The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie

Chapter 147: 147: Zhou Xufang Makes Headlines Because of a Romance (First Update)

“Jiang Zhi feels very upset whenever he hears Luo San’s name.”

Xue Baoyi thought it over and finally relaxed her stance, “It’s not exactly puppy love, but Jiang Zhi came out because of him.”

“Oh!” Zhou Xufang suddenly realized, “So it was a first love.” She should have thought of it earlier; Jiang Zhi’s love that perished in flames was, in fact, Luo San.

Xue Baoyi: “…”

This topic was like a death sentence.

Zhou Xufang didn’t ask any more questions. She finished her milk, thanked Mr. Xue Baoyi, said goodbye, and left first.

...

After exiting the tea restaurant, she sent an email to Shuangjiang.

“Shuangjiang, are you free tonight?”

Shuangjiang replied: “Yes.”

Zhou Xufang put on her hat and mask, squatted by the roadside, holding her phone and typing slowly, letter by letter, “Assist me, please. I’m going to the Luo Family again tonight.” She needed to confirm as soon as possible whether she was Luo San.

Shuangjiang: “Okay.”

That night, there was a film festival. Xue Baoyi, as an award presenter, attended, and Jiang Zhi was there too, nominated for Best Director; Xue Baoyi spotted him as soon as she entered.

That prime spot with the best view had belonged to Jiang Zhi for three consecutive years.

Xue Baoyi, wearing a jewel-blue suit and sporting curly hair, swayed over with a languid arrogance, dragging out her greeting, “Brother Zhi~”

Apart from the Jiang Family, only this rascal would call out “Brother Zhi” without regard for the occasion, no wonder the rumors of the two had always been rampant in the circle.

The female artists all covered their mouths in laughter, thinking: The sly top and the delicate bottom, what an affectionate pair.

The sly top swaggered over and sat next to the delicate bottom, smiling elegantly, “Brother Zhi, are we good buddies?”

Jiang Zhi was slouched in his seat, not even lifting his eyelids, “Speak human language.”

Fine, Xue Baoyi was candid, “Zhou Xufang sought me out today.” He tilted his head, leaning towards Jiang Zhi, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear, “She asked about Luo San.”

Jiang Zhi kicked his shin lightly, “What did you say?”

Xue Baoyi scratched his head, feeling a bit guilty, “Just mentioned a bit in passing.”

Jiang Zhi kicked him again, “Be specific.”

Artists all around: Hey, they’re flirting with each other.

Seeing the situation, Director Jiang must be the one in charge at home; look at Second Young Master Xue, acting like a little wife.

The little wife avoided his gaze, “I talked about you coming out.”

Jiang Zhi looked at him coldly.

The little wife felt a chill at the back of his neck, touching his neck, “It’s not my fault, she’s your wife, how could I not answer her?”

Just as he finished, Ah Wan came running back with a phone, panting, “Mr., you’ve caused trouble.”

Xue Baoyi: “Ah?”

Ah Wan, standing at one meter ninety, squeezed through the aisle with difficulty to his boss’s side, presenting the phone, “Boss, Miss Zhou and Mr. have both hit the trending searches.”

Xue Baoyi, feeling like a stampede of grass mud horses had trampled over his mind: “…”

Jiang Zhi put down his crossed leg, his eyes lifting slightly, in the dim lighting, his gaze colder than the winter moon, “Did they get the face?”

Ah Wan pulled up the image and handed over the phone, “Only the side face was captured, and not very clearly.” It was a stroke of luck amongst misfortune.

Jiang Zhi’s brows furrowed tightly, and he dialed Zhou Xufang’s phone.

She didn’t answer.

After calling three times with no response, Jiang Zhi kicked Xue Baoyi’s trouser leg, “Get it off the trending searches.”

Xue Baoyi: “Okay.”

He pulled out his phone—

Ah Wan stopped him, “You can’t retract it.”

Xue Baoyi: “Ah?”

His mind was straightforward, unable to grasp the twist.

Ah Wan, having watched his fill of dramas and novels, hadn’t ever seen a pig be butchered, but he’d seen plenty of pigs run, and so he began to analyze, “It isn’t the first time Mr. has taken a girl to the headlines, and there’ve been much more sensational stories before that weren’t retracted. Retracting it now would just look more guilty, wouldn’t it?”

Makes sense.

Xue Baoyi scratched his head, “Then should I clarify?”

To be honest, he’d been on the headlines plenty, but he’d never dealt with public relations; as a playboy, he never needed to follow rules, living a carefree life was his image.

But involving Zhou Xufang now wasn’t simple.

Ah Wan racked her brain thinking back on the entertainment-related texts she had read and weighed her options, “Making clarifications won’t work, it’ll just make things worse.” Second Young Master Xue from Baoguang had a reputation among women, he never made clarifications for a woman before, the more you clarify, the muddier it gets.

Xue Baoyi was troubled and looked to Jiang Zhi, “So what should we do?”

“I’ll talk to Zhou Xufang first.” Zhou Xufang’s phone was still unreachable, making Jiang Zhi restless. He took the car keys from Ah Wan, stood up, and left.

Xue Baoyi called after him, “If you leave now, what about the award ceremony?” Who’s going to accept the Best Director award?

Jiang Zhi kicked aside his obstructing foot, “You figure it out.”

The day had been rainy, with the dark clouds still lingering. The moon was concealed behind clouds, casting an ominous gloom.

Such weather was simply irritating. In the background, Mom’s constant nagging, “You need to prune the leaves first.”

Luo Yinghe was irritated beyond tolerance and threw the scissors down, “I’m not doing this.”

Ever since she took a break from work, she had been confined at home, doing nothing but flower arranging or tea tasting all day long. She didn’t have the patience for it and was so annoyed, she just wanted to lash out.

Xu Yunci picked up the scissors, speaking softly and delicately, “Be patient, the doctor said—”

Luo Yinghe grabbed a handful of flowers and threw them to the ground, “Don’t talk to me about doctors, so annoying!”

Xu Yunci, scared she would have an episode, quickly pacified her, “Okay, okay, I won’t mention it anymore.”

She stood up and walked to the back of the flower pavilion, feeling suffocated and unable to vent her anger. She kicked around here and there, “Day in, day out, arranging flowers, it’s utterly dull.”

“Just wait a bit longer, okay?” Xu Yunci coaxed gently, “After the hype dies down, we’ll have the company arrange some charity events to reestablish your image, and then we’ll make a comeback.”

She was dissatisfied, “How long would that take?”

“I’ll talk to your sister after the New Year.”

She snorted at the mention of Luo Qinghe, feeling agitated just thinking about it, and kicked over a potted plant.

Xu Yunci knew she was upset and dared not bring it up again, so she changed the subject, “We’ll go to the hospital to see your uncle tomorrow.”

“I’m not going, he has so many illegitimate daughters out there, why should we show kindness?” She spoke with disdain, clearly disgusted by Luo Changde.

Xu Yunci was soft-hearted and pleaded, “Don’t say that, we’re all family, it’s not good to be estranged.”

“Family?” Luo Yinghe scoffed coldly, “Who wants to be family with that beast.”

Xu Yunci’s face grew cold, “Yinghe!”

Luo Yinghe, far from being contrite, became even more irate, glaring at Xu Yunci without hiding her contempt and disgust, “Stop defending him in front of me, don’t think I don’t know what’s going on between you two.” She sneered, “I’m amazed, his—his manhood has been snipped by Zhou Qingmeng—”

“Enough!”

Xu Yunci scolded, rarely so fierce and stern, “Who’s been spouting such nonsense to you? Such talk can’t be spread around carelessly, if your grandfather heard this, he would sew your mouth shut.”

Luo Yinghe was defiant, pouting back, “I’m not spouting nonsense, it’s what Luo Qinghe’s mother said when she went mad.”

Luo Qinghe’s mother had died eight years ago, having gone mad for several years prior. Everyone in the Luo Family knew deep down that she was driven mad by Luo Changde, but no one dared to mention it.

“Regardless of what others say, remember,” Xu Yunci glanced outside the flower pavilion, her face stern and serious, “in this family, those three people should never be mentioned.”

Luo Yinghe impatiently replied, “I know.”

Those three people.

Which three people?

Zhou Xu squatted in a corner of the flower pavilion, counting the roses on the ground. Xu Yunci really liked roses; the flower pavilion was full of them, in all different varieties.

Zhou Xu listened a while longer at the corner, then stealthily made her way to the bottom of the flower rack, and poured an entire bottle of paraquat on the roses.

The smell of the chemical… was a bit strong.

She slipped out of the flower pavilion quietly and then climbed onto the roof of the villa, heading for the Luo Family’s attic.

Inside, it was the same old scene: cobwebs covered the whole room. She didn’t dare to turn on the light, but instead used a flashlight to look around. The table and the wooden bed were covered in dust, and apart from the crude painting by the bedside, there were no signs of anything else.

The attic was built quite low; Zhou Xu could reach the ceiling with her hand, making her feel quite claustrophobic. She heaved a deep sigh.

In her earpiece, Shuangjiang asked, “Did you remember anything?”

“Nothing.” She walked around inside for a while and eventually sat on the wooden bed, reaching out to touch the painting by the bed, “But it feels very familiar.”

Is that painting of Jiang Zhi?

The hair was drawn too sparsely, just three strokes.

She leaned in closer, peering carefully, but still couldn’t make out Jiang Zhi’s figure in the drawing. Instead, she saw a hole behind the wooden bed. She stood up, moved the bed away, and reached into the hole to search.

She pulled out a decayed milk can, a faded candy wrapper, and a tattered notebook. They were too old; the milk can and the candy wrapper were no longer recognizable.

Zhou Xu dusted off the notebook, opened it, and the handwriting inside was all crooked and misshapen, filling the entire book with one name.

All ‘Jiang Zhi’.

That child must have really, really liked that young man.