The cold wave had arrived.
Outside, the howling wind whipped at the roadside trees until they bent, yet it couldn’t find a way into this spacious dance studio.
Not even the sound could penetrate the walls.
Inside, a warm breeze blew steadily.
Large floor-to-ceiling mirrors covered an entire wall, reflecting the polished wooden floor, the pure white walls adorned with bright lights, and a cloistered princess who danced without pause, her steps marking out a pleasant rhythm.
Recently, she had become somewhat tired.
It was the first time she felt exhausted while performing her favorite dance.
Tugging at her sweat-soaked collar, she sat on the bench opposite the mirror, looking dejected.
At that moment, the door opened, and a woman wearing a black gauze skirt and black-and-white striped calf socks walked in.
Compared to the princess, she seemed far more composed, appearing somewhat out of place in her landmine-style clothing.
“An Zhi, it’s still no good. There’s still no news from my old classmate. *Sigh* — “
She let out an exaggerated sigh and sat down next to the princess, An Zhi, observing her lifeless eyes.
“Why don’t we just… come clean? We can’t keep going like this. The company is getting more and more impatient.”
“…No,” An Zhi squeezed the word out of her parched throat.
“If this continues, the company won’t even accept the agreed-upon 70% revenue share. No matter how popular you are, one person’s income is limited. Besides, you keep staying here in Su City instead of returning to the studio… It makes things very difficult for me too, you know?”
“Are you still thinking about that ‘boyfriend’? He couldn’t even see through such an obvious hint… Why do you still care about a man who’s so unappreciative? Speaking as a woman, I wouldn’t accept a man like that, you know?”
“Sister Lulan, you’re talking too much…”
An Zhi’s hands, folded over her knees, shifted uneasily.
Beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks, and her lips parted slightly to help her breathe.
Clearly, her small, thin body was getting worse by the day.
It was uncertain how much longer she could hold on.
“The first rule in bold in the streamer regulations: ‘During their tenure, popular streamers must maintain appropriate relationships and must not interfere with company arrangements for personal reasons…’ I never reported the matter about you and your ‘boyfriend,’ and I’ve been using your poor health as an excuse to stall. Now, even the rent for the practice room for these past few days is charged to our account. I’m on your side, you know~”
“…Yes, thank you.”
An Zhi pressed her legs together, the friction of her dance stockings making a *hiss-hiss* sound.
She wanted to stand up but lacked the strength.
“Why go to such lengths? To hand over your persona promotion to a small company, giving up most of your earnings… and even arranging for your ‘boyfriend’ to get a job there with such a measly salary… He hasn’t even noticed it yet. Your effort and your return are completely out of proportion. I really can’t understand you.”
“…Only he… sincerely supports me. He gives me the freedom of choice… but I only realize now that no matter where I go… there is no freedom… only when I am by his side — “
An Zhi stammered, her weak tone completely different from her professional persona.
Her manager, Jiang Lulan, leaned in close to her mouth to catch her meaning.
“That’s the adult world. When you care about too many things, you lose your choices. That’s why you need to give yourself more space. I thought you’d figure it out sooner or later.”
“Was it the same for Ming-shan? Regardless of his own business… he desperately ran here to see me — “
“Why aren’t you listening? That wasn’t him. I confirmed it with the security guard. That person was just a pervert trying to steal equipment. He got away; he’s a dangerous man.”
“…I recognize that feeling… You don’t understand. There was another person’s voice too…”
An Zhi’s pale pink nails dug into her dance stockings, the fabric letting out a tearing sound from the excessive pressure.
Jiang Lulan straightened her messy bangs, pulled her long hair back into a bun, and adjusted her black gauze headband, looking a bit at a loss.
Just then, her phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID “Serious Mo Bestie,” she stood up, left the practice room, and closed the door.
Her cold voice echoed in the hallway.
“Fine, I’ll tell her. But regarding the work matters…”
—
As the lunch break neared its end, the customers of the Japanese diner began to leave, and the staff started clearing the messy tables.
I sat curled up on a backless round stool, watching Mo You, who had stepped out for a moment, sit back down across from me.
Her expression was even more serious than before.
Perhaps it was because I had relaxed a little.
“An Zhi… is she okay?”
I asked softly.
“That isn’t something you should ask me; you should find the answer yourself.
Interfering in an employee’s private affairs was already difficult enough for me.
And yet, it had to be someone as emotionally stunted as you.
If you had even 10% of your work ability, things wouldn’t have developed this way.”
“I’m sorry. Thank you for helping me so much.”
‘I shouldn’t be relying on others anymore.’
‘It was my selfishness that made her angry, wasn’t it?’
“Is it ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘Thank you’? I hope you can clarify your goals. According to our agreement, I was supposed to wait until you realized it yourself before coming clean. I shouldn’t have given you even a single hint. But I really couldn’t stand watching you lie to yourself while being with ‘that one’ at home — “
“I’m sorry.”
A faint scent of smoke still lingered on Mo You.
Midway through her sentence, she suddenly lowered her head in deep thought.
Looking back, I had left An Zhi alone, assuming a “default breakup,” and moved in with Su Xixia.
That fact had made Mo You angry with me several times.
I didn’t intend to make excuses for the stupid things I did when I lost my judgment because of Su Xixia’s great kindness…
That was why I apologized to her.
I had caused her so much trouble because of my private affairs, and she happened to be my boss.
Man, this was difficult.
“Li Ming-shan, did you get that newspaper yourself?”
Mo You spoke again.
I shook my head.
“She gave it to me. She pointed to the information in the red circle and advised me to submit a resume. At that time, I only saw the page with the recruitment column. Only later did she admit there was other circled content on the front of the paper.”
“…How many of the words circled on there do you know!?”
Mo You’s eyes widened—a rare sight—and her tone became intense.
“I only know about the recruitment info. She said she forgot the rest.”
“!?”
She suddenly stood up and walked to my side, bringing with her the scent of perfume mixed with smoke.
She pressed her palm onto my shoulder with a slight force, seemingly as a form of reassurance.
“Mo You?”
I was startled by this somewhat intimate gesture.
“I know why you’re so conflicted about who drew those red circles. With so little information, that’s all you could do. As for whether ‘she’ really forgot or not, I suggest you go and ask clearly. I take back what I said about you being dull and lying to yourself. You’re the one being lied to.”
“Huh?”
“Compared to the recruitment info on the back, the circled content on the front is just as important. By following the guidance of those words, you should find something far more than just a job listing.”
More than just a job listing?
Then what else was there?
Was it some message An Zhi wanted to convey that Su Xixia didn’t want me to know?
My body began to tremble.
The more I thought about it, the more my guilt turned into anger.
If only I had known about that content sooner…
“Go back and look for the place in your home with the deepest connection to An Zhi. Before she joined the streaming company, that place held all the memories between the two of you. Forgive me for not being able to say it directly; I have my principles.”
The deepest connection…
Where was that?
In my shabby little apartment, in the past when An Zhi used to visit frequently, where did we leave our memories?
My brain, groggy from processing too much information, couldn’t come up with an answer immediately.
“I still remember a few of the words you didn’t see. While some newsstands might still have that issue of the newspaper, go buy a copy and compare them. This is all I can do for now. The rest is up to you.”
She took out a notebook she carried with her, wrote something down, and tore off a page to hand to me.
“Deeply missing you,” “Practice room,” “Recently,” “Construction,” “Closed,” “Tail end.”
As the abstract words entered my sight, they formed strange sentences.
Although I couldn’t see much yet, I could at least understand a few things.
As early as 1 month ago, An Zhi had already wanted to tell me about her “missing me” and the “practice room.”
I had misinterpreted it.
She hadn’t “defaulted to a breakup”; she was missing me…
Regarding the phrase “practice room,” if I had seen it 1 month ago…
I definitely would have done what I only did a few days ago…
I would have broken into that “Starlight Dream International Photography” studio even more recklessly, or waited for her, or tracked her down even more frantically than any celebrity superfan.
Because of Su Xixia’s existence, I was so late…
I made An Zhi wait so long…
I even affected her career.
That’s right.
The reason she hadn’t streamed for such an uncharacteristically long time, and those tear stains left after she cried so bitterly back then—it was all because of me —
Looking back, it wasn’t that she didn’t get sad or hurt; it was just that she only did it for me, only in front of me…
“Your leave for this afternoon is approved. I’ll handle the paperwork for you. Go.”
Mo You gave my shoulder a firm pat.
As if driven by that momentum, I sprinted out of the shop, looking back to shout, “Thank you — !”
Now that I realized it so late, was there still time for me to fix this?
Or, could I overcome the obstacle that was Su Xixia?
My heart was tormented by guilt, yet filled with anticipation.