After The Top Actress Was Smeared And Trended On Social Media - Chapter 2

Attachment Message: I am Shen Yu.

Wen Xi had collaborated several times with the actress she was currently photographing. As their eyes met, they shared a silent greeting.

With a gentle curve to her eyes, Wen Xi finished taking the photos, held the camera in her left hand, and lowered her head to flip through the newly taken shots.

Just at that moment, a wave of gasps erupted around her.

Faintly, Wen Xi seemed to hear… Shen Yu’s name?

Her mind instantly went completely blank. Subconsciously taking a few steps back, she hid herself within the crowd while keeping her head down.

Her slightly long bangs concealed her expression, as well as her faintly trembling pupils.

Pu Tao, standing a bit in front of her, craned her neck to look toward the entrance and suddenly exclaimed in pleasant surprise: “Boss! It really is Shen Yu! We’re so lucky! Huh? Boss, why did you step behind me?”

Wen Xi’s lips turned somewhat pale. Her entire body felt stiff, and she didn’t even know where to put her hands and feet.

She could feel Pu Tao turning around to look at her with a bewildered expression.

Wen Xi softly replied to Pu Tao before finally making a move.

Standing behind the crowd, she cupped the camera in both hands to shield her face as much as possible, then slowly raised her head.

Perhaps due to some remaining telepathy between ex-lovers, through the gaps in the crowd, Wen Xi’s lens unexpectedly caught Shen Yu’s cold face with perfect accuracy.

With just that single glance, the corners of Wen Xi’s eyes rapidly flushed red.

…How could a reunion after a long separation happen in a scene like this?

Yet muscle memory was terrifyingly persistent. By the time Wen Xi realized what she was doing, her finger had already pressed the shutter.

In the viewfinder, the cold look on Shen Yu’s face seemed to have been just a figment of Wen Xi’s imagination, as she reverted to her elegant, proper smile in an instant.

Did she see me?

Wen Xi asked herself, not even daring to lower the camera in her hands.

Probably not. I hid myself so quickly.

Wen Xi originally thought her sequence of actions was slow, but in reality, she was the one who couldn’t wait to take a photo of Shen Yu.

Only after Shen Yu had walked far away did Wen Xi dare to put the camera down.

She thought to herself that this sequence of actions had probably been rehearsed thousands upon thousands of times in her heart and dreams, which was why she executed it so adeptly.

How could she not miss her…

Even though Wen Xi had been avoiding Shen Yu all this time, in her dreams, they had already staged countless reunions.

After putting down the camera, Wen Xi felt a wave of aimlessness. Pu Tao leaned close to her and whispered: “Boss, why did you run to the back just now? Did you manage to snap a picture of Teacher Shen?”

Wen Xi forced a faint smile onto her face, her voice dropping a notch: “I was just pushed to the back earlier. Shen Yu… I got her photo.”

“That’s good then, that’s good,” Pu Tao patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief. “I was worried you missed it. You like Shen Yu so much, it would be such a shame if you didn’t manage to take her photo.”

Wen Xi tightened her grip on the camera slightly. Yes, what a shame it would have been.

Having been in the industry for so many years, Shen Yu naturally knew how to manage her expressions. She had only maintained that cold demeanor for a few seconds before quickly adjusting, yet those few seconds happened to be captured by Wen Xi.

What a twist of fate.

After the red carpet concluded, there was still a banquet and an awards ceremony.

Wen Xi’s heart was in disarray. During the banquet, she hid in a small corner with her young assistant. After waiting for a while without noticing any commotion, she felt confident that Shen Yu hadn’t seen her.

Seeing Wen Xi’s listless state, Pu Tao felt concerned. The excitement of seeing Shen Yu gradually faded as she asked: “Boss, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should we leave early?”

Banquets like this lasted a long time, and usually, they had to stay until late at night before going home.

Wen Xi’s head was already a jumbled mess. Without thinking much, she agreed, sent a message to Sister Tan on WeChat, and took Pu Tao home.

Since it was still early, Pu Tao stayed for a little while after dropping Wen Xi off, leaving only after making sure Wen Xi was alright.

After Pu Tao left, the surroundings gradually fell silent. Holding a plush toy in her arms, Wen Xi curled up on the lazy sofa, staring blankly into midair.

After a long time, she patted her head to clear her mind a bit. Only then did she get up, fetch her laptop from the bedroom, and prepare to do some quick touch-ups on the photos taken tonight before posting them to Weibo.

Celebrities paid great attention to skincare and maintenance, making editing their photos relatively easy; Wen Xi could comfortably handle it all by herself.

She placed her laptop on the living room coffee table, turned on the projector to play a TV drama she was currently following, and casually brought out a few bottles of alcohol and a glass.

Wen Xi always liked to create a pleasant work environment for herself.

She refined the details of each picture one by one, her gaze as focused as if nothing had happened.

Her heart and mind were entirely on her work, attempting to forget everything that transpired today.

Until she started editing Shen Yu’s photos.

Wen Xi’s facade of composure shattered. She slowly raised her hand and touched the laptop screen.

A sudden wave of soreness surged to her nose, and the next moment, tears quietly slid down her cheeks.

Long time no see, Shen Yu.

Wen Xi grabbed a tissue and wiped away her tears. Afterward, she went about her routine as usual, editing photos, drafting captions, and posting to Weibo. However, she had drunk a bit too much alcohol tonight, emptying several bottles, and managed to fall asleep right after forcing herself to finish the Weibo post.

Just forget today. Act as if nothing happened.

Wen Xi mentally suggested to herself before going to sleep.

She remained completely unaware of the storm that subsequently erupted online.

Shen Yu’s team was the first to discover the trending search.

Shen Yu had just stepped out after taking a shower, casually drying her wet hair with a towel.

Her manager, Ke Han, sat on a soft chair with a laptop open on the table in front of her, handling routine matters. Seeing her come out, she said: “You’re on the trending searches again.”

Shen Yu remained impassive. “Mm, what about it?”

“It’s a negative trending search, though. Do you need me to arrange for its removal?” Ke Han adjusted her silver-framed glasses. “While bad publicity is still publicity, you don’t need this kind of negative hype to boost your traffic right now.”

“Wait for me to take a look.” Reminded of something, Shen Yu picked up her phone from the table and walked over to sit on the sofa.

Her long, fair legs crossed over each other. With one hand still holding the dry towel to wipe her hair, she adeptly unlocked her phone and switched to an alternate Weibo account with the other.

Her eyebrows raised slightly when she saw the trending topic term, and her lips curled upward imperceptibly as she clicked into the topic and viewed the top post.

This camera angle… really resembles the spot where that person was standing.

“Did you see the search? That photographer too, doesn’t she inform people beforehand when posting photos from an event like this?” Ke Han continued from the side. “Forget it, I’ll contact that side later. People like this, we shouldn’t…” collaborate with in the future.

Before Ke Han could finish her sentence, Shen Yu interrupted her.

Shen Yu’s voice turned somewhat low and husky: “Leave the trending search alone. Just let it sit there.”

Ke Han froze for a moment and asked: “Why?”

Shen Yu slowly browsed through the homepage of the blogger “Twilight,” her lips curving slightly into a smile as she dropped a bombshell: “This photographer is my ex-girlfriend.”

Although Wen Xi rarely showed her face on Weibo, for a blogger with a fair amount of fame, frequent appearances at various events, and her own established studio, it was hard to prevent real photos from leaking out.

For instance, in the comment section of one of Wen Xi’s posts:

My goodness, I’m so happy! I got to see Teacher T while working as an event staff member! Teacher T herself is super cute and gentle!! Her voice is ultra-sweet too!

Attached Image

In the picture was a full-body photo of two girls standing together. Wen Xi wore jeans and a casual short-sleeved T-shirt, looking very slender.

The two girls stood close together, both throwing up peace signs at the camera.

Underneath this comment were numerous nested replies:

Haha, I am! NOT! jealous at all!

Gosh, Teacher T is so cute Ahhhhh! I definitely have to book Teacher T for my portrait shoot next year.

Replying to the above: Teacher T’s schedule for next year is already fully booked.

Shen Yu withdrew her gaze from that photo, her heart scoffing when she saw the last comment.

Quite sought-after, isn’t she?

Shen Yu couldn’t help but recall the scene from earlier today, still finding it an eyesore.

She had seen Wen Xi smiling at others the entire time.

Did she actually live quite well after breaking up with her?

Shen Yu didn’t know what she was thinking either. On one hand, she wondered if Wen Xi was living poorly; otherwise, why would she be so skinny? She was far thinner now than back in her student days.

On the other hand, she thought Wen Xi’s current life must be fairly comfortable and her career smooth.

Yet without Wen Xi, her own life hadn’t been good at all.

Work was exhausting, practically operating with zero days off year-round. Even on rare days off, returning to a cold house left her heart feeling completely hollow.

Not a moment passed where she didn’t resent the person who abandoned her, yet she couldn’t stop herself from missing that person either.

This feeling was like sipping a cup of plain tea, bitter upon entry, yet leaving a sweet aftertaste.

Ke Han’s voice pulled Shen Yu back from her thoughts.

“What?” Ke Han was shocked, but she quickly composed herself. “Then what do you plan to do now?”

Ke Han knew that Shen Yu had an ex-girlfriend.

After all, she had been following Shen Yu for nearly five or six years, all the way from her former company to when Shen Yu struck out on her own to set up a studio.

Sometimes, she would inadvertently catch Shen Yu pulling out an old photograph of her and another girl. The photo looked somewhat aged, identifiable at a glance as a picture taken many years ago.

And Shen Yu would hold that photo, so old it had yellowed, and stare at it for a long time.

“What to do?” Shen Yu let out a soft laugh. “First, look up her residential address and studio. Don’t let her run away again.”

No wonder she hadn’t been able to find her for so many years, turns out she hadn’t been using her real name publicly.

Though… why did she become a photographer?

Shen Yu’s brows knitted slightly.

“Alright,” Ke Han responded.

With a few million Weibo followers and collaborations across major entertainment companies, Wen Xi wasn’t difficult to trace.

Ke Han was somewhat flabbergasted. She knew Shen Yu was the one who got dumped back then and that Shen Yu had been searching for Wen Xi all these years, but who could have guessed that Wen Xi was hiding right under their noses, lingering in their very own industry?

Just as Ke Han was thinking, her phone suddenly rang. After chatting a few lines with the other side, her expression changed slightly.

Shen Yu asked: “What’s wrong?”

Ke Han hesitated briefly, then said: “Someone over there wants to take down the trending search.”

Shen Yu: “Wen Xi wants it taken down?”

Ke Han shook her head. “It’s Wanheng Technology.”

Wanheng Technology was a conglomerate that had emerged out of nowhere in recent years, holding several high-yield patents and expanding at an exceptionally rapid pace.

And the chairman of Wanheng Technology was an outstanding female corporate leader.

Shen Yu lowered her eyes, stating simply: “Don’t take down the search.”

Ke Han sighed softly, saying: “Fine, as long as you know what you’re doing.”

Ke Han tapped her keyboard for a bit longer. “Found Wen Xi’s studio. The chairman of Wanheng Technology is its largest shareholder.”

On the other side, seeing Wen Xi’s flustered state, no matter how annoyed Yu Qiao was, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.

Just then, Wen Xi’s screen lit up. Looking down, she saw that the message was from Tan Lan, Sister Tan of Xinghui Entertainment.

[Tan Lan: I called you last night, and you didn’t pick up. I guessed you were asleep, so I took the initiative to contact Shen Yu’s side to ask how to handle the trending search.]

[Tan Lan: They said over there not to worry about it. They asked if you and Shen Yu are friends? Are you? How come I’ve never heard you mention it?]

Wen Xi stared at her phone screen, then raised her eyes to look at Yu Qiao.

Yu Qiao clicked his tongue and said peevishly: “Don’t look at me, reply however you want to reply.”

Wen Xi pursed her lips and uttered an okay.

She lowered her head to type.

T.: We are friends. I’m sorry, Sister Tan, for causing you trouble. I’ll treat you to a meal in a few days.

[Tan Lan: It’s a minor thing. I was just afraid you’d offend that side. As long as you’re friends, it’s easy to talk through. By the way, Shen Yu’s manager asked me for your contact information, saying she wanted to discuss the trending search with you. I thought since plenty of people know your work WeChat account anyway, I took the initiative to give it to her.]

Right after Tan Lan’s WeChat message came through, Wen Xi received a notification pop-up from her secondary WeChat app.

Wen Xi’s heart seemed to forget to beat for a moment, and her vision blurred.

She felt as if the blood throughout her entire body froze into ice in an instant, rendering her incapable of motion.

sy requested to add you as a friend. Attachment message: I am Shen Yu.