Chapter13

Holding the business card Meng Fanchuan handed her, Cen Zhen barely slept that night.

In the pitch-dark night, she stared at the ceiling, replaying over and over the last thing he said before leaving: “You hold the best cards—choose wisely.”

The pressure those words carried was overwhelming. All night, Cen Zhen kept wondering—what was he implying? Why couldn’t he just be more direct?

What “best cards” did she still have?

Aside from the pride she continued to cling to, she had nothing left.

Her dreams were defeated by reality, her love was defeated by reality—her persistence, in the end, amounted to nothing.

Did she really have any good cards left?

The “good cards” Meng Fanchuan mentioned—was it her face, or her body?

More than half a year ago, Shen Zesheng had used a luxury apartment and top-tier acting resources to say to Cen Zhen: “Come to me when you’ve decided.”

Half a year later, she heard nearly the same words again—but this time, it was Meng Fanchuan saying: “Call me when you’ve made up your mind.”

So what exactly did they both want her to “decide”?

Was it to assess whether their offer was good enough? Or to figure out in what position she should crawl into their bed?

That night, she slept uneasily. The trending scandal about Song Wang shattered the last line she had held onto inside her heart. Cen Zhen began to truly wake from her idealistic world and started to reevaluate the version of herself she had been. Her conviction began to waver.

When she woke again, it was already ten in the morning.

Groggy and disoriented, she turned on her phone and saw a flood of messages from Song Wang.

As expected, they were all explanations—reasons why he had no control, why he was swept up by fame and traffic. That he had a management company behind him, contracts, things he couldn't decide on his own.

But none of that mattered anymore. If the ending was destined to drift apart, then the details of the journey didn’t matter to Cen Zhen.

Just like when she saw the latest trending headline: #Matching Phone Cases of Song Wang and Jiang Yuan#, she no longer felt anything.

She simply replied with one sentence:

"I’ll pack up the things you gave me and send them back to you. Best wishes going forward."

After one long night, Cen Zhen had figured things out.

Regret is the norm in life. She was just an ordinary person. She couldn’t demand that everything unfold perfectly.

People fall out of love. Love doesn’t stay loyal forever.

The ideal world she once wanted—perhaps it had only ever been a stubborn, naive dream.

After sending that message, she blocked all of Song Wang’s contact information. Then she got out of bed and began sorting through all the gifts he had given her over the years.

Cen Zhen wasn’t someone who cared much about material things. Some of the handbags and jewelry Song Wang had gifted her still sat untouched in their boxes.

It took some time to pack up all the odds and ends, but she didn’t feel tired. She was clearing out all traces of Song Wang—along with all the congested, suffocating emotions—from her world.

No lingering feelings. No permission for lingering feelings.

She told herself: break, let go, leave room for yourself.

By 2 p.m., everything had been packed up and shipped to Song Wang’s residence. After finishing it all, Cen Zhen curled up with a cushion on the sofa, sitting with her knees drawn up.

She sat staring blankly at her quiet home for a long time. Her mind was empty, and yet somehow she ended up thinking back through everything that had happened since graduation. In hindsight, she realized—

When had life ever been perfect?

Even someone like Qiao Tingting, who rose to fame so smoothly, had to follow the program's rules and sign all sorts of exploitative contracts just to compete. At 20, she gambled away 10 years of her life.

She was lucky—she got popular. But the others from that same competition, after losing their spotlight and traffic—how were they supposed to face the next ten years?

No one waits for you with a perfect, risk-free script in hand. Whether it’s youth or time, if you want to step into this bizarre and glamorous world, you need the courage and the guts to lose a few rounds.

Just as she was deep in thought, the phone suddenly rang, startling her.It was her mother, Xiao Yunqi, calling. Cen Zhen lay down on the couch and answered, “Hello? Mom.”

As always, Xiao Yunqi asked about her daughter’s daily routine, her meals, reminded her that the weather in Hucheng was turning cold and to dress warmer. Cen Zhen responded one by one. At the very end, Xiao Yunqi casually brought up, “A friend of mine opened a dance school and is currently looking to hire young instructors. I asked, and the pay is pretty good. Would you come back and stay with Mom for a while?”

It had been half a year since graduation. Xiao Yunqi often heard her daughter say she was going to interviews but never once heard any good news about her landing a role. She knew how fiercely competitive and stressful the entertainment industry was, so she never pressured her daughter—so much so that even finding a job for her had to be done carefully, for fear of hurting her self-esteem.

But what Xiao Yunqi didn’t expect was for her daughter to reply calmly on the other end of the line, “Mom, I’m joining a production.”

Staring at the white ceiling as she said those words, Cen Zhen felt an inexplicable sense of relief and lightness. She knew very well that in the half year she had been struggling, her mother had been struggling alongside her in silence.

It turns out, clarity comes in a moment. Cen Zhen needed an opportunity to prove herself, and since Meng Fanchuan was willing to offer one, she had no reason to reject his olive branch—

Even if that branch came with strings attached.

Facing reality and staying true to one’s ideals weren’t mutually exclusive. If she could get what she wanted, an equal exchange was justified.

Cen Zhen consoled herself—

Compared to Shen Zesheng’s arrogance, at least Meng Fanchuan gave her the respect she deserved.

And to be blunt—acting opposite a young and handsome man was far better than those greasy middle-aged ones with big bellies.

On the phone, perhaps caught off guard by the unexpected news, Xiao Yunqi sounded slightly disbelieving. “...What did you say?”

“It’s real this time,” Cen Zhen gently reassured her mother. “A director invited me to film the promo for this year’s International Ski Festival. You’ll be able to see me on TV.”

“That’s wonderful!” Xiao Yunqi was overjoyed. “Then do your best. Mom will be waiting to watch you.”

Overwhelmed with happiness at the thought of soon seeing her daughter on TV, Xiao Yunqi ended the call cheerfully. Cen Zhen sat still for a while, holding her phone, before finding the business card Meng Fanchuan had given her the day before.

—Call me when you’ve decided.

The internal struggle had already ended. Looking at the number on the card, Cen Zhen took a deep breath and pressed “call.”

The dial tone echoed in her ears like a taut string tugging at her heart.

“Hello.”

A calm male voice answered. Cen Zhen tensed up despite herself. She unconsciously gripped the phone with her free hand, trying to steady her voice, make it sound level and calm.

“It’s me, Young Master Meng.” She tried to sound like a seasoned negotiator. “I’m fine with the promo shoot. When do we sign the contract?”

Meng Fanchuan wasn’t surprised by her decision. “Today works.”

Cen Zhen was about to agree when the man on the other end unhurriedly added, “But I have conditions.”

“…”

Cen Zhen had already prepared herself for this—she’d considered every possibility, so she wasn’t thrown by the idea of “conditions.”

After all, a deal should be fair, voluntary, and mutual.

She replied calmly, “That’s fine. I have conditions too.”

Meng Fanchuan paused briefly. After a few seconds of silence, a faint chuckle with a hint of breath came through. “Then let’s meet and talk about your conditions.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll have the driver come pick you up in a bit.”

Once the call ended, Cen Zhen knew—her “deal” with Meng Fanchuan had officially begun.

She quickly freshened up and waited at home for Chen Xiang’an’s arrival. But the entire afternoon passed without her phone ringing. Just as Cen Zhen started to wonder if Meng Fanchuan had changed his mind, the phone rang at 6 p.m.—Chen Xiang’an said he was already downstairs.

This time of day, wouldn’t the legal department have already left work?

“Is Young Master Meng still at the office?” Cen Zhen asked innocently after getting in the car.

Through the rearview mirror, Chen Xiang’an looked at her. “He’s not at the office.”

“Not at the office?” Her expression froze. “Aren’t we signing a contract? Then where are you taking me to meet him?”

Chen Xiang’an replied calmly, “Young Master Meng is at home.”

...Home?

Cen Zhen opened her mouth but said nothing. She wanted to ask why, even reached out and grabbed the car door handle, instinctively ready to get out—

But all her doubts stopped at her lips and were quietly swallowed back down.Meng Fanchuan had made it very clear on the phone—he had conditions.

They were both adults. Going to his home to discuss terms and sign a contract—how could she not understand what that really meant?

Cen Zhen just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

At six in the evening, the city was not yet fully dark. Lights had begun to glow, and the busy stream of traffic flowed through the streets. Sitting in the back seat, Cen Zhen watched the scenery outside slowly pass by, thinking about what might happen when they met later. She tried to give herself a little pep talk—

What’s there to be afraid of?

Men only ever had so many thoughts—nothing to fear.

She did her best to shift her focus. She looked at her phone, at the road signs, trying every possible method to suppress her nervousness. Then, while the car was stopped at a red light, her gaze unintentionally landed on a convenience store to the left side of the street.

In that moment, a thought suddenly struck her, and she sat up straighter.

“Excuse me,” Cen Zhen quickly called out to Chen Xiang’an. “Could you stop at that store up ahead? I… want to buy a bottle of water.”

“No problem.” Chen Xiang’an obliged, pulling over to the curb after the light turned green. “Would you like me to get it for you?”

“No, that’s okay,” Cen Zhen quickly declined, twisting open the door. “I’ll be right back.”

Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she walked into the convenience store, her heartbeat erratic.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then made her way to the counter—but didn’t head straight to checkout.

The shelves near the cashier were stocked with all kinds of everyday items. Cen Zhen bent down, pretending to examine a box of throat lozenges, while her gaze discreetly drifted over to the nearby rows of flashy, small packaged products.

Seeing the suggestive and flirtatious labels written on them, her face grew even hotter.

If certain things were bound to happen, then at the very least—she had to protect herself.

It was her first time buying something like this, and she had no experience. She didn’t know the differences between the various types or packaging, but the general purpose was the same. She turned slightly to make sure Chen Xiang’an wasn’t watching from outside, then quickly pulled a box off the shelf and placed it on the counter with the bottle of water.

“Hi, I’d like to check out.”