Shadowed Love: A Lover Who Refuses to Let Go - Chapter 47.1

The shower room was thick with swirling steam and misty warmth. Yin Yunzhu tilted her head back to rinse the white foam from her hair, but her mind kept replaying the conversation she’d had with Jiang Menghe earlier that day.

She didn’t even know who the “she” Jiang Menghe had mentioned was.

Irritated, she clicked off the faucet, dried herself, and threw on her clothes before stepping out of the bathroom.

Mi Ying was busy revising Jiang Menghe’s segments. Thinking about it filled Yin Yunzhu with a wave of unprompted guilt; after all, it was work meant for two people, yet Mi Ying had taken it all on herself.

“Will you finish it?” Yin Yunzhu asked, pulling a hairdryer from the drawer. “Do you want some help?”

“Why wouldn’t I finish it?” Mi Ying shrugged, her mouse clicking rapidly. “It’s just adjusting the sequence. How hard can that be?”

She paused, then added, “Hey, I heard Jiang Menghe came to you first, but you didn’t agree.”

It was a casual remark, but it made Yin Yunzhu’s hand freeze as she went to plug in the dryer.

Did she seriously go and complain?

Yin Yunzhu took a deep breath and gathered her damp, long hair. “I couldn’t help it. I lack experience, and I was afraid I’d accidentally mess up the script.”

“It’s fine, everyone needs practice.” Mi Ying sat up on the bed, adjusted her pillow, and fell silent.

The hum of the hairdryer filled the room. Once her hair was half-dry, Yin Yunzhu stopped. She heard the person on the bed speak up.

“By the way, are you going out again later?”

“No, I’ve already showered,” she replied, curious. “Why?”

Mi Ying looked regretful. “Ah, I was going to ask if you could help me pick up a package. I’m stuck here revising the script and can’t really step away.”

She pointed to the laptop resting on her small desk.

Given the situation, Yin Yunzhu found it hard to refuse. If she had accepted Jiang Menghe’s request earlier, Mi Ying wouldn’t be working so hard right now.

“Send me the pickup code. I’ll get it for you,” she said, reaching for her outdoor clothes on the rack.

“Really? Xiao Yin, you’re the best.”

Having received her “good person” card, Yin Yunzhu took the code and her room key downstairs.

The night breeze was refreshing, making her hair tingle against her skin, while the hotel lights glowed behind her. She put on her headphones and walked slowly along the main road. Since she hadn’t eaten much for dinner, she planned to stop by the supermarket for some bread.

In the distance, a filming crew was still working. Fortunately, she and Mi Ying were on-set screenwriters; when things were slow, they could have two or three days with nothing to do. Otherwise, they’d be like the actors, working tirelessly until nine or ten at night.

The package locker wasn’t far from the hotel, tucked away discreetly among the antique-style buildings. Packages and food deliveries were usually sent to the hotel lobby, but due to fears of fans harassing the actors, they were rarely allowed inside.

After picking up the package, Yin Yunzhu headed toward a nearby convenience store. The lights shone through the glass walls onto the shelves, making the toasted bread and steaming oden look delicious.

From a distance, she saw several girls standing by the door, screaming with excitement as they crowded around someone in the middle.

“Xue-xue, I love you so much! You’re even prettier than you look on TV!”

“Can we take a photo? I want to post it on Weibo.”

“What have you been filming lately? We haven’t heard any news at all!”

As Yin Yunzhu passed by, she saw Ai Xue signing autographs for the three girls. She replied with a smile, “Filming is a secret, so I can’t leak anything! Please support the project when it’s released!”

After speaking, she gave a deep, polite bow, looking like the sweet girl-next-door.

Ai Xue seemed to have just returned; her makeup wasn’t fully removed yet. Under her beige jacket, she wore a pullover shirt with a cute bear patch on the left chest—a brand she had recently started endorsing. Her resources weren’t great, but she belonged to the niche category with high fan loyalty.

“Xue-xue, you’re so cute!”

The flattering praise faded as the sensor doors closed. Yin Yunzhu didn’t pay it much mind and headed to the instant food section to pick out some bread, intending to buy tomorrow’s breakfast as well.

Should I get something for Mi Ying too? It seems she hasn’t had dinner yet.

While she was deep in thought, the door opened again, and Ai Xue walked in.

Yin Yunzhu finally settled on a taro and pork floss sandwich and a few cups of instant noodles. She carried the pile of snacks toward the front counter, moving awkwardly and carefully.

Ai Xue brushed past her, and the precariously balanced items were instantly knocked aside, scattering across the floor in a mess.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Yin Yunzhu apologized immediately, crouching down to pick up the snacks while feeling frustrated that she hadn’t grabbed a basket.

“Teacher Yin?” Ai Xue leaned over to look at her face, sounding pleasantly surprised. “It really is you! I was so busy talking to fans just now, I was actually wondering if I’d run into someone I knew.”

“I saw you chatting with them, so I didn’t want to disturb you,” Yin Yunzhu replied, distracted by her task.

The girl straightened up, looking down at her. “Buying snacks so late, did you not eat?”

“I didn’t eat much for dinner, and I get hungry easily,” Yin Yunzhu responded. Her conversations were always in a simple Q&A mode.

The person in front of her lowered her eyes, looking as harmless and adorable as a wronged puppy. Hearing this, she immediately showed concern. “Ah, Teacher Yin, your job requires a lot of brainpower. How can you function without replenishing your sugar levels?”

She glanced at the instant noodles on the floor and said with some difficulty, “Do you usually… just eat this?”

“Yes,” Yin Yunzhu looked down, gathering the last cup of noodles into her arms. “I have things to do, so I’ll be going now.”

After a polite goodbye, she pushed her items to the counter and ordered two servings of oden, pulling her fallen earbud from her pocket.

Before putting it on, she thought she heard a faint sneer from behind her.

After paying, Yin Yunzhu returned to the hotel with the package and snacks. Mi Ying wasn’t in the room; it looked like she had gone to give the script to He Ping, as a new file had been sent to the group chat.

Just as she finished changing, Mi Ying returned. Smelling the oden, she rushed over. “What is that? It smells so good!”

“I saw you didn’t have dinner, so I bought some for you. There’s breakfast for tomorrow too.” After saying that, Yin Yunzhu rummaged through the plastic bag, took out her sandwich, and pushed the rest toward Mi Ying.

“Oh, this is great! Xiao Yin, you really are an angel,” Mi Ying hugged her with open arms. “How much was it? I’ll pay you back.”

Caught in the hug, Yin Yunzhu turned red and slowly extracted herself. “It’s fine. It was work meant for two people anyway.”

“It’s not a big deal, why would it need two people? If you have trouble in the future, just call me. I’ll go through fire and water for you, no questions asked.” Mi Ying patted her shoulder solemnly, then suddenly paused.

“By the way, did you put on perfume when you went out?”

“No,” Yin Yunzhu replied, sniffing her arm.

“Then why is there a scent of perfume? It smells quite nice, though it’s a bit familiar.” Mi Ying wrinkled her nose, then shrugged it off and sat on the sofa to eat her oden.

At that, Yin Yunzhu remembered. “I ran into Ai Xue at the convenience store just now.”

She gave a brief explanation of what had happened; the perfume scent had likely rubbed off when they bumped into each other. Mi Ying certainly had a sharp nose to pick up on that.

As she talked, the person behind her went quiet. Yin Yunzhu turned around to find Mi Ying mid-bite into a beef ball. “Wait, does this Ai Xue have a problem with you?”

“Huh?” Yin Yunzhu was confused as she tossed an open seasoning packet into the trash.

She had always been slow when it came to social cues. She might have felt a moment of discomfort at the time, but she had brushed it off without a second thought.

Mi Ying hissed and took off her shoes to sit cross-legged on the sofa. “When your things fell, she didn’t help you pick them up?”

“Well, she was looking at the shelves at the time.” Yin Yunzhu knew Mi Ying disliked Ai Xue, so she didn’t take the comment to heart.

“No, a normal person would say sorry and then crouch down to help, right? This Ai Xue didn’t do a thing. If she’s a decent person, I’ll eat my hat.”

“Don’t you think it seemed intentional?” Mi Ying’s speculation went beyond Yin Yunzhu’s line of thought.

“But why would she target me?”

Once the water boiled, Yin Yunzhu poured it into her bowl. The solidified sauce dissolved in the water, leaving a layer of golden oil floating on top.

She couldn’t understand it. She had very little interaction with Ai Xue; there was no reason for the girl to go to such lengths for her. Ultimately, she figured Mi Ying was just overthinking.

Mi Ying took a sip of soup and pointed a bamboo skewer at her. “She’s the most petty person. Maybe she’s resentful because she’s unhappy with the script you revised.”

“For such a small thing? Is it worth it?” Yin Yunzhu murmured.

She wasn’t sensitive to these hidden malices; they were like dust in cracks and corners, if they couldn’t be cleaned, she just ignored them. But she had to admit they existed.

Thinking carefully, Mi Ying’s point wasn’t entirely baseless. If she had inadvertently offended Ai Xue, communication at work might become even more difficult in the future.

Yin Yunzhu tended to get stuck in mental ruts, agonizing over finding the “perfect” solution only to come up empty, so she decided to stop thinking about it altogether.

The next day, she arrived at the set early. She looked around but didn’t see Jiang Menghe anywhere, guessing that she had already flown to Quancheng the night before.

The staff were busy carrying equipment and setting up, with the occasional early-rising actor hurrying toward the makeup room. Yin Yunzhu sat in her chair, observing her surroundings while taking bites of her sandwich.

She didn’t necessarily need to be here this early. Although an on-set screenwriter isn’t a financial officer, they are still run off their feet when things get busy. Having nothing to do at the hotel, she decided to come and observe on her own.

Mi Ying was still curled up in bed sleeping in. After several failed attempts to wake her, Yin Yunzhu had simply given up.

Light broke across the horizon, and a faint glimmer filtered through the layers of clouds onto the textured bricks beneath her feet, making her feel refreshed and ready to start the day’s work.

The chair beside her was pulled out, and someone sat down without invitation. Catching a glimpse of a figure in her peripheral vision, she put down her sandwich to find Ai Xue approaching in her costume.

Female celebrities maintained themselves with more precision; although she hadn’t had time for makeup yet, her fair skin with a natural flush looked even more tender in the early morning. Ai Xue’s eyes held the sleepiness of dawn as she let out a yawn, completely disregarding her image.

With Jiang Menghe absent, she felt more at ease.

“Teacher Yin, morning.” Her words were muffled, as if she were holding air in her mouth.

“Morning.”

After Mi Ying’s analytical breakdown the night before, Yin Yunzhu’s attitude toward the person in front of her had become subtle. It was like a grain of sand buried in her heart; it couldn’t be smoothed out by her soft temperament, making her feel a bit uncomfortable just looking at her.

She gave a brief greeting and then ignored her. To avoid awkwardness, she took out her phone and pretended to be busy.

“I don’t know where my assistant ran off to,” Ai Xue grumbled, then suddenly turned around. “Teacher Yin, are you free right now?”

“What is it?” Yin Yunzhu moved her attention from the screen to Ai Xue’s face.

“I haven’t had breakfast yet. I wanted to send my assistant on an errand, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Someone else probably called her away.”

“Could I trouble you to go buy breakfast for me?” Ai Xue pressed her hands together, wearing a look of innocent supplication that was hard to resist.

“I’m currently,” Yin Yunzhu stammered, her potential excuses being dismissed one by one in her head.

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