Chapter 45: I Have Someone I Like

He Yunqing glanced back, his eyes casually sweeping over Jiang Yao from a distance, and a subtle, meaningful smile curled at his lips. He raised his glass, taking a delicate sip of champagne.

Jiang Yao, who was drinking at that moment, choked as his gaze landed on her, coughing softly. The image of He Yunqing after he’d been drinking last time flashed through her mind.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yanchi, sitting beside her, asked in a low voice.

Jiang Yao shook her head. “My face is about to freeze from smiling. I’m going to sit over there for a bit.”

She dodged He Yunqing’s gaze, found a quiet corner, and poured herself some red wine, but her stomach began to rumble with hunger. The food here was all too exquisite and dainty—far from enough to fill her.

Rising from her seat, she slipped away from the crowd, wondering if she could find a bowl of noodles somewhere.

In the corridor, her phone rang.

“Ayao, I heard you and Cheng Yanchi went to the Tianya Jewelry Exhibition?” It was Ye Yiyi.

Jiang Yao leaned her back against the wall, absentmindedly tugging at her dress. “That’s right.”

“I heard He Yunqing was there too?” Ye Yiyi sounded disappointed. “What a pity I had something come up at the last minute and couldn’t go.”

He Yunqing again…

Jiang Yao tilted her head, pressing a hand to her grumbling stomach. “Why is He Yunqing everywhere? It seems like I run into him no matter where I go.”

“Well, he’s popular. Of course, every event wants him.” Just mentioning He Yunqing filled Ye Yiyi’s voice with excitement.

Jiang Yao didn’t want to talk about He Yunqing anymore and quickly changed the subject.

“I’m starving,” she said, crouching down. “If only I had some noodles or some bread right now.”

A piece of bread appeared quietly at her side.

“Thank you.” She was engrossed in her conversation with Ye Yiyi and took the bread, biting into it without thinking.

Ye Yiyi, still on the other end, continued talking about He Yunqing. “I found out that Irene is his sister. Ayao, do you think he likes me?”

Jiang Yao suddenly felt the bread stick in her throat and ran her hand along her neck to ease the discomfort.

A bottle of water, already opened, was handed to her.

She quickly took it, drank a gulp, and only then realized something was off. She looked up, startled, and let out a small cry.

Standing beside her, smiling gently, was a man as elegant and refined as a prince from a fairy tale—He Yunqing.

“Ayao, what’s wrong?”

Jiang Yao, phone still in hand, stared at He Yunqing and shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Ayao, do you think I should confess to him?” Ye Yiyi’s voice came through the phone.

Jiang Yao forced an awkward laugh toward He Yunqing.

Nothing seemed to escape He Yunqing’s notice. He chuckled softly and held out his hand to her.

Without quite knowing why, Jiang Yao handed him her phone.

“Miss Ye.” He Yunqing’s voice was cultured and polite.

Ye Yiyi, startled on the other end, stammered, “You’re… He… He Yunqing?”

He Yunqing nodded gently. “There’s no need for a confession. I think there may be a misunderstanding—I already like someone else. I’m sorry.”

His rejection was crisp, decisive, and unfailingly courteous.

Then, with an air of leisure, he tossed the phone; it traced a graceful arc through the air and landed back in Jiang Yao’s hands.

Ever since she was young, Ye Yiyi had a long line of admirers, always the one to do the rejecting—never before had anyone refused her so directly.

Jiang Yao, worried, quickly spoke into the phone. “Yiyi? Hello? Hello…”

All she heard was the flat tone of a disconnected call.

She stared at her phone for two seconds, then immediately frowned and glared furiously at He Yunqing.

He Yunqing seemed completely unconcerned. He leaned in, his handsome face drawing close. “Not avoiding me anymore?”

“Who… Who’s avoiding you?” Jiang Yao, caught out, grew flustered.

He Yunqing gave a soft, knowing hum. “Then why are you stammering?”

Jiang Yao shot him another glare, turned away, and walked off, dialing Ye Yiyi’s number again as she went.

No answer—Ye Yiyi had turned off her phone.

At that moment, someone in a baggy coat and a baseball cap hurried past her, bumping directly into Jiang Yao.

“Sorry,” Jiang Yao apologized, looking up at the person.

The woman kept her head down, clearly not wanting to be noticed. Even after the collision, she said nothing and continued on her way.

Jiang Yao frowned, watching her retreating figure, increasingly uneasy. Instinct told her it was a woman.

She shook her head and walked on, but after two steps abruptly stopped and turned around. From her angle, she glimpsed something hidden in the woman’s arms—a dark bottle.

Curiosity piqued, Jiang Yao crept after her, keeping her body low, intent on seeing what the woman intended.

The woman, head still lowered, rounded a corner and spotted He Yunqing at the far end of the corridor.

“Yunqing.” The woman suddenly lifted her head, calling out to him.

He Yunqing halted, turning slowly.

She smiled at him. “I’m your fan. I flew in from overseas, a journey of over ten hours, just to see you. Would you sign an autograph for me?”

He Yunqing considered for a moment and nodded.

In the next instant, the woman reached into her coat.

“He Yunqing,” she said, her smile transforming from harmless to sinister, “go to hell!”

With those words, the object in her hand flew out.

Jiang Yao, seeing everything, acted on instinct. She sprang forward, shielding He Yunqing.

The woman’s hand hurled a bottle of black ink, drenching Jiang Yao’s gown and delicate face.

Time seemed to freeze for three seconds.

Then, security rushed in and pinned the woman to the ground.

Thwarted, she began to struggle and scream hysterically. “He Yunqing, why don’t you just die! It’s your fault my brother’s acting was mocked by everyone!”

Even as she was dragged far away, her furious shouts echoed down the corridor.

A swarm of people surged toward He Yunqing, surrounding him and separating him from Jiang Yao—as distant as the sky is from the sea.

“Yunqing, are you all right? Are you hurt?” Voices crowded around him in concern.

But He Yunqing’s gaze remained fixed on Jiang Yao.

She stood there, glancing back almost unconsciously, her face still streaked with ink, forcing a smile in his direction.

Then, before the crowd could close in, she hurried away.

He Yunqing was a star in the heavens, meant to be the center of attention.

Jiang Yao had no desire to become the focus of others’ eyes, just as when she had walked out of the courtroom years ago, the gaze of countless strangers upon her.

She had lived too long under the scrutiny and whispers of others.

Even if everyone told her, time and again, that none of it was her fault.

Yet the perpetrator was quickly forgotten by all.

The victim, however, would be remembered for a very, very long time.

No one remembered who she was anymore; they only knew what kind of victim she had become.