Chapter 70. Let's go public!

Xia Chan was also surprised when she saw the trending topic.

This generation of netizens' ability to dig up information about people is also amazing to her. In just one morning, her name, age, phone number and other personal details have been leaked out from who knows where. She received countless calls from strangers in just one morning.

After receiving countless calls asking if she was Xia Chan, Xia Chan couldn't take it anymore and immediately turned off her phone.

I asked the store manager for the afternoon off, deciding to lay low for a while.

While she was changing clothes in the staff room, Duna and several girls from the front office stood behind her, hesitant and unsure of what to ask but not daring to approach her.

Yu Lianxin ate her boxed lunch and glanced at herself through the mirror, a strange, smug smile on her face.

Xia Chan could naturally see the apprehension and gossip of her colleagues around her, but she remained calm and composed, saying, "Ask whatever you want."

Du Na and the others looked at each other, finally mustering their courage, and cautiously asked, "Manager Xia, is it really you and Shen Zhoudu trending on social media...?"

"Yes," Xia Chan readily admitted.

Several colleagues were slightly surprised. Yu Lianxin pricked up one ear, while Du Na's eyes sparkled with gossip. "So... when did you two start dating? After you met at our hotel?"

"Seventeen years old," Xia Chan said. "We met when we were seventeen."

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Yu Lianxin was also taken aback and turned her head in disbelief.

Xia Chan smiled apologetically at the several pairs of stunned eyes, "I'm sorry I haven't told you all this. It wasn't that I wanted to deliberately hide it, it's just..."

Among the girls were some fans of Chen Zhoudu, who naturally connected the dots to the gossip circulating online, and asked, "Manager Xia, what about those things said online..."

"It's true," Xia Chan admitted.

As they pressed him for details, he slowly said, "When he was seventeen... he transferred to Qingshui School, and because of some unforeseen circumstances, he had nowhere to stay, so he stayed at our house."

"Back then, my family ran a hotel."

Perhaps because she rarely talked about her relationship with Shen Zhoudu to others, her description was somewhat awkward.

That's when we met.

“He helped our family a lot back then, and I’m very grateful to him. But we also took him in, so we’re even.”

"However, he only stayed for about half a year before leaving. We didn't see each other for several years in between, and the next time we met was at a hotel."

Duna and the others became even more excited, almost screaming as they asked repeatedly:

"So, was he already very handsome back then?"

"Is he a good student? Is he famous at school?"

"Was he already a good singer back then? Were you two already together?"

Xia Chan couldn't help but smile helplessly as she answered each question:

"Yeah, he's very handsome."

"His grades were excellent, always number one, and he became a star student as soon as he arrived at school."

"He sings very well too. It was our group of friends who suggested he go singing. We weren't together then; we only got together after we met again..."

Du Na and her friends were practically bursting with excitement. They never expected that someone right next to them would know a big star! And a couple at that! Suddenly, Du Na clapped her hands and asked, "Ah! Manager Xia, that cicada pendant you always wear... isn't it from Chen Zhou Du... and Chen Zhou Du's image is a small boat and a... that's not a fly! It's a cicada! It's a cicada, isn't it?!"

The group exclaimed in unison, as if they had discovered a new continent. Yu Lianxin, watching from a distance through the mirror, gripped her chopsticks tightly and pursed her lips.

Xia Chan unconsciously pressed her fingertips against her chest and chuckled to herself, taking it as tacit agreement.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional to hide it from you. It's just that we hadn't seen each other for many years, and his profession is somewhat unusual. I didn't initially plan to have any further contact with him, so I didn't say I knew him, and that's why..."

"No, no! Manager Xia, we understand!" Du Na and the others waved their hands to comfort her, claiming that they were just curious, their words and eyes filled with excitement and envy.

Someone said, "Manager Xia, could you ask Shen Zhoudu if you could get Zhang Lusheng's autograph for me? I really like him... It's okay if it's inconvenient for you."

"I want it too! I want Qin Ye's!"

"I want mulberry and lemon!"

Xia Chan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled helplessly, "Let me ask."

In the afternoon, Xia Chan did not return to Taoyuan Lane. She borrowed Du Na's phone to call Si Yi and the others to let them know she was safe. Then she said she would find a place to be alone and took the subway to her apartment in Chenzhoudu.

Despite the heated online debate, she was an ordinary person walking down the street and hardly anyone noticed her, so her journey to the apartment went smoothly.

Around 6 p.m., the electronic door lock of the apartment clicked, and Chen Zhoudu returned from outside.

Upon entering, Chen Zhoudu immediately saw Xia Chan, which didn't surprise him much.

Xia Chan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window bathed in the golden light of the setting sun and smiled at him.

She greeted him casually, "Hi, 'Disgraced Artist'."

Shen Zhoudu couldn't help but smile and raise an eyebrow. "Hey, celebrity or ordinary person."

Then, Chen Zhoudu's suitcase was suddenly pushed aside, and Xia Chan suddenly ran towards him like a bird spreading its wings. The two suddenly hugged and kissed in the middle of the living room.

He still carried the dust and weariness of his journey, and his lips were slightly cool, carrying a faint minty scent as they lingered on her lips.

Xia Chan parted her lips slightly and kissed him fiercely, her arms flexibly encircling his neck.

Seeing his Adam's apple bobbing, she chuckled and was about to playfully lick his Adam's apple when he dodged her with a soft laugh, as if begging for mercy.

"Dirty... I went straight to the company after getting off the plane and didn't have time to change my clothes."

Xia Chan didn't force him anymore. Suddenly, as if all her strength had been drained, she rested her forehead on his shoulder and nestled in his arms with a long sigh.

Without realizing it, Chen Zhoudu reached out and hugged her, chuckling softly, "How are you feeling?"

"My phone's been ringing off the hook, I'm afraid to turn it on," Xia Chan said dejectedly, with a hint of complaint. "What about you?"

He simply smiled and handed over his phone, saying, "See for yourself."

His phone wasn't turned off, but it was on silent.

The entire screen was densely packed with unread messages, and there were even over a hundred missed calls. Just as Xia Chan turned on the screen, another call came in.

It is Shen Jinghai.

Chen Zhoudu glanced at it, ignored it, took the phone, and tossed it onto the sofa. Xia Chan scoffed indifferently, "You celebrities really aren't human."

He couldn't help but laugh, and once again opened his arms and tightly wrapped them around her arms, his arms so tight it seemed he wanted to knead them into her bones.

They embraced quietly, the setting sun casting two overlapping shadows on the floor, and their heartbeats gradually calmed.

"Xia Chan." After a moment, Chen Zhoudu spoke.

"Um?"

"Let's go public."

Xia Chan seemed to be startled for a moment, then lifted her head from her arms to look at him.

“I know you don’t like being watched or talked about.” Shen Zhoudu met her eyes, his gaze calm and serene, a faint smile playing on his clear pupils. “But things are what they are now, and I want to do my best to preserve them. Those promises I made to you… to my father, and to my family, I haven’t kept them yet, and I’m sorry. But please trust me one more time, give me some more time, and I will resolve them one by one.”

Xia Chan stared at his eyes in a daze for a moment, then lowered her gaze as if she were facing great hesitation, and said in a low voice, "Can't you... think of some way to clarify this?"

Shen Zhoudu understood what she meant, and the smile in his eyes dimmed slightly. He pursed his lips and asked after a couple of seconds, "How do you want to clarify this?"

He sighed, "Xia Chan, are we going to keep dating secretly like this forever?"

"..."

“I want to be with you. These things will eventually be made public. My dad will know, Bohan will know, my fans, the company, including your mother… will all know. So instead of waiting for the so-called right time, let’s go public now.”

"If we use excuses to clarify again this time, then this crisis may be over, but our situation will only become more difficult and we will have to be more secretive. Then, who knows when we will be seen again and people will find out that this clarification was also fake, and my reputation will plummet even further. What should we do then?"

"..." She naturally understood these principles and sighed heavily, but her heart was already in turmoil.

Chen Zhoudu could sense her pressure, and smiled, "Or, I have another way."

Xia Chan looked at him.

"I'm retiring from the entertainment industry."

Xia Chan was taken aback, then reached out and slapped him, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"I'm telling the truth." He endured her slapping and reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind his ear, his tone half-serious and half-joking. "Being in this industry for too long... it's really quite boring. How about I quit and we go into seclusion together?"

Xia Chan took it as him saying it in anger, rolled her eyes at him, told him to give her some time to think, and turned to go to the bathroom.

Just as Xia Chan entered the bathroom, Chen Zhoudu's doorbell suddenly rang. Chen Zhoudu immediately became alert and went to the door to check.

The person standing outside the door was Guan Bohan.

Wearing a hat and mask, the silhouette under the video doorbell was clearly visible.

The sunken boat hesitated for a moment.

The doorbell suddenly started ringing urgently, one short, urgent ring after another. Worried about disturbing the neighbors and attracting unwanted attention, Chen Zhoudu reluctantly sighed and opened the door.

The moment the door opened, Guan Bohan delivered a heavy punch that landed squarely on Shen Zhoudu's face.

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Author's Note: Two chapters today! One more coming up! [Sprinkling flowers] Goodnight everyone! [Blue heart]