Chapter 178: A Loser?

That one sentence allowed Shui Xian's brain to go into a frenzy. There were so many things running through his mind. In just a few minutes, his mind had drawn up so many connections that even he was surprised.

The fact that Zhai Yanjun and Yue Fai were related hit him hard. His fingers ran through his hair as he tried to process the information that was thrown at him.

"Where is Raelle going?"

His father's question broke Shui Xian's train of thought and he turned his head to look over.

"She must have gone to get something from the bedroom," answered Shui Xian to his father knowingly.

"She could have just asked the help to get it for her. Did I hire a whole parade of helpers just for show?"

Shui Xian's lips curled up slightly, "Bà, it seems you haven't noticed."

"Noticed what?" Shui Koshing inquired incredulously.

"My wife rarely interacts with the help at home."

While Shui Koshing looked confused, Shui Xian didn't explain it to him. He also realized recently that Raelle didn't interact with the servants at home. He didn't know why she did it, and he didn't ask either.

"What's wrong?" asked Shui Xian when Raelle came back downstairs.

"Why do you think something's wrong?" she retorted.

"I can see it on your face," he replied.

Raelle lifted her hand to touch her face then sat down beside him and turned on her iPad that she just brought from the bedroom. Opening the email, she downloaded a file and looked through the content. The file only had photos and when she clicked it open, even Shui Xian couldn't help staring at it.

"What's this?"

Raelle swiped to check the next photo as she told him, "Yanyan just called to let me know that my husband's quite famous."

"Me? Famous?"

"Someone trailed us today and clicked these pictures."

"On whose order?"

Raelle tapped her finger on the edge of the iPad before telling him, "Your sister."

Shui Xian's face darkened when he heard that and had to close his eyes to take a long and deep breath to keep calm. He took the iPad from her hand saying, "I'll deal with it."

"You don't have to," replied Raelle. "My security team is quite efficient. There is a reason why Raelle Xiang's face is known as a mysterious person." She took a pause and added, "Also, it is my security team leader who believes that the real person behind that photographer wasn't Shui Sying. After all, if your sister wants to learn about me, all she has to do is come here. She wouldn't do something like stalking people."

"You don't even know my sister," reminded Shui Xian.

"That doesn't mean I don't know you," was her response. "At the end of the day, she is your sister. How bad she can possibly be?"

Shui Xian wanted to say something but seeing the photo before his eyes, he paused. His eyes sparkled as he said, "Send this to me."

Raelle looked over at the screen. The photo was clicked when they were at the café and Shui Xian had held her hand to drop a kiss on the back of her hand. One could see how skilled the photographer was. Because just from this still photo, Shui Xian was able to re-live that exact moment.

"What are you gonna do with it?"

"We don't have any wedding photos," said Shui Xian. "So, obviously, I'm gonna develop this photo and hang it in our bedroom."

"That's unnecessary," was Raelle's response.

"That unnecessary thing is quite necessary to me!"

Raelle chose to stay quiet and let him do whatever he wanted with this photo. It wasn't like it'd hurt her in any way.

....

~~Memory House~~

Memory House was one of the famous gourmet restaurants in the city. It was quite difficult to get a reservation on normal days. Unless one made it days before.

Currently, Hyson was being led to one of the private rooms where Miss Sora was waiting for him. Since she said she wanted to meet him over the meal, she indeed called him out on dinner.

Before coming here, Hyson even had a discussion with his manager who told him, 'When Miss Sora said that she'd like to talk to you before confirming the day when you can join the shoot. The company decided to wait before telling you. You said it yourself that I shouldn't disturb you unless everything is confirmed.'

When the attendant opened the door for Hyson, he could see a woman waiting for him inside.

"Hyson," called out Sora as she saw Hyson and gestured him to come inside. "Have a seat!" Then she looked at the attendant and told him, "You can start serving the food now."

The attendant gave a nod before walking out courteously.

Hyson took a seat and didn't beat around the bush as he inquired, "I wonder why Miss Sora wanted to see me here."

"What's the rush?" Sora was keeping a smile on her face as she continued to observe his face with starry eyes. "By the way, can you stop calling me 'Miss Sora'? Just say my name."

Hyson pursed his lips and chose not to say anything to her. He wasn't familiar with her and didn't plan to get familiar as well.

"No matter how I look at you, you're still the perfect Yang Anyu in my eyes," said Sora sincerely. "But it's a shame that my friend, Mia doesn't think so." Hyson didn't disturb her as he allowed her to continue. "The director of 'Secret', Amiah Jade thinks that you lack the most important thing needed to play out the role of Yang Anyu."

"And that is?"

Sora took a pause before asking, "Do you know what makes love so beautiful and memorable?" Hyson's brows knitted up as he waited for her to go on. "It's pain. Pain makes love beautiful and memorable." She stopped talking when the servers brought the food and served it. And only began when they left, "Your audition was great. Really! Even though I heard it was your first time acting, you indeed gave others competition with your skills. Your eyes couldn't portray the painful longing that love brings out."

Hyson didn't mind her words. In fact, he wasn't even surprised as well. After all, how could he display an emotion he never went through? Love was foreign to him. Unless people ask him about the love he had for his family that consisted of Mother Yue, Raelle, Mu Chenyan, and Grandfather Xiang.

And the concept of pain was quite different for him.

"Then how come I got selected?"

"Because I'm a stubborn person," said Sora without hesitation. "From the moment I saw you, I believed that Yang Anyu came to life. That character that only lived in my imagination now stood before my eyes. How could I not fight for him?"

"Perhaps, someone else could play Yang Anyu's role better than me," said Hyson.

Sora shook her head, "Nope! The person who had acted better than you couldn't make me feel anything. Yang Anyu is like my baby. He is not just a character, it's more than that to me. You might think I'm chasing perfection but that's not true. While chasing perfection, I don't want my characters to come off as stiff. I want them to be real. And I believe you'd be able to do it."

"Since you've already decided that I'd play the role of Yang Anyu, I wonder what did you really want to talk to me about?"

Sora took the script out of her backpack and passed it to him. "I want you to read it. After two days, we're having the first script reading. You obviously have to come but also, I want you to study this character in depth. If you have any questions, you have my personal phone number. You can contact me anytime."

"Why am I getting this special treatment?"

"Because I want to prove someone wrong!" replied Sora with a strange expression. "This isn't just a test for you. It's for me as well because I selected you. You don't only have to prove your own capabilities but you also have to prove that my vision isn't wrong."

Hyson looked at her with a complicated gaze, "Aren't you putting me under a lot of pressure?"

"No pressure," said Sora. "Let's just say it this way... I believe in you. You should also believe in yourself. Let's show the world that we won't give up so easily."

Hyson didn't know why she selected him even if it was at the expense of fighting with her best friend. However, he knew that when she said, 'I believe in you' she meant it. He could see her sincerity in her eyes clearly. And that alone was enough to make him want to prove himself. He never had a habit of backing off without a fight.

His best friend was a winner, how could he be a loser?