji Lingye suddenly spoke up. “Don’t take Qingze and Qingqiu’s situation too personally.”

Su Mo turned, frowning, to look at Ji Lingye.

Ji Lingye flashed a smile but offered no further explanation, simply starting the car and driving off.

They hadn’t gone far when he pulled the vehicle up to a pharmacy.

“Wait here a moment,” he said.

He dashed into the pharmacy and returned shortly with a small tube of ointment.

“Qingze mentioned that you burned your wrist. He insisted I buy this for you. Here.”

Su Mo, taken aback, suddenly felt the burning pain in her wrist as if for the first time, accompanied by a subtle shift in her emotions.

“Did Professor Lu say that?” she asked, her voice softening.

Ji Lingye raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, even my coming out to see you was at his behest. Must say, for this Ningning’s savior, he sure is truly attentive.”

Su Mo pursed her lips, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrent in Ji Lingye’s words. She took the ointment, applying it to her hand.

In truth, the burn wasn’t severe. The water hadn’t been hot enough to raise blisters. However, the ointment’s cool sensation felt soothing as it was applied.

Seeing that she’d slathered on the salve, Ji Lingye let out a relieved sigh. He whipped out his cell phone, lowering his head to text Lu Qingze:

The burn on her hand isn’t serious. I’ve already bought ointment and applied it. Don’t worry.

No sooner had the message been sent than Lu Qingze’s reply came through:

Mm.

Ji Lingye clicked his tongue. Lu Qingze, ah, Lu Qingze, he thought. I always knew you were stuffy, but when did you get so damn sassy? Heh, what a prissy dandy.

He turned to glance at Su Mo. “What do you think of Lu Qingze?”

Taken aback, Su Mo replied, “He’s pretty good.”

“How so?”

She pursed her lips. “He’s good in every way.”

“Hmph, that’s quite vague. Can you be more specific? How do you feel about him? Go on, tell me.”

Su Mo, with her head bowed and eyes fixed on the ointment in her hands, pondered for a moment, biting her lip. “At least… he doesn’t go around prying into others’ thoughts or opinions.”

Ji Lingye fell silent.

Finding himself rebuffed, he awkwardly shut his mouth. The rest of the ride to Su Mo’s home passed without a word from him.

He had come to realize that this Su girl was much like Lu Qingze—both presented as easy to get along with, but were in fact covered in prickles.

However, while Lu Qingze’s prickles were a lazy defense to scare others away, Ji Lingye sensed that Su Mo’s were more a cry for self-protection, loudly proclaiming her need for safety.

He sighed softly. Being a young woman alone in the world was indeed no easy feat; it was perfectly normal for her to be cautious.

Upon reaching home, Su Mo thanked Ji Lingye briefly before heading inside. Along the way, Ye Jue had sent her several text messages, all of which she had ignored. Now, back at her apartment, she finally let out a long sigh.

Picking up her phone, she began typing a reply to Ye Jue.

“Sir Ye, I’m sorry, I messed up your party,” Su Mo said.

“What are you apologizing for? It’s not your fault,” Sir Ye responded. “Are you home now?”

“Yeah, I made it. Don’t worry.”

“I was too preoccupied with the mess earlier to ask, but is everything alright? You looked terrible when you left.”

Su Mo tightened her grip on the phone momentarily before finally saying, “It’s nothing. I’m just exhausted and wanted to get some rest.”

“Alright, get some sleep then. Maybe we can grab a meal together when you’re free later.”

“Sounds good.”

After hanging up, she let out another long sigh.

She opened her phone again, revealing the contact number she had obtained from Ye Qingqiu earlier, which supposedly belonged to Director Yuan’s assistant.

After a moment of hesitation, she decided not to make the call. It was getting late, and suddenly reaching out might not be the best idea.

Thinking it through, she instead dialed Ma Wenlong.

“Hey, Mo, what brings you calling at this hour?” Ma Wenlong answered.

“Old Ma, could you help me out? I need to find out where the Dark Hawk movie crew is now,” Su Mo asked.

Ma Wenlong, once a talent agent, had left the entertainment industry for some reason and started a dance troupe. However, he still maintained many connections within the industry.

“Uh, it should be possible,” Ma Wenlong said. “What’s the matter? Did something happen?”

“No, everything’s fine,” Su Mo replied. “I just wanted to ask the director when I could sign the contract. I was too rushed during the audition and completely forgot to ask for contact information.”

“Oh, well then, wait here. I’ll ask around for you.”

Ma Wenlong hung up and, after a short time, sent Su Mo a text with an address and a message: Consider yourself lucky; a friend of mine just got back from their set today. Remember to treat us to dinner once you sign the contract.

Su Mo bit her lip, her fingers fumbling as she typed out a single word: “Alright,” and sent it back.

After sending this message, Su Mo set her phone aside, went to the bathroom to freshen up, and then climbed into bed.

However, despite lying down, she found herself unable to sleep.

She picked up her phone and opened her Weibo account, scrolling through the comments left by fans since her last post.

:::box

Mo Ye, give us a hug! It’s just getting caught up in someone else’s mess, don’t worry! We, your Mo Fans, are your strong support. Whoever got you into this mess is in for a world of hurt!

Hell yeah! Who’d dare to mess with Mo Ye?! Aaaaah! I can’t wait to see what Mo Ye looks like. I’m sure they’re a absolute stunner!

Anyone who wronged Mo Ye is signing their own death warrant. And on a different note – I’m dying for Mo Ye’s new work! When will Mo Ye grace us with another commercial project?

Same here! Eagerly anticipating Mo Ye’s creations.

Mo Ye has vanished again? We miss you so much, Mo Ye.

News about Mo Ye returning to China – does this mean we might finally see you in person? Please, Mo Ye, share some photos!

Please, Mo Ye, share some photos! ++

:::

Su Mo scrolled through Weibo, her lips finally curving into a slight smile. She then posted a tweet:

“Always believe that though the path is arduous, as long as you persevere, light will come. Keep going!”

This inspirational message quickly attracted a flood of responses from her fans. They commented, shared, and liked the post, admiring their idol’s resilience and strength. Meanwhile, after sending out this tweet, Su Mo put down her phone and drifted off into a dream.

On the other side, Ji Lingye called Lu Qingze after seeing Su Mo home.

Lu Qingze’s voice remained as impassive as ever on the other end of the line.

“She’s back now, but she seemed quite down. Did something happen?” Ji Lingye asked.

Lu Qingze didn’t respond.

“Tsk,” Ji Lingye clicked his tongue. “I’m just confused—how exactly do you plan to win over Miss Su with your attitude?”

“Does she really seem unhappy?”

“Yeah, not that she showed it openly, but I could tell something was off.”

“I see,” Lu Qingze said before hanging up.

Ji Lingye stared at the dead line for a long moment, speechless. ‘I see’? Is that all he could say? Shouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity to show concern for our beauty and swoop in on her vulnerable state? ‘I see’? Sheesh, it’s times like these I just give up trying to understand him!

Meanwhile, after ending the call, Lu Qingze stood by the window, holding his phone and hesitating. He eventually composed a text message and sent it:

Not in a good mood?