Chapter 31: Confrontation

The next day, Xia Linxia woke up to the sound of the morning exercise broadcast, dragging Ji Fengxue to join her in the routine. Ji Fengxue declined with a yawn, heading to the bathroom to wash up while leaving the door open to watch Xia Linxia’s performance. She smiled; it was rare to sleep early the night before, probably because carrying someone had worn her out, and she didn’t feel like dealing with Xia Linxia’s playful antics, so she quickly fell asleep.

As for why she needed to give herself so many explanations, it was because she didn’t want to admit that her sleep quality had improved over the past few nights she had shared with Xia Linxia. It was all just a coincidence, nothing more.

[Good morning everyone! A happy day starts with Xia Linxia’s morning exercises!]

[Seeing this makes me want to get up early and exercise too, it’s so much fun]

[She’s jumping, she’s laughing, the heavenly couple is chirping]

[Ji Fengxue’s gaze has never left her! Perhaps, this is the shadow queen’s love]

[Learn how to flirt from the shadow queen]

[She managed to woo Xia Linxia, while I can only hope to flirt with an average person, sighs deeply.jpg]

After they finished getting ready, they opened the door.

Xia Linxia smelled something delicious from a distance and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Fang Qiushuang was busy serving noodles, repeatedly reminding her, “Run slowly, be careful with your body.”

“Okay, thank you, Sister Shuang.” Xia Linxia slowed down, patting her thigh. “But don’t worry, my leg is healed!”

Fang Qiushuang was still worried.

Xia Linxia, being straightforward, said, “Sister Shuang, why does your expression look so strange?”

Fang Qiushuang glanced toward the living room, then pulled her aside to whisper, “You two were making too much noise last night.”

“Hmm?” Xia Linxia scratched her head, then realized, “Sorry about that, did we disturb your rest?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Fang Qiushuang didn’t elaborate further. “Here, take this bowl of noodles outside.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Watching Xia Linxia bounce around without a care, Fang Qiushuang was puzzled when Ji Fengxue also entered the kitchen.

“Thank you, Sister Shuang. Next time, I’ll make breakfast.”

“It’s no trouble. I’m old, don’t sleep much, wake up before dawn. You young people have so much energy.”

Ji Fengxue laughed, “Not at all, my energy isn’t what it used to be.” Staying up late is not good.

Upon hearing this, Fang Qiushuang’s eyes widened. She thought to herself that she must find an opportunity to take good care of Ji Fengxue and make up for it.

After breakfast, Xia Linxia whispered to Ji Fengxue, “Why do I feel like something is off with Sister Shuang?”

“I feel the same.”

As they chatted and returned to their room, Fang Qiushuang looked at the closed door, further misunderstanding the young people’s stamina.

A day later, the recording of the variety show ended. After bidding farewell, Xia Linxia added Song Wan Yi and Fang Qiushuang on WeChat, happily setting up game and poker dates before getting into the car.

She turned to see Ji Fengxue still talking to Xue Hui and urged, “Let’s go, what can’t wait until next week?”

Xue Hui laughed, “Lin Xia is jealous, so let’s leave it at that.”

Ji Fengxue smiled, “Alright, see you next time.”

As soon as she sat in the car, Xia Linxia asked, “What were you talking about?”

“The auction we mentioned before. He wants to bid on some jade.”

“Why is there always jade? Is he wholesaling jade?” Xia Linxia said, not noticing the hint of jealousy in her tone.

“This time there isn’t any jade, but I didn’t tell him.” Ji Fengxue smiled, which Xia Linxia quickly caught.

“Why did you lie to him then? Won’t it be disappointing if his plan falls through?”

“They’ve been together for a long time; some unexpected surprises are good. More importantly, his feelings are more valuable than jade or diamonds, and Wan Yi will feel that.”

Xia Linxia pondered.

The production team thought they were living together and dropped them off at Xia Linxia’s place. Too embarrassed to correct them, they got out of the car. Ji Fengxue called Chen Nian while Xia Linxia looked around.

“Why aren’t you going up?”

“It’s so hot, let’s go to my place for a drink first.”

Seeing it was the hottest part of the day and Chen Nian would take a while, Ji Fengxue agreed, “Okay.”

As they walked into the complex, passersby recognized them, showing knowing expressions. The residents were aware the neighborhood star had a girlfriend, another beloved actress. Now the couple was living together, which would likely attract more paparazzi.

Ji Fengxue noticed the attention and lowered her gaze, avoiding others.

It seemed everyone accepted that she and Xia Linxia were “dating.” But what about in a year?

How would Xia Linxia’s family, fans, and even the neighborhood view her? Would they think she was abandoned, both pitiful and laughable?

“We’re home!” Xia Linxia opened the door. “Come in.”

“Okay.” Ji Fengxue set her things down and naturally took out two bottles of water from the fridge.

“Well, you’ve made yourself at home.” Xia Linxia took the other bottle.

“Just in case you don’t have the sense to do it yourself and get dehydrated,” Ji Fengxue joked.

It wasn’t her first time at Xia Linxia’s place, but previously she was focused on caring for an injured person, so she hadn’t had the chance to look around. Seeing the mess now, she still didn’t feel like exploring.

Just then, Xia Linxia got a call from Xiang Huaimeng, “What’s up?”

“Are you home? I want to talk about the upcoming schedule. Should I come to your place, or do you want to come to me?”

“I don’t feel like moving.”

“Alright. Fu Xiaoxuan just went to beg President Jiang for mercy. I’ll check the situation here and then come over.”

“What?” Xia Linxia, who had been calm these past few days, nearly forgot about that person. “I’ll go to the company and deal with her.”

Ji Fengxue heard Xia Linxia mention going to the company and asked, “What are you going there for?”

“Of course, to get some answers.” Xia Linxia hung up the phone, grabbed her bag, and headed out. As she reached the door, she turned back and said, “You stay here and wait for Chen Nian. I’ll be back soon.”

“Forget it, I’ll go with you.” Ji Fengxue sighed, also wanting to understand why Fu Xiaoxuan did what she did.

Although Ji Fengxue didn’t know much about Fu Xiaoxuan, she remembered her as someone who always clung to Xiao Yuran. Xiao Yuran had mentioned this sweet burden to her a few times, feeling that Fu Xiaoxuan was just riding her coattails.

Would this incident affect Xiao Yuran?

Thinking about this, Ji Fengxue laughed at herself. Even though she had decided to let go, she still unconsciously considered Xiao Yuran’s situation. But that was just her nature; she always gave her all to her friends. Even if it wasn’t Xiao Yuran but Xia Linxia, she would still want to get to the bottom of it.

“Ah, this is tricky.” Xia Linxia stood in her garage, suddenly frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Fengxue asked, seeing her troubled expression.

“Which car should I take today? Meimei, Ahei, Rose, or Chang’e?” Xia Linxia pointed to each of the four luxury cars in turn.

Ji Fengxue: “?”

After much deliberation, Xia Linxia finally pointed to a sleek, all-black Maserati. “Let’s go with Ahei. It suits my avenger mood today.”

Ji Fengxue: “……”

“Get in.” Xia Linxia pressed the car key, and the door opened automatically. She raised an eyebrow, “You’re the second person to ride in Ahei.”

Ji Fengxue got into “Ahei” with a poker face and asked, “Second?”

“Yeah, the first was my brother.” Xia Linxia got in, took off her high heels, and changed into flat shoes she kept in the car. “I don’t usually drive it. It doesn’t match my glamorous street style.”

Ji Fengxue glanced at the other colorful cars and asked, “Did you name all of them?”

“Yeah.” Xia Linxia stepped on the gas and quickly drove onto the street, whistling a little tune.

“That’s nice. What’s the song?” Ji Fengxue asked.

“Do you like it?” Xia Linxia asked happily. “I composed it myself. I want to make a song, so I hum it now and then.”

“You want to write songs too?”

“Of course.” Xia Linxia smiled. “Surprised?”

They arrived at the company. Xia Linxia put her heels back on, paused as she saw paparazzi nearby, and sighed. “Ugh, back to work.”

She opened the car door, walked over to Ji Fengxue’s side, and extended her hand in a fluid motion.

Ji Fengxue rolled her eyes and took Xia Linxia’s hand, stepping out of the car. They walked hand in hand into the company, all under the paparazzi’s lenses.

Once inside the elevator, they discreetly let go of each other’s hands. Xia Linxia clicked her tongue in amazement. “When I used to hold hands with my classmates, it never felt weird. Why does it feel strange with you?”

“Because I like women,” Ji Fengxue replied bluntly.

Xia Linxia thought about it and realized it made sense. She warned, “Don’t fall for me, or I’ll dump you.”

Ji Fengxue laughed. “Don’t worry, you’re not my type.”

Why did that sound so annoying?

Xia Linxia glared at her. The elevator door opened, and she walked out first, heading straight for Jiang Yuan’s office. Inside, she found Jiang Yuan and Fu Xiaoxuan in the middle of a conversation. They both looked at her.

Fu Xiaoxuan wiped her tears and glanced nervously at Ji Fengxue, who was closing the door.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Yuan asked.

“Here to settle accounts, of course.” Xia Linxia casually tossed her bag aside and walked up to Fu Xiaoxuan, slapping her hard across the face. The crisp sound echoed in the office.

“How does that feel?” Xia Linxia asked coldly.

Caught off guard, Fu Xiaoxuan instinctively touched her burning cheek and looked at Jiang Yuan with tears streaming down her face.

“Don’t cry in front of me. Your tears were tolerated on the show, but no one buys them now.” Xia Linxia grabbed Fu Xiaoxuan’s chin and slapped her other cheek, satisfied only when both sides were equally red and swollen. “It’s just a slap, not a big deal. Stop acting pitiful. Did you consider this outcome when you tried to mess with me?”

Fu Xiaoxuan cried and glared at her. “Xia Linxia, don’t go too far!”

“Too far? Where do you get the nerve to say that to me?” Xia Linxia rolled her eyes. “Let me tell you, slapping you is the least of what you deserve. If something serious had happened to me, you’d be crying in a cell.”

She walked to the opposite chair, crossed her arms, and said coldly, “You’ve always suspected I have connections. Well, let me tell you, no one can force me out of this industry unless I want to leave. I used to ignore your petty tricks because you weren’t worth my attention. But this time, you threatened my safety, and I can’t let that slide.”

Fu Xiaoxuan held her burning face, sobbing as she looked at Jiang Yuan. “President Jiang, look at her…”

“Enough.” Jiang Yuan interrupted.

Fu Xiaoxuan felt a moment of triumph until she heard Jiang Yuan say, “Linxia, don’t hit her anymore. You’ll hurt your hand, and then I’ll have to apologize to your brother.”

Xia Linxia’s expression softened. She pouted and cried to Jiang Yuan, “President Jiang, you have to stand up for me, boo-hoo.”

Jiang Yuan rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from Xia Linxia’s grasp. “Alright, since everyone is here, let’s get to the bottom of this. Fu Xiaoxuan, why did you target Xia Linxia?”

Fu Xiaoxuan saw that Jiang Yuan was siding with Xia Linxia and glanced at the indifferent Ji Fengxue. She decided to go all out, sneering, “Xia Linxia, you’ve already found a girlfriend. Have you thought about Qiu Xingzhou’s feelings?”

The others were taken aback.

Qiu Xingzhou, a top star with over 80 million followers on Weibo, was a man whose every move could easily trend. However, very few people knew that Qiu Xingzhou was Xia Linxia’s ex-boyfriend.

Jiang Yuan asked coolly, “Linxia, what’s going on?”

“Well…” Xia Linxia instinctively glanced at Ji Fengxue, who, apart from a brief moment of surprise, remained calm as if she were listening to an irrelevant story.

That made sense; after all, she and Ji Fengxue weren’t in a real romantic relationship, and their tastes in partners were vastly different.

“Qiu Xingzhou is my ex-boyfriend, but we broke up. President Jiang, I’ll explain this to you later.” Xia Linxia then turned to Fu Xiaoxuan. “How do you know about this?”

Fu Xiaoxuan, as if hearing a joke, stopped pretending to be pitiful and sneered, “Xia Linxia, I genuinely hate how you always seem so at ease! I’ve liked him for so long, but he confessed to you instead. I told him so many times that you weren’t suitable for each other, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“And what happened?!” Fu Xiaoxuan paused, tears streaming down her face as her tone turned sharp. “You dumped him after just a few days and then found a woman. Are you even human?”

Xia Linxia picked at her ear, frowned, and asked, “Are you seriously mad about this? Over Qiu Xingzhou?”

“It’s not just that. Do you know how much I hate you? I hate your arrogance and superiority, how you get everything others dream of without trying. I despise you the most!” Fu Xiaoxuan clutched her head in anguish, sobbing uncontrollably.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was her crying.

Xia Linxia remained silent for a while, finding the situation quite boring. She picked up her bag, ready to leave, when Ji Fengxue, who had been quiet, spoke up, “How do you know she didn’t work hard? Does effort need to be shown to others?”

Xia Linxia was taken aback, staring at Ji Fengxue in disbelief, her eyes glistening.

Ji Fengxue tapped her fingers on the table twice and asked, “Fu Xiaoxuan, was the idea of sabotaging the performance that day solely yours?”