After Appearing On A Marriage Reality Show, The Top Star Cried and Says She Doesn't Want a Divorce - Chapter 13

Li Tang and her wife’s photography skills were simply beyond words.

They had no sense of angles or any real technique. Both women were naturally photogenic, and even casual snapshots taken by them had a story and atmosphere. It was the others who suffered.

Jiang Banxia and Zhou Qiutong, both accomplished actors, didn’t care about the quality of the photos and didn’t even notice the flaws.

Pei Nalian and Jin Youshu, former members of a Korean idol group, were often compared to their former teammates. Every appearance and photo had to be flawless, down to every hair.

Casual snapshots revealed slight imperfections in Pei Nalian’s facial features, every single one.

She didn’t want to look at these photos, but the others in the group seemed perfectly content with them.

“Wow, these are great! I’m going to pick one for Weibo!” Jiang Banxia said, already opening the Weibo app to start typing.

“Then go ahead. I’ll just retweet yours later,” Zhou Qiutong replied, leaning against Jiang Banxia’s shoulder. Her sun hat was pulled down to shade her face, but she was too hot to sleep.

Jiang Banxia looked up and asked, “Xiao Yi, do you have a Weibo account? I don’t think I’m following you yet.”

“She’s just an ordinary person. She definitely doesn’t have a Weibo account,” Zhou Qiutong answered, her eyes drooping.

“I didn’t ask you,” Jiang Banxia retorted.

“She doesn’t,” Li Tang answered for Yan Mengyi.

“Alright then, I’ll just tag Tangtang.”

“And Nalian and Youshu too.”

Pei Nalian smiled and agreed, but crossed her arms and fell silent.

The weather was scorching, and Jiang Banxia assumed Nalian was just feeling drained from the heat, so she didn’t think much of it.

“Senior, wait a minute. Let me see which photo you picked,” Jin Youshu asked.

“This one.” Jiang Banxia handed her phone to Jin Youshu.

“Oh, this one…” Jin Youshu zoomed in on the photo. “I think my eyes are closed here. I’ll fix it and send it to the group later.”

“No, your eyes aren’t closed,” Jiang Banxia said, taking back her phone and zooming in to check. “I was just trying to post it at the top of the hour.”

“Four o’clock is the top of the hour, and four ten is close enough,” Zhou Qiutong said.

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault. The light was too bright earlier. I’ll fix it right away,” Jin Youshu apologized, her fingers flying over the screen as she edited the photo.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Ten minutes late won’t hurt anyone,” Jiang Banxia waved her hand. She was a bit of a perfectionist, but she didn’t expect everyone else to cater to her every whim.

Jin Youshu quickly sent the retouched photo to the group chat.

Jiang Banxia opened Weibo and was startled, even getting a double chin from the shock. She secretly nudged Zhou Qiutong’s arm to get her to look.

“Did you accidentally post that?” Zhou Qiutong asked. “No worries, just edit the Weibo post.”

“Oh, right,” Jiang Banxia said, fumbling with her phone. “I usually love posting on Weibo and sharing short videos, but I’m not very familiar with the app’s features and keep making mistakes. Please bear with me.”

Jiang Banxia and Zhou Qiutong genuinely couldn’t see the difference between the original and retouched photos. After posting, they set their phones aside, completely oblivious to the heated debate already brewing in the comments.

“Youshu, did you also come from Korea?” Jiang Banxia asked curiously.

Pei Nalian, with her striking looks and bubbly personality, was so well-known that even people who weren’t fans of K-pop recognized her.

In contrast, Jin Youshu was much more reserved, like a loyal shadow knight. In all their group photos, she quietly served as the backdrop, her gaze always fixed adoringly on Pei Nalian.

“Yes, I moved to Korea when I was twelve. I joined the largest entertainment company there and became one of their trainees.”

Jiang Banxia asked curiously, “So, did you join the company at the same time as Nalian?”

“No, she started half a year before me. She’s technically my senior.”

“I’ve heard that seniority is really important in Korean culture. How did you manage to win over your senior?” Jiang Banxia prodded, eager to hear their love story.

“At first, I thought Nalian was so aloof. I didn’t even dare to talk to her.”

“Aloof? Me?” Pei Nalian’s eyes widened in mock surprise, as if she’d heard a joke, and she drawled, “Really?”

Jin Youshu nodded earnestly. “The first time I saw you, you were praised by the teacher and asked to stand at the front to demonstrate the dance for everyone.”

“Which time was that? Though I was pretty good at dancing and often used as an example, I can’t remember when we first met.”

Jin Youshu closed her eyes, lost in the memory of their first encounter. She rarely spoke or showed emotion, but whenever she talked about Pei Nalian, the corners of her mouth would inevitably curl upward.

“You stood in the sunlight, watching the teacher’s dance just once, then perfectly replicated every move. Everyone stared at you with envy. You were like a daughter of light—I didn’t dare approach you, didn’t dare touch you.”

“It’s not as amazing as you make it sound,” Pei Nalian said. “I’ve been studying street dance since I was four. Even though I’ve won plenty of awards, big and small, every time I watch my teacher’s demonstration, I feel like I’m learning something new.”

“So what happened after that? How did you end up getting together with such a cool, untouchable senior?” Jiang Banxia pressed.

“I often practiced until midnight. Nalian was the only one in the studio with me. But even after four years, we still hadn’t spoken. We just silently got used to each other’s presence.”

“Four years! You never really talked?” Zhou Qiutong was surprised too.

“Thinking back on it now, it does seem unbelievable,” Jin Youshu said. “In my fourth year as a trainee, there were rumors that the company was going to form a group with me and some senior members and debut. Because of these rumors, I started facing some malicious bullying. That’s when Nalian stepped forward.”

“I couldn’t stand watching them treat you like that. Even though we hadn’t spoken much, seeing them bully you made me furious. Your pain became my pain.”

As Pei Nalian spoke, Jin Youshu turned to stare at her, her heart and mind completely focused on her.

“We grew closer through these back-and-forths. The company forbids trainees from dating, and around that time, they decided to debut Nalian but demanded that she break up with me.”

Pei Nalian took Jin Youshu’s hand. “I’ve been training for so long, and debuting has always been my dream. I spent a long time on the rooftop, and in the end, I broke my contract with the company.”

“That’s such a waste,” Jiang Banxia said. “You trained so hard for over a decade, and debuting as a trainee in Korea is so difficult.”

“Life is full of regrets,” Pei Nalian replied. “But after thinking it through, I didn’t want Youshu to be my regret. I could give up anything, but I couldn’t give up her.”

At this, Pei Nalian squeezed Jin Youshu’s hand, and the two smiled at each other.

“That’s so romantic,” Jiang Banxia said, genuinely happy for the couple.

Zhou Qiutong sat up, making sure Jiang Banxia could lean on her shoulder.

Jiang Banxia, now wide awake, wrapped her arms around the back of the seat in front of her and asked Yan Mengyi, “Tell us about your love story? I’ve always been curious—what kind of person could capture someone like Tangtang’s heart?”

Yan Mengyi sat pale-faced, barely speaking, her expression tense as she kept glancing at the rearview mirror.

“We were high school classmates,” Yan Mengyi said, her voice strained as she looked at Li Tang. “After graduation, she proposed to me, and we started dating…”

“Slow down,” she added, her tone urgent.

The winding mountain road was long and steep, and the oppressive heat made the car feel like a broiling oven.

Even Li Tang, usually unflappable in any situation, showed a hint of impatience as the trees blurred past in a blur.

“I know,” Li Tang replied, but she didn’t ease up on the accelerator.

Yan Mengyi’s expression hardened, her voice low but resolute.

“Stop the car!”

The previously relaxed and cheerful atmosphere in the car, where the ice had been broken fairly smoothly, instantly chilled with Yan Mengyi’s sudden coldness.

Pei Nalian and Jin Youshu exchanged bewildered glances. Based on their brief interactions, Yan Mengyi seemed like a sweet girl with social anxiety. They couldn’t understand why she’d suddenly snapped.

Zhou Qiutong and Jiang Banxia straightened up, instinctively glancing at Li Tang’s expression.

After all, Li Tang was famously aloof and quick to lose her temper with people she disliked.

Given Li Tang’s status, almost no one dared to speak to her like this.

Rumor had it that Li Tang had nearly come to blows with paparazzi multiple times, so they genuinely feared Li Tang might erupt into a heated argument with Yan Mengyi.

Zhou Qiutong gripped her wife’s hand, noticing her palm was slick with sweat.

The road was closed for filming, so no other vehicles were around.

Li Tang pulled the car over to the side.

From Jiang Banxia’s perspective, she could only see Li Tang’s slender, knobby hands casually resting on the steering wheel, tapping lightly.

Jiang Banxia couldn’t clearly make out Li Tang’s expression; the strong sunlight reflecting off the road blurred her features into an indistinct outline.

No one in the car dared to speak, the silence broken only by the pounding of their own hearts.

Li Tang had always been impatient with people she disliked, and Pei Nalian had learned this the hard way.

No one knew what would happen next, because no one had ever dared to order Li Tang around like this before.

But in the next moment, Li Tang obediently unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the driver’s door, and stepped out.

Yan Mengyi took her place behind the wheel.

Li Tang gently closed the door, showing no sign of anger.

Zhou Qiutong felt Jiang Banxia release a slight sigh of relief.

The car resumed its steady motion.

Yan Mengyi drove more slowly and steadily than before.

But the earlier relaxed atmosphere had been completely shattered by this incident.

The remaining passengers quietly pulled out their phones, pretending the little interruption hadn’t affected their mood.

Zhou Qiutong picked up her phone and glanced at Weibo, noticing that netizens were already arguing heatedly over the image Jiang Banxia had edited and replaced.

Some users compared the original and edited photos, pointing out that in the altered version, Pei Nalian’s head appeared noticeably smaller and her facial features more smoothed out. However, Li Tang’s wife had suffered collateral damage, her face unnaturally stretched wider.

The comment section quickly spiraled into wild speculation, imagining all sorts of scandalous scenarios.

[Why did Jiang Banxia only retouch Pei Nalian’s photo, ignoring the consequences for the ordinary person?]

[This isn’t what they call “praising the high and trampling the low”!]

[Come to think of it, Jiang Banxia and Li Tang are close. Why would she treat his wife so dismissively?]

[What else could it be? To brazenly bully an ordinary person like this, Li Tang must have given her permission.]

[When the trailer first came out, I already suspected something was off between Li Tang and his wife. They’re probably the ones in the divorce cooling-off period.]

******

Watching the comments grow increasingly bizarre, Jin Youshu decided to put an end to the rumors sparked by her request for the photo edit.

Before long, the car arrived at its destination. Yan Mengyi parked smoothly, and the group got out to retrieve their luggage.

Yan Mengyi stood beside Li Tang, looking visibly disgruntled.

Jin Youshu approached her and apologized, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize my edit distorted your face. I didn’t mean to do that. I’m truly sorry.”

“What photo?” Yan Mengyi asked, completely bewildered.

“This one.” Jin Youshu opened her Weibo account and enlarged the image for Yan Mengyi to see.

“It’s nothing, nothing,” Yan Mengyi quickly clarified, realizing they thought she was upset about the distorted photo. “I’m angry because she was driving too fast. It’s unsafe.”

Li Tang retrieved their suitcases from the trunk and pushed them beside Yan Mengyi, lowering her head slightly.

“She was probably worried about your leg injury and wanted to find a place to treat it quickly, so she drove so fast,” Zhou Qiutong interjected, trying to smooth things over. She removed her sun hat and fanned Jiang Banxia with it.

“I’ve told her countless times not to drive like that, but she never listens.”

Yan Mengyi glanced at Li Tang, still visibly angry. However, her petite stature and sweet, innocent face gave her scolding a flirtatious undertone. Tears glistened in her eyes, making her features appear even more strikingly beautiful.

Li Tang, who was usually indifferent to others and unhesitatingly sharp-tongued, now stood with her signature wolf-tail hairstyle, quietly enduring the scolding.

The harsher Yan Mengyi’s tone became, the more Li Tang struggled to suppress her smirk. Even when being scolded in that soft, honey-sweet voice, it sounded like pure honey.

“Am I seeing things?” Jiang Banxia asked Zhou Qiutong, tilting her head in disbelief.

“I don’t think so,” Zhou Qiutong confirmed Jiang Banxia’s suspicion.

“Li Tang, the sly one? She’s being scolded, yet she’s grinning like a Cheshire cat.”

“Does this scene feel familiar to you?” Jiang Banxia tugged at Zhou Qiutong’s sleeve. “What’s the online phrase for this again?”

“The naive little queen and the ruthless loyal knight?”

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