When Shao Yinan walked out of the hospital, a thin layer of dark clouds seemed to be swirling in his deep, almond-shaped eyes. There was a barely perceptible undercurrent of impatience and turmoil in them.
He slowly closed his eyes, burying all his emotions deep within.
He wasn't ready for A Yin to know about this just yet.
Shao Yinan had always disliked things that were out of his control.
For now, it was just a hunch.
The moment he thought about what Director Xu had told him earlier, Shao Yinan felt as if his chest was stuffed with cotton.
Only then did he realize what Wen Yin had been through all these years.
She had been lost as a child and ended up in an orphanage.
She was unexpectedly adopted before being found by the Wen family.
Although she was the real daughter of the Wen family on paper, Wen Yin had never been treated like one. Instead, she had been constantly bullied by Wen Zhi.
Just as her life was finally getting better, another bombshell had dropped.
A hint of annoyance flashed across Shao Yinan's face.
His long, slender fingers tapped gently on the steering wheel.
After a while, the black car slowly started moving and disappeared into the traffic.
Li Xiangwei was sitting in the hotel with Wen Yin.
"Where's Xiang Zhou?"
Wen Yin asked, looking at Li Xiangwei who was still playing on her phone.
Normally, Xiang Zhou would have picked up Li Xiangwei by now.
"He has a last-minute meeting," Li Xiangwei replied nonchalantly, clearly used to this situation.
Just then, Li Xiangwei seemed to sense something.
A black Maybach was slowly approaching. Li Xiangwei turned to Wen Yin and raised her eyebrows.
"Your Shao Yinan is here to pick you up."
Although Li Xiangwei often teased Wen Yin when they were alone, Wen Yin still blushed instinctively.
Li Xiangwei smacked her lips.
"Come on! You've been together for so long. Are you still shy?"
As they were talking, Shao Yinan rolled down the window.
His perfectly chiseled profile came into view. His face was as expressionless as a statue.
Li Xiangwei couldn't help but nudge Wen Yin.
"I have to say, even after ten years, Teacher Shao's good looks would still stand out in the entertainment industry."
A faint smile appeared on Wen Yin's lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. She slowly stood up.
She noticed that Shao Yinan's jawline was slightly tense.
He didn't seem to be in a good mood.
His long, thick eyelashes were slightly lowered, hiding the complex emotions in his eyes. He was looking at his phone, presumably sending Wen Yin a message.
"Do you want a ride with us?"
Wen Yin turned to Li Xiangwei and raised her eyebrows.
Li Xiangwei waved her hand. "No thanks. Xiang Zhou will pick me up soon."
Wen Yin nodded and walked towards Shao Yinan.
The moment Shao Yinan saw Wen Yin, his eyes lit up, and the annoyance in his eyes disappeared instantly.
He managed to hide his emotions.
But Wen Yin still felt that something was off about him. She just couldn't put her finger on it.
"What do you want to eat?"
Shao Yinan asked casually as he drove.
Wen Yin smiled. "Just something simple."
"Did something happen today?"
Wen Yin observed Shao Yinan's expression and finally couldn't help but ask.
From her perspective, she didn't want Shao Yinan to keep anything from her.
Although...
She had kept a little secret from him last time.
But she had only done it to avoid ruining his mood.
Shao Yinan hooked the corner of his lips when he heard this. His dark, deep eyes stared into hers.
"No. Why do you ask?"
Wen Yin shook her head, hiding the doubt in her eyes.
Maybe she was just imagining things?
Wen Yin lowered her head and didn't press further.
Shao Yinan, who had been driving in silence, glanced at Wen Yin out of the corner of his eye.
He was lucky. He had almost been found out by A Yin.
-
The progress of the dessert shop was going well. Wen Yin opened the short video app as usual. Her inbox was flooded with messages.
Wen Yin quickly scanned through them. They were all fans urging her to go live.
She pursed her lips.
To be honest, Wen Yin hadn't been doing live streams very often. The few times she had gone live were only because her fans had been so insistent.
But now, Wen Yin realized that reading the interesting comments during a live stream wasn't so bad after all.
Wen Yin thought for a moment. Her finger hovered over the "Go Live" button for a long time.
Just then, a message popped up in the long-silent fan group.
[A Yin is going live on the short video platform. Everyone come and check it out!]
This message caused quite a stir. Other fans were surprised.
[I never thought I'd get to see A Yin go live in my lifetime.]
[I think the last time she went live was over a month ago, right?]
[Grandma, the blogger you follow is finally going live again.]
Although the fans were joking around in the group, they quickly flocked to the live stream.
Within five minutes of Wen Yin going live, over a hundred thousand fans had trickled in.
Wen Yin was surprised by the number of viewers on her screen.
"How did you guys get here so fast?"
"Don't you have work or school?"
This time, Wen Yin planned to focus on food live streams, so she didn't show her face. She only showed her upper body.
She was wearing a white polka-dot apron, which made her look less cold and more approachable.
[I skipped work as soon as I heard you were going live.]
[That's right. Skipping work is the best thing in the world.]
[What are you going to teach us today? I'm so excited for every one of your live streams.]
Wen Yin's heart softened as she read the scrolling comments on the screen.
This live stream was no different from her previous ones, except that Wen Yin interacted with her fans more frequently.
Although she didn't show her face, her interactions with the fans made her very popular.
Wen Yin once again made it onto the trending list.
After the live stream ended, Wen Yin saw her name still on the trending list. She couldn't help but think to herself.
She wondered if there was really much of a difference between retiring from the entertainment industry and not.
People who didn't know better might think she had paid to get on the trending list.
Just as Wen Yin was about to click on the trending topic, she received a message from Jiu Jiu.
[Jiu Jiu: Sister Wen Yin, Shaohua is holding a new product launch in two days. President Shao has sent an invitation for you to attend.]
Jiu Jiu knew about the history between Wen Yin and Shaohua, so she tentatively asked.
[Jiu Jiu: Do you want me to decline the invitation for you?]
Wen Yin stared at the message for a moment. Then, her fingers slowly typed out a few words on the screen.