After months of convincing herself that her feelings should be forgotten—of all the people who’ll be invited to see the campaign, Lu Xiulan couldn’t believe that she had to face him in such short notice. She was unprepared for this, and she liked to be prepared for everything. Her schedule, her plans, even her life was already planned ahead. She didn’t like surprises.

“Song Yichen,” Lu Xiulan acknowledged him with a nod, but her eyes were quick to look away.

At that moment, she wanted to run away from him, to run into the ladies’ room inside a cubicle where she could release the tears threatening to burst. She had been doing well, or so she thought. The last few months without him had been hard, but she was starting to pick up the pieces and taking control of her life again.

Now, she felt like she was breaking apart, and what hurt the most was knowing that she still loved him. Seeing him standing tall in his impeccably tailored suit, staring at her with a questioning gaze—it’s too much for her to handle.

No matter how hard she worked and how tired she’d become, her thoughts seldom strayed from him. Seeing him again hit like a shock, waking her up—reminding her whom she’d been missing all this time. She loved him with the intensity that frightened her. -.

Had he been toying with her all this time, no ways to question his motives and decisions? Wasn’t he the one who walked away and left her alone, confused and hurt? Claiming that he loved her and yet couldn’t give her the peace of mind she was asking.

Hadn’t she begged him not to tell her he loved her if he didn’t mean it? Still, he did. Twice. The first time was when she confessed these feelings for him, not expecting him to return it and let go. The second time must be out of the blue, catching her off guard.

If all those words that he told her was a lie, then his ‘I love you’ was his best lie.

Lu Xiulan wanted so bad with moving on, and if marrying another man to forget these feelings that kept her awake at night, so be it. Song Yichen was meant to be out of her life. He wasn’t supposed to intrude and make her traitorous heart race again.

“I’m here for the campaign. We’ve seen the teaser. It looks promising.” Song Yichen told Yuan Jin, but his eyes were on Lu Xiulan who still refused to look at him.

“Thanks, Mr. Song. That’s very reassuring to hear from a renowned director like you. Xiulan had outdone herself this time. It’s just so sad that this will be her last project…”

“Yuan Jin!” Lu Xiulan glared at Yuan Jin’s direction and hated that he’d reveal this information to Song Yichen.

“What do you mean this is the last?” Song Yichen’s eyes darted between Yuan Jin and Lu Xiulan.

Lu Xiulan grimaced. There’s no point hiding it when he would hear about it anytime soon. “You heard him right. This will be my last project.”

It was at that point when Shen Xue arrived to call Yuan Jin’s attention. Shen Xue was invited as his brother’s proxy since Shen Yi was still on his honeymoon with Lu Xinyi. He didn’t mind going since Yuan Jin had given him VIP access.

“Yuan Jin, your assistant was looking for you. I think I heard she needs some assistance with the right sequences of the files you wanted.”

Yuan Jin gave his thanks, eyeing Lu Xiulan before excusing himself to give them some time to talk; but Lu Xiulan had other plans. Her eyes begged Shen Xue to save her, to take her away from Song Yichen’s presence. If she stayed for another second, her walls were going to break down.

Shen Xue hated the painful glint in her eyes. This was the second time he’d seen her in the verge of tears and looked so helpless. It irked him how Lu Xiulan could easily affect his mood. He begrudgingly took her request.

“Miss Lu, Xinxin just called. She said you should pick up your phone, or she would ban you from her kitchen.”

“Oh, she’d been calling? Sorry, I didn’t hear it. Please excuse me.” Her eyes lit up from Shen Xue’s generosity. She made a mental note to thank him later.

—

It was still too early for her to leave, and it would be too rude if she leaves now.

The guests were still inside, waiting for the final outcome of the campaign. Lu Xiulan, just like her cousin, didn’t like crowds. They make her extremely nervous especially if they were comprised of wealthy socialites and businessmen she knew nothing about.

Lu Xiulan had seen the outcome since she was the one who directed the scenes and worked on it. Lu Xinyi’s face was barely seen with the thin veil covering her face as the immortal fairy while half of Shen Yi’s face was covered with a silver mask.

She caught sight of the exit leading to the hotel gardens and decided to seek refuge there for the meantime. Lu Xiulan stood from her seat and plastered a smile on her face as she made her way outside, occasionally greeting some guests along the way.

Her high heels met the gravel path, and she stopped abruptly when she realized how chilly that night was. Wearing only her evening dress, she regretted not bringing a shawl to protect her from the cold. From there, she slowly took steps along the stone pavements leading to the koi pond.

Under the dimly lit lanterns which lined the passage, she could still see where she was going. Her flowing tresses cascaded down to her back, with a single pin pushing it primly away from her face.

Footsteps crunching the gravel coming her way startled her. She knew that there was no escaping this time.