Chapter 28: Possessiveness
After escaping from the village, Zhou Ya followed An Yi’s advice and went to find Teacher Chu.
Teacher Chu was in her forties and had voluntarily taught in the mountain region for nearly twenty years. She was unmarried, had no children, and had devoted her whole heart to education.
When she saw Zhou Ya come to her in the middle of the night, filthy with dirt and covered in dust, she was startled. After hearing what had happened to her, she took her in without a second word and hid her in the dormitory the whole time. When people from the village came asking whether she had seen the girl who ran away, Teacher Chu said she didn’t know and hadn’t seen her.
It was only after the university admission notice arrived that Teacher Chu took Zhou Ya to the town overnight. She gave her a sum of money, enough for a few months of living expenses and one semester’s tuition, and told her to find a job after getting out there and work until school started.
After fleeing the mountains, Zhou Ya always kept An Yi and Teacher Chu in her heart. But she was afraid that if she went back, she would be beaten to death, so she never dared return to that mountain.
She always firmly believed what An Yi had told her—
One day, he would come find her.
Brother An Yi had promised her. Brother An Yi always kept his word.
But Zhou Ya also thought, the world was so big. If Brother An Yi came out of the mountains and didn’t know where to look for her, what if he couldn’t find her?
Zhou Ya had originally been studying fashion design, but later, after gritting her teeth and making up her mind, she switched paths and became a model. Her body proportions were excellent, and being on the runway let her come into contact with many different brands of clothing, which she also liked.
More importantly, she had to become famous. She had to make her face known to the public, both at home and abroad. Only then would Brother An Yi be able to see her, and only then could he come find her.
With that thought in mind, Zhou Ya accepted every hardship and exhaustion. In this world, nothing is difficult for one who truly sets their mind to it. Even though she came from the countryside and understood nothing about runway work, she was willing to learn. She studied tirelessly, forgetting food and sleep. As long as her heart was set on it, she was certain she could carve out her own place in the world.
And in fact, she did.
She longed for the day when Brother An Yi would see her and praise her.
Later, once she had money and status and trustworthy friends and a reliable boss around her, she returned to the mountains with bodyguards, intending to see Teacher Chu and An Yi. She thought that since An Yi had never come to find her after all this time, maybe he still hadn’t made it out of the mountains.
But when she got there, An Yi’s house was already overgrown with weeds, ruined and utterly lifeless. When she asked others, they all said they didn’t know and refused to speak of it.
She didn’t go back home. In this lifetime, she would never turn back to look there again.
Since she hadn’t found An Yi, she went directly to Teacher Chu instead. Teacher Chu was nearly fifty now, and the school in the mountains could no longer even recruit students; it was on the verge of shutting down. Zhou Ya persuaded her to leave with her, then brought her to the big city, where she had lived in Zhou Ya’s home ever since.
Zhou Ya treated her like a second mother.
If not for Teacher Chu, there would be no Zhou Ya of today. She had to know gratitude.
And yet she had still never found An Yi. She had already risen above the masses and become an internationally recognized supermodel. Five years had passed, and not once had An Yi appeared.
That boy who had told her not to look back still lived in her memory.
She didn’t even have a single photo of him.
She had also posted on social media before, saying she was waiting for someone. She feared that An Yi might think that now that she was famous, the gap between them was too wide, and that he wouldn’t want to come find her and depend on her. But even so, there had still been no news of him at all. She had thought there was no hope anymore.
Who would have thought she would see him today?
He was dressed simply and neatly, standing right there in front of her. At first she thought she must have seen wrong, but that cry of “Chunhua” told her—
this really was her Brother An Yi.
At last, Zhou Ya completely broke down and burst into loud sobs as she looked at him.
“Brother An Yi, why did you only come to find me now?!”
Five years.
She had waited a full five years.
In that instant, she no longer cared about image or presence or aura.
Gu Lingling and Lin Jiu were both startled. Over there, the agent and assistant hurried to support Zhou Ya, while the two of them rushed forward and dragged An Yi back.
Lin Jiu grabbed An Yi and muttered in a low voice, “Holy shit, were you a scumbag back in your hometown?!”
Gu Lingling said, “So this is the kind of An Yi you are!”
An Yi opened his mouth. “I—”
Lin Jiu clapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t explain. The more you say, the more wrong it’ll sound.”
Looking at how heartbroken Zhou Ya was crying, Gu Lingling nodded fiercely.
Although the two had looked like they knew each other just now, the emotional investment between them was obviously unequal.
If An Yi really had done something to wrong her, or said the wrong thing later and offended Zhou Ya, then Pink Crystal Maiden Heart would have a very hard time moving forward in the fashion world from now on.
Right now, the best method was to draw a clear line between the two of them.
Less trouble was better than more.
Gu Lingling shot Lin Jiu a look, planning to run.
Lin Jiu instantly understood, slapped his thigh, and cried out, “Oh no! My house is on fire!”
An Yi: ?
What was on fire?!
Why was he slapping his own thigh?
Little Frog’s brows twitched. That really had to hurt. He silently glanced at Lin Jiu.
What a man with frighteningly strong hands.
Gu Lingling put on a face of utter distress. “My god, then hurry home! What if the fire burns the whole house down?!”
An Yi: ?
As she spoke, the two of them grabbed An Yi and tried to leave.
Looking at the three of them standing there, Zhou Ya estimated they wanted to attend the fashion show and said, “Let’s go in together.”
Gu Lingling and Lin Jiu, who had just been about to step away: ……
It suddenly seemed that drawing a line between them wasn’t strictly necessary.
The next second, both of them changed direction and stopped leaving, deciding to go to the fashion show together with her.
They had spent half a lifetime doing good deeds and accumulating virtue. Something like pies falling from heaven was simply what they deserved.
Not a trace of shame, not a jump of the heart.
Looking at Lin Jiu, An Yi asked in confusion, “Wasn’t your house on fire?”
Lin Jiu stared straight ahead. “Rental.”
An Yi said, “But—”
Lin Jiu interrupted, “Doesn’t matter. The landlord will handle it.”
An Yi: ……
Landlord, thank you.
The group followed Zhou Ya and her entourage inside. The employee who had originally thrown them out saw Zhou Ya bring them back in and immediately sucked in a sharp breath, hurrying over with a flattering smile and even stuffing three mascots into their hands as a bonus.
Looking at the ugly dolls in their hands—
The three of them: ……
Who wanted these?
Zhou Ya still had work to do. She needed to head to the lounge to get her makeup done and didn’t have time to catch up with An Yi properly.
Her eyes were still a little red from crying. “Brother An Yi, let’s exchange contact info so it’ll be easier to keep in touch later.”
Before An Yi could even react, Lin Jiu and Gu Lingling had already quickly pulled out his phone, lit up the screen, and stuffed it into his hands so he could add her on WeChat.
Don’t ask.
The answer was simply that Pink Crystal Maiden Heart was currently using beauty to serve others.
After they exchanged WeChat and phone numbers, Zhou Ya finally felt satisfied. She waved goodbye to An Yi and said they would stay in touch by phone later.
Watching the great beauty walk away, Gu Lingling and Lin Jiu finally let out the breath they had been holding. Then they both turned to An Yi.
“What’s going on? How do you know Zhou Ya? Did you two date before?”
An Yi’s eyes instantly widened. “No! Chunhua grew up with me. She’s like a little sister from back then. She was just being affectionate because she ran into someone familiar.”
Gu Lingling thought back to the tender look in Zhou Ya’s eyes. “Really?”
An Yi smiled. “Of course. We’re like brother and sister. How could we possibly date?”
After thinking about it, Gu Lingling felt that made sense. From what she had observed, An Yi was completely clueless when it came to romance.
After arriving at the lounge, Zhou Ya was so happy that tears kept streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Brother An Yi had come to find her.
That was just too wonderful.
Her assistant and makeup artist saw this and hurriedly soothed her in alarm. “Sister Yaya, you really can’t cry anymore. If you keep crying, we won’t even be able to do your makeup. You still have to go on stage later.”
The makeup artist added, “Exactly. Let’s forget the sad things for now.”
Zhou Ya immediately objected. “This isn’t something sad!”
As she said it, she placed a hand against her chest like a young girl, smiling brightly. “My love is about to arrive.”
The single-dog makeup artist said, “Fine, fine, your love is about to arrive. Just stop crying and look at some entertainment news to distract yourself.”
Zhou Ya thought that sounded reasonable. She really couldn’t keep crying now, or she wouldn’t be able to finish the job. So she listened to the makeup artist, took out her phone, and planned to browse Weibo. Once inside, she casually tapped on the exploding top hot search.
The moment she saw the contents of the video, the smile on her face froze instantly.
Her agent grew curious and leaned over to look as well. The more he looked at that god-tier little-white-teeth masterpiece in the video, the more familiar it seemed. Then inspiration struck—
those teeth were exactly the same as that An Yi’s from just now.
After Zhou Ya stared blankly for several seconds, the tears she had only just managed to stop burst out all over again, like a landslide and tsunami.
“AHHHHHHH!!!”
The assistant jumped in fright. “Sister Yaya, what’s wrong? What’s wrong? Why are you crying again? Wasn’t your love about to arrive?”
The agent quietly spoke from the side. “It’s not that love arrived.”
Assistant: ?
Agent: “It’s that love died.”
Assistant: ……
What was this?
The fastest heartbreak in history?!!
Looking at Huo Beixing in the video and the photo he was holding up, the agent thought to himself that this An Yi really had some skills. He had bewitched Zhou Ya out of her soul and could even make Huo Beixing publicly admit the relationship.
Over on the other side, Gu Lingling spoke up. “An Yi, pass me the brushes.”
An Yi handed over the two brushes he had in his hand. Lin Jiu held up the mirror while Gu Lingling used the makeup brush to touch up her makeup. Once everything was ready, they followed the rest of the studios to tour the backstage area.
Everything went smoothly, and Gu Lingling let out a breath of relief.
Sure enough, a person wouldn’t be unlucky forever.
But when they were just about to go see the clothes, they were stopped outside a large lounge and told to wait there. Some celebrities had come backstage, and the stars had to be allowed to tour first.
Gu Lingling: ……
She took back what she had said earlier.
At first, it wasn’t too bad. But after waiting for over an hour and still not seeing the celebrities leave, with only half an hour left before the show began, it became clear that these studios would no longer get a chance to view anything.
“Who is it?! Why aren’t they leaving yet!!”
“Are they leaving or not?! If they don’t go soon, I’m going to start spreading rumors!”
But it wasn’t until the final five minutes before the show began that those celebrities finally left, and in the end, they never got to see the outfits from this runway up close at all.
An Yi came out of the lounge with the studio and turned his head just in time to spot a departing figure being escorted away.
A few girls nearby became visibly excited when they saw it.
“Is that Lu Mingnan?!”
“I think it really is! It’s really Lu Mingnan!! So handsome!”
An Yi only looked a couple of times before withdrawing his gaze. The show was beginning now. The various studios could no longer tour anything and could only temporarily return to the reception hall for studios to wait for further news from the brand. If the show ended and no one notified them to do anything else, then they would simply pack up and go home.
But since they had specifically been called here for a tour, there would surely be some special arrangements later, so all the studios stayed and waited.
The three of them stood in a corner, wondering whether they should start a round of Dou Dizhu. Just as they were about to begin, someone tapped An Yi on the shoulder.
“Sorry, we’re full.”
As he said that, he excitedly added, “Call landlord!!!”
Zhou Ya’s agent: ……
Looking at the three gamblers already fully immersed in their vice, he refused to give up and tapped him again.
An Yi said, “Next round, we’ll let you join mahjong.”
Agent: ……
Why, thank you.
Gu Lingling happened to glance over at him and got a fright. She quickly made An Yi put his phone away.
Once the three of them had clearly seen him, the agent pasted the smile back onto his face. “The show is about to start. Yaya would like to invite you to watch it. There aren’t any seats, so you’d have to stand in the staff section with me, but if the three of you don’t mind…”
Gu Lingling immediately stepped forward. “We don’t mind, we don’t mind.”
If they minded this, then they really would be refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit. Their Pink Crystal Maiden Heart had long since become used to taking the back door!
Lin Jiu said with perfect seriousness, “You don’t have to treat us too well. We’re not meant for good days. Standing in the corner is our fate!!”
As he said this, he turned to look at An Yi.
An Yi: ……
Mm-hmm.
Since the other side had kindly invited them, the three expressed their thanks together, then followed the agent all the way to a corner of the show venue. It wasn’t a particularly great spot to watch from, and there were even a few blind angles, but from that one position they could still watch the entire runway.
Zhou Ya was highly famous internationally and had the strongest stage presence as well as outstanding professional discipline, so she had been assigned the finale.
After crying in the lounge earlier, she had made her agent go find An Yi, insisting that no matter what, he had to be brought to watch her walk the runway. The agent had no choice but to comply.
But for that little girl to snatch someone away from Huo Beixing?
Absolutely impossible.
More than an hour later, the fashion show ended, along with the speech from the brand’s chief designer. Standing in the corner of the venue, the three of them all rolled their necks. After craning them for over an hour, they felt their necks had grown longer.
Once Zhou Ya finished walking, she came offstage and began socializing. After she had more or less finished greeting everyone she needed to, her agent pretended to be bringing along assistants and led the three of them over.
Zhou Ya walked up beside An Yi. “Brother An Yi, let’s take a picture together.”
They still didn’t have a photo together.
An Yi didn’t refuse. He stood beside Zhou Ya openly and naturally, while Zhou Ya blushed and looped her arm through his, turning toward the camera.
Whenever An Yi had his photo taken, he always seemed a little unnatural, and there was a trace of shyness on his face. He really wasn’t good with cameras.
Then, as he listened to the agent count down one, two, three, the two of them both wore youthful, awkward smiles on their faces.
Click—
Zhao Ningzhuo lowered his phone and looked at the photo in his hand, then raised his head and looked again toward An Yi standing at the side rear of the show venue.
He had been invited to the show, and a friend had come over asking to take a selfie with him. He had raised his phone to snap one, but afterward, when he looked at the photo, he discovered that An Yi had accidentally wandered into the frame.
Looking at An Yi being held by the arm by a female model while taking a picture, Zhao Ningzhuo fell silent in thought for a few seconds.
Then he gave the photo a title.
Huo Beixing’s karma.
After that, he tapped at the phone screen a few times and sent it to Huo Beixing.
He even thoughtfully attached a line of textual interpretation.
“Your wife doesn’t want you anymore~”
Having just gotten home and not yet changed out of his tracksuit, Huo Beixing took out his phone and checked the photo Zhao Ningzhuo had sent. Automatically ignoring Zhao Ningzhuo’s oversized face, he spotted An Yi in one corner of the photo, standing beside Zhou Ya with a shy smile.
Huo Beixing: !!!
Anger rose in his peach blossom eyes. Possessive to an extreme degree where An Yi was concerned, Huo Dabao didn’t reply to Zhao Ningzhuo’s message at all and instead called An Yi directly.
Listening to the phone ring, Huo Beixing grew irritated. As he walked, he stripped off his top, ending up standing shirtless in front of the floor-to-ceiling window while waiting for the call to be answered. He pressed his cheek with his tongue, the muscles in his back drawn taut.
That restless irritation surged up again.
He wanted to bite something.
Because the venue was too noisy, An Yi walked into a quieter stairwell by the fire exit to answer after seeing the call.
“Wife, do you still love me?!”
Huo Beixing’s voice came from the other end, catching An Yi off guard. He had no idea what was going on, so he soothed him like one would a child. “Of course I do.”
Huo Beixing wore a dark face as he stared out the window in displeasure, feeling that the two little birds on the tree outside were especially annoying. He wanted to pluck all their feathers out.
“Really?”
Hearing the childish tone in his voice, An Yi laughed and spoke close to the phone, “Of course it’s true.”
Only then was Huo Beixing satisfied. His wife loved only him, and could only love him.
But he still hadn’t forgotten the sight of An Yi standing there with Zhou Ya, arms linked. A burst of fire flared up in his chest. He didn’t know why, but he simply didn’t like An Yi looking at other people or being together with them.
“Then wife, would you ever like another girl?”
An Yi: ???
Another… girl?
The two of them were already married. During marriage, how could he possibly do something like fall for someone else?
“Of course not.”
But what if someone else liked his wife?
At times like these, Huo Beixing’s brain worked exceptionally fast.
“Wife, can you promise me one thing?”
An Yi asked, “What thing?”
Huo Beixing said, “If some other girl comes to you, can you tell her you have kidney deficiency?”
An Yi: ……
Author’s Note:
Huo Dabao: If I can’t have it, I’ll destroy it.
