The dinner party on the phone screen was gorgeous and dreamy.
The purple theme lent an air of elegance to the venue without being tacky. In the middle of the dance floor, Su Minghan, dressed in a white suit, wore a gentle and refined smile. He held a quiet and well - behaved woman's hand and twirled gracefully, becoming the center of attention.
Xiao Shujing stared blankly and murmured to herself.
"He actually knows how to dress properly."
In front of her, Su Minghan always wore either a red or an orange suit.
It seemed he had worn every colorful suit in Yancheng.
"Hey, isn't this the famous big star from our dorm?" Yan Yueyue saw Xiao Shujing on the upper bunk as soon as she entered the dormitory.
She glanced at her and expressionlessly pulled the bed curtain shut.
"What a snob! If it weren't for A Yuan's contract submission, you wouldn't be in this position today."
Xiao Shujing paused. "What do you mean?"
Yan Yueyue casually pulled open the bed curtain and sneered smugly. "What? Didn't A Yuan tell you? Well, in his eyes, you're just a cash machine on call."
"Anyway, I'm A Yuan's girlfriend now. You'd better be polite to me from now on. Do you hear me?"
Xiao Shujing looked at her in shock. "You can't date him!"
"… W - Why?"
Seeing her abnormal reaction, Yan Yueyue stammered involuntarily.
"He!" She stopped halfway through her sentence.
Yan Yueyue swallowed hard. "What's wrong with A Yuan?"
After all, Xiao Shuyuan was Xiao Shujing's younger brother. Even though he was unruly and unambitious, she couldn't reveal that thing.
"He changes girlfriends too frequently. You'd better think it over carefully."
"You mean you want me to stay away from A Yuan? Hmph, I knew you had bad intentions! Let me tell you, it's impossible."
Yan Yueyue disliked her cold attitude.
"I've said what I needed to. You can decide for yourself."
With that, Xiao Shujing got out of bed and was about to go wash up.
Unexpectedly, Yan Yueyue grabbed her arm and roared, "Don't think that just because you're a star you can give orders to others. I don't buy your act at all!"
"I'm not giving you orders. I'm just stating the facts."
"No one dares to speak ill of my boyfriend in front of me, not even his own sister!"
Xiao Shujing was extremely speechless. "Let go. I don't want to argue with you."
"Do you think I'll let go just because you say so?"
Yan Yueyue was overbearing and unyielding.
"Then what do you want?"
"Give me a proper ninety - degree bow and apologize to me sincerely, and I'll let you go."
She took out her phone, clearly intending to record the whole thing.
Xiao Shujing rarely got angry, but Yan Yueyue's actions really annoyed her. Without a word, she pushed Yan Yueyue hard.
Yan Yueyue staggered a few steps and stared at her in disbelief.
"How dare you push me? Bitch!" Yan Yueyue lunged at her like a crazy woman.
Xiao Shujing quickly dodged, but still got hurt.
A long scratch appeared on her cheek, and blood oozed out.
"Um… I - I didn't mean to."
An actress's face was her most precious asset. She would spend a fortune on skin care, let alone get scratched.
Yan Yueyue hid her freshly - manicured hand behind her back. With a guilty look, she didn't dare to meet Xiao Shujing's eyes. "It was because you pushed me just now, so…"
Xiao Shujing was already in a depressed and irritable mood.
After this incident, it was even harder for her to calm down. With red eyes, she rushed out of the dormitory without even putting on her coat.
The howling wind raced through the night.
Xiao Shujing was wearing a white shirt and a pair of canvas shoes. In the darkness, she stood out conspicuously.
She wished she weren't an actress. This thought had repeated in her mind hundreds of times.
If she remained true to herself, she'd be called pretentious. If she changed her personality to be more outgoing, she'd be accused of using any means to climb up. If she did nothing, she'd be criticized for being content with the status quo.
It was so hard. She was so tired.
"Puff… puff…" After running for God knows how long, Xiao Shujing stopped and leaned against a big tree, gasping for breath.
"Be gentle. Watch out for Mr. Shen's head."
"Why is she running out of the hospital at this time of night?"
The voices of several men came from afar.
Curiously, she looked up and hid half of her body behind the tree.
A Kun carefully opened the car door. "She's the boss and we're her subordinates. Why do you care so much? Watch your feet."
"I've never seen such a capricious boss before." A Ting held the car door frame and carefully helped the person into the car.
Only then did Xiao Shujing realize that on this tree - shaded path, there was no one else besides them.
Was she so unlucky to run into human traffickers?!
Just as she was about to call the police, she felt her pocket and realized she didn't have her phone.
"Damn it." She frowned and nervously picked at the bark of the tree, recalling what those men had said.
It seemed she heard… Mr. Shen?
"Don't move."
A cold object pressed against Xiao Shujing's back. It was hard and cold.
Xue Xiaoqi squinted her eyes and questioned, "Who are you?"
"A student from Yancheng University."
Xue Xiaoqi was surprised by her calm reaction. Most people would have been scared and begged for mercy.
But what she didn't know was that Xiao Shujing was so frightened that her mind went blank, and she didn't even have the ability to resist.
"What are you doing here as a student? Did you hear our conversation just now? Did you see anything?" Xue Xiaoqi fired three questions in a row, her tone full of suspicion.
"I got lost by accident."
Xiao Shujing was so stiff and cold that she didn't dare to move.
Click. The thing against her waist was cocked, then moved to press against her head.
"I'll give you two choices. Either tell the truth or die here."
If Xue Xiaoqi hadn't come out to patrol just in case there was an ambush, she wouldn't have noticed this woman hiding behind the tree.
If this woman filmed something and posted it on the Internet, it would be bad for Shen Ximan.
"I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, you can do it."
Xiao Shujing was already tired of this life of selling her youth for money. Maybe an early release wasn't such a bad thing.
She closed her eyes, mentally prepared. After waiting for a long time, she only felt a pair of cold things lock around her wrists.
"Get in the car with me."
Xue Xiaoqi walked around to the front and said coldly.
Xiao Shujing opened her eyes and stared blankly without saying a word.
She was really beautiful.
That was her only thought at that moment.
At Xijiao Sea Villa Area.
The car stopped in front of a gentle - looking villa.
Xue Xiaoqi opened the driver's door and ordered, "Get out of the car."
"Ms. Xue, what about her?" A Kun glanced at Xiao Shujing.
"You guys take Ms. Shen upstairs first. I'll handle the rest."
Shen Ximan was carefully carried on someone's back. The scar - faced man on her side made Xiao Shujing more certain of her previous suspicion.
The "Ms. Shen" they were talking about was her!
"Come with me." Xue Xiaoqi wore a mask, but the coldness in her eyes was still palpable.
Xiao Shujing nodded and silently followed her.