Chapter 34 He can never surpass you...

In light of the recent public opinion, Luo Hongyu voluntarily gave Sheng Yi three days off. Sheng Yi turned off her alarm clock, but when she opened her eyes, it was already past ten o'clock.

She was startled when she saw the time. She quickly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and then remembered that she had no work scheduled for today. So she lay back down on the bed, took out her phone, and decided to stay in bed a little longer.

Weibo's trending topics are bustling every day, with social news, variety show and film promotions, celebrity makeup and gossip... all sorts of news vying for limited exposure. Day after day, nothing new comes up.

Sheng Yi quickly browsed through the messages, then switched back to the WeChat chat page, wanting to ask Xiao You if she had time these past few days to meet up. Before she could find their chat window, another message came in on her work account.

Over the years, I've accumulated hundreds of contacts on that number, but the number of people I actually chat with regularly can probably be counted on one hand.

It was fine before; no matter what she posted, not many people paid attention. But ever since that misunderstanding with Cao Jun, she has subconsciously separated her work and personal life.

But even that couldn't stop many of her friends on her WeChat Moments from suddenly resurfacing after hearing the news. She had already cleaned up her Moments after the last scandal, and now that the news of them following each other again had surfaced, people were subtly trying to get information from her.

Everyone has a gossipy nature, but there's no need to make excessive remarks or offend anyone.

Sheng Yi opened WeChat and saw the latest message in the chat box: "Are we friends?"

It's a lot like being in school, tentatively getting to know a stranger, waiting for their approval before gradually sharing your personal space. You even try to maintain a distance from close friends.

It was a childish question, but Wen Shili asked it as naturally as if he were asking, "Have you eaten?"

He certainly has no shortage of supporters; the so-called friendship is just an excuse she made up.

I was just seeing his concert news trending on social media last night, and now that it's over, he's coming to her demanding an explanation?

Although they hadn't rehearsed their lines, he pulled this stunt at such a sensitive time without even consulting him first, didn't he?

Moreover, this little bit of gossip is nothing to this person; the concert was still sold out every night.

So what does he think now? Does he think it counts or not? Does having a friend like her mean he's being wronged?

As Sheng Yi stared at the chat box, hostile thoughts began to surface. She realized that, without realizing it, she had become accustomed to speculating about him with malice.

After internally grumbling for a while, she still chose to maintain appearances and said, "Well, if you don't mind."

-

Compared to Sheng Yi's glamorous success, Huang Bei has been keeping a very low profile lately.

Her last Weibo post was three days ago, and she's reduced the frequency of her weekly selfies. Some speculate that she's upset because her idol's relationship was exposed, while others comment that she and Sheng Yi have a long-standing feud.

Looking back, during the concert, Sheng Yi's trending topic completely overshadowed Huang Bei's "most beautiful fan" title; more recently, at the last charity gala, Huang Bei's appearance order happened to be before Sheng Yi's. Before she had even finished walking the red carpet, all the cameras were already focused on Sheng Yi waiting backstage, and the comparison photos led to a barrage of ridicule directed at her. Anyone would feel a bit aggrieved in that situation.

"It's already a great act of magnanimity that she didn't seize the opportunity to kick her while she was down."

"If I remember correctly, she secretly liked some of Sheng Yi's smear articles, didn't she?"

"Everyone makes a mistake sometimes. Didn't they cancel the like later? Sheng Yi's fans are being a bit unreasonable."

"Those who want to fight, please go outside and fight. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think Beibei is great."

Huang Bei scrolled through the comments on Weibo, most of which were discussions related to Sheng Yi.

What grudge does this Sheng Yi have against her that he has to come here and disgust her?

An idol's girlfriend? What a joke. Someone like that, how could Wen Shili possibly take it seriously? It's just a fling.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be denying it one minute and following me the next. If he were really serious, he would openly show it off.

But did she dare to comment? Look at what happened to Huang Zhicheng. She had to coax him for a long time before Huang Zhicheng finally told her, cursing, that the reason things were like this was because Wen Shili and Sheng Yi were having an affair, and Wen Shili was abusing his power by using Xiao Lin to suppress him.

In the end, he pointed at her nose and berated her, saying that someone without parents is ill-mannered and that he had instigated her to do something foolish, blah blah blah.

Seeing his pathetic state, it wouldn't hurt to let him vent his anger. After all, if she really was wrong, then he would definitely be the culprit as well.

But without Huang Zhicheng's support, where should she go? She had been thinking about it over and over for the past few days, and an idea had slowly taken root in her mind. It only needed a little water to sprout and see the light of day.

"Honey, why are you still here?" After waking up from her nap, Huang Bei opened the door and saw the person who had said he was leaving earlier still sitting there. Overjoyed, she ran over and hugged his neck, nuzzling him.

If there's anything that's been going well these past few days, it's definitely Feng Shu.

They say that couples are like birds in the same forest, flying away separately when disaster strikes. She never believed in the old adage of true love in times of trouble. Once someone is no longer of use, who would willingly go down with a sinking ship?

But Feng Shu is different.

He would tell her that every flower has its time to bloom, and every person has their purpose in being. When he saw her down, he would try to spend more time with her, and even when she occasionally lost control and acted willfully, he would only silently tolerate it.

"Were you waiting for me?" Huang Bei felt as sweet as if she had drunk honey, and she tightened her grip on his arm.

"Let go first, you're going to have trouble breathing," Feng Shu said, holding her hand. Huang Bei was beaming with joy and didn't notice the momentary stiffness in her subordinate's eyes. "No way."

Her gentle voice, tinged with barely concealed joy, made Feng Shu realize that she couldn't recall the last time she had been so serene.

My thoughts drifted away, only to be abruptly pulled back.

"This couple's relationship has been all the rage lately, they're a perfect match, right?" Seeing the picture on the screen felt like someone had punched her from afar. Huang Bei used all her strength to maintain the smile on her lips.

She rested her head on his shoulder and turned to look at him.

On Feng Shu's Weibo screen, the hashtag #Wen Shili's Latest Response to His Kindness# was prominently displayed.

This is quite a big news story in the entertainment industry recently, so it's normal for him to pay attention.

Yan Shen exited the page and put away his phone. "It's just gossip, just take a look."

His expression was normal, and his tone was indifferent, as if he were talking about two strangers. Huang Bei's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal. She walked around the sofa and sat down next to him. "Let's just have some melon seeds. Why are you so serious?"

Feng Shu glanced at her and said, "You're also in the industry, so you should know that some rumors are more harmful to girls."

-

Sheng Yi knew her response would definitely trend on social media, but when her friends kept asking her questions, she was still a little overwhelmed.

In just two days, Wu Simin had become a leading CP (couple) fan, even single-handedly joining the CP's supertopic. Long-lost friends directly sent her links to verify the authenticity, earnestly reminding her not to forget them. Even Yan Shen sent a WeChat message, "He's a friend, but what about me?"

These are just polite words; there's no need for comparison. Sheng Yi quickly reassured him, "Of course, there's an order to things. Don't worry, he can't possibly surpass you."

Only Fu Xiaodan, who was away on a business trip, was too busy to gossip with her.

On the last day of the holiday, Sheng Yi suddenly received a call from Xiao You. Hearing that she had arrived downstairs, she quickly changed her clothes and went out to meet her.

"I'm sorry, Yiyi, I haven't had a chance to come see you recently."

Sheng Yi reached out and took the things from her hands. "It's okay, didn't you call me? Just come directly next time, no need to bring anything."

Xiaoyou stuck out her tongue, telling her not to worry about it, "They were all taken from home."

It was almost lunchtime, and what should have been a meal for one person had become a meal for two. Luckily, they had just filled the fridge a couple of days ago. Sheng Yi tied on her apron, picked out the ingredients, and went into the kitchen. Xiao You followed closely behind, wanting to help as well.

Sheng Yi pushed her out, "It's okay, sit for a while, I'll be done soon."

When Fu Xiaodan is home, whoever cooks usually makes enough for two people at once. It's not easy for one person to control the portion size, so they can only make something quick and easy to eat.

"Okay." Knowing that going in would probably only make things worse, Xiaoyou wandered around the living room for a while, then moved a stool and sat by the door to chat.

As Sheng Yi prepared the dishes, she listened to Xiao You chattering in her ear. Xiao You seemed to want to say everything she had been holding back all this time, most of which was bad stuff about Lin Hao.

Xiaoyou has great potential, but it seems she hasn't released any works. Shengyi wanted to ask her about her future plans, but then realized he didn't have the right to do so.

Even though they're friends, there's no need to interfere with other people's choices. Xiao You kept complaining, but you could tell that when she talked about Xiao Lin, it was more of a grumbling and a bit of coquettishness. The fact that he could keep her so innocent and naive meant maybe he wasn't as bad as the rumors said.

After the two finished their meal, Sheng Yi took her for a walk around the neighborhood. Xiao You couldn't help but laugh when she saw her put on a mask, "Wow, you've instantly got that big star vibe."

Sheng Yi was also helpless. She didn't know when it started, but more and more people recognized her. Sister Hong even told her that if she went any further up, this place would no longer be suitable for living.

She had thought about this day coming, but she wasn't ready yet. She would have to find an opportunity to talk to Fu Xiaodan about it when she got back.

Xiao You stared at her excitedly for a few seconds, then frowned. "But your eyes are still too easy to recognize." It's rare to see such clear and innocent eyes in an adult; they're round and bright, and even their expression seems different from others.

As she spoke, she took out sunglasses from her bag and put them on Sheng Yi, saying, "Now it's perfect."

They ate dinner out, and as it got dark, Xiaoyou told Shengyi she wanted to stay the night. Shengyi observed her expression and guessed, "Did you run away from home?"

Xiaoyou counted on her fingers, "Not really."

Sheng Yi took Xiao You home. At eight o'clock in the evening, there was another knock on the door.

Aside from the delivery guy, no one usually comes upstairs at this time. Fu Xiaodan isn't coming back today either. Sheng Yi looked at Xiao You, her intuition telling her that the variable was the person next to her.

Just as she was about to get up, Xiao You stopped her, saying, "It's definitely that idiot Lin Hao, just ignore him."