Jiang Fei's scars have healed very well. After a careful examination, the doctor said that she could have scar removal surgery when she had time. Although it could not completely eliminate the scars, it could reduce their size considerably.

After leaving the hospital, Jiang Fei and Yan Yunzhou went straight back to their hotel.

Jiang Fei continued filming the movie.

She doesn't have many scenes left, and most of them are dialogue scenes, so her days are quite relaxed.

Since Yan Yunzhou appeared on set last time, he has not been afraid of being recognized. Whenever he has time, he quietly waits at the exit of the set to pick her up and take her back to the hotel. The staff on set went from being apprehensive to surprised, and eventually became calm.

A month passed quickly.

That day, Yan Yunzhou called Jiang Fei, only saying that he was busy at the company and would be back late that night, and that she should go straight to the hotel after she finished her work. The rest was just some instructions.

Jiang Fei listened casually, occasionally offering a word or two in response. He had been doing this for a while, as if reporting his whereabouts, regardless of whether she was interested or not.

Hearing her obviously perfunctory tone, Yan Yunzhou simply smiled faintly and said he would call again next time.

It was already 8:30 p.m. when I got back to the hotel from the film set.

As Jiang Fei stepped out of the elevator, she smelled a faint scent of alcohol. She paused, frowned, and turned to look at her room door. Sure enough, she saw Qin Mo standing there expressionless.

Upon closer examination, this was the first real meeting between her and Qin Mo since that private dinner.

He was still wearing a suit, but his tie was loose, his dark hair was messy, and his dark eyes, slightly drunk, were staring straight at him. He reeked of alcohol, his face was bruised, and there was a clear cut on the corner of his lip, making him look rather disheveled.

Jiang Fei glanced at him, her expression instantly tensing. She lowered her head, took out her room key, and was about to walk past him.

Qin Mo's throat tightened, and he took two steps after her: "Jiang Fei..."

Jiang Fei paused in her tracks: "Mr. Qin, you've gotten drunk again, gotten lost, and come to the wrong person?"

His low tone made it impossible to tell whether it was self-deprecation or sarcasm.

Qin Mo looked at her, opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

Just like last time, I got drunk and came here, but stubbornly insisted that I had gone to the wrong place.

Jiang Fei waited for a while, then finally gave a self-deprecating laugh, got up, and was about to go into the room.

"...You didn't go the wrong way." Qin Mo's voice suddenly came from behind.

Jiang Fei's hand froze on the doorknob.

Seeing her hesitant movements, Qin Mo's eyes barely lit up: "I came to find you, Jiang Fei."

"There are some things I want to tell you."

"..." Jiang Fei turned her back to him, remaining silent.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking about what would have happened if we hadn’t broken up,” Qin Mo walked up behind her, watching her back. “We might be married, or we might not. Maybe you wouldn’t have experienced that explosion, or all of that would have happened. Afterwards, we would have lived like any other couple, going through life together. We might have argued and fought, but we would always make up…”

"Jiang Fei, I never knew I could remember so many things about you. You love acting, dislike socializing, love lilies, and dislike my drinking. For the past five years, the person by my side has always been you, never anyone else. I also know you're not the kind of person who would sleep with another man for resources..."

Jiang Fei listened quietly to his reverie, her hand clenched tightly on the doorknob. After a long while, she whispered, "It's all in the past."

After saying that, he was about to open the door.

"Jiang Fei!" Qin Mo suddenly hugged her from behind. "Why don't we start over? You care about me, don't you..."

"Qin Mo!" Jiang Fei struggled violently.

Qin Mo seemed to have had his wound reopened, and he took a light breath.

Jiang Fei froze, and then didn't move again.

Qin Mo noticed her movements and suddenly laughed: "You still care about me, Jiang Fei."

Jiang Fei turned to look at him, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment, and murmured softly, "Qin Mo, what exactly do you want?"

Qin Mo felt a pang of pain in his heart when he saw her red eyes. He stepped forward and hugged her, saying, "Jiang Fei, if you weren't concerned, why would you care so much about the injury on my face?"

These injuries were inflicted by Yan Yunzhou's men. These thugs, who operate in the gray area, never recognize anyone; they only listen to Yan Yunzhou. He had this hotel under tight security. If Yan Yunzhou hadn't been absent today, he wouldn't have been able to get in so easily.

However, seeing Jiang Fei's emotional reaction now, the injury seemed insignificant. "Qin Mo," Jiang Fei interrupted him, her voice growing increasingly flustered, "I have a first-aid kit in my room. You can leave after you've applied the medicine."

After saying that, she opened the door and went inside.

Qin Mo watched her retreating figure, knowing that this was the biggest concession she could make. He pursed his lips and said nothing more.

The room was lit by a warm, ambiguous yellow light.

Jiang Fei took a cotton swab, dipped it in ointment, and treated the wounds on Qin Mo's face.

The wound on the corner of his lip was deep, and it bled profusely with the slightest touch.

"I'm sorry," Jiang Fei said softly, her movements becoming even gentler and her focus even more intense. "Without realizing it," she added, "When we get back, you need to disinfect and apply medicine twice a day, otherwise it might leave scars, including the wound on my face..."

Qin Mo stared intently at the woman applying medicine to him, noticing her focused gaze, her slightly reddened eyes, and listening to her words.

It felt like going back to the old days.

She cared for him and loved him so genuinely.

His gaze fell on the scar on her left cheek, and a pang of sorrow shot through his heart.

He investigated and found that although the explosion scene had an accident and was larger than expected, she could have avoided being hit by such a strong blast of air. It was because of his breakup with her that she was distracted and deviated from her intended path, which led to the tragedy.

It's all because of him.

Jiang Fei continued softly, "Don't drink any more alcohol for a while, and it's best to get some rest..."

Qin Mo couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke the scar on her face.

Jiang Fei stopped abruptly, her movements as she applied the medicine also halted, and she looked into Qin Mo's eyes. The two gazed at each other in silence.

Qin Mo looked at her slightly raised eyebrows and saw his own reflection in her eyes. His heart pounded, as if something was about to burst forth.

The next second, Jiang Fei quickly straightened up, put the cotton swab aside, and avoided his touch: "The medicine has been applied."

Qin Mo's hand froze in mid-air for a long time before slowly retracting it, his voice hoarse: "Okay."

Neither of them spoke.

The hour hand on the clock next to me has already pointed to ten.

Jiang Fei lowered her head and said, "You should go."

Qin Mo moved his lips and said with difficulty, "Okay."

He stood up and walked towards the door.

Jiang Fei glanced at the sofa, then picked up her suit jacket: "Your coat..."

Just as she reached the door, Qin Mo suddenly stopped and turned to look at her: "Jiang Fei, everything I said today is true."

After saying that, he took the coat from her hand, opened the door, and left.

Qin Mo's favorability rating: 90.

Jiang Fei watched Qin Mo's figure disappear into the elevator, her expression gradually becoming lazy. She leaned against the door frame and chuckled softly after a long while.

What he said today is true, but the hurtful things he said back then were also true.

A soft "snap" sound was particularly clear in the quiet corridor.

Jiang Fei snapped out of her daze and glanced across the room. The doorknob of the room diagonally opposite moved slightly.

She paused for a moment, then understood, and slowly walked forward, gently knocking on the door.

It was quiet inside for a while, then the door slowly opened.

Yan Yunzhou, unusually dressed in a sharp suit, lowered his eyes slightly, exuding both elegance and aloofness: "Miss Jiang."

Jiang Fei smiled: "Mr. Yan has indeed returned."

Yan Yunzhou nodded: "Yes." He remained standing at the door, looking at her calmly.

Jiang Fei shrugged: "That's good." Then she turned and left.

Just as she stepped into her room and turned to close the door, a figure quickly squeezed in from outside.

The door slammed shut.

Before she could react, Jiang Fei was already leaning against the door, her waist tightly wrapped in someone's arms.

Yan Yunzhou's rapid, shallow breathing reached her ears, accompanied by a whispered word squeezed out between his teeth: "Jiang Fei."

Jiang Fei glanced at the man leaning against her shoulder and couldn't help but laugh.

Yan Yunzhou paused, holding her tightly for a moment before finally loosening his grip and planting a kiss on her forehead. Then he looked down into her eyes and asked, "Why did you act with him?"

Jiang Fei raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

"Qin Mo".

Jiang Fei thought for a moment: "I remember that in the past, even if Mr. Yan saw it, he was too lazy to ask such questions."

Yan Yunzhou pinched her cheek.

Jiang Fei smiled faintly: "Because I want him to fall in love with me."

Hearing her self-righteous words, Yan Yunzhou frowned slightly but quickly relaxed, and said gently, "Including me too?" Jiang Fei looked at him: "Have you fallen in love with me?"

Yan Yunzhou continued to look at her without saying a word.

“So,” Jiang Fei stretched out her index finger and lazily drew a circle on his chest, “you see, you can’t even answer that, so why would I have so many tricks up my sleeve?”

Yan Yunzhou reached out and enveloped her hand in his palm.

Jiang Fei let him lead her, then suddenly remembered something and frowned: "By the way, tell your people to go easy on him in the future. Applying medicine to him is exhausting."

Her soft, low voice sounded like she was pleading.

Yan Yunzhou looked down at her hand and gently massaged her fingertips: "Miss Jiang, I'd like to change our previous agreement."

"Change what?"

Yan Yunzhou said softly, "Regarding the question of whether we are dating, I would like to change my answer."

Jiang Fei looked up and glanced at him: "You mean that time I was 'narcissistic'?"

Yan Yunzhou paused slightly as he massaged her fingers, and said helplessly, "You have such a good memory."

Jiang Fei smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do about it, it's just how I am." She pulled her hand away, put her arm around his neck, and looked at him with a teasing tone. "Let's skip the dating part for now. I'm not interested, and you don't love me anyway."

Yan Yunzhou looked at her and frowned.

Jiang Fei planted a kiss on his lips: "Moreover, I'm very interested in making Qin Mo fall in love with me."

That night.

After Jiang Fei fell into a deep sleep.

Yan Yunzhou stepped out of the room, where a bodyguard was waiting: "I'm sorry, Mr. Yan, we were unable to stop Mr. Qin."

"Hmm," Yan Yunzhou responded lightly, then added as if he had thought of something, "From now on, you're not allowed to slap someone in the face again."

...

The Qin family.

Ye Qingqing sat on the sofa and glanced at the time on the side.

It's midnight.

During this period, news about Jiang Fei almost completely occupied her attention.

Jiang Fei maintained an optimistic attitude after the explosion.

Jiang Fei attended the event with grace and confidence.

Jiang Fei's resources have been upgraded.

Jiang Fei...

The most eye-catching thing was undoubtedly her rumored relationship with Yan Yunzhou.

The news said that Jiang Fei was the only woman who appeared in Yan Yunzhou's life.

only.

Ye Qingqing laughed out loud in the empty villa.

She chased after Yan Yunzhou for so long, only to find that she couldn't even leave behind a name.

She knew that Yan Yunzhou hated it most when people fabricated rumors about him and filled him with stories, but these rumors kept fermenting, which undoubtedly proved that he had tolerated these rumors.

And then there's Qin Mo. He's been so good to her and so tolerant of her lately. How could she not be moved by such a wonderful man?

But……

The sound of a door opening came from the entrance.

Ye Qingqing turned her head and saw Qin Mo walk in, holding a suit in his hand. His tall figure looked somewhat disheveled, and his face was covered in bruises.

Upon seeing her, surprise appeared in Qin Mo's eyes: "Qingqing?"

Ye Qingqing looked at him: "Your face..." Her voice gradually turned cold after she saw that his wound had been treated, "Where did you go? I've been waiting for you ever since I came back from the film set."

Seeing her expression, Qin Mo calmed down, put his coat aside, and said, "You don't need to wait anymore, Qingqing, we..."

"Qin Mo!" Ye Qingqing interrupted him in a flustered manner, then forced a smile, "You go and rest first, I'll leave tomorrow morning."

Qin Mo glanced at her and nodded.

Only after watching Qin Mo return to his room upstairs did Ye Qingqing slump onto the sofa in despair.

She dared not listen to Qin Mo's next words. She could not bear the possibility of falling into the same situation Jiang Fei had been in—being abandoned, pitied by everyone in public, and mocked behind their backs.

On the sofa, Qin Mo's suit suddenly gleamed.

Ye Qingqing turned her head; it was his phone.

She clenched her fist, finally picked up the phone, and with her last glimmer of hope, unlocked it and opened the photo album.

There were many photos of Jiang Fei inside, both from the past and present—as they scrolled by, the faces were familiar, but it wasn't her!

Ye Qingqing put the phone back in its place with trembling hands.

She can't afford to fail again.

She absolutely cannot!

He picked up the phone and dialed a number: "Hello, I want to expose something..."

...

Jiang Fei is trending on social media again.

When Sister Zhang saw the message, her eyes widened. She read it several times before showing it to Jiang Fei for confirmation.

A marketing account published a short article, the gist of which was: Jiang Fei was unwilling to be just a substitute for Ye Qingqing all along, and was very jealous of Ye Qingqing. So she ignored Qin Mo and Ye Qingqing's identities and tried to seduce Qin Mo and become the third party.

It even included several intimate photos of Qin Mo and Jiang Fei gazing at each other outside their hotel room.

Being a third party is something that people will scorn even when walking down the street.

Women, in particular, bear a heavier moral burden in this regard.

—In no time, some outspoken netizens, faced with irrefutable photographic evidence, began to launch a verbal attack on Jiang Fei.

"I used to praise her for being optimistic, but I was so blind."

"This...a mistress?"

"Perhaps it's this kind of thinking that led to his disfigurement?"

"Let the bullets fly—for a while..."

"How else can a bullet fly? Does this mean the CEO of Starry Sky Entertainment would rather use a stand-in than the real person?"

"..."

Jiang Fei slowly scrolled through the comments one by one.

While I was scrolling through my Weibo feed, it suddenly disappeared.

Jiang Fei frowned, but her phone suddenly rang.

She answered the phone smoothly: "Hello?"

"You've caused trouble again?" Yan Yunzhou's gentle voice came through with a hint of amusement.

Jiang Fei hesitated for a second: "Weibo, did you have it deleted?"

"Perhaps," Yan Yunzhou said gently.

"Can you recover?" Jiang Fei asked him.

Yan Yunzhou paused for a moment: "Hmm?"

“It’s such a small matter, why do you need to do it yourself?” Jiang Fei laughed. “I want to see Qin Mo’s reaction.”

Yan Yunzhou paused for a moment, then coughed softly, his voice slightly hoarse: "...Okay."

Jiang Fei hung up the phone, browsed Weibo for a while, and then returned the phone to Sister Zhang.

Sister Zhang stood by anxiously, saying, "Why aren't you worried at all?"

"What's the rush?" Jiang Fei handed the phone back to her. "Wait a little longer."

There happened to be a camera in the outer room of her dressing room. She hadn't planned to use any tricks, but since she had been bullied so badly, she couldn't just sit idly by.

And as expected, things took an unexpected turn.

The official Weibo account of Starry Sky, which hadn't posted any new content for a long time, has updated with a new post:

Our company president, Qin Mo, and Ms. Ye Qingqing have never truly been together.

For a moment, netizens fell silent, and everyone watched the drama unfold.

That evening, Jiang Fei's agent released a video of Ye Qingqing coming to Jiang Fei's dressing room to find her.

The video clearly recorded the following content:

Ye Qingqing looked at Jiang Fei and said, "Miss Jiang and A Mo were engaged before, but because of me, A Mo broke off the engagement. I owe Miss Jiang an apology."

Compared to a photo, the facts personally admitted by Ye Qingqing in the video are more convincing.

Back then, Ye Qingqing was the third party who came between Jiang Fei and Qin Mo.

The truth came out, and public opinion reversed.

After Ye Qingqing got off the plane and got into the car, she turned on her phone, expecting to see Jiang Fei trending on social media. Instead, she received a barrage of private messages and a deluge of mockery on the trending topics.

She stood frozen in place, not understanding how things had developed to this point.

Mistress, master of lies, she's just a stand-in...

— Her eyes were filled with comments.

The movie she was filming also became a trending topic. This movie, which was a box office hit in its previous life, now has the word "boycott" added to its prefix.

Ye Qingqing reluctantly dialed Qin Mo's number, and he answered quickly with only a cold, curt "Hello?"

"Amo..." Ye Qingqing called out to him, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say.

Qin Mo remained silent for a long time before saying, "Qingqing, I don't love you."

"The same to you."

Ye Qingqing gasped, then abruptly slammed her phone aside, her face pale and her fingers trembling uncontrollably.

She had already tried her best to get what she wanted, she gave up what she couldn't bear to give up, became an actress who didn't want to be one at all, and she even... developed some genuine feelings for Qin Mo.

Why is this happening?

Why is it always like this?

...

Filming for "After Dawn" has wrapped.

At the wrap party, the director and the production team smiled so hard their eyes narrowed into slits.

Normally, it would be a great honor for the production team to have one or two producers present to keep things in order and say a few words. But this time, after Yan Yunzhou, the head of the Yan family, confirmed his attendance, many investors expressed their willingness to come and support the production.

Jiang Fei will be undergoing scar removal surgery soon. The thought of her scars disappearing makes her very happy, and even her mood for attending the wrap party has improved a lot.

Yan Yunzhou asked her to come with him to the social event, and she readily agreed, taking his arm and following him considerately.

Unfortunately, every time she wanted to drink, Yan Yunzhou would inadvertently take the drink away and drink it all by himself.

Jiang Fei frowned and glared at him, but the latter remained calm.

People in the business world are all shrewd; seeing Yan Yunzhou's attitude, they showered Jiang Fei with compliments.

Amidst the compliments, Jiang Fei's mood finally improved.

— Hours later, in the corner.

Jiang Fei felt happy even though she thought about what those people had said.

Yan Yunzhou took her hand and gently put his arm around her waist: "So happy?"

"Hmm," Jiang Fei laughed, leaning against him. "You're not good at saying nice things, so you won't let others say them to me?"

Yan Yunzhou chuckled softly, gently stroking the back of her hand. After drinking the wine for two, his face was slightly flushed, and he smelled of wine. "Then, from now on, I'll take you to even bigger banquets, and you'll have even more people flattering you. How about that?"

He wanted everyone to see that she was by his side, that she was his person.

Jiang Fei pondered for a moment: "Wouldn't that mean everyone would misunderstand our relationship?"

Yan Yunzhou glanced at her: "Misunderstanding?"

"Isn't that so?"

Yan Yunzhou pursed his lips, his slightly tipsy eyes gradually clearing.

Being with him without loving him is not a relationship.

This was their original agreement.

A slight commotion arose at the entrance of the banquet hall.

Jiang Fei looked in the direction of the sound and met a pair of cold eyes.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, surprised that Qin Mo would also attend the wrap party.

He was also looking at her, ignoring the greetings from those around him, and sat down not far behind her. His favorability rating was wildly fluctuating, reaching a high of 99 and dropping as low as 70.

Jiang Fei glanced at Yan Yunzhou's unchanging favorability rating, shifted her body, and was about to stand up and head over there.

Yan Yunzhou held her hand—then paused, and tightened his grip a little.

“Mr. Yan?” Jiang Fei looked at him.

Yan Yunzhou looked into her eyes, pursed his lips, and said softly, "It's getting late."

Jiang Fei smiled: "So?"

"It's time to go home."

Jiang Fei raised an eyebrow: "Home?"

Yan Yunzhou remained silent.

Jiang Fei smiled, stood up, and was about to walk towards Qin Mo.

But someone grabbed her wrist.

Yan Yunzhou's eyes were slightly tinged with drunkenness; he sat there with his eyes downcast, not looking at her.

"Can we not go to him?"

Yan Yunzhou's favorability rating: 80.