Yu Duo, in a daze, agreed to a series of "unequal contracts." Of course, the only immediate payoff was someone giving them a lipstick.
After that, Yu Duo found that nothing seemed to change. Satisfied, Shen Yutong and Su Yajing invited her to a buffet on the day they received the lipstick.
That seafood buffet was 688 per person, a bit cheaper than the lipstick she gave, but not by much.
Shen Yutong and Su Yajing didn’t isolate her. Instead, their relationship grew better and better.
Even Cui Min’er seemed to enjoy confiding in her, bringing her comic books from Korea and discussing the secrets between men and women together.
She was unfortunate, never having true friends, but she was also lucky, having fallen only to be lifted by six hands.
Her sophomore year was the happiest Yu Duo had ever been since birth.
So she cherished this friendship more than anyone.
In the past, she was always the most active in their group of four, tirelessly initiating topics, sharing her tidbits, and feeling utterly satisfied when they responded, often hiding to chuckle to herself.
But recently, everything seemed to have changed subtly.
Yu Duo knew it wasn’t their problem, but she had changed...
She still couldn’t resist opening the group chat, and saw Su Yajing pouring out her troubles:
Ranran: "Girls, what should I do? The hotel is having a big meeting tomorrow, and President Qu wants me to attend and say a few words. But I’m scared..."
Tongtong: "Scared of what? You’re the top of the performance class. Just act like it’s a role, and you’re all set!"
Ranran: "Hehe, that’s true, but I can’t just say anything. Never mind, I’ll go to a forum and pay for a speech script!"
Min’er: "@Su Yajing, did Zhou Wang really just give you that hotel worth billions?"
Ranran: "Well, I wouldn’t say he gave it to me. I’m just managing it for him, but I feel such pressure that I’m considering enrolling in another class at the business school."
Min’er: "@Yutong, how’s the filming of your series going? Do you have an assistant or agent yet?"
Tongtong: "I just signed a contract, and I haven’t met my agent yet, but it should be soon..."
Watching them chat in the group made Yu Duo, who was already upset, want to cry even more.
She also wanted to join in!
But now, she couldn’t seem to get a word in...
Zhou Wang gave Su Yajing a hotel and got Shen Yutong into the "Tian Yao" crew, but he ignored her.
Uh... well, she couldn’t blame him, as she hadn’t replied to his messages or dared to answer his calls for a long time. Sometimes she accidentally liked his posts, only to hurriedly unlike them, praying he wouldn’t notice like an ostrich.
She missed him dearly...
But Yu Duo felt that there was nothing about her that could attract Zhou Wang now, right?
She was tongue-tied, unable to sweet-talk like Ranran. She wasn’t sexy like Tongtong, nor could she outshine Min’er in any aspect...
Now she was even poorer, unable to afford a gift for Zhou Wang.
What boy would like someone like her?
So she needed to restrain herself to avoid worrying about ruining her friendship with Ranran. Maybe she could even be a bridesmaid when they got married!
Thinking about it made Yu Duo laugh, and laughing turned into crying... But she didn’t want to be Zhou Wang’s bridesmaid!
Ding dong! Ding dong!
At this time, a new message popped up in the group chat. Yu Duo initially wanted to close WeChat, but when she looked down, she couldn’t help but be stunned.
Because their topic had shifted from their "careers" to something else at some point.
Pictures, links, public account articles, Shen Yutong and Su Yajing were fervently discussing something. Their messages flashed too quickly, and Yu Duo only noticed two names, one seemingly a female celebrity’s, and the other "Zhou Wang."
Zhou Wang... What happened?
Yu Duo’s heart skipped a beat. She hurried to scroll to the top to find the beginning, seeing a slightly blurry screenshot Su Yajing must have downloaded from somewhere.
The screenshot was from "Weibo," a post by a female celebrity named "Xia Xiwei," roughly ten minutes old.
@Xia Xiwei: "It feels like, from this day, my life has a clear measure. Thank you, Mr. Zhou @Zhou Wang."
Below were several attached pictures.
Su Yajing had forwarded those pictures separately, and Yu Duo clicked on them one by one. There were three in total, and the first one made Yu Duo bite her lip.
In the photo, Xia Xiwei was making a wish in front of a candle, with Zhou Wang standing beside her, smiling intently. There seemed to be other people in the photo, but somehow they all appeared blurry.
The perspective of this photo made it seem as though Zhou Wang was the leading man orchestrating everything, celebrating Xia Xiwei’s birthday.
The second photo was of a restaurant, seemingly taken during the day. Xia Xiwei and Zhou Wang were leaning against the terrace railing, with the azure sea in the background, looking intimate.
The third photo was on a yacht, and from the angle, it looked like Xia Xiwei candidly shot it. Zhou Wang was in conversation with someone beside him, and Xia Xiwei crouched nearby, holding up her phone to include both herself and Zhou Wang in the shot, her playful smile and bright eyes making her seem like a mischievous girlfriend.