She Said She Has Feelings For Someone - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Xia Pengyue

“Thank you, PD Lu, but my tolerance is actually…”

Their handshake was over in a flash. Before Lu Shuyu could even register the warmth of the other woman’s hand, she was grasping at thin air again. She withdrew her hand and stepped forward to hand over the invitations. The four of them followed the server into the depths of the club.

“Chun Lan” was famous for its cuisine, specializing in Jiangnan-style dishes, and its interior reflected that with the aesthetic of a traditional water garden. They walked down a long corridor; the sound of trickling water from a small pond in the courtyard reached their ears. On previous visits, Lu Shuyu would have fed the lively, beautiful koi in the pond, but she wasn’t in the mood today.

Behind her, Chen Qian’s voice was low and hushed: “What happened to you just now?”

After a long silence, she heard Xia Leshuang reply: “It’s nothing.”

The “Guan Haitang” (Begonia Viewing) room booked by Min Wutong was the largest and most scenic room in the club. An entire wall of windows opened up to the spring beauty of the Jiangnan courtyard. Several high-quality weeping begonias were planted there; it was early April, the peak of their blooming season. When night fell and the lanterns in the courtyard were lit, the scenery took on an entirely different kind of beauty.

When they arrived, a crowd had gathered by the window to admire the flowers. There were sixteen people in total tonight—the main decision-makers of the production crew, the guests, Min Wutong, and the show’s investors. Fortunately, the focus tonight wasn’t on intense negotiations; it was a small gathering meant to boost morale for the official shoot starting the day after tomorrow. Consequently, everyone was relaxed enough to enjoy the view.

As they entered, Liao Min turned around. Her tense face relaxed significantly upon seeing them. As the show’s General Distributor, the burden of socializing fell on her shoulders, and she couldn’t afford to neglect the investors.

“We’re just waiting for a few more executives now. Let’s take our seats,” Liao Min said, clapping her hands to gather everyone.

The head seats were reserved for Min Wutong and the four investors. Song Yi sat to Min Wutong’s right, with Lu Shuyu next to her, followed by Chi Shan, Chen Qian, and then the six guests, led by Xia Leshuang. Liao Min and the remaining crew members sat on the other side of the investors.

The attendees were all women, and since the age gap wasn’t large and they had just shared the common topic of flower-watching, the conversation flowed smoothly. Out of the corner of her eye, Lu Shuyu saw Xia Leshuang exchanging contact info with the other guests. She had a smile on her lips and seemed to be in a good mood—completely different from the forced smile and stiffness at the entrance.

At the thought, Lu Shuyu withdrew her gaze and looked down at her tea.

There was movement outside. Liao Min stood up to greet someone. Lu Shuyu’s phone vibrated; it was a message from Min Wutong.

“Teacher,” she leaned toward Song Yi, “President Min has landed.”

In private, she always used this respectful title for Song Yi, as Song Yi was the mentor who had brought her into the industry and discovered her potential. Song Yi nodded. Liao Min was already laughing and chatting as she welcomed two investors into the room.

Both were dressed in casual attire. Song Yi smiled and asked, “President Shen, President Qian—did you two just come back from a game of golf?”

Shen Juan and Qian Rong were aunt and niece. Though they had separate careers, they were very close due to the small age gap. Qian Rong was an old acquaintance of Min Wutong; after collaborating on Velocity, she had recommended Shen Juan to Min Wutong for this partnership.

“Yes,” Shen Juan nodded with a smile. “When Liao Liao recommended it before, I didn’t quite believe it, but I fell in love with it after trying it once.”

After some small talk, Qian Rong looked at Lu Shuyu, who had been quietly observing. “Little PD Lu, long time no see! It’s a pity I’m wearing this today. You won’t blame me for not being formal enough, will you?”

Qian Rong was known for her eccentric thinking. Right now, her eyes were full of mischief, clearly intending to tease.

Lu Shuyu, accustomed to this, smiled calmly. “Of course not. Today isn’t a strictly formal occasion anyway—” She paused and blinked, her amber eyes looking innocent. “Otherwise, President Min wouldn’t dare to be late.”

Qian Rong burst into laughter. “Alright, Little PD Lu is still the same serious and honest Little PD Lu.”

As Lu Shuyu sipped her tea, Liao Min picked up the thread: “It’s because our PD Song is such a good teacher.”

The focus shifted. Song Yi smoothly took over the conversation, and Lu Shuyu silently sighed in relief, lowering her gaze to drink her tea in peace. Despite years of professional training making her more composed in social settings, it was still exhausting for her. If she could avoid it, she wouldn’t volunteer to participate.

Song Yi and Liao Min were much better at socializing than she was. Within a few sentences, the atmosphere among the four of them became light and airy. Lu Shuyu smiled to herself, and her attention couldn’t help but drift to the other side of the table.

“Film Queen Xia, why haven’t you been acting much these past few years?” “First, I needed to focus on my studies. Later, I felt that variety shows were quite interesting, so I came to try them out.”

Liar, Lu Shuyu thought.

“Also, no need to call me ‘Film Queen Xia.’ My real name is Xia Leshuang, and I’m using it for my activities now. Just call me Leshuang.” “Yay! Leshuang! That’s such a pretty name!”

The girl speaking was the youngest guest, Jiang Fei. Having just graduated from university, she was already a veteran comedy actress in the theater scene. She had a sweet voice that matched her harmless appearance. While Lu Shuyu found her adorable, she heard Xia Leshuang’s reply, filled with gentle, smiling gratitude.

It was worlds apart from that “Long time no see” at the door. It seems, Lu Shuyu noted, she still likes “sweet” girls as much as ever.

Lu Shuyu downed her tea in one gulp. Beside her, Song Yi raised an eyebrow and leaned in to whisper, “Drink less, or you’ll be running to the bathroom later.”

…This was a lifelong problem of hers. Her body didn’t seem to retain water well, so she tried to avoid drinking much at important events to prevent any inconvenience.

“Okay,” Lu Shuyu replied obediently. She noticed movement at the door and instinctively turned her head, only to lock eyes with Xia Leshuang. The latter startled and quickly looked away, facing the opening door.

“Yo, quite a crowd of beauties here. Lively.”

The room fell silent as everyone looked at the man and woman at the door with confusion and surprise. However, there were exceptions—like Xia Leshuang, who turned her face away the moment she saw the newcomers and bowed her head, as if she didn’t want to be seen.

From Lu Shuyu’s angle, she could see the other’s furrowed brow and tensed jawline. In her experience, these were signs of avoidance, nervousness, and endurance. But if this was Xia Leshuang… Lu Shuyu didn’t know; she had never seen Xia Leshuang make such an expression.

“Que Ying,” Qian Rong smiled in confusion, “What is this?”

Que Ying’s hand paused as she pulled out a chair. Only after sitting did she speak: “Xiang Wan had something come up today and couldn’t make it. President Zhou happened to be interested in a partnership, so I brought him along.”

She spoke calmly, but she didn’t meet Qian Rong’s eyes. Lu Shuyu could see that Que Ying was somewhat uncomfortable. Que Ying and Xiang Wan were the other two investors and were on good terms; presumably, Xiang Wan’s invitation was in Que Ying’s hands, allowing her to bring President Zhou in at the last minute. However, Lu Shuyu’s gaze landed on Zhou Hongcai—even without an invitation, if he really wanted to get in, he’d find a way.

“Exactly. I say, you people are really something—insisting on an all-female team, even prioritizing female investors. Is there any need?” Zhou Hongcai took his seat. Que Ying poured him tea, which he drank before continuing. “In this world, you can’t talk with gender. Can any of you sitting here guarantee you’ve never relied on a man? Never earned a cent of a man’s money?”

“Everyone is the same,” he said with the air of an experienced elder. “Stop trying to be so ‘unconventional’ all the time!”

“President Zhou has such a broad perspective,” Qian Rong scoffed. “As expected of someone who relied on his brother’s wife and daughter to get a share of a wealthy family’s pie. In that regard, those of us who only relied on our parents really can’t compare.”

“Xiao Rong,” Shen Juan spoke up calmly to remind her, “Ask President Min where she is.”

At these words, the displeasure on Zhou Hongcai’s face vanished instantly. He laughed and said, “True, being late isn’t good. The party will be cold by the time she gets here. That’s no good.”

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes clearly asking: Does this uninvited guest have no self-awareness at all? If Shen Juan hadn’t held her back, Qian Rong would have said it out loud.

“Oh, I thought you looked familiar,” Zhou Hongcai’s gaze suddenly locked onto the person opposite him. “Isn’t this Pengyue?”

Pengyue. Xia Pengyue. This had been Xia Leshuang’s stage name since she was a child, when she became famous through a parent-child variety show. Back then, people said Director Xia loved his daughter dearly; he wanted her to be the “Moon” surrounded by stars (Zhong Xing Peng Yue), and hoped she would have “double happiness” (Leshuang) for life.

But Lu Shuyu knew that the name “Leshuang” was given by Xia Leshuang’s grandmother personally. She had called her that exclusively and had forced a name change on her deathbed. What Xia Leshuang’s parents had always wanted was only the “Moon” surrounded by stars.

“Long time no see, Niece Xia,” Zhou Hongcai said. Despite the polite words, there was zero respect in his eyes. “I had dinner with Director Xia the day before yesterday, and your father didn’t even mention you.”

“And yet here we are. What a coincidence, don’t you think?”

Lu Shuyu was startled. She turned her head to look. Xia Leshuang’s expression had already shifted into a professional smile with a hint of slick flattery.

“Uncle Zhou, it really has been a long time,” Xia Leshuang stood up, holding her teacup. “This tea is the Biluochun you like. I’ll substitute wine with tea to offer you a toast.”

“Oh?” Zhou Hongcai’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t expect Niece Xia to still remember that.” He stood up with his cup. “But tea is a bit weak. A toast should be made with wine, of course.”

Before anyone could react, a server entered with wine. At Zhou Hongcai’s signal, it was brought to Xia Leshuang.

“Beautiful, let’s swap seats.”

Jiang Fei hesitated, but Xia Leshuang had already pulled her up. “Go ahead,” she smiled. “The food comes in faster over there. Aren’t you hungry?”

After swapping seats, Zhou Hongcai quickly poured three glasses of wine. “Come, Niece Xia. Let your Uncle see your sincerity.”

Xia Leshuang’s expression didn’t change. Still smiling, she downed two glasses without a word. Just as she was about to pick up the third—

“I’ll drink it for her.”

Lu Shuyu walked over quickly, reaching out to grab the glass. To her surprise, Xia Leshuang was faster, gripping the glass and stepping back. Lu Shuyu’s hand grabbed only air, touching the cool wooden tabletop.

“Thank you, PD Lu,” Xia Leshuang didn’t look at her. Her gaze was lowered, fixed on the glass. “But my tolerance is actually quite good.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised the glass and downed it in one go, as smoothly as if she were drinking plain water.

“Good! Straightforward!” Zhou Hongcai shouted.

Xia Leshuang inverted the glass; not a single drop remained. “Uncle Zhou, I’ll drink as much as you want today until you’re satisfied!”

Zhou Hongcai let out a sigh of satisfaction and stood up to look Xia Leshuang in the eye. “Pengyue, tell me—if you had been this obedient five years ago, wouldn’t things be better? With your talent and starting point, how could you have ended up ‘washed-up’ and filming this kind of—”

The smile on Xia Leshuang’s face deepened, and she poured the wine rapidly. “Come, Uncle Zhou. Let’s keep drinking.”

Nine years is a long time. It can change many things.

Lu Shuyu stared at the person in front of her. They were so close, yet she felt further away from her than at any other moment during those nine years. She was pulled back to her seat by Song Yi, dazed. Beside her, she heard Chen Qian’s frantic whispering, “Leshuang, stop drinking.”

“Let her drink!” Zhou Hongcai was flushed with alcohol. “This is a friendly exchange between uncle and niece!”

Qian Rong couldn’t take it anymore. “You’re not even related. Are you really putting on a show?” Just as she stood up, the door to the private room was slammed open.

Then came a woman’s voice, saturated with fury.

“Zhou Hongcai, who gave you permission to come to my party and act like a maniac?”