They surrounded me right after the breakup.

When Shen Qingning woke up, it was still dark.

She lay on her side, her head resting on Jiang Han's arm.

His other hand rested on her waist, his palm pressed against the warm fabric of her pajamas.

Shen Qingning gently turned over and looked at his face through the dim light coming through the gap in the curtains.

He looked less fierce when he was asleep than when he was awake; his breathing was steady and his brows were relaxed.

Last night was the most peaceful night Shen Qingning had ever had.

She had intended to leave in the middle of the night, but as soon as she propped herself up, Jiang Han tightened his grip on her waist and mumbled, "Don't move."

She really didn't move, lay back down, and tucked herself back into her arms.

I listened to his heartbeat with my eyes closed until late at night before finally drifting off to sleep.

Shen Qingning pursed her lips, carefully moved Jiang Han's hands away, and slowly withdrew from under the covers.

My legs felt a little weak when I stepped on the carpet, and my inner thighs were slightly sore.

She held onto the bedside table for two seconds before regaining her balance.

My body isn't used to sleeping with him all night after so long.

Or perhaps they've become too accustomed to it, so accustomed that every muscle remembers the force from last night.

Shen Qingning picked up her pajamas from the floor, put them on, and quietly opened the door.

The kitchen lights were on on on the first floor.

Qiu Siyao was already standing in front of the stove, with water boiling in the pot and chopped scallions on the cutting board.

Lin Yaoyao sat at the dining table with fresh milk in front of her and folic acid in her hand, about to put it in her mouth.

"You got up quite early." Lin Yaoyao's tone was as indifferent as usual.

"I'm used to it. I used to often work until the early hours of the morning when filming."

Qiu Siyao turned around, about to explain Jiang Han's breakfast habits.

Shen Qingning spoke up first: "The milk can't be cold, toast two slices of bread, fry the egg on one side, and make sure the yolk isn't too cooked."

Qiu Siyao laughed: "You remember it even better than I do."

"His habit hasn't changed in ten years. I used to eat what he cooked, but now it's my turn to cook for him."

Shen Qingning cracked the eggs into the frying pan, and they sizzled.

"I'll make breakfast from now on, you guys can sleep in a bit longer, anyway, I don't have to go to work now."

Lin Yaoyao put down her cup: "You certainly know how to steal the spotlight."

Shen Qingning flipped the spatula, and the egg mixture puffed up with golden edges in the hot oil.

"He used to cook for me, now it's my turn, it's fair!"

There was a two-second silence in the kitchen.

"I'll sweep and mop the floor," Lin Yaoyao suddenly said, her tone as if assigning some important task.

"I'll take care of the dishes," Qiu Siyao said.

"I cook dinner when I get home from get off work. If I don't have time, I'll have a private chef deliver it. Qingning is in charge of breakfast. Jianghan usually doesn't eat lunch at home."

Shen Qingning put the fried egg into a plate and turned to heat up the milk.

Her knees were still trembling a little as she walked, and she deliberately straightened her back when passing by Lin Yaoyao.

Footsteps echoed down the stairs.

Jiang Han came downstairs wearing a T-shirt and pajama bottoms, his hair a little messy.

He walked to the restaurant entrance and saw three figures standing side by side in the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow.

"What day is it today?"

"Ordinary days".

Lin Yaoyao brought the hot milk to him. "Drink it quickly, the temperature is just right."

Jiang Han took the cup and glanced at the three people.

Qiu Siyao was serving porridge, Shen Qingning was wiping the stove, and Lin Yaoyao was putting vitamin pills into her mouth.

No one spoke, and no one asked any questions.

It was as calm as if this day had already passed countless times.

After breakfast, Jiang Han went to Xingyue Media Company.

After Qiu Siyao finished cleaning up the dishes, she stood at the kitchen doorway and took a picture of the living room with her phone.

In the scene, Lin Yaoyao is nestled on the sofa flipping through her dubbing script, while Shen Qingning is straightening the fruit plate on the coffee table.

Qiu Siyao posted the photos in her best friend group chat, with the caption "A beautiful day starts with breakfast."

Liu Meng: "Who did this?"

Qiu Siyao: "Qingning fried the eggs, I cooked the porridge, and Yaoyao-jie is in charge of eating!"

Lin Yaoyao: "Bullshit, I'm in charge of quality control!"

Xiao Xiao: Can I come over for a free meal? My cook made a sandwich today that's so hard I can't even bite into it.

Lin Yaoyao: Sure, bring your own ingredients. We're out of eggs in the fridge.

Xiao Xiao and Xia Yutong replied with two cute emojis.

Shen Qingning put down her phone, her nose feeling sore.

She used to talk in the group chat, Lin Yaoyao would argue with her, Xiao Xiao would fan the flames, Liu Meng would come out and say a few words of advice, and then they would start arguing.

It's so good to be at peace right now!

……

Xingyue Media Conference Room.

Fang Chongwen pushed a stack of documents in front of Jiang Han.

"Chairman Jiang, the video of Phoenix Trumpchi at the final of 'Rising Star' has garnered over 200 million views in three days."

"Our business team received five offers, including endorsements, commercial performances, and guest appearances on variety shows. I've picked a few that seem reliable; please take a look."

Jiang Han flipped through the list and picked out two: "I'll take this beverage endorsement, but let's negotiate the price up by two percentage points."

"We should reduce the number of commercial performances we accept, let Zeng Yi and Ling Hua take a break, and make sure the quality of the new album doesn't drop."

Fang Chongwen nodded and made two notes in his notebook.

Then, he turned to the next page, his tone becoming more somber.

"There's something going on at Universal Music; they're pushing a newcomer named Shan Yichun."

"The new song just released a teaser poster last night. The song is called 'What's the Point of Trying?'"

Jiang Han paused for a moment as he took the document.

The name and the song title match up.

The image of a panda-themed emoji created by netizens using her facial features automatically popped into my mind.

That kind of face is really disgusting.

Now that she's signed with Universal, it seems like Jiang Guangyao is using her Starry Night Music line as a selling point.

Jiang Han opened his phone and saw that Shan Yichun had posted a poster for her new song on Weibo, and the number of comments and reposts had exceeded 100,000.

He smiled.

In terms of creativity, Mao Buyi is miles ahead of her.

In terms of singing ability, Phoenix Trumpchi could make her call him "Dad".

Even if you take Linghua out on her own, you can still keep her firmly under control.

This kind of scum dares to try and piggyback on the fame of talented singers? What a joke!

"Keep a close eye on her new song's data, and carefully check if there's any inflated data." Jiang Han placed his phone on the table.

"Also, is there any news from Ji Bochang?"

"Wasn't he completely dumped by Lee Myung-bak?" Fang Chongwen asked, puzzled.

"It's precisely because they've been completely wiped out that we need to be careful; a mad dog without any backing is prone to biting people indiscriminately."

"Okay, I'll have the public relations department contact a few media outlets and let them know in advance if there's any news."

After the meeting, Jiang Han lit a cigarette and glanced at his phone again.

The number of reposts of Shan Yichun's poster is still rising.

He knew this woman's methods all too well: staged accidents to gain sympathy, plagiarize and infringe on others' rights, and climb up the social ladder by stepping on others.

In her past life, she really screwed over a senior colleague in the industry!

They rearranged someone's hit song into a wailing, groaning mess, turning it into a ritual performance.

Jiang Han stubbed out his cigarette and picked up the internal telephone on the table.

"Have the music department compile Shan Yichun's background and resume."

"Have our legal department issue a statement in advance that any commercial performance that wants to use our company's song copyrights must contact us for authorization beforehand."

"If any infringement is discovered, we will take all necessary legal measures to pursue legal action!"