Chapter 11 (1/2): Stop

He Yuzhou’s expression suddenly turned very strange.

Even with his face devoid of emotion, the chill of the lenses seemed to seep into his eyes.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of his usual gentleness in those eyes.

Even while sitting, he still had to lower his gaze a little to look at her.

She knew this was because of his height advantage, and he never acted condescending in front of her, but at this very moment, Cen Yingshuang actually felt a certain pressure emanating from him, a kind of oppressive feeling from above.

Xu.

From this angle, his gaze was calm and deep, not even his eyelids moved, as if there were many unfathomable emotions hidden in those eyes.

The air in this room was fresh and circulated well, the temperature just right, and she was still wrapped in his jacket.

By all accounts, she shouldn’t feel cold at all.

But in this instant, a sudden chill seemed to pierce her spine, making her shiver involuntarily.

She asked him, puzzled, “Yuzhou-ge… you… what’s wrong?”

Her voice unconsciously softened.

He Yuzhou continued to stare at her unblinkingly, but in the next second, the corners of his lips lifted as he smiled again, his slender eyes instantly returning to a gentle look.

“Not bad.”

His tone was calm, and his smiling expression seemed to carry a hint of comfort.

“You’re an adult now, it’s time to fall in love.”

Cen Yingshuang was slow to react for a moment, a little dazed.

It was as if the cold, oppressive look he’d just given was only her imagination.

But in the end, she didn’t think much of it, chalking it up to her own misperception.

She smiled again, still holding her cup, lowering her head to quietly sip her banana milk without speaking.

He Yuzhou stared at her in silence.

Her head was bowed so low that her face was hidden, but he could clearly see the tips of her ears, flushed bright red, like the two nearly ripe red apples he’d picked earlier.

Rabbit.

That glaring feeling had reached its peak at this moment.

Her phone continued to ring.

She picked it up, her nimble fingers quickly typing on the screen.

Hanging from her phone case was a shell pendant, swaying back and forth like a lively little.

The curve of her lips was impossible to suppress.

The word “sweetness” was written all over her face.

He Yuzhou’s grip on his wine glass grew tighter and tighter.

His strength was such that the poor glass seemed about to shatter in the next second.

He wanted nothing more than to destroy the phone that was making her laugh so happily.

But he said nothing and did nothing.

He simply downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, then refilled it again and again.

Trying to douse the fire in his heart.

The runway show ended quickly.

She stood up and handed He Yuzhou’s jacket back to him, smiling sweetly.

“Thank you, Yuzhou-ge.”

“You’re just going to go out like this?”

He Yuzhou didn’t rush to take the jacket.

His gaze flicked briefly to the window before he reminded her lightly, “It’s getting colder outside.”

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone, ready to call someone to bring her some clothes.

Cen Yingshuang hurriedly explained, “I have a coat in my car.”

Just then, her phone rang again.

It was Màn Jie calling.

Cen Yingshuang answered, “I’m done here. I’ll be out soon.”

She hung up after a brief exchange.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered something important.

She’d eaten her fill during the show—though she’d claimed to only eat fruit, in reality she’d finished all the snacks as well.

She sat back down on the sofa, placing He Yuzhou’s jacket beside her.

She quickly pulled out her compact to check her makeup, touched up her powder, reapplied some lipstick, and only then managed to cover up any evidence of her sneaky snacking.

If Màn Jie found out, she’d be in trouble.

Her eagerness to touch up her makeup made He Yuzhou narrow his eyes.

He walked over silently, picked up his jacket from beside her legs, put it on slowly, and casually invited, “Want to grab a meal together?”

After fixing her makeup, Cen Yingshuang put away her compact and lipstick, her expression a bit troubled.

Embarrassed to refuse directly, she could only say tactfully, “I already made plans with that painter friend from Rome…”

He Yuzhou’s expression didn’t change.

He lifted his chin, appearing very tolerant and generous.

“Have fun.”

“Okay, I’ll get going then, Yuzhou-ge…”

Before she could finish, He Yuzhou had already turned and walked out of the room, leaving with several bodyguards at the door.

Cen Yingshuang didn’t think much of it, assuming He Yuzhou was in a hurry to leave—after all, he was busy with work.

Plus, there were too many people and prying eyes here, and his identity was special, so it really wasn’t appropriate for him to linger.

But from the angle she couldn’t see, He Yuzhou’s expression had turned cold, icy air radiating from him.

It had indeed gotten colder outside.

There had been a bit of sunlight at first, but now even that was gone, the sky a dull gray, as if rain was imminent.

A chilly breeze blew, making her exposed waist feel especially cold.

She shivered twice, forcing herself to endure the discomfort as she walked gracefully outside.

On the first floor, the show venue was packed with stars, none of whom had left yet, all gathered in groups chatting, laughing, and taking pictures.

Cen Yingshuang didn’t know anyone and just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

There would be an after party after the show, but Cen Yingshuang didn’t plan to attend.

First, it was too noisy, she didn’t drink, and besides, she’d promised Chen Yanli to visit his studio.

Two staff members followed her to ensure her safety, since the venue was packed and the crowds outside were even larger.

Just as she was about to pass through the corridor, someone suddenly called her name, “Yingshuang-senpai!”

Cen Yingshuang immediately stopped and turned around.

It was a woman in a white dress, smiling warmly and waving at her.

Cen Yingshuang found her face vaguely familiar but couldn’t recall who she was for the moment.

Still, she smiled politely and replied, “Hello.”

The woman walked over, wearing five-centimeter heels but still a little shorter than her, hair up in a bun, makeup mature.

“Did you forget me?”

The woman shook her phone as she spoke.

“I’m Wu Xi! We even added each other on WeChat!”

Cen Yingshuang kept her polite but slightly awkward smile.

Hearing this, she looked even more confused for a moment, thinking back for a while before finally recalling—last time she’d gone to the company to find Jiang Suian, she’d run into Wu Xi at the entrance, and Wu Xi had asked for her WeChat.

“Of course I didn’t forget.”

Wu Xi had called her “senpai” nonstop last time too. Cen Yingshuang reminded her, “Just call me by my name.”

Cen Yingshuang did have some impression of Wu Xi.

Wu Xi, though a newly signed artist, had already been an internet celebrity with over a million fans before officially debuting.

She had some fashion connections, so it wasn’t surprising she was here for the show.

“Okay, I’ll call you Yingshuang from now on.”

Wu Xi linked arms with Cen Yingshuang in a very familiar manner.

Cen Yingshuang was a little taken aback.

She was already quite outgoing, but Wu Xi was clearly even more so, making her, the “old hand,” feel a little out of her element.

Wu Xi’s emotional intelligence was spot on.

“This is the new haute couture from earlier this year, right? It looks even better on you than on the model. Your figure is amazing.”

Every word was filled with admiration.

Cen Yingshuang was used to such compliments by now, immune to them, and responded with a practiced smile.

“Dear, the perfume you’re wearing—is it the one you just started endorsing?”

Wu Xi, still linked to her arm and very close, deliberately leaned in to sniff behind her ear as she spoke.

“Yes,” Cen Yingshuang replied.

“It smells wonderful!”

Wu Xi said.

“Actually, aquatic scents usually make me dizzy, but yours doesn’t at all!”

She sighed, sounding regretful.

“It’s just a shame you can’t buy it anywhere now.”

Maybe Wu Xi was just too enthusiastic, and her tone made it sound like she really liked the perfume, so Cen Yingshuang offered warmly, “I still have a few bottles at home, I’ll give you one.”

“Really?!”

Wu Xi’s happiness was obvious, hugging her even tighter.

“Thank you, Shuangshuang.”

“You’re welcome.” Cen Yingshuang smiled.

After chatting like this, they became much more familiar, and Wu Xi finally asked what she’d been curious about:

“I just saw you coming down from upstairs. I remember the upstairs was closed off today, wasn’t it?”

Hearing this, Cen Yingshuang immediately became more alert.

He Yuzhou’s status was both prestigious and special, and he always traveled with bodyguards.

She’d seen for herself the spectacle in front of Beicheng Capital International Airport’s VIP Building. Surely, news of him attending the show wouldn’t be made public.

Naturally, Cen Yingshuang wouldn’t say anything.

Her big, bright eyes blinked innocently, looking harmless like a little deer.

“Closed off? I didn’t know. I just went to find the restroom.”

Wu Xi had clearly seen staff take Cen Yingshuang upstairs and only come down after the show.

She’d observed that none of the other top celebrities from around the world received such treatment—only Cen Yingshuang.

There must be something more to it.

But since Cen Yingshuang said this, Wu Xi couldn’t press further and simply nodded.

“I see.”

The corridor near the lake was even colder with the wind blowing.

With so little fabric on, Cen Yingshuang felt as if she was wearing nothing at all, her legs turning even whiter, drained of color, so cold they’d almost gone numb.

She was about to say goodbye when Wu Xi suddenly picked up her phone.

“Let’s take a picture together?”

It was hard for Cen Yingshuang to refuse, so she nodded.

“Sure.”

Wu Xi opened her camera, took several selfies with the front camera, and still wasn’t satisfied, so she asked the staff with Cen Yingshuang to take a few full-body shots for them.

During the photos, Wu Xi held Cen Yingshuang’s arm very intimately, making it look like the two were close friends.

Just then, a brown-haired man in a suit approached, pushing a mobile clothes rack with a long, matte rose-pink coat hanging on it.

Cen Yingshuang recognized him as the person in charge of the show.

He came up to her, very respectful, and spoke in English, “Miss Cen, may I have a word with you?”

Cen Yingshuang hesitated, but finally nodded. “Okay.”

She followed the man aside, and he spoke in a voice only they could hear: “This is a coat Mr.HO asked me to bring you. Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Cen Yingshuang was taken aback.

He Yuzhou?

The man carefully took the coat off the rack and handed it to Cen Yingshuang.

She accepted it slowly, feeling both flattered and surprised.

“Thank you.”

She hadn’t expected He Yuzhou to actually have someone bring her a coat—he was so thoughtful.

She felt warm inside even before putting it on.

“This coat…”

Once the man in charge had left, Wu Xi walked over, staring directly at the coat in Cen Yingshuang’s hands.

She reached out to touch it, finally confirming her suspicion and exclaiming in surprise, “This is a global limited edition! You can’t buy it, even with money!”