Can't Hide My Love for You - Chapter 31

“Daddy, you promised to take me to the amusement park today.”

In a dimly lit hallway, a little girl stood watching her father put on his shoes. Her young face was filled with disappointment.

“Be a good girl, Yiyi. Daddy has a sudden emergency at the company,” the man said, picking her up and coaxing her gently. “I promise I’ll be back before noon to take you and Mommy to the park.”

“Really?” The little girl blinked. “Pinky swear? You can’t lie.”

“I won’t lie. When has Daddy ever lied to our Yiyi?” He hooked his pinky with hers and handed her to his wife. “Honey, dress our little princess up. She’ll be the prettiest girl there today. We’ll leave as soon as I get back.”

He kissed his wife and daughter goodbye and headed out.

At noon, he returned as promised. The family of three set off.

“Yiyi, look at this.” The father pulled a small, exquisite cake from the car’s fridge. Through the clear box, a beautiful princess figure was visible.

“Cake!” The girl beamed. “Thank you, Daddy! I love you!”

“What about Mommy?” The woman teased. “After I spent all morning braiding your hair?”

“I love Mommy too!” The girl threw her arms around their necks, kissing them both.

SCREECH—

The piercing sound of brakes was followed by the violent thud of metal colliding. The girl’s innocent smile froze. The world went black.

When she opened her eyes again, everything was white. Screams of bystanders, the wail of an ambulance… In the freezing snow, a bright red liquid flowed across the pure white ground.

Blood. It was all blood.

Chi Yi’s body jolted in her sleep, and her eyes snapped open. She stared at the ceiling. The moonlight filtering through the window cast faint shadows in the dark room. She sat up slowly, covering her eyes with one hand while the other balled into a fist against the mattress.

She let out a long, shaky breath. Every time her chest relaxed, her heart trembled. She got out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cold tiles. Step by step, she felt her way down the stairs.

The living room was silent. She turned on a warm yellow nightlight and walked to her wine cabinet. Habitually, she pulled out a bottle of red wine. She poured less than a third of a glass and sat on the sofa, sipping slowly until it was gone. Sleep still wouldn’t come.

She opened a second bottle and walked out to the backyard. The night wind caught the hem of her thin nightgown. Sitting on the porch swing, she took small sips, letting the wine burn down her throat as she stared at the full moon with unfocused eyes.

6:00 AM: The Morning After

Cheng Yixin woke up to a fully lit house.

“How are you feeling, Xin-jie? Is your stomach still bothering you?” her assistant, Xiao Yu, asked.

“Much better. It won’t affect work,” Yixin said, yawning. “But… isn’t it a bit early?”

“That’s why I told you to sleep early last night!” Xiao Yu searched through a makeup case. “Hey, what about these earrings? I haven’t seen them before. They’re still in the packaging.”

Yixin glanced at them and her yawn cut short. She took the earrings and put them in a drawer. “Those aren’t mine.”

Xiao Yu smirked. If they weren’t Yixin’s, they belonged to the only other person who spent time in this house. “If the ‘Yixin-Yiyi’ fans knew you guys were actually ‘real,’ they’d go crazy.”

“Hey, watch it,” Yixin warned, seeing the mischievous look in Xiao Yu’s eyes. “We’re working. Don’t let your mind wander into the gutter.”

They headed out at 6:30 AM. As the van pulled out of the villa complex, Xiao Yu pointed out the window. “Is that President Chi?”

Yixin looked out. Chi Yi was jogging along the artificial lake. Yixin had the driver pull up alongside her.

“Chi Yi!”

Chi Yi stopped, her breathing slightly heavy. Yixin noticed the faint dark circles under her eyes. “Did you have insomnia?”

“I didn’t sleep well,” Chi Yi admitted with a tired smile. “I figured I’d just come out and exercise. Why are you up so early?”

“Work,” Yixin sighed. She looked at Chi Yi with concern. “Stop training. Go back and get some sleep before you have to go to the office. Your dark circles are heavy.”

“Okay,” Chi Yi checked her watch. “I’m done anyway. I’ll head back now.”

“Have you had breakfast?” When Chi Yi shook her head, Yixin handed her a packed breakfast from the van’s table. “Eat this before you sleep.”

“But what will you eat?”

“Don’t worry about me.” Yixin beckoned her closer. As Chi Yi leaned toward the window, Yixin reached out and ruffled her hair. “Be good. Eat, then sleep. I’m finishing early tonight, and I want you to watch TV with me. No falling asleep halfway through.”

Chi Yi chuckled, her gaze softening. “I recall you were the one who fell asleep last night, Miss Cheng.”

Yixin narrowed her eyes in a “dangerously” sweet smile. Chi Yi rubbed her nose, feeling a bit intimidated. “Right… going back to sleep now. Bye!”

The Scandal and the “Ice”

By noon, a “shocking” headline broke: “Space Odyssey Staff Leaks: Cheng Yixin Maliciously Slaps Senior Han Lian Dozens of Times During Audition, Nearly Disfiguring Her!”

The comments were a bloodbath, calling Yixin a “scorpion-hearted” woman with no professional ethics.

“Are these people crazy?” Xiao Yu fumed. “Disfigured? From a slap?”

“It’s a classic move,” Yixin said calmly, looking out the window. “They smear my name so the public hates me, and the director passes on me to avoid the drama. I thought Han Lian had changed, but I guess she was just waiting for this.”

In the director’s meeting room, Chen Sheng was unbothered. “Clarify? Why? This ‘feud’ is giving our movie free publicity.”

Ultimately, the production team announced Han Lian as the female lead. They released a “clarification” for Yixin just to play both sides, then offered Yixin the role of the second female lead.

“Tell them no,” Yixin told Li Wenjing. “The role is good, but the production is messy and full of schemes. I’d rather work with someone else.”

As Yixin prepared to leave the office, Li Wenjing stopped her. “The Ice Bucket Challenge trend finally reached you. Yu Siyang tagged you. You’re supposed to film it tomorrow.”

“Sure, no problem,” Yixin agreed. She knew it was for charity.

“Wait,” Li Wenjing suddenly realized. “Aren’t you on your period?!”

“It just finished. I’ll be fine.”

The “Wife-Controlled” Celebrity

That evening, Yixin told Chi Yi about the challenge. To her surprise, Chi Yi’s face turned stern.

“No. You can’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“Your immunity is low right after your period. You need to stay warm, not pour a bucket of ice over your head. Wait a few days.”

“It’s just for a few seconds,” Yixin argued. “I’ll have a foot bath and hot packs ready. I want to do this; it’s for a good cause.”

“It’s still too risky. You’ll catch a cold. If you must do it, can someone stand in for you?”

Yixin laughed. “Who does a stand-in for an Ice Bucket Challenge?”

“You could,” Chi Yi said seriously.

“I’m not so weak that I need my junior to protect me,” Yixin teased. She grabbed Chi Yi’s hand and forced a pinky swear. “It’s settled. Don’t mention it again.”

The living room fell silent as they went back to the TV. After a while, Yixin realized something was off.

Wait a minute… I was just informing her, so why did I end up acting like a henpecked wife begging for permission?