Han Yue looked like she had just got home after finishing up her schedule for the day. She was in the midst of removing her makeup. Noticing Su Xia's heavy eye makeup, she frowned.
"You cannot continue hiding your true identity from him forever," she said.
Su Xia walked toward the sofa with big steps and sat down. "Those of the paparazzi who are capable are not the ones who are digging into it," she replied.
"If I get photographed, I will admit everything immediately," she then added nonchalantly.
"..."
Han Yue rubbed at her face. "Then I will use one of my private accounts to expose you to the paparazzi. You will not have to hide after that. It is such a hassle," she said.
Su Xia straightened up immediately. "Do not do that. Please do not do that," she said.
Han Yue scoffed. She washed her face in the restroom, then walked out and looked Su Xia up and down. "Where is the stuff?" she asked.
"What stuff?" Su Xia asked, a blank look on her face.
"Did you not say that you would be bringing food over that day?" Han Yue asked with a vague smile. "Did you forget?" she questioned.
"..."
Su Xia remained silent. She did not dare to utter a single word.
She curled up on the sofa and laughed warily. "I will go buy some food now. Will it be too late?" she asked.
"I knew for sure that you would forget! If I depended solely on you, we would both starve to death!" Han Yue shouted.
Han Yue glared at her. "That is why I ordered takeaway from Haidilao in advance. What else do you have on your mind other than Lu Jingyao!" she exclaimed.
"I have you" Su Xia laughed happily.
"Scram!" Han Yue yelled.
The takeaway arrived not long after. The hotpot broth began to boil after a short while as heat simmered on the surface. Su Xia dipped a mutton roll in the broth and stuffed it into her mouth. A sense of comfort enveloped her.
"I have not had hotpot in ages," Su Xia said.
"I have not had it ever since joining the film crew. I have been craving this for so long," she whined.
Han Yue glanced at her. "You would not have been able to resist it," she said.
"That is why," Su Xia said while smiling earnestly. "I had instant hotpot on my own without Xue Mingan knowing."
Han Yue gave her a knowing look.
She poured a glass of fruit juice and placed it before Su Xia. She looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Since you have liked Lu Jingyao for such a long time, why not...make him yours?" she asked.
"Do not tell me that you only like him for his talents or something like that. Do not think that I am oblivious to what you truly think," Han Yue blurted out before Su Xia could say anything in response.
Su Xia choked up at her words. She coughed lightly and put a slice of meat into the pot nonchalantly. "Dreams are dreams, and reality is reality. As a fan, it would be better for me to keep a distance away from his private life. I cannot force myself on him," she said.
She sighed. "I wonder what kind of girl will end up with him eventually. She must be someone he sincerely likes and wants to spend the rest of his life with," she said.
"How would you know that you are not that person if you do not try?" she asked.
"..." Su Xia raised her eyes. Her gaze turned warm and soft under the glaring lights on the ceiling directly above her. She blinked. "I am a coward," she said.
She went on and on about keeping a distance away from his private life and not forcing herself on him because she was a coward who did not dare to do so.
Han Yue was at a loss of words.
"That is why you are still single! You deserve it!" she said harshly.
Su Xia pouted. "You are single too. We are both on the same boat," she said.
"..."
As the night went on, the two friends, who have not met in a long time, chatted late into the night. Su Xia thus decided not to go home and slept over at Han Yue's place till the next morning. When she woke up, Han Yue had left.
Breakfast was prepared on the dining table, and there was a note next to the food.
"I am off to earn money."
The message was simple and direct, just like how Han Yue was.