The more important figure was Station Chief Duan.
At a time like this, with Yu Tianlin’s side taking a stand, refusing to work with an actress caught in a scandal, Xu Mei’s replacement was a done deal.
Wen Ying wasn’t thrilled about Yu Tianlin getting his way.
But she wasn’t saintly enough to jump in and save Xu Mei.
Xu Mei was betrayed by her own team. That was the path she chose, and Wen Ying had no obligation to her.
Even if Xu Mei woke up to reality now, she was still bound by a ten-year contract. Escaping that quagmire wouldn’t be easy, and Wen Ying, having no connection to Xu Mei, wasn’t about to help with her breach-of-contract fees.
Even the best lawyer could only reduce Xu Mei’s penalty, not eliminate it!
After all, Xu Mei had signed the contract herself, not under duress.
Everyone pays a price for their choices. Life isn’t a game where you can say, “I chose wrong,” and reset the progress bar.
These were Wen Ying’s thoughts. If she were Xu Mei, she’d find a way to break the contract. But she wasn’t sure if Xu Mei, still chasing her celebrity dreams, had seen through General Manager Guan and the others’ true faces or even wanted to break free!
Wen Ying was thinking about Xu Mei, and so was Xie Qian.
Back in Hunan, Xie Qian had braced for Xu Mei to confront them, but she’d been completely silent.
Fair enough—she was too busy dealing with her own mess to stir up trouble.
Xie Qian put on his earphones, “No need to worry about Teacher Yuan. Yu Tianlin can’t outmaneuver her.”
Yuan Fenghui had always had smooth sailing. A stumble didn’t break her; it only made her stronger. Yu Tianlin was ruthless, but he lacked Yuan Fenghui’s experience. Xie Qian still bet on her.
Not wanting to waste time discussing irrelevant people, Xie Qian closed his eyes to sleep.
Wen Ying sat by the window, Xie Qian in the middle, and Wang Shuang on the aisle.
Wang Shuang waited patiently for twenty minutes, thinking Xie Qian was asleep, then leaned forward, whispering to Wen Ying, “Xie Qian’s out. Can you tell me what the best strategy is?”
Wen Ying shook her head, pointed at Xie Qian, and mimed zipping her lips.
“No way, he’s asleep, and you’re still scared of him? Big Sister Xiao Ying, are you that heartless?”
Wang Shuang, shameless as ever despite being older, called her Big Sister Xiao Ying.
Wen Ying, feeling mature enough to be his aunt, calmly accepted the title.
Instead of answering, she turned to sneak a peek at Xie Qian’s sleeping posture.
Steady breathing, eyes closed—actually asleep?
Wow, Xie Qian’s eyelashes were so long!
No matter how many times she looked, his nose, lips, and jawline were perfect, every feature exquisite.
Wang Shuang’s teeth ached watching her.
Li Mengjiao said these two were secretly dating. As a friend, he had to play along, pretending not to notice.
But wasn’t Wen Ying *too* into Xie Qian?
School desk mates, together on holiday, and now staring at him sleeping so closely on a plane… Their secret romance was so blatant, they’d get caught by teachers or parents sooner or later!
As a friend, Wang Shuang felt obliged to warn Wen Ying to tone down her obvious feelings. He coughed lightly, and Xie Qian suddenly opened his eyes.
Wang Shuang jumped, and Wen Ying, caught staring, was embarrassed: “I wasn’t going to tell him the answer!”
Xie Qian glanced at Wang Shuang, who, in three seconds flat, started snoring.
—If I fake sleep fast enough, Top Student Xie won’t catch me.
—I’m such a clever little devil!
When Xie Qian turned back, Wen Ying was “asleep” too.
At least she had some shame, not snoring like crazy.
Xie Qian’s lips twitched, suppressing a smile. These two underachievers only had this much game.
They started faking sleep, but with eyes closed for so long, they actually dozed off. Xie Qian asked the flight attendant for two blankets, letting the two gossip-chasing, study-burdened underachievers get some rest.
He woke them just before landing.
Wen Ying rubbed her neck, hoping Wang Shuang would soon become a shareholder with influence—economy class seats were a nightmare for resting.
After landing, someone was picking up Wen Ying, while Xie Qian and Wang Shuang planned to share a taxi home.
Wen Ying expected her dad, Wen Dongrong, to pick her up, but was surprised to see Chen Ru in the car too.
“Mum, you came too?”
Chen Ru, who’d planned the surprise, was calm, “Your dad and I were at a furniture store nearby, so we swung by. Want to squeeze in? We can drop your friends off too.”
Wen Dongrong knew that wasn’t true but didn’t dare contradict her.
Whatever his wife said went. October mosquitoes were still buzzing, and arguing with her meant no peace!
Wen Dongrong put on a great front for outsiders, warmly inviting Wang Shuang and Xie Qian for a ride.
“Hi, Uncle Wen.”
“Hello, Auntie!”
“No thanks, Uncle Wen, we’ll take a taxi.”
Wang Shuang was loud, Xie Qian reserved.
But standing together, both boys were equally polite.
Clear-eyed, upright teens with open gazes—assuming their friendship was something more was just biased thinking.
Chen Ru noticed Wang Shuang, not Xie Qian, carried Wen Ying’s luggage.
When she sized them up, Xie Qian showed no guilt.
Wen Ying was just as composed, no sign of being caught out.
—Had she really gotten it wrong?
Chen Ru wasn’t fully convinced, deciding to keep observing. The truth would come out eventually.
Wang Shuang was more nervous than either Wen Ying or Xie Qian, fearing their “secret romance” would be exposed, but both were so calm.
True big shots with top-notch mental strength!
He forgot how many “girlfriends” he’d had. The Wang family didn’t care about early dating.
Wen Ying was unaware of Wang Shuang’s overthinking or her mum’s suspicions. Even if Chen Ru interrogated her now, she’d done nothing wrong, so she felt no guilt.
Seeing Wang Shuang and Xie Qian off in their taxi, Wen Dongrong started the car.
The ride home was family chat time. Chen Ru asked what Wen Ying did in Hunan. Wen Ying mentioned the celebration party and visiting the programme set, then, after a pause, brought up Xu Mei.
Talking about Xu Mei meant mentioning Professor Fang catching the affair.
Discussing this with parents was odd, but since Wen Ying wasn’t the one in the wrong, she spoke frankly, concluding:
“Anyway, Xu Mei’s really unlucky, caught in the crossfire. I don’t want to end up like that.”
