"Why aren't you answering my calls!" Song Yan dialed Lu Jingyang's phone repeatedly, but it always went to voicemail.
She slammed her phone onto the sofa in frustration, then angrily smashed things around her. "He said he couldn't forget me and wanted to get back together. It was all a lie!"
"Lu Jingyang, you bastard!"
Song Yan screamed almost hysterically.
When her agent found her at home, the first thing he saw was the utter mess.
"Song Yan, what have you done? Why didn't you tell me!" The agent, already fuming from being reprimanded by his boss, couldn't help but complain when he saw the state of the apartment.
Song Yan, in a fit of rage, was naturally in no mood for pleasantries. "It's none of your business!"
"None of my business? Do you know how much trouble you've caused? Do you even want to stay in this industry!" the agent retorted angrily. "What were you thinking, provoking that big shot for no reason!"
"I was upset and needed to vent, is that not allowed?" Song Yan shot back impatiently.
"Song Yan, you need to face reality." The agent offered a kind warning. "You're just a rising star, not some big shot. You don't have the luxury of being reckless!"
"If you offend Young Master Yan, he can make you disappear from the industry with a single word, do you understand?"
Song Yan bit her lip tightly, remaining silent.
Of course, she understood.
But the damage was done. What else could she do?
Song Yan panted anxiously.
"Go and apologize to Mrs. Lu immediately." The agent grew impatient seeing her stubborn defiance.
He reached out to grab Song Yan, but she pushed him away.
"I'm not apologizing to her, why should I?"
"Why? Because she's Lu Yanbei's wife! Someone you can't afford to offend!" The agent, after trying to reason with her, was now furious. "Do you think she's still the same person you could bully before?"
"There's a world of difference between Lu Jingyang and Lu Yanbei!"
"Before, Lu Jingyang could protect you. Now that you've broken up, you have no connection to the Lu family. Lu Yanbei could crush you as easily as he could crush an ant!"
"Don't mention that bastard Lu Jingyang!"
The agent looked at her as if she were an idiot. "You still have the nerve to be unreasonable! Only Lu Jingyang can save you now, what are you waiting for! If you want to be blacklisted, just say so, don't waste my time!"
Enraged, Song Yan shouted, "Do you think I want this? He hasn't been answering my calls!"
"Can't you go find him? You must know where he lives!" the agent finally snapped, losing his patience.
Song Yan bit her lip. "He moved out of the Lu family villa. I don't know where he's living now."
"You!" The agent was about to explode.
"Then contact his friends. Didn't he often take you out to parties?"
Her reminder finally helped Song Yan calm down.
She picked up her phone from the floor and started searching her contacts.
She actually found a few contact numbers.
She called them one by one. Some just teased her about their breakup, while others gave vague answers. No one was willing to reveal Lu Jingyang's whereabouts.
Unwilling to give up, Song Yan had to humble herself and plead. "I haven't been able to contact him for days, I'm really worried. If you truly know where he is, please tell me."
"We really don't know!"
"Yeah, Young Master Lu hasn't come to hang out with us in a long time!"
"Did you guys fight?"
"I heard he's back home recently, but we don't know the specifics." The last call finally yielded a sliver of useful information.
Song Yan gripped her phone tightly, falling silent.
Back home, which home? Was he living with Zhao Yafen and the others? The thought of dealing with that family made Song Yan particularly resistant.
Zhao Yafen had always looked down on her, and even came to her house once demanding property, which Song Yan had sternly refused. They had already formed a deep rift, and she was afraid she'd be kicked out before she even found Lu Jingyang.
Song Yan paced the living room restlessly, on the verge of a breakdown.
"Did you find out where Young Master Lu is?" the agent asked with a grim expression.
Song Yan shook her head.
"Aren't you his girlfriend? You don't even know where he lives?"
Song Yan had started to distance herself from Lu Jingyang after discovering his true identity. In the last few months, she had been distracted, always giving him perfunctory responses, never bothering to find out where he had moved.
Now, when she needed him the most, she couldn't find him.
It was quite ironic, she thought.
"You'd better contact him as soon as possible. Otherwise, with Young Master Yan's temper, he'll make his move by tomorrow morning at the latest." The agent's face grew increasingly grim.
Song Yan's face paled.
If she had known Lu Yanbei was this difficult, she wouldn't have bothered with Su He.
*
"What are you doing?" Lu Yanbei emerged from his study to find Su He sitting cross-legged on the sofa, lost in thought.
For the past few days, he had shielded Su He from the online commentary, afraid it would affect her mood.
Su He had been busy with her drafts and hadn't had time to check the news.
However, even without actively seeking it out, rumors had reached her ears.
One of her fans was a big admirer of Su Lin, and when the news broke, she couldn't help but complain in their group chat that her idol wouldn't date secretly, but would openly announce his relationships.
Su He hadn't noticed these messages at first, but as more and more people discussed the matter, it became difficult to ignore.
Then, she went to Weibo to check out the gossip.
Most of the online sentiment was supportive of Su Lin, but not so kind to her. The comments were often harsh. Some called her unworthy of their "brother," and that was considered mild.
The remarks accusing her of being promiscuous and having a kept younger man were particularly infuriating.
Fortunately, she had weathered storms before and didn't doubt herself because of these comments.
She had a pretty good idea who was instigating things behind the scenes, but she couldn't be bothered to confront them.
Lu Yanbei had been spending less time at the company and more time at home with her, likely to protect her.
"I'm not that fragile," Su He replied with a faint smile.
Lu Yanbei moved closer and hugged her. "If you're unhappy, you have to let it out. Don't keep it inside."
"I'm really fine," Su He insisted. "I have too much of my own work to do, no time to bother with entertainment gossip."
Lu Yanbei, however, saw her pretense of strength and became even more determined to deal severely with those who had hurt Su He.
Su He might not care, but he did.