Rebirth from the Ashes

“I’ll wait till your bus arrives.” Pei Xu took a sip out of his drink as he leaned against the pole by the bus stop to stay by Shen Xi’s side.

“That’s right.” Song Wenye bit on the straw of her bubble tea. “Xixi, do you know the first thing I’d do as an adult?”

Shen Xi looked puzzled.

Song Wenye giggled. “Get a driving license, so that I can pick you up and drop you off at school every day. Isn’t that great?”

Pei Xu seemed to have been reminded by something as his body suddenly tensed while his eyes bore unfathomable obscurity. He tightened his grip on his drink, completely unaware of the drink spilling all over his arm.

Shen Xi grew curious, having picked up on Pei Xu’s sudden mood shift. For a school bully with a wild personality, it was not a surprise for this young and frivolous bloke to want to drive fast cars.

Nevertheless, she had never seen Pei Xu behind the wheel, be it a sports car or a motorbike. More often than not, she caught him cycling.

Song Wenye seemed to have picked up the mood. She cleared her throat and tossed Pei Xu a pack of tissues. “Alpha Xu, quit wasting even if you don’t want to drink it.”

Pei Xu grabbed the tissues and wiped his hand. He regained his usual roguish and reposeful self. “Stay here with Xixi. I need to be somewhere else right now.”

Song Wenye looked at him walked away, yet she could not shake off an uneasy feeling. She turned to Shen Xi. “Xixi, I’m going to take a look. Call me when you’re home.”

Shen Xi watched them leave one after another while thinking deeply. A secret, huh?

“Xixi.” Someone called out to her.

Shen Xi turned to look at where the voice was coming from to find a face peeking out of a car nearby. The person waving at her was Gong Zhi.

“Get in quickly!” Gong Zhi cried.

Shen Xi hurried to the car.

There were bystanders all around in a bustling commercial district. God knows who was the first to spot Gong Zhi and announced the sighting excitedly, catching everyone’s attention.

They took out their phones to take pictures and videos.

Shen Xi got into the car.

It so happened the light turned green, and cars began to move. The filmgoers who tried to catch a glimpse of their idol could only see her car disappear out of their sight.

“Why are you by yourself?” Gong Zhi found it odd and asked Shen Xi.

Girls her age would hang out at the mall, watch movies, and dine at restaurants, doing everything together as a group.

“My classmates went back,” Shen Xi replied.

Gong Zhi was relieved, she was under the impression that Shen Xi was alone. Oh, such a poor thing if she had gone shopping and to the movies alone. “Did you watch my movie? What do you think?”

“It was awesome!” Shen Xi gave her two thumbs up. “Spectacular. My friends said that you’re the best in showbiz to have an eye for good movies.”

“Of course.” Gong Zhi was not the least bit humble. She smiled and said, “I’m sure you’ve heard of Li Jingran. Her youngest son, Su Mushi, was the first to be invited to play the male lead in “The Smiling Nation”. They declined the part in the end but now that the TV ratings have gone through the roof, I see Li Jingran with that deadpan look on her face every day! I’m in stitches.”

Shen Xi joined in the laughter.

The Su family was the butt of Gong Zhi’s jokes. “Let me tell you. I was at Weibo’s Fashion Red Carpet and watched “The Smiling Nation” while sitting right next to her. The look on her face is like she had dung for lunch. It was hilarious!”

“You can tell Li Jingran and Su Yi are blind when it comes to a good script. They pick horrible, mind-numbing, and money-burning shows to be in.”

Shen Xi knew that Gong Zhi and Li Jingran were rivals but had no idea that Gong Zhi was so mischievous to have watched “The Smiling Nation” in Li Jingran’s face.

She could totally imagine Li Jingran fuming.

“Oh, right. I’m almost out of the anti-aging beauty pills you gave me.” Gong Zhi affectionately gazed at her. “Where did you buy it? Tell me. I can get it myself.”