Growing Fond of You, Mr Nian

Suddenly, Mo Liuxi turned his attention away from the pigeons. “Ms. Yan, you sure have a lot of excuses. You said you had work to do before, but now you have time to sunbathe by the canal.”

He was purposefully picking on her. Yan Su could feel her blood boil, but she was the one who had lied to them in the first place, and now she had no choice but to try to cover her tracks. “I do have work to do later. If you don’t believe me, Mr. Mo, you can follow me. I don’t want you to think I’m a liar.”

“I don’t care if you’re lying or not.” Mo Liuxi propped his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Yang Ziqian and Cheng Sheng quickly followed after him.

Jiaojiao laughed and said, “Why do I get the feeling Mr. Mo is giving you a hard time just to get your attention?” Don’t be silly, Yan Su said bitterly. “He hates me.”

“I thought all young girls and guys were like this.” Jiaojiao giggled.

Yan Su shook her head in protest, refusing to acknowledge she was “just a young girl.” Geez. She was a mother.

…

At night, the production crew gathered in a restaurant close to the hotel. They were dining in the outdoor alfresco area.

Yan Su was worried people might think poorly of her, so she purposely arrived a little early.

She was the first one there. After a little while, she could hear the sound of footsteps on the wooden planks growing closer.

When she looked up, a tall and lean man walked over. He was wearing a pair of light-wash denim jeans and a crisp white shirt and had a bit of stubble on his handsome face.

Yan Su was stunned. It was Shi Xiang, but he looked so different.

He used to be a clean-shaven, handsome young guy, but now his skin was darker, his hair was shorter, and his gaze was harsher.

The two of them locked eyes.

Shi Xiang looked surprised to see her, and his expression hardened before it softened again. “Susu, how have you been?”

“I’ve been well,” Yan Su answered. She was a little flustered as she stood up. Bumping into Shi Xiang still made her feel extremely confused. No matter how hard she tried to forget what happened that day, she could not do so.

She knew Shi Xiang must have felt even worse.

To help preserve his pride, she had to feign nonchalance. “How about you?”

“Me?” Shi Xiang smirked and said, “The same old, I guess.”

“What’s the same old?” Yan Su asked with a smile. “I saw the news. You’re about to do a few more blockbuster films, am I right? It sounds as if everything’s going well for you.”

“Only in the eyes of others.” Shi Xiang looked into her eyes and said, “No one knows how rotten I am inside. Only you do.”

Yan Su winced, “Shi Xiang…”

“Please, can the two of you stand aside? Don’t stand in the middle of the space if you want to chat,” Mo Liuxi interrupted them abruptly.

Shi Xiang turned and scowled at him. He reached out for Yan Su’s arm and tried to pull her aside.

Mo Liuxi squeezed in between them and bumped his hand away as he pulled a chair and sat down beside them.

Yan Su and Shi Xiang stared at each other for a while before Shi Xiang broke the silence and said, “Susu, let’s go sit over there. I haven’t seen you in a while and have a lot to tell you.”

Yan Su wasn’t close to the crew anyway, so she nodded her head.

“Shi Xiang, how am I going to toast you if you sit so far away?” Mo Liuxi asked suddenly.

Shi Xiang turned and frowned, “Director Mo, I don’t think we’re close enough to be drinking shoulder to shoulder tonight.”

Mo Liuxi looked up and said, “Perhaps you misunderstood my intention. This festival has generated a lot of buzz and press attention. There are reporters and paparazzi everywhere. Your scandal with Yan Su is highly scrutinized. I don’t want you two to create another hot topic that would overshadow talk about our film.”