Mr. Lu, stop being such a jerk. Your wife is your nemesis's white moonlight.

Xu An'an felt the hand on her waist was very hot.

Even though there was a layer of clothing between them, it felt like the heat was directly against her skin, spreading up from her waist.

She looked up and saw Yan Heng's face.

As night and lights intertwined, his deep, razor-sharp facial features and dark eyes were captivatingly enhanced by the shimmering light of the canal.

This face is truly stunning no matter when you look at it.

I initially thought that Italian guy was quite handsome, but compared to Yan Heng, he's nowhere near as good-looking.

The Italian man was taken aback when he saw Yan Heng, then smiled and nodded, saying frankly in Italian, "Sorry, your girlfriend is very beautiful, you're very lucky."

Yan Heng nodded slightly and replied, "Thank you."

After the Italians left, Yan Heng removed his hand from Xu An'an's waist. He silently handed her the small cake he had bought and then took the chicken bones that Xu An'an had left in her hand.

He remained completely silent throughout.

Xu An'an knew he was angry again, so she chuckled twice to ease the tension, "You can speak Italian? That's amazing!"

Yan Heng hummed in agreement and put the chicken bones into a used plastic bag. "I know a little bit."

Feeling that her efforts hadn't yielded the desired effect, Xu An'an pressed on, "What did you guys just talk about?"

Yan Heng paused for a moment, "It's nothing, just some polite words."

Ok.

You're just asking pointless questions.

Seeing that Yan Heng still seemed uninterested, Xu An'an thought for a moment and spoke again, "Actually, I thought he was asking for directions, so I spoke to him for a bit. I didn't understand what he was saying... his accent was too heavy!"

"Really?" This time Yan Heng finally responded. "You're not only talking to him because he's handsome?"

Xu An'an choked up; Yan Heng really knew her well.

But how could she possibly admit it at this moment? So she exaggeratedly said, "Is he handsome? It was too dark, I couldn't see him clearly..."

Watching her exaggerated performance, Yan Heng finally couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips into a smile.

Xu An'an felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders.

"Don't talk to strangers here," Yan Heng said, tidying up her leftover trash into a bag. He paused and added, "There are a lot of scammers in Milan."

Xu An'an smelled the freshly baked cakes; the aroma of milk was irresistible. She asked absentmindedly, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Seeing her puffed-out cheeks, Yan Heng resisted the urge to pinch her face.

"It's far more exaggerated than you think."

He nodded towards the station not far away. "There are a lot of refugees here, and scammers, robbers, and thieves are rampant, especially targeting Asian faces. The ones with a conscience might leave you a passport, but they'll take most of your belongings."

"How do you know so much detail...?" Xu An'an asked, somewhat puzzled. "You weren't robbed, were you?"

Yan Heng paused noticeably, then coughed a few times, as if embarrassed, "Who would rob me?"

After a pause, he added, "It was stolen from."

With the country's good public security, Xu An'an never imagined that someone like Yan Heng would be robbed.

"But aren't you studying in the UK?" She blinked. "I always thought the UK was pretty safe."

"I was robbed in Milan," Yan Heng said.

"When you came to visit?"

Yan Heng hesitated for a moment, "I guess so. It was my first time in Milan. I only felt someone touch me a few times, but I didn't notice anything. It wasn't until I left the airport that I realized my phone and wallet were gone."

"Huh?" Xu An'an frowned. "So what did you do back then? Did you have any friends with you?"

Yan Heng shook his head. "I came by myself."

"?" Xu An'an's eyes widened in surprise. "You came to Milan for tourism by yourself?"

Is Yan Heng really that passionate about traveling?

"It's not exactly tourism," Yan Heng carefully chose his words, "to be precise, I'm here to meet someone."

Xu An'an breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had come to visit a friend, but she was also worried about how Yan Heng, without a phone or wallet, would contact that person, so she asked, "Did you see him?"

"no."

"Why...?" Xu An'an felt a little sad for some reason: "He stood you up?"

Yan Heng remained silent.

After a long while, he finally looked up. "I just found out too," he said.

"Because of the typhoon, she couldn't come that time either."

Xu An'an suddenly raised her head.

Her eyes widened as she stared at Yan Heng in disbelief.

Yan Heng met her gaze with a calm expression.

Time seemed to stand still.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu An'an finally cleared her dry throat.

"The person you're talking about...that person...is me?"

Looking into her eyes, Yan Heng nodded.

"I managed to buy your film crew's schedule through someone, and I knew you were coming to Milan that day. I didn't have many classes those days, so I thought I'd try my luck. But I didn't expect to be robbed as soon as I got off the plane. Without my phone, I didn't know your trip was canceled."

Xu An'an was stunned.

Completely unprepared for this, she paused for a moment before speaking again, "Then... you had nothing, how did you get back?"

"The person who stole from me actually had a conscience; they left me a passport." Yan Heng chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Plus, I had about a hundred euros in my pocket, so I found a hostel nearby. I figured I was already having such bad luck, so I couldn't just come all this way for nothing. At least... I had to see you."

"I waited for about two days, but I was completely out of money. In the end, I borrowed a phone for two euros and called my friend to fly over and pick me up."

Speaking of this, Yan Heng recalled how long Pei Rang had made fun of him about this matter back then, and couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.

Xu An'an felt a little sad. Suddenly, the little cake in her mouth didn't taste so good anymore. "I'm sorry... Yan Heng."

"Why should I apologize?" Yan Heng raised an eyebrow. "It's not your fault."

That's what she said, but Xu An'an still felt guilty.

Having lost her desire to shop, Xu An'an wanted to go home. She and Yan Heng walked silently towards the parking lot.

Although the return journey was just as lively as the journey there, Xu An'an was completely devoid of her previous ease.

With each step she took, her heart sank a little deeper.

Like an ever-expanding balloon, the more she tried to escape and ignore it, the stronger the premonition of its explosion became.

at last,

She stopped as she approached the car door.

Stop, then turn around.

She stared intently at the man opposite her.

"Yan Heng, answer me a question."

Yan Heng raised his eyebrows, gesturing for her to speak.

"Since you already liked me when you were filming 'Goodnight,' why didn't you tell me then?"

Yan Heng was taken aback, as if he hadn't expected Xu An'an to suddenly ask him this.

After a long while, he sighed softly, "Back then, I had nothing. What right did I have to confess my feelings to you?"

His tone carried a hint of self-deprecation: "It's quite ironic, really. My biggest wish when I was a child was to leave the Yan family. I also despised Yan Zhenze's money-grubbing ways. But later I realized he was actually right."

"If a man has no money or power and can't even protect the person he loves... then he doesn't deserve to talk about love."

Xu An'an didn't quite understand the logic behind Yan Heng's words.

"You were only 18 back then... how could you have thought of these things?" She frowned as she looked at him.

"Besides, why would I, a perfectly healthy person, need someone else's protection?"

Yan Heng shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I hate the feeling of seeing you suffer and being powerless to do anything about it."

"When did I ever feel wronged?"

Xu An'an paused, then suddenly remembered that there seemed to be such a thing.

That was when they were nearing the end of filming.

One of the roles she had already signed on for was in "Green Velvet," where she would play a professional female snooker player. To prepare for the role, she practiced billiards for a long time. Knowing that Yan Heng was good at it, she would often ask him to practice with her after work.

One day, her agent suddenly called to say that her role had been replaced. The person who replaced her was the investor's mistress, who could bring in 100 million yuan in investment for the production team.

Back then, Xu An'an was far from being as famous as she is now; at best, she was just a rising star in the film industry. Without connections or background, how could she compete with capital?

It was her first time experiencing something like this, so she took the opportunity to cry a few times when no one was around, and her mood remained low for a few days.

Strangely enough, shortly after filming wrapped on "The Last Goodnight," her agent called again, saying that the producers of "Green Velvet" had ultimately decided to bring her back.

Xu An'an was very naive back then. She believed that justice would prevail and evil would never triumph over good. But now, she suddenly realizes that things might not be so simple...

Suddenly, she raised her head and stared directly into Yan Heng's eyes:

"Yan Heng, tell me the truth,"

"When 'Green Velvet' was re-released and I was cast, did that have anything to do with you?"