Chapter 7: Some Things Are Unforgettable
We still have a lot of time with others, but it seems that our fate has come to an end here.
Xiang Qianlan01
The rare warm sunshine in winter shines through the tall windows, casting a huge spot of light on the ground.
"This is the advertisement , take a look."
Through the shadow on the floor, I saw Sun Nuofan approaching me and placing a few pieces of thin paper in front of me. The moment he bent down, he reached out and scooped up a bunch of my hair and said with emotion: "You dyed your hair again..."
I tilted my head and looked at ourselves in the full-length mirror. His eyebrows were handsome and slender, with a smile on his lips. He looked down at me. I was wrapped in an off-white long-sleeved sweater, and my long chestnut-dyed hair was scattered behind my head like seaweed.
Ever since Sun Nuofan released the news that he and I were dating, many advertising companies have extended olive branches to me. Sun Nuofan did not restrict me, saying that this would help to enhance his fame.
"Do you know how popular you are now?" Sun Nuofan took out his tablet and found an album. It contained pictures he had taken casually, mostly posters taken on the streets. On the huge poster was a very familiar face. She looked like a perfect actress, smiling elegantly. Next to her was the signature designed for her by the staff: Qian Lan.
Qian Lan?
She is another me, the most familiar stranger.
There was a noise at the door, and Sister Guan called out, "Hey! You and I, Lan, we are going to Desiya Plaza to do a promotional event this afternoon. I will do your makeup."
Sister Guan is the agent Sun Nuofan assigned to me, a very capable woman. The two assistants following Sister Guan picked out a few clothes I would wear and asked me to choose one. I pointed to a white one at random, and Sister Guan hurriedly said, "Don't listen to her , pick the magenta one."
"Whatever." I shrugged.
"You guys go ahead and do your work first." Sun Nuofan moved away from me and walked to the other side, watching Sister Guan dressing me up and listening to her chattering to me.
Three months ago, I moved into this duplex building. The first floor is my studio and the second floor is my residence. Sun Nuofan, under the guise of being the boss, insisted on living on the third floor.
I didn't end up starring in that drama, but Sun Nuofan didn't give the role to Zhong Yuer. In the end, an actress I didn't know starred in the drama.
As for me, ever since Sun Nuofan announced my relationship with him, I have been constantly reported and interviewed. During the period when my facial injury had not yet healed, Sun Nuofan asked me to shoot a public service advertisement. The theme of the advertisement talked about the beauty of female power. Sun Nuofan created it for me personally. The advertisement highlighted the scar on my face, and the effect was very good after it was released.
Sun Nuofan arranged for a top doctor to take me to have surgery, and the scars on my face were repaired to the point where they were almost invisible. During this period, Qi Beichen came to see me, but I cruelly refused to see him.
I sent some money to my mother, and she called to ask if I would come home. I said I was working part-time and was sorry I couldn't go back. Lying to my mother was something I could do easily.
Participating in various promotions, shooting commercials, and eating with Sun Nuofan, this has been my life for the past few months. After participating in the promotional activities at Desiya Plaza, I returned home at more than eight o'clock. There was fragrance coming from the kitchen, and soft lights surrounded Sun Nuofan. His skin was white and his eyes were gentle.
Although I didn't understand why he would cook, I was a little surprised to see Sun Nuofan busy in the kitchen at this time. I walked over and he hugged me and whispered, "Thank you for keeping me so busy at work so that I can take care of you."
"Has being in love with me made you unable to distinguish reality from the reality? Are you falling in love with me?" I slightly broke free from his arms and pushed him away.
"Are you always in the habit of rejecting men who love you?" Sun Nuofan looked at me quietly and smiled.
"Yes, I am always like this." I said sneerly.
"Be careful or you'll end up alone." Sun Nuofan lowered his head. The light shone down on his face. His long eyelashes cast a quiet shadow on his cheeks. My eyes dimmed and I smiled.
The cell phone suddenly rang. Sun Nuofan pointed to the entrance and said to me, "Honey, it's your call." After that, Sun Nuofan turned and walked into the kitchen.
I picked up the phone and saw that it was my mother calling. There was a hint of joy in my voice: "Mom, why are you calling me? I was going to talk to you later."
"Lanlan, I saw it in the newspaper. You lied to me and even hid it from me that you ran away and became a star?" My mother's tone made my heart ache as if it was being pulled apart.
I said hoarsely, "I didn't lie to you."
"You haven't lied to me yet! I saw in the newspaper that you stole someone else's boyfriend and had unclear relationships with some bosses. I sent you to college, and this is how you repay me? Are you ruining yourself like this?" Mom's tone became more and more agitated, and she even started coughing.
"Mom, that's all hype, it's not true..."
"So, you did become a star, and you're dating a man with a bad reputation?"
"...Yes, Mom, that man is not someone that outsiders talk about..."
"Have I ever told you not to give up your dignity because of poverty? Not to do anything for money? What did you promise me? I don't want the money you send me. Your mother is disabled, but she is not useless!"
"I agreed to date him because..."
"I don't want to hear it!" The mother's voice was full of pain. "How could my proud daughter become like this? Is this what you call success?"
The pain in my heart made my lips turn pale. I picked up my tablet and searched for the latest entertainment news because I didn't want to affect my mood. I haven't paid attention to these for a long time. Some of the news was about Zhong Yuer before, and the most recent news was about Sun Nuofan and I attending a press conference. Due to the lighting and angle, it was easy for people to misunderstand that I was drinking with some people.
I suddenly didn't know what to say to my mother. It seemed that whatever I said would be wrong...
"Lanlan, Mom is very disappointed in you."
There was silence for a while. When the phone was hung up with a "click", the taut string in my heart seemed to break.
Sun Nuofan came out with a plate of fish. Seeing me in a state of dismay, he touched my forehead with his hand and asked, "What's wrong with you? You look so pale? Who called?"
"No...it's okay." I rubbed my temples and walked over to the sofa and sat down.
Sun Nuofan saw the webpage on the tablet that I had not closed. He frowned and looked at it, muttering to himself: "Zhong Yuer is not in our company now. This newspaper is theirs. I'm afraid she is behind this again. Do you want me to..."
"No need, don't do anything." I looked at him tiredly. I didn't want to make enemies with Zhong Yuer at the moment. I have an advertising endorsement next month and I don't want anything to go wrong at this time.
"I missed a lot of classes at school. Do you have time to go over?" Sun Nuofan walked to the dining table and served the rice. I was hungry, so I sat down and ate quietly.
I nodded: "I'll come over."
After dinner, I went to my room to rest.
After finishing a commercial, I asked Guan and her friends for a week off to go back to school. The school was still the same. I looked at the students walking by and felt like I was walking into a dream. It made me feel unreal.
Because it was class time, there were few students walking around on campus. I didn't wear any makeup and pulled my hat down very low, but some people still recognized me and took out their phones to take pictures of me. Some also came up to me and asked for my autograph. I smiled and refused, saying they had recognized the wrong person.
When I walked downstairs to the teaching building, someone quickly walked up to me and hugged me.
It's Qi Beichen! It's him!
I wanted to push him away, but his arms held me. I felt the rise and fall of his chest, his warm breath, and his lips slid down to my ear. I heard him say, "I want to ask you a few questions."
"Qi Beichen..." I shouted at him to let me go.
"Listen to me." He grabbed me and pulled me into the woods next to us. The woods really have a connection with us.
"Tell me, have you ever done those things? I can't see you and can only wait for you in front of the teaching building every day. Have you ever done those things mentioned in the news?" He stared at me and asked viciously.
I tried to break free from him. "Which one are you referring to? Accompanying the boss to a cocktail party? Or the countless advertisements I obtained through improper means? What do you believe in?"
"Sun Nuofan, this beast, uses you like this? What does he think of you?" Qi Beichen shook my shoulders.
I said, "If you don't trust me, why do you come to question me?"
"Why did you become like this?" Qi Beichen asked me.
"What should I be like?" I asked him back.
"You were so eager to make money. Are you satisfied now? You have become an idol for many students. Many people envy you." He hugged me again, his voice trembling. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I'm crazy. Xiang Qianlan, do you know? I feel that you are getting farther and farther away from me. I beg you, can we be ordinary people again?"
"What if I say no?" I looked at him stubbornly.
"You're in love with Sun Nuofan? You're in love with him!" Qi Beichen shouted at me, tears rolling down his eyes.
My cell phone rang and I took it out to answer it.
"Don't answer it, look at me!" Qi Beichen snatched my phone, hung up, and threw it at his feet. He roared at me like an angry lion.
The phone kept ringing again, and the ringing continued. Qi Beichen didn't want the ringing to disturb us, so he kicked my phone away angrily. I heard a "bang" and the phone might be scrapped.
He asked me, “Who are you living with now?”
I said, "Sun Nuofan."
"You guys are living together?"
"We are boyfriend and girlfriend."
He shouted at me: "Do you have any self-respect? Can you sell everything for money? It was like this before, and it is still like this now! Xiang Qianlan, are you really..."
"You have no right to say that to me!" I yelled and interrupted him.
He looked at me sadly, his eyes full of disbelief.
Who says I don’t care? The girl in the past, buried underground, is not erased from our hearts, she is rooted in our wounds and cannot be talked about at all.
I know that I will never forget Yin Shuitong's death in this life. She reminds us of the sins stained on our hands. Who says that we can be forgiven just because we are young?
Death is not forgiveness, death is sin and punishment.
