They surrounded me right after the breakup.

When Xia Yutong arrived at Bicui Manor, the streetlights at the entrance were still on.

She parked her car, walked to the villa's door, and rang the doorbell, but no one answered.

She went around to the backyard, where the side door was unlocked.

Shen Qingning sat on the sofa, wearing gray loungewear.

She looked haggard, was barefoot, and her hair was disheveled and fell over her shoulders.

Xia Yutong walked over, sat down next to her, and put her arm around Shen Qingning's shoulder.

Shen Qingning spoke first: "Why are you here?"

"I saw your statement and couldn't get through on the phone. I was very worried about you!" Xia Yutong said with concern.

"Have you got a meal yet?"

I'm not hungry.

Xia Yutong stood up and went to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator, which contained only a few cartons of milk and half a bag of bread.

She took out the milk, poured it into a glass, microwaved it for thirty seconds, and then brought it to Shen Qingning.

"Have something hot to drink first, I'll order the restaurant to send over the food."

Shen Qingning took the cup and held it in her hands. The steam from the milk rose up, causing tiny water droplets to condense on her eyelashes.

"Don't you think I'm being too impulsive?"

"What's done is done, there's no point in asking this."

Xia Yutong sent a message in the group: "I'm here with Qing Ning, she's fine."

Lin Yaoyao was sitting side by side with Qiu Siyao in the living room of Yunqi Villa.

The TV was on, showing a late-night talk show, with the volume turned down very low.

Both of them were scrolling through their phones; neither of them was paying attention to the TV.

When Xia Yutong's message popped up, Lin Yaoyao stared at that line of text for a long time.

She typed a line and then deleted it, repeating this process several times, before finally replying with just an "Mm".

Qiu Siyao asked, "Should we go over there?"

Xia Yutong replied, "I'll stay with her tonight, you can come tomorrow."

Lin Yaoyao leaned back on the sofa, hugging a cushion, her chin resting on it.

"She's so stupid."

Qiu Siyao didn't reply, but reached out and patted Lin Yaoyao's hand.

Shen Qingning's statement was posted online in less than half an hour.

"Shen Qingning retires from the entertainment industry" topped the headlines.

The comment section is like boiling water, with thousands more comments appearing every time it's refreshed.

"She finally told the truth."

"What else does Ji Bochang have to say?"

"Even Edison Chen, who caused such a huge scandal, only retired from the entertainment industry. Shen Qingning, surely she won't go that far?"

"Isn't this tantamount to admitting to cheating?"

"Yes, the chat logs that Ji Bochang produced were from before the breakup, and Shen Qingning herself admitted it."

Her fans were in such a frenzy that they managed to push one comment to the top.

"Shen Qingning sacrificed her acting career to clear Jiang Han's name. Are you satisfied with this price, Ji Bochang?"

Ji Bochang was naturally dissatisfied.

He saw Shen Qingning's statement in the rented room and jumped up from his chair.

He read the long article from beginning to end, twice, and almost dropped his phone.

Shen Qingning accepted everything.

The chat logs were written by her, and she was the one who initiated the breakup. Jiang Han did not interfere in anyone's relationship.

The screenshots in his hand suddenly became worthless.

Because the person involved herself came forward and said that she had betrayed Jiang Han.

Ji Bochang picked up his phone and called Li Mingbo.

It rang three times, but no one answered.

He sent a message: "President Li, Shen Qingning has issued a statement. Please check Weibo."

"Mr. Li? Mr. Li?"

Lee Myung-bak certainly saw it too.

He sat in a leather chair in the Universal Music office, with unorganized documents spread out in front of him.

Shen Qingning's withdrawal completely tipped the scales of public opinion.

Risking his career and giving up a promising future.

Even at the cost of sacrificing one's reputation...

How the hell can you compare these?

It's like two people playing cards. While you're still thinking about how to bet, the other person just flips the table!

Those chat logs and insider revelations suddenly seemed insignificant in the face of Shen Qingning's statement.

"Don't send anything yet, wait a couple of days."

Lee Myung-bak replied to Ji Baek-chang, and also deleted their previous chat history.

Yunqi Mountain Villa.

Jiang Han leaned back on the sofa, his phone screen displaying Shen Qingning's statement.

The three people sat side by side, with half a person's distance between them, each facing their own light source.

Lin Yaoyao spoke first: "Honey, do you want to give her a call?"

"Need not."

Qiu Siyao asked, "What will happen to her in the future?"

Jiang Han put down his phone, leaned back on the sofa, and stared at the ceiling.

Lin Yaoyao and Qiu Siyao exchanged a glance, but neither of them asked any further questions.

Jiang Han's phone was still lit up, the screen showing Shen Qingning's Weibo homepage, with the words "User has been deleted" next to her profile picture.

She issued a statement and then deleted her account, going down a dead end without leaving herself any way out.

At two o'clock in the morning, Xia Yutong came out of the guest room and walked into the living room.

Shen Qingning was still sitting on the sofa, in the same posture as she had a few hours ago, holding the glass of milk that had long since gone cold.

I only ate a few bites of the dinner delivered from the restaurant.

"Go to sleep," Shen Qingning said.

"And you?"

"I'll sit for a while longer."

Shen Qingning recalled the time when she first entered the industry and appeared on the cover of a magazine for the first time. She was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night.

At that time, she was in her early twenties, had just graduated from school, and was playing the third female lead in a low-budget TV series.

The magazine was an obscure internal publication with a print run of only a few thousand copies, but she read it more than twenty times.

Later, he gradually got more roles, was interviewed, and walked the red carpet.

She was filming until the early hours of the morning, and Jiang Han would sit on the steps outside the set waiting for her, carrying a thermos containing her favorite soup.

She complained that the soup was too hot, so Jiang Han blew on it until the temperature was just right.

She never looked at him when she took the soup, and put the thermos back after she finished drinking it.

Shen Qingning thought these things would accumulate and pile up higher and higher.

Now it's all gone, like a stack of building blocks collapsing.

Is it a pity? It is indeed a pity that years of hard work have gone to waste.

Do I regret it? Never.

It's more like a burden that's been carried for a long time, finally being put down.

……

The next morning, accompanied by the clear chirping of birds, sunlight streamed into the room through the glass.

Shen Qingning lay on her side on the sofa, curled up in a ball, covered with the blanket that Xia Yutong had brought over in the middle of the night.

The doorbell rang a few times.

Xia Yutong came out of the kitchen and went to open the door.

Lin Yaoyao and Qiu Siyao were standing at the door.

Both of them were dressed in plain clothes, without makeup, and looked tired.

Upon closer inspection, you can also see tiny blood vessels in the eye sockets.

Lin Yaoyao was carrying an insulated bag, while Qiu Siyao was holding a bouquet of white lilies.

Xia Yutong stepped aside to let the door open: "Come in, she's in the living room."

Lin Yaoyao walked into the living room. This was the first time in so many years that she had come to the place where Shen Qingning lived.

How did best friends who were once as close as sisters gradually drift apart and become bitter rivals who constantly compete with each other?

Hearing the noise, Shen Qingning propped herself up on her arms and sat up.

His hair was messy, his eyes were swollen, and his face was as white as paint on the wall.

Her gray loungewear was wrinkled and the collar was askew, but she didn't care.

Lin Yaoyao walked over and placed the insulated bag on the coffee table.

Qiu Siyao placed the bouquet of lilies on the cabinet next to her, filled a glass with water, and put the flowers in it.

"Have you eaten?" Lin Yaoyao asked.

Shen Qingning shook her head.

Lin Yaoyao opened the insulated bag and took out a box of porridge.

She stirred it with a spoon and pushed it in front of Shen Qingning.

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