"Sister, I have a fashion show this week, and I'd like to invite you to come." That evening, Qiu Lan knocked on Qiu Hu's study, holding a fashion show invitation in her hand, and placed it on Qiu Hu's desk.

Looking at the invitation on the table, Qiu Hu asked curiously, "Aren't you an actor? Why are you suddenly walking the runway?"

"Oh, that brand? I'm their brand ambassador. I'm just going to walk the runway to earn some extra money. Do you want to come and watch?" Qiu Lan asked expectantly.

Qiu Hu nodded; she would go.

She had just nodded when Qiu Lan's cheerful voice rang out, "Great! I'll head out now, you can continue with your work." With that, Qiu Lan, wearing her bear pajamas, skipped away from Qiu Hu's study.

Looking at her excited expression, Qiu Hu wondered, "Is she really that happy? It's just watching her walk the runway."

Before he knew it, the day of the show arrived, and Qiu Hu even made time for it, afraid that he would forget.

After get off work, Qiu Hu arrived at the designated location with the invitation.

The event was quite large and had a strong artistic atmosphere. Qiu Lan's company has such good taste! They even gave her resources; that's truly rare.

Not long after she sat down, Qiu Lan sent her a message asking if she had arrived yet. If she had, she should come backstage so her assistant could meet her. Upon seeing the message, Qiu Hu headed towards the backstage area and indeed found her assistant. The assistant led the way, saying, "Miss Qiu, this way. Xiao Lan is already waiting for you."

Okay, thank you.

Qiu Hu arrived backstage, where Qiu Lan was putting on makeup, and actor Ai Si Ai was sitting at the makeup table next to her.

Qiu Hu thought to himself, "What a coincidence between these two."

"Sister, you're here!" Qiu Lan's voice wasn't like this just now; it softened a bit when she saw Qiu Hu.

Qiu Hu looked at her dress, then glanced at Ace's clothes—matching outfits? "Hmm, you look quite nice." "What's Ace doing here?"

"Thank you, sister. Oh, he's the spokesperson, and I'm the brand ambassador. The brand asked us to make an appearance together."

"Matching outfits?"

“Of course not. They said it’s from the same series, and that because we’re on the same stage, we’re wearing the same series.” Qiu Lan strongly objected and offered an explanation.

Anyway, Qiu Hu didn't really believe it. "What time are you walking the runway?"

"It's the grand finale, and it'll be quite a while. Are you busy?" She knew Qiu Hu was very busy every day and was afraid of interfering with her work.

"No, I was just asking. I'm free tonight." Qiu Hu sat down, knowing what she was worried about.

"Okay," Qiu Lan said, relieved.

"Your show was quite a big one, I didn't expect it." Qiu Hu looked at his crystal-clear fingernails and chatted with Qiu Lan.

Seeing that she was asking questions, Qiu Lan explained, "This show is quite large, but it's also quite diverse. It seems to include various famous brands, niche brands, and many newcomers. There are several show venues..."

The two started chatting. Qiu Hu was a man of few words, which made Qiu Lan seem like a chatterbox. Ace, standing next to him, looked like he wasn't listening to them talk.

Midway through, Qiu Lan was called out by her manager, and her assistant followed her out, leaving only Qiu Hu and Ace in the dressing room.

The dressing room was so quiet that you could hear even the sound of a fly flapping its wings.

When Qiu Hu's voice rang out, it was heard very clearly: "You like Qiu Lan, but she doesn't know that."

Hearing Qiu Hu's voice and realizing that she had seen through his thoughts, Ace became nervous. "I don't know what you're talking about?"

"You know it in your heart, right? You're afraid, afraid you can't protect her, afraid you can't defeat Qiu Bing, right?"

Ace clenched his fist. How did this woman know all of this?

Qiu Hu's voice rang out again, "To be honest, I think highly of you."

"You have faith in me?" Would a young lady from a wealthy family like Qiu Hu have faith in a young actor who is currently only focused on filming?

Just as Qiu Hu was about to continue, Qiu Lan returned. "What were you talking about?"

"We didn't talk much. I'm going out for a walk first, and I'll be back later."

"OK."

After Qiu Hu left, Qiu Lan asked Ace, who was standing next to her, "What were you two talking about just now? Let me tell you, my sister has a boyfriend." Qiu Lan didn't know that Qiu Hu had broken up with her boyfriend and was using Ning Yizhan as an excuse.

"..." We're talking about you.

Qiu Hu walked out and had only gone down two corridors when he saw Ning Yijia carrying a pile of clothes at the corner. The two almost bumped into each other, but fortunately Qiu Hu reacted quickly and stopped. They looked at each other, and Ning Yijia was clearly more surprised. "Qiu Hu."

"It's me, please make way, I need to pass." Ning Yijia stood in the middle of the corridor, blocking the way.

What are you doing here? Are you here for the show too?

"Otherwise what?" Qiu Hu didn't waste any more words with her and walked past her.

Ning Yijia didn't linger. She took the clothes back to the fitting room, put them down, and immediately called Ning Yizhan. After ringing for more than ten seconds, the call was finally answered. Ning Yijia then began to tip off Ning Yizhan, "Brother, I just saw Qiu Hu at my show. It seems like she came to watch the show, but she should know someone backstage. I saw her backstage."

"Okay, I understand. That's all for now." Ning Yizhan hung up the phone, pondered deeply, and decided to put aside his work and go see Qiu Hu—no, he should go see Ning Yijia's show.

Ning Yijia stared at the phone that had just been hung up. "...Was it really necessary to be in such a hurry?"

The fashion show finally began, and Qiu Hu returned to her original seat. Looking at the various kinds of clothes, she was a little tired of them. Apart from a few brands that had a visual impact, the rest were all ordinary.

Gradually, she also lost interest and decided to go out and look for something, and come back later to see Qiu Lan's final performance.

She returned to the backstage area, ready to join Qiu Lan and the others. Once again, in that corridor, she bumped into someone's chest and was even put her arm around his waist. A familiar scent of cedarwood wafted into Qiu Hu's nose; it was Ning Yizhan.

It seems like it's been a long time since I've seen him.

Before she could react, the man had already released her and even distanced himself from her. "So it's Miss Qiu. I knew I shouldn't have helped her up. After all, Miss Qiu is skilled in martial arts and quick-witted."

"..." Qiu Hu finally raised her eyes to look at him. Did he have to be so venomous? Didn't he say he wanted to be friends before? It's like she has some serious illness. One second he was holding her, and the next he's suddenly so far away from her.

Faced with his aggressive questioning, she brought up her words from their last breakup: "Didn't we say we'd be friends? Is this how friends talk?"

“I’ve realized we can’t be friends. We’re either lovers or strangers.” After saying that, Ning Yizhan walked past her. As he left, the back of his hand accidentally touched the back of her hand. “Sorry, it was an accident,” he said as he walked out backstage.

Qiu Hu turned back to look at his departing figure, his expression resolute.