CH 15.4

Do You Still Hate Her? 05 – Does he not have any money? How pitiful—

During their senior year, before Chi Yan went abroad to study, they had a fight.

That day was no different from any other. Jiang Yi said hurtful words to her, and she ended up hiding alone behind the alleyway at the back of the school, secretly shedding tears.

It’s hard to say how much time passed, but it was already dark outside, with only a few pedestrians passing by, casting strange looks at her.

Jiang Yi didn’t come to find her, but Chi Yan did.

It had always been like this for those few years. As a good friend, Chi Yan would always help Jiang Yi clean up the mess, which meant taking care of Shang Lu and sending her home whenever she was abandoned by Jiang Yi.

He had an exceptionally striking appearance as a young boy, even in the simplest and oversized blue-and-white school uniform, he was an undeniable presence in the crowd.

Back then, Chi Yan’s temperament was much more boisterous than it is now. From a distance, he saw her and shouted, “Hey, what are you doing here? Let’s go, go back…”

Chi Yan didn’t even have a chance to finish his words. When he saw Shang Lu raising her tear-streaked face, his words choked back.

That was the first time Chi Yan saw her crying.

Chi Yan had no idea what had happened, so he could only sit next to Shang Lu, take out a candy, and forcefully put it in her mouth. He awkwardly asked, “Why are you crying? You look so ugly.”

Upon hearing this, Shang Lu cried even harder.

Because of Chi Yan’s arrival, Shang Lu no longer sobbed quietly by herself. Instead, she hugged his shoulder and cried loudly.

Every passerby cast condemning glances at the restless Chi Yan as if he were a heartless man who had caused the girl to shed tears.

Shang Lu wept bitterly, burying her face in his shoulder. Chi Yan could only accompany her, constantly wiping her tears and patting her back.

The usually boisterous little tyrant had to patiently comfort a girl for the first time, albeit clumsily.

Chi Yan wasn’t good at consoling people, so he could only sit there and accompany her, waiting until Shang Lu had cried enough before taking her home.

But Shang Lu felt embarrassed and refused to let the drivers from both families pick them up, so they had to take the subway and walk back.

On the small path where only the two of them were present, Chi Yan suddenly asked her, “Shang Lu, is he the only one for you in this lifetime?”

At that time, Shang Lu replied, “Of course, I will always love Jiang Yi.”

“You have no conscience,” Chi Yan sighed and then reached out to mess up her hair, saying fiercely, “How can you be so blind at such a young age? Only someone with a problem in their brain would like a person like Jiang Yi!”

Shang Lu: “?”

Then the two of them started arguing.

And then they started fighting.

Of course, it was Shang Lu attacking, and Chi Yan dodging her attacks.

Anyway, that day ended quite unpleasantly.

But in the end, before parting ways, Chi Yan suddenly hugged her.

His voice was very low, “I’m going abroad, so I won’t be able to walk you home anymore.”

Shanglu was surprised, but she just wished him a smooth journey.

After Chi Yan went abroad, Shang Lu realized that her only friend seemed to have left.

Her life revolved entirely around Jiang Yi, and even her only friend in her heart turned out to be the good friend of Jiang Yi.

For a full six months after Chi Yan went abroad, the two hardly had any contact.

At that time, Shang Lu was also well aware of the reason. After all, Chi Yan was her only friend to her, but to Chi Yan she might just be Jiang Yi’s troublesome fiancée who needed his help to take care of.

Until one day, Chi Yan suddenly sent her a landscape photo.

Then the two started chatting again, as if that half-year time had never passed.

They were separated by half the globe and there was a time difference, their daily contact was not too frequent.

Chi Yan was still Shang Lu’s only friend, but still just an ordinary friend.

Ning Lin recognized Chi Yan and knew that he was the friend Jiang Yi valued the most. However, the statement he had just made was clearly hurtful, and the atmosphere between him and Shang Lu seemed friendly, which made her feel very embarrassed.

But Ning Lin was well aware of Chi Yan’s identity, and she simply couldn’t afford to offend him.

Thinking that Chi Yan was Jiang Yi’s friend after all, if she mentioned Jiang Yi, the other party should change his attitude to some extent.

So Ning Lin showed a gentle smile and introduced herself, saying, “Mr. Chi, I am Ning Lin, also Jiang Yi’s girlfriend.”

Shang Lu raised her eyes in surprise, as it was the first time she heard Ning Lin admit to being in a romantic relationship with Jiang Yi.

“So, you’re Jiang Yi’s girlfriend,” Chi Yan suddenly smiled, and his attitude instantly became much friendlier than before.

Ning Lin also lifted the corner of her lips.

She knew that Chi Yan was indeed Jiang Yi’s friend, and it was probably because he had been abroad for these years that he didn’t recognize her just now.

However, in the next moment, Chi Yan turned his head towards Shang Lu, and with a sincere tone mixed with some confusion, he asked, “So, Jiang Yi gave her the key to your rose manor? Does he not have money? Can’t he afford it? Why did he have to do it secretly? How pitiful…”

He deliberately dragged out the last few words, sounding quite deliberate, even a bit provocative.

If he wasn’t the sole heir of the Chi family, the young master who had been surrounded by countless halos since childhood, he would have been punched for such remarks.

The corner of Shang Lu’s lips twitched slightly, thinking that it was indeed an illusion to believe that Chi Yan had become more mature. His personality hadn’t changed much since their high school days.

But for some reason, her mood suddenly improved.

Ning Lin was furious, her face turning pale, and even her body trembled slightly.

She had intended to show goodwill and submission to Chi Yan, but she never expected that he would humiliate her by taking the side of Shang Lu and speaking out against her.

But unfortunately, he was Chi Yan, and she couldn’t do anything. She didn’t even dare to speak out in retort.

Just at this moment, the door was opened from the outside once again.

Han Cheng entered with his assistant and screenwriter. He was surprised to see Chi Yan there but still invited him to participate in the upcoming audition.

Chi Yan glanced at his wrist to check the time, a hint of regret in his eyes as he looked at Shang Lu, but he still declined, saying, “I have something else to do, so I’ll leave first.”

With that, he waved goodbye to Shang Lu as if he had just casually dropped by to greet an old friend.

Soon after, Meng Zhichuan was also kindly asked to leave by the assistant, leaving only Han Cheng, the screenwriter, Shang Lu, and Ning Lin in the room.

Han Cheng asked directly, “Have you finished reading the script? Take five minutes to prepare and choose a scene to perform. Ning Lin, you can go first.”

The reason why Ning Lin was asked to come first is also because Han Cheng himself leans more towards her than Shang Lu. It can even be said that if it weren’t for Song Zeqian’s face, he wouldn’t have given Shang Lu the opportunity to audition at all.

If Ning Lin’s performance can satisfy him enough, then there is no need for Shang Lu to audition, which can save time.

Shang Lu didn’t care about the order either. When Han Cheng mentioned choosing a scene for the audition, several different choices came to her mind.