After hanging up the phone, Shen Wanwan asked 001: “How long will it take for my mom to remember?”
001 answered truthfully : {I don’t know.}
But the fact that she reacted shows that being forced to forget caused her pain.
Strictly speaking—
This wasn’t forgetting.
This was a plot-forced deletion of memory.
But memories have roots.
They’re interconnected and inseparable.
Even if all memories related to Shao Yuye were erased cleanly, the joy and sorrow once caused by him will never disappear.
They still lingered in a corner of her memory.
Shen Wanwan was deep in thought.
A couple of knocks pulled her back to reality.
Shen Wanwan: “Come in.”
Shao Yuye opened the door and poked his head in from behind it.
He was holding a floor mat and a pillow in his arms.
“Want to chat for a bit?”
After so many years apart, there was just so, so much he wanted to say to his little sister.
Shen Wanwan nodded. “Okay.”
Shao Yuye made a floor bed beside her bed.
The floor was hard, nowhere near as comfortable as the bed, but he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
He told her about his recent schedule.
“I’ve got an audition tomorrow, it should finish pretty quickly. I’ll come back and cook for you.”
Shen Wanwan said, “No need for dinner tomorrow. I’m going shopping in the afternoon and having dinner with someone in the evening.”
Shao Yuye had wanted to ask what she was buying and who she was meeting.
But then he realized how nosy that would sound.
He responded with a solemn “Oh.
“The day after, I have a variety show recording…”
The two of them chatted on and off into the late night.
Until Shen Wanwan stopped replying, and her steady, even breathing filled the room.
In the darkness, Shao Yuye’s lips curved into a smile.
How wonderful.
His little sister was so close, so very close.
He didn’t have to worry about waking up tomorrow and finding she had vanished.
He finally closed his eyes and slept soundly until morning.
Shen Wanwan was still asleep.
She looked especially cute when she slept.
The sharpness and coldness she carried while awake had mostly disappeared, making her look soft and adorable, completely non-threatening.
Shao Yuye couldn’t resist pulling out his phone to take a stealth photo.
He fiddled with filters for a while, held up his phone and tested different angles like he was handling a piece of fine art—painstaking and precise—before finally pressing the shutter with utmost care.
She looked absolutely stunning in the photo.
So soft, so cute!
Shao Yuye felt like he might melt from the cuteness.
He wanted to send the photo to his team’s group chat to show off.
But after a moment’s thought, he decided against it.
Those teammates of his were all guys.
Tsk.
Forget it.
Those dog men don’t deserve to see how pretty his sister looks.
Shen Wanwan still hadn’t woken up.
Shao Yuye put away his phone and tiptoed out of the room to make her breakfast.
Even though he was full of enthusiasm and set out to cook the best breakfast in the world—
What actually made it to the table was just rice soaked in hot water, cooked in an electric clay pot.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even porridge, just water-logged rice.
Still, Shen Wanwan supported him by taking a photo and posting it on Weibo.
@ShenWanwan : [The best breakfast I’ve ever had. (photo.jpg)]
Soon, comments started pouring in—
[Wasn’t Shen Wanwan always marketing herself as some rich heiress? Why’s her breakfast look so pitiful?]
[I think I live better than Shen Wanwan. I even had an egg this morning, LOL.]
[Maybe that rich heiress thing was fake after all?]
Shao Yuye looked at the comments and was practically fuming.
He thought it looked okay!
It really wasn’t that bad!
Still, in the end, the siblings’ breakfast had to be saved by Brother Li.
Brother Li happened to be picking Shao Yuye up for his audition.
As soon as Shao Yuye left, Shen Wanwan got a call from Qi Luozhou.
“Will you come home with me tonight?”
“Mm, I’m going to pick out a gift this afternoon.”
Since they were going to become family eventually, Shen Wanwan uncharacteristically made the effort to care about Qi Luozhou’s family’s preferences.
“Is there anything they like?”
Qi Luozhou chuckled softly on the other end. “Anything you pick, they’ll like.”
Shen Wanwan was quite pleased by the compliment.
Qi Luozhou said, “Send me the address of the shopping mall. I’ll come pick you up this afternoon.”
Shen Wanwan agreed.
Considering that the gifts were for elders, she went to the shopping mall on the west side of the city.
As a regular of luxury brands, she enjoyed full VVIP treatment.
By the time Shen Wanwan stepped into the shopping mall, the exclusive service staff was already waiting for her.
“Hello, Miss Shen. My surname is Cheng, I’m the store manager here. I’ll be accompanying you on your visit today. Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”
Shen Wanwan glanced at the name tag on her chest. “Manager Cheng, I’d like a brochure that includes all the products.”
She couldn’t even be bothered to browse around.
After easily finalizing the gifts for Qi Luozhou’s parents, she sat in the lounge area for afternoon tea, chatting with 001.
001 was dying to explore the place.
But as her exclusive guide system, it couldn’t stray far from Shen Wanwan. It could only perch curiously on her shoulder, marveling at the extravagance since the moment they walked in—
{I thought only actresses walked red carpets.}
{Even the counters are arranged like an art gallery.}
{There’s actually quite a crowd here. How come there are so many rich people? Was everyone’s money blown in by the wind?}
{I know I’ve got no experience, but take me for a spin, please!}
Shen Wanwan took a small sip of tea. Unable to resist the pleas of the wide-eyed little light orb on her shoulder, she got up and strolled around with it.
While passing a certain counter, she unexpectedly overheard two women gossiping.
“I heard Shen Wanwan got dumped.”
“What? Really? Wasn’t Su Tingxuan really into her? Always doting on her hand and foot.”
“Ha, I heard it was Su Tingxuan who broke it off with her.”
“Well, with that nasty temper of hers, who could put up with her long-term?”
Shen Wanwan’s steps faltered slightly.
She was standing in a blind spot of the display area.
She could see the two women clearly, but they couldn’t see her.
Everyone moved in the same social circles; they all knew each other.
News of her broken engagement with Su Tingxuan had already spread through the circles.
Many people, both openly and subtly, were mocking and belittling her.
The woman in red said gleefully, “I also heard Shen Wanwan went on that variety show just to win Su Tingxuan back. But you saw the livestream, he barely acknowledged her.”
The woman in green quickly chimed in, “Yeah, but she got lucky. That show invited Qi Luozhou and Shao Yuye…”
“So what if she met those two top-tier stars? They have nothing to do with her. The only one connected to her is Su Tingxuan, and he’s not even popular…”
The woman in red was almost laughing out loud. “With Shen Wanwan’s background, marrying Su Tingxuan was already marrying down. And then he dumped her… I could just die laughing…”
Just as the woman in green was about to respond, the crisp sound of high heels striking the floor rang out.
Both women froze and looked up.
A young woman in a pale apricot dress walked out from around the corner, lips curling into a cold sneer.
Although the lights in the showroom were meant to spotlight the merchandise, in that moment it felt like they all focused on her alone.
Her fingers were long and fair. The crystal clutch in her hand was a national limited edition that they couldn’t even dream of owning.
Her black hair slipped from her neck with a graceful movement, revealing a hint of flawless skin.
She was strikingly beautiful—radiant, bold, dazzling.
But at that moment, the women in red and green had no room left to admire her looks.
They both fell silent, scalp tingling, sensing the oncoming storm.
Shen Wanwan looked at them coldly, her gaze aloof as she towered over the woman in red.
“Jiang Xiaoli, right?”
The woman in red shrank back timidly and said in a small voice: “It’s Wang Xiaoli.”
Dead. Completely dead.
The young miss of the Shen family was never one to suffer silently.
As expected, Shen Wanwan’s aura pressed down hard as she stared at her.
“Oh, Li Xiaoli.”
This time, Wang Xiaoli didn’t dare correct her again.
Shen Wanwan asked casually, “How are things between you and your fiancé lately?”
Wang Xiaoli instinctively answered, “Huh? Pretty… pretty good.”
Shen Wanwan gave a drawn-out “Oh,” and said meaningfully, “The moment he heard my engagement with Su Tingxuan was off, he started texting me every day, saying he couldn’t eat or sleep just thinking about not being able to be with me…”
Wang Xiaoli’s face turned white in an instant.
Shen Wanwan smiled understandingly. “I thought maybe something was wrong between the two of you.”
Wang Xiaoli’s expression visibly collapsed.
The girl in the green outfit next to her was clearly holding back laughter.
This Wang Xiaoli had just been mocking others, but turns out her own fiancé wasn’t anything special either.
But the green-outfit girl didn’t get to laugh for long…
Shen Wanwan turned her head to look at her again:
“And as for you—”
Shen Wanwan paused for a moment. She really couldn’t remember what the girl in green was called.
Forget it.
Her name wasn’t important.
“I remember your dad came to our house recently… asking for investment.”
Cold sweat instantly broke out on the girl’s forehead.
If Shen Wanwan decided to withdraw the investment because of this…
She hurriedly said, “Miss Shen, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said that about you. I’m sorry…”
Shen Wanwan curled her lips coldly, not even bothering to listen to her apology, and turned to leave.
Not far away, quite a few people had witnessed the commotion. Just moments ago, those two girls were all cocky and full of energy.
No one knew exactly what Shen Wanwan had said, but somehow both of them now looked like wilted eggplants, completely deflated.
Soon, gossip-seekers came to dig for details, and after learning what had happened, they all started scolding Shen Wanwan instead.
“What’s Shen Wanwan so smug about? Isn’t she just riding on her family’s wealth?”
“No matter how much she talks back, it won’t change the fact that Su Tingxuan dumped her…”
“She’s just jealous! Her personality’s awful, no wonder no man would like her…”
But before those words had even finished, a handsome figure suddenly caught their attention.
Even though his face was partially hidden by a baseball cap and mask, the man’s natural air of nobility made it clear he came from an extraordinary background. Every gesture of his radiated grace and elegance.
Though they hadn’t seen his face, that didn’t stop anyone from immediately concluding—
He must be really good-looking.
Someone couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Wow, he’s kind of hot!
“Anyone want to go ask for his number with me?!
“He’s seriously so handsome! I’m falling in love again!!!”
People who came here generally weren’t short on money.
But a man with that kind of presence was a rare find.
Several people looked tempted, clearly wanting to approach and ask for his number.
One person even boldly called out, “Hey, handsome! Look over here!”
But the man acted like he didn’t hear a thing, and walked straight toward Shen Wanwan.